Science & Society
These are Science News’ favorite books of 2021
Our favorite books covered the Big Bang theory, human evolution, gene editing, how to define life, pseudoscience and more.
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
In 2021, COVID-19 vaccines were put to the test. Here’s what we learned
Vaccines can’t single-handedly end the pandemic, but they are still essential in the fight against the coronavirus.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Health & Medicine
For 50 years, CT scans have saved lives, revealed beauty and more
In 1971, the first CT scan of a patient laid bare the human brain. That was just the beginning of a whole new way to view human anatomy.
Notebook
Climate
How climate change may shape the world in the centuries to come
Climate projections need to be pushed long past the established benchmark of 2100, researchers argue.
Features
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Why the coronavirus’s delta variant dominated 2021
Mapping delta’s unique group of mutations and how they enhance the virus’s life cycle show why the variant spread so easily and caused so much havoc.
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Cicada science heats up when Brood X emerges. 2021 was no exception
Mating mobs of big, hapless, 17-year-old cicadas made for a memorable spring in the Eastern United States
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How electric vehicles offered hope as climate challenges grew
Amid daunting climate change challenges, electric vehicles swerved into the spotlight this year.
More Stories from the December 18, 2021 issue
- Climate
A new map shows where carbon needs to stay in nature to avoid climate disaster
Scientists have mapped the location of key natural carbon stores. Keeping these areas intact is crucial to fighting climate change.
- Astronomy
Astronomers have found the Milky Way’s first known ‘feather’
Named for the glacier that feeds India’s longest river, the Gangotri wave spans up to 13,000 light-years and bridges two of our galaxy’s spiral arms.
- Chemistry
This eco-friendly glitter gets its color from plants, not plastic
Using cellulose extracted from wood pulp, researchers have created a greener alternative to traditional glitter.
- Space
An ancient exploding comet may explain why glass litters part of Chile
A 75-kilometer-long corridor of chunks of glass in the Atacama Desert probably formed when a comet exploded 12,000 years ago, a study finds.
- Science & Society
How missing data makes it harder to measure racial bias in policing
Police officers rarely record nonevents, such as drawing a gun without firing. Failing to account for that missing information can obscure racial bias.
- Astronomy
How massive stars in binary systems turn into carbon factories
A massive star with an orbiting partner star ejects on average twice as much carbon, an element crucial for life, into space compared with a solo star.
- Space
A space rock called Kamoʻoalewa may be a piece of the moon
New observations reveal the possible origins of a mysterious object called Kamoʻoalewa. It could be the wreckage from an ancient impact on the moon.
- Space
A stunning simulation re-creates how M87’s black hole launches plasma jets
Two jets, thousands of light-years long, are re-created in a computer simulation, which suggests that M87’s black hole must be spinning rapidly.
- Anthropology
Ancient giant orangutans evolved smaller bodies surprisingly slowly
Fossil teeth from Chinese caves indicate that a single, ancient orangutan species gradually trimmed down over nearly 2 million years.
- Earth
Earth’s lower atmosphere is rising due to climate change
In the Northern Hemisphere, the upper boundary of the troposphere, the slice of sky closest to the ground, rose 50 to 60 meters a decade from 1980 to 2020.
- Health & Medicine
Why it matters that health agencies finally said the coronavirus is airborne
Recognizing that the coronavirus spreads through the air reinforced the importance of wearing masks and altered public health recommendations.
- Science & Society
6 surprising records science set in 2021
Ancient mammoth DNA and a new source of gravitational waves set new records this year.
- Anthropology
2021 research reinforced that mating across groups drove human evolution
Fossils and DNA point to mixing and mingling among Homo groups across vast areas.
- Animals
Here are 7 incredible things we learned this year that animals can do
From wielding weapons to walking on the underside of water, these are the creature capabilities that most impressed us in 2021.
- Science & Society
How some of 2021’s major science stories evolved over time
Tulsa massacre analysis and a genetically modified mosquito release are two important updates to 2021 stories.
