Milad Abolhasani, NC State University
The end of one year and the beginning of the next always seems to bring a sense of reflection. The passage of time marked by the changing year is a respected and honored milestone in life. How was this year different than last? Did you accomplish some goals you set at the beginning of the year? In science, the pace of innovation never slows, regardless of year—or unprecedented global pandemic. As we reflect on our own personal milestones in the coming month, let’s take a look at just some of the professional accomplishments of scientists this year. This list is in no way comprehensive, but rather a roundup of advancements Laboratory Equipment readers and fellow scientists have found interesting in the past 365 days.
1. AI jumps leaps and bounds
ChatGPT and other AI platforms debuted and garnered immediate and major global attention. The artificial intelligence systems quickly infiltrated seemingly every arena, and science was no exception. Throughout the year, headlines consistently hit at what ChatGPT and other AI was accomplishing in research tests. Here are just a few:
- A deep-learning model, ZFDesign, for zinc finger design enables transcription factor reprogramming. (January)
- Researchers show a large language model, ProGen, can generate functional protein sequences with a predictable function, with the input including tags specifying protein properties. (January)
- ChatGPT is shown to outperform human doctors in responding to online medical questions when measured on quality and empathy. (April)
- An artificial intelligence tool successfully identified people at the highest risk for pancreatic cancer up to three years before diagnosis using solely the patients’ medical records. (May)
- AI is used to develop an experimental antibiotic called abaucin, which is shown to be effective against the superbug A. baumannii. (May)
- An autonomous system created at NC State University identified how to synthesize “best-in-class” materials for specific applications in hours or days, as opposed to the years it generally takes humans toc complete such a task. (November)
Credit: University of Cambridge
2. First wiring map of insect brain
In March, researchers at the University of Cambridge successfully built the first ever map showing every single neuron and how they’re wired together in the brain of the fruit fly larva. The map of the 3,016 neurons and 548,000 synapses is the largest complete brain connectome ever to have been mapped. It is a huge advance on previous work to map very simple brain structures including the roundworm C. elegans, which only has several hundred neurons. The research will help scientists understand the basic principles by which signals travel through the brain at the neural level and lead to behavior and learning.
3. Synthetic human embryos created from stem cells
Scientists at the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology created synthetic human embryos using stem cells in a groundbreaking advance that sidesteps the need for eggs or sperm. The model embryos, which resemble those in the earliest stages of human development, could provide a crucial window on the impact of genetic disorders and the biological causes of recurrent miscarriage. However, the work also raises serious ethical and legal issues as the lab-grown entities fall outside current legislation in most countries. The structures do not have a beating heart or the beginnings of a brain, but include cells that would typically go on to form the placenta, yolk sac and the embryo itself.
Credit: University of Cambridge
4. First successful transplant of functional cryopreserved rat kidney
For the first time, researchers at the University of Minnesota showed that rat kidneys can be cryogenically stored for up to 100 days, successfully rewarmed using a new innovative approach, cleared of cryoprotective fluids and nanoparticles, and then successfully transplanted into rats to restore full kidney function. The specialized nanowarming process warms the organ rapidly and uniformly from within rather than just at its surface. The researchers have shown that all aspects of this approach can be scaled to larger organs and will next look to demonstrate the process using pig kidneys. While it will take several years before a cryopreserved organ will be transplanted into humans, the team is confident it could successfully be done in the future. Currently, about 20% of kidneys donated for transplantation each year can’t be used, often because these organs cannot be kept on ice for longer than a few hours and do not reach recipients in time.
Credit: Rebecca Slater/University of Minnesota
5. First vaccine for pregnant individuals to prevent RSV in infants
In August, the FDA approved the first vaccine for use in pregnant individuals to prevent RSV in infants from birth through 6 months of age. Abrysvo is approved for use at 32 through 36 weeks gestational age of pregnancy. It is administered as a single dose injection into the muscle. In clinical trials, Abrysvo reduced the risk of severe lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) by 81.8% within 90 days after birth, and 69.4% within 180 days after birth. Within 180 days after birth, Abrysvo reduced the risk of lower respiratory tract disease by 57.3% and by 76.5% for severe LRTD, when compared with placebo. The safety of Abrysvo was evaluated in two studies, and the most commonly reported side effects were pain at the injection site, headache, muscle pain and nausea.
