Solve the 9 biggest mysteries of science in the 21st century

Life is full of mysteries and scientists are trying to find answers to these mysteries. Human mysteries are the deepest mysteries that scientists now need to clarify in this 21st century.

9 biggest mysteries of science in the 21st century

1. The origin of youth

Scientists at Scripps Research Institute - California (USA) surveyed the genes of some elderly people in their 90s. Up to 99% of the cases, genes still work perfectly when controlling cells that make proteins like well suited. Scientists at the University of Illinois, Chicago (USA) said, they most likely have found the answer by studying a gene called p21 . P21 acts as a genetically emergency brake; when activated, it stops the growth of cells damaged by toxins or radiation, giving them time to recover.

Igor Roninson, a professor of molecular genetics, activated the p21 gene in human cells and studied how it affects other genes. These affected genes will take the form of a powder, collapse and stop growing - they are getting old. " The activation of this type of gene also led to a change in a range of other genes that were affected by aging or aging-related diseases," he said.

In addition, p21 also selectively inhibits more than 40 known genes involved in DNA replication and cell division, thereby immediately stopping cell growth. Genes stimulated by p21 include Alzheimer's, aging and arthritis.

2. Payment of cancer

Cancer has a common characteristic: healthy cells suddenly develop abnormally. Scientists have identified: the cause is not in genes but cancer occurs primarily because of smoking, poor diet, lack of physical training or radiation exposure, umbrella infection with other carcinogenic chemicals.

Breast cancer - the horror of women will be destroyed in the 21st century.

A control effort includes regulations that limit the release of industrial substances that can make cancer out of the list of killer diseases, turning it into a rare disease. The main solution was determined not by pills, but better than precautions .

3. Find an immortal drug

Cancer cells share a characteristic together, which is immortal . If they are still nourished, they will continue to be divided. This does not happen to healthy cells, which seem to have a countdown timer (called telomeres) at the end of the chromosomes to limit the number of times the cell can replicate itself. Each time the cell regenerates itself, a part of the telomeres is removed and until it is gone, the cell stops dividing. With 46 chromosomes, humans have all 92 of their life time countdown clocks.

Dr Jerry Shay of the University of Texas said: "Normally, cells will stop dividing after about 70 generations. And new cells (with telomerase activated) have doubled over 100 times, while there are no signs that their division speed is decreasing. " Although telomerase has been active for a long time in normal cells, enough time for telomeres to restore its original length, there are no symptoms of these cells developing into cancer cells. .

4. Artificial life

Nanotechnology is a manufacturing technique whereby tiny devices are arranged in individual atoms. The only thing that can make devices from such small components is a phenomenon called self-assembly. If you arrange in a precise order a basic structure, you can " develop" microcapsules, microscopic spheres and tiny transistors for computers.

Nanotechnology - the pinnacle of all future technologies

At the University of Illinois, researchers are using a protein prefix commonly found in many types of human cells to create a self-organizing structure . Expert Gerard Wong said: "Membrane cysts are our prefixes that are always in equilibrium and do not require energy to maintain stability. " The question is whether we can reach a point at which literally self-aligning structures can create their own lives? A group of researchers at the California Institute of Technology and Michigan State University agreed: the answer is yes! These scientists have created " digital bodies" in computers. They found that these " cybernetic individuals " respond to changes in a way very similar to real bodies like bacteria, fungi and fruit flies.

Expert Chris Adami at the California Institute of Technology said: "It is possible to study the most fundamental problems of life from a living organism, because living organisms are the complex result of an evolutionary process after 4. However, the initial research results will help us understand something about life. "

The first step of Adami's study was to test the evolution of a living form based on a living organism, in this case E. coli . He said: "I think we were able to convince biology researchers that artificial life is no longer a dream. It also helps us answer some basic biological problems. ".

5. Discover the nature of the soul

Thanks to micro nano technology , in the future we can create a copy of a human being. But is that copy really as soulful as the prototype? A question still left open! This may be the mystery that scientists prioritize to deal with in this century. Neuroscientists and theologians of the Vatican are debating and studying the material nature of the soul. " Does religion depend on the soul? Can science recognize the physical form of the soul?" . Those are the questions that the two sides ask.

The first question is for the theologians . And neuroscience experts believe they have a technology to be able to answer the second question. It is an extremely sensitive device called an X-ray scanner that calculates a single three-headed positron emission to study the brains of people who are thinking. Scientist Andrew Newberg said: " Many people are very confused by the most moving phenomenon that has just experienced can reduce the typical functions of the brain - which can be measured by advanced brain imaging methods. ".

