Top 23 Scientific Discoveries of Each Year (2000 - 2022)
2000: First Cloned Piglets
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In the same year their fictional counterparts cloned Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie “The 6th Day”, real-life scientists managed to pull off the same procedure for pigs. In March of 2000, PPL Therapeutics, a British biotech company, announced that researchers at its laboratories in Blacksburg, Virginia had successfully cloned five healthy piglets. This was made possible by a cutting-edge technique known as double nuclear transfer method, using cells from an adult pig. The company, which also produced the first cloned mammal - Dolly the Sheep - aimed to breed genetically modified pigs that could provide organs for human transplantation. This marked the first step in a long process that eventually saw the first successful pig-to-human kidney transplant in 2021.
2001: The Age of the Universe
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The question of when the universe began is one that has puzzled humanity for time immemorial. In 2001, just after scientists published a working draft of the human genome, a team of astronomers from the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project answered the age-old question. Co-led by Wendy Freedman, this group measured the Hubble Constant, which describes the rate of the universe’s expansion. Using this figure, it was possible to estimate the age of the universe at around 13.7 billion years. This extrapolated figure was the most accurate, up until that point, with an error margin of plus or minus 10%. Their findings were supported in 2012 by NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe project, which put the universe’s age at 13.772 billion years, give or take 59 million years.
2002: Measuring Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
Speaking of the universe, the widely accepted theory of its origin within the scientific community remains the Big Bang. Simply put, this theory posits that the world began as an infinitely hot and dense point that has significantly expanded and cooled down over time. This process produced leftover heat in the form of Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, which was accidentally discovered in 1965. In the early 2000s, a team of scientists led by American astrophysicist John Carlstrom managed to obtain incredibly detailed measurements of this radiation. Their results, which were published in a 2002 edition of the Astrophysics journal, shed more light on the rate of cosmic expansion and supported the existence of dark matter and dark energy.
2003: Vital Stats of the Universe
The early 2000s certainly were a revelatory period for scientists on the exact origin, age and composition of the universe. Building on scientific findings from preceding years, a team of NASA scientists were able to capture a spectacular image of the early universe. This mission, known as the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, used temperature differences in the Cosmic Microwave Background to reconstruct the cosmos in great detail. The first-year results, which were published in February 2003, gave a more accurate estimate of the age of the universe and provided concrete evidence on the existence of dark matter and dark energy. It’s a discovery that, at the time, was hailed as “one of the most important scientific results of recent years”.
2004: Graphene
In the mid 2000s, a team of two physicists at the University of Manchester discovered one of the world’s strongest materials. Although scientists had been fascinated with the carbon compound graphene for decades, they had been unable to extract it from the naturally-occurring graphite. However, in 2004, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov managed to isolate graphene layers from graphite using a method known as the Scotch tape technique. This allowed for graphene, which is extremely strong yet also very flexible, to become commercially available. The discovery won Geim and Novoselov the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics.
2005: T. rex Tissue
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Although we’re nowhere close to having a real-life Jurassic Park, this startling discovery shows that it could someday become reality. In 2005, a group of researchers headed by molecular paleontologist Mary Schweitzer found soft tissue in the leg bone of a 68-million-year old Tyrannosaurus rex. The proteins inside were found to be similar to bird collagen. This proved to be quite controversial, as most scientists didn’t think such biological material could last more than a million years. It was confirmed, however, a few years later. Not only did it provide evidence that soft tissue could survive for millennia, it also further supported the link between dinosaurs and modern birds.
2006: Dark Matter's Existence Confirmed Directly
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Although experts had never demonstrably observed dark matter, its presence had always been implied by otherwise inexplicable gravitational effects in the universe. In 2006, however, a team of NASA scientists announced that they had discovered direct evidence proving the existence of the invisible and mysterious force. Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and a couple of other telescopes, the team studied the aftermath of a massive collision between two clusters of galaxies. They found that normal matter and dark matter had been separated in a way that directly proves the existence of the latter. While it is yet to be seen, this puts scientists a step closer to getting a glimpse of the invisible substance.
2007: Enzymes That Convert Any Blood Type to O
Blood transfusion is an important medical practice that saves many lives. However, the presence of specific antigens in certain blood types can trigger adverse immune reactions if a patient is given blood of the wrong type. Due to its lack of these antigens, type O blood is generally referred to as the “universal donor”. In 2007, an international team of scientists headed by Henrik Clausen discovered a way to convert any kind of blood to type O. They used bacterial enzymes to break down these antigens from type A, B and AB blood, essentially rendering them safe enough to be transfused to anyone.
