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Can You Get 20/20 On The Big Science Quiz Of 2017?

The 2017 [Nobel Prize in physics](https://www.buzzfeed.com/kellyoakes/nobel-prize-in-physics-2017) was awarded to Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish, and Kip Thorne for work that led to the discovery of ripples in space-time called gravitational waves. All three are members of the LIGO-Virgo collaboration, a team of over a thousand scientists who in February last year announced they had seen gravitational waves for the first time.

Gravitational waves

What discovery won three scientists the 2017 Nobel Prize in physics?

Somebody must have liked Haumea because earlier this year scientists announced that there was a [ring](https://www.buzzfeed.com/kellyoakes/this-potato-shaped-dwarf-planet-has-got-a-ring?utm_term=.jf7qNMr73#.guNkar0Op) around the potato-shaped dwarf planet.

A ring

Something was discovered around dwarf planet Haumea, it was announced in October this year. What was it?

In October this year, physicists [announced](https://www.buzzfeed.com/kellyoakes/scientists-have-seen-gravitational-waves-formed-from) they'd seen gravitational waves and a blast of light from colliding neutron stars for the first time. It confirms a long-suspected theory about where elements heavier than iron come from. Dr Kate Maguire, an astrophysicist at Queen's University Belfast, told journalists at a briefing: "Heavier elements, such as gold and platinum, are definitively formed in a neutron star merger. We can now say that conclusively."

Neutron stars

Two of which astronomical bodies form gold (and other elements) when they collide?

The _Cassini-Huygens_ mission came to an end when _Cassini_ threw itself towards Saturn to avoid contaminating any of the planet's potentially habitable moons with earthly microbes. In its lifetime _Cassini_ produced some breathtaking images of Saturn.

_Cassini_

Which spacecraft was in orbit around Saturn until it plunged into the planet in September this year?

TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool dwarf star 39.5 light years away from Earth. In February, scientists published a paper in the journal [Nature](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21360) announcing that they'd found seven planets "with sizes and masses similar to those of Earth" orbiting the star, and everyone got very excited.

Seven planets

How many "Earth-size" planets are there orbiting in the TRAPPIST-1 star system, announced in February this year?

Of that, most – over [6,300 million tonnes](https://www.buzzfeed.com/kellyoakes/this-is-how-much-plastic-humans-have-made-and-how-much-weve) – has ended up in landfill or the natural environment.

8,300 million tonnes

Researchers this year estimated how much plastic we've made since the 1950s. How much is it?

Scientists first noticed a growing crack in Antarctica’s fourth-largest ice shelf in 2011, and it finally [broke off](https://www.buzzfeed.com/zahrahirji/iceberg-breaks-off-antarctica?utm_term=.hil0ZGBQe#.blYYveJw7) in July.

Larsen C

A massive chunk of Antarctica broke off in July this year. What's the name of the ice shelf it was a part of?

(NOTE: Data from 2017 is not finalised yet.)

It was [confirmed](https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimdalrympleii/scientists-confirm-2016-was-the-warmest-year-on-record-as?utm_term=.urgAox3Lv#.qw5mjY56J) in August this year. A weather event called El Niño ended in early 2016, so 2017 is [expected](https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/heres-whats-going-on-behind-those-hottest-daymonthyear-headl?utm_term=.eea3210N5#.ljYX5O8RJ) to be slightly cooler. However, climate scientists firmly expect the trend towards warmer temperatures to continue.

It's true

Is this true or false?  
"2016 was officially the hottest year on record."

Around 450,000 years ago a vast flood separated Kent from northern France. This year [scientists](https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/hippos-in-the-thames?utm_term=.gh6awxX1N#.bcXo0arwW) found huge holes at the bottom of the Dover Strait that they think were carved by a waterfall.

450,000 years ago

When did Britain, geologically speaking, separate from the rest of Europe?

There's a lot more [moving water](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature22049.epdf?referrer_access_token=mqSqPk5ORVPonF0ehoSQv9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0NWLAFAcjzSECmaCP-TuhnQb4muUfzcnd2yRBKEZbyqTgAeP8W1G8IglmKEmshwRpRxSmwyiRWgLdny7oF7nnloRg1QdzGS0_4Hm1tpNlDpVxtK6pqFWuAexW_O8ousEeaK_ZBoJRox3dLwa5LJPFyHGkT7YtidsrKqQULDEYt0id4v0cwt9BKQaPanpudCcEZHaguH3sGrYED24qMPiN4M) on Antarctica than scientists previously thought.

