Every year, scientists make the most incredible discoveries, from minor ones to turning points in the history of all mankind, from completely accidental ones to those that researchers have been pursuing for years and decades. Breakthroughs are occurring in completely different fields, from space exploration and archeology to biology and many other scientific fields. Some of these discoveries help us understand the world's most mysterious mysteries or allow us to see something completely incredible for the first time. Intrigued? From Martian tsunamis to the Shroud of Turin, here are 25 of the most amazing discoveries that will be hard to believe.

25. Headless Vikings from Dorset

In June 2009, archaeologists made a shocking discovery near the coastal town of Weymouth in the English county of Dorset (Weymouth, Dorset). During preparatory work for the opening of a new highway, local workers came across mass graves in which they discovered 54 skeletons and 51 skulls. The remains were buried in the area of ​​a Roman quarry that had long been abandoned. Experts believe that among the buried corpses were those who were decapitated during a public execution.

24. Galilean satellites

When the famous Italian Renaissance astronomer Galileo Galilei pointed his brand new telescope into the sky in January 1610, he had no idea that he would soon discover the 4 largest moons of Jupiter, now known as the Galilean moons. By and large, until that very moment, not a single scientist imagined that other planets could also have their own satellites.

23. Evolution of microbes

Antibiotics and vaccines have already saved millions of lives, but to the surprise of scientists, some microbes are developing and changing faster than we can find a way to destroy them. The flu virus, for example, mutates so quickly that last year's vaccines are no longer effective against new strains. It turns out that some hospitals are infected with bacteria that have become almost resistant to antibiotics, and if this is the case, then even a small cut can lead to life-threatening infections.

22. Moa birds

When moa bones were first discovered in the 1830s, biologists were not immediately able to get used to the idea that these were the remains of birds. These bones were so unusual and large that scientists were reluctant to recognize their belonging to the class of birds. Today we know that moas were huge animals and could not fly. They lived mainly in New Zealand, but did not survive to this day. Their extinction occurred approximately between 1300 and 1440 AD. The reason for the disappearance of such an unusual species was the exorbitant hunting of the Maori tribes, whose representatives settled the island at the end of the 14th century.

21. Yonaguni Monument

In 1987, while searching for a good place to observe hammerhead sharks, the head of the Yonaguni-Cho tourism association, Kihachiro Aratake, noticed unusual single formations in the seawater that resembled architectural structures. The discovery was made off the coast of Yonaguni, the southernmost landmass of Japan's Ryukyu archipelago. There is still no consensus in the scientific community about whether this formation is natural, whether man had a hand in it, or whether this place is entirely the fruit of human labor.

20. Baghdad battery

If you have lived without electricity for some time, you should know that batteries are a very important source of energy. The Baghdad battery proves that humanity tried to create batteries several thousand years ago. The battery is a set of 3 artifacts discovered in the Kuzhut Rabu area of ​​Iraq near Baghdad. The 2,000-year-old find consists of a ceramic pot, a metal cylinder and a rod. If the pot is filled with vinegar or a similar liquid, it can produce up to 1.1 volts of energy. No written explanations on the use of this ancient device were found, but archaeologists agreed that most likely it was an ancient battery.

19. Baby in the coffin of a mummified priest

Researchers from the University of Lund in Sweden (Lund) were incredibly surprised by the results of scanning the coffin of a Scandinavian mummified priest. Scientists have discovered the remains of a tiny baby hidden under a man's feet. Archaeologists believe that the child could either be a relative of the clergyman, or someone else's illegitimate child, whose remains were placed in the coffin so that the dead baby could be buried according to religious customs, despite its unholy origins.

18. Infrared radiation

Infrared rays were discovered by British astronomer William Herschel in 1800 when he studied the heating effects of different colors. In his experiments, the scientist used a prism to split light into a color spectrum, and thermometers to measure the thermal effect of each individual color. Today, infrared radiation is used in many areas of our lives, including heating systems, search engines, meteorology and astronomy.

