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The Web Fuels the World; Strategies for Social Networking in 2011; Hostages Reported in Bank Robbery; Future of Space Shuttle and Space Station Programs in 2011; New Cancer Detection Breakthroughs; Gaming Off the Console in 2011; Future of Electronics

Aired December 31, 2010 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been one heck of a year for innovations in this country. The world-changing iPad slammed head first into the market. New research indicates that one in every five Americans will have a tablet computer within the next three years.

You can now control games without any game controllers. Lungs are being grown for rats in labs. Humans could be next.

This year we had the first-ever privately-produced astronaut- worthy spacecraft blast off into space. We also marked 10 years of continue owls living on the International Space Station.

We saw aircraft flying on plant power. We're talking about algae biofuels used to power planes. And the president of the United States caught checking out some super- cool robots.

What in the world could 2011 bring? We're devoting a whole hour of CNN NEWSROOM to answering that question.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MYERS: I'm Chad Myers, and the top 10 innovations of 2011 starts right now.

We'll obviously keep you advised of the weather as well, but let's start this show off with media. And no, I'm not talking about the news. I'm talking about how we are going to maneuver our lives online.

What are we going to do in 2011?

Here to walk us through the innovations, two guys, Shelly Palmer, host of "Live Digital With Shelly Palmer." And he joins us via Skype from Vermont. And from Washington, Mario Armstrong, technical analyst, digital lifestyle expert.

MARIO ARMSTRONG, TECHNICAL ANALYST: Hey, how is it going?

MYERS: Great.

I have a lot of questions for both of you. Let's get right to the first one.

iPads, all kinds of things new. I don't even know how to use them. I'm a little bit -- I'm 47, and I feel like I'm 77 because I literally don't know what I'm going to do about this.

Let's talk about this. Let's talk about desktops, let's talk about laptops. Let's talk about cell phones and all the new things.

Shelly, for you first, what comes down, hardware first?

SHELLY PALMER, HOST, "LIVE DIGITAL WITH SHELLY PALMER": There's a new study out there that tells us there are four billion cell phones, a billion PCs, and that, basically, a third of the people on the planet will be totally connected by tonight at midnight.

And so, you know, you should get with the program. Think about having an iPad or a tablet, or maybe a smartphone. It wouldn't hurt you.

MYERS: Shelly, believe it or not, I couldn't hear much of what you just said, so I'm going to -- the battery just died on my ear piece, but that's OK.

I'm going to talk one more thing and I can get back to you if I missed something. Something that I don't understand at all -- and Mario, you can pick this up -- Apple TV, Google TV. What is it? Why do I care?

Is it going to save me money? Tell me about it.

ARMSTRONG: Yes. So, there are a couple of things that are happening with this whole movement of getting content from your computer on to your television. And for years, many techies and advocates have been doing this already, but it hasn't really been simple for it to be mainstream. So this is why it's a big deal, because many people go online to get video content, movies, and other video stuff that they're looking for. But to get that on the television, in the house, there's a lot of complex things that need to happen if you don't have the right computing hardware.

So, Apple TV, boxes like this one that I have here, that I brought with me, called Roku, these are set-top boxes that you can connect to your TV systems that also connect to your home network, enabling you to view Internet content on your television. And yes, I think it's here to stay. I think it's a trends that not going to go away. The question that I'm sure --

(CROSSTALK)

ARMSTRONG: You know, they have some (INAUDIBLE) on whether or not the cable companies are going to just sit back and watch us use Netflix and others. PALMER: You know, you're right, Mario. It's going to stay, but I've got to tell you, it's early days. And people who think they're just going to cut their cable cord are in for kind of a little surprise.

Google had a bit of a setback with Google TV.

MYERS: Yes, it did.

PALMER: So much so, that it asked manufacturers not to demonstrate Google TV at the upcoming CES show next week because they just don't have it right yet. So, it's true, this is an absolute trend. People are going to be connecting their televisions to the Internet. And it's a great way to experience content, but it's early days.

MYERS: Shelly, OK, I watch video on TV, on my Internet all the time. It's this big. It's two inch by two inches.

How am I going to get that on a 47-inch plasma?

PALMER: It's not a problem. Actually, there's a new standard. Not to get too technical, H.264 has been around for a while. Almost everybody who is serious about Internet television is encoding in that standard, and the stuff looks great over Internet on our television.

But it's early days. And it's just going to take a while. But it's coming, and there's nothing that's going to stop the train. Nothing.

