A number of significant scientific events occurred in 2017. The United Nations declared 2017 the International Year of
Sustainable Tourism for
Development.[1]
Events
January
4 January
A study published in the journal Science Advances casts further doubt on the existence of a recent "
pause" in
global warming, with more evidence that
ocean temperatures have been underestimated.[2][3]
After 60 wins and 0 losses over 7 days, Google reveals that a mysterious player of
Go, named "Master", is actually an improved version of its
AlphaGoAI.[4]
Researchers at Michigan State University demonstrate a chemical compound and potential new drug able to stop the spread of
melanoma by 90%.[5]
5 January – A Japanese insurance firm, Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance, announces that 34 of its office workers will be replaced with
IBM’s
WatsonAI.[8]
6 January
A large portion of the
Larsen C ice shelf is reported to be on the verge of breaking away from
Antarctica. It is expected to become one of the top 10 biggest
icebergs ever recorded, leaving the whole shelf vulnerable to future collapse, which would raise global sea levels by 10cm.[9]
Researchers at MIT design one of the strongest lightweight materials known, by compressing and fusing flakes of
graphene. The new material is highly porous. Computer simulations predict it is possible to make materials with a density of just 5 percent of steel, but 10 times stronger.[10]
9 January – Researchers at
King's College London report a way of using an Alzheimer's drug to stimulate the renewal of living stem cells in tooth pulp.[12][13]
10 January – Researchers discover that
glia, not
neurons, are most affected by brain aging.[14]
12 January – Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute report the discovery of
TZAP, a protein that binds the ends of
chromosomes and determines how long
telomeres can be.[18]
14 January
Researchers at the University of Sydney use
big data to predict how a quantum system will change and to prevent its breakdown from occurring.[19]
SpaceX resumes flights, following a launch pad explosion in September 2016. A
reusableFalcon 9 rocket successfully delivers 10 satellites into orbit for a client,
Iridium, before returning to a landing pad in the ocean.[20][21]
16 January
Astronomers working on the Japanese Akatsukispace probe mission report detecting a possible
gravity wave that occurred on the planet
Venus in December 2015.[22]
Researchers publish evidence that humans first entered North America in around 24,000 BP (
Before Present), during the height of the last
ice age. This is 10,000 years earlier than previously thought.[23]
17 January – The Chinese government announces plans for the first prototype
exascalesupercomputer by the end of the year.[24]
18 January
Researchers at Harvard develop a customisable "
soft robot" that fits around a heart and helps it beat, potentially offering a new treatment option for patients with heart failure.[25]
Independent analyses by NASA and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) show that 2016 was the hottest year on record, at 0.99 °C (1.78 °F) above the mid-20th century global mean average. This follows record warmth in the two preceding years 2015 and 2014.[26]
19 January
A study published in Nature warns that some of the most important
crops in the U.S. are at risk of "abrupt and substantial yield losses" from rising temperatures later this century, with harvests potentially declining by 20% for
wheat, 40% for
soybean and almost 50% for
maize.[27]
Researchers at Northwestern University develop an AI system that performs at human levels on a standard visual intelligence test.[28]
Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute create the first stable semisynthetic organism. This can hold two synthetic bases, called X and Y, in its genetic code indefinitely. The team says it could lead to entirely new life forms using synthetic DNA, with many potential uses in medicine.[30][31]
26 January
Researchers at the Salk Institute create the first human-pig hybrid embryo, containing genetic information from both species.[32][33][34]
Scientists at Harvard report creating a small amount of
metallic hydrogen for the first time, a century after it was theorised.[35][36] The claim is disputed.[37]
27 January – A report from the EU's
Joint Research Centre concludes that if global temperatures rise by 4 °C, the flood risk in countries representing more than 70% of the global population and of the global GDP will increase by more than 500%.[38]
Researchers led by the University of Sussex publish the first practical blueprint for how to build a
quantum computer.[41][42]
Researchers develop a new blue-phase liquid crystal that could triple the sharpness of TVs, computer screens, and other displays while also reducing the power needed to run the device.[43]
6 February – The first stable
helium compound is synthesized, Na2He.[44][45] Helium is the most unreactive element.
