The following scientific events occurred or are scheduled to occur in 2024.
Events
January
2 January – The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) publishes its JRA-55 dataset, confirming 2023 as the warmest year on record globally, at 1.43 °C (2.57 °F) above the 1850–1900 baseline. This is 0.14 °C (0.25 °F) above the previous record set in 2016.[1][full citation needed]
Researchers have discovered a new phase of matter, named a "light-matter hybrid", which may reshape understanding of how light interacts with matter.[15]
Scientists report the extinction of Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest primate to ever inhabit the Earth, that lived between 2 million and 350,000 years ago, was largely due to the inability of the ape to adapt to a diet better suited to a significantly changed environment.[21][22]
11 January
Biologists report the discovery of the oldest known skin, fossilized about 289 million years ago, and possibly the skin from an ancient reptile.[23][24]
A graphene-based implant on the surface of mouse brains, in combination with a two-photon microscope, is shown to capture high-resolution information on neural activity at depths of 250 micrometers.[28][29]
A review of genetic data from 21 studies with nearly one million participants finds more than 50 new genetic loci and 205 novel genes associated with depression, opening potential targets for drugs to treat depression.[30][31]
The Upano Valley sites are reported as the oldest Amazonian cities built over 2500 years ago, with a unique "garden urbanism" city design.[32][33]
A study presents results of a Riyadh-based trial of eight urban heat mitigation scenarios, finding large cooling effects with combinations that include reflective rooftop materials, irrigated greenery, and retrofitting.[34][35]
12 January
Global warming: 2023 is confirmed as the hottest year on record by several science agencies.[36]
NASA reports a figure of 1.4 degrees Celsius above the late 19th century average, when modern record-keeping began.[37]
NOAA reports a figure of 1.35 degrees Celsius.[38]
19 January: Japan becomes the fifth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon.
17 January – A study in Nature finds that the Greenland ice sheet is melting 20% faster than previous estimates, due to the effects of calving-front retreat. The current loss of 30m tonnes of ice an hour is "sufficient to affect ocean circulation and the distribution of heat energy around the globe."[46][47][48]
18 January
NASA reports the end of the Ingenuity helicopter's operation, after 72 successful flights on Mars, due to a broken rotor blade.[49][50]
A potential candidate for the first known radio pulsar-black hole binary is reported by astronomers. The heavier of the two lies in the "mass gap" between neutron stars and black holes. The pair are located in the globular clusterNGC 1851.[51][52]
Two insect-like robots, a mini-bug and a water strider, are reported by Washington State University as being the smallest, lightest, and fastest fully-functional micro-robots ever created.[53][54]
Bottom trawling is found to release 340 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere each year, nearly 1 per cent of all global CO2 emissions.[55][56]
19 January – Japan becomes the fifth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, with its SLIM mission.[57][58]
23 January – A viable and sustainable approach for gold recovery from e-waste is demonstrated.[61][62]
24 January
The discovery of 85 exoplanet candidates based on data from the TESS observatory is reported. All have orbital periods of between 20 and 700 days, with temperatures similar to those of our own Solar System planets.[63]
A global analysis of groundwater levels reports rapid declines of over 0.5 meters per year are widespread and that declines have accelerated over the past four decades in 30% of the world's regional aquifers. The study also shows cases in which depletion trends have reversed following interventions such as policy changes.[64][65]
A robotic sensor able to read braille with 87.5% accuracy and at twice the speed of a human is demonstrated.[70]
31 January – NASA reports the discovery of a super-Earth called TOI-715 b, located in the habitable zone of a red dwarf star about 137 light-years away.[71]
Promising innovations relating to global challenges are reported: a self-powered solar panel cleaning system using an electrodynamic screen, removing contaminants through high-voltage electric fields, is demonstrated (4 Jan),[72][73] an atmospheric water generator (WaterCube) for humidity levels above 40% is released (9 Jan).[74]
Hazard research is published: ~240.000 particles of microplastic and nanoplastics (~90%) per liter are found in samples of plastic-bottled water (8 Jan),[86][87] a study estimates harmful chemicals used in plastic materials have caused $249 U.S. healthcare system costs in 2018 (11 Jan),[88][89] a study indicates fungal infections may be causing millions more deaths than thought (12 Jan),[90][91] a study of European plasticwaste exports to Vietnam shows a large fraction is dumped in nature and suggests air pollution from melting plastics and untreated wastewater have significant impact on health (18 Jan).[92][93]
