2020 was also a year in which a gloomy atmosphere continued in the field of science.
Pandemic, wildfire, and other climate disasters unfolded in a turbulent situation that was previously unimaginable. However, better news is expected in 2021.
Major media outlets around the world, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the BBC, predicted that some pretty good things could lead to science. In particular, it is expected to be a pivotal year in the fight against climate change.
The carbon-neutral policy, which was slowed down by the US’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, is in a new era with the launch of the Biden government. The photo shows the recent deterioration of the Earth’s atmosphere. ⒸNASA
Centered on the powerhouse ‘Carbon neutral‘ One after another
The’New York Times’ on the 31st also evaluates 2020 as the year of climate disaster.
It seems that humanity has experienced the beginning of a climate disaster as extreme disasters such as tropical storms, floods, and forest fires that have been warned by scientists throughout the world continue.
However, 2021 was expected to be a huge year for climate change countermeasures. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has announced that he will rejoin the Paris Climate Change Agreement and is expressing his will to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Major countries, such as the European Union and China, also declare that they will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050-2060, and are hastily making pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists are waiting for the announcement with anticipation whether the US will set similar targets with the EU and China.
However, in order to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, major changes must take place over the next decade. To meet the amplified energy demand, new wind and solar power plants must be installed, and an energy grid to reduce energy waste must be realized.
The turning point for this realization process is the coming meeting of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention, held in Glasgow, Scotland in November. Scientists are increasingly interested in how the 2015 Paris Agreement will be realized through international cooperation.
Increased vaccination results in population immunity
The corona 19 pandemic is also undergoing a scientific reversal.
Major media around the world are reporting that mankind, who had had a depressing year from Corona 19, is receiving good news from the successive vaccine development and vaccination.
Scientists who have been stuck in quarantine are also looking for a place. The World Health Organization (WHO) will send a dedicated team of epidemiologists, virus and animal experts to China in January to determine the cause of the outbreak of Corona 19.
Expectations are also rising about the results of vaccination. ‘The Conversation’ magazine, which deals with scientific issues, is difficult to expect vaccine effects until the next three months, but it is expected that its impact will increase over time.
Now, no one can answer how many people need to be vaccinated to establish a collective immune system. However, officials predict that the effect will be between 60% and 80% in light of other vaccination cases.
As the competition for space development is getting hotter, the era in which civilians can travel in space in space capsules is approaching. The picture is inside the International Space Station. ⒸNASA
The era of private space travel has come to life
The competition for space development is expected to intensify in 2021.
In particular, China’s ambitious attempts are expected to continue in 2021. The’Tianyuan 1′, launched from the Hainan Wonchang space launch site on July 23, will land on the surface of Mars in April to May and perform exploration missions such as soil harvesting.
Its main task is to find signs of water and life using 13 instruments, including cameras, radar and particle analyzers. If successful, China is expected to mobilize large amounts of money and technology to pursue more active Mars exploration.
Through SpaceX, the United States is realizing an ambitious plan to open the era of civilian space travel in great detail.
SpaceX, which has successfully carried astronauts to the International Space Station on two occasions, will launch the Crew-2 spacecraft carrying four astronauts from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in spring.
In the fall, it plans to launch the’Crew-3′, which has further upgraded functions. If this project progresses smoothly, SpaceX will become the successor to the space shuttle that can be used repeatedly and lead future lunar and Mars travels.
As the International Stem Cell Research Association is reviewing the revision of guidelines for the use of human embryos, scientists are requesting the relaxation of the 14-day rule for in vitro fertilization research. The picture is an embryonic stem cell. ⒸWikipedia
Interest in the possibility of revision of guidelines for artificial embryo research
The biotechnology sector is also expected to change significantly in 2021.
In particular, scientists who have studied stem cells are eagerly waiting for the International Stem Cell Research Association (ISSCR) to revise the research guidelines.
According to the research guidelines last published by ISSCR four years ago, the ’14-day rule’ is stipulated to allow scientists to use embryos for more than two weeks when using human embryos for in vitro fertilization studies.
But scientists have argued that extending the 14-day limit can help understand why premature pregnancy ends in miscarriage. Whether it can overcome the opposition from the religious world and ease this provision is a concern of the life science community.
The era of open access and the privacy debate
2021 is expected to be the year when the open-access project that we have been preparing for so far will come to fruition.
Open access refers to an environment where anyone can view research results without barriers. In this atmosphere, the most notable thing is scientific publication through open access.
‘Nature’ magazine announced that it stipulates that more than 20 organizations, including Welcome in London, England, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, USA, and NWO, a national fund for the Netherlands, should publish academic papers funded from January through open access.
Privacy issues caused by the development of IT devices are also becoming a hot potato in the scientific community.
In the meantime, IT companies have been looking for ways to make it easier to track users’ activities while freeing users’ activities online.
In particular, in the case of Facebook, we are putting all our efforts into online data management and accumulation.
In this atmosphere, some IT companies are developing technologies that can conduct business without compromising privacy.
Zenreach, which operates a customer shopping analysis program, is developing a program that relies entirely on user consent, and insists that IT companies should address privacy issues in this way.
As the IT industry develops, the privacy issue is expanding and is recognized as a task that must be solved. Accordingly, attention is focused on what solutions will come out in 2021.
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