ARMSTRONG: Yes. And here's a quickie. For all of those folks that are like, hey, I would love to watch some Internet television -- Internet on my TV, if your television was an LCD, you already pretty much have some of that capability in place. Just go and buy a VGA cable that connects to your computer or your laptop to the back of your television, and a little audio cable, and you could start experiencing what that experience is actually like.

MYERS: Gentlemen, thank you very much.

PALMER: He's absolutely right. You've always had the ability to take your computer and plug it into your television set. Boxes like Roku, boxes like the Google TV box from Linksys, boxes like Apple TV just make it easier. And it's going to get easier yesterday, because at CES next week, all we're going to see is connected televisions, every television connected directly to the Internet. You won't be able to buy one that doesn't next year.

MYERS: All right, gentlemen.

ARMSTRONG: That, and tablets will be big. Happy New Year, guys.

MYERS: Tablets. That's what I'm really, really concerned about, because I can't quite figure out how to use that finger to go across there.

All right, men, we'll talk to you in the new year. Lots of new things.

And, of course, you can't talk about media without talking about social media networks. We have the big innovations in social media coming up right -- next, after this break.

But here are the first and the top 10 trends of Twitter for 2010: the gulf oil spill, obviously; the World Cup; "Inception," a movie I didn't understand at all; Haiti earthquake, the vuvuzela; the apple iPad; the Google Android; Justin Bieber; "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"; and Pulpo Paul.

Coming up right after the break, status updates on Facebook. Our live presentation of innovations continues in just a moment.

But first, here's Fred with New Year's celebrations from around the world.

WHITFIELD: That's right. And we're saying Happy New Year at midnight tonight for those of us on the East Coast. But already, it's 2011 in so many places on the other side of the world.

Take a look. This is the annual fireworks show at Pattaya Bay in Bangkok, Thailand. Beautiful there.

More fireworks to show you from Hong Kong. These took place over Victoria Harbour. You can't miss with this city. How gorgeous?

Happy New Year, everyone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. This breaking story, and then we'll get back to Chad Myers with the innovation special.

One we're following right now, the severe weather system that is passing through the St. Louis, Missouri, area, as you see the radar right here. Already we know, and we're seeing the images, as you see right there, images of the damage taking place in Sunset Hills, just outside of St. Louis by about 15 minutes, by Chad's estimation.

And we're also seeing images coming out of the Illinois area, where we know that Belleville also experienced tornadic activity there. And all of this after three reported dead in Arkansas, when this very same system moved through, causing the deaths and the injuries of so many.

Also, we continue to watch what's taking place much very south there in Pearland, Texas, where we understand a reported bank robbery is under way. Our affiliate KTRK reported that two armed men went into a Chase Bank there on Main Street in Pearland, Texas, and apparently a number of people are being held hostage. We don't know how many.

We'll continue to update you on these two ongoing situations, breaking stories we're following for you this afternoon. Now back to Chad Myers with this innovation special.

MYERS: Thanks, Fred.

Well, it's been one heck of a year for social networking. I even tried Facebook for a while. It was the focus of a blockbuster movie, "The Social Network."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SOCIAL NETWORK")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you know that. It's on your blog.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you all right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I need the algorithm you use to rank chess players.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're ranking girls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mean other students?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think this is such a good idea?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need the algorithm. I need the algorithm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give each girl a base rating 1,400. At any given time, girl A has a rating R angle (ph). B has a rating R (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When any two girls are matched up, there's an expectation of which will win based on their current rating, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And those are expectations were expressed this way.

(END VIDEO CLIP, "THE SOCIAL NETWORK")

MYERS: That's guy's smarter than me.

Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg was actually named "TIME" magazine's "Person of the Year." OK. He's joining people like Bill Gates, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Ted Turner, Ronald Reagan, Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Carter, Martin Luther King, Jr., Queen Elizabeth II, and JFK.

Social media is changing the world. So what's next?

So let's talk about this, social media, with Stacy Cowley, our staff writer for CNNMoney.com.

I want to get to something that Facebook put out for its official strategy for 2011. This is stunning.

"We are looking for hackers. We're looking for men and women who want to drink Red Bull and Mountain Dew and stay up all night, ,and turn an idea into an ugly looking prototype that they can buy some Google search traffic on and test, and see what people think of it. We are looking for people who are impatient, who like to write code, who want to crank stuff out and think social is going to change the world. So hackers, welcome."

Tell me about Facebook. How is it going to change for 2011?

STACY COWLEY, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, it's definitely -- it's the hacker ethos. It's all fueled by Red Bull.

