Feature

  1. Science & Society

    Year 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.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  2. Planetary Science

    Year 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.

    By Alexandra Witze
  3. 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.

    By Susan Milius
  4. 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.

    By Andrew Grant
  5. 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.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  6. 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.

    By Andrew Grant
  7. 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.

    By Laura Sanders
  8. 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.

    By Alexandra Witze
  9. 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.

    By Thomas Sumner
  10. 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.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  11. 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.

    By Susan Milius
  12. Particle Physics

    Year in review: Collider creates pentaquarks

    Two particles discovered in 2015 are each composed of five quarks.

    By Andrew Grant