With only a handful of days left in this strange beast of a year that will surely go down in the history books, we thought it would be nice to reflect on the wonderful things that scientists have yet to offer, in spite of everything.
Of course, scientific achievements are usually years in the making. However, here is a summary of some of the interesting scientific news we reported in 2020. Let’s just remember that it wasn’t all terrible.
1. We found the first known extraterrestrial protein in a meteorite
Could life appear elsewhere in the solar system? As curious and intelligent beings, humans are naturally interested in finding out if living creatures thrive beyond the confines of our little blue space rock. One way to find out is to use meteorites.
Earlier this year, scientists revealed that they had found the first extraterrestrial protein, hidden inside a meteorite that fell to Earth 30 years ago.
“We’re pretty sure the proteins might exist in space,” astronomer Chenoa Tremblay told ScienceAlert in March. “But if we can start to find evidence of their existence and what could be some of the common structures and structures, I think it’s really interesting and interesting.”
2. We avoided some disturbing changes in the atmosphere
A new study has revealed that the famous Montreal Protocol – the 1987 agreement to stop the production of ozone-depleting substances – could be responsible for disrupting or even reversing disturbing changes in air currents in our southern hemisphere.
The healing of the ozone layer around the Earth seems to have stopped the migration of an air current known as the southern jet stream, a phenomenon that has pushed parts of Australia into a prolonged drought.
“If the ozone layer recovers and traffic moves north, that’s good news on two fronts,” said University of Melbourne chemist Ian Rae.
3. An AI solved a 50-year-old biological challenge decades before anyone expected
Earlier this month, scientists at the UK’s artificial intelligence company, DeepMind, announced that a new AI system had effectively solved a long-standing and incredibly complex scientific problem about the structure and behavior of proteins.
For about 50 years, researchers have struggled to predict how proteins reach their three-dimensional structure. The astronomical number of potential configurations has made this task – known as the protein folding problem – incredibly difficult.
The success of DeepMind is a major step forward in a range of research efforts, from disease modeling and drug discovery to applications far beyond health research.
4. Scientists used rapid radio explosions to find the missing matter in the Universe
In a fascinating mystery-to-mystery story earlier this year, a truly clever application of fast-track radio explosion (FRB) gave astronomers an answer to a puzzling question – exactly where is the missing matter in the Universe?
Here we are not talking about dark matter, but about baryonic (normal) matter that should be there because of all our calculations, but it simply could not be detected so far. The universe is vast, and the expanses between galaxies are enormous. However, in that seemingly empty space, single atoms still strike.
While searching for the source of the strong interstellar signals known as FRBs, the researchers realized that extremely diffuse gas could explain all the “normal” matter missing from the Universe. Phew.
5. We also confirmed the first detection of a FRB in our own galaxy
This is right. On April 28, 2020, a Milky Way magnet named SGR 1935 + 2154 dropped in a single millisecond long explosion, so incredibly bright that it would have been detectable from another galaxy.
This landmark detection had a huge and immediate impact on the study of mysterious FRBs, which so far have only been detected coming from outside our galaxy, making their precise source difficult to identify.
“This type of, in the minds of most people, establishes the origin of FRBs as coming from magnets,” astronomer Shrinivas Kulkarni of Caltech told ScienceAlert.
Astronomers have been whale watching for a while and, by November, we had confirmation that this intra-galactic FRB was a repeater. We can certainly expect even more excitement around next year.
6. SpaceX and NASA made history with the first manned launch
Space enthusiasts have really had a lot of excitement this year, while various space launches and missions have resulted in the global pandemic. On May 30, 2020, SpaceX became the first private space company to deliver NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
We take off. History is made that. @NASA_Astronauts launch from @NASAKennedy for the first time in nine years on @SpaceX Crew dragon: pic.twitter.com/alX1t1JBAt
– NASA (@NASA) May 30, 2020
Not only did they bring them safely home a few months later, another manned launch took off smoothly in November, delivering four astronauts to the space station – the first in what will likely be many routine missions in 2021 and beyond. .
7. NASA touched an asteroid, and JAXA brought back a sample
After a long journey of more than 320 million kilometers (200 million miles), NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft finally touched the asteroid Bennu in October, collecting a sample of surface debris, its efforts captured for posterity. in magnificent images delivered by the agency space. We can expect the probe to return with its precious cargo in 2023.
Last year, the Japanese space agency JAXA did something similar to the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, collecting a sample from the asteroid Ryugu. In December of this year, we witnessed the safe return of that sample and we were already treated with a first look at the little black dust that the team recovered. We can’t wait to find out more about what these asteroid missions will uncover.
Ryugu dust on the outer chamber of the recovery capsule. (JAXA)
8. Scientists have found the first animal that does not need oxygen to survive
Back in our world, biologists were surprised to find the first multicellular organism without a mitochondrial genome – which means a non-breathing organism. In fact, it lives without any need for oxygen.
While it is known that some unicellular organisms thrive perfectly under anaerobic conditions, the fact that this common parasite of salmon, a jellyfish-like creature Henneguya salminicola, does not need oxygen to survive is quite remarkable and has left researchers many new questions to answer.
H. salminicola the microscope. (Stephen Douglas Atkinson)
9. I got spectacular images of a “long, stingy sting” off the coast of Australia
In April, a final ribbon of sprawling sprawling clones caused quite a stir among a crowd of biologists exploring a little-studied part of the ocean off the coast of Western Australia. This strange entity was a very long siphonophore, a floating row of thousands of individual zooids. In fact, it could be one of the longest such ropes ever observed.
Check out this beautiful * giant * siphonophore Apolemia recorded on #NingalooCanyons expedition. It seems that this specimen is the largest ever recorded and is in a strange UFO feeding position. Thanks @Caseywdunn for information @wamuseum @GeoscienceAus @CurtinUni @Scripps_Ocean pic.twitter.com/QirkIWDu6S
– Schmidt Ocean (@SchmidtOcean) April 6, 2020
“Everyone was amazed when it appeared,” biologists Nerida Wilson and Lisa Kirkendale of the Western Australian Museum told ScienceAlert.
“There was a lot of excitement. People came into the control room from all over the ship. The siphophores are commonly seen, but it was both big and unusually looking.”
10. A physicist came up with math that makes time travel plausible “without paradox”
Wouldn’t it be great to get into a time machine and solve some misfortune you’ve done in the past, all without accidentally killing your grandfather in the process?
Well, 2020 has also become the year we learned about a solid mathematical solution for time travel that doesn’t mix everything. Physics student Germain Tobar of the University of Queensland in Australia learned how to “keep the numbers” to make time travel viable without paradoxes.
Although he did not immediately bring us closer to having a working time machine, his calculations show that space-time can be adapted to avoid paradoxes. And, according to Tobar’s supervisor, math checks. Fabulous.
11. The first COVID-19 vaccines are already being administered outside of clinical trials
The biggest challenge the world has faced this year has been the global pandemic COVID-19. Healthcare professionals and key workers have borne much of the burden of keeping society afloat, and we can never thank them enough. Meanwhile, researchers in many relevant fields – from immunology to genetics – have worked tirelessly throughout the year to better understand the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
This work will continue until the new year, but at the end of November we finally got the first taste of what it means to accelerate scientific research and funding beyond its typical pace. The first vaccines to protect people from COVID-19 have already completed all necessary phases of clinical trials and are being launched in the UK, the US and parts or Europe.
Much more will have to be done before we can put this devastating pandemic behind us and protect the most vulnerable communities around the world, but already having effective vaccines is a truly fantastic achievement and arguably the biggest cause. of the celebration of science this year. One that will take us to 2021 full of hope.