New Scientific Discoveries Made in 2020
2021-01-04
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1In 2020, many of the world's top scientists centered their attention on the new coronavirus.
2Their efforts provided valuable information about the virus and led to new vaccines to fight it.
3But there were other big scientific developments in 2020, as well.
4Here is a look back at some of the notable science stories we covered during the past year.
5European researchers identified a new bacterium that feeds on polyurethane, a kind of plastic that is difficult to recycle or destroy.
6The team, from Germany's Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, said the discovery could help reduce a flood of hard-to-recycle plastics filling up the world's landfills and polluting oceans.
7Many polyurethane-based products can release dangerous chemicals into the environment.
8But the researchers found that the bacterium can produce enzymes to break down the material.
9Researchers from the United States, China and Europe warned that in just 50 years, as many as 3.5 billion people could be facing "near-unlivable" heat.
10A study suggests the extreme heat would result from rising world temperatures linked to human-caused climate change.
11The exact number of people at risk will depend on whether pollutant levels can be reduced and how quickly the world population will grow.
12Under the worst-case predictions for population growth and carbon pollution,
13the study estimates about 3.5 billion people could be living in extremely hot areas by 2070.
14That would be one-third of the world's projected population.
15Scientists said they used new measuring methods to confirm that cloud seeding can produce snowfall under the right conditions.
16Cloud seeding involves injecting various substances into clouds to produce rain, snow or ice that falls to the ground.
17American researchers announced they had used radar and other instruments to measure snowfall levels during experiments carried out in the state of Idaho.
18The researchers said that, in several cases, cloud seeding operations measurably increased snowfall across targeted areas.
19In some cases, the seeding created new snowfall where no natural snow existed.
20One cloud seeding operation resulted in precipitation that produced snowfall for about 67 minutes.
21A comet called Neowise provided excellent light shows for people across the world.
22Comets are solar system objects made up of ice, rock and dust.
23Scientists estimated Neowise was about 5 kilometers across.
24It was the brightest comet to appear above the Northern Hemisphere in 25 years.
25Social media users in many countries posted images they captured of the comet as it lit up the sky over their heads.
26Scientists released the largest three-dimensional, or 3D map of the universe ever created.
27The 20-year project aims to map the universe using data collected from a telescope in the American state of New Mexico.
28Researchers said the 3D map produced measurements of more than two million galaxies and quasars.
29Quasars are defined as "bright galaxies lit up by material falling onto a central supermassive black hole."
30Scientists said in May they had discovered what is believed to be the oldest-known land animal.
31Remains of the millipede-like creature were found in Scotland.
32Researchers said the small, fossilized creature is estimated to be about 425 million years old.
33It may have helped lead the way for the many animals that would later live on land.
34While the creature is the earliest land animal known from a fossil, soil worms are believed to have lived before them - possibly 450 million years ago.
35German scientists announced they had measured the smallest unit of time ever recorded - a zeptosecond.
36A zeptosecond is one trillionth of a billionth of a second.
37Researchers made the discovery while studying how long it took a photon - a particle of light - to cross a hydrogen molecule.
38They said the photon crossed the molecule in about 247 zeptoseconds.
39"This is the shortest timespan that has been successfully measured to date," the team said in a statement.
40I'm Bryan Lynn.
1In 2020, many of the world's top scientists centered their attention on the new coronavirus. Their efforts provided valuable information about the virus and led to new vaccines to fight it. 2But there were other big scientific developments in 2020, as well. Here is a look back at some of the notable science stories we covered during the past year. 3Plastic-eating bacteria 4European researchers identified a new bacterium that feeds on polyurethane, a kind of plastic that is difficult to recycle or destroy. 5The team, from Germany's Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, said the discovery could help reduce a flood of hard-to-recycle plastics filling up the world's landfills and polluting oceans. 6Many polyurethane-based products can release dangerous chemicals into the environment. But the researchers found that the bacterium can produce enzymes to break down the material. 7'Unlivable' heat by 2070 8Researchers from the United States, China and Europe warned that in just 50 years, as many as 3.5 billion people could be facing "near-unlivable" heat. 9A study suggests the extreme heat would result from rising world temperatures linked to human-caused climate change. The exact number of people at risk will depend on whether pollutant levels can be reduced and how quickly the world population will grow. 10Under the worst-case predictions for population growth and carbon pollution, the study estimates about 3.5 billion people could be living in extremely hot areas by 2070. That would be one-third of the world's projected population. 11Cloud seeding to produce snow 12Scientists said they used new measuring methods to confirm that cloud seeding can produce snowfall under the right conditions. Cloud seeding involves injecting various substances into clouds to produce rain, snow or ice that falls to the ground. 13American researchers announced they had used radar and other instruments to measure snowfall levels during experiments carried out in the state of Idaho. 14The researchers said that, in several cases, cloud seeding operations measurably increased snowfall across targeted areas. 15In some cases, the seeding created new snowfall where no natural snow existed. One cloud seeding operation resulted in precipitation that produced snowfall for about 67 minutes. 16Neowise comet 17A comet called Neowise provided excellent light shows for people across the world. 18Comets are solar system objects made up of ice, rock and dust. Scientists estimated Neowise was about 5 kilometers across. It was the brightest comet to appear above the Northern Hemisphere in 25 years. 19Social media users in many countries posted images they captured of the comet as it lit up the sky over their heads. 203D map of universe 21Scientists released the largest three-dimensional, or 3D map of the universe ever created. 22The 20-year project aims to map the universe using data collected from a telescope in the American state of New Mexico. Researchers said the 3D map produced measurements of more than two million galaxies and quasars. Quasars are defined as "bright galaxies lit up by material falling onto a central supermassive black hole." 23World's oldest known animal 24Scientists said in May they had discovered what is believed to be the oldest-known land animal. Remains of the millipede-like creature were found in Scotland. 25Researchers said the small, fossilized creature is estimated to be about 425 million years old. It may have helped lead the way for the many animals that would later live on land. 26While the creature is the earliest land animal known from a fossil, soil worms are believed to have lived before them - possibly 450 million years ago. 27'Zeptosecond' measured for first time 28German scientists announced they had measured the smallest unit of time ever recorded - a zeptosecond. A zeptosecond is one trillionth of a billionth of a second. 29Researchers made the discovery while studying how long it took a photon - a particle of light - to cross a hydrogen molecule. They said the photon crossed the molecule in about 247 zeptoseconds. "This is the shortest timespan that has been successfully measured to date," the team said in a statement. 30I'm Bryan Lynn. 31Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page. 32__________________________________________________ 33Words in This Story 34recycle - v. to reuse something that has been used before often in another way 35enzyme - n. a chemical substance produced by living cells that makes particular chemical reactions happen in animals and plants 36precipitation - n. rain or snow falling to the ground 37three-dimensional - adj. appearing to have length, depth and width 38galaxy - n. a large group of stars from the same universe 39millipede - n. a small creature that is like an insect and that has a long, thin body with many legs 40fossilized - adj. having been changed into a fossil. A fossil is something (such as a leaf, skeleton, or footprint) that is from a plant or animal that lived in ancient times 41unit - n. a single thing or a separate part of something larger 42timespan - n. a period of time within which something happens, or a period between two events