As we have reached a new century and a new millenium it is appropriate to comment on the past and predict the future. Undoubtedly the past century was shaped by material products and industrialization. Physics and Chemistry gave the foundation for new products that changed completely the economic activity and our lives. The scientific results of the nineteenth century were expanded and applied through engineering to create an industrial society. We influenced our environment at an unprecedented scale both for the good by providing technological wonders and the bad by creating pollution and using technology for war. Will the new century be just a continuation? There are already many signs pointing to a new direction. Material goods consumption is reaching its limits. In addition, it is debatable if the world can go on indefinitely consuming as it does today. Economic expansion needs, however, new products and new markets. Sustainable development points in that direction. What will be the basis in the future for scientific and economic development? In the next sections we will argue that BIO (Biology, Biotechnology) and COM (Computer, Communication) will provide that basis not only in isolation but in combination.