January February March April May June July • 1 July • Construction begins on the
Square Kilometre Array, with first light planned for 2027. • In the debate about the cognitive impacts of
smartphones and digital technology a group reports that, contrary to widespread belief, scientific evidence doesn't show that these technologies
harm biological cognitive abilities and that they instead only change predominant ways of
cognition – such as a reduced need to remember facts or conduct mathematical calculations by pen and paper outside contemporary
schools. However, some activities – like reading novels – that require long
attention spans and don't feature ongoing rewarding stimulation may become more challenging in general. • A study finds that ~9.4% of global deaths between 2000 and 2019 – ~5 million annually – can be attributed to
extreme temperature with cold-related ones making up the larger share and decreasing and heat-related ones making up ~0.91 % and increasing. • 2 July • The first
scientific review in the professional academic literature about global
plastic pollution in general finds that the rational response to the "global threat" would be "reductions in consumption of virgin plastic materials, along with internationally coordinated strategies for
waste management" – such as banning
export of
plastic waste unless it leads to better
recycling – and describes the state of knowledge about "poorly reversible" impacts. • Researchers report that a mix of microorganisms from
cow stomachs could break down three types of
plastics. • Scientists identify
GPR75 variants as alleles
protective against
obesity in ~640,000 sequenced
exomes. • 5 July • Scientists report the discovery of a
bone carving, one of the world's
oldest works of art, made by
Neanderthals about 51,000 years ago. • A
scientific review summarizes evidence from
nutrition research for
diets for atherosclerosis prevention. • 7 July • A
preprint finds the
SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant to cause a ~108 % increased – or more than twice as large – risk for hospitalization, a ~234 % increase for ICU admission and 132% for death compared to non-
VOC variants. • Researchers present a programmable
quantum simulator that can operate with 256
qubits. • 8 July – Scientists report that in the past – with little relevance to future evolution – lower temperatures
were associated with larger
Homo body sizes and that long-term variability in precipitation was correlated with
brain size. structures, they call "
borgs", which appear to incorporate
genes from organisms they encounter in or near
archaea in mud. • 12 July – Scientists report in a
preprint that the
viral load in the first positive test of infections with the
SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant was on average ~1000 times higher than with compared infections during 2020. • 14 July • Researchers report finding the
earliest known fossil life on
Earth, in the form of "putative filamentous microfossils", possibly of
methanogens and/or
methanotrophs, that lived about 3.42-billion-year-old in "a paleo-subseafloor
hydrothermal vein system of the
Barberton greenstone belt in
South Africa." • Astronomers report the detection, for the first time, of an
isotope in the
atmosphere of an
exoplanet. In specific, the isotope
Carbon-13 (13C) was found in the atmosphere of a gas giant exoplanet named
TYC 8998-760-1 b. • Researchers used a
brain-computer interface to enable a man who was paralyzed since 2003 to produce comprehensible words and sentences by decoding signals from electrodes in the speech areas of his brain. • Researchers describe effects of
deforestation and climate change in a transformation of
Amazonia from
carbon sink to carbon source . • 15 July – Scientists report that the
Chicxulub impactor likely was an
outer main-belt asteroid, a
carbonaceous chondrite C-type asteroid. • 16 July • Recently thought subglacial lakes under the Southern Polar cap of Mars based on a 2018
MARSIS measurement could also be clay minerals and frozen brine. • Japan achieves a new
world record Internet speed over ~3.000 km: 319
Tbit/s, beating a previous record of 178 Tbit/s. • A study concludes only 1.5-7 % of "regions" of the modern human genome to be specific to modern humans. These regions have neither been altered by
archaic hominin DNA due to
admixture nor are shared with Neanderthals or Denisovans according to their used genomic datasets. They also found two bursts of changes specific to modern human genomes which involve genes related to
brain development and function. • A study using whole-genome resequencing indicates that
Cannabis sativa was first
domesticated about 12,000 years ago in the early
Neolithic period in
East Asia, with the results being consistent with a single domestication origin. • 18 July – Journalists and researchers report the discovery of
spyware, called "
Pegasus", developed and distributed by a private company which can and has widely been used to infect
iOS and
Android smartphones often – partly based on
0-day exploits –
without the need for any user-interaction or significant clues to the user and
then be used to exfiltrate data, track user locations, capture film through its camera, and activate the microphone at any time. 's
AlphaFold AI predicts the 3D structures of ~350,000 proteins. • Researchers report that higher exposure to
woodland urban green spaces is associated with improved cognitive development and risks of mental problems
for urban 15-16 years old adolescents. • Scientists report that
wild pigs are causing soil disturbance that, among other problems, globally results in annual carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to that of ~1.1 million passenger vehicles, implying that wild pig meat – unlike other meat products – has
beneficial effects on the environment. . • A
scientific review concludes that, except for poultry, at 50 g/day unprocessed red (~9 % increase) and processed
meat (~18 %) appear to be risk factors for
ischemic heart disease. • Scientists report that worldwide
adolescent loneliness and depression increased substantially after 2012 and that loneliness in contemporary
schools appears to be associated with
smartphone access and
Internet use. . •
DeepMind announces that its
AlphaFold AI has
predicted the structures of over 350,000
proteins, including 98.5% of the ~20,000 proteins in the human body. The 3D data along with their degrees of confidence for accuracy is made freely available with a new database, doubling the previous number of protein structures in the public domain. • 26 July •
The Galileo Project, headed by
Avi Loeb, is launched. The project seeks to gather and report scientific evidence
of extraterrestrials or extraterrestrial technology – such as of
UFOs/UAP with alien origins – on or near Earth via telescope technology. • Scientists report to have created the first complete neuron-level-resolution
3D map of a monkey brain which they scanned within 100 hours. • A study finds that the increasing probability of record week-long
heat extremes occurrence depends on warming rate, rather than global warming level and provides projections. • A
scientific review summarizes studies about
long COVID. • 28 July • The first direct observation of
light from behind a
black hole is reported, further confirming Einstein's theory of
general relativity. • Metallic
water is prepared for the first time in an ordinary Earth lab. • In an update to the
World Scientists' Warning to Humanity, scientists report that evidence of nearing or crossed
tipping points of critical elements of the
Earth system is accumulating, that 18 of 31 planetary vital signs have reached record values, that 1990 jurisdictions have formally
recognized a state of climate emergency, that frequent and accessible updates on the
emergency are needed, that COVID-19 "
green recovery" has been insufficient and that
root-cause system changes above politics are required. • 29 July – A study indicates
gut microbiomes with large amounts of microbes capable of generating unique secondary
bile acids are a key element of
centenarians'
longevity. • 31 July – A kitchen
robot – one of the first of its kind – for
autonomous preparation of
school meal program or delivery-service level amounts of discrete meals is demonstrated.
