2018 in science: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:29, 20 July 2024

Revision as of 21:37, 2 August 2024

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**NASA and NOAA report that 2017 was the hottest year on record globally without an [[El Niño]], and among the top three hottest years overall.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/2017-ranked-among-three-hottest-years-ever/|title=2017 Ranked Among Three Hottest Years Ever |date=18 January 2018 |website=Scientific American |access-date=19 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Carrington |first1=Damian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/18/2017-was-the-hottest-year-on-record-without-el-nino-boost |title=2017 was the hottest year on record without El Niño boost |date=18 January 2018 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=19 January 2018 }}</ref>

**Researchers report developing a [[blood test]] (or [[liquid biopsy]]) that can detect eight common [[cancer]] tumors early. The new test, based on cancer-related [[DNA]] and [[protein]]s found in the blood, produced 70% positive results in the tumor-types studied in 1005 patients.<ref name="SCI-20180119">{{cite journal |last=Kaiser |first=Jocelyn |title='Liquid biopsy' for cancer promises early detection |date=19 January 2018 |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=359 |issue=6373 |page=259 |doi=10.1126/science.359.6373.259 |pmid=29348215 |bibcode=2018Sci...359..259K }}</ref><ref name="LAT-20180118">{{cite news |last=Netburn |first=Deborah |title=This new blood test can detect early signs of 8 kinds of cancer |url=http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-blood-test-cancer-20180118-story.html |date=18 January 2018 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=18 January 2018 }}</ref>

**[[Shark]]s are shown to move and feed across the world's oceans in characteristic ways as demonstrated by a global-scale study of [[Stable isotope ratio|stable isotopes]] in shark tissues led by the University of Southampton and published in the journal ''[[Nature Ecology and Evolution]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bird|first1=Christopher S.|last2=Veríssimo|first2=Ana|last3=Magozzi|first3=Sarah|last4=Abrantes|first4=Kátya G.|last5=Aguilar|first5=Alex|last6=Al-Reasi|first6=Hassan|last7=Barnett|first7=Adam|last8=Bethea|first8=Dana M.|last9=Biais|first9=Gérard|date=2018|title=A global perspective on the trophic geography of sharks|journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution|language=En|volume=2|issue=2|pages=299–305|doi=10.1038/s41559-017-0432-z|pmid=29348645|bibcode=2018NatEE...2..299B |issn=2397-334X|hdl=2445/120429|s2cid=4437883|url=https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/417293/1/Bird_et_al_submmission.merged.pdf}}</ref>

**According to a new report published by the US [[National Science Foundation]] (NSF), the US is facing increasing competition in scientific endeavours from China, with the latter now publishing more annual scientific papers, but the US still leads in [[research and development]] (R&D) and [[venture capital]] (VC).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=244271|title=State of US science enterprise report shows US leads in S&E as China rapidly advances|date=18 January 2018|website=US National Science Foundation|access-date=19 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/610023/china-publishes-more-scientific-articles-than-the-us/|title=China Publishes More Scientific Articles Than the U.S|date=18 January 2018|website=MIT Technology Review|access-date=19 January 2018}}</ref>

**Medical researchers at the [[Gladstone Institutes]] discover a method of turning [[skin]] cells into [[stem cell]]s, with the use of CRISPR.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gladstone.org/about-us/news/researchers-create-first-stem-cells-using-crispr-genome-activation|title=Researchers Create First Stem Cells Using CRISPR Genome Activation|date=18 January 2018|website=Gladstone Institutes|access-date=21 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180118162449.htm|title=Researchers create first stem cells using CRISPR genome activation|date=18 January 2018|website=Science Daily|access-date=21 January 2018}}</ref>

