24 Things That Happened for the First Time This Year

This feature is part of a series called Turning Points, in which writers explore what critical moments from this year might mean for the year ahead. You can read more by visiting the Turning Points series page.

1. The top job in Northern Ireland goes to a Sinn Fein leader.

A member of the Sinn Fein political party — which has historically stood for the unification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland — stands at the head of Northern Ireland’s highest office for the first time in history. Michelle O’Neill, who is Sinn Fein’s vice president, was named first minister of the government in Northern Ireland in February. This would have been unheard-of less than three decades ago during the Troubles, a bloody decades-long clash between the majority Protestant unionists and majority Roman Catholic nationalists over the unification of Northern Ireland with the rest of the island. The position of first minister has previously been held only by politicians committed to remaining a part of the United Kingdom.

2. Scientists detect water on an asteroid’s surface.

Researchers found evidence of water molecules on an asteroid surface for the first time using data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, a now-retired Boeing aircraft outfitted with telescopic instruments that was operated by NASA and the German Aerospace Center. Scientists hope the finding could shed light on how exactly water first made its way to Earth billions of years ago.

3. Parents are charged and convicted in a mass school shooting.

Jennifer and James Crumbley — the parents of a Michigan teenager convicted of fatally shooting four students — became the first parents in the United States to be charged and convicted in a mass school shooting. Jennifer Crumbley was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in February, and in a separate trial, James Crumbley was convicted of the same charge in March. Their successful prosecution set a nationwide precedent, with officials in Georgia bringing felony charges against the father of a 14-year-old suspected school shooter in September.

4. A pig kidney is successfully transplanted into a human.

Surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital successfully transplanted a genetically engineered pig kidney into a human for the first time in March. While doctors were optimistic that the organ would function for at least two years, the recipient of the pig kidney died in May because of medical issues unrelated to the transplant, according to the hospital. Experts say that successful transplantation of nonhuman tissues, cells and organs in treatments for humans could have far-reaching benefits for the thousands of patients in need of lifesaving transplants each year in the United States alone.