10 Discoveries that Break Science, Spark Debates Throughout 2023

10 Penemuan yang Mendobrak Sains, Jadi Perdebatan Sepanjang 2023

"10 Discoveries that Shatter Science, Become a Debate Throughout 2023"

"This year, scientists have surprised us with claims of room-temperature superconductivity, reports of sightings of long-extinct species, and alternative theories regarding the origins of humanity. Not to mention the intriguing UFO content, so without further ado, here are the most controversial science stories of 2023."

"1. Congress Hearing on UFOs and 'alien mummies'"

"In May, Congress held its first public hearing on UFOs since the 1960s to discuss 144 reports of mysterious object sightings. During the hearing, two military officials were interrogated about their knowledge of the unexplained phenomena. The May hearing was followed by another hearing in July, where three military witnesses stated that there is evidence of non-human technology being concealed from the public."

The three witnesses stated the possibility of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) being launched by extraterrestrial beings interested in America's nuclear capabilities, testing the weaknesses of the US air defense system, or conducting reconnaissance in American airspace. Mexico has a space issue that needs to be addressed after a journalist revealed two "alien" objects in front of the country's congress in September.

10 Discoveries that Break Science, Spark Debates Throughout 2023

"Jaime Maussan claims that DNA tests show that the corpse is not human but not necessarily an extraterrestrial being. Scientists unite to refute this claim and eliminate their biases."

2. 'Anomaly' metal ball

This year, a leading astrophysicist from Harvard stated that more than 50 "anomaly" metal balls retrieved from the Pacific Ocean may be the work of intelligent extraterrestrial beings. Avi Loeb claims that the small grains may have fallen into the sea in 2014, when a fireball streaked across the sky above Papua New Guinea. Loeb explains that the shiny objects could be remnants from another star system and may contain traces of extraterrestrial technology.

"In November, several studies found that the metal ball was more likely a byproduct of coal combustion and therefore likely originated from industrial pollution on Earth. Loeb disputed these findings in a blog post on November 15. He argued that coal is not magnetic and cannot be picked up by the instruments he used to lift the grains from the sea."

"He noted that 93% of the collected samples have not been analyzed and warned scientists not to rush to conclusions."

"3. Tasmanian tiger roams in the wilderness"

"Based on a report from 1910, researchers suggest that the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) survived in the wild until the 1980s and may still be roaming the forests of Tasmania today."

This marsupial is believed to have gone extinct in 1936, but researchers estimate the date of extinction to be in the mid-1950s, if the species is indeed extinct. However, this study has been met with skepticism, as its findings are based solely on reports of Tasmanian tiger sightings. No carcasses have ever been found to indicate that this species is still surviving in the wild, and the resemblance between the Tasmanian tiger and dogs means that people reporting sightings could easily be mistaken.

"4. The controversial dinosaur fossils of Brazil"

"In May, researchers criticized a team of researchers in Europe after they published a study on a 115 million-year-old dinosaur fossil that had been excavated by commercial miners in Brazil and then sold and shipped to Germany."

The specimen comes from a carnivorous species related to Spinosaurus known as Irritator challengeri, which according to a new study, captured prey like pelicans. The authors of the study argue that legally the fossil belongs to Germany, as it arrived there before 1990, after which Brazil began to restrict scientific exports to other countries. Paleontologists, including the authors, agree that the fossils should be returned to Brazil.

"5. The excitement of semiconductors"

"In the summer, researchers in South Korea claimed that they successfully created a superconductor at room temperature and pressure, triggering a series of efforts to replicate those results. If verified, the discovery of a material capable of conducting electricity at everyday temperatures and without electrical resistance would open a window to new technologies."

"However, other experts warn that the published work is less thorough and has not undergone peer review."

"When they tried to replicate the findings, none of the materials they created produced results identical to LK-99, the South Korean superconductor. Subsequent efforts that were then publicly announced also proved unsuccessful. Regardless of the results for LK-99, the announcement sparked significant discussion on social media and elsewhere about a field of science that is unfamiliar to the general public."

"6. Hominin fossils in outer space"

"In September, Virgin Galactic's spaceflight took off from Earth carrying a highly valuable and controversial cargo: the remains of two of our ancient relatives, Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi. South African billionaire, Timothy Nash, brought the hominin fossils to the edge of space in a cigar-shaped tube, which sparked excitement within the scientific community."

The permission to carry fossils on the flight, which was approved by the South African Heritage Resources Agency, states that the purpose of the mission is to promote science and gain global recognition for research on human origins in South Africa.

"7. Ozone hole in Antarctica"

A study stating that the ozone hole over Antarctica is not recovering as quickly as we thought and may be getting larger came to the forefront in November, with experts criticizing the research methodology and accusing the authors of selectively choosing data.

The concentration of ozone in the center of the Antarctic ozone hole has decreased by 26% between 2001 and 2022, ignoring several factors, including three consecutive years of La Niña from 2020-2022, massive wildfires in Australia in 2020, and water vapor from a major eruption in Tonga in 2022, which explains why the last few years have been unusual.

"Overall, experts state that the results of the research are unrealistic and not useful for concluding many things about the trends in global ozone recovery."

to English is

The newly identified ape fossil from a site that is 8.7 million years old in Turkey has prompted scientists to propose that homininae first evolved in Europe. This deviates from the conventional view that homininae originated exclusively from Africa and suggests that members of this group spread to Africa from the Mediterranean region. However, paleontologists argue that a comprehensive analysis of great ape fossils and early human ancestors does not support this argument.

"There is also the possibility that a new species discovered, Anadoluvius turkae, migrated to the Mediterranean region from Africa after evolving there, rather than the other way around, experts say. Fossils like this are rarely found in the African fossil record, and although that does not mean homininae were not present there, it raises questions about where this group first evolved, they add."

"9. Netflix documentary is being monitored"

"Homo naledi, a relative of ancient humans that lived around 300,000 years ago, became the center of controversy earlier this year after a research team claimed that the extinct hominin intentionally buried their dead and carved stones. This complex behavior, which is not supported by 'convincing scientific evidence,' was presented in the popular Netflix documentary 'Unknown: Cave of Bones' (2023), released just days after the claims were published in the journal eLife."

"But currently there is no strong evidence supporting the idea that hominins with brains the size of oranges could exhibit behaviors only known in species with much larger brains, such as modern humans."

"10. 'Curse tablet' or fishing burden?"

A piece of tin the size of a stamp was found in the West Bank in 2019, and this year, some researchers discovered that the piece bears the earliest known inscription of the name of God of Israel, Yahweh. The authors of the original work referred to the artifact as a "curse inscription," based on their interpretation of the signs that invoke Yahweh to curse His enemies.

"However, others are not convinced, as they think that the fragment does not display any words and may actually be a fishing weight. The controversial lead tablet has no writing on the inside, critics told Live Science, only indentations caused by weathering. The tablet is very similar to weights commonly used for fishing or bird netting at the time the tablet is believed to have been made, between 1400 and 1200 BC."

The original researchers responded to the criticism by stating that they are confident there is writing on the tablet and are working on a second paper detailing the writing on the folded outer part of the tablet.

"Source: Live Science"

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