User:Prototyperspective/sandbox

A number of significant scientific events have occurred or are scheduled to occur in 2020.

Events

January–March

January–March 2020 in science

===January=== 1 January Researchers demonstrate an artificial intelligence (AI) system, based on a Google DeepMind algorithm, that is capable of surpassing human experts in breast cancer detection. Astrophysicist Ronald Mallett proposes a theoretical way of building a time machine, albeit with limitations, based on ring lasers and special and general relativity equations. 3 January Astronomers report evidence that suggests that the planet Venus is currently volcanically active, and the residue from such activity may be a potential source of nutrients for possible microorganisms in the Venusian atmosphere, according to researchers. 3–5 January – Chinese virologist Zhang Yongzhen sequences the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 genome. 6 January The American College of Physicians issues clinical guidelines for exogenous testosterone treatment in adult men with age-related low levels of testosterone. The guidelines are supported by the American Academy of Family Physicians. NASA reports the discovery of TOI 700 d, the first Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The exoplanet orbits the star TOI 700 101.4 light-years away in the Dorado constellation. Astronomers report that a repeating Fast Radio Burst (FRB) (namely, FRB 180916), the second such FRB precisely located, originated from a medium-sized spiral galaxy 500 million light-years away. The Chinese paddlefish is found to be extinct after extensive surveys failed to find any living specimens, pending official IUCN confirmation. A rare circumbinary planet, called TOI 1338 b, is discovered by Wolf Cukier, a 17-year-old intern at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. 6 January: Astronomers report the detection of TOI 700 d, the first Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The image shows concept art. 7 January Astronomers describe the "Radcliffe Wave", a large ribbon of gas extending 9,000 light years in length and flowing 500 light years above and below the galactic plane, with approximately three million solar masses. The National Science Foundation (NSF) renames the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) to the Vera C. Rubin Observatory (VRO) in honor of astronomer Vera Rubin who is notable for her pioneering work with galaxy rotation rates which provided evidence for the existence of dark matter. 8 January The American Cancer Society reports a 2.2% drop in the cancer death rate between 2016 and 2017, the largest single-year decline in mortality for this disease ever recorded in the United States. Scientists publish evidence from Siberian caves suggesting that summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean plays an essential role in stabilising permafrost and its large store of carbon. 10 January – Scientists report the discovery of the oldest known occurrence of an animal digestive tract, found in fossils, unearthed near Pahrump, Nevada, of Cloudinidae, an extinct wormlike organism that lived during the late Ediacaran period about 550 million years ago. 11 January – After a three-year trial that included testing, commissioning, calibrations and operations authorities declare that China's FAST telescope – the world's largest filled-aperture radio telescope – is starting formal operations after it passed its national acceptance test. 13 January: scientists report that the oldest material on Earth found so far are Murchison meteorite particles that have been determined to be 7 billion years old, billions of years older than the 4.54 billion years age of the Earth. 13 January A study finds that ocean temperatures were at a record high in 2019 and underwent the largest single-year increase of the decade. Astronomers report that the oldest material on Earth found so far are Murchison meteorite particles that have been determined to be 7 billion years old, billions of years older than the 4.54 billion years age of the Earth itself. 15 January Astronomers report, for the first time, the origin of phosphorus, an essential element of life as we know it. Phosphorus was found to be initially formed in star-forming regions, and carried by comets, in the form of phosphorus monoxide, throughout outer space, including the early Earth. Scientists report that Candidatus Prometheoarchaeum syntrophicum, a type of Asgard archaea microorganism, may be a possible link between simple prokaryotic and complex eukaryotic microorganisms about two billion years ago. Paleontologists report the discovery of Wulong bohaiensis, Chinese for "dancing dragon," a very small feathered dinosaur that lived 120 million years ago, and that may help better explain the link between dinosaurs and birds. 16 January: Scientists report that the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs about 66 million years ago was mostly a result of a meteorite impact, the Chicxulub impactor, and not volcanism. 16 January Scientists report that the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs about 66 million years ago was mostly a result of a meteorite impact (the Chicxulub impactor) and not a result of volcanism. In a study published on 29 June other researchers also conclude that the asteroid impact was the main driver of this extinction. The giant squid genome is sequenced for the first time. Quantum physicists report the first direct splitting of one photon into three using spontaneous parametric down-conversion and which may have applications in quantum technology. 21 January: Researchers present evidence that the platypus is at risk of extinction. 17 January – For the first time, scientists report a video of atoms bonding and separating. 20 January Astronomers, using X-ray reverberation echo mapping techniques, report the mass and spin, for the first time, of a supermassive black hole, particularly the black hole in the middle of the IRAS 13224-3809 galaxy located about 1 billion light-years from Earth. COVID-19 pandemic: Chinese authorities first publicly confirm that there is human-to-human transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. 21 January Scientists report that the oldest recognised asteroid impact occurred in Western Australia more than 2.2 billion years ago and that it might have ended the ice age at that time. A study finds record high emissions of the potent greenhouse gas, HFC-23. Researchers present evidence that the platypus is at risk of extinction, due to a combination of water resource development, land clearing, climate change and increasingly severe periods of drought. Researchers develop a single molecule that can absorb sunlight from the entire visible spectrum for the production of the fuel hydrogen, harnessing more than 50% more solar energy than current solar cells can. A study by researchers finds that man-made ozone-depleting substances (ODS) caused the largest share of Arctic warming, one-third of global warming and roughly half of Arctic warming and sea ice loss from 1955 to 2005. 31 January: Scientists and journalists report overviews of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. 22 January – China releases a large amount of data and high-resolution images from the lander and rover of the Chang'e 4 mission which has been studying the far side of the Moon since 3 January 2019. 23 January Researchers announce the first replication of a vocal tract and voice simulation of an Egyptian mummy (the priest Nesyamun). Marine biologists announce new findings that provide evidence that genus Hemiscyllium – also known as "walking sharks" as they can walk on land – was the newest genus of sharks in terms of historical findings on biological evolution. 24 January – For the first time, scientists discover mitochondria existing in human blood that are not part of larger cells. 27 January A new species of dinosaur is discovered, Allosaurus jimmadseni, from genus Allosaurus. Scientists demonstrate a "Trojan horse" designer-nanoparticle that makes blood cells eat away – from the inside out – portions of atherosclerotic plaque that cause heart attacks and are the current most common cause of death globally. 28 January – A new study finds that many of Earth's biodiverse ecosystems are in danger of collapse. The study mapped over 100 high-risk ecosystems and habitats in specific locations, and notes the highly detrimental patterns in each one that result from climate change and local human activities. 31 January – Scientists and journalists report overviews of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, later classified as a pandemic, including on the infectability, mortality rate, incubation time, worldwide ability to contain the outbreak, and estimated time for a vaccine (along with a comparison with other similar outbreaks). February 6 February: Meteorologists report a record high temperature of 18.3 °C (64.9 °F) on the northern tip of Antarctica. The image shows the warming trend 1957 to 2006. 3 February – Astronomers report in a preprint, later published in a journal in June, that, for the first time, repeating pulses from a source of fast radio bursts seem to have a regular periodicity, particularly FRB 180916, about 500 million light years from Earth, which have been found to have a 16.35+0.18 −0.18-day pulse cycle. 4 February – The drugs remdesivir and chloroquine are shown to effectively inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. 5 February Scientists of the International Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment announce that they have found a way to squeeze the muons of a muon beam into a smaller volume. The muons are cooled into a denser cloud by being directed through specially designed energy-absorbing materials while the beam is tightly focused by powerful superconducting magnetic lenses and can then be accelerated by a normal particle accelerator in a precise direction. This technique may allow the construction of a muon collider. Cooling the muons beams is crucial to achieve a high collision rate. In a study researchers assess that Extant-Native Trophic (ENT), a trophic rewilding approach which restores lost species to ecosystems, can help mitigate climate change. This form of rewilding would restore large-bodied herbivore and carnivore guilds which could reduce methane emissions and according to the study could be an "important complementary strategy to natural climate solutions to ensure other nature-based benefits to biodiversity conservation and society are also delivered". Scientists develop a CRISPR-Cas12a-based gene editing system that can probe and control several genes at once and can implement logic gating to e.g. detect cancer cells and execute therapeutic immunomodulatory responses. Scientists report that 70 million years ago Earth rotated 372 times a year, with a day lasting a half an hour less than today after studying the growth rings of fossilized mollusk shells from the late Cretaceous. The slowdown is due to the tidal effects the Moon has on Earth's rotation. 6 February A record-breaking 18.3 °C (64.9 °F) temperature is recorded at an Argentine weather base on the northern tip of Antarctica, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The previous record was 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) in March 2015. On 9 February another Antarctic weather research station, located on Seymour Island registered a temperature of 20.75 Celsius, considered to be a "likely record" and requiring some open questions to be answered before being confirmed. Scientists report that preliminary results from a phase I trial using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing of T cells in patients with refractory cancer demonstrates that such CRISPR-based therapies can be safe and feasible. 12 February: NASA releases an improved version of the Pale Blue Dot image taken of Earth 6 billion km away by the Voyager 1 space probe on 14 February 1990. 10 February NASA announces preliminary approval of a sample-return mission to the planet Mars. Scientists of NASA's Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) publish conclusions from mapped methane hotspots of an Arctic 30,000‐km2 study domain. They used the AVIRIS—NG instrument on flights over the Arctic to map the hotspots and quantified a power law dependence of the emissions on distance to nearest standing water. Scientists report that bats' heightened immune responses to their viruses, of which SARS-CoV-2 is a likely example, can facilitate the evolution of rapidly-replicating viruses that likely cause enhanced virulence following emergence into secondary hosts with other immune systems such as humans. The researchers used a combination of in vitro experimentation and within-host modeling to explore the impact of the previously already well-known unique bat immunity on virus dynamics. 11 February Quantum engineers report that they have created artificial atoms in silicon quantum dots for quantum computing and that artificial atoms with a higher number of electrons can be more stable qubits than previously thought possible. Enabling silicon-based quantum computers may make it possible to reuse of manufacturing technology of "classical" modern-day computer chips among other advantages. Researchers report that their projections show that the number of compound hot extremes that combine daytime and nighttime heat could quadruple by 2100 in the Northern Hemisphere even if emissions are brought down to meet the Paris climate deal goals. 13 February: NASA reports more support for finding complex organic compounds on 486958 Arrokoth, a Kuiper Belt object visited by the New Horizons space probe on 1 January 2019. 12 February NASA releases a greatly improved image of the iconic Pale Blue Dot view of Earth from 6 billion kilometres (3.7 billion miles) away that was taken by the Voyager 1 space probe on 14 February 1990. A research team shows that by combining two nanomaterials they can create a nanoscale device that mimics the neural pathways of brain cells used for human vision and can be used to detect faces. Researchers publish their discovery of a new class of glycopeptide antibiotics with a novel mode of action – the known antibiotic complestatin and the newly discovered corbomycin. These have low levels of resistance development, can be capable of treating drug-resistant infections and were discovered using a methodology that analyses the phylogeny of genes and lack of known resistance determinants. Scientists publish a study which shows that present-day west Africans trace a substantial proportions of up to almost a fifth of their genetic ancestry to an extinct archaic human species – a ghost population. They estimate that the species split from the ancestors of Neanderthals and modern humans between 360,000 and 1 million years ago and that interbreeding occurred at some point in the past 124,000 years and approximately 43,000 years ago. 13 February – NASA publishes studies that investigate 486958 Arrokoth's shape and its formation and evolution as well as its age, composition, geology and geophysics. Arrokoth is a trans-Neptunian object in the Kuiper Belt that the New Horizons space probe visited during a flyby on 1 January 2019. They find that its shape was caused by a gentle, low-speed merger in the early Solar System. They also provide further support for the presence of a mixture of organic compounds called tholins and find that it appears to be a classical Kuiper belt object comparable to others and that it hence can likely be used to understand the cold classical belt as a whole. 14 February Astronomers report that the brightness of the star Betelgeuse had not only dropped by a factor of approximately 2.5, from magnitude 0.5 to 1.5, but now the star may no longer be round. Nonetheless, astronomers believe a supernova event may not be imminent. Quantum physicists develop a novel single-photon source which may allow to bridge semiconductor-based quantum-computers that use photons by converting the state of an electron spin to the polarisation of a photon. They show that they can generate a single photon in a controlled way without the need for randomly formed quantum dots or structural defects in a diamonds. A research team announces the discovery of a new electronic state of matter. They show that when electrons can be made to attract one another, they can form sets of two to five electrons that behave like new types of particles. The Breakthrough Listen project for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) announces the release of nearly 2 petabytes of data after a petabyte of radio and optical telescope data was released in June 2019. It comes from a survey of the radio spectrum between 1 and 12 gigahertz (GHz) and is the largest release of SETI data in the history of the field. Scientists report the development of a relatively long-lasting and economical catalyst "Nanocatalysts on Single Crystal Edges" that recycles the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane into hydrogen and carbon monoxide that can e.g. be used in fuels. 18 February: Scientists report an unstable western flank of the Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador that may result in a large landslide. 17 February – Astronomers report, for the first time, the detection of radio waves related to an exoplanet: in this instance, the radio waves may have resulted from the interaction between the red dwarf star, GJ 1151 and a "short-period terrestrial-mass planet". 18 February – Scientists report warning signs of flank instability of the Ecuadorian Tungurahua volcano. A potential collapse of the western flank could result in a large landslide. 19 February Scientists present an atomic-level image using cryogenic electron microscopy of an essential protein used to access cells by the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus that is responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and COVID-19 pandemic. This image may help in more quickly finding a cure or to develop medical countermeasures (MCMs) for the viral infection. Researchers report evidence consistent with an early domestication of dogs before 28,500 years ago, dating the earliest known example of a human domestication to sometime in the middle or upper Paleolithic during the Last Glacial Period. The teeth of a fossilized jaw that age found near ancient human settlements suggest a less wolf-like diet after microwear analysis, suggesting that these were "protodogs". 20 February – Scientists use the world's most powerful supercomputer, SUMMIT, to screen molecules which bind to either SARS-CoV-2's spike protein or to its human ACE2 interface and publish their results, including a ranked list of compounds which may be repurposed to attenuate COVID-19, in a preprint. 22 February Astronomers report that the star Betelgeuse, that has been undergoing a substantial decrease in brightness since October 2019, may have stopped dimming, and may now be beginning to again brighten, all but ending the current dimming episode. Further studies of the star, reported on 24 February 2020, found no significant change in the infrared over the last 50 years, and seems unrelated to the recent visual fading, suggesting, despite speculations, that an impending core collapse, resulting in a supernova explosion, may be unlikely. Even further related studies, also reported on 24 February 2020, suggest that occluding "large-grain circumstellar dust" may be the most likely explanation for the dimming of the star. Scientists from Harvard University, along with physics and biotech companies PLEX Corporation and Bruker Scientific, publish details of hemolithin they claim to have found in meteorite Acfer 086 – the first protein found in a meteorite if peer-review confirms their findings. Their findings may be relevant to theories of panspermia and pseudo-panspermia according to which life exists throughout the Universe and is distributed directly or indirectly via objects such as meteoroids. However, some scientists have expressed skepticism about the results of the study. 25 February: Discovery reported of the first animal, a parasite of salmon named Henneguya salminicola, that lost its mitochondria and does not use oxygen to produce energy. 24 February A study of the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, published in Nature, finds that 21% of Australia's forests (excluding Tasmania) have burnt down, an amount described in the journal as "unprecedented" and "greatly exceed[ing] previous fires both within Australia and globally" in terms of scale within the last 20 years. Other characteristics that distinguish the fires from similar ones include that they happened in populated areas instead of remote areas in e.g. Siberia – due to which a large number of people were affected by smoke of the fires – and their intensity and geographical spread across the country. Paleontologists report the discovery of 1 billion-year-old micro-fossils of 2 mm sized green seaweeds called Proterocladus antiquus. The algae could produce oxygen via photosynthesis and is a close relative of the ancestor of all contemporary green plants including land plants which evolved ca. 450 million years ago. Previously the oldest green seaweeds were dated to roughly 800 million years ago. Scientists report that thiophene organic molecules detected by the Curiosity rover on the planet Mars between 2012 and 2017 are consistent with earlier life on Mars and summarize conceivable pathways for its generation and degradation on the planet. It's not currently known if the detected thiophenes – usually associated on Earth with kerogen, coal and crude oil — are the result of biological or non-biological processes. They show that they could have either a biological or abiotic origin. Initial phase 1 testing of a Coronavirus vaccine from biotechnology company Moderna is reported to start soon. 27 February: Astronomers report the discovery of the largest known explosion in the Universe – a cavity in the Ophiuchus Supercluster (pictured). 25 February Scientists at Tel Aviv University report the first discovery of an animal that has lost its mitochondria. Therefore, it is not using oxygen for generating its chemical energy. Henneguya zschokkei, a <10-celled parasite that lives in salmon muscle, has lost its ability for oxygen-respiration and thereby also shows that evolution can lead to abandonment of useful functions and less complex organisms. Scientists visualize a quantum measurement: by taking snapshots of ion states at different times of measurement via coupling of a trapped ion qutrit to the photon environment they show that the changes of the degrees of superpositions and therefore of probabilities of states after measurement happens gradually under the measurement influence. KAGRA joins LIGO and Virgo in the search for more gravitational wave events. 