Feature
- Life
Year 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.
- Quantum Physics
Year in review: Quantum spookiness is real
A new version of an experiment proposed in 1964 confirmed a counterintuitive tenet of quantum mechanics.
- Genetics
Year 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.
- Physics
Year 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.
- Neuroscience
Year 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.
- Planetary Science
Year in review: Best evidence yet for water on Mars
New data from the Mars Reconaissance Orbiter supported the presence of salty water on Mars.
- Earth
Year in review: Pacific Plate slides over slick layer
Some explosive science offered a glimpse into how tectonic plates slide around Earth’s surface.
- Genetics
Year in review: Cancer genetics grows up
Researchers looking for mutations linked to cancer have found that not all genetic alterations should be targeted equally.
- Animals
Year 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.
- Particle Physics
Year in review: Collider creates pentaquarks
Two particles discovered in 2015 are each composed of five quarks.
- Neuroscience
Year 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.
- Environment
Year 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.