August begins releasing its latest major report on
climate change. • 2 August – Engineers report the development of a prototype
wave energy converter that is twice as efficient as similar existing experimental technologies, which could be a major step towards practical viability of tapping into the
sustainable energy source. • 4 August • Scientists identify genetic determinants of
ovarian ageing and possible effects of extending fertility in women. • Scientists describe the molecular mechanisms by which
insect olfactory systems are sensitive enough to recognize and discriminate a vast number of molecules with very few smell receptors. • 5 August • New observations of the
M-type star L 98-59 and its surrounding system reveal three new bodies: a planet in the
habitable zone, an
ocean world, and a planet with half the mass of Venus, making it the lightest exoplanet ever to be measured using the
radial velocity method. • A study introduces an
early-warning indicator for critical transitions of the
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and finds early-warning signals in eight independent AMOC indices. A, possibly abrupt, likely irreversible collapse from the current strong to a weak mode is thought to have severe impacts on
Earth system components
and global climate. The
Sixth IPCC report assesses a 'medium confidence' that such a collapse won't happen by 2100. • 8 August – The
National Ignition Facility achieves a 70% yield, compared to the laser energy required to sustain fusion, from
inertial confinement fusion energy, an 8X improvement over previous experiments in spring 2021 and a 25X increase over the yields achieved in 2018. • 9 August • The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) releases the first part of its
Sixth Assessment Report, which summarizes the state of physical science on climate change based on over 14,000 papers and concludes that effects of human-caused
climate change are now "widespread, rapid, and intensifying". • Neuroscientists show that
transplantation of
fecal microbiota from young donor mice into aged recipient mice substantially
rejuvenates the
brains of the latter, complementing similar results of a 2020 study. • A
scientific review assesses the long-term effects of
COVID-19, including in prevalent cases of
long COVID. • A researcher reports that
solar superstorms would cause global months-long
Internet outages. She describes potential mitigation measures and exceptions – such as user-powered
mesh networks, related
peer-to-peer applications and new protocols – and the robustness of the current
Internet infrastructure. • 10 August • A study based on
OSIRIS-REx data concludes there to be a 1:1750 chance of an impact of asteroid
(101955) Bennu by 2300, with the highest chance of impact being in 2182. • A small-scale study suggests that persistent
blood clotting is a cause of
long COVID. • 11 August – Researchers report promising results of ongoing testing and development of an engineered
monoclonal antibodies based female
contraception. • 12 August – Scientists report that the
Ayta Magbukun people in the
Philippines have the highest level of
Denisovan ancestry in the world and describe the related
genetic history in the region. • 13 August – Researchers demonstrate that
probiotics can help
coral reefs mitigate heat stress, indicating that such could make them
more resilient to climate change and mitigate
coral bleaching. • 16 August • Scientists conclude that
personal carbon allowances could be a component of
climate change mitigation. They find that the
economic recovery from COVID-19 and novel digital technology capacities open a window of opportunity for first implementations of such monetary/credit feedback and decreasing default levels of emissions concessions. • Researchers assess regionally-differentiated drivers and risks associated with worldwide
pollinator decline, informing globally-relevant policy responses. • 17 August – Scientists report of
human brain organoids that could intrinsically develop eye-type sensory structures. • 18 August – A study suggests that the global
policy Montreal Protocol intended to control the production of
ozone-depleting substances has also substantially
mitigated climate change. • 20 August – Medical scientists confirm that
hormone irisin confers
neurobiological effects of physical exercise and, when its circulating levels are increased, can be an exercise mimetic in mice which may be useful for interventions to improve cognitive function or alleviate
Alzheimer's disease. • 22 August – Astronomers conclude in a
preprint that – controversially due to there being only few data points – there is high confidence "
Planet 9" exists, that it likely has a mass of ~6.2 Earths and is closer than thought previously and report its likely orbit. method to produce steak-like
cultured meat. • 24 August •
Cerebras announces a new hardware and software platform that can support
AI models of 120 trillion parameters, enabling
neural networks greater than the equivalent number of
human brain synapses. • Researchers present a
bioprinting method to produce steak-like
cultured meat, composed of three types of bovine cell fibers. • 26 August – Astronomers report a new class of
habitable exoplanets, named
hycean planets (from
hydrogen and
ocean), which are described as hot,
water-covered planets with a
hydrogen-rich atmosphere that are possibly capable of harboring
life. • 27 August – Scientists report about vaccine effectiveness, pandemic severity impacts and regional prevalence of
SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant overall and its newly subdivided subvariants named from AY.1 onwards, the first two of which were differentiated like so – also termed "Delta Plus" – in June. On 10 August a
preprint reports a case of asymptomatic
transmissions associated with high viral load among vaccinated patients infected by AY.3. • 28 August – The world's northernmost island, a small patch of land measuring 60 x 30 metres, is reported by scientists off the coast of
Greenland. The name
Qeqertaq Avannarleq is proposed, which means "the northernmost island" in
Greenlandic. • 30 August • The comprehensive 2021
ESC Guidelines on
cardiovascular disease prevention is published. On 27 August the 2021 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic
heart failure is published. • A
preprint study of nationwide data of
Israel's vaccination programme finds a strong effect of waning immunity from the
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine after 6 months. • 31 August – Scientists report that the
Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum ~56 million years ago was directly preceded by volcanism and that data about the event supports the existence of substantial
climate-shifting tipping points in the Earth system.
