Five employees at the National Hurricane Center publish a tropical cyclone report (TCR) on Hurricane Ian, which officially upgrades the hurricane from a Category 4 to a Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson scale. The TCR also stated that Hurricane Ian caused, with 90% confidence, $112.9 billion worth of damage to the United States, which made Ian the third-costliest United States hurricane on record as well as the costliest hurricane to strike Florida on record.[1]
A study affirms and explains why a moderate decrease in body temperature extends lifespan.[4][5]
5 April
The NOAA reports that greenhouse gases continued to increase rapidly in 2022 and that CO2 levels in the atmosphere are now the highest in 4.3 million years.[6]
An umbrella review summarizes scientific results on the extensivehealth effects of added-sugar foods and makes recommendations such as limiting sugar-sweetened beverages which are "the largest source of added sugars" and developing of policy such as advertising restrictions.[7][8]
6 April – A study shows neurons take up glucose (from food) and metabolize it by glycolysis. There was only limited research on how neurons get their energy in the context of links between glucose metabolism and cognition (brain health and performance).[9]
10 April – A study expands upon the role of elites' unsustainable consumption in urban water crises. In Cape Town, for example, the wealthiest 14% of the population use half of the city's water, while the poorest 62% use just a quarter.[10][11]
A study expands upon the international Earth heat inventory from 2020, which provides a measure of the Earth energy imbalance (EEI) and allows for quantifying how much and where heat has accumulated in the Earth system with comprehensive data. It suggests that the EEI is the "most fundamental global climate indicator" to gauge climate change mitigation efforts.[18][19]
A university reports a study (29 Mar) affirming[22] the high level of economic losses from biological invasions, showing they have risen to the level of economic damage costs from floods or earthquakes, which are also rising.[23]
19 April
A bolide is observed over Ukraine and Belarus for about five seconds. It is first observed at an altitude of 98 km above Velyka Dymerka, then passes directly above Kyiv at an altitude of 80 km and continues to the southwest with a speed of 29 km/s.[24] A bright flare occurs at an altitude of 38 km, when the bolide's absolute magnitude reaches approximately –18.[24]
The likely cause of grey hair is shown to be pigment-making cells losing their ability to mature into melanocytes.[25][26]
A study with mice shows that microplastics pass the blood–brain barrier (BBB), entering and accumulating in the brain, and identifies a key determinant for whether or not they pass the BBB.[29][30]
20 April
A new 29-year record of ice sheet mass in Greenland and Antarctica is published as part of the IMBIE collaboration. It finds that the combined ice loss in these regions has more than tripled since the early 1990s, with 2019 seeing the greatest losses of any year on record. These findings have implications for future sea level rise.[31][32][33][34]
A UNICEF report indicates "public perception of the importance of vaccines for children declined during the COVID-19 pandemic in 52 out of 55 countries studied" with causal factors including "growing access to misleading information".[37] On 26 April, news outlets report that Twitter is warned by EU digital policy-makers after a report indicated its recent policies "boost" Russian disinformation-based propaganda.[38] On 17 April, Twitter introduces labels for rationales when tweets are made less visible which previously were semi-censored without any explanation.[39] On 5 April, the first review of interventions against false conspiracy beliefs, with interventions "that fostered an analytical mindset or taught critical thinking skills" being most effective and preventive action being important.[40][41]
21 April – Researchers report the development of neuromorphicAI hardware using nanowires(see also 2020-04-20) physically mimicking the brain's activity in identifying and remembering an image from memory.[42][43] On 26 April, a university reports on a demonstration (11 Mar) of multisensory motion cue integration by a neuromorphic nerve for robots.[44]
24 April
Astronomers release close-up global images, for the first time, of the Martian moon Deimos that were taken by the Mars Hope orbiter.[45]
The first review of issues identified in meta-science of metascience is published, providing an overview of ten "questionable" practices (QMPs) in the field such as "overplaying the role of replication in science" and preregistration potential.[46]
A policy study identifies reduction of car travel activity as the most importanttransportation policy option in reducing GHG emissions to levels comparable to carbon budget levels, with a "decrease car distance driven and car ownership by over 80% as compared to current levels" by 2027 being effective in "edging close to the designated carbon budget" in their case-study of London and electrification being highly insufficient.[47] On 20 April, an international study indicates that the contemporary domestic policy-proposal of a general speed limit on highways in Germany, the only large country in the world without such, for a quick GHG emissions reduction would also be economically beneficial. It points to a climate change mitigation law (KSG) that mandated emission reductions in this sector[48][49] that was changed in 2023 so as to remove these obligations.[50]
25 April
Scientists, based on new evidence, conclude that Rosalind Franklin was a contributor and "equal player" in the discovery process of DNA, rather than otherwise, as may have been presented subsequently after the time of the discovery.[51][52][53]
Astronomers present an image, for the first time viewed together, of the shadow of the black hole in the center of the Messier 87 galaxy, and its related high-energy jet.[55][56]
The first-ever global assessment of glacier mass loss from satellite radar altimetry is published. It shows that glaciers lost 2,720 gigatonnes of ice, about 2% of their volume, between 2010 and 2020.[57]
ChatGPT is shown to outperform human doctors in responding to online medical questions when measured on quality and empathy by "a team of licensed health care professionals",[58][59] albeit the chatbot may have previously been trained with these redditquestion and answers threads.
