Science & Society
Science News’ favorite books of 2015
The Science News staff offers its must-read picks of 2015.
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Cover Story
Top stories of 2015: Pluto, gene editing, a new hominid and more
Pluto up close, the power gene editor CRISPR, new early human kin and more make Science News' list of the top 25 science stories of 2015.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Health & Medicine
Anatomy of the South Korean MERS outbreak
The Middle East respiratory syndrome virus, which infected 186 people in South Korea in 2015, quickly spread within and between hospitals via a handful of “superspreaders.”
Notebook
Physics
Uncovering the science of sand dune ‘booms’
Mechanical engineer and geophysicist Nathalie Vriend explores noises in the desert that are triggered by sand sliding down dunes.
Features
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Year in review: Pluto unveiled as a world like no other
Long out of reach, Pluto came into focus in 2015 with the New Horizons mission.
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Year in review: Breakthrough gene editor sparks ethics debate
The gene editing system CRISPR has opened the door to new scientific advancements — and ethical concerns.
More Stories from the December 26, 2015 issue
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Health & MedicineAntibodies to fight Alzheimer’s may have unexpected consequences
Alzheimer’s-targeted antibodies make neurons misbehave even more, a study of mice shows.
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Health & MedicineWhen selenium is scarce, brain battles testes for it
In competition for selenium, testes draw the nutrient away from the brain.
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AnimalsPonds and their toads cured of dreaded disease
Treating both tadpoles and their ponds for infection by deadly Bd chytrid fungus lets midwife toads go wild again.
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Planetary ScienceGlimpse of baby planet shows what to expect when a star is expecting
A baby planet is still growing in the disk of gas that encircles a young star.
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Health & MedicineEngineered vocal cords show promise in animal tests
Lab-grown vocal cord tissue could lead the way to better treatments for people with vocal problems
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AnimalsHow to see with eyes made of rock
Tiny mollusk eyes in chiton armor can pick up rough images.
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ClimateThinning ice leads to winter warming in the Arctic
Thinning Arctic sea ice could boost heat-trapping water vapor in the air during autumn and winter, leading to more ice loss.
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Planetary SciencePhobos to create ring around the Red Planet
Mars’ moon Phobos will shatter and create a temporary ring around Mars 20 million to 40 million years from now.
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EarthDon’t flip out: Earth’s magnetic poles aren’t about to switch
Earth’s waning magnetic field is returning to its long-term average, not heading toward a catastrophic magnetic reversal, new lava analysis suggests.
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GeneticsMosquitoes engineered to zap ability to carry malaria
Researchers have created a gene drive that prevents mosquitoes from carrying malaria.
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PhysicsFinal chapter published in decades-long Gravity Probe B project
It took more than 50 years, but an experiment testing general relativity has finally come to a close.
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AnthropologyPeople roamed tip of South America 18,500 years ago
Stone tools, charred animal bones and fire ash found at the Monte Verde site in Chile indicate people reached South America’s southernmost territory at least 18,500 years ago.
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HumansYear in review: Early human kin could shake up family tree
From a South African cave to an East African rift valley, fossil and archaeological finds reported in 2015 added new twists to the evolution of the human genus.
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Health & MedicineYear in review: Not all bodies act their age
People grow old at different rates, but the underlying drivers of aging may be the same: molecular havoc wreaked inside of cells, scientists suggested in 2015.
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ClimateYear in review: Global warming continues apace
New climate research showed that the much-discussed warming hiatus never happened, carbon dioxide levels are higher than ever and Earth is heading toward a new normal.
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Science & SocietyYear in review: Scientists tackle the irreproducibility problem
In 2015, several research groups reported the extent to which experimental results don't hold up to replication.
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Planetary ScienceYear in review: Global ocean spans Enceladus
NASA's Cassini spacecraft is offering the best evidence yet that Saturn's moon Enceladus could be a great place to search for extraterrestrial life.
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LifeYear in review: Microbe discoveries spur rethink of treetop of life
Microbes discovered in Arctic mud this year could be the closest relatives yet found to the single-celled ancestor that made life so complicated.
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Quantum PhysicsYear in review: Quantum spookiness is real
A new version of an experiment proposed in 1964 confirmed a counterintuitive tenet of quantum mechanics.
