Probable life appearance in anterior view of Ardipithecus ramidus
Decade of discovery
The human genome is mapped, water is found on Mars and the first planets are photographed circling another star. In the Canadian Arctic, paleontologists find a "missing link," a fossil with leggy front fins that shows how fish first clambered on to land.
In Ethiopia, they piece together Ardi to put a new face in the human family tree. Doctors perform the first face transplant and find that circumcision dramatically reduces the spread of HIV-AIDS. Stem-cell scientists reprogram adult skin cells into stem cells. Neuroscientists learn how thinking changes the brain and molecular biologists discover how genes can be switched on and off by environmental factors, such as attentive parenting.
Decade of disasters
Korean researcher Hwang Woo Suk is disgraced after faking data that he'd cloned human embryos. Dolly the sheep dies young and other cloned creatures show signs of premature aging. Hormone-replacement therapy increases the risk of breast cancer in a massive study, and Vioxx - a $2.5-billion-a-year-painkiller - goes bust after studies show it can cause heart problems.
The "Mozart Effect" is debunked: Listening to classical music does not enhance intelligence in babies, and neither does watching videos, as the Walt Disney Co. offers refunds on Baby Einstein DVDs.
Grief counselling takes a hit, as the technique used to help people traumatized by school shootings, hostage takings, terrorist attacks and natural disasters is found not to do much good. Vitamins also come under scrutiny, as researchers warn not to take too much vitamin A, E and C.
The space shuttle Columbia disintegrates as it returns to Earth, killing seven crew members and grounding the NASA fleet.
Pluto, a sentimental favourite, loses its status as a planet.