0:00:00 > 0:00:01to the end of a 20 year mission to Saturn.
0:00:01 > 0:00:08That's Review 2017: The Year in Science.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28From a spectacular eruption at Mount Etna, this was the year we
0:00:28 > 0:00:34experienced a volcano's devastating power first-hand. To one of nature's
0:00:34 > 0:00:41most awe-inspiring sights, a total eclipse that wowed America. In 2017
0:00:41 > 0:00:47we also met this rhino, she could be the key to saving a species from
0:00:47 > 0:00:54extinction. And we saw a card that is pushing the boundaries by
0:00:54 > 0:01:00attempting to hit record-breaking speeds. -- car. This was also a year
0:01:00 > 0:01:03that the global warming in the spotlight again, when America pulled
0:01:03 > 0:01:10out of the worldwide climate deal. And after 20 years in space, a
0:01:10 > 0:01:18mission to Saturn ended in a blaze of glory. A grand finale to a
0:01:18 > 0:01:25momentous year in science. I'm at the science museum in London and
0:01:25 > 0:01:29here the public can come to learn about our planet's place in the
0:01:29 > 0:01:32service is dim and with this incredible close-up view you get a
0:01:32 > 0:01:37sense of the dynamic world that we live in. The earth is governed by
0:01:37 > 0:01:41immense geological forces and some of these are of course volcanoes and
0:01:41 > 0:01:46earlier this year I went to see one of these wonders of nature for
0:01:46 > 0:01:55myself but I wasn't expecting such a close up encounter. An explosive
0:01:55 > 0:02:02reawakening. After years of quiet, Matt Etna in Italy started to put on
0:02:02 > 0:02:08a dramatic display. I was there to report on a cutting edge new
0:02:08 > 0:02:15project. Mount Etna and every volcano around the world are being
0:02:15 > 0:02:20monitored by satellites and they can track minute movements on the ground
0:02:20 > 0:02:25which show when an eruption is likely, but the technology could not
0:02:25 > 0:02:31foresee what was about to happen to us. We had gone to film a lava flow
0:02:31 > 0:02:37that had formed overnight, tourists had come to see this, as well, the
0:02:37 > 0:02:39molten rocks so slow-moving it is usually considered safe but then
0:02:39 > 0:02:45this happened.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54A huge explosion.
0:02:58 > 0:03:07Our camerawoman filmed as steam, boiling hot rocks and lava was blown
0:03:07 > 0:03:13into the air, and we ran for our lives. Many were hit. There were
0:03:13 > 0:03:20cuts and burns and bruises but amazingly nothing worse.Are you OK?
0:03:20 > 0:03:26Are you OK? Stay down.Eruptions at Etna frequent but incidents like
0:03:26 > 0:03:32this are very rare, the volcano experts say this was a very
0:03:32 > 0:03:34dangerous experience can have a mostly had experienced in his
0:03:34 > 0:03:38career. We have made it back down the mountain and what happened is
0:03:38 > 0:03:44only starting to sink in. This hole was made by one of the incredibly
0:03:44 > 0:03:49hot pieces of volcanic rock that rained down upon us, we really
0:03:49 > 0:03:55thought we were going to die, we had a very very narrow escape. We later
0:03:55 > 0:04:01found out the blast was called a type of explosion called when --
0:04:01 > 0:04:05caused when the incredibly hot lava mixes with ice and stone and our
0:04:05 > 0:04:09footage will now help scientists, who want to better understand these
0:04:09 > 0:04:14rare events, but for us, our close call was a real insight into the
0:04:14 > 0:04:24danger that volcanoes can pose.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Dish it also brought a dazzling spectacle in the skies above. --
0:04:28 > 0:04:35this year. The moon casting a shadow above the sign, eating away at the
0:04:35 > 0:04:40disc, it was the start at the gully -- of the great American eclipse,
0:04:40 > 0:04:46millions flocked to see it, the first total eclipse to sweep from
0:04:46 > 0:04:50coast-to-coast in the United States for 100 years. The lights dipped as
0:04:50 > 0:04:54day became night and then a bright final flash before the sunshine
0:04:54 > 0:05:03disappeared. Blocked by the moon the atmosphere shimmered like a halo.It
0:05:03 > 0:05:09was like a religious experience. I photographed it, I got some
0:05:09 > 0:05:13successful pictures, I cried.This was definitely something you have to
0:05:13 > 0:05:16see in person. You can't describe unless you have been here and
0:05:16 > 0:05:25actually seen it.The eclipse could be seen across ten states, turning
0:05:25 > 0:05:29all lights skywards across its part. For astronomers it was a chance to
0:05:29 > 0:05:37collect vital data for the we would like to learn more about howthese
0:05:37 > 0:05:41eclipses affect the planet and the atmosphere, if there is any wind
0:05:41 > 0:05:45changes or temporary climate changes in the area.The much anticipated
0:05:45 > 0:05:50event passed by in a matter of minutes, a brief but breathtaking
0:05:50 > 0:05:55moment to revel in a true astronomical wonder.
