2015 in science

• 2 January – A study published in Science shows evidence that a protein partially assembles another protein without genetic instructions. Defying textbook science, amino acids (the building blocks of a protein) can be assembled by another protein and without genetic instructions.{{cite web |title=Defying Textbook Science, Study Finds New Role for Proteins |url=http://healthcare.utah.edu/publicaffairs/news/2015/01/1-01-15-New-Function-for-Proteins.php |date=2 January 2015 |publisher=University of Utah |access-date=3 January 2015 |archive-date=5 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305095223/http://healthcare.utah.edu/publicaffairs/news/2015/01/1-01-15-New-Function-for-Proteins.php |url-status=dead }}

File:X-RayFlare-BlackHole-MilkyWay-20140105.jpg flare from Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way galaxy.]]

• 3 January – Iranian chemists from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad created biodiesel fuel from soya oil to decrease pollutions caused by fossil fuels.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=50651 Iranian Scientists Synthesize Biodiesel Fuel from Soya Oil Using Nanocatalysts] nanotech-now.com _ Iranian Scientists Synthesize Biodiesel Fuel from Soya Oil Using Nanocatalysts Tehran, Iran | Posted on January 3rd, 2015
• 5 January
• Scientists from the US and UK have mapped the genome of the bowhead whale and identified genes responsible for its 200-year lifespan, the longest of any mammal.{{cite web |title=Scientists map bowhead whale's genome; discover genes responsible for long life |url=http://www.techienews.co.uk/9722127/scientists-map-bowhead-whales-genome-discover-genes-responsible-long-life/ |date=5 January 2015 |work=Technie News |access-date=5 January 2015 |archive-date=6 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906195540/http://www.techienews.co.uk/9722127/scientists-map-bowhead-whales-genome-discover-genes-responsible-long-life/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=The bowhead whale lives over 200 years. Can its genes tell us why? |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150105101421.htm |date=5 January 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=5 January 2015}}
• The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) declares 2014 as the hottest year on record globally, surpassing the previous record of 1998.{{cite web |title=2014 Was The Hottest Year On Record Globally By Far |url=http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/01/05/3607735/2014-hottest-year-by-far/ |date=5 January 2015 |work=Climate Progress |access-date=5 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105221408/http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/01/05/3607735/2014-hottest-year-by-far/ |archive-date=5 January 2015 |url-status=dead }}
• Researchers have developed a compound that causes the metabolism of mice to respond as if a meal has been eaten, so they burn fat to make room for new calories.{{cite web |title="Imaginary meal" tricks the body into losing weight |url=http://www.salk.edu/news-release/imaginary-meal-tricks-the-body-into-losing-weight/ |date=5 January 2015 |publisher=Salk Institute |access-date=6 January 2015}} Human trials could follow within two years.{{cite news |title=New drug tricks metabolism into burning fat as if you've just finished a meal |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/01/05/new-drug-tricks-metabolism-into-burning-fat-as-if-youve-just-finished-a-meal/ |date=5 January 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=6 January 2015}}
• An earthquake felt by Ohio residents in March 2014 was caused by fracking, a study has found.{{cite web |title=Fracking caused Ohio earthquake in 2014, say researchers |url=http://www.climatechangenews.com/2015/01/05/fracking-caused-ohio-earthquake-in-2014-say-researchers/ |date=5 January 2015 |publisher=RTCC |access-date=6 January 2015}}
• NASA reports observing an X-ray flare 400 times brighter than usual, a record-breaker, from the supermassive black hole, named Sagittarius A*, in the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The unusual event may have been caused by the breaking apart of an asteroid falling into the black hole or by the entanglement of magnetic field lines within gas flowing into Sagittarius A*.{{cite web |last1=Chou |first1=Felicia |last2=Anderson |first2=Janet |last3=Watzke |first3=Megan |title=RELEASE 15-001 - NASA's Chandra Detects Record-Breaking Outburst from Milky Way's Black Hole |url=http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/january/nasa-s-chandra-detects-record-breaking-outburst-from-milky-way-s-black-hole/ |date=5 January 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=6 January 2015 }}
• 6 January
• Astronomers have developed a method of accurately telling a star's age from how fast it spins.{{Cite news |title=Age of stars is pinned to their spin |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30691779 |date=6 January 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=6 January 2015|last1=Webb |first1=Jonathan }}
• NASA announces the 1000th confirmed exoplanet discovered by the Kepler Space Telescope. Three of the newly confirmed exoplanets were found to orbit within habitable zones of their related stars: two of the three, Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b, are near-Earth-size and likely rocky; the third, Kepler-440b, is a super-Earth.{{cite web |last1=Clavin |first1=Whitney |last2=Chou |first2=Felicia |last3=Johnson |first3=Michele |title=NASA's Kepler Marks 1,000th Exoplanet Discovery, Uncovers More Small Worlds in Habitable Zones |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2015-003 |date=6 January 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=6 January 2015 }}{{Cite news |title='Alien Earth' is among eight new far-off planets |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30705517 |date=7 January 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=7 January 2015|last1=Webb |first1=Jonathan }}
• 7 January
• Humans are eroding soil a hundred times faster than natural processes, according to a new study.{{cite web |title=Humans erode soil 100 times faster than nature |url=http://phys.org/news/2015-01-humans-erode-soil-faster-nature.html |date=7 January 2015 |work=PhysOrg |access-date=8 January 2015}}
• If global warming is to be kept below 2 °C this century, then over 80% of coal, 50% of gas and 30% of oil reserves are "unburnable" a new study concludes.{{Cite news |title=Most fossil fuels 'unburnable' under 2C climate target |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30709211 |date=7 January 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=9 January 2015|last1=Briggs |first1=Helen }}
• A review article published in the journal Neuron describes a number of recent studies showing that brain imaging can help predict a person's future learning, criminality, health-related behaviors, and response to drug or behavioral treatments.{{cite web |title=Brain imaging may help predict future behavior |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150107122904.htm |date=7 January 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=10 January 2015}}
• In a world first, researchers from New Zealand have observed mitochondrial DNA moving between cells in mice and triggering cancer growth.{{cite web |title=World First: Scientists Observe DNA Shuttling Between Cells, Triggering Tumor Growth |url=http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/world-first-scientists-observe-dna-shuttling-between-cells-triggering-tumor |date=9 January 2015 |work=IFL Science |access-date=10 January 2015}}{{cite web |title=Extraordinary gene transfer between cells observed |url=http://www.malaghan.org.nz/news/extraordinary-gene-transfer-between-cells-observed |date=7 January 2015 |publisher=Malaghan Institute |access-date=10 January 2015}}
• Tarbiat Modarres University researchers produce ceramic nonporous membrane with high thermal firmness.[http://en.mehrnews.com/news/105426/Iranian-researchers-develop-ceramic-nanoporous-membrane Tarbiat Modarres University researchers have developed ceramic nonporous membrane with high thermal stability.] mehrnews.com, Date: 1/7/2015 10:03:08 PM
• 8 January
• NASA reports determining, with a high degree of accuracy, the precise center of the planet Saturn and its family of moons – to within {{convert|4|km|mi|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |last1=Dyches |first1=Preston |last2=Finley |first2=Dave |title=Scientists Pinpoint Saturn With Exquisite Accuracy |url= http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2015-010 |date=8 January 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=9 January 2015 }}
• Astronomers have observed and measured a neutron star slipping out of view because of the warp in space-time its orbit creates. The star is expected to reappear in about 160 years.{{cite web |title=Astronomers use vanishing neutron star to measure space-time warp |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150108131915.htm |date=8 January 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=10 January 2015}}{{cite web |title=A Star Just Got Swallowed By A Warp In Space-Time |url=http://www.popsci.com/fast-orbiting-pulsar-no-longer-detectable-researchers |date=9 January 2015 |work=PopSci |access-date=10 January 2015}}
• 9 January
• A new species of ichthyosaur resembling a dolphin merged with a crocodile has been discovered in Scotland. Dearcmhara shawcrossi lived in the early to mid-Jurassic about 170 million years ago.{{cite web |title=Scottish prehistoric reptile discovered |work=The University of Edinburgh |url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2015/fossil |date=9 January 2015 |publisher=University of Edinburgh |access-date=12 January 2015}}{{cite web |title=Was this Nessie's ancestor? Giant prehistoric monster roamed Scottish waters |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11338263/Was-this-Nessies-ancestor-Giant-prehistoric-monster-roamed-Scottish-waters.html |date=12 January 2015 |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=12 January 2015}}
• Iranian and Argentinean researchers made a biosensor by using graphene sheets.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=50685 Iranian, Argentine Scientists Produce Biosensor from Graphene] nanotech-now.com __ Iranian, Argentine Scientists Produce Biosensor from Graphene Tehran, Iran | Posted on January 9th, 2015
• Iranian researchers from University of Tehran applied nanocomposite covering to enhance the strength and lifetime of concrete compositions.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=50686 Iranian Researchers Prolong Life of Steel Armatures in Concrete Structures] nanotech-now.com __ Iranian Researchers Prolong Life of Steel Armatures in Concrete Structures Tehran, Iran | Posted on January 9th, 2015
• 13 January – The first lab-grown, contracting human muscle is announced by Duke University.{{cite web |title=First Contracting Human Muscle Grown in Laboratory |url=http://www.pratt.duke.edu/news/first-contracting-human-muscle-grown-laboratory |date=13 January 2015 |publisher=Duke University |access-date=14 January 2015}}
• 14 January
• NASA and ESA celebrate 10 years since the Cassini-Huygens probe landed on Titan, largest moon of the planet Saturn.{{cite web |last=Dyches |first=Preston |title=NASA and ESA Celebrate 10 Years Since Titan Landing |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2015-016 |date=14 January 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=15 January 2015 }} (related image).
• By the year 2050, almost nobody under the age of 80 will die of cancer, according to a study by University College London.{{cite web |title=Mighty Daily Aspirin: New Report Says No One Under 80 To Experience Cancer by 2050 |url=http://www.medicaldaily.com/mighty-daily-aspirin-new-report-says-no-one-under-80-experience-cancer-2050-318174 |date=16 January 2015 |work=Medical Daily |access-date=17 January 2015}}
• The acceleration in global sea level rise during recent decades has been significantly underestimated, according to a new Harvard study.{{cite web |title= Correcting estimates of sea level rise |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-01/hu-ceo011215.php |date=14 January 2015 |work=EurekAlert |access-date=17 January 2015}}

