CMG: World's Top 10 Scientific Discoveries in 2024
CMG: A roundup of the top 10 scientific news stories from around the globe in 2024.
TroibNews 
On Monday, China Media Group unveiled the top 10 scientific news stories for 2024 globally.
1. The European Space Agency's Euclid mission made a significant contribution by revealing the first piece of its expansive universe map.
2. Groundbreaking findings from the analysis of lunar rock samples collected by China’s Chang'e-6 spacecraft were published in top scientific journals in November. These studies disclosed that volcanic activity on the moon's lesser-known far side has persisted for at least 1.4 billion years.
3. Researchers from the Quantum Nanoscience Center at the Institute for Basic Science in South Korea and Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany introduced the world’s first atomic-level quantum sensor that can detect minuscule magnetic fields at the atomic scale. The corresponding study was released in Nature Nanotechnology on July 25.
4. In February, OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, revealed its development of software capable of generating minute-long videos from text prompts. This innovative software is named "Sora," which translates to "sky" in Japanese, and is currently in a red teaming phase to help identify vulnerabilities in the AI system.
5. A research consortium led by the University Health Network in Toronto and the University of Zurich produced the first molecular atlas of the human brain's vasculature with single-cell resolution. This atlas tracks the brain's vascular development from early stages to adulthood, covering various disease states including brain tumors and vascular malformations. The findings were disclosed on July 10 in Nature.
6. An international alliance of nearly 50 institutions, featuring the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the U.S., constructed the inaugural global soil virus atlas. This atlas offers a detailed overview of the global soil virome, investigates the potential consequences of soil viruses on worldwide biogeochemical processes, and highlights key research areas in soil virus ecology. The associated paper was published in June in Nature Microbiology.
7. Astronomers discovered the most massive stellar black hole identified to date within the Milky Way galaxy. This black hole was detected in data from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission, which noted an unusual "wobbling" motion of the companion star in its orbit. The mass of the black hole was confirmed using data from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and other ground-based observatories, measuring an astounding 33 times that of the sun.
8. Canadian researchers achieved a breakthrough by developing the fastest camera to date, capable of capturing images at an astonishing rate of 156 trillion frames per second.
9. Scientists from several institutions, including Radboud University, utilized the James Webb Space Telescope to observe "dangling" ice structures in the universe for the first time.
10. A deep-sea robot exploring the rocky Pacific seabed at a junction of major tectonic plates uncovered a previously uncharted variety of animal life thriving in underground environments near hydrothermal vents.
Giant tubeworms—recognized as the heaviest worms in existence—along with other marine invertebrates such as snails and bristle worms, were detected using the remotely operated underwater vehicle SuBastian. These organisms inhabit cavities within the Earth's crust at a location on the ocean floor that is 1.56 miles deep. While all these species were known to live near such vents, this marks the first discovery of their existence underground.
Anna Muller for TROIB News
1. The European Space Agency's Euclid mission made a significant contribution by revealing the first piece of its expansive universe map.
2. Groundbreaking findings from the analysis of lunar rock samples collected by China’s Chang'e-6 spacecraft were published in top scientific journals in November. These studies disclosed that volcanic activity on the moon's lesser-known far side has persisted for at least 1.4 billion years.
3. Researchers from the Quantum Nanoscience Center at the Institute for Basic Science in South Korea and Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany introduced the world’s first atomic-level quantum sensor that can detect minuscule magnetic fields at the atomic scale. The corresponding study was released in Nature Nanotechnology on July 25.
4. In February, OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, revealed its development of software capable of generating minute-long videos from text prompts. This innovative software is named "Sora," which translates to "sky" in Japanese, and is currently in a red teaming phase to help identify vulnerabilities in the AI system.
5. A research consortium led by the University Health Network in Toronto and the University of Zurich produced the first molecular atlas of the human brain's vasculature with single-cell resolution. This atlas tracks the brain's vascular development from early stages to adulthood, covering various disease states including brain tumors and vascular malformations. The findings were disclosed on July 10 in Nature.
6. An international alliance of nearly 50 institutions, featuring the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the U.S., constructed the inaugural global soil virus atlas. This atlas offers a detailed overview of the global soil virome, investigates the potential consequences of soil viruses on worldwide biogeochemical processes, and highlights key research areas in soil virus ecology. The associated paper was published in June in Nature Microbiology.
7. Astronomers discovered the most massive stellar black hole identified to date within the Milky Way galaxy. This black hole was detected in data from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission, which noted an unusual "wobbling" motion of the companion star in its orbit. The mass of the black hole was confirmed using data from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and other ground-based observatories, measuring an astounding 33 times that of the sun.
8. Canadian researchers achieved a breakthrough by developing the fastest camera to date, capable of capturing images at an astonishing rate of 156 trillion frames per second.
9. Scientists from several institutions, including Radboud University, utilized the James Webb Space Telescope to observe "dangling" ice structures in the universe for the first time.
10. A deep-sea robot exploring the rocky Pacific seabed at a junction of major tectonic plates uncovered a previously uncharted variety of animal life thriving in underground environments near hydrothermal vents.
Giant tubeworms—recognized as the heaviest worms in existence—along with other marine invertebrates such as snails and bristle worms, were detected using the remotely operated underwater vehicle SuBastian. These organisms inhabit cavities within the Earth's crust at a location on the ocean floor that is 1.56 miles deep. While all these species were known to live near such vents, this marks the first discovery of their existence underground.
Anna Muller for TROIB News