17. Temperatures below absolute zero

Previously, scientists believed that −273.15 ° C is absolute zero, below which it is impossible to fall, and which is the limit for the thermodynamic temperature scale. However, a team of researchers from the German Max Planck Institute was recently able to disprove the theory of absolute zero. Under vacuum conditions, scientists managed to cool a cloud of gas atoms to below −273.15° C. The result of the experiments was so unexpected that the researchers at first had no idea what to do with the frozen particles.

16. Martian tsunamis

Recently, scientists published studies proving that a powerful tsunami erupted on the surface approximately 3.4 million years ago. This discovery literally stunned members of the astronomical community. Experts believe that the red planet suffered a lot from two meteorite impacts, which provoked huge tidal waves that could reach up to 50 meters in height.

15. Stone balls of Costa Rica

In the river delta area on the small island of Isla del Cano, located in the territorial waters of the Republic of Costa Rica (Isla del Caño, Costa Rica), you can find very unusual stone formations. Also known as petrospheres, these man-made spheres are scattered throughout the island - over 300 of them have already been found on Isla del Cano. For the first time in modern times, these stones were found in the 1930s, when workers were clearing an area here for a banana plantation. According to researchers, the balls were made by the ancestors of the indigenous people who lived here during the Spanish invasion. Their exact age and purpose are still unknown.

14. The Mandela Effect

Today science fiction writers and some scientists are speculating on the topic of parallel worlds, but have you heard about parallel memories? Self-identified medium Fiona Broome says that while most people remember the death of legendary South African President Nelson Mandela in 2013 from old age and illness, there are those who remember his death in the 1980s, when Mandela was still in prison. The woman called this strange phenomenon the “Mandela Effect,” although all over the world people talk about alternative memories that are not at all about the apartheid-era hero.

13. Tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun

The tomb of King Tutankhamun, preserved almost intact, was discovered by Egyptologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon in 1922. Tutankhamun was one of the most famous pharaohs, and his death at the age of 18 remains a mystery in ancient Egypt. The news of the archaeological find was so widely reported in the media around the world that it even spurred a revival of public interest in the history of ancient civilization.

12. Hurricane on Saturn

In 2013, a major hurricane was recorded by a NASA spacecraft orbiting Saturn. The epicenter of the storm was about 2,000 kilometers in diameter, and the speed of the clouds reached 530 kilometers per hour. On Earth, hurricanes are fed by warm ocean waters, but on Saturn there are no oceans or seas. And this leads scientists to a dead end, since it is not clear how else to explain the occurrence of such a serious storm on a distant planet.

11. Songs of humpback whales

Humpback whales make strange sounds that scientists have been unable to decipher for decades. In 2015, near the Hawaiian island of Maui, researchers recorded a completely new type of whale sound. The mysterious noise is so low that it is barely audible to the human ear. Biologists still cannot understand how humpback whales make these sounds and what their purpose is.

10. Moving stones

Death Valley National Park in California, USA, despite its gloomy name, can boast of a completely positive attitude, because even the stones come to life here. At the beginning of the 20th century, the public first heard about the migrating stones of this reserve, and since then many versions have been put forward about how they move. Experts offered a choice of theories about alien intervention and magnetic influence, or about the pranks of animals or simple jokers. But the solution was found quite recently - it turned out that the stones shifted under their own weight during strong winds moving the rock over a thin layer of ice.

9. Child sacrifices

In 1999, archaeologists working in the area of ​​Argentina's Llullaillaco volcano made a shocking discovery when they found three mummified children left to die of exposure during an ancient Inca religious ritual. The cruel tradition was carried out by the ancient Incas most often in honor of some important events, or to ward off natural disasters.

8. Mary Celeste

Mary Celeste was an American merchant ship marooned in the Atlantic Ocean near the Azores. The ship sailed from New York to Genoa on November 7, 1872, and was discovered again only on December 5. Almost all the supplies were still on the ship, and even the personal belongings of the crew and captain lay in their places untouched. But the Mary Celeste team itself was not in sight. Since then, no one has heard of them, and this case is still considered one of the biggest mysteries in the history of modern navigation.

7. Black holes

Black holes are some of the strangest and most fascinating celestial objects we have ever discovered in deep space. These are space-time regions that have such a powerful gravitational force that it is simply impossible to get out of there. Albert Einstein was the first to predict the existence of these objects back in 1916, using only the theory of relativity. The term “black hole” itself appeared in 1967, and was coined by American astronomer John Wheeler, but the first black hole was truly discovered only in 1971.

