Milica,,Top Science Stories of 2015

Top Science Stories of 2015

There were many major Science stories in 2015 but this article will cover the 3 most important ones. The one that will affect our society today is the Ebola Vaccine. At the end of this year, scientist had tested Ebola vaccines on two patients. The Ebola vaccine targets a protein made by Zaire ebolavirus. The Ebola virus had mainly spread through West Africa, killing more than 11,000 people. The virus now seems to be under control in West Africa but there are a few cases left in Liberia. There are many vaccines in the works against Ebola, but only a few have been tested. A Scientist named Myron Levine states that only 2 vaccines are close to being confirmed by the U.S Food and Drug Administration."A single high dose was enough to rally molecular troops to fight the virus."This shows that the vaccine worked and that it will hopefully soon be used against Ebola. The Scientists arehoping that by the beginning of 2016 at least one vaccine will be accepted and used. Many health organizations say that if this vaccine would have been around 18 months ago, many peoples lives could have been saved and the major Ebola outbreak could have been reduced or even prevented.

Figure 1: Ebola Vaccine

The second major scientific thing that occurred was the Global Ocean spans Enceladus. NASA's spacecraft named Cassini is offering the best evidence so far. The moons buried ocean is a great place to search for external life. The spacecraft has orbited the icy moon about 20 times, recently the measurements have confirmed that beneath the frozen surface of the moon, there is a ocean that spans the entire globe. Scientist has suspected that there was perhaps a small sea based on smaller geysers. This ocean means there is room for microbes to thrive and perhaps there is life there already. It is proven that the temperature in the ocean is a near-boiling 90 degrees Celsius. The hot springs on planet earth are home to bacteria and microbes, this is why scientist expect to find life in the ocean on the frozen moon. "On Enceladus,the chemistry might also be right for life." This shows that life cold be found even on a frozen moon. The spacecraft took its deepest dive into the ocean through the geysers in late October, it is scheduled that it will take it's final trip to the frozen moon, also known as Enceladus in mid December.  

Figure 2: Diagram of the ocean on the frozen moon

 In relation to the previous topic Microbe discoveries spur rethink treetop of life have impacted the world greatly in 2015 when scientists have discovered a new type of microbe that might change the outlook on how everything evolved. No one has yet identified an actual cell yet, but the the new microbe is showing similarities to modern eukaryotes and genes from archaea. Scientists say that they do not have enough information and proof to prove that this is an actual microbe that changed the evolution of life but they do not have enough evidence yet, to prove that this microbe affected the evolution of life. "Old textbooks had drawn a eukaryote treetop that branched into three kingdoms of mostly multi-cellular organisms." If this new discovery is proved, the whole outlook on life would change. The new scheme has held up pretty well and there will be results soon on whether this microbe affected evolution or not. Many science stories have impacted 2015 greatly but these were the major ones, hopefully the year 2016 will be greatly impacted by science and that the science stories from the previous year will be proved or even explored more.

 

Figure 3: New Microbe discovery 

Bibliography:
Figurre 1: ABC News. ABC News Network, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
Figure 2: "Enceladus Is Home to a Global Ocean Beneath Its Icy Surface - Fx Report Daily." Fx Report Daily. N.p., 25 Sept. 2015. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
Figure 3: "#8. Microbe Discoveries Spur Rethink of Treetop of Life: #sntop25 - Scoopnest.com." Scoopnest. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
Research:
 "Year in Review: Ebola Vaccines on the Way." Science News. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
"Year in Review: Global Ocean Spans Enceladus." Science News. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
"Year in Review: Microbe Discoveries Spur Rethink of Treetop of Life."Science News. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.