The RS 100: Agents of Change : Rolling Stone

35 | Roberto Bolaño

Hottest literary sensation in years — so what if he's been dead since 2003?

WHAT HE'S CHANGING: The first must-read literary doorstop since Infinite Jest, his 2666 is the latest release in the U.S. by the late Chilean writer. Largely about the horrific murders of young women in Mexico, the massive tome has been championed by Jonathan Lethem and an entire generation of young writers.

FRIENDS SAY: Lethem called 2666 "not only a supreme capstone to [Bolaño's] own vaulting ambition but a landmark in what's possible for the novel as a form."

NEXT MOVE: Picador announced plans to release 11 more untranslated Bolaño works, making him the Tupac of letters.

Photo: Caruci/AFP/Getty

34 | Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Both political insider and outside agitator; now fighting coal interests

WHAT HE'S CHANGING: Kennedy found his voice as an outspoken critic of Bush administration environmental policies. His passion and moral outrage have made him a guiding force in the environmental movement, and he's at the top of the Rolodex of key environmental appointees in the Obama administration.

FRIENDS SAY: "He's not so much an advocate as an architect," says Terry Tamminen, former secretary of the California EPA. "He sees these tools as an intricate web to ultimately accomplish his goals." next fight: Putting an end to mountain-top-removal coal mining.

SEE THE CHANGE: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s Official Site

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Photo: Lovekin/Getty

33 | Reed Hastings

Head of Netflix's on-demand service might just be Hollywood's best hope

WHAT HE'S CHANGING: Our idea of watching movies. His new Netflix on-demand service reshuffles the way people rent films — instantly, over the Internet, for one flat fee a month. It's the most appealing, legal alternative to bootlegging — and could save Hollywood from the same fate as the music business.

ENEMIES SAY: "Netflix doesn't really have or do anything that we can't and don't already do ourselves," said Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes last August.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS: Blockbuster's stock has nose-dived; Netflix grew in February to more than 10 million subscribers.

SEE THE CHANGE: Netflix.com

Photo: Courtesy of Netflix

32 | Alan Russell

A medical futurist who is finding ways for the body to rebuild itself

WHAT HE'S CHANGING: How we heal. Russell is pioneering regenerative medicine — ways for damaged tissues and organs to repair and rebuild themselves. Current project: an artificial ovary so women with cancer could undergo radiation treatment and still be able to have children.

SIGNATURE MOVE: Wowing lecture audiences with photos of gruesome wounds that are miraculously healed from his futuristic therapy.

NEXT FIGHT: Developing business models through which regenerative medicine can cut overall health care costs.

Photo: Courtesy of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine

31 | Angela Belcher

The Energizer Bunny's new power source is half the size of a human cell

WHAT SHE'S CHANGING: Belcher, a bioengineer at MIT, is hacking biological systems within viruses to create new kinds of batteries. These batteries, half the size of a human cell, can be poured into empty spaces, such as an airplane wing, and may eventually be sprayed or printed on surfaces like ink. Also on her plate: creating viruses that can ID cancer cells or build semiconductors.