6. Antikythra mechanism

It may sound crazy, but the first analog computer was created around 100 BC. The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient version of a computer that was used to predict the positions of astronomical bodies and eclipses. Discovered in July 1901 among the remains of a crashed ship off the Greek island of Antikytra, the device is believed to have been designed and installed by Greek scientists between 200 and 100 BC.

5. RNA interference

In 1998, through a series of experiments, scientists discovered that gene expression (the process of converting hereditary information from genes into functional RNA or protein) is controlled by a phenomenon later called RNA interference. This process protects us from viruses that try to invade our DNA and controls gene expression. For their work studying this phenomenon, scientists Craig Mello and Andrew Fire were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Subsequently, this discovery contributed to the study of gene silencing - turning off genes, which causes diseases such as high blood pressure and a number of other ailments.

4. Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin is one of the most mysterious archaeological discoveries of all time. It is believed that this fabric is the same shroud in which Jesus Christ was buried. This long piece of fabric is stained with blood, and the dark imprint of a human body is clearly visible on it. The Catholic Church officially reported the existence of this item back in 1353, when it appeared in the church of the French commune of Lirey. However, the legend of the shroud has existed much longer, and the first mentions of it were known as early as 30 or 33 AD.

3. Voynich Manuscript

Perhaps one of the most mysterious manuscripts in human history, the Voynich manuscript is an amazing artifact, the origin and ownership of which is still completely unknown. The manuscript is full of illustrations of plants, strange symbols and diagrams, and is written in a mysterious language that does not belong to any civilization known to historians and archaeologists.

2. Extraterrestrial neutrinos and Antarctica

Using equipment from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica, physicists have recently finally discovered evidence of the existence of cosmic rays beyond our solar system. These energetic beams are very difficult to detect, so scientists have to rely on studying neutrinos (subatomic particles) created when the beams interact with their surroundings.

1. Mass burial of animals

In 1971, paleontologists discovered a huge animal burial in a cornfield in Idaho. Once upon a time there was a basin of a large reservoir, and this place became the last refuge for the skeletons of almost 200 animals. Apparently, these animals died of suffocation approximately 12 million years ago and were hidden for a long time from prying eyes under a deep layer of volcanic ash. Following the unexpected discovery, the site was designated Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historic Park.

Photo sources:
25 – MaxPixel; 24 – Kevin Gill / flickr; 23 – serendigity / flickr; 22, 12, 8, 7, 4, 3, 1 – Wikimedia; 21 – Vincent Lou; 20 – Boynton / flickr; 19 – frankjuarez / flickr; 18 – AIRS, the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder / flickr; 17 – Guy vandegrift, Gas thermometer and absolute zero; 16 – Pixabay; 15 – Rodtico21, Stone spheres of Costa Rica. Museo Nacional; 14 – Pixabay; 13 – Carsten Frenzl; 11 – hit Welles Wwelles14, Humpback stellwagen edit; 10 – Mike Baird / flickr; 9 – grooverpedro, Momias de Llullaillaco en la Provincia de Salta (Argentina); 6 – Marsyas; 5 – Pixabay; 2 – Wikipedia

The outgoing year 2016 will be remembered for historical scientific events. Physicists and astronomers rule the show: they have made the most discussed and exciting discoveries related to black holes, the theory of relativity and other worlds. Biologists have also achieved a lot by modifying genomes and experimenting on people. Lenta.ru recalls the most important scientific results of the year.

Caught a wave

On February 11, 2016, the whole world learned about the existence of gravitational waves - their experimental discovery was announced. Predicted by Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, they eluded scientists' instruments for decades. And on September 14, 2015, at 05:51 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (13:51 Moscow time), gravitational waves were detected for the first time at the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) observatory. They were created by the merger of two black holes into one massive black hole. This happened 1.3 billion years ago, but the gravitational disturbance of space-time has only now reached Earth.