Further LLM developments during what has been called an "AI boom" include: local or open source versions of LLaMA which was leaked in March,[60][61][62] news outlets report on GPT4-based Auto-GPT that given natural language commands uses the Internet and other tools in attempts to understand and achieve its tasks with unclear or so-far little practicality,[63] a systematic evaluation of answers from four "generative search engines" suggests their outputs "appear informative, but frequently contain unsupported statements and inaccurate citations",[64] a multi-modal open source tool for understanding and generating speech,[65] a data scientist argues that "researchers need to collaborate to develop open-source LLMs that are transparent" and independent,[66]Stability AI launches an open source LLM.[67]
On 12 April, researchers demonstrate an 'AI scientist' that can create of models of natural phenomena from knowledge axioms and experimental data, showing the software can rediscover physical laws using logical reasoning and few data points.[68][69]
Promising results of therapeutic candidates are reported: a review suggests daily vitamin D3may reduce cancer mortality by around 12% (31 Mar),[70] review of experimental phototherapies against dementia cognitive decline (5 Apr),[71] mice-tested L. reuteri-and-tryptophan-diet for checkpoint inhibitor potentiation (6 Apr),[72] doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis against STIs (6 Apr), an engineered probiotic against alcohol-induced damage (11 Apr),[73] phase 2 trialed AXA1125 against long COVID fatigue (14 Apr),[74] review finds cranberry products useful against UTIs in women (17 Apr),[75] and macaques-tested low-intensity focus ultrasound delivery of AAV into brain regions against brain diseases (19 Apr).[76] Progress in screening: an α-synucleinSAA (assay) against Parkinson's disease (12 Apr),[77] and exogenously administered bioengineered sensors that amplify urinary cancer biomarkers for detection (24 Apr).[78]
A new brain-reading method for "semantic decoding" is demonstrated. The non-invasive system, based on 16 hours of fMRI data per participant and a transformer, is able to translate a person's neural activity into a continuous stream of text.[91][92]
News outlets report the first study (6 Feb) modelling contemporary detectability of human civilization from afar which suggests overall radio-leakage from mobile towers would still be too weak to be detectable with humanity's next-generation radio telescopes from three of Earth's current closest nearby star-systems.[93][94]Radar systems are not yet included in their model,[94] while radar emissions during – and possibly since[95] – the Cold War are thought to be the first most detectable cue by which hypothetical extraterrestrials could detect humanity.[96][97]
AI successfully identifies people at the highest risk for pancreatic cancer up to three years before diagnosis, using solely the patients' medical records.[114][115]
A study found that, of 70,000 monitored species, some 48% are experiencing population declines from human activity, whereas only 3% have increasing populations.[124][125]
16 May – A software tool called Allegro is reported to accurately simulate 44 million atoms, running on the Perlmutter supercomputer.[129][130]
17 May
Astronomers confirm the existence of MACS1149-JD1 (JD1), one of the farthest known galaxies from Earth.[131][132]
Scientists report, based on genetic studies, a more complicated pathway of human evolution than previously understood. According to the studies, humans evolved from different places and times in Africa, instead of from a single location and period of time.[133][134]
The newly discovered exoplanet LP 791-18 d is theorised to be covered with volcanoes, due to the extreme gravitational pull of a super-Earth in the same system.[135]
Astronomers map the paths of potentially hazardous asteroids for the next 1,000 years. At least 28 asteroids of 1 km diameter or larger are found to have non-zero probabilities of a 'deep encounter' with Earth.[138][139]
A policies studyreview, based on a systematic examination of existing methane policies across sectors, concludes that both only "about 13% of methane emissions are covered by methane mitigation policies" and that the effectiveness of these policies "is far from clear".[142][143]
Nature reports China has "overtaken the United States as the number one ranked country or territory for contributions to research articles published in the Nature Index group of high-quality natural-science journals", remaining at second place overall.[147] The Nature Index, since 2016, evaluatescontribution by the number of articles published in a subgroup of their journals – other potential or less popular approaches and metrics for quantifications of success or impact can or could produce different rankings or annual tables[148] and conclusions.
A time-use research study (10 May) estimates the costs of manuscript (re)formatting to fit journal guidelines, ~$230 million or ~75 million hours of lost academics' time in 2021. As researchers, usually with little time, usually conduct these tasks themselves and manually and the, largely cosmetic, unstandardized changes are required before, not after, the paper is accepted for publication, the study proposes journals start allowing "free-format submissions".[151]
A study (25 May) highlights a list of problematic persuasive methods in academic articles, such as exaggerating the importance of the work or insufficient contextualization by "Not citing previous work that decreases the perceived novelty of the current work".[152]
21 May – IBM announces that it will begin development of a 100,000-qubitquantum computer, the world's largest and most powerful, to be completed by 2033.[153][154]
22 May – A study quantifies "the human cost of global warming", showing current policies "leading to around 2.7 °C global warming could by 2080–2100 leave one-third (22–39%)" of people outside their climate niche(see also 4 May 2020) – humans' long-time range of mean annual temperatures to which their physiology may have largely adapted to. It indicates meeting the 1.5 °C goal would decrease the population exposed to unprecedented heat ~5-fold and ties itself to earlier research by initially noting that quantifying the social cost of carbon in monetary terms, as related or economics studies tend to do, may be inadequate.[155][156]
23 May
Using the Hubble Space Telescope and Gaia spacecraft, an analysis of proper motions of the closest known globular cluster, Messier 4, reveals an excess mass of roughly 800 solar masses in the center. This appears to not be extended, and could thus be the best kinematic evidence for an intermediate-mass black hole (even if an unusually compact cluster of compact objects, white dwarfs, neutron stars or stellar-mass black holes cannot be completely discounted).[157][158]
Researchers report trends in reasons for HPV vaccine hesitancy during 2010–20.[166][167]
24 May
Scientists show how gene 'FAAH'-related disruption via genetic or epigenome editing can enable pain insensitivity(see also 10 March 2021). Their analyses, mainly about long non-coding RNA 'FAAH-OUT', following from decade-long study of a woman who can't feel pain or anxiety, could also enable novel therapeutic developments against other neurological problems.[168][169]
