2012 in science

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25 May 2012: SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft (pictured) becomes the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous with the International Space Station.

The year 2012 involved many significant scientific events and discoveries, including the first orbital rendezvous by a commercial spacecraft, the discovery of a particle highly similar to the long-sought Higgs boson, and the near-eradication of guinea worm disease. A total of 72 successful orbital spaceflights occurred in 2012, and the year also saw numerous developments in fields such as robotics, 3D printing, stem cell research and genetics. Over 540,000 technological patent applications were made in the United States alone in 2012.[1]

2012 was declared the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All by the United Nations.[2] 2012 also marked Alan Turing Year, a celebration of the life and work of the English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst and computer scientist Alan Turing.[3]

Events, discoveries and inventions

January

1 January 2012: NASA's twin GRAIL satellites (artist's impression shown) begin studying the Moon's gravitational field.
4 January 2012: scientists create genetically engineered silkworms capable of producing bulk quantities of steel-strong spidersilk.
11 January 2012: astronomers report that nearly every star in the Milky Way galaxy may host exoplanets (artist's impression of Upsilon Andromedae d pictured).
12 January 2012: Paedophryne amauensis, the world's smallest known vertebrate, is formally described.
23 January 2012: stem cell therapy is successfully used to ease the symptoms of blindness in human volunteers (human embryonic stem cell shown).
27 January 2012: the most detailed 3D image of the Amazon rainforest yet produced is published.
31 January 2012: American scientists demonstrate a method of decoding human thoughts by studying the superior temporal gyrus (indicated).

February

3 February 2012: the Very Large Telescope array enters operation in northern Chile.
4 February 2012: Dutch doctors successfully fit the first artificial jaw made with a 3D printer (ORDbot Quantum 3D printer pictured).
15 February 2012: Nevada becomes the first US state to release official regulations for the public testing of autonomous cars (prototype autonomous Audi pictured).

March

7 March 2012: scientists sequence the genome of the western gorilla.
15 March 2012: scientists send the first coherent message using neutrinos (first recorded neutrino event pictured).
19 March 2012: researchers report that the number of solar panels in the United States more than doubled between 2010 and 2011.

April

5 April 2012: the Large Hadron Collider completes a landmark energy upgrade.
12 April 2012: German scientists create the world's first quantum computing network using entangled rubidium atoms (rubidium sample shown).
19 April 2012: international researchers develop synthetic DNA compounds.

May

6 May 2012: scientists develop a drug capable of preventing the breakdown of cerebral protein production, potentially offering a new treatment for Alzheimer's disease (cerebral plaques pictured).
20 May 2012: an annular solar eclipse occurs (eclipse photograph from Wolfforth, Texas, shown).
25 May 2012: SpaceX's Dragon becomes the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station.
30 May 2012: the tomato genome is fully sequenced by international researchers.

June

5–6 June 2012: a transit of Venus, the last such event until 2117, occurs (transit image from Minneapolis shown).
13 June 2012: scientists publish the complete genome of the bonobo (female pictured).
29 June 2012: scientists develop an fMRI brain scanner which allows paralyzed people to communicate using thought alone (fMRI images shown).

July

4 July 2012: CERN scientists report the discovery of a particle with significant similarities to the Higgs boson (Higgs collision signature shown).
15 July 2012: the parasitic disease Dracunculiasis (extraction of a causative guinea worm pictured) is reportedly close to being eradicated.

August

6 August 2012: NASA's Curiosity rover, the largest such spacecraft yet launched, successfully lands on Mars (artist's impression pictured).
14 August 2012: Boeing's X-51 hypersonic scramjet prototype (pictured in launch configuration) is destroyed following a test flight malfunction.
21 August 2012: a study of major coastal cities asserts that Shanghai (skyline pictured) may be highly vulnerable to large-scale flooding in the near future.

September

5 September 2012: the most detailed analysis of the human genome yet produced is published.
12 September 2012: the monkey species Cercopithecus lomamiensis is formally described.
17 September 2012: after nine months studying the Moon's gravitational field, NASA's GRAIL satellites report that the lunar crust is much thinner than previously estimated.
19 September 2012: sea ice cover in the Arctic reaches the lowest extent ever recorded.

October

3 October 2012: scientists discover that the black mamba (pictured), best known for its lethal venom, also produces a highly effective painkiller.
8–10 October 2012: the year's Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry and medicine (medal pictured) are awarded.
17 October 2012: scientists discover a new exoplanet (artist's impression pictured) orbiting Earth's nearest alien star, Alpha Centauri.
22 October 2012: a Da Vinci surgical robot (pictured) is used to perform the UK's first robot-assisted open-heart surgery.

November

6 November 2012: scientists report that regular leisure-time exercise can extend human life expectancy by over 4 years.
12 November 2012: TOP500 declares the US Titan supercomputer (pictured) to be the world's most powerful computer.
21 November 2012: in a breakthrough for quantum cryptography, scientists send encoded quantum signals using a standard commercial fiber optic, potentially allowing near-unbreakable quantum data security to be commercialised.
26 November 2012: a liquid natural gas tanker (example pictured) becomes the first large cargo vessel to attempt a winter crossing of the Arctic. As the Arctic sea ice melts in coming years, the sea route may become increasingly viable for large ships.
29 November 2012: NASA reports the discovery of water ice on the surface of Mercury (pictured).

December

5 December 2012: scientists implant the first deep brain stimulation device (X-ray image pictured) to be used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease in the United States.
24 December 2012: British medical researchers discover two genes that are thought to greatly increase the risk of bowel cancer (carcinoid pictured).

