10 outstanding scientific discoveries in 2008

The giant particle accelerator that first operated, found Mars's arctic, and discovered many extrasolar planets were the world's most prominent scientific discoveries last year.

Here are 10 typical scientific discoveries in 2008, according to Time magazine (USA):

Large particle accelerator (LHC)

Part of a large particle accelerator (LHC).

The world's most powerful and modern LHC machine with a length of 27 km was first operated under a depth of 100 meters at the French-Swiss border, last September. The European Nuclear Research Agency (CERN), which owns a $ 4 billion machine, hopes to replicate the Big Bang explosion, determining the existence of the Higgs particle that plays an important role in the standard model of particle physics, which explains the process of forming the universe.

Many people fear that the machine in action can create black holes that swallow the whole world. At first everything went according to plan after the LHC machine started before the attention of the global scientific community. The first experimental beam completed the 27 km recirculation path of the LHC. But 10 days after the incident, when a large amount of liquid helium leaked into the tunnel, it stopped working.

Repair work is underway and the LHC machine can be operated again from June next year, in anticipation of the scientific community around this "billion" machine.

Discover the arctic of Mars

NASA's Mars Mars exploration model.

Before the Phoenix train, all robots exploring Mars had never reached the northern polar region of the red planet, where the greatest concentration of ice and water could be found, evidence of survival. . The turning point took place in May when NASA's Phoenix vessel landed on the northernmost area of ​​Mars and began reviewing and sampling here.

Phoenix did not find anything groundbreaking that could change the image of Mars that was perceived as a dead planet, but what it collected reinforced the hypothesis that the red planet was once moist. wet and alive. But due to the harsh climate and terrain, Phoenix did not give long and it sent the final signals to Earth last November, before ending the mission on the red planet.

Artificial life

Geneticist J. Craig Venter.Photo: Time.

Geneticist J. Craig Venter, one of the two human gene mappers, has created a completely new chromosome from laboratory chemicals, by combining 582,000 pairs of double bonds to form micro The world's first artificial live bacterium. This cell also has a part of natural life and is capable of cloning. The next goal is to start the DNA programming system in this artificial bacterium to see if it can handle the organism's activity.

Chinese people step out into space

The Than Chau VII ship was launched into space with a 64-hour historic journey.Photo: Reuters

China became the third country in the world after Russia and the United States brought themselves to space in 2003. Two years later they continued to launch manned ships and the third time this year with the Shenzhou ship. VII, witnessed the first time that Chinese astronauts had a space walk. This is the event that marked the boom in the universe program of the most populous country in the world.

The number of astronauts on Chinese ships also continued to increase from single-seat ships in 2003, to two seats in 2005 and by 2008, three astronauts at the same time. Recently, China's unmanned probe named Hang Nga I flew around the moon's orbit and Beijing plans to send people to the earth's satellite by 2020.

The gorilla population is more than expected

A baby gorilla in Africa.Photo: Times.

A new survey conducted this summer by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) shows that the remaining numbers of gorillas in the lowlands of western Africa are much larger than those predicted by the scientist. Forests and marshes in northern Congo are home to about 125,000 gorillas, twice as large as previously estimated.

This is a rare good news about flora and fauna situation in this area but still has many potential risks. The reason is that the civil war in neighboring Congo Democratic Republic (a country much larger than the Congo Republic) is spreading to Virunga National Park area, threatening the existence of 350 mountain gorilla communities. Here, accounting for half of the total number of this species in the world.

Extrasolar planets

Photograph of a planet outside the solar system.Photo: Time.

Scientists have always claimed that the universe has a lot of planets with orbiting stars outside the solar system that we already know. But not until 1995 did they begin to find these alien planets. By June last, Swiss astronomer Michel Mayor found 45 completely new planets. All of them are quite small and very hot.

By November, two groups of astronomers from the US and Canada captured the images of these four alien planets. These are the first photos showing a world outside the solar system that is visible.

Stealth power

The cloak of the witch boy Harry Potter in the hit series.Photo: Time.

Scientists at the University of California have announced they have invented an invisibility cloak and will release it in the future, thanks to two ultra-thin new materials capable of bending the path of light, causing light waves. Light goes around the object and then converges in the back like the water flowing around a rock.

However, the ability to stealth is still in the process of testing and the cost of manufacturing is too great, it will be difficult to widely apply this technology in practice. Meanwhile, scientists at the University of California still have a long way to go before stealing objects larger than nanoscale.

Recreate the long-haired mammoth genome

Model of long haired mammoth.Photo: Time.

Last November, biochemist Stevan Schuster announced that it has recreated 80% of the genomes of long-extinct long-haired mammoths, using the remaining hairs of ancient giant animals. giant This work not only involves reassembling more than 3 billion DNA sequences, but also requires making sure that no samples are used from bacteria or other living organisms on the feathers. of mammoths.

Prof. Schuster's announcement raises the question of whether to recreate Juras Century Park as we often hear it. The answer is no and we will not be able to soon witness the long haired mammoths walking by flesh.

First family on the planet

The nuclear family skeleton discovered in Germany consists of two adults and two children.Photo: Time.

The new discovery in the Saxony-Anhalt state region in central Germany may be the oldest image in the world for a nuclear family (family form of parents and children). Archaeologists here unearthed the 4,600-year-old mass grave of a group of Stone Age people, showing signs of being killed together in a raid.

Among the remains were a group of four people buried together, including a male and a mature woman and two boys. These two children were identified as one of the ages of 8 to 9 and the other aged between 4 and 5. Analysis of DNA molecular evidence, scientists identified this as a family and Probably the oldest family in the world ever discovered.

Scientific level of Americans

Photo: Time.

From 1979 to 2006, the percentage of adults in the US who had knowledge of science doubled to 17%. An investigation this year was conducted by a professor of political science at the University of Michigan, showing that the situation has improved but not significantly.

Accordingly, 25% of the US population, the country invented aircraft, light bulbs and brought people to the moon, reaching the "civil science knowledge" standard. Sociological investigators conclude that only one in four adults in the United States can read and understand articles in the New York Times science section. This is considered to be a surprise discovery of the general scientific level of Americans.