Well Dave999 ...
I used to believe that we were circling the drain...long time ago....
Last 5-10yrs...I don't know...not sure...
3D printing organs,blood vessels, arteries, etc.. skin and whole face printing being done...all bio-compat with the patient.
Cybernetics advancements where patients can "feel" the attached robotic limb...see or hear or walk again...or for the 1st time.
Nano tech computer based engineering to design toxin and pollution eating microbes of every kind and then manufacture and grow it...deploy and clean up the beautiful garden we have of this planet.
And now....this...

http://singularityhub.com/2014/05/22...te-alien-life/

It could sound scary...but I believe it aims down the road of eradication of disease and illness and the preservation of species which aren't simply endangered but are critical to the entirety of the web of life ...the balance that allows so many species (including us) to stay alive...take the honeybee for example...we should be throwing everything AND the kitchen sink at keeping these critical friends alive. And frankly I think we are one step closer to doing it now.
I have a great deal of hope and belief that we aren't going down the drain ...yet...why?....We've had the ability as a species to destroy ourselves since Hiroshima...and we haven't ...yet......So I do hold out hope we "right" things....apply all we can to helping.....not just for the planet(she can and will be fine) but for all the varied species including us...and all said species future generations that live on her.