If science. like art, is to perform its mission truly and fully, its achievements must enter not only superficially but with their inner meaning into the consciousness of people.
—Albert Einstein, 1939 World’s Fair Opening Ceremony
Our modern media regularly features advances in Science and Technology which may strongly, or just silently, affect our lives in immediate ways. Some also are quite exciting or inspirational since they involve the renewed pursuit of Space exploration, life-changing medical breakthroughs, better ways to protect the climate and environment, or our understanding of the cosmos. For those reasons, having an understanding of these leading-edge concepts is important to both the science-minded and to well-informed citizens. While some of these advances may seem obscure, even arcane, they usually have well-documented backgrounds and are based on earlier, often more familiar work, by scientists and engineers. The aim of this SDG is look into and discuss selected leading-edge Science and Technology topics and concepts.
Most scientific findings or discoveries are often sedimentary, slowly building on the edifice of understanding. Rare is the idea that marks a fundamental change to a system of thought, forcing the rest of science to bend to its own vision. But, in November 1915 Albert Einstein published his new and deeper understanding of gravity, the General Theory of Relativity, that did just that. Now, we’ll discuss several of the best scientific achievements that 2022 and 2023 had to offer—to explore and gain some understanding of the frontiers of science.
Rather than using a static core book, our SDG draws from leading Science and Technology journals and websites. SDG Science Magazine is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and is one of the world's top scientific journals. The major focus of the journal is publishing important original scientific research and research reviews, but Science also publishes science-related news, opinions on science policy and other matters of interest to scientists, and others who are concerned with the wide implications of science and technology. For almost a century, Science News journalists have covered advances in science, medicine and technology for the general public, including the 1925 Scopes “monkey” trial, the advent of the atomic age in 1945, the space race, and the revolution of genetic engineering from the discovery of DNA to today’s gene-editing technology. Founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1899, MIT Technology Review is a world-renowned, independent media company whose insight, analysis, reviews, interviews and live events explain the newest technologies and their commercial, social and political impacts.
These three magazines annually assess the major scientific advances of the preceding year, and look forward to potential advancements in the coming year. This SDG will explore several of 2022 and 2023's breakthroughs and advances in different scientific disciplines as reported in those magazines and their websites. Our group will discuss the science leading up to the breakthrough, and the potential implications, scientific, economic, legal and ethical, of the recent advances.
This SDG will be accessible to anyone interested in studying, discussing and appreciating the merits and implications of advances across the frontiers of science. Gaining an understanding of the various concepts, principles and applications is desired. Understanding the related or underlying detailed "equations," and their use is optional.