File:Ceres RC2 Bright Spot.jpg, a dwarf planet, as viewed by the Dawn spacecraft on 19 February 2015.{{cite web |last=Landau |first=Elizabeth |title=Dawn Delivers New Image of Ceres |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2015-023 |date=19 January 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=19 January 2015 }}]]

• 15 January
• Researchers have extended the lifespan of fruit flies by 60 percent, using a method that could one day lead to anti-aging treatments for humans.{{cite web |title=Prolonging lifespan: Researchers create 'Methuselah fly' by selecting best cells |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150115134624.htm |date=15 January 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=16 January 2015}}
• A series of 24 global indicators, published in the journal Anthropocene Review, show how the impact of humans is now the primary driver of the Earth system.{{cite web |title=Planetary dashboard shows "Great Acceleration" in human activity since 1950 |url=http://www.igbp.net/news/pressreleases/pressreleases/planetarydashboardshowsgreataccelerationinhumanactivitysince1950.5.950c2fa1495db7081eb42.html |date=15 January 2015 |work=International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme |access-date=16 January 2015}}{{cite web |title=We're Destroying the Planet in Ways That Are Even Worse Than Global Warming |url=https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/01/humans-destorying-planet-earth |date=16 January 2015 |work=Mother Jones |access-date=17 January 2015}}
• Iranian scientists from University of Tehran produced a sensor that calculates the amount of blood sugar of Diabetics by measuring acetone concentration in their expiration.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=50722 Iranian Scientists Measure Blood Sugar through Patient's Expiration] nanotech-now.com _ Iranian Scientists Measure Blood Sugar through Patient's Expiration Tehran, Iran | Posted on January 15th, 2015
• 16 January
• NASA reports the Beagle 2, built by the United Kingdom, thought to be lost on the planet Mars since 2003, has been found on the surface in Isidis Planitia (location is about {{coord|11.5265|N|90.4295|E|globe:Mars}}){{cite web |last1=Grecicius |first1=Tony |last2=Dunbar |first2=Brian |title=Components of Beagle 2 Flight System on Mars |url=http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/mars/pia19106/ |date=16 January 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=18 January 2015 }} High-resolution images captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter identify the lost probe, which appears to be intact.{{cite web |last=Webster |first=Guy |title='Lost' 2003 Mars Lander Found by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter |url=http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/lost-2003-mars-lander-found-by-mars-reconnaissance-orbiter/ |date=16 January 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=16 January 2015 |archive-date=24 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224145904/https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/lost-2003-mars-lander-found-by-mars-reconnaissance-orbiter/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |agency =Associated Press |title=Mars Orbiter Spots Beagle 2, European Lander Missing Since 2003 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/17/science/space/missing-lander-beagle-2-finally-located-on-mars.html |date=16 January 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=17 January 2015 }} (see discovery images here)
• NASA and NOAA confirm that 2014 was the hottest year on record globally.{{Cite news |title=2014 warmest year on record, say US researchers |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30852588 |date=16 January 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=16 January 2015|last1=Kinver |first1=Mark }}{{cite web |title=NASA, NOAA find 2014 warmest year in modern record |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150116153905.htm |date=16 January 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=16 January 2015}}
• 19 January
• NASA presents an animated view of the dwarf planet Ceres by the approaching Dawn spacecraft.{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=NASA Spacecraft Get a Closer Look at Dwarf Planets Pluto and Ceres |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/science/nasa-spacecraft-get-a-closer-look-at-pluto-and-ceres-whatever-they-may-be.html |date=19 January 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=19 January 2015 }} (animated images: 20150113 & 20150204)
• By observing the gravitational effects on extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs), astronomers have theorised that a pair of Earth-sized objects may be hidden at the edge of the Solar System.{{Cite news |title=Two planets as big as Earth 'could be on edge of solar system' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/18/two-undiscovered-planets-earth-solar-system |date=19 January 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=21 January 2015|agency=Press Association }}
• 20 January – Long-term carbon sequestration as a way of mitigating climate change may be harder to achieve than previously thought, due to difficulties in converting the gas to a solid state, MIT reports.{{cite web |title=Sequestration on shaky ground |url=https://news.mit.edu/2015/carbon-dioxide-sequestration-doubts-0120 |date=20 January 2015 |publisher=MIT |access-date=23 January 2015}}
• 22 January
• By recreating the conditions on Earth during the Chicxulub impact, researchers have concluded that the heat pulse nearer the crater was too short-lived (less than a minute) to ignite significant amounts of plant matter. By contrast, regions much further away would have experienced less intense, but longer-lived heat levels (up to seven minutes), long enough to ignite plant matter. This challenges previous theories about global firestorms in the aftermath of the event.{{cite web |title=Doubt cast on global firestorm generated by dino-killing asteroid |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150122084849.htm |date=22 January 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=22 January 2015}}

File:Tea leaves steeping in a zhong čaj 05.jpg found that may protect against oral cancer.]]

