Technological breakthroughs for 2017

The year of 2016 witnessed huge technological developments across the world with new opportunities in the horizon. From technological perspective, it can be said "the world will never be the same again" after these developments hit the market.

- Samsung to release foldable smartphone

- Robotic chef arms to cook 2000 recipes

- First head transplant attempted

- Trials of first HIV vaccine to begin

- New tech to double battery life of electronics including mobilephone

- First 4th generation nuclear reactor in China

- World's longest bicycle trail in Canada

- USA approves first private lunar mission

- First CRISPR human trial attempted to cure rare blindness

- World's largest CO2 market to launch​

Samsung to release foldable smartphone

Samsung seems eager to move beyond traditional handset designs and perhaps away from products associated with exploding batteries. The company is working to mass produce foldable displays by the end of this year, with market availability set for 2017, Bloomberg reported in June. Back in January, Samsung confirmed that the development of foldable displays is coming along nicely, but did not offer a timeline for commercialization. Like the curved Galaxy Round and the original Note 4 Edge, Samsung apparently will not be mass-producing these phones at the start. Rather, the company will release limited editions to gauge interest before making a bigger commitment.

Robotic chef arms to cook 2000 recipes

Robotic chef arms that can cook 2000 different recipes become available for purchase. Moley Robotics, a London-based company has developed a prototype "robochef" designed for the home. Featuring an advanced, fully functional robot integrated into a beautifully designed, professional kitchen, it cooks with the skill and flair of a master chef. The prototype was premiered to widespread acclaim at Hanover Messe, the international robotics show. The consumer version set for launch in 2017 will be supported by an iTunes' style library of recipes.

First head transplant attempted

Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero is likely to change medical history as soon as 2017, according to a The Guardian report published in 2015. Head transplants have been attempted before – on Russian puppies in the 1950s, on an American monkey in the 1970s, on hundreds of Chinese mice between 2013 and 2014. The puppies lived less than a week, the monkey just over that. The mice tended to linger about a day. But in all of those cases, proof of concept was the aim, less so patient survival. Prof Canavero told Newsbeat he's got lots of volunteers from the UK who want it done. The procedure would see the patient using a donor body and having their head fitted to it. However gruesome it sounds, Prof Canevero is confident the technology is now in place to make it a reality, reported BBC.

Trials of first HIV vaccine to begin

HIV/AIDS was first characterised in 1983. By the early 2010s, the virus had killed over 35 million people globally and another 34 million were living with the infection. Researchers have created a preventative HIV vaccine using a genetically modified killed whole-virus, the first to receive approval by the FDA to proceed to Phase II of human clinical trials, reports Western Gazette. A brand new type of HIV vaccine will move onto phase II clinical trials in 2017, after phase I trials showed that it was safe to use in humans. The potential new vaccine will be tested on 600 people in North America, to see how well it can prevent them from getting the virus.

New tech to double smartphone battery

An MIT spinout is preparing to commercialise a novel rechargable lithium metal battery that offers double the energy capacity of the lithium ion batteries that power many of today's consumer electronics. Founded in 2012 by MIT alumnus and former postdoc Qichao Hu '07, SolidEnergy Systems has developed an "anode-free" lithium metal battery with several material advances that make it twice as energy-dense, yet just as safe and long-lasting as the lithium ion batteries used in smartphones, electric cars, wearables, drones, and other devices, reports MIT News. New battery tech could double the battery life by 2017.

First 4th generation nuclear reactor in China

China stepped up its efforts to commercially utilise a fourth-generation nuclear reactor. At a coastal town in east China, a high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor is being constructed, reports CCTV. It's claimed to be the safest in the country. The project has been designed to merge high efficiency and output, with minimum radiation leakage. The reactor, which boasts of a design capacity of 200 megawatts, will start generating power by the end of 2017.

First private lunar mission approved in USA

For the first time ever, a private company has permission to land on the moon. The USA government has officially approved the planned 2017 robotic lunar landing of Florida-based Moon Express, which aims to fly commercial missions to Earth's nearest neighbor and help exploit its resources, company representatives announced on August 3, according to Space.com.

First CRISPR human trial attempted to cure rare blindness

Biotech startup Editas Medicine intends to begin using CRISPR in human trials to treat a rare form of blindness by 2017, reports Futurism. The rare eye disease in question is called Leber congenital amaurosis, and it affects the retina's light-receiving cells. The disease is suitable for the treatment because the exact gene error is known and the eye is easily accessible for genetic treatments. CRISPR was invented three years ago and has already been used in China to modify human embryos.

Largest CO2 market in China

China launches its first and the world's largest CO2 market, set to regulate 10,000 firms and nearly half of the country's total emissions. China's long-awaited nationwide carbon market will cover as many as 10,000 firms and regulate nearly half of the country's total emissions once launched in 2017, reports Reuters.