LOOKING AHEAD TO TOMORROW

***THE MOST-IMPORTANT INVENTIONS OF THE NEXT TEN YEARS ***

Things have looked bleak on the economic front for a while. So if necessity is the mother of invention . . . we should have a lot to look forward to!

According to "Business Week" magazine, here are eight of the most-important inventions you can expect to see in the next 10 years . . .

#1.) OCEAN-DRIVEN HYDROPOWER. Dams use the power of rivers to generate electricity. But within the next few years, off-shore turbines will be using the same principle to harness the power of the ocean currents.

#2.) MINIATURE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT. Researchers in the Netherlands say they've developed a pill that can be loaded with medicine and programmed to unload at a specific part of the body. And a pen-sized device is being developed at the University of Texas that can detect skin cancer without the need for a biopsy.

#3.) NEW BIO-FUELS. The first round of bio-fuels were made from edible material, which caused a spike in global food prices. But now scientists are starting to create fuel using things like corn stalks, woodchips, and tropical grass.

#4.) TRULY ON-DEMAND ENTERTAINMENT. In the next ten years, cable television and the Internet will merge. And as they do, you'll be able to watch, listen to, or read anything you want, whenever you want. (You can do this now at www.wjyy.com)

#5.) SUPER-HIGH-SPEED INTERNET. The Internet is actually SLOWER in the United States than it is in parts of Asia and Europe, but within the next ten years, that's going to change. Soon, high-speed wireless Internet will be available nearly everywhere.

#6.) TINY COMPUTERS. Nanotechnology is allowing scientists to dramatically shrink the size of electronics. And researchers in Chicago recently came up with a new material that can store the equivalent of 250 DVDs on the space of a quarter.

#7.) SUPERCHARGED BATTERIES. Millions of dollars are being poured into research to develop longer-lasting batteries, which we'll need if we plan to end our dependency on oil.

#8.) A CURE FOR CANCER. Nanotechnology is also allowing doctors to make huge strides in cancer, AIDS, and Alzheimer's research. And some scientists think we're less than a decade away from curing those diseases. (BusinessWeek.com)