The subjects of these studies were Tibetan Zen masters and they allowed the insertion of tubes into veins in their hands. When these people reached the state of highest concentration, they told Newberg to let him pass a radioactive isotope into their veins. In the brain, more activated cells during thought received more radioactive isotopes, making the scanner easily recognizable. Similar research is underway with St. Francis nuns and orthodox Christians.

6. Faster than light speed

Overcoming the speed of light is one of the top dreams of people, especially when it has a particularly important meaning in the conquest of the universe . Scientist Chris Van Den Broeck (Belgium) described a race of light speeds by using a special form of deformed space, allowing the creation of bubbles of large capacity - while the surface Extremely small outside. Broeck calculated the ability to create a bubble large enough to accommodate a space rocket launcher requires only 1 gram of material.

In the summer of 2005, Nature Science magazine, a research team of scientist Lijun Wang, NEC Research Institute, Princeton (USA), directed a pulse of light through a tank filled with cesium at a speed of nearly 300,000 km / seconds. Wang said: "Strictly, the common perception is that nothing can move faster than the speed of light is wrong ." The ability to send signals faster than light can help solve the two most mysterious problems: contact with extraterrestrials and travel over time.

7. We are unique

Two recent discoveries in space have dramatically changed conflicting views about life in the universe. Early discovery involves a mysterious cloud near the galaxy center . The second discovery is related to pulsar radiation (the star is not visible to the naked eye but is detected only through signals).

Astronomers have discovered a form of sugar (glycolaldehyde) in the cloud from which new stars are forming. This means that, the great possibility is that the precursor chemicals of life were formed long ago in such a cloud, before the planets developed around the stars.

Scientists describe this sugar compound as molecularly related to normal sugar. The reason is that this type of atom consists of eight atoms of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen that can be easily combined with other molecules to form ribose. Ribose is the base block of nucleic acid (DNA), a chemical element of the genetic code found in all living organisms.

The second discovery involves pulsars . Although most pulsars are considered to be a form of neutron stars, their calculation of energy generation time has surprised astrophysicists. An American expert provided evidence that the pulsars were positioned and sent signals in the same form as an intellectual message.

Finding the molecules that make up the genetic basis for life along with fairly ordered signals has confirmed an argument: we are absolutely not alone in the universe.

8. What time machines will appear?

Albert Einstein has long been regarded as a genius beyond the age and his theories are being proved by contemporary humans. One of them is related to the paradox of two twins . Einstein hypothesized that the astronaut took a long trip at nearly the speed of light, while his brother stayed at home. When he returned, he saw his brother become an old man. The cause of this event, according to Einstein, is that the time on the spacecraft drifted more slowly, making astronauts still young.

In the most recent experiment that used two ultra-accurate watches, the clock on the Concorde supersonic aircraft clearly ran slower than the one placed in the lab. This shows that time is fully elastic. The study of time-based mechanics is still conducted with progress.

Scientist Kip Thorne at the California Institute of Technology proposed the use of cosmic black holes . According to Einstein, black holes are the tunnels that lead us into space - time. A black hole between two points could connect between today and yesterday or sooner.

The theoretical ability of traveling back in time poses a real question: why don't we meet astronauts over time? Einstein explained: when relativists do not follow the travel back in time, they will limit the time you can travel.

9. Dark matter

For decades, astronomers have been trying to find dark matter - the invisible substance that is thought to occupy a large part of the universe, exactly. A new study, using data from the Fermi space telescope of the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) may eventually provide some answers.

The physics and science professor Harry Nelson, from the University of California (USA), discovered a particle that is thought to form dark matter, emitting from the Sun to Earth.

This discovery reinforces the hypothesis that dark matter is being produced in the core of stars. According to research reports, experts have observed a strange signal in the solar system. It is identified as a newly discovered anomalous X-ray source in the Earth's magnetic field.

After eliminating the possibility of other sources, the team identified the signal as the result of the axion particles being converted into photons as they hit the magnetic field. In particular, axions are assumed basic particles in atoms, believed to be dark matter constituents.

The hypothesis of the existence of dark matter is based on the gravitational effects observed from stars and galaxies. Dark matter is thought to account for about 85% of all matter in the universe and helps shape the structure of the universe.