2018 in science: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 23:29, 20 July 2024

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*13 March – Scientists report that ''[[Archaeopteryx]]'', a [[Prehistory|prehistoric]] [[feathered dinosaur]], was likely capable of [[Bird flight|flight]], but in a manner substantially different from that of [[Birds|modern birds]].<ref name="NAT-20180313">{{cite journal |author=Voeten, Dennis F.A.E. |display-authors=etal |title=Wing bone geometry reveals active flight in Archaeopteryx |date=13 March 2018 |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |volume=9 |page=923 |number=923 |doi=10.1038/s41467-018-03296-8 |pmid=29535376 |pmc=5849612 |bibcode=2018NatCo...9..923V }}</ref><ref name="WP-20180313">{{cite news |last=Guarino |first=Ben |title=This feathery dinosaur probably flew, but not like any bird you know |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2018/03/13/this-feathery-dinosaur-probably-flew-but-not-like-any-bird-you-know/ |date=13 March 2018 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=13 March 2018 }}</ref>

*15 March

**[[Intel]] reports that it will redesign its [[Central processing unit|CPU processors]]s (performance losses to be determined) to help protect against the [[Meltdown (security vulnerability)|Meltdown]] and [[Spectre (security vulnerability)|Spectre]] security vulnerabilities (especially, Meltdown and Spectre-V2, but not Spectre-V1), and expects to release the newly redesigned processors later in 2018.<ref name="TVRG-20180315">{{cite news |last=Warren |first=Tom |title=Intel processors are being redesigned to protect against Spectre – New hardware coming later this year |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/15/17123610/intel-new-processors-protection-spectre-vulnerability |date=15 March 2018 |work=[[The Verge]] |access-date=20 March 2018 }}</ref><ref name="CNET-20180315">{{cite news |last=Shankland |first=Stephen |title=Intel will block Spectre attacks with new chips this year – Cascade Lake processors for servers, coming this year, will fight back against a new class of vulnerabilities, says CEO Brian Krzanich. |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/intel-blocks-spectre-attacks-with-new-server-chips-this-year/ |date=15 March 2018 |work=[[CNET]] |access-date=20 March 2018 }}</ref><ref name="AT-20180315">{{cite web| last = Smith| first = Ryan| title = Intel Publishes Spectre & Meltdown Hardware Plans: Fixed Gear Later This Year |url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/12533/intel-spectre-meltdown |date=15 March 2018 | website=[[AnandTech]] |access-date=20 March 2018 }}</ref><ref name="TC-20180315">{{cite web |last=Coldewey |first=Devin |title=Intel announces hardware fixes for Spectre and Meltdown on upcoming chips |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/15/intel-announces-hardware-fixes-for-spectre-and-meltdown-on-upcoming-chips/ |date=15 March 2018 |website=[[TechCrunch]] |access-date=28 March 2018 }}</ref>

**Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes report a new [[cell therapy|cellular therapy]] in the journal ''[[Neuron (journal)|Neuron]]'' which shows promise in combating the effects of [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Palop |first1=Jorge |last2=Losa |first2=Magdalena |last3=Tracy |first3=Tara |last4=Ma |first4=Keran |last5=Verret |first5=Laure |last6=Perez |first6=Alexandra |last7=Khan |first7=Abdullah |last8=Cobos |first8=Inma |last9=Ho |first9=Kaitlyn |last10=Gan |first10=Li |last11=Mucke |first11=Lennart |last12=Dolado |first12=Manuel |date=15 March 2018 |title=Nav1.1-Overexpressing Interneuron Transplants Restore Brain Rhythms and Cognition in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease |url= |journal=Neuron |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=75–89.e5 |doi=10.1016/j.neuron.2018.02.029 |pmid=29551491 |pmc=5886814 |hdl=10261/165766 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://gladstone.org/about-us/news/cell-therapy-could-improve-brain-functions-impaired-alzheimer-s-disease|title=Cell Therapy Could Improve Brain Functions Impaired by Alzheimer's Disease|publisher=Gladstone Institutes|date=15 March 2018|access-date=10 April 2018}}</ref>

*19 March – [[Uber]] suspends all of its [[self-driving cars]] worldwide after a woman is killed by one of the vehicles in Arizona. This is the first recorded fatality using a fully automated version of the technology.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/610572/a-self-driving-uber-has-killed-a-pedestrian-in-arizona/|title=A self-driving Uber has killed a pedestrian in Arizona|publisher=Technology Review|date=19 March 2018|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref>

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* 17 May – Scientists warn that banned [[CFC-11]] gas emissions are originating from an unknown source somewhere in East Asia, with potential to damage the [[ozone layer]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/east-asia-may-be-releasing-cfc-chemicals-2018-5 |author=Peter Farquhar |work=Business Insider |___location=Australia |date=18 May 2018 |title='Someone in East Asia' has been blasting the Earth's ozone layer with a banned chemical}}</ref>

* 22 May

**Scientists report another [[CPU]] security vulnerability, related to the [[Spectre (security vulnerability)|Spectre]] and [[Meltdown (security vulnerability)|Meltdown]] vulnerabilities, called [[Speculative Store Bypass]] (SSB), and affecting the [[ARM architecture|ARM]], [[Advanced Micro Devices|AMD]] and [[Intel]] families of [[cpu]] processorsCPUs.<ref name="TVRG-20180522">{{cite web |last=Warren |first=Tom |title=Google and Microsoft disclose new CPU flaw, and the fix can slow machines down |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/21/17377994/google-microsoft-cpu-vulnerability-speculative-store-bypass-variant-4 |date=22 May 2018 |website=[[The Verge]] |access-date=22 May 2018 }}</ref><ref name="ARST-20180522">{{cite web |last=Bright |first=Peter |title=New speculative-execution vulnerability strikes AMD, ARM, and Intel – Fortunately, existing fixes should provide the protection we need |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/05/new-speculative-execution-vulnerability-strikes-amd-arm-and-intel/ |date=22 May 2018 |website=[[Ars Technica]] |access-date=22 May 2018 }}</ref><ref name="DIGT-20180522">{{cite web |last=Martindale |first=Jon |title=New Spectre-like bug could mean more performance-degrading patches |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/intel-spectre-like-bug-firmware/ |date=22 May 2018 |website=[[Digital Trends]] |access-date=22 May 2018 }}</ref>

**Scientists from Purdue University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences report the use of [[CRISPR]]/Cas9 to develop a variety of [[rice]] producing 25-31% more grain than traditional breeding methods.<ref>{{cite web |title=CRISPR-edited rice plants produce major boost in grain yield |url=https://phys.org/news/2018-05-crispr-edited-rice-major-boost-grain.html |date=22 May 2018 |website=PhysOrg |access-date=23 May 2018 }}</ref>

**Significant [[asteroid]] data arising from the [[Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer]] and [[NEO-WISE|NEOWISE]] missions is questioned.<ref name="ICARUS-20180522">{{cite journal |last=Myhrvold |first=Nathan |author-link=Nathan Myhrvold |title=An empirical examination of WISE/NEOWISE asteroid analysis and results |date=22 May 2018 |journal=[[Icarus (journal)|Icarus]] |volume=314 |pages=64–97 |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2018.05.004 |bibcode=2018Icar..314...64M |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="NYT-20180614">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Asteroids and Adversaries: Challenging What NASA Knows About Space Rocks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/science/asteroids-nasa-nathan-myhrvold.html |date=14 June 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=14 June 2018 }}</ref>