:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/ad/2b/ad2baf3b-dc91-487d-a16d-b72f0b72083d/topsciencestories2022-v2.jpg)
The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2022
From Omicron’s spread to a revelation made using ancient DNA, these were the biggest moments of the past year
:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/9e/69/9e69df77-49cc-47ac-8d24-8650e0e50d80/science-booklist-v1.jpg)
The Ten Best Science Books of 2022
From a detective story on the origins of Covid-19 to a narrative that imagines a fateful day for dinosaurs, these works affected us the most this year
:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/cb/f3/cbf3a4e1-2cd4-490b-a436-8d62fccfe484/51412123217_231f2861b1_5k_web.jpg)
The James Webb Telescope Successfully Launches Into Space
A rocket carrying the $10 billion dollar invention blasted off Christmas morning and powered up as planned, providing astronomers with a long-awaited gift
:focal(700x527:701x528)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/55/e2/55e28cf4-cf81-4342-9f8d-7fa76518fb15/science-discoveries_2.jpg)
The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2021
Thrilling discoveries, hurdles in the fight against Covid and advancements in space exploration defined the past year
:focal(700x527:701x528)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/a0/09/a009d531-d145-4a67-b0fb-f5a8268401fe/inarticle-science-books2021-1400w.jpg)
The Ten Best Science Books of 2021
From captivating memoirs by researchers to illuminating narratives by veteran science journalists, these works affected us the most this year
:focal(234x360:235x361)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/27/b0/27b00e40-07d6-4a6d-a658-891ad73a8a70/1_whitetern_web_social.jpg)
Meet the White Tern, a Seabird Surprisingly Thriving in a Big City
The bird—also known as Manu-o-Kū—has excited ornithologists, its population growing within Honolulu, the busiest of Hawai'i's urban landscapes
:focal(800x601:801x602)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/3b/76/3b768707-e11b-4a48-9787-877346273474/gettyimages-1168068305_web.jpg)
How Covid-19 Has Hurt the Effort to Track STDs
As gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia have hit their highest marks in decades, many STD contact tracers have shifted to work on the pandemic
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/7f/87/7f87a0b9-7e9b-4535-b42f-565eeef400be/gettyimages-1230223578_web.jpg)
The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2020
From the rapid development of vaccines for Covid-19 to the stunning collection of an asteroid sample, these were the biggest science moments of the year
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/54/df/54df4d59-757e-42d6-9e42-ed730097fc59/science_smithsonianmagazine_bookslist_2020_copy.jpg)
The Ten Best Science Books of 2020
New titles explore the mysterious lives of eels, the science of fear and our connections to the stars
