Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
This gallery showcases some of the year's most eye-catching science, from a close encounter with squid suckers that look like a carnivorous cartoon choir to mathematical forms given shape in purple yarn. It also recalls some of the biggest science news stories: the staggering devastation wrought by Hurricane Ike; a Nobel prize for putting a glowing protein to work; and the ongoing robotic exploration of Mars.