A study based on 300-years-long temperature records preserved in Caribbean sclerosponge carbonate skeletons shows industrial-era warming already began in the mid-1860s and that by 2020, global warming was already 1.7±0.1 °C above pre-industrial levels. However, their reference period is not used by the IPCC and the 1.5 °C climate goal and the study's authors suggest their results show a better baseline.[100][101]
A battery based on calcium, able to charge and discharge fully 700 times at room temperature, is presented. It is described as a potential alternative to lithium, being 2,500 times more abundant on Earth.[109][110]
14 February – A study reviews educational content of 18,400 universities worldwide, finding higher education is not transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy curricula, failing to meet the growing demand for a clean energy workforce.[119][120] On 26 February, a study analyzing funding sources and activities of two prominent academic centers delineates animal agriculture industry entrenchment in academia through support of industry-supported research and policy advocacy amid potential unfavorable policies.[121][122]
17 February – A global review of harms from personal car automobility finds cars have killed 60–80 million people since their invention, with automobility causing roughly every 34th death, and summarises interventions that are ready for implementation to reduce the, largely crash-linked or pollution-mediated, deaths from automobility-centrism and dependency.[123][124]
19 February – Astronomers announce the most luminous object ever discovered, quasar QSO J0529-4351, located 12 billion light years away in the constellation Pictor.[125]
20 February – The northern green anaconda (Eunectes akayima), a new species of the giant snake, is described for the first time.[126]
The first neuroimaging study that shows flow state-related brain activity during a creative production task, jazz improvisation, is published. Its results support a theory that creative flow represents optimized specialized processing enabled by extensive experience, relaxing conscious control.[128][129]
22 February: The first commercial vehicle to land on the Moon. The lander also includes English Wikipedia and other records of humanity.
Hazard research is published: several dietary habits and products including teabags are linked to PFAS intake (4 Feb),[170][171] an additional three billion people may face water scarcity by 2050 when river pollution is considered, an aspect neglected by prior assessments (6 Feb),[172][173]HPV infection linked to higher cardiovascular mortality (7 Feb),[174] researchers use simulations to develop an early-warning signal for a potential collapse of the atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and suggest it indicates the AMOC is "on route to tipping" (9 Feb),[175][176] researchers report the H5N1 bird flu virus may be changing and adapting to infect more mammals (12 Feb),[177][178] researchers report how compounding disturbances could trigger unexpected ecosystem transitions in the Amazon rainforest (14 Feb),[179][180] harmful chlormequat is found in ~80% of U.S. adult urine samples, rising during 2023, and in oat-based foods widely thought to be healthy (15 Feb),[181][182] excess amounts of widely-supplemented niacin (B3) are linked to cardiovascular risk (19 Feb),[183][184] a review concludes available evidence on the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in minors with gender dysphoria is very limited and based on only a few studies with small numbers which have problematic methodology and quality, warning about their use outside of clinical studies or research projects after careful risk-benefit evaluation (27 Feb).[185][186]
March
4 March
Astronomers report that the surface of Europa, moon of the planet Jupiter, may have much less oxygen than previously inferred, suggesting that the moon has a less hospitable environment for the existence of lifeforms than may have been considered earlier.[187][188]
Biochemists report making an RNA molecule that was able to make accurate copies of a different type of RNA molecule, moving closer to an RNA that could make accurate copies of itself, and, as a result, providing support for an RNA world that may have been an essential way of starting the origin of life.[189][190]
12 March – Geologists identify a 2.4-million-year cycle in deep-sea sedimentary data, caused by an orbital interaction between Earth and Mars.[192][193]
The largest inventory of methane emissions from U.S. oil and gas production finds them to be largely concentrated and around three times the national government inventory estimate.[195][196] On 28 March, methane emissions from U.S. landfills are quantified, with super-emitting point-sources accounting for almost 90% thereof.[197][198]
