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2021 in science

This is a list of several significant scientific events that occurred or were scheduled to occur in 2021.

Events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

  • 1 July
  • Construction begins on the Square Kilometre Array, with first light planned for 2027.
  • In the debate about the cognitive impacts of smartphones and digital technology a group reports that, contrary to widespread belief, scientific evidence doesn't show that these technologies harm biological cognitive abilities and that they instead only change predominant ways of cognition – such as a reduced need to remember facts or conduct mathematical calculations by pen and paper outside contemporary schools. However, some activities – like reading novels – that require long attention spans and don't feature ongoing rewarding stimulation may become more challenging in general.
  • A study finds that ~9.4% of global deaths between 2000 and 2019 – ~5 million annually – can be attributed to extreme temperature with cold-related ones making up the larger share and decreasing and heat-related ones making up ~0.91 % and increasing.
  • 2 July
  • The first scientific review in the professional academic literature about global plastic pollution in general finds that the rational response to the "global threat" would be "reductions in consumption of virgin plastic materials, along with internationally coordinated strategies for waste management" – such as banning export of plastic waste unless it leads to better recycling – and describes the state of knowledge about "poorly reversible" impacts.
  • Researchers report that a mix of microorganisms from cow stomachs could break down three types of plastics.
  • Scientists identify GPR75 variants as alleles protective against obesity in ~640,000 sequenced exomes.
  • 5 July
  • Scientists report the discovery of a bone carving, one of the world's oldest works of art, made by Neanderthals about 51,000 years ago.
  • A scientific review summarizes evidence from nutrition research for diets for atherosclerosis prevention.
  • 7 July
  • A preprint finds the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant to cause a ~108 % increased – or more than twice as large – risk for hospitalization, a ~234 % increase for ICU admission and 132% for death compared to non-VOC variants.
  • Researchers present a programmable quantum simulator that can operate with 256 qubits.
  • 8 July – Scientists report that in the past – with little relevance to future evolution – lower temperatures were associated with larger Homo body sizes and that long-term variability in precipitation was correlated with brain size.
  • 19 July
  • Researchers review 217 analyses of on-the-market products and services as well as existing alternatives to mainstream food, holidays, and furnishings, and conclude that total greenhouse gas emissions by Swedes could be lowered by to date up to 36–38 % if consumers – without a decrease in total estimated expenditure or considerations of self-interest rationale – instead were to obtain those they could assess to be more sustainable.
  • Researchers report that higher exposure to woodland urban green spaces is associated with improved cognitive development and risks of mental problems for urban 15-16 years old adolescents.
  • Scientists report that wild pigs are causing soil disturbance that, among other problems, globally results in annual carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to that of ~1.1 million passenger vehicles, implying that wild pig meat – unlike other meat products – has beneficial effects on the environment.

