20+ Discoveries Unveiled During the Pandemic
The year 2020 still has a few months left in the calendar, yet it has already managed to dish out a lot of challenges and unimaginable surprises. While the world’s attention is on the emergence of the virus, the world didn’t stop moving and many other things, including mind-blowing discoveries have been made, making the year 2020 more than just about the pandemic.
A giant crater found in Siberia, a super-enzyme that can digest plastics faster, Egyptian coffins sealed for 2,500 years, fishes that may be capable of walking on land, and the size of The Meg are just few of the many discoveries which have been unveiled this year during the pandemic.
Here are some more discoveries unveiled by the researchers and scientists all over the globe which you might have missed.
20+ Discoveries Unveiled During the Pandemic
Discoveries Unveiled in April 2020
1. Ozone Layer’s Largest Hole Finally Closed
The record-breaking ozone layer hole in the Arctic finally healed according to scientific reports. This great news was shared by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), an organization implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission, through a twitter post on April 23, 2020.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
2. UFO Videos Officially Released by Pentagon
Three (3) short videos taken with infrared cameras of what appeared to be Unidentified Flying Objects or UFOs have been officially released by the Pentagon. According to the statement released by the US Department of Defense, they are releasing the videos in order to clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real, or whether or not there is more to the videos.
The US Department of Defense (DOD) released on April 27, 2020, a statement for immediate release with regards to the “historical Navy videos” of aerial phenomena.
“The aerial phenomena observed in the videos remain characterized as “unidentified.” The released videos can be found at the Naval Air Systems Command FOIA Reading Room.”
– an excerpt from the Statement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Navy Videos
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Discoveries Unveiled in May 2020
3. Second Megalodon Tooth Fossil Found in Bohol
In a post shared by the NM Bohol Area Museum Facebook page, a Megalodon tooth fossil was found in Barangay Jandig, Maribojoc in Bohol and it is confirmed as the second Megalodon specimen discovered in the town of Maribojoc.
Furthermore, the fossil was discovered by Christian Gio Bangalao and he donated the fossil tooth of the giant shark to the National Museum of the Philippines last May 28, 2020.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Discoveries Unveiled in June 2020
4. Woman Astronaut becomes First Human to Walk In Space and Reach Deepest Part of Ocean
Dr. Kathy Sullivan, a former NASA Astronaut, a veteran of three space shuttle flights, and the first American woman to walk in space, just set another record in history as she becomes the first woman to reach the bottom of the Challenger Deep, the deepest point in the ocean.
“36 years after my space walk, I became the first woman to dive to the deepest known spot in the ocean – the Challenger Deep,” said Kathy Sullivan on a Tweet on June 9, 2020.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Woman Astronaut becomes First Human to Walk In Space and Reach Deepest Part of Ocean
Discoveries Unveiled in July 2020
5. A Giant Crater Found in Siberia
A huge crater that is about a 50-meter-deep has been recently seen in northern Siberia. The said hole was initially spotted by a Russian TV crew on July 2020, and according to The Siberian Times, blocks of soil and ice thrown hundreds of meters away from the epicenter have been found.
What may have caused the massive hole? Based on a report published by the National Geographic on September 23, 2020, scientists believe that the craters at the Siberian Arctic are formed from blasts of methane and carbon dioxide gas trapped within mounds of dirt and ice. However, it was said that “much remains uncertain.”
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
6. Cancer Cells Killed in Lab Experiments via “Trojan Horse” Approach
Researchers at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have killed cancer cells in lab experiments and reduced tumor growth in mice using a new approach that turns a nanoparticle into a “Trojan horse” which causes cancer cells to self-destruct. The study about this discovery is published in the scientific journal Small on July 19, 2020.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Cancer Cells Killed in Lab Experiments via “Trojan Horse” Approach, Say Researchers
Discoveries Unveiled in August 2020
7. At Least 11 Fish Species May Be Capable of Walking on Land
The Florida Museum of Natural History has revealed that an international team of scientists has identified at least eleven (11) fish species which they suspect to have land-walking abilities.
In a new study, researchers from New Jersey Institute of Technology, Florida Museum of Natural History, Louisiana State University and Thailand’s Maejo University analyzed the bone structure of nearly thirty (30) hillstream loach species. The team published its work was published in the Journal of Morphology on August 3, 2020.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
At Least 11 Fish Species May Be Capable of Walking on Land, Scientists Say
8. Scientists Successfully Clones the Endangered Przewalski’s Horse
In a veterinary facility in Texas, the world’s first successfully cloned Przewalski’s horse was born last August 6, 2020. This was announced by San Diego Zoo Global (SDZG).
The horse was a clone of a male Przewalski’s horse whose DNA was cryopreserved in 1980. It’s a stallion that lived from 1975 until 1998. Furthermore, the new cloned foal was born to a domestic surrogate mother.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Scientists Successfully Clones the Endangered Przewalski’s Horse
9. A New Plant Species Found in the Philippines
Researchers from the Angeles University Foundation in Pampanga and the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila has discovered a new plant species called the Pyrostria arayatensis which belongs to the family Rubiaceae.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Central Luzon, the said species was discovered at the 3,715-hectare Mount Arayat National Park (MANP) in Pampanga.