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** Researchers report evidence that [[modern humans]] [[Early human expansions out of Africa|migrated from Africa]] at least as early as [[Middle Paleolithic|194,000 years ago]], somewhat consistent with recent genetic studies, and much earlier than previously thought.<ref name="SCI-20180126">{{cite journal |author=Herschkovitz, Israel |display-authors=etal |title=The earliest modern humans outside Africa |date=26 January 2018 |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=359 |issue=6374 |pages=456–459 |doi=10.1126/science.aap8369 |pmid=29371468 |bibcode=2018Sci...359..456H |doi-access=free |hdl=10072/372670 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="NYT-20180125">{{cite news |last=St. Fleur |first=Nicholas |title=In Cave in Israel, Scientists Find Jawbone Fossil From Oldest Modern Human Out of Africa |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/science/jawbone-fossil-israel.html |date=25 January 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=30 June 2018 }}</ref>

**Scientists working for [[Calico (company)|Calico]], a company owned by [[Alphabet Inc.|Alphabet]], publish a paper in the journal ''[[eLife]]'' which presents possible evidence that ''[[naked mole-rat|Heterocephalus glaber]]'' (naked mole-rat) do not face increased mortality risk due to aging.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.calicolabs.com/news/2018/01/25/|title=Calico Scientists Publish Paper in eLife Demonstrating that the Naked Mole Rat's Risk of Death Does Not Increase With Age|date=25 January 2018|website=Calico|access-date=27 January 2018|archive-date=27 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127202915/https://www.calicolabs.com/news/2018/01/25/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/naked-mole-rats-defy-biological-law-aging|title=Naked mole rats defy the biological law of aging|date=26 January 2018|website=Science Magazine – AAAS|access-date=27 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ruby |first1=Graham |last2=Smith |first2=Megan |last3=Buffenstein |first3=Rochelle |date=25 January 2018 |title=Naked mole-rat mortality rates defy Gompertzian laws by not increasing with age|journal=eLife|volume=7 |doi=10.7554/eLife.31157 |pmid=29364116 |pmc=5783610 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

*29 January – Scientists report, for the first time, that 800 million [[virus]]es, mainly of [[Marine biology|marine origin]], are deposited daily from the [[Earth]]{{'s}} [[atmosphere]] onto every square meter of the planet's surface, as the result of a global atmospheric stream of viruses, circulating above the weather system, but below the altitude of usual airline travel, distributing viruses around the planet.<ref name="NYT-20180413">{{cite news |last=Robbins |first=Jim |title=Trillions Upon Trillions of Viruses Fall From the Sky Each Day |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/science/virosphere-evolution.html |date=13 April 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=14 April 2018 }}</ref><ref name="ISME-2018">{{cite journal |last1=Reche |first1=Isabel |last2=D'Orta |first2=Gaetano |last3=Mladenov |first3=Natalie |last4=Winget |first4= Danielle M |last5=Suttle |first5= Curtis A |title=Deposition rates of viruses and bacteria above the atmospheric boundary layer |journal=ISME Journal |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=1154–1162 |date=29 January 2018 |doi=10.1038/s41396-017-0042-4 |pmid=29379178 |pmc=5864199 |bibcode=2018ISMEJ..12.1154R }}</ref>

=== February ===

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**Footprints in the [[Yangtze Gorges]] area of South China, dating back [[Ediacaran|546 million years]], are reported to be the earliest known record of an animal with legs.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Oldest 'footprints' found in China |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44404246 |date=7 June 2018 |journal=BBC News |access-date=8 June 2018 }}</ref>

**The spacecraft [[Dawn (spacecraft)|''Dawn'']] assumes a final (and much closer) orbit around the [[dwarf planet]] [[Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres]]: as close as {{convert|35|km|mi|abbr=on}} and as far away as {{convert|4000|km|mi|abbr=on}} (see [[Commons:Category:Dawn Ceres XMO7 phase|images]]).<ref name="NASA-20180613mr">{{cite web |last=Rayman |first=Marc |title=Dawn – Mission Status |url=https://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_2018.html |date=13 June 2018 |website=[[NASA]] |access-date=16 June 2018 }}</ref><ref name="SFN-20180615">{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Stephen |title=Dawn spacecraft flying low over Ceres |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/06/15/dawn-spacecraft-flying-low-over-ceres/ |date=15 June 2018 |website=SpaceFlightNow.com |access-date=16 June 2018 }}</ref>

