Week in Science: Looking back on 2025's science discoveries, imagery and more

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December 26—Happy day-after-Christmas! Our editors are rounding up some of the best stories of the year, check out them below, including the most mind-bending brain findings, top math discoveries, and the best images from space. All that and more! —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor Tell us what you think about this newsletter! Email newsletters@sciam.com anytime.

Top Stories

The 10 Biggest Math Breakthroughs of 2025 Hidden Fibonacci numbers, a new shape and the search for a grand unified theory of mathematics are among our choices for most exciting findings of the year Clara Moskowitz

The 10 Most Mind-Blowing Discoveries About the Brain in 2025 From glowing neurons to newborn memories, here are the most fascinating brain discoveries of 2025 Allison Parshall

12 of the Best Interviews Scientific American Did in 2025—on AI, Headaches, and More From an interview with author Mary Roach to a chat with cardiologist Eric Topol, here are 12 of the most eye-opening conversations we had this year Brianne Kane

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10 Discoveries That Transformed How We Thought about Health in 2025 From advancements in male birth control to the science of supplements, Scientific American highlights some of the most fascinating health and medicine stories of 2025 Lauren J. Young

Watch Scientific American's Favorite Science Videos of 2025 On TikTok and other short-form video platforms, Scientific American explored the underground labs of Greenland, brand-new colors and the perfect way to make eggs Carin Leong

Behold the 10 Most Stunning Space Images of 2025 From an interstellar comet to breathtaking auroras and from brand-new rockets to iconic space telescopes, here are some of our favorite images from the cosmos in 2025 Meghan Bartels

6 Otherworldly Deep-Sea Images from 2025 From the first sighting of a colossal squid in the wild to a seriously goofy octopus, 2025 delivered some astounding photos from the ocean's depths Andrea Thompson

From Agency Chaos to Dark Energy Shocks: How Politics, Health, Climate Policy and Space Science Defined 2025 A look back at 2025's biggest science stories—from federal upheaval and public health setbacks to climate policy reversals and groundbreaking discoveries in space. Dan Vergano, Tanya Lewis, Andrea Thompson, Lee Billings, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura, Kendra Pierre-Louis, Jeffery DelViscio

These Orcas Are on the Brink—And So Is the Science That Could Save Them Inside the desperate rush to save the southern resident killer whales Kelso Harper

Meet Your Future Robot Servants, Caregivers and Explorers Robots are poised to play a much bigger role in daily life at home, at work and in the world Ben Guarino

A Distorted Mind-Body Connection May Explain Common Mental Illnesses Disruptions in interoception may underlie anxiety, eating disorders, and other mental health ailments Diana Kwon

Rising Temperatures Could Trigger a Reptile Sexpocalypse The sex of many turtles, crocodilians, and other reptiles is determined by the temperature at which their eggs incubate. Global warming could doom them Elizabeth Preston

Heart and Kidney Diseases and Type 2 Diabetes May Be One Ailment These three disorders could really be "CKM syndrome," which can be treated with drugs like Ozempic Jyoti Madhusoodanan

Mysterious Bright Flashes in the Night Sky Baffle Astronomers Celestial transients shine furiously and briefly. Astronomers are just beginning to understand them Ann Finkbeiner

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