2008: Mars Surface Shows Signs of Water
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Today, the surface of Mars is dry and cold, but scientists believe that billions of years ago, it possessed a significant amount of water. Due to its extremely low atmospheric pressure, the Red Planet cannot hold the liquid form on its surface. Hence, any residual water on Mars would exist either in the form of ice or as vapor in the atmosphere. In 2008, NASA's Mars Phoenix lander collected samples from the surface of the planet that showed the presence of bright material, later confirmed to contain ice. This discovery not only confirmed scientific theories about the presence of water, it also pointed to the possible existence of biological life on Mars.
2009: Life Extension Breakthrough
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2009 was the year that scientists were able to teleport information between two distant atoms for the first time. Researchers also made a major breakthrough that could offer a glimmer of hope in unlocking the secrets to longevity. The study was a collaborative effort between scientists from three institutions who gave elderly mice rapamycin, an antibiotic used to treat certain cancers. They found that the drug extended lifespan by 14 percent in female mice and 9 percent in males. The exact mechanism by which rapamycin achieves this is unknown, but the promising findings only prove that anti-aging drugs for humans could be on the horizon.
2010: Synthetic Bacteria
Scientists may not yet fully understand the origin of life, but that hasn’t stopped them from tinkering with some of the oldest creatures on Earth. In 2010, an international team successfully sequenced the Neanderthal genome, which revealed significant interbreeding between archaic and modern humans. Meanwhile, another team, led by Dr. John Craig Venter, synthesized a piece of DNA which they injected into a bacterial cell. This formulated genome was able to take over the cell, leading to the production of proteins specific to it. Many may question the motives behind synthesizing bacteria, considering their potential harmful effects and the possibility of biological warfare. However, researchers envision a future where such microbes can be custom-built to boost production of biofuels, vaccines and many other useful chemicals.
2011: A Possibly Habitable, Earth-Like Planet
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In December of 2011, scientists at NASA announced that they had discovered the first exoplanet comfortably orbiting within the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. What this means is that the newly discovered planet, known as Kepler-22b, was found in a region that permits the existence of liquid water on the planet’s surface. Kepler-22b, which is about 620 light-years away from us, also possesses quite a few Earth-like characteristics. It has an orbital period of about 290 days, which is just 75 days less than Earth’s, and is believed to have a moderate surface temperature. While the actual habitable conditions are still unclear, this find puts scientists one step closer to discovering a home away from home.
2012: Tracking Down the Higgs boson
For all the buzz that this particle generated for years, its eventual discovery definitely merits recognition as THE scientific breakthrough of 2012. First proposed in 1964, the Higgs boson, also known as the God particle, was instrumental in explaining how certain particles get their mass. But due to its highly unstable nature, scientists were unable to observe it directly for decades. That is, until 2012, when the subatomic particle was finally scientifically proven using the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, which was created specifically for this purpose. The all-important discovery fulfilled predictions that were made decades ago and filled in a missing piece in the Standard Model of particle physics.
2013: Water Vapor from Jupiter’s Moon Europa
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On Earth, water has always been linked to life. For that reason, its presence in other celestial bodies hints to astronomers that life could be supported there. In 2013 - the same year when the first ever lab-grown hamburger was produced - NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured what was believed to be a puff of water vapor erupting from the surface of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. This image only served to support previous scientific theories about the existence of an ocean beneath Europa’s surface. And if that is indeed the case, it presents a great opportunity for future projects to analyze the composition of this water without having to drill the icy surface of the moon. Launching in 2024, the Europa Clipper hopes to do just that.
2014: Brain-Like Computer Chip
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In some ways, the human brain is just as interesting a frontier as space. In 2014, researchers used lasers to manipulate memories in mice - causing them to react the same way as when they’d received an electric shock earlier. That same year, a team at IBM unveiled their own groundbreaking creation, TrueNorth - a computer chip that processes information in similar fashion as the brain. Instead of a CPU, this chip is equipped with one million programmable neurons, which interact with each other in much the same way as those of the human brain. The product of a nearly decade-long research, TrueNorth has potential real-world applications and could be instrumental in future technological development.
2015: Reusable Rocket
2015 was a great year for astronomy and space exploration. Not only did NASA discover Earth’s older cousin Kepler-452b, Elon Musk’s company SpaceX achieved a major milestone in making space travel far more affordable. In December of that year, the company made a major step in developing reusable rockets when they successfully landed the first stage of their Falcon 9 spacecraft back on earth. Roughly two years later, they broke further ground by launching a reused craft back into space, for the first time ever. Since then, the company has sent several missions into orbit, including their first all-civilian crew, in April 2022. With these, they seem poised to make commercial space travel a reality.