26 February – Chinese astronomers report, for the first time, a high-resolution image of a lunar ejecta sequence, and, as well, direct analysis of its internal architecture. These were based on observations made by the Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) on board the Yutu-2 rover, part of the Chang'e 4 mission, while studying the far side of the Moon. 27 February – Astronomers report the discovery of a large cavity in the Ophiuchus Supercluster, first detected in 2016 and originating from a supermassive black hole with the mass of 10 million solar masses. The cavity is a result of the largest known explosion in the Universe. The formerly active galactic nucleus created it by emitting radiation and particle jets, possibly as a result of a spike in supply of gas to the black hole that could have occurred if a galaxy fell into the centre of the cavity. March 2 March – Scientists report to have achieved repeated quantum nondemolition measurements of an electron's spin in a silicon quantum dot: measurements that do not change the electron's spin in the process. 3 March – Researchers report that stable d*(2830) hexaquark Bose–Einstein condensates could have formed in the early universe with a production rate sufficiently large to account for the 85% of matter thought to be dark matter, and therefore could be a plausible new candidate for dark matter. They were previously shown to possibly behave like dark matter. 4 March: Scientists of the international World Weather Attribution project publicize a study which found that human-caused climate change had an influence on the 2019–20 Australian wildfires. 4 March A global scientific collaboration of ca. 100 institutions publishes their analysis of three decades of tree growth and death in 565 undisturbed tropical forests across Africa and the Amazon. The researchers found that the overall uptake of carbon into Earth's intact tropical forests peaked in the 1990s, dropped by one-third on average by the 2010s and may have started a downward trend. While extra carbon dioxide boosts tree growth, the effect is countered by negative impacts of higher temperatures and droughts which slow growth and can kill trees. Their models project a long-term decline in the African carbon sink and the Amazonas likely becoming a carbon source, rather than sink, in the mid-2030s. Scientists report the discovery of a second mechanism that repairs interstrand crosslink (ICL) DNA damage caused by the alcohol metabolite acetaldehyde next to the Fanconi anemia pathway, which cuts DNA to remove the ICL: enzymes cutting the crosslink itself. Researchers report that their review indicates that the unguarded X hypothesis may be valid: according to this hypothesis one reason for why the average lifespan of males is not as long as that of females – by 18% on average according to the study – is that they have a Y chromosome which cannot protect an individual from harmful genes expressed on the X chromosome, while a duplicate X chromosome, as present in female organisms, can ensure harmful genes are not expressed. Scientists report that they have developed a way to 3D bioprint graphene oxide with a protein. They demonstrate that this novel bioink can be used to recreate vascular-like structures. This may be used in the development of safer and more efficient drugs. Scientists of the international World Weather Attribution project publicize a study which found that human-caused climate change had an influence on the 2019–20 Australian wildfires by causing high-risk conditions that made widespread burning at least 30 percent more likely. They comment on the results, stating that climate change probably had more effects on the fires which couldn't be attributed using their climate simulations and that not all drivers of the fires showed imprints of anthropogenic climate change. Scientists report to have used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing inside a human's body for the first time. They aim to restore vision for a patient with inherited Leber congenital amaurosis and state that it may take up to a month to see whether the procedure was successful. In an hour-long surgery study approved by government regulators doctors inject three drops of fluid containing viruses under the patient's retina. In earlier tests in human tissue, mice and monkeys scientists were able to correct half of the cells with the disease-causing mutation, which was more than what is needed to restore vision. Unlike germline editing these DNA modifications aren't inheritable. 5 March NASA names the Mars 2020 rover Perseverance. a video explaining the study "Harm to Others Acts as a Negative Reinforcer in Rats" 5 March NASA officially names the originally titled Mars 2020 rover to the newly titled Perseverance rover, after conducting a student naming contest in the Fall of 2019. Computer security experts report another Intel chip security flaw, besides the Meltdown and Spectre flaws, with the systematic name CVE-2019-0090 (or, "Intel CSME Bug"). This newly found flaw is not fixable with a firmware update, and affects nearly "all Intel chips released in the past five years". Scientists report that they have identified a second enzyme in the cell membrane of lung cells essential for entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the cells after the enzyme ACE2 has been identified earlier by other researchers. They found that the protease TMPRSS2 is split by the virus' spike protein to enter the cell and that the TMPRSS2-inhibitors Camostat and, in a second report by other researchers on 18 March, Nafamostat may be potential treatments as they reduced the probability of the virus entering cells in vitro. Researchers suggest that more active rest postures may help protect people from the harmful effects of inactivity after reviewing related work, studying a hunter-gatherer population and measuring muscle activity of different resting postures such as sitting. According to their "inactivity mismatch hypothesis" human physiology likely adapted to more consistently active muscles. This may be relevant to new interventions that could reduce widespread negative health impacts of inactivity in industrialized populations. Neuroscientists report that rats show harm aversion with the brain region anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which is also associated with harm aversion in humans, being activated. Rats stopped choosing candy they preferred over other candy when it meant hurting an unfamiliar, neighbour rat. Reducing brain activity in the ACC by injecting a local anesthetic reversed this behaviour. Moreover, they showed that their harm aversion can be limited as most rats, which previously switched to the less-preferred candy to avoid harm to their neighbours, stopped doing so when offered a choice between one and three candies. Their experiments may show that the moral motivation that keeps humans from harming other humans has old evolutionary origins and is shared to some degree with other animals. They also suggest some level of personality in rats as they showed a wide range of variable responses in the experiment – including indifference and not choosing any of the two levers after the first electric shock was registered. Furthermore, prior experience with footshocks was shown to increase the rats' harm aversion. Rats were shown to be capable of showing empathy as early as 2011. 6 March – Scientists show that adding a layer of perovskite crystals on top of textured or planar silicon to create a tandem solar cell enhances its performance up to a power conversion efficiency of 26%. This could be a low cost way to increase efficiency of solar cells. 9 March – Scientists show that CRISPR-Cas12b is a third promising CRISPR editing tool, next to Cas9 and Cas12a, for plant genome engineering. 10 March: Researchers show that mangrove forests reduce the risks of flooding at coastlines worldwide. 10 March Physicist Lucas Lombriser of the University of Geneva presents a possible way of reconciling the two significantly different determinations of the Hubble constant by proposing the notion of a surrounding vast "bubble", 250 million light years in diameter, that is half the density of the rest of the universe. Scientists publish evidence that even large ecosystems can collapse on relatively short timescales. Their paper suggests that once a 'point of no return' is reached, the Amazon rainforest could shift to a savannah-type mixture of trees and grass within 50 years. Researchers show when, where, and how mangrove forests reduce risks of flooding at coastlines worldwide, evaluate the economic value thereof and illustrate ways to fund mangrove protection with economic incentives, insurance, and climate risk financing. 11 March Researchers using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) report the discovery of titanium and vanadium oxides in the atmosphere of WASP-76b, an exoplanet with temperatures of 2,400 °C (4,352 °F) that rains molten iron. Quantum engineers report to have managed to control the nucleus of a single atom using only electric fields. This was first suggested to be possible in 1961 and may be used for silicon quantum computers that use single-atom spins without needing oscillating magnetic fields which may be especially useful for nanodevices, for precise sensors of electric and magnetic fields as well as for fundamental inquiries into quantum nature. Scientists report the discovery of dinosaur Oculudentavis khaungraae whose 1.4 centimeter head is well-preserved in amber. The bird-like dinosaur lived 99 million years ago, was about the size of a bee hummingbird, may provide new implications relevant to bird evolution and, according to paleontologists, is considered to have strange features. The specimen could represent the smallest dinosaur of the fossil record. The paper was retracted after reviewers agreed with assessments – of which one was uploaded to a preprint server on 18 March – claiming a misclassification of the fossil, believed to be a lizard instead of a dinosaur. 12 March – Astronomers report observational evidence of "ongoing nucleus fragmentation" from the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. 13 March – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants emergency authorisation for a coronavirus test by Swiss diagnostics maker Roche. The automated cobas 8800 system provides a ten-fold improvement in the speed of patient testing, with capacity for up to 4,128 results in 24 hours. 14 March Chinese news announces that the first confirmed case of the COVID-19 disease, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was traced back to a 55-year-old patient in Hubei province, and was reported in a Chinese newspaper on 17 November 2019. To date (14 March 2020), 67,790 cases and 3,075 deaths due to the virus have been reported in Hubei province; a case fatality rate (CFR) of 4.54%. Scientists report in a preprint to have developed a CRISPR-based strategy, called PAC-MAN (Prophylactic Antiviral Crispr in huMAN cells), that can find and destroy viruses in vitro. However, they weren't able to test PAC-MAN on the actual SARS-CoV-2, use a targeting-mechanism that uses only a very limited RNA-region, haven't developed a system to deliver it into human cells and would need a lot of time until another version of it or a potential successor system might pass clinical trials. In the study published as a preprint they write that the CRISPR-Cas13d-based system could be used prophylactically as well as therapeutically and that it could be implemented rapidly to manage new pandemic coronavirus strains – and potentially any virus – as it could be tailored to other RNA-targets quickly, only requiring a small change. The paper was published on 29 April 2020. 16 March: First human clinical trial of COVID-19 vaccine. The image shows SARS-CoV-2. 16 March The first phase 1 clinical trial evaluating a potential vaccine to protect against COVID-19 begins at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) in Seattle. Astronomers report studies which suggest that parts of the planet Mercury may have been habitable, and perhaps that life forms, albeit likely primitive microorganisms, may have existed on the planet. Researchers report that they have developed a new kind of CRISPR-Cas13d screening platform for effective guide RNA design to target RNA. They used their model to predict optimized Cas13 guide RNAs for all protein-coding RNA-transcripts of the human genome's DNA. Their technology could be used in molecular biology and in medical applications such as for better targeting of virus RNA or human RNA. Targeting human RNA after it's been transcribed from DNA, rather than DNA, would allow for more temporary effects than permanent changes to human genomes. The technology is made available to researchers through an interactive website and free and open source software and is accompanied by a guide on how to create guide RNAs to target the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome. Researchers evaluate that a limited, regional nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan, using <1% of the worldwide nuclear arsenal, would have adverse consequences for global food security unmatched in modern history. Their comprehensive climate and crop model ensemble simulations suggest that, besides climate perturbations with declines in global mean temperature by 1.8 °C for at least 5 years as evaluated by other researchers and other effects, would have devastating global implications for food production with 20 to 50% losses on average for 11% of the world population for 5 years and could exceed the largest famine in documented history. Researchers publish a paper in which they evaluate the potential for carbon sequestration in soils and found that properly managed soils would be a natural climate solution which could contribute a quarter of absorption on land – 5.5 billion tonnes annually. Roughly 40 percent of this absorption could be achieved by preserving existing soil instead of using it for agriculture and plantation growth. The researchers recommend strategies for slowing or halting ongoing expansion of such land-use and shifting incentive structures in agriculture towards payments for ecosystem-related services. Scientists predict what the earliest proteins looked like 3.5 billion to 2.5 billion years ago. They found two recurring protein folds to be central to the origin of metabolism: ferredoxin and Rossmann-like folds. In turn, these two folds likely shared a common ancestor which may have been the first metabolic enzyme of life and evolved to facilitate electron transfer and catalysis. Scientists present new multiplexed CRISPR technology, called CHyMErA (Cas Hybrid for Multiplexed Editing and Screening Applications), that can be used to analyse which or how genes act together by simultaneously removing multiple genes or gene-fragments using both Cas9 and Cas12a. 17 March: Scientists report that the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the Coronavirus disease 2019, and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, originated naturally, possibly from a bat. 17 March – Scientists report that the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, originated naturally, and not otherwise, although Chinese medical researchers, including Shi Zhengli, in Wuhan, China, were studying bat coronaviruses in ways that included modifying virus genomes to enter human cells, as early as 2014, in testing laboratories that were determined to have significant safety issues by U.S. scientists in 2018. 18 March Paleontologists report the discovery of Asteriornis maastrichtensis, the world's oldest known modern bird, found in rocks dating to between 66.8m and 66.7m years ago. Astronomers propose a way of better seeing more of the rings in the first black hole image. Paleontologists report the discovery and analysis of an Elpistostege watsoni fish fossil which suggest that the vertebrate hand evolved primarily from a skeletal pattern in the fin of elpistostegalians. Their findings provide insights into the transition from fishes to tetrapods and show that digits already arose in fish. 19 March A US Army laboratory announces that its scientists analysed a Rydberg sensor's sensitivity to oscillating electric fields over an enormous range of frequencies—from 0 to 10^12 Hertz (the spectrum to 0.3mm wavelength). The Rydberg sensor may potentially be used detect communications signals as it could reliably detect signals over the entire spectrum and compare favourably with other established electric field sensor technologies, such as electro-optic crystals and dipole antenna-coupled passive electronics. Satellite data show that air pollution was reduced significantly in countries worldwide after lockdowns and other interventions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden shift has been called the "largest scale experiment ever" in terms of the reduction of industrial emissions. 23 March: Discovery reported of Ikaria wariootia (dated to as early as 571 Ma) that could be the earliest animal having two symmetric sides and two openings linked by a digestive tract. 20 March Scientists report that they made a C. elegans worm synthesize, fabricate, and assemble bioelectronic materials in its brain cells. They leveraged the cellular systems of the living organism to build insulating and conducting polymers at the plasma membrane of neurons by genetically editing its neurons to produce the enzyme APEX2 which was then triggered by a chemical substance they immersed the worms in and supplied the molecules of two biocompatible building-materials. This enabled modulation of membrane properties in specific neuron populations and manipulation of behavior in the living animals and might be useful in the study and treatments for diseases such as multiple sclerosis. The World Health Organization announces a large trial of what they consider to be the most promising potential coronavirus treatments at the time. The drugs chosen for testing in the Solidarity Trial are Remdesivir, Chloroquine-Hydroxychloroquine combination and Ritonavir-Lopinavir combination with and without interferon-beta. According to the WHO Director General, the aim of the trial is to "dramatically cut down the time needed to generate robust evidence about what drugs work". 23 March Scientists report that they have discovered that Longfin inshore squid can recode RNA using the ADAR2 enzyme in a region-specific manner and outside of the nucleus within neurons: in their axons, which are the longest known to science to date. In 2015 one of the study's co-leading scientists and others discovered that squids manipulate their messenger RNA to change the proteins that will be produced far more than humans do. Scientists report that they have discovered one of the oldest bilateria: Ikaria wariootia from the Ediacaran biota (571 to 539 Ma) could be the last ancestor of all animals which have two symmetric sides and two openings linked by a digestive tract. Researchers report that they have found a way to correct for signal loss in a prototype quantum node that can catch, store and entangle bits of quantum information. Their concepts could be used for key components of quantum repeaters in quantum networks and extend their longest possible range. 25 March NASA astronomers report the detection of a large atmospheric magnetic bubble, also known as a plasmoid, released into outer space from the planet Uranus, after reevaluating old data recorded by the Voyager 2 space probe during a flyby of the planet in 1986. Researchers report to have created a nanotechnology-device which can generate high-power terahertz waves, enables picosecond switching of electric signals and get implemented in flexible electronics. It could have applications in imaging, sensing, communications, biomedical applications and smartphone-related electronics. 26 March: Third mass coral bleaching event in five years is recorded at the Great Barrier Reef. 26 March The United States now has more reported COVID-19 cases than any other country in the world, including China. A third mass coral bleaching event in five years is recorded at the Great Barrier Reef. At a time of the COVID-19 pandemic the safest sex partner is yourself, according to American sex educator Betty Dodson and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The manuscript of a study, which suggests that SARS-CoV-2 likely jumped from pangolins to humans, is published. The study found that a pangolin virus closely resembles the new coronavirus. Therefore, pangolins could be an intermediary host after the virus likely emerged in bats. They recommend that pangolins be removed from wet markets to prevent zoonotic transmission. Others asked for increased pressure on governments to end illegal wildlife trade. Speculations and an unpublished study suggested pangolins might have been intermediate hosts as early as 7 February. After the largest one of the first and largest public volunteer distributed computing projects SETI@home announced its shutdown by 31 March 2020 and due to heightened interest as a result of to the COVID-19 pandemic, the distributed computing project Folding@home becomes the world's first system to reach one exaFLOPS. The system simulates protein folding, is used for medical research on COVID-19 and achieved a speed of approximately 2.43 x86 exaFLOPS by 13 April 2020 – many times faster than the fastest supercomputer Summit. 27 March – News outlets, citing a government document, reported that a 57-year-old woman, who tested positive for the coronavirus disease on 10 December 2019, and described in The Wall Street Journal on 6 March 2020, may have been patient zero in the COVID-19 pandemic. 31 March: SETI@home shuts down. 29 March – Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center report evidence that Coronavirus disease 2019, related to the COVID-19 pandemic, may be transmitted through the air, and that the loss of smell, and, according to other researchers, loss of taste, could be early signs of infection. 31 March A significant rise in anxiety and depression among the UK population is reported following the COVID-19 lockdown. The study, by researchers from the University of Sheffield and Ulster University, finds that people reporting anxiety increased from 17% to 36%, while those reporting depression increased from 16% to 38%. SETI@home, one of the first and largest public volunteer distributed computing projects, shuts down. It sent millions of chunks of telescope data to computers around the world – ca. 144,000 as of March 2020 – which analyse the radio signals to search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) and send back their results. It employed the free BOINC software platform, which was originally developed to support the project and is still being used by numerous other distributed computing projects. A study affirms that DNA from Neanderthal populations from different parts of the world introgressed into modern-day Eurasian DNA.

