2025 was a remarkable year for science, with mind-blowing discoveries in many fields, including medicine, astronomy, technology, and more. Here's a list of some of the most astonishing facts:
1. Scientists have discovered a sea slug, known as Elysia chlorotica, that is capable of performing photosynthesis. They eat algae and turn bright green. They spend the rest of their life converting light, water and air into sugar, similar to a leaf.
2. Scientists claimed to have discovered a new colour called "olo". They say that humans cannot see the colour without the help of technology. Only five people have seen the colour, describing it as something like a peacock blue or teal.
3. Many called it bizarre, but researchers said that modern potatoes likely descended from an ancient tomato plant.
4. 2025 was a year of personalised gene therapy as Baby KJ received the treatment for a rare genetic disorder, marking a new era in gene editing.
5. Saturn's official moon count nearly doubled this year after scientists confirmed the discovery of 128 new satellites, bringing Saturn's total to 274.
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6. This year was also critical when it comes to lab-grown organs as scientists created functional human hearts and ureter tissue, potentially revolutionising organ transplants.
7. This year, the number of NASA-tracked confirmed worlds discovered beyond our solar system surpassed 6,000, and several thousand more await confirmation.
8. This year, researchers also confirmed, after nearly a century of mystery, that a fossilised skull known as "Dragon Man," found in Harbin, China, belongs to the elusive Denisovan group of ancient humans.
9. A Chinese company this year claimed that it has developed the prototype of a carbon-14 (C-14) nuclear battery. It can last for a century without being charged.
10. Microsoft introduced Majorana 1, the world's first quantum chip powered by a new Topological Core architecture. Majorana 1 chip and cat qubits reduce errors, paving the way for practical quantum computers.
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11. In 2025, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) broke its own record with the new most distant galaxy MoM-z14.
12. This year, scientists also found the most advanced case of birds using the urban environment in the best way possible. They found that a hawk had apparently learned how to use crosswalk signals as a cue to target its prey.
13. In 2025, Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost became the first commercial lander to make a successful soft landing on the Moon.
14. Global life expectancy started rising, getting back to pre-pandemic levels. But deaths among teens and young adults are rising, and new research has found that humans are living 20 years longer than they were in 1950.
15. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the LVM-3 rocket that placed the BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite into orbit. Weighing nearly 6,100 kg, it is the heaviest satellite ever lifted from Indian soil using an Indian launcher. Designed by the US company AST SpaceMobile, it was also the largest-ever commercial communications satellite to be deployed in low Earth orbit (LEO).
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