Year in Review

  1. Health & Medicine

    E-cigarettes caught fire among teens

    High schoolers’ use of e-cigarettes shot up from 2017 to 2018, and public health officials are concerned that a new generation is at risk for nicotine addiction.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  2. Climate

    Half a degree stole the climate spotlight in 2018

    Climate attribution studies and new data on global warming targets put climate change in the spotlight this year.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  3. Genetics

    News of the first gene-edited babies ignited a firestorm

    A researcher in China announced he created two babies using CRISPR. Many scientists questioned the study’s ethics and medical necessity.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  4. Genetics

    Crime solvers embraced genetic genealogy

    DNA searches of a public genealogy database are closing cases and opening privacy concerns.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  5. Particle Physics

    Neutrino discovery launched a new type of astronomy

    Particles associated with a blazar kick-start the field of neutrino astronomy.

    By Emily Conover
  6. Earth

    Greenland crater renewed the debate over an ancient climate mystery

    Scientists disagree on what a possible crater found under Greenland’s ice means for the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  7. Animals

    Humans wiped out mosquitoes (in one small lab test)

    An early lab test of exterminating a much-hated mosquito raises hopes, but is it really such a great idea?

    By Susan Milius
  8. Health & Medicine

    Drinking studies muddied the waters around the safety of alcohol use

    Studies claiming that alcohol in even small amounts is dangerous weren’t designed to address risks of moderate drinking.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  9. Planetary Science

    A buried lake on Mars excited and baffled scientists

    Planetary scientists are still trying to explain how a lake could have formed beneath a kilometer and a half of Martian ice.

    By Lisa Grossman
  10. Neuroscience

    Zapping the spinal cord helped paralyzed people learn to move again

    A handful of people paralyzed from spinal cord injuries have learned to walk again.

    By Laurel Hamers
  11. Anthropology

    Human smarts got a surprisingly early start

    Human ingenuity began on treks across Asia and in fluctuating African habitats.

    By Bruce Bower
  12. Science & Society

    Watch our most-viewed videos of 2017

    Cassini’s demise, cuttlefish and the Curiosity rover topped our list of most popular videos of 2017.

    By Helen Thompson