All Stories

  1. Genetics

    Year in review: Breakthrough gene editor sparks ethics debate

    The gene editing system CRISPR has opened the door to new scientific advancements — and ethical concerns.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  2. Humans

    Year in review: Early human kin could shake up family tree

    From a South African cave to an East African rift valley, fossil and archaeological finds reported in 2015 added new twists to the evolution of the human genus.

    By Bruce Bower
  3. Health & Medicine

    Year in review: Not all bodies act their age

    People grow old at different rates, but the underlying drivers of aging may be the same: molecular havoc wreaked inside of cells, scientists suggested in 2015.

    By Meghan Rosen
  4. Climate

    Year in review: Global warming continues apace

    New climate research showed that the much-discussed warming hiatus never happened, carbon dioxide levels are higher than ever and Earth is heading toward a new normal.

    By Thomas Sumner
  5. Science & Society

    Year in review: Scientists tackle the irreproducibility problem

    In 2015, several research groups reported the extent to which experimental results don't hold up to replication.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  6. Planetary Science

    Year in review: Global ocean spans Enceladus

    NASA's Cassini spacecraft is offering the best evidence yet that Saturn's moon Enceladus could be a great place to search for extraterrestrial life.

    By Alexandra Witze
  7. Life

    Year in review: Microbe discoveries spur rethink of treetop of life

    Microbes discovered in Arctic mud this year could be the closest relatives yet found to the single-celled ancestor that made life so complicated.

    By Susan Milius
  8. Quantum Physics

    Year in review: Quantum spookiness is real

    A new version of an experiment proposed in 1964 confirmed a counterintuitive tenet of quantum mechanics.

    By Andrew Grant
  9. Genetics

    Year in review: Epigenome makes its debut

    The Roadmap Epigenomics Project, unveiled in February 2015, is the first in a series of 3-D looks at the human genome.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  10. Physics

    Year in review: Big stride for superconductivity

    Compelling but not quite confirmed research in 2015 suggested that hydrogen sulfide is a superconductor at temperatures as high as 203 kelvins.

    By Andrew Grant
  11. Neuroscience

    Year in review: Alzheimer’s protein behaves like a prion

    Under rare conditions, an Alzheimer’s-related protein may have jumped between people, scientists reported this year.

    By Laura Sanders
  12. Planetary Science

    Year in review: Best evidence yet for water on Mars

    New data from the Mars Reconaissance Orbiter supported the presence of salty water on Mars.

    By Alexandra Witze