NEW WORLD: Kepler-452b (artist’s conception, right) is the most Earth-like exoplanet yet found.NASA/AMES/JPL-CALTECH/T.PYLE
—NASA scientist Jon Jenkins, talking about Kepler-452b, the newly described extrasolar planet that has the highest probability of any so far discovered for harboring liquid water and perhaps life (July 24)
—Clarissa Dirks, microbiologist at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and cochair of the US National Academies Scientific Teaching Alliance, on the use of active learning in STEM teaching (July 15)
—Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, structural biologist who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, discussing the state of science in his native India (August 6)
—New York Times editorial about the importance of including female laboratory animals in basic research studies to ensure that findings apply to both sexes (July 18)
—University of Portsmouth paleobiologist David Martill, responding to questions that arose about the ...