2019 Breakthrough of the Year

Learn about our Breakthrough of the Year: the first image of the a black hole. Nine other advances are recognized as runners-up.

Read more: https://vis.sciencemag.org/breakthrough2019/

Editor's Note: The original posting of this video identified the geographical location of the Chicxulub crater impact incorrectly. The error has since been revised.

credits

editor
Meagan Cantwell

supervising producers
Joel Goldberg
Beth Rakouskas

narrator
David Malakoff

script
Science News Staff

visuals

black hole intro
ESO/M. Kornmesser

K-Pg impact and aftermath
Core recovery photo: The University of Texas at Austin/
Jackson School of Geosciences
Alioramus attacking Olorotitan dinosaur illustration:
Jaime Chirinos/Science Source
Sturgeon video: Pond5
Fossil photos: Rick Wicker and Tyler Lyson

quantum leap
Video: Google
Sierra supercomputer: Department of Energy/Flickr
Photo of Google AI Quantum's Sycamore processor:
Erik Lucero/Google

AI masters multiplayer poker
Animation: DeepMind Technologies Limited
Pluribus animation: Facebook
Poker tournament footage: Carnegie Mellon University

Denisovans come into focus
Neanderthal illustration: John Sibbick/Science Source
Denisovan illustration: Jose Antonio Penas/Science Source
Map: Natural Earth
Bone fragments: University of Oxford
Denisovan Cave view from above: MPI/EVA
Xiahe jawbone: Dongju Zhang/Lanzhou University
Jiangla Valley: Dongju Zhang/Lanzhou University
Excavation in Baishiya cave: Dongju Zhang/Lanzhou University
Denisovan girl illustration: Maayan Harel

Ebola drugs come into focus
Video footage: World Health Organization
Vaccine photo: Junior Kannah/World Health Organization

close-up of Arrokoth
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/
Southwest Research Institute

microbiome-based malnutrition treatment
Photo of child: International Centre for
Diarrhoeal Disease Research
Gut microbe illustration: Sciepro/Science Source
Nutritional supplements photo: Jeffrey Gordon

cystic fibrosis drug combo approved
Cystic Fibrosis transmembrane conductance
modulator illustration: Fangyu Liu
Cystic fibrosis spirometer photo: Burger/Phanie/Science Source
F58del mutation animation: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Research paper: L.-C. Tsui et al., Science 1985
DOI: 10.1126/science.2997931

microbial ancestor of us all
Paramecium footage: Ted Kinsman/Science Source
Stock video: Videoblocks
Asgard archaea images: H. Imachi and M. Nobu et al./JAMSTEC

first image of a black hole
JCMT: William Montgomerie
ALMA: ESO, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), J. F. Salgado
IRAM 30 m telescope: IRAM/Diverticimes
Black hole image: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration et al.
Zooming into Messier 87: ESO/L. Calada, Digitized Sky Survey 2,
ESA/Hubble, RadioAstron, De Gasperin et al., Kim et al.,
EHT Collaboration
Simulation of M87: Lia Medeiros/Chi-Kwan Chan/Dimitrios Psaltis/Feryal Osel/University of Arizona/Institute for Advanced Study

music
"SpaceBabiez" "Helios" "Printing Data" "SpydaBite"
"Daikon Daddy" "Squeaky Pete"
Chris Burns

"Crow" "Little Dipper"
Podington Bear

"China" "Morphology"
Nguyn Khi Nguyn