The Future This Week: VR, Gene Editing, and Drone Racing

In The Future This Week, Serious Wonder launches into orbit in search of this week’s headlines of the future, from genetically modified mushrooms to international drone racing. This week we’re given a glimpse into an enthralling future where virtual reality continues to grow and expand beyond our wildest imagination, and subsequently where taking a vacation might soon not even be limited to Earth-bound only.

This is a future where nearly anything is possible, so long you have both the imagination to dream of something and the will to ensure it becomes a reality. Whether we’re immersing ourselves into virtual worlds or penetrating our Earthly orbit in the pursuit of a new planetary home, we’re quickly accelerating into a point in time where nearly every decision we make will transform our perception of reality forever. Whatever decision we make from hereon in, whether scientific or technological, enjoy the ride. Welcome to the future!

Escaping the nearly unavoidable grips of U.S. regulators like the FDA and USDA, researchers were given the green light to develop and sell mushrooms that were genetically modified using CRISPR/Cas9. SOURCE

Chinese telecommunications company Huawei has recently announced their joining in the Virtual Reality race as they unveiled their first ever VR headset – simply known as Huawei VR. SOURCE

Photo Credit: Scientific American

Springboarding off of the growing popularity in international drone racing, ESPN has announced a multi-year deal with the International Drone Racing Association to broadcast the best of drone racing on their network, which will begin streaming in August of this year. SOURCE

Taking a vacation in space just got a lot closer to reality after Bigelow Aerospace and United Launch Alliance (ULA) joined forces to launch commercial space stations by 2020. SOURCE