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science

Environment

The best photos of the natural world in 2023

A fiery volcanic eruption, a flower preserved in amber and a ‘superbloom’ of wildflowers feature in 51’s selection of stunning nature images from the past year

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This carbon nitride is nearly as hard as diamond

Chemistry

Material made of carbon and nitrogen is nearly as hard as diamond

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Space

The biggest science news stories of 2023 as chosen by 51

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2RFE6YH LK-99 room-temperature revolutionary superconductor. High quality photo

Physics

LK-99 superconductor mania swept the internet for a few weeks in 2023

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2NK6HH7 CHINESE SPY BALLOON seen from a US Air Force U-2 above America. Photo: USAF

Technology

The spy balloon saga of 2023 inflated US-China political tensions

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NEW DELHI, INDIA - AUGUST 23: People celebrates after successful landing of Chandrayaan 3 on Moon at Nehru Planetarium on August 23, 2023 in New Delhi, India. The Chandrayaan-3 lander module has successfully touched down on the Moon's south pole, making India the first nation in the world to achieve this feat. India is also the fourth nation, after the United States, China and Russia to have landed on the Moon. (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Space

India made history with 2023's low-budget Chandrayaan-3 moon landing

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2RF6WE0 FOTOMONTAGE, Miniatur-Roboter auf einer Computerplatine mit dem Schriftzug ChatGPT

Technology

2023 was the year that artificial intelligence went mainstream

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David Smith, Joseph Myers, Chaim Goodman-Strauss and Craig S. Kaplan prove that a polykite that we call

Mathematics

Mathematicians discovered the ultimate bathroom tile in 2023

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A nurse prepares a shot for Jonathan Halter as the German embassy begins its roll out of BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for German expatriates at a Beijing United Family hospital in Beijing, China January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Health

Covid-19 'emergency' ended in 2023 but the virus still lingers

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EVROS, GREECE - AUGUST 31: A firefighters runs as wildfire intensifies in the village of Sidiro and Yannuli in Evros, Greece on August 31, 2023. Efforts to extinguish wildfire continues. (Photo by Ayhan Mehmet/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Environment

Why 2023 was almost certainly the hottest year ever recorded

Greenhouse gas levels and the arrival of the El Niño weather pattern pushed the world’s climate into “uncharted territory” in 2023

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Space

Six of the most amazing space pictures from 2023

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Chemistry

Can science explain why some drinks and foods are a perfect match?

Regulars

Society

Alastair Reynolds: An exclusive short story for 51

Culture

Health

Cancer in young people is rising and 2023 saw a plan to figure out why

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