Every year brings discoveries in research that we will remember. Some findings are astonishing, while others are important enough to change science and our understanding of the world.
In November 2024, a drug to slow the early development of Alzheimer's disease was approved in Europe, offering new hope to millions affected by the condition. "If the drug is aimed for availability in Norway, it can be available next year," said researcher Geir Selbæk, according to Forskning.
"This I believe is the biggest breakthrough in 2024, considering what is happening out there in practice. It is only this year we have received research showing how good these blood tests are," said Selbæk, according to Forskning. Earlier in the year, a study partially funded by the NIH revealed that a simple blood test could accurately detect if a patient had Alzheimer's disease. While more fine-tuning needs to be done, this could drastically change patients' lives and ease healthcare efforts to detect Alzheimer's.
The medical field saw other developments in 2024. The journal Science named Lenacapavir as the breakthrough of the year for its advancements against HIV. Lenacapavir is an injectable medication that provides up to six months of protection against HIV and can be administered as a subcutaneous shot twice a year. It works both as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention and as a treatment for HIV-positive individuals.
"We are impressed by the results," said Vidar Ormaasen, a senior physician in infectious medicine at Oslo University Hospital, according to Forskning. In 2024, the results of two drug trials sponsored by Gilead Sciences, Lenacapavir's maker, showed that Lenacapavir had a 96 percent success rate in one trial and a 100 percent success rate in the other.
Lenacapavir is based on research that has allowed scientists to harden the protein that envelops the virus, thus preventing its replication. It targets HIV's capsid protein, the shell that protects a virus's genetic material. The hope with Lenacapavir is that it will be easier to distribute in areas with high HIV prevalence.
In the field of weight loss and metabolic disorders, 2024 brought attention to new medications Semaglutide and Tirzepatide, originally developed for diabetes. Researchers discovered that these substances may have additional positive medical effects beyond weight loss. Studies suggest that Semaglutide and Tirzepatide may have beneficial effects on heart disease, kidney disorders, substance addiction, sleep apnea, and even dementia, including Alzheimer's.
In 2024, advancements in protein design emerged, with the ability to design new proteins not based on those created by nature. A crucial factor in this development is the use of artificial intelligence to design new proteins.
Space exploration also reached new heights this year. In summer 2024, China successfully landed a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, collected rock samples, and returned them to Earth, marking the first time a lunar expedition has achieved this feat. The expedition is part of China's space program and the country's plans to build a Moon base by 2030. The samples collected by the expedition show that the Moon was volcanically active for at least 1.4 billion years before it cooled, with initial analyses revealing volcanic activity occurred 2.8 billion years ago.
SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, developed the Starship rocket, which achieved a first by having its lower booster section return to the launch tower instead of falling into the sea. In 2024, SpaceX successfully landed its rocket system back on Earth for reuse, advancing its goal of developing fully reusable rockets. These advances in rocket technology could transform computing and lower the cost of space travel, potentially cutting expenses to one-tenth of today's space expeditions. The successful reuse of rockets could have major consequences for space research, enabling more frequent and cost-effective missions.
Scientific discoveries in 2024 extended to the natural world. For the first time, researchers observed and filmed the attack of a solitary orca on a white shark, a behavior not previously documented in non-human animals. This finding sheds new light on predator-prey relationships in the marine ecosystem. In another development, researchers succeeded in flexibly attaching living but artificially made skin to robots, creating a range of applications. If the skin were to get injured, it could heal itself thanks to the living cells.
In 2024, researchers made a discovery about a small alga, described as an evolutionary breakthrough. The alga has developed its own organ to acquire nitrogen. This organ is actually a bacterium that the alga has "kidnapped." The bacterium and alga have become dependent on each other, with the bacterium evolving to become an organ in the alga, allowing it to absorb and utilize nitrogen.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.