Mind-Boggling Discoveries Made in 2017
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These are exciting times, with amazing scientific breakthroughs happening every day that promise to help improve our health, decode the ancient past and change the way we think about our world. ScienceNews.org helped us compile this list of some of 2017s coolest discoveries.
An eighth continent
Scientists presented evidence for a new continent in the southwest Pacific beneath New Zealand, called Zealandia. Even though the landmass is 94 percent underwater, geologists say it meets all the important criteria to be recognized as Earths eighth continent. As no scientific body formally recognises continents, it remains to be seen whether Zealandia will appear in future geography textbooks.
Three Earth-like planets
Astronomers found not just one but seven planets outside our solar system that circle a tiny star called TRAPPIST-1, about 40 light-years away. Three are in what NASA calls the habitable zone, which could be right for water to exist and possibly for extraterrestrial life.
Spider venom to halt stroke damage
A bite from an Australian funnel-web spider could kill you in 15 minutes if not treated promptly. But scientists discovered that a peptide found in the venom of one species may protect brain cells from being destroyed by a stroke, even when given eight hours after the event. If the treatment fares well in human trials, it may become the first drug that can protect against stroke-induced brain damage.
Spray-on skin for burn victims
If a burn victims wounds are severe, home remedies for burns arent nearly enough. So biomedical scientists have created a device that sprays stem cells onto wounds, helping them grow a new, healthy layer of skin in as few as four days. Biotech firm RenovaCare recently obtained a patent for the SkinGun and has used it to successfully treat dozens of burn patients in trials. While the device still needs FDA approval, its a game changer that could help eliminate the painful and scarring process of skin grafting.
Dragon blood that kills infections
Scientists found a new antimicrobial compound in the blood of Komodo dragons, the worlds largest lizards. In the lab, the substance healed infected wounds on mice faster than existing options, potentially giving doctors a new tool to fight antibiotic-resistant infections.
A living drug that can kill cancer
An immunotherapy drug that turns a patients own blood cells into cancer killers is on the fast track to FDA approval. In an ongoing clinical trial, the treatment was administered to advanced lymphoma patients who had not responded to standard treatments or continued to relapse. At three months, 37 percent of patients showed no signs of cancer. As trials progress, scientists hope the therapy could be the next big step forward in cancer treatment.
A therapy that reverses aging in mice
As we age, senescent, or damaged, cells build up in our tissues, possibly promoting age-related diseases. Scientists from the Netherlands developed a molecule that purges those cells. When tried on elderly mice, their fur regrew, their kidney function improved, and they could run twice as far as untreated mice. One scientist called it a landmark advance in the field of aging.
Flu-fighting frog mucus
Scientists discovered that the slime covering the skin of a frog from southern India contains antimicrobial peptides that destroy bacteria and virusesincluding key strains of the human fluwhile protecting normal cells. So far, the therapy has been used only in the lab.
A surprising new power source: your stomach acid
Researchers from MIT and Brigham and Womens Hospital invented a small voltaic cell that runs on the fluids in your stomach. The device could power sensors that would stay in your gastrointestinal tract for an extended period, monitoring vital signs or delivering drugs. Similar sensors today have to be powered by small batteries, which create a safety risk and eventually run out of power.
