2005 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 2005 in science
and technology
involved some significant events.
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
involved some significant events.
Astronomy
- April 8 – Total solar eclipseSolar eclipse of April 8, 2005A total solar eclipse occurred on April 8, 2005. This eclipse is a hybrid event, a narrow total eclipse, and beginning and ending as an annular eclipse.It was visible within a narrow corridor in the Pacific Ocean...
- February 23 – Astronomers announce the discovery of a galaxy, VIRGOHI21VIRGOHI21VIRGOHI21 is an extended region of neutral hydrogen in the Virgo cluster discovered in 2005. Analysis of its internal motion indicates that it may contain a large amount of dark matter, as much as a small galaxy. Since VIRGOHI21 apparently contains no stars, this would make it one of the first...
, that consists almost entirely of dark matterDark matterIn astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...
. The results are to appear in Astrophysics Journal. - March 23 – Two independent teams report the observation of light from planetPlanetA planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s circling two different starStarA star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s, using the SpitzerSpitzer Space TelescopeThe Spitzer Space Telescope , formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility is an infrared space observatory launched in 2003...
infraredInfraredInfrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
space telescope. Both groups detect a slight dimming in the light intensity during conjunctionConjunction (astronomy)Conjunction is a term used in positional astronomy and astrology. It means that, as seen from some place , two celestial bodies appear near one another in the sky...
, when the planet is moving behind its sun's disk (occultationOccultationAn occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer. The word is used in astronomy . It can also refer to any situation wherein an object in the foreground blocks from view an object in the background...
). (SpaceflightNow) Results will be published in Nature and Astrophysics Journal. - October 3 – Annular solar eclipse
Biology
- August 31 – A first draft of the chimpanzeeChimpanzeeChimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
genomeGenomeIn modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
is publishedChimpanzee Genome ProjectThe Chimpanzee Genome Project is an effort to determine the DNA sequence of the Chimpanzee genome. It is expected that by comparing the genomes of humans and other apes, it will be possible to better understand what makes humans distinct from other species....
. - October 5 – The Spanish fluSpanish fluThe 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
virus is reconstructed and shown to be closely related to the Avian influenza virus. - November 30 – Surgeons in France carry out the first human face transplantFace transplantA face transplant is a still-experimental procedure to replace all or part of a person's face. The world's first full face transplant was completed in Spain in 2010.-Beneficiaries of face transplant:...
Climatology
- January 27 – Scientists behind the climateprediction.netClimateprediction.netClimateprediction.net, or CPDN, is a distributed computing project to investigate and reduce uncertainties in climate modelling. It aims to do this by running hundreds of thousands of different models using the donated idle time of ordinary personal computers, thereby leading to a better...
project, a distributed computingDistributed computingDistributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
project run from Oxford University, announce that first results indicate a long term surface temperature increase due to global warming of between 2 and 11 degrees Celsius as a consequence of doubling carbon dioxide levels, with most of the simulations predicting a temperature rise of around 3.4 °C. The results are published in Nature.
Paleontology
- January 13 – Chinese paleontologists announce the discovery of fossils of RepenomamusRepenomamusRepenomamus is the largest mammal known from the Cretaceous period of Manchuria, and it is the mammal for which there is the best evidence that it fed on dinosaurs. It is not possible to determine if Repenomamus actively hunted live dinosaurs or scavenged dead dinosaurs.-Paleobiology:Repenomamus...
robustus and Repenomamus giganticus, mammals that lived 130 million years ago. The fossil discoveries indicate that these mammals preyed on small dinosaurs. The results are published in Nature. - February 17 – Two Ethiopian fossil skulls originally found in 1967 by Richard LeakeyRichard LeakeyRichard Erskine Frere Leakey is a politician, paleoanthropologist and conservationist. He is second of the three sons of the archaeologists Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey, and is the younger brother of Colin Leakey...
, Omo I and Omo II, are re-dated at 195,000 years old, making them the oldest Homo Sapiens remains known. The results are published in Nature. - December 15 – European and Canadian researchers announce the dating of flint artefacts from Pakefield, Suffolk, UK to around 700,000 years ago, representing the earliest unequivocal evidence for human presence north of the Alps. Results are published in Nature.