September • 1 September • NASA reports the
successful sampling of a rock on Mars, named
"Rochette", after a less successful first attempt. • Scientists report the development of a new solar-energy
passive off-grid chemically stored on-demand cooling system
for houses and/or refrigeration without electrical components which may be useful for
climate change mitigation and
adaptation. adjusts its
air quality guidelines after studies found that i.a.
air pollution is associated with substantially
increased mortality even below current WHO guideline values. • 2 September • Observation of a new class of
supernova triggered by a black hole or neutron star crashing into the
core of a companion star is reported by astronomers, based on studies of an extremely luminous source of radio waves called VT 1210+4956. • Astronomers report the detection of peculiar radio waves
from near the galactic center whose
unidentified source could represent a new class of astronomical objects. • A study finds that outdoor
air pollution is associated with substantially
increased mortality "even at low pollution levels below the current European and North American standards and WHO guideline values". On 22 September, for the first time since 2005, the
World Health Organization (WHO), after a systematic review of the accumulated evidence, adjusted their
air quality guidelines whose adherence could save millions of lives, protect against future diseases and help meet climate goals. • 3 September • Bioengineers report the development of a viable
CRISPR-Cas gene-editing system, "CasMINI", that is about twice as compact as the commonly used
Cas9 and
Cas12a. • Researchers report that
autoantibodies against one's own
ACE2 enzymes (the major entry point receptors for COVID-19),
autoimmune disease, may be a (main) cause of
long COVID. Earlier studies suggested this may explain unusual pattern of organ damage by COVID-19. • Scientists report that the
accelerated, higher-variability warming of the
Arctic can
cause (more frequent)
extremely cold winter weather across parts of Asia and North America – including the
February 2021 North American cold wave – via a, observed and modeled, stratospheric
polar vortex disruption. • 6 September – Experts report that one-third of all
chondrichthyes fish species are threatened with extinction, mainly caused by overfishing. • 8 September •
Cysteamine, an antioxidant drug already approved for human use, is shown to reverse
atherosclerosis, the process responsible for heart attacks and strokes, in mice. • Scientists provide the first scientific assessment of the minimum amount of fossil fuels that would need to be
secured from extraction per region as well as globally, to allow for a 50% probability of
limiting global warming by 2050 to 1.5 °C. • Scientists report that Earth is reflecting less light – a dimming of ~0.5% in
reflectance over two decades may have both been co-caused by climate change as well as substantially increase global warming. • 10 September • Scientists report what could be the discovery of the oldest
rock art, likely dating back to
~169–226,000 years ago, much older than what was previously thought to be the earliest known drawing, made ~73,000 years ago. Children likely intentionally placed a series of hands and feet in mud. The findings could also be the earliest evidence of
Hominins on the above 4000 m a.s.l. high
Tibetan Plateau. • 43 expert scientists publish the first scientific framework version that – via integration,
review, clarifications and
standardization – enables the evaluation of levels of protection of
marine protected areas and can serve as a guide for improving, planning and monitoring
marine protection-quality and -extents such as in efforts towards the 30%-protection-goal of the "Global Deal For Nature" and
the UN's SDG 14. • The
CDC reports that despite prevalence of the
Delta variant people
vaccinated against COVID-19 are ~11 times less likely to die from COVID-19 (age-standardized rates of 1.6 versus 0.1 and 1.1 versus 0.1 weekly deaths per 100,000 U.S. citizens), showing vaccines' effectiveness at preventing
severe disease. spherical shell. of
greenhouse gas emissions only for up to 2100 is found to be short-sighted. New models for
climate change scenarios for up to 2500 are published. • 13 September – A
scientific review concludes that accumulating data suggests dietary restriction (DR) – mainly
intermittent fasting and
caloric restriction – results in many of the same beneficial changes in adult humans as in studied organisms, potentially
increasing health- and lifespan. A review published on 22 September provides an overview of DR as an intervention and develops a framework for a proposed field of "
precision nutrigeroscience". A study published on 29 September identifies
circadian-regulated autophagy as a critical contributor to intermittent time-restricted fasting-mediated lifespan extension in
Drosophila and suggests that only certain forms of and/or combinations with intermittent fasting – intervals during which no food but only e.g. water and tea/coffee are ingested – may be effective beyond Sun-produced local environment-adjusted "
chameleon particles", at the dark matter detector
XENON1T experiment. • Scientists confirm that widespread
phytoplankton blooms can be a
feedback effect of wildfires. The climate change-exacerbated
