Deal with Covid The epidemic, including a vaccine to fight it, has been the biggest challenge by scientists so far. But researchers in all fields, including astronomy and physics, have also made great strides.
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A stock image shows Venus, where scientists believe they have discovered the gas phosphine.
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As 2020 approaches, let us look at some of the most amazing scientific discoveries of the last 12 months.
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A sign of alien life in the clouds of Venus?
In September, Astronomers announced that they were called gas Phosphine, Which may be a sign of life in the atmosphere of Venus. The team later corrected their findings and said they found a faint Phosphine Signal than initially reported.
Did the team find those signs? Phosphine Observations of the planet using telescopes were present in the clouds of Venus. Next, they use a computer Modeling Techniques to understand what was happening and the conclusion microbes could be a possible explanation.
Lan Lan Duffy, an astronomer at the University of Swinburne in Australia who was not involved in the research, said in a statement: There is a hell of a world. “
Deepmind AI solves a half-century-old protein problem
It was revealed in November that AI Laborer in London had solved a mystery that had puzzled experts for 50 years by predicting the 3D shape of a protein from a sequence of amino acids. Proteins, essentially the building blocks of life, are made up of amino acids.
Deepmind, A Google off-the-shelf, artificial intelligence program Alphafold That made progress. It is hoped that this technology will enable scientists to better understand how cells are made and to accelerate the development of drugs.
John Moult, A computational biologist at the University of Maryland in College Park, who co-founded the challenge of predicting protein structures that Deepmind The team participated, according to Nature: “This is a big deal,” adding: “In some sense the problem has been solved.”
Good good ImarisioThe head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, who was not involved in the study, said in a statement at the time: “Working with proteins, understanding their composition, looking at effects on brain behavior and developing drugs to target them. Goes to its very main part.
“We do not yet have a drug to slow or prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s but new and powerful technologies capable of accelerating progress give people hope.”
66-million years old “Wonderchikin“The oldest known modern bird
Paleontologists The complete skull near the bird in March was identified as the oldest known modern bird fossil. Extinct bird, dubbed “Wonder Chicken, “66 66..8 to .766..7 million years old. The team hopes their discovery will help explain how modern birds evolved and why they survived a mass extinction of dinosaurs.
Using the bird’s L.Atin The name, said Daniel Field, co-author of Cambridge University in the UK Newsweek At the time: “We believe that some of the features featured by Asterior is nis, Such as relatively small body size, ground-dwelling habit, ability to fly and a normal diet are the main features that will be In favor The existence of modern birds after the asteroid impact. “
Ill Philip Krzemensky
Artist’s Reconstruction of the World’s Oldest Modern Bird, Asterioranis mast Strictensis. Philip Krezminsky
Recreated the voice of a 3,000-year-old ancient Egyptian priest
In January, scientists recreated the voice of an ancient Egyptian priest Using a 3D printed vocal tract made using a scan of its mummified b of D. The team was able Re-imagined What a high-ranking priest, named Nesyamun, The tone is heard when speaking. Nesyamun He is also believed to have been a writer during the reign of King Race XI, and died of an allergic reaction.
Said David Howard, co-author of Royal Holloway at the University of London in the UK Newsweek At the time: “The resulting sound is like a vowel because we have only one sound path.
“This one shape is also the shape of its path because it is interrupted so it is not part of any spoken sound. However, it is the sound of its unique sounding path and for that reason, it can be associated with the sound it makes. Like. “
Eds Leeds City Museum
Leeds City Museum Nessimoon’s 3,000-year-old coffin on display at Leeds City Museum
Closest Ever Images of the Sun Revealed
July saw the unveiling of the closest images ever taken of the sun As part of the Solar Orbiter mission operated by NASA and the European Space Agency. Images taken using what is known as Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) At about 48 million miles from the sun, show solar flares called “campfires”. Hopefully this understanding will explain why the surface of the sun is colder than its atmosphere.
Daniel Mલરller, ESAOf the Solarbit Rebert project scientist, said Newsweek At the time: “These images are close-up images taken of the sun – and we have begun our long journey through the internal solar system.”
He said: “The thing that surprised us the most was the very high quality of the images taken first.”
Lar Solar Orbiter / EUI Team ESA and NASA; CSL, IAS, MPS, PMOD / WRC, ROB, UCL / MSSL
The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on ESA’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft captured this image on May 30, 2020, showing the sun in the extreme ultraviolet field of the electromagnetic spectrum. Solar Orbiter / EUI Team ESA and NASA; CSL, IAS, MPS, PMOD / WRC, ROB, UCL / MSSL
The shortest unit of time
German physicists announced in October that they had measured the shortest unit of time so far by looking at how long it takes for a particle called a photon to cross a hydrogen atom. The answer they reached was 247 Zeptoseconds, With Zeptosecond Being a trillionth of a billionth of a second.
Scientists achieved this by expelling a hydrogen atom, which has two electrons, through radiation. This caused the electron to be shot out of the hydrogen atom, producing a wave-like effect.
Explaining the team’s methods, co-author Sven Grundman Goethe University Frankfurt said a Statement at the time: “Since we knew the spatial direction of the hydrogen atom, when the photon reached the first and when it reached the second hydrogen atom we used to accurately calculate the interference of two electron waves.
“And this is up to 247 Zeptoseconds, Depending on how far both atoms in the molecule were from the perspective of light. “
© Sven Grundman, Goethe University Frankfurt
A picture shows a zeptosecond measurement. The photon, shown in yellow, forms electron waves from the electron cloud of the hydrogen atom, its nucleus is red. The violet field represents waves or interference patterns. Sven Grundman, Goethe University Frankfurt
The enormous coral reef was found taller than the Empire State Building
October October – The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is discovered at an altitude of 1,600 feet high and 5,000 feet wide. The rock, known by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, is the first of its kind to be discovered for more than 120 years.
Wendy Schmidt, co-founder of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, said in a statement at the time, “This unexpected discovery confirms that we continue to find unfamiliar structures and new species in our oceans.
“Our state of knowledge about what is in the ocean has been limited for a very long time. Thanks to new technologies that act as our eyes, ears and hands in the deep sea, we have the ability to explore as before. Oceans The ecosystems and the various life forms that divide the planet with us are revealing, opening us up. “
Smith Ocean Institute
Profile mapping of newly discovered reef. Schmidt Ocean Institute
Pfizer Covid Shot first licensed MRNA When
Although many of us are suffering from epidemic fatigue, some of the exciting developments of the year are worth mentioning Covid Vaccines.
After the UK approved Pfizer Covid Shot in December, It became the fastest vaccine in the West, taking 10 months.
It was also the first licensed vaccine based MRNA Technology. What’s more, Pfizer claims it’s 95 percent effective, far more than expected. This vaccine shows the recipe of the genetic code of the part of the virus that it uses to invade our body in the oily casing, which is introduced into the body when it is administered.
Such as experts Anthony Fausi, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has called for the vaccine to be removed. He has often explained that the momentum is due to recent technological advances and the huge amount of money invested in vaccine development this year.
Charlie Weller, head of vaccination at welcome The trust research charity said in a statement at the time: “This is a historic day and an important moment at the end of an incredibly difficult year. To develop a vaccine, get emergency approval and be prepared to roll in less time. The year for a new virus is absolutely unprecedented. . “
્યુ Hugh Hastings / Getty Images
A Pfizer CO Weed vaccine vial is shown at The Falamoth Health Center on December 20, 2020 in Falamoth, England. Preparation is the first licensed mRNA vaccine. Hugh Hastings / Getty Images
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