“Though we considered metrics like page views and readers’ time spent reading each article, we mostly picked our top ten the old-fashioned way. As the site’s two science editors, we both met several times over the latter part of the year and discussed at length what to include. We were looking not only at events or discoveries that represented the biggest scientific milestones, but also at those moments or finds that inspired the most awe. And we wanted stories that represented a diversity of fields—astronomy, climatology, geology, meteorology, biology and archaeology all made it into our final list.
In the end, we picked ten stories that covered the scope of topics we published on throughout the year, often catered to subjects our readers like to spend time with. Leaving some significant events and amazing discoveries out is always difficult, but we think we ended up with a diverse collection of memorable stories that highlight what an important year 2024 was for science.”
What made their list: the total solar eclipse, mapping the adult fruit fly brain, the hottest year in human history, removing the US Klamath River dams, two hurricanes destroyed parts of the US Southeast, the Europa Clipper spacecraft launch, and more.
The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2024
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-ten-most-significant-science-stories-of-2024-180985698/