Feature

  1. Astronomy

    Year in Review: Meteorite makes an impact

    A falling rock delivers a wake-up call.

    By Andrew Grant
  2. Life

    Year in Review: Gift of steroids keeps on giving

    Mouse muscles stay juiced long after doping ends.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  3. Animals

    Year in Review: Odd cicada history emerges

    Brood II returns better understood.

    By Susan Milius
  4. Astronomy

    Year in Review: Visitor from the Oort cloud

    A visitor from the outer solar system flies past the sun.

    By Gabriel Popkin
  5. Math

    Year in Review: Progress made toward twin prime proof

    A surprising advance sparks a flurry of work on the mathematical conjecture.

    By Dana Mackenzie
  6. Anthropology

    Year in Review: Slain king’s bones dug up

    The king’s skeleton reveals fatal wounds.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  7. Cosmology

    Year in Review: Dark energy gets more confusing

    New data raise the prospect of a ‘Big Rip’ destroying the cosmos.

    By Gabriel Popkin
  8. Animals

    Year in Review: Canine genealogy

    Competing clues confuse the story of dog domestication.

    By Meghan Rosen
  9. Planetary Science

    Year in Review: Methane shortage on Mars

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

    By Erin Wayman
  10. Neuroscience

    Year in Review: Obama unveils brain initiative

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

    By Laura Sanders
  11. Psychology

    Year in Review: DSM-5’s controversial debut

    The diagnostic manual updates disorder criteria.

    By Bruce Bower
  12. Physics

    Year in Review: Below absolute zero, but hot

    Lab trickery pushes atoms to a negative temperature.

    By Andrew Grant