* 7 June – NASA announces that the [[Curiosity (rover)|''Curiosity'' rover]] has detected a cyclical seasonal variation in [[Atmosphere of Mars|atmospheric]] [[methane]] (see [[:File:PIA22328-MarsCuriosityRover-Methane-SeasonalCycle-20180607.jpg|image]]) on the planet [[Mars]], as well as the presence of [[kerogen]] and other complex [[organic compound]]s.<ref name="NASA-20180607">{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Dwayne |last2=Wendel |first2=JoAnna |last3=Steigerwald |first3=Bill |last4=Jones |first4=Nancy |last5=Good |first5=Andrew |title=Release 18-050 – NASA Finds Ancient Organic Material, Mysterious Methane on Mars |url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-finds-ancient-organic-material-mysterious-methane-on-mars |date=7 June 2018 |website=[[NASA]] |access-date=7 June 2018 }}</ref><ref name="NASA-20180607vid">{{cite web |author=NASA |title=Ancient Organics Discovered on Mars – video (03:17) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0gsz8EHiNc |date=7 June 2018 |website=[[NASA]] |access-date=7 June 2018 }}</ref><ref name="SPC-20180607">{{cite web |last=Wall |first=Mike |title=Curiosity Rover Finds Ancient 'Building Blocks for Life' on Mars |url=https://www.space.com/40819-mars-methane-organics-curiosity-rover.html |date=7 June 2018 |website=[[Space.com]] |access-date=7 June 2018 }}</ref><ref name="NYT-20180607">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Life on Mars? Rover's Latest Discovery Puts It 'On the Table' - The identification of organic molecules in rocks on the red planet does not necessarily point to life there, past or present, but does indicate that some of the building blocks were present. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/science/mars-nasa-life.html |date=7 June 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=8 June 2018 }}</ref><ref name="SCI-20180607">{{cite journal |last=Voosen |first=Paul |title=NASA rover hits organic pay dirt on Mars |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/nasa-rover-hits-organic-pay-dirt-mars |date=7 June 2018 |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] | doi = 10.1126/science.aau3992 |s2cid=115442477 |access-date=7 June 2018 }}</ref><ref name="SCI-20180608a">{{cite journal |last=ten Kate |first=Inge Loes |title=Organic molecules on Mars |date=8 June 2018 |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=360 |issue=6393 |pages=1068–1069 |doi=10.1126/science.aat2662|pmid=29880670 |bibcode=2018Sci...360.1068T |hdl=1874/366378 |s2cid=46952468 }}</ref><ref name="SCI-20180608b">{{cite journal |author=Webster, Christopher R. |display-authors=etal |title=Background levels of methane in Mars' atmosphere show strong seasonal variations |date=8 June 2018 |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=360 |issue=6393 |pages=1093–1096 |doi=10.1126/science.aaq0131|pmid=29880682 |bibcode=2018Sci...360.1093W |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="SCI-20180608c">{{cite journal |author=Eigenbrode, Jennifer L. |display-authors=etal |author-link1=Jennifer Eigenbrode|title=Organic matter preserved in 3-billion-year-old mudstones at Gale crater, Mars |date=8 June 2018 |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=360 |issue=6393 |pages=1096–1101 |doi= 10.1126/science.aas9185|pmid=29880683 |bibcode=2018Sci...360.1096E |doi-access=free |hdl=10044/1/60810 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

* 8 June – The U.S. Department of Energy's [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]] unveils [[Summit (supercomputer)|Summit]] as the world's most powerful [[supercomputer]], with a peak performance of 200,000 trillion calculations per second, or 200 [[petaflops]].<ref>{{cite web |title=ORNL Launches Summit Supercomputer |url=https://www.ornl.gov/news/ornl-launches-summit-supercomputer |date=8 June 2018 |website=Oak Ridge National Laboratory |access-date=9 June 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Summit Up and Running at Oak Ridge, Claims First Exascale Application |url=https://www.top500.org/news/summit-up-and-running-at-oak-ridge-claims-first-exascale-application/ |date=9 June 2018 |website=Top500 |access-date=9 June 2018 }}</ref>

