Year in science: 15 amazing things humans discovered in 2016

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sc...umans-discovered-in-2016-20161227-gtiajb.html

1. There is a planet orbiting the nearest star to the sun:
In August, astronomers announced they'd detected a planet 1.3 times the mass of the Earth orbiting Proxima Centauri, just 4.2 light years away. The planet, called Proxima b, sits in the so-called Goldilocks zone of the faint red dwarf star, where the average surface temperature of the planet is not too hot, nor too cold, to harbour liquid water.


2. Gravitational waves were observed. Einstein was right. Again:
This was the biggest scientific discovery of the year. In February, scientists from LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) detected the tiny ripples in the fabric of space-time caused by the collision of two unbelievably massive black holes, more than a billion years ago.
Play Video
Gravitational waves explained
Professor Geraint Lewis from Sydney University explains what the discovery of gravitational waves will mean for science.


3. Dinosaur feathers were found trapped in amber:
Like a scene cut from Jurassic Park, Chinese palaeontologist Lida Xing announced the discovery of a small dinosaur feather trapped in amber that he'd found for sale in a market in northern Myanmar.


4. Humans have been living in Australia's interior for at least 49,000 years
5. Male redbacks have developed a trick to have sex more than once in their lives
6. World's oldest fossils are 3.7 billion years old
7. Some scientists think there is a ninth planet in the solar system
8. Chinese scientists used CRISPR gene-editing technology in a human for the first time
One US scientist described it as a "Sputnik 2.0" moment. Chinese cancer researchers have taken cells from lung cancer patients, genetically modified them using the relatively new CRISPR gene-editing tool and reinserted them in the patient.
9. The radiation resistance of weird microscopic animals could help humans survive space travel
10. Four new chemical elements were named
11. World's largest radio telescope is finished, with a CSIRO sensor in its hear
12. World's oldest vertebrate lives about 400 years[/B]
13. World's first baby with three genetic parents is born[/B]
14. Atmospheric carbon dioxide stays above 400 parts per million for the first time in modern era[/B]
15. The spectrum of antimatter hydrogen is measured for the first time[/B]


Much more detailed information at link.