The year 2025 will see interesting developments in seeing the impact of AI in daily activities, species thought to be lost are rediscovered and gene therapy treats diseases that were previously untreatable. Here are the 10 most interesting science news throughout 2025.
1. Earth Now Has 8.09 Billion Population
The world's population reached 8.09 billion, an increase of 71 million people compared to the beginning of 2024, according to data published by the United States Census Bureau. However, the birth rate throughout 2024 was lower than in 2023, where the world's population increased by 75 million.
It is estimated that 4.2 births and 2.0 deaths will occur every second on Earth on January 1, 2025. Birth rates on every continent except Africa are showing a downward trend. In Malaysia, the birth rate is 1.6 babies per woman, a sharp decline from 6 babies per woman in 1957 and 2.1 babies per woman in 2010. A birth rate of 2.1 babies per woman is needed to maintain a country's population.
The world's population will peak at 10.29 billion by 2084 before declining due to the declining birth rate.
2. Eating Rice Will Cause Cancer Due to Climate Change
Rice
Climate change has already destroyed the habitat of endangered animals, raised sea levels and increased the risk of death. But according to a recent study from Columbia University scientists, it will soon make the staple food of Malaysians too toxic to eat.
A study led by Lewis Ziska in collaboration with researchers in the United States and China over a six-year period found that inorganic arsenic levels increase in rice grown in line with rising temperatures and carbon dioxide in the air.
The water used in rice cultivation contains inorganic arsenic. Rice absorbs more water due to rising temperatures and carbon dioxide. Therefore, the resulting rice will have high levels of arsenic. This increases the risk of several types of cancer, heart disease and neurological problems in babies.
The risk of disease is higher in the highest rice-consuming countries in Asia, namely Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Myanmar and India. Temperature changes have already put coffee and tea crops at risk. If serious steps are not taken to control climate change, the Malaysian breakfast culture of nasi lemak, teh tarik and kopi susu, which is recognized as a human culture by UNESCO, will become extinct in the future.
This research paper was published in the journal The Lancet.
3. Google DolphinGemma Launched to Communicate with Dolphins
Scientists have known for decades that dolphins "talk" to each other using clicks, whistles and pulses. Today, Google announced the DolphinGemma artificial intelligence (AI) model developed to help scientists understand the conversations made by dolphins.
DolphinGemma was developed through a collaboration between Google, Georgia Tech and the Wild Dolphin Project. In addition to interpreting animal conversations, it can also translate human language into dolphin language to enable communication between the two mammal species.
This AI model is based on the Gemma model, which was developed specifically for scientific research purposes. It has around 400 million parameters using data collected by the Wild Dolphin Project since 1985. The DolphinGemma model is small enough that it can be run using a Pixel 6 in the field by researchers.
After the model was developed, the CHAT (Cetacean Hearing Augmentation Telemetry) system was developed by Georgia Tech to collect sounds and then try to understand whether they are conversations. Researchers are now producing specific sounds using CHAT for specific objects in the hope that dolphins can learn new vocabulary that did not exist before. In the near future, the Pixel 6 device currently used will be replaced by the more powerful Pixel 9.
The ability to communicate with different species is science fiction that previously only existed in TV series. In the SeaQuest DSV series, for example, humans can already communicate with dolphins using a device mounted on their heads. We have also successfully taught chimpanzees to use sign language, but not their own language. Perhaps in the near future, science fiction will become a reality with the help of AI.
4. MIT Study Finds ChatGPT Makes Users Lazy and Brain Activity Declines
In three years, OpenAI, which was previously only known among Dota fans and fans of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, has now become one of the most recognized companies in the world. Who would have thought that the developer of a bot that can beat humans in Dota would later develop a chatbot that changes how work, study and information search are done around the world.
Since its launch, many have wondered what impact ChatGPT will have on humans? We have seen thousands of individuals lose their jobs and now a study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found that it also has a negative impact on the human brain.
