Like every year, 2023 was a lot of interesting scientific news. Some of this was good news in areas such as medicine or space science. Others, however, were very bad news, such as climate records being broken around the world.
It is important to know both. Good science news teaches us that science is on the right track and that society can achieve all sorts of great things because of it. On the other hand, bad science news exposes errors in both science and society, so we try to make good decisions. appropriate measures to solve them.
This list contains both types of science news. It is impossible to include everything good and bad that has happened in science over the past year, so this is nothing more than choice. Of course, there will be very interesting news that will remain behind the scenes. But, without a doubt, we felt that before the end of this year they should be remembered again.
The first human kidneys cultured in pig embryos
Spain is one of the leading countries in the field of organ transplantation. Not only because of the quality of the professionals who practice them. Also due to the large number of organ donors that appear within our borders every year.
However, although it is one of the countries with the largest number of donors, aid does not always arrive on time. Therefore, in recent years, science has worked a lot in two alternative directions. One is to obtain artificial organs, sometimes synthesized in 3d printers. However, another method uses organs of other animal species.
This is something known as xenotransplantation and has been studied since the early 90s. Pigs are usually the most commonly chosen animal for such procedures. Although milestones such as pig heart transplantation into humans have been achieved, it is something dangerous because it is usually the immune system the person ultimately rejects the organ. So another option is to grow human organs on embryos of other species. This may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but it was first achieved last September when a team of scientists from Canton UniversityIn China, embryonic pig kidneys were cultivated for the first time. These are immature kidneys, but this is the first time such a procedure has been performed on an entire organ rather than just a few cells.
There are still many steps to be taken to get these organs to work, but it is very exciting because they will be useful for more than just transplantation. They can also be used, for example, for try new drugs.
India lands on the moon
Last August saw perhaps the most important scientific event of the year in India. And it became the fourth country to land a probe on the Moon. But also in the first one, which landed near the south pole of the Moon.
They achieved this with the help of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, equipped with a rover called Pragyan, as well as several instruments capable of measuring seismic activity, lunar thermal conductivity and temperature, among other parameters.
Bad science news: 2023 climate records
According to data from CopernicusAccording to the European Environmental Monitoring Programme, 2023 was the hottest year on record. This is some of the worst scientific news we could report. But in addition to this global record, 2023 broke many other climate records.
For example, with 21.1°C, the highest average ocean surface temperature recorded since records began. The warmest month on a global scale was also recorded – July. The surface air temperature was 16.95°C an average of 0.37ºC above the previous record recorded in July 2019.
But first of all, if we’re going to talk about bad science news, we have to mention what happened. In Novemberwhen we pass two days at temperatures above 2°C above pre-industrial levels. This is a threshold practically marked by the Paris Agreement as a threshold of no return. So touching him, even if it’s only been for two days, is a big sign of concern.
Nobel Prize for parents of coronavirus vaccines
If coronavirus vaccines were the big scientific news of 2020, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to two of its main researchers: Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissmanis undoubtedly one of the biggest science news stories of 2023.
It should be noted that they developed vaccines based on messenger RNAsuch as Pfizer and ModeRNA.
This is a technology that inserts instructions into the body that allow our own cells to produce a viral protein that triggers an immune system response. This is a very effective mechanism, safer than traditional vaccines. At the moment, coronavirus vaccines are the first based on this tool, but they are being studied. for many other diseases.
Hello ChatGPT
Although ChatGPT was launched in late 2022, it didn’t really go viral until early 2023. artificial intelligence From something almost abstract, accessible only to a few scientists, it became a tool that could be used by anyone with an Internet connection.
From his hands came many other chatbots, as well as artificial intelligence tools capable of, among other things, sounding videos or creating images. The expectations are as exciting as they are daunting. And, of course, they angered many people. content creators.
It can’t be argued that this is one of the biggest science news of the year, because although it is an innocent chatbot, ChatGPT shows that artificial intelligence is here to stay in our lives.
Good Science News: Green Light for CRISPR to Treat Diseases
CRISPR-Cas9 This is a genetic engineering tool that acts as a kind of molecular cut and pasteeliminating unwanted DNA fragments and replacing them with others of interest when necessary.
Its use has been studied for a variety of applications, from producing plants with interesting properties to treatment of diseases. However, scientists are cautious about the latter because they need to demonstrate that the benefits outweigh the risks and that the tool is truly useful.
Many studies have been carried out on this issue, and finally, health authorities in particular UK Medicines Regulatorhas approved CRISPR-Cas9-based therapies to treat beta thalassemia and sickle cell diseases.
The case must be carefully monitored; but without a doubt it was a great start.
Wave of fires in Canada
When it comes to bad scientific news, we can’t help but mention the fires that are becoming more and more common around the world. In 2023, the worst attention was paid Canadawhere they were recorded between March and June more than 2000 fires.
They devastated 4 million hectares of land and forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate. Drought and unusually high temperatures are the main cause of most of these fires. Although it is possible that some will be provoked.
The smoke from these fires was so intense that it even enveloped NY in fog so thick that for several hours it overtook New Delhi as the world’s most polluted city, putting it at the top.
NASA sent the largest asteroid sample in history to Earth
Another great scientific news of the year happened last October. Mission capsule OSIRIS Rex He returned to Earth with a sample of material recovered from the asteroid Bennu, located 120 million kilometers away.
This was not the first mission to send samples from an asteroid back to Earth. Japan has done this previously with two Hayabusa missions. He was the first to deliver several grains of material from an asteroid to Earth. Itokawa. Just less than a gram. From Hayabusa 2 he managed to collect Ryugu just over 5 grams, which were also successfully delivered to Earth.
For its part, NASA hoped to return 60 grams of Bennu. However, they exceeded all their expectations, collecting 250 grams of material from the asteroid. Therefore, they have a lot of work ahead. Very important work; Well, among other goals, these scientists are aiming, by analyzing its composition, to figure out what could be the best way to distract Bennu if one day it comes too close to Earth.
Source: Hiper Textual