Although the new plant species were discovered in 2017, the study about it was published just on August 10, 2020 in the international scientific journal of Annales Botanici Fennici.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
10. Ancestor of All Penguins Lived on Earth’s Lost 8th Continent
Fossil bones from an ancient penguin have been found by local collectors in coastal Taranaki in the North Island of New Zealand. And a group of researchers from Massey University, Bruce Museum (CT, USA), Canterbury Museum, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and Iowa State University (IA, USA) have analyzed the said fossil bones and they have discovered that the fossil bones belong to a three-million-year old, dawn crested penguin from Taranaki called the Eudyptes atatu.
According to Massey University, a university in New Zealand, the discovery of Eudyptes atatu now provides “a crucial connection to the past, confirming crested penguins, and perhaps other types of seabird, have been living in Zealandia” for millions of years. The study about Eudyptes atatu was published on August 12 2020 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Ancestor of All Penguins Lived on Earth’s Lost 8th Continent, Researchers Say
11. Greenland Ice Sheet will Continue to Shrink Even if Global Warming Stops
In the study called the Dynamic ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet driven by sustained glacier retreat which was lead by a researcher from The Ohio State University and was published on August 13, 2020, findings show the snowfall that replenishes the ice sheet each year cannot keep up with the ice that is flowing into the ocean from glaciers.
“Even if the climate were to stay the same or even get a little colder, the ice sheet would still be losing mass.”
– Ian Howat, a co-author on the paper, professor of earth sciences and distinguished university scholar at Ohio State
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Greenland Ice Sheet will Continue to Shrink Even if Global Warming Stops
12. Lost Species Rediscovered in Africa after 50 years
The Somali Sengi also was known as the Somali Elephant-shrew, a mouse-size, elephant-like creature which has been considered a “lost species”, has recently been discovered by researchers around the wilds of the Republic of Djibouti, a country in the Horn of Africa.
“We were really excited and elated when we opened the first trap that had an elephant shrew in it, a Somali sengi. We did not know which species occurred in Djibouti and when we saw the diagnostic feature of a little tufted tail, we looked at each other and we knew that it was something special.”
– Steven Heritage, researcher from Duke University Lemur Center, told BBC, August 18, 2020
The researchers have done careful DNA and anatomical analyses of the animals they have captured. And on August 17, 2020, the Duke University Lemur Center, Duke Today have finally revealed the fruit of the team’s efforts – they have indeed rediscovered lost species of an African mammal, the Somali Sengi.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
13. 50 New Planets Identified by an AI Algorithm from NASA’s Old Data
The existence of fifty (50) potential planets has been confirmed by scientists from the University of Warwick via a new machine learning algorithm.
A machine learning-based algorithm that can separate out real planets from fake ones in the large samples of thousands of candidates has been built by researchers from Warwick’s Departments of Physics and Computer Science and The Alan Turing Institute.
The results of their study are published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on August 20, 2020.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
50 New Planets Identified by an AI Algorithm from NASA’s Old Data
Discoveries Unveiled in September 2020
14. How Big “The Meg” Is
A number of mathematical methods have been used to pin down the size and proportions of the Megalodon, formally as Otodus megalodon. Jack Cooper from the University of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences and colleagues from Bristol and Swansea made close comparisons to a diversity of living relatives with ecological and physiological similarities to the giant.
The results of their efforts suggest that a mature 16-metre-long Otodus megalodon likely had a head round 4.65 meters long, a dorsal fin approximately 1.62 meters tall, and a tail around 3.85 meters high.
Meaning, an adult human could stand on the back of the Megalodon and would be about the same height as the monster’s dorsal fin.
Their research is published in the Scientific Reports Journal on September 3, 2020.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Is “The Meg” as Huge as We’ve Seen It in the Movies? Here’s What the Researchers Say
15. NASA Unveils Stunning Images of Galaxies, Supernova Remnants, Stars, and Planetary Nebulas
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has captured a new compilation of images that showcase the combination of data from different missions and telescopes that collect different kinds of light.
Each of the said images contains data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the tool that provided the X-ray view of the objects in the collection, and other telescopes as well.
“Humanity has “eyes” that can detect all different types of light through telescopes around the globe and a fleet of observatories in space. From radio waves to gamma rays, this “multiwavelength” approach to astronomy is crucial to getting a complete understanding of objects in space.”
– NASA, on “NASA’s Chandra Opens Treasure Trove of Cosmic Delights”, September 4, 2020
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
NASA Unveils Stunning Images of Galaxies, Supernova Remnants, Stars, and Planetary Nebulas
16. Perfectly Intact Fossils of Dinosaurs Trapped by Volcanic Eruption 125 Million Years Ago
Two (2) nearly complete skeletons of a new species of burrowing dinosaur have been recently found in the Lower Cretaceous Lujiatun Beds of western Liaoning Province of China.