The study involved 54 participants aged 18-39 who were given the task of writing several essays for the SAT (an equivalent test to the STPM). Participants were divided into three groups with the first group writing with the help of ChatGPT, the second group using Google and the third group without any help.
An EEG device was attached to the head to record the activity of 32 regions of the writer's brain. Researchers found that ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement. Their brain performance was also consistently low at the neural, linguistic and behavioral levels. Within a few months, ChatGPT users also became lazier with each essay produced becoming a copy-and-paste piece by the end of the study.
Therefore, researchers suggest that the use of a language model (LLM) such as OpenAI could be detrimental to the learning process, especially for younger users. However, this research paper has not yet passed the peer review process and only used a relatively small sample.
5. Seaweed Can Prevent the Spread of Cancer
Seaweed oil has long been used to heal wounds, and we are sure you have at least one at home and it is one of the hand-me-downs when you go to Langkawi. Researchers from the University of Mississippi have now found that a compound produced by seaweed can prevent the spread of cancer.
Cancer spreads to other parts of the body through a process called metastasis caused by the enzyme Sulf-2. Human cells are covered in small hair-like structures called glycans that help with cell communication, immune response and the recognition of threats such as pathogens. Cancer cells alter certain enzymes in the body, including Sulf-2, which in turn alters the structure of glycans. These modifications help cancer spread.
But the sugar compound fucosylated chondroitin sulfate produced by sea cucumber from the species Holothuria floridana can block Sulf-2 in tests conducted in the laboratory. When Sulf-2 is blocked, cancer metastasis can be prevented from occurring.
Another advantage of this compound produced by sea cucumber is that it is safe to use and easier to produce than synthetic processes. The obstacle at this time is obtaining fucosylated chondroitin sulfate in large quantities for clinical trials on laboratory animals before it can be developed for humans.
6. Firefly Species Lost for Over 100 Years Rediscovered in Bukit Kiara
Pteroptyx gombakia – Photo by Nicholas HL Tan
There is nothing sadder than seeing an animal species go extinct due to humans destroying their habitat. So today's news is heartwarming because the Gombak bent-winged firefly (Pteroptyx gombakia) which was last seen alive in 1921 was rediscovered by Tan Wei Jack, a research assistant and undergraduate student in environmental science at Monash University Malaysia.
The species was found in the Bukit Kiara Federal Park in October last year. He only realised the specimen he collected was Pteroptyx gombakia after looking at it under a laboratory microscope in January this year.
Pteroptyx gombakia was only identified as a new firefly species in 2015 although the first specimen was collected in 1921 in Genting Sempah, Gombak. This is the history behind the scientific name used.
The specimen collected by Tan is only the third ever collected with the Bukit Kiara Federal Park being the habitat for nine firefly species. Because it is difficult to find, it is believed that this firefly is an endangered species.
7. New Blood Type Identified Because It Exists in Only One Human
In school we are taught that there are four main blood types, namely A, B, AB and O. Under these there are subtypes depending on the antibodies and antigens in it. So far, 47 blood types have been discovered by scientists, but in June, the 48th blood type was finally identified after a 15-year mystery.
The French Blood Society (EFS) has successfully identified a 48th extremely rare blood type, known as “Gwada negative”. A blood sample was taken from a woman about 15 years ago during a pre-surgery screening. In the laboratory, her blood was found to react negatively to all blood types, including those of her own family members.
Because this blood type is so rare, the woman from the Guadeloupe archipelago is the only person in the world who has it and as a result cannot receive blood from anyone because of the reaction with her body’s antibodies.
The mystery of her blood type was only solved after DNA sequencing was performed. Mutations in genes inherited from her mother and father produced a new, unique blood type but made it difficult for her to survive if she needed a blood supply in an emergency.
8. Huntington’s Disease and Hunter Syndrome Treated Using Gene Therapy
Huntington’s disease is an inherited genetic disease that causes progressive damage to certain nerve cells in the brain. This damage worsens over time and affects movement, cognition, and behavior. The symptoms of this disease are similar to dementia, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease before eventually causing death.
