From year to year, our reality more and more resembles the one that we recently saw in science fiction films. Here are 14 discoveries of the past year that can be safely called sensational.
1) Eternal vault
Girls, don't be happy - not for clothes. For information. As you know, ink fades, and even computers do not last forever, which, in general, is not surprising either - after all, this is just a properly organized set of electrical impulses. And now, scientists have found a solution to this problem - now information can be stored in a special form of glass. In this storage, data can be stored for up to 13 billion years. It's like the age of the whole universe.
2) Second Moon
Yes, our planet has another satellite. It's called 2016 HO3. NASA claims that it is an asteroid that orbits the earth, albeit at a fairly large distance. It is difficult to say how long our planet has had two satellites, but, as scientists say, for another hundred years this asteroid will circle around the Earth.
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3) Breakthrough in cloning
We have known about Dolly the sheep for a long time. Did you know that Dolly also has clones: their names are Debbie, Denise, Diana and Daisy. Despite the fact that Dolly herself did not live long and suffered from arthritis, her clones have been living for a long time and are quite healthy. Surprisingly, the clones were more successful than their prototype.
4) Super Wheat
In the modern world, the attitude towards GMOs (genetically modified organisms) is ambiguous. However, scientists, for the most part, consider GMOs to be an excellent solution to many problems. Which ones? Well, for example, the overpopulation of the planet and the food crisis … Strictly speaking, if it were not for GMOs, half of the world's population would have simply died out.
Super Wheat is the latest innovation in GMOs. It receives more nutrients through photosynthesis, and gives more yield.
5) Giant crocodile
The bones of the largest saltwater crocodile in history were found in Tunisia. Its length was more than 9 meters, and its weight was 3 tons.
6) The ninth planet
No, this is not Pluto. Even before it ceased to be a planet, scientists assumed there was another planet behind Neptune. This assumption was made while studying the effects of its gravity. At first, it was assumed that Pluto was the cause of gravitational phenomena. But as a result of further research, it turned out that only a part of these effects could be explained by the activity of Pluto. In 2016, scientists from the Caltech Research Center (one of the divisions of NASA) calculated that the probability of 9 planets behind Neptune is almost one hundred percent. According to preliminary calculations, this planet is 2 times the size of the earth … and possibly 15. It is located at a distance of 240 trillion kilometers from the sun.
7) Recycling carbon dioxide emissions
We all know that industrial carbon dioxide emissions harm the atmosphere. Scientists from Iceland decided to fix this problem. They have developed a technique that allows you to extract carbon, drive it back into the soil, and, in fact, convert it back into coal.
8) Longevity Shark
Scientists managed to find the Greenland shark, which is more than 400 years old - a record lifespan among vertebrates! This fact, of course, has an explanation - the shark lives at great depths in the icy waters of the ocean, which significantly slows down its metabolism. And yet, the chances are high that further study of this shark will allow scientists to identify another key to longevity.
9) Paralysis Cure 10 + 14
As many as two treatments for paralysis have been discovered in the last year!
The first was proposed by scientists at Stanford University, and its essence boils down to the use of stem cells. Doctors have tested the new drug on patients whose condition has not been expected for a long time. Surprisingly, some patients didn't just show clinically significant improvement - they left their wheelchairs and started walking again.
The second method was discovered by neuroscientists from Ohio. They developed an implant designed to be implanted into the brain. As a result of this operation, paralyzed patients will be able to walk again. The first to experience this device was 24-year-old Jan Burkhart - he was paralyzed for 6 years. After the implantation of the implant, his condition improved significantly. Now he even plays the guitar.
10) Editing the genetic code
CRISPR / Cas9 technology is one of those that will change the world soon. Last year, Chinese doctors first used it to treat a cancer patient.
11) The largest indivisible number
In 2016, scientists discovered a new and largest indivisible number. Just imagine: it consists of 22,338,618 digits! This number is so huge that it can be calculated only by raising 2 to the power of 74,207,281, and then adding 1. Of course, such a discovery would have been impossible without the participation of the latest technologies.
12) The size of the universe
Thanks to the Hubble telescope, NASA researchers have found that there are slightly more galaxies in the universe than we thought. 10 (!) Times more.
13) The missing link in the chain of evolution
Imagine a fish that can walk on walls? No? And she exists! A New Jersey scientist discovered Taiwanese cave fish last year.
14) Vertical missile landing
This breakthrough was made possible by Elon Musk and his SpaceX Corporation. Now the rocket can land vertically on a remotely controlled spacecraft, and he already makes a full landing.
Anna Kiseleva