7 February
A mysterious "white dwarf pulsar" is announced, the first known star of its kind, located 380 light years from Earth.[46]
Asteroid
2017 BQ6 passed within 6.6 lunar distances of Earth at 6:36 UT.
A study in the journal Anthropocene Review concludes that human activity is changing the climate 170 times faster than natural processes.[51]
A study by the University of Buffalo, using four decades of evidence, finds no link between immigration and higher rates of crime.[52]
14 February – A committee from the US National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine gives cautious backing to gene editing of human embryos.[53]
15 February – A study published in Nature finds that
oxygen levels in the oceans have declined by 2% globally in the last 50 years, due to warming and
stratification.[54][55]
Researchers from the
University of Texas at Austin develop ultra-flexible, nanoelectronic thread (NET) brain probes, designed to achieve more reliable long-term neural recording than existing probes and without causing scar formation when implanted.[57]
21 February – Scientists describe a technique to grow large quantities of inner ear progenitor cells that convert into hair cells, which could potentially treat hearing loss.[58]
2 March – The University of Alberta announces details of DeepStack, a new artificial intelligence program able to beat professional human players at
poker for the first time.[63]
6 March –
IBM announces "IBM Q", an initiative to build commercially available universal
quantum computing systems.[64]
NASA's
Cassini mission reveals new images of
Pan, a small moon of Saturn, which is now shown to have a bizarre 'flying saucer' shape.[66]
8 March – Scientists at the University of Texas report a new phase of matter, dubbed a time crystal, in which atoms move in a pattern that repeats in time rather than in space.[67]
9 March
Researchers at the Institute for Basic Science publish details of a single
atom memory storage system.[68]
The CDH2 gene is found to be implicated in
sudden death among young people and athletes.[69]
A study by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics suggests that fast radio bursts in distant galaxies could be evidence of advanced alien technology.[70]
10 March
Scientists report that
extraterrestrial dust particles have been identified to be all over planet
Earth. According to one of the researchers, “Once I knew what to look for, I found them everywhere.”[71][72]
A study published in Science Advances concludes that the world's oceans are warming 13% faster than previously thought, and accelerating.[73][74]
16 March – Scientists report that a potential drug candidate,
trodusquemine, can restore some heart muscle function after a heart attack. As of 2017, no drug exists that is able to do this.[75]
A report by the
International Energy Agency (IEA) finds that CO2 emissions have remained flat for the third year in a row, despite continued global economic growth.[80]
22 March
Scientists report a new way of classifying the
dinosaurfamily tree, based on newer and more evidence than available earlier. According to the new classification, the original dinosaurs, arising 200 million years ago, were small, two-footed
omnivorous animals with large grasping hands. Descendants (for the
non-avian dinosaurs) lasted until 66 million years ago.[76][77]
NASA reports that sea ice extent has reached record lows at both the Arctic and Antarctic.[81]
23 March – Dutch scientists report a drug that can reverse aspects of ageing in old mice – restoring their stamina, coat of fur and even some organ function – by flushing out "senescent" cells in the body that have stopped dividing. Human trials are planned.[82][83]
24 March – Scientists at the
University of New South Wales publish details of experiments on mice that suggest a treatment is possible for DNA damage from aging and radiation, based on the metabolite
NAD+.[84]
27 March – Scientists in Australia announce the discovery of the world's largest
dinosaur footprint, measuring 1.7 metres (5 ft 7 in) long. The previous record-holder was about 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) long.[85][86]
30 March –
SpaceX conducts the world's first
reflight of an orbital class rocket.[87][88]
11 April – The telescopes of the
Event Horizon Telescope finish data-taking in their attempt to image the region close to a black hole. Data analysis is expected to take several months.[96]
The
University of California, Berkeley, creates a device that pulls water from dry air, powered only by the Sun. Even under conditions of relatively low (20–30 percent)
humidity, it is able to produce 2.8 liters of water over a 12-hour period.[99]
24 April –