2019–2020 Australian wildfires caused oceanic deposition of wildfire aerosols, enhancing
marine productivity and thereby increased oceanic carbon dioxide uptake. A study using
satellite data complements these findings, constraining the amount of CO2 emissions of the fires from November 2019 to January 2020 to around 715 million tons. • Media outlets report that the world's first
cultured coffee products have been created by two biotechnology companies, still awaiting regulatory approval for near-term
commercialization. Such products, for which multiple
companies' R&D have acquired substantial funding, may have equal or highly similar effects, composition and taste as natural products but use less water, generate less carbon emissions, require less labor and cause
no deforestation. • 16 September – Scientists report evidence of
clothes being made
120,000 years ago based on findings in deposits in
Morocco, a country in the northwestern part of Africa. • 17 September • Scientists report that
harmful algal blooms, which have been linked to
deforestation,
global warming and
soil erosion, are proliferating in lakes and rivers around the globe. They add that such toxic algal blooms were a prominent feature of previous mass
extinction events, in particular of the
End-Permian Extinction. • Researchers report in a
preprint the discovery of i.a. the so far closest known relative virus, with a 96.8% similarity, to
SARS-CoV-2 in samples from wild
horseshoe bats in northern
Laos – 0.7% more similar than the virus
RaTG13 discovered in China in 2013. Their findings indicate that, as of 2021, SARS-CoV-2-like viruses
potentially infectious for humans circulate in bats in the
Indochinese peninsula and that the pandemic virus may not
originate from
Wuhan. Other scientists complement these findings, reporting in a preprint published on 20 September, that they could not find any SARS-CoV-2 related viruses in any samples collected in China, including from the only two domestic caves where RaTG13 and
RmYN02 were detected, indicating such viruses may currently not circulate in bats in the country. • 22 September – Astronomers report the discovery of a nearby spherical structure, a '
superbubble', on the edges of which giant molecular clouds (
Perseus and
Taurus) with regions of
star formation are being formed, the Per-Tau Shell. • 23 September • Scientists report the discovery of
human footprints in the state of
New Mexico that are understood to be ~23,000 years old, around the time of the
last Ice Age. • Researchers report the world's first
artificial synthesis of
starch. The material essential for many products and the most common
carbohydrate in human diets was made from CO2 in a cell-free process and could reduce land, pesticide and water use as well as greenhouse gas emissions while increasing food security. • After commissioning two impact assessment studies and a
technology analysis study, the
European Commission proposes the implementation of a
standardization – for versions of
USB-C – of
phone charger products, which may increase device-
interoperability, convergence and convenience for consumers while decreasing resource-needs, redundancy and
electronic waste. food, tomatoes, goes on public sale. models for genome-based
early detection and prioritization of high-risk potential
zoonotic viruses. • 24 September • Researchers conclude that projecting
effects – such as regional inhabitability,
human migration and food insecurity – of
greenhouse gas emissions only for up to 2100, as widely practiced in research and
policy-making, is short-sighted and model
climate change scenarios for up to 2500. • Media outlets report that in Japan the first
CRISPR-edited food has gone on public sale. Tomatoes
were genetically modified for around five times the normal amount of possibly calming
GABA. CRISPR was first applied in tomatoes in 2014. • Biomedical researchers demonstrate a switchable
Yamanaka factors-
reprogramming-based approach for
regeneration of damaged heart without tumor-formation in mice. • 26 September – Researchers estimate that children born in 2020 (e.g. "
Generation Alpha") will experience 2–7 times as many extreme weather events, particularly heat waves, compared to people born in 1960 (e.g. "
Baby Boomers" and "
Generation X") under current climate policy pledges over their lifetimes, raising issues of
intergenerational equity. • 27 September •
Landsat 9, described as the world's most important satellite, is launched by NASA
to study the Earth and its environment. • Biochemists and space scientists report that sunlight-, acidity- and water activity-levels in
Venus' clouds may have the potential to support Earth-like
phototrophy such as
photosynthesis. • 28 September • Medical scientists report that
COVID-19 measures may have, apparently, caused the global extinction of the
influenza B virus lineage B/Yamagata. • Pathogen researchers report the development of
machine learning models for genome-based
early detection and prioritization of high-risk potential
zoonotic viruses in animals prior to
spillover to humans. They conclude that their tool could be used for virus surveillance for
pandemic prevention via (i.a.) measures of "early investigation and outbreak preparedness" and would have been capable of predicting
SARS-CoV-2 as a high-risk strain.
