10 Greatest Scientific Discoveries and Inventions of 21st Century

1.Detection of Gravitational Waves
Scientists considered this as the greatest discovery of the 21st century. Let us go back to the time when Albert Einstein first predicted in his theory of relativity that time travel will be possible. Now, it has been proven by the recent findings.
The LIGO project based in the United States has detected gravitational waves that could allow scientists to develop a time machine and travel to the earliest and darkest parts of the universe. This was the first time that the witnessed the “ripples in the fabric of space-time.”
2.Evidence of Water on Mars
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration confirmed last September 2015 that there is evidence proving the existence of liquid water in Mars.
Using the imaging spectrometer of NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), scientists detected hydrated salts in different locations on Mars. During the warm season, the hydrated salts darken and flow down steep. However, they fade in cooler seasons. The detection of hydrated salts means that water plays a vital role in their formation.

3.Robotic Body Parts
Through the help of biomechanics and engineering, scientists have devised robotic body parts. The University of Twente has developed robotic arms that can aid those individuals affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
This will allow patients to amplify residual function in the arm. They also applied Darpa’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics project of creating prosthetics to wounded US military personnel, in developing robotic limbs.

4.T. Rex Tissue
Paleontologists have discovered a partially fossilized and decomposing femur of a Tyrannosaurus rex which was believed to be 70 million years old already, or a date closer to the biblical date of creation.
Mary Higby Schweitzer of North Carolina State University and Montana State University found out flexible and transparent vessels. This soft tissue discovered is preserved because of the iron between the leg bones. The T.Rex tissue is very essential in determining the physiology of dinosaurs and to study its cellular and molecular structures.
5.HIV Cure
According to HIV.gov, there are over 36.7 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS.
however, no definite cure is still discovered. In 2007, Dr. GeroHütter was the first one to successfully cure an HIV/AIDS patient named Timothy Ray Brown by transplanting bone marrow from an HIV-immune patient.
6.Existence of Dark Matter
In 2006, a team of researchers has found an evidence that proves the existence of dark matter. They inferred the presence of dark matter by measuring the bullet clusters or the location of mass in the collision of galaxies.
According to Maxim Markevitch of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, the dark matter can be proven by the bulk of visible matter in the clusters that have been disconnected to the rest of the mass. According to NASA, it is still a complete mystery.

7.Sequencing Genome of Cancer Patient
It took three years for scientists to finish drafting the three billion letters that compose the human DNA. The Human Genome Project helped scientists in treating a deadly type of skin cancer and understanding the genes involved in leukemia, eczema, and diabetes. Now, cancer genome sequencing is integrated into medical care facilities. It characterizes and identifies DNA or RNA sequences of cancer cells.
8.Creation of Human Organs
Scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School have discovered how to regenerate the function of human heart tissue through adult skin cells. Through stem cells, humans can grow another organ. This is associated with the regenerative nature of living organisms.
9.Water as Fuel
German Cleantech Company has developed a futuristic machine that converts water into fuel. Through Power-to-Liquid Technology, they can convert water and carbon dioxide into liquid hydrocarbons which take the form of synthetic diesel, petrol, and kerosene.
This technology was based on Fischer-Tropsch process and solid oxide electrolyzer cells (SOECs) which converts electricity to steam.
10.Face Transplants
A face transplant is a medical procedure that replaces a person’s face using the tissues of a dead person.
In 2005, Isabelle Dinoire of France was the first person to have partial face transplant while the first full face transplant happened in Spain in 2010.