page_title: 2013 in science
section_title: March
hierarchical_section_title: 2013 in science / Events, discoveries and inventions / March
caption_attribution_description: English: A new video compilation of freshly filmed footage of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is now available. Under construction on the Chajnantor Plateau in the Chilean Andes, ALMA is a revolutionary observatory, designed to study some of the coldest and most distant objects in the Universe. When construction is completed in 2013, ALMA will have a total of 66 state-of-the-art antennas, but the telescope is already making scientific observations with a partial array of antennas. The footage, filmed in October 2012, includes the spectacular synchronised movements of the antennas at the Array Operations Site (AOS), 5000 metres above sea level. There are also several scenes of engineers at work in the AOS Technical Building, for example working on the ALMA correlator, as well as at the Operations Support Facility (OSF), at an altitude of 2900 metres. Additional footage of the OSF includes astronomers operating the telescope. Stunning sunsets and footage of the landscape around Chajnantor and the OSF — including timelapses — are also included in the compilation. ALMA is an international astronomy facility, supported by Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ESO is the European partner in ALMA.
context_page_description: A number of significant scientific events occurred in 2013, including the discovery of numerous Earthlike exoplanets, the development of viable lab-grown ears, teeth, livers and blood vessels, and the atmospheric entry of the most destructive meteor since 1908. The year also saw successful new treatments for diseases such as HIV, Usher syndrome and leukodystrophy, and a major expansion in the use and capabilities of technologies such as 3D printing and autonomous cars.
  The United Nations designated 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation.
context_section_description: 1 March – Boston Dynamics demonstrates an updated version of its BigDog military robot, a mule-sized heavy-lifting robot able to navigate rough terrain and equipped with an arm powerful enough to easily lift and throw breeze blocks.
  3 March – American scientists report that they have cured HIV in an infant by giving the child a course of antiretroviral drugs very early in its life. The previously HIV-positive child has reportedly exhibited no HIV symptoms since its treatment, despite having no further medication for a year.
  4 March
  Scientists announce that they have directly measured the polarization of light, overcoming aspects of the uncertainty principle.
  DARPA begins efforts to develop a fleet of small naval vessels capable of launching and retrieving combat drones without the need for large and expensive aircraft carriers.
  In a U.S. first, researchers replace a large part of an injured patient's skull with a precision 3D-printed polymer replacement implant.
  5 March – The Human Connectome Project releases the most detailed scans of the human brain yet made, allowing neuroscientists to more accurately study the complexities of the brain's structure and identify the causes of neural disorders.
  6 March
  After studying the DNA of a modern African American, scientists estimate that the Y-chromosomal Adam – the most recent male common ancestor of human beings – lived much earlier than previously thought, over 338,000 years ago.
  Chinese and Israeli scientists develop a Breathalyzer-style breath test that can quickly and easily diagnose stomach cancer by analyzing exhaled chemicals, without the need for an intrusive endoscopy.
  7 March
  After an eight-year project involving the use of a pioneering cloning technique, Japanese researchers create 25 generations of healthy cloned mice with normal lifespans, demonstrating that clones are not intrinsically shorter-lived than naturally born animals.
  An international project known as Bedmap2 analyses 50 years of data to measure the volume of Antarctic ice, finding it to be 26,500,000 cubic kilometres (6,400,000 cu mi), which would raise global sea levels by 58 metres (190 ft) if it melted.
  Scientists from Oregon State University reconstruct the global temperature record since the end of the last Ice Age. Their data, taken from 73 sites around the world, shows a clear and rapid warming trend in the 20th and early 21st centuries.
  Tests on mice demonstrate conclusive proof that resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, improves health and longevity.
  9 March
  British dental researchers grow viable teeth from a combination of gingival cells and stem cells, potentially allowing future patients to receive living teeth to replace diseased or damaged ones.
  Roboticists launch an online database and cloud computing platform which can be accessed by robots worldwide, allowing them to more easily recognise unfamiliar objects and perform intensive computing tasks.
  11 March
  Astronomers discover the binary brown dwarf Luhman 16 (WISE 1049-5319) at a distance of 6.5 light years from Earth – the closest star system to be discovered since 1916.
  A study concludes that heart disease was common among ancient mummies.
  Researchers develop smart self-healing circuits that can rapidly restore themselves to a fully functional state by detecting and neutralising electronic faults.
  12 March
  NASA's Curiosity rover finds evidence that conditions on Mars were once suitable for microbial life after analyzing the first drilled sample of Martian rock, "John Klein" rock at Yellowknife Bay in Gale Crater. The rover detected water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, chloromethane and dichloromethane. Related tests found results consistent with the presence of smectite clay minerals.
  Japan becomes the first country to successfully extract natural gas from offshore methane clathrate deposits.
  13 March
  The Atacama Large Millimeter Array, at the time the world's most powerful radio telescope, becomes fully operational in northern Chile.
  Lockheed Martin develops a new method for desalination that is repor
caption: 13 March 2013: the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (antennae pictured) becomes operational in Chile. At the time, it is the world's most powerful radio telescope.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "This is a still from the 2012 ALMA Video Compilation."}