October • 1 October – A company conducting a preliminary small (~380 patients × 2)
clinical trial launched a year ago reports that
molnupiravir substantially reduced the risk of hospitalization (7.3% to 14.1%) and death (8 to 0)
from COVID-19. • 4 October • The 2021
Nobel Prize in Medicine is awarded to
David Julius and
Ardem Patapoutian for their findings about how heat, cold and touch can initiate signals in the nervous system. •
Metascientists report, based on a
citation analysis, that "structures fostering disruptive scholarship and focusing attention on novel
ideas" could be important as in a growing
scientific field citation flows disproportionately consolidate to citing already well-cited papers, possibly slowing and inhibiting canonical
progress. • 5 October • The 2021
Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to
Syukuro Manabe,
Klaus Hasselmann and
Giorgio Parisi for their work on
climate change, resulting from the role of humanity. • 6 October • The 2021
Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to
Benjamin List and
David W.C. MacMillan for their work in creating a tool to build molecules, that may be useful for studies on developing new drugs and reducing the effect of chemicals on the environment. • The WHO endorses
the first malaria vaccine. • A study
of data traffic by popular
smartphones running variants of the
Android software finds substantial by-default data collection and sharing with no opt-out and implications for users'
privacy, control and security. • With 17 studies a consortium of
MICrONS researchers concludes the first phase of a long-term project (BICCN) to generate an atlas of the entire mouse (mammalian) brain, releasing an
atlas and census of cell types in the
primary motor cortex. • 7 October – Scientists show experimentally, with
brain organoids grown from stem cells, how
differences between humans and chimpanzees are also substantially caused by the 98% of DNA outside the protein-coding genes, often discarded as "
junk DNA" – in particular via
CRE-regulated
expression of the ZNF558 gene for a
transcription factor. • 8 October – A new eco-friendly way of extracting and
separating rare earth elements is described, using a bacteria-derived protein called lanmodulin, which binds easily to the metals. from the
FSO Safer. • 11 October • Scientists report more precise dating of what appear to be the earliest
bipedal footprints with
hominin-like characteristics, the
Trachilos footprints. They are found to be
~6.05 million years old, which is around the time of
Orrorin – the previously earliest theorized species of
Homininae until these footprints were controversially dated in 2017, despite being discovered
outside of Africa in
Crete, Greece. However, these apes are not necessarily associated with human evolution. • The pilot project of the "world's first
automated, driverless train" is launched in the city of
Hamburg, Germany. The conventional, standard-track, non-metro train technology could theoretically be implemented for rail transport worldwide and is reported to also be substantially more
energy efficient. • Scientists project public health impacts, along with some of the environmental damage, of a, simulated, imminent Red Sea
oil spill from the
FSO Safer. • 12 October – Scientists report that for 13,115 cities
extreme heat exposure of a
wet bulb globe temperature above 30 °C tripled between 1983 and 2016. It increased by ~50% when the
population growth in these cities is not taken into account. Urban areas are often
significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. • 13 October – Astronomers report the detection of hundreds of
Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) from a single system. • 15 October – The first brain
metabolome atlas
of the mouse brain – and of an animal (a mammal) across different life stages – is released. • 16 October • The
spacecraft Lucy is launched by NASA, the first mission to explore the
Trojan asteroids. • A comprehensive study by
Scientists for Future concludes that
nuclear fission energy cannot meaningfully contribute to
climate change mitigation as it is "too dangerous,
too expensive, and too sluggishly deployable" as well as "an obstacle to achieving the social-ecological transformation". • 18 October – A study shows for the first time how
immunity is inherited,
via epigenetic changes, in mice (mammals). • 19 October – Media outlets report about novel technologies for virtual try-ons of clothes for more
sustainable fashion and improved online shopping, which increased relatively
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
horses descend from the lower
Volga-Don region, Russia. • 20 October • Astronomers report the first evidence of a giant impact between two
exoplanets, which occurred in the
HD 172555 system, based on analysis of gas and dust concentrations. • Scientists report that, according to their analysis, today's
domestic horses descend from the lower
Volga-Don region, Russia. 273
ancient horse genomes further indicate that these populations replaced almost all local populations as they expanded rapidly throughout Eurasia from about 4200 years ago, that certain adaptations were strongly selected for by
horse riding, and that equestrian material culture – including
Sintashta spoke-wheeled
chariots and in the case of Asia
Indo-Iranian languages – spread alongside. • Researchers report on the first natural
protein that, using lanmodulin, complexes
actinium, a natural but radioactive element used in
cancer therapy, alongside
yttrium-90. • 21 October • Medical researchers announce that on 25 September the first successful
xenotransplantation of a genetically engineered pig
kidney, along with the pig
thymus gland to make the immune system recognize it as part of the body, to a brain-dead human with no immediate signs of
rejection, moving the practice closer to
clinical trials with living humans. • A study shows how
COVID-19 may inflict long-term brain damage, including in cases of '
long COVID', via
endothelial cell-death disrupting the
blood–brain barrier. • 22 October • Researchers describe and substantiate the hypothesis that a recent
decrease in
brain size "in the last 3,000 years" (previously thought to instead have occurred during the last ~28,000 years) has resulted from
externalization of knowledge and
group decision-making, partly via
social systems of distributed cognition and
sharing of information. A
study by Villmoare et al. (2022) that reanalyzes the used data refutes their findings. It concludes that "the samples need to be specific enough to test the hypothesis across different times and populations". • A study shows that mandatory
face masks and social distancing can allow for relatively safe
public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic,
reducing infection rates by 93.5% and 98.1% in tracking-based simulations of common contemporary forms of public transport during congestion peak-hour. • 25 October • Astronomers report, with two studies, that '
BLC1' does not appear to be a
technosignature or extraterrestrial radio transmission because 15 similar observations were made between 2019 and 2020 that did not originate from around
Proxima Centauri – and hence are likely results of forms of local
radiofrequency interference – and propose a sequence of "verification checks for narrowband technosignature signals". • Another, clearer case of
quantum advantage with
Zuchongzhi is reported. A third study reported that
Zuchongzhi 2.1 completed a task of classically simulating random circuit sampling that "is about 6 orders of magnitude more difficult than that of
Sycamore". sequencing" framework, in particular for policies of polycentric
governance for completely halting and preventing
deforestation. • 27 October • Astronomers propose a "
Confidence of Life Detection" scale (CoLD) for reporting evidence of
life beyond Earth. • Astronomers report that the orbits of the detected
exoplanets hosted by the star
HD 3167 are unusual: two planets (HD 3167 c; HD 3167 d) revolve around the
poles of the star, whereas the third planet (HD 3167 b) orbits around the
equator of the star instead. • Researchers release a "
policy sequencing" framework, in particular for policies of polycentric
governance for completely halting and preventing
deforestation based on data about already implemented government-designed policies, UN-
decided REDD+ initiatives and voluntary private sector initiatives of recent deforestation interventions. • The world's first urban
autonomous vessels, '
Roboats', are deployed in the
canals of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The ships developed by three institutions could carry up to five people,
collect waste,
deliver goods, and provide "on-demand infrastructure". • A potentials-assessment study proposes hypothetical portable solar-powered
atmospheric water harvesting devices which are under development, along with design criteria, finding they could help a billion people to access
safe drinking water, albeit such
off-the-grid generation may sometimes "undermine efforts to develop
permanent piped infrastructure". • 28 October • An open letter by scientists asks the
WTO to eliminate increasing harmful
fisheries subsidies. • One year after India and South Africa called on WTO to temporarily waive
TRIPS vaccine
patents for accelerated
deployment of COVID-19 vaccines around the world, the WTO reportedly fails to find an accord for doing so. No mechanisms of alternative medical
research and development incentive-systems were reported and some argue that, instead of intellectual property rights, manufacturing know-how is the main barrier to expanding capacity. • Scientists discover that up to about 20,000 metric tons of
microplastics may be stored in
coral skeletons worldwide every year, marking the first time that a living microplastic "sink", or long-term storage site, has been quantified. • 30 October – A comprehensive
review summarizes scientific research and data about
health impacts of climate change.
