Image credits - PlanetMallika/ Pixabay; Pablo Trincado, licensed under CC BY 2.0; Image credit - Pixnio/ Janice Haney Carr, Jeff Hageman, M.H.S, USCDCP, licensed under CC0; Virpi Lummaa

Image credits - PlanetMallika/ Pixabay; Pablo Trincado, licensed under CC BY 2.0; Image credit - Pixnio/ Janice Haney Carr, Jeff Hageman, M.H.S, USCDCP, licensed under CC0; Virpi Lummaa

Our top 12 science facts from 2019

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by Josefine Kroll

From bacterial invisibility cloaks to unexpected dinosaur colors, Horizon uncovered some fascinating facts in 2019. Here are our 12 favourites.

1. Meerkats live in cooperative societies where only one female is allowed to breed 

2. There may be no free-flowing rivers left in Europe

Image credit - Zdeněk Chalupský, licensed under Pixabay licence
Image credit – Zdeněk Chalupský, licensed under Pixabay licence

3. Our idea of dinosaur colours may be completely wrong

Image credit: Aline Dassel/Pixabay, licensed under Pixabay licence
Image credit: Aline Dassel/Pixabay, licensed under Pixabay licence

4. Elephants should be ‘tumour machines’ but are actually very effective at fighting cancer

5. The world’s deep in a climate emergency – and there’s a formula to show it

Image credit - PlanetMallika/ Pixabay
Image credit – PlanetMallika/ Pixabay

6. Data centres could account for 10% of all electricity use by 2025

Image credit - 123net/Wikimedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Image credit – 123net/Wikimedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

  1. Most stars in the universe harbour their own planetary system
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

8. Today’s megafires generate more than 10 times the energy a firefighter can handle

Image credit - Pablo Trincado, licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image credit – Pablo Trincado, licensed under CC BY 2.0

9. Climate change is making wine more alcoholic

10. Two billion children and adults could be suffering from ‘hidden hunger’

Image credit - Schwoaze, Pixabay
Image credit – Schwoaze, Pixabay

11. We’ve lost half of the world’s birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals over the last 50 years

Image credit - Pixabay/ isrealpv73, licensed under pixabay license
Image credit – Pixabay/ isrealpv73, licensed under pixabay license

12. Bacteria have developed four defences against antibiotics including invisibility cloaks and shields

Image credit - Dr Graham Beards, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Image credit – Dr Graham Beards, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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