Tellurium crystal. Credit: Christian Rewitzer
6. Earth has enough raw materials to switch to renewable energy
In January, a team of scientists published a new study that showed the world has enough rare earth minerals and other critical raw materials to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy to produce electricity and limit global warming. A team of scientists looked at the materials—many not often mined heavily in the past—and 20 different power sources. They calculated supplies and pollution from mining if green power surged to meet global goals to cut heat-trapping carbon emissions from fossil fuel. Much more mining is needed, but there are enough minerals to go around and drilling for them will not significantly worsen warming.
Credit: O. Gargominy, A. Sartori/University of Hawaii at Manoa
7. Sixth mass extinction is on the horizon
A team at the University of Hawaii at Manoa calculated that animal genera are going extinct at a rate 35x faster than expected background rates over the past million years, which they say indicates the planet is experiencing a human-driven sixth mass extinction event that it is accelerating. By extrapolating from estimates obtained for land snails and slugs, the team estimated that since the year 1500, Earth could already have lost between 7.5 and 13% of the 2 million known—a staggering 150,000 to 260,000 species. The history of life on Earth has been marked five times by events of mass biodiversity extinction, and the researchers say a sixth is underway—cause entirely by human activities.
Sea ice concentration around Antarctica on Sept. 10, 2023, the date of the winter maximum ice extent. Credit: NOAA Climate.gov map/National Snow and Ice Data Center.
8. New record low Antarctic sea ice
On Sept. 10, 2023, sea ice in the Antarctic reached an annual maximum extent of 16.96 million square kilometers (6.55 million square miles), setting a record low maximum in the satellite record that began in 1979. This year’s maximum is 1.03 million square kilometers (398,000 square miles) below the previous record low set in 1986. It is also 1.75 million square kilometers below (676,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average Antarctic maximum extent. This year marks a significant record low maximum in Antarctic sea ice extent (Figure 2). Since early April 2023, sea ice maintained record low ice growth. From early to mid-August, growth slowed considerably, maintaining a difference of nearly 1.5 million square kilometers (579,000 square miles) between 2023 and 1986, the second lowest year on satellite record. After that period, ice growth quickened and narrowed the gap to about 1 million square kilometers (386,000 square miles). This is the first time that sea ice extent has not surpassed 17 million square kilometers (6.56 million square miles), falling more than 1 million square kilometers below the previous record low maximum extent set in 1986.
At the center of this view of Orion Nebula is a young star system named d203-506. Astronomers detected a new carbon molecule known as methyl cation for the first time in d203-506. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), and the PDRs4All ERS Team
9. Webb makes first detection of crucial carbon molecule
A team of international scientists used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to detect a new carbon compound in space for the first time. Known as methyl cation (CH3+), the molecule is important because it aids the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules. Methyl cation was detected in a young star system, with a protoplanetary disk, known as d203-506, which is located about 1,350 light-years away in the Orion Nebula. Carbon compounds form the foundations of all known life, and as such are particularly interesting to scientists working to understand both how life developed on Earth, and how it could potentially develop elsewhere in our universe. The molecule had never been detected in space before.
10. Human Genome Project advancements
In February, National Institutes of Health researchers developed and released an innovative software tool to assemble truly complete (i.e., gapless) genome sequences from a variety of species. The software, Verkko, grew from assembling the first gapless human genome sequence in 2022. In May, a rough draft of the human pangenome was published, consisting of 47 genomes from a cohort of genetically diverse individuals, including people from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe. In August, researchers at NIST and many other organizations successfully mapped out the Y chromosome in its entirety, revealing the discovery of 41 additional genes. The advance improves DNA sequencing accuracy for the male reproductive chromosome, which could help identify certain genetic disorders and potentially uncover the genetic roots of others.