From astronomical discoveries possible thanks to new telescopes to new generation vaccines and missions to the Moon, from the approval of the first gene therapies to new physics laboratories: these are some of the most anticipated scientific results in 2023, according to the journal Nature.
In the field of
astronomy
expectations are very high: in addition to the James Webb space telescope (Jwst), of the space agencies of the United States (Nasa(, Europe (ESA) and Canada (Csa), which lit up this year, there are many expectations also for ESA's new European Euclid space telescope, which will have to draw a 3D map of the universe, and for the new Vera Rubin observatory (Vro) under construction in Chile since 2015 by an American consortium, which will be able to photograph the entire southern sky in just three nights.
The
Moon
, after the conclusion of NASA's first Artemis mission, will also be the protagonist next year with various missions: the Rashid rover of the United Arab Emirates, NASA's lunar torch to search for water and the Japanese Hakuto-R mission, such as also the third Moon exploration mission of the Indian Space Research Organization (Chandrayaan-3) and the first civilian voyage aboard the SpaceX Starship rocket, which will carry 11 passengers for 6 days.
Results are also expected in the field of
physics
, with the start-up of the Juno observatory in China, located 700 meters underground, for the measurement of neutrinos, and the opening of the new European particle accelerator, the European Spallation Source Eric (Ess) in Sweden, the most powerful linear proton accelerator ever built.
There are also many expectations in the field of
mRna
(messenger RNA) vaccines, such as those developed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, which contain instructions to allow the body to produce virus proteins so that the immune system learns to recognize them.
In fact, at the beginning of 2023 the launch of numerous trials also on humans for vaccines against malaria and tuberculosis is expected, as well as for a single vaccine capable of protecting against Covid and the flu at the same time.
In 2023 the
new list of the most dangerous pathogens,
including viruses and bacteria, drawn up by the World Health Organization (WHO) will be published: the list will indicate the way forward to avoid new pandemics due to one of these pathogens.
Finally, the new year could see the approval of the first gene therapy based on the molecular scissors Crispr-Cas-9, which has proven effective in treating two genetic blood diseases, beta-thalassemia and sickle cell anemia.