Feature

  1. Planetary Science

    Year in Review: Methane shortage on Mars

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

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  2. Neuroscience

    Year in Review: Obama unveils brain initiative

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

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  3. Psychology

    Year in Review: DSM-5’s controversial debut

    The diagnostic manual updates disorder criteria.

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  4. Physics

    Year in Review: Below absolute zero, but hot

    Lab trickery pushes atoms to a negative temperature.

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  5. Astronomy

    Year in Review: Death of a planet hunter

    The Kepler space telescope finishes a brilliant career.

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  6. Astronomy

    Year in Review: Voyager 1 reaches interstellar space

    The planetary probe is the first human-made object to break out of the heliosphere.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Year in Review: Putting kids at risk

    U.S. parents increasingly are delaying their children’s vaccination.

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  8. Climate

    Year in Review: Carbon dioxide levels pass milestone

    Although scientists are confident about humankind’s role in climate change, they still have a lot to learn about the magnitude and timing of future climate shifts.

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  9. Genetics

    Year in Review: Caffeine triggers cloning advance

    To successfully clone human cells, eggs must be dunked in the stimulant.

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  10. Humans

    Year in Review: Language learning starts before birth

    Babies seem familiar with vowels and words heard while in the womb.

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  11. Science & Society

    Year in Review: High court rules against gene patents

    The justices’ decision opens the way for choices in DNA testing.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Year in Review: Sleep clears the cluttered brain

    Some forms of brain washing are good, like the thorough hosing the brain gets during sleep.

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