2025 in science

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The following scientific events occurred, or are scheduled to occur in 2025. The United Nations declared 2025 the International year of quantum science and technology.

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Events

January

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29 January: ESA begins monitoring the asteroid 2024 YR4, which is rated 3 on the Torino scale.

February

  • 3 February – Researchers in Berkeley and Cambridge attach copper nanoflower catalysts on perovskite-based artificial leaves for solar-driven hydrocarbon synthesis. Devices can produce ethane and ethylene at high rates by coupling CO2 reduction with glycerol oxidation into value-added chemicals.[27][28]
  • 7 February – Researchers develop an AI chip, smaller than a grain of salt, that mounts on the tip of an optical fibre and uses a "diffractive neural network" to decode images at light speed with very low energy. This breakthrough promises advances in efficient medical imaging and quantum communication technologies.[29][30]
  • 10 February
    • The microlensing event MOA-2011-BLG-262L is confirmed to be associated with the highest-velocity exoplanet system detected to date, moving at 541 km/s (1.2 million mph), which is close to the escape velocity for the Milky Way galaxy.[31][32]
    • Following an increase in the impact probability of 2024 YR4 – from 1.3% to 2.1% – the European Space Agency announces that it will use the advanced capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope to observe the asteroid, in order to better determine its size and trajectory.[33]
  • 12 February
  • 13 February – Scientists at the University of Cambridge report the creation of a solar-powered reactor that pulls carbon dioxide directly from the air and converts it into sustainable fuel.[37]
  • 15 February – A new record-low global sea ice extent is reported, dipping below the previous lowest that occurred in early 2023.[38]
  • 18 February
    • The impact probability of 2024 YR4 is raised by NASA, from 2.1% to 2.6%[39] and then 3.1% in the same day.[40]
    • The first 3D mapping of an exoplanet atmosphere is achieved by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. WASP-121b (also known as Tylos) is found to have powerful winds carrying elements like iron and titanium, creating intricate weather patterns across its atmosphere.[41]
  • 24 February – NASA formally announces that asteroid 2024 YR4 now poses "no significant threat" to Earth in 2032 and beyond, as the chances of an impact drops to 1-in-59,000 (0.0017%). This means a planetary defense mission to intercept and deflect the object in 2028 during a close flyby of Earth will not be necessary.[42]
  • 27 February
  • 28 February – An electronic device called "e-Taste", developed by Ohio State University, is shown to replicate the perception of taste, which could enhance virtual reality experiences.[46][47]

March

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11 March: 128 new moons of Saturn are confirmed.
  • 2 March – Firefly Aerospace successfully lands the Blue Ghost Mission 1 on the Moon as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, delivering payloads to Mare Crisium with instruments to study lunar regoliths and the interactions between solar wind and Earth's magnetic field.[48]
  • 4 March – De-extinction company Colossal Biosciences announces the creation of a "woolly mouse" with eight modified genes, expressing mammoth-like traits relevant to cold adaptation and providing a platform for validation of genome engineering targets.[49][50]
  • 5 March – Italian researchers report turning light into a supersolid for the first time.[51][52]
  • 6 March – A study in Science finds that butterfly populations in the U.S. declined by 22% between 2000 and 2020, with 13 times as many species decreasing as increasing, raising concerns about future biodiversity loss.[53][54]
  • 10 March – A study in the journal PNAS finds that microplastic pollution reduces photosynthesis in plants and algae by up to 12%, leading to estimated annual food losses of 110–361 million tonnes of crops and up to 24 million tonnes of seafood. Without action to reduce plastic waste, this could lead to another 400 million people at risk of starvation within two decades.[55][56]
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31 March: OpenAI's latest model GPT-4.5 is reported to be indistinguishable from a human in text conversations.

April

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17 April: An artist's impression of K2-18b, which has a possible biosignature.
  • 17 April – The atmosphere of K2-18b, a candidate water world located 124 light-years away, is found to contain large quantities of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide – two compounds that, on Earth, are only known to be produced by life. This discovery, while requiring further proof, is described as "the strongest evidence to date for a biological activity beyond the Solar System".[76][77]
  • 20 April – NASA's Lucy spacecraft returns images of the main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson, revealing it to be a contact binary and larger than originally estimated.[78]
  • 22 April – Astronomers at MIT report the discovery of BD+05 4868Ab, a small rocky exoplanet located 142 light-years from Earth, which is rapidly disintegrating due to extreme heat from its nearby host star. The planet, orbiting every 30.5 hours, exhibits a comet-like tail of vaporised minerals extending up to 9 million kilometres. It is estimated to be losing mass equivalent to Mount Everest each orbit and may completely evaporate within 1–2 million years.[79]
  • 27 April – Astronomers report the discovery of the Eos cloud, a vast molecular hydrogen cloud located about 300 light-years from Earth, revealed through far-ultraviolet emission techniques. Expected to evaporate within 6 million years, Eos is among the largest and closest molecular clouds ever found.[80]
  • 30 April
    • Engineers at ITER complete the construction of the world's largest and most powerful pulsed superconducting electromagnet system, marking a major milestone on the path to sustained nuclear fusion. The Central Solenoid and surrounding magnets will confine plasma at 150 million °C, enabling ITER to produce 500 megawatts of fusion power from just 50 megawatts of input.[81]
    • The Minor Planet Center announces two additional moons of Jupiter, bringing the planet's total moon count to 97.[82]

May

Predicted and scheduled events

Date unknown

See also

References

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