0:06:02 > 0:06:11In 2017 we also met this rhino, seven years of old >> STUDIO: Age,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15at Longleat safari park in the South West at the hope is she can save the
0:06:15 > 0:06:20species from extinction, she was sedated, a little agitated at first,
0:06:20 > 0:06:24but soon sound asleep. Ready to take part in an experiment of fertility
0:06:24 > 0:06:29treatment. Scientists were harvesting her eggs to be fertilised
0:06:29 > 0:06:37in a lab, it is rhino IVF. She has been given hormone treatment over
0:06:37 > 0:06:39the last week, but what is being done today requires millimetre
0:06:39 > 0:06:44precision. A collection is only a technique that has been perfected
0:06:44 > 0:06:48over the last year, and this is conservation science at its most
0:06:48 > 0:06:58extreme. This is the animal that the rhino could bring back from the
0:06:58 > 0:07:03brink, the northern white rhino, once widespread across central
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Africa, today there are just three left on the planet, but they are not
0:07:05 > 0:07:11able to breed. Back at the safari park in a makeshift lab the
0:07:11 > 0:07:17researchers checked for eggs, success. The plan is to take this
0:07:17 > 0:07:21southern white rhino egg and mix it with sperm from one of the last
0:07:21 > 0:07:29northern white rhinos, creating a hybrid. Designed so it is better
0:07:29 > 0:07:33than using the species altogether. Anything can happen to them, and
0:07:33 > 0:07:40then the genetics would be lost. If we had at least 50% of this species
0:07:40 > 0:07:44reserved in a hybrid embryo we would preserve at least half of it for
0:07:44 > 0:07:50future generations.With her job done, she was back on her feet. At a
0:07:50 > 0:07:54later stage it could be implanted with a fertilised egg, but with her
0:07:54 > 0:07:58northern cousins so close to extinction it will be a race against
0:07:58 > 0:08:05time. In this gallery we can find out about the science of who we are
0:08:05 > 0:08:10and ask what are the factors that give each of us a unique identity,
0:08:10 > 0:08:12these are questions that researchers are examining, especially when it
0:08:12 > 0:08:18comes to the brain. This year they made a major breakthrough, that
0:08:18 > 0:08:26sheds light on the inner workings of our brain matter. The human brain
0:08:26 > 0:08:31revealed in unprecedented detail, this is one of the most
0:08:31 > 0:08:34comprehensive scans that scientists have produced a showing nerve
0:08:34 > 0:08:43fibres, De Bruyne's internal wiring that carries billions of electrical
0:08:43 > 0:08:51workings, this could show a range of neurological disorders.It is
0:08:51 > 0:08:57similar to being handed a Hubble telescope when you have only had
0:08:57 > 0:09:00binoculars, and for the first time we can address what I have called
0:09:00 > 0:09:07the missing link between structure and function.In Canada they were
0:09:07 > 0:09:10carrying out the world's bigger study into sleep, what happens if
0:09:10 > 0:09:16you don't get enough of it.If you don't get four hours I will
0:09:16 > 0:09:20personally come and wake you up. Volunteers were asked to carry out
0:09:20 > 0:09:23tests designed to work at how well we function if we are tired, the
0:09:23 > 0:09:28hope is we will find out how much sleep we need for our brains to be
0:09:28 > 0:09:33at their best. And at this lab in London researchers have been
0:09:33 > 0:09:38manipulating the DNA of very early embryos, to see how one fertilised
0:09:38 > 0:09:45cell can create a human.This is basic research that is providing a
0:09:45 > 0:09:48foundation of knowledge about early human development within this first
0:09:48 > 0:09:52seven-day window and our hope is that this information can be used as