14 March – SpaceX successfully launches the Starship spacecraft, but loses the rocket upon re-entering the atmosphere.[199]
19 March – Scientists at demonstrate a wireless network of 78 tiny sensors able to gather data from the brain, with potential to be scaled up to thousands of such devices.[200][201]
1 April – An entirely new class of antibiotics with potent activity against multi-drug resistant bacteria is discovered. These compounds target a protein called LpxH, and are shown to cure bloodstream infections in mice.[223][224]
4 April – A study in Nature finds that global CO2 emissions increased by only 0.1% in 2023, suggesting that a plateau may have been reached.[226]
5 April – A numerical toolkit designed for modelling warp drivespacetimes is released by Applied Physics.[227]
9 April – A rare genetic variation in a gene that makes fibronectin is shown to reduce the odds of developing Alzheimer's disease by over 70%.[228]
12 April
Biologists report that bonobos behave more aggressively than thought earlier.[229][230]
Scientists report studies suggesting that tardigrades are protected from massive radiation exposure and damage by unique biochemicals, particularly, the Dsup protein.[231][232]
16 April – Scientists at the Riken institute demonstrate "advanced dual-chirped optical parametric amplification", which provides a 50-fold increase in the energy of single-cycle laser pulses. This new technique may advance the development of attosecond lasers.[235]
23 April – The world's largest 3D printer, dubbed Factory of the Future 1.0 (FoF 1.0), is presented by the University of Maine. Using thermoplastic polymers, the machine can print objects as large as 96 feet (29 m) long by 32 feet (9.8 m) wide by 18 feet (5.5 m) high, at a rate of 500 pounds (230 kg) per hour.[236][237]
24 April – Demonstration of synthetic diamond created at 1 atmosphere of pressure in around 150 minutes without needing seeds.[238][239]
A new theory states that Venus may have lost its water so quickly due to HCO+ dissociative recombination.[245][246]
People aged over 65 with two copies of the APOE4 gene variant are found to have a 95% chance of developing Alzheimer's disease.[247][248]
8 May
Google introduces AlphaFold 3, a new AI model for accurately predicting the structure of proteins, DNA, RNA, ligands and more, and how they interact.[249]
Atmospheric gases surrounding 55 Cancri e, a hot rocky exoplanet 41 light-years from Earth, are detected by researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope. NASA reports this as "the best evidence to date for the existence of any rocky planet atmosphere outside our solar system."[250]
9 May – A record annual increase in atmospheric CO2 is reported from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, with a jump of 4.7 parts per million (ppm) compared to a year earlier.[251]
13 May – OpenAI reveals GPT-4o, its latest AI model, featuring improved multimodal capabilities in real time.[253][254]
15 May
Astronomers report an overview of preliminary analytical studies on returned samples of asteroid101955 Bennu by the OSIRIS-REx mission.[255]
SPECULOOS-3 b, an exoplanet nearly identical in size to Earth, is discovered orbiting an ultracool dwarf star as small as Jupiter and located 55 light-years from Earth.[256]
Solar energy is combined with synthetic quartz to generate temperatures of more than 1,000°C. This proof-of-concept method shows the potential of clean energy to replace fossil fuels in heavy manufacturing, according to a research team at ETH Zurich.[257]
US: Various requested changes to budgets of science-related US institutions have been described with some information about the respective planned research programs.[261][262]
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^Kallás, Esper G.; Cintra, Monica A.T.; Moreira, José A.; Patiño, Elizabeth G.; Braga, Patricia Emilia; Tenório, Juliana C.V.; Infante, Vanessa; Palacios, Ricardo; de Lacerda, Marcus Vínicius Guimarães; Batista Pereira, Dhelio; da Fonseca, Allex Jardim; Gurgel, Ricardo Queiroz; Coelho, Ivo Castelo-Branco; Fontes, Cor Jesus Fernandes; Marques, Ernesto T.A.; Romero, Gustavo Adolfo Sierra; Teixeira, Mauro Martins; Siqueira, André M.; Barral, Aldina Maria Prado; Boaventura, Viviane Sampaio; Ramos, Fabiano; Elias Júnior, Erivaldo; Cassio de Moraes, José; Covas, Dimas T.; Kalil, Jorge; Precioso, Alexander Roberto; Whitehead, Stephen S.; Esteves-Jaramillo, Alejandra; Shekar, Tulin; Lee, Jung-Jin; Macey, Julieta; Kelner, Sabrina Gozlan; Coller, Beth-Ann G.; Boulos, Fernanda Castro; Nogueira, Mauricio L. (February 2024). "Live, Attenuated, Tetravalent Butantan–Dengue Vaccine in Children and Adults". New England Journal of Medicine. 390 (5): 397–408. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2301790. ISSN0028-4793. PMID38294972.
