From a Death Star moon to gene editing, construction fuses and red mud — we round up some of the highlights of this year’s News & Views section.

In a fiendish quiz our contestants battle to remember the details of the science stories that made 2024 special.

Games, seasonal science songs, and Nature’s 10.

In episode 1 of What’s in a name we look at how species are named, and whether the current system needs to evolve in the face of societal pressure.

Treatment delivered directly to the placenta restores normal blood pressure in mice, a way to make custom cellular switches, and a milestone for quantum computing.

Zoologist Arik Kershenbaum joins us to talk about his book Why Animals Talk.

Data suggest that breast cancer could be more susceptible to chemotherapy in a phase when progesterone is low — plus, why the debate around whether AI is close to human-level intelligence is hotting up.

Researchers hope protein-design competitions will help highlight promising molecules, but there are hurdles to overcome.

Hundreds of pieces of fossilized faeces and vomit show how dinosaurs became Earth’s dominant land animals — plus, the search for a commensal fungus that’s made mouse guts its home.

The ingestible device shoots out tiny jets of drugs to deliver them to the GI tract of pigs and dogs — plus how light-powered catalysts could help break down ‘forever chemicals’.

Over the lifespan, skull bone marrow takes a more prominent role producing vital blood cells — plus how a radioactive lead isotope could help age the Solar System.

Samantha Harvey joins us to talk about her novel Orbital, shortlisted for this year's Booker Prize.

Mitochondria divide to share the load when nutrients are scarce — plus, how smashing atomic nuclei together helps identify their shapes.

In the wake of devastating floods in the South of Brazil, researchers are working out how best to help people — plus, what concerns do Nature’s readers have about the US election.

Political scientists have been exploring the merits of contrasting voting methods to see which is most representative or democratic.

Drone-mounted LiDAR scans reveal two remote cities buried high in the mountains of Central Asia — plus, how a digital watermark could help identify AI-generated text.

How a chance encounter with film director Richard Curtis, director of the hit comedy romance and many others, led to Jakob Trollbäck designing the 17 SDG icons.

High-energy particles could be a long-sought source of cosmic rays — plus, a ‘smart’ insulin-molecule that’s sensitive to blood sugar levels.

SDG 17 offers an “enabling” blueprint for meeting ambitious targets, including measures to tackle poverty, hunger and climate change, says Kate Roll.

Machine learning and artificial neural networks allow graphene to become an accurate and general-use ‘taste taster’ — plus, how pacific-salmon migrations cycle nutrients and contaminants on a continental scale, and the 2024 science Nobel winners.