At 163,000 light-years away is the cosmic version of an underwater reef: a giant red nebula that integrates the star-forming region into the so-called Large Magellanic Cloud, A satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The image “Cosmic Reef” was chosen by the NASA to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble space telescope which began work in 1990 and has made more than 1.3 million observations throughout its history.
In one of the most important scientific events of this 2021, Hubble gives way to the Space Telescope James Webb, The release is scheduled for fall. This prodigious scientific tool will revolutionize Hubble’s already avant-garde work. Being 100 times more powerful, the new telescope, at a cost of about $ 9 billion, will allow scientists to deepen their knowledge of the universe and even see the first galaxies that were born after the Big Bang.
Mars, the world goal
Another space science event expected earlier this year is the arrival of the spacecraft. I hope Mart in the Martian atmosphere. Successfully launched last July, this space agency project of the United Arab Emirates United will help characterize Mars ’lower atmosphere in detail to better understand climate dynamics and the global weather map; in addition it puts to the map to new protagonists in the space race towards the red planet. On the other hand, NASA’s Perseverance rover is scheduled to land on February 18 at crater lake of the Martian surface. The astrobiologist robot will look for signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and soil. As part of this mission, the rover’s Ingenuity helicopter will also be deployed to perform the first flight demonstration on another planet.
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NASA will also try to produce oxygen of its atmosphere, a key step in strengthening future human exploration of Mars.
The red planet will also be the goal of the ambitious agenda of China, As the rover is also expected to land in February Tianwen-1 mission, To search for water and life footprints using 13 instruments, such as cameras, radars and particle analyzers. On the other hand, Artemis I, an unmanned mission to the Moon from NASA, (the first of the Artemis program), will be launched in the middle of this year using the pioneering space launch system of the ship Orion. For the fall, this agency will also launch “Lucy”, the first mission to study five of the so-called Trojan asteroids, ancient material that formed the outer planets and now orbits the Sun, at a distance from Jupiter.
Another major event in 2021 revolves around the first flight of the X-59 QueSST, NASA’s experimental supersonic aircraft with data that could lead to the development of the world’s fastest long-distance travel industry . The X-57 Maxwell, the agency’s all-electric experimental aircraft, will also make its first flight.
NASA’s aeronautics specialists will also drive electric propulsion for large commercial transports with a flight demonstration, which would develop a cost-effective alternative to traditional aircraft fuel.
The imprint of the pandemic
Although the world urges it to forget about SARS-CoV-2, its footprint will still remain for many years. First of all, this 2021 will be crucial to check the effectiveness of several vaccines that are also expected to start circulating globally.
For example, the results of phase III clinical trials of vaccines developed by US pharmaceutical companies will be key. Novavax and Johnson & Johnson. The advantages of these immunizations are that they will be easier to distribute than Pfizer-BioNTech, As they do not require extreme temperatures and up to 2 billion doses of vaccine per year could be produced in a single injection version.
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On the other hand, the introduction of new viruses into humans is a mystery that has not yet been unraveled in detail, so a multidisciplinary team of experts from the WHO will resume research to obtain more certainty about the zoonotic origin of the Covid-19, As beyond SARS-CoV-2, new epidemic threats remain dormant. Some of the most common and lethal diseases are caused by bacteria or viruses of animal origin; in recent decades its presence has become more evident. It is estimated that 70% of new and re-emerging pathogens come from animals. According to WHO figures, experts warn that another 1.7 million viruses live in mammals and birds, of which up to 850,000 could have the ability to infect humans.
Alzheimer’s is among the 10 deadliest diseases in the world and is responsible for between 60% and 80% of cases of dementia by causing a progressive loss of brain cells.
This year could be authorized in the US the first drug that seeks to slow the progression of this disease. Adducanumab is a drug designed with a monoclonal antibody ready to bind and regulate a brain protein called amyloid, which is considered the major trigger for Alzheimer’s. Scientists think their deposits are toxic to brain cells, so using this drug would be a breakthrough to eliminate them. Opinions are still divided over the effects of this Biogen-Eisai drug, but the only Alzheimer’s drugs approved so far only treat cognitive symptoms, such as memory loss, but do not interfere with the progression of this disease.
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Finally, one of the decisive events to give way to the fight against climate change will take place in November 2021. The 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change will be held in Glasgow, Scotland. The countries that make up the summit will make a new round of commitments on cuts in greenhouse gas emissions since the Paris agreement was signed in 2015. European union and China have ambitious plans to become carbon neutral by 2050, but above all the EU response is expected. After Trump’s departure, President Biden could put similar goals on the agenda.
The parallel events will include the dialogue “From the farm to the plate”, which will seek to bring together representatives of agricultural communities around the world to facilitate a space for dissertation on food and climate change. With the wave of the pandemic crisis, there will also be a need for a new global discussion on food policies that will affect the entire food chain, from production to consumption, and which according to the FAO has already affected more than 10 million people. Latin America.
NUMBERS TO CONSIDER
10 MILLION PEOPLE in Latin America have been affected by the effects of the pandemic.
1.7 MILLION VIRUSES they live in mammals and birds, of which up to 850,000 could have the capacity to infect humans, according to WHO data.