Top Scientific Breakthroughs in 2023
The pace of innovation never slows, and the impact of the breakthroughs will redefine the way we live, work and connect with the world.
A New Era for Space Exploration
Space exploration is one of the core missions in many countries. Recently, the newest mission to the moon was launched as NASA’s Artemis Program, which would pave the way for a future mission to Mars. This new era of space exploration will drive technological advancements in fields beyond astronautics and stimulate progress in real-world applications like materials, food science, and modern industry.
A Milestone in AI Predictions
For decades, the scientific community has chased a greater understanding of relationships between protein functions and 3D structures. In July 2023, Deep Mind revealed that the folded 3D structure of a protein molecule (分子), which reduced the number of human proteins with unknown structural data from 4,800 to just 29. While there will always be challenges with AI, the ability to predict protein structures in biology has implications across all life sciences.
Greener Fertilizer Production
Every year, billions of people depend on fertilizers for the ongoing production of food, and reducing the carbon footprint and expenses in fertilizer production would reshape the impact agriculture has on emissions. To reduce energy requirements, researchers from Tokyo Tech have developed a noble-metal-free catalyst (催化剂), which is much more environmentally friendly and safer to the agricultural produces.
Supercomputer—Exascale
Exascale computers, which can perform a mind-boggling quintillion (1018) mathematical operations per second, finally arrived in 2023. They’ve already helped refine weather forecasts and design new materials, and new ones will be coming online soon. The world’s most powerful supercomputers, operating at the far frontier of speed known as the exascale, have now begun to boom. These results from exascale machines coming online in the next few years promise to open a new window into materials, climate science, and medicine.
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1. What do the Space Exploration and Fertilizer Production have in common?
A.They take a lot of time. | B.They make influence on the food. |
C.They need government cooperation. | D.They cost a big sum of money to maintain. |
2. Which aspect has a close connection with biology?
A.A New Era for Space Exploration. | B.A Milestone in AI Predictions. |
C.Greener Fertilizer Production. | D.Supercomputers—Exascale. |
3. Where is this text probably taken from?
A.A textbook. | B.An exam paper. | C.A magazine. | D.A science fiction. |