Evidence for the existence of a second Kuiper Belt is presented by NASA scientists, which the New Horizons spacecraft could potentially visit during the late 2020s or early 2030s.[181]
Scientists provide details of H5N1bird flu's fast viral evolution of clade 2.3.4.4b including reassortment after "explosive geographic expansion in 2021 among wild birds", with relevance to measures such as existing candidate vaccines.[189][190]
An international study, using modelling and literature assessment, codifies, integrates into and quantifies "safe and just Earth system boundaries" (ESBs) with the context of Earth system stability and minimization of human harm. They expand upon earlier boundary frameworks by incorporating concepts such as intra- and intergenerational justice, propose that their framework may better enable a quantitative foundation for safeguarding the global commons, and report many of the ESBs are already exceeded.[192][193]
1 June – Caltech reports the first successful beaming of solar energy from space down to a receiver on the ground, via the MAPLE instrument on its SSPD-1 spacecraft, launched into orbit in January.[222][223]
2 June – Physicist Lucas Lombriser proposes a controversial alternative way of interpreting the available scientific data which suggests that the notion of an expanding universe may be more a "mirage" than otherwise.[224][225]
6 June – A study finds that the first complete disappearance of Arctic sea ice could occur during the 2030s, a decade earlier than previously forecast.[233][234]
US scientists confirm that the next El Niño has begun, likely resulting in higher global temperatures in late 2023 and into 2024.[237] Various statistics show the year is unusual and climate change is already having significant impacts such as an Antarctic sea ice extent anomaly[238] and record-high ocean surface temperatures.[239]
Scientists report evidence that the planet Earth may have formed in just three million years, much faster than the 100 million years thought earlier.[247][248]
Astronomers report that the presence of phosphates on Enceladus, a moon of the planet Saturn, has been detected, completing the discovery of all the basic chemical ingredients for life on the moon.[249][250]
A machine learning model is trained to recognise the key features of chemicals with senolytic activity. It finds three chemicals – ginkgetin, periplocin and oleandrin – able to remove senescent cells without damaging healthy cells.[253][254]
21 June – The first successful transplant of a functional cryopreservedmammalian kidney is reported. The study demonstrates a "nanowarming" technique for vitrification for up-to-100 days preservation of transplant organs.[261][262]
22 June – A study projects that by 2050, the worldwide number of adults with diabetes will more than double, from 529 million to over 1.3 billion. No country is expected to see a decline.[263][264][265]
Researchers report in a preprint the CRISPR alternative Fanzor naturally present in eukaryotes with several potential advantages over CRISPR in genome editing, notably smaller size and higher selectiveness.[275][276] A separate team further demonstrates in a preprint (14 June) the potential of this class of genome editors.[277][278]
Hazard research is published: study results suggest high-temperature cooking could cause DNA damage within food (especially meat) which in turn could cause human DNA damage (1 June),[281] a study concludes the Italian Phlegraean Fields could be heading towards a first eruption since 1538 (9 June),[282] a small team of researchers evaluates the credibility of net-zeroclimate targets as currently low (9 June),[283] an AHA review shows that exposure to contaminant metals contributes to cardiovascular diseases (12 June),[284] a study in the context of the opioid epidemic shows males are substantially (2–3 times greater) more vulnerable to or affected by drug overdose mortality than females (15 June),[285]loss of Y chromosome can drive cancer growth (21 June),[286] a study indicates nearly 40% of U.S. females age 12 to 21 may have iron deficiency (27 June),[287][288] researchers show how bird flu could mutate to overcome a human antiviral protein to start another pandemic (28 June),[289]shortages of medications – including some against cancer – are reported across countries,[290][291] articles in science outlets like Nature suggest contemporary viral concerns about hypothetical existential risk of AI "plays into the tech companies' agenda" – partly in the form of 'criti-hype'[292] – and that this "hinders effective regulation of the societal harms AI is causing right now" and in the near-future.[293]
Promising innovations relating to global challenges are demonstrated: an overview of "the nascent industry of AI-designed drugs" (1 June),[301] after moderators of the Web content aggregation-based platform Redditstrike against the site's introduction of API pricing and the ensuing closing of several mobile client apps, several novel decentralized open source aggregation platforms gain substantial numbers of users – most notably Lemmy and Kbin which can synchronize their posts via interoperability (12 June),[302][303][304] the first upgrade of the Global Earthquake Modeldata for disaster risk reduction is reported (13 June),[305][306] first approval for two cultured meat products in the U.S. and two of the first worldwide (21 June),[307] transgenic soya beans containing pig protein (Piggy Sooy) are reported (28 June),[308] a new type of glass (LionGlass) that is substantially more damage-resistant and more sustainable is reported (30 June).[309]
A first evolution experiment of synthetic 'minimal cells' – JCVI-syn3B bacterial cells whose genomes were trimmed to 493 essential genes and are the smallest of any known free-living organism – shows they survive and mutate vitally with their >50% decrease in fitness to JCVI-syn1 being regained after ~2,000 generations under accelerated evolution.[314][315]
Dynamic shell formation is demonstrated experimentally for the first time. Researchers claim their technique is a feasible target for mass production of fusion energy.[318][319]
The highest albedo ever measured for an exoplanet is confirmed using data from the CHEOPS space telescope. The ultra-hot NeptuneLTT 9779 b is shown to reflect 80% of incoming light from its star (compared to 75% for Venus), due to the high metal content of its clouds.[320]
11 July
Three possible "dark star" candidates are reported, at times ranging from about 320 million to 400 million years after the Big Bang, based on analysis of observations by the James Webb Space Telescope.[321][322]
Berkeley Earth reports that June 2023 was the warmest June since records began in 1850, and broke the previous record by 0.18 °C. Its temperature dataset suggests that 2023 is now 81% likely to become a new record year for global warming.[323]
A study suggests that carbon taxation approaches or instruments would be more effective and fairer when distinguishing between luxury- and basic goods and services.[324][325] A separate study (17 July) finds that for energy demand reduction (EDR), "capping energy use of the top quintile of consumers" would be effective, more equitable, and increase public acceptance of transformative climate action in Europe.[326][327]
In what could be the first global scientific analysis of plastic pollution of lakes and reservoirs that is not limited to recently increasingly studied microplastics,[329] a large team of researchers reports high prevalence and vulnerability factors.[330]