• As part of the [http://www.openworm.org/ Open Worm Project], scientists have mapped the brain of a roundworm (C. elegans), created software to mimic its nervous system and uploaded it to a lego robot, which seeks food and avoids obstacles.{{cite web |title=Mind of a Worm Uploaded to a LEGO Robot to Make the Weirdest Cyborg Ever |url=http://www.eteknix.com/mind-worm-uploaded-lego-robot-make-weirdest-cyborg-ever |date=22 January 2015 |work=eTeknix |access-date=24 January 2015}}
• 23 January
• Scientists have slowed the speed of light by using a special mask to change the shape of photons.{{Cite news |title=Scientists slow the speed of light |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-30944584 |date=23 January 2015 |work=BBC News |access-date=23 January 2015|last1=MacDonald |first1=Kenneth }}
• With a successful new method, Iranian scientists managed to create a graphene-based gas sensor, which has uses in many industries to detect oxygen.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=50777 Iranian Scientists Produce Graphene-Based Oxygen Sensor] nanotech-now.com __ Iranian Scientists Produce Graphene-Based Oxygen Sensor Tehran, Iran | Posted on January 23rd, 2015
• 25 January – A new owl species in the Middle East, the desert tawny owl (Strix hadorami), is described.{{cite web |title=Desert Tawny Owl: New Species of Bird Discovered |url=http://www.sci-news.com/biology/science-desert-tawny-owl-strix-hadorami-new-species-bird-02432.html |date=25 January 2015 |work=Sci-News |access-date=26 January 2015}}
• 26 January
• Chemists determine that alkali metals explode on contact with water due to a Coulomb explosion at the water-metal interface driving the reaction, instead of merely due to Hydrogen gas formation and its subsequent ignition. This overturns what was previously considered to be a well understood phenomenon, and has the potential to increase safety when handling reactive metals.{{Cite news |title=Metal explosions 'driven by charge' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30983141 |date=26 January 2015 |work=BBC News |access-date=26 January 2015|last1=Webb |first1=Jonathan }}
• Iranian nanotechnologists drafted and constructed solar cells for transforming solar energy into electricity.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=50787 Iranian Researchers Boost Solar Cells Efficiency Using Anti-Aggregates] nanotech-now.com __ Iranian Researchers Boost Solar Cells Efficiency Using Anti-Aggregates Tehran, Iran | Posted on January 26th, 2015
• 27 January
• Astronomers have discovered an exoplanet with a gigantic ring system that is 200 times larger than that around Saturn.{{Cite news |title=Distant exoplanet hosts giant ring system |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31001936 |date=27 January 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=27 January 2015|last1=Rincon |first1=Paul }}
• NASA reports that the Kepler spacecraft confirmed five sub-earth-sized rocky exoplanets, all smaller than the planet Venus (but bigger than the planet Mercury), in orbit around the 11.2 billion year old star Kepler-444, making this planetary system, at more than 80% of the age of the universe, the oldest yet discovered. According to NASA, no life as we know it could exist on these hot exoplanets, due to their close orbital distances to the host star.{{cite web |last=Johnson |first=Michele |title=Astronomers Discover Ancient System with Five Small Planets |url=http://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/astronomers-discover-ancient-system-with-five-small-planets |date=28 January 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=29 January 2015 |archive-date=17 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617090110/https://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/astronomers-discover-ancient-system-with-five-small-planets/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite journal |author =Campante, T.L. |title=An ancient extrasolar system with five sub-Earth-size planets |arxiv=1501.06227|journal= The Astrophysical Journal|doi=10.1088/0004-637X/799/2/170 |date=26 January 2015 |display-authors=etal |bibcode=2015ApJ...799..170C |volume=799 |issue=2 |pages=170|s2cid=5404044 }}
• 28 January – An ingredient found in green tea may protect against oral cancer, according to Penn State University researchers.{{cite web |last=Swayne |first= Matt |title=Green tea ingredient may target protein to kill oral cancer cells |url=http://news.psu.edu/story/342487/2015/01/28/research/green-tea-ingredient-may-target-protein-kill-oral-cancer-cells |date=28 January 2015 |publisher=Penn State |access-date=30 January 2015}}
• 29 January – Global warming will result in large storms becoming larger, rather than an increase in the number of storms, concludes a study by the University of Toronto.{{cite web |title=Global warming won't mean more storms: Big storms to get bigger, small storms to shrink, experts predict |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150129143040.htm |date=29 January 2015 |work=University of Toronto |access-date=30 January 2015}}
• 30 January – A joint study of data from the Planck space mission and the ground-based experiment BICEP2 casts doubt on earlier findings of gravitational waves from the Big Bang.{{cite web |last=Clavin |first=Whitney |title=Gravitational Waves from Early Universe Remain Elusive |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2015-46 |date=30 January 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=30 January 2015 }}{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye |title=Speck of Interstellar Dust Obscures Glimpse of Big Bang |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/31/us/a-speck-of-interstellar-dust-rebuts-a-big-bang-theory.html |date=30 January 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=31 January 2015 }}
• 31 January – NASA launches the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory. It will provide the most accurate, highest-resolution global measurements of soil moisture ever obtained from space.

File:HST-Smiling-GalaxyClusterSDSS-J1038+4849-20150210.jpg (SDSS J1038+4849) and gravitational lensing (an Einstein ring) (HST).]]

• 2 February – A study about penta-graphene, a proposed carbon allotrope, is published.{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1416591112| pmid = 25646451| title = Penta-graphene: A new carbon allotrope| journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences| pages = 2372–7| year = 2015| last1 = Zhang | first1 = S. | last2 = Zhou | first2 = J. | last3 = Wang | first3 = Q. | last4 = Chen | first4 = X. | last5 = Kawazoe | first5 = Y. | last6 = Jena | first6 = P. | volume=112| issue = 8| bibcode = 2015PNAS..112.2372Z| pmc = 4345574| doi-access = free}}
• 3 February
• The British government votes to allow a controversial new technique involving babies created from three people. If passed by the House of Lords, the UK will become the first country in the world to offer this medical procedure, which can be used to treat mitochondrial diseases.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-31069173 |title=MPs say yes to three-person babies |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=3 February 2015 |access-date=3 February 2015}}{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/us-health-babies-idINKBN0L710B20150203 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306222457/http://in.reuters.com/article/us-health-babies-idINKBN0L710B20150203 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |title=Britain votes to allow world's first 'three-parent' IVF babies |work=Reuters |date=3 February 2015 |access-date=3 February 2015}}
• For the first time, researchers have used biodegradable nanoparticles to kill brain cancer cells in animals and lengthen their survival.{{cite news|url=http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/new_nanoparticle_gene_therapy_strategy_effectively_treats_deadly_brain_cancer_in_rats |title=New Nanoparticle Gene Therapy Strategy Effectively Treats Deadly Brain Cancer in Rats |publisher=Johns Hopkins Medicine |date=3 February 2015 |access-date=4 February 2015}}
• The FDA approves a new drug, Ibrance (palbociclib), for treating advanced breast cancer.{{cite news|url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/fda-approves-new-drug-to-treat-estrogen-receptorpositive-breast-cancer |title=FDA approves new drug to treat estrogen-receptor–positive breast cancer |publisher=UCLA |date=3 February 2015 |access-date=7 February 2015}}
• The first transistors made from silicene, a one atom-thick version of silicon, are reported.{{cite news |url=http://www.utexas.edu/news/2015/02/03/silicon-silicene-transistors/ |title=One-Atom-Thin Silicon Transistors Hold Promise for Super-Fast Computing |publisher=The University of Texas at Austin |date=3 February 2015 |access-date=18 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217033636/http://www.utexas.edu/news/2015/02/03/silicon-silicene-transistors |archive-date=17 February 2015 |url-status=dead }}
• 4 February
• Scientists have genetically reprogrammed plants to be drought tolerant in response to an already existing agrochemical, circumventing the need for a new chemical that would otherwise have required many years of testing.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150204134119.htm |title=Scientists reprogram plants for drought tolerance |work=Science Daily |date=4 February 2015 |access-date=6 February 2015}}
• E-cigarettes cause many of the same harmful effects as normal cigarettes, according to a new study on mice.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150204144519.htm |title=E-cigarette exposure impairs immune responses in mouse model |work=Science Daily|date=4 February 2015 |access-date=6 February 2015}}
• 5 February – The first generation of stars is now thought to have emerged 560 million years after the Big Bang, according to scientists working on the European Planck satellite. This is 140 million years later than the previous estimate of 420 million years.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31145520 |title=Planck telescope puts new datestamp on first stars |publisher=BBC |date=5 February 2015 |access-date=6 February 2015}}
• 6 February – Iranian nanotechnologists discovered key to measure species in liquids. In this study, the aim was to withdraw and measure vitamin B12 from liquid models.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=50867 Iranian Scientists Find Solution to Measure Species Existing in Liquids] nanotech-now.com __ Iranian Scientists Find Solution to Measure Species Existing in Liquids Tehran, Iran | Posted on February 6th, 2015
• 9 February – Researchers have extracted isopropanol fuel from genetically engineered bacteria and solar-powered catalysts, achieving the same efficiency as photosynthesis.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150209161423.htm |title=Bionic leaf: Researchers use bacteria to convert solar energy into liquid fuel |work=Science Daily |date=9 February 2015 |access-date=13 February 2015}}
• 10 February
• NASA releases a "smiley" image of galaxy cluster (SDSS J1038+4849) and gravitational lensing (an Einstein ring) taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.{{cite web |last1=Loff |first1=Sarah |last2=Dunbar |first2=Brian |title=Hubble Sees A Smiling Lens |url=http://www.nasa.gov/content/hubble-sees-a-smiling-lens/ |date=10 February 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=10 February 2015 }}
• NASA scientists present the notion that comets are like "deep fried ice cream", since research studies suggest comet surfaces are formed of a mixture of organic compounds and dense crystalline ice, while comet interiors contain colder and less dense ice.{{cite web |last=Clavin |first=Whitney |title=Why Comets Are Like Deep Fried Ice Cream |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4480 |date=10 February 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=10 February 2015 }}
• Iranian and Finnish researchers made a magnetic nanosorbent that adsorbs 60-100% of nitrate and nitrite in the sample of soil and water.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=50883 Iranian Scientists Introduce Simple Method to Eliminate Nitrate, Nitrite from Water, Soil] nanotech-now.com __ Iranian Scientists Introduce Simple Method to Eliminate Nitrate, Nitrite from Water, Soil Tehran, Iran | Posted on February 10th, 2015
• 11 February
• NASA's Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) is launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31433358 |title=SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral |publisher=BBC |date=11 February 2015 |access-date=12 February 2015}} It will measure solar winds and provide crucial early warnings during solar flares.
• ESA's Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) demonstrates a new atmospheric reentry technology, returning from space to Earth similar to the Space Shuttle but without wings.{{cite web | title = ESA experimental spaceplane completes research flight | date = 2015-02-11 | url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/IXV/ESA_experimental_spaceplane_completes_research_flight | publisher = ESA | access-date = 2015-02-12 | quote = ESA's Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle flew a flawless reentry and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean just west of the Galapagos islands.

