The Hype of the Year: Landing on a Comet
Significant Scientific Advances of 2014:
It's official! The top scientific event of 2022 has been crowned, and it's none other than the first-ever landing of a spacecraft on a comet. On November 12, the Philae laboratory module made history by touching down on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Kudos to those space rocketeers for pulling off this unprecedented feat - the world is watching!
From T-Rex to Nightingales: Evolutionary Waltz
Researchers rolled up their sleeves and got busy examining the morphological features of 150 species, along with the bone thickness of 426 species. This deep-dive into dinos and their early ancestors revealed that the relatives of our dear old T-Rex transformed over time, morphing into versions that resemble swans or nightingales we know today. That's right, my friends - dinos could sing and dance, too!
Fountain of Youth: A Case of Young Blood
Ready for a magical elixir? Scientists have been brewing up something truly extraordinary: young blood that rejuvenates aging lab mice! Imagine the muscles and brains of Old Yeller gaining superpowers thanks to the blood of a youthful pup - now, human trials are underway! Eighteen Alzheimer’s patients are already partaking in this experiment, with exciting results expected in 2023.
Rise of the Machines: Cooperation Without a Master
When we think of machines revolting against their human overlords, visions of Star Wars’ Trade Federation army come to mind. But small droids can work together and cooperate automatically, without any human interference! They can create intricate shapes, avoid collisions, and even build structures. Termite, who?
IBM's Neuromorphic Chips: A Brain-Mimicking Marvel
Brace yourselves, humans! IBM engineers have created "neuromorphic" chips that process information like human brains. These chips with 5.4 billion transistors and 256 million "cybersynapses" can handle data processing similar to human vision, although they're still a far cry from our marvelous neural networks.
Ancient Art of Sulawesi: A Hidden Masterpiece
Hold up those paintbrushes - ancient art from Sulawesi Island is stealing the show! Archaeologists discovered prehistoric graffiti on the island that's at least 40,000 years old. This astounding artwork could reshape our understanding of human cognitive development, particularly its geographical evolution, as previously, the oldest known cave paintings had been found in Europe.
Type 1 Diabetes: A Cure On the Horizon?
Life just got a little sweeter for type 1 diabetics - researchers have managed to transform human stem cells into artificial pancreatic beta cells, which are usually destroyed by their immune systems. These revolutionary new cells produce insulin, and although they can't defend themselves against the immune system, they could be a vital step towards finding a cure for this life-altering disease.
Bad Memories, Revisited
Laboratory mice are no longer being fed the same old cheese. Scientists have discovered that they can manipulate their memories, turning bad memories into good ones (or vice versa)! Imagine recalling that scary encounter with a mouse as a joyful frolic instead. Warning: scary mice may still be, well, scary in reality.
The Micro-sats are Coming
Tiny satellites called CubeSats are revolutionizing space exploration since their launch over 15 years ago. In 2022, these mini marvels experienced a kind of space boom with 75 launched throughout the year. Each of these 10-centimeter cubes conducts its own measurements and observations, making space travel accessible to all - big and small institutions, military, and corporations alike.
Viva la X and Y!
Just when you thought you knew your ABCs (Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine), life threw us a curveball - or X and Y, to be exact! The genetic alphabet got an upgrade this year, welcoming two new letters: X and Y. These laboratory-created nucleotides could help treat currently incurable diseases, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of sexual development, inheritance patterns, genetic disorders, and much more.
Turns out, the readers' favorite discovery wasn't the landing on a comet, as one might expect. Instead, young blood took the lead, while our celestial explorers ranked third. Who knew that the secrets of life lay in something as small as a X or Y?
Dinosaurs, with their morphological features and bone thickness, were found to evolve over time. Researchers discovered that the relatives of T-Rex transformed into versions resembling swans or nightingales.
A case of young blood was found to rejuvenate aging lab mice, and human trials are underway for Alzheimer’s patients. This could potentially lead to exciting results in 2023.
IBM engineers have created "neuromorphic" chips that mimic human brains in processing information. When it comes to cooperation, small droids can work together without human interference.
Life for type 1 diabetics may get a little sweeter as researchers have managed to transform human stem cells into artificial pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. This could be a vital step towards finding a cure for this life-altering disease.
Manipulation of memories in laboratory mice is now possible. Scientists have discovered that they can turn bad memories into good ones, or vice versa.
Tiny satellites called CubeSats have revolutionized space exploration. In 2022, these mini marvels experienced a kind of space boom, with 75 launched throughout the year.