LIGO is a system of two identical detectors, carefully tuned to detect incredibly small displacements from the passage of gravitational waves. The detectors are located three thousand kilometers apart in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington. The project was proposed in 1992 by a group of American scientists, which included Kip Thorne, known for his participation in the creation of the film Interstellar. LIGO, which cost $370 million, began operating in 2002, but was able to catch a gravitational wave only after modernization carried out in 2010-2015.

Second Earth

In August, the journal Nature published an article by astronomers at the European Southern Observatory on the discovery of an Earth-like exoplanet near the closest star to the solar system, Proxima Centauri. The celestial body, named Proxima b, is 1.3 times heavier than Earth, orbits Proxima Centauri in a nearly circular orbit with a period of 11.2 days and is located at a distance of 0.05 astronomical units (7.5 million kilometers) from it. What makes this planet similar to Earth is that it is located in the habitable zone of its sun. That is, conditions on Proxima b may resemble those on Earth. If it turns out that the planet has a magnetic field, a dense atmosphere and oceans of liquid water, then the likelihood of life existing there is very high.

Image: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Go play go

The board game Go is considered one of the most difficult for artificial intelligence to master. However, the AlphaGo program, developed by DeepMind, managed to beat the world champion in Go, Korean Lee Sedol, in four out of five games.

AlphaGo uses so-called value networks to estimate the position of pieces on the board and networks of rules to select moves. These neural networks learn to play by analyzing known games, as well as through trial and error while playing alone. Before taking on Lee Sedol, the artificial intelligence beat other programs in 99.8 percent of games and then surpassed the European champion.

The third one is not superfluous

In April 2016, a child was born in Mexico, conceived using the mitochondrial DNA of a third person. The “three-parent” method involves transplanting mitochondrial DNA from a female donor into the mother’s egg. Scientists believe this avoids the influence of mutations on the mother's side that can cause diseases such as diabetes or deafness.

The operation was performed by American surgeon John Zhang. He chose Mexico because the use of this technique is prohibited in the United States. The child was born healthy, and no negative consequences have been noted to date.

Planet Nine

On January 20, astronomers Michael Brown and Konstantin Batygin from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena reported the discovery of a Neptune-sized object beyond the orbit of Pluto that is 10 times heavier than Earth. The minimum distance between the Sun and this celestial body is 200 astronomical units (seven times more than between Neptune and the Sun). The maximum distance of Planet X is estimated at 600-1200 astronomical units.

Scientists discovered the planet by analyzing data on the gravitational effect it exerts on other celestial bodies. Brown and Batygin estimate the probability of error at 0.007 percent, but the solar system will officially acquire a ninth planet only when it is seen through a telescope. For this purpose, astronomers have reserved time at the Japanese Subaru Observatory in Hawaii. Confirming the existence of a celestial body will take approximately five years.

Stars with a surprise

Image: capnhack.com

In the past year, astronomers discovered another star with an irregularly changing brightness - EPIC 204278916. In 2015, a single star in the constellation Cygnus KIC 8462852 with very unusual behavior was discovered. Its luminosity dropped by 20 percent and remained at this low level for various periods of time (from 5 to 80 days). This indicates that there is a swarm of densely packed large objects around the star, and some researchers have suggested that KIC 8462852 is surrounded by astronomical structures, such as a Dyson sphere.

EPIC 204278916 also surprised scientists. The star's brightness, according to data from the Kepler space telescope, decreased to 65 percent of its maximum within 25 days of observations. Strong dips in the light curve mean that the star was obscured by an object comparable in size to it. As in the case of KIC 8462852, a dense cloud of comets is unlikely to be the cause: several hundred thousand comets with giant nuclei would be required.

In 2017, scientists will try to find regularity in changes in the star’s brightness and establish their true nature. If this does not happen, we will have to admit that astronomers have encountered something completely incredible.

Gene revolution

On November 16, the journal Nature reported that Chinese scientists had modified the genome of a living person for the first time. Of course, not all of it, but a small part of it. A patient with metastatic lung cancer had his T cells modified using CRISPR technology to knock out the gene encoding the PD-1 protein, which reduces the activity of immune cells and promotes cancer development.