August

September

  • 2 September
  • Observation of a new class of supernova triggered by a black hole or neutron star crashing into the core of a companion star is reported by astronomers, based on studies of an extremely luminous source of radio waves called VT 1210+4956.
  • Astronomers report the detection of peculiar radio waves from near the galactic center whose unidentified source could represent a new class of astronomical objects.
  • A study finds that outdoor air pollution is associated with substantially increased mortality "even at low pollution levels below the current European and North American standards and WHO guideline values". On 22 September, for the first time since 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO), after a systematic review of the accumulated evidence, adjusted their air quality guidelines whose adherence could save millions of lives, protect against future diseases and help meet climate goals.
  • 3 September
  • Bioengineers report the development of a viable CRISPR-Cas gene-editing system, "CasMINI", that is about twice as compact as the commonly used Cas9 and Cas12a.
  • Researchers report that autoantibodies against one's own ACE2 enzymes (the major entry point receptors for COVID-19), autoimmune disease, may be a (main) cause of long COVID. Earlier studies suggested this may explain unusual pattern of organ damage by COVID-19.
  • Scientists report that the accelerated, higher-variability warming of the Arctic can cause (more frequent) extremely cold winter weather across parts of Asia and North America – including the February 2021 North American cold wave – via a, observed and modeled, stratospheric polar vortex disruption.
  • 6 September – Experts report that one-third of all chondrichthyes fish species are threatened with extinction, mainly caused by overfishing.
  • 8 September
  • Cysteamine, an antioxidant drug already approved for human use, is shown to reverse atherosclerosis, the process responsible for heart attacks and strokes, in mice.
  • Scientists provide the first scientific assessment of the minimum amount of fossil fuels that would need to be secured from extraction per region as well as globally, to allow for a 50% probability of limiting global warming by 2050 to 1.5 Ã‚°C.
  • Scientists report that Earth is reflecting less light – a dimming of ~0.5% in reflectance over two decades may have both been co-caused by climate change as well as substantially increase global warming.
  • 10 September
  • Scientists report what could be the discovery of the oldest rock art, likely dating back to ~169–226,000 years ago, much older than what was previously thought to be the earliest known drawing, made ~73,000 years ago. Children likely intentionally placed a series of hands and feet in mud. The findings could also be the earliest evidence of Hominins on the above 4000 m a.s.l. high Tibetan Plateau.
  • 43 expert scientists publish the first scientific framework version that – via integration, review, clarifications and standardization – enables the evaluation of levels of protection of marine protected areas and can serve as a guide for improving, planning and monitoring marine protection-quality and -extents such as in efforts towards the 30%-protection-goal of the "Global Deal For Nature" and the UN's SDG 14.
  • The CDC reports that despite prevalence of the Delta variant people vaccinated against COVID-19 are ~11 times less likely to die from COVID-19 (age-standardized rates of 1.6 versus 0.1 and 1.1 versus 0.1 weekly deaths per 100,000 U.S. citizens), showing vaccines' effectiveness at preventing severe disease.
  • 13 September – A scientific review concludes that accumulating data suggests dietary restriction (DR) – mainly intermittent fasting and caloric restriction – results in many of the same beneficial changes in adult humans as in studied organisms, potentially increasing health- and lifespan. A review published on 22 September provides an overview of DR as an intervention and develops a framework for a proposed field of "precision nutrigeroscience". A study published on 29 September identifies circadian-regulated autophagy as a critical contributor to intermittent time-restricted fasting-mediated lifespan extension in Drosophila and suggests that only certain forms of and/or combinations with intermittent fasting – intervals during which no food but only e.g. water and tea/coffee are ingested – may be effective beyond the benefits of healthy body weight.
  • 15 September
  • Physicists report candidate dark energy particles, Sun-produced local environment-adjusted "chameleon particles", at the dark matter detector XENON1T experiment.
  • Scientists confirm that widespread phytoplankton blooms can be a feedback effect of wildfires. The climate change-exacerbated 2019–2020 Australian wildfires caused oceanic deposition of wildfire aerosols, enhancing marine productivity and thereby increased oceanic carbon dioxide uptake. A study using satellite data complements these findings, constraining the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions of the fires from November 2019 to January 2020 to around 715 million tons.
  • Media outlets report that the world's first cultured coffee products have been created by two biotechnology companies, still awaiting regulatory approval for near-term commercialization. Such products, for which multiple companies' R&D have acquired substantial funding, may have equal or highly similar effects, composition and taste as natural products but use less water, generate less carbon emissions, require less labor and cause no deforestation.
  • 16 September &ndash; Scientists report evidence of clothes being made 120,000 years ago based on findings in deposits in Morocco, a country in the northwestern part of Africa.
  • 17 September
  • Scientists report that harmful algal blooms, which have been linked to deforestation, global warming and soil erosion, are proliferating in lakes and rivers around the globe. They add that such toxic algal blooms were a prominent feature of previous mass extinction events, in particular of the End-Permian Extinction.
  • Researchers report in a preprint the discovery of i.a. the so far closest known relative virus, with a 96.8% similarity, to SARS-CoV-2 in samples from wild horseshoe bats in northern Laos – 0.7% more similar than the virus RaTG13 discovered in China in 2013. Their findings indicate that, as of 2021, SARS-CoV-2-like viruses potentially infectious for humans circulate in bats in the Indochinese peninsula and that the pandemic virus may not originate from Wuhan. Other scientists complement these findings, reporting in a preprint published on 20 September, that they could not find any SARS-CoV-2 related viruses in any samples collected in China, including from the only two domestic caves where RaTG13 and RmYN02 were detected, indicating such viruses may currently not circulate in bats in the country.
  • 22 September &ndash; Astronomers report the discovery of a nearby spherical structure, a 'superbubble', on the edges of which giant molecular clouds (Perseus and Taurus) with regions of star formation are being formed, the Per-Tau Shell.
  • 23 September
  • Scientists report the discovery of human footprints in the state of New Mexico that are understood to be ~23,000 years old, around the time of the last Ice Age.
  • Researchers report the world's first artificial synthesis of starch. The material essential for many products and the most common carbohydrate in human diets was made from CO<sub>2</sub> in a cell-free process and could reduce land, pesticide and water use as well as greenhouse gas emissions while increasing food security.
  • After commissioning two impact assessment studies and a technology analysis study, the European Commission proposes the implementation of a standardization – for versions of USB-C – of phone charger products, which may increase device-interoperability, convergence and convenience for consumers while decreasing resource-needs, redundancy and electronic waste.

