Page 57 - 東華三院辛亥年總理中學（40周年校慶特刊）

Year Events
• The first animal from an extinct species to be recreated by cloning, a Pyrenean Ibex, is born alive, but
2009
dies seven minutes later due to physical defects in its lungs.
• An artificial pancreas is created to help regulate blood sugar levels in children with Type 1
2010
diabetes. (MSNBC)
• A human embryonic stem cell is transformed into a critical type of neuron that dies early in Alzheimer’s
2011
disease and is a major cause of memory loss.
• A human medical trial of embryonic stem cells successfully eased a degenerative form of blindness in
2012
two volunteers, and showed no signs of any adverse effects.
• Scientists develop genetically engineered T-lymphocytes that have been proven successful in treating
2013
cases of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
2014 • A genetic mutation that causes autism has been discovered.
• An ebola vaccine developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada is found to be 100% successful in
2015
an initial trial.
2016 • DNA is sequenced in outer space for the first time, with NASA astronaut.
2017 • Researchers demonstrate a prototype 3D printer that can print fully functional human skin.
• Use of CRISPR/Cas9 to develop a variety of rice producing 25-31% more grain than traditional
2018
breeding methods has been reported.
2019 • The use of the CRISPR technology to edit human genes to treat cancer patients is successful.
• The first successful phase III trial of a possible COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, is announced by drug
2020 companies Pfizer and BioNTech, Pfizer claims a reduction of infections by “over 90%”, specified to be
95% later.
In the past forty years, many scientists have dreams and ambitions to improve the quality of our lives. They are
highly devoted so that numerous biological and medical findings have been published which marked the milestones
in human history. We look forward to seeing what will happen in the next 40 years. I believe there will be many
unimaginable achievements announced.

CRISPR
CRISPR

Dolly
cloning Dolly
cloning

stem cell therapy
Human Genome Project PCR stem cell therapy
PCR
Human Genome Project
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