Health breakthrough on the way

AUSTRALIA is on the verge of a health revolution offering cancer cures, replacement body parts and hope that paraplegics will walk again.

That's the view of the country's top scientists, who have nominated seven medical advances they believe will transform our lives.

Stem cell science, gene technology and bionic innovation are at the forefront of the coming breakthroughs.

Ten eminent medical scientists combined their expertise to look into the future for the Research Australia project.

Their report, released today, says new drugs and vaccines will soon emerge to tackle a range of cancers, while stem cells will help cure diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis.

Miniature technology and smart materials are also predicted to play a greater role in medicine, helping to repair damaged nerves and possibly broken spinal cords.

In other key advances, new surgery techniques will allow specialists to operate on babies in the womb and heal brain injuries.

Some of the breakthroughs, such as gene profiling to detect disease risk, are predicted to become available within a decade.

Others, such as growing new organs through stem cell research, may take longer but are still likely in the foreseeable future.

One of the scientists, Professor Graeme Clark, who pioneered the multi-channel cochlear implant, said he saw huge potential for bionic technology.

"We see ways of helping people with disabilities such as spinal injuries, nerve repair, bionic eyes, bionic ears, bionic bladders and so on," he said.

"The whole field of materials connecting with the body is one of the most important areas of medical research for the future."

He said "smart plastics" allowed electricity transfer with the body and could even release therapeutic drugs, and other devices known as carbon nanotubes could be used to bridge severed nerves.

Genetics researcher Professor John Shine said a new generation of drugs would help cure diseases such as cancer without damaging healthy cells.

"They are smart drugs because they are designed to interact with a particular gene product," he said.

"The whole approach is much more intelligent and the drugs you end up with have far fewer side effects because they don't, by chance, interact with other things."

Professor Fiona Stanley, a former Australian of the Year, said gene technology also promised new vaccines, such as the world-first cervical cancer vaccine developed by Professor Ian Frazer.

They would allow the immune system to be "switched on" to provide defence against a specific disease or condition when a person was born.