What does a scientist mean when she say ““It’s rare nowadays to have fundamental discoveries in science”?

Question

I was reading an article on the discovery of salty ice that may be present on exoplanets. The head scientist prefaced the discovery saying ““It’s rare nowadays to have fundamental discoveries in science”. I know she is basically saying that big science discoveries aren’t made anymore. All of the major discoveries have been made already. But that doesn’t feel right. Is she correct?

Here is the article for all those interested.

https://www.washington.edu/news/2023/02/21/newly-discovered-form-of-salty-ice-could-exist-on-surface-of-extraterrestrial-moons/

In: 19

Answer 1

Fundamental means basic core principles, so she’s saying it’s rare to come across basic tenets that are still undiscovered because modern science has studied most of the obvious stuff already.

So like the properties of water are well-understood on earth but when mixed with other fluids and subjected to unusual conditions (like in space), we may find a totally different set of fundamental properties, which is what she’s saying.