December 18, 1998
Web posted at: 2:25 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The conclusion that the universe will expand forever at a constantly accelerating rate has been selected as the top scientific advance of 1998 by the editors of Science, a leading research journal.

Two teams of astronomers announced this year that their measurements of light from distant exploding stars proved that all the matter in the universe was separating at a faster and faster rate.

The studies indicated the universe would expand forever. This was contrary to some theories that a universe that began with a "big bang" would eventually collapse in on itself and end with a "big crunch."

Science, the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, selected the astronomy research as the most important of the top 10 discoveries in 1998.

Astronomers from the University of Washington, Seattle, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., independently came to the same conclusion about an expanding, accelerating universe. Their studies have since been confirmed by others.

"Rarely could we expect a dramatic breakthrough in one of these grand, fundamental questions," Science Editor in Chief Floyd E. Bloom wrote in an editorial. "Yet this year, early but hard evidence has shown that the universe is flying apart at ever-greater rates."

Bloom said the finding challenges assumptions about the basic nature of the universe and resurrects an idea conceived and discarded by Albert Einstein -- that there is a repulsive force that works the opposite of gravity. Such a force would help explain why the stars and galaxies are moving apart.

Other discoveries in Science's top 10 of 1998 are:

2. Identification in fruit flies, mice and bacteria of timekeeping genes. Such genes may determine why many organisms, including humans, are alert in the morning and sleepy at night.

3. Discovery of the structure in the nervous system that allows chemical signals to flow at the rate of 100 ions per second from one neuron to another. The finding gives fundamental understanding about how the nervous system works.

4. An experiment in Japan proved that the elusive subatomic particle known as neutrino actually had weight, which was contrary to long-held theories. The particles come from cosmic rays that constantly rain from space and could make up a sizable percentage of the mass in the universe.

5. The sequencing of the entire genetic pattern of a complex animal, the round worm known as Caenorhabditis elegans. Gene mapping also was completed for a number of microbes, including syphilis, tuberculosis and typhus.

6. Scientists in the United States and England showed that quantum information about a particle could be teleported from atom to atom, a process that hints of the "Beam me up, Scotty" fictional technique in television's Star Trek series. The current research may never move people about, but it is the first step toward ultra-fast quantum computers.

7. Advances in developing biochips, micromachines that can perform complex biological chores, such as test blood for cancer, or separate DNA from a specimen. Biochips may eventually be used to screen for genetic diseases and routinely perform complex lab tests in a doctor's office.

8. Advances in chemistry now allow the screening and testing of millions of chemical combinations within a short time. Called combinational chemistry, the technique will significantly speed drug development.

9. Discovery of drugs that can actually prevent cancer or attack the disease in new ways. The advances suggest "this feared enemy is at last losing ground," the editors said. Tamoxifen was found to prevent breast cancer in women at high risk. Two antibody drugs were found to be effective against breast and colon cancers.

10. Finding that some forms of auto-immune disease, such as arthritis, can be caused by the body's battle against infections by bacteria and viruses.

Copyright 1998   The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Search CNN by           Enter keyword(s)       go    help