Science’s most fascinating and awe-inspiring discoveries in 2020
Science’s biggest achievement in 2020 was undoubtedly the rapid development of effective vaccines against Covid-19 a massive feat that should be widely celebrated and lauded with prizes in the years to come.
Away from the coronavirus pandemic, however, there were discoveries in many different fields that inspired much-needed moments of awe and wonder in this tumultuous year.
As 2020 comes to a close, here is a roundup of some of the fascinating findings you may have missed.
Ancient humans: Skulls, chewing gum and a prehistoric Picasso
We learned a lot more about our ancient relatives in 2020 other species of humans that existed before and, in some cases, alongside early Homo sapiens
| UPDATED: 08:12, Thu, Dec 24, 2020
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Mr Macron has been described as leaning to the right in recent months as he begins to think ahead to the next elections in France. The French President has taken a law and order approach according to some in Paris, shown by his attempts to pass laws that would restrict protests, protect police and combat radicalism. In November, between 133,000 and 500,000 people demonstrated in more than 70 cities across France against a proposed security law. The legislation aimed to increase
2020: A Year in Space
Despite the global pandemic that has brought much of the world to a grinding halt, space scientists have continued to push the boundaries of our knowledge throughout 2020.
It’s difficult to mention the year 2020 without referencing COVID-19, but as more human beings than ever before were wishing they could take a break from the surface of the planet, space research continued to push our knowledge of the stars. Whilst much of the scientific community was consumed with combating a pandemic, physicists, astronomers, cosmologists, and other researchers were further pushing our understanding of space and the objects which dwell there.
Solution to Europe s Broken Rivers Identified in Research Involving UCC
17th December 2020
An EU project involving University College Cork (UCC) team of researchers has identified thousands of large dams and a myriad of weirs, culverts, fords, sluices and ramps
Credit: Amber International
Europe has some of the most fragmented rivers in the world with at least 1.2 million instream barriers, according to a newly published study.
An EU project involving University College Cork (UCC) team of researchers has identified thousands of large dams and a myriad of weirs, culverts, fords, sluices and ramps as the main culprit of fragmentation .
It calculates that there are at least 0.74 barriers per kilometre of stream in Europe, and has recorded same in what it describes as the first comprehensive pan- European barrier inventory .
How single cell-genomics could transform medicine
Simultaneous analysis of millions of individual cells could revolutionise treatments of cancer and cardiovascular, neurological, inflammatory and infectious diseases.
The simultaneous analysis of the behaviour of millions of single cells could usher in a new generation of personalised medicine for debilitating and life-threatening illnesses and help people live longer and healthier lives.
Recent technological advances especially in artificial intelligence are now enabling doctors to investigate health conditions at a much more granular level, giving unprecedented insight into the nature of disease, the needs of individual patients, and innovative treatments. That was one of the key takeaways from an online discussion on how to meet Europe’s disease challenges, organised by the LifeTime Initiative.