"Nature" releases seven major scientific events worth paying attention to in 2022!

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging this year, bringing many tragedies and disasters to mankind, "every dark cloud has a silver lining"! The COVID-19 vaccine has become a powerful weapon to fight the pandemic, and the most powerful superconducting quantum computer to date has been "launched"... The ingenuity of scientists has given mankind a lot of hope and made us look forward to the future. In a report on December 17, the website of the British magazine Nature sorted out seven major scientific events worth paying attention to in 2022.

1

The epidemic may continue

2022 marks the third year of the coronavirus's assault on humanity, and we have no end in sight. It is urgent to better understand the impact of the Omicron variant and the threat it may pose. Early research results suggest that Omicron may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. Scientists also hope to figure out what kind of disease it can cause and how severe it is.

In 2022, researchers and public health authorities will continue to monitor the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus and the possible long-term effects of the virus on people who have recovered from COVID-19.

Many countries have begun vaccinating their populations, and vaccine promotion efforts may continue due to concerns about Omicron, but nearly half of the world's population has not yet been vaccinated, and how to fill the huge gap in global vaccination has become an important issue.

Meanwhile, the debate over the origins of the virus is likely to continue, with the World Health Organization appointing a team of 26 scientists to try to crack the mystery again.

2

Vaccine upgrade

Vaccine developers have already set their sights on the next generation of vaccines, hoping to protect against rapidly mutating coronaviruses. In 2022, scientists may develop messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines that target specific variants, and some public health officials also hope that vaccines developed using other technologies will play a greater role.

Protein-based vaccines are a more conventional immunization approach that have been used for decades to treat diseases including hepatitis and shingles. This year, a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine performed well in Phase III clinical trials. DNA-based vaccines are cheaper to make than mRNA vaccines and do not require refrigeration, so they could be a boon to people in low-income countries.

There is also hope for progress in vaccines to treat other major viruses and diseases, including HIV, malaria and Lyme disease.

3

Physics may have a bumper year

In 2022, with the "return of the king" of many large instruments and the launch of new detection activities, physicists may usher in a fruitful year!

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will restart in June, and scientists have upgraded and expanded its main experiments - the ATLAS experiment and the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment (CMS), which will allow them to collect more data from the 40 million proton collisions it produces every second.

The Large Hadron Collider will restart in 2022

In addition, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the United States, the Virgo gravitational-wave detector in Europe, and the Kamioka gravitational-wave detector KAGRA in Japan will also begin new observation activities.

Meanwhile, the Rare Isotope Beam Facility (FRIB) at Michigan State University is expected to begin operation in early 2022. The $730 million multi-stage accelerator is designed to synthesize thousands of new isotopes of known elements and will conduct research on nuclear structure, neutron stars and supernova explosions.

4

Moon landing missions followed

In 2022, several orbiters and landers developed by government space agencies and private space companies will head to the moon.

NASA will launch an unmanned Artemis 1 orbiter in February 2022, the first test of the long-delayed Space Launch System (SLS) designed to send astronauts to the lunar surface. Artemis 1 is the first step in NASA's plan to return to the moon, and the agency's CAPSTONE orbiter will conduct experiments to prepare for the first space station "Gateway" to orbit the moon.

Russia's Luna 25 probe will begin its lunar exploration journey next year

India's third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, aims to make the country's probe softly land on the moon for the first time and send its own lunar rover to the moon; Japan will also attempt its first soft landing on the moon. Russia plans to recreate the glory of the Soviet moon landing program with its Luna 25 lander. South Korea's Pathfinder lunar orbiter will kick off South Korea's lunar exploration journey.

In terms of private space exploration, Japanese lunar robotics company ispace plans to launch the Hakuto-R lander, which will carry the United Arab Emirates' Rashid lunar rover, while U.S. companies Astro Robotics and Intuitive Machines plan to use their own rovers to deliver NASA instruments to the lunar surface.

5

China's Tiangong space station to be completed

The joint European and Russian ExoMars mission is scheduled to launch in September 2022. It will carry ESA's Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars to search for signs of past life there. The launch was originally scheduled for 2020 but was delayed due to problems with the parachutes needed for a safe landing.

China's Tiangong space station is scheduled for completion in 2022 and hosts more than 1,000 experiments, ranging from astronomical and Earth observations to the effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation on bacterial growth.

6

Continue to take action on climate change

In 2020, the pandemic led to a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, but carbon emissions rebounded in 2021. In November this year, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) was held in Glasgow, UK, and delegates pledged to reduce coal use and methane emissions, among other things.

In November 2022, delegates from around the world will gather again in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27). Countries are expected to make climate commitments in line with the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. In the meantime, researchers will continue to monitor greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change could lead to extreme droughts

7

Saving biodiversity

With habitat loss and other factors linked to human activities pushing an estimated 1 million plant and animal species to the brink of extinction, countries are seeking a new set of targets to slow the loss of biodiversity.

As of 2020, most of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets set in 2010 have not been achieved. The first phase of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) was held in Kunming, Yunnan from October 11 to 15 this year, and the Kunming Declaration was adopted, calling on all parties to take action to build a global community of life. The second phase of the meeting will be held offline in Kunming, China from April 25 to May 8, 2022.

Source: Science and Technology Daily. The pictures in the article are from the official website of Nature magazine.

◎ Liu Xia, Science and Technology Daily reporter

Editor: Zhang Shuang

Review: Julie

Final judge: He Yi