Science

The Best Science Visualizations of the Year

Here at Wired Science, we're big fans of science graphics. And not just the fancy, big-budget ones, but charts and figures and visualizations: the folk art of scientific imagery. In this gallery are our favorite graphics of the year.
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A new method of analyzing our brain's electrical activity finds neural signatures of consciousness. At right is a healthy person's activity; at left and center are two people with brain injuries. Both are in vegetative states, but one displays patterns suggestive of healthy function.<a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003887">Chennu et al./PLoS Computational Biology</a>

Here at WIRED Science, we're big fans of science graphics. And not just the fancy, big-budget ones, but charts and figures and visualizations: the folk art of scientific imagery.

In this gallery are our favorite graphics of the year. They're in no particular order (though we did save a treat for last). Each tells a story with elegant simplicity, and sometimes even beauty. Enjoy!