According to the researchers, everything went well, and the patient will soon receive a second injection. In addition, 10 more people will take part in the trial, each of whom will receive two to four injections. All volunteers will be followed for six months to see if the treatment may cause serious side effects.

At a minimum

In March, in the journal Science, scientists reported that they were able to create a bacterium with a synthetic genome, removing from it all the genes that the body could do without. To do this, they used the mycoplasma M. mycoides, whose original genome consisted of approximately 900 genes that were classified as essential or nonessential. Based on all available information and with the help of constant experimental tests, scientists were able to determine the minimum genome - the necessary set of genes vital for the existence of a bacterium.

As a result, a new strain of bacteria was obtained - JCVI-syn3.0 with a genome halved compared to the previous version - 531 thousand paired bases. It encodes 438 proteins and 35 types of regulatory RNA - a total of 437 genes.

Turn into an egg

Another advance in biotechnology involves stem cells obtained from mice. Japanese scientists from Kyushu University in Fukuoka were the first to achieve their transformation into eggs (oocytes). In fact, they obtained a multicellular living organism from stem cells.

An oocyte refers to cells that have totipotency - the ability to divide and turn into cells of all other types. The scientists subjected the resulting oocytes to in vitro fertilization. The cells were then transferred into the body of surrogate females, where they developed into healthy young.

The mice created in laboratory conditions were fertile and could give birth to healthy rodents. In addition, embryonic stem cells could be regenerated from eggs obtained in culture and fertilized in vitro.

Tricky bucket

NASA engineers sensationally confirmed the functionality of the EmDrive engine, which “violates” the laws of physics. The article was peer-reviewed and published in the scientific journal Journal of Propulsion and Power.

The article reports that EmDrive in a vacuum is capable of developing a thrust of 1.2 millinewtons per kilowatt. The reviewers could not find fault with the design of the test bench and the unit, and the authors of the work could not find a reverse force that responded to the jet thrust developed by EmDrive. That is, the engine moves, but does not emit anything. Retroactive force is required by the law of conservation of momentum.

Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Chinese scientists announced successful tests of EmDrive on board the Tiangong-2 space laboratory and are now going to use it on orbital satellites. However, many experts remain skeptical and believe that the authors of the article may have overlooked the influence of some additional factors

Almost gone, 2017 turned out to be a year of great discoveries - space agencies began to use reusable rockets, patients can now fight cancer cells with their own blood cells, and a group of scientists discovered a lost continent in the Southern Hemisphere called Zealand.

These and other mind-blowing discoveries and incredible scientific advances of 2017 are described in more detail below.

Zealand

An international team of 32 scientists has discovered the lost continent of Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean. It is located under Pacific waters, on the seabed, between New Zealand and New Caledonia. Zealand was not always under water, as scientists were able to discover fossilized remains of plants and land animals.

New form of life

Scientists have managed to create in laboratory conditions something that is closest to a new form of life. The fact is that the DNA of all living beings consists of natural pairs of amino acids: adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine. Most of DNA is built from these nitrogenous bases. However, scientists were able to create an unnatural base pair that coexisted quite comfortably with natural pairs in the DNA of E. coli.

This discovery has the potential to influence the further development of medicine and may contribute to the retention of drugs in the body for a longer period of time.

All the gold in the universe

Scientists have discovered exactly how all the gold in the universe (as well as platinum and silver) is formed. The collision of two very small but very heavy stars located 130 million light years from Earth created a hundred octillion dollars worth of gold.

For the first time in the history of observing stars, astronomers were able to witness the collision of two neutron stars. Two massive cosmic bodies were heading towards each other at a speed equal to a third of the speed of light, and their collision resulted in the creation of gravitational waves that could be felt on Earth.

Secrets of the Great Pyramid

Scientists have taken a fresh look at the Great Pyramid of Giza and discovered a secret chamber there. Using new scanning technology based on high-speed particles, scientists have discovered a secret room in the depths of the pyramid that no one had even suspected before. For now, scientists can only guess why this room was built.

New method to fight cancer

Scientists can now use the human immune system to fight some cancer cells. For example, to fight childhood leukemia, doctors remove the child's blood cells, modify them, and reintroduce them into the body. While this process is extremely expensive, the technology is developing and has enormous potential.