Wax moth larvae are reported to be able to biodegrade
polyethylene, one of the toughest, most resilient, and most used
plastics. The creatures may be a solution to the growing problem of
plastic waste.[109][110]
25 April – Researchers in the U.S. demonstrate an
artificial womb-like device on
lambs, which could one day be used for saving premature human babies.[111][112]
1 May – The University of Utah reveals a new robotic drill system for greatly speeding up surgical procedures. One type of complex cranial surgery could be done in a fiftieth of the normal time, decreasing from two hours to just two and a half minutes.[116][117]
The first synthetic
retina using soft biological tissues is created by a student at the University of Oxford.[115]
9 May
Scientists report newer findings, two adults and a child, of
Homo naledi, an
extinct species of
hominin, in a second chamber, named "Lesedi", of the "
Rising Star Cave" system. This second chamber is near the first earlier chamber, named
"Dinaledi". In addition, remains of
Homo naledi have been reported to be dated "between 236,000 and 335,000 years ago".[120][121]
Researchers at the University of Minnesota demonstrate a 3D-printed ‘bionic skin’ that could give robots a sense of touch, or lead to electronics printed on real human skin.[124]
A study of nearly 6,000 adults finds that high levels of physical activity equate to a nine-year biological aging advantage. Those who engaged in a minimum of 30 to 40 minutes of running, five days a week, were found to have longer
telomere lengths.[125]
15 May – Researchers report that glints of light observed from
Earth, seen as twinkling from an orbiting satellite a million miles away, have been found to be
reflected light from
ice crystals in the
atmosphere.[126][127] The technology used to determine this may be useful in studying the
atmospheres of distant worlds, including those of
exoplanets.
16 May
SESAME, a synchrotron light source in Jordan built by a collaboration including Israel, the Palestinian National Authority and Iran, is inaugurated.[128]
ARM and the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE) announce plans to develop a "brain-implantable" system-on-a-chip (SoC) for bi-directional brain-computer interfaces (BBCI). The 10-year project is aimed at solving neurodegenerative disorders.[129][130]
17 May – Human blood stem cells are grown in the laboratory for the first time by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital.[131][132]
18 May – Researchers publish evidence of a rapid greening in the
Antarctica region over the last 50 years.[133]Mosses that once grew less than 1mm a year are now found to be growing more than 3mm a year on average.[134]
An Australian-Chinese research team creates the world's thinnest
hologram, fabricated using a simple and fast direct laser writing system, with potential for use in a range of electronic products.[135]
Researchers in Harvard University report that eating up to six bars of chocolate a week could decrease the risk of a potentially
fatal heart condition by approximately one quarter.[141]
Scientists propose a new type of astronomical object called a "synestia" – a huge, spinning, donut-shaped mass of hot, vaporised rock, formed as planet-sized objects smash into each other.[142]
24 May
The launch date of NASA's Psyche probe is brought forward, to target a more efficient trajectory, launching in 2022 and arriving in 2026 with a Mars gravity assist in 2023.[145]
Researchers in Switzerland create artificial viruses that can be used to target cancer. These designer viruses alert the immune system and cause it to send killer cells to help fight the tumor. The results, published in Nature Communications, provide a basis for innovative cancer treatments.[146]
25 May – An article in Science magazine claims the
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission relied on faulty analysis to justify its refusal to adopt a critical measure for protecting Americans from nuclear-waste fires at dozens of reactor sites around the country. Radioactivity from such a fire could force approximately 8 million people to relocate and result in $2 trillion in damages.[147]
Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute announce a way to structurally modify
vancomycin to make the antibiotic more powerful.[149][150]
A survey of 352 experts in
artificial intelligence finds that experts believe there is a 50% chance of AI outperforming humans in all tasks within 45 years and of automating all human jobs in 120 years.[151][152]
31 May –
Muon g-2, a precision experiment to measure the
g-factor of muons, starts taking data.[153]
NASA reports that the
Curiosity rover provided evidence of an ancient lake in