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GeneticsYear in review: Epigenome makes its debut
The Roadmap Epigenomics Project, unveiled in February 2015, is the first in a series of 3-D looks at the human genome.
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PhysicsYear in review: Big stride for superconductivity
Compelling but not quite confirmed research in 2015 suggested that hydrogen sulfide is a superconductor at temperatures as high as 203 kelvins.
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NeuroscienceYear in review: Alzheimer’s protein behaves like a prion
Under rare conditions, an Alzheimer’s-related protein may have jumped between people, scientists reported this year.
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Planetary ScienceYear in review: Best evidence yet for water on Mars
New data from the Mars Reconaissance Orbiter supported the presence of salty water on Mars.
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EarthYear in review: Pacific Plate slides over slick layer
Some explosive science offered a glimpse into how tectonic plates slide around Earth’s surface.
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GeneticsYear in review: Cancer genetics grows up
Researchers looking for mutations linked to cancer have found that not all genetic alterations should be targeted equally.
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Particle PhysicsYear in review: Collider creates pentaquarks
Two particles discovered in 2015 are each composed of five quarks.
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NeuroscienceYear in review: ‘Speed cells’ help make navigation possible
The discovery of speed cells in the brain filled in a missing piece in the understanding of how the brain creates an internal map of the world.
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AnimalsYear in review: Woes of artificial lighting add up for wildlife
Studies published this year add dodging death, flirting and mothering to the tasks that artificial light can discombobulate in wild animals.
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EnvironmentYear in review: BPA alternatives aren’t benign
Evidence is accumulating that at least one popular alternative to bisphenol A can enter the body and trigger developmental and physiological changes.
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AnimalsYear in review: New dates, place proposed for dogs’ beginnings
This year’s dog research suggested older origins and a new location of domestication for man's best friend.
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HumansYear in review: Native Americans are Kennewick kin
Ancient DNA identified 8,500-year-old Kennewick Man as a Native American relative.
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GeneticsYear in review: Fluke extinction surprises lab
A die-off of bacteria in a carefully controlled lab experiment offered an evolutionary lesson this year: Survival depends not only on fitness but also on luck.
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NeuroscienceYear in review: Gaps in brain nets might store memories
Holes in nets that surround nerve cells may store long-term memories, scientists proposed this year.
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MathYear in review: New algorithm quickly spots identical networks
In what may be a once-in-a-decade advance, a computer scientist claimed to have devised an algorithm that efficiently solves the notorious graph isomorphism problem.
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Health & MedicineYear in review: Ebola vaccines on the way
After more than a year of furiously developing and testing potential Ebola vaccines, two candidates have risen to the top and may soon be available for use.
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Paleontology12 amazing fossil finds of 2015
From an ancient sponge ancestor to the Carolina Butcher, scientists learned a lot about life on Earth this year.
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AstronomyAstronomical milestones of 2015
The New Horizons mission to Pluto was the No. 1 science story of the year. Here some other notable space missions.
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Science & SocietyThese truisms proved false in 2015
Don’t always believe what you hear. These truisms turned out to be false in 2015.
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Science & SocietyScience puzzles no longer so puzzling
This year, researchers solved the riddle of mysterious radio bursts, the Erdös discrepancy problem and an elusive acid.
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GeneticsHuman gene editing research gets green light
Gene editing research can move forward, but not for reproductive purposes, international summit committee says.
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ClimateFireworks brighten the sky but dampen the view
Fireworks and other pyrotechnics severely reduce visibility during celebrations such as New Year’s Eve and Guy Fawkes Day, researchers report.
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Science & SocietyLinks between scrapie and MS less likely
Five decades later, scientists still puzzle over what causes multiple sclerosis.
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AnimalsPygmy slow loris hibernates in winter
The pygmy slow loris truly hibernates, making it the first primate found outside Madagascar to do so, a new study says.
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LifeDNA doubled in conifer ancestors
The genomes of conifers — pine, cypress and yew trees — doubled twice in the distant past.
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TechRoses rigged with electrical circuits
Bioelectric molecules can form wires and conduct electricity in cut roses, researchers find.
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Health & MedicineCow bites and spacecraft injuries enliven new medical diagnostic codes
The 10th edition of International Classification of Diseases went into effect in 2015, and it included some interesting additions.