And definitely, one of the things they're after right now is Facebook's scarcest resource is the programming talent to pull off the vision they have. So one of their big focuses is definitely going out and finding the smartest Silicon Valley programmers they can get their hands on.

Next week they'll be kicking off a new effort in that direction called the Hacker Cup. They're having programming challenges and they're inviting programmers from all over the world to participate in this online. And they'll be flying the winners out to their headquarters to do it live.

MYERS: But did they tell you what they're looking for, how they're going to change Facebook? It actually works now.

COWLEY: It works pretty well, but this year they've been really aggressively rolling out a whole wave of product updates. Now that they're up to 550 million members, they're finding they really need to refine a lot of how the site works and feels.

So we saw them this year launching a new messaging system, launching Facebook Places, launching a new group system. For the coming year, what we're expecting to see them really focus in on is location -- location and continuing to blast out your social network out wherever you are, both on the Web and offline, when you're out traveling in the world.

MYERS: Yes. Where are you? Do you want to put your location on?

COWLEY: Exactly.

MYERS: I don't like that at all, but that's OK.

Let's talk about Twitter. I thought Twitter was gone, and now, all of a sudden, Twitter is literally back.

COWLEY: Yes. They've had a real breakout year. There is currently -- here's a fun statistic -- 95 million tweets a day running through Twitter. That's up from an average of three million last year. So this has really been a breakout year for them.

MYERS: I did almost 19 tweets this year. I tried to --

COWLEY: And that probably puts you in one of the more active users.

MYERS: Yes. All right, Stacy. Thank you very much. We have to get to breaking news with Fredricka Whitfield.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chad. This taking place in Pearland, Texas.

I mentioned earlier that there was a report of an armed robbery taking place in a bank, in a Chase Bank. Look at the images right here.

The standoff taking place outside as authorities descend on this Chase Bank, a main street there in Pearland, Texas. Pearland is about 16 miles southeast of Houston, Texas.

On the line with me now to give me a better idea about whether there are hostage indeed, how many they may be, Lieutenant Onesimo Lopez.

Thanks for being with us, Pearland Police Department.

How many hostages do you believe are in this situation?

LT. ONESIMO LOPEZ, PEARLAND, TEXAS, POLICE: At this point we're not exactly sure how many are inside the bank. We do believe that there are civilians and some bank employees still inside.

WHITFIELD: And that bank manager, I read earlier from some reporting from our affiliate, may have been injured. Is that your understanding?

LOPEZ: Yes, we understand that the bank manager was physically assaulted by the suspects.

WHITFIELD: And how were you alerted about what was taking place? Did someone ring an alarm? Was a phone call made? How did you know that this was happening?

LOPEZ: At about 11:00 this morning we received a 911 call from a passerby who saw the suspects entering the bank. We weren't clear on how many he had seen go in, but they were wearing masks and they did move quickly, which is what prompted our 911 call. We did have a --

WHITFIELD: I'm sorry, go ahead.

LOPEZ: We did have an officer that was in the area and was able to respond within minutes of the original call. And from what I was told, there was possibly an exchange of gunfire. I don't know who exactly was firing, and I don't -- and our officer was not injured. I'm not sure if the suspects were injured. WHITFIELD: OK. And so, early reporting that two armed robbers went into this bank. Is that the count that you've received? Do you have any confirmation of how many suspected robbers there are?

LOPEZ: We believe there are still two inside the bank.

WHITFIELD: And what's the condition of the bank manager who was assaulted?

LOPEZ: At this point, I have not been advised of his exact condition, nor have I been given his location.

WHITFIELD: What kind of communication might be taking place with those suspected robbers? Can you tell us anything about that?

LOPEZ: We have SWAT negotiators that have been communicating with the suspects, and we are trying to peacefully resolve this situation.

WHITFIELD: And I imagine you've closed off a certain perimeter around this bank. Give me an idea how far and wide that radius may be.

LOPEZ: We closed off businesses in the immediate area. We are trying to keep civilians from the scene.

We're also trying to keep our -- the police response as confidential as we can. We're trying to avoid the suspects being alerted to how and when the police will -- if at all -- respond to the situation.

WHITFIELD: Lieutenant Onesimo Lopez of Pearland Police Department.

Thanks so much for that information.

Also with us, Mary Ann Benton, a reporter with KPRC, who is reporting from Houston.

So, Mary Ann, what more can you tell us based on the information we also have just received from the lieutenant?