The intact fossils of the said new species of dinosaur are of the Changmiania liaoningensis, the most primitive ornithopod dinosaur to date. Ornithopods are a group of herbivorous dinosaurs that flourished in the Cretaceous period.
The study about this discovery made by Yuqing Yang, Wenhao Wu, Paul-Emile Dieudonné, and Pascal Godefroit was published in the scientific journal PeerJ on September 8, 2020.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Perfectly Intact Fossils of Dinosaurs Trapped by Volcanic Eruption 125 Million Years Ago, Discovered
17. Earth’s 4 Main Climate States for the Past 66 Million Years
As a result of decades of work and a large international collaboration, climate scientists have finally compiled a continuous, high-fidelity record of variations in Earth’s climate extending 66 million years ago. The record reveals four main climate states dubbed as Hothouse, Warmhouse, Coolhouse, and Icehouse.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Study Reveals Earth’s 4 Main Climate States for the Past 66 Million Years
18. Over 22,000 Years Old Preserved Extinct Cave Bear Found in the Siberian Islands
Scientists have recently found a completely preserved carcass of a prehistoric species or subspecies of the cave bear, Ursus spelaeus, that lived in Eurasia in the Middle and Late Pleistocene period which became extinct about 15,000 years ago.
‘”Today this is the first and only find of its kind – a whole bear carcass with soft tissues. It is completely preserved, with all internal organs in place including even its nose.”
– Lena Grigorieva, Scientist, NEFU Researcher, September 14, 2020
The remains of the cave bear were found by reindeer herders in melting permafrost on the Lyakhovsky Islands which belongs to the New Siberian Islands archipelago between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea in northern Russia.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Over 22,000 Years Old Preserved Extinct Cave Bear Found in the Siberian Islands
19. One of the Most Extreme Planets in the Universe
Researchers have recently unveiled details about one of the most extreme planets in the universe, the exoplanet WASP-189b, which orbits one of the hottest stars known to have a planetary system.
Based on the observations using the European Space Agency’s CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS), it is estimated that the temperature of WASP-189b is 3,200 degrees Celsius.
At such a high temperature, iron melts and becomes gaseous. Thus, according to Lendl, it is one of the “most extreme planets” they have know so far.
The study about this is accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics on September 17, 2020.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Researchers Described One of the Most Extreme Planets in the Universe Ever Discovered
20. More Coffins Sealed for 2,500 Years Discovered in Egypt
On September 20, 2020, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has announced that they have discovered 14 more human coffins that have been sealed for 2,500 Years.
The additional coffins were discovered at the Saqqara in Egypt, the burial spot where the first 13 human wooden sealed coffins were found. With the additional discovery of the authorities, the total number of coffins discovered is 27 human closed coffins.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
21. A “Super-Enzyme” that can Digest Plastic Six Times Faster
In 2018, scientists have re-engineered an enzyme they call the PETase which can digest some of the most commonly polluting plastics that are made of polyethylene terephthalate or PET. Just a few years after this study has been published, another research about the use of enzyme on digesting plastic has been made.
According to a press release published by the University of Portsmouth on September 28, 2020, the scientists who re-engineered the plastic-eating enzyme PETase have now created an enzyme “cocktail” which can digest plastic up to six times faster.
The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on September 28, 2020.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
A “Super-Enzyme” that can Digest Plastic Six Times Faster, Discovered by Researchers
Discoveries Unveiled in October 2020
22. Detailed Images of the Carina Nebula Captured by Astronomers
Near-infrared images of the Carina Nebula with the same resolution expected of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, have been captured by astronomers via the Gemini South telescope in Chile.
They have gathered the images at the international Gemini Observatory, a program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, for over ten (10) hours in January 2018. It shows part of a molecular cloud about 7,500 light-years from Earth, a cloud of dust and gas in the Carina Nebula known as the “Western Wall.”
The study made by the researchers is published online in Astrophysical Journal Letters on October 5, 2020.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Detailed Images of the Carina Nebula Captured by Astronomers
23. Light from a Star Devoured by a Supermassive Black Hole
Using telescopes from around the globe, scientists have spotted a light, emitted by a star, as it is devoured by a supermassive black hole that is 215 million light-years from Earth. And it is the closest flare of its kind ever observed. Such phenomenon is known as a tidal disruption event.
The University of Birmingham explained through a news release that it is caused when a star passes too close to a black hole. Thus, the extreme gravitational pull from the black hole shreds the star into thin streams of material. During this process some of the material falls into the black hole, releasing a bright flare of energy that can be detected by astronomers.
The findings of their study are published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on October 12, 2020.
You can find out more about this discovery, here:
Scientists Spotted a Light from a Star Devoured by a Supermassive Black Hole! Watch It Happen
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