2024 was full of record-breaking scientific discoveries. From tracing the origins of glow-in-the-dark animals to developing the world’s fastest microscope, these crowning feats have captivated our imaginations.
ancient air burst
About 2.5 million years ago, an asteroid burned up in Earth’s atmosphere before impacting the ground and leaving a crater, making this event the oldest known aerial explosion. This conclusion is based on chemical analysis of about 120 microscopic rocks buried deep beneath Antarctic ice. The ancient pebbles are rich in olivine and spinel minerals, which scientists say suggests the specimens are the remains of asteroids.
dawn of photosynthesis
The earliest evidence of photosynthesis is hidden in Australian microfossils. Fossilized bacteria from about 1.75 billion years ago preserve structures similar to the thylakoid membranes that help modern cyanobacteria convert sunlight into oxygen. Scientists had previously suspected that cyanobacteria carried out photosynthesis in ancient times, but this discovery provides the first direct evidence.
fastest backflip
Disil Tomina Minuta Collembola can leap up to 60 millimeters into the air and spin at speeds of up to 368 times per second, making them the fastest known arthropods (SN: 10/5/24, p. 4). An appendage on the lower abdomen helps the miniature gymnast float, and another appendage helps with landing tenacity.
the worst frog
The Brazilian flea toad is only 6.5 millimeters long (Brachycephalus purex) Selected as the world’s smallest known frog (SN: March 23, 2024, p. 4). This amphibian, small enough to fit on the nail of a pinky finger, outnumbered the previous champion by about a millimeter.
big genome, small package
The largest known genetic instruction manual is that of a small fern (SN: June 29, 2024, p. 4). Temesypteris oblantheolata Although it is only 15 centimeters long, it has a genome 50 times larger than humans. If unraveled, the fern’s DNA spool would be 100 meters long, scientists say.
oldest bioluminescence
Bioluminescence has a new birthday. Scientists say the ancestors of a group of deep-sea corals glowed in the dark 540 million years ago. Scientists thought that animal bioluminescence began about 267 million years ago with the ancestors of the tiny seed-shaped crustaceans, the sea fireflies.
tiny knot
Knots come in many shapes and sizes. A small figure-eight knot holds people up as they scale the cliff. A larger bowline anchors the boat to shore. This year, scientists designed the smallest and tightest knot ever (SN: February 24, 2024, p. 4). This trefoil knot is made by stacking 54 gold, phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon atoms three times in a pretzel shape.
