In 2024, scientific discovery took an extraordinary turn with two remarkable breakthroughs that captured global imagination. A lost Mayan city named Valeriana emerged from the dense Mexican jungle, uncovered through a serendipitous moment of digital exploration. Luke Auld-Thomas, a PhD candidate at Tulane University, stumbled upon a laser survey conducted by a Mexican environmental monitoring organization while scrolling through online search results. By applying sophisticated archaeological data processing techniques, he revealed a vast ancient metropolis that once supported between 30,000 to 50,000 inhabitants during its peak from 750 to 850 AD. The city, hidden beneath thick vegetation, was mapped using Lidar technology—a laser surveying method that penetrates forest canopies to expose concealed structures.

Valeriana's discovery is nothing short of archaeological marvel. Spanning approximately 16.6 square kilometers, the city contains two principal centers situated about 2 kilometers apart, interconnected by dense housing and causeways. Researchers identified an impressive array of architectural features, including pyramids, sports arenas, amphitheaters, and even evidence of a sophisticated water management system through a discovered reservoir. Professor Marcello Canuto, a study co-author, emphasized that this finding challenges Western perspectives of tropical regions as places where civilizations merely "went to die," instead highlighting the complexity of Maya urban planning and cultural sophistication. The site is considered second only to Calakmul in structural density among ancient Latin American Maya settlements.

Parallel to this archaeological triumph, 2024 witnessed a groundbreaking advancement in wildlife conservation through an unprecedented rhinoceros IVF breakthrough. Scientists from the BioRescue project achieved the world's first IVF rhino pregnancy, offering a glimmer of hope for the critically endangered northern white rhino species. With only two infertile females remaining globally, this scientific milestone involved successfully creating and implanting lab-generated embryos into a southern white rhino surrogate. Although the initial surrogate ultimately succumbed to an infection, a post-mortem examination revealed a promising 6.5 cm male fetus with a 95% likelihood of having been born alive1. This experiment demonstrated the feasibility of reproductive technologies in preserving near-extinct species.

The northern white rhino conservation effort represents a complex international collaboration. Sperm was collected from Athos, a southern white rhinoceros at Zoo Salzburg in Austria, while egg cells came from Elenore at the Pairi Daiza Zoo in Belgium. The project's head, Thomas Hildebrandt, described the process as "uncharted territory," with procedures and equipment developed from scratch3. Currently, 30 valuable northern white rhino embryos exist, providing potential for future reproductive attempts. The research not only offers hope for rhino preservation but also establishes a potential blueprint for rescuing other endangered species through advanced reproductive technologies. This scientific achievement underscores humanity's capacity to leverage technological innovation in protecting biodiversity and reversing the trajectory of species extinction.