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The incredible discoveries and scientific achievements of 2023 prove how far humanity’s curiosity and wonder can reach.
Archaeological findings have allowed researchers to take fascinating steps into the past and reveal more about our ancestors and the mysterious creatures that roamed the planet before humans.
At the same time, technological progress was enabled scientists to make bold advances in the way we understand the vastness of the universe and our tiny cosmic neighborhood within it.
Each week brought new surprises and insights, as well as a dozen pinch-me moments and awe-inspiring glimpses of the cosmos once invisible to the human eye.
In this golden age of scientific discovery, it is my hope that, like the living legend Sylvia Earle, we will never take for granted the ability to solve mysteries and gain new knowledge to better understand how to protect this extraordinary world.
Wild kingdom
Almost 1,000 new species were found around the globe in 2023, which is a huge addition to the tree of life and shows the amount of biodiversity waiting to be discovered on Earth.
Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences and London’s Natural History Museum have uncovered hundreds of creatures and plants from the bottom of the ocean to a remote peak in Angola.
Most of the newly discovered species were insects – including metallic wasps named after “Doctor Who” characters that help eradicate agricultural pests. And scientists found unusual creatures like a rare type of quiet frog and a gecko that shoots goo from its tail.
As the climate crisis continues, scientists are racing to identify species in an effort to protect them before they disappear.
Back to the future
An emerging scientific trend in 2023 is resurrection biology, or the attempt to revive extinct strands of complex molecules and organisms.
The study area looks like the basis of “Jurassic Park,” but scientists are using it to raise awareness of the rise of dormant viruses as the climate crisis causes permafrost to melt for the first time in centuries year. Resurrection biology is also being used to search for pharmaceutical solutions by studying the genetic proteins of our ancient ancestors.
Scientists used the technique to recreate the smell of Egyptian mummification balms. Visitors can get a taste of the past at Denmark’s Moesgaard Museum.
And yes, efforts are underway to bring extinct animals such as the dodo, the woolly mammal and the Tasmanian tiger back to life.
Defying gravity
Truth is stranger than fiction, especially when you remember some of the heavenly moments from this year that rivaled sci-fi.
A moon race began between multiple countries, with robotic missions ending in successful landings and crashes.
Meanwhile, a spacecraft has delivered a sample collected from an asteroid to Earth for the first time – researchers already have the rocks and dust that surprised them.
And the most powerful rockets ever built launched and exploded twice, reminding once again that the path to spaceflight is difficult.
Inquiries
When curators used X-rays to scan one of Rembrandt’s masterpieces, “The Night Watch,” the scans revealed a secret that had been hidden for nearly 400 years. A lead-filled series lay beneath the painting of Dutch civilian soldiers.
Completed in 1642, the huge painting was displayed in Amsterdam’s Kloveniersdoelen, or musketeer’s firing range. Then, the piece would be vulnerable to moisture and humidity.
Experts believe that Rembrandt used lead, rather than the usual layer of stiff glue, to protect the canvas of the dramatic piece, demonstrating his mastery of lighting and shadows.
Secrets of the sea
Researchers have used an unusual source to solve one of history’s mysteries about the West Antarctic ice sheet, which is melting rapidly due to global warming.
By studying the DNA of the Turquet octopus, which is found on the seabed in the Antarctic, scientists have determined that the ice sheet collapsed more than 100,000 years ago. Understanding how the ice sheet has behaved over time may provide insight into how sea levels may rise in the future.
“The DNA of animals alive today contains all the information about their ancestors (in the past), so it’s like a time capsule,” said Dr. Sally Lau, postdoctoral research fellow at James Cook University in Australia.
The surprise
Check out these funny stories:
— Apes can recognize old friends they haven’t seen in years, according to new research documenting the longest social memory ever seen outside of humans.
— The Hubble Space Telescope captured a new image that showed ghostly shadows called “spokes” dancing along Saturn’s rings.
— Traces of a power surge that occurred in the Earth’s magnetic field thousands of years ago were baked into ancient Mesopotamian mud bricks.
— Before the year ends, send your name to one of Jupiter’s moons to be with him a poem written by United States Poet Laureate Ada Limón who will fly on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission.
The Wonder Theory team wishes you a happy new year, and we’ll see you in 2024!
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