Go monkey Go monkey Go monkey

Here is a list of Science magazine's breakthroughs of 2005.



* Winner: Evolution in action. Genome sequencing and painstaking field observations shed light on the intricacies of how evolution works.
* Runner up: Planetary blitz. Europe's Huygens probe touched down on Saturn's moon Titan in January. It was joined by a fleet of other explorers, including Nasa's Deep Impact, which smashed a hole in a comet.
* In bloom. Molecular biologists pinned down several of the molecular cues responsible for spring's vibrant burst of colour.
* Neutron stars. Satellites and ground telescopes shed light on the violent behaviour of neutron stars; city-sized corpses of stars that pack matter into an extreme state.
* Miswiring the brain. Researchers gained clues about the mechanisms of disorders such as schizophrenia, dyslexia and Tourrete's syndrome.
* Complicated Earth. Comparisons of rocks from Earth and outer space forced scientists to scrap long-held views of how our planet formed.
* Protein portrait. Scientists got their best look yet at the molecular structure of a voltage-gated potassium channel.
* Change of climate. More evidence implicating human activities in global warming was presented, the magazine said.
* Systems biology. Molecular biologists are looking to engineering in order to understand the behaviour of complex systems.
* Bienvenue Iter. After 18 months of wrangling, the $12bn International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter) got a home: Cadarache in France.