Mr. Mack also says developments in artificial intelligence could lead to a future where disabled patients could be cared for by a voice-activated robot.

A surgeon performs an operation using robotic assistance

FAITH LAPIDUS: The World Future Society also publishes The Futurist magazine. Every year it examines developments in technology and other areas to predict the future. The magazine released the top ten predictions from the Outlook 2011 report.

The report said Internet search engines will soon include both text and spoken results. It said television broadcasts and other recordings could be gathered using programs developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Outlook 2011 also examined refuse collection. It said industrial nations will send much more waste to developing countries. This will cause protests in those countries. In about fifteen years, developing countries will stop accepting foreign waste. This will force industrial nations to develop better waste-to-energy programs and recycling technologies.

The report also had a prediction about education. It said young people use technologies for socializing as well as working and learning. So they solve problems more as teams instead of competing. In this way, social networking is supporting different kinds of learning outside the classroom.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: Health experts say chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as CFS, is a complex disorder. They say it can cause people to feel fatigued or extremely tired. CFS may also cause physical weakness, muscle and joint pain, problems with memory or thinking, or trouble sleeping. Many people with the disorder have a higher than normal body temperature. They may also have throat pain and weakness in the lymph nodes near the cervix or under the arms.