By: Nelson Kramer

Humor Editor

Science is advancing faster than ever, and breakthroughs are reshaping how we see the world. From cutting-edge technology to discoveries that challenge what we thought we knew, there’s no shortage of exciting developments. Here’s a quick roundup of the latest and greatest in the world of science.

Space: In the past couple of years, many space companies have pushed for further space exploration. Most notably, billionaires like Jeff Besos and Elon Musk have taken their seats at the rocket scientist club, and both of them have supported new developments in areas such as reusable rockets and commercial space travel. In more space news, the James Webb telescope is a device that provides scientists with a more substantial use. After the retirement of the Hubble telescope, the Webb telescope has been making significant developments in how we view space through its fantastic ability to take photographs of astronomical events hundreds of light years away. With its endless ability to provide earth scientists with information, the telescope gives updates every day. Just recently, the Webb telescope caught WR 140, a faraway plane, shooting out shells of carbon dust at 1,600 miles per second; the photographs of the ring waves of dust have been going viral in the science community.

Health/Medicine and Technology: Recently, AI has become a hot topic in the medical community. Stanford Medicine developed a new artificial intelligence tool to predict cancer progression. The tool takes images and other data and tests its results to determine whether or not they are accurate. In other news, Helen Blau won the National Medal of Science award for her pioneering work on cellular plasticity and aging. 

Environmental Science: Global warming, an ongoing issue, has continued to make recent headlines. In light of the Los Angeles wildfires, debates continue about the extent to which climate change is responsible for the fires. Despite the scientific literature leaning towards blaming our warming climate, President Donald Trump’s pick for Energy Department secretary suggests otherwise. In other climate news, scientists are concerned about the risk of the thawing Arctic permafrost and the threat it poses to the climate crisis. Along with the permafrost, other news in the polar areas is that glaciers continue to melt. While not breaking news, no significant decrease has been observed despite some efforts being made to slow the melt. The melting glaciers not only kill off Arctic wildlife but also release CO2 emissions, which are the direct reason for ocean levels rising and acidic waters killing off marine wildlife. In some good news, America recently approved its 11th offshore wind farm. Scientists worldwide are working towards finding ways for society to cut back their carbon emission easily and reversing climate change day by day.

(Sources: Science Fridays, Science News, Space.com, Washington Post, WWF)