These are the most-read Science News stories of 2017
BETTER BLUES SN's article about the wings of this morpho dragonfly creating natural blue colors in a really complicated way was our top online story in 2017.
GREG LASLEY/INATURALIST.ORG (CC BY-NC 4.0)
The Science News website attracted millions of visitors in 2017. The lists below name the most-read online stories outside of our Top 10 stories of the year, plus the most popular stories for each of our blogs.
Top stories
1. The blue wings of this dragonfly may be surprisingly alive
Tiny tubes between veins in the shimmery blue wings of morpho dragonflies (shown above) may be respiratory networks that help create nanostructures responsible for the dazzling display (SN Online: 6/30/17).
2. Here are the paths of the next 15 solar eclipses
Did you miss the Great American Eclipse? Find another opportunity using this map of all 15 total solar eclipses from 2017 to 2040 (SN Online: 8/18/17).
3. Mystery void is discovered in the Great Pyramid of Giza
High-energy particles from space called cosmic rays helped scientists uncover a previously unknown cavity inside one of the world’s oldest and largest monuments (SN Online: 11/2/17).
4. Ancient DNA offers clues to the Canaanites’ fate
An analysis of five Canaanites’ genetic instruction manuals not only revealed the ancient group’s roots, but also identified descendants — modern Lebanese people (SN Online: 7/27/17).
5. New blood pressure guidelines put half of U.S. adults in unhealthy range
130/80 is the new 140/90. Under this new definition of hypertension, almost half of U.S. adults now have high blood pressure (SN Online: 11/13/17).
Watch it again
Simulations of Cassini’s death dive to Saturn (illustrated below) and of Earth’s swirling atmosphere, a ladybug’s awesome packing skills and more — Science News readers saw it all this year. Here are 2017’s most-viewed Science News videos on Facebook and YouTube.
1. Cassini’s timeline to destruction (SN Online: 9/11/17)
2. Light and gravitational waves reveal a neutron star crash (SN Online: 10/16/17)
3. How to pack wings like a ladybug (SN Online: 6/13/17)
4. Seven times Curiosity proved how awesome Mars used to be (SN Online: 8/4/17)
5. Watch the 2017 hurricane season unfold (SN Online: 11/20/17)
Top blog posts
Context | Tom Siegfried
Quantum mysteries dissolve if possibilities are realities
Incorporating “potential” elements of reality in a complete picture of nature might resolve quantum mysteries (SN Online: 10/1/17).
Science Ticker | Science News Staff
Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf is within days of completely cracking
The crack in Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf (our No. 3 story for 2017) grew 17 kilometers at the end of May (SN Online: 6/1/17).
Growth Curve | Laura Sanders
Drugs for reflux disease in infants may come with unintended consequences
Infants prescribed proton-pump inhibitors may be at higher risk for broken bones later on (SN Online: 5/24/17).
Wild Things | Sarah Zielinski
How a dolphin eats an octopus without dying
Dolphins in Australia prep some meals by tossing live octopuses until the creatures are safe to eat (SN Online: 4/25/17).
Scicurious | Bethany Brookshire
On social media, privacy is no longer a personal choice
Internet users may need to rethink how they control their personal information, data from a defunct social platform suggest (SN Online: 8/24/17).
Science & the Public | Science News Staff
March for Science will take scientists’ activism to a new level
Historians called it an “unprecedented” event (SN Online: 4/19/17): More than 1 million people marched in support of science on April 22.
