Here are a couple more lists from 2018.
“5 biggest scientific breakthroughs” from The Week:
- cloning monkeys
- new evidence for (past?) microbial life on Mars
- ability to walk restored to paraplegics
- gene therapy successes to treat muscular dystrophy (so far, in dogs)
- witnessing the birth of a new planet
From Bill Gates:
- “we are also going to be focusing more on improving the quality of life… For example, software will be able to notice when you’re feeling down, connect you with your friends, give you personalized tips for sleeping and eating better, and help you use your time more efficiently.”
- research breakthroughs on Alzheimer’s disease
- some setbacks on polio eradication, but also promising new vaccination approaches
- He is a skeptic on battery storage for solar and wind power, and a proponent of nuclear, where he is concerned the U.S. has lost its leadership position. “TerraPower, the company I started 10 years ago, uses an approach called a traveling wave reactor that is safe, prevents proliferation, and produces very little waste.”
- He’s afraid of a big epidemic. Well, who isn’t if they’ve been paying attention?
- breakthroughs and ethical concerns in gene editing
- balance between privacy and innovation
- technology in education