Our most popular stories of 2021

Plus: Big changes coming in 2022

To view this email as a web page, go here.

12/26/2021 Hello readers, We're making some changes at Science News to give you more newsletter options. This is the last Editors' Picks newsletter; we hope you enjoy this review of some of our biggest stories of the year. Look forward to new topic-specific e-mails, explanatory newsletters and other options in 2022. In the meantime, we'll continue to update you with all our latest science headlines every Thursday. As always, feel free to drop us a line at feedback@sciencenews.org. Thank you for reading Editors' Picks. Space station detectors found the source of weird ‘blue jet’ lightning The origins of an enigmatic type of lightning in the upper atmosphere has been traced to a 10-microsecond flash of bright blue light. Read More A newfound quasicrystal formed in the first atomic bomb test Material formed in the wake of the first atomic bomb test contains a strange material that is ordered but that is not a standard crystal. Read More An Indigenous people in the Philippines have the most Denisovan DNA Genetic comparisons crown the Indigenous Ayta Magbukon people as having the most DNA, 5 percent, from the mysterious ancient hominids. Read More ‘The Dawn of Everything’ rewrites 40,000 years of human history A new book recasts human social evolution as multiple experiments with freedom and domination that started in the Stone Age. Read More Here’s the chemistry behind marijuana’s skunky scent Newly identified sulfur compounds in cannabis flowers give the plant its telltale odor. One, prenylthiol, is what also gives “skunked beer” its funky flavor. Read More Science News is a nonprofit. We depend on our readers to support our journalism. You can help by subscribing for as little as $25. SUBSCRIBE NOW Astronomers may have seen a star gulp down a black hole and explode It took sleuthing through data collected by a variety of observatories to piece together the first firm evidence of a theorized cosmic phenomenon. Read More Frog skin cells turned themselves into living machines The “xenobots” can swim, navigate tubes, move particles into piles and even heal themselves after injury, a new study reports. Read More Here’s what we know about the risks of serious side effects from COVID-19 vaccines Allergic reactions, blood clots and possibly heart problems are rare and their risks don’t outweigh the benefits of getting vaccinated, experts say. Read More The most ancient supermassive black hole is bafflingly big The farthest known quasar challenges ideas about how the first supermassive black holes in the universe formed. Read More Missing Antarctic microbes raise thorny questions about the search for aliens Seemingly lifeless soils highlight the difficulty of discovering nothing. Read More Privacy policy  |  Update Profile  | Manage Subscriptions  |   Unsubscribe This email was sent by: Society for Science 1719 N Street NW Washington, DC, 20036, US