Rosetta Philae Artist Impression
ESAIt's been a good year for science. 2014 has yielded
discoveries across almost every field of research, from the origins
of life on Earth to the far future of our
species. In no particular order, here are ten of the most important
scientific breakthroughs of the last twelve months.
The Earth's water didn't come from
comets
The biggest science news of the year was undeniably the
landing of the Philae probe on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Its parent craft, Rosetta, had been circling
the comet for a few months beforehand and during that time took
some measurements of its water content. The team found that comet water has a totally different chemical makeup
to our own, suggesting that the Earth's oceans are more likely to
have originated from asteroids
instead.
Hydrogen fuel is getting more viable
In September, chemists at Glasgow made a
breakthrough in their attempts to create hydrogen fuel from
water. The team was able to store the gas in a carbon-free liquid,
acting like a sponge, until needed. The method allows the gas,
which could one day replace petroleum in cars, to be produced cleanly, cheaply and over
30 times faster than previous approaches -- paving the way for a
revolution in renewable energy.
Richard III's body was identified
When a battle-worn skeleton was dug up below a Leicester
car park in 2012 there were claims that the body of Britain's
notorious Richard III had been found, but historians weren't sure
until the results of a DNA analysis came through this year. Those results
proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the skeleton was the former
king's remains, and exposed a little royal adultery on the
side.
The first footage of a Black Sea Devil
The saying goes that we know more about the surface of
Mars than the depths of the Earth's oceans, but we're making great
strides on both fronts. In November, deep-sea ecologists used an
underwater drone to not only film a Black Sea Devil anglerfish for the first time, but
capture it alive and bring it up to the surface. The results should
shed some light on the enigmatic species.
Where the 2014 ebola outbreak began
Until this year, ebola was merely an interesting footnote
for anyone studying tropical diseases. Now it's a global health
disaster. But the epidemic started at a single point with one
human-animal interaction -- an interaction which has now been
pinpointed using genetic research. A total
of 50 authors contributed to the paper
announcing the discovery, including five who died of the
disease before it could be published.
Earth is not the only member of the solar
system with oceans
Saturn's moon Enceladus has long been suspected of
harbouring a liquid ocean below its icy surface. But that suspicion
was confirmed this year by a team of astrophysicists who carefully
examined the orbit of Nasa's Cassini probe over several years.
Interestingly the ocean only appears to cover the southern
hemisphere of the moon -- not the whole surface.
Don't
miss
The Amazon was once full of people
In the centuries following Christopher Columbus' voyage
across the Atlantic, the Amazon rainforest has been characterised
as mostly uninhabited. But in recent decades it's become clear that
the region had previously been dotted with ancient towns and
cities. This year, archaeologists reported that more than three percent of the Amazon basin
contains "terra preta" -- soil fertilised by humans in large-scale
farms that supported a vast population.
The best map yet of our place in the
Universe
We know that Earth is in the solar system, which is in
the Milky Way galaxy, which is in a much bigger supercluster of
galaxies. But this year researchers built up a map of that supercluster -- naming it Laniakea. The
structure is far bigger than previously estimated, stretching more
than 500 light years and containing 100,000 galaxies. Each of those
galaxies has trillions of stars, each with their own solar systems.
Depending on how you look at it, you'll feel either incredibly
insignificant or the most important thing in the Universe.
HIV infection can be totally blocked in
monkeys
In 2005 2.3 million people died of AIDS-related causes,
but that figure has been falling steadily since due to expanded
access to antiretroviral therapy and lower incidence of infection.
In 2013, the death rate had fallen to 1.5 million -- albeit still a
vast number of people. This year, doctors discovered a vaccine that totally blocks infection altogether
in the monkey equivalent of the disease -- a breakthrough that is
now being studied to see if it works in humans.
DNA can survive entry into the Earth's
atmosphere
Since the start of the space program, it's been assumed
that the hostile vacuum of space would
sterilise the outside of any rocket leaving Earth, preventing
contamination of other worlds. But when molecular biologists
squirted DNA samples on the outside of a sounding rocket, they were
surprised to find as much as a third of it alive and well after
it had undergone a 13-minute trip into low Earth orbit. It's only a
starting point, and there's no suggestion yet that DNA could
survive longer trips to other planets, but it raises questions over
how life originally arrived on Earth.
That's our list. How about you? Share your favourite
scientific discoveries of 2014 with other readers in the comments
section below.
Source Article from http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-12/31/10-scientific-breakthroughs-2014 http://cdni.wired.co.uk/620x413/o_r/Rosetta1_3.jpg
The top 10 scientific breakthroughs of 2014
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