Feature
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Genetics
Year 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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Neuroscience
Year 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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Math
Year 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.
By Andrew Grant -
Health & Medicine
Year 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.
By Meghan Rosen -
Genetics
Gene drives spread their wings
Gene drives may wipe out malaria and take down invasive species. But they may be difficult to control.
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Genetics
Can DNA predict a face?
DNA-based facial sketches are moving into the crime-solving arena. With current science, predictions of some features are better than others.
By Meghan Rosen -
Animals
Getting creative to cut methane from cows
Changing feed, giving vaccines and selective breeding may enable scientists to help beef and dairy cattle shake their title as one of society's worst methane producers.
By Laura Beil -
Neuroscience
Viva vagus: Wandering nerve could lead to range of therapies
Researchers are testing ways to stimulate the vagus nerve to treat a slew of ailments.
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Neuroscience
Blood exerts a powerful influence on the brain
Instead of just responding to the energy needs of neurons, the blood can have a direct and powerful influence on the brain.
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Earth
New fascination with Earth’s ‘Boring Billion’
The Mesoproterozoic era, known as the boring billion, had very low oxygen, but it set the stage for the evolution of animals.
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Animals
Slow, cold reptiles may breathe like energetic birds
Finding birdlike air patterns in lungs of crocodilians and in more distantly related lizards raises the possibility that one-way airflow evolved far earlier than birds themselves did.
By Susan Milius -
Chemistry
Nanoparticles in foods raise safety questions
As scientists cook up ways to improve palatability and even make foods healthier, some are considering the potential health risks of tiny additives.
By Susan Gaidos