November • 1 November – Astronomers report detecting, in a "first-of-its-kind" process based on
SAM instruments,
organic molecules, including
benzoic acid,
ammonia and other related unknown compounds, on the
planet Mars by the
Curiosity rover. caused by the
trade and consumption by the G20 nations causes two million premature deaths annually. . • 3 November • Astronomers using the
ALMA report the presence of
water in SPT0311-58, a galaxy nearly 12.9 billion light-years from Earth. This is the most distant detection of a required element for life in a regular star-forming galaxy. • Scientists report that large shares of wild
deer in the U.S. have been infected with SARS-CoV-2. The test results showed one "mismatch" for 2019, low inhibition values in 2020 and 152 positive samples (40%) in 2021. A
preprint published on 1 November found that ~80% of samples between late November 2020 and January were positive. Such spillovers may cause reservoirs for mutating variants that spill back to humans – a possible source for variants of concern
other than immunocompromised people. – including about populations-levels factors. (DART) • 4 November • Astronomers report, in the
Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey for the 2020s, recommended scientific priorities and investments for the next decade to help achieve the following primary goals: search for
habitable exoplanets and
extraterrestrial life, study
black holes and
neutron stars and study the
growth and evolution of galaxies. • A study contributes to a disentangling of the current
geopolitical and economic implications of and incentives for a swift
renewable energy transition, suggesting i.a. that how fast fossil energy markets decline is primarily decided by the major energy importers China, India, Japan and the EU and that transition dynamics may reverse the
free-rider problem in the case of energy sectors, specifically from strategic national standpoints which are not short-term. • Researchers demonstrate a novel
X-ray imaging technique, "HiP-CT", for 3D cellular-resolution scans of whole organs, using the
ESRF's EBF. The published online Human Organ Atlas includes the lungs from a donor who died with COVID-19. • 5 November – A company reports that a phase 2/3 clinical trial shows that
Paxlovid can reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations of high-risk adults by 89% when given within three days after symptom onset. • 8 November – Scientists prove that the brain (the
insular cortex of mice/mammals) also
"remembers" immune activity against past infections, with reactivation – or stimulation –
of the neurons being able to cause – or shape – the inflammatory
immune response. • 9 November • Astrophysicists report the discovery of unexplained blockage of high-energy cosmic rays entering the
Galactic Center, such as a strong magnetic field. • Scientists report the detection of coronaviruses closely related to
SARS-CoV-2 (
92.6% nucleotide identity) in two bats sampled in
Cambodia in 2010, complementing i.a. a study published on 17 September. • 10 November – Researchers report the development of
chewing gums that could
mitigate COVID-19 spread. The ingredients –
CTB-
ACE2 proteins grown via plants – bind to the virus. • 11 November • Astronomers using the
Very Large Telescope report the discovery of a black hole in
NGC 1850 by viewing its influence on the motion of a star in close proximity, the first direct dynamical detection of a black hole in a young massive cluster. • The first-ever simulation of
baryons on a quantum computer is reported by a university. • Astronomers identify a long filament of cold, dense gas connecting two of the
Milky Way's
spiral arms, the first known observation of such a galactic structure in the Milky Way. •
Bionanoengineers report a novel therapy for
spinal cord injury – an injectable gel of nanofibers that contain moving molecules that cause cellular signaling and mimic the matrix around cells in mice. • A study investigates how
tidal energy could be best integrated into the
Orkney energy system. On 3 November, a
review assesses the potential of tidal energy in the UK's energy systems, finding that it could, according to their considerations that include economic cost-benefit analysis, deliver 34 TWh/y or 11% of its energy demand. • 14 November – A time-allocation study estimates that in 2020 over 130 million hours of researchers' time were spent on
peer review. • 16 November • A study reports the second case of a person whose immune system apparently cleared the
HIV on
its own without a therapy. • Biochemists report one of the first supercomputational approaches for the development of new
antibiotic derivatives
against antimicrobial resistance. • Scientists report a large extent of
alternative splicing – cases of a single gene (a template) being used to create instructions (
mRNAs) for building different
proteins – in the mouse and human cortex and release the
transcriptomes on a public database. • A tech company reveals a new 127 quantum bit processor named '
IBM Eagle', which is the most powerful quantum processor ever made. as a
SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern. • The first 256-
qubit quantum computer is announced, by a startup company, founded by scientists and funded by
DARPA. • The largest public
dataset of whole genomes is made available through a Web platform. The entire
genomes of 200,000
UK Biobank participants, linked to anonymized medical information, are made more accessible for biomedical research than prior, less comprehensive datasets. • Scientists call for the creation of
space biosecurity measures and inform the creation of
planetary protection policies that aim to prevent forward
contamination of extraterrestrial bodies as well as backward contamination. • Scientists report the development of a
vaccine of mRNAs for the body build 19 proteins in tick saliva which, by enabling quick development of
erythema (itchy redness) at the bite site, protects guinea pigs against
Lyme disease from
ticks. • 19 November • The first
autonomous cargo ship,
MV Yara Birkeland is launched in Norway. The fully
electric ship is expected to substantially reduce the need for truck journeys. • A report by Brazil's
INPE based on
satellite data finds
deforestation of the
