In 2011 the world of science made a highly significant scientific advancement as the Large Hadron Collider hinted at the existence of the Higgs boson. This discovery, hailed as important as Einstein’s theory of relativity, Newton’s laws of gravity and indeed the moon landing, is likely to be confirmed in the coming months. 2012 looks like a promising and exciting year for science but before we move forward let’s take a quick back look at the big science stories of the year gone by.
In January Nasa discovered the first planet outside of our solar system that has a similar composition to that of Earth. Later in the year numerous exoplanets and a ‘Super-Earth’ with an average temperature of 22C, were discovered within the ‘Goldilocks zone’, making 2011 a fantastic year for astronomy.
In April Trekkies hopes were raised that they may someday be beamed up as researchers made advancements in teleportation. The breakthrough involved dispersing light and putting it back together elsewhere…in other words it’s not quite ready for humans just yet!
In July a man in Iceland was the first person to receive an organ grown entirely in a lab. His stem cells were used to produce a new windpipe which was then transplanted. The possibilities resulting from the success of this procedure are very exciting.
Some mind boggling statistics were announced in August as a survey revealed that the earth is home to about 8.7 million species. What’s even more amazing is that it is thought that 86% of life on land and 91% of sea life remain unidentified.
In October the world’s most celebrated innovator Steve Jobs dies at the age of 56. The breakthroughs he made in digital technology throughout his career have had a huge impact on the advancement of personal computers and how we live our lives.
CERN’s big announcement dominated scientific news as the year drew to a close. As the LHC produced results hinting at the existence of Higgs boson the world awaits 2012 and further news on the subject with baited breath!
0 Comments
You must be logged in to comment.