Life whizzes past and the years bring changes to our lives that most of us accept without question. I remember the excitement of our first color television set and the sudden convenience and relief offered by our first family telephone. When I look back it’s incredibly hard to comprehend how we lived without either of the above, not to mention the invention of the internet!
In the past 10 years humans have made many amazing discoveries, and I have listed just five of them below.
YouTube
Although it feels like it’s been around forever, it wasn’t actually in existence until 2005. Invented in a garage by three young men named Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim, YouTube has brought fame to many a solitary talent.
YouTube is a destination on the internet where people can make and upload their own videos. People can record themselves singing and dancing and use the videos as audition pieces, especially for programs like “X Factor;” others have great fun recording hilarious situations. I have peaked over my son’s shoulder a few times and seen him laughing at videos that have had thousands of viewers.
Educationally YouTube has been a great help. Children and adults can look up a subject and discover new and exciting ideas, and it is also a good source of ‘how to’ videos.
Robotic Limbs
Many years ago I met somebody who’s job it was to make artificial limbs; I thought it was wonderful to be able to help people in that way. Today we have something even more spectacular – robotic arms powered by our own brainwaves.
In 2009 a man named Pierpaolo Petruzziello had a robotic hand connected by wires and electrodes to his arm nerves, he became the first person to be able to move his fingers, make a fist and grab hold of objects using the power of his thoughts. This amazing accomplishment stemmed from the idea that became a reality in the year 2000 when scientists placed electrodes in the brain of a monkey and trained it to reach for food with a robotic arm.
I am not in complete agreement with using animals for scientific experiments, however in a case like this when the progression is so positive an exception can be made. If a victim of a terrible accident becomes totally paralyzed, to be able to regain such independence is extremely encouraging.
The Last Common Ancestor?
The history of where we came from has long been up for controversial discussion, so not everybody was glad about the discovery of 4.4 million-year-old Ardi discovered in 2009. The Ardipethecus Ramidus (Ardi for short) found in northeastern Ethiopia is believed to have been a skilled tree-climber who walked on two legs, and who’s teeth show that she ate many different kinds of food.
If these scientific studies prove to be absolutely true, then we have found our last living common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees.
I am excited about this find; we should never stop searching for our beginning no matter what we believe it to be; we are an ever evolving species living on an ever evolving planet, discoveries and progression is inevitable.
Stem Cells
Stem Cell research had to be one of the most positive discoveries ever made. With the ability to cure diseases such as Parkinson’s, cancer and genetic disorders, these embryonic cells could save thousands of lives.
These cells have the ability to metamorphose, which means they can help grow a new internal organ by multiplying and changing into exactly the type of cell the organ needs.
In 2001 the American government cut the funding to scientists who were working on embryonic stem cells, due to the fact that a life started in the womb had to die in order for the research to take place. Six years later scientists discovered a way of extracting these cells without the ethical issue.
In 2007 adult skin cells were taken and re-programmed to act like embryonic stem cells, and this was a massive step forward. Not only did they have the same cells to work with, they also had the same DNA as the patient, so the possibility of rejection became unlikely.
In 2009 the US policy on stem cell research changed. Now, as long as proper scientific investigation is taking place and permission has been given by the donors, the boundaries limiting embryonic study have been lifted.
Alien Planets.
Ever since the first “War Of The Worlds” movie I have been fascinated by the possibility of life on another planet, and it looks like one day we may be able to actually locate and communicate with another species.
In 2008 astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope and captured an image of an alien planet orbiting a distant star. Scientists named this star Formalhaut, 25 light-years away from Earth.
The implications of alien life are huge; we could learn so much. How long will it be until we connect with an extraterrestrial civilization?
Sources:
http://stemcells.nih.gov/
news.discovery.com