In what could be the first global scientific analysis of agricultural pesticide pollution, scientists report that of the studied third of the three million metric tons of pesticides used annually, ~10% remains as toxic residue in soil while rivers receive at least 730 tons where they nearly do not degrade.[331][332]
Scientists use CRISPR gene-editing to reduce the lignin content in poplar trees by as much as 50%, offering a potentially more sustainable method of fiber production.[341][342]
19 July – Astronomers report the discovery of a bizarre 'two-faced' star, with one side made up of hydrogen and the other consisting of helium. The object, designated ZTF J203349.8+322901.1, is a white dwarf located about 1,000 light years away.[346]
18 July – The first example of naturally occurring graphene is reported, at a gold mine in South Africa.[347]
21 July – A study provides evidence for elements of the theory of 'Bullshit Jobs', which was formalized and popularized in 2018, showing that manyworkers consider their jobs of contemporary economics as objectively useless to society.[350][351]
24 July
The first detection of water in the terrestrial region of a disk already known to host two or more protoplanets is announced. The discovery, in a young system called PDS 70, is based on data from the James Webb Space Telescope.[352]
A study reports a 226% improvement in a memory test of healthy older adults (60–85) from overnight odorant diffuser use for 6 months. The olfactory sense is known to be linked to memory, but its stimulation was previously not trialed where application occurs during sleep.[353][354]
Hazard research is published: news outlets start reporting on a study from June finding high levels of PFAS in half of U.S. tap water (5 July),[363] an analysis of the efficacy of the Rotterdam Convention in curbing illegal trade of highly hazardous chemicals shows that large-scale trade of chemicals like tetraethyllead continues (10 July),[364] a researcher reports subterranean climate change urban heat islands may affect the durability of infrastructure and buildings (11 July),[365] a study indicates consumer protection-related validation and quality control for a set of advanced sports supplements such as Dynamine is insufficient, finding most of the tested products either did not contain a detectable amount of the labeled ingredient or substantially deviated from the declared dosage (17 July),[366] a study for the first time determines a wet-bulb temperature threshold where it may be physiologically too hot for daily activity by young healthy adults due to an increase in cardiovascular strain, showing this limit is crossed at a lower temperature than thought previously (20 July),[367] researchers elaborate in a scientific journal why they conclude that "new nuclear is a costly and dangerous distraction" in climate change mitigation (21 July),[368] a study affirms recent findings that suggest revived ancient pathogens from either potential lab-leaks or from permafrost thawing represent significant risks (27 July),[369] scientists provide data about the genetic basis of induced parthenogenesis in sexually reproducing fruit flies which could inform pest control (28 July).[370]
Promising innovations relating to global challenges are reported: a viable real-time pathogen air quality (pAQ) sensor is demonstrated (10 July),[371] a performant open source AI software for protein design (RFdiffusion) is introduced (11 July),[372]metaresearchers show that AI trained with study-author-networks data could generate scientifically promising "alien" hypotheses that would likely not be considered otherwise (13 July),[373] a study affirms that novelwearable more accessible TD-fNIRS headgear can be used instead of stationary fMRI with new findings about neurologicaleffects of psychedelics (19 July),[374] researchers demonstrate a DNA-sequencing-based technique to more effectively curb illegal sealife trade at warehouses and boats (19 July),[375] a study provides an overview and living review of open source LLMs, assessing the levels of openness of their differentiated elements and reviewing the risks of relying on proprietary software or the importance of open source AI (19 July),[376] news outlets start reporting on study from June demonstrating record solar-to-hydrogen efficiencies (20 July),[377]multimodal biomedical Med-PaLM M is introduced (26 July).[378]
Promising results of health and medical research are reported: further[379] evidence that breastfeeding is important for the cognitive child development due to its unique ingredients (11 July),[380] trialed hydroxyapatite toothpaste – which can also include fluoride in addition – against caries (18 July),[381] gene therapy eyedrops of Vyjuvek, which was approved in May, against blindness (24 July),[382] the second release from the global WikiGuidelines, a practically oriented guideline on the diagnosis and management of infective endocarditis, demonstrates a novel approach that incorporates uncertainties more than conventional guideline reviews (31 July).[383]
Global warming: The world's oceans reach a new record high temperature of 20.96 °C, exceeding the previous record in 2016. July is also confirmed as having been the hottest month on record for globally averaged surface air temperatures by a considerable margin.[384][385]
Astrobiologists theorise that low-oxygen planets would be unlikely to produce advanced civilisations, as the discovery of fire requires easy access to open-air combustion, which is only possible when oxygen partial pressure is above 18%.[386][387]
A small star called TOI-4860 is found to host an unusually large gas giant, named TOI-4860 b. Astronomers believe this pair to be the lowest-mass star hosting such a high-mass planet, challenging theories of planetary formation.[389]
Scientists report the discovery of an up to now unknown ancient humanhominin that may have lived 300,000 years ago in China.[390][391]
Walking more than 3,967 steps each day is shown to reduce the risk of dying prematurely of any cause, based on a study of 226,000 people around the world. This is considerably less than previous recommendations, which have sometimes cited a figure of 10,000+ steps being needed each day.[395][396]
A study shows activating astrocyte cells in mice with a novel technique makes them stayawake for much longer without making them sleepier or impacting cognition-associated EEG markers.[397]
10 August – Scientists at Fermilab report the most precise measurement yet of the magnetic moment of the muon. The particles are shown to wobble faster than predicted by the Standard Model, hinting at a possible fifth fundamental force.[398][399]
A global consortium releases two studies and a database on DNA methylation profiles across 348 mammalian species for use in epigenetic clocks. They provide various new results relating to human aging and animal experiments as well as predictive models that can estimate mammalian tissue age or risk with high accuracy.[402][403] On 16 August, a study indicates chest radiographs evaluated using AI could be a performant biomarker for aging clocks.[404]
12 August – Amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura announces the discovery of Comet Nishimura (officially, "C/2023 P1 (Nishimura)"), a long-period comet that may be observable in the first days of September 2023 before sunrise.[405]
