2011 in Science

Here are some interesting developments in Science and Technology field that happened in the year 2011. This is a choice of some random events, but it definitely shows that future is extremely promising!

January 

• Scientists achieve 10 billion bits of quantum entanglement in silicon, a significant step in quantum computing. (PhysOrg) (Nature)

February

• A significant milestone in artificial intelligence is reached, as the Watson IBM supercomputer defeats two humans on the Jeopardy! quiz show. (Wired)

 March

• Swiss researchers discover a gene in wasps that allow them to reproduce asexually. (PhysOrg) (Curr. Biol.)

April 

• Scientists have teleported wave packets of light by destroying them in one location and re-creating them in another. (PhysOrg) (Science)

May 

• Experimental data gathered by the Gravity Probe B satellite confirms two aspects of the general theory of relativity, which was published by Albert Einstein in 1916.(BBC) (arXiv) (Phys. Rev. Lett.)

June

• The United Nations holds a ceremony in Rome, declaring the once-widespread cattle disease rinderpest to be globally eradicated.

 July

• Researchers have reprogrammed brain cells to become heart cells. (Science Daily)

 August

• A computer has learned language by playing strategy games, inferring the meaning of words without human supervision. (MIT News)

September 

•  A monkey sporting a ginger beard and matching fiery red tail, discovered in a threatened region of the Brazilian Amazon, is believed to be a species new to science. (The Guardian)

• Feeding a supercomputer with news stories could help predict major world events, according to US researchers. (BBC)

October 

• Imperial College London researchers have shown logic gates can be built out of E. coli bacteria and DNA. This could be used to make sophisticated diagnostic cells that assess and treat illness in the body. (KurzweilAI)

• India's Minister of Health, Ghulam Nabi Azad, reports that the country has almost entirely eradicated polio through a vaccination program which immunises over 170 million children every year. No new polio cases have been reported in India for over nine months. (BBC) 

November

• India announces plans for a prototype nuclear power plant that uses thorium – an innovative, potentially safer nuclear fuel. (The Guardian)
• Researchers at Washington State University develop an artificial bone "scaffold" which can be produced using 3D printers, potentially allowing doctors to quickly print replacement bone tissue for injured patients. (BBC)

 December

• Researchers at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) report the discovery of a new particle, dubbed Chi_b(3P). The discovery marks the LHC's first clear observation of a new particle since it became operational in 2009. (BBC)

As you can notice from the list, my choice includes an inclination toward computers, physics and a couple of happenings in India. A lot has happened in 2011 throughout the world and you can get a gist of it from this wikipedia article 2011 in science.