Gale crater on
Mars that could have been favorable for
microbial life; the ancient lake was
stratified, with shallows rich in
oxidants and depths poor in oxidants; and, the ancient lake provided many different types of microbe-friendly environments at the same time. NASA further reports that the
Curiosity rover will continue to explore higher and younger layers of
Mount Sharp in order to determine how the lake environment in ancient times on Mars became the drier environment in more modern times.[157][158][159]
5 June – Astronomers at The
Ohio State University and
Vanderbilt University have detected a planet that is so hot, its heat rivals most stars. With a day-side temperature of 4,600 Kelvin (more than 7,800
degrees Fahrenheit), planet
KELT-9b is hotter than most stars, and only 1,200 Kelvin (about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than our own
sun.[160][161][162]
7 June – Scientists report evidence, based on fossil remains found in the western part of
North Africa in
Morocco at
Jebel Irhoud, that Homo sapiens may have originated about 300,000 years ago, over 100,000 years earlier than previously thought.[163][164]
9 June – Researchers at the University of Zurich report the creation of the largest virtual universe ever simulated, consisting of 25 billion galaxies generated from 2 trillion digital particles.[165][166]
Two new moons –
S/2016 J1 and
S/2017 J1 – are reported to be orbiting
Jupiter, bringing the gas giant's total number of known natural satellites to 69.[168]
15 June
Chinese scientists report the successful transmission of
entangled photons between suborbital space and Earth, using the satellite
Micius.[169]
A study by the universities of Coventry and Radboud finds that
meditation,
yoga and
Tai Chi can 'reverse' the molecular reactions in DNA which cause ill-health and depression.[170]
18 June – The European Society of Cardiology reports a vaccine that lowers
cholesterol in mice, which may offer hope of immunising against cardiovascular disease.[171]
NASA's
Kepler Space Telescope team publish 219 new
exoplanet candidates, 10 of which are near-Earth size and orbiting in their star's habitable zone.[174]
22 June – A study of snail neurons, published in Current Biology, suggests memories that trigger anxiety and PTSD could be 'erased' without affecting normal memory of past events.[177]
26 June
Research by Cornell University suggests that rising sea levels will displace 1.4 billion people by 2060 and 2 billion by 2100.[178]
29 June – A study published in the journal Science concludes that unmitigated climate change will exacerbate
inequality in the USA, with southern states losing up to 20 percent of their income by century's end.[181]
30 June – The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) reveals plans to send an astronaut to the Moon by 2030.[182]
July
1 July – Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham warn that
brainwave-sensing headsets are vulnerable to hacking and could reveal a user's passwords if their brainwaves are being monitored.[183]
4 July – Scientists report evidence that
homo sapiens may have migrated out of Africa 270,000 years ago, much earlier than the 70,000 years ago thought previously.[184][185]
5 July – A study in the journal Science Advances shows that
climate sensitivity is greater than previously thought, and that lower estimates of future temperatures do not take into account long-term patterns of
warming.[186][187]
Researchers report that the surface on the planet
Mars may be more toxic to
microorganisms, especially a common terrestrial type, Bacillus subtilis, than thought earlier. This is based on studies with
perchlorates, common on Mars, in a simulated Martian
ultraviolet atmosphere.[190][191]
Researchers at the University of Tokyo demonstrate a breathable nanoscale mesh with an electronic sensor that can be worn on the skin for a week without discomfort, and could potentially monitor a person's health continuously over a long period.[207]
Researchers in California report how
carbon sequestration in the ocean can be made 500 times faster, by simply adding a common enzyme to the process.[208]
18 July – A computer simulation by the University of Manchester suggests that Tyrannosaurus rex moved slower than was thought previously, with its size and weight limiting the dinosaur to a maximum of 20 km/h (12 mph).[209]
19 July – Archaeologists publish evidence that
Aboriginal people have been in
Australia for at least 65,000 years, suggesting the arrival of humans on the continent was up to 18,000 years earlier than previously thought.[210][211]
25 July – Researchers at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) announce a new record efficiency of 22.1% for