April–June

April–June 2020 in science

===April=== 1 April: Researchers report to have discovered evidence that rainforests existed near the South Pole ca. 90 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, suggesting that the climate was exceptionally warm at the time. The Image shows Earth ca. 120 Ma. 1 April A scientific review finds that substantial recovery for most components of marine ecosystems within two to three decades can be achieved if climate change is addressed adequately and efficient interventions are deployed at large scale. It documents the recovery of marine populations, habitats and ecosystems following past conservation interventions, identifies nine components integral to conservation and recovery and recommend actions along with opportunities, benefits, possible roadblocks and remedial actions. The researchers caution about a narrow window of opportunity in which decisions can choose between "a legacy of a resilient and vibrant ocean or an irreversibly disrupted ocean". They assess the goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations to be a "doable Grand Challenge for humanity, an ethical obligation and a smart economic objective to achieve a sustainable future". Researchers report to have discovered and analysed fossil roots embedded in a mudstone matrix containing diverse pollen and spores which indicate that rainforests existed near the South Pole ca. 90 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. Their findings suggest that the climate was exceptionally warm at the time and that the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were substantially higher than expected during the mid-Cretaceous period, 115-80 million years ago. Researchers report that stretching cells alone can activate genes without intermediates, enzymes or signaling molecules in the cell being necessary. They applied cyclic forces of frequencies which cells experience due to common activities such as breathing, exercising or vocalizing and found that the induced transcription up-regulation does not follow the weak power law with force frequency. They also describe why some genes can be activated by mechanical force and some cannot. Scientists report that for the first time they have retrieved genetic information from the fossils of H. antecessor as old as 772,000–949,000 years and Homo erectus as old as 1.77 million years via dental enamel proteomes . They show that H. antecessor is a closely related sister-lineage to subsequent Middle and Late Pleistocene hominins, including modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans. 2 April Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine report the creation of a promising possible COVID-19 vaccine, named PittCoVacc, against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and are hoping for a fast approval track, lasting less than the usual year of testing, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Researchers at the University of British Columbia report the discovery of a trial drug that can substantially block early stages of COVID-19 in engineered human tissues. Scientists report the discovery of the oldest known fossils, dated to as old as 2.04 million years old, of Homo erectus in the palaeocave Drimolen in South Africa, which may have overlapped, in the same area and time, as other hominins, such as Australopithecus and Paranthropus. Scientists report finding large communities of microbes living under the seafloor in solid rocks determined to be up to 104 million years old. According to the study the results may have implications for the possibility of life on Mars and other planetary bodies due to potentially similar conditions and rocks or minerals. Astronomers report further evidence of the possible fragmentation of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. A follow-up study, reported on 6 April 2020, observed only a single object, and noted that the fragment component had now disappeared. 6 April Astronomers announce, on "The Astronomer's Telegram", the possible disintegration of Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS). Scientists report the discovery of metabolic genes in the genomes of 501 widespread Nucleocytoviricota even though viruses don't have metabolism. Some of their findings suggest that these large viruses can reprogram fundamental aspects of their host's carbon metabolism and that they are drivers of evolutionary innovation in metabolic genes. Scientists using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite report a "mini-hole" in the ozone layer over the Arctic, likely caused by unusual atmospheric conditions, including freezing temperatures in the stratosphere. Researchers report that they have discovered and filmed one the longest organisms known so far with the SuBastian underwater robot in the Ningaloo Canyons off the coast of Western Australia: a siphonophore of the genus Apolemia with an estimated length of almost 50 meters which coiled itself into a spiral form. Specimens of lion's mane jellyfish are known to be larger. They also discovered up to 30 new underwater species and collected DNA samples and specimens of various deep sea creatures. 7 April Scientists report the results of a survey of the Great Barrier Reef. For the first time, all its three regions experienced severe bleaching. On March 25 – day three of the nine-day survey – they reported its third mass bleaching event within five years. Astronomers publish a study which includes the first photograph of a relativistic jet from an ongoing galaxy merger. The young jet from one of the two galaxies active galactic nuclei with a direction pointed near Earth and proves that such merge events can trigger such jets. Astronomers publish a study which includes the highest resolution images of the Sun from NASA's FOXSI Sounding Rocket. The images show coronal loops – magnetic threads filled with million-degree hot plasma – of narrower widths than the ones previously seen. 8 April In two research papers scientists show that microbes can actively colonize high-pH environments of radioactive waste storage sites. Their findings have implications for the safety, design and operation of such sites and the knowledge about extremophile microbial life. Scientists publish a study which suggests that the Universe is no longer expanding at the same rate in all directions and that therefore the widely accepted isotropy hypothesis might be wrong. While previous studies already suggested this, the study is the first to examine galaxy clusters in X-rays and, according to Norbert Schartel, has a much greater significance. The study found a consistent and strong directional behavior of deviations – which have earlier been described to indicate a "crisis of cosmology" by others – of the normalization parameter A, or the Hubble constant H0. Beyond the potential cosmological implications, it shows that studies which assume perfect isotropy in the properties of galaxy clusters and their scaling relations can produce strongly biased results. 9 April Scientists report direct evidence of the use of fiber technology by Neanderthals in southeastern France, 50,000 years ago. Astronomers report the first direct measurement of winds on a brown dwarf (2MASS J10475385+2124234). In a preprint to be published by a journal online in April and in its issue in May 2020 scientists show the glycan structures which coat SARS-CoV-2's spike protein. With these coatings the virus disguises itself to enter human cells. Their study may have implications in viral pathobiology and vaccine design and shows that the protein's coating is relatively weak and that the spike protein may be relatively vulnerable to antibodies. Scientists report fossil evidence which suggests an extinct parapithecid rafted across the Atlantic in the Paleogene and at least briefly colonized South America next to the African-origin mammals New World monkeys and caviomorph rodents. The Ucayalipithecus perdita remains dating from the Early Oligocene of Amazonian Peru are deeply nested within the Parapithecidae, and have dental features markedly different from those of platyrrhines. Qatrania wingi of lower Oligocene Fayum deposits is considered the closest known relative of Ucayalipithecus. Models of winds and ocean currents indicate that such crossings would have taken only 11–15 days at the time. The absence of later finds from this group in South America indicates they were outcompeted by platyrrhines, which descend from a parallel anthropoid colonization of South America. Scientists report the discovery of six novel coronaviruses, and one known alphacoronavirus previously identified in other southeast Asian countries were detected for the first time in bats in Myanmar where ongoing land use change is a prominent driver of zoonotic disease emergence. Future studies have been said to evaluate the potential for transmission across species. The study was conducted as part of the United States' PREDICT program which was ended by March 2020 by the nation's Trump administration but extended on 1 April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 10 April Medical scientists report the possible reinfection of COVID-19 patients who have recovered from COVID-19. Experts note that false test results or "reactivation" of the virus could also have caused these results. In May 2020 the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that patients who tested positive a second time were not infectious, were immune to the disease, showed symptoms and likely test positive again due to dead fragments of the virus. Researchers show that a new type of X-ray detector, based on a thin film of the low-cost semiconductor mineral perovskite, is 100 times more sensitive than a conventional silicon-based device. The technology could reduce unhealthy radiation exposure and improve the resolution and applications of security scanners and research tools. Scientists report to have achieved wireless control of adrenal hormone secretion in genetically unmodified rats through the use of injectable, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and remotely applied alternating magnetic fields heats them up. Their findings may aid research of physiological and psychological impacts of stress and related treatments and present an alternative strategy for modulating peripheral organ function than problematic implantable devices. 13 April: Astronomers suggest the first comprehensive possible natural way that ʻOumuamua, the first known interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System, may have been formed. 13 April Astronomers suggest the first comprehensive possible natural way that ʻOumuamua, the first known interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System, may have been formed. It may have been produced through extensive tidal fragmentation and ejected during close encounters of their parent bodies with their host star or stars. Astronomers report to have recorded the most energetic supernova so far: SN 2016aps. The supernova also caused an unusually large amount of the energy to be released in the form of radiation, probably due to the interaction of the supernova ejecta and a previously lost gas shell. The scientists believe that the supernova could be an example of a pair-instability supernova or a pulsational pair-instability supernova, possibly formed from two massive stars that merged before the explosion. The event was discovered on 22 February 2016 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) in Hawaii, with follow-up observations by the Hubble Space Telescope. A study which included aircraft measurements of methane emissions from offshore oil and gas platforms collected over the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in January 2018 indicates that the United States via the Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHGI) underestimated methane emissions at the time from these sites by a factor of 2. They attribute the discrepancy between regional airborne estimates and their data as well as their estimations for total methane emissions from these sites and the GHGI estimations adjusted for 2018 to incomplete platform counts and emission factors that underestimate emissions for shallow water platforms and don't account for disproportionately high emissions from large shallow water facilities. 14 April News outlets report that U.S. State Department cables indicate that, although there may be no conclusive proof at the moment, the COVID-19 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic may, possibly, have accidentally come from a Wuhan (China) laboratory, studying bat coronaviruses that included modifying virus genomes to enter human cells, and determined to be unsafe by U.S. scientists in 2018, rather than from a natural source. US intelligence and national security officials say that the U.S. government is looking into the possibility. As of 18 May 2020, an official UN investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 virus, supported by over 120 countries, was being considered. As of 5 May, assessments and internal sources from the Five Eyes nations indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic being the result of a laboratory accident was "highly unlikely", since the human infection was "highly likely" a result of natural human and animal interaction. Virologist Peter Daszak states that an estimated 1–7 million people in Southeast Asia who live or work in proximity to bats are infected each year with bat coronaviruses. A new study shows that the duration of anoxia approximately 444 million years ago was longer than 3 million years and affirms that the prolonged lack of oxygen in the oceans contributed to the Ordovician–Silurian mass extinction events at the time. Researchers report to have developed a predictive algorithm which can show in visualizations how combinations of genetic mutations can make proteins highly effective or ineffective in organisms – including for viral evolution for viruses like SARS-CoV-2. Stephen Wolfram announces the launch of the "Wolfram Physics Project" which seeks to collaboratively develop a new approach to the theory of everything by modelling physics based on minimal rules out of which complexities of physics may emerge. 15 April: Kepler-1649c, the most Earth-like planet yet found in data from the Kepler space telescope. 15 April NASA reports the discovery of Kepler-1649c, an exoplanet that, according to Jeff Coughlin, the director of SETI's K2 Science Office, is closer to Earth in size and likely temperature than any other world yet found in data from the Kepler Space Telescope. The planet was originally deemed a false positive by Kepler's robovetter algorithm, highlighting the value of human inspection of planet candidates even as automated techniques improve. Researchers demonstrate a proof-of-concept silicon quantum processor unit cell which works at 1.5 Kelvin – many times warmer than common quantum processors that are being developed. It may enable integrating classical control electronics with the qubit array and reduce costs substantially. The cooling requirements necessary for quantum computing have been called one of the toughest roadblocks in the field. Scientists report that the Greenland ice sheet lost around 600 billion tonnes of water in 2019, which would raise sea levels by about 1.5 millimetres and make up ca. 40% of the year's total sea level rise. The runoff ranked second only after the exceptional year 2012. The study affirms the exceptional nature of the 2019 season and shows that high-pressure atmospheric conditions over Greenland due to changing atmospheric circulation patterns – which have become more frequent due to climate change – were a cause of the melting next to the warmer temperatures. This suggests that scientists may be underestimating the melting of Greenland's ice – likely by a factor of two according to co-author Xavier Fettweis. Scientists describe and visualize the atomical structure and mechanical action of the bacteria-killing bacteriocin R2 pyocin and construct engineered versions with different behaviours than the naturally occurring version. Their findings may aid the engineering of nanomachines such as for targeted antibiotics. Scientists claim to have developed a biodegradable material for face masks which is effective at removing particles smaller than 100 nanometres including viruses and has a high breathability. A number of novel face masks and face mask technologies are being researched and developed as of May 2020. 16 April: Scientists report that during their breeding season male ring-tailed lemurs exude three pheromones during breeding season in a testosterone-dependent manner. 16 April Australia's Morrison government announces the launch of the research and development phase of its Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program after a two-year feasibility study. The selected 43 strategies of the program include climate engineering concepts such as brightening clouds with salt crystals, technologies to increase survival rate of coral larvae, coral seeding strategies and methods to facilitate faster recovery of coral reefs. The Australian Marine Conservation Society welcomed the work but remarked that policies which address global warming – the main cause of increasingly severe and frequent mass coral bleaching events – should be prioritised, that the projects could take years or decades to develop and that solutions to climate change – such as renewable energies – are already available. Scientists prove the existence of the Rashba effect in bulk perovskites. Previously researchers have hypothesized that the materials' extraordinary electronic, magnetic and optical properties – which make it a commonly used material for solar cells and quantum electronics – are related to this effect which to date hasn't been proven to be present in the material. Scientists report that during their breeding season male ring-tailed lemurs exude three compounds at higher levels in their wrist glandular odor. The study suggests that these may be pheromones which are involved in the attractiveness of the males to females as the females seem to be attracted to the smell during their breeding season. The amounts of dodecanal, 12-methyltridecanal, and tetradecanal increase in a testosterone-dependent manner. 17 April: A study indicates that local food crop production alone cannot meet the demand for most food crops' "current production and consumption patterns" and the current locations of food production for 72–89% of the global population and 100–km radiuses as of early 2020. The image shows a map of global wheat production. 17 April Researchers report that the 2000–2018 Southwestern North American drought was the second driest 19-year period since 800 CE, exceeded only by a late-1500s megadrought and that anthropogenic trends in temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation estimated from 31 climate models account for approximately 47% of the 2000–2018 drought severity. A study indicates that local food crop production alone cannot meet the demand for most food crops "current production and consumption patterns" – which include the share of meat in local diets – and the current locations of food production for 72–89% of the global population and 100–km radiuses as of early 2020. While local production may be more sustainable and decrease risks of disrupted global food supply chains due to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic it cannot be relied on solely. Researchers report to have traced the origins of shark fins of endangered hammerhead sharks from a retail market in Hong Kong back to their source populations and therefore the approximate locations where the sharks were first caught using DNA analysis. 19 April Researchers report that the Arctic Ocean will likely be occasionally sea-ice free in summers before 2050 in scenarios where global warming is kept below 2 °C. 20 April Researchers report a new approach to fabricate metallic polymers with atomic precision. In a preprint researchers report a method to quickly identify different variants of SARS-CoV-2 using "Informative Subtype Markers"-labels, which may allow tracking the emergence of subtypes in different regions over time and aid tools to help enhance containment, therapeutic, and vaccine targeting strategies. Scientists report that the coma of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov contains more than three times more carbon monoxide gas than water vapor than previously measured for any comet in the inner (<2.5 au) Solar System. In two studies they publish data collected via the Hubble Space Telescope which, according to the authors, provide a "first glimpse into the ice content and chemical composition of the protoplanetary disk of another star that is substantially different from our own" and likely formed in a CO-rich environment of the cold, outer regions of a distant protoplanetary accretion disk. Researchers demonstrate a method to direct self-assembly – in terms of size, position and geometry – of a multitude of materials made out of components of more than four orders of magnitude different in size and mass using femtosecond laser pulses. Researchers demonstrate a diffusive memristor fabricated from protein nanowires of the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens which functions at substantially lower voltages than previously described ones and may allow the construction of artificial neurons which function at voltages of biological action potentials. The nanowires have a range of advantages over silicon nanowires and the memristors may be used to directly process biosensing signals, for neuromorphic computing and/or direct communication with biological neurons. Researchers report that Eurasian ice sheet collapse was a major source meltwater pulse 1A sea level rise 14,600 years ago, causing up to half of the ca. 16 meter rise. Researchers report that by the end of the 21st century people could be exposed to avoidable indoor CO2 levels of up to 1400 ppm, which would be triple the amount commonly experienced outdoors today and, according to the authors, may cut humans' basic decision-making ability by ~25% and complex strategic thinking by ~50%. Scientists report the development of perovskite electrochemical cells which can efficiently convert electricity and water into hydrogen and back. An unusual plant collected by a team of botanists in early 2010 while exploring the remote deserts of Karas, Namibia was found to represent not only a new genus, but a completely new family. Tiganophytaceae is described as the newest member of the order Brassicales, and is the newest botanical family to be described since Kewaceae in 2014. 