At the gates of the year 2020, it has given us time to reflect on the scientific and technological advances that we have experienced in the last decade and, especially, on the mills that await us in the coming years. The advancement of gene editing, artificial intelligence and space exploration could be defined as the key trends in science at the present time. Thus, this year 2019, which is about to conclude, has left us surprising news in these three areas, in addition to other vital findings to understand our origin as a human being, the origin of other species that once populated the Earth, or to advance the knowledge and treatment of diseases.
As one of the most remarkable events of 2019, the first photograph of a black hole reaffirmed the existence of this mysterious object in the cosmos, whose existence until now we had only been able to theorize. But another finding that has amazed the scientific community has been the recent discovery of ice on Mars almost on its surface, just an inch from the surface. In other words, as NASA researcher Sylvain Piqueux stated: “You could access it with a shovel.”
Looking at the next few decades, various space exploration missions have such epic feats planned as landing on the Moon again to make it a tourist destination (and perhaps on Mars), investigating the Sun much more thoroughly, and even going to look for extraterrestrial life in some corner where it is likely to exist (such as piercing the moon Europa).
Biotechnology, specifically, gene editing technology, CRISPR, for its part, is refining its techniques to achieve the ambitious goal of eradicating certain congenital diseases. Although their procedures may be problematic from an ethical point of view, everything to the point that, in the future, the genetic cutter will be one of the key techniques.
For its part, artificial intelligence (which already accompanies us daily in its simplest forms, such as GPS), will be perfected so that it becomes present in practically all areas of our life: work, family, even sexual. ..
And, the most important challenge: adaptation to climate change that we have not been able to reverse, despite being warned for decades, and that this year has also given away some apocalyptic predictions for our species.
They are not all, but they are some of the most relevant; These are the most important scientific news that the year 2019 has left.
