/The scientific discoveries of 2018 – Part 2, Helping planet Earth
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The scientific discoveries of 2018 – Part 2, Helping planet Earth

This is the second part of an article which was originally written by me in Bulgarian and published in the Bulgarian E-zine Dnevnik. The first part of the article – about space discoveries can be found on this blog too. And the original article can be found here: Destination Mars and the important scientific discoveries of 2018. The text below is shortened and adapted version of the original article.

Looking at the vast universe, scientists haven’t forgotten that our only home yet needs us the most right now to right the wrongs we’ve done it so far. Two of the most exiting scientific discoveries/advances of 2018 are related to the Earth sciences. 

Bionic fish

Scientists from MIT have created a bionic fish to explore and monitor the deep-sea ecosystems.

Current prototypes have many issues. They quickly lose communications below certain depths, and due to their loud motor engines and weird looks sea creatures mistrust them. This in turn makes it very hard to actually study the deep-sea habitats as they are. 

SoFi (Soft Robotic Fish) allows scientists to explore the marine world unnoticed and thus collect data that can be used to preserve and protect life in the Earth’s oceans.

Ozone repairs

Another important discovery is related to preserving the biodiversity of the Earth. A UN scientific report has confirmed that the Montreal Protocol on the complete elimination of chemicals damaging the ozone layer of human activity really does deliver the expected results.

According to recent measurements, the ozone hole above the poles has begun to gradually close. This discovery confirmed that if the current prohibitions continue to be strictly observed, the hole may be history by the end of the century.

This is a clear indicator that global climate change is clearly a problem of entirely human origin. Moreover, it shows that strict adherence to existing international climate protection treaties would allow a successful limitation of global warming below the desired limit of 1.5°C by the end of the century.

There is hope for our planet as long as there is science!

Just check out how many amazing discoveries has Earth sciences have delivered through the centuries. We can only imagine how much more we can expect in 2019!