2011 Top Ten Science Stories
Here's a mix of the headline-grabbing and quirky science stories that caught the interest of Ontario Science Centre staff over the last year...
- 7,000,000,000 Humans on Earth
- Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami
- Faster-Than-Light Neutrinos?
- Rock, Paper, Scissors Science
- Stem Cells
- Final Shuttle Mission
- Thunderstorms and Antimatter
- Toxic Space Junk
- Drought
- Ralph Steinman - Canadian Nobel Prize Winner
1. 7,000,000,000 Humans on Earth
Earth's population hits a new milestone: as of October 31st, there are officially seven billion people inhabiting this planet. The U.N.-declared landmark underscores the challenges of providing food, clean water, shelter and health care to a global population that has more than doubled in the last 50 years.
2. Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami
A devastating 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami strike the northeast coast of Japan on March 11, resulting in over 16,000 deaths. Power disruptions destroy backup generators needed for the cooling systems of the Fukushima nuclear reactors in the earthquake zone, triggering fears of a meltdown.
3. Faster-Than-Light Neutrinos?
In September, physicists are sent into a tizzy with the news that European researchers may have clocked subatomic particles called neutrinos moving faster than the speed of light— a cosmic speed limit set by Albert Einstein in his 1905 special theory of relativity. Scientists at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, indicate that if true, the news could profoundly change our understanding of the universe.
4. Rock, Paper, Scissors Science
In July, a newly published research study in which the game "Rock, Paper, Scissors" is used to explore "automatic imitation"—the idea that humans are prone to mimicking the behaviour and gestures of others—inspires Ontario Science Centre staff to conduct their own experiment. Science Centre visitors are blindfolded to see if players subconsciously copy one another's choices, online visitors are invited to take part on the Science Centre website, and you can see the final results on YouTube.
Join the Science Centre's "Rock, Paper, Scissors Science" experiment!
5. Stem Cells
2011 is the 50th anniversary of the discovery of stem cells by Canadian scientists James Till, a biophysicist, and Ernest McCulloch, a haematologist—a breakthrough considered by many to be the most important medical advancement of the last 100 years. Stem cell science has changed the course of cancer treatment resulting in what is now called regenerative medicine – the use of stem cells for bone marrow transplants and many other types of disease research.
Watch on YouTube: Super Cells: The Wonder of Stem Cells
6. Final Shuttle Mission
July 21, 2011 marks the end of an era, as Atlantis returns to Earth having completed NASA's final mission of the Space Shuttle program. In development since the 1960s, the space shuttle is the only winged manned spacecraft to have achieved orbit and land.
Watch on YouTube: Space Exploration in the Post-Shuttle Age
7. Thunderstorms and Antimatter
In January, scientists using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope announce they have detected beams of antimatter being shot into space by thunderstorms, a phenomenon never seen before. The antimatter is thought to be formed in a terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF), a brief energy burst associated with lightning.
8. Toxic Space Junk
Stuck in a low Earth orbit after its engines fail, the Russian Phobos-Grunt Mars probe is now expected to crash back to Earth in early 2012 with a full payload of toxic fuel—unless mission control can find a way to vent the fuel into space first. On a related note, scientists warn that increasing amounts of "space junk" orbiting around the Earth threaten the safety of satellites, spacecraft and the ISS.
9. Drought
While the causes of extreme weather continue to be debated, 2011 sees significant episodes of drought plague China, the southern United States, central Europe and Africa. In East Africa, several countries experience the worst period of drought in six decades, affecting 10 million people and prompting the U.N. to call it “the most severe humanitarian emergency in the world.”
Watch on YouTube: Expanding Deserts, Shrinking Lands
10. Ralph Steinman - Canadian Nobel Prize Winner
On October 3, the Nobel Prize Committee announces Canadian scientist Ralph Steinman will receive one-half of the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for his discovery of dendritic cells, which play a key role in the human immune system. Unaware that Steinman had died of pancreatic cancer three days prior to the announcement, the committee decides to honour the decision, even though Nobel Foundation rules stipulate that the prize not be awarded posthumously.
Watch on YouTube: 2011 Nobel Prizes
