Space, climate dominate science in 2007
It’s been 50 years since the launch of Sputnik. No wonder mankind celebrated the golden jubilee of the Space Age with spectacular achievements and sensational discoveries. 2007 saw the discovery of a second Earth some 20 light years away, Sunita Williams’ record-breaking space sojourn and Stephen Hawking’s experience of ultimate lightness in a zero gravity flight. Besides, space became the hip, new destination for tourists with deep pockets.
India successfully entered the satellite launch market and Japan and China launched their own lunar orbiters. Climate scientists issued a stern warning: Make amends by 2015 or perish. Former US Vice-President Al Gore and the UN agency that studies the phenomenon bagged the Nobel Peace Prize taking the argument to a new level.
The Indonesian archipelago, as usual, continued to be the treasure house of new species. Scientists created the world’s first cloned embryo from a monkey, a breakthrough that could offer new treatments for people. In archaeology, a 160,000-year-old jawbone found in Morocco proved that modern humans existed far earlier than previously thought.
Text : Sify News Desk
Images: AP
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