#1 Organ Transplants
The first organ transplant was in 1954 and it was performed by Dr. Joseph Murray. He removed a kidney from one twin and implanted it in another. The surgery was successful because the patients were twins and the chance of rejection was very low. Over the next several decades, medicine has made leaps and bounds in the science of organ transplant. After anti-rejection medications were invented, patients could have a variety of body parts transplanted from non-relatives.
#2 Robots and Artificial Intelligence
The word robot was first used in a play in 1920. In 1954, the first robot was built. A few years later, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology founded its Artificial Intelligence Lab, hoping to create a robot that could mimic human hands and the human mind. Today, robots do exist and they are manual laborers, they fly planes, they are part of advanced software, and someday, scientists hope that they can think and act like humans.
#3 Electronic Funds Transfer
The Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) has completely changed the way that we pay bills, buy things, and get money. The first system was set up in 1972 by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. By the end of the 70’s, millions of dollars were being transferred between insurance companies, banks, and many other financial institutions. Today, the EFT is what lets us get money from the ATM, use PayPal to buy and sell items, and to pay bills online. EFT has certainly simplified out lives quite a bit.
#4 Nuclear Power
In 1956, the Queen of England flipped the switch on the first ever nuclear power plant at Cedar Hall. After that, the world saw nuclear reactors as a cheap, pollutant free way to produce energy. In 1979, the U.S. reactor in Pennsylvania on Three Mile Island melted down. This make the U.S. weary about nuclear power. Today, there are 100 power plants in the U.S. and they contribute to about 20 percent of the country’s power.
#5 Mobile Phones
This is the most popular of all technologies that change the world. Mobile phones have completely changed the way that world communicates today. A Motorola researcher teamed up with AT&T Bell Labs to test a new phone in 1973. By the 80’s, we had cordless phones, car phones, and cell phones. Today, just about everyone owns a cell phone. This technology has made landline phones and pay phone obsolete. In the 2000’s, the Smartphone was introduced, which made it possible to hold a personal computer in your pocket, to video chat with others, and to make calls just about anywhere.
#6 Space Flight
Decades ago, the idea of leaving Earth and walking on the moon was something out of a science fiction movie. When NASA was created, they made it their mission to learn as much about outer space as possible. On July 20, 1969, man finally walked on the moon. We have learned a great deal about our universe thanks to space travel. There have been numerous unmanned landings on the moon since then, so that we can get as much information as possible. As of yet we haven’t landed on Mars or Jupiter, however, the more time we spend in space and that we keep our ships in space, we are learning more about other planets.
#7 Personal Computers
The first computers invented took up an entire room and they had to stay cool to keep the computer from over heating. In 1983, IBM created a desktop computer for office automation. Soon after, Apple came out with Macintosh. Since then, the computer has made leaps and bounds in its technology. Today, most households have at least one computer and many people own laptops that they can take anywhere.
#8 Digital Media
Before digital media technology was invented, if you looked bad in a photo you had to deal with it. Since digital media was invented, photos can be completely doctored so that you can make them look any way that you want. With digital media came the ability to send photos digitally and it completely changed the way that we make movies. When it comes to entertainment, digital media has changed our lives for the better.
#9 The Internet
The internet has changed our lives forever. You can learn just about anything you want on the internet. It makes it possible to shop, pay bills, do research for a paper, and sent electronic mail (email) to anyone in the world as long as they have internet and an email address. When students would have to do a paper in school before the late 90’s, they had to visit their local library to do their research. Many families had a set of encyclopedia for research. Today, people just need to turn on their computers and they can get all of the information that they need.
#10 Fiber Optics
Fiber optics make it possible for us to watch television, use the phone, and for other telecommunication purposes. It is a flexible transparent fiber that can transmit light and send signals. Fiber optics has made it possible to do things today that we never could have done before it was invented. Today, scientists are doing research to find other uses for fiber optics to make our lives easier.
#11 3D Printed Cast
The invention of the 3D printer has changed the face of medicine. Today, doctors are working with a 3D printed cast that is designed to help a bone heal 40 percent faster. An ultrasound would be hooked up to the cast, that are designed to stimulate bone growth. While the cast looks like the type of gloves that punk rockers wear, it is actually going to make broken bones much easier to deal with and less painful. Many doctors predict that in the future, plaster casts will no longer be used.
