5 beautiful minds reshaping the landscape of modern science

Much of what we know about the human body — and the world around us — has been discovered by a tiny percentage of earth's inhabitants. From Galileo to Newton; Darwin to Einstein, it's the brilliant thinking of a few individuals that have made a massive difference in the field of science. Will technology lead to increasing collaboration? Or will we soon marvel at the next beautiful mind? Here are some candidates who could soon cement themselves in history.

His research might crack the code on one of man's primal functions: A young NYU researcher is making disturbing discoveries about how the human brain works.

This guy could make the biggest scientific findings of the century: A young MIT physicist may be close to figuring out the scientific origins of life

Rafael Yuste and the $5 billion race to map your brain: This scientist is hustling to "break the code" on cognition problems and mental illness.

Brain implants are coming!: Jonathan Viventi's teeny-tiny implants have massive implications — ones that are stirring up a debate among scientists.

A child genius with a thing for explosions: She has a penchant for science and rebellion could change 137 million lives for the better. Oh — and she's only 17.

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