perovskite solar cells.[214]
26 July
The
Breakthrough Starshot initiative announces that it has developed and launched the world's smallest spacecraft, precursors of "
StarChip", known as "
Sprites", measuring just 3.5 cm and weighing only four grams, but containing solar panels, computers, sensors, and radios.[215][216]
Researchers discover that stem cells in the brain's
hypothalamus govern how fast aging occurs in the body.[217]
The first gene editing of human embryos in the USA is reported to have taken place, using
CRISPR.[218][219]
27 July
Astronomers announce that half the matter of the
Milky Waygalaxy may have come from other distant galaxies.[220]
Virgo joins
LIGO in the measurement of gravitational waves, improving the sensitivity.[227]
2 August
For the first time, scientists use
CRISPR in human embryos to remove faulty DNA responsible for a hereditary heart condition.[228][229][230]
Scientists at Edinburgh Napier University report a treatment based on antimicrobial peptides that could potentially lead to a cure for the common cold.[231]
4 August – In a letter to Darwin Life, Inc. and New Hope Fertility Center, the
FDA warns that the "
three parent baby" technique should not be marketed in the U.S.[235]
8 August – Patagotitan mayorum, one of the largest ever dinosaurs, is officially named by researchers.[238]
10 August – Researchers at Brown University report the transmission of data through a terahertz multiplexer at 50 gigabits per second, which could lead to a new generation of ultra-fast
Wi-Fi.[239][240][241]
11 August – A deep learning algorithm is reported to be capable of visually identifying thousands of plant species.[242]
12 August – Scientists discover 91
volcanoes located two kilometres below the
West Antarctic Ice Sheet, making it the largest volcanic region on Earth.[243]
14 August – A study by
Ben-Gurion University suggests that the use of 'smiley'
emoticons in workplace
emails may reduce the perception of competence, and could even undermine information sharing.[244]
21 August
Researchers at
MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) working with colleagues in Belgium and the UK find a new way to generate very high-energetic ions to study nuclear fusion.[245][246]
A team of scientists from all over the globe finds that there may indeed be
diamond precipitation deep inside icy
giant planets like
Neptune and
Uranus.[247]
Engineers in the U.S. demonstrate how to make ultra-compact antennas for wireless communication 100 times smaller than their current size.[250]
23 August
A peer-reviewed study by Harvard University concludes that petroleum company
Exxon misled the public about the dangers of climate change for nearly 40 years.[252][253]
Astronomers using
ESO's
Very Large Telescope to study the star
Antares produce the most detailed image and create the first map of surface motion of a star other than the Sun.[251]
24 August – In a study published by Nature, researchers at the University of Manchester show that
magnetic hysteresis is possible in individual molecules at −213 °C. This proves that storing data with single-molecule magnets is more feasible than previously thought, and could theoretically give 100 times higher density than current technologies.[254]
26 August – Astronomers detect 15 repeating
Fast Radio Bursts coming from
FRB 121102 located in a
dwarf galaxy about 3 billion light-years away from Earth. The researchers note that FRB 121102 is presently in a "heightened activity state, and follow-on observations are encouraged, particularly at higher radio frequencies".[255][256]
28 August – Scientists break the record for coldest temperature of
molecules, at 50 millionths of a degree above
absolute zero.[257]
4 September – Astronomers report the discovery of an
intermediate-massblack hole with 100,000 solar masses hiding in a gas cloud near the heart of the Milky Way, ranking it as the second largest black hole ever seen in the galaxy.[261]
Scientists report that the
Curiosity rover detected
boron, an essential ingredient for
life on
Earth, on the planet
Mars. Such a finding, along with previous discoveries that water may have been present on ancient Mars, further supports the possible early habitability of
Gale Crater on Mars.[265][266]
6 September – A research team led by Andrea Morello at the
University of New South Wales invented a new type of quantum computing design they called Flip-flop qubits, which makes it much easier to integrate quantum computing with electronic circuits compared with existing approaches.[267]
7 September – The
International Astronomical Union officially approves the naming of 14 features on the
