By Isabella Diaz
The more we enter the 21st century, the more exciting things scientists are discovering. With each year, more and more exciting advances that promise to change our lives for better or worse are discovered. Several great discoveries have been made in 2024 that raise much interest among scientists and the public. This article pinpoints some of the most promising breakthroughs of the year, based on their promises and how it may affect the world. Among the most critical issues in the world today concerning Earth would be climate change. In 2023, researchers at Caltech announced a completely different type of solar panel that, in addition to being significantly more efficient, was also far less expensive to make. “This new technology could revolutionize the way we harness solar energy, making it accessible to communities that couldn’t afford it before,” said lead researcher Dr. Steven Nernberg. This is a very important discovery for kids in elementary, middle, and high school because, during their lifetime, sustainable energy will have a much bigger impact on them than on older generations.
By 2024, Oncology research had improved considerably. Some promising new drugs named pembrolizumab, nivolumab and Afamitresgene, had to come into place for immunotherapy. They strengthen a patient’s immune response against the cancerous cells of their body. With these drugs, it had been hoped that treatment of a few kinds of cancers would be successfully dealt with. “We are hoping the new treatment will give another avenue to patients who’ve thus far gone through other treatment options,” Dr.Michael Lee of Johns Hopkins University, where most of the drug’s research was performed, said in a statement to CNN.
Artificial Intelligence continues to bring many changes across many different industries. In 2024, a group of engineers at MIT developed an AI model that was able to predict natural disasters with uncanny accuracy. This AI takes and processes large amounts of data like weather pattern data, geological activity data, and the forecasting of historical events that humans would be unable to do alone.
Yet, with this amassing of data and crazy computing capacity, what have we proved we can do? In the world of space exploration, 2024 has truly been fantastic. NASA’s tireless rover has been diving deep into the mysteries of Mars and has unearthed evidence of ancient microbial life quite literally right off the dusty surface of the planet. And it has often been that case throughout human history that we have discovered so-called “prime” conditions where life could have existed. Yet, here we are, and Dr.James Carter, a leading astrobiologist, says this recent revelation could really shake things up.
The recent scientific breakthroughs which may change our lives in dramatic ways range from developments in renewable energy that may enable us to quit fossil fuels to transformative health care advances that promise to solve some of our most vexing health care problems. But the accomplishments such as those in the field of computers, and what these changes may bring, are largely beyond full comprehension today. These might remind high school students of the reason to stay in tune with happenings for career decision suggestions and leadership perspectives later on.
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