0:09:52 > 0:09:56a basis to build further understanding about underlying
0:09:56 > 0:10:03causes of infertility.The technique is called gene editing, and inside
0:10:03 > 0:10:08the nucleus of each cell in our body is our Jinan, the blueprint for
0:10:08 > 0:10:13life, and a single error can affect development, trigger disease or
0:10:13 > 0:10:19disorders, but now scientists can scan the genome and replaced the
0:10:19 > 0:10:24gene they want to target. The goal is to see if gene editing can
0:10:24 > 0:10:29eradicate inherited disease and already this year scientists have
0:10:29 > 0:10:32shown it is possible to remove a gene in embryos that causes heart
0:10:32 > 0:10:36disease. It is early days but some believe the technology has the
0:10:36 > 0:10:43potential to transform medicine. But with ethical and safety concerns
0:10:43 > 0:10:49others warn that any research needs to advance with caution.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59In 2017 mysterious Mercury was also in scientists sites. It's the
0:10:59 > 0:11:02smallest planet in our solar system and the closest to The Sun, covered
0:11:02 > 0:11:07in craters, towering cliffs and ageing volcanoes, until now it has
0:11:07 > 0:11:12been little explored but this year preparations were underway for a
0:11:12 > 0:11:20major new mission. This is the spacecraft called Colombo after a
0:11:20 > 0:11:24famous Italian scientist and the launch will take place in 2018. It
0:11:24 > 0:11:27is only when you get up close that you get a sense of the size of this
0:11:27 > 0:11:33huge piece of kit and this is a spacecraft built to withstand
0:11:33 > 0:11:37extremes, and to get to Mercury has to travel towards The Sun and that
0:11:37 > 0:11:44means dealing with intense radiation and hate. On the surface of Mercury
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Arsenal can reach 450 Celsius and that is hot enough to melt --
0:11:47 > 0:11:53temperatures can reach. The journey will take seven years, arriving at
0:11:53 > 0:11:58Mercury in 2025, once it is there the engine will be jettisoned and
0:11:58 > 0:12:02two spacecraft will separate, and they will work together to give us
0:12:02 > 0:12:07our best ever view, we will see its features in incredible detail, and
0:12:07 > 0:12:12look inside to solve the mystery of what lies at the core of Mercury.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17This is the instrument we have built at the University of Leicester.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20British scientists have developed x-ray cameras for this mission.We
0:12:20 > 0:12:24will be the first people on the planet to see this data coming back
0:12:24 > 0:12:28from Mercury, the first people to see x-ray images of the Mercury
0:12:28 > 0:12:33surface which will tell us about what the surface is made of and it
0:12:33 > 0:12:37will revolutionise our understanding.The spacecraft is now
0:12:37 > 0:12:41almost ready for its long journey, and while it might take some time
0:12:41 > 0:12:45before we get the first results back, scientists say the wait will
0:12:45 > 0:12:56be worth it. The science museum's mathematics gallery was designed by
0:12:56 > 0:13:02the late Zaha had read and this beautiful curved overhead structure
0:13:02 > 0:13:05represents the mathematical modelling behind airflow, and in
0:13:05 > 0:13:092017 studying the atmosphere was a priority for scientists, as well,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12and with the surprise rise in greenhouse gas emissions and levels
0:13:12 > 0:13:18of carbon dioxide it in a wreck sort high, -- a record high, climate
0:13:18 > 0:13:25change was in the spotlight again. The effects can be seen in the
