Not every year can be eventful when it comes to new scientific findings. That was the case with 2012. However, in 2013 the world was treated with a number of amazing discoveries that deserve a special mention. Although it was pretty hard to choose the most stunning and interesting of them, we did made a short list of the biggest scientific findings of the year.
Implantable Electronics
One of the most talked-about topics in 2013 was wearable electronic devices. Scientists managed to give a completely new meaning to this phrase. They created a number of electronics that can be easily implanted inside the human body. Those included everything from electronic tattoos to gadgets that fight microbes. In addition, scientists invested small nanoparticles that can be used for brain manipulation. That sounds a bit scary, right?
Humankind Left the Milky Way
Finally, some news from Voyager 1. NASA launched the spacecraft more than 3 decades ago and this year it went interstellar. It managed to escape the electromagnetic influence of the sun and head to new unknown destinations. This is pretty impressive given that Voyager 1 was created back in the 1970s.
New Pesticide Myth and Facts
Neonicotinoids are the most popular type of pesticide used today. Over the past few years there were various discussions concerning the dangers it could hide. Some tried to connected to the unseen recent die-offs of bees. Despite that, there was a little focus on the way it affected other animal species. In 2013, scientists found that this type of pesticide is not entirely harmless to vertebrates. They found that even humans can be affected by them negatively.
Editing of the Human Genome
At the very beginning of the year, researchers shared that they have discovered a fast yet precise method for genetic code editing. The method was named CRISPR system and it can be used for various purposes. One of them is finding and fixing gene mutations which are responsible for all kinds of diseases. Nevertheless, do not expect to see this method in practice since it require a lot more time to be fully developed and understood.
Growing Organs
2013 was a great year in terms of stem cell findings. Scientist managed to reprogram stem cells and to turn them into skin cells. In addition, they even managed to product something that slightly resembled a fetal brain. Another team of researchers managed to create a fully functional liver again using modified skin cells. They even reported that they may soon be able to develop a human kidney.
As it was already mentioned, these are just some of the scientific discoveries of the year. Among 2013 breakthroughs is also the finding that there are around 10 billion planets in our galaxy that resemble Earth. Also, a new meat-eating mammal was discovered in the Americas. Researchers even saw the mysterious dark matter in 2013… or at least one particle from it. We can only guess what 2014 has in store for us.
