Century of Science

  1. Herminia Pasantes stands in her lab with her arms raised in excitement
    Neuroscience

    Herminia Pasantes discovered how taurine helps brain cells regulate their size

    Mexican scientist Herminia Pasantes spent decades studying how nerve cells regulate their size and why it’s so vital.

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  2. icebergs in Ilulissat Icefjord in Greenland
    Climate

    A global warming pause that didn’t happen hampered climate science

    Trying to explain why global warming appeared to slow down in the early 2000s distracted scientists and shook their confidence.

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  3. photo of Wally Broecker sitting in a lab
    Climate

    Wally Broecker divined how the climate could suddenly shift

    Wally Broecker’s insight into the shutdown of the great ocean conveyor belt spurred the study of abrupt climate change.

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  4. photo collage the in shape of the number 100
    Science & Society

    We’re celebrating a century of Science News

    Across a century of science journalism, Science News has covered the Scopes trial, the moonwalk, Dolly the Sheep and more.

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  5. image of Maria Grazia Roncarolo using a pipette in a hood
    Genetics

    How gene therapy overcame high-profile failures

    A dark period for gene therapy didn’t derail scientists determined to help patients.

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  6. historical photo of a 1920s radio broadcast station with men wearing headphones
    Science & Society

    What made the last century’s great innovations possible?

    Science paved the way for antibiotics, lasers, computers and COVID-19 vaccines, but science alone was not enough.

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  7. illustration in the shape of the Earth showing a train, a car, airplanes, felled trees, an oil spill, and other examples of humans' impact on their environment
    Climate

    How did we get here? The roots and impacts of the climate crisis

    Over the last century and a half, scientists have built a strong case for the roots and impacts of human-caused climate change.

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  8. Marie Maynard Daly working in a lab with a test tube
    Chemistry

    Marie Maynard Daly was a trailblazing biochemist, but her full story may be lost

    Marie Maynard Daly was the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry, but her own perspective on her research is missing from the historical record.

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  9. image of a computer chip with red hues
    Computing

    Now that computers connect us all, for better and worse, what’s next?

    The digital revolution has brought chess-playing robots, self-driving cars, curated newsfeeds — and new ethical challenges.

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  10. A Navajo woman sitting at a microscope
    Computing

    Core memory weavers and Navajo women made the Apollo missions possible

    The stories of the women who assembled integrated circuits and wove core memory for the Apollo missions remain largely unknown.

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  11. photo of a person looking at the "Edmond de Belamy" portrait
    Computing

    Artificial intelligence challenges what it means to be creative

    Computer programs can mimic famous artworks, but struggle with originality and lack self-awareness.

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  12. image of Erica Esrick in a hospital room speaking with Helen Obando and her family
    Genetics

    Gene therapies for sickle cell disease come with hope and challenges

    Pediatrician Erica Esrick discusses existing sickle cell treatments and an ongoing clinical trial.

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