Science is pretty awesome, right? One of the best things is it seems as though there is no limit to the things we can learn; science just keeps giving and giving, so what are the five most interesting scientific discoveries from the last decade?
There might be another Earth
Okay, the topic of other life in the universe has been buzzing around for years, but now it looks as though there could be another planet that is habitual – and it’s almost like Earth. The planet, named LHS 1140b, is found to be orbiting the habitable zone of a close star that gives the planet about half as much light as our sun does to us. This means there could be the perfect conditions for life somewhere entirely else in the universe. Now, all they need to do is found out the answer.
They altered memories
This almost sounds like something out of Hollywood, but scientists really have learned how to alter our memories. Two scientists worked with mice to see if they could achieve what once seemed like the impossible. They implanted the mice with light-sensitive proteins before shining a light at their eyes. Now, their positive memories were remembered as negative ones while bad memories suddenly felt like joyous times. This could mean wonders for the treatment of PTSD, dealing with grief, and learning how to live with loss if they’re able to take their findings to humans.
They found water of Mars
It might not be long before we’re setting up home on Mars, but it seems as though there might be competition for the planet after all. There have been many frozen bodies of water found on planets all throughout the solar system. However, this discovery was different. Scientists found there was liquid water on Mars. And what does liquid water usually mean? Life. For many years we thought we were alone in the universe, but now it seems as though we could be more surrounded than we ever believed.
There’s a pretty large black hole
When we say pretty large, we mean the largest black hole that has ever been discovered by humans. In fact, it’s more than 10,000 times bigger than the supermassive black hole found in the center of the Milky Way. As if that wasn’t enough, the mass is the same as 40 billion times that of our sun. Somehow, this giant discovery has been hiding before our eyes this entire time. Believe it or not, but scientists think the black hole was formed around 1.6 billion years after The Big Bang meaning it has been here for the majority of the universe’s life. Wowza.
The universe is an incredible place filled with even more wonderful discoveries. Although we have made some incredible leaps and bounds over our thousands of years on Earth, it seems as though the last decade has given us some of the most interesting scientific discoveries in history. Here’s to the next ten years of discoveries.