LK-99 is shown to lack the properties required for a room-temperature superconductor under ambient pressure, following weeks of speculation among the scientific community and in the media.[408]
17 August – Scientists publish what could be the first study both investigating climate-polluting investments and proposing taxation thereof as transformative revenue for climate finance, i.a. indicating "40% of total U.S. emissions were associated with income flows to the highest earning 10% of households" in 2019 with a growing emissions inequality.[412]
18 August – A study investigating public policies and spending as well as lobbying activities regarding a transition to a sustainable food system finds that governments "largely ignore the climate-mitigation potential of animal product analogs" and that food production has 'lock-in' problems.[413]
23 August
India's Chandrayaan-3 becomes the first spacecraft to land near the south pole of the Moon, where frozen water is believed to exist.[414]
The complete sequencing of a human Y chromosome with the discovery of 41 additional genes is announced in Nature.[415] On the same day, a study reports the assembly of 43 diverse Y chromosomes, revealing large variability such as a range in size from 45.2 to 84.9 million base-pairs.[416]
31 August – Researchers report, based on genetic studies, that a human ancestorpopulation bottleneck (from a possible 100,000 to 1,000 individuals) occurred "around 930,000 and 813,000 years ago ... lasted for about 117,000 years and brought human ancestors close to extinction."[424][425]
Promising innovations relating to global challenges are reported: AI-supported mammography screening is demonstrated to have the potential to substantially reduce workload and to possibly improve cancer detection rates (1 Aug),[427] a review outlines applications and challenges of using AI to accelerate science (2 Aug),[428] a low-cost method for targeted long-read RNA sequencing that could accelerate development of diagnostics and treatments (TEQUILA-seq) (8 Aug),[429] a new separate protein database ranks proteins based on how little is known about them (Unknome) (8 Aug),[430] the company that built the world's first hydrogen trains switches to electric models since they are "cheaper to operate" (9 Aug),[431] a cryopreservation method for extinction-threatened corals (23 Aug),[432] a CRISPR-free base editing system without guide RNA that enables also editing chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes with precision (CyDENT) (28 Aug).[433]
Hazard research is published: a study demonstrates that exposure to microplastics causes neurobehavioral and immunological changes in mammals (mice), varying by age (1 Aug),[434] a study shows people can't reliably detect speech deepfakes with detection for years-old AI software being at 73% (2 Aug),[435] researchers report an unprecedented accuracy of reading keystrokes from audio of smartphone-recordings or video-chats (7 Aug),[436] a global survey study of climate policy researchers finds these experts substantially doubt the prevailing green growth narrative, "underscor[ing] the importance of considering alternative post-growth perspectives" that include approaches of agrowth and degrowth (7 Aug),[437] a study investigating results from a GBD study finds that while age‐standardized number of cardiovascular deaths from PMair pollution have declined during the past three decades, all‐age DALYs increased by 31%, reaching ~89 million years in 2019, to which years of potential life lost contributed the most with ~82 million years lost during this year (9 Aug),[438] a study indicates a third of men worldwide are infected with genital human papillomavirus which is relevant to cancer prevention, long-term sequelae and vaccination (16 Aug),[439] a preprint confirms smart bulbs may often be one of the weakest links that can be used to gain access to a nearby person's Wi-Fi network (17 Aug),[440] a GBD study projects cure-less osteoarthritis to affect nearly one billion people by 2050 (21 Aug),[441] a study indicates that all types of straws, including paper straws, except for those made of stainless steel and few exceptions, expose people and their environments to PFAS (24 Aug),[442] a study indicates cannabis is often a source of exposure to the contaminants cadmium and lead (30 Aug),[443] researchers demonstrate Web browser extensions can gather passwords from input fields of many of the largest websites (30 Aug).[444]
Promising results of health and medical research are reported: mice- and dogs-tested AOH1996 against cancer growth and for combination with other anti-cancer agents (1 Aug),[445] a mice-tested engineered probiotic against autoimmunity in the brain as in multiple sclerosis (9 Aug),[446] mice-tested engineered bacteria to detect cancer DNA (10 Aug),[447] a review finds that of the compared insecticide-treated nets to prevent malaria, chlorfenapyr-pyrethroid – or PNP combinations – are overall the most effective and address insecticide-resistance (16 Aug),[448] mice-tested clovibactin against antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens (22 Aug),[449] two brain implants achieve milestone performances in words per minute and median word error rate (23 Aug),[450][451] mice-tested phytosterols – or cholesterol-imbalance-correction more broadly – against aging-associated hearing loss (24 Aug),[452] a pig-tested artificial kidney transplant containing a bioreactor containing renal cells for renal replacement therapy (29 Aug),[453] a Raman-based first test for diagnosing ME/CFS and differentiating between severities with potential relevance to long COVID (31 Aug).[454]
5 September – Astronomers identify a vast, bubble-like structure known as Hoʻoleilana in the distribution of relatively nearby galaxies, estimated at 1 billion light-years in diameter and described as the first observation of an individual baryon acoustic oscillation.[458][459]
Geologists report the discovery of what may be the largest known deposit of lithium, located in the crater of a dormant volcano along the Nevada–Oregon border, and estimated to contain 20 to 40 million tonnes of the metal.[461]
7 September
A university reports a study (24 Aug) that builds a theory linking a reduction in prey size in the Paleolithic to the evolution of technologies and cognitive abilities as they had to change their behaviors, abilities, weapons, and strategies.[462]
11 September – The James Webb Space Telescope detects carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere of K2-18b, a potentially habitable exoplanet around 8.6 times the mass of Earth. Webb's data suggests that it might be a hycean planet covered in oceans of water, with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.[464][465]
14 September
NASA releases its first public study on UAP (also known as UFOs), and appoints Mark McInerney as the first Director of UAP, to scientifically and transparently study further such occurrences.[466][467][468][469]
A new record time for quantum coherence is reported, with a single-photon qubit encoded in a novel superconducting cavity for 34 milliseconds.[470]
