Galleries / Central Asia's Lost Civilization

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Medical researchers are determined to unearth the truth about these historical figures' lives and deaths: Eight tales of delayed diagnosis and extreme postmortems.

Every year DISCOVER sorts through the scientific accomplishments of the past 12 months, and assembles a list of the coolest experiments, most brilliant discoveries, and most world-changing events. As you page through the countdown to the #1 science story, we think you'll come to the same conclusion we did: 2010 was quite a year.

Our lives extend only decades, so how do scientists study climate going back thousands and millions of years? Ancient pollen, clam shells, columns of sheer ice, and more.