2024 has witnessed significant scientific advancements, notably in the search for extraterrestrial life on Jupiter’s icy moons, particularly Europa. Researchers have mapped fruit fly brains, revealing insights into thought processes. Climate change has surpassed a critical temperature threshold, while new findings on aging indicate non-linear progression. NASA’s asteroid sample analysis has reshaped solar system origin theories, and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry honored AI innovators for their breakthroughs in understanding diseases.
Scientific Breakthroughs of 2024
The past year has been marked by numerous scientific discoveries, with the quest for extraterrestrial life around Jupiter standing out among the most significant events of 2024. This fascinating search has captured the attention of researchers and enthusiasts alike.
Exploring Life on Jupiter’s Moons
The icy moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus may harbor water—an essential ingredient for life—and this revelation is among the year’s notable scientific milestones. Astrophysicist Robert Lamontagne emphasizes, “The potential discovery of water in distant celestial bodies is both surprising and groundbreaking for our own solar system.”
While the possibility of alien life is now being considered in the depths of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons believed to contain more water than Earth beneath its icy surface, Lamontagne cautions that any life forms we might find are likely to be simple organisms. “We are primarily referring to bacteria that can thrive in extreme temperatures,” he explains.
The recent launch of NASA’s Europa Clipper probe on October 14 aims to explore these exciting leads in the search for extraterrestrial life. However, answers will not be available until 2030, when the spacecraft completes its journey across the vast distance of 622 million kilometers to reach Jupiter.
Insights from the Fruit Fly
The fruit fly, or Drosophila, has been a cornerstone of scientific research for nearly a century due to its rapid life cycle and genetic similarities to humans, sharing about 60% of our genes. Researchers from Princeton University have successfully mapped the brain of this insect, revealing it contains 50 million synapses and 140,000 neurons. This groundbreaking study could significantly enhance our understanding of thought processes and memory formation.
Climate Change: A Critical Threshold Exceeded
According to an expert from the IPCC, the crucial threshold of a 1.5-degree Celsius rise in global temperatures, compared to pre-industrial levels, was reportedly surpassed in 2024. This consensus aligns with the Paris Agreement established in 2015, where 196 countries committed to mitigating the impacts of climate change.
New Perspectives on Aging
Researchers at Stanford University have uncovered that aging does not progress uniformly throughout a person’s life but occurs in bursts, particularly around the ages of 44 and 60. Over a seven-year study involving 108 volunteers, scientists analyzed 135,000 different molecules and microbes at various stages of life. Their findings, published in Nature Aging, reveal shifts in infection response and peak severity of heart conditions during mid-life for both men and women.
Revisiting Solar System Origins
Analysis of 121 grams of mineral samples collected by NASA from the asteroid Bennu has astounded scientists, prompting a reevaluation of the solar system’s origins. The detection of amino acids suggests that ancient stars may have played a pivotal role in the formation of our Sun, reinforcing the idea that we are fundamentally made of stardust, echoing Hubert Reeves’ reflections on a famous statement by Carl Sagan.
Nobel Prize Recognizes AI Advances
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Briton Demis Hassabis and American John Jumper from Google DeepMind, recognizing their innovative use of artificial intelligence in unraveling the complexities of diseases such as malaria and Parkinson’s. Their advanced tool, AlphaFold2, has analyzed 200 million known proteins, a feat that would have been impossible to achieve manually.