}}

• A study in The New England Journal of Medicine reports that mortality due to cigarette smoking in the United States is substantially greater than previously thought.{{cite news |last=Grady |first=Denise |title=Smoking's Toll on Health Is Even Worse Than Previously Thought, a Study Finds |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/health/smokings-health-toll-worse-than-previously-thought-study-says.html |date=11 February 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=11 February 2015 }}{{cite journal |author1=Carter, Brian D. |title=Smoking and Mortality — Beyond Established Causes |date=12 February 2015 |journal=The New England Journal of Medicine |volume=372 |issue=7 |pages=631–640 |doi=10.1056/NEJMsa1407211 |display-authors=etal |pmid=25671255|doi-access=free }}
• Iranian experimenters from Sahand University of Technology and Islamic Azad University examined the effect of applying nanoparticles on rise oil extraction from supplies.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=50893 Iranian researchers from Sahand University of Technology and Islamic Azad University studied the effect of using nanoparticles on increasing oil extraction from reservoirs.] nanotech-now.com __ Tehran, Iran | Posted on February 11th, 2015
• 12 February – Researchers have calculated that between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons of plastic entered the ocean in 2010 from people living within 50 km of the coastline.{{cite news|url=http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/new-science-paper-magnitude-plastic-waste-going-into-ocean-0215/ |title=New Science paper calculates magnitude of plastic waste going into the ocean |publisher=University of Georgia |date=12 February 2015 |access-date=12 February 2015}}
• 13 February – Scientists (including Geoffrey Marcy, Seth Shostak, Frank Drake, Elon Musk and David Brin) at a convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, discuss Active SETI and whether transmitting a message to possible intelligent extraterrestrials in the Cosmos is a good idea;{{cite news |author =Borenstein, Seth (of AP News) |title=Should We Call the Cosmos Seeking ET? Or Is That Risky? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/02/13/science/ap-us-sci-calling-the-cosmos.html |date=13 February 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=14 February 2015 }}{{cite news |last=Ghosh |first=Pallab |title=Scientist: 'Try to contact aliens' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31442952 |date=12 February 2015 |work=BBC News |access-date=12 February 2015 }} one result was a statement, signed by many, that a "worldwide scientific, political and humanitarian discussion must occur before any message is sent".{{cite web |author =Various |title=Statement - Regarding Messaging To Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) / Active Searches For Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Active SETI) |url=http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/meti_statement_0.html |date=13 February 2015 |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |access-date=14 February 2015 }}

File:Anopheles stephensi.jpeg mosquito, a vector of malaria - mosquito control is an effective way of reducing its incidence.]]

• 16 February
• New research by King's College London suggests the risk of psychosis is three times higher for users of potent "skunk-like" cannabis than for non-users.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-31480234 |title='Skunk-like cannabis' increases risk of psychosis, study suggests |work=BBC News |date=16 February 2015 |access-date=16 February 2015}}
• Mars One selects its final 100 astronaut candidates.{{cite news |url=http://www.mars-one.com/news/press-releases/the-mars-100-mars-one-announces-round-three-astronaut-candidates |title=The Mars 100: Mars One Announces Round Three Astronaut Candidates |work=Mars One |date=16 February 2015 |access-date=17 February 2015 |archive-date=27 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427173130/https://www.mars-one.com/news/press-releases/the-mars-100-mars-one-announces-round-three-astronaut-candidates |url-status=dead }}
• Iranian scientists planned a new technique to cure of Wilson's disease. The study gave a modern nano-arrangement with more healing skill in cell culture form. The nanostructure consists of a bio well-matched polymeric nanocarrier that facilitates the penetration into the cell without making of toxicity with high effectiveness.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=50918 Iranian researchers proposed a new method for the treatment of Wilson's disease.] nanotech-now.com _ Iranian Scientists Propose New Approach to Treat Wilson's Disease Tehran, Iran | Posted on February 16th, 2015
• Iranian nanotechnologists synthesized the latest-scheme nano-pill of bio-adaptable and bio-degradable chain-molecular which is able to ebb toxicity of anti-cancer drugs. This modern medicine is considered for treating breast cancer.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=50915 Iranian Researchers Design Nano-Medicine for Treating Breast Cancer] nanotech-now.com - Iranian Researchers Design Nano-Medicine for Treating Breast Cancer Tehran, Iran | Posted on February 16th, 2015
• 18 February – Limpet teeth might be the strongest known natural material, a new study has found.{{cite news |url=http://www.port.ac.uk/uopnews/2015/02/18/scientists-find-strongest-natural-material/ |title=Scientists find strongest natural material |publisher=University of Portsmouth |date=18 February 2015 |access-date=18 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218233728/http://www.port.ac.uk/uopnews/2015/02/18/scientists-find-strongest-natural-material/ |archive-date=18 February 2015 |url-status=dead }}
• 19 February
• A regulator of gene activity known as HARE5 (human-accelerated regulatory enhancer) is found to make human brains bigger.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150219133104.htm |title=Mouse embryo with really big brain: Evolving a bigger brain with human DNA |work=Science Daily|date=19 February 2015 |access-date=20 February 2015}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/02/19/scientists-pinpoint-a-gene-regulator-that-makes-human-brains-bigger/ |title=Scientists pinpoint a gene regulator that makes human brains bigger |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=19 February 2015 |access-date=20 February 2015}}
• Iranian scientists achieved in devising of a biosensor to determine dopamine level, which has high detection border and go down clinical diagnosis expenses due to its high correctness and rate.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=50946 Iranian Scientists Use Biosensors to Determine Dopamine Level] nanotech-now.com __ Iranian Scientists Use Biosensors to Determine Dopamine Level Tehran, Iran | Posted on February 19th, 2015
• 20 February – Drug-resistant malaria has been detected at the Myanmar-India border and now poses an "enormous threat" to global health, scientists have said.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-31533559 |title=Scientists find strongest natural material |publisher=BBC |date=20 February 2015 |access-date=20 February 2015}}
• 26 February
• The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules in favor of net neutrality by adopting Title II (common carrier) of the Communications Act of 1934 and Section 706 of the Telecommunications act of 1996 to the Internet.{{cite news |author =Staff |title=FCC Adopts Strong, Sustainable Rules To Protect The Open Internet |url=http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0226/DOC-332260A1.pdf |date=26 February 2015 |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |access-date=26 February 2015 }}{{cite news |last1=Ruiz |first1=Rebecca R. |last2=Lohr |first2=Steve |title=In Net Neutrality Victory, F.C.C. Classifies Broadband Internet Service as a Public Utility |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/technology/net-neutrality-fcc-vote-internet-utility.htm |date=26 February 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=26 February 2015 }} The FCC Chairman, Tom Wheeler, commented, "This is no more a plan to regulate the Internet than the First Amendment is a plan to regulate free speech. They both stand for the same concept."{{cite news |last=Liebelson |first=Dana |title=Net Neutrality Prevails In Historic FCC Vote |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/26/net-neutrality-fcc-vote_n_6761702.html |date=26 February 2015 |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=27 February 2015 }}
• Physicists present an alternative cosmological view to extend the Big Bang model, suggesting the Universe had no beginning or singularity and the age of the Universe is infinite.{{cite web |last=Ghose |first=Tia |title=Big Bang, Deflated? Universe May Have Had No Beginning |url=http://www.livescience.com/49958-theory-no-big-bang.html |date=26 February 2015 |work=Live Science |access-date=28 February 2015 }}{{cite journal |last=Ali |first=Ahmed Faraq |title=Cosmology from quantum potential |journal=Physics Letters B |volume=741 |pages=276–279 |date=4 February 2015 |doi=10.1016/j.physletb.2014.12.057|arxiv=1404.3093 |bibcode=2015PhLB..741..276F |s2cid=55463396 }}
• 27 February
• A new study examining the role of oceanic cycles in heat transfer concludes that the global warming "pause" is only temporary and that temperatures will accelerate in the near future.{{cite journal|title=Atlantic and Pacific multidecadal oscillations and Northern Hemisphere temperatures |journal=Science |date=27 February 2015 |doi=10.1126/science.1257856 |last1=Steinman |first1=Byron A. |last2=Mann |first2=Michael E. |last3=Miller |first3=Sonya K. |volume=347 |issue=6225 |pages=988–991 |pmid=25722410 |bibcode=2015Sci...347..988S |s2cid=206560218 |doi-access=free }}{{cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/we-may-see-a-supercharged-surge-in-warming/ |title=A Major Surge in Atmospheric Warming Is Probably Coming in the Next Five Years |work=Motherboard |date=2 March 2015 |access-date=6 March 2015}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/mar/05/oceans-may-be-lulling-us-into-false-sense-of-climate-security |title=The oceans may be lulling us into a false sense of climate security |work=The Guardian |date=5 March 2015 |access-date=6 March 2015}}
• The number of wild giant pandas has increased by nearly 17% over the last decade, according to a new survey conducted by the Chinese government.{{cite news|url=http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/panda-population-grows-nearly-17-percent |title=Panda Population Grows Nearly 17 Percent |publisher=WWF |date=27 February 2015 |access-date=14 March 2015}}

File:Light imaged as both a particle and wave.jpg imaged as both a particle and a wave.]]

