COVID-19, social distancing measures and everything the virus entailed have made 2021 a very hard year for many people. But not all was completely bad. We've dug around and pulled out the 12 best advancements in the science, environment, and biodiversity departments of 2021.
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The top 12 good news of the year
March 2021: Launch of a French vaccine trial against the AIDS virus. Announced in March, the first volunteers received their injection in mid-April 2021.
April 2021: This vaccine against malaria achieved 77% efficacy in African trials, a first! Indeed, raising much hope in the fight against a disease known for killing mainly children.
April 2021: Australian researchers identify the gene responsible for a very aggressive form of breast cancer. This discovery is another step towards possible treatments for patients.
July 1, 2021: Electric fishing is banned in Europe. Some European countries had appealed, but the European Regulation No. 2019-1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems has indeed been formally applied since July 2021.
July 2021: Greenland bans oil exploration in the Arctic. The Danish government has thus ruled with a strong symbolic measure (an ecological scope) but also economic. This exploration was coveted by oil companies, but it was not very profitable for the region (in addition to being harmful).
August 2021: The Kiwis are back in northern New Zealand. But we're not talking about the fruit here. We're referring to the nation's emblematic birds—the size of a chicken and unable to fly.
September 2021: Tunas are no longer an endangered species. It was a huge surprise to discover on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, that some species of bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna and albacore tuna were no longer critically endangered.
September 8, 2021: The world's largest CO2 removal plant was commissioned in Iceland. This plant 'will be a game changer in the fight against global warming' as Kristjan Mar Atlason, director of the plant in question, said.
October 2021: Inauguration of an industrial demonstrator that will allow the infinite recycling of plastic. The start-up based in Clermond-Ferrand relies on an enzyme to recycle ad infinitum.
October 2021: Launch of a vaccine trial against breast cancer in the USA. If the tests remain conclusive, this would allow prevention for healthy women, preventing the development of triple negative breast cancer.
November 2021: Ecuador expands the surface of the Galápagos reserve. The president of Ecuador has doubled the surface of the reserve. This would be huge for biodiversity!
November 2021: Discovery of a new patient able to eliminate HIV naturally. Diagnosed in 2013, the Argentinean woman remained anonymous but was ultimately able to naturally cure themselves of the virus.
