2016 has seen some amazing discoveries and breakthroughs as a result of the scientific community's efforts into understanding our past and finding ways to improve our future.
This year, as always, Tech Times was at the forefront of bringing as much of the new knowledge to our readers as we could with our extensive coverage of science news.
With 2016 coming to a close, we now take a look at some of the biggest science news stories that caught our readers' imagination. Of course, the discovery of gravitational waves was so huge this year that we no longer included it on this list but made a separate story on it as "breakthrough of the year,"
10. The Salton Trough Fault
Geologists have been wondering why an earthquake that is supposed to be caused by the San Andreas Fault is long overdue, but the discovery of the previously undetected Salton Trough Fault in South California could be the key.
The fault line runs parallel to the San Andres Fault but their interactions still remains a mystery to seismologists and, while some think Salton Trough is helping absorb some of the stress from San Andreas Fault, others feel that a small push from it could trigger a huge earthquake in the area and cause major damage.
9. The Future of 'Scopes'
A research team from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has developed a new ultrathin metalens that provides better focus than do today's bulky lenses. If the metalens is commercialized, it could replace the bulky lenses used in microscopes, telescopes, and cameras. Who knows how many more things can be discovered both on Earth and in space if the current technology makes use of it?
8. Ancient Aliens and Human Existence
According to University of Rochester Professor Adam Frank, ancient alien civilizations may have once existed, but he is not looking at Earth's historical sites. Rather, Frank and his team of researchers looked at how many stars are in the universe, how many were deemed to have planets around them or have been capable of sustaining life, and how long civilizations could survive.
If we take into consideration that many stars have died and could have taken life-sustaining planets with them — either as black hole chow or collateral damage during explosion — then the research's hypothesis that intelligent alien life could already have existed and gone extinct is very much probable.
The researchers expanded the Drake equation, "which covers the likelihood of alien life in the universe, potential length of alien civilizations, and ability of aliens to communicate with Earth's humanity."
7. Astronauts Aboard ISS Add Fresh Salad To Their Diet
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station can now share an experience with The Martian astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) because they too have now successfully grown and harvested their very first batch of leafy vegetables aboard the ISS. Romaine Lettuce from space, anyone?
6. More Information On The Ancient Greek Computer: Antikythera Mechanism
Sponge divers discovered the Antikythera mechanism back in the 1900s and, to this day, nobody really knows what it is and what it was designed to do. For many years, the ancient device was thought of as a simple astronomical tool since ancient human civilizations tended to base their activities, such as planting and harvesting crops, on astronomy.
However, after a century of trying to figure things out and a decade of dedicated research, investigators now believe that the Antikythera mechanism could possibly be a really really old computer, even going so far as considering it a "philosopher's guide to the galaxy." Whatever its true purpose is, the ancient Greek device is definitely ahead of its time.
5. No Surprise: Climate Change Continues To Melt The Ice
It doesn't matter how hard others may deny climate change; it is still happening whether we like it or not. Proof of this is 2016's record of the arctic and Antarctic sea ice volume reaching an all-time low due to weird weather patterns, which could in effect raise global temperatures by as much as 20 degrees Celsius and prevent ice from refreezing.
4. Kepler In Trouble
On April 7, during a scheduled contact, NASA was worked up when engineers discovered that the Kepler Spacecraft was in Emergency Mode while consuming a significant amount of fuel 75 million miles away from Earth. NASA engineers scrambled to find a solution to the problem. By April 11, Kepler was finally stable again and ready to continue operations.
3. Which Came First: The Belgian Or The European?
The question above received a definitive answer in 2016 when the testing of ancient DNA from the last ice age showed that all Europeans were descended from early humans living in Belgium before migration happened. The findings have strong evidence to support it so, unless an error was made, ancient Belgians came first.
2. SpaceX Reusable Aircraft
SpaceX successfully launched and landed its reusable aircraft. It is major news, especially for the business of space exploration, since it might soon allow multiple missions to be undertaken with fewer resources being spent.
1. Zika Virus Outbreak
The Zika virus outbreak is the biggest science news of 2016: from the World Health Organization declaring the disease a public health emergency of international concern, to researchers scrambling to identify a way to contain it. Of course, science has a few wins in the fight against Zika as researchers also discovered antibodies that would lessen the threat.
