2025 has already delivered a cascade of unprecedented events, and the 10 groundbreaking 038 moments we’ve witnessed so far prove that history is being written in real time. From religious milestones to daring space feats, from cutting‑edge genetic cures to the revival of extinct predators, each “first” reshapes the world we thought we knew. Grab a seat, because we’re counting down the ten most jaw‑dropping breakthroughs that have defined this remarkable year.
10 groundbreaking 038: A Year of Firsts
10 The First American Pope Is Elected
Following the passing of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, the College of Cardinals convened in Vatican City for a conclave to select his successor. The decisive moment arrived on May 8, 2025 when the iconic white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel, announcing that a new pontiff would soon step onto the world stage, marking a striking geographic shift for the centuries‑old institution.
Historically, the papacy has been dominated by Italians—217 of the 267 popes hailed from Italy. While the past century saw a modest increase in non‑Italian pontiffs, an American had never before ascended to the role. That changed when Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a 69‑year‑old native of Chicago, Illinois, emerged onto St. Peter’s Basilica balcony as Pope Leo XIV, becoming the first U.S.‑born pope in the annals of Catholic history.
9 Infant Becomes First Patient to Undergo Gene‑Editing Treatment
Kyle “KJ” Muldoon Jr., born in August 2024, entered the world with carbamoyl‑phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency—a rare metabolic disorder that triggers toxic ammonia accumulation, ravaging the liver and leading to irreversible neurological damage. Conventional therapy offered only a liver transplant, a procedure KJ could not undergo until his first birthday.
Long before KJ’s birth, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania had been developing a novel gene‑editing approach that had never been trialed in humans. When KJ’s case surfaced, a coalition of more than 45 scientists, physicians, and biotech firms rallied to accelerate a potential cure, racing against the clock to save his life.
Employing CRISPR—the Nobel‑winning genome‑editing tool—the team pinpointed the pathogenic mutation in KJ’s DNA and engineered a therapeutic edit that would flip the errant “letter” back to normal. The FDA granted an emergency use exemption, allowing the experimental therapy to proceed despite the lack of traditional testing. KJ’s parents faced a stark choice: stick with standard medication until a transplant became viable, or gamble on an untested, cutting‑edge intervention. They opted for the CRISPR‑based treatment.
On February 25, 2025, KJ received his inaugural infusion, followed by monthly doses in March and April. The nine‑and‑a‑half‑month‑old infant showed no serious adverse effects and began hitting developmental milestones. While it is premature to declare a full cure, KJ’s condition has markedly improved, illustrating the promise of the first‑ever patient‑specific gene‑editing therapy.
8 Turning Air into Fuel—Literally
Imagine a solution to the climate emergency that isn’t buried underground but floats right above us. That’s the premise behind a solar‑powered direct‑air‑capture (DAC) reactor unveiled by Cambridge University researchers in February 2025. Inspired by photosynthesis, the device acts as a sophisticated sponge, drawing carbon dioxide from ambient air during nighttime and harnessing sunlight by day to trigger a chemical transformation into synthesis gas (syngas), a vital feedstock for fuels, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.
The breakthrough lies in the reactor’s independence from fossil‑fuel‑based power. Traditional carbon‑capture and storage (CCS) systems often rely on combustion to run the capture process, which paradoxically adds more CO₂ to the atmosphere. Cambridge’s unit, however, operates entirely on solar energy, eliminating the need for external electricity, batteries, or cables.
Beyond its clean power source, the reactor sidesteps the long‑standing challenge of storing captured CO₂ deep underground—a practice fraught with safety and permanence concerns. By converting CO₂ on‑site into useful syngas, the technology delivers a dual advantage: it removes a greenhouse gas while simultaneously producing a renewable energy carrier.
This innovation could reshape climate mitigation strategies, offering a compact, self‑sustaining system that both cleans the air and fuels the future without the logistical headaches of transport and sequestration.
7 The World’s First De‑Extinction
The dire wolf, immortalized by HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” once prowled North America as a top predator before vanishing roughly 10,000–13,000 years ago. On April 7, 2025, Dallas‑based biotech firm Colossal Biosciences announced a stunning achievement: the revival of the dire wolf in the 21st century, marking the world’s inaugural de‑extinction effort.
Scientists extracted ancient DNA from a 13,000‑year‑old tooth and a 72,000‑year‑old skull, assembling two complete genomic blueprints. By comparing these sequences to those of the gray wolf—the closest living relative—they engineered a genome that recapitulated the distinctive traits of the extinct species. The modified DNA was inserted into a domestic‑dog egg, and the resulting embryos were implanted into surrogate mothers.
The venture culminated in the birth of three pups—two males named Romulus and Remus and a female dubbed Khaleesi. Although they are not carbon copies of their prehistoric ancestors, the puppies embody the essential genetic hallmarks of the dire wolf. The project sparked debate over the ethics of resurrecting extinct taxa, yet Colossal reassured the public that the wolves will reside in a 2,000‑acre, USDA‑registered preserve certified by the American Humane Society, never to be released into the wild.
