2020 in Pictures

This year yielded stunning images of transparent human organs, apex predators, and the world’s response to the ongoing pandemic.

Written byAmanda Heidt

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end of the year, roundup, art, top images

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In January of this year, researchers used cells derived from a frog embryo to create “manufactured organisms” designed to carry out different tasks. Here, a xenobot shuffles across the bottom of a petri dish.

This photo, released in February, shows the characteristic “crown” of spikes on SARS-CoV-2 for which the coronavirus is named.

Scientists in Germany reported in February a new tissue-clearing technique that allows them to view intact human organs such as the kidney (above), brain, eye, and thyroid.

This white rat received a leg transplant from a brown rat, and thanks to a new method that mimics the mechanism by which tumors evade detection, the limb survived for more than 200 days, scientists reported in March.

In Shenzhen, China, BGI Genomics deployed the Huo-Yan Air Lab in April, an inflatable laboratory to analyze SARS-CoV-2 samples, equipped with a medical waste exhaust system, qPCR instruments, and genetic sequencers.

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end of the year, roundup, top images, immunology, cell & molecular biology, ecology & environment, genetics & genomics, art, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, coronavirus, pandemic

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
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Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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