2014 preview: Paralysed teen scores in Brazil
The millions tuning into the opening match of the World Cup will see the world's most advanced mind-controlled exoskeleton take the ceremonial first kick
We want to know meat's origin – but not if it costs
90 per cent of consumers thought that all meat products should be labelled with their country of origin, but most weren't willing to pay extra for the info
Athletes' biological passports will track steroid use
In 2014 pro athletes will be subject to routine checks on steroids in their urine – and deviations from their normal physiology will trigger doping alarms
Texas repels creationist threat to biology textbooks
Children in Texas will use biology textbooks free from anti-evolution propaganda, but the portion of US Republicans supporting evolution has fallen
Water plumes spark a race to Jupiter moon Europa
Recent water geysers on Europa are raising hopes that the icy moon is a hot destination in the hunt for alien life – several craft are lining up to visit
Elvis vs Jesus: PageRank for people says who's bigger
Which historical figures command most attention? A computer scientist and a Google engineer have devised an algorithm to rank them all in Who's Bigger?
Higgs boson could reveal deviant behaviour in 2014
The particle could reveal exotic physics even before the Large Hadron Collider switches back on in 2015, thanks to a new catalogue of possible misbehaviour
Ice-loving sea anemones found in Antarctica
A sea anemone has turned up embedded in the underside of Antarctica's ice sheets; the only marine animal known to live like this. How does it survive?
Replacement artificial heart keeps first patient alive
An artificial heart made by the French firm Carmat has been implanted in its first human patient – and is working well so far
Improvise! Shoestring solutions to big physics
What do you do when the money's too short to run your expensive experiment? Reach for the duct tape, ping pong balls and taco sauce, says Richard Webb
2014 preview: Three-parent babies close to conception
The UK parliament will vote on a novel form of IVF that allows women with mitochondrial mutations to have a child without fear of passing on disease
Rude awakenings: How swearing made us human
Our crudest outbursts can unravel ancient links between words and thoughts. They may even hint at our ancestors' first utterances, finds Tiffany O'Callaghan
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