surface of Pluto. These are the first geological features on the planet to be named following the close flyby by the New Horizons spacecraft in July 2015.[268]
A quantum computer at IBM was used to calculate energy levels in
beryllium hydride.[271] The calculation method is an important step towards the simulation of larger molecules beyond the reach of classical supercomputers.[272]
A 35-year-old man who had been in a
vegetative state for 15 years after a car accident is reported to have shown signs of consciousness after neurosurgeons implanted a vagus nerve stimulator into his chest.[275][276]
The Australian government announces that it will establish a national space agency.[277]
27 September
The
LIGO and
Virgo collaborations announce the detection of a fourth binary black hole merger,
GW170814. For the first time, three detectors recorded the signal, leading to a more precise localization of the source in the sky.[278][279][280]
Researchers from Oxford, Münster and Exeter Universities create
photonic computer chips – that use light rather than electricity – to imitate the way a brain's synapses operate.[281]
30 September – NASA reports
radiation levels on the surface of the planet
Mars were temporarily
doubled, and were associated with an
aurora 25-times brighter than any observed earlier, due to a massive, and unexpected,
solar storm in mid-September 2017.[288]
NASA announces that the likely explanation for the unusual dimming events related to
KIC 8462852 (or
Tabby's Star) is that an "uneven ring of
dust" orbits the star.[295][296][297]
5 October – Astronomers identify
C/2017 K2, the most distant
comet ever observed in our
Solar System, at a distance of 1.5 billion km (0.93 billion mi).[298]
Scientists at Rutgers University find an efficient way to enhance the nutritional value of
corn, by inserting a bacterial gene from
E Coli, that stimulates production of a key nutrient called
methionine, an amino acid found usually in meat.[301]
10 October – A study by Imperial College London and the World Health Organisation finds there has been a tenfold increase in childhood and adolescent
obesity since 1975, with the number of obese likely to exceed the underweight by 2022.[305]
Scientists announce the discovery of
teeth fossils in Germany resembling those of Australopithecus afarensis, suggesting the extinct
hominin may have existed 9.7 million years ago, much earlier than 3.9 million years ago, and not living only in Africa, as thought previously.[314][315][316]
NASA announces that the
Dawn spacecraft mission around the
dwarf planetCeres would be extended until the
hydrazine fuel in the spacecraft runs out, possibly in the second half of 2018; afterwards, the spacecraft is expected to remain in a stable orbit around Ceres indefinitely.[320]
20 October – IBM shifts the goal for
quantum supremacy by demonstrating that classical computers can simulate larger quantum systems than previously thought, and uses a supercomputer to simulate up to 56
qubits.[323]
European researchers discover a flaw in the way
ocean temperatures have been estimated, suggesting they were colder in the past than previously thought, and that the current period of warming is unparalleled over the last 100 million years.[317][318]
A study by the University of Melbourne finds that sea levels could rise 1.3m globally unless coal power ends by 2050.[329]
NASA reports an object, named
A/2017 U1, that is believed to be the first known
interstellar asteroid or comet to pass through our Solar System.[330][331]
30 October – The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) reports that concentrations of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere reached a record high of 403.3 parts per million in 2016.[332][333]
Astronomers working with the
Next-Generation Transit Survey report the discovery of
NGTS-1b, a large confirmed
hot Jupiter-sized
extrasolar planet orbiting NGTS-1, a small
red dwarf star about half the mass and radius of the
Sun, every 2.65 days.[335][336][337] Daniel Bayliss, of the
University of Warwick, and lead author of the study describing the discovery of NGTS-1b, stated, "The discovery of NGTS-1b was a complete surprise to us—such massive planets were not thought to exist around such small stars – importantly, our challenge now is to find out how common these types of planets are in the Galaxy, and with the new Next-Generation Transit Survey facility we are well-placed to do just that."[335][337]
November
1 November – NASA reports that the first evidence of an
exoplanet was noted as early as 1917. The evidence was found after reviewing archival materials discovered in storerooms at the
Carnegie Observatories in
Pasadena, California.[338]
2 November