A study finds that rivers are warming and losing oxygen faster than oceans. Of nearly 800 rivers, warming occurred in 87% and oxygen loss occurred in 70%. The study projects that within 70 years, river systems could "induce acute death" and extinctions of aquatic species due to long low oxygen levels.[472]
Astronomers report studies related to the Hubble tension, a disagreement in results attempting to measure the Hubble constant, and find that the results from the James Webb Space Telescope support earlier results from the Hubble Space Telescope. According to astronomer Adam Riess, "With Webb confirming the measurements from Hubble, the Webb measurements provide the strongest evidence yet that systematic errors in Hubble's Cepheid photometry do not play a significant role in the present Hubble tension ... As a result, the more interesting possibilities remain on the table and the mystery of the tension deepens."[473][474]
Research suggests that replacing half of the beef, chicken, dairy and pork products consumed globally with plant-based alternatives by 2050 could reduce the amount of land used by agriculture by almost a third, bring deforestation for agriculture nearly to a halt, help restore biodiversity through rewilding the land and reduce GHG emissions from agriculture by 31%, paving a clearer path to reaching climate and biodiversity targets.[475][476] A separate study (6 Sep) using a global food system model suggests that net-negativegreenhouse gas emissions could be possible in a sustainable food system achievable with full global deployment of diverse interventions, with the most promising options including hydrogen-powered fertilizer production, livestock feeds, organic and inorganic soil amendments, agroforestry, sustainable seafood harvesting practices, and adoption of flexitarian diets.[477]
18 September
A new palm oil substitute called PALM-ALT is presented by researchers. The plant-based ingredient is shown to be 70% better for the environment than conventional palm oil and is described as "the holy grail to replace it".[478][479]
Scientists calculate that animal genera are going extinct at a rate 35 times faster than expected background rates over the past million years, which they say indicates the planet is experiencing a human-driven sixth mass extinction event and that it is accelerating.[483][484]
A triple-junction solar cell with perovskite-perovskite-silicon subcell configuration is demonstrated with an open-circuit voltage of over 2.8 V, which compares to conventional cells with values ranging between 0.7 V and 0.8 V.[485]
22 September – Astronomers report studies of the TRAPPIST-1 bexoplanet, finding no signs of an atmosphere, and commenting that the "planet could be a bare rock, have clouds high in the atmosphere or have a very heavy molecule like carbon dioxide that makes the atmosphere too small to detect."[494][495]
24 September – Scientists report the successful return of samples from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission to the asteroid 101955 Bennu.[496] Shortly after the sample container was retrieved and transferred to an "airtight chamber at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas", the lid on the container was opened. Scientists commented that they "found black dust and debris on the avionics deck of the OSIRIS-REx science canister" on the initial opening. Later study was planned. A news conference on the asteroid sample is scheduled for 11 October 2023.[497]
25 September
A study on Pangaea Ultima finds that the hypothetical supercontinent will make Earth uninhabitable to most life forms in 250 million years, due to extreme temperatures and radiation.[498][499]
Biologists report the discovery of a ninth species of pangolin, a mammal which is covered with large, protective keratin scales.[500]
26 September – Work begins on the seventh and final primary mirror of the Giant Magellan Telescope, which is expected to provide quadruple the image resolution of previous observatories when completed.[501]
Astronomers report studies suggesting that the rings of Saturn may have resulted from the collision of two moons "a few hundred million years ago".[504][505]
A breakthrough in desalination is achieved by engineers, using a solar-powered device to create freshwater at lower cost than tap water.[506]
Hazard research is published: news outlets report on a study (29 Aug) that shows an association between consumption of sweeteneraspartame during pregnancy and autism in male offspring (1 Sep),[507] an analysis of GBD study data shows pre-50 early-onset cancer cases rose by ~80% in 30 years (5 Sep),[508] a study shows decoupling rates in high-income countries are inadequate for Paris Agreement commitments and suggests post-growth approaches such as demand reductionstrategies and reorienting the economy (5 Sep),[509] evidence of impacts of chronic and extreme heat exposure during pregnancy accumulates (7 Sep),[510][511][512] a study shows early prevention of type 2 diabetesmay save many years of life (11 Sep),[513] a study estimates around 5 million adults died from cardiovascular disease due to lead exposure in 2019 (11 Sep),[514] shortly after a review about biodiversity-related harmful effects on ecosystems by non-native ant invasions (29 Jul), the fifth-costliest invasive species, the red fire ant, is reported to have established itself in the warming Europe via colonies in Sicily (11 Sep),[515][516] a product testing study shows cleaning products emit substantial amounts of hazardousVOCs, such as chloroform, with the lowest quantities in green fragrance-free products (12 Sep),[517] the planetary boundaries framework assessment gets updated, incorporating freshwater change as a sixth Earth system dimension above its capacity limit (13 Sep),[518] news outlets report on a study (31 Aug) that shows daily aspartame consumption leads to heritable cognitive deficits in mice – and more broadly that the exposome of men may also affect the mental health of the next generation (19 Sep),[519] a study reports an increasing global exposure to air pollution from fires (20 Sep).[520]
Promising results of health and medical research are reported: non-human vaccinated primates-tested pGal–antigen therapy for suppressing antigen-specific immune responses and against autoimmune diseases (7 Sep),[521][522] 3D cell-culture tested exercise-induced hormone irisin against Aβ Alzheimer's disease pathology (8 Sep),[523] identified diverse features strongly associated with long COVID for better diagnosis (25 Sep).[524]
Promising innovations relating to global challenges are reported: a study winning an international competition demonstrates an approach that predicted 70% of earthquakes, suggesting some form of earthquake prediction may be feasible in the future (5 Sep),[525] researchers release a large set of audiobooks for books in Project Gutenberg created automatically via generative AI with near-natural voice (7 Sep),[526] a news outlet reports on a natural language system, demonstrated on 27 July, that can provide explanations for the conclusion-making of machine learning models for explainable AI (12 Sep),[527][528] researchers report a production method for spider silk fibers from gene-editedtransgenicsilkworms for a sustainable alternative material six times stronger than Kevlar (20 Sep),[529] a new generation of sleeping trains is presented amid a comeback of this transport technology in Europe as demand for more comfortable travel modes than overnight buses and sustainable transport rises (30 Sep).[530][531]
