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2025 news review

From the US war on science to a brand-new colour, read 51¶¯Âþ’s selection of the biggest science and technology news stories and most stunning images of 2025
A worker spraying chlorine in Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 2024

Health

Mpox became a global health emergency for the second time in 2024

Surging mpox cases in East, West and Central Africa prompted the World Health Organization to once again make the infection a global health emergency

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A fluffy longhorn beetle

Life

A festival of stunning animal pictures from 2024

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Noland Arbaugh by John Francis Peters, 2024

Technology

Elon Musk's brain-implant firm Neuralink did its first tests in 2024

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https://x.com/alfrekjv/status/1789814301613588543 Sinaloa, Mexico, 2024

Space

Dazzling auroras lit up the skies in 2024 and we may see more in 2025

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MILTON, ON - APRIL 13: Professor Tim Patterson of Carleton University transports a frozen core sample at Crawford Lake on April 13, 2023 in Milton, Ontario. Patterson is a member of the Anthropocene Working Group and has been conducting research based on frozen core samples from the lake. He is among a group of scientists who think we have entered a new geological epoch. (Photo by Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Earth

The Anthropocene was officially spurned in 2024, but the idea lives on

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A man makes his way at a hill as African dust from the desert of Sahara covers the city of Athens, Greece, April 23, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC2FC7ATEP85

Environment

Climate chaos accelerated in 2024 as we hit 1.5°C for the first time

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Health

2024 saw the first living people to receive pig kidney transplants

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https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1834183614898241617

Space

Space was for sale in 2024 as private missions led by Elon Musk boomed

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Woodstock, CT - July 9: A young cow at Fairvue Farms. (Photo by Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Health

Bird flu suddenly got serious in 2024, infecting dozens of people

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Mountains under mist in the morning Amazing nature scenery form Kerala God's own Country Tourism and travel concept image, Fresh and relax type nature image; Shutterstock ID 1725825019; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Physics

Time travel sci-fi novel is a rip-roaringly good thought experiment

An ordinary-looking valley has a secret – each of its neighbours is 20 years removed in time. Scott Alexander Howard's debut is heartfelt and deeply enjoyable, says Emily H. Wilson

Culture

Health

Discover RNA's irresistible ascent from humble molecule to CRISPR star

Culture

Life

The inside story of heroic efforts to save three bird species

Culture

Mind

Nine profiles of neurodiverse people reveal rich and creative worlds

Culture

Technology

A skilful primer makes sense of the mathematics beneath AI's hood

Culture

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