7 scientific news that has marked this 2023

Like every year, 2023 brought a mix of scientific news. Some were positive, particularly in fields like medicine and space science. However, there were also negative updates, such as the breaking of climate records globally.

Both types of news are important. Positive scientific news shows that science is progressing and helping society make significant advancements. On the other hand, negative news highlights mistakes in science or society that we need to address.

This list includes both types of scientific news from 2023. It’s not exhaustive, as it’s impossible to cover all the good and bad scientific developments of the year. But these selected stories are certainly worth remembering as the year comes to a close.

India lands on the Moon

In August, a significant scientific event took place in India. The country became the fourth to successfully land a probe on the Moon, and the first to land it near the lunar south pole.

This was accomplished with Chandrayaan-3, a spacecraft equipped with a rover named Pragyan and several instruments. These instruments can measure various parameters, including seismic activity, lunar thermal conductivity, and temperature.

Climate records of 2023

Data from Copernicus, the European environmental monitoring program, indicates that 2023 has been the warmest year on record. This is concerning news, as 2023 has broken several other climate records as well.

For instance, the highest average ocean surface temperature ever recorded was noted this year at 21.1ºC. July was the warmest month globally, with an average surface air temperature of 16.95 ºC, which is 0.37 ºC higher than the previous record set in July 2019.

Most notably, in November, we experienced two days with temperatures more than 2ºC above pre-industrial levels. This threshold is often considered a point of no return according to the Paris Agreement. Even though it was only for two days, reaching this threshold is a significant cause for concern.

Wave of fires in Canada

Discussing unfortunate scientific news, we can’t ignore the increasing number of wildfires globally. In 2023, Canada experienced the worst outbreak with over 2,000 fires recorded between March and June.

These fires destroyed 4 million hectares of land and led to the evacuation of more than 100,000 people. The primary causes of these fires were drought and unusually high temperatures, though some may have been intentionally set.

The smoke from these fires was so dense that it enveloped New York in a thick fog. For a few hours, this made New York surpass New Delhi as the most polluted city in the world

Hello ChatGPT

ChatGPT was launched in late 2022, but it didn’t become widely popular until early 2023. This was when artificial intelligence shifted from being a complex concept understood by a few scientists to a tool that anyone with internet access could use.

This led to the emergence of many other chatbots and AI tools capable of tasks like adding voices to videos or creating images. These developments have sparked both excitement and concern. They have also upset many content creators.

There’s no denying that this is one of the major scientific developments of the year. Even though ChatGPT is just a chatbot, it’s a clear sign that artificial intelligence has become a permanent part of our lives.

Green light for CRISPR to treat diseases

CRISPR-Cas9 is a tool used in genetic engineering that functions like a molecular scissor, removing undesired DNA segments and, if needed, substituting them with others that are of interest.

This tool has been explored for a wide range of uses, from developing plants with desirable traits to treating diseases. However, when it comes to disease treatment, scientists exercise caution as it’s crucial to ensure that the advantages are greater than the risks and that the tool is truly beneficial.

Extensive research has been conducted in this area and, at last, a health authority, specifically the UK’s medicines regulator has approved the use of a therapy based on CRISPR-Cas9. This therapy is intended for the treatment of beta thalassemia and sickle cell diseases.

NASA sends largest asteroid sample in history to Earth

In October of last year, a significant scientific event occurred. The OSIRIS Rex mission capsule returned to Earth, carrying a sample of material taken from the asteroid Bennu, situated 120 million kilometers away.

This wasn’t the first mission to send asteroid samples back to Earth. Japan had previously accomplished this with its two Hayabusa missions. The first mission brought back a few grains of material from the asteroid Itokawa to Earth, totaling less than a gram. Hayabusa 2 managed to gather just over 5 grams from Ryugu, which were also successfully returned to Earth.

NASA, on the other hand, aimed to retrieve 60 grams from Bennu. However, they surpassed all expectations by collecting 250 grams of asteroid material. This leaves them with a significant amount of work ahead. This work is crucial as, among other goals, these scientists aim to determine the best method to divert Bennu, should it ever come too close to Earth, by analyzing its composition.

Nobel Prize for parents of coronavirus vaccines

If the development of coronavirus vaccines was the major scientific breakthrough of 2020, then the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Medicine to its key pioneers, Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, has certainly been one of the major scientific highlights of 2023.

It’s worth mentioning that they pioneered the development of vaccines based on messenger RNA, such as those produced by Pfizer and ModeRNA.

This technology involves introducing instructions into the body, enabling our own cells to produce the virus protein that will trigger the immune system response. It’s a highly effective and safer mechanism compared to traditional vaccines. As of now, the coronavirus vaccines have been the first to utilize this tool, but research is underway for its application in many other diseases.

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