Amazon rainforest has increased by 22% over 2020 and is at its highest level (13,235 km2) since 2006. • 21 November –
Sri Lanka announces that it will lift its import ban on
pesticides and herbicides,
explained by both a lack of sudden changes to widely applied practices or education systems and contemporary economics and, by extension, food security, protests and high food costs. The effort to become the world's first completely
organic farming nation was challenged by effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. • 22 November • Scientists detect a
quantum effect that blocks
atoms from scattering light. • A study using data on ~30,000 patients, for the first time, indicates that
aspirin may be associated with an increased (26%) risk for heart failure in persons with at least one cardiovascular risk factor. An author notes that the findings require confirmation and the link with heart failure to be clarified. • 24 November –
NASA launches the
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the first attempt to deflect an
asteroid for the purpose of learning how to protect Earth. • 25 November – Researchers systematically assess impacts of
climate change mitigation options on 18 constituents of
well-being, finding largely beneficial effects of demand-side solutions based on inputs from 604 studies. • 26 November – The WHO announces the classification of the
Omicron variant as a
SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern. The variant, that became dominant (74% of samples) in South Africa in November, was detected by the NGS-SA
genomic surveillance on 8 November and reported to the WHO on 24 November. may increase transmissibility compared to Delta and may affect vaccines' efficacies with a key question being whether it causes less severe prognoses. • 29 November – A team of scientists reports a new form of biological reproduction in
xenobots that are made up of and are emersed in frog cells.
December • 1 December • Scientists discover the footprint of an ancient hominid that lived alongside
Lucy. • Researchers develop an
energy system model for 100%
renewable energy, examining
feasibility and
grid stability in the U.S. • 2 December • A method of
DNA data storage with a hundred times the density of previous techniques is announced. • A
stem cell-based treatment for
type 1 diabetes is announced. • 4 December – A
total solar eclipse occurs in the
Antarctic region. • 5 December – Researchers report the development of a system of machine learning and
hyperspectral camera that can distinguish between 12 different types of plastics such as PET and PP for automated
separation of waste of, as of 2020, highly
unstandardized plastics products and
packaging. • 6 December • Scientists show that and
how the
flavonoid Procyanidin C1 of the antioxidant
grape seed extract increases the
health- and lifespan of mice and increases the efficacy of mice'
chemotherapy. •
Sloan Digital Sky Survey's final data release of SDSS-IV including final data products and catalogs. : Cancer Biology'' suggest most studies of the
cancer research sector
may not be replicable and may contain wrong results. • 7 December • A study suggests that when two people wear
surgical masks, while the infectious one is speaking, the risk of
COVID-19 infection at a distance of 1.5 m remains below 30% after one hour, but when both wear a well-fitting
FFP2 mask, it is 0.4%. • Researchers investigating sources of urban
PAHs air pollution in Athens report that
wood-burning could be causing a third (31%) of such urban air pollution, like diesel and oil combined or gasoline, and, especially during winter days, is responsible for nearly half of PAH cancer-risk. • A study suggests that mutations that promote
breakthrough infections or antibody-resistance could be a new mechanism for
viral evolution success of SARS-CoV-2 and that such may become a dominating mechanism of its evolution. On 27 December, a
preprint finds that "the rapid spread of the
Omicron VOC primarily can be ascribed to the
immune evasiveness rather than an inherent increase in the basic transmissibility". Studies also showed the variant to escape the majority of existing SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies, including of sera from vaccinated and convalescent individuals. • A
scientific review summarizes research and data about
telemedicine. Its results indicate that, in general, outcomes of such
ICT-use are as good as in-person care with health care use staying similar. •
The Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology shows that of 193 experiments from 53 top papers about
cancer published between 2010 and 2012,
only 50 replication experiments from 23 papers could be completed with effect sizes of that fraction being 85% smaller on average than the original findings. None of the papers had its experimental
protocols fully described and 70% of experiments required asking for key reagents. • 8 December • Researchers report the development of
face masks that glow under ultraviolet light if they contain SARS-CoV-2 when the filter is taken out and sprayed with a fluorescent dye that contains antibodies from ostrich eggs. • Studies, some of which using large nationwide datasets from either Israel and Denmark, find that
vaccine effectiveness of multiple common two-dosed
COVID-19 vaccines is substantially lower against the SARS-CoV-2
Omicron variant than for other common variants including the
Delta variant, and that a new (often a third) dose – a
booster dose – is needed and effective, with it i.a. substantially reducing deaths from the disease compared to cohorts who received two doses. •
Applied behavioural scientists demonstrate a novel type of intervention studies, a "megastudy", and investigate the efficacy of 54 different designed by separate teams interventions to increase weekly
gym-visits of ~60,000 members of a fitness chain, such as digital feedback in the form of redeemable points that are rewarded for returning to the gym after a missed workout. • 9 December • The
Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, a collaboration between
NASA and the
Italian Space Agency, is launched by
SpaceX. It is the first satellite capable of measuring the polarisation of
X-rays that come from cosmic sources, such as
black holes and
neutron stars. • The
Log4Shell security vulnerability in a