New indicators from the poles

Not all discoveries in 2017 were positive. For example, in July, a huge piece of ice broke off from the Antarctic ice sheet, becoming the third largest iceberg on record.

In addition, scientists say that the Arctic may never regain its title as the eternally icy pole.

New planets

NASA scientists have discovered seven more exoplanets that could theoretically support life in the form we know on Earth.

As many as seven planets have been spotted in the neighboring star system TRAPPIST-1, at least six of which are solid, like Earth. All these planets are located in a zone favorable for the formation of water and life. What is most remarkable about this discovery is the proximity of the star system and the possibility of further detailed study of the planets.

Farewell to Cassini

In 2017, the automated Cassini space station, which had been studying Saturn and its many moons for 13 years, burned up in the planet’s atmosphere. This was the planned end of the mission, which scientists chose to do deliberately in an attempt to avoid Cassini colliding with possibly habitable moons of Saturn.

Just before its death, Cassini flew around Titan and flew through the icy rings of Saturn, sending unique images to Earth.

MRI for babies

The tiniest babies being treated or examined in hospital now have their own magnetic resonance imaging scanner, safe to use in the same room as the babies.

Reusable rocket booster

SpaceX has invented a new rocket booster that doesn't fall back to Earth after the rocket launches and can be used multiple times.

Boosters are one of the most expensive parts of launching a rocket into space, and usually they all end up on the ocean floor immediately after launch. A very expensive disposable device, without which it is impossible to reach orbit.

However, SpaceX's new heavy boosters can be retrofitted relatively easily and cheaply, saving $18 million per launch. In 2017, Elon Musk’s company has already carried out about 20 launches followed by the landing of a booster.

New advances in genetics

Scientists are one step closer to being able to edit a person's DNA, eliminating birth defects, diseases and genetic abnormalities before birth. Geneticists in Oregon have successfully edited the DNA of a living human embryo for the first time.

In addition, eGenesis announced that it will soon be possible to transplant large vital organs from pig donors into humans. The company managed to create a genetic virus blocker that does not transmit animal viruses to humans.

Breakthrough in quantum teleportation

The possibility of teleportation of quantum information has long been studied by scientists. Previously, it was possible to teleport data over a distance of several tens of kilometers.

For the first time in the history of quantum teleportation, a Chinese scientist managed to transmit information about photons (light particles) from Earth to space using mirrors and lasers.

This discovery could fundamentally change the way we transmit information around the world and transport energy. Quantum teleportation could lead to a completely new kind of quantum computers and information transfer. The Internet of the near future may become faster, safer and virtually impenetrable to hackers.

The most incredible discoveries that baffled scientists

One of the most incredible discoveries was ancient pipes in China. In one remote Chinese region there is a mountain with three strange triangular holes, inside of which a large number of ancient rusty pipes were discovered. As it turned out, some of them lead inside the mountain, and some into the salt lake located nearby. The most interesting thing is that no garbage was found in the pipes, that is, they were used for some purpose, but who?, because it is simply impossible to live there!

Another interesting discovery was the Antikythera mechanism, discovered in 1902 on an ancient ship that sank near the Greek island of Antikythera. The purpose of this device is still a mystery, as the 2,000-year-old mechanism consists of 82 fragments, including bronze gears and parts that were not used in any device of that time. Scientists suggest that it may be a cross between an ancient calculator and an astrolabe (the oldest astronomical instrument).

A mysterious sound in the ocean, recorded by employees of the US National Oceanic Research Agency, also became a very interesting discovery. This sound was picked up by two microphones located 3,000 miles apart. Having determined the wave characteristics of such a sound, scientists came to the conclusion that it was emitted by some living creature, although so far science does not know of any animal that can reproduce such a loud sound.

Baghdad batteries found on the territory of Ancient Mesopotamia are another amazing discovery. The estimated age of the find is more than 2000 years. At first, they were identified by archaeologists as old clay vessels for storing food. However, during research, a copper rod was discovered inside. Scientists suggested that the vessels could contain some kind of liquid, which, when interacting with copper, could give an electric charge. If their theory is correct, then the device found is the world's first battery.

