Feature

  1. Microbes

    Year in review: Science faces Ebola epidemic

    West Africa’s 2014 Ebola epidemic showed what can happen when a contagious virus emerges where cultural practices, public fears and porous borders fuel the spread of disease.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Astronomy

    Year in review: Dust obscures possible gravitational wave discovery

    A possible signal from moments after the Big Bang may be due to dust in the Milky Way galaxy.

    By Christopher Crockett
  3. Humans

    Year in review: Old humans reveal secrets

    DNA of the oldest modern humans is rewriting the prehistories of Europe, Siberia and the Americas.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  4. Planetary Science

    Year in review: Rosetta mission hits its target

    The Rosetta spacecraft and its lander Philae are providing an intimate look at the life of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.