Java logging framework is publicly disclosed two weeks after its discovery. Because of the ubiquity of the affected software, experts have described it as a most serious computer vulnerability. In a high-level meeting, the importance of security maintenance of open-source software – often also carried out largely by few volunteers – to national security was clarified. • A study reviews modern
analytic procedures, including
mass spectrometry techniques, for characterization, analysis, and identification of unknown materials and how such were applied to study materials that, according to witnesses, dropped from hovering
unknown aerial objects (or UFOs). It suggests that the full range of current capabilities of materials analysis have not been applied so far and, after reviewing a range of proposed explanations, that these materials' purposes and characteristics, such as their
isotope ratios, are very odd and remain unexplained. • Scientists report the development of a
genome editing system, called "twin prime editing", which surpasses the original
prime editing system reported in 2019 in that it allows editing large sequences of DNA, addressing the method's key drawback. • An
mRNA vaccine against HIV with promising results in tests with mice and primates is reported. , the long-awaited successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, is launched. • 10 December –
A vaccine to remove
senescent cells, a key driver of the
aging process, is demonstrated in mice by researchers from Japan. • 13 December • Astronomers report that
AT 2018cow, an extreme
FBOT, "could be a
neutron star or
black hole with a mass less than 850 solar masses," based on
high-time-resolution X-ray observation studies. • Scientists studying the huge
Thwaites Glacier in
West Antarctica report evidence that it could "shatter like a car windscreen" within five to ten years, potentially adding 65 cm to
global sea levels in the long term. • Observations of 16 years of timing data from the double pulsar
PSR J0737−3039 are reported to be in agreement with
general relativity by studying the loss of orbital energy due to
gravitational waves. • Researchers report the development of a database and analysis tool about
perovskite solar cells which systematically integrates over 15,000 publications, in particular data about over 42,400 photovoltaic devices. • 14 December –
Sagittarius A*, the
supermassive black hole at the centre of the
Milky Way, is imaged with 20 times greater detail than ever before, by astronomers using the GRAVITY instrument on the
Very Large Telescope in Chile. • 15 December • Scientists call for accelerated efforts in the development of broadly protective vaccines, especially a
universal coronavirus vaccine that durably protects not just against all
SARS-CoV-2 variants but also other
coronaviruses, including already identified animal coronaviruses with pandemic potential. • Researchers report that
NOX4 facilitates certain beneficial
adaptive responses to exercise mediated by
ROS (the opposite of
antioxidants), which may be relevant to aging, diabetes, muscle-related and obesity interventions. • 16 December •
Tokamak Energy announces a more efficient design for the cryogenic electronics in
fusion reactors. This provides a 50% reduction in the power needed for the cooling of
high-temperature superconducting magnets. • Researchers propose buffer-zones around
nature reserves where pesticide-use is drastically reduced, based on Germany-wide field study data which i.a. found
insect samples in such areas to
be contaminated with ~16 pesticides on average. • Researchers report the development of
perovskite solar cells based on self-constructed
high-throughput screening of mixtures and contact layers, that – based on the stability tests – are estimated to last for over two years under normal circumstances. • In two separate studies, researchers, using
vanadium dioxide, report the development of a "smart-roof coating" for
radiative cooling that switches to warming during cold temperatures and "smart windows" that self-adapt to heat or cool for
energy conservation in buildings. • 20 December – The first known
magnetosphere around an exoplanet is reported, surrounding the
hot Neptune HAT-P-11b. • 22 December – Japanese scientists announce a key step in the development of a
quantum computer using
photons, which eliminates the need for an
ultracold environment used to cool existing machines. • 23 December – An international team reports the use of an
electron microscope to change the
chirality of a
carbon nanotube, creating a
transistor with a length of just 2.8 nanometres. • 24 December – A study suggests that, based on the strength of positive selection pressure, the molecular spectrum of mutations and known mutations for adaptation to mouse hosts, the SARS-CoV-2
Omicron variant may have evolved in mice and then
spilled back to humans. • 25 December – The
James Webb Space Telescope, "NASA's most powerful and complex space telescope" and successor to the
Hubble Space Telescope, launches successfully. • 26 December – A third
convergent graphical
shell and
UI framework, based on
KDE/Kirigami, for the
Linux operating system
on phones,
desktops and other devices, is released. • 28 December – Scientists report that
production of ammonia in the clouds of Venus, possibly by life, may make the environment less acidic and suitable
for life, with the atmospheric model matching observations better than earlier ones. • 30 December • China's
EAST tokamak sustains 120 million °C
plasma for 17 minutes (1,056 seconds) for the development of
fusion energy (which requires i.a. temperatures over 150 million °C). • Researchers report the development of "nanoantennas"
made out of DNA that attach to
proteins and produce a signal via fluorescence
when these perform their biological functions, in particular for distinct
conformational changes, i.a. enabling monitoring their motion. • The first
CRISPR-gene-edited marine animals/
seafood and second set of
CRISPR-edited food has gone on public sale in Japan: two fish of which one species grows to twice the size of natural specimens due to disruption of
leptin, which controls appetite, and the other grows to 1.2 the natural size with the same amount of food due to disabled
myostatin, which inhibits
muscle growth. ==Predicted and scheduled events==