Feature

  1. Space

    2009 Science News of the Year: Atom & Cosmos

    A post-crash plume kicked up from the moon contained vapor and ice. NASA crashed an unmanned spacecraft into the lunar surface on October 9 in order to analyze the resulting debris for signs of water. Image Credit: NASA Water on the moonThe moon isn’t bone dry: Although planetary scientists had suspected as much for years, […]

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  2. Humans

    2009 Science News of the Year: Humans

    An artist’s illustration shows how a female Ardipithecus may have looked. An analysis of Ardi’s bones, uncovered from 1992 through 1997, was released this year. Credit: J.H. Matternes Ardi puts new spin on hominid evolution A 4.4-million-year-old partial female skeleton discovered in Africa, along with fossils from at least 36 of her comrades, provide the […]

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  3. Earth

    2009 Science News of the Year: Environment

    Recent monitoring (from a gondola in Washington state, shown) reveals that rates of tree death are up. Credit: Univ. of Washington Routine tree deaths doubled Small background rates of everyday tree death have doubled in old-growth, western forests since 1955, possibly because of climate change, researchers report (SN: 2/14/09, p. 8). In 76 plots with […]

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  4. Tech

    2009 Science News of the Year: Technology

    A polymer doped with a color-changing molecule turns red seconds before snapping. Credit: D. Stevenson, A. Jerez, A. Hamilton, D. Davis About to breakEngineers one day may not need to guess when a bridge is near its breaking point. New materials that flush red in response to damage may provide a visual warning sign of […]

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  5. Humans

    2009 Science News of the Year: Science & Society

    Activists plead for a new agreement during the 2007 U.N. Climate Change Conference. Credit: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images Leaders warm to climate action Throughout the year, global leaders used various summits around the world to declare their intention to take firm, though often unilateral, action to reduce their nations’ carbon footprints. In December, negotiators from more […]

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  6. Trawling the brain

    New findings raise questions about reliability of fMRI as gauge of neural activity.

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  7. Humans wonder, anybody home?

    Brain structure and circuitry offer clues to consciousness in nonmammals.

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  8. A black future

    Without destroying the Earth, the Large Hadron Collider might help humans explore the cosmos.

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  9. Breaking the Speed Limit

    Studies examine physiology and technology to better foresee the ultimate edge of human performance.

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  10. Botanical Whales

    Adventures in the Tortugas reveal that seagrass fields need saving too.

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  11. Climate

    Climate might be right for a deal

    The upcoming Copenhagen negotiations will take steps toward an international, climate-stabilizing treaty.

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  12. Physics

    Invisibility Uncloaked

    In the race to make things disappear, scientists gain ground on science fiction.

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