end of year, neuroscience

This year’s most captivating illustrations tell stories from the micro scale—such as newborn neurons in the adult brain and bacteria in the infant gut—to the scale of entire ecosystems, including reintroduced predators and rising seas.

The scientific community said goodbye to Sydney Brenner, Paul Greengard, Patricia Bath, and a number of other leading researchers this year.

This year’s most beautiful illustrations covered topics including the molecular underpinnings of Parkinson’s disease and strategies for tracking marine organisms around the world’s oceans.

From cellular self-digestion to the effects of exercise on the brain, our features editor picks her favorite art custom-made for the magazine.

The Scientist’s choice of major improvements in imaging, optogenetics, single-cell analyses, and CRISPR