Consumer tech aside, there's stuff that happens in the world of technology that has a much deeper impact on your life. Scientists and researchers have been reaching new heights every day with inventions and discoveries that could have a big impact on the future. Here's what happened in 2014.
The eyes have it..
In January this year, Google unveiled the Smart Contact Lens, which could monitor blood glucose levels for people wearing them. Its implications for diabetics and others don't need to be explained and naturally the world embraced it.
A touching tale...
Prosthetic hands are nothing new, but they still can't feel. Not anymore, a Dutch man was fitted with a prosthetic hand, which is capable of the sense of touch. The research was conducted by Case Western Reserve University and the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Quite the advancement in tech, don't you think?
Photo: Case Western Reserve University
Starry nights...
The sky is full of stars and they're all millions of years old. Astronomers at the Australian National University though went a step ahead and found SMSS J031300.36-670839.3, which is one of the oldest known stars till date. They could have gone for an easier name though.
Life as you didn't know it...
34-year-old computer programmer Jonathan Bow found a 7-foot long fossil in South Wales back in February this year. This turned out to be one of the earliest living reptiles, known as the Ichthyosaur. It was the first time a full fossil of the reptile had been found.
Cure for a broken heart...
A study involving 3000 heart-attack patients in 11 European countries was kicked off in London back in February 2014. The goal was to inject stem cells into their hearts, to see if it could cure them. If successful, it will go a long way in improving life expectancy, as heart attacks are the biggest killers in multiple countries, including India.
No one likes gas...
Scientists at the University of East Anglia identified four new man-made gases responsible for Ozone layer depletion. What's more alarming is that the source for two of these gases is still unknown. Three new chlorofluorocarbons and one hydryochlorofluorocarbon were identified.
Baking chromosomes..
A fully functional chromosome was designed from Baker's yeast in March this year. It is a big step in the biology based on redesign of the human genome.
A cousin from outer space..
It is approximately 490 light years away, but Earth has a cousin in Kepler 186f. Astronomers discovered this using the Kepler Space Telescope back in April. It is 10% wider than the Earth and chances are that it can sustain life. There's the small task of getting there though.
Being extinct doesn't stop them from getting bigger...
Millions of years after their extinction, dinosaurs are still getting bigger. In May, paleontologists found gigantic bones of a mammal known as Dreadnoughtus schrani. According to experts, the mammal was 85 feet long and 30 feet tall, weighing a mammoth 65 tons.
Curioser and curioser...
The Martian Rover, Curiosity, completed one Mars year (687 Earth days) in 2014. It has found Methane and some other organic compounds on the planets, suggesting that life was possible at some time there.
Evolution makes it less dangerous..
Turns out, HIV is becoming less dangerous with time. On 1 December, a study noted that the virus was evolving into a less deadly and infectious form with time.
Shakespeare in a parking lot..
A skeleton found in a parking lot in UK, was this month confirmed to belong to King Richard III. It is the oldest forensic case ever solved.
Clean energy, good energy..
In October, Lockheed Martin announced that it would be able to create a small fusion reactor in five years. This is a big step, as nuclear energy is very important in creating clean energy, especially with the rapid depletion of other resources.
Electricity without switches...
Witricity is an American engineering company, which manufacturers wireless resonant energy through oscillating magnetic fields. It is basically a much bigger version of the wireless charging you use in your smartphones today. Also, more useful.
Going bananas...
The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation gave $10 million to this project. Superbananas are aimed at providing more Vitamins to the body with each banana and to end global malnutrition and hunger. Test crops have already been planted and tested in Queensland, Australia.
Reinventing the wheel...
Remember all those times you said riding a bicycle is too tiresome? Not anymore. The SENSEable City Laboratory at MIT has developed a hybrid motor powered wheel, which assists you when you most need it. It's a good invention in times when more and more cars are flooding city streets, taking pollution to uncontrollable levels.
Promising signs...
A company called MotionSavvy has designed a device known as Uni, which can convert sign language into voice. It's a big step in helping the speech impaired etc. to communicate with others and with machines.
Anti-virus for the human body...
The Aethlon Hemopurifier has already been tested on Ebola patients. It is a first in class bio-purifier, which targets rapid elimination of viruses from the human body.