Feature
- Anthropology
Year in review: Asian cave art got an early start
Stone Age cave painting began at about the same time in Southeast Asia as in Europe, challenging the idea that Western Europeans cornered the market on creativity 40,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Genetics
Year in review: Genes linked to tameness
A look at the genes of domesticated animals offers possible insights into why taming has altered animals’ appearances.
- Animals
Year in review: Insect, bird evolution revisited
Insects got an entirely new family tree after an extensive genetic analysis rearranged the creatures' relations.
By Susan Milius - Genetics
Year in review: Easy stem cells a no go
An incredibly easy method for making stem cells turned out to be impossible, again tainting the stem cell research field with controversy.
- Neuroscience
Year in review: The nose knows a trillion odors
Humans can suss out more than 1 trillion different smells, a 2014 study estimated.
By Bruce Bower - Archaeology
Year in review: Roster of dinosaurs expands
With the discovery of several new species and a few dogma-shaking revelations, dinosaurs got a total rethink in 2014.
By Meghan Rosen - Particle Physics
Year in review: Neutrinos leave tracks in ice
The IceCube experiment has started to pinpoint the birthplaces of some high-energy neutrinos.
By Andrew Grant - Planetary Science
Year in review: Ocean may power Enceladus’ geysers
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft builds a stronger case for a subsurface ocean on Enceladus that drives ice geysers on the moon’s south pole.
- Animals
Year in review: The post-pigeon century
Birds' troubles received an eerie emphasis in the news when biologists marked the 100th anniversary of the death of the last known passenger pigeon.
By Susan Milius - Planetary Science
Year in review: Business booming on Mars
Mars now has seven robots studying it and together they have given scientists their best view of any planet in the solar system other than Earth.
- Humans
Year in review: Genes, bones tell new Clovis stories
The genes and bones of the Clovis people reveal the range and legacy of the early North Americans.
By Bruce Bower - Climate
Year in review: Climate warnings heat up
Climate change is here and the world is unprepared, scientists and policy makers declared multiple times in 2014.
By Beth Mole