Physics
- This has been named the World Year of PhysicsWorld Year of Physics 2005The year 2005 has been named the World Year of Physics in recognition of the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's "Miracle Year," in which he published four landmark papers, and the subsequent advances in the field of physics.-History:...
in honor of the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein'sAlbert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
Annus Mirabilis papersAnnus Mirabilis PapersThe Annus Mirabilis papers are the papers of Albert Einstein published in the Annalen der Physik scientific journal in 1905. These four articles contributed substantially to the foundation of modern physics and changed views on space, time, and matter...
of 19051905 in scienceThe year 1905 in science and technology involved some significant events, particularly in physics, listed below.-Astronomy:* January 2 - Charles Dillon Perrine at Lick Observatory discovers Elara, one of Jupiter's natural satellites....
and the resulting developments in the field of physics. Many institutions are celebrating by holding lecture series on Einstein, the history of special relativitySpecial relativitySpecial relativity is the physical theory of measurement in an inertial frame of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein in the paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies".It generalizes Galileo's...
and quantum mechanicsQuantum mechanicsQuantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
and other public events surrounding the history of physicsHistory of physicsAs forms of science historically developed out of philosophy, physics was originally referred to as natural philosophy, a term describing a field of study concerned with "the workings of nature".-Early history:...
.
Space exploration
- January 14 – The Huygens probeHuygens probeThe Huygens probe was an atmospheric entry probe carried to Saturn's moon Titan as part of the Cassini–Huygens mission. The probe was supplied by the European Space Agency and named after the Dutch 17th century astronomer Christiaan Huygens....
was successfully sent into the atmosphere of TitanTitan (moon)Titan , or Saturn VI, is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found....
and returns science data to EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
via the Cassini orbiter. It survives the landing on the surface of Titan and sends pictures and other data for more than an hour afterwards. - January 26 – ESA's SMART-1SMART-1SMART-1 was a Swedish-designed European Space Agency satellite that orbited around the Moon. It was launched on September 27, 2003 at 23:14 UTC from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. "SMART" stands for Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology...
begins sending back close range pictures of the lunar surface - February 7 – NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
announce budget plans – in the announcement, they state that a mission to service the Hubble Space TelescopeHubble Space TelescopeThe Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
will not take place, and that a robotic mission to deorbit the telescope with a safe descent into an ocean will take place. The Jupiter Icy Moons OrbiterJupiter Icy Moons OrbiterThe Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter was a proposed spacecraft designed to explore the icy moons of Jupiter. The main target was Europa, the suspected ocean of which is one of the places where simple alien life is a possibility in our solar system...
(Jimo) mission is also cancelled. - February 12 – ESA successfully launch an Ariane 5 ECA carrying three satellites. The previous attempt to launch the new design of rocket, in December 2002, failed when the rocket deviated from its course minutes into the flight.
- July 4 – The Deep Impact spacecraft successfully observes the disintegration of its "impactor" section colliding with the cometCometA comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
Tempel 1. A large number of other telescopeTelescopeA telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
s also provide data on this event.
Awards
- Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
: Barry J. Marshall and Robin WarrenRobin WarrenJohn Robin Warren AC is an Australian pathologist, Nobel Laureate and researcher who is credited with the 1979 re-discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, together with Barry Marshall.- Life and career :... - Nobel Prize in PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
: Roy J. GlauberRoy J. GlauberRoy Jay Glauber is an American theoretical physicist. He is the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University and Adjunct Professor of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona...
, John L. HallJohn L. HallJohn Lewis "Jan" Hall is an American physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics. He shared one half of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics with Theodor W. Hänsch for his work in precision spectroscopy.-Biography:...
and Theodor W. Hänsch - Nobel Prize in ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
: Yves ChauvinYves ChauvinYves Chauvin is a French chemist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is honorary research director at the Institut français du pétrole and a member of the French Academy of Science. Chauvin received his degree from the Lyon School of Chemistry, Physics and Electronics in 1954.He was awarded the 2005...