Underwater pyramids at the bottom of the Bermuda Triangle. This incredible discovery was made in the 20th century by Charles Berlitz. His expedition discovered a pyramid at a depth of 400 meters underwater, near Bermuda. The mounted pyramid was 3 times higher than the largest known Egyptian pyramid of Cheops at that time and had smooth glass edges. It is very interesting that the pyramid does not consist of blocks, because no seams or cracks are visible on it, but it seems that it is carved from a monolith. Despite the fact that the US authorities have classified this information, a new report has recently appeared, which states that there are 2 more pyramids of similar origin and shape found in the areas of the Bermuda Triangle. According to preliminary data, the age of the unknown structures does not exceed 500 years.

Over the past 10 years, many amazing discoveries and achievements have occurred in the world of science. Surely many of you who read our site have heard about most of the items presented on today’s list. However, their importance is so high that once again it would be a crime not to at least briefly recall them. They need to be remembered at least for the next decade, until new, even more amazing scientific achievements are made on the basis of these discoveries.

Stem cell reprogramming

Stem cells are amazing. They perform the same cellular functions as the rest of the cells in your body, but, unlike the latter, they have one amazing property - if necessary, they are able to change and acquire the function of absolutely any cells. This means that stem cells can be turned into, for example, erythrocytes (red blood cells) if your body lacks them. Or into white blood cells (leukocytes). Or muscle cells. Or neurocytes. Or... in general, you get the idea - in almost all types of cells.

Despite the fact that the general public has known about stem cells since 1981 (although they were discovered much earlier, at the beginning of the 20th century), until 2006 science had no idea that any cells of a living organism can be reprogrammed and transformed into stem cells. Moreover, the method of such transformation turned out to be relatively simple. The first person to figure out this possibility was Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka, who turned skin cells into stem cells by adding four specific genes to them. Within two to three weeks from the moment the skin cells turned into stem cells, they could be further transformed into any other type of cell in our body. For regenerative medicine, as you understand, this discovery is one of the most important in recent history, since now this field has an almost limitless source of cells necessary to heal the damage received by your body.

Largest black hole ever discovered

The “blob” in the center is our solar system

In 2009, a group of astronomers decided to find out the mass of the black hole S5 0014+81, which at that time had just been discovered. Imagine their surprise when scientists learned that its mass is 10,000 times greater than the mass of the supermassive black hole located at the center of our Milky Way, effectively making it the largest currently known black hole in the known Universe.

This ultramassive black hole has the mass of 40 billion suns (that is, if you take the mass of the Sun and multiply it by 40 billion, you get the mass of the black hole). No less interesting is the fact that this black hole, according to scientists, was formed during the earliest period of the history of the Universe - just 1.6 billion years after the Big Bang. The discovery of this black hole contributed to the understanding that holes of this size and mass are capable of increasing these figures incredibly quickly.

Memory manipulation

It already sounds like a seed for some Nolan’s “Inception,” but in 2014, scientists Steve Ramirez and Xu Liu manipulated the memory of a laboratory mouse, replacing negative memories with positive ones and vice versa. The researchers implanted special light-sensitive proteins into the mouse's brain and, as you might have guessed, simply shined a light into its eyes.

As a result of the experiment, positive memories were completely replaced by negative ones, which were firmly entrenched in her brain. This discovery opens the door to new treatments for those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or are unable to cope with the emotions of losing loved ones. This discovery promises to lead to even more surprising results in the near future.

Computer chip that imitates the functioning of the human brain

This was considered something fantastic just a few years ago, but in 2014, IBM introduced the world to a computer chip that works on the principle of the human brain. With 5.4 billion transistors and requiring 10,000 times less power to operate than conventional computer chips, the SyNAPSE chip is capable of simulating the functioning of your brain's synapses. 256 synapses, to be exact. They can be programmed to perform any computational task, which could make them extremely useful for use in supercomputers and various types of distributed sensors.

Thanks to its unique architecture, the effectiveness of the SyNAPSE chip is not limited to the performance that we are used to evaluating in conventional computers. It comes into operation only when necessary, which allows you to significantly save on energy and maintain operating temperatures. This revolutionary technology could truly change the entire computer industry over time.