By sidestepping the fictional calamities of “Jurassic Park,” the initiative demonstrates a cautious yet bold step toward restoring lost biodiversity, opening a new frontier in conservation biology.
6 Trump Makes a Grover Cleveland Comeback
Whether you admire him or despise him, Donald Trump etched his name into the record books in 2025 by becoming the first U.S. president since Grover Cleveland to serve non‑consecutive terms. Sworn in as the 47th president on January 20, 2025, he also claimed the title of the oldest commander‑in‑chief ever inaugurated—78 years and 220 days—surpassing Joe Biden’s previous record of 78 years and 61 days.
Beyond the age milestone, Trump became the first individual with a felony conviction to ascend to the nation’s highest office. These unprecedented achievements signal a new political epoch, one that scholars anticipate will be dissected and debated for generations to come.
5 The Moon Gets a Clean Landing—Finally!
Private enterprises have long pursued lunar touchdowns, yet many attempts have ended in imperfect landings. In February 2024, Intuitive Machines dispatched the Odysseus lander, marking the first U.S. spacecraft on the Moon in over half a century, but the vehicle tipped over on impact, failing to achieve a textbook landing.
March 2025 saw a breakthrough when Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 successfully delivered payloads, harvested lunar samples, and captured high‑resolution imagery for NASA. Launched on January 15, 2025, the spacecraft touched down at Mare Crisium on March 2, 2025 at 3:34 a.m., executing a flawless, upright landing without any technical glitches.
This accomplishment crowned Firefly as the first private company to nail a perfect lunar touchdown, suggesting that commercial players are now poised to drive the next wave of lunar commerce and exploration.
4 The Most Elusive Ocean Animal Captured on Video
Colossal squids, capable of reaching up to 23 feet in length and weighing as much as 1,100 pounds, have long eluded scientists since their first description in 1925. Their deep‑sea habitat—ranging from 1,640 to 6,560 feet below the surface—combined with crushing pressure, near‑freezing temperatures, and perpetual darkness, renders them virtually inaccessible.
Adding to the mystery, their enormous eyes—larger than soccer balls—are highly light‑sensitive, prompting the creatures to avoid artificial illumination from research equipment. Consequently, knowledge of their behavior has been limited to stomach contents found in predator carcasses.
On March 9, 2025, a serendipitous encounter occurred when an underwater robot deployed by the Schmidt Ocean Institute filmed a juvenile colossal squid near the South Sandwich Islands. The one‑foot‑long individual was captured at a depth of 1,968 feet (600 meters), providing the first live visual documentation of the species and opening new avenues for marine research.
3 Parkinson’s Research Reaches Incredible New Depths
Parkinson’s disease, the fastest‑growing neurodegenerative disorder, now affects over 10 million individuals worldwide, yet a definitive cure remains elusive. A breakthrough study published in Science on March 13, 2025 unveiled how researchers at Australia’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) visualized the interaction between the protein PINK1 and damaged mitochondria using cryo‑electron microscopy and mass spectrometry.
PINK1 (PTEN‑induced putative kinase 1) mutations are known to trigger early‑onset Parkinson’s, but until now, scientists had never directly observed how the protein binds to the surface of compromised mitochondria or how it becomes activated.
The team identified four distinct steps governing PINK1’s attachment and activation on faulty mitochondria. Understanding these mechanisms offers a roadmap for developing therapies that could switch off the pathogenic activity of mutant PINK1, potentially slowing disease progression and paving the way for disease‑modifying treatments.
2 Oxygen Discovered in the Most Distant Galaxy
In January 2024, the James Webb Space Telescope uncovered a luminous galaxy, JADES‑GS‑z14‑0, situated 13.4 billion light‑years away—the most distant galaxy observed to date. This object represents the universe when it was less than 300 million years old, roughly 2 % of its current age.
Follow‑up observations using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in April 2025 revealed a surprising chemical composition: the presence of oxygen and heavy metals. Typically, early galaxies consist mainly of hydrogen and helium, with heavier elements forged later in stellar cores and dispersed by supernovae.
The detection of oxygen at levels ten times higher than expected suggests that JADES‑GS‑z14‑0 experienced rapid star formation for at least 100 million years before we observed it, indicating that galactic evolution proceeded much faster than previously thought.
1 President Trump Pardons a Corporation
Presidential pardons have historically freed individuals ranging from political allies to whistleblowers. In 2025, however, a novel form of clemency emerged when President Trump granted a full, unconditional pardon to HDR Global Trading, the parent company of the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, along with three of its co‑founders and one employee.
BitMEX had been penalized on January 15, 2025 with a $100 million criminal fine and an additional $130 million in civil penalties for violating the Bank Secrecy Act by operating without a proper anti‑money‑laundering program. The unprecedented corporate pardon ignited a firestorm of political debate, raising profound questions about the ethical and legal ramifications of extending presidential clemency to for‑profit entities.