2000s in science and technology

	1990s . 2000s in science and technology . 2010stjirtejit5jyethb mjsfvm suck me Wooooooooo
	Other topics: Anthropology . Fashion . music . Sociology . Video games

This article is a summary of the 2000s in science and technology.

Science

Using the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, scientists studying the universe measured that its age is 13.77 billion years; "solidly supported" that it has been expanding and cooling since the Big Bang; and calculated that the universe is composed of about 4.6% atoms, 24% dark matter, and 71% dark energy.^[1]
The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mission successfully reached the surface of Mars in 2004, and sent detailed data and images of the landscape there back to Earth. Whilst NASA's original mission timeline of three months was incorrectly speculated, the mission was tremendously successful overall in the long term, as the MER Mission continued until 2018, lasting nearly 25 times the projected length.
The Human Genome Project was completed in 2003.^[2]
The National Geographic Society and IBM funded The Genographic Project.
In 2002, Perelman posted the first of a series of eprints to the arXiv, in which he proved the Poincaré conjecture,
On 29 July 2005, the discovery of Eris, a Kuiper Belt object larger than Pluto, was announced. In August 2006 Pluto was "demoted" to a "dwarf planet" after being considered a planet for 76 years. Other "dwarf planets" in our solar system now include Ceres and Eris.
Space tourism/Private spaceflight began with American Dennis Tito, paying Russia US$20 million for a week-long stay to the International Space Station.
The Voyager 1 spacecraft entered the heliosheath, marking its departure from the Solar System.
Scientists discovered water ice on the Moon in 2009.^[3]
AFIS and CODIS became the main forensic tools for fingerprint and genetic code investigation in the industrialized world and some developing countries.

Technology

=url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060904211822/http://www.nrri.ohio-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/2068/814/3/Article%2B1-Bethea%2B_Broadband_.pdf |archive-date=4 September 2006 }}</ref> and one mid-decade study predicted 62% adoption by 2010.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).^[4]]]

The popularity of mobile phones and text messaging surged in the 2000s decade in the Western world. The advent of text messaging made possible new forms of interaction that were not possible before, resulting in numerous boons such as the ability to receive information on the move. Nevertheless, it also led to negative social implications such as Text "bullying" and the rise of traffic collisions caused by drivers who were distracted as they were texting while driving.
Due to the major success of broadband Internet connections, Voice over IP (VoIP) began to gain popularity as a replacement for traditional telephone lines. Major telecommunications carriers began^{[citation needed]} converting their networks from TDM to VoIP.
Unusually for a development heralded by science fiction, videophones were cheap and abundant, yet even by mid-decade, they had not received much attention, perhaps due to the high cost of video calls relative to ordinary calls.
Mobile phones adopted features such as Internet access, PDA functions, running software applications, video calling, cameras and video recording, and music and video playback as standard. Higher end smartphones continue to offer extra features such as GPS and Wireless.
Due to improvements in mobile phone displays and memories, most mobile phone carriers offered video viewing services, internet services, and some offered full music downloads, such as Sprint in 2005 and more common use of Bluetooth. This led to a virtual saturation of cell phone ownership among the public in the developed world, increasing the use of mobile phones as everyday carry items, and a sharp decline in the use and numbers of payphones.

Robotics

As in previous decades, robotics continued to develop, especially telerobotics in medicine, particularly for surgery.^{[citation needed]}
Home automation and home robotics advanced in North America; iRobot's "Roomba" was the most successful domestic robot and sold 1.5 million units. (Others of interest include: Robomower, and Scooba as of May 2006)
The first robotic vehicle completed the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2005 and became the first vehicle to be able to navigate itself with no external interference.
Humanoid robots and robot kits improved considerably, to the point of retailing as toys. This was typified by RoboSapien and Lego Mindstorms respectively.

Space technology

GPS (Global Positioning System) became very popular, especially in the tracking of items or people, and the use in cars. Games that utilize the system, such as geocaching, emerged and developed a niche following.
The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred in February 2003.
SpaceShipOne made the first privately funded human spaceflight on June 21, 2004.^[5]

Healthcare

Corrective eye surgery became popular as costs and potential risk decreased and results further improved.^{[citation needed]}
244 new drugs were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.^[when?]

General retail

RFID (Radio Frequency ID) became widely used in retail giants^{[citation needed]} such as Wal-Mart, as a way to track items and automate stocking and keeping track of items.
Self-serve kiosks became very widely available, and were used for all kinds of shopping, airplane boarding passes, hotel check-ins, fast food, banking, and car rental. ATMs became nearly universal in much of the First World and very common even in poorer countries and their rural areas.^[6]

References

^ WMAP mission (2006-03-16). "The Age of the Universe with New Accuracy". NASA. Archived from the original on 23 January 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
^ Zhang, Sarah. "The Human Genome Is—Finally!—Complete". The Atlantic. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
^ "SPACE.com -- It's Official: Water Found on the Moon". Space.com. 23 September 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
^ Selanikio, Joel (2008-01-18). "The invisible computer revolution". BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2008. important sub-groups in that region [high-growth areas of sub-Saharan Africa, the fastest growing cell phone market in the world,] have much higher penetration than the general population ... many [of whom] have access to one via a friend or family member
^ Belfiore, Michael (2007). Rocketeers: how a visionary band of business leaders, engineers, and pilots is boldly privatizing space. New York: Smithsonian Books. pp. 80–111. ISBN 978-0-06-114903-0. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
^ Williamson, Simon (2003-11-26). "Why run Windows on an ATM?". Archived from the original (blog) on 26 April 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2008. Remember, a lot of banks in third world countries have ATMs.

[1] WMAP mission (2006-03-16). "The Age of the Universe with New Accuracy". NASA. Archived from the original on 23 January 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2021.

[2] Zhang, Sarah. "The Human Genome Is—Finally!—Complete". The Atlantic. Retrieved 8 January 2022.

[3] "SPACE.com -- It's Official: Water Found on the Moon". Space.com. 23 September 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2009-10-05.

[4] Selanikio, Joel (2008-01-18). "The invisible computer revolution". BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2008. important sub-groups in that region [high-growth areas of sub-Saharan Africa, the fastest growing cell phone market in the world,] have much higher penetration than the general population ... many [of whom] have access to one via a friend or family member

[belfiore2007-5] Belfiore, Michael (2007). Rocketeers: how a visionary band of business leaders, engineers, and pilots is boldly privatizing space. New York: Smithsonian Books. pp. 80–111. ISBN 978-0-06-114903-0. Retrieved 2014-12-28.

[6] Williamson, Simon (2003-11-26). "Why run Windows on an ATM?". Archived from the original (blog) on 26 April 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2008. Remember, a lot of banks in third world countries have ATMs.

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