• 1 March – SanDisk announces the first 200GB capacity microSD card, a 56% increase on its previous record of 128GB just a year earlier.{{cite news|url=http://www.sandisk.com/about-sandisk/press-room/press-releases/2015/200gb-sandisk-ultra-microsdxc-uhs-i-card-premium-edition/ |title=SanDisk Unveils the World's Highest Capacity microSD Card |publisher=SanDisk |date=1 March 2015 |access-date=3 March 2015}}
• 2 March – Scientists have captured the first ever image of light as both a particle and a wave.{{cite news|url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/epfd-tfe030115.php |title=The first ever photograph of light as a particle and a wave |work=EurekAlert! |date=2 March 2015 |access-date=3 March 2015}}{{cite news|url=http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150302/ncomms7407/full/ncomms7407.html |title=Simultaneous observation of the quantization and the interference pattern of a plasmonic near-field |work=Nature Communications |date=2 March 2015 |access-date=3 March 2015}}
• 3 March
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that neither the benefits nor the safety of testosterone have been established for low testosterone levels due to aging and has required that testosterone pharmaceutical labels include warning information about the possibility of an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke.{{cite web |author =Staff |title=Testosterone Products: Drug Safety Communication - FDA Cautions About Using Testosterone Products for Low Testosterone Due to Aging; Requires Labeling Change to Inform of Possible Increased Risk of Heart Attack And Stroke |url=https://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm436280.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305015556/http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm436280.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 March 2015 |date=3 March 2015 |publisher=FDA |access-date=5 March 2015 }}{{cite news |last=Tavernise |first=Sabrina |title=Drugs Using Testosterone Will Label Heart Risks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/04/health/drugs-using-testosterone-will-label-heart-risks.html |date=3 March 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=19 March 2015 }}
• NASA reports that, for the first time, complex DNA and RNA organic compounds of life, including uracil, cytosine and thymine, have been formed in the laboratory under outer space conditions, using starting chemicals, such as pyrimidine, found in meteorites. Pyrimidine, like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the most carbon-rich chemical found in the Universe, may have been formed in red giants or in interstellar dust and gas clouds, according to the scientists.{{cite web |last=Marlaire |first=Ruth |title=NASA Ames Reproduces the Building Blocks of Life in Laboratory |url=http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-ames-reproduces-the-building-blocks-of-life-in-laboratory |date=3 March 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=5 March 2015 |archive-date=5 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305083306/http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-ames-reproduces-the-building-blocks-of-life-in-laboratory/ |url-status=dead }}
• 4 March – A 2.8 million-year-old jawbone may be the oldest human fossil in existence, according to two papers published simultaneously in Science. Researchers now suspect that Homo (the genus that includes modern humans) dates back at least 400,000 years earlier than previously thought.{{cite journal |last1=Dimaggio |first1=Erin N. |last2=Campisano |first2=Christopher J. |last3=Rowan |first3=John |last4=Dupont-Nivet |first4=Guillaume |last5=Deino |first5=Alan L. |last6=Bibi |first6=Faysal |last7=Lewis |first7=Margaret E. |last8=Souron |first8=Antoine |last9=Garello |first9=Dominique |last10=Werdelin |first10=Lars |last11=Reed |first11=Kaye E. |author-link11=Kaye Reed |last12=Arrowsmith |first12=J Ramón |date=4 March 2015 |title=Late Pliocene fossiliferous sedimentary record and the environmental context of early Homo from Afar, Ethiopia |journal=Science |volume=347 |issue=6228 |pages=1355–1359 |bibcode=2015Sci...347.1355D |doi=10.1126/science.aaa1415 |pmid=25739409 |s2cid=43455561 |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Villmoare |first1=Brian |last2=Kimbel |first2=William H. |last3=Seyoum |first3=Chalachew |last4=Campisano |first4=Christopher J. |last5=Dimaggio |first5=Erin N. |last6=Rowan |first6=John |last7=Braun |first7=David R. |last8=Arrowsmith |first8=J Ramón |last9=Reed |first9=Kaye E. |author-link9=Kaye Reed |date=4 March 2015 |title=Early Homo at 2.8 Ma from Ledi-Geraru, Afar, Ethiopia |journal=Science |volume=347 |issue=6228 |pages=1352–1355 |bibcode=2015Sci...347.1352V |doi=10.1126/science.aaa1343 |pmid=25739410 |s2cid=206632944 |doi-access=free}}
• 5 March
• Evidence for a vast, ancient ocean that once covered most of the northern hemisphere on Mars is reported by NASA.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/05/nasa-finds-evidence-of-a-vast-ancient-ocean-on-mars |title= Nasa finds evidence of a vast ancient ocean on Mars |work=The Guardian |date=5 March 2015 |access-date=6 March 2015}}
• Astronomers have discovered the fastest known star, which is being ejected from the galaxy by a supernova explosion. Its hypervelocity of 1,200 km/s (2.7 million mph) is high enough to escape the gravitational pull of the Milky Way.{{cite news |url=http://www.keckobservatory.org/recent/entry/thermonuclear_supernova_ejects_galaxys_fastest_star |title=Thermonuclear Supernova Ejects Galaxy's Fastest Star |publisher=WM Keck Observatory |date=5 March 2015 |access-date=6 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317041722/http://www.keckobservatory.org/recent/entry/thermonuclear_supernova_ejects_galaxys_fastest_star |archive-date=2015-03-17 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/03/150305-supernova-hypervelocity-star-white-dwarf-astronomy/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150308090202/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/03/150305-supernova-hypervelocity-star-white-dwarf-astronomy |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 8, 2015 |title=Fastest Star in the Milky Way Found Zipping Out of Galaxy |work=National Geographic |date=5 March 2015 |access-date=6 March 2015}}{{cite journal|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1259063 |title=The fastest unbound star in our Galaxy ejected by a thermonuclear supernova |journal=Science |date=6 March 2015 |doi=10.1126/science.1259063 |access-date=6 March 2015|last1=Geier |first1=S. |last2=Fürst |first2=F. |last3=Ziegerer |first3=E. |last4=Kupfer |first4=T. |last5=Heber |first5=U. |last6=Irrgang |first6=A. |last7=Wang |first7=B. |last8=Liu |first8=Z. |last9=Han |first9=Z. |last10=Sesar |first10=B. |last11=Levitan |first11=D. |last12=Kotak |first12=R. |last13=Magnier |first13=E. |last14=Smith |first14=K. |last15=Burgett |first15=W. S. |last16=Chambers |first16=K. |last17=Flewelling |first17=H. |last18=Kaiser |first18=N. |last19=Wainscoat |first19=R. |last20=Waters |first20=C. |volume=347 |issue=6226 |pages=1126–1128 |pmid=25745168 |arxiv=1503.01650 |bibcode=2015Sci...347.1126G |s2cid=206561078 }}
• The number of people affected by river flooding could nearly triple by 2030, according to a new analysis.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31738394 |title=Global flood toll to triple by 2030 |publisher=BBC |date=5 March 2015 |access-date=6 March 2015}}

File:15-33i2-JupiterMoon-Ganymede-Aurora-20150312.pnge on Ganymede, largest moon of planet Jupiter – auroral belt shifting may indicate a subsurface saline ocean.]]