October

  • 27 October
  • Astronomers propose a "Confidence of Life Detection" scale (CoLD) for reporting evidence of life beyond Earth.
  • Astronomers report that the orbits of the detected exoplanets hosted by the star HD 3167 are unusual: two planets (HD 3167 c; HD 3167 d) revolve around the poles of the star, whereas the third planet (HD 3167 b) orbits around the equator of the star instead.
  • Researchers release a "policy sequencing" framework, in particular for policies of polycentric governance for completely halting and preventing deforestation based on data about already implemented government-designed policies, UN-decided REDD+ initiatives and voluntary private sector initiatives of recent deforestation interventions.
  • The world's first urban autonomous vessels, 'Roboats', are deployed in the canals of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The ships developed by three institutions could carry up to five people, collect waste, deliver goods, and provide "on-demand infrastructure".
  • A potentials-assessment study proposes hypothetical portable solar-powered atmospheric water harvesting devices which are under development, along with design criteria, finding they could help a billion people to access safe drinking water, albeit such off-the-grid generation may sometimes "undermine efforts to develop permanent piped infrastructure".
  • 28 October
  • An open letter by scientists asks the WTO to eliminate increasing harmful fisheries subsidies.
  • One year after India and South Africa called on WTO to temporarily waive TRIPS vaccine patents for accelerated deployment of COVID-19 vaccines around the world, the WTO reportedly fails to find an accord for doing so. No mechanisms of alternative medical research and development incentive-systems or technical details of proposed "sharing" after certain amounts of profit were reported and some argue that, instead of intellectual property rights, manufacturing know-how is the main barrier to expanding capacity.
  • Scientists discover that up to about 20,000 metric tons of microplastics may be stored in coral skeletons worldwide every year, marking the first time that a living microplastic "sink", or long-term storage site, has been quantified.
  • 30 October &ndash; A comprehensive review summarizes scientific research and data about health impacts of climate change.

