Year in Review
- Physics
These 2017 discoveries could be big news, if they turn out to be true
Some findings reported in 2017 are potentially big news, if they hold up to additional scientific scrutiny.
- Science & Society
How science and society crossed paths in 2017
In 2017, Science News covered the science events that everyone was talking about.
- Astronomy
This year’s neutron star collision unlocks cosmic mysteries
A rare and long-awaited astronomical event united thousands of astronomers in a frenzy of observations.
- Genetics
CRISPR gene editing moved into new territory in 2017
Scientists edited viable human embryos with CRISPR/Cas9 this year.
- Climate
The Larsen C ice shelf break has sparked groundbreaking research
The hubbub over the iceberg that broke off Larsen C may have died down, but scientists are just getting warmed up to study the aftermath.
- Humans
The story of humans’ origins got a revision in 2017
Human evolution may have involved the gradual assembly of scattered skeletal traits, fossils of Homo naledi and other species show.
- Astronomy
Seven Earth-sized planets entered the spotlight this year
The discovery of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a single cool star fuels a debate over what counts as good news in the search for life outside the solar system.
- Quantum Physics
A quantum communications satellite proved its potential in 2017
Quantum communication through space is now possible, putting the quantum internet within closer reach.
- Health & Medicine
Worries grow that climate change will quietly steal nutrients from major food crops
Studies show that rice, wheat and other staples could lose proteins and minerals, putting more people at risk of hunger worldwide.
- Health & Medicine
Approval of gene therapies for two blood cancers led to an ‘explosion of interest’ in 2017
The first gene therapies approved in the United States are treating patients with certain types of leukemia and lymphoma.
- Neuroscience
Brains of former football players showed how common traumatic brain injuries might be
Examinations of NFL players’ postmortem brains turned up chronic traumatic encephalopathy in 99 percent of samples in large dataset.
- Health & Medicine
Zika cases are down, but researchers prepare for the virus’s return
The number of Zika cases in the Western Hemisphere have dropped this year, but the need for basic scientific and public health research of the virus remains strong.
