Friday the geekteenth

Every year, Science magazine offers its list of the Top 10 science breakthroughs of the year.

Here is this year's list, as given by the BBC:

1. Illuminating the dark Universe. Satellite and telescope data cemented the idea that the Universe is composed mainly of dark energy and dark matter.

2. Cracking mental illness. Researchers identified genes that reliably increase one's risk of inherited disorders, such as schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder.

3. Climate change impacts. Scientists reported melting ice, droughts, decreased plant productivity, and altered plant and animal behaviour.

4. RNA advances. Scientists explored how small ribonucleic acids (RNAs) impact cell behaviour, from early development to gene expression.

5. Zooming in on single molecules. Collaborations between biologists and physicists captured the activities of individual molecules inside cells.

6. Starbursts and gamma rays. Scientists improved our understanding of the most energetic explosions in the universe: tremendous blasts of energy called gamma ray bursts.

7. Spontaneous sperm and egg cells. The observation that embryonic stem cells can develop into both sperm and eggs may help scientists learn how some kinds of infertility arise.

8. Left-handed materials. Several research teams confirmed that certain high-tech materials can bend light and other electromagnetic radiation in the "wrong" direction.

9. The self-reliant Y chromosome. The genetic sequence of the human male Y chromosome revealed it has duplicate genes. Thus, when mutations arise and a new gene is needed, a twin copy is on hand.

10. Possible cancer therapies In June, researchers announced that a drug which limits the blood supply to tumours, given with chemotherapy drugs in a large clinical trial, prolonged the lives of patients with advanced colon cancer.