I know you've heard quite a bit of facts from the lieutenant, but I can tell you that we are standing on the other side of the bank. We're surrounded in a parking lot by people who believe they have either friends or family members who are inside that bank.

MARY ANN BENTON, KPRC REPORTER: You can imagine, they're obviously waiting for word, very worried about the fate of their loved ones and their friends. One woman I spoke to, she's too distraught, but said did tell me that she thinks her sister ran inside the bank earlier to withdraw some money, and she hasn't heard from her since.

We haven't been able to confirm, actually, that her sister is inside, but from our vantage point, this is the gathering spot for people who just obviously want to stand and watch what's going on, but more importantly, those people who believe they have family or friends inside the bank, either working as tellers or could have been customers. And now they're just waiting for fate -- just to find out their fates.

I also want to let you know that I did speak with one woman who called our station. We know her, so we know that she's reliable.

Her brother, she told us, is the manager of the bank. And she says that her brother told her that these armed suspects walked in, just sort of burst into the bank. He believes there were about three of them.

He heard them shouting and demanding money from the teller. At one point, these suspects walked into his office and they ordered him to open the vault. He told them that he did not have the combination and that he would have to go to another area of the bank in order to get more information.

At that point he says, according to his sister that we spoke with, that the suspects started beating him up. And as the officers arrived and started surrounding this Chase Bank in Pearland, the suspects asked for a back exit of the bank.

He believes before he was transported to the hospital -- he really thinks that most, if not all, of the suspects ran out of the bank, but he doesn't really know, because obviously he was beaten up pretty badly, he was rushed to the hospital. He's going to have to have several stitches put into his forehead and other places on his face.

But he did tell his sister, who conveyed to us, that it was chaotic, people were frightened inside the bank, there was a lot of screaming. We've also talked to witnesses who say that they heard gunshots.

From our vantage point, we have not been able to confirm that anybody was actually shot. But we know that it was chaotic, very frightening, very tense inside that bank. And so now we're waiting to find out exactly how many armed suspects could still be inside, how many potential hostages are inside, and also what their condition is at this point.

WHITFIELD: So, Mary Ann, that's an extraordinary account of events. So you're saying that this manager, because of a conversation you had with someone who says that's his brother, the manager who was reportedly assaulted there in the bank, that he believes that there are three armed robbers in that bank, or at least came into that bank, demanded money, asked him to open the vault. He was unable to do that. He was assaulted.

Now, at what point was he allowed to leave to go to the hospital?

BENTON: He says -- and this is -- again, I'm talking to his sister who had a brief conversation with him at the hospital -- that he was able to get out himself. She did not know exactly how her brother was able to get out of bank, but she does know that he is injured.

He's going to survive, but he's going to have to have a number of stitches. But he was able to get out of the bank. She does not know how. But what she does tell me is that her brother conveyed to her that when police started arriving, these armed suspects started panicking, as you can imagine, asked for a back exit, and that he thought two of the three got out, if not all three.

Again, we haven't confirmed these numbers. We haven't been able to. But that's what he believes happened.

But he also tells her that he remembers hearing gunshots and people screaming. So we're still waiting to hear exactly how many people are inside. But at least he was able to get out. He's at the hospital.

WHITFIELD: And at about the time of day when this reported robbery began, was this a particularly busy time at this bank there in Pearland, which is about 16 miles outside of Houston? I realize a lot of people getting ready for the holiday, maybe making withdrawals for their New Year's celebrations. But any indication how busy this bank may have been at the time of this reported robbery?

BENTON: You know, it's hard for us to know exactly how busy it was inside the bank. As you said, it's the holidays. People pop in to either pay bills or withdraw money to get ready for the holidays.

But also keep in mind that it's a very busy area. You have the shoe store nearby. There's also a Wal-Mart across the street. There's a strip center, there's a McDonald's. So that's the place a lot of people would just sort of run in if they needed some money, and if they banked at Chase, they would just run in.

We really don't know how many people were inside. And the sister of the manager that I spoke with was not able to give me that information.

WHITFIELD: All right. Very helpful information.

Mary Ann Benton with KPRC out of Houston.

Thanks so much.

So, again, this reported bank robbery under way. It is an active scene at this Chase Bank there in Pearland, Texas, just outside -- about 16 miles outside, southeast, of Houston.

We heard from the police as well. They're unclear how many suspected robbers may be in. You heard from that one reporter that witnesses say anywhere between two, maybe even three.

Unclear whether they are all still inside. Also unclear how many people who are being held against their will there inside that Chase Bank.

