page_title: 2017 in science
section_title: August
hierarchical_section_title: 2017 in science / Events / August
caption_attribution_description: English: 8-cell human embryo, day 3
context_page_description: A number of significant scientific events occurred in 2017. The United Nations declared 2017 the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
context_section_description: 1 August
  Scientists present a detailed description and 3D model image of possibly the first flower that lived about 140 million years ago.
  Virgo joins LIGO in the measurement of gravitational waves, improving the sensitivity.
  2 August
  For the first time, scientists use CRISPR in human embryos to remove faulty DNA responsible for a hereditary heart condition.
  Scientists at Edinburgh Napier University report a treatment based on antimicrobial peptides that could potentially lead to a cure for the common cold.
  Astronomers report that WASP-121b is the first exoplanet found to contain water (in the form of hot water molecules) in an extrasolar planetary stratosphere (i.e., an atmospheric layer in which temperatures increase as the altitude increases). WASP-121b is a "hot Jupiter" in the constellation Puppis, and is about 880 light-years (light travel distance) from Earth.
  4 August – In a letter to Darwin Life, Inc. and New Hope Fertility Center, the FDA warns that the "three parent baby" technique should not be marketed in the U.S.
  5 August – NASA celebrates the fifth anniversary of the Curiosity rover mission landing, and related exploratory accomplishments, on the planet Mars. (Videos: Curiosity's First Five Years (02:07); Curiosity's POV: Five Years Driving (05:49); Curiosity's Discoveries About Gale Crater (02:54))
  8 August – Patagotitan mayorum, one of the largest ever dinosaurs, is officially named by researchers.
  10 August – Researchers at Brown University report the transmission of data through a terahertz multiplexer at 50 gigabits per second, which could lead to a new generation of ultra-fast Wi-Fi.
  11 August – A deep learning algorithm is reported to be capable of visually identifying thousands of plant species.
  12 August – Scientists discover 91 volcanoes located two kilometres below the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, making it the largest volcanic region on Earth.
  14 August – A study by Ben-Gurion University suggests that the use of 'smiley' emoticons in workplace emails may reduce the perception of competence, and could even undermine information sharing.
  21 August
  Researchers at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) working with colleagues in Belgium and the UK find a new way to generate very high-energetic ions to study nuclear fusion.
  A team of scientists from all over the globe finds that there may indeed be diamond precipitation deep inside icy giant planets like Neptune and Uranus.
  22 August
  Scientists at the American Chemical Society meeting in Washington demonstrate "cyborg bacteria" able to outperform plants at photosynthesis.
  Engineers in the U.S. demonstrate how to make ultra-compact antennas for wireless communication 100 times smaller than their current size.
  23 August
  A peer-reviewed study by Harvard University concludes that petroleum company Exxon misled the public about the dangers of climate change for nearly 40 years.
  Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope produce the most detailed ever image of a star, Antares, and create the first map of surface motion on a star other than our Sun.
  24 August – In a study published by Nature, researchers at the University of Manchester show that magnetic hysteresis is possible in individual molecules at −213 °C. This proves that storing data with single-molecule magnets is more feasible than previously thought, and could theoretically give 100 times higher density than current technologies.
  26 August – Astronomers detect 15 repeating Fast Radio Bursts coming from FRB 121102 located in a dwarf galaxy about 3 billion light-years away from Earth. The researchers note that FRB 121102 is presently in a "heightened activity state, and follow-on observations are encouraged, particularly at higher radio frequencies".
  28 August – Scientists break the record for coldest temperature of molecules, at 50 millionths of a degree above absolute zero.
  31 August – Astronomers at the Hubble Space Telescope report the first hints of possible water content within the TRAPPIST-1 multiplanetary system, which includes seven Earth-sized exoplanets, about 40 light-years away 
caption: 2 August: CRISPR used to remove faulty DNA from human embryos for the first time.
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