0:13:25 > 0:13:32stunning landscape of the Arctic. This year British scientists went to
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Greenland to understand why the ice sheet is melting and they found that
0:13:36 > 0:13:41white ice is turning dark. And the black of the surface the more
0:13:41 > 0:13:46sunlight it absorbs and the faster it warms. Scientists believe it is
0:13:46 > 0:13:53linked to microscopic algae.What we want to know is, how far the algae
0:13:53 > 0:13:59can spread under the Greenland ice as the climate warms, and it might
0:13:59 > 0:14:05well be that they will cause more melting and an acceleration of
0:14:05 > 0:14:11sea-level rise.Over the last 20 years Greenland has been losing more
0:14:11 > 0:14:19ice than it gains, scientists want to work out how much the meltwater
0:14:19 > 0:14:26will raise sea levels and impact on communities around the globe.
0:14:26 > 0:14:33Extreme weather also hit the headlines. From a deadly hurricane
0:14:33 > 0:14:37season causing widespread devastation across the Caribbean, to
0:14:37 > 0:14:42catastrophic flooding in south Asia. And wildfires burning across
0:14:42 > 0:14:47southern Europe, 2017 was forecasted to be one of the top three warmest
0:14:47 > 0:14:55years on record, making tackling climate change a priority. Two years
0:14:55 > 0:14:59early and Paris the world came to a landmark agreement to limit
0:14:59 > 0:15:02temperature rise but the US president Donald Trump dealt the
0:15:02 > 0:15:09deal a devastating blow this summer. In order to fulfil my solemn duty to
0:15:09 > 0:15:17protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from
0:15:17 > 0:15:26the Paris climate accord.He claimed the deal did not put America first
0:15:26 > 0:15:31and penalised the country's workers. Disagreement less about the climate,
0:15:31 > 0:15:36and more about other countries gaining a financial advantage --
0:15:36 > 0:15:42this agreement. Over the United States.It provoked an angry
0:15:42 > 0:15:51response for the euro the second-largestpollutant in the
0:15:51 > 0:15:54world and the largest economy, to say they don't care any more is a
0:15:54 > 0:15:59real gesture to the rest of the world.Donald Trump says Cole can be
0:15:59 > 0:16:02a clean technology but the number of Americans working in coal is dwarfed
0:16:02 > 0:16:07by those employed by the solar and wind industries and falling prices
0:16:07 > 0:16:11are leading to growing investments in renewable energy. The impact that
0:16:11 > 0:16:16Donald Trump's position will have is still under debate, but many remain
0:16:16 > 0:16:25determined that even without America the climate deal can survive.Three,
0:16:25 > 0:16:30two, one.This year in the world of tech it was all about finding
0:16:30 > 0:16:36innovative solutions. This drone is being developed to deliver medical
0:16:36 > 0:16:41goods in remote parts of Rwanda. It uses Sako to fly to its destination
0:16:41 > 0:16:52and then drops off vital supplies. In the UK scientists have found a
0:16:52 > 0:16:57new use for the wonder material graphene. They are using it as a
0:16:57 > 0:17:02sieve to filter out salt from sea water, making it in Kabul. -- making
0:17:02 > 0:17:09it printable. At last, a solution to the age-old problem, how to get the
0:17:09 > 0:17:14last drop of ketchup out of a bottle. Researchers have developed a
0:17:14 > 0:17:17new slippery coating the containers that allows sticky liquids to glide
0:17:17 > 0:17:23out effortlessly. So in the future not even a drop of source will go to
0:17:23 > 0:17:32waste. From the first steam train to early forays into the air, and the
0:17:32 > 0:17:35automobile revolution, when it comes to getting around we have been
0:17:35 > 0:17:41constantly pushing the engineering boundaries but in 2017 one British
