page_title: 2011 in science
section_title: May
hierarchical_section_title: 2011 in science / Events, discoveries and inventions / May
context_page_description: The year 2011 involved many significant scientific events, including the first artificial organ transplant, the launch of China's first space station and the growth of the world population to seven billion. The year saw a total of 78 successful orbital spaceflights, as well as numerous advances in fields such as electronics, medicine, genetics, climatology and robotics.
  2011 was declared the International Year of Forests and Chemistry by the United Nations.
context_section_description: 1 May
  Researchers successfully store a qubit in a single atom by writing the quantum state of single photons into a rubidium atom and reading it out again later.  (Nature)
  A Detroit entrepreneur has invented a heat-treatment that makes steel 7 percent stronger than any steel on record in less than 10 seconds.  (Mater. Sci. Technol.)
  3 May
  Middle-aged people who are overweight but not obese are 71% more likely to develop dementia than those with a normal weight, according to new research; links between obesity and dementia had previously been found. (BBC) (Neurology)
  Scientists have used nanoscale capsules to release an immune system-stimulating protein directly into lung cancer tumors.  (PLoS ONE)
  Australian researchers say they are a step closer to finding a vaccine for HIV, and hope to be able to offer a preventative jab by 2020. (Sydney Morning Herald) (PNAS)
  4 May
  Yukon fossils may represent the first early traces of biomineralization in eukaryotes. (Wired) (Geology)
  Experimental data gathered by the Gravity Probe B satellite confirms two aspects of the general theory of relativity, which was published by Albert Einstein in 1916. (BBC) (arXiv) (Phys. Rev. Lett.)
  CERN scientists have confined antihydrogen atoms for 1,000 seconds, four orders of magnitude longer than has ever been achieved before in capturing and maintaining antimatter atoms.  (arXiv)
  Intel unveils its next generation of microprocessor technology, codenamed Ivy Bridge. The upcoming chips will be the first to use a 22 nanometre manufacturing process, which packs transistors more densely than the current 32nm system, providing greater efficiency. (BBC) (Intel)
  6 May
  A new study suggests that the drop in production of neurons in old age is due to the shrinking cache of adult stem cells in our brains. (Times of India) (Cell Stem Cell)
  A machine used for measuring impurities in semiconductors can be used to analyze immune cells in far more detail than has been previously possible, researchers from Stanford University have shown.  (Chemistry World) (Science)
  Researchers have identified a group of mitochondrial proteins, the absence of which allows other protein groups to stabilise the genome. This could delay the onset of age-related diseases and increase lifespan.  (Economic Times) (Mol. Cell)
  9 May – Smog-eating aluminium panels which clean themselves and the air around them are unveiled; their titanium dioxide coating, when combined with sunlight, acts as a catalyst to break down pollutants into harmless matter that rain washes away. (Alcoa) (USA Today) (Forbes via MSNBC)
  11 May
  A new phylum of fungi is announced, and named cryptomycota ("hidden fungi"). (BBC)  (Nature)
  A new vaccine can protect macaques against the monkey equivalent of HIV, and could provide a fresh approach to an HIV vaccine, a study suggests. (BBC) (Nature)
  D-Wave Systems, after some 12 years of research, the accumulation of 60 patents, and the filing of 100 more, has released the world's first commercial quantum computer, priced at $10 million. (Forbes) (ExtremeTech) (D-Wave)
  12 May – The exoplanet Gliese 581d can be considered the first confirmed exoplanet that could potentially support Earth-like life, according to a team of French scientists.  (Astrophys. J. Lett.)
  13 May
  New results from mice cast doubts on hopes for self-transplants generated from the receiver's stem cells, as such transplants can be rejected by the immune system. (New Scientist) (Nature)
  According to new research, a small set of genes located within the mitochondria of cells is crucial to unravelling the secrets of male infertility. (Medical Xpress) (Science)
  The discovery of a new physical phenomenon could yield transistors with greatly enhanced capacitance – a measure of the voltage required to move a charge. This, in turn, could lead to the revival of clock speed as the measure of a computer's power. (Science)
  Contaminated water can be cleaned much more effectively using a novel, cheap material, which could offer a low-cost way to purify water in the developing world. (BBC) (ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces)
  15 Ma
caption: 4 May 2011: NASA's orbiting Gravity Probe B (pictured pre-launch) experimentally confirms two aspects of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity.
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