10 Huge Predictions For Science In 2016

New planets, nanobots and a new era for mankind.

If you were even remotely paying attention in 2015, you might have noticed that it was a pretty good year for science. From the waters of Mars to the alien megastructures, things started to get decidedly futuristic. Well, you'll probably be pleased to know that this looks like a trend that is set to continue as the juggernaut of progress marches relentlessly on. Unfortunately, no one has yet managed to invent a time machine or crystal ball, so we can't be 100% sure what lies in store for us in 2016, but we can have a ruddy good guess. Space exploration, medicine and technology are still the big hitters, with some seriously science fiction-y developments coming our way. The environment might get its fair share of attention this year and Big Data is set to come into its own. So, out with the old and in with the new, let's have a look at the incoming year in science.

10. We'll Discover More "Earths"

What with the whole Earth 2.0 thing that kicked off in July of 2015 with the discovery of Kepler 452b, exoplanets have never been so cool. Although the public interest had died back a bit, the search continues for Earth-like exoplanets in the hope of finding one that might harbour life. At this stage in the game, the scientists are thinking small. A lot of the exoplanets we have found are classed as "Super Earths" and a lot of them orbit smaller stars. This is largely because the methods we use to detect them, looking for stellar wobble and dimming, lend themselves to the big-planet-small-star combo. However, the technology is more advance than ever (I mean, it's not gonna get less advanced), so 2016 could be the year we find our identical twin somewhere out in the galaxy.
 
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