9 Big Problems With Future Scientific Breakthroughs

8. Cancer Cure

Cancer is the second largest cause of death after heart disease, and the search for a cure is possibly one of the most high-profile priorities of the 21st century. But, doing away with this massive influencing force over the human race could have some major consequences.

With a rise in the amount of people already surviving cancer, the UN estimates that, by 2025, the global population could be pushing 10.5 billion and our resource consumption could triple. An all-out cure could push this figure even higher with 13% of global deaths abated. This isn't even taking into account any other diseases we cure in the meantime.

This surge in population would massively offset any efforts we've made to improve efficiency and reduce our use of the Earth's already dwindling resources. There would be no point in curing terminal diseases if it spelt the end of humanity anyway.

Far from ending the search for a cure, we would need to combine the effort with a focus on just how we're going to cope with a bigger, longer-lived population.