0:17:41 > 0:17:43team revealed how they wanted to take things further and much much
0:17:43 > 0:17:52faster. Getting ready for a test drive, the bloodhound supersonic
0:17:52 > 0:17:57car, put through its paces in public for the very first time. Hurtling
0:17:57 > 0:18:06down the runway it reached from 0- 200 mph in just eight seconds. But
0:18:06 > 0:18:11the aim is to speed things up, in 2019 the car is heading to South
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Africa, with the help of the jet engine and a rocket that would
0:18:14 > 0:18:18normally launch vehicles into space, the team will try to break the world
0:18:18 > 0:18:25land speed record and hit 1000 mph. Built in Britain and the project has
0:18:25 > 0:18:32cost £30 million so far and has taken ten years to get to this
0:18:32 > 0:18:35stage, engineer Ron Ayres has already worked on two successful
0:18:35 > 0:18:40speed record attempts and he is ready to do it again.I'm glad we
0:18:40 > 0:18:45have got this far but of course I will really start getting crowd when
0:18:45 > 0:18:52it starts breaking records and what I really want to do is to make nice
0:18:52 > 0:18:56supersonic bangs that will reverberate around the world.In his
0:18:56 > 0:18:58first public trials the carpal formed beyond expectations and is
0:18:58 > 0:19:06now on track to go for throttle in the ultimate high-speed test -- the
0:19:06 > 0:19:13car performed. This year the shocking trade in baby chimps was
0:19:13 > 0:19:18exposed by an undercover investigation in Africa. The BBC
0:19:18 > 0:19:21team was sent these videos by dealers, offering the animals per
0:19:21 > 0:19:30sale. -- for for the this one is about a year old, an orphan,
0:19:30 > 0:19:37captured in the wild when poachers kill his family. A reporter used a
0:19:37 > 0:19:41hidden camera to film him being held in the Ivory Coast, but the police
0:19:41 > 0:19:48were ready and moved in.Police.The dealer was arrested and later found
0:19:48 > 0:19:53to be part of a global trade network and for the police stopping this is
0:19:53 > 0:19:56a priority.
0:20:11 > 0:20:17The chimp was given a name and was taken to a new boy suitability after
0:20:17 > 0:20:23-- nearby. But he never recovered from his ordeal I just a few months
0:20:23 > 0:20:28after his rescue he died. Conservationists say his death
0:20:28 > 0:20:38highlights the plight of animals caught up in this brutal trade. This
0:20:38 > 0:20:43was also a year that a new field of astronomy came into its own,
0:20:43 > 0:20:48deepening our view of the universe. Inside this tunnel in the United
0:20:48 > 0:20:50States is an experiment that can detect some of the faintest signals
0:20:50 > 0:20:59in the cosmos, gravitational waves are invisible ripples in space and
0:20:59 > 0:21:04time, and in 2017 they revealed a celestial smash-up, two small but
0:21:04 > 0:21:09incredibly dense objects called neutron stars, 130 million light
0:21:09 > 0:21:11years away, they spiralled ever closer to each other before
0:21:11 > 0:21:18eventually they collide. The huge explosion stretched and distorted
0:21:18 > 0:21:24space, hurling at gravitational waves. And they were picked up here,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27the first time astronomers have been able to watch a collision like this
0:21:27 > 0:21:33unfold.We do not know if we were lucky and this happened to be an
0:21:33 > 0:21:40event that happened close, relatively close to Earth, or
0:21:40 > 0:21:46perhaps there are many more neutron stars than we thought.Gravitational
0:21:46 > 0:21:51waves were only seen for the very first time in 2016 and this latest
0:21:51 > 0:21:58finding confirms their potential.A new observational window on the
0:21:58 > 0:22:02universe is typically leads to surprises that cannot be foreseen.
