This year has been proven to be a remarkable milestone of scientific breakthroughs in technology, computers, science and evolution. From the first landing by an unmanned rover in Mars to the official discovery of the elusive God particle which holds one of the many keys to unlocking the secrets of the Universe, 2012 has been delivering to its promise of a new year, breaking new ground to mark another landmark in the 21st century.
1. The discovery of the Higgs boson particle
The infamous “God particle” that has been the subject of theories has been officially discovered, and announced worldwide by CERN, the international European nuclear research organization. In the center of recognition is theoretical physicist Peter Higgs, an Edinburgh University professor who first wrote about the existence of the particle in 1964. The Higgs boson particle is known to be one of the key components in the formation of the Universe.
Peter Higgs was in CERN when the discovery of the particle was announced. For many years his particle theory was rejected by the scientific academe, up until recently, when scientists in CERN have conducted experiments showing that a sub-atomic particle consistent with the Higgs boson theory has been discovered. Rounds of applause erupted in the room where CERN announced the discovery, with a triumphant and teary-eyed Peter Higgs in the audience. Science has reached the grasp of God, or in this case, the God particle.
2. A possible treatment for HIV
Canadian researchers are doing human testing on an experimental vaccine that can possibly cure HIV. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the green light to researchers at the University of Western Ontario to carry on with the vaccine experiment. The vaccine, called SAV001, is developed under the helm of Dr. Chil-Yong Kang. The vaccine has been shown to provoke strong immune feedback in trial toxicology tests. Kang’s research laboratory team spent the last decade developing the vaccine, with their efforts amounting to $10 million.
The researchers would first modify the genetic composition of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to render it non-pathogenic, or incapable of creating disease, and then null it with radiation and chemicals. Kang’s research team would make the virus extensively safe before anything else. The candidate vaccine will be produced in the United States, where the phase I clinical trial will be administered. If results prove that the vaccine is safe, it will undergo two more clinical trial phases. The SAV001 must pass all the critical tests in order to assure that it’s safe to use.
3. SpaceX successfully launches a commercial rocket
SpaceX becomes the first private company to send a commercial spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). The Falcon 9 rocket, alongside the Dragon capsule, heralds the first in commercial space transportation, delivering cargo into orbit on May 2012. It will transport cargo, and in the future, astronauts, which in turn saves NASA budget.
4. The first spacecraft to leave our solar system
NASA’s unmanned Voyager 1, has become the first spacecraft in history set to leave the solar system, following NASA’s announcement in June this year. Voyager 1 has been launched back in 1977, and with the imminent prospect of reaching the edge of the solar system, it has extended its own record as the most distant man-made object in space. It has traveled 11 billion miles away and NASA is reporting that the signals it received from the aircraft indicate that it is nearing its voyage into interstellar space.
5. First probe reaching Pluto
The probe NASA launched back in January 2006 is reaching the last portion of its journey to the dwarf planet Pluto. The spacecraft, called New Horizons, is the first probe to make an expedition towards Pluto and its moons. It will land in January 2015, as New Horizons has entered the final leg of its nine-year odyssey. New Horizons will analyze Pluto and its four moons. This mission will be the first comprehensive look into any dwarf planet.
6. Curiosity lands on Mars
The probe NASA launched back in January 2006 is reaching the last portion of its journey to the dwarf planet Pluto. The spacecraft, called New Horizons, is the first probe to make an expedition towards Pluto and its moons. It will land in January 2015, as New Horizons has entered the final leg of its nine-year odyssey. New Horizons will analyze Pluto and its four moons. This mission will be the first cWith all the recent missions to unravel the mysteries surrounding the solar system, the Curiosity rover takes the coveted spot in the most publicized of all space missions this year. Part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, the Curiosity rover is an unmanned robotic rover exploring Gale Crater on Mars. It was launched on November 2011, and successfully landed on August 2012. Curiosity’s goal is to study Martian climate and geology and its ability to host life. Curiosity would become a gateway for future human exploration.omprehensive look into any dwarf planet.
7. James Cameron reaches the deepest point of the ocean
Filmmaker James Cameron has reached the deepest solo sub dive in history by reaching the Mariana Trench, the ocean’s deepest point. The diving expedition, aptly-named the DEEPSEA CHALLENGE, which took approximately 2 hours and 36 minutes, had been documented by the director and National Geographic. The depth he reached was 35, 756 feet—the deepest of the deep.
During the six hours Cameron spent in the trench, he collected samples of marine data and filmed the environment. Cameron went aboard the sub DEEPSEA CHALLENGER. The technology involved in the production of this underwater expedition is truly astounding, as the sub Cameron is in is specially designed to protect him from the force of the tons of water pressing down on every square inch. The National Geographic-documented trek marks a significant milestone in aquatic exploration history, and undoubtedly would not be heralded as the last.
8. Man regains hand function after pioneering nerve rewiring procedure
A 71 year old man paralyzed from the waist down including his hands had regained movement in his fingers after a breakthrough surgery when doctors rewired his nerves. The man was paralyzed after a car accident in 2008, causing him to lose the nerve circuits responsible for sending signals from the brain to the muscles in his hands, taking away his nerve control in the aftermath.
The man’s C7 vertebrae in his spinal cord was affected, which housed the nerves responsible for control in his hands. Despite the loss, the doctors found a way to bypass the nerves, by connecting the other nerves that were left unharmed in the accident to the damaged nerve which controls the muscles in the hand culpable for holding objects.
The surgeons reconnected the nerve circuit to the brain, which was previously severed. The nerve transfer surgery that they did is more of borrowing a healthy, functioning nerve and transferring it into a nerve that lost its power. This shows that science converging with new ways to help the evolution of medical practices is a power that can never be lost, only reconnected.
9. 3D motion sensor device goes commercial
Leap is the company now offering what we only see in science fiction films: 3D gesturing. A quintessential scene in countless sci-fi movies is where the commander of the spaceship is seen flinging his hands mid air to touch a transparent floating touchscreen. Imagine that technology, but in reality. And it’s cheaper than a laptop.
The company Leap is offering their piece de resistance: the Leap Motion sensor, a USB device that can do anything you want in your computer, with just a simple flick of a finger or a swipe of a hand. It employs simple hand and finger motion gestures to control actions or programs in your PC or Mac. And it only costs $70. The company claims that it uses the most precise of gesture sensor technology available.
George Church and Sri Kosuri, a bioengineer and geneticist working at Harvard’s Wyss Institute, have successfully crammed 700 terabytes in a single gram of DNA, obliterating the previous density record of DNA data by a thousand times. Essentially, Church and Kosuri have stored a massive amount of data in the form of DNA.
Church and Kosuri have successfully cracked the DNA storage by storing 700 terabytes, eventually overriding nature by 4 orders of magnitude. The unprecedented feat is astonishing as it displaces nature’s own rules. Aside from storage, they also used DNA microchips to support all the DNA.
