2nd January 2018

2017 highlights

Goodbye 2017, and hello 2018!

These were our top 20 most viewed blogs of 2017, in reverse order.

What were your favourite science and technology stories of the year? What are your predictions for 2018? Let us know in the comments below!

20

24th March 2017

Aging partially reversed in mice by flushing out senescent cells

In March, Dutch scientists announced a new drug treatment able to reverse aspects of aging in old mice – restoring their stamina, coat of fur and even some organ function – by flushing out "senescent" cells in the body that had stopped dividing. Human trials are now planned. Read more »

19

10th July 2017

Large Hadron Collider detects new particle

In July, physicists at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) reported the detection of Xi-cc++ (pronounced ka-sigh-see-see-plus-plus), a new particle containing two charm quarks and one up quark. Read more »



Credit: CERN

18

12th August 2017

U.S. Army lab discovers new energy source

Scientists and engineers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) demonstrated a new nanomaterial powder that creates large amounts of energy by simply mixing it with water. Read more »

17

18th August 2017

Where is everybody? Implications of cosmic silence

If the potential for intelligent life to exist somewhere in the universe is so large, then where is everybody? In a new paper, an astrophysicist argued that species such as ours go extinct soon after attaining high levels of technology. Read more »

16

1st September 2017

Repeating radio signals detected from distant galaxy

Astronomers detected 15 repeating Fast Radio Bursts coming from FRB 121102, in a dwarf galaxy about 3 billion light-years from Earth. The researchers noted that FRB 121102 was presently in a "heightened activity state, and follow-on observations are encouraged". Read more »

15

4th June 2017

Intel reveals Core i9 – the next generation of high-end processors

Chipmaker Intel announced a new generation of processors, including the Core i9 series, its first teraflop desktop CPUs. Read more »

14

31st August 2017

Nanomachines drill into cancer cells and kill them within 60 seconds

In August, we reported on how "motorised" molecules were used to drill holes in the membranes of individual cells – showing promise for either bringing therapeutic agents into the cells, or directly inducing the cells to die. Read more »

13

25th September 2017

Artificial intelligence for human age-reversal

Molecular researchers from the University of Copenhagen joined forces with an artificial intelligence company to fight premature aging. Read more »

12

10th March 2017

IBM unveils roadmap for quantum computers

IBM announced "IBM Q", an initiative to build commercially available universal quantum computing systems. Read more »

11

11th November 2017

New drug 'melts away' fat inside arteries

The University of Aberdeen reported that a single dose of the drug Trodusquemine could "melt away" fat inside mouse arteries. Read more »

10

29th June 2017

No detectable limit to how long people can live

A study by McGill University biologists, who analysed the lifespans of the longest-living individuals, found no evidence for an upper limit on human lifespan – concluding that if such a maximum exists, it has yet to be reached or identified. Read more »

9

10th April 2017

Robotics breakthrough could lead to fully automated warehouses

RightHand Robotics, a startup company near Boston, unveiled a new automated picking solution for warehouses that could recognise and retrieve individual items from boxes. Read more »

8

9th April 2017

Hyperloop track ready for first trial run

Hyperloop One, a transport company based in Los Angeles, California, is working to commercialise the Hyperloop concept, for moving passengers and/or cargo at airline speeds at a fraction of the cost of air travel. In April, the company announced that it had completed a tube installation at Las Vegas DevLoop, the world's first full-system test track. Read more »

7

16th November 2017

New helium-resistant materials could make fusion energy a reality

Researchers found a way of protecting the materials in fusion reactors from degradation caused by helium, using nanocomposite solids. Read more »

6

16th March 2017

New York 2140

The latest novel by Kim Stanley Robinson, author of the Mars trilogy. Read more »

5

9th July 2017

China to build first "forest city" in 2020

In July, the masterplan for an eco-friendly "forest city" in China was revealed by an Italian architecture firm. Read more »

4

13th February 2017

Types of Artificial Intelligence

In this guest piece, forum member Yuli Ban described five types of AI, ranging from the simplest to the most powerful. Read more »

3

6th January 2017

IBM predicts five innovations for the next five years

In January 2017, IBM unveiled its annual "5 in 5" – a list of ground-breaking innovations that will change the way people work, live, and interact during the next five years. Read more »



Credit: Lenovo

2

13th June 2017

Future milestones in AI predicted by experts

In June, a large survey of experts in artificial intelligence suggested there is a 50% chance of AI outperforming humans in all tasks within 45 years and of automating all human jobs in 120 years. Read more »

1

16th May 2017

A timeline of the future to 2250

One of our top forumers by post count, Jakob Coles, provided us with his timeline for 1991 to 2250. Read more »

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