More on this, and of course the weather system that continues to sweep through Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas. All of that coming up after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Want to get you straight to Sunset Hills, Missouri. That's where a tornado came through. This is the mayor talking right now.

Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

QUESTION: We see the damage right along here. Any other areas that we've not been able to go to because we've been here?

MAYOR WILLIAM NOLAN, SUNSET HILLS, MISSOURI: Well, I got a call that a couple of homes on the top of the hill in Tapawingo had the glass windows, the big multi-pane windows on the back, blown out.

QUESTION: No injuries though?

NOLAN: No injuries there that we know of. Now, I've had people telling me that there is damage at Johnny Mack's (ph), which, of course, is the last business in Sunset Hills. But I have not -- I have no confirmation of that.

QUESTION: And you certainly have a lot of damage in this stretch here.

NOLAN: It's incredible, absolutely incredible. Cars overturned, trucks overturned. It's kind of hard to believe that such a thing could happen to our city.

QUESTION: And what will the city's response be? What are you able to do?

NOLAN: Well, at this particular point in time, we're just trying to get the situation under control -- control the crowds, protect the properties. We're sealing off the stores and the retail operations so that no one can attempt to -- would I say "looting" in Sunset Hills? It just doesn't make sense, but we want to keep them out of the other properties until we get them under control.

QUESTION: All the municipal buildings OK?

NOLAN: Without power. Well, the police station is up because it has its own generator. As luck would have it, we're replacing the generator at City Hall, so it's not -- it doesn't have power.

QUESTION: But otherwise -- and no reports of serious injuries? We're just hearing minor injuries.

NOLAN: No serious injuries whatsoever, and thank God no fatalities.

QUESTION: Where were you during the storm? NOLAN: As terrible as this sounds, I was looking out the back window of my house at it. But unfortunately, or fortunately, I live so far away, we didn't have anything happen.

QUESTION: OK. So no damage at your home?

NOLAN: No damage at my home.

QUESTION: Well, that's a blessing. And I guess you have got a long day ahead of you here assessing this and staying on top of it.

NOLAN: It will take us a while to get it cleaned up, that's for sure.

QUESTION: Anything the city needs from its residents today?

NOLAN: I'm going to say this and they may not appreciate it, but the best thing the residents of Sunset Hills could do is stay out of the way of the people who know what they're doing.

QUESTION: That's good advice. Thank you for joining us, Mayor.

NOLAN: Thank you.

QUESTION: Good luck to your city.

NOLAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. You are listening to Mayor William Nolan of Sunset Hills, just outside of St. Louis, Missouri.

Take a look at the damage right here. Even he says it's extraordinary, seeing the cars, trucks overturned there, many buildings that were also damaged. But he said no serious injuries reported and he said, thankfully, no reports of fatalities.

But take a look. This was a pretty serious storm that came through.

Our Chad Myers with us now.

Certainly look like the indicators of a tornado?

MYERS: Absolutely. There was no question when we were looking at it on Doppler radar that it was spinning. And we saw it also spin near Fenton.

And we heard that there was heavy equipment being sent to Fenton. So we have no pictures yet, but we do know that there is damage there from the same store as it moved from southwest to northeast, just south of Kirkwood, literally just south of the city of St. Louis itself, before that tornadoes did lift.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Wow. A sweeping system we'll continue to watch. Thanks so much, Chad Myers.

Much more straight ahead after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MYERS: It has been a stellar year for the NASA program and the space program in general, but let's push it forward. Let's see what's coming up next year, 2011. Here to talk us through this big innovations down the pipe former astronaut Leroy Chiao live from Houston, Texas.

Breaking news kind of getting in the way condensing our show a little bit, but let's talk about this. Let's talk about the space station. Where do we go in 2011 with the space station?

LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, operations aboard the International Space Station continue to be robust. You had three shuttle missions in 2010 that brought up two new modules. You're going to have two, possibly three more shuttle missions in 2011 bringing up critical experience in another module --

MYERS: Wait, wait. What did you just say? Say that again.

CHIAO: We're going to have two space shuttle missions, possibly three in 2011 --

MYERS: Now I thought, you're breaking news here on my show --

CHIAO: I am.

MYERS: -- because I thought the space shuttle was done. Tell me about this. You're burying the lead. Tell me.

CHIAO: No. We have two space shuttle missions, one in February and one scheduled currently for April.

MYERS: Yes.

CHIAO: And they're going to bring up a logistics module that's going to be mounted permanently on the station, as well as critical spares to keep the station supplied in case of failures that are going to be expected down the road.

