The amazing results left by science during the year 2022

On its mission to push the frontiers of knowledge this year Science did not disappoint. They came from different fields Breakthroughs and discoveries Which, on the one hand, opens up new opportunities for humanity – like the recent declaration about Nuclear fusion ignition achieved by American researchers, which promises the future development of a cleaner energy source -.

Others have shown us unknown aspects of the vast universe in which we live – such as earendelAnd the the farthest star ever, which was taken by Hubble Space Telescope – , or that helped to reconstruct part of our past – such as studies DNA And that revealed how A major epidemic bubonic plague; that destroyed Europe 700 years ago modifying our genome and immune system -.

Without a doubt, the list is long. However, this is a selection of some Scientific progress Which distinguished from different fields of knowledge and which managed to surprise humanity during 2022.

On September 26th NASA Live Broadcast How Spacecraft Mission Conducted – First designed to test a strategy for defending Earth against things that might threaten it – It collided with the asteroid Dimorphos With a diameter of about 160 meters (almost twice the Statue of Liberty) it circles an even larger statue, Didymus (780 meters, almost the height of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world).

Analysis of the impact data allowed the space agency to determine that the mission was a success It changes its trajectory and reduces its orbital period in 32 minutes.

According to the magazine Scienceswas the second most important investigation of the year Discovery The wonderful theomargaretwhich is a unique bacterium It can be seen with the naked eye 5000 times larger of most bacteria, as if one person would meet another at the height of Mount Everest, explain the authors of the study in which they are described.

The presence of these bacteria – that have size f Human eyelash shape Discover among the mangrove forests of the French Caribbean – questions about some basic principles of the biology and evolution of organisms.

in April T2T Alliance Telomere to Telomere, made up of more than a hundred researchers from around the world, announced its investigation The first complete sequence of the human genomeby deciphering the 8 percent that had been pending for 21 years, when the first mapping of what could be considered our instruction manual was revealed.

For experts, this seamless new map of our DNA reveals hidden areas that are important to us. Understanding genetic diseases, reproduction and human diversity and even the evolution of our species.

The Orion spacecraft, from NASA’s Artemis 1 mission, has returned to Earth At the beginning of December, 25 days after Journey to orbit around the moon. With a touchdown in the Pacific Ocean near Guadalupe Island off the coast of Baja California, the mission — which broke the record for the farthest spacecraft designed to carry people — broke records. It confirmed its success and paved the way for a manned test flightWhat is expected to happen In the year 2024 with the task Artemis IIand exploration of the future human satellite that will bring the first woman and first person of color to the natural satellite in 2025, as part of the Artemis program.

The beginning of the scientific activities of the association space telescope James Webb It was described as the most important progression of the year for the magazine Sciences and the First color photo The magazine revealed this powerful observatory time As one of the pictures that marked the date of 2022.

After 12 months in space (six of them deployed and operational), Webb didn’t just leave Postcards of nebulae and planets Clearly never seen before, but rather put at the service of researchers Invaluable data To learn about the mysteries hidden in the universe.

* Written by Alejandra Lopez

Weather (Colombia)