To predict the future — is not easy. This is dedicated to the entire discipline. Trained forecasters rely on data to seek out trends, observing people’s behavior, trying to guess what will happen next. This is especially true of science: its nature, its uncertainty does not allow to rely the arrow developments. And we can’t predict the future. But we listen to the scientists. Let’s look at what to expect from science in 2019.
First, the obvious: scheduled events and experiments will certainly lead to great discoveries.
Space mission 2019
The LIGO Observatory (Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) will begin its third session of observations in February. After the upgrade, LIGO will be able to find a lot more mergers of black holes than before.
Our Moon will also be under scrutiny in 2019. China expects to plant the first mission to collect samples on the moon since 1976. India will go to the South pole of the moon. Israeli company SpaceIL send your own spacecraft.
Perhaps in 2019 we first take a look at a black hole — if the Telescope event horizon (Event Horizon Telescope) get caught in the mirror Sagittarius A, a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.
Meanwhile, solar probe, “Parker”, launched in August, closer to the Sun in April and then in September to get the still unknown information about our star.
Discovery science, expected in 2019
Our brain is what makes us human. Neuroscientists expect in 2019, at last, to find out the purpose claustrum. This thin as a sheet of paper, fence covers the insular cortex, a brain structure responsible for processing emotions. Put forward the theory that claustrum is human consciousness. This is one of the most mysterious parts of the human brain.
The flu season in 2017-2018 was severe. Only in the US, the fever claimed the lives of 80 000 people. Perhaps in 2019, scientists will try to find a universal flu vaccine. In addition, we will see an increase in vaccine production on a cellular basis, which are reported to be 20% efficient than the widely used vaccines are grown in chicken eggs.
In 2018, we more than once wrote that “ultracold superconductors are warming”. And we’ll write about it in 2019. In September it became known that the compounds of lanthanum with hydrogen under pressure show signs of superconductivity — the transmission of electricity without resistance — at a temperature from -58 to 7 degrees Celsius. This was the warmest temperature for superconductors. If the results are confirmed, the connection will set the record of superconductivity with the highest temperature.
We will also monitor the development progress in the area of layered graphene, which can be superconductors, which scientists have observed in other materials, but can not explain.
If to speak about sad, in 2019 there will be more accidents involving self-driving cars, because the roads will be more cars from companies such as Waymo and General Motors. New safety standards can deprive the self-driving car steering wheel, mirrors or pedals. Automatic control may be difficult or impossible for human intervention in case something goes wrong.
And regulators will be busy in 2019. Appear new chemicals, which should be checked carefully against the background of the fight against climate change.
The regulatory group will also follow the technology of gene editing CRISPR/Cas9. In 2018, the European Union has established strict rules for genetically edited crops. Followed by other countries.
And what do you personally expect from 2019 in science? Share in our chat in Telegram.