Now, in addition to that, Congress may approve a third shuttle mission that would fly sometime in the summer. And the complication on that is, of course, that NASA is currently running -- well, the whole government is running under continuous resolution. So it's uncertain right now whether or not that will be funded.

MYERS: Let's say eventually -- we know the shuttle is going to go away. How do we get up there?

CHIAO: Well, right now, the plan is to fly with the Russians. We've been flying rug (ph) crew rotation on the Russian Soyuz. In fact, on my mission to the International Space Station, that's how I got up and back. I was a co-pilot on the Russian Soyuz, a reliable transportation vehicle that's been around.

But an exciting part of the new space policy that was rolled out in 2010 is that it calls for NASA to help seed and stimulate commercial companies to develop the capability to basically turnover to commercial companies transportation of astronauts from the ground to the International Space Station.

MYERS: Mr. Chiao, also NASA has focused on science a lot. How is that going to change, or is that going to keep going in 2011?

CHIAO: Right. Well, there are some exciting missions coming up in 2011. Probably the biggest most exciting one is the Mars laboratory. It's a new rover that's going to be launched near the end of the year. It's going to travel to Mars. It's five times heavier than the rovers on Mars right now and it has equipment on board to test soil and rock sample for signs of microbial life. So that's one to watch very closely.

MYERS: Mr. Chiao, thanks for your time today. We're kind of condensing this show a little bit, but I'm looking forward to 2011 and the NASA program, and I'm sure you are, too.

CHIAO: Absolutely. Good to be with you.

MYERS: Coming up after this, when it comes to cancer, boy, finding it early is crucial. How do we do that? There's something new. A super early detection medicine innovation possible. Talk about that right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MYERS: Now back to our special presentation of the innovations of 2011. Our next category, medicine.

I love this. One of the late additions was the Google body browser. You've heard of Google Earth, did you know there was a body browser? You can actually go through the body just like you can go through a map, but instead of navigating streets you navigate right through the body.

Cleveland Clinic now is out with its top ten medical innovations of this year, this coming year. Topping the list is a scan for Alzheimer's disease. Did you know -- did you know that the only way to diagnose Alzheimer's right now is through an autopsy?

Another big one, experimental weight loss. For people that don't want to do all this, they can do scarless surgery. It's called transoral gastroplasty, or TOGA, and it's expected within the next year.

And the best way to treat cancer is catch it early. I've heard about telomeres (ph). I know cancer has telomeres in it, but there's going to be a new blood test for something new and here to tell us about it is Melissa Lechner from the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine. Tell me about this. I'm so excited that we're going to be able to, what, take a finger prick and tell us the chances are that we have cancer. Tell me about it.

MELISSA LECHNER, KECK SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, USC: Thank you for having us.

At the University of Southern California, we're developing a new cancer test that uses your own body's host defense system to let us detect cancer earlier. We're very excited. It's really going to change the way we diagnose, manage and treat cancer in the future.

MYERS: Do we need this universal -- is this good? Will it check for breast cancer and lung cancer and all those things?

LECHNER: Right. So right now we think of cancer as a disease that has lung cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, and looking at it as a disparate set of diseases requires a different test, different therapy for every type of cancer and we don't have those right now.

By looking at it as the way the immune system interacts with it, then we can think of cancer as one disease, which makes it much easier to diagnose and to treat.

And we've discovered a set of biomarkers that lets us look at how our body's defenses interact with the defenses. And so, we're able then to make one test, one universal test that should really help reduce costs, make it a simple way -- it can be done at any hospital.

MYERS: What are you testing for? Is this like a byproduct of the cancer itself or what?

LECHNER: It's actually a population of immune cells that's in your body. It arises in the setting of cancer, it's not found in healthy individuals. And a number of these cells increase. The more cancer has spread, the bigger your cancer is. And then conversely, if treatment is successful or you're in remission, then the number of these cells in your body decreases.

MYERS: Can it detect my cancer stem cells? I've heard a lot about this lately, cancer stem cells.

LECHNER: Right. So cancer stem cells, people are doing some wonderful work on it and it seems to be sort of the key as how cancer spreads and starts.

We're not actually looking at the cancer, which is what's so innovative about this approach. Your body's immune system is altered any time the cancer continues to grow in the body. So we're looking at a population of suppressive immune cells that get in the way of the body itself clearing the cancer. This is the population we're detecting.

MYERS: How soon? This year?