In September, the company uniQure announced that the gene therapy treatment they developed successfully slowed the progression of Huntington's disease in patients by an average of 75% in clinical trials. It is the first time that a treatment that slows the progression of the disease has been successfully carried out. In Malaysia, this disease is rare with the first case reported in 1994.
Through the gene therapy called AMT-130, a virus modified to carry a DNA chain is injected directly into the striatum of the brain that is susceptible to Huntington's disease. When it enters the brain cell, this DNA chain instructs the neurons to produce their own therapy that prevents its death. Without treatment, the mutated huntingtin protein will slowly kill brain neurons until the patient shows symptoms of dementia, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease.
Huntington's disease is usually detected in the 30s and 40s with an estimated life expectancy of only 20 years. AMT-130 treatment allows patients to live for several more decades even if they have not been fully treated.
Then last November, researchers at the University of Manchester announced that a child with Hunter Syndrome had been successfully treated using gene therapy. Oliver Chu, a child from the United States, was the first recipient of the treatment and was one of five children to be involved in a trial of a treatment for Hunter Syndrome that is currently being developed.
Oliver Chu and father – University of Manchester
Stem cells were taken from Oliver’s blood and then the gene containing IDS was inserted into a viral shell. This was then re-injected into the patient’s body. The virus would enter the stem cells and when it reached the bone marrow it would start producing new white blood cells, each of which would hopefully start producing the IDS enzyme.
After 9 months of treatment, Oliver showed positive progress and was able to speak and interact with children his own age. Although early signs of the treatment were positive, the study will continue for two years to see if it was effective. In addition to Oliver, four other children from America, Europe and Australia are taking part in the trial.
Hunter Syndrome (MPSII) is a rare disease but patients will slowly die before reaching the age of 20. It occurs once in every 100,000 male births and causes damage to the brain and body. The damage to the gene causes the body to produce the enzyme iduronate-2-sulfatase (IDS) which is needed to ensure that the body's cells remain healthy.
9. Selangor Expected to Start Using Nuclear Energy in Five Years
The use of nuclear energy to power the electricity supply in Malaysia is a topic that is often debated, with the federal government recently also saying that they will consider the use of nuclear energy in Malaysia soon.
Last month, the Selangor government through Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari informed the State Legislative Assembly and said that the government is currently in the process of building knowledge and expertise to utilize nuclear energy technology in the state.
The state government will also consult with local universities such as Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for collaboration on the introduction of subjects related to development and expertise in the field of nuclear energy.
Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said that he had also discussed with a number of Malaysian students at Tsinghua University and found that nuclear energy was a topic that was seen as a "taboo" to talk about, and therefore, those interested in the field had no choice but to leave Malaysia to learn about it.
He further said that the transition to sustainable and nuclear energy was something that needed to be started because the state could no longer continue to rely on fossil energy supplies such as gas, petroleum and coal because these resources would eventually run out.
According to reports, Selangor will try to use nuclear energy as a sustainable energy source in the next five years.
10. Brain Implants Can Now Read Thoughts
Brain implants have become an interface between the brain and the computer. Several leading companies such as Facebook and Neuralink are developing these implants to enable future devices to be controlled by just thinking. Now, a brain-computer interface (BCI) system has for the first time successfully read thoughts with 74% accuracy.
This BCI was developed by Stanford University and is installed in the motor cortex of the brain that controls speech. The four test subjects were individuals with severe paralysis due to ALS and a stroke. The AI algorithm was used to read signals produced by the participants' motor cortex, and it was trained to recognize 125,000 words.
The new system is different from other BCIs because it continuously reads the participants' thoughts. Previous systems read signals sent by the brain to the mouth when they want to speak or signals to the hand when they want to write. With this new BCI system, the thoughts of people who are completely paralyzed or in a coma can theoretically be read.
To prevent everything the algorithm is thinking from being read, participants are given a password to activate the BCI before it starts reading minds. The researchers will further improve the study to improve the accuracy of mind reading. The paper was published in the journal Cell.
