What we learned from science in 2014

To celebrate the season of lists, the Australian Science Media Centre has compiled the top ten science stories of 2014.

TO celebrate the season of lists, the Australian Science Media Centre has compiled the top ten science stories of 2014. Doctor Joe Milton from the SMC said the list is a great way to offer people bite-sized pieces of information covering all they may have forgotten or missed in science this year.

Outbreak ... a healthcare worker dons protective gear before entering an Ebola treatment centre in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Picture: AP Photo/Michael Duff Source: AP

THE West African Ebola outbreak was arguably the biggest science story of the year. The spread of the disease caught the attention of the globe as it played on our innate fear of the unknown. As the infections and death toll spiralled, so did our imaginations and we couldnt help but envisage the possibility of a worldwide pandemic. Luckily, that is looking highly unlikely. While there is still a long way to go before ending the outbreak, the number of new cases is decreasing while the chances of survival are rising.

Heavenly visitor ... the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, seen from a distance of 285km. Picture: AFP PHOTO / ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team Source: Supplied

SPACE science has made some remarkable discoveries this year. In November, the European Space Agency performed the first ever soft landing on a comet when the robotic space probe Rosetta and its lander module Philae made contact with comet 67P/Churyumov Gerasimenko, which was travelling at 135,000 km/h. The mission involved a decade-long 500 million km trip through space, and although a bumpy landing meant the ESA team lost communication with Philae shortly after its landing, it is still considered a huge accomplishment. Before it shut down it was able to send back an initial stream of data from the comet, which included the exciting news that they found the kind of carbon compounds that were made of, and that all other life is made of, on the surface of the comet, Dr Milton said. So, really interesting stuff, even though it was sad to see the lander switch off so quickly.

Heads in the sand ... climate change activists on Sydneys Bondi Beach protest Prime Minister Tony Abbotts refusal to include climate change in the G20 agenda. Picture: AAP Image/350.org Australia, Tim Cole Source: AAP

GLOBALLY, a lot of significant movements were made in 2014 to combat climate change. Dr Milton said there was a feeling that some really big moves happened in some parts of the world in terms of starting to take it seriously. Namely, the EU agreed to slash CO2 to 40 per cent of 1990 levels by 2030, and during the G20 summit in November, China and the US the worlds biggest CO2 emitters finally agreed to start reducing carbon. However in the midst of this positive change is Australia, attracting criticism from the international community for not taking enough action.

Hello big boy ... Argentinian palaeontologists made a huge breakthrough in 2014. Picture: AFP PHOTO / CONICET / Jorge Gonzalez Source: AFP

RESEARCHERS in Argentina this year discovered the bones of a 65,000-kilogram, 25-metre-long dinosaur. It is the most complete fossil of a dinosaur ever found, and being more than seven times as massive as a Tyrannosaurus Rex, it is believed to be one of the biggest animals to ever have walked the earth. It has been dubbed a Dreadnoughtus because the discovery team had an overwhelming sense that this creature would have dread nothing. It roamed the earth 77 million years ago.

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What we learned from science in 2014