page_title: 2012 in science
section_title: August
hierarchical_section_title: 2012 in science / Events, discoveries and inventions / August
caption_attribution_description: English: The skyline of Shanghai, China.
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 August – Researchers claim to have resolved one of the biggest controversies in cancer research – discovering the specific cancer cells that seem to be responsible for the regrowth of tumours. (Nature News)
  2 August
  Scientists in Antarctica announce that they have discovered what appears to be the remains of an ancient rainforest from the early Eocene period buried deep beneath the ice. (Slate) (Discovery News) (Nature)
  A study published in Animal Behavior finds that female spiders that cannibalize their mates produce much healthier offspring than non-cannibalizing spiders, supporting a link between sexual cannibalism in the animal kingdom and reproductive success. (BBC) (Anim. Behav.)
  3 August
  Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest has fallen again in the past 12 months, according to preliminary data published by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research. (The Guardian)
  American and Canadian researchers develop a medical spray which uses human skin cells and coagulant proteins to speed up the healing of open wounds such as leg ulcers. In medical trials, the "skin spray" proved over 20% more effective than other ulcer treatments. (BBC) (The Lancet)
  6 August
  NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission successfully lands Curiosity, the largest Mars rover yet built, in Mars' Gale Crater. (Los Angeles Times) (BBC)
  Papua New Guinea's government has approved the world's first commercial deep-sea mining project, despite strong environmental concerns. (The Guardian)
  7 August – New brain research refutes the results of earlier studies that cast doubts on free will. (Medical Xpress) (PNAS)
  8 August
  Anthropologists in northern Kenya unearth fossils of a previously unconfirmed species of human that lived approximately 2 million years ago. (BBC) (Nature)
  Almost one-quarter of the world's population lives in regions where groundwater is being used up faster than it can be replenished, concludes a comprehensive global analysis of groundwater depletion published in Nature. (Nature News) (Nature)
  9 August – American and South Korean engineers build a flexible, worm-like robot that moves by mimicking the contraction of an earthworm. The robot's artificial muscle is based on a nickel–titanium wire that expands and contracts in response to electric currents. It can squeeze through tight spaces and absorb heavy impacts, and could be used in future for covert reconnaissance missions. (BBC) (IEEE/ASME Trans. Mechatron.)
  10 August – Engineers successfully test a new algorithm that allows autonomous UAVs to fly through complex structures without requiring GPS navigation. (Science Daily)
  11 August
  The Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak for 2012, becoming widely visible in the Northern Hemisphere. (The Guardian)
  Experts declare the 2012 London Olympics to be the "greenest Olympics ever", praising its use of recycled materials and temporary venues, and noting the improvements made to London's transport infrastructure. (BBC)
  Sea ice in the Arctic is disappearing at a far greater rate than previously expected, according to data from the first purpose-built satellite launched to study the thickness of the Earth's polar caps. (The Guardian)
  12 August – Scientists discover a single genetic switch that triggers the loss of brain connections in humans, and also causes depression in animal models. The findings could lead to more effective antidepressant therapies. (Science Daily) (Nat. Med.)
  13 August
  South Korean researchers develop a cheap electronic ink based on tiny rectennas, capable of transmitting data over short distances. The printable invention could potentially revolutionise the field of augmented reality. (BBC) (Nanotechnology)
  A new class of polymers has been discovered that are resistant to bacterial attachment. These new materials could lead to a significant reduction in hospital infections and medical device failures. (Science Daily) (Nat. Biotechnol.)
  US wind energy reaches 50 gigawatts of capacity. (The Guardian)
  14 August
  Boeing's X-51 hypersonic scramjet prototype is destroyed during a powered test flight after a control fin failu
caption: 21 August 2012: a study of major coastal cities asserts that Shanghai (skyline pictured) may be highly vulnerable to large-scale flooding in the near future.
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