As usual, my top science stories are kind of quirky. I have combined what are undoubtedly the biggest stories with a little Canadian content, something humourous and a nod to my own biases, which include human evolution and space travel.
5. Canada slammed by international science community
Ever since Stephen Harper has taken power, Canada’s reputation for science has taken a beating. From budget cuts to shutting down libraries, muzzling scientists and a shift away from basic science in favour of commercial research, our once prestigious position has been eroded.
In September, the French National Trade Union of Scientific Researchers published a report that gave Canada a failing grade.
In October, a group of more than 800 international scientists signed an open letter to the prime minister to end “burdensome restriction on scientific communication and collaboration faced by Canadian government scientists.”
4. SCOTUS strikes down gene patents
In a landmark ruling, the nine justices of the Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously that a Utah company could not exercise its patent on two human genes it had isolated.
“The Supreme Court long ago ruled that an inventor who discovers a phenomenon in nature, or figures out a “law of nature,” cannot get an exclusive right to use or sell that by obtaining a patent from the federal government,” wrote Lyle Denniston on the SCOTUS blog.
This particular case became big news because the genes indicate the likelihood of a woman developing breast cancer. Angelina Jolie had the test and subsequently decided to have a double mastectomy. The cost of the test, however, was out of the reach of many women.
A large percentage of the human genome has already been patented so this was a very important precedent.
3. Climate change is real, already!
This really should not be making any Top 10 list anymore, but climate deniers are still somehow managing to muddy the waters and sustain a controversy that does not exist.
The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an august body of the top climate scientists issued its Synthesis Report, a distillation and integration of all the panel’s findings to date.
The evidence is unequivocal, climate change is real, it is being caused primarily by human activity and it is creating more extreme weather events.
Arguing about it is counterproductive to actually doing something about it.
Sadly, Canada is lagging way behind on this file.
2. European Space Agency lands space ship on a comet
In November, scientists accomplished something that up until the moment it happened was the kind of thing science fiction was made of. Landing something on the moon or another planet is feat enough, but setting something down on a hurtling comet less than the length of Broadway Street is more than impressive.
Most people can appreciate, at least to some degree, how impressive that feat of engineering is, but that is not what makes it so exciting.
Comets are leftovers from the coalescence of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Theoretically, they are the stuff from which everything we know sprang. They could shed light not only on the formation of the planets and moons, but on the very origin of life.
Unfortunately a technical glitch in the landing made the lander bounce into a shaded crater. Being solar powered, we may not see much data from this probe, but at least we know we can do it.
1. Ebola outbreak kills thousands
I don’t think there will be much contention among news organization that this was the top science story of the year.
It is the worst outbreak of the disease in history and has thus far killed 7,363 people, primarily in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
The particular strain infecting central Africans right now has a very high case mortality rate.
Fortunately, transmission is not airborne, a person must come into contact with an infected individuals tissues or bodily fluids.
There have only been six cases and one death outside central Africa.
