A discovery of a cosmologist’s lost letters and steps to help children born with AIDS are among the highlights of 2011. A subscription is required to view this content.

1. Lost in translation: Mystery of the missing text solved

A discovered letter explains the loss of key paragraphs during the translation of one of Georges Lemaître's papers about the expanding Universe, shows Mario Livio.

9 November 2011

2. Antarctica: Turning the world upside down

Research, not pole-bagging, was the lasting achievement of Antarctic exploration 100 years ago, says Edward J. Larson.

30 November 2011

3. ArXiv at 20

Paul Ginsparg, founder of the preprint server, reflects on two decades of sharing results rapidly online — and on the future of scholarly communication.

10 August 2011 

4. Africa AIMS high

Eight years ago, physicist Neil Turok set up the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in South Africa. The initiative is now set to expand across the continent.

29 June 2011

5. Children of the AIDS pandemic

Practical support and psychosocial interventions are desperately needed to help those dealing with the fallout of AIDS, says Lucie Cluver.

1 June 2011

6. Genomics for the world

Medical genomics has focused almost entirely on those of European descent. Other ethnic groups must be studied to ensure that more people benefit, say Carlos D. Bustamante, Esteban González Burchard and Francisco M. De La Vega.

13 July 2011

7. Don't judge species on their origins

Conservationists should assess organisms on environmental impact rather than on whether they are natives, argue Mark Davis and 18 other ecologists.

8 June 2011

8. A frozen hell

A year after the oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, Jeffrey Short and Susan Murray call for action to prevent an even more nightmarish scenario: a spill in the Arctic.

13 April 2011 

9. Changing perceptions: The power of autism

Recent data — and personal experience — suggest that autism can be an advantage in some spheres, including science, says Laurent Mottron.

2 November 2011

10. JASON past, present, and future: The world's most independent defence science advisers

Ann Finkbeiner explains JASON, the autonomous group of academics that has been reporting to the US government on military matters for more than 50 years.

21 September 2011

Credit: OCEAN/CORBIS