Five inspiring moments in science and technology in 2011

This year, scientists made some crucial steps in solving some of the biggest challenges of our era. From understanding the structure of AIDs proteins, to the creation of new antiviral drugs, to the discovery of the first ever Earth-like planet to orbit another sun, our brightest minds have made great strides forward this year. Here we take a look at five advances that we find inspiring. Gamers solve HIV puzzle For 15 years, scientists had been trying to understand the structure of a protein that causes AIDs in rhesus monkeys. Players of an online game called FoldIt solved the puzzle in just three weeks , their results confirmed by x-ray crystallography. Understanding the way that the protein folds could eventually lead to new drugs to treat the AIDs in humans. Scientists will use the information to search for potential drug targets, or areas of the molecules that drugs can attack to stop the virus spreading. FoldIt is just one of a number of citizen science projects that encourage members of the public to take part in scientific research via the internet. Other projects seeing success this year include  Old Weather, where users transcribe ships logs from the early 20th Century to capture weather data, and Ancient Lives, which lets you transcribe papyrus fragments from the Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus , the City of the Sharp-Nosed Fish. MIT develop a virus killer A new drug developed by MIT’s Lincoln Lab could spell the end for the common cold, influenza and other illnesses caused by viruses. The drug, named DRACO, can identify cells that have been infected with a virus and cause them to die through a process known as ‘cell suicide’. The drug works by targeting a type of RNA that is only produced by cells that have been infected. The team tested the drug against 15 viruses including polio, dengue fever, H1N1 influenza, and rhinoviruses which cause the common cold. DRACO was effective against all of them. “In theory, it should work against all viruses,” said Todd Rider, a senior staff scientist working on the project. Early tests in mice infected with the H1N1 virus showed that DRACO could completely cure them, without showing any signs of toxicity to the mice themselves. DRACO trials are continuing and, if successful, could provide a defence against epidemics like SARS and Swine Flu. [caption id=“attachment_167311” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“This illustration provided by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics shows artist’s renderings of planets Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f compared with Venus and the Earth .AP”]  [/caption] The Kepler space telescope finds Earth-like planets The Kepler space telescope, currently orbiting the Earth, had a good year this year. In February, it discovered a new planetary system about 2,000 light years away, known now as Kepler-11. Made of six large planets, the biggest of which is about the size of Uranus or Neptune, it is the most similar system to our own so far discovered. All of the planets, however, orbit much closer to their star than the Earth orbits the Sun, meaning that it is unlikely that there is liquid water on their surface and so no significant chance of life. Then, just a month ago, Kepler confirmed the discovery of the first ever rocky exoplanet that has conditions suitable for sustaining life. Kepler-22b was found it its star’s habitable zone, the range of orbits which are not too hot and not too cold for life to exist. Kepler-22b is 600 light years away from Earth, is about 2.4 times the size of our planet and is thought to have a near-surface temperature of 22C. Sounds like a comfortable holiday destination! Faster than light neutrinos Of course, getting to Kepler-22b would be a challenge, taking 600 years if you travelled at the speed of light. But a discovery which threatens to overturn our understanding of the fundamental laws of physics could mean that neutrinos at least might get there a little more quickly. Neutrinos are subatomic particles which are incredibly difficult to detect. The speed of light is currently understood to be the ultimate speed limit of the universe: Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. So scientists at CERN, working on the Opera collaboration, were very surprised to see their neutrinos arriving early at their detector. Other physicists have been working to either confirm or refute the tentative finding which, if it turns out to be correct would turn physics on its head. It may be that there was a measurement error or a mistake in the original analysis, but it will take time to say for sure. Artificial tree power generator Energy is one of the biggest challenges of our age, but a company is developing an artificial tree that generates power from day-to-day wind, light and heat. Using piezovoltaic, photovoltaic and thermovoltaic technologies in what Solar Botanic call ‘nanoleaves’, the artificial tree will be able to harvest energy from the environment. For example, when the wind blows or rain falls, the nanoleaves are moved, generating picowatts of power. With enough of these nanoleaves, one tree the size of an oak or maple could produce between 3500 kWh and 7000 kWh per year. That could be enough energy to power a small house. Like other renewable energy schemes, though, Solar Botanic will have to make sure that their nanoleaves are affordable and environmentally friendly in themselves for it to really take off.   What are the most inspirational scientific and technological advances you’ve heard about this year? Let us know in the comments!