Feature

  1. Science & Society

    Science’s good, bad, ugly year

    In the race for Top Science Story of 2014, some of the contenders stumbled before reaching the finish line.

    By Tom Siegfried
  2. Microbes

    Year in review: Science faces Ebola epidemic

    West Africa’s 2014 Ebola epidemic showed what can happen when a contagious virus emerges where cultural practices, public fears and porous borders fuel the spread of disease.

    By Nathan Seppa
  3. Astronomy

    Year in review: Dust obscures possible gravitational wave discovery

    A possible signal from moments after the Big Bang may be due to dust in the Milky Way galaxy.

    By Christopher Crockett
  4. Humans

    Year in review: Old humans reveal secrets

    DNA of the oldest modern humans is rewriting the prehistories of Europe, Siberia and the Americas.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  5. Planetary Science

    Year in review: Rosetta mission hits its target

    The Rosetta spacecraft and its lander Philae are providing an intimate look at the life of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

    By Ashley Yeager
  6. Neuroscience

    Year in review: Memories vulnerable to manipulation

    New experimental results in 2014 helped bring scientists closer to understanding how the brain manipulates memories to make sense of the world.

    By Laura Sanders
  7. Astronomy

    Year in review: Kepler gets second chance at life

    This year, Kepler engineers figured out how to stabilize the almost-defunct Kepler telescope, while astronomers found hundreds more worlds.

    By Christopher Crockett
  8. Health & Medicine

    Year in review: Risks of e-cigarettes emerge

    Electronic cigarettes dispense water vapor laced with flavors and often a hefty dose of nicotine. These vapors may be far from benign, studies in 2014 suggested.

    By Janet Raloff
  9. Neuroscience

    Year in review: Young blood aids old brains

    Ingredients in young blood can rejuvenate old mice’s bodies and brains, scientists reported in 2014.

    By Laura Sanders
  10. Health & Medicine

    Year in review: Gut reacts to artificial sweeteners

    Saccharin messes with the body’s ability to metabolize fuel, a condition that often precedes diabetes, obesity and other metabolic problems.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  11. Planetary Science

    Year in review: Tectonics active on Europa

    Jupiter’s frozen moon Europa has a shifting exterior analogous to Earth’s plate tectonics.

    By Thomas Sumner
  12. Earth

    Year in review: Life thrives under Antarctica

    Thousands of microbe species thrive in Lake Whillans deep beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet.

    By Thomas Sumner