2023 has been a year of many innovations in the world of science. Whether with technology or in animal life, 2023 sets scientific innovation on a good track for this upcoming year.
Innovation in AI Technology
AI technology, specifically chatGPT, took off this past year. ChatGPT allows users to ask pretty much anything and the artificial intelligence will provide solutions based on data that is gathered from the web. Being a current high school student, I have witnessed how ChatGPT has changed the way students study and the way classrooms function as students have access to answers at a much faster pace than they did before. Recently, OpenAI has also made the addition of the DALLE feature, which generates AI images given specific prompts.
New Discoveries in Animal Life
An article published by the Smithsonian Magazine on December 26th lays out new discoveries to animal life in the past year. One discovery that stands out is the new finding that hibernating bears do not get blood clots. Scientists tracked down bears in Sweden during both the winter and summer months. They tranquilized the bears and took blood samples at both times of the year. They then discovered that the protein HSP47 showed a significant seasonal change. The protein was present in high levels during the summers but nearly nonexistent during hibernation.
In addition, scientists have also discovered that some crustaceans have shiny eyes that help them hide from predators. Crustaceans are arthropods like crabs, lobsters, shrimps, or barnacles. This past year, scientists have discovered that some shrimp have eyes that are covered with a sheet of light-manipulating glass that effectively matches their eyeshine to the color of surrounding water: making them practically invisible. These sheets form a disorganized array with gaps in between which allows the crustaceans to still see.
New Discoveries in Technology
An article published by the CAS Science Team identifies new technological advances this past year such as a new era of space exploration. The first ever photos from the James Webb Space Telescope are extremely impressive. This telescope is the most technically advanced and powerful one in its field, and sets the trajectory for future space missions and planetary exploration for the next generations. Recently, NASA’s Artemis Program launched a mission to the moon which will pave the way for future missions to Mars through companies such as SpaceX.
Many scientific advances were made in 2023. Whether these advances focused on technology, AI, or animals around the world, we definitely know more about the science and life that surround us than we did last year.
