It was a year when everything seemed to fall apart. Fuel, food, finance – it all went wrong, and the consequences will dog the world next year and beyond.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom, however. Many were elated when Barack Obama was elected to become US president – particularly those who care about climate change and the profile of science. The world was also captivated by the switch-on of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Cynics might point out that it quickly broke down, but few can disagree that it made particle physics just about the sexiest thing on the planet, albeit for a short while. Meanwhile, lovers would have been pleased to hear that the semi-mythical G spot was found, and our updated review brings even better news for some women.
Some discoveries might not have changed how we see the world, but they captured the imagination – for instance, what mathematicians say about whether to wait for a bus or start walking. You can find the answer to that, along with more ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ staff favourites, here.
Advertisement
The year NASA’s star began to wane…
…while Asia’s space race took off
Reality returns to the White House
China quakes, but the dams don’t break
Large Hadron Collider makes physics sexy
Gay people may be born that way
Hunger bites as food crisis deepens
Human genes become commodities
How ‘rocket science’ failed the banks
The best and worst of the year
