Latest Science Discoveries and New Scientific Research

According to space experts, the International Space Station will remain in operation only until 2024.

The ISS project has been contributing significantly to the area of space research since 1998. But after 2024, it is likely to de-orbit, enter the earth’s atmosphere, vaporize, and crash into an ocean. Most of the spacecraft crash into the Pacific Ocean at Point Nemo.

Let’s wait and see what happens next.
The Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet is 62 miles or nearly 100 kilometers wide and it is headed towards our planet. Although it is not likely to crash into earth, it will enter the solar system about 10 years from now. This extremely gigantic comet, the biggest one so far, visited us nearly 3.5 million years ago, according to a scientific estimate.

Scientists studying the evolution of dinosaurs have recently discovered the fossilized remains of the crocodile-faced “hell heron” dinosaur. These beasts had nearly 30-foot-long bodies and 3-foot-long heads that resembled those of crocodiles. The fossilized remains were recovered from the UK’s Isle of Wight, a famous island off the south coast of England and are several million years old.  They were collected at beach level, between the years 2013 and 2017.

We know how glass breaks easily. But here’s an interesting SciTech update. Researchers at McGill University have presumably developed the strongest and toughest glass ever known to mankind. This specially designed glass does not shatter when hit and acts more or less like plastic. In the near future, it could be used for manufacturing cell phone screens and it may find a variety of other commercial applications. By tuning the refractive index of acrylic, the research team made it seamlessly blend with glass to make a truly transparent and tough composite. The research team drew inspiration from seashells, nature-made structures known for their hardness and toughness.

According to physicists from Illinois State University, studying craters found on the surface of the moon could reveal information about collisions with black holes in the distant past. Now that’s an interesting theory. Let’s wait and see what they find next. 

Rapid deforestation could lead to something catastrophic in the near future. How? Well, it’s simple. When humans invade and cut down forests, to set up manufacturing facilities or to obtain raw material, the probability of an encounter between a human and one or more animal species increases. When that happens, it allows viruses to jump across species. A new virus may in fact jump falls to humans, thereby starting a new global pandemic, in the near or distant future. Scientists and environmental researchers are therefore encouraging businesses to pay attention to this aspect and work on sustainable and eco-friendly technological solutions, instead of solely focusing on profits.

Scientists studying animals have identified the genetic modification that helped us get rid of our tails. Nearly 25 million years ago, a small mutation presumably in the TBXT gene induced this change. Researchers came across this genetic mutation when they were comparing the genomes of tailed primates with those of non-tailed primates. Now that’s interesting for sure. The study has not been peer-reviewed yet, so let’s wait and see if it gets approval from the scientific community. Speaking of genetic modifications, a blind individual recently got back her eyesight after she let biomedical researchers modify her DNA using CRISPR-based genome editing. However, this was not seen in every single patient who volunteered for this study. Therefore, researchers need to test it further on larger cohorts.

Researchers from South Korea have developed an artificial intelligence-based face mask.  The mask determines whether the person wearing it is performing activities in polluted environments or cleaner environments and then adjusts the pore size of its dynamic air filter accordingly, using machine learning. The device comprising a stretchable elastomer fiber membrane needs further testing to confirm to certain standards, but nevertheless, it is an innovation.

Using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, French scientists have been able to read the redacted sections of a historic love letter. Wow! So the next time you write a love letter, make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.