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The Human Genome Project is completed during April. Scientists from around the world successfully finished sequencing about 99% of the human genome. They identified over 20,000 individual genes and base pairs that create the basic DNA composition of humans.
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The Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry, tragically killing all on board. The disaster was likely caused by damage taken to the left wing during the launch when a piece of foam hit the wing.
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Siege at a school in Beslan, Northern Ossetia. At least 335 people (among which at least 32 of the approximately 40 hostage-takers) have been killed and at least 700 people have been injured.
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After a brief period of inactivity due to a glitch, NASA’s Spirit rover, part of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission, returns to full functionality during February. The Spirit rover was launched in June of 2003 and arrived on Mars early in January of 2004.
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Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid kill 190 people. Five suspects blow themselves up
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Hurricane Katrina strikes the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coastal areas. Levees separating Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, Louisiana were breached by the surge, ultimately flooding roughly 80% of the city of New Orleans and 1600 perished
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The Moscow Times reported that a homeless man from Kamchatka and two accomplices were arrested for murdering a man, butchering his body, frying and eating it.
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Same-sex marriage is legalized in Sweden
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Japan Tsunami killing/wounding 20,000. In addition, a nuclear power plant meltdown triggered a nuclear emergency. The direct economic loss from the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster is estimated at $360 billion.
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The film "Marvel's The Avengers" is released and becomes one of the highest-grossing films.
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The Mars Science Laboratory or "Curiosity Rover" successfully lands on Mars
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The deadliest outbreak of Ebola, a deadly hemorrhagic fever, started in West Africa in the spring of 2014 and began to spread rapidly in late summer
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The prospect of a 747 plane filled with passengers disappearing from the sky seemed like a fictitious plot line from a television show until March 8 when a Malaysian Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur destined for Beijing vanished
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A terror group that most Americans had never heard of prior to this year, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), took brutality to a new level with graphic be headings and the brutal takeover of entire towns in Syria and Iraq.
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Trump won against Hilary
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Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria
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#MeToo Movement Goes Global. The #MeToo movement took off in the United States last year in the wake of the sexual abuse allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein
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Apple becomes the first American public listed company to reach $1 trillion in value
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Covid.
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Biden became president