, Robert H. GrubbsRobert H. GrubbsRobert Howard Grubbs is an American chemist and Nobel laureate.As he noted in his official Nobel Prize autobiography, "In some places, my birthplace is listed as Calvert City and in others Possum Trot [NB: both in Marshall County]...
and Richard R. SchrockRichard R. SchrockRichard Royce Schrock is an American chemist and Nobel laureate recognized for his contributions to the metathesis reaction used in organic chemistry.-Biography:...
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Abel Prize in MathematicsAbel PrizeThe Abel Prize is an international prize presented annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. The prize is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel . It has often been described as the "mathematician's Nobel prize" and is among the most prestigious...
: Peter David LaxPeter LaxPeter David Lax is a mathematician working in the areas of pure and applied mathematics. He has made important contributions to integrable systems, fluid dynamics and shock waves, solitonic physics, hyperbolic conservation laws, and mathematical and scientific computing, among other fields...
Appointments
- January 26 – The NIH announce that Elizabeth NabelElizabeth NabelElizabeth G. Nabel, M.D. is the former Director of the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the US National Institutes of Health . Nabel is currently President of Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.-Education and career:Nabel, a native of...
will succeed Claude Lenfant as director of the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteNational Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteThe National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is a division of the National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland...
. - February 7 – The National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
elects Ralph CiceroneRalph CiceroneRalph J. Cicerone is an American atmospheric scientist, a former chancellor of UC Irvine, and currently president of the National Academy of Sciences....
as its next president, to begin his 6-year term on July 1. He takes over from Bruce AlbertsBruce AlbertsBruce Michael Alberts is an American biochemist known for his work in science public policy and as an original author of the Molecular Biology of the Cell...
. - February 25
- – Robert Kirby-HarrisRobert Kirby-HarrisBob Kirby-Harris has been the Chief Executive of the Institute of Physics since 2005.-Early life:He went to Ashford Grammar School . He gained a 1st Class BSc in Theoretical Physics in 1973 from the University of Kent. From Clare College, Cambridge, he gained an MA in Applied Maths and Theoretical...
is appointed as Chief Executive of the UK's Institute of PhysicsInstitute of PhysicsThe Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics. It has a worldwide membership of around 40,000....
. - – Keith Mason is appointed as the new head of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council in the UK.
- – Daniel Höchli is appointed director of the Swiss National Science FoundationSwiss National Science FoundationThe Swiss National Science Foundation is a science research support organization mandated by the Swiss Federal Government. The SNSF was established in 1952 as a foundation under private law. Its secretariat is based in Bern....
.
- – Robert Kirby-Harris
- April 13 – Michael D. GriffinMichael D. GriffinMichael Douglas Griffin is an American physicist and aerospace engineer. From April 13, 2005 to January 20, 2009 he served as Administrator of NASA, the space agency of the United States...
is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the next NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
administrator, succeeding Sean O'KeefeSean O'KeefeSean O'Keefe is the CEO of EADS North America, a subsidiary of the European aerospace firm EADS, a former Administrator of NASA, and former chancellor of Louisiana State University . O'Keefe is also a former member of the board of directors of DuPont...
. - December 6 – Kaname IkedaKaname Ikedais a Japanese civil servant.Ikeda graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1968, and joined the Atomic Energy Bureau of the Japanese Science and Technology Agency . In 1984 he became Director of the Nuclear Fuels Division of the STA...
is appointed as first Director General of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.
Other events
- February 8 – Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
wins more than $1 million in damages and attorney's fees, along with the patentPatentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
rights relating to electrospray ionizationElectrospray ionizationElectrospray ionization is a technique used in mass spectrometry to produce ions. It is especially useful in producing ions from macromolecules because it overcomes the propensity of these molecules to fragment when ionized...
from former professor and Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner John Fenn.
Deaths
- February 3 – Ernst MayrErnst MayrErnst Walter Mayr was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, historian of science, and naturalist...