* 11 June – [[KATRIN]], an experiment designed to measure the absolute mass of [[neutrino]]s, starts data-taking.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kit.edu/kit/english/pi_2018_069_neutrinos-weighed-by-the-world-s-most-precise-scale.php|title=The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment KATRIN Starts – Official Inauguration Colloquium on June 11 – Germany's Federal Minister of Research: "an experiment of superlatives"|date=11 June 2018|access-date=13 June 2018}}</ref>

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* 18 August – Research presented at the Goldschmidt conference in Boston concludes that water is likely to be a common feature of [[exoplanets]] between two and four times the size of Earth, with implications for the search of life in our Galaxy.<ref>{{citation |title=Water-worlds are common: Exoplanets may contain vast amounts of water |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180818115758.htm |date=18 August 2018 |work=Science Daily|access-date=19 August 2018 }}</ref>

* 20 August

**Scientists report that [[Earliest known life forms|life]], based on [[genetics|genetic]] and [[fossil]] evidences, may have begun on [[Earth]] nearly 4.5 billion years ago, much earlier than thought before.<ref name="PHY-20180820">{{cite web |author=University of Bristol |title=A timescale for the origin and evolution of all of life on Earth |url=https://phys.org/news/2018-08-timescale-evolution-life-earth.html |date=20 August 2018 |website=[[Phys.org]] |access-date=20 August 2018 }}</ref><ref name="NAT-20180820">{{cite journal |last1=Betts |first1=Holly C. |last2=Putick |first2=Mark N. |last3=Clark |first3=James W. |last4=Williams |first4=Tom A. |last5=Donoghue |first5=Philip C.J. |last6=Pisani |first6=Davide |title=Integrated genomic and fossil evidence illuminates life's early evolution and eukaryote origin |date=20 August 2018 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=2 |issue=10 |pages=1556–1562 |doi=10.1038/s41559-018-0644-x |pmid=30127539 |pmc=6152910 |bibcode=2018NatEE...2.1556B }}</ref>

**Researchers report that the [[skyglow]] of [[Steve (atmospheric phenomenon)|STEVE]] ("Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement"), an [[Atmospheric optics|atmospheric optical phenomenon]] appearing as a purple and green light ribbon in the sky, and not an [[aurora]], is not associated with [[Precipitation|particle precipitation]] ([[electron]]s or [[ion]]s) and, as a result, could be generated in the [[ionosphere]].<ref name="GRL-20180820">{{cite journal |last1=Gallardo-Lacourt |first1=B. |last2=Liang |first2=J. |last3=Nishimura |first3=Y. |last4=Donovan |first4=E. |title=On the Origin of STEVE: Particle Precipitation or Ionospheric Skyglow? |date=20 August 2018 |journal=[[Geophysical Research Letters]] |volume=45 |issue=16 |pages=7968 |doi=10.1029/2018GL078509 |bibcode=2018GeoRL..45.7968G |s2cid=134540082 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

* 21 August – Scientists announce the first direct evidence for exposed [[Lunar water|water-ice on the Moon's surface]], which is found in permanently shaded regions.<ref>{{citation |title=Scientists discover first direct evidence of surface exposed water ice on the moon |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/uoha-sdf082118.php |date=21 August 2018 |work=EurekAlert!|access-date=22 August 2018 }}</ref>

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** Researchers at the [[University of Queensland]] recreated 450 million-year-old [[enzymes]] with [[Thermostability|thermostable]] proteins, which can withstand higher temperatures, and could be used to improve drugs and [[gene therapy]].<ref>{{cite journal |display-authors=1 |author1=Yosephin Gumulya |author2=Jong-Min Baek |author3=Shun-Jie Wun |author4=Raine E. S. Thomson |author5=Kurt L. Harris |author6=Dominic J. B. Hunter |author7=James B. Y. H. Behrendorff |author8=Justyna Kulig |author9=Shan Zheng |author10=Xueming Wu |author11=Bin Wu |author12=Jeanette E. Stok |author13=James J. De Voss |author14=Gerhard Schenk |author15=Ulrik Jurva |author16=Shalini Andersson |author17=Emre M. Isin | author18=Mikael Bodén |author19=Luke Guddat |author20=Elizabeth M. J. Gillam |s2cid=91486250 |title=Engineering highly functional thermostable proteins using ancestral sequence reconstruction |journal=Nature Catalysis |volume=1 |issue=11 |pages=878–888 |date=22 October 2018 |doi=10.1038/s41929-018-0159-5|url=https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:0be5577/submitted.pdf }}</ref>