1 October – Astronomers propose a new, more comprehensive, view of the cosmos, and which includes all objects in the universe, and suggested that the universe may have begun with instantons, and may be a black hole.[532][533]
Biologists report studies of animals (over 1,500 different species) that found same-sex behavior (not necessarily related to human orientation) may help improve social stability by reducing conflict within the groups studied.[539][540]
The first known afterglow of a collision between two exoplanets is captured by astronomers, who observe the event around a Sun-like star located 1,800 light years away.[545][546]
A new edge-based computer processor called NorthPole is developed by IBM Research, able to run AI-based image recognition apps 22 times faster than chips currently on the market.[565][566]
23 October – A significant breakthrough in treating cervical cancer is reported by University College London, with participants in a Phase III trial seeing a 35% reduction in the risk of both mortality or the disease returning. The study used a combination of existing, cheap drugs ahead of usual radiotherapy treatment.[567][568]
24 October
California-based startup Atom Computing announces a 1,225-qubit quantum computer, the first to break the 1,000+ barrier, which it plans to release in 2024.[569][570]
28 October – Positive results are reported in a study with apes of the experimental vaccine calixcoca meant for treating cocaine addiction. Clinical trials in humans are the next step of the study.[577]
30 October – A study in Nature finds that the world's remaining carbon budget for 1.5 °C of global warming is only half that of previous estimates, at less than 250 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide, or around six years of annual worldwide emissions.[578][579]
Computer simulations reveal that remnants of a protoplanet named Theia could be inside the Earth, left over from a giant collision in ancient times, which afterwards formed the Moon.[582][583]
Dinkinesh, previously thought to be a single asteroid, is revealed by NASA's Lucy probe to in fact be a binary pair.[584][585]
5 November – A new record high efficiency of 33.9% is reported for a silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell. This also surpasses the Shockley-Quieser theoretical limit of 33.7% of single junction solar cells for the first time.[586]
7 November – A study by the University of Cambridge finds that "catastrophic ecosystem collapse" of UK forests is likely within the next 50 years, due to a wide range of factors.[587]
9 November – Surgeons report the first human eyetransplant; the patient did not regain sight in the transplanted eye.[588][589]
Geologists report that Iceland may face "decades" of volcanic instability, following a series of recent eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula, breaking an 800-year hiatus.[593]
Scientists report, for the first time, evidence that groups of primates, particularly bonobos, are capable of cooperating with each other.[597][598]
The International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI) publishes its annual State of the Cryosphere Report. This warns of rapid, irreversible sea-level rise from Earth’s ice sheets, which could potentially reach 12–20 metres in the coming centuries.[599][600]
17 November – The global average temperature temporarily exceeds 2°C above the pre-industrial average for the first time in recorded history.[601]
22 November – An autonomous excavator is demonstrated by researchers at ETH Zurich. Using sensors, the machine can generate 3D maps of a construction site, localising individual blocks and stones in order to build a wall.[602]
23 November – Astrophysicists report the detection of "Amaterasu", the second highest-energy cosmic ray ever known, second only to the Oh-My-God particle of 1991. Amaterasu originated from the Local Void and its energy exceeded 240 exa-electron volts (EeV).[603][604]
Nature has listed 11 clinical trials to watch in 2023.[611] Results of the Participatory Evaluation (of) Aging (With) Rapamycin (for) Longevity Study (PEARL) clinical trial investigating a life extension intervention are expected to be released.[612][613]
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^Kleinberger, Rebecca; Cunha, Jennifer; Vemuri, Megha M; Hirskyj-Douglas, Ilyena (19 April 2023). "Birds of a Feather Video-Flock Together: Design and Evaluation of an Agency-Based Parrot-to-Parrot Video-Calling System for Interspecies Ethical Enrichment". Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 1–16. doi:10.1145/3544548.3581166. ISBN978-1-4503-9421-5. S2CID258216835.
^ abSaide, Ramiro C; Garrett, M A; Heeralall-Issur, N (21 April 2023). "Simulation of the Earth's radio-leakage from mobile towers as seen from selected nearby stellar systems". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 522 (2): 2393–2402. arXiv:2304.13779. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad378.
^Musaelian, Albert; Johansson, Anders; Batzner, Simon; Kozinsky, Boris (20 April 2023). "Scaling the leading accuracy of deep equivariant models to biomolecular simulations of realistic size". arXiv:2304.10061 [physics.comp-ph].
^Ly, Dan P.; Giuriato, Mia A.; Song, Zirui (8 May 2023). "Changes in Prescription Drug and Health Care Use Over 9 Years After the Large Drug Price Increase for Colchicine". JAMA Internal Medicine. 183 (7): 670–676. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.0898. PMC 10167599. PMID37155179.
^Arbanas, Julia Cave; Damberg, Cheryl L.; Leng, Mei; Harawa, Nina; Sarkisian, Catherine A.; Landon, Bruce E.; Mafi, John N. (11 May 2023). "Estimated Annual Spending on Lecanemab and Its Ancillary Costs in the US Medicare Program". JAMA Internal Medicine. 183 (8): 885–889. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.1749. ISSN2168-6106. PMC 10176174. PMID37167598.
^Cusick, Marika M.; Tisdale, Rebecca L.; Chertow, Glenn M.; Owens, Douglas K.; Goldhaber-Fiebert, Jeremy D. (June 2023). "Population-Wide Screening for Chronic Kidney Disease: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis". Annals of Internal Medicine. 176 (6): 788–797. doi:10.7326/M22-3228. ISSN0003-4819. PMID37216661. S2CID258834225.
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^Berger, Lee R.; Hawks, John; Fuentes, Agustin; Van Rooyen, Dirk; Tsikoane, Mathabela; Ramalepa, Maropeng; Nkwe, Samuel; Molopyane, Keneiloe (5 June 2023). "241,000 to 335,000 Years Old Rock Engravings Made by Homo naledi in the Rising Star Cave system, South Africa". doi:10.1101/2023.06.01.543133. S2CID259113360. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Fuentes, Agustin; Kissel, Marc; Spikins, Penny; Molopyane, Keneiloe; Hawks, John; Berger, Lee R. (5 June 2023). "Burials and engravings in a small-brained hominin, Homo naledi , from the late Pleistocene: contexts and evolutionary implications". doi:10.1101/2023.06.01.543135. S2CID259113355. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Jastreboff, Ania M.; Kaplan, Lee M.; Frías, Juan P.; Wu, Qiwei; Du, Yu; Gurbuz, Sirel; Coskun, Tamer; Haupt, Axel; Milicevic, Zvonko; Hartman, Mark L. (26 June 2023). "Triple–Hormone-Receptor Agonist Retatrutide for Obesity — A Phase 2 Trial". New England Journal of Medicine. 389 (6): 514–526. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2301972. ISSN0028-4793. PMID37366315. S2CID259260926.