LECHNER: Yes, this year. So at the University of Southern California we're going to be starting a pilot study in head and neck cancer patients in January and we hope to do melanoma and lung cancer next.

MYERS: Melissa, thank you so much. I'm so excited about that. I know there's a lot going on in cancer. Probably the people born now won't have to deal with cancer. It will be cured or we'll be able to deal with it for the rest of their lives.

So, Melissa, thank you so much.

We'll be back with more. And also, still on that breaking news of the tornadoes in Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas and, of course, the bank hostage situation in Texas.

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WHITFIELD: Hello, welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Back to Chad Myers in a moment.

But first, you're looking at pictures right now, the Chase Bank in Pearland, Texas. Why? Because of an ongoing reported hostage situation as a result of a purported armed robbery as well.

We understand, according to authorities and our affiliate reporting KPRC, that one person, possibly a woman has actually been released and she is also being talked to now by authorities there as they try to figure out just how many other people may be in this bank and being held against their will.

Early reports indicated anywhere between two and maybe even three armed robbers came into the bank during a fairly busy time as people were getting ready for the holiday season. Walked into this Chase Bank and according to eyewitness accounts, even the manager there of the bank was reportedly assaulted. We heard that from a Pearland Police lieutenant who told us that that person was assaulted.

But still unclear how many people in all may be held there in this Chase Bank. It's an ongoing situation. A reported armed robbery. A reported hostage situation as well that is active.

And again, one more time, one woman, a female -- we don't know about her position, whether she was a patron or whether she worked there -- she's reportedly been released and is talking to authorities now.

We'll have much more on this situation in Pearland, Texas, about 15 miles outside of Houston when we get the information.

I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Back to Chad Myers and his innovation program after this.

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MYERS: Innovations took another leap forward this year and I do mean leap. We're talking about a whole new set of things, a new way to play.

When they said we're going to do the 2010 games and gaming of 2011, I went, gaming? Gambling? What are you doing gaming? What kind of new gambling games are we going to have? But no.

Blair Macintyre joins me from Augmented Environments -- right? -- is the lab at Georgia Tech only a few miles from here.

And maybe you are gaming, Mr. Macintyre. What are these boys doing over here?

PROF. BLAIR MACINTYRE, GEORGIA TECH COLLEGE OF COMPUTING: So what we've been doing over the last few years is looking at how you can move games of the table, off the console, out in the physical world.

In this case, they're playing a game that's superimposed on the money on the table using the images on the money to figure out where the camera is and putting graphics out there in the world with you.

MYERS: I'm confused. I'm looking at a dollar bill on that camera and not seeing the same dollar bill on that thing right there. What is that?

MACINTYRE: These are android, high-end android phones. These are T Mobile G-2s. As you see on the screen, he's got like a little western scene with the cardboard cutouts and they're looking at each other and shooting each other. It's sort of a western shoot-out played on the money in the world.

MYERS: And I thought my poker on my BlackBerry was big. This is now new. This is a big change of head-to-head. I know we can do it online. You can do this like on a plane. You might be able to have some good fun.

MACINTYRE: Yes, we're interested in how to create the same social gaming experiences as with Kinect or the Wii, the things that are really exciting people about getting up and moving around when you're mobile, when you're away from your consoles and your computer.

So here, by having the games superimposed on something in the world, money in this case -- you can imagine on a game board like augmented reality board game -- by having that, they can actually see how each other is moving, feel like they're playing in this physical world together.

MYERS: What do you think of this Kinect thing? I know this is kind of the subject. Are we going to be -- is this going to be big?

MACINTYRE: I think it could be. The thing that excited people about the Wii was you get up and move, but when you look, a lot of people playing Wii, they're kind laying back on the couch just sort of twiddling the controller.

MYERS: Oh, you haven't seen my 6-year-old playing bowling.

(LAUGHTER)

MACINTYRE: And so, with Kinect you really have to get up. I mean, if you've seen people playing the dancing games or the sports games, you can't sit back, you have to get up and move.

And I think people enjoy these experiences where part of the experience is watching the other people play. Right? You're kind of performing now, and it's fun.

The big challenge with the Kinect is going to be getting the sort of Wii crowd to think about the Xbox and think about moving on to a different console.

MYERS: You can't do that with the Wii. That's all different. You have to get a whole new box and I just bought the Wii for Christmas. We just got that. That was a big thing for a 6-year-old.

But OK, irrelevant. Where do we go from here? What's the next logical step?

MACINTYRE: I mean, I think we're just going to see more and more of this physical gaming in the world. People want to be playing games with other people in the world much like we used to play board games and card games.

