The Breakthroughs of 2020 - Science beyond COVID

Undoubtedly, most of the attention in 2020 went to the calamitous COVID-19 pandemic that challenged the global healthcare system and tested mankind’s willpower - across the different strata of the society and across geographies. Nonetheless, there were other radical developments that were made in science and technology in the same year. While the entire healthcare community have been up on their toes relentlessly trying to tame the coronavirus – from developing rapid test kits, to arranging quarantine centers to eventually coming up with the vaccine, there are quite a few scientific discoveries outside the COVID domain, that were given birth to.

                            

Physicists, for the first time, came up with the development of a room temperature superconductor. In general, a superconductor is a device that allows the flow of electric current without any resistance, i.e. a 100% lossless transmission of electricity. Previous research work carried out in this field in 2015 had shown that superconductors could work only at extremely low temperatures, in the range of -140 °C. However, very recently, physicist Mikhail Eremets from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Germany published his group’s recent findings in Nature where they have developed a material that could conduct electricity without any resistance at about 15 °C (room temperature). The origin of the idea of high temperature superconductivity goes decades back when physicist Neil Ashcroft from Cornell University, USA had proposed that there could be a possibility to develop superconductive materials that could work at higher temperatures; however the idea was not globally pursued at that time. With Eremets’s recent findings, there could be significant improvements made in MRI diagnosis, mobile phone tower  signal transmission and power cables - all of which operates on electric current, by using a superconductor that works at room temperature. Though, a challenge with Eremets’s discovery is that the material works only at high pressure that exists close to the center of the earth – this somewhat limits the current application of the superconductor.

While immortality is not a feasible option, it might not be too far before we slow down our aging with time! Developing anti-aging techniques have been in the forefront of biological research over the last five years. Very recently, Unity Biotechnology - a company in San Francisco, USA developed their first anti-aging drug that was tested on humans and was shown to reduce arthritis in the knee. With more testing to be carried out soon, anti-aging drugs could significantly help wipe out the effects of aging, thereby enabling us to stay healthier for a longer time and probably increase our life expectancy.

Steven Simon, a theoretical physicist from the University of Oxford, UK recently published his research on “Anyons” – an unusual particle that are believed to be the key elements for building quantum computers. Quantum computing is a recent technology that is expected to enable high-speed and secured data transmission. In a standard computer, all data are stored and processed in terms of 0 or 1 – for e.g., if we consider there is a switch that can be either turned ON (= 1) or OFF (= 0), then at one timepoint the switch can be either ON or OFF. In quantum computing, a switch can be both ON & OFF at the same time and even assume a state between ON and OFF. With data probably being the costliest resource of the century, the discovery of Anyons could revolutionize the global data processing framework. Currently, IBM and Google are in the race to develop the first commercial Quantum Computer!

Using the above theory of Quantum Computing, Stephanie Wehner and her team from the Delft University of Technology, Netherlands have been building a next-generation Internet network that would be completely un-hackable! Hacking over the internet has been a common challenge that often leads to the compromise of data and information. Quantum Internet is expected to make sure that even the smartest hacker fails to snatch our data, and we enjoy a secured and truly encrypted communication.

One of the coolest discoveries of 2020 came from NASA’s US$100 million Cold Atom Lab that operates from the International Space Station. Scientist from the lab recently developed a method to carry out experiments using the microgravity (one-millionth of the gravity on Earth) in space. Studying the effect of microgravity could potentially lead to new findings to better understand how life could be sustained in space - something that would not have been possible through experimentation on the earth.

Space discoveries in 2020 reached new heights with three missions to the Mars launched in July. China made her first attempt to explore Mars by launching the rover Tianwen-1. China also launched a spacecraft to the Moon to carry back dirt particles from the lunar surface that could help researchers study the Moon’s environment. USA, in her pursuit to set foot on the Mars, launched Perseverance – a rover that is expected to carry rocks and pebbles from the surface of Mars back to the Earth. Japan also came into the scene with her Hayabusa2 mission that carried back dust particles to the Earth from the asteroid, Ryugu.

Thus, the scientific community have indeed unfolded some incredibly exciting mysteries in 2020, paving the way for some of the coolest innovations. From exploring the Mars to developing quantum computers, there were considerable advancements being made in fundamental science as well as in the technology space. Amidst a year of global pandemic, that have been largely characterized by cataclysm, these scientific discoveries surely eject some ray of hope and positivity!

To learn more:

1.https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01773-z

2.https://www.technologyreview.com/10-breakthrough-technologies/2020/

3.https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02895-0

4.https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01988-0

5.https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-020-03438-3/index.html

6.https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/

7.https://www.eetimes.eu/first-ibm-quantum-computer-to-be-installed-in-europe-in-early-2021/