Five things we learnt in 2018

By Louis Shankar

Updated May 16, 2020 at 11:14 AM

Reading time: 3 minutes

508

Bitcoin might not be the future of currency: After an unprecedented boom in 2017, peaking at $19,783.06 on December 17, the price of Bitcoin fell by around 65 per cent over the course of a month, between January 6 and February 6. There were various factors at play: speculation that South Korea might be banning trading in cryptocurrency; the hacking of Japan’s largest cryptocurrency market, Coincheck, and the theft of $530 million.

By September of this year, Bitcoin had lost 80 per cent of their peak value. Other cryptocurrencies followed. This collapse was worse than the Dot-com bubble crash of the early noughties. A Sky News investigation found that, as of this month, at least 340 companies related to cryptocurrencies or blockchain were either dissolved or liquidated this year in the U.K.

This collapse doesn’t look good for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies: it’s unlikely they’ll disappear forever but they won’t be a major part of our financial system anytime soon, as had been suspected a year or so ago. We have 12 years to prevent climate catastrophe: In October, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a landmark paper warning that the world has only a dozen years to limit the extent of global warming to a 1.5 celsius rise in global temperatures. Even an aggregated warming of 2 celsius would significantly worsen the risks of floods, drought, unusual weather systems, extreme heat, and poverty and starvation for hundreds of millions of people.

The IPCC—a panel of the world’s leading climate scientists—insist that urgent and unprecedented changes are needed for this target to be met, which was the most ambition end of the pledge set out in the Paris agreement of 2015, which Trump infamously withdrew the United States from. Asked about the report, the US president said, “I want to look at who drew it—you know, which group drew it,” seemingly suggesting that he had never heard of the intergovernmental panel.

The 1.5 celsius limit is likely to be reached between 2030 and 2052 if the current rate of fossil fuel reliant production continues. The report notes that “carbon-dioxide removal” will be necessary in every scenario in order to curtail global warming. In short: we need to act now.

Endometriosis: A non-invasive test: A non-invasive test to diagnose endometriosis, has been made available in several countries this year, revolutionising the process. Currently, it takes an average of 7.5 years for women to get diagnosed with endometriosis; a 2017 US study found that 42 per cent of women with endometriosis surveyed had been told by their doctor that their pain was “simply part of being a woman.”

Endometriosis is a medical condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of the womb. Its symptoms and effects include painful periods, painful intercourse, and infertility. Around ten percent of women have the condition.

A non-invasive test would revolutionise how the condition is diagnosed. As it stands, laparoscopic surgery is the only way to provide a definitive diagnosis, a process which is both risky and expensive. DotLab, an American startup, provide an alternative: “By measuring disease-specific biomarkers and applying advanced biostatistics, DotEndo provides the information you need to attribute her symptoms.” Heather Bowerman, the scientist and entrepreneur who set up DotLab, summarised: “Our goal is to help women live more productive, healthier, and happier lives.”

Water found on Mars: NASA confirmed in July that liquid water had been found beneath the surface of Mars. A lake is thought to sit under the planet’s south polar ice cap and is about 12 miles (20km) wide.

Elena Pettinelli, Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) co-investigator, says, “These results indicate that we are probably in the presence of a subglacial lake similar to the lakes present beneath the Antarctic ice. Alternatively, it could be a deep aquifer in which the liquid water fills the pores and fractures of the rock.”

The human race has destroyed over 80 per cent of wild mammals: Despite representing around 0.01 per cent of all life on earth, the human race has destroyed 83 per cent of all wild mammals and half of all plants, according to a comprehensive new study of biomass. “I was shocked to find there wasn’t already a comprehensive, holistic estimate of all the different components of biomass,” said Professor Ron Milo, who led the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The impact of humanity on the global ecosystem is staggering. Farmed poultry makes up over two-thirds of all birds on the planet, with just around 30 per cent being wild. It’s an even more stark difference for mammals: 60 per cent of all mammals on Earth are livestock, mostly cattle and pigs, while 36 per cent are human and just 4 per cent are wild animals.

Paul Falkowski, from Rutgers University, said: “There are two major takeaways from this paper. First, humans are extremely efficient in exploiting natural resources. Humans have culled, and in some cases eradicated, wild mammals for food or pleasure in virtually all continents. Second, the biomass of terrestrial plants overwhelmingly dominates on a global scale – and most of that biomass is in the form of wood.”

Keep On Reading

By Charlie Sawyer

Did Tim Cheese murder John Pork, and how is Simon Claw involved? The lore, explained

By Abby Amoakuh

Planned Parenthood goes viral for Wicked meme remix that leaves netizens speechless

By J'Nae Phillips

The gyaru revival: Why Gen Z are embracing Japan’s most rebellious aesthetic

By Charlie Sawyer

Australian actor Joseph Zada cast as Haymitch Abernathy in upcoming Hunger Games prequel

By Annabel Smith

Is TikTok’s protect your peace trend empowering Gen Z women or causing social isolation?

By Abby Amoakuh

UK search engines are now promoting tutorials on how to create deepfake porn

By Abby Amoakuh

Tiktoker gets slammed by dermatologists for promoting dangerous caveman skincare regime

By Abby Amoakuh

White women can’t just use the 4B movement to swear off men, they also need to hold each other accountable

By Charlie Sawyer

Influencer Leo Skepi warns of a wave of crime similar to The Purge following LA wildfires

By Charlie Sawyer

What is the pink tote lid moment TikTok trend that’s exposing Gen Z’s mothers’ toxic behaviour?

By Abby Amoakuh

Vogue and Gigi Hadid face backlash for producing a Hairspray homage without plus-sized models

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

James Toback hit with landmark $1.68 billion jury award after 40 women accused director of sexual abuse

By Abby Amoakuh

Trying to manifest your dream partner for 2025? Influencer-backed app To Be Magnetic says it can help

By Abby Amoakuh

Single White Female remake starring Jenna Ortega and Taylor Russell hit with racist backlash

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Americans are learning mandarin and fleeing to RedNote and Lemon8 ahead of controversial TikTok ban

By Abby Amoakuh

First ever porn app launches on iOS devices to coincide with iPhone’s 18th birthday

By Abby Amoakuh

Unpacking the many controversies of Disney’s live action Snow White and its lead Rachel Zegler

By Charlie Sawyer

Donald Trump’s new press secretary Karoline Leavitt, 27, is the mouthpiece for right-wing Gen Z

By Malavika Pradeep

What is a Labubu? Unboxing the monster plushie capturing hearts, wallets and belt loops

By Abby Amoakuh

Ayo Edebiri calls out Elon Musk for sparking racist abuse by spreading fake news about her