All Stories

Astronomy

Year in Review: Visitor from the Oort cloud

A visitor from the outer solar system flies past the sun.

Math

Year in Review: Progress made toward twin prime proof

A surprising advance sparks a flurry of work on the mathematical conjecture.

Anthropology

Year in Review: Slain king’s bones dug up

The king’s skeleton reveals fatal wounds.

Cosmology

Year in Review: Dark energy gets more confusing

New data raise the prospect of a ‘Big Rip’ destroying the cosmos.

Animals

Year in Review: Canine genealogy

Competing clues confuse the story of dog domestication.

Planetary Science

Year in Review: Methane shortage on Mars

A trace of the gas is not enough to be a sign of life.

Life

Feedback

Readers discuss dog origins and how important a sense of scale is in science journalism.

Earth

Creativity offers insights into the past and future

With the long-term future of many fisheries in doubt and severe drought once again hitting the Southwest, coming up with new insights into the past and future on land and sea may be crucial to protecting some of our most precious resources.

Neuroscience

Year in Review: Obama unveils brain initiative

In April, the president announced an ambitious plan to reveal the human brain’s secrets.

Psychology

Year in Review: DSM-5’s controversial debut

The diagnostic manual updates disorder criteria.

Physics

Year in Review: Below absolute zero, but hot

Lab trickery pushes atoms to a negative temperature.

Astronomy

Year in Review: Death of a planet hunter

The Kepler space telescope finishes a brilliant career.