• 6 March
• A pioneering therapy using bone marrow stem cells to treat lung cancer patients is announced in the UK.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/06/lung-cancer-stem-cell-therapy-trial-uk |title=Lung cancer stem cell therapy to be trialled in UK |work=The Guardian |date=6 March 2015 |access-date=6 March 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://www.mrc.ac.uk/news-events/news/combination-cell-gene-therapy-for-lung-cancer-to-be-tested-in-uk-patients/ |title=Combination cell-gene therapy for lung cancer to be tested in UK patients |publisher=Medical Research Council |date=6 March 2015 |access-date=6 March 2015 |archive-date=12 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512013547/http://www.mrc.ac.uk/news-events/news/combination-cell-gene-therapy-for-lung-cancer-to-be-tested-in-uk-patients/ |url-status=dead }}
• Archaeologists report finding two lost cities deep in the Honduras jungle, thought to be untouched by humans for at least 600 years.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/06/archaeologists-find-two-lost-cities-deep-in-honduras-jungle |title= Archaeologists find two lost cities deep in Honduras jungle |work=The Guardian |date=6 March 2015 |access-date=7 March 2015}}
• The Dawn spacecraft begins to orbit Ceres, becoming the first spacecraft to visit a dwarf planet.{{cite web |last1=Landau |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Brown |first2=Dwayne |title=NASA Spacecraft Becomes First to Orbit a Dwarf Planet |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4503 |date=6 March 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=6 March 2015 }}
• 7 March – Iranian nanotechnologists created a modern sort of electrical insulator with elevated dielectric constant, this achievement is used in electronics, optoelectronics and electrochemical factories.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=51050 Iranian Scientists Apply Nanotechnology to Produce Electrical Insulator] .nanotech-now.com __ Iranian Scientists Apply Nanotechnology to Produce Electrical Insulator Tehran, Iran | Posted on March 7th, 2015
• 9 March
• Solar Impulse begins its round-the-world flight, aiming to become the first plane to circumnavigate the globe using only energy from the Sun.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31772140 |title=Solar Impulse plane begins epic global flight |publisher=BBC |date=9 March 2015 |access-date=9 March 2015}}
• A new class of drugs known as "senolytics" has been shown to improve multiple aspects of aging in mice.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150309144823.htm |title=New class of drugs dramatically increases healthy lifespan, mouse study suggests |work=Science Daily |date=9 March 2015 |access-date=15 March 2015}}
• 11 March
• The rocket engine of NASA's Space Launch System, the most powerful booster ever built, has its first ground test, with officials claiming a "perfect" result.{{cite news|url=http://phys.org/news/2015-03-milestone-mars-nasa-test-fires-rocket.html |title=In 'milestone' toward Mars, NASA test-fires rocket |work=PhysOrg |date=11 March 2015 |access-date=11 March 2015}}{{cite news|url=http://www.space.com/28795-giant-solid-rocket-booster-nasa-test.html |title=World's Largest Solid Rocket Booster Fired in Ground Test for NASA |work=Space.com |date=11 March 2015 |access-date=11 March 2015}}
• NASA's Cassini spacecraft provides the first clear evidence of hydrothermal activity on Saturn's moon Enceladus, which may resemble that seen in the deep oceans on Earth and is likely the most habitable off-world environment ever found.{{cite news |url=http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/spacecraft-data-suggest-saturn-moons-ocean-may-harbor-hydrothermal-activity/index.html |title=Spacecraft Data Suggest Saturn Moon's Ocean May Harbor Hydrothermal Activity |publisher=NASA |date=11 March 2015 |access-date=12 March 2015 |archive-date=13 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313163814/http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/spacecraft-data-suggest-saturn-moons-ocean-may-harbor-hydrothermal-activity/index.html |url-status=dead }}
• Photos emerge of a newly formed island near Tonga in the Pacific, created as a result of volcanic activity.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/tongafrenchpolynesia/11463853/First-photographs-emerge-of-new-Pacific-island-off-Tonga.html |title=First photographs emerge of new Pacific island off Tonga |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=11 March 2015 |access-date=14 March 2015}}
• A breakthrough in carbon capture technology allows the process to be undertaken with half as much energy as previous methods.{{cite news|url=http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2015/03/11/new-material-captures-carbon-at-half-the-energy-cost/ |title=New material captures carbon at half the energy cost |publisher=UC Berkeley |date=11 March 2015 |access-date=14 March 2015}}
• 12 March
• A new method for treating Alzheimers with ultrasound has been demonstrated in mice, completely clearing the amyloid plaques in 75% of the animals.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/12/alzheimers-breakthrough-as-ultrasound-successfully-treats-disease-in-mice |title= Alzheimer's breakthrough as ultrasound successfully treats disease in mice |work=The Guardian |date=12 March 2015 |access-date=12 March 2015}}
• Hubble{{'s}} views of Ganymede's aurorae suggest the moon, Jupiter's largest, may contain a vast subsurface saline ocean.{{cite news|url=http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/nasa-s-hubble-observations-suggest-underground-ocean-on-jupiters-largest-moon/ |title=NASA's Hubble Observations Suggest Underground Ocean on Jupiter's Largest Moon |work=The Guardian |date=12 March 2015 |access-date=13 March 2015}}

{{Multiple image|direction=vertical|align=right|width=200|image1=15-044a-SuperNovaRemnant-PlanetFormation-SOFIA-20150319.jpg|image2=15-044b-SuperNovaRemnant-PlanetFormation-SOFIA-20150319.jpg|footer_align = center|footer=19 March: Supernova remnant ejecta producing planet-forming material.}}

