◎ Science and Technology Daily intern reporter Zhang Jiaxin
On the 14th local time, the news editor of the British "Nature" magazine website selected "shaping the science news in 2021". Here are excerpts. From the ongoing spread of the epidemic to the "fire exploration" journey of various countries, from the approval of Alzheimer's disease drugs to the game of Glasgow's gas change conference, how much do you know about the many "decisive moments" that have taken place in science and research this year?
The NEW CORONAVIRUS variant reduces vaccine protection
The pandemic has been with us for another year. During the year, researchers raced to learn more about the coronavirus variant. The COVID-19 vaccine is largely resistant to the virus variants Alpha, Beta and Gamma, but then "kills" deltas. In March, the Delta mutant began sweeping India at an alarming rate. In a country where the vaccination campaign has not yet made much progress, the Delta variant is causing an increasing number of deaths and hospitalizations. Since then, it has spread around the world, bringing more severe outbreaks and lockdowns. Data continue to suggest that vaccines typically protect people infected with the Delta strain from the worst consequences of COVID-19, but vaccines are less protective of Delta than other variants. In late November, the latest "mutant of concern," The Omi keron, emerged. Early data suggest that it severely undermines vaccine immunity, but booster needles improve the situation.
Doctors in South Africa say there has been a surge in confirmed cases due to the new coronavirus, the Semikron variant. Image credit: Nature website
Mars exploration staged "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"
NASA's Perseverance rover landed on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, ushering in a new era of Mars exploration. After landing, Perseverance deployed a small helicopter to complete its first powered flight on Mars. In September, Perseverance successfully collected the first rock samples that could be brought back to Earth, which will help scientists analyze signs of life on Mars. On May 15, China's "Zhurong" rover successfully landed on Mars. It collects a large amount of geological data from a previously unexplored area. In February this year, the UAE sent the Hope rover into Mars orbit, and finally took photos of the Martian Aurora.
In February, a rocket-powered Sky Crane took the image as NASA's Perseverance rover landed on the surface of Mars. Image credit: Nature website
The perverse muse may open the door to change in physics
On April 7, researchers at the Muon G-2 muse anomalous magnetic moment experiment (Muon G-2) at Fermilab reported that the muse— a giant, unstable electron-like particle — was more magnetic than initially predicted. Decades ago, an early version of the experiment suggested that the muse's behavior did not match the predictions of Standard Model theory. Researchers are now scrutinizing this year's calculations. If they hold true, and the discrepancies between theoretical and experimental results persist, they may mark the failure of predictions made by the 50-year-old Standard Model of particle physics.
The Muse Anomalous Magnetic Moment Experiment (Muon G-2) of Fermilab in the United States uses this storage ring magnet. Image credit: Nature website
Controversy abounds! The FDA approves the first Drug for Alzheimer's Disease
On June 7, local time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first new drug in 18 years to treat Alzheimer's disease. This excites people affected by the disease, but it also angers some researchers. The drug's developer, Biogen, a biotech company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said the antibody drug can clear clumps of β amyloid in the brain. Some scientists believe that β amyloid is the root cause of Alzheimer's disease. But the drug "has uncertainties about clinical benefit." Although an advisory panel strongly advised the FDA not to approve the drug, the FDA did so, a move that led to the resignation of the advisers. Subsequently, the U.S. federal government investigated the decision.
Clearing amyloid plaques from the brain is one of the goals of Alzheimer's disease treatment. Image credit: Nature website
CRISPR gene editing therapy is the first to prove efficacy in humans
Since its inception, gene-editing technology CRISPR has been touted as a "game changer" for treating disease. But for that dream to come true, researchers need to successfully implant CRISPR-Cas9 into humans and prove that it can only safely and efficiently edit its target genes. On June 26, the results of clinical trials released by Intellia Pharmaceuticals (NTLA) and Regeneration Element in the United States proved this. The scientists tested their treatment on 6 patients with a rare disease called transthyroxine amyloidosis, which causes an abnormal buildup of a misfolded protein in human organs and tissues. The results showed that the level of malformed proteins decreased for all participants, with two of them receiving high-dose injections dropping protein levels by an average of 87 percent.
CRISPR-Cas9 complexes (white and blue) can cut DNA (green), invalidating the genes that cause disease. Image credit: Nature website
Deep thinking alpha folds predict a large number of protein structures
Machine learning tools such as alpha folding can predict the 3D structure of proteins, which depict human interleukin-12 proteins that bind to their receptors. Image credit: Nature website
Do you get booster injections? This is the problem we are facing under the epidemic
When some countries began seriously considering giving a third booster shot to people who had already received two doses of the vaccine from the middle of the year, researchers also began to question whether such a measure was necessary. There is evidence that vaccine immunity is weakening in the face of the highly contagious Delta strain of the new crown virus, but vaccination still plays a protective role overall. With the advent of the latest variant, Olmikeron, real-world data from Israel and elsewhere shows that the booster needle reduces people's risk of contracting COVID-19. Many public health researchers have urged more adults to get booster injections. But they note that when only 7 percent of people in low-income countries receive a single dose of the vaccine, the variant will continue to evolve in infected people. They support ip exemptions and other mechanisms to increase the global supply of vaccines so that there is no need to weigh between enhanced injections and equity.
A health worker goes door-to-door to vaccinate people in a rural area of Jerusalem, Colombia. Image credit: Nature website
The IPCC climate report warns countries that extreme weather is likely to persist
In its first comprehensive assessment of climate science since 2013, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) painted a brutal and clear picture of the planet's health: If governments do not act to stop greenhouse gas emissions, the record droughts, wildfires and floods that have already wreaked havoc around the world will only become more. According to the report, the planet has warmed by 1.1°C compared to the average of 1850-1900, and at current emissions levels, it is likely to exceed 1.5°C in 10 years. If global warming reaches 2°C, this would break the Paris Agreement's temperature control targets, and the previous temperature extreme events that occurred only once every 50 years would occur every few years, increasing the likelihood of death and destruction. At the same time, the latest study adds to a growing number of climate attribution studies: Researchers directly link record-breaking heat waves in the North American Pacific Northwest and unprecedented flooding in Germany this year to human-caused climate change.
In a world that rises 2°C above pre-industrial levels, glaciers and sea ice are at stake. Image credit: Nature website
The Glasgow UNFCCC was reached at COP26
At the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), politicians announced new commitments to limit greenhouse gas emissions, reaching consensus on further reductions. 197 Parties (196 countries and the European Union) have signed the Glasgow UNFCCC, which calls for a 45% reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 compared to 2010. In the early stages of the summit, participating world leaders made significant commitments to end deforestation, reduce methane emissions and phase out coal-fired power generation. All in all, though, the researchers say that if these commitments are fully implemented, they will still result in world temperatures 2.4°C higher than pre-industrial levels, with many questioning whether governments will rise to the challenges ahead.
World leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, met during COP26. Image credit: Nature website
Source: Science and Technology Daily
Editor: Zhang Qiqi
Review: Yue Liang
Final Judge: Liu Haiying