November

  • 2 November &ndash; A study concludes that PM<sub>2.5</sub> air pollution induced by contemporary forms of free trade and consumption by the 19 G20 nations (the EU as a whole is not included) causes two million premature deaths annually, suggesting that the average lifetime consumption of about ~28 people in these countries causes at least one premature death (average age ~67) while developing countries "cannot be expected" to implement or be able to implement countermeasures without external support or internationally coordinated efforts.
  • 3 November
  • Astronomers using the ALMA report the presence of water in SPT0311-58, a galaxy nearly 12.9 billion light-years from Earth. This is the most distant detection of a required element for life in a regular star-forming galaxy.
  • Scientists report that large shares of wild deer in the U.S. have been infected with SARS-CoV-2. The test results showed one "mismatch" for 2019, low inhibition values in 2020 and 152 positive samples (40%) in 2021. A preprint published on 1 November found that ~80% of samples between late November 2020 and January were positive. Such spillovers may cause reservoirs for mutating variants that spill back to humans – a possible source for variants of concern other than immunocompromised people.
  • A review outlines research and data about COVID-19 vaccinations for children – recommended in the U.S. a day previously (for 5–11 years olds) by the CDC – including about populations-levels factors.
  • 4 November
  • Astronomers report, in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey for the 2020s, recommended scientific priorities and investments for the next decade to help achieve the following primary goals: search for habitable exoplanets and extraterrestrial life, study black holes and neutron stars and study the growth and evolution of galaxies.
  • A study contributes to a disentangling of the current geopolitical and economic implications of and incentives for a swift renewable energy transition, suggesting i.a. that how fast fossil energy markets decline is primarily decided by the major energy importers China, India, Japan and the EU and that transition dynamics may reverse the free-rider problem in the case of energy sectors, specifically from strategic national standpoints which are not short-term.
  • Researchers demonstrate a novel X-ray imaging technique, "HiP-CT", for 3D cellular-resolution scans of whole organs, using the ESRF's EBF. The published online Human Organ Atlas includes the lungs from a donor who died with COVID-19.
  • 5 November &ndash; A company reports that a phase 2/3 clinical trial shows that Paxlovid can reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations of high-risk adults by 89% when given within three days after symptom onset.
  • 8 November &ndash; Scientists prove that the brain (the insular cortex of mice/mammals) also "remembers" immune activity against past infections, with reactivation – or stimulation – of the neurons being able to cause – or shape – the inflammatory immune response.
  • 9 November
  • Astrophysicists report the discovery of unexplained blockage of high-energy cosmic rays entering the Galactic Center, such as a strong magnetic field.
  • Scientists report the detection of coronaviruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 (92.6% nucleotide identity) in two bats sampled in Cambodia in 2010, complementing i.a. a study published on 17 September.
  • 10 November &ndash; Researchers report the development of chewing gums that could mitigate COVID-19 spread. The ingredients – CTB-ACE2 proteins grown via plants – bind to the virus.
  • 11 November
  • Astronomers using the Very Large Telescope report the discovery of a black hole in NGC 1850 by viewing its influence on the motion of a star in close proximity, the first direct dynamical detection of a black hole in a young massive cluster.
  • The first-ever simulation of baryons on a quantum computer is reported by a university.
  • Astronomers identify a long filament of cold, dense gas connecting two of the Milky Way's spiral arms, the first known observation of such a galactic structure in the Milky Way.
  • Bionanoengineers report a novel therapy for spinal cord injury – an injectable gel of nanofibers that contain moving molecules that cause cellular signaling and mimic the matrix around cells in mice.
  • A study investigates how tidal energy could be best integrated into the Orkney energy system. On 3 November, a review assesses the potential of tidal energy in the UK's energy systems, finding that it could, according to their considerations that include economic cost-benefit analysis, deliver 34 TWh/y or 11% of its energy demand.
  • 14 November &ndash; A time-allocation study estimates that in 2020 over 130 million hours of researchers' time were spent on peer review.
  • 16 November
  • A study reports the second case of a person whose immune system apparently cleared the HIV on its own without a therapy.
  • Biochemists report one of the first supercomputational approaches for the development of new antibiotic derivatives against antimicrobial resistance.
  • Scientists report a large extent of alternative splicing – cases of a single gene (a template) being used to create instructions (mRNAs) for building different proteins – in the mouse and human cortex and release the transcriptomes on a public database.
  • A tech company reveals a new 127 quantum bit processor named 'IBM Eagle', which is the most powerful quantum processor ever made.
  • 17 November
  • A systematic review and meta-analysis finds that mask-wearing cuts the incidence of COVID-19 by 53%.
  • The first 256-qubit quantum computer is announced, by a startup company, founded by scientists and funded by DARPA.
  • The largest public dataset of whole genomes is made available through a Web platform. The entire genomes of 200,000 UK Biobank participants, linked to anonymized medical information, are made more accessible for biomedical research than prior, less comprehensive datasets.
  • Scientists call for the creation of space biosecurity measures and inform the creation of planetary protection policies that aim to prevent forward contamination of extraterrestrial bodies as well as backward contamination.
  • Scientists report the development of a vaccine of mRNAs for the body build 19 proteins in tick saliva which, by enabling quick development of erythema (itchy redness) at the bite site, protects guinea pigs against Lyme disease from ticks.
  • 19 November
  • The first autonomous cargo ship, MV Yara Birkeland is launched in Norway. The fully electric ship is expected to substantially reduce the need for truck journeys.
  • A report by Brazil's INPE based on satellite data finds deforestation of the Amazon rainforest has increased by 22% over 2020 and is at its highest level (13,235 km<sup>2</sup>) since 2006.
  • 21 November &ndash; Sri Lanka announces that it will lift its import ban on pesticides and herbicides, explained by both a lack of sudden changes to widely applied practices or education systems and contemporary economics and, by extension, food security, protests and high food costs. The effort to become the world's first completely organic farming nation was challenged by effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 22 November
  • Scientists detect a quantum effect that blocks atoms from scattering light.
  • A study using data on ~30,000 patients, for the first time, indicates that aspirin may be associated with an increased (26%) risk for heart failure in persons with at least one cardiovascular risk factor. An author notes that the findings require confirmation and the link with heart failure to be clarified.
  • 24 November &ndash; NASA launches the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the first attempt to deflect an asteroid for the purpose of learning how to protect Earth.
  • 25 November &ndash; Researchers systematically assess impacts of climate change mitigation options on 18 constituents of well-being, finding largely beneficial effects of demand-side solutions based on inputs from 604 studies.
  • 26 November &ndash; The WHO announces the classification of the Omicron variant as a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern. The variant, that became dominant (74% of samples) in South Africa in November, was detected by the NGS-SA genomic surveillance on 8 November and reported to the WHO on 24 November. It has a large number of mutations that, according to early preliminary evidence, appear to increase risk of reinfection, may increase transmissibility compared to Delta and may affect vaccines' efficacies with a key question being whether it causes less severe prognoses.
  • 29 November &ndash; A team of scientists reports a new form of biological reproduction in xenobots that are made up of and are emersed in frog cells.

