2022 is a big year for science. From genetically engineered heart transplants to finding out why Saturn has shimmering rings, scientists and science have brought us some of the most exciting stories this year.
Before 2022 ends, let’s take a look at the 7 most interesting science stories of the year.
Top 7 Most Interesting Science Stories of 2022
1. Man received a genetically modified pig heart transplant
We’re not trying to entice you to click with this headline. This is a true story and one of the strangest and most fascinating discoveries in science of the year. David Benett, 57, is terminally ill and in desperate need of a heart transplant. In January, the US Food and Drug Administration authorized Bennett to perform an emergency transplant. Bennett received a genetically modified pig heart made by University of Maryland Medical Center cardiothoracic surgeon Bartley Griffith, MD. Heart transplantation is a breakthrough discovery in science and opened the door to Xenotransplant transplantation.
Unfortunately, Bennett passed away 2 months after the transplant.
2. NASA’s Dart Mission
On September 26, NASA’s DART satellite crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos, successfully reducing its orbital period by 32 minutes and changing its orbit. With the success of this mission, we now have a better chance than ever to save the planet from a future asteroid strike and avoid the same fate as the dinosaurs.
3. China has created an artificial sun that is 5 times hotter than the real Sun.
Chinese scientists have created the Advanced Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), a nuclear fusion reactor that set a record by maintaining a temperature of 158 million degrees F (70 million degrees C) for 1,056 seconds. This achievement brings researchers a small but important step closer to developing a nearly limitless source of clean energy. EAST broke the record when it operated for 101 seconds at an unprecedented rate of 216 million F in May 2021.
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For comparison, the sun’s core actually reaches a temperature of about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit.
4. The James Webb Telescope has discovered countless of the oldest galaxies and stellar remnants in the universe.
After successful launches in December 2021 and early 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope began probing the known universe and capturing the most interesting things, such as the pillars of creation, the oldest stars and oldest galaxies in the universe.
5. There is now a reasonable explanation for Saturn’s rings
Until 2022, there was no reasonable explanation for the beautiful rings around Saturn. Astronomers from MIT and UC-Berkeley have proposed a theory that once upon a time, Saturn had an icy moon named Chrysalis. Chrysalis was disrupted by this planet and its other moon Titan, about 160 million years ago. The remains of Chrysalis are now seen as shimmering rings surrounding Saturn.
Related | NASA’s James Webb captured the clearest image yet of Neptune’s rings
6. Time travel may become a possibility
Source: Science.com
A study published in Physical Review D theorizes that the entrances to black holes and white holes may be connected by a wormhole, acting as a space-time conduit. And those wormholes are real and exist in space but hidden in plain sight.
If wormholes are indeed real, their existence would disrupt everything we know about space and time, and the time travel often featured in science fiction could very well become a reality. real.
Related | What is the difference between a black hole and a wormhole?
10. Graphyne nanomaterials can now be mass synthesized
Source: Wikipedia
In 1987, Baughman and his colleagues first hypothesized the synthesis of Graphyne, a nanomaterial. Since then, scientists have been intrigued by Graphyne for a long time because of its similarity to the “miracle substance” graphene and tried to create new forms of carbon. But due to recent findings from the University of Colorado Boulder, that effort is now over. Scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder have finally succeeded in synthesizing Graphyne in large quantities.
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Science is fascinating! It is filled with amazing facts and mysteries that challenge our understanding of the world. In fact, it’s one of the few things you can always count on not to change.
As humans, we are constantly trying to understand the world around us. This is why science is so exciting – it helps us understand the natural world and our place in it.
We hope you enjoyed this article about the 7 most interesting science stories of 2022.
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