Scientists report that significant changes in the position and structure of the
brain have been found in
astronauts who have taken
trips in space, based on
MRI studies. Astronauts who took longer space trips were associated with greater brain changes.[339][340]
Researchers from the University of Aberdeen report that a single dose of the drug
Trodusquemine can "melt away" fat inside
arteries.[346]
6 November – A study by the Earth Institute at Columbia University finds that swapping where crops are grown around the world could potentially feed an extra 825 million people.[347]
7 November
Fossils of tiny
shrew-like creatures are discovered in southern England, dating back
145 million years, making them the oldest-known ancestors of most living
mammals.[348]
UK scientists report that
resveratrol analogues, when applied to
senescent cells in the laboratory, made the cells look and behave younger, with longer
telomeres and the ability to divide again.[349]
8 November
Astronomers report the first known case of a star,
IPTF14hls, that
exploded multiple times, over a period of at least 50 years.[350]
Experiments on mice show that variants in a gene called ankyrin-B, carried by millions of Americans, could cause cells to store fat, potentially leading to
obesity.[360][361]
The
FDA approves "Abilify MyCite", the first drug in the U.S. with a digital ingestion tracking system that records when the medication was taken, via a sensor embedded in the pill.[362][363][364][365]
23 November – A study by the
University of Leeds finds that shrinking glacier cover across
Iceland could lead to increased
volcanism in the region, by reducing pressure on the Earth's surface.[372]
28 November
A study by
Northwell Health identifies dozens of new genetic variations associated with a person's general cognitive ability, while also noting a genetic overlap with longevity.[373]
The
Voyager I spacecraft, the most distant man-made object, fires its trajectory thrusters for the first time since 1980, to extend its lifetime by two or three more years.[377][378]
29 November – A study published in Nature finds that inhibiting
RNA polymerase III (Pol III), a common enzyme found in all mammals, including humans, can extend the lifespan of flies and worms.[379]
30 November – Researchers from
Imperial College London announce a breakthrough in
optical computing, with a 10,000-fold reduction in the distance over which light can interact.[380]
Researchers at the
University of Minnesota develop graphene nano 'tweezers' able to grab individual biomolecules, with potential for use in handheld disease diagnostic systems that could be run on smartphones.[382]
Scientists establish a new method to estimate the magnitude of large earthquakes in minutes instead of hours based on measurements of the gravitational field in the region.[384]
4 December – The
MICROSCOPE (satellite) collaboration publishes its first results. The
Equivalence principle was measured to hold true within a precision of 10−15, improving prior measurements by an order of magnitude.[385]
5 December – Google's new
AlphaZero AI beats a champion chess program after teaching itself in four hours.[386][387]
A paper by the
Carnegie Institution for Science concludes that
climate models with the most severe impacts for later this century are likely to be the most accurate, suggesting that the IPCC reports may be underestimating the future trends.[392]
8 December – Scientists report that
Homo sapiens may have migrated
out of Africa as early as 120,000 years ago, particularly into
Asia; well before the traditional exiting date of 60,000 years ago.[396][397]
University of Waterloo researchers devise a new
battery technology innovation which could lead car batteries to be able to hold dramatically more energy, thus leading to an extended travel range per charge in
electric vehicles.[404][405]
The firm
Carbon Engineering demonstrates the synthesization of
gasoline and
diesel fuels with the use of carbon dioxide captured from the air and hydrogen derived from water, with its "Air to Fuels" technology for the first time.[407]
Researchers at the
University of New South Wales publish a complete design for a quantum computer chip that can be manufactured using mostly standard industry processes and components.[412][413]
19 December – The FDA approves
Luxturna, the first
gene therapy for an inherited condition in the U.S., for patients with a form of retinal dystrophy.[423][424]
21 December
The company
General Fusion reports achieving the first plasma on its newest plasma injector named PI3, the world's largest.[425][426]
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arXiv:1704.05018.
Bibcode:
2017Natur.549..242K.
doi:
10.1038/nature23879.
PMID28905916.
S2CID4390182.