2016: Evidence of Planet Nine
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Many of us grew up learning that there were nine planets in our solar system. That number, however, dropped by one in 2006 when Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet. In 2016, two Caltech researchers stumbled upon a discovery that could take that number back up to nine. Using the Canada France Hawaii Telescope, Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown found evidence of a ninth planet lurking in the dark outer solar system. So why hasn’t Planet Nine, with a mass roughly ten times that of Earth, been added to our celestial roster? Well, the existence of the heavenly body still hasn’t been directly confirmed. In fact, in 2021, another research team published findings which pretty much dismissed the evidence of Planet Nine. So the hunt continues!
2017: Artificial Wombs
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A lot of time, money and energy goes into research that seeks groundbreaking new ways to improve human lives. In 2017, scientists made a leap in DNA technology after creating an artificial pair of genetic bases that they hope will lead to the creation of more efficient medications. Another team, at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, successfully built an artificial womb in which they were able to nurture premature lamb fetuses for four weeks. Dubbed a “biobag”, the device functions similarly to the uterus. It contains an amniotic fluid and is equipped with an umbilical cord that supplies oxygenated blood to the fetus. Although still in its early stages, the biobag could someday be used to grow premature babies to term.
2018: Early Detection of Cancer
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All around the world, at this very moment, scientists are hard at work discovering solutions to diseases and ways to detect them early on. In 2018, researchers at Newcastle University produced the first ever 3D-printed human corneas, which could significantly help people suffering from corneal blindness. In the same vein, a team at the John Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Centre broke new ground in cancer screening when they developed a test that could detect the disease in its early stages. The new test, known as CancerSEEK, uses a noninvasive method to screen for biomarkers associated with eight common cancer types. This technique could potentially detect tumors before they turn fatal, thereby saving many lives.
2019: The First Image of a Black Hole
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What would it look like gazing into the abyss? That question had plagued scientists for decades. In 2019, they finally got their answer. Up until that point, there had been no way of capturing an image of a black hole. The supermassive entities devour anything in their path, including light, which made it virtually impossible to take a picture of them. But in April, an international collaboration of scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope project revealed an image of a black hole in the heart of the Messier 87 galaxy. Located over 50 million light-years away from Earth, it’s as massive as 6.5 billion suns. This glimpse into the dark space could shed a light on some of the universe’s greatest mysteries.
2020: Production of COVID-19 Vaccines
Producing a new vaccine is normally a long and arduous process that typically takes anywhere from 5-15 years. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, scientists around the world were galvanized into action and developed a vaccine in under a year. This broke the record for the fastest period of production for a vaccine, which was previously four years, for the mumps shot. Although no small feat, the COVID-19 researchers didn’t need to start from scratch, as years of progress on a MERS vaccine provided a blueprint for them to work with. As the pandemic was such a significant event in 2020, this breakthrough arguably overshadowed other discoveries, like the success of Deep Mind’s AI AlphaFold in predicting protein structures.
2021: CRISPR Gene Editing Treats Genetic Disease
In the 21st century alone, scientists have not only created synthetic DNA, they’ve also developed a method by which genetic material can be edited. The CRISPR gene editing technique is a precise system that makes use of RNA and an enzyme known as Cas9 to cut out specific parts of the genome. The researchers who developed this technique were awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2020, and got the opportunity to see their creation in practice the very next year. That June, CRISPR was administered to people with a fatal hereditary disease, and the drug significantly reduced blood levels of the toxic proteins associated with the illness. This, it seems, only scratches the surface in the endless possibilities of CRISPR.
2022: Pluto’s Ice Volcanoes
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2022 brought many amazing discoveries, from a new treatment for Alzeimer’s disease, to the first nuclear fusion experiment where more energy was produced than had been put in. Earlier in the year, another revolutionary discovery was made, not here on Earth, but far away on everyone’s favorite dwarf planet, Pluto. Back in 2015, NASA’s New Horizons mission took detailed images of Pluto’s icy surface, which were studied for years. In 2022, researchers announced that certain domes they observed on the planet’s exterior were caused by volcanoes that pushed water up from the subsurface to the surface. These images suggest that Pluto’s interior may be warmer than scientists think and poses exciting possibilities about its surprising potential for biological life.
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