page_title: 2012 in science
section_title: October
hierarchical_section_title: 2012 in science / Events, discoveries and inventions / October
caption_attribution_description: English: This artist’s impression symbolizes a the planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri B (a member of the triple star system that is the closest to Earth). The picture was published by ESO in 2012 on the occasion of announcing the discovery of such a planet, which however was retracted in 2015. The picture is erroneous, as the planet depiction must show a superposition of two crescents caused by the two stars, each symmetrical to a line which crosses the center of the respective star. Deutsch: Diese künstlerische Darstellung symbolisiert einen Planeten, der den Stern Alpha Centauri B umläuft (dieser ist Teil eines Dreifachsternsystems, deren Mitglieder unsere nächsten Sternnachbarn sind). Das Bild wurde 2012 von der ESO anlässlich einer Entdeckungsmeldung für einen solchen Planeten veröffentlicht, die allerdings 2015 wieder zurückgezogen würde. Das Bild ist vom wissentschaftlichen Standpunkt her fehlerhaft: das Planetenbild müsste eine Überlagerung zweier Sicheln zeigen, deren Symmetrieachsen durch die Mittelpunkte der beiden jeweils verursachenden Stern verlaufen.
context_page_description: The year 2012 involved many significant scientific events and discoveries, including the first orbital rendezvous by a commercial spacecraft, the discovery of a particle highly similar to the long-sought Higgs boson, and the near-eradication of guinea worm disease. A total of 72 successful orbital spaceflights occurred in 2012, and the year also saw numerous developments in fields such as robotics, 3D printing, stem cell research and genetics. Over 540,000 technological patent applications were made in the United States alone in 2012.
  2012 was declared the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All by the United Nations. 2012 also marked Alan Turing Year, a celebration of the life and work of the English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst and computer scientist Alan Turing.
context_section_description: 1 October – Sea cucumbers and sea urchins are able to change the elasticity of collagen within their bodies, and could hold the key to maintaining a youthful appearance, according to scientists at Queen Mary, University of London. (Queen Mary University) (PLOS One) (Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.)
  2 October – Under a high-emissions climate change scenario, global sea levels could rise nearly 7 metres (23 ft) by the year 3000, according to new research. (Science Daily) (Environ. Res. Lett.)
  3 October
  In preparation for a land speed record attempt, the British Bloodhound SSC team conducts a successful hybrid rocket test in Newquay. The rocket will operate in tandem with a Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine to propel the Bloodhound vehicle at 1,000 miles (1,600 km) per hour during its record attempt in 2014. (BBC)
  Scientists report that the venomous black mamba produces a highly effective natural painkiller. (Los Angeles Times) (Nature)
  A startup company demonstrates a cheap and efficient method of printing complex electronics onto flexible substrates. (TechEye)
  4 October
  A new genetic test can fully sequence the genome of a newborn baby in just 50 hours, a major improvement over the usual month-long sequencing process. The test can screen for 3,500 genetic diseases, allowing critically ill infants to be diagnosed and treated much more effectively. (TIME) (Sci. Transl. Med.)
  Nissan unveils the NSC-2015, a prototype electric driverless car that can park itself, understand road markings and quickly report attempted thefts. A commercial version is planned for 2015. (BBC)
  5 October
  DARPA successfully tests technology which enables drones to conduct aerial refueling autonomously. (BBC) (DARPA)
  Tokyo Institute of Technology researchers make a breakthrough in teaching a computer to understand human brain function. The scientists used fMRI datasets to train a computer to predict the semantic category of an image originally viewed by five different people. (ResearchSEA) (Front. Neuroinform.)
  7 October – Expanding production of palm oil – a common ingredient in processed foods, soaps and personal care products – is driving rainforest destruction and massive carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new study led by researchers at Stanford and Yale universities. (EurekAlert) (Nat. Clim. Change)
  8 October
  SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft launches on its first operational resupply mission to the International Space Station, following a successful demonstration mission in May 2012. (BBC) (Space.com) (Space Fellowship)
  A variant in a gene involved with inflammation and the immune response is linked with a decreased risk of lung cancer, according to researchers at the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland. (EurekAlert) (Cancer)
  Researchers have found what they claim is the first fossil yet discovered of an ancient spider attacking prey caught in its web. The amber fossil dates back between 97 million and 110 million years. (OSU)
  A new Alzheimer's drug, Solanezumab, slows the pace of memory loss in sufferers by 34%, according to the results of two trials. (Daily Telegraph)
  The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded jointly to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka, for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent stem cells. (Nobel Prize)
  9 October
  Microsoft tests a sensor bracelet that can quickly recognise a wide variety of human hand gestures. The invention could be used as a general-purpose remote control for electronics, allowing devices to be activated and controlled with simple hand movements. (BBC)
  The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded jointly to Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland "for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems".  Their work may eventually help make quantum computing possible. (New York Times) (Nobel Prize)
  10 October
  Arizona State University researchers develop a new software system capable of estimating greenhouse gas emissions across entire urban landscapes, all the way down to roads and individual buildings. Prev
caption: 17 October 2012: scientists discover a new exoplanet (artist's impression pictured) orbiting Earth's nearest alien star, Alpha Centauri.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "This artist\u2019s impression shows the planet orbiting the star Alpha  Centauri B, a member of the triple star system that is the closest to  Earth. Alpha Centauri B is the most brilliant object in the sky and the  other dazzling object is Alpha Centauri A. Our own Sun is visible to the  upper right. The tiny signal of the planet was found with the HARPS  spectrograph on the 3.6-metre telescope at ESO\u2019s La Silla Observatory in  Chile."}