Streams, ponds, and waterfalls

Which of these was discovered in Antarctica this year?

Research [published](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00114-017-1440-1) this year, using data from 65 previous studies, and came up with an estimate that there were 25 million tons of spiders in the world, and that together they eat rather a lot. Most of the spiders live in forests and grasslands.

400 to 800 million

How many tons of insects do spiders eat each year?

In research published this September scientists revealed that pumpkin toadlets appear to have [lost](http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1038/s41598-017-12145-5) the ability to hear their own mating calls, but not (yet) lost the ability to make the calls themselves.

Pumpkin toadlet

Which species of frog has lost the ability to hear its own mating calls?

Also known as upside-down jellyfish. They may not have brains, but according to a study of 23 individuals published this month, these jellyfish do go dormant for a period at night, and when deprived of this sleep-like state, they struggle – just like sleep-deprived humans do.

Cassiopea jellyfish

Which of these did scientists this year discover needs sleep, despite not having a brain?

Humpback whale calves talk really quietly to their mums so other nearby whales (and predators) can't hear them, according to research [published](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.12871/full) in April this year.

Humpback whales

Which of these mammals did scientists this year discover talks really quietly to its mum to avoid others overhearing?

A study out in the journal [Science](http://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.aan8802) in July found that ravens have the ability to [plan ahead](https://www.buzzfeed.com/kellyoakes/are-you-smarter-than-a-raven?utm_term=.rmyaj2v5E#.au5oKEN0g) and exert self-control by forgoing an immediate reward in favour of a bigger reward later on.

Planning ahead and exerting self-control

What humanlike traits did scientists discover ravens are also capable of this year?

A [meta-analysis](https://academic.oup.com/humupd/article-abstract/23/6/646/4035689?redirectedFrom=fulltext) published in July this year concludes that the concentration of sperm in the ejaculate of men in Western countries has fallen by over 50% between 1973 and 2011. The reason for the drop is not clear.

True or false?  
"Sperm counts among Western men have halved in the last 40 years."

In a [report](https://www.buzzfeed.com/azeenghorayshi/untreatable-gonorrhea-is-a-thing) published in July, the World Health Organisation warned that the infection is becoming resistant to the main treatment we currently have for it – two antibiotics taken at the same time: azithromycin pills, along with a shot of ceftriaxone.

Gonorrhoea

Which STI did the WHO warn was becoming harder, and sometimes impossible, to treat this year?

An international stem cell research team [announced](https://www.buzzfeed.com/azeenghorayshi/scientists-mix-pigs-and-humans) in January the creation of the first human–pig embryos. Human-animal chimeras have been created before, but these experiments were unique because they put human stem cells – which can grow to become any of the different types of cells in the human body – into animal embryos at their earliest stages of life.

Scientists revealed they had mixed the cells of what animal with human cells to make a chimera embryo this year?

Turns out _Jurassic Park_ was wrong. Researchers at the University of Manchester created a [detailed](https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/butiwouldratherbereading-surpriseme?utm_term=.abJOWg14B#.hk57yapjE) anatomical computer model of the 7-ton dinosaur to calculate the load on its skeleton at various speeds and gaits. They found that its skeleton was perfectly capable of moving in a run – defined as having both feet off the ground at the same time – but if it had ever actually done so, its bones would have [shattered](https://peerj.com/articles/3420//).

Tyrannosaurus rex

Which dinosaur could not actually run, according to a computer model created by scientists this year?

CRISPR-Cas9 is a new and much-heralded technique, using a chemical process borrowed from bacteria, that allows scientists to remove specific lengths of DNA from cells. In September this year, a team of scientists [announced](https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/british-scientists-have-edited-the-genes-of-human-embryos?utm_term=.eq5KMz7dn#.vb5E5POZV) they had edited the genes of human embryos for the first time in Britain using the technique, to help understand the role of genes in early human development.

CRISPR-Cas9

British scientists edited the genes of human embryos for the first time, they announced this year. What's the name of the technique they used?

The bad news is you got less than half of these questions right. The good news is that hopefully you learned something new along the way!

Oh dear!

You got more of these questions right than you did wrong, so you've clearly been paying some attention to science this year. Well done!

Congratulations!

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Can You Get 20/20 On The Big Science Quiz Of 2017?

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