22 April Microplastic pollution is recorded in Antarctic sea ice for the first time. After studying the 2018 Kīlauea volcano eruption researchers report that extreme rainfall can modulate volcanic activity. Scientists report ferroelectricity in a material structure with functional features down to a thickness of one nanometre, making it a candidate for powering very small devices and for other electronics. Researchers report that a mass DNA analysis of over 27,000 Icelanders shows that the Neanderthal population that mixed with modern Icelanders was more similar to a Neanderthal found in Croatia than to Neanderthals found in Russia, that Icelanders carry more traces of Denisovan DNA than expected, that on average these Neanderthal children had older mothers and younger fathers compared to modern humans and that Neanderthal DNA has a relatively minor effect on human health and appearance today. A study using satellite data shows that oil and gas operations in the United States' Permian Basin are releasing the greenhouse gas methane at twice the average rate found in earlier studies of 11 other major oil and gas regions of the United States. According to the authors insufficient infrastructure to process and transport natural gas may be one cause of the high rate. 23 April NASA reports building, in 37 days, a successful COVID-19 ventilator (named VITAL ("Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally")) which is currently undergoing further testing. NASA is seeking fast-track approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On 30 April, NASA reports receiving FDA approval for emergency use of the new ventilator. On 29 May, NASA reports that eight manufacturers were selected to manufacture the new ventilator. Researchers report that top gamers shared the same mental toughness as olympian athletes. 24 April Researchers report discovering nitrogen-bearing organics in Allan Hills 84001, a Martian meteorite found on Earth. Researchers report to have developed an inexpensive, small smartphone-based testing device which can detect pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 within 30 minutes. Researchers report that gaps due to an improper fit of a face mask can decrease the filtration efficiency by over 60% and that filtration efficiencies of hybrid homemade face mask such as cotton–chiffon are larger than single-layer homemade masks – over 80% for particles <300 nm. Scientists report verifying measurements 2011-2014 via ULAS J1120+0641 of what seem to be a spatial variation in four measurements of the fine-structure constant, a basic physical constant used to measure electromagnetism between charged particles, which indicates that there might be directionality with varying natural constants in the Universe which would have implications for theories on the emergence of habitability of the Universe and be at odds with the widely accepted theory of constant natural laws and the standard model of cosmology which is based on an isotropic Universe. Scientists report to be able to identify the genomic pathogen signature of all 29 different SARS-CoV-2 RNA sequences available to them using machine learning and a dataset of 5000 unique viral genomic sequences. They suggest that their approach can be used as a reliable real-time option for taxonomic classification of novel pathogens. 27 April: Scientists report to have genetically engineered plants to glow much brighter than previously possible by inserting genes of the bioluminescent mushroom Neonothopanus nambi. The image shows the mushroom Panellus Stipticus displaying bioluminescence 27 April Scientists report to have genetically engineered plants to glow much brighter than previously possible by inserting genes of the bioluminescent mushroom Neonothopanus nambi. The glow is self-sustained, works by converting plants' caffeic acid into luciferin and, unlike for bacterial bioluminescence genes used earlier, has a high light output that is visible to the naked eye. Scientists report that collectives of bacteria have a membrane potential-based form of collective working memory. When they shone light onto a biofilm of bacteria optical imprints lasted for hours after the initial stimulus as the light-exposed cells responded differently to oscillations in membrane potentials due to changes to their potassium channels. A form of collective memory in bacteria has reportedly been demonstrated experimentally first in 2016. 28 April: astronomers publish images by the Hubble Space Telescope of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) disintegrating into more than 30 fragments, causing it to dim. 28 April Astronomers describe a way of detecting exoplanetary life via oxygen on water worlds. Astronomers report the observation of a fast radio burst from the magnetar SGR 1935+2154, the first ever detected inside the Milky Way, and the first to be linked to a known source. Researchers publish an analysis of the growth of confirmed infected COVID-19 cases in 9 countries which characterizes the spread and identifies effective flatten the curve-strategies. Astronomers publish images by the Hubble Space Telescope of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) disintegrating into more than 30 fragments, causing it to dim. Previously, astronomers believed the comet might become one of the brightest comets near Earth in the last two decades and may become visible to the naked eye. 29 April: a new study of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus claims to have found the first unambiguous evidence for an aquatic propulsive structure in a non-avian dinosaur. The image shows S. aegyptiacus skeletal reconstruction in swimming posture prior to the discovery of the tail fin 29 April – A new study of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, published in the journal Nature, claims to have found the first unambiguous evidence for an aquatic propulsive structure in a non-avian dinosaur and that the dinosaur had very tall, slender neural spines on its tail and hence a deep, laterally compressed tail like that of a gigantic newt. 30 April The first results from ice-monitoring satellite ICESat-2 are published, showing that melting in Antarctica and Greenland has contributed 14 mm (0.55 in) of global sea level rise since 2003. NASA selects three U.S. companies – Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX – to design and develop human landing systems (HLS) for the agency's Artemis program, one of which is planned to deliver the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. Scientists report that one of the climate models – the CMIP6 model CESM2 – is not supported by paleoclimate records. Comparing simulations of this model with geological evidence suggests that its climate sensitivity is too high. This indicates that this model may not perform realistically at high CO2 concentrations, overestimating global warming at high levels of CO2 where its equilibrium climate sensitivity is 5.3 °C and modelled tropical land temperature exceeds 55 °C. They recommend using paleoclimate constraints of past warm and cold climates to benchmark the performance of CMIP6 climate models. Astronomers publish 15 images of proto-planetary disks believed to undergo planet formation. May 1 May – Scientists report that DNA damage and faulty DNA repair jointly cause mutations such as in cancer genomes. 2 May – A brown bear sighting in Spain's Invernadeiro national park is reported for the first time in 150 years. 4 May – Researchers project that regions inhabited by a third of the human population could become as hot as the hottest parts of the Sahara within 50 years without a change in patterns of population growth and without migration, unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. The projected annual average temperature of above 29 °C for these regions would be outside the "human temperature niche" and the most affected regions have little adaptive capacity as of 2020. 5 May: Researchers report that the North Magnetic Pole (pictured) is moving towards Siberia due to flux lobe elongation on Earth's core-mantle boundary. 5 May A maiden flight of China's most powerful rocket to date, the Long March 5B, occurs. Researchers report that the North Magnetic Pole is moving due to elongation of one of two lobes of negative magnetic flux on Earth's core-mantle boundary alongside magnetic changes and that it will likely move 390–660 km further on its current trajectory, on which it is accelerating, towards Siberia over the next decade. 6 May Astronomers report the possible discovery of the nearest black hole to Earth, about 1,000 light years away in the two-star HR 6819 system. A scientist's proposal for a solar-powered orbital slingshot rendezvous mission to investigate interstellar object 'Oumuamua is reported to have been selected for the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program. 8 May: Researchers report the development of artificial chloroplasts. The image shows natural chloroplasts in plant cells. 8 May Researchers show that wet-bulb temperatures (TW) above the upper physiological limit of humans have already occurred in some coastal subtropical locations despite climate models projecting such to occur only by the mid-21st century. These combinations of humidity and heat above a TW of 35 °C are likely to be fatal even to fit and healthy people when exposure is sustained and have more than doubled in frequency since 1979 overall, weather station data shows. Researchers report to have developed artificial chloroplasts – the photosynthetic structures inside plant cells. They combined thylakoids, which are used for photosynthesis, from spinach with a bacterial enzyme and an artificial metabolic module of 16 enzymes, which can convert carbon dioxide more efficiently than plants can alone, into cell-sized droplets. According to the study this demonstrates how natural and synthetic biological modules can be matched for new functional systems. Researchers report to have developed a proof-of-concept of a quantum radar using quantum entanglement and microwaves which may potentially be useful for the development of improved radar systems, security scanners and medical imaging systems. 10 May: Computer scientists disclose the existence of Thunderspy, a security vulnerability that may impact millions of Apple, Linux, Windows and pre-2019 computers. 10 May Computer scientists disclose the existence of Thunderspy, a security vulnerability based on the Intel Thunderbolt port, that can result in an evil maid attack of an unattended device gaining full access to a computer's information in about five minutes and may affect millions of macOS, Linux and Windows computers including any computer with an enabled Thunderbolt port manufactured before 2019, and some after that. Scientists report to have discovered the closest relative of SARS-CoV-2 in most of the virus genome reported to date in a bat. RmYN02 has a 93.3% nucleotide identity with SARS-CoV-2 and also contains a four amino-acid insertion at the S1/S2 cleavage site, which adds to the evidence that supports the theory of a natural origin of SARS-CoV-2. 11 May – Researchers report the development of synthetic red blood cells that for the first time have all of the natural cells' known broad natural properties and abilities. Furthermore, methods to load functional cargos such as hemoglobin, drugs, magnetic nanoparticles, and ATP biosensors may enable additional non-native functionalities. 12 May: Astronomers suggest that a Seyfert flare 3.5 Mya from Sagittarius A* created the large X-ray/gamma-ray Fermi Bubbles (pictured) around the Galactic Center and illuminated the Magellanic Stream. 12 May Researchers report to have developed a method to selectively manipulate a layered manganite's correlated electrons' spin state while leaving its orbital state intact using femtosecond X-ray laser pulses. This may indicate that orbitronics – using variations in the orientations of orbitals – may be used as the basic unit of information in novel IT devices. Astronomers report in a preprint that a Seyfert flare 3.5 million years ago with a burst of ionizing radiation from Sagittarius A* created the large X-ray/gamma-ray Fermi Bubbles around the Galactic Center and reached so far into space that it illuminated the Magellanic Stream – a stream of gas extending from two of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies. 13 May Scientists report to have evolved 10 clonal strains of a common coral microalgal endosymbionts at elevated temperatures for 4 years, increasing their thermal tolerance for climate resilience. Three of the strains increased the corals' bleaching tolerance after reintroduction into coral host larvae. Their strains and findings may potentially be relevant for the adaptation to and mitigation of climate change and further tests of algal strains in adult colonies across a range of coral species are planned. Researchers report to have identified the world's oldest arthropod and oldest land-animal living persistently on land: the Myriapod millipede-ancestor Kampecaris obanensis, dating back 425 million years to the Silurian period. According to the study the 2.5 cm specimen found in Scotland in 1899 adds evidence for a rapid co-evolution of bugs and plants from lake-communities to complex forest ecosystems in just 40 million years. 14 May A study on the human genetic history of East Asians using DNA of 25 individuals from ca. 9,500-4,200 years ago and one individual from ca. 300 years ago indicates a southern China origin of proto-Austronesians, and that migration and gene flow played an important role in the prehistory of coastal Asia during the Neolithic Revolution, the transition from hunter-gathering to agricultural economies, with a spread of northern East Asian ancestry across southern East Asia. Contemporary mainland East Asians from both the north and south share a closer genetic relationship to found northern Neolithic East Asians. In a published unedited manuscript researchers show which host cell pathways are modulated by a SARS-CoV-2 infection by creating a cellular infection profile by analysing the translatome and proteome at different times after infection. They also show that inhibition of these pathways with identified drugs prevented viral replication in human cells which may aid the development of COVID-19 therapies. An interdisciplinary team of virologists, microbiologists and computational scientists confirmed the predicted subgenomic RNAs of SARS-CoV-2 along with new RNA and dozens of unknown subgenomic RNAs. 15 May Geologists report that the earliest known mass extinction, the Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME), 445 million years ago, may have been the result of global warming, related to volcanism and anoxia, and not the result, as considered earlier, of cooling and glaciation. A researcher reports that in a supercomputer model simulation a realistic extinction of the Neanderthal population can only be simulated when Homo sapiens is considerably more effective in exploiting scarce glacial food resources as compared to Neanderthals, with interbreeding and abrupt climate change only being minor contributors to their extinction. 18 May – A researcher publishes an objective Bayesian analysis which estimates that the emergence of life is likely a rapid process and not a slow and rare scenario and that the emergence of intelligence is slightly more likely to be rare. 21 May: Researchers report to have developed a way to use smartphone images of a person's inner eyelids to assess blood hemoglobin levels. 19 May Researchers report to have developed the first integrated silicon on-chip low-noise single-photon source compatible with large-scale quantum photonics. Researchers report a temporary 17% drop in daily global CO2 emissions by early April 2020 compared with the mean 2019 levels during the COVID-19 forced confinements. At the peak of the interventions, where 89% of global emissions were in areas under some confinement, emissions in individual countries decreased by –26% on average. Estimations on the impact on 2020 annual emissions are between -2% and -13%. The largest reductions were due to reductions of surface transport. Despite this on May 4 UN Climate Change reports that the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere reached an all-time daily high of the ca. 60-year record on May 3. Astronomers from Jodrell Bank Observatory report that the fast radio burst FRB 121102 exhibits the same radio burst behavior ("radio bursts observed in a window lasting approximately 90 days followed by a silent period of 67 days") every 157 days, suggesting that the bursts may be associated with "the orbital motion of a massive star, a neutron star or a black hole". 20 May Researchers report estimations of green snow algae community biomass and distribution along the Antarctic Peninsula and project a net increase in their extent and biomass and coastal Antarctica turning more green due to climate change. Scientists report that genome-wide data of 19 Siberians of the Upper Paleolithic to Bronze Age of up to ca. 14,000 years ago show the most deeply divergent connection between Upper Paleolithic Siberians and the indigenous peoples of the Americas and that long-range human mobility across Eurasia during the Early Bronze Age as well as prolonged local admixture that lead to an ancestry that gave rise to all non-Arctic Native Americans. ESA reports that its Swarm satellite constellation is being used to better understand the mysterious South Atlantic Anomaly whereby the magnetic field has lost around 9% of its strength on a global average over the last 200 years in large area. They are investigating the processes in Earth's core driving these changes, which have caused technical disturbances in satellites and may be relevant to a potential geomagnetic reversal, and found that the anomaly could split up into two separate low points. Astronomers report to have discovered a large rotating disk galaxy, dating back to when the universe was only 1.5 billion years old – the Wolfe Disk. Previously it was believed that such galaxies could not grow as big and well-ordered so early, which indicates there possibly being a need to revise theories of galaxy formation and evolution. 23 May: Comet ATLAS reaches its nearest point to Earth. A few days later the Solar Orbiter flies through its ion gas tail and its dust tail. The image shows a comet's tails. 21 May Researchers report a one-minute novel coronavirus test with 90% accuracy, based on the "change in the resonance in the THz spectral range" shown by the coronavirus through THz spectroscopy". Researchers report to have developed a way to use smartphone images of a person's inner eyelids to assess blood hemoglobin levels with high precision. Usually these proteins in red blood cells are measured by the use of an hemoglobinometer or with a standard blood test for detecting anemia or other health issues. They are working on a mobile app. Researchers report the development of a naked-eye colorimetric assay COVID-19 test based on nanoparticles for diagnosis without advanced laboratory techniques within 10 minutes from isolated RNA samples. Researchers report that two Neanderthal haplotypes carrying the progesterone receptor gene entered the modern human population and that carriers of them in a cohort of ca. 450,000 present-day Britons – a third of its women – have more siblings, fewer miscarriages, and less bleeding during early pregnancy which, according to the study, suggests that these progesterone receptor alleles promote fertility. The study shows that genetic variants which were introduced into modern humans by mixing with Neanderthals can have effects in people living today. 26 May: According to scientists all of ʻOumuamua's (pictured) observed properties could be explained if it was an "iceberg" of molecular hydrogen ice. 22 May Australian computer scientists report achieving, thus far, the highest internet speed in the world from a single optical chip source over standard optical fiber, amounting to 44.2 Terabits per sec, or "downloading 1000 high definition movies in a split second". Scientists publish evidence for the early differentiation of the cline of Italian variation dating back to the Late Glacial and for Neolithic and distinct Bronze Age migrations having further differentiated their gene pools. Ancestors of present-day Italians are believed to have experienced an extraordinary history of migrations and gene flow as main factors underlying their genetic diversity which is one of the highest across Europe. 23 May – Comet ATLAS reaches its nearest point to Earth. It reaches its perihelion (closest to the Sun) on May 31. The Solar Orbiter spacecraft flies through comet ATLAS' ion tail between May 31 and June 1 as well as its dust tail in the solar wind on June 6. 25 May Researchers report the creation of a sensor only 11 atoms in size, able to capture magnetic waves. Scientists report in a preprint that they are confirming the existence of an Earth-sized planet around Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, whose discovery was announced in August 2016. ESPRESSO data confirms the presence of Proxima b and shows that it has a minimum mass of ca. 1.17 Earth masses and is located in the habitable zone of its star. 26 May Astronomers report the detection of several very powerful explosions, newly classified as Fast blue optical transients (FBOTs), similar in ways to the much less energetic FBOT SN 2018cow observed in 2018. Simulations by Imperial College London reveal that the Chicxulub impactor produced a "worst case" scenario in terms of lethality for the dinosaurs, arriving from the north-east at a 60° angle, which maximised the amount of gases and debris thrown up into Earth's atmosphere. Scientists report in a preprint paper, published in a journal in June, that all of ʻOumuamua's observed properties can be explained if it contained a significant fraction of molecular hydrogen ice. They suggest it had formed in an interstellar cloud where stars are born and "sat" relatively motionless with its ice getting worn away as it approached the Sun, explaining its shape. Researchers suggest that a solution to what they consider to be the core of the space debris problem may be an international agreement to charge operators "orbital-use fees" for every satellite put into orbit and that this could more than quadruple the long-run value of the satellite industry by 2040. 27 May Astronomers report that classical novae explosions are the galactic producers of the element lithium. A study shows that social networks can function poorly as pathways for inconvenient truths, that the interplay between communication and action during disasters may depend on the structure of social networks, that communication networks suppress necessary "evacuations" in test-scenarios because of false reassurances when compared to groups of isolated individuals and that larger networks with a smaller proportion of informed subjects can suffer more damage due to human-caused misinformation. 