• The U.S. Federal Communications Commission releases the specific details of the net neutrality rules.{{cite news |last=Ruiz |first=Rebecca R. |title=F.C.C. Sets Net Neutrality Rules |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/13/technology/fcc-releases-net-neutrality-rules.html |date=12 March 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=13 March 2015 }}{{cite web |author =FCC Staff |title=Federal Communications Commission - FCC 15-24 - In the Matter of Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet - GN Docket No. 14-28 - Report and Order on Remand, Declaratory Ruling, and Order |url=http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0312/FCC-15-24A1.pdf |date=12 March 2015 |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |access-date=13 March 2015 }}
• 17 March – Lava tubes big enough to house entire cities could be structurally stable on the moon, according to a theoretical study presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.{{cite news|url=http://phys.org/news/2015-03-theoretical-huge-lava-tubes-moon.html |title=Theoretical study suggests huge lava tubes could exist on moon |work=PhysOrg |date=19 March 2015 |access-date=21 March 2015}}
• 18 March
• NASA reports the detection of an aurora that is not fully understood and an unexplained dust cloud in the atmosphere of the planet Mars.{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Dwayne |last2=Neal-Jones |first2=Nancy |last3=Steigerwald |first3=Bill |last4=Scoitt |first4=Jim |title=RELEASE 15-045 NASA Spacecraft Detects Aurora and Mysterious Dust Cloud around Mars |url=http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/nasa-spacecraft-detects-aurora-and-mysterious-dust-cloud-around-mars |date=18 March 2015 |access-date=18 March 2015 }}
• A 30-year land-based study of the Amazon, the most extensive ever conducted, shows the rainforest is gradually losing its ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere, as trees die at faster and faster rates.{{cite news|url=http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/3676/amazons_carbon_uptake_declines_as_trees_die_faster |title=Amazon's carbon uptake declines as trees die faster |publisher=University of Leeds |date=18 March 2015 |access-date=19 March 2015}}{{cite journal |title=Long-term decline of the Amazon carbon sink |journal=Nature |date=18 March 2015 |volume=519 |issue=7543 |pages=344–348 |doi=10.1038/nature14283 |pmid=25788097 |bibcode=2015Natur.519..344B |last1=Brienen |first1=R. J. W |last2=Phillips |first2=O. L |last3=Feldpausch |first3=T. R |last4=Gloor |first4=E |last5=Baker |first5=T. R |last6=Lloyd |first6=J |last7=Lopez-Gonzalez |first7=G |last8=Monteagudo-Mendoza |first8=A |last9=Malhi |first9=Y |last10=Lewis |first10=S. L |last11=Vásquez Martinez |first11=R |last12=Alexiades |first12=M |last13=Álvarez Dávila |first13=E |last14=Alvarez-Loayza |first14=P |last15=Andrade |first15=A |last16=Aragão |first16=L. E. O. C |last17=Araujo-Murakami |first17=A |last18=Arets |first18=E. J. M. M |last19=Arroyo |first19=L |last20=Aymard c |first20=G. A |last21=Bánki |first21=O. S |last22=Baraloto |first22=C |last23=Barroso |first23=J |last24=Bonal |first24=D |last25=Boot |first25=R. G. A |last26=Camargo |first26=J. L. C |last27=Castilho |first27=C. V |last28=Chama |first28=V |last29=Chao |first29=K. J |last30=Chave |first30=J |s2cid=2972815 |display-authors=29 |url=http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45020/8/Main_ms_Brienen_et_al_jan_2015_2014-25-02632C.pdf |access-date=5 December 2019 |archive-date=22 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722223528/http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45020/8/Main_ms_Brienen_et_al_jan_2015_2014-25-02632C.pdf |url-status=dead }}
• 19 March
• The National Snow and Ice Data Center reports that Arctic sea ice reached its lowest ever maximum extent.{{cite news|url=http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2015/03/2015-maximum-lowest-on-record/ |title=Arctic sea ice reaches lowest maximum extent on record |publisher=National Snow and Ice Data Center |date=19 March 2015 |access-date=19 March 2015}}
• Using data from SOFIA, it is discovered that planets may be formed from supernova remnant ejecta.{{cite news |last=Quenqua |first=Douglas |title=Scientists Solve a Puzzle: Cosmic Dust Comes From Supernovae |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/science/scientists-solve-a-puzzle-cosmic-dust-comes-from-supernovas.html |date=19 March 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=21 March 2015 }}
• Scientists report on a genetic modification that can spread much quicker than conventional genetics would allow, copying itself to other chromosomes with CRISPRs. Possible applications include malaria-resistant mosquitos.{{cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/chain-reaction-spreads-gene-through-insects |title='Chain reaction' spreads gene through insects|date=19 March 2015|access-date=19 March 2015}}
• Scientists, including an inventor of CRISPR, urge a worldwide moratorium on using gene editing methods to genetically engineer the human genome in a way that can be inherited, writing "scientists should avoid even attempting, in lax jurisdictions, germline genome modification for clinical application in humans" until the full implications "are discussed among scientific and governmental organizations."{{cite news |last=Wade |first=Nicholas |title=Scientists Seek Ban on Method of Editing the Human Genome |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/science/biologists-call-for-halt-to-gene-editing-technique-in-humans.html |date=19 March 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=20 March 2015 }}{{cite journal |last1=Baltimore |first1=David |last2=Berg |first2=Paul |last3=Botchan |first3=Dana |last4=Charo |first4=R. Alta |last5=Church |first5=George |last6=Corn |first6=Jacob E. |last7=Daley |first7=George Q. |last8=Doudna |first8=Jennifer A. |last9=Fenner |first9=Marsha |last10=Greely |first10=Henry T. |last11=Jinek |first11=Martin |last12=Martin |first12=G. Steven |last13=Penhoet |first13=Edward |last14=Puck |first14=Jennifer |last15=Sternberg |first15=Samuel H. |last16=Weissman |first16=Jonathan S. |last17=Yamamoto |first17=Keith R. |title=A prudent path forward for genomic engineering and germline gene modification |date=19 March 2015 |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.aab1028 |pmid=25791083 |pmc=4394183 |volume=348 |issue=6230 |pages=36–8|bibcode=2015Sci...348...36B }}{{cite journal |last1=Lanphier |first1=Edward |last2=Urnov |first2=Fyodor |last3=Haecker |first3=Sarah Ehlen |last4=Werner |first4=Michael |last5=Smolenski |first5=Joanna |title=Don't edit the human germ line |date=26 March 2015 |journal=Nature |volume=519 |issue=7544 |pages=410–411 |doi=10.1038/519410a |pmid=25810189|bibcode=2015Natur.519..410L |doi-access=free }}
• 20 March – A total solar eclipse occurs, visible over much of Europe.{{cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/blood-moon-after-solar-eclipse-5380591|title=Blood moon: After the solar eclipse see what cosmic events are hitting our skies in 2015|work=Daily Mirror|date=22 March 2015|access-date=23 March 2015}}
• 22 March – DNA from the extinct woolly mammoth is spliced into that of an elephant and shown to be functional for the first time.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11488404/Woolly-mammoth-could-roam-again-as-extinct-DNA-merged-with-elephant.html|title=Woolly mammoth could roam again as extinct DNA merged with elephant|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=22 March 2015|access-date=28 March 2015|last1=Knapton|first1=Sarah}}
• 24 March
• NASA reports the first detection of nitrogen released after heating surface sediments on the planet Mars. The nitrogen, in the form of nitric oxide, was detected by the SAM instrument on the Curiosity rover and can be used by living organisms. The discovery supports the notion that ancient Mars may have been habitable for life.{{cite web |last1=Neal-Jones |first1=Nancy |last2=Steigerwald |first2=William |last3=Webster |first3=Guy |last4=Brown |first4=Dwayne |title=Curiosity Rover Finds Biologically Useful Nitrogen on Mars |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4516 |date=24 March 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=25 March 2015 }}
• The frog species Pristimantis mutabilis is described in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.{{Cite journal | last1 = Guayasamin | first1 = Juan | last2 = Krynak | first2 = Tim | last3= Krynak | first3= Katherine | last4=Culebras | first4=Jaime | last5=Hutter | first5=Carl | year = 2015 | title = Phenotypic plasticity raises questions for taxonomically important traits: a remarkable new Andean rainfrog (Pristimantis) with the ability to change skin texture | journal = Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | volume = 173 | issue = 4 | pages = 913–928 | doi = 10.1111/zoj.12222 | doi-access = free }}
• A temperature of 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) is recorded in the Antarctic Peninsula, the highest ever seen on the continent. The region is "one of the fastest warming spots on Earth."{{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/27/global-climate-change-highest-temp-recorded-in-antarctica-is-63-f.html |title=Antarctica hits highest temp recorded—63 F |publisher=CNBC |date=27 March 2015 |access-date=30 March 2015}}
• Iranian chemists modeled and resolved non-linear dynamic treatment and vulnerability of nanostructures in the presence of external driving factors.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=51163 Iranian Researchers Present Model to Determine Dynamic Behavior of Nanostructures] nanotech-now.com __ Iranian Researchers Present Model to Determine Dynamic Behavior of Nanostructures Tehran, Iran | Posted on March 24th, 2015
• 25 March
• A new technique has successfully entangled 3,000 atoms using only a single photon, the largest number of particles that have ever been mutually entangled experimentally.{{cite news|url=http://phys.org/news/2015-03-atoms-entangled-photon.html |title=3,000 atoms entangled with a single photon |work=PhysOrg |date=25 March 2015 |access-date=25 March 2015}}

File:Titanis07DB.jpg, an extinct eight-foot tall carnivorous flightless bird also known as a "terror bird".]]

• Iranian researchers reduce costly materials from diabetes diagnosis sensors. They devised and created a non-enzyme biosensor at the laboratorial scale to notice diabetes.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=51171 Iranian Scientists Eliminate Expensive Materials from Diabetes Diagnosis Sensors] nanotech-now.com Iranian Scientists Eliminate Expensive Materials from Diabetes Diagnosis Sensors

Tehran, Iran | Posted on March 25th, 2015

• 26 March
• The ice around the edge of Antarctica is melting faster than previously thought, researchers have warned.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/26/collapse-antarcticas-glaciers-ice-melt-sooner-than-thought-scientists-warn |title=Antarctic ice shelves are melting dramatically, study finds |work=The Guardian|date=26 March 2015 |access-date=26 March 2015}}
• A nanoparticle therapy has been shown to accelerate the healing of wounds by 50 percent.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150326121951.htm |title=Novel nanoparticle therapy promotes wound healing |work=Science Daily|date=26 March 2015 |access-date=31 March 2015}}
• Autonomous sensory meridian response is described.{{cite journal|last1=Barratt|first1=Emma L.|last2=Davis|first2=Nick J.|year=2015|title=Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state|journal=PeerJ|volume=3|pages=e851|doi=10.7717/peerj.851|issn=2167-8359|pmc=4380153|pmid=25834771 |doi-access=free }}
• 30 March
• A 1,000-year-old treatment for eye infections – containing onion, garlic and part of a cow's stomach – has been shown to completely wipe out Staphylococcus aureus, the antibiotic-resistant superbug known as MRSA.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-32117815 |title=1,000-year-old onion and garlic eye remedy kills MRSA |publisher=BBC|date=30 March 2015 |access-date=31 March 2015}}
• Eating pesticide-laden foods is linked to remarkably low sperm count (49% lower), say Harvard scientists in a landmark new study connecting pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables to reproductive health.{{cite news |url=http://www.vocativ.com/culture/science/pesticides-linked-to-low-sperm-counts/ |title=Pesticides May Be Killing Off Your Sperm |work=Vocativ |date=30 March 2015 |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-date=31 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331061014/http://www.vocativ.com/culture/science/pesticides-linked-to-low-sperm-counts/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|url=http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/03/27/humrep.dev064.abstract |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402194131/http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/03/27/humrep.dev064.abstract |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 April 2015 |title=Fruit and vegetable intake and their pesticide residues in relation to semen quality among men from a fertility clinic |work=Human Reproduction|date=30 March 2015 |access-date=31 March 2015}}
• Scientists have developed tiny 'nanoneedles' that successfully prompted parts of mice bodies to generate new blood vessels. It is hoped this technique could ultimately help damaged organs and nerves to repair themselves and help transplanted organs to thrive.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150330112256.htm |title=Prototype 'nanoneedles' generate new blood vessels in mice, paving way for new regenerative medicine |work=Science Daily |date=30 March 2015 |access-date=31 March 2015}}