One step closer to robot dominance

Also in 2014, 1,024 tiny “kilobots” were tasked with combining into the shape of a star. Without any additional instructions, the robots independently and jointly began to complete the task. Slowly, hesitantly, colliding with each other several times, but they still completed the task assigned to them. If one of the robots got stuck or “lost”, not knowing where to go, neighboring robots came to the rescue and helped the “lost” ones find their way.

What is the achievement? Everything is very simple. Now imagine that the same robots, only thousands of times smaller in size, are introduced into your circulatory system and, united, are sent to fight some serious disease that has settled in your body. Larger robots, also teaming up, are sent on some kind of search and rescue operation, and even larger ones are used for the fantastically fast construction of new buildings. Here, of course, one can recall some script for a summer blockbuster, but why escalate it?

Confirmation of dark matter

According to scientists, this mysterious matter may contain answers that explain many as yet unexplained astronomical phenomena. Here's one of them as an example: let's say, in front of us is a galaxy with the mass of thousands of planets. If we compare the actual mass of these planets and the mass of the entire galaxy, the numbers do not add up. Why? Because the answer goes much deeper than simply calculating the mass of matter that we can see. There is also matter that we are not able to see. This is precisely what is called “dark matter”.

In 2009, several American laboratories announced the discovery of dark matter using sensors immersed in an iron mine to a depth of about 1 kilometer. Scientists were able to determine the presence of two particles whose characteristics correspond to the previously proposed description of dark matter. There's a lot of double-checking to be done next, but everything points to these particles actually being dark matter particles. This may be one of the most surprising and significant discoveries in physics in the last century.

Is there life on Mars?

Maybe. In 2015, NASA published photographs of Martian mountains with dark stripes at their base (photo above). They appear and disappear depending on the season. The fact is that these stripes are irrefutable evidence of the presence of liquid water on Mars. Scientists cannot say with absolute certainty whether the planet had such features in the past, but the presence of water on the planet now opens up many prospects.

For example, the presence of water on the planet can be of great help when humanity finally assembles a manned mission to Mars (sometime after 2024, according to the most optimistic forecasts). In this case, astronauts will have to carry much fewer resources with them, since everything they need is already available on the Martian surface.

Reusable rockets

The private aerospace company SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, was able, after several attempts, to soft-land a spent rocket onto a remotely controlled floating barge in the ocean.

Everything went so smoothly that landing spent rockets is now considered a routine task for SpaceX. It also allows the company to save billions of dollars in rocket production costs, since they can now be simply rebuilt, re-fuelled and reused (more than once, in theory), instead of just being sunk somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Thanks to these rockets, humanity has immediately become several steps closer to manned flights to Mars.

Gravitational waves

Gravitational waves are ripples in space and time that travel at the speed of light. They were predicted by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity, according to which mass can bend space and time. Gravitational waves can be created by black holes, and they were detected in 2016 using the high-tech equipment of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or simply LIGO, thereby confirming Einstein's century-old theory.

This is indeed a very important discovery for astronomy, since it proves much of Einstein's general theory of relativity and allows instruments such as LIGO to potentially detect and monitor events of enormous cosmic proportions.

TRAPPIST system

TRAPPIST-1 is a star system located approximately 39 light years from our Solar System. What makes her special? Not much, unless you consider its star, which has 12 times less mass than our Sun, and at least 7 planets orbiting it and located in the so-called Goldilocks zone, where life could potentially exist.

As expected, there is now heated debate around this discovery. It even goes so far as to claim that the system may not be at all suitable for life and its planets look more like unsightly, worn-out cosmic boulders than our future interplanetary resorts. Nevertheless, the system deserves absolutely all the attention that is now focused on it. Firstly, it is not so far from us - only some 39 light years from the Solar System. On a cosmic scale - around the corner. Secondly, it has three Earth-like planets located in the habitable zone and are perhaps the best targets today for the search for extraterrestrial life. Third, all seven planets may have liquid water, the key to life. But the probability of its presence is highest on the three planets that are closer to the star. Fourthly, if there really is life there, then we can confirm it without even sending a space expedition there. Telescopes like JWST, which is set to launch next year, will help answer this question.