(b. 19041904 in scienceThe year 1904 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy:* Edward Walter Maunder plots the first sunspot "butterfly diagram".* The sixth moon of Jupiter, later called Himalia, discovered at Lick Observatory....
), leading evolutionary biologist. - February 6 – Hubert CurienHubert CurienHubert Curien was a French physicist and a key figure in European science politics, as the President of CERN , the first chairman of the European Space Agency , and second President of the Academia Europæa and a President of Fondation de France.-Biography:Born in Cornimont, Vosges in Lorraine,...
(b. 19241924 in scienceThe year 1924 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy and space exploration:* December 30 - Edwin Hubble announces the existence of other galaxies....
), former President of CERNCERNThe European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
and first chairman of ESA. - February 10 – D. Allan BromleyD. Allan BromleyDavid Allan Bromley was a Canadian–American physicist, academic administrator and Science Advisor to American president George H. W. Bush. At the time of his death, he had over 500 publications.-Life:...
, director of YaleYALERapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
's A. W. Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory - March 6 – Hans BetheHans BetheHans Albrecht Bethe was a German-American nuclear physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics for his work on the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis. A versatile theoretical physicist, Bethe also made important contributions to quantum electrodynamics, nuclear physics, solid-state physics and...
(b. 19061906 in scienceThe year 1906 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Chemistry:* Charles Barkla discovers that each element has a characteristic X-ray and that the degree of penetration of these X-rays is related to the atomic weight of the element.* Mikhail Tsvet first names the...
), Nobelaureate in Physics (1967) for his discoveries concerning the energy production mechanism in starStarA star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s. - June 20 – Jack KilbyJack KilbyJack St. Clair Kilby was an American physicist who took part in the invention of the integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments in 1958. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 2000. He is credited with the invention of the integrated circuit or microchip...
(b. 19231923 in scienceThe year 1923 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Aeronautics:* Juan de la Cierva invents the autogyro, a rotary-winged aircraft with an unpowered rotor.-Astronomy:...
), Nobelaureate in Physics (2000) for his work on integrated circuitIntegrated circuitAn integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
s. - June 20 – Charles David KeelingCharles David KeelingCharles David Keeling was an American scientist whose recording of carbon dioxide at the Mauna Loa Observatory first alerted the world to the possibility of anthropogenic contribution to the "greenhouse effect" and global warming...
(b. 19281928 in scienceThe year 1928 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* January - Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA....
), first to make frequent measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, plotted on the Keeling CurveKeeling curveThe Keeling Curve is a graph which plots the ongoing change in concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere since 1958. It is based on continuous measurements taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii under the supervision of Charles David Keeling. Keeling's measurements showed the...
. - October 28 – Richard SmalleyRichard SmalleyRichard Errett Smalley was the Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry and a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rice University, in Houston, Texas...
(b. 19431943 in scienceThe year 1943 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* July 21 - Living specimens of Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the Dawn Redwood, previously known only as a Mesozoic fossil, are located in China....
), Nobelaureate in ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
(1996) for the discovery of a new form of carbon, BuckminsterfullereneBuckminsterfullereneBuckminsterfullerene is a spherical fullerene molecule with the formula . It was first intentionally prepared in 1985 by Harold Kroto, James Heath, Sean O'Brien, Robert Curl and Richard Smalley at Rice University...
. - November 16 – Henry TaubeHenry TaubeHenry Taube, Ph.D, M.Sc, B.Sc, FRSC was a Canadian-born American chemist noted for having been awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "his work in the mechanisms of electron-transfer reactions, especially in metal complexes." He was the first Canadian-born chemist to win the Nobel Prize...
(b. 19151915 in scienceThe year 1915 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy:* Pluto is photographed for the first time but not recognized as a planet....
), Nobelaureate in ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
(1983) for his work in the mechanisms of electron transfer reactions, especially in metal complexes.
External links
- The year in science and technology in Israel – IsraCast article
- 2005: The year in biology and medicine – NewScientist
- 2005: The year in space – NewScientist
- 2005: The year in technology – NewScientist