All was not bad in 2020. Science has not stood still and regularly distracted from everyday life with news that has given us hope: the world is progressing, we are developing as a species - we are at least we will be happy. Today we're going to tell you about some interesting discoveries and breakthroughs from the world of science that will be remembered for 2020.
AI detangled protein folds
For five decades, scientists have tried to solve one of the most difficult challenges in biology: to predict the exact three-dimensional shape in which an amino acid chain will fold when it becomes an active protein. The number of possible structures for a single protein is astronomically large. With the help of artificial intelligence, this problem was finally solved this year.
A program has been developed which predicts most protein structures with such precision that they can be mapped in laboratory experiments. For this, laborious methods are used: X-ray crystallography and cryoelectron microscopy. Of the 200 million proteins known to mankind, detailed molecular maps have only been established for 170,000.
Why is this important? The exact form of a protein determines its functioning, its biochemical function. The new program could help researchers uncover disease mechanisms, develop new drugs, and even create drought-tolerant plants and cheaper biofuels.
Since 1994, biologists have held the Protein Structure Prediction Critical Appraisal Competition (CASP) twice a year. Participants are given the amino acid sequences of proteins of unknown structure. One part deals with the prediction of the structure, another part with its laboratory mapping. The results are then compared.
This year, the UK-developed AlphaFold AI program was able to predict an average score of 92.4. And in this competition, anything over 90 is considered to be as accurate as experimental mapping of protein structure. For the more complex proteins, the program scored 87 points, 25 points ahead of the closest competitor.
AlphaFold is developed by DeepMind, which has been owned by Google since 2014. Previously, DeepMind had already noted the creation of an AI capable of defeating a professional go player, as well as a neural network that played DotA 2 at the professional level.
The end of the Russian monopoly
2020 marked the end of the Russian monopoly on the delivery of cosmonauts and astronauts to the International Space Station. The launch of Crew Dragon in May marked the first time a private company has brought astronauts to the ISS. As part of a demonstration mission, two Americans flew there, "hung out", tested the ship, and then managed to splash into the ocean.
In November, NASA certified Crew Dragon and SpaceX as the first ship and private company authorized to transport people to the ISS.
Women rewarded for genome editing
This year's Nobel laureates in chemistry were Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, the scientists who discovered the CRISPR / Cas9 genome editing method.
Initially, the bacterial immune system was not only effective in detecting and destroying certain genetic sequences transmitted by viruses that infect bacteria. This system has been shown to be able to precisely find a place in any genome of almost any organism and cut something out of it, ordered by genetic engineers.
In 2020, the first clinical trials began on the reprogramming of human cells to fight incurable cancers. And some research groups have studied and are investigating the possibility of introducing the CRISPR / Cas9 system into human cells (especially in the epithelium of the lungs) to fight to invade respiratory viruses.
Superconductivity at room temperature
For decades, experts and brides have searched for materials capable of conducting electricity at room temperature without resistance. Superconductivity at normal temperatures is important because it can reduce the power consumption and heat dissipation of various devices with such a conductor.
And this year such a compound was found. It contains carbon and hydrogen, but must be compressed to a pressure close to the pressure at the center of the Earth - only then will the material exhibit superconducting properties at room temperature.
Through high-pressure physics (scientists flatten materials with two diamonds at a pressure millions of times higher than the pressure on the Earth's surface), new superconductors are being discovered.
With the help of such a diamond anvil in 2019, a mixture of lanthanum and hydrogen was compressed in Germany under a pressure of 170 gigapascals (1.5 million times higher than atmospheric pressure), and at a temperature of minus 23 degrees Celsius, it has become a superconductor.
This year in the United States, the compound of hydrogen, carbon, and sulfur has been compressed even more - to 267 gigapascals. Superconductivity was achieved at a "cold room" temperature of about 14 degrees Celsius.
Signs of life on Venus
In September, very interesting space news was the discovery of traces of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus. It is one of the most horrible, unsightly, and unsuitable places in the solar system. However, the presence of phosphine in the planet's atmosphere is considered a potential biomarker - a chemical that can indicate the presence of living organisms.
Of course, no one in their right mind would engage in claiming that this is proof of the presence of life on Venus. This only talks about some as yet unexplained chemical processes that produce phosphine.
In the earth's atmosphere, this gas appears due to human activity and the existence of anaerobic microorganisms. A group of Cardiff University astronomers recorded phosphine in the clouds of Venus at an altitude of 53 to 61 kilometers. It could not have formed as a result of photochemical reactions or during lightning, volcanic activity, or meteorite falls. Orbital stations need to be sent to the planet, which will be able to more accurately determine what is happening there.
The oldest drawing
This year, scientists established the age of a rock painting in Indonesia, made by primitive people. And they called it the oldest proof of creativity found in humans.
On the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, they came across prehistoric drawings depicting rock hunting in 2017. Their age was calculated from lumpy deposits of white minerals ("cave popcorn"), which overlapped the drawings here and there. The uranium found in this "popcorn" disintegrates at a fixed rate. Thanks to this, scientists were able to calculate the approximate age of the drawings - they are at least 44,000 years old.
Thus, the Indonesian drawings were 4 thousand years older than any other known rock art. This specimen decisively pushed Europe as a geographic area where modern man created the first masterpiece of visual art.
Reactive vaccines
The main scientific achievement of 2020, of course, has been the speed with which it has been possible to develop and conduct the first coronavirus vaccine tests. People all over the world yearn for a withdrawal from the past "normalcy", limit themselves to travel, meeting with loved ones, contact with friends. For many, life has been interrupted. At the same time, the clock keeps ticking and time flies through your fingers.
For the first time, they started talking about a new outbreak in January. And already in February, the main pharmaceutical companies around the world began to develop vaccines against the new virus. Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, CanSino Biologics, Sinovac Biotech, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, and many more are in the race to create the first vaccine against the coronavirus. The market for its application is huge and therefore there will be several winners.
It usually takes years, if not decades, to develop a vaccine. In addition, most of the time is taken through several stages of clinical trials. In the past, "normality" the world could afford, but in an emergency, the testing time was as short as possible.
Already in April, Chinese Sinovac showed that its vaccine is safe and protects monkeys. At the same time, five companies began clinical trials of their own versions of the vaccine, and 71 other candidates were in preclinical development.
Large-scale clinical trials began this summer and by the fall the most promising candidates had been identified. With the onset of winter, mass vaccination of the most vulnerable segments of the population began in different countries. Next year, I would like to believe it, will be the year of the elimination of the epidemic in the form in which it has befallen us.
The number of vaccines that have started to be created around the world gives hope that last year's “normalcy” will return to this world. Although it will have to be more careful in many aspects, and we will have to get used to the new rules.
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