^Osmanov, Z.N. (7 February 2024). "The possibility of panspermia in the deep cosmos by means of the planetary dust grains". arXiv:2402.04990 [astro-ph.EP].
^Hampson, Hailey E.; Costello, Elizabeth; Walker, Douglas I.; Wang, Hongxu; Baumert, Brittney O.; Valvi, Damaskini; Rock, Sarah; Jones, Dean P.; Goran, Michael I.; Gilliland, Frank D.; Conti, David V.; Alderete, Tanya L.; Chen, Zhanghua; Chatzi, Leda; Goodrich, Jesse A. (March 2024). "Associations of dietary intake and longitudinal measures of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in predominantly Hispanic young Adults: A multicohort study". Environment International. 185: 108454. Bibcode:2024EnInt.18508454H. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2024.108454. ISSN0160-4120. PMID38316574.
^Cheong, Hae Suk; Chang, Yoosoo; Kim, Yejin; Kwon, Min-Jung; Cho, Yoosun; Kim, Bomi; Joo, Eun-Jeong; Bae, Young Ho; Kim, Chanmin; Ryu, Seungho (27 March 2024). "Human papillomavirus infection and cardiovascular mortality: a cohort study". European Heart Journal. 45 (12): 1072–1082. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehae020. PMID38321359.
^Zepf, Florian D.; König, Laura; Kaiser, Anna; Ligges, Carolin; Ligges, Marc; Roessner, Veit; Banaschewski, Tobias; Holtmann, Martin (May 2024). "Beyond NICE: Aktualisierte systematische Übersicht zur Evidenzlage der Pubertätsblockade und Hormongabe bei Minderjährigen mit Geschlechtsdysphorie". Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie (in German). 52 (3): 167–187. doi:10.1024/1422-4917/a000972. ISSN1422-4917.
^Grist, Sachi Mulkey. "Landfills Leak More Planet-Baking Methane Than We Thought". Scientific American. Retrieved 11 May 2024. The researchers found these super-emitting points can persist for months or even years, and account for almost 90 percent of all measured methane from the landfills. Tackling these hotspots could be a huge stride toward lowering emission rates, but blindspots in current monitoring protocols mean they often evade detection.
^Chung, Daniel C.; Gray, Darrell M.; Singh, Harminder; Issaka, Rachel B.; Raymond, Victoria M.; Eagle, Craig; Hu, Sylvia; Chudova, Darya I.; Talasaz, AmirAli; Greenson, Joel K.; Sinicrope, Frank A.; Gupta, Samir; Grady, William M. (14 March 2024). "A Cell-free DNA Blood-Based Test for Colorectal Cancer Screening". New England Journal of Medicine. 390 (11): 973–983. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2304714. ISSN0028-4793. PMID38477985.
^Salvi, Francesco; Manoel Horta Ribeiro; Gallotti, Riccardo; West, Robert (2024). "On the Conversational Persuasiveness of Large Language Models: A Randomized Controlled Trial". arXiv:2403.14380 [cs.CY].
^Gong, Yan; Luo, Da; Choe, Myeonggi; Kim, Yongchul; Ram, Babu; Zafari, Mohammad; Seong, Won Kyung; Bakharev, Pavel; Wang, Meihui; Park, In Kee; Lee, Seulyi; Shin, Tae Joo; Lee, Zonghoon; Lee, Geunsik; Ruoff, Rodney S. (24 April 2024). "Growth of diamond in liquid metal at 1 atm pressure". Nature. 629 (8011): 348–354. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07339-7. PMID38658760.
^M. S. Chaffin; E. M. Cangi; B. S. Gregory; R. V. Yelle; J. Deighan; R. D. Elliott; H. Gröller (6 May 2024). "Venus water loss is dominated by HCO+ dissociative recombination". Nature. 629 (8011): 307–310. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07261-y. PMID38710931.