No matter how the pandemic has affected people individually, I haven’t run into anyone who’s not ready for this all to end. I suspect that’s why University of Michigan historian J. Alexander Navarro’s article on the 1918 flu pandemic became our most-read article this year. Spoiler: It wasn’t a great idea a century ago to ease up on control measures too soon.

Our next-most-read article is one I imagine especially appealed to people emerging from pandemic bubbles to venture out to new places or spots they hadn’t been in a while. Carlo Ratti, who studies urban environments and human behavior, described his discovery that you’re probably not taking the shortest route when you walk through a city, thanks to human evolution.

And rounding out our top three, from University of Tennessee veterinarian Julia Albright, is an explanation of one of the most distinctive – and cozy – cat behaviors. For our Curious Kids series, she answers the question why our feline friends knead with their paws. I have a hunch why this one was popular – cats on the internet!

Read on for a handful of additional articles selected by the four editors who work on our Science + Technology desk. From an introduction to the metaverse and your legal protection if space junk falls on you, to bat baby talk and mapping billions of brain cells, our coverage has run the gamut this year. And we’ll be back at it in 2022. Thanks for reading!

Maggie Villiger

Senior Science + Technology Editor

Armistice Day celebrations on Nov. 11, 1918, worried public health experts as people crowded together in cities across the U.S. AP Photo

People gave up on flu pandemic measures a century ago when they tired of them – and paid a price

J. Alexander Navarro, University of Michigan

Americans were tired of social distancing and mask-wearing. At the first hint the virus was receding, people pushed to get life back to normal. Unfortunately another surge of the disease followed.

A bar graph showing the mean blood levels of children aged 1-5 for different racial and ethnic groups from 1999 - 2014.

People navigate cities in much the same way animals navigate their environments. Max Böhme/Unsplash

Cellphone data shows that people navigate by keeping their destinations in front of them – even when that’s not the most efficient route

Carlo Ratti, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

As you’re walking through city streets on your way to work, school or appointments, you probably feel like you’re taking the most efficient route. Thanks to evolution, you’re probably not.

A behavior from kittenhood persists in many adult cats. Byron Chin/flickr

Why do cats knead with their paws?

Julia Albright, University of Tennessee

According to a veterinarian, the behavior some people call ‘kneading the dough’ or ‘making biscuits’ is a clue your cat feels comfortable around you.

Editors' picks

Are these people interacting in some virtual world? Lucrezia Carnelos/Unsplash

What is the metaverse? 2 media and information experts explain

Rabindra Ratan, Michigan State University; Yiming Lei, Michigan State University

The metaverse is science fiction, but a lot of people in Silicon Valley are working to make this interconnected virtual reality a, well, reality.

It’s unlikely falling space junk will destroy property or kill a person. Petrovich9/iStock via Getty Images

If a satellite falls on your house, space law protects you – but there are no legal penalties for leaving junk in orbit

Timiebi Aganaba, Arizona State University

Chances are small that space junk will destroy property or harm a person, and existing space law could deal with such an event. But current law doesn’t address the bigger problem of space pollution.

A babbling pup produces distinct syllables, visualized in this composite image. Michael Stifter and Ahana Fernandez

Bat pups babble and bat moms use baby talk, hinting at the evolution of human language

Ahana Aurora Fernandez, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin

Vocal imitation is a key part of how humans learn to speak. New research shows that bats babble to learn and use baby talk to teach, just like people do.

Research groups supported by the U.S. BRAIN Initiative recently released the most comprehensive map of cell types in the motor cortex of humans, monkeys and mice. Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment via Getty Images

Mapping how the 100 billion cells in the brain all fit together is the brave new world of neuroscience

Yongsoo Kim, Penn State

Scientists have been mapping the brain for centuries. New visualization tools bring them one step closer to understanding where thoughts come from and new ways to treat neurological disorders.

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