Science & Society
These are Science News’ favorite books of 2024
Books about killer asteroids, human consciousness, nuclear weapons and the collapse of the Late Bronze Age were among our top reads this year.
Current Issue
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
Climate change made 2024 the hottest year on record. The heat was deadly
Heat waves fueled by climate change killed scores of people and upended daily life. Here are some of those stories.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Animals
A single enzyme can alter the vibrant colors in parrot plumage
Tweaking the chemical composition of a parrot-specific pigment can shift feathers from red to yellow or green.
Notebook
Math
Two teenagers have once again proved an ancient math rule
Ne’Kiya Jackson and Calcea Johnson have published 10 trigonometric proofs of the Pythagorean theorem, a feat thought impossible for 2,000 years.
Features
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Generative AI is an energy hog. Is the tech worth the environmental cost?
Generative AI and the hype around it has rung in excitement and alarm bells this year. Here’s how to consider climate, energy and AI's intersection.
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The benefits of Ozempic and its kin may extend far beyond weight loss
Studies suggest that semaglutide reduces heart attack and stroke and may curb addiction and more. Scientists reflect on the future of GLP-1 drugs beyond weight loss.
More Stories from the December 14, 2024 issue
- Life
Here are 8 remarkable scientific firsts of 2024
Making panda stem cells, mapping a fruit fly’s brain and witnessing a black hole wake up were among the biggest achievements of the year.
- Health & Medicine
These are the viruses that defined 2024
Here’s the latest on mpox, bird flu, dengue and other viral outbreaks that flared up this year.
- Space
Space missions spanned the solar system in 2024
Humankind accomplished new feats in space this year, including scooping up some of the moon’s farside and launching a probe to Jupiter’s moon Europa.
- Space
These discoveries in 2024 could be groundbreaking — if they’re true
Did microbes ever live on Mars? Did an "elevator" help build Egypt’s first pyramid? Some signs pointed to yes this year, but confirmation is still needed.
- Cosmology
Einstein’s gravity endures despite a dark energy puzzle
The DESI project previously reported that dark energy — long thought to be constant — changes over time. A new analysis reaffirms that claim.
- Anthropology
Fossil teeth hint at a surprisingly early start to humans’ long childhoods
Signs of temporarily delayed tooth development in the skull of an ancient Homo species youth spark debate about the origins of humanlike growth.
- Climate
Satellite space junk might wreak havoc on the stratosphere
Hundreds of defunct satellites plunge toward Earth every year. Scientists are studying how the chemical stew left in their wake impacts the atmosphere.
- Life
Nature’s first fiber optics could light the way to internet innovation
Mineral crystals in heart cockles’ shells protect symbiotic algae from ultraviolet rays and could lead to innovations in internet infrastructure.
- Climate
Meet Chonkus, the mutant cyanobacteria that could help sink climate change
The mutant of the lab-studied Synechococcus elongatus has traits good for ocean carbon storage.
- Animals
Bees flying near cars are dying by the millions, a roadkill study suggests
Scientists in Utah put sticky traps on car bumpers to tally how many bees get hit on a typical trip. The broader toll is immense, they estimate.
- Planetary Science
Uranus may have looked weird when NASA’s Voyager 2 flew by
A solar wind event days before the NASA probe flyby in 1986 may have compressed the planet’s magnetosphere, making it look odder than it usually is.
- Humans
A phone app could help people have lucid dreams
New experiments show that an app developed by researchers can boost snoozing users’ likelihood of knowing when they are having a dream.
- Oceans
The world’s largest coral was discovered in the South Pacific
The behemoth coral, discovered in October in the Solomon Islands, is longer than a blue whale and older than the United States.
- Neuroscience
Some people don’t have a mind’s eye. Scientists want to know why
The senses of sight and sound are usually mingled in the brain, but not for people with aphantasia.
- Particle Physics
Accelerated muons bring next-gen particle colliders closer to reality
Muon colliders could slam the subatomic particles together in hopes of unlocking physics secrets. Giving muons a speed boost is a crucial step.
