Will we , or are we, running out of ideas for scientific research and development ?

We are nowhere close to running out of ideas. The real bottleneck for scientific research is not ideas, but money. We lack the funds to study everything that currently appears to be worth studying. As for the cutting edge of research, it really depends on which of the many sciences—and which of the many subdisciplines within those sciences—you want to know about. It’s a long list, and no one could possibly know what the cutting edge of each one is right now.

I don’t think so..as mentioned above the money involved plays a big role in deciding what needs to be researched upon. As we find something new it will open up new avenues which we can discover. You’ll get an idea if you take example of nano particles and their usage. It’s an endless journey really.

The shortfall isn’t in ideas. They accumulate faster than they can be addressed. The down the line consequences of the hollowing out of the country’s industrial sector become increasingly apparent

I’ve always wanted to do a study on heart disease in House Sparrows that scavenge in McDonalds parking lots. haha

That is never going to happen. What we need now is an alternative to fossil fuel and internal combustion engines. How about a way to re-use plastic in all it’s current throw-away form. Can someone find a way to produce and distribute enough food and water for the current (not to mention future) population of Earth?

Nope

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/08/researchers-orbit-a-muon-around-an-atom-confirm-physics-is-broken/

Never. Each advance acts as a springboard for the next ones.
Here’s one I like now: Smart Thread that collects diagnostic data when sutured into tissue

@LuckyGuy

But will it connect to Facebook to post about what I’m currently eating/drinking?

I think we’ll run out of civilization before we run out of innovative ideas. Great ideas are out there and increasing all the time… bringing them to fruition is the challenge.

@Darth_Algar No need to take pesky selfies and pix of food for FB soon. If you have the RFID, Bluetooth capable, WiFi enabled, Suture app for Nexus 10 and Galaxy S9 it will do it for you – and post your cholesterol and blood sugar levels (and weight) automatically.