Remembering the top discoveries of 2016

The end of the year is a time of reflection, not only on how the world changed in the past 366 days, but how it might continue to change in the future.

The coming of 2017 offers an opportunity to acknowledge some of the greatest scientific achievements of 2016 and how they might impact the New Year.

In June, Dr. Gary Steinberg and his Stanford Medicine research team successfully used stem cells to heal stroke victims.

Stem cells are unspecialized cells with the potential to be purposefully differentiated into different tissue types. Steinberg used bone marrow cells to replace the brain cells damaged by stroke.

Honor Whiteman explains in a Medical News Today article, “All [18] participants had motor function disability as a result of their stroke; some patients were unable to move their arm, while others were unable to walk.”

Dr. Steinberg says their impact on the patients, “This wasn’t just, ‘They couldn’t move their thumb, and now they can.’ Patients who were in wheelchairs are walking now.”

Due to its potential versatility, the study represents a milestone in bioengineering. Steinberg explains, “This could revolutionize our concept of what happens after not only stroke, but traumatic brain injury and even neurodegenerative disorders.”

Another monumental development in bioengineering occurred in November when a team of researchers from several universities across the United Kingdom announced their “superwheat”.

Michael Le Phage explains in a New Scientist article, “[The UK research team] genetically modified wheat to increase the efficiency of photosynthesis. When the plants are grown in glasshouses, the change boosts yields by 15 to 20 percent.”

The innovation is possible by preventing the factors that limit photosynthesis. By adding copies of the gene for SBPase, an enzyme that synthesizes a preliminary molecule for glucose (rubisco), the “superwheat” photosynthesizes more effectively.

Should the UK government approve the research team’s application, field trials to test the genetic modifications will begin in spring of 2017.

“Superwheat” could increase crop yields, feeding more people and freeing up land for other uses, such as carbon sequestration.

Effective carbon sequestration, processes in which atmospheric carbon is siphoned out of Earth’s atmosphere and converted to liquid or solid forms, have been the objective of many research teams.

This June, a study revealing a practical method of carbon sequestration was published.

Journalist Eli Kintisch reports in a Science article, “n 2006, Icelandic, U.S., and French scientists proposed a different approach: injecting CO2 into underground layers of basalt…” They knew doing such would result in calcite (solid carbon), “ut they thought the process might take many years.”

In response to their proposition, the team launched the CarbFix experiment off the coast of Iceland.

After pumping more CO2 and water into the ground in 2012, this year the researchers identified calcite deposits. The process occurred much faster than anticipated.

The future of CarbFix will require larger field tests, but the speed of the process lends to its practicality and application in the future.

Many discoveries were made in 2016. In order to make today greater than yesterday, and tomorrow greater than today, two things are necessary: firstly, the new discoveries must be recognized and applied to society. Secondly, 2017 must carry on the curiosity of 2016 and continue the movement towards innovation.