page_title: 2012 in science
section_title: January
hierarchical_section_title: 2012 in science / Events, discoveries and inventions / January
caption_attribution_description: A colony of embryonic stem cells, from the H9 cell line (NIH code: WA09). Viewed at 10X with Carl Zeiss Axiovert scope. (The cells in the background are mouse fibroblast cells. Only the colony in the centre are human embryonic stem cells)
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 January – NASA's GRAIL-B satellite successfully enters lunar orbit, joining its twin spacecraft GRAIL-A. The two satellites will study the Moon's gravitational field, generating a detailed map of its fluctuations to help scientists understand how the Moon formed.
  2 January
  China launches its first commercial 3DTV channel, operated by China Central Television (CCTV).
  A new study shows that deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a safe and effective intervention for treatment-resistant depression in patients with either unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar ll disorder (BP).
  3 January – Genetically modified fast-ageing mice exhibited improved health and lived two to three times longer than expected after being injected with stem cells, according to findings published in Nature Communications.
  4 January
  American scientists report that a parasitic species of fly which compels honey bees to abandon their hives may be responsible for a global honey bee die-off that has decimated hives around the world. Honey bees are crucial pollinators, and their rapidly diminishing population may have severe effects on human agriculture.
  University of Wyoming scientists develop genetically modified silkworms capable of producing large amounts of spidersilk, which has a greater tensile strength than steel. If available in bulk quantities, the silk could be used to produce high-strength medical sutures and lightweight forms of body armor.
  Scientists at the University of Southern California develop a method for generating accurate 3D models of cellular genomes.
  Researchers at Oxford University report promising results in human trials of a prototype hepatitis C vaccine.
  Scientists at Cornell University use a specialised lens to entirely cloak an object from view for 40 trillionths of a second by altering the speed of light.
  Classified documents are leaked detailing a range of advanced non-lethal weapons proposed or in development by the United States Armed Forces. Among the systems described are a laser-based weapon designed to divert hostile aircraft, an underwater sonic weapon for incapacitating SCUBA divers and a heat-based weapon designed to compel crowds to disperse.
  5 January
  Mae Jemison, the first female African-American astronaut, is selected to head the DARPA- and NASA-sponsored 100-Year Starship project, which aims to conduct research into the technological and human elements needed for manned interstellar travel.
  American scientists report that they have bred the first-ever monkeys grown from cells taken from different embryos. Such "chimeric" hybrids could give valuable insights into the development of human embryos.
  A team of international researchers reports that low-resistivity electrical wires can be produced at the nanometer scale by chaining phosphorus atoms together and encasing them in silicon. In future, the development may permit the production of efficient nanometer-scale electronics.
  A team of American, French and Italian researchers demonstrate working transistors made from cotton fibers, doped with gold nanoparticles and a conductive polymer. The invention could permit the creation of a range of electronic-fabric devices, including clothing capable of measuring pollutants, T-shirts that display dynamic information, and carpets that sense how many people are crossing them.
  6 January
  The human brain's ability to function can start to deteriorate as early as age 45, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.
  Scientists refute a Greenpeace claim that genetically modified corn has caused a new insect pest.
  9 January
  Human emissions of carbon dioxide will defer the next Ice Age, according to a new study.
  Researchers in California develop a cheap plastic capable of removing large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air. The new material could enable the development of "artificial trees" that lower atmospheric concentrations of CO₂ in an effort to lessen the effects of climate change.
  10 January
  The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show opens in Las Vegas, Nevada. Among the new products and technologi
caption: 23 January 2012: stem cell therapy is successfully used to ease the symptoms of blindness in human volunteers (human embryonic stem cell shown).
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