29 May – Scientists publish a study which illustrates major regional variations in the shares of Mesolithic hunter-gatherer to Neolithic farmer genomic ancestry, highlighting the complexity of the biological interactions during the Neolithic expansion in Europe. 30 May – SpaceX successfully launches two NASA astronauts into orbit on a Crew Dragon spacecraft from Pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the first crewed spacecraft to take off from U.S. soil since 2011. June 1 June: Geologists identify the largest known eruption in the Yellowstone hotspot track, which occurred around 8.72 Ma. Marine extinction intensity during Phanerozoic % Millions of years ago (H) K–Pg Tr–J P–Tr Cap Late D O–S 1 June: Researchers publish a study using data on vertebrates on the brink to extinction, in which they conclude that a human-caused potential sixth mass extinction is likely accelerating. 1 June Astronomers report narrowing down the source of fast radio bursts (FRBs), which may now plausibly include "compact-object mergers and magnetars arising from normal core collapse supernovae". The existence of quark cores in neutron stars is confirmed by Finnish researchers. Geologists report two newly identified supervolcano eruptions associated with the Yellowstone hotspot track, including the region's largest and most cataclysmic event – the Grey's Landing super-eruption – which had a volume of ≥2800 km3 and occurred around 8.72 Ma. According to the study the Yellowstone hotspot may be waning, with another eruption of this scale not likely up to around 900,000 AD. Researchers studying corvids report that extended parenting and extended childhood is crucial for the evolution of cognition and is having profound consequences for learning and intelligence. These may create longer developmental periods in which life-history is combined with social and ecological conditions such as via continuous exposure to role models that are relatively tolerant of the children as well as continuous opportunities for learning. Earlier research on primates showed that across species relative brain size covaries with cognitive skills and that adaptations that compensate developmental and energetic costs of large brains are critical for their evolution. Findings of studying the spin direction of more than 200,000 spiral galaxies presented at the 236th American Astronomical Society meeting may suggest that the universe could have a defined structure and that the early universe could have been spinning. According to the researcher spiral galaxies in different regions of spacetime have been found to relate through their spin-directions and even though the asymmetry of spin-directions is just over 2%, the probability to have such asymmetry by chance is less than 1 to 4 billion. Researchers publish a study using data on vertebrates on the brink to extinction and on vertebrates that recently became extinct, in which they conclude that a human-caused potential sixth mass extinction, which was claimed to be emerging by researchers of the study in 2015, is likely accelerating and suggest a number of reasons for that including extinctions causing further extinctions. They reemphasize "extreme urgency of taking much-expanded worldwide actions". 2 June – A study investigating the emergence of life on Earth and possibly other locations demonstrates a continuous chemical reaction network of simple organic and inorganic feedstocks that, in water and under high-energy radiation, generates compounds proposed to be precursors for early RNA, modelling how they may emerge spontaneously from a simple reagents mixture under conditions of early Earth through natural geochemistry. 3 June: Researchers show that compared to rural populations urban red foxes (pictured) in London are mirroring patterns of domestication similar to domesticated dogs, as they adapt to their city environment. 3 June The discovery of the oldest and largest structure in the Maya region, a 3,000-year-old pyramid-topped platform Aguada Fénix, with LiDAR technology is reported. According to the researchers the discovery suggests the importance of communal work, as with early ceremonial complexes, in the initial development of Maya civilization. Researchers report that mitochondrial genetic divergence could be used to predict the reproductive compatibility of mammalian hybrid offspring and that ancient anatomically modern humans (AMH), Neanderthals and Denisovans were genetically closer than polar bears and brown bears (1.6% divergence for Neanderthals and AMH and 2.4% for the bears) and, like the bears, were able to easily produce healthy hybrids. Researchers show that urban red foxes from London and surrounding boroughs are divergent in skull traits, similar to domesticated dogs, as they adapt to their city environment with patterns of skull divergence between urban and rural habitats matching the description of morphological changes that can occur during domestication. Scientists report that a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found evidence that the drug hydroxychloroquine, controversially promoted by President of the United States Donald Trump as a potential treatment in mid-March, does not effectively protect people from COVID-19 administered within 4 days after exposure. Other researchers are continuing to explore whether hydroxychloroquine might prevent infections as pre-exposure prophylaxis. 4 June Astronomers report that Kepler-160, a Sun-like star already known to host two planets, likely has a rocky third planet with orbit and light levels very similar to Earth. Astronomers report that results from research of Hubble Space Telescope data and other supporting data, to be published in an upcoming paper, show that galaxies must have formed much earlier than previously thought – earlier than can be probed with the Hubble Space Telescope. Scientists report that fruit fly mothers ensure their offspring's success through transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, suggesting that in humans the epigenetic modification H4K16ac might also be inherited as a "blueprint", encoding, to date unknown, information for successful embryonic development. Scientists report bacterial mass lysis for colony-defense occurs when the bacteria will die anyway from toxin exposure from competing bacteria, explaining the evolutionary origin of this behaviour. 5 June – Two separate research teams publish two preprints on 5 June and 10 June according to which Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) is a second protein that SARS-CoV-2 uses to enter human cells by binding to it with its spike protein next to the protein ACE2. 7 June – News reports that NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan, the first woman to walk in space in 1984, and now 68 years old, is the first woman to reach the deepest part of the ocean, nearly seven miles below the surface. 8 June Computer experts warn Windows 10 users to update their computers with the latest security patches from Microsoft in order to avoid being infected with the wormlike SMBGhost security vulnerability, for which a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit had been released on 2 June, which, in unpatched computers, may have serious consequences. Researchers report results consistent with the hypothesis that pesticides contribute to monarch butterfly declines in the western United States. 9 June – Scientists confirm that the airborne radioactivity increase in Europe in autumn 2017 had a civilian background – Russian water-water energetic reactor (VVER) fuel at the end of its lifetime – and not a military one that is related to the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons. 10 June: Scientists report evidence that females' follicular fluid's consistent and differential attraction of sperm from specific males constitutes a distinct post-mating choice. 10 June Scientists report evidence that females' follicular fluid's consistent and differential attraction of sperm, an ability of human egg cells first reported in 1991, from specific males constitutes a post-mating choice and report that this mechanism did not reinforce pre-mating human mate choice decisions. Researchers report that the most successful – in terms of "likelihood of prizewinning, National Academy of Science (NAS) induction, or superstardom" – protégés studied under mentors who published research for which they were conferred a prize after the protégés' mentorship. Studying original topics rather than these mentors' research-topics was also positively associated with success. 11 June: Scientists report the generation of Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) in the Cold Atom Laboratory (pictured) aboard the ISS under microgravity which could enable improved research of BECs and quantum mechanics. 11 June Two teams of neuroscientists report the identification of populations of neurons in mice that control their hibernation-like behaviors, torpor – a fasting-induced state with a substantially decreased metabolic rate and body temperature. They also show that stimulation of specific populations of neurons can induce the key features of torpor even in mice that are not calorically restricted as well as in rats, which do not naturally go into a state of torpor. Scientists report the generation of rubidium Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) in the Cold Atom Laboratory aboard the International Space Station under microgravity which could enable improved research of BECs and quantum mechanics, whose physics are scaled to macroscopic scales in BECs, support long-term investigations of few-body physics, support the development of techniques for atom-wave interferometry and atom lasers and has verified the successful operation of the laboratory. Scientists report findings that suggest that some species of crocodile-ancestors – here the Crocodylomorph Batrachopus grandis ichnosp. nov. – walked on their two hind legs and had a length of over three meters during the Lower Cretaceous. 12 June Scientists announce preliminary results that demonstrate successful treatment during a small trial of the first to use of CRISPR gene editing (CRISPR-Cas9) to treat inherited genetic disorders – beta thalassaemia and sickle cell disease. Archaeologists report the earliest evidence for bow and arrow use and possibly the manufacturing of clothes or nets outside of Africa, in the tropics of Sri Lanka ~48 kya. Scientists report that extensive coal burning and combustion of other organic matter in Siberia likely was a cause of Earth's most severe extinction event, the Permian-Triassic extinction event ~252 Mya. Geophysicists provide the first comprehensive, wide-area, high-resolution view of the Earth's core-mantle boundary and show that heterogenous, unusually dense structures at the boundary are more widespread than previously known. 13 June – Scientists report that early supercomputer climate modelling results that are being compiled for the sixth assessment by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change by more than 20 institutions due to be released in 2021 suggest a higher climate sensitivity than previously believed with 25% of the models showing a sharp upward shift from 3 °C to 5 °C in climate sensitivity supporting or revising worst-case projections of over 5 °C of global warming. The projections of more future warming may be due to a role of clouds. According to a study published on 24 June cloud feedbacks and cloud-aerosol interactions are the most likely contributors to the high values and increased range of equilibrium climate sensitivity in the CMIP6 model. 15 June: Scientists estimate that about a fifth of the world population, belong to a vulnerable group which has at least one underlying condition that raises the risk of severe disease when contracting COVID-19. The image shows the severity of diagnosed COVID-19 cases in China. 15 June Astronomers report the possible existence of over 30 "active communicating intelligent civilizations", or Communicating Extra-Terrestrial Intelligent (CETI) civilizations (none within our current ability to detect due to various reasons including distance or size) in our own Milky Way galaxy, based on the latest astrophysical information – including a longevity of the only known technological civilization that is emitting signals to space of about 100 years to date. A study of broad-tailed hummingbirds shows that hummingbirds can discriminate non-spectral colors due to birds' fourth color-sensitive visual cone (humans have three) and demonstrate a system for investigating animal color vision. A scientific analysis estimates that as of 2020 about 1.7 bn people (UI 1·0–2·4) people, or 22% (UI 15–28%) of the world population, belong to a vulnerable group which has at least one underlying condition that raises the risk of severe disease when contracting COVID-19 and that about 4% [3–9] of the global population would require hospital admission if infected. They are describing their results as uncertain and state that the risk varies considerably by age and that they did not consider some risk factors such as obesity. Scientists report the development of the smallest synthetic molecular motor, consisting of 12 atoms and a rotor of 4 atoms, shown to be capable of being powered by an electric current using an electron scanning microscope and moving even with very low amounts of energy due to quantum tunneling. 17 June: Possible first detection of Solar axion by particle physicists (image of a xenon atom, used in the experiments). 16 June The University of Oxford reports that a major trial of dexamethasone – a cheap, widely available corticosteroid medication – shows it can significantly reduce mortality in COVID-19 patients. Astronomers map the atmosphere of the red supergiant star Antares in unprecedented detail, using both the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). The map is the most detailed yet obtained of any star, other than the Sun. Scientists report simulation results that indicate that flushing a toilet can create a large, widespread cloud of aerosol droplets containing viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 that lasts long enough for the droplets to be breathed in by others and offer suggestions concerning safer toilet use and recommendations for a better toilet design. 17 June Physicists at the XENON dark matter research facility report an excess of 53 events, which may hint at the existence of hypothetical Solar axions. Other possibilities for the anomalous detection include a surprisingly large magnetic moment for neutrinos, and tritium contamination in the detector. Scientists report in a preprint that genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screens in monkey cells have identified genes that might help SARS-CoV-2 infect its hosts. Results of a study indicate greater regional anthropogenic carbon storage in and ocean acidification of the Arctic Ocean than previously projected. Quantum scientists report the development of a system that entangles two photon quantum communication nodes through a microwave cable that can send information in between without the photons ever being sent through, or occupying, the cable. On 12 June it was reported that they also, for the first time, entangled two phonons as well as erase information from their measurement after the measurement has been completed using delayed-choice quantum erasure. 18 June – NASA scientists report that exoplanets with oceans may be common in the Milky Way galaxy, based on mathematical modeling studies. 19 June: Scientists warn that worldwide growth in affluence, measured by GDP (pictured), is associated with the problematically high increase of resource use and pollutant emissions. 19 June: News reports the first NASA-funded search for technosignatures from advanced extraterrestrial civilizations other than radio waves only. 19 June Scientists produce the first open-source all-atom model and simulation of a full-length spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 which the virus uses to enter cells. This may be useful for modeling and simulation research for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Researchers report to have calculated an upper limit for a fundamental period of a possibly quantized time – as can be found in theories of quantum gravity and quantum cosmology – that is about 10 orders of magnitude above the Planck time – 10−33 seconds – and propose a theoretical apparatus and experiment that, if ever realized, could be capable of being influenced by effects on relevant timescales and possibly confirm their theory that is based on a physical model of time as an oscillating variable. Scientists, as part of a World Scientists' Warning to Humanity-associated series, warn that worldwide growth in affluence has increased resource use and pollutant emissions with affluent citizens of the world – in terms of e.g. resource-intensive consumption – being responsible for most negative environmental impacts and central to a transition to safer, sustainable conditions. They summarise evidence, present solution approaches and state that far-reaching lifestyle changes need to complement technological advancements and that existing societies, economies and cultures incite consumption expansion and that the structural imperative for growth in competitive market economies inhibits societal change. News reports the first SETI-specific grant that NASA has awarded in three decades. The grant funds the first NASA-funded search for technosignatures from advanced extraterrestrial civilizations other than radio waves, including the creation and population of an online technosignature library. Scientists report that a novel cancer immunotherapy that included a personalized vaccine was shown to be successful in dogs. The vaccine was made from each dog's bone cancer cells. On 3 July it was reported that the results have helped obtain FDA approval for testing the method with human brain cancer patients. 22 June: Scientists demonstrate that it is possible for fish to migrate via ingestion of fish eggs (pictured) by birds. 22 June Astronomers report evidence that the dwarf planet Pluto may have had a subsurface ocean, and consequently may have been habitable, when it was first formed. Scientists demonstrate that it is possible for fish to migrate via ingestion of fish eggs by birds. Scientists demonstrate that it may be possible – for advanced extraterrestrial civilizations – to harvest rotational energy from black holes 51 years after it has been proposed to be possible and 49 years after an experiment to test the theory has been proposed. Scientists report that the ancient fish species Tanyrhinichthys mcallisteri, which they assess to be highly similar to sturgeons in its features, evolved its sturgeon-like characteristics in a nearly simultaneous distinct evolutionary path from sturgeons. 23 June Astronomers report details of the merging, in the "mass gap" of cosmic collisions, of a first-ever "mystery object": either a possibly too-heavy neutron star or a too-light black hole, with a black hole, that was detected as a gravitational wave, GW190814. According to one of the researchers, "We don't know if this object is the heaviest known neutron star or the lightest known black hole, but either way it breaks a record." The World Meteorological Organization announces a possible new temperature-record of 38 °C north of the Arctic Circle, which it seeks to verify and assess. It was reported on 20 June in Verkhoyansk, Russia amid a prolonged Siberian heatwave and an increase in wildfire activity. 24 June The largest ever tanzanite gemstones are discovered, weighing 9.27 kg and 5.103 kg, respectively. In a preprint astronomers report the discovery of the second oldest quasar, Pōniuāʻena (J1007+2115) that is twice as massive as the oldest one, ULAS J1342+0928, and existed 700 million years after the Big Bang, challenging models of the earliest supermassive black hole growth. The World Meteorological Organization announces new records for the longest lightning bolt (700 km) and the "megaflash" with the longest duration (16.73 s). 25 June Astronomers report detecting a gravitational wave, named GW190521g, that is associated with, for the first time ever, a flash of light from the merger, within the vicinity of a third very large black hole, of two smaller black holes. No light is typically emitted from the merger of black holes. Scientists report, with a genetic study, the identification of the origin of domesticated chicken, including insights into their evolutionary history, suggesting that they initially derived from Gallus gallus spadiceus. 26 June – Astronomers report the detection of four odd radio circles (ORCs). unexplained astronomical objects that, at radio wavelengths, are highly circular and brighter along their edges. The observed ORCs are bright at radio wavelengths, but are not visible at visible, infrared or X-ray wavelengths. Two of the ORCs contain galaxies, observable at visible wavelengths, in their centers, suggesting that the galaxies might have formed these objects. 28 June – In two papers, the first of which published in February, scientists report the development of the possibly most lightweight biopolymer aerogel that is flexible and durable and has a relatively high electromagnetic shielding-performance. 30 June: J2157 is identified as the fastest-growing black hole in the Universe. 30 June Two surveys of 85.9% and 71.5% of the population of the small town of Vo', the location the first coronavirus death in Italy, find that according to the surveys 42.5% (95% CI 31.5-54.6%) of the confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections of the surveys were asymptomatic. The published unedited manuscript also shows that individuals older than 50 showed a higher infection prevalence, that the average time to viral clearance was 9.3 days (8–13 days) and that viral load tended to peak around the day of symptom onset. In mid-March the scientists of the study, whose survey began on 6 March, reported that the research led to the discovery of the decisive role in the spread of the novel coronavirus by asymptomatic people. Scientists report, after they publicized the first version of a preprint in April 2019, a possible explanation for the origin of high-energy cosmic neutrinos observed by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, suggesting that emissions of coronae of supermassive black holes, such as possibly the active galactic nucleus of Messier 77, may be their source. Astronomers report that J2157, discovered in 2018, is now known to have 34 billion solar masses and is consuming the equivalent of nearly 1 solar mass every day, making it the fastest-growing black hole known in the Universe. Scientist at CERN report that the LHCb experiment has observed a four-charm quark particle never seen before, which is likely to be the first of a previously undiscovered class of particles.