0:22:02 > 0:22:08We are still rubbing our eyes as we have just woken up to the sound of
0:22:08 > 0:22:15gravitational waves.Researchers say this is just the start and they are
0:22:15 > 0:22:27expecting many discoveries, a new era in astronomy is finally here.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30I'm in the science museum's space Gallery and from the Apollo lander
0:22:30 > 0:22:36to the Scout rocket, objects from decades of exploration of our solar
0:22:36 > 0:22:42system are on display but one missionary stands out, the orbiters
0:22:42 > 0:22:46Cassini spent 20 years in space and transform our understanding of
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Saddam but this time it was time for scientists to say goodbye, but I
0:22:50 > 0:22:59wanted the mission to go out with a bang -- understanding of Saturn.
0:22:59 > 0:23:05Instantly recognisable, Saturn and its stunning rings, the deceased
0:23:05 > 0:23:10spacecraft reveal this giant planet in incredible detail -- the Pasini
0:23:10 > 0:23:14for the taking countless amazing images but in 2017 it was time for
0:23:14 > 0:23:20one last look. After spending an epic 20 years in space and
0:23:20 > 0:23:24completing hundreds of orbits around Saturn the spacecraft was running
0:23:24 > 0:23:32out of fuel. So scientists planned a very grand finale, sending it on a
0:23:32 > 0:23:39death dive into Saturn's thick atmosphere. This is the control room
0:23:39 > 0:23:44where the very final moments of the spacecraft will be tracked and every
0:23:44 > 0:23:49last drop of science is being squeezed out of this mission. As it
0:23:49 > 0:23:52enters the atmosphere of Saturn the data will be streamed back here
0:23:52 > 0:23:58right up until the very instant it is destroyed.This will actually be
0:23:58 > 0:24:04the grand truth as it were, being able to sample the atmosphere as the
0:24:04 > 0:24:08spacecraft goes in, it doesn't have much time, but it will be one of the
0:24:08 > 0:24:13most exciting points of the mission. Right at the end of the mission.The
0:24:13 > 0:24:17day itself was bittersweet for the team.Congratulations to everyone,
0:24:17 > 0:24:22this has been an incredible mission and a incredible spacecraft and you
0:24:22 > 0:24:30are an incredible team. I will call this the end of mission.Some have
0:24:30 > 0:24:38spent entire careers working on this mission.It's being a part of my
0:24:38 > 0:24:44life for 20 years, we have spent day in and day out thinking about this
0:24:44 > 0:24:45spacecraft, planning the observations and focusing on the
0:24:45 > 0:24:49science, and my career has been based on it. It's really hard to see
0:24:49 > 0:24:57that go.But the spacecraft has left a remarkable legacy, it has spotted
0:24:57 > 0:25:02colossal storms and found structures as high as mountain is hidden within
0:25:02 > 0:25:08its rings, it also revealed the panic's many moons, from Titan with
0:25:08 > 0:25:14its methane lakes, two and salad is with a liquid ocean beneath the icy
0:25:14 > 0:25:18crust, shooting plumes of faith into space, a discovery that has shaken
0:25:18 > 0:25:23up the idea of where we could look for life.We want to know, is there
0:25:23 > 0:25:26life in the solar system, could there be oceans inside of other
0:25:26 > 0:25:30moons, that will take future missions to go back and answer those
0:25:30 > 0:25:37questions.As the spacecraft hurtled toward Saturn it vaporised, finally
0:25:37 > 0:25:40becoming part of the planet it had studied for so long, but the
0:25:40 > 0:25:46scientists the work isn't over, so much data has been collected Saturn
0:25:46 > 0:25:52will keep surprising for decades to come.