*24 October &ndash; Scientists report discovering the [[Weapon#Prehistoric|oldest weapons]] found in North America, ancient [[Projectile point|spear points]], dated to 13,500 &ndash; 15,500 years ago, made of [[chert]], predating the [[clovis culture]] (typically dated to 13,000 years ago), in the state of Texas.<ref name="EA-20181024">{{cite news |author=American Association for the Advancement of Science |title=New projectile point style could suggest two separate migrations into North America - Pre-Clovis projectile points at the Debra L. Friedkin site, Texas; implications for the Late Pleistocene peopling of the Americas |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/aaft-npp102218.php |date=24 October 2018 |work=[[EurekAlert!]] |access-date=25 October 2018 |author-link=American Association for the Advancement of Science }}</ref><ref name="PHYS-20181024">{{cite web |last=Randall |first=Keith |title=Team finds oldest weapons ever discovered in North America |url=https://phys.org/news/2018-10-team-oldest-weapons-north-america.html |work=[[Phys.org]] |access-date=24 October 2018}}</ref>

*26 October &ndash; Astronomers confirm the existence of [[Mineral dust|dust cloud]] [[satellite]]s, called [[Kordylewski cloud]]s, in semi-stable regions (the L4 and L5 [[Lagrangian point]]s of the Earth–Moon system) about {{convert|400,000|km|mi|abbr=on}} above the planet [[Earth]].<ref name="EA-20181026">{{cite news |author=Royal Astronomical Society |title=Earth's dust cloud satellites confirmed |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/ras-edc102618.php |date=26 October 2018 |work=[[EurekAlert!]] |access-date=27 October 2018 |author-link=Royal Astronomical Society }}</ref><ref name="MN-RAS-20181111">{{cite journal |last1=Slíz-Balogh |first1=Judith |last2=Barta |first2=András |last3=Horváth |first3=Gábor |s2cid=125609141 |title=Celestial mechanics and polarization optics of the Kordylewski dust cloud in the Earth–Moon Lagrange point L5 – I. Three-dimensional celestial mechanical modelling of dust cloud formation |date=11 November 2018 |journal=[[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]] |volume=480 |issue=4 |pages=5550–5559 |doi=10.1093/mnras/sty2049 |doi-access=free |arxiv=1910.07466 |bibcode=2018MNRAS.480.5550S }}</ref><ref name="MN-RAS-20190101">{{cite journal |last1=Slíz-Balogh |first1=Judith |last2=Barta |first2=András |last3=Horváth |first3=Gábor |s2cid=126286187 |title=Celestial mechanics and polarization optics of the Kordylewski dust cloud in the Earth–Moon Lagrange point L5 – Part II. Imaging polarimetric observation: new evidence for the existence of Kordylewski dust cloud |date=1 January 2019 |journal=[[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]] |volume=482 |issue=1 |pages=762–770 |doi=10.1093/mnras/sty2630 |doi-access=free |arxiv=1910.07471 |bibcode=2019MNRAS.482..762S }}</ref>

*30 October

**[[NASA]] announces that the [[Kepler (spacecraft)|Kepler space telescope]], having run out of fuel, and after nine years of service and the discovery of over 2,600 [[exoplanet]]s, has been officially retired, and will maintain its current, safe orbit, away from Earth.<ref name="NASA-20181030">{{cite web |last1=Chou |first1=Felicia |last2=Hawkes |first2=Alison |last3=Cofield |first3=Calia |title=NASA Retires Kepler Space Telescope |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7272 |date=30 October 2018 |work=[[NASA]] |access-date=30 October 2018 }}</ref><ref name="NYT-20181030">{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye |title=Kepler, the Little NASA Spacecraft That Could, No Longer Can |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/science/nasa-kepler-exoplanet.html |date=30 October 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=30 October 2018 }}</ref>