Special Issue | 19 December 2014 Breakthrough of the year 2014

This week's cover

Breakthrough of the Year

Landing on a comet



Rosetta's short-lived lander, Philae, grabbed national headlines but the ongoing orbital mission of her mother ship is the real news for science. Its continuous orbit around comet 67P is helping scientists to garner information on the primordial ingredients that helped to jump-start life on Earth. Rosetta's life at comet 67P has just begun and heralds a new age of comet science. Full Article >>

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Runners up

  • The birth of birds
  • Young blood fixes old
  • Robots that cooperate
  • Chips that mimic the brain
  • Europe's cave art has a rival
  • Cells that might cure diabetes
  • Manipulating memories
  • Rise of the CubeSat
  • Giving life a bigger genetic alphabet
Full Article >>

Science Podcast: Picking the breakthrough and letting the readers have their say.

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Scorecard 2014

See how last years predictions panned out.

Areas to watch 2015

Science predicts next year's movers and shakers.

Editorial

Marcia McNutt, Science's Editor-in-Chief, reflects on this year in science.

Reader's choice

You voted... we counted! This year's popular vote went to Giving life a bigger genetic alphabet. See how all the results stacked up.

 

Breakdown of the year: Ebola


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Slow international response and missed opportunities to contain the outbreak make this year's Ebola epidemic Science's breakdown of the year. Also, Breakthrough staff chose a few of this year's notable flaps, stumbles, and reverses as runners-up.

Complete Ebola coverage >>
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