IISE Top 10 New Species

The Top 10 New Species 2013 was announced on 22 May 2013 by the International Institute for Species Exploration, commemorating unique species discovered during 2012. The ten selected new species were:[35][36][37]

Prizes

Abel Prize

Main article: Abel Prize

Fundamental Physics Prize

Kyoto Prize

Main article: Kyoto Prize

Nobel Prize

Deaths

Sources: The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph

10 March 2012: Frank Sherwood Rowland, a Nobel Prize-winning American chemist, dies aged 84.
23 July 2012: Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, dies aged 61.
25 August 2012: Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, dies aged 82.
17 October 2012: Stanford Ovshinsky, a prolific American inventor and physicist, dies aged 89.
9 December 2012: Sir Patrick Moore, a prominent British astronomer and science popularizer, dies aged 89.
30 December 2012: Rita Levi-Montalcini, a Nobel Prize-winning Italian neurologist, dies aged 103.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See also

References

  1. "U.S. Patent Statistics Chart Calendar Years 1963 – 2012". USPTO. 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  2. "Sustainable Energy for All – About". United Nations. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  3. "2012: THE ALAN TURING YEAR". Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  4. "NASA's Twin Grail Spacecraft Reunite in Lunar Orbit". BBC. 1 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  5. "China launches first 3D TV channel". BBC. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  6. "Deep brain stimulation shows promising results for unipolar and bipolar depression". MedicalXpress. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  7. "Old Mice Made "Young"—May Lead to Anti-Aging Treatments". National Geographic. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  8. "Muscle-derived stem/progenitor cell dysfunction limits healthspan and lifespan in a murine progeria model". Nature Communications. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  9. "Bee Die-Off: Parasitic Fly Could Explain Phenomenon". AP via Huffington Post. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  10. "GM silk worms make Spider-Man web closer to reality". BBC. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  11. "Scientists create first 3-D map of human genome". PhysOrg. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  12. "Novel Adenovirus-Based Vaccines Induce Broad and Sustained T Cell Responses to HCV in Man". Science Transitional Medicine. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  13. "Demonstration of temporal cloaking". Nature. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  14. "US non-lethal weapon 'wish list' revealed on the net". BBC. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  15. "Former astronaut to lead starship effort". BBC. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  16. "Generation of Chimeric Rhesus Monkeys". Cell. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  17. "Ohm Run: One-Atom-Tall Wires Could Extend Life of Moore's Law". Scientific American. 5 January 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  18. "Electronic Cotton". IEEE Spectrum. January 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  19. "Brain function can start declining 'as early as age 45'". BBC. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  20. "Genetically Engineered Bt Corn and Range Expansion of the Western Bean Cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the United States: A Response to Greenpeace Germany". Journal of Integrated Pest Management. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  21. "Determining the natural length of the current interglacial". Nature Geoscience. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  22. "New CO2 Sucker Could Help Clear the Air". Science. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  23. Cook, J.-R. C.; Agle, D. C.; Brown, D. (2013-09-12). "NASA Spacecraft Embarks on Historic Journey Into Interstellar Space". NASA. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  24. Barnes, Brooks (2013-09-12). "In a Breathtaking First, NASA Craft Exits the Solar System". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
  25. Morin, Monte (2013-09-12). "NASA confirms Voyager 1 has left the Solar System". Los Angeles Times.
  26. "Voyager 1 has entered a new region of space, sudden changes in cosmic rays indicate". Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  27. "Report: Humanity Leaves the Solar System — Or Maybe Not". Time. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  28. "Report: NASA Voyager Status Update on Voyager 1 Location". NASA. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  29. Hampson, Robert E; Gerhardt, Greg A; Marmarelis, Vasilis; Song, Dong; Opris, Ioan; Santos, Lucas; Berger, Theodore W; Deadwyler, Sam A (1 October 2012). "Facilitation and restoration of cognitive function in primate prefrontal cortex by a neuroprosthesis that utilizes minicolumn-specific neural firing". Journal of Neural Engineering 9 (5): 056012. Bibcode:2012JNEng...9e6012H. doi:10.1088/1741-2560/9/5/056012. PMC 3505670. PMID 22976769.
  30. "Space Year Review 2012: Launch vehicles - Falcon 9, Delta IV and Soyuz show robustness in mishaps but not so for Safir or Proton". FlightGlobal.com. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  31. "UK's Skynet military satellite launched". BBC. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  32. Cherry, Jonathan D.; Frost, Jeffrey L.; Lemere, Cynthia A.; Williams, Jacqueline P.; Olschowka, John A.; O'Banion, M. Kerry. "Galactic Cosmic Radiation Leads to Cognitive Impairment and Increased Aβ Plaque Accumulation in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease". PLOS ONE 7 (12): e53275. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...753275C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053275. PMC 3534034. PMID 23300905. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  33. Staff (1 January 2013). "Study Shows that Space Travel is Harmful to the Brain and Could Accelerate Onset of Alzheimer's". SpaceRef. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  34. Cowing, Keith (3 January 2013). "Important Research Results NASA Is Not Talking About (Update)". NASA Watch. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  35. Newswise (22 May 2013). "Scientists Announce Top 10 New Species". Arizona State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Newswise, Inc. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  36. Arizona State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (22 May 2013). "Top 10 new species of 2012". ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, LLC. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  37. Varma, S. (23 May 2013). "Amazing top 10 new species include glowing cockroach, tiniest vertebrate and new monkey". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  38. 1 2 "The 2012 Kyoto Prize Laureates". Inamori Foundation. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  39. "Roland Moreno obituary". The Guardian. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.

External links

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