January–March

January–March 2020 in science
January–March 2020 in science

April–June

April–June 2020 in science
April–June 2020 in science

June

June 2020 in science

1 June: Geologists identify the largest known eruption in the Yellowstone hotspot track, which occurred around 8.72 Ma. Marine extinction intensity during Phanerozoic % Millions of years ago (H) K–Pg Tr–J P–Tr Cap Late D O–S 1 June: Researchers publish a study using data on verterbrates on the brink to extinction, in which they conclude that a human-caused potential sixth mass extinction is likely accelerating. 1 June Astronomers report narrowing down the source of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), which may now plausibly include "compact-object mergers and magnetars arising from normal core collapse supernovae". The existence of quark cores in neutron stars is confirmed by Finnish researchers. Geologists report two newly identified supervolcano eruptions associated with the Yellowstone hotspot track, including the region's largest and most cataclysmic event – the Grey's Landing super-eruption – which had a volume of ≥2800 km³ and occurred around 8.72 Ma. According to the study the Yellowstone hotspot may be waning, with another eruption of this scale not likely up to around 900,000 AD. Researchers studying corvids report that extended parenting and extended childhood is crucial for the evolution of cognition and is having profound consequences for learning and intelligence. These may create longer developmental periods in which life-history is combined with social and ecological conditions such as via continuous exposure to role models that are relatively tolerant of the children as well as continuous opportunities for learning. Earlier research on primates showed that across species relative brain size covaries with cognitive skills and that adaptations that compensate developmental and energetic costs of large brains are critical for their evolution. Findings of studying the spin direction of more than 200,000 spiral galaxies presented at the 236th American Astronomical Society meeting may suggest that the universe could have a defined structure and that the early universe could have been spinning. According to the researcher spiral galaxies in different regions of spacetime have been found to relate through their spin-directions and even though the asymmetry of spin-directions is just over 2%, the probability to have such asymmetry by chance is less than 1 to 4 billion. Researchers publish a study using data on verterbrates on the brink to extinction and on verterbrates that recently became extinct, in which they conclude that a human-caused potential sixth mass extinction, which was claimed to be emerging by researchers of the study in 2015, is likely accelerating and suggest a number of reasons for that including extinctions causing further extinctions. They reemphasize "extreme urgency of taking much-expanded worldwide actions". 2 June – A study investigating the emergence of life on Earth and possibly other locations demonstrates a continuous chemical reaction network of simple organic and inorganic feedstocks that, in water and under high-energy radiation, generates compounds proposed to be precursors for early RNA, modelling how they may emerge spontaneously from a simple reagents mixture under conditions of early Earth through natural geochemistry. 3 June: Researchers show that compared to rural populations urban red foxes (pictured) in London are mirroring patterns of domestication similar to domesticated dogs, as they adapt to their city environment. 3 June The discovery of the oldest and largest structure in the Maya region, a 3,000-year-old pyramid-topped platform Aguada Fénix, with LiDAR technology is reported. According to the researchers the discovery suggests the importance of communal work, as with early ceremonial complexes, in the initial development of Maya civilization. Researchers report that mitochondrial genetic divergence could be used to predict the reproductive compatibility of mammalian hybrid offspring and that ancient anatomically modern humans (AMH), Neanderthals and Denisovans were genetically closer than polar bears and brown bears (1.6% divergence for Neanderthals and AMH and 2.4% for the bears) and, like the bears, were able to easily produce healthy hybrids. Researchers show that urban red foxes from London and surrounding boroughs are divergent in skull traits, similar to domesticated dogs, as they adapt to their city environment with patterns of skull divergence between urban and rural habitats matching the description of morphological changes that can occur during domestication. Scientists report that a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found evidence that the drug hydroxychloroquine, controversially promoted by President of the United States Donald Trump as a potential treatment in mid-March, does not effectively protect people from COVID-19 administered within 4 days after exposure. Other researchers are continuing to explore whether hydroxychloroquine might prevent infections as pre-exposure prophylaxis. 4 June Astronomers report that Kepler-160, a Sun-like star already known to host two planets, likely has a rocky third planet with orbit and light levels very similar to Earth. Astronomers report that results from research of Hubble Space Telescope data and other supporting data, to be published in an upcoming paper, show that galaxies must have formed much earlier than previously thought – earlier than can be probed with the Hubble Space Telescope. Scientists report that fruit fly mothers ensure their offspring's success through transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, suggesting that in humans the epigenetic modification H4K16ac might also be inherited as a "blueprint", encoding, to date unknown, information for successful embryonic development. Scientists report bacterial mass lysis for colony-defense occurs when the bacteria will die anyway from toxin exposure from competing bacteria, explaining the evolutionary origin of this behaviour. 5 June – Two separate research teams publish two preprints on 5 June and 10 June according to which Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) is a second protein that SARS-CoV-2 uses to enter human cells by binding to it with its spike protein next to the protein ACE2. 7 June – News reports that NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan, the first woman to walk in space in 1984, and now 68 years old, is the first woman to reach the deepest part of the ocean, nearly seven miles below the surface. 8 June Computer experts warn Windows 10 users to update their computers with the latest security patches from Microsoft in order to avoid being infected with the wormlike SMBGhost security vulnerability, for which a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit had been released on 2 June, which, in unpatched computers, may have serious consequences. Researchers report results consistent with the hypothesis that pesticides contribute to monarch butterfly declines in the western United States. 9 June – Scientists confirm that the airborne radioactivity increase in Europe in autumn 2017 had a civilian background – Russian water-water energetic reactor (VVER) fuel at the end of its lifetime – and not a military one that is related to the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons. 10 June: Scientists report evidence that females' follicular fluid's consistent and differential attraction of sperm from specific males constitutes a distinct post-mating choice. 10 June Scientists report evidence that females' follicular fluid's consistent and differential attraction of sperm, an ability of human egg cells first reported in 1991, from specific males constitutes a post-mating choice and report that this mechanism did not reinforce pre-mating human mate choice decisions. Researchers report that the most successful – in terms of "likelihood of prizewinning, National Academy of Science (NAS) induction, or superstardom" – protégés studied under mentors who published research for which they were conferred a prize after the protégés' mentorship. Studying original topics rather than these mentors' research-topics was also positively associated with success. 11 June: Scientists report the generation of Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) in the Cold Atom Laboratory (pictured) aboard the ISS under microgravity which could enable improved research of BECs and quantum mechanics. 11 June Two teams of neuroscientists report the identification of populations of neurons in mice that control their hibernation-like behaviors, torpor – a fasting-induced state with a substantially decreased metabolic rate and body temperature. They also show that stimulation of specific populations of neurons can induce the key features of torpor even in mice that are not calorically restricted as well as in rats, which do not naturally go into a state of torpor. Scientists report the generation of rubidium Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) in the Cold Atom Laboratory aboard the International Space Station under microgravity which could enable improved research of BECs and quantum mechanics, whose physics are scaled to macroscopic scales in BECs, support long-term investigations of few-body physics, support the development of techniques for atom-wave interferometry and atom lasers and has verified the successful operation of the laboratory. Scientists report findings that suggest that some species of crocodile-ancestors – here the Crocodylomorph Batrachopus grandis ichnosp. nov. – walked on their two hind legs and had a length of over three meters during the Lower Cretaceous. 12 June Scientists announce preliminary results that demonstrate successful treatment during a small trial of the first to use of CRISPR gene editing (CRISPR-Cas9) to treat inherited genetic disorders – beta thalassaemia and sickle cell disease. Archaeologists report the earliest evidence for bow and arrow use and possibly the manufacturing of clothes or nets outside of Africa, in the tropics of Sri Lanka ~48 kya. Scientists report that extensive coal burning and combustion of other organic matter in Siberia likely was a cause of Earth's most severe extinction event, the Permian-Triassic extinction event ~252 Mya. Geophysicists provide the first comprehensive, wide-area, high-resolution view of the Earth's core-mantle boundary and show that heterogenous, unusually dense structures at the boundary are more widespread than previously known. 13 June – Scientists report that early supercomputer climate modelling results that are being compiled for the sixth assessment by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change by more than 20 institutions due to be released in 2021 suggest a higher climate sensitivity than previously believed with 25% of the models showing a sharp upward shift from 3 °C to 5 °C in climate sensitivity supporting or revising worst-case projections of over 5 °C of global warming. The projections of more future warming may be due to a role of clouds. According to a study published on 24 June cloud feedbacks and cloud-aerosol interactions are the most likely contributors to the high values and increased range of equilibrium climate sensitivity in the CMIP6 model. 15 June: Scientists estimate that about a fifth of the world population, belong to a vulnerable group which has at least one underlying condition that raises the risk of severe disease when contracting COVID-19. The image shows the severity of diagnosed COVID-19 cases in China. 15 June Astronomers report the possible existence of over 30 "active communicating intelligent civilizations", or Communicating Extra-Terrestrial Intelligent (CETI) civilizations (none within our current ability to detect due to various reasons including distance or size) in our own Milky Way galaxy, based on the latest astrophysical information – including a longevity of the only known technological civilization that is emitting signals to space of about 100 years to date. A study of broad-tailed hummingbirds shows that hummingbirds can discriminate non-spectral colors due to birds' fourth color-sensitive visual cone (humans have three) and demonstrate a system for investigating animal color vision. A scientific analysis estimates that as of 2020 about 1.7 bn people (UI 1·0–2·4) people, or 22% (UI 15–28%) of the world population, belong to a vulnerable group which has at least one underlying condition that raises the risk of severe disease when contracting COVID-19 and that about 4% [3–9] of the global population would require hospital admission if infected. They are describing their results as uncertain and state that the risk varies considerably by age and that they did not consider some risk factors such as obesity. Scientists report the development of the smallest synthetic molecular motor, consisting of 12 atoms and a rotor of 4 atoms, shown to be capable of being powered by an electric current using an electron scanning microscope and moving even with very low amounts of energy due to quantum tunneling. 17 June: Possible first detection of solar axion by particle physicists (image of a xenon atom, used in the experiments). 16 June The University of Oxford reports that a major trial of dexamethasone – a cheap, widely available corticosteroid medication – shows it can significantly reduce mortality in COVID-19 patients. Astronomers map the atmosphere of the red supergiant star Antares in unprecedented detail, using both the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). The map is the most detailed yet obtained of any star, other than the Sun. Scientists report simulation results that indicate that flushing a toilet can create a large, widespread cloud of aerosol droplets containing viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 that lasts long enough for the droplets to be breathed in by others and offer suggestions concerning safer toilet use and recommendations for a better toilet design. 17 June Physicists at the XENON dark matter research facility report an excess of 53 events, which may hint at the existence of hypothetical solar axions. Other possibilities for the anomalous detection include a surprisingly large magnetic moment for neutrinos, and tritium contamination in the detector. Scientists report in a preprint that genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screens in monkey cells have identified genes that might help SARS-CoV-2 infect its hosts. Results of a study indicate greater regional anthropogenic carbon storage in and ocean acidification of the Arctic Ocean than previously projected. Quantum scientists report the development of a system that entangles two photon quantum communication nodes through a microwave cable that can send information inbetween without the photons ever being sent through, or occupying, the cable. On 12 June it was reported that they also, for the first time, entangled two phonons as well as erase information from their measurement after the measurement has been completed using delayed-choice quantum erasure. 18 June – NASA scientists report that exoplanets with oceans may be common in the Milky Way galaxy, based on mathematical modeling studies. 19 June: Scientists warn that worldwide growth in affluence, measured by GDP (pictured), is associated with the problematically high increase of resource use and pollutant emissions. 19 June: News reports the first NASA-funded search for technosignatures from advanced extraterrestrial civilizations other than radio waves only. 19 June Scientists produce the first open-source all-atom model and simulation of a full-length spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 which the virus uses to enter cells. This may be useful for modeling and simulation research for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Researchers report to have calculated an upper limit for a fundamental period of a possibly quantized time – as can be found in theories of quantum gravity and quantum cosmology – that is about 10 orders of magnitude above the Planck time – 10−33 seconds – and propose a theoretical apparatus and experiment that, if ever realized, could be capable of being influenced by effects on relevant timescales and possibly confirm their theory that is based on a physical model of time as an oscillating variable. Scientists, as part of a World Scientists' Warning to Humanity-associated series, warn that worldwide growth in affluence has increased resource use and pollutant emissions with affluent citizens of the world – in terms of e.g. resource-intensive consumption – being responsible for most negative environmental impacts and central to a transition to safer, sustainable conditions. They summarise evidence, present solution approaches and state that far-reaching lifestyle changes need to complement technological advancements and that existing societies, economies and cultures incite consumption expansion and that the structural imperative for growth in competitive market economies inhibits societal change. News reports the first SETI-specific grant that NASA has awarded in three decades. The grant funds the first NASA-funded search for technosignatures from advanced extraterrestrial civilizations other than radio waves, including the creation and population of an online technosignature library. Scientists report that a novel cancer immunotherapy that included a personalized vaccine was shown to be successful in dogs. The vaccine was made from each dog's bone cancer cells. On 3 July it was reported that the results have helped obtain FDA approval for testing the method with human brain cancer patients. 22 June: Scientists demonstrate that it is possible for fish to migrate via ingestion of fish eggs (pictured) by birds. 22 June Astronomers report evidence that the dwarf planet Pluto may have had a subsurface ocean, and consequently may have been habitable, when it was first formed. Scientists demonstrate that it is possible for fish to migrate via ingestion of fish eggs by birds. Scientists demonstrate that it may be possible – for advanced extraterrestrial civilizations – to harvest rotational energy from black holes 51 years after it has been proposed to be possible and 49 years after an experiment to test the theory has been proposed. Scientists report that the ancient fish species Tanyrhinichthys mcallisteri, which they assess to be highly similar to sturgeons in its features, evolved its sturgeon-like characteristics in a nearly simultaneous distinct evolutionary path from sturgeons. 23 June Astronomers report details of the merging, in the "mass gap" of cosmic collisions, of a first-ever "mystery object": either a possibly too-heavy neutron star or a too-light black hole, with a black hole, that was detected as a gravitational wave, GW190814. According to one of the researchers, "We don’t know if this object is the heaviest known neutron star or the lightest known black hole, but either way it breaks a record." The World Meteorological Organization announces a possible new temperature-record of 38 °C north of the Arctic Circle, which it seeks to verify and assess. It was reported on 20 June in Verkhoyansk, Russia amid a prolonged Siberian heatwave and an increase in wildfire activity. 24 June The largest ever tanzanite gemstones are discovered, weighing 9.27 kg and 5.103 kg, respectively. In a preprint astronomers report the discovery of the second oldest quasar, Pōniuāʻena (J1007+2115) that is twice as massive as the oldest one, ULAS J1342+0928, and existed 700 million years after the Big Bang, challenging models of the earliest supermassive black hole growth. The World Meteorological Organization announces new records for the longest lightning bolt (700 km) and the "megaflash" with the longest duration (16.73 s). 25 June Astronomers report detecting a gravitational wave, named GW190521g, that is associated with, for the first time ever, a flash of light from the merger, within the vicinity of a third very large black hole, of two smaller black holes. No light is typically emitted from the merger of black holes. Scientists report, with a genetic study, the identification of the origin of domesticated chicken, including insights into their evolutionary history, suggesting that they initially derived from Gallus gallus spadiceus. 26 June – Astronomers report the detection of four odd radio circles (ORCs). unexplained astronomical objects that, at radio wavelengths, are highly circular and brighter along their edges. The observed ORCs are bright at radio wavelengths, but are not visible at visible, infrared or X-ray wavelengths. Two of the ORCs contain galaxies, observable at visible wavelengths, in their centers, suggesting that the galaxies might have formed these objects. 28 June – In two papers, the first of which published in February, scientists report the development of the possibly most lightweight biopolymer aerogel that is flexible and durable and has a relatively high electromagnetic shielding-performance. 30 June: J2157 is identified as the fastest-growing black hole in the Universe. 30 June Two surveys of 85.9% and 71.5% of the population of the small town of Vo', the location the first coronavirus death in Italy, find that according to the surveys 42.5% (95% CI 31.5-54.6%) of the confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections of the surveys were asymptomatic. The published unedited manuscript also shows that individuals older than 50 showed a higher infection prevalence, that the average time to viral clearance was 9.3 days (8–13 days) and that viral load tended to peak around the day of symptom onset. In mid-March the scientists of the study, whose survey began on 6 March, reported that the research led to the discovery of the decisive role in the spread of the novel coronavirus by asymptomatic people. Scientists report, after they publicized the first version of a preprint in April 2019, a possible explanation for the origin of high-energy cosmic neutrinos observed by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, suggesting that emissions of coronae of supermassive black holes, such as possibly the active galactic nucleus of Messier 77, may be their source. Astronomers report that J2157, discovered in 2018, is now known to have 34 billion solar masses and is consuming the equivalent of nearly 1 solar mass every day, making it the fastest-growing black hole in the Universe. Scientist at CERN report that the LHCb experiment has observed a four-charm quark particle never seen before, which is likely to be the first of a previously undiscovered class of particles.