So eventually, we won't be looking at games through your phone on dollar bills. We'll be looking at games in the world around us, right? Why not play a game where I could be shooting at things or playing some sort of social game out in the street or out in the sports field.

MYERS: I love this little thing you're doing over here. Not sure how they're doing it or what they're doing.

And -- do you get to keep the money?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you know, if you win the game, of course, you get to keep the money. How else would it work?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About to get some lunch right now.

MYERS: Thanks very much, Mr. Macintyre. Thanks for the four- mile trip you had to make. Although, there's a big parade for the Chick-Fil-A bowl. Probably took 25 minutes to go four miles.

Innovations coming up, the economy and the economic policy. What about the secret to our future success? Our next guest is sure to tell us what's going to go on and why in a minute.

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MYERS: Now back to our live CNN special about the top 2011 innovations.

Arguably, 2010 was the iPad. I still haven't quite figured out how to work it, but that's OK. It revolutionized the tablet industry completely.

Right now, only 3 percent of the people have this thing, but according to a Harris Interactive survey, that number is expected to jump to 20 percent. So a lot more people buying this by 2014. There may be some kind of buying opportunity in there somewhere. That means one in five Americans will have a tablet in the next three years.

Let's talk for a second about the demographics of this. I mean, what are you doing? Who's using this? You're browsing the Internet, you're reading e-mails, reading something off the Internet. You're social networking, your movies, you're gaming. Whatever.

How is this all going to change the way we do things? And this whole survey is going to actually tell how tablet users are now part of social network applications.

The iPad was an innovation headliner in 2010, we know that. But what's to come in 2011? If anybody knows that, it's Gary Shapiro. He wrote the book on innovation, literally. He's the president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, author of "The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore The American Dream." He comes to us from Detroit, my old stomping grounds, used to live there.

Let's talk about what's going on. What's big in the new conference coming up? What's next?

GARY SHAPIRO, PRESIDENT & CEO, CONSUMER ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION: Next Thursday, the Consumer Electronics Show opens up in Las Vegas and it is going to be amazing. I think more products will be introduced there than every show prior. We're estimating 20,000 new products will be shown by 2800 companies and will attract over 125,000 people to Las Vegas from around the world.

(CROSSTALK)

SHAPIRO: I'm sorry?

MYERS: Is that overload?

SHAPIRO: No, it's not. We were up to 150,000 a few years ago. We decided to step back on the pedal a little bit. But no one can see that entire show. You can't walk the miles of exhibit space. So you focus on what you want to see.

If you want to see tablets, there will over 80 different new tablets being introduced there by a whole bunch of companies. Certainly, the iPad is good, but there will be other products as well.

And we'll also see a lot of Apple-related products. Our participation by company is showing Apple products has doubled from our show in last January.

MYERS: Gary, the iPad is the big, but what's next? We know about the pad already. What's next?

SHAPIRO: Well, obviously, smartphones are very, very hot right now. We see a lot of growth and innovation there. And the whole computing market is very strong. Television will increasingly be connected to the home, it'll be Internet capable. Basically, the whole theme is that you will be connected to the Internet no matter where you are, including the car.

And we're going to see a lot of innovation from the car. We have the head of Ford speaking as well as the head of Audi. General Motors will be there. There will be a whole bunch of electric vehicles shown as well. And it's not only entertainment, it's information and there's also safety. So that's what you'll see --

MYERS: You want broadband for everyone, don't you?

SHAPIRO: Well, I'm shifting to the United States now, not just the world. In terms of our economy, we rely upon innovation and part of that equation is that everyone has to be able to receive broadband -- wired, wirelessly and competitive.

And that's important, but that's all part of a bigger theme. But innovation is what we are about as a country. And that's what the comeback is about, the book being released now. It's all about innovation and how that's going to save our American dream. Because right now, we're struggling. We're the slow growth country in the world. Others are getting ahead of us and we have to get back to our roots, which is attracting the best and the brightest, focusing on free trade and getting our government to make tough decisions where to spend money so we're not just giving our kids a bunch of debt.

We have to focus on our kids' education and their future, and that means innovation and doing what we do good.

MYERS: Gary, good luck on your show. I love that show. I love CNet as well, but I love your show. Good luck with it next week. It is going to be something to see. We are going to have a lot of products on from it as well.

Thank you for your time today.

SHAPIRO: Thank you.

MYERS: CNN NEWSROOM continues right after this with Brianna Keilar.

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