This gallery showcases some of the year's most eye-catching science, from a close encounter with squid suckers that look like a carnivorous cartoon choir to mathematical forms given shape in purple yarn. It also recalls some of the biggest science news stories: the staggering devastation wrought by Hurricane Ike; a Nobel prize for putting a glowing protein to work; and the ongoing robotic exploration of Mars

He did more than anyone to build the Large Hadron Collider. This year he saw it finished — and then break down. Geoff Brumfiel profiles the LHC's project leader, Nature's newsmaker of the year