Uploaded December 2020 | Updated September 2026, 7 hours ago
A great number of discoveries has happened in the past few years, reshaping our understanding of the planet we inhabit, the Universe and our limits as human beings. We’ve selected some of the most amazing ones. So let’s start the countdown:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First gravitational waves
One of the postulates of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, the so called gravitational waves, has puzzled scientists for decades and they have been trying to prove their existence for years. Even though there were some indications that gravitational waves existed even in the 1970s, experts couldn’t really say anything with certainty until 2015, when the US-based observatory LIGO experienced the aftershock of a remote collision between two black holes. The publishing of this discovery marked a new chapter in physics and, in general, in our perception of the cosmos.
Pushing reproductive boundaries
An astounding discovery that pushed reproductive limits even further was announced in 2016. Thanks to clinicians and their extensive research the birth of a three-parent baby grown from the father’s sperm, the mother’s cell nucleus, and a third donor’s egg that had its nucleus removed, is now a reality.
Climate change risks
Do you feel it’s getting warmer with each day? The long, scorching summers started bothering you? Well, welcome to the 21st century and the reality filled with consequences of, now undisputable, climate change we ignored for far too long.
Extremely high temperatures, as a result of unparalleled levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, have become our reality. On May 9, 2013, global CO2 levels reached 400 parts per million for the first time in human history, and by 2016, CO2 levels were staying firmly above this threshold.
The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge we have dealt with since World War Two. Since its spreading in Asia late last year, the virus has spread to every continent except Antarctica.
On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) China office heard the first reports of a previously-unknown virus behind a number of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, a city in Eastern China with a population of over 11 million. What started as an epidemic mainly restricted to same parts of China has now become a truly global pandemic we are still fighting against.
A new spaceflight era
The past decade was abundant in space exploration as well. Since access to low-Earth orbit and beyond became globally and commercially more and more available, no wonder that spaceflight experienced its boom in the previous decade.
Opening doors to ancient civilizations
Some of the greatest archeological discoveries happened in 2010s. In 2013, the body of King Richard III was found beneath what’s now a parking lot. In 2014, a still intact royal tomb was discovered in the Peru’s Castilllo de Haurmey temple complex. In 2016, the first Philistine cemetery was unearthed, offering an unprecedented insight into the lives of the Hebrew Bibile’s most infamous, mysterious people.
An exquisite Van Gogh drawing discovered
A previously uknown monochrome sketch entitled The Hill of Monmartre with Quarries was created in 1886, not long ago after the artist moved to Paris. It hasn’t been shown to the public for decades, sitting forgotten in a private collection for almost a century.
Teio Meedendorp, senior researcher for the Amsterdam-based Van Gogh Museum, thinks that the drawing is reminiscent of Van Gogh’s earlier formal style, which he developed at the art academy in Antwerp, before moving to Paris, where his art became more experimental.
The newly-discovered drawing, titled The Hill of Montmartre with Stone Quarry (1886), has been a part of a private collection owned by Van Vlissingen for more than 100 years, and passed down through generations.
New species of animals found
We’ve been witness to some extraordinary and unexpected discoveries in animal kingdom. We’re going to mention some of the most impressive ones. A green and red biofluorescent sea turte was discovered by National Geographic emerging explorer David Gruber in 2015.
#DownTheRabbitHole #RecentDiscoveries
A great number of discoveries has happened in the past few years, reshaping our understanding of the planet we inhabit, the Universe and our limits as human beings. We’ve selected some of the most amazing ones. So let’s start the countdown:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First gravitational waves
One of the postulates of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, the so called gravitational waves, has puzzled scientists for decades and they have been trying to prove their existence for years. Even though there were some indications that gravitational waves existed even in the 1970s, experts couldn’t really say anything with certainty until 2015, when the US-based observatory LIGO experienced the aftershock of a remote collision between two black holes. The publishing of this discovery marked a new chapter in physics and, in general, in our perception of the cosmos.
Pushing reproductive boundaries
An astounding discovery that pushed reproductive limits even further was announced in 2016. Thanks to clinicians and their extensive research the birth of a three-parent baby grown from the father’s sperm, the mother’s cell nucleus, and a third donor’s egg that had its nucleus removed, is now a reality.
Climate change risks
Do you feel it’s getting warmer with each day? The long, scorching summers started bothering you? Well, welcome to the 21st century and the reality filled with consequences of, now undisputable, climate change we ignored for far too long.
Extremely high temperatures, as a result of unparalleled levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, have become our reality. On May 9, 2013, global CO2 levels reached 400 parts per million for the first time in human history, and by 2016, CO2 levels were staying firmly above this threshold.
The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge we have dealt with since World War Two. Since its spreading in Asia late last year, the virus has spread to every continent except Antarctica.
On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) China office heard the first reports of a previously-unknown virus behind a number of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, a city in Eastern China with a population of over 11 million. What started as an epidemic mainly restricted to same parts of China has now become a truly global pandemic we are still fighting against.
A new spaceflight era
The past decade was abundant in space exploration as well. Since access to low-Earth orbit and beyond became globally and commercially more and more available, no wonder that spaceflight experienced its boom in the previous decade.
Opening doors to ancient civilizations
Some of the greatest archeological discoveries happened in 2010s. In 2013, the body of King Richard III was found beneath what’s now a parking lot. In 2014, a still intact royal tomb was discovered in the Peru’s Castilllo de Haurmey temple complex. In 2016, the first Philistine cemetery was unearthed, offering an unprecedented insight into the lives of the Hebrew Bibile’s most infamous, mysterious people.
An exquisite Van Gogh drawing discovered
A previously uknown monochrome sketch entitled The Hill of Monmartre with Quarries was created in 1886, not long ago after the artist moved to Paris. It hasn’t been shown to the public for decades, sitting forgotten in a private collection for almost a century.
Teio Meedendorp, senior researcher for the Amsterdam-based Van Gogh Museum, thinks that the drawing is reminiscent of Van Gogh’s earlier formal style, which he developed at the art academy in Antwerp, before moving to Paris, where his art became more experimental.
The newly-discovered drawing, titled The Hill of Montmartre with Stone Quarry (1886), has been a part of a private collection owned by Van Vlissingen for more than 100 years, and passed down through generations.
New species of animals found
We’ve been witness to some extraordinary and unexpected discoveries in animal kingdom. We’re going to mention some of the most impressive ones. A green and red biofluorescent sea turte was discovered by National Geographic emerging explorer David Gruber in 2015.
#DownTheRabbitHole #RecentDiscoveries
