Through last year, scientists were at work reshaping human life and equipping it, and the world, for the challenges of the future The year that we just exited saw more than reinventing the wheel.
As we inch closer to 2025, science continues to redefine what humans can achieve. In that sense, the year 2024 was a landmark for scientific innovation, with achievements in diverse fields.
From mapping a fruit fly’s mind to solutions in agriculture and a chip beating a supercomputer, they highlight how researchers are able to address global challenges. Let’s look at some unique science stories from 2024.
Quantum Chip
Meanwhile, in the realm of quantum computing, Google has taken it a step further with the Willow chip. Error correction is a challenge that is persistent, and after a decade of research, Quantum AI has the answer to it. Willow uses quantum error correction technique to reduce the error rates, which occur when quantum bits interact with their environment. This chip is important to adapt to quantum computers, paving a way for a system to handle complex computations.
For instance, Willow completed a random circuit sampling computation in just five minutes, something that would have taken advanced supercomputers at least septillion years. This shows the potential of the chip to solve problems that even advanced supercomputers cannot, especially in the fields of AI, material science, and medicine. These new breakthroughs showcase what humans are capable of. From agricultural challenges to unlocking the mysteries of the brain, 2024 was a remarkable year for groundbreaking progress.
These discoveries pose challenges as well as push us into a future where science and technology are going to improve our lives and understand the universe. The coming year has expectations for greater possibilities. We can expect advancements in agriculture, unravelling of celestial secrets, and transformational technologies amazing us with their abilities. With continued research and collaboration, 2025 could be another milestone in pushing boundaries towards a more innovative and sustainable future.
Breakthrough research maps entire wiring diagram of fruit fly brain
For the first time, researchers have documented the complete wiring diagram of the brain of a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), showing unprecedented complexity in its design. Published in Nature, the study by the FlyWire consortium mapped 140,000 neurons and over 50 million synaptic connections in a brain smaller than a poppy seed. Researchers have identified 8,453 neuronal cell types, categorised by function – such as sensory, motor, and endocrine neurons.
In most cases, however, the connections showed a high degree of orderliness; hence, there are debates against the theory that neuron development is a haphazard process. Fruit flies show complex behaviours, such as flight control, navigation, and pheromone-based courtship, which are compatible with the complexity of their brain.
Neurons can make as many as 1,000 connections, and the brain contains specific areas for processing visual, auditory, olfactory, and mechanical information. Researchers found 78 distinct subnetworks, which verified that the local structure of the brain is highly organised and non-random.
The study also found that the fruit fly brain operates as a “small-world network”, which is a web of highly clustered nodes and short connection paths, which allow efficient global communication. This study, while showing great complexity and detailed organisation, is only a starting point.
New moons discovered around Uranus & Neptune
Astronomers have discovered three new moons orbiting Uranus and Neptune, marking a breakthrough in planetary science. According to the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, the first moon discovered around Uranus was more than two decades ago, while two faint, distant moons were known to orbit Neptune.
The latest Uranian moon, temporarily designated S/2023 U1, is 8 km in diameter, making it the smallest known moon of the ice giant. It completes an orbit around the large planet every 680 days and brings its moon count to 28.
The discovery was made by Scott S Sheppard from Carnegie Science, using the powerful Magellan telescopes in Chile. Neptune’s newly identified moons are equally amazing with the S/2002 N5, measuring 23-m wide, takes nine years to complete one orbit.
Meanwhile, S/2021 N1, the faintest moon ever detected, is 14 km in size and has an orbital period of 27 years. Scientists believe these moons were likely captured during the turbulent early stages of the Solar System’s formation, offering clues about planetary evolution and the chaotic forces that shaped celestial bodies. The breakthrough also underscores advancements in observational astronomy and imaging technologies.
Artificial plants purify indoor air and generate electricity
Indoor air is as bad as outdoor air, and since 90% of the time that people spend their time indoors, it poses an even bigger risk. Prof Seokheun “Sean” Choi and PhD student Maryam Rzaie from Bingham University have introduced artificial plants that purify air and better, generate electricity as well. Using the influence of bacteria-powered bi-batteries, these artificial plants can mimic photosynthesis, which according to their research, reduces 90% of carbon dioxide levels, far beyond the 10% carbon reduction by natural plants. The researchers have used bacteria and biological solar cells to create artificial leaves.
RNA-based pesticides enter the field
Insecticides can be a blunt weapon, killing innocent species along with pests. This year, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved what could be a solution: an RNA-based pesticide spray tailored to a gene in its intended target. Proponents believe this new, precise approach will be safer than existing chemicals and could work for many pests.
The first RNA pesticide product takes aim at the Colorado potato beetle (CPB), which has evolved resistance to existing chemicals and causes half-a-billion dollars in lost crops annually, around the world.
According to the company GreenLight Biosciences, Calantha (a bio-insecticide that is used to control CPB in potato crops) interferes with a gene unique to the beetle. When larvae chew on leaves that have been sprayed, the RNA blocks a key protein, and they die within days.
This mechanism, known as RNA interference (RNAi), is a natural process that most cells use to regulate gene expression and to defend themselves from viruses.
After the discovery in 2007 that double-stranded RNA can cross the gut-lining of insects and efficiently kill them, researchers tried to turn RNAi into a weapon against bark beetles, mosquitoes, and other insects. Unlike beetles, however, lepidopterans have gut enzymes that easily destroy RNA before it can harm them.
One potential answer, packaging RNA inside a tiny protective shell, has become a hot research area. Insects and other pests are notorious for quickly evolving resistance to toxins, and researchers are already wondering how long it will take natural selection to thwart RNA insecticides. Lab tests have revealed the CPB and the corn rootworm can evolve resistance to RNA, if exposed to high-enough doses. But, this invention like another will be used responsibly.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe
On December 24, 2024, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe made a record-breaking close approach to the Sun, flying just 61,15,507.2 km above its surface
SRO’s SpaDeX Mission
India unveiled a pioneering in-space docking technology with two small spacecraft Discovery of Uncus dzaugisi A 555-million-year-old fossil was discovered in South Australia Discovery of TOI-715 b NASA reported the discovery of a super-Earth called TOI-715 b, located in the habitable zone of a red dwarf star
Elon Musk’s Neuralink
Neuralink implanted a microchip into a human brain
Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA)
The European Space Agency gave the go-ahead for the launch of LISA in 2035 Removing toxins from potatoes and tomatoes Scientists discovered a way to remove toxic compounds from potatoes and tomatoes
Diet of early Neolithic farmers
Archaeologists discovered grinding stones and grains at a Neolithic settlement on the Danish island of Funen, dating back 5,500 years Antibody for spinal cord injury Researchers investigated an antibody that can rehabilitate people with acute spinal cord injury
Centotectic
A study introduced a novel thermodynamic concept called the “centotectic”
Physics
John J Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for their work on machine learning using artificial neural networks
Physiology or Medicine Victor
Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA and its role in gene regulation machine learning using artificial neural networks
Chemistry
David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper for their work on computational protein design and protein structure prediction.