Feature

  1. Animals

    Year in review: Insect, bird evolution revisited

    Insects got an entirely new family tree after an extensive genetic analysis rearranged the creatures' relations.

    By Susan Milius
  2. Genetics

    Year in review: Easy stem cells a no go

    An incredibly easy method for making stem cells turned out to be impossible, again tainting the stem cell research field with controversy.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  3. Neuroscience

    Year in review: The nose knows a trillion odors

    Humans can suss out more than 1 trillion different smells, a 2014 study estimated.

    By Bruce Bower
  4. Archaeology

    Year in review: Roster of dinosaurs expands

    With the discovery of several new species and a few dogma-shaking revelations, dinosaurs got a total rethink in 2014.

    By Meghan Rosen
  5. Particle Physics

    Year in review: Neutrinos leave tracks in ice

    The IceCube experiment has started to pinpoint the birthplaces of some high-energy neutrinos.

    By Andrew Grant
  6. Planetary Science

    Year in review: Ocean may power Enceladus’ geysers

    NASA’s Cassini spacecraft builds a stronger case for a subsurface ocean on Enceladus that drives ice geysers on the moon’s south pole.

    By Christopher Crockett
  7. Animals

    Year in review: The post-pigeon century

    Birds' troubles received an eerie emphasis in the news when biologists marked the 100th anniversary of the death of the last known passenger pigeon.

    By Susan Milius
  8. Planetary Science

    Year in review: Business booming on Mars

    Mars now has seven robots studying it and together they have given scientists their best view of any planet in the solar system other than Earth.

    By Alexandra Witze
  9. Humans

    Year in review: Genes, bones tell new Clovis stories

    The genes and bones of the Clovis people reveal the range and legacy of the early North Americans.

    By Bruce Bower
  10. Climate

    Year in review: Climate warnings heat up

    Climate change is here and the world is unprepared, scientists and policy makers declared multiple times in 2014.

    By Beth Mole
  11. Genetics

    Year in review: Life’s complexity recoded

    New genetic letters in bacteria and a simplified yeast chromosome showcase scientists' advances in understanding the simplicity and complexity of life.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  12. Environment

    Year in review: Microbes exploit their killer

    Triclosan, an unregulated antimicrobial chemical found in consumer products, may aid, rather than deter, microbes that invade people’s bodies.

    By Beth Mole