page_title: 2012 in science
section_title: September
hierarchical_section_title: 2012 in science / Events, discoveries and inventions / September
caption_attribution_description: English: Mosaic of images of the Arctic by MODIS. The brightest spot in the image is Greenland, covered in snowy white. West and north of Greenland, sea ice appears pale gray-blue. Clouds, some translucent and some opaque, occur throughout the scene, distinguished from sea ice by their lighter colour, rougher texture, and less distinct margins. Clouds appear most prevalent north and west of Scandinavia, and between Alaska and the Russian Federation, but wide expanses of land and sea surface peer through cloud-free areas. Most of the Arctic Circle is cloud-free. Unrelated to the cloud cover, a dull gray smoke plume appears east of Alaska. The plume probably results from wildfires in Canada.
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 September
  When they encounter a fallen bird, western scrub jays call out and gather around the body in a funeral-like display, scientists discover. (BBC) (Anim. Behav.)
  NASA scientists report that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), subjected to interstellar medium (ISM) conditions, are transformed, through hydrogenation, oxygenation and hydroxylation, into more complex organics. This process is described as "a step along the path toward amino acids and nucleotides, the raw materials of proteins and DNA, respectively". Furthermore, as a result of these transformations, the PAHs lose their spectroscopic signature which could be one of the reasons "for the lack of PAH detection in interstellar ice grains, particularly the outer regions of cold, dense clouds or the upper molecular layers of protoplanetary disks." (Space.com) (Astrophys. J. Lett.)
  2 September – Austrian scientists develop a 3D printing method which can construct complex microscopic structures out of individual molecules. (Gizmag) (Adv. Funct. Mater.)
  3 September – Swiss engineers build a versatile, self-righting all-terrain legged robot, similar to Boston Dynamics' BigDog military robot. (TechCrunch) (CLAWAR2012)
  4 September
  The UK Office for National Statistics estimates that almost all British children born in 2012 could live to the age of 100, assuming recent improvements in healthcare and living standards continue. (BBC)
  A formal study finds little evidence of health benefits from organic foods. (Science Daily) (Ann. Intern. Med.)
  British scientists develop a smart, pressure-mapping carpet with an optical layer that can raise the alarm if it detects sudden falls. The carpet can also map and record walking patterns over time, allowing doctors to track movement problems in elderly patients. (New Scientist)
  A physically active lifestyle can lower the risk of breast cancer by up to 13%, according to the largest-ever study of its kind. (Cancer Research UK) (Int. J. Cancer)
  Coastal erosion due to rising sea levels may have been "dramatically underestimated", according to a new scientific model. (Science Daily) (Nat. Clim. Change)
  5 September
  An international research team achieves quantum teleportation over a record-breaking distance of 143 kilometres (89 mi) through free space. (Science Daily)
  Scientists publish (in Science, Nature and elsewhere) the most detailed analysis to date of the human genome, revealing that much more of our genetic code is biologically active than previously thought, and largely disproving the notion of junk DNA. (BBC) (Nature News)
  Increased precipitation and river discharge in the Arctic has the potential to speed climate change, according to the results of a new study. (Science Daily) (Nat. Clim. Change)
  A new report by Oxfam suggests that the full impact of climate change on future food prices is being greatly underestimated. (Oxfam)
  NASA's Dawn spacecraft departs the asteroid 4 Vesta for the dwarf planet Ceres, which it is expected to reach in 2015. (USA Today) (Space.com) (NASA)
  6 September
  Japan sets a new world record for ocean drilling depth, reaching 2,111 metres (6,926 ft) below the seafloor off Shimokita Peninsula. (Science Daily)
  A regular intake of fish oils, together with moderate exercise, significantly helps to slow aging decline, according to a recent trial. (BBC) (British Science Festival)
  Researchers in the US produce the shortest-ever laser pulses, with a duration of 67 attoseconds. Such "attosecond science" will make it possible to observe some of the briefest microscopic events in the universe, such as electrons moving in their orbitals, in real time. (BBC) (Opt. Lett.)
  DARPA's cheetah legged robot prototype is recorded running faster than Usain Bolt, the world's fastest sprinter, in a treadmill test. (The Register)
  7 September
  Harvest Automation begins deliveries of its HV-100 agricultural robot, a commercial automaton capable of navigating around obstacles and working in teams to perform horticultural tasks such as pruning and spraying crops. (The Economist)
  Flooded mines could supply 40% of Glasgow's 
caption: 19 September 2012: sea ice cover in the Arctic reaches the lowest extent ever recorded.
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