July

July: The UAE, China, and the USA launch probes to Mars.

• 1 July
  • Scientist at CERN report that the LHCb experiment has observed a four-charm tetraquark particle never seen before, which is likely to be the first of a previously undiscovered class of particles.
  • Scientists report that they measured that quantum vacuum fluctuations can influence the motion of macroscopic, human-scale objects for the first time by measuring correlations below the standard quantum limit between the position/momentum uncertainty of the mirrors of LIGO and the photon number/phase uncertainty of light that they reflect.
• 2 July – Scientists report that a more infectious SARS-CoV-2 variant with spike protein variant G614 has replaced D614 as the dominant form in the pandemic.

3 July: Via analysis of satellite images, scientists show that certified "sustainable" palm oil production resulted in deforestation of tropical forests of Sumatra and Borneo and endangered mammals' habitat degradation in the last 30 years.

• 3 July
  • Scientists report in a preprint that a major genetic risk factor of the COVID-19 virus was inherited from archaic Neanderthals ~60,000 years ago.
  • Scientists show that adding an organic-based ionic solid into perovskites can result in substantial improvement in solar cell performance and stability. The study also reveals a complex degradation route that is responsible for failures in aged perovskite solar cells. The understanding could help the future development of photovoltaic technologies with industrially relevant longevity.
  • Via analysis of satellite images, scientists show that certified "sustainable" palm oil production resulted in deforestation of tropical forests of Sumatra and Borneo and endangered mammals' habitat degradation in the last 30 years.
• 4 July
  • According to WHO chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) of COVID-19 and related pandemic is currently estimated at 0.6%, and the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) at 5%.
  • Scientists report that COVID-19 may be an airborne disease, and not just one transmitted by droplets of the virus in the air or on surfaces.
• 6 July
  • Astronomers report evidence that the chemical element carbon, the fourth most abundant chemical element (after hydrogen, helium and oxygen) in the universe, and one of the most essential chemical elements for the formation of life as we know it, was formed mainly in white dwarf stars, particularly those bigger than two solar masses.
  • The Versatile Video Coding standard (H.266) is finalised, designed to halve the bitrate of previous formats, and paving the way for on-demand 8K streaming services.
  • Scientists report that analysis of simulations and a recent observational field model show that maximum rates of directional change of Earth's magnetic field reached ~10° per year – almost 100 times faster than current changes and ~10 times faster than previously thought.
  • Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin demonstrate a cobalt-free, high-energy, lithium-ion battery.

8 July: Researchers report that they succeeded in using a genetically-altered variant of R. sulfidophilum to produce spidroins, the main proteins in spider silk.

• 8 July
  • Scientists writing in the journal Brain publish evidence that a few mildly affected or recovering COVID-19 patients can be left with serious or potentially fatal brain conditions, such as delirium, inflammation, nerve damage, and psychosis.
  • Mitochondria are gene-edited for the first time, using a new kind of CRISPR-free base editor (DdCBE), by a team at the Broad Institute.
  • The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) announces that it assesses a 20% chance that global warming compared to pre-industrial levels will exceed 1.5 °C in at least one year within the five years of 2020-2024. 1.5 °C is often considered to be a key threshold of global warming and nations have agreed to attempt limiting contemporary climate change to it under the Paris Agreement.
  • A team of researchers report that they succeeded in using a genetically-altered variant of R. sulfidophilum to produce spidroins, the main proteins in spider silk.
  • Scientists assess that the geoengineering technique of enhanced rock weathering – spreading finely crushed basalt on fields – has potential use for carbon dioxide removal by nations, identifying costs, opportunities and engineering challenges.
  • Scientist report the development of a mobile robot chemist and demonstrate that it can assist in experimental searches. According to the scientists their strategy was automating the researcher rather than the instruments – freeing up time for the human researchers to think creatively – and could identify photocatalyst mixtures for hydrogen production from water that were six times more active than initial formulations.
• 9 July – The World Health Organization (WHO) formally recognises that COVID-19 can be transmitted indoors by droplets in the air. People in crowded settings with poor ventilation run the risk of being infected, according to the updated scientific advice.

10 July: Scientists report that the Moon formed slightly earlier than thought (4.425 ±0.025 bya) and that it hosted an ocean of magma for much longer than previously thought (~200 My). Image: the thermal state of the Moon at age 100 My (from the study)

• 10 July
  • Astronomers announce the discovery of the South Pole Wall, a massive cosmic structure formed by a giant wall of galaxies (a galaxy filament) that extends across at least 700 million light-years of space.
  • Scientists report that phytoplankton primary production in the Arctic Ocean increased by 57% between 1998 and 2018 due to higher concentrations, suggesting the ocean may be able to support higher trophic level production and additional carbon fixation in the future.
  • Scientists report that the Moon formed about 85 million years earlier than thought (4.425 ±0.025 bya) and that it hosted an ocean of magma for longer than previously thought (~200 million years).

13 July: Researchers report the development of a reusable aluminium surface for efficient solar-based water sanitation.

• 13 July – Researchers report the development of a reusable aluminium surface for efficient solar-based water sanitation to below the WHO and EPA standards for drinkable water.
• 14 July – Scientists report the first complete and gap-less assembly of a human X chromosome.

15 July: In two studies of the Global Carbon Project researchers summarise and analyse new estimates of the global methane budget and provide data and insights on sources and sinks for the geographical regions and economic sectors where the rising anthropogenic methane emissions have changed the most over recent decades.

• 15 July
  • Researchers report the discovery of chemolithoautotrophic bacterial culture that feeds on the metal manganese after performing unrelated experiments and named its bacterial species Candidatus Manganitrophus noduliformans and Ramlibacter lithotrophicus.
  • In two studies researchers of the Global Carbon Project summarise and analyse new estimates of the global methane budget and provide data and insights on sources and sinks for the geographical regions and economic sectors where the rising anthropogenic methane emissions have changed the most over recent decades. According to the studies, global methane emissions for the 2008 to 2017 decade increased by almost 10 percent compared to the previous decade.

16 July: Scientists, using public biological data on 1.75 m people with known lifespans overall, identify 10 genomic loci which appear to intrinsically influence healthspan, lifespan, and longevity and identify haem metabolism as a promising candidate for further research within the field.

• 16 July – Scientists report to have identified 10 genomic loci which appear to intrinsically influence healthspan, lifespan, and longevity – of which half have not been reported previously at genome-wide significance and most being associated with cardiovascular disease – as well as haem metabolism as a promising candidate for further research within the field. Their study using public biological data on 1.75 m people with known lifespans overall, suggests that haem metabolism may play a role in human ageing and that high levels of iron in the blood likely reduce, and genes involved in metabolising iron likely increase healthy years of life in humans.
• 17 July – Scientists report that yeast cells of the same genetic material and within the same environment age in two distinct ways, describe a biomolecular mechanism that can determine which process dominates during aging and genetically engineer a novel aging route with substantially extended lifespan.
• 19 July
  • The Emirates Mars Mission by the UAE is successfully launched, carrying the Hope probe to Mars, with a scheduled arrival date of February 2021.
  • After a 20-year-long survey, astrophysicists of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey publish the largest, most detailed 3D map of the universe so far, fill a gap of 11 billion years in its expansion history, and provide data which supports the theory of a flat geometry of the universe and confirms that different regions seem to be expanding at different speeds.

22 July: Astronomers publish the first image of multiple exoplanets orbiting a sunlike star – TYC 8998-760-1.

22 July: Scientists confirm the first active leak of sea-bed methane in Antarctica.

• 22 July
  • Astronomers publish a photo, for the first-time, of multiple exoplanets orbiting a sunlike star, particularly the star TYC 8998-760-1.
  • Archaeologists report the earliest known evidence of humans in the Americas, dating back 33,000 years, twice the previously oldest known settlement of the continent.
  • Scientists confirm the first active leak of sea-bed methane in Antarctica and report that "the rate of microbial succession may have an unrealized impact on greenhouse gas emission from marine methane reservoirs".
  • Researchers report the development of a technique to produce a degradable version of the tough thermoset plastic pDCPD which may also be applicable to other plastics, that aren't part of the ca. 75% of plastics that are recycable.
  • Scientists report results of a survey of 371 reefs in 58 nations estimating the conservation status of reef sharks globally. No sharks have been observed on almost 20% of the surveyed reefs and shark depletion was strongly associated with both socio-economic conditions and conservation measures. Sharks are considered to be a vital part of the ocean ecosystem.
  • A paper on a "hummingbird-sized dinosaur" conserved in amber published on March 11th is retracted after reviewers agreed with assessments – of which one was uploaded to a preprint server on March 18 – claiming a misclassification of the fossil, believed to be a lizard instead of a dinosaur.
• 23 July
  • China successfully launches Tianwen-1, its first rover mission to Mars, with a planned surface landing date of 23 April 2021.
  • Astronomers report the observation of a "hard tidal disruption event candidate" associated with ASASSN-20hx, located near the nucleus of galaxy NGC 6297, and noted that the observation represented one of the "very few tidal disruption events with hard powerlaw X-ray spectra".
  • Lancaster University researcher Mike Ryder describes the nature and rise of the "robot prosumer", derived from modern-day technology and related participatory culture, that, in turn, was substantially predicted earlier by science fiction writers.
• 24 July – Scientists report the development of an AI-based process using genome databases for evolutionary algorithm-based designing novel proteins. They used deep learning to identify design-rules.
• 27 July – A new AI algorithm by the University of Pittsburgh achieves the highest accuracy to date in identifying prostate cancer, with 98% sensitivity and 97% specificity.

28 July: Marine biologists report that aerobic microorganisms (mainly), in "quasi-suspended animation", were found in organically-poor sediments, up to 101.5 million years old, 68.9 metres (226 feet) below the seafloor in the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) ("the deadest spot in the ocean"), and could be the longest-living life forms ever found.

• 28 July
  • Marine biologists report that aerobic microorganisms (mainly), in "quasi-suspended animation", were found in organically-poor sediments, up to 101.5 million years old, 68.9 metres (226 feet) below the seafloor in the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) ("the deadest spot in the ocean"), and could be the longest-living life forms ever found.
  • Assembly of the ITER experimental fusion reactor officially begins in France, with a scheduled completion date of 2025.

29 July: Scientists report that work honored by Nobel prizes clusters in only a few scientific fields.

• 29 July
  • Scientists of the NA62 experiment at CERN claim to have presented first evidence of a highly rare process – a decay of a charged kaon – predicted in the Standard Model which may help identifying possible deviations from the model.
  • Scientists report that they have transformed the abundant diamagnetic material known as "fool's gold" and pyrite into a ferromagnetic one by inducing voltage, which may lead to techniques with potential applications for devices such as magnetic data storage ones.
  • Scientists report that work honored by Nobel prizes clusters in only a few scientific fields with only 36/71 having received at least one Nobel prize of the 114/849 domains science could be divided into according to their DC2 and DC3 classification systems. Five of the 114 domains were shown to make up over half of the Nobel prizes awarded 1995–2017 (particle physics [14%], cell biology [12.1%], atomic physics [10.9%], neuroscience [10.1%], molecular chemistry [5.3%]).
  • Scientists report that geochemical data shows that the origin of 50 of the 52 sarsen megaliths used to construct Stonehenge is most likely West Woods, Wiltshire, 25 km north of Stonehenge.
• 30 July – NASA successfully launches its Mars 2020 rover mission to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples for return to Earth. The mission includes technology demonstrations to prepare for future human missions.
• 31 July
  • Two ice caps in Nunavut, Canada have disappeared completely, confirming predictions of a study published in 2017 that they would melt completely within five years.
  • A study suggests a volcanic cause for the Younger Dryas geochemical anomalies including the extinction of many ice-age animals about 12,800 years ago and weakens the support for the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis.

August

1 August: Brazil's NISR reports that satellite data shows that the number of fires in the Amazon increased by 28% to ~6,800 fires in July compared to the ~5,300 wildfires in July 2019. (Image acquired by MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite on August 1, 2020.)

