Wednesday, December 21, 2016

The 12 key science moments of 2016

The Guardian lists The 12 key science moments of 2016.

  1. World Health Organisation declares a public emergency of international concern over Zika
  2. SpaceX demonstrates a big step towards fully reusable space craft
  3. Portugal is entirely powered by renewable energy for four days
  4. New reserves of helium discovered
  5. Confirmation of the discovery of a nearby habitable planet
  6. Our last universal common ancestor gets a makeover
  7. The legacy of a celebrated neuroscientist is contested
  8. Greenland sharks live for a very long time
  9. CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere passes 400 parts per million
  10. A bad marriage can lead to an early death
  11. Arctic and Antarctic sea ice volumes both fall to an all-time low
  12. Scientists modify photosynthesis to boost crop yield

Then again, Michael Mann wrote in the Washington Post, I’m a scientist who has gotten death threats. I fear what may happen under Trump.

Also, The Arctic could end a year of record-breaking temperatures with a heat wave. “In a year of record-high temperatures and record-low sea ice, the Arctic appears poised to witness another frightening scenario: temperatures at the North Pole so high that they might even swing above freezing, something not typically seen until May.”

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