Science News – Top 10 Science Stories of 2017

 

YEAR IN REVIEW Colliding neutron stars, gene editing, human origins and more top stories of 2017 BY SCIENCE NEWS STAFF A gravitational wave discovery is the year’s biggest science story — again. Read More

YEAR IN REVIEW This year’s neutron star collision unlocks cosmic mysteries BY EMILY CONOVER A rare and long-awaited astronomical event united thousands of astronomers in a frenzy of observations. Read More

YEAR IN REVIEW CRISPR gene editing moved into new territory in 2017 BY TINA HESMAN SAEY Scientists edited viable human embryos with CRISPR/Cas9 this year. Read More

YEAR IN REVIEW The Larsen C ice shelf break has sparked groundbreaking research BY CAROLYN GRAMLING 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. Read More

YEAR IN REVIEW The story of humans’ origins got a revision in 2017 BY BRUCE BOWER Human evolution may have involved the gradual assembly of scattered skeletal traits, fossils of Homo naledi and other species show. Read More

YEAR IN REVIEW Seven Earth-sized planets entered the spotlight this year BY LISA GROSSMAN 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. Read More

YEAR IN REVIEW A quantum communications satellite proved its potential in 2017 BY EMILY CONOVER Quantum communication through space is now possible, putting the quantum internet within closer reach. Read More

YEAR IN REVIEW Worries grow that climate change will quietly steal nutrients from major food crops BY SUSAN MILIUS Studies show that rice, wheat and other staples could lose proteins and minerals, putting more people at risk of hunger worldwide. Read More

YEAR IN REVIEW Approval of gene therapies for two blood cancers led to an ’explosion of interest’ in 2017 BY LAUREL HAMERS The first gene therapies approved in the United States are treating patients with certain types of leukemia and lymphoma. Read More

YEAR IN REVIEW Brains of former football players showed how common traumatic brain injuries might be BY LAURA SANDERS Examinations of NFL players’ postmortem brains turned up chronic traumatic encephalopathy in 99 percent of samples in large dataset. Read More

YEAR IN REVIEW Zika cases are down, but researchers prepare for the virus’s return BY AIMEE CUNNINGHAM 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. Read More

More Headlines from Science News NEWS U.S. religion is increasingly polarized Organized religion in the United States increasingly belongs to fervent believers, a new study finds. Read More BY BRUCE BOWER NEWS These weather events turned extreme thanks to human-driven climate change Ruling out natural variability, scientists say several of 2016’s extreme weather events wouldn’t have happened without human-caused climate change. Read More BY CAROLYN GRAMLING NEWS Ticks had a taste for dinosaur blood A tick found trapped in amber is evidence the bloodsuckers preyed on feathered dinosaurs, a new study says. Read More BY LAUREL HAMERS NEWS AI has found an 8-planet system like ours in Kepler data An AI spotted an eighth planet circling a distant star, unseating the solar system as the sole record-holder for most known planets. Read More BY MARIA TEMMING NEWS Electric eels provide a zap of inspiration for a new kind of power source Battery-like devices inspired by electric eels could someday power wearable and implantable tech or soft robots. Read More BY MARIA TEMMING

Advertisements