• 1 August – Brazil's National Institute for Space Research reports that satellite data shows that the number of fires in the Amazon increased by 28% to ~6,800 fires in July compared to the ~5,300 wildfires in July 2019. This indicates a, potentially worsened, repeat of 2019's accelerated destruction of one of the world's largest protectable buffers against global warming.
• 2 August – Scientists report a newly discovered vulnerability in SARS-CoV-2's spike protein – a positively charged cleavage site near its binding site, which they demonstrate could be exploited by negatively charged molecule that bind to it and thereby inhibit the virus from bonding strongly to the host cell.
• 3 August – Scientists report that valley networks in the southern highlands of Mars may have been formed mostly under glaciers, not free-flowing rivers of water, indicating that early Mars was colder than thought and that extensive glaciation likely occurred in its past.
• 4 August
  • Physicists working on the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider announce new results indicating that the Higgs boson decays into two muons as expected.
  • Astronomers report that self-annihilating dark matter (DM) is not the explanation for the Galactic Center GeV Excess (GCE) in the center of the Milky Way galaxy after all, stating: "there is no significant excess in the [GCE] that may be attributed to DM annihilation."
• 5 August
  • The British Antarctic Survey reports that emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica are nearly 20% more numerous than previously thought, with new discoveries made using satellite mapping technology.
  • New Guinea is determined to be the world's most floristically diverse island with well over 13,000 confirmed species of vascular plants recorded thus far, surpassing that of Madagascar.
• 6 August
  • The Canadian Ice Service reports that the Milne Ice Shelf, the last fully intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic, has collapsed after losing more than 40% of its area in just two days.
  • Scientists report the creation of the brightest fluorescent solid optical materials so far by enabling the transfer of properties of highly fluorescent dyes via spatial and electronic isolation of the dyes by mixing cationic dyes with anion-binding cyanostar macrocycles. According to a co-author these materials may have applications in areas such as solar energy harvesting, bioimaging, and lasers.
  • Scientists present an extension to an algorithm to infer local genetic relationships published in October 2019 and report that 3% of the Neanderthal genome was introgressed from ancient humans ~200-300kya and predict that 1% of the Denisovan genome was introgressed from an unknown highly diverged, archaic hominin ancestor of which 15% were introgressed into modern humans alive today.
• 7 August
  • A study concludes that the direct effect of the response to the pandemic on global warming will likely be negligible, with an estimated cooling of around 0.01 ±0.005 °C by 2030 and that a well-designed economic recovery could avoid future warming of 0.3 °C by 2050. The study indicates that systemic change for "decarbonization" of humanity's economic structures is required for a substantial impact on global warming.
  • Russia's Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin announces that he wishes for the agency to return to Venus and to bring back surface materials and that they are building a reusable rocket.
• 8 August – NASA announces it will change unofficial and potentially contentious names used by the scientific community for distant cosmic objects and systems including references to NGC 2392 as "the Eskimo Nebula" and NGC 4567 and NGC 4568 as the "Siamese Twins Galaxy".

10 August: The dwarf planet Ceres is confirmed to be a water-rich body.

• 10 August
  • The dwarf planet Ceres is confirmed to be a water-rich body, containing a deep reservoir of brine, based on analysis of data from the Dawn mission. The "bright spots" in Occator crater are the result of salty water rising to the surface from below.
  • Scientists report that bi-directional connections, or added appropriate feedback connections, can accelerate and improve communication between and in modular neural networks of the brain's cerebral cortex and lower the threshold for their successful communication.
• 11 August
  • COVID-19 pandemic: Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that Russia has approved the world's first COVID-19 vaccine. This is a controversial step due to widely perceived lack of sufficient testing of the vaccine.
  • Astronomers announce the discovery of S4714, a star orbiting the black hole at the center of the Milky Way at up to 8% the speed of light.
• 12 August
  • The latest State of the Climate report finds that 2010 to 2019 was the hottest decade on record globally, with an increase of 0.39 °C (0.7 °F) above the long-term average, and 2019 either the second or third warmest year on record.
  • Scientists report that bacteria that feed on air discovered 2017 in Antarctica are likely not limited to Antarctica after discovering the two genes previously linked to their "atmospheric chemosynthesis" in soil of two other similar cold desert sites, which provides further information on this carbon sink and further strengthens the extremophile evidence that supports the potential existence of microbial life on alien planets.

13 August: Melting of the Greenland ice sheet is shown to have passed the point of no return, based on 40 years of satellite data. The switch to a dynamic state of sustained mass loss resulted from widespread retreat in 2000-2005.

• 13 August
  • Scientists at the University of Southern California report the "likely" order of initial symptoms of the COVID-19 disease: "fever, cough, muscle pain, and then nausea, and/or vomiting, and diarrhea".
  • Unexpected dimming of Betelgeuse is explained by NASA as a "traumatic outburst", caused by an immense amount of hot material ejected into space, forming a dust cloud that blocked starlight. On 30 August 2020, astronomers reported the detection of a second dust cloud emitted from Betelgeuse, and associated with a secondary minimum on 3 August in luminosity of the star.
  • Universal coherence protection is reported to have been achieved in a solid-state spin qubit, a modification that allows quantum systems to stay operational (or "coherent") for 10,000 times longer than before.
  • July 2020 is tied as the second-warmest July on record, with a record low Arctic sea ice extent for the month, in a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  • Melting of the Greenland ice sheet is shown to have passed the point of no return, based on 40 years of satellite data, by scientists at Ohio State University. The switch to a dynamic state of sustained mass loss resulted from widespread retreat in 2000-2005.
• 14 August – Scientists report the discovery of the oldest grass bedding from at least 200,000 years ago, much older than the oldest previously known bedding. They speculate that insect-repellent plants and ash layers, sometimes due to burned older grass beddings, found beneath the bedding have been used for a dirt-free, insulated base and to keep away arthropods.
• 16 August – Astronomers report the detection of asteroid 2020 QG, a small Earth-crossing near-Earth asteroid of the Apollo group that passed the Earth about 2,950 kilometres (1,830 mi) away, the closest known asteroid to pass the Earth that did not impact the planet.
• 17 August
  • Astronomers report that the interstellar object ʻOumuamua (1I/2017 U1) is not likely to be composed of frozen hydrogen which had been proposed earlier. The compositional nature of the object continues to be unknown. Nonetheless, the possibility that the interstellar object may be alien technology has not been ruled out, although such an explanation is reported to be a "long shot" by "most scientists".
  • Physicists present a study involving interpretations of quantum mechanics that is related to the Schrödinger's cat and Wigner's friend paradoxes, and results in conclusions that challenge seemingly established assumptions about reality and go beyond Bell's theorem.
• 18 August
  • Scientists report that bird skull evolution decelerated compared with the evolution of their dinosaur predecessors after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, rather than accelerating as often believed to have caused the cranial shape diversity of modern birds.
  • Scientists report the achievement of a milestone in the development of laser-plasma accelerators and demonstrate their longest stable operation of 30 hours. These particle accelerators are far smaller than conventional ones, may have technological applications and may provide a way to energies beyond the LHC.

19 August: Researchers report that widespread declines in Pacific salmon size resulted in substantial losses to ecosystems and people.

• 19 August
  • An analysis indicates that sustainable seafood could increase by 36–74% by 2050 compared to current yields and that whether or not these production potentials are realized sustainably depends on factors such as policy reforms, technological innovation and the extent of future shifts in demand.
  • Researchers report that widespread declines in Pacific salmon size resulted in substantial losses to ecosystems and people, which they estimate, and are associated with factors that include climate change and competition with growing numbers of wild and hatchery salmon.
  • Researchers provide explanations for variations in the rate of global mean sea-level rise since 1900 and report that dam building in the 20th century offset factors that would have led to a higher rate during the 1970s, implying that no additional processes are required to explain the observed major variations.

20 August: Scientists report that the Greenland ice sheet lost a record amount of ice during 2019.

• 20 August – Scientists report that the Greenland ice sheet lost a record amount of 532 billion metric tons of ice during 2019, surpassing the old record of 464 billion metric tons in 2012 and returning to high melt rates, and provide explanations for the reduced ice loss in 2017 and 2018.
• 21 August – Scientists, via genomic analysis, identify a large number of mammals that can potentially be infected by SARS-CoV-2 and therefore could possibly become intermediate hosts for the virus.

24 August: Researchers assess potential global soil erosion rates by water due to projected climate- and land use-change for multiple SSP-RCP scenarios.

• 24 August
  • A study finds that almost 300 million people live on tropical forest restoration opportunity land in the Global South, constituting a large share of low-income countries' populations, and argues for prioritized inclusion of "local communities" in forest restoration projects.
  • Researchers assess potential global soil erosion rates by water due to projected climate- and land use-change for multiple SSP-RCP scenarios, indicating that global soil erosion by water may increase 30-66% between 2015 and 2070 and that the greatest increases will occur in areas with tropical climates, which could inform strategies for soil conservation.
• 26 August
  • Scientists report that bacteria from Earth, particularly Deinococcus radiodurans, were found to survive for three years in outer space, based on studies on the International Space Station. These findings support the notion of panspermia.
  • Scientists report that that ionizing radiation from environmental radioactive materials and cosmic rays may substantially limit the coherence times of qubits if they aren't shielded adequately.
  • Scientists report that the average global temperature of the last ice age, or Last Glacial Maximum, was ~6.1 °C cooler than today and that the equilibrium climate sensitivity was 3.4 °C, consistent with the established consensus range of 2–4.5 °C.

27 August: Scientists report evidence of the hibernation-like state torpor in Lystrosaurus living ~250 Mya in Antarctica – the oldest evidence of a hibernation-like state in a vertebrate animal.

• 27 August
  • Researchers report that sufficient water to fill the oceans may have always been on the Earth since the planet's formation.
  • Scientists report evidence of the hibernation-like state torpor in Lystrosaurus living ~250 Mya in Antarctica – the oldest evidence of a hibernation-like state in a vertebrate animal.
• 28 August
  • Elon Musk reveals a model of the prototype brain–computer interface chip, implanted in pigs, that his company Neuralink has been working on.
  • Scientists describe a way cells – in particular cells of a slime mold and mouse pancreatic cancer–derived cells – are able to navigate efficiently through a body and identify the best routes through complex mazes: generating gradients after breaking down diffused chemoattractants which enable them to sense upcoming maze junctions before reaching them, including around corners.
  • Quantum engineers working for Google report the largest chemical simulation on a quantum computer – a Hartree-Fock approximation with Sycamore paired with a classical computer that analyzed results to provide new parameters for the 12-qubit system.
• 31 August
  • Scientists report that New Guinea singing dogs, known for their characteristic vocalization, are not extinct in the wild as was previously commonly believed after analyzing blood samples of specimens found in highlands of New Guinea.
  • Scientists report that observed ice-sheet losses in Greenland and Antarctica track worst case scenarios of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report's sea-level rise projections.

September

• 1 September – A new infrared spectroscopy method capable of 80 million spectra per second, nearly 100 times faster than previous techniques, is reported by the University of Tokyo.
• 2 September
  • The largest known black hole merger, detected in May 2019, is confirmed, which also provides the first clear evidence of an intermediate-mass black hole. The resulting object, producing a gravitational wave called GW190521, is estimated at 142 solar masses.
  • Researchers in China demonstrate how microplastic pollution contaminates the soil and harms the abundance of common species, such as microarthropods and nematodes, as well as disrupting carbon and nutrient cycling.
• 8 September – Scientists in northern India discover the fossil molar tooth of a new extinct species, and oldest known ancestor of gibbons, named Kapi ramnagarensis, that lived about 13 million years ago.
• 14 September – The detection of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus is reported by astronomers using both the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in Chile and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii. This may indicate a biosignature.

Predicted and scheduled events

• December 21: Jupiter and Saturn come within a 6' arc (called Great Conjunction), giving a rare telescopic view of the two so close together. As the two planets have an apparent size smaller than one arc minute occultations are extremely rare, the next one will happen in the year 7541.

Date unknown

• Shenzhen East Waste-to-Energy Plant is planned to become operational, the largest waste to energy (WET) power plant in the world.
• Waymo, the first self-driving cars in ride-hailing services are announced for 2020.
• The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope is expected to achieve first light in 2020.

Awards

Main article: Lists of science and technology awards

Deaths

Main article: January–March 2020 in science § Deaths

Main article: April–June 2020 in science § Deaths

• July 1 – Ray Matheny, American anthropologist (b. 1925)
• July 2
  • Ángela Jeria, Chilean archeologist (b. 1926)
  • Xu Qifeng, Chinese engineer (b. 1936)
  • Willem van Zwet, Dutch mathematician (b. 1934)
• July 3 – Erika Taube, German ethnologist (b. 1933)
• July 5 – Horace Barlow, British neuroscientist (b. 1921)
• July 6
  • Ronald Graham, American mathematician (b. 1935)
  • Deborah Zamble, Canadian chemist (b. 1971)
• July 7
  • Millicent S. Ficken, American ornithologist (b. 1933)
  • Juan Rosai, American pathologist (b. 1940)
  • Henk Tennekes, American toxicologist (b. 1950)
• July 8
  • Norman Allinger, American chemist (b. 1928)
  • Flossie Wong-Staal, Chinese and American virologist and molecular biologist (b. 1946)
• July 9 – Tong Binggang, Chinese physicist (b. 1927)
• July 10
  • Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty, Indian and American microbiologist (b. 1938)
  • Michael M. Richter, German mathematician and computer scientist (b. 1938)
• July 11 – Lim Boo Liat, Malaysian zoologist (b. 1926)
• July 14
  • Tim Clark, British physician (b. 1935)
  • Caesar Korolenko, Russian psychiatrist (b. 1933)
  • Alex McCool, American manager of the Space Shuttle Projects Office at NASA (b. 1923)
• July 13
  • Grant Imahara, American electrical engineer (b. 1970)
  • Zeng Yi, Chinese virologist (b. 1929)
• July 15 – George Simon, Guyanese archeologist (b. 1947)
• July 17
  • Angela von Nowakonski, Brazilian physician and medical researcher (b. 1953)
  • C. S. Seshadri, Indian mathematician (b. 1932)
  • Ron Tauranac, British and Australian engineer (b. 1925)
• July 21 – Li Jijun, Chinese geographer and geomorphologist
• July 23
  • Masakazu Konishi, Japanese neurobiologist (b. 1933)
  • Jacqueline Noonan, American pediatric cardiologist (b. 1928)
  • Ward Plummer, American physicist (b. 1940)
  • Paolo Sassone-Corsi, Italian microbiologist (b. 1956)
• July 24 – Zheng Shouren, Chinese engineer (b. 1940)
• July 26
  • R. Stephen Berry, American physical chemist (b. 1931)
  • Roger Williams, British hepatologist (b. 1931)
  • Bill English, American computer engineer and co-developer of the computer mouse (b. 1929)
• August 1
  • Frank Barnaby, British nuclear physicist (b. 1927)
  • Rosemary Radley-Smith, British peadatric cardiologist (b. 1939)
• August 2 – Gregory Areshian, Armenian and American archeologist (b. 1949)
• August 4
  • Frances Allen, American computer scientist, first woman to win the Turing Award (b. 1932)
  • Irene D. Long, American physician (b. 1950)
  • Jan Strelau, Polish psychologist (b. 1931)
• August 6 – Louis Meznarie, French engineer (b. 1930)
• August 7
  • Lungile Pepeta, South African paedatric cardiologist (b. 1974)
  • Edward Bruner, American anthropologist (b. 1924)
• August 8
  • Dóra S. Bjarnason, Icelandic sociologist (b. 1947)
  • Bert Laeyendecker, Dutch sociologist (b. 1930)
  • Konrad Steffen, Swiss glaciologist (b. 1952)
• August 9 – Calaway H. Dodson, American botanist (b. 1928)
• August 11 – Russell Kirsch, American computer scientist and inventor of the first digital image scanner (b. 1929)
• August 12 – Robert Williams, American psychologist (b. 1930)
• August 13
  • Peter Stuart Excell, British engineer (b. 1948)
  • Bernd Fischer, German mathematician (b. 1936)
• August 14 – Kenneth Kunen, American mathematician (b. 1943)
• August 16
  • Nina McClelland, American chemist (b. 1929)
  • Jean-Michel Savéant, French chemist (b. 1933)
• August 17 – Richard M. White, American electrical engineer (b. 1930)
• August 18 – Han Woerdman, Dutch physicist (b. 1942)
• August 19 – Borys Paton, Ukrainian scientist (b. 1918)
• August 20 – Herbert Tabor, American biochemist (b. 1918)
• August 23 – Neil Douglas, British physician (b. 1949)
• August 25
  • Erik Allardt, Finnish sociologist (b. 1925)
  • Rebeca Guber, Argentine mathematician and computer scientist (b.1926)
  • Arnold Spielberg, American electrical engineer (b. 1917)
• August 26 – Gerald Carr, American astronaut and aeronautical engineer (b. 1932)
• August 28 – Seymour I. Schwartz, American surgeon (b. 1928)

See also

• Category:Science events
• Category:Science timelines
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on science and technology
  • COVID-19 apps
  • COVID-19 vaccine
  • Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Open-source ventilator#COVID-19 pandemic
• List of emerging technologies
• List of years in science

External links

• Template:Commons category-inline
• Science Summary 2020, monthly images for entries of this list