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Brighter prospects • As 2020 draws to an end, vaccines give us a shot at returning to normality

New Scientist

Vaccination begins in the US • The mammoth logistical task of mass vaccination against covid-19 is under way in the US and Canada, reports Michael Le Page

How the US can beat the virus • What can incoming US president Joe Biden do to stop the surge of coronavirus cases across the country? Cassandra Willyard reports

Will vaccine immunity last? • The latest results offer cautious optimism that vaccines will give us the kind of immunity we need to end the pandemic, reports Graham Lawton

Corralling wild horses in the US • Should birth control replace round-ups to control wild horse populations?

Ancient humans may have hibernated during glacial winters

The magnetic fields at the start of the universe

The original dollar • Ancient shell beads may have been the first money used in the Americas

Tasmanian devils with cancer may shun others

Human-made stuff outweighing nature

Dog bots find their feet with AI’s help

Really brief

Bees gather dung to fend off killer hornet

Vast gas balloons may have been created by black hole

New clues in hunt for pterosaurs’ ancestor

Goodbye to 2020 • As one of the most extraordinary years of modern times draws to a close, New Scientist looks back at the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the possibility of life on Venus and more

How we got to know a new enemy • In an extraordinary year for science, research into covid-19 has shed a bright light on the unknown, reports Graham Lawton

A year that shook the world • Clare Wilson recaps how a handful of infections in China led to a global pandemic

Vaccines made in record time

The world ground to halt

The countries that tamed covid-19 • A handful of nations have achieved something thought almost impossible, reports Michael Le Page

SpaceX makes history with crewed flight

A sign of progress for nuclear fusion • Efforts to develop a clean source of power advanced despite the coronavirus pandemic

Life on Venus? We’re still looking • Clara Sousa-Silva spent much of the year sitting on a huge secret. She spoke to Leah Crane about how it felt

A time for universal basic income? • Once a fringe prospect, the idea of paying everyone regular sums is growing in popularity

When Earth acquired a new moon • An object about the size of a car was briefly spotted in orbit around our planet

A whirlwind of extreme weather • While our attention was elsewhere, the global climate crisis continued, says Adam Vaughan

Computers party like it’s 1920 • The Y2K bug made an unexpected comeback after a lazy fix backfired 20 years later

Tech titan tussles • Global technology firms dominate our lives, but 2020 saw governments try to claw back power, says Donna Lu

See it from the beetle’s point of view

Tree-planting ambitions yet to take root • Talk of reforestation to combat climate change hasn’t been matched by action

An extraordinary year • As 2020 draws to a close, New Scientist’s columnists reflect on what’s important for them, from race justice to plant power, family to hope for the future

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