In 2018, doctors plan to transplant a head to a living person, and astronomers promise to grow potatoes on the moon, dive into the sun and find a second Earth. At the same time, space can become tourist. Scientists are going to find new, more effective drugs and methods for treating cancer and genetic diseases, and a robot doctor will start making diagnoses. About the most interesting and expected scientific events - in the material RT.
Head transplant
One of the main intrigues of the coming year was created by the Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero, who is preparing for the first ever head transplant operation on a living person. For the first time, the doctor spoke about his plans in 2015, saying that in two years he would be able to implement them. In 2016, Canavero managed to restore the damaged spinal cord of rats, and in November 2017, the scientist successfully transplanted a dead human head onto a corpse. In 18 hours, the surgeons were able to connect the spine, as well as all the nerves and blood vessels.
The first volunteer for a head transplant was a 30-year-old programmer from the Russian city of Vladimir Valery Spiridonov, who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy. The operation was planned for December 2017, but preparations for it were frozen for an indefinite period, and later Canavero said that in 2018 he would not perform the operation on Spiridonov, but on a Chinese citizen, since it was this country that supported the surgeon's research.
Sergio Canavero during a meeting with Valery Spiridonov / globallookpress.com / Jay Mallin.
Many scientists are skeptical about such manipulations with the body, believing that at the current level of development of medicine it is quite difficult to implement them in practice. Canavero's experiments are still criticized, and some doctors even consider the Italian surgeon a charlatan.
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Search for a second Earth, moon potatoes and space tourism
In March 2018, the launch of a new American space observatory for searching exoplanets - TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) is expected. The telescope will observe the change in the brightness of the star as the planet passes against the background of the star. Thus, researchers will be able to determine the size and orbits of celestial bodies.
Using the data obtained, scientists intend to compile computer models that will assess the possibility of the existence of life on exoplanets. At the same time, TESS will search for exoplanets relatively close to the Sun and study the composition of their atmospheres in order to understand whether they are capable of supporting life.
On July 31, NASA plans to launch the Parker Solar Probe into space, which for the first time in history will have to dive into the coronal region of the Sun and fly at a record low distance of 6 million km from its surface. The spacecraft is able to withstand temperatures up to + 1370 ° C and a radiation level 475 times higher than that of the earth.
It is assumed that during the flight, the device will observe how energy and heat move through the solar corona, and will also be able to scoop up samples of the outer layers of the atmosphere. Ultimately, scientists expect to learn more about the behavior of the solar wind, including finding out how its particles are accelerated. Knowledge about the behavior of solar wind particles will allow us to understand how they manage to destroy satellites and affect the earth's electrical networks.
In addition, in 2018, the American company Blue Origin may make the first suborbital flight with tourists. In December 2017, the company successfully tested its New Shepard rocket and capsule with a payload and a dummy on board. The New Shepard system capsule is designed for six people. The flight will take 11 minutes, of which four will pass in zero gravity at an altitude of 100 km. If subsequent tests are successful, Blue Origin will launch a human capsule at New Shepard this year.
Virgin Galactic also scheduled its first commercial suborbital flight in 2018. The firm plans to launch tourists into space on the VSS Unity suborbital rocket plane. However, despite countless test flights, the VSS Unity ship still did not fly independently, relying on its own engines, but remained attached to the carrier aircraft. Virgin Galactic intends to move to full testing this year and send the first space tourists on the journey as soon as possible.
Probe "Chang'e-3" / biznes-portal.com
In turn, the Chinese intend to launch the Chang'e-4 spacecraft at the end of 2018, which will make the first ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon to study the geological structure of the satellite.
In addition, on board the mission, it is planned to test the "ecosystem" - a small sealed cylinder, which will contain potato seeds and silkworm eggs. It is assumed that eggs will develop into adult insects that can produce carbon dioxide, while potatoes will release oxygen during photosynthesis. The battery built into the cylinder will serve as an artificial sun. At the same time, specialists will install cameras inside the "ecosystem" in order to start a live broadcast from the "green" island on the Moon.
Scientists want to find out whether insects and root crops can survive on the surface of the satellite, and therefore, whether humanity will be able to colonize the moon in the future.
Medicine of the future in the present
In March 2018, the first Xiaoyi robotic doctor will officially start working in China. At the end of 2017, he passed a special exam and received a license to practice medicine. With a minimum of 360 points, which indicates a successful test, Xiaoyi scored 456 points.
Initially, it was supposed to use the capabilities of the robot to speed up the collection and analysis of patient data. However, after successfully passing the exam, Xiaoyi proved to be able to put his knowledge into practice. According to scientists, the robot will help doctors, increasing their efficiency. In addition, Xiaoyi will be able to quickly diagnose, detect cancers at an early stage and predict the risks of developing new diseases.
Reuters / Francois Lenoir.
Meanwhile, private company Genomics England, set up by the UK Department of Health, plans to complete the 100,000 Genome project by the end of 2018. Over the past three years, specialists have collected and analyzed the genetic information of 75 thousand volunteers.
Ultimately, scientists were able to create a large-scale database that combines genetic information with personal medical records. Experts expect to identify common genetic traits characteristic of many forms of cancer and rare hereditary diseases. This will help doctors better understand the disease and determine its relationship to genes. The research results will help to find new, more effective drugs and methods of treatment for cancer and genetic diseases.
Measuring kilograms in a new way
Until now, the standard of the kilogram has been the platinum-iridium alloy, which is kept in the Chamber of Weights and Measures in Paris. But with each manipulation of the standard, it becomes lighter by several atoms - and its mass decreases.
Therefore, physicists decided to replace the standard of mass with an abstract but precise set of mathematical constants and formulas.
So, scientists have developed a mathematical standard for the kilogram, which is based on Planck's constant, which connects the energy of a particle with the frequency of its oscillations, and on the Einstein formula E = mc2.
The new standard is a perfect ball made from a single crystal of the stable isotope silicon-28. According to physicists, this isotope is ideal for creating a mass standard, since the rate of loss of atoms in samples from it can be determined with high accuracy, which will make it possible to make the necessary corrections in a timely manner.
Scientists have to carry out several calculations, and if everything goes well, then in 2018 humanity will have a new definition of the kilogram, and the platinum-iridium alloy from the Chamber of Measures and Weights will become the property of the museum.
Anastasia Ksenofontova