Did you know that scientists are using science to predict the timing of scientific discoveries? Strange but true. A scientist named Samuel Arbesman uses scientific techniques to predict when certain scientific discoveries will occur. He bases his predictions on knowledge of what problems scientists are currently working on and estimates of how long it will take them to solve these problems at the rate they’re making progress.

Other scientists use cycles, such as the 11 year solar cycle, to make their predictions. In fact, 2011 is predicted to be an active year for the sun, one in which it unleashes tides of electromagnetic radiation that can produce Northern Lights and knock out telecommunications satellites.

But the truth is, most of the predictions made in this scientific way are not very interesting or relevant to the average person. Science can tell us that a big earthquake will hit California sometime, but not when. Even scientists will admit that their mathematical models can’t tell them anything about specifics in the real world. As ordinary mortals, we want more from our predictions.

For more interesting predictions, we can look at the online predictions of astrologers and others who gaze into the future. To astrologers, one of the big events of 2011 is the entry of Neptune into the sign of Pisces.

Online predictions have been made that Neptune in Pisces will coincide with wonderful advances in medicine. New studies on previously unknown disease mechanisms could emerge. Surprise revelations regarding mental health conditions could emerge, too. Disease prevention should get fresh inquiry as well. While online predictions of pandemics aren’t common as of yet, it should be noted that astrology associates Neptune with epidemics of disease.

Neptune is particularly powerful in early June 2011 and mid-November 2011 as these are the times when it changes direction to retrograde motion and then back to forward motion. Look for important news concerning medical issues at those times.

Another very exciting area of potential scientific discovery involves the area of presentiment, hunches, or intuition. These are the very things that psychics have long claimed to possess, and in recent years, science has made strides in discovering that almost everyone has the ability to see or ‘feel’ the very near future. Neptune in Pisces will expand upon that knowledge greatly. Maybe one day in the not too distant future, psychic ability will finally be validated scientifically.

As Pisces is the sign of the subconscious, our knowledge of how this precious area of our mental abilities will only become greater as science turns more and more of its attention to this part of our human heritage. We may one day understand the scientific basis for ancient tools of divination that access the powers of the subconscious.

All in all, the most exciting scientific advances in 2011 and beyond will come in ways that scientists can’t quite predict yet.