2006 in science explained
The year 2006 in science and technology involved some significant events.
Astronomy
- January 15 – NASA's Stardust mission successfully ends, the first to return dust from a comet.[1]
- January 25 – The discovery of the planet OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb through gravitational microlensing is announced by PLANET/RoboNet, OGLE and MOA
- February 1 – is found to be larger than Pluto.
- February 13 – The recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi erupts. The last outburst occurred in 1985.
- March 9 – NASA's Cassini-Huygens spacecraft discovers geysers of a liquid substance shooting from Saturn's moon Enceladus, signaling a possible presence of water.[2]
- March 29 – Total solar eclipse (Brazil, Greece, Mid Atlantic Ocean, Sahara, Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia).
- June 30 – The discovery of nine additional natural satellites of Saturn published.
- August 24 – Pluto is redesignated as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union, joining and 1 Ceres.
- September 13 – is assigned the name Eris.
- September 14 – The asteroid subsequently designated is identified as it becomes a temporary satellite of Earth.
- September 22 – Annular solar eclipse in South America, West Africa and Antarctica.
Biology
Computer science
Environment
- January 19 – Australian researchers at the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research centre in Hobart, Tasmania, publish experimental data that matches models of increasing sea level rising.[9]
Mathematics
Philosophy
See main article: 2006 in philosophy.
Space exploration
Other events
- January 27 – Scientific misconduct: The University of Tokyo announces that Kazunari Taira's experimental results in RNA research are irreproducible.[12]
- March 13 – Six healthy young men taking part in the first-in-man study for an anti-inflammatory drug TGN1412 in London are placed in intensive care with adverse side-effects, some suffering a life-threatening cytokine storm.[13]
Awards
Deaths
- January 24 – Sir Nicholas Shackleton (b. 1937), English Quaternary geologist and paleoclimatologist, recipient of the Vetlesen Prize (2004).
- February 28 – Owen Chamberlain (b. 1920), American Nobel laureate in physics (1959).
- May 1 – Kikuo Takano (b. 1927), Japanese poet and mathematician.
- May 14 – Bruce Merrifield (b. 1921), American Nobel laureate in chemistry (1984) for developing a rapid, automated system for making peptides.
- May 31 – Raymond Davis Jr. (b. 1914), American Nobel laureate in physics (2002) for pioneering the detection of cosmic neutrinos.
- August 9 – James Van Allen (b. 1914), American space scientist.
- August 29 – Robert J. Gorlin (b. 1923), American pathologist.
- August 10 – Genevieve Grotjan Feinstein (b. 1913), American mathematician and cryptanalyst.
- November 22 – Asima Chatterjee (b. 1917), Indian organic chemist.
Notes and References
- News: Stardust Container in Almost Perfect Condition. 2006-01-17. 2009-07-06. Associated Press. Fox News. https://web.archive.org/web/20181106160304/https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,181763,00.html. 2018-11-06. dead.
- Web site: Saturn Moon Has Water Geysers and, Just Maybe, Life. https://web.archive.org/web/20060518152642/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0310_060310_saturn.html?source=rss. dead. May 18, 2006. National Geographic Society. 2006-03-10. 2009-07-06. Elizabeth. Svoboda.
- Anthony. Atala. Tissue-engineered autologous bladders for patients needing cystoplasty. The Lancet. London. 367. 9518. 15–21 April 2006. 1241–1246. 16631879. 10.1016/s0140-6736(06)68438-9. 17892321 . free.
- Web site: Joint Genome Institute. Populus trichocarpa. Genome Portal. 2015-11-06.
- News: The Chinese river dolphin is functionally extinct. baiji.org. 2006-12-13. 2006-12-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20070104192730/http://www.baiji.org/expeditions/1.html. 2007-01-04. dead.
- Owen, A. M.. Coleman, M. R.. Boly, M.. Davis, M. H.. Laureys, S.. Pickard, J. D.. Detecting awareness in the vegetative state. Science. 313. 5792. 1402. 2006-09-08. 10.1126/science.1130197. 16959998. 10.1.1.1022.2193.
- Lee. Han. Rosenstein. Rachel. December 2006. Dr. Haifan Lin. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 79. 3–4. 187–191. 0044-0086. 1994806. 17940631.
- Web site: Michael. Arrington. Odeo Releases Twttr. TechCrunch. AOL. 2006-07-15. 2014-05-15. Michael Arrington.
- Philip. Ball. Sea-level rise is quickening pace. 2006-01-19. 10.1038/news060116-11. 2012-04-08. Nature. London. 128668212 .
- Book: Crilly, Tony. 50 Mathematical Ideas you really need to know. London. Quercus. 2007. 978-1-84724-008-8. 41.
- Reichhardt . Tony . Has NASA's press office gone too far? . Nature . Springer Science and Business Media LLC . 2006-02-02 . 0028-0836 . 10.1038/news060130-11 . free .
- Scientist faces irreproducible results. Ichiko. Fuyuno. 2006-01-27. 2012-04-08. 10.1038/news060123-14. Nature. 85108611 .
- Suntharalingam. G.. Perry. M. R.. Ward. S.. Brett. S. J.. Castello-Cortes. A.. Brunner. M. D.. Panoskaltsis. N.. Cytokine Storm in a Phase 1 Trial of the Anti-CD28 Monoclonal Antibody TGN1412. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006-09-07. 355. 10. 1018–28. 10.1056/NEJMoa063842. 16908486. free.