Top 5 in Science in 2021
Leaving 2021 behind, we have reached 2022. Leaving a year behind and welcoming a new year does not mean that we will throw away everything of the old year. The new year is coming at the end of the year, but there is no interruption in the continuity of the progress of humanity; there is no obstacle. Today’s discovery in science, in particular, is a blessing for the next generation. Some of the consequences are that we will not suffer. However, any raw discovery or invention matures over time. It is essential to keep abreast of recent discoveries and innovations to keep up with scientific advances. Based on the 2021 election, the Science Journal named one discovery champion and nine discoveries runners-up. Today we will discuss the first five discoveries. The results were announced based on the votes of countless participants worldwide. A total of 39 percent voted for the discovery of the champion, 34 percent for the first runner-up, and 27 percent for the second runner-up.
Champion: The three-dimensional structure of proteins
A discovery in biology will quickly bring about a significant change in several sectors of this branch. It is only natural that they give such a success the status of the most critical and groundbreaking discovery of the year. The prestigious journal Science 2021 has named Alphafold and Rose-TTAFold as the most vital and groundbreaking discoveries in the program for pointing out accurate and straightforward ways of constructing three-dimensional proteins.
London-based company DeepMind Technologies developed the Alphafold software program. On the other hand, a team of researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, has worked behind Rose-TTAFold.
Runner-up 1: Ancient DNA
The DNA found on the ground floor of the cave contains some unknown chapters of ancient, extinct animals and Neanderthal species. DNA found in the caves of Galería de las Estatuas, Spain, indicates that humans lived between 80 and 113,000 years ago. An unknown branch of Neanderthals has been identified in DNA extracted from 25,000-year-old soil in a cave in Georgia. By comparing the DNA of a 12,000-year-old black bear with a modern bear, scientists have confirmed that cave-dwelling bears have migrated north to Alaska since the last ice age.
Runner-up 2: Crispr in the human body
The success of Zin editing using Crisper technology inside the human body came this year. The first breakthrough in medicine was in 2020. However, they edited it in the lab by bringing the blood stem cells out of the patient’s body. In 2021, scientists had gone one step further and completed the task of gene editing directly on the patient’s body. In this way, they have been able to reduce the number of toxins in the patient’s liver and restore the sight of a person with a genetic disease in the eye.
Runner-up 3: Muon
Relative to the unstable weight of the electron. Theoretical calculations and experiments on the magnetism of muon have shown inconsistencies. There is a definite limit to such discrepancies. Going beyond this limit means deviating from the standard model of particle physics. However, will this deviation force physicists to look for new physics outside of the standard model? It will take time to find out.
Runner-up 4: Covid Pill
In the last two years, Covid-19 has made its mark on the world. The whole world is lost in this epidemic. Efforts are being made to prevent it through vaccination. Occasionally its incidence decreases a little but increases again. The virus is telling me that I am not leaving quickly.
However, researchers do not go less. They have developed a pill that, if taken early in the course of infection, is thought to control a lot of bad conditions. If this is true, then it is good news in recent times.
Also, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has recently touched the Sun’s highest atmosphere. NASA is conducting this mission to learn more about how a star works.