December

  • 7 December
  • A study suggests that when two people wear surgical masks, while the infectious one is speaking, the risk of COVID-19 infection at a distance of 1.5 m remains below 30% after one hour, but when both wear a well-fitting FFP2 mask, it is 0.4%.
  • Researchers investigating sources of urban PAHs air pollution in Athens report that wood-burning could be causing a third (31%) of such urban air pollution, like diesel and oil combined or gasoline, and, especially during winter days, is responsible for nearly half of PAH cancer-risk.
  • A study suggests that mutations that promote breakthrough infections or antibody-resistance could be a new mechanism for viral evolution success of SARS-CoV-2 and that such may become a dominating mechanism of its evolution. On 27 December, a preprint finds that "the rapid spread of the Omicron VOC primarily can be ascribed to the immune evasiveness rather than an inherent increase in the basic transmissibility". Studies also showed the variant to escape the majority of existing SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies, including of sera from vaccinated and convalescent individuals.
  • A scientific review summarizes research and data about telemedicine. Its results indicate that, in general, outcomes of such ICT-use are as good as in-person care with health care use staying similar.
  • The Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology shows that of 193 experiments from 53 top papers about cancer published between 2010 and 2012, only 50 replication experiments from 23 papers could be completed with effect sizes of that fraction being 85% smaller on average than the original findings. None of the papers had its experimental protocols fully described and 70% of experiments required asking for key reagents.
  • 8 December
  • Researchers report the development of face masks that glow under ultraviolet light if they contain SARS-CoV-2 when the filter is taken out and sprayed with a fluorescent dye that contains antibodies from ostrich eggs.
  • Studies, some of which using large nationwide datasets from either Israel and Denmark, find that vaccine effectiveness of multiple common two-dosed COVID-19 vaccines is substantially lower against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant than for other common variants including the Delta variant, and that a new (often a third) dose – a booster dose – is needed and effective, with it i.a. substantially reducing deaths from the disease compared to cohorts who received two doses.
  • Applied behavioural scientists demonstrate a novel type of intervention studies, a "megastudy", and investigate the efficacy of 54 different designed by separate teams interventions to increase weekly gym-visits of ~60,000 members of a fitness chain, such as digital feedback in the form of redeemable points that are rewarded for returning to the gym after a missed workout.
  • 9 December
  • The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, a collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency, is launched by SpaceX. It is the first satellite capable of measuring the polarisation of X-rays that come from cosmic sources, such as black holes and neutron stars.
  • The Log4Shell security vulnerability in a Java logging framework is publicly disclosed two weeks after its discovery. Because of the ubiquity of the affected software, experts have described it as a most serious computer vulnerability. In a high-level meeting, the importance of security maintenance of open-source software – often also carried out largely by few volunteers – to national security was clarified.
  • A study reviews modern analytic procedures, including mass spectrometry techniques, for characterization, analysis, and identification of unknown materials and how such were applied to study materials that, according to witnesses, dropped from hovering unknown aerial objects (or UFOs). It suggests that the full range of current capabilities of materials analysis have not been applied so far and, after reviewing a range of proposed explanations, that these materials' purposes and characteristics, such as their isotope ratios, are very odd and remain unexplained.
  • Scientists report the development of a genome editing system, called "twin prime editing", which surpasses the original prime editing system reported in 2019 in that it allows editing large sequences of DNA, addressing the method's key drawback.
  • An mRNA vaccine against HIV with promising results in tests with mice and primates is reported.

Predicted and scheduled events

Later date

  • Engineering first light of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's camera was anticipated for 2021 with full science operations to begin a year later. Delayed to October 2022 and later to February 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. First light images were released in June 2025.

Awards

Deaths

  • 23 July – Toshihide Maskawa, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1940)
  • 23 July – Steven Weinberg, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1933)

See also

References

External links