Feature

Math

Year in Review: Progress made toward twin prime proof

A surprising advance sparks a flurry of work on the mathematical conjecture.

Anthropology

Year in Review: Slain king’s bones dug up

The king’s skeleton reveals fatal wounds.

Cosmology

Year in Review: Dark energy gets more confusing

New data raise the prospect of a ‘Big Rip’ destroying the cosmos.

Animals

Year in Review: Canine genealogy

Competing clues confuse the story of dog domestication.

Planetary Science

Year in Review: Methane shortage on Mars

A trace of the gas is not enough to be a sign of life.

Neuroscience

Year in Review: Obama unveils brain initiative

In April, the president announced an ambitious plan to reveal the human brain’s secrets.

Psychology

Year in Review: DSM-5’s controversial debut

The diagnostic manual updates disorder criteria.

Physics

Year in Review: Below absolute zero, but hot

Lab trickery pushes atoms to a negative temperature.

Astronomy

Year in Review: Death of a planet hunter

The Kepler space telescope finishes a brilliant career.

Astronomy

Year in Review: Voyager 1 reaches interstellar space

The planetary probe is the first human-made object to break out of the heliosphere.

Health & Medicine

Year in Review: Putting kids at risk

U.S. parents increasingly are delaying their children’s vaccination.

Climate

Year in Review: Carbon dioxide levels pass milestone

Although scientists are confident about humankind’s role in climate change, they still have a lot to learn about the magnitude and timing of future climate shifts.