^Ilie, Cosmin; Paulin, Jillian; Freese, Katherine (11 July 2023). "Supermassive Dark Star candidates seen by JWST". PNAS. Vol. 120, no. 30. doi:10.1073/pnas.2305762120.
Lay summary: Hamilton, David; Özkundakci, Deniz; Brookes, Justin; Ranjbar, Mohammad Hassan. "'Humanity's signature': study finds plastic pollution in the world's lakes can be worse than in oceans". Authors via ABC News. A world-first study has found concentrations of plastics in some lakes are higher than in the most contaminated parts of oceans, demonstrating the extent to which plastics have invaded Earth's ecosystems.
^"Young mouse blood extends lives of older ones while rejuvenating them". New Scientist. Retrieved 31 August 2023. The old mice that had been joined to the young mice ended up living six weeks longer on average than those that had been joined to other old mice, a lifespan extension of about 5 per cent. "If you could improve human lifespan by 5 per cent, that could mean an extra four or five years," [...] However, this effect is smaller than that achieved by calorie restriction, which can make mice live up to 27 per cent longer.
^Zhang, Bohan; Lee, David E.; Trapp, Alexandre; Tyshkovskiy, Alexander; Lu, Ake T.; Bareja, Akshay; Kerepesi, Csaba; McKay, Lauren K.; Shindyapina, Anastasia V.; Dmitriev, Sergey E.; Baht, Gurpreet S.; Horvath, Steve; Gladyshev, Vadim N.; White, James P. (August 2023). "Multi-omic rejuvenation and lifespan extension on exposure to youthful circulation". Nature Aging. 3 (8): 948–964. bioRxiv10.1101/2021.11.11.468258. doi:10.1038/s43587-023-00451-9. ISSN2662-8465. PMID37500973. S2CID260902262.
^Cottle, Rachel M.; Fisher, Kat G.; Wolf, S. Tony; Kenney, W. Larry (1 August 2023). "Onset of cardiovascular drift during progressive heat stress in young adults (PSU HEAT project)". Journal of Applied Physiology. 135 (2): 292–299. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00222.2023. ISSN8750-7587. PMC 10393325. PMID37348014.
^Watson, Joseph L.; Juergens, David; Bennett, Nathaniel R.; Trippe, Brian L.; Yim, Jason; Eisenach, Helen E.; Ahern, Woody; Borst, Andrew J.; Ragotte, Robert J.; Milles, Lukas F.; Wicky, Basile I. M.; Hanikel, Nikita; Pellock, Samuel J.; Courbet, Alexis; Sheffler, William; Wang, Jue; Venkatesh, Preetham; Sappington, Isaac; Torres, Susana Vázquez; Lauko, Anna; De Bortoli, Valentin; Mathieu, Emile; Ovchinnikov, Sergey; Barzilay, Regina; Jaakkola, Tommi S.; DiMaio, Frank; Baek, Minkyung; Baker, David (August 2023). "De novo design of protein structure and function with RFdiffusion". Nature. 620 (7976): 1089–1100. Bibcode:2023Natur.620.1089W. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06415-8. ISSN1476-4687. PMC10468394. PMID37433327.
^Liesenfeld, Andreas; Lopez, Alianda; Dingemanse, Mark (19 July 2023). "Opening up ChatGPT: Tracking openness, transparency, and accountability in instruction-tuned text generators". Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Conversational User Interfaces. ACM. pp. 1–6. arXiv:2307.05532. doi:10.1145/3571884.3604316. ISBN979-8-4007-0014-9. S2CID259837343.
^Valahu, C. H.; Olaya-Agudelo, V. C.; MacDonell, R. J.; Navickas, T.; Rao, A. D.; Millican, M. J.; Pérez-Sánchez, J. B.; Yuen-Zhou, J.; Biercuk, M. J.; Hempel, C.; Tan, T. R.; Kassal, I. (28 August 2023). "Direct observation of geometric-phase interference in dynamics around a conical intersection". Nature Chemistry. 15 (11): 1503–1508. arXiv:2211.07320. Bibcode:2023NatCh..15.1503V. doi:10.1038/s41557-023-01300-3. ISSN1755-4349. PMID37640849. S2CID260866421.
Explanatory interview: "Not getting enough sleep? That's only half the battle". Harvard Gazette. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023. Weaver: [..] papers measure sleep regularity in different ways [..] In a couple of papers, a standard deviation of one hour in sleep onset timing was associated with a 23 percent increased risk of metabolic syndrome and an 18 percent increase in cardiovascular risk[..] Gazette: Is that going to bed at 10 o'clock one night, 11 o'clock another night? Weaver: On a very short-term level. If you look longer term, it's roughly going to bed between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. for about 70 percent of the nights, with the average bedtime being 10 p.m.
^Saad, Omar M.; Chen, Yunfeng; Savvaidis, Alexandros; Fomel, Sergey; Jiang, Xiuxuan; Huang, Dino; Oboué, Yapo Abolé Serge Innocent; Yong, Shanshan; Wang, Xin’an; Zhang, Xing; Chen, Yangkang (5 September 2023). "Earthquake Forecasting Using Big Data and Artificial Intelligence: A 30-Week Real-Time Case Study in China". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. doi:10.1785/0120230031. S2CID261570732.
^Garay, Ricardo P. (3 July 2021). "Investigational drugs and nutrients for human longevity. Recent clinical trials registered in ClinicalTrials.gov and clinicaltrialsregister.eu". Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs. 30 (7): 749–758. doi:10.1080/13543784.2021.1939306. ISSN1354-3784. PMID34081543. S2CID235334397.