• 1 April – New research reveals that, as the Arctic region warms and melts, polar bears forced ashore will be unable to gain sufficient food on land.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150401133025.htm |title=Polar bears unlikely to thrive on land-based foods |work=Science Daily |date=1 April 2015 |access-date=3 April 2015}} Two-thirds of polar bears could be lost by 2050 and the species could be extinct by 2100.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/01/polar-bears-face-starvation-unlikely-adapt-to-land-based-diet |title= Polar bears face starvation as unlikely to adapt to a land-based diet, says report |work=The Guardian |date=1 April 2015 |access-date=3 April 2015}}
• 2 April – Northwestern Medicine scientists identify a small RNA molecule called miR-182 that can suppress cancer-causing genes in mice with glioblastoma mulitforme (GBM), a deadly and incurable type of brain tumor.{{cite news | url=http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2015/04/cancer-genes-turned-off-in-deadly-brain-cancer.html |title=Cancer Genes Turned off in Deadly Brain Cancer |publisher=Northwestern University |date=2 April 2015 |access-date=5 April 2015}}
• 4 April – A total lunar eclipse occurs.
• 5 April – The Large Hadron Collider resumes operations after a two-year technology upgrade and various maintenance delays.{{Cite news | url =https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32160755|title=Large Hadron collider restarts after pause|publisher=BBC| author=Jonathan Webb|date=5 April 2015| access-date =5 April 2015|work=BBC News}}
• 6 April – Glaciers in Western Canada will lose 70 percent of their volume by 2100, according to a study by the University of British Columbia.{{cite news | url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150406121027.htm |title=Western Canada to lose 70 percent of glaciers by 2100 |work=Science Daily |date=6 April 2015 |access-date=7 April 2015}}{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/07/canada-glaciers-to-shrink-70-by-2100 |title=Canada glaciers to shrink 70% by 2100 |work=The Guardian |date=7 April 2015 |access-date=7 April 2015}}
• 7 April – Scientists from Iran research on a new method to let users to scan 3D photos with only their smartphone. The result was published in a media titled Nanophotonic coherent imager in the February 2015 issue of Optics Express.[http://en.mehrnews.com/detail/News/106523 Iranian researcher revolutionizes 3D imaging] en.mehrnews.com, Date: 4/7/2015 2:20:17 PM
• 8 April
• DARPA announces a new project that aims to create a computer program able to continuously scan its environment, evolving and adapting autonomously for the next 100 years.{{cite news |url=http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2015/04/08.aspx |title=DARPA Seeks to Create Software Systems That Could Last 100 Years |publisher=DARPA |date=8 April 2015 |access-date=10 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412124053/http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2015/04/08.aspx |archive-date=12 April 2015 }}
• Complex organic molecules have been detected in a young star system for the first time.{{cite news | url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150408131422.htm |title=Complex organic molecules discovered in infant star system: Hints that building blocks of chemistry of life are universal |work=Science Daily |date=8 April 2015 |access-date=12 April 2015}}
• Iranian researchers make magnetic recyclable photo-catalyst to refine dirty water.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=51255 http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=51255] nanotech-now.com

File:PlutoCharon-1stColorImage-NewHorizons-Ralph-20150409.png and moon Charon - first color image from the New Horizons spacecraft mission (Ralph camera; 9 April 2015).]]

• 9 April – Iranian researchers apply ultrasound waves to create Fullerene. This approach is in agreeing with green chemistry basics and it is biocompatible.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=51264 Iranian Scientists Use Ultrasound Waves to Produce Fullerene] nanotech-now.com
• 10 April – An almost completely intact skeleton of a terror bird is found in Argentina. Analysis suggests these predators had good low-frequency hearing and deep voices.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32218542 |title='Terror birds' had deep voices, fossil suggests |publisher=BBC |date=10 April 2015 |access-date=10 April 2015}}
• 13 April – The U.S. Federal Communications Commission publishes the final rule on its new "Net Neutrality" regulations.{{cite web |last=Reisinger |first=Don |title=Net neutrality rules get published -- let the lawsuits begin |url=http://www.cnet.com/news/fccs-net-neutrality-rules-hit-federal-register-lawsuit-underway/ |date=13 April 2015 |work=CNET |access-date=13 April 2015 }}
• 14 April
• Stone tools found at Lomekwi 3 are dated to 3.3 million years ago, which, if confirmed, would represent the oldest known stone tools.{{cite news|title=World's oldest stone tools discovered in Kenya|work=Science|date=April 14, 2015|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/world-s-oldest-stone-tools-discovered-kenya|access-date=April 18, 2015|author =Michael Balter}}
• NASA releases the first color image of Pluto, a dwarf planet, and its moon Charon, taken by the New Horizons spacecraft.{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Dwayne |last2=Buckley |first2=Michael |last3=Stothoff |first3=Maria |title=Release 15-064 - NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft Nears Historic July 14 Encounter with Pluto |url=http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/april/nasa-s-new-horizons-spacecraft-nears-historic-july-14-encounter-with-pluto/ |date=14 April 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=15 April 2015 }}{{cite web |last=Stromberg |first=Joseph |title=NASA's New Horizons probe is visiting Pluto — and just sent back its first color photos |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/4/14/8412031/pluto-new-horizons |date=14 April 2015 |work=Vox |access-date=14 April 2015 }} (image)
• Scientists report, based on results from the Rosetta and Philae spacecraft, that the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko has no magnetic field, which suggests that magnetism may not have played a role in the early formation of planetesimals.{{cite news |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Rosetta_and_Philae_find_comet_not_magnetised |title=Rosetta and Philae Find Comet Not Magnetised |publisher=European Space Agency |first=Markus |last=Bauer |date=14 April 2015 |access-date=14 April 2015}}{{cite journal |title=Rosetta's comet has no magnetic field |journal=Nature |first=Quirin |last=Schiermeier |date=14 April 2015 |doi=10.1038/nature.2015.17327|s2cid=123964604 }}
• A search for possible heat signatures of advanced extraterrestrial civilisations reveals it has found "nothing obvious" in 100,000 galaxies.{{cite news | url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-04/ps-sfa041415.php |title=Search for advanced civilizations beyond Earth finds nothing obvious in 100,000 galaxies |work=EurekAlert! |date=14 April 2015 |access-date=14 April 2015}}
• Iranian scientists assess the dynamic effect in connecting two carbon nanotubes.[http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=51289 Iranian Scientists Evaluate Dynamic Interaction between 2 Carbon Nanotubes ...] nanotech-now.com/news
• 15 April
• Following groundbreaking studies on mice, American scientists claim to have found a potential cause of Alzheimer's disease in the behaviour of immune cells, which it may be possible to target with drug treatments.{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/alzheimers-breakthrough-scientists-may-have-found-potential-cause-of-the-disease-in-the-behaviour-of-immune-cells--giving-new-hope-to-millions-10176652.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/alzheimers-breakthrough-scientists-may-have-found-potential-cause-of-the-disease-in-the-behaviour-of-immune-cells--giving-new-hope-to-millions-10176652.html |archive-date=2022-05-01 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Alzheimer's breakthrough: Scientists may have found potential cause of the disease in the behaviour of immune cells - giving new hope to millions |work=The Independent |date=15 April 2015 |access-date=15 April 2015}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32315763|title=Dementia 'halted in mice brains'|work=BBC News|date=15 April 2015|access-date=15 April 2015|last1=Gallagher|first1=James}}
• Researchers uncover evidence of a cannibalistic ritual that occurred in a British cave roughly 14,700 years ago.{{cite web|title=Ritual cannibalism occurred in England 14,700 years ago|date=24 April 2015|url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ritual-cannibalism-occurred-england-14700-years-ago|publisher=sciencenews.org|access-date=24 April 2015}}
• 16 April
• A major advance in artificial photosynthesis is achieved with a system able to capture CO₂ using solar energy and then use it to produce valuable chemical products.{{cite news | url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150416132638.htm |title=Major advance in artificial photosynthesis poses win/win for the environment |work=Science Daily |date=16 April 2015 |access-date=17 April 2015}}
• Modification of histones in the DNA of nematodes, fruit flies, and possibly humans can affect aging, researchers claim.{{cite news | url=http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2015/04/dna-spool-modification-affects-aging-and-longevity |title=DNA 'spool' modification affects aging and longevity |publisher=Cornell University |date=16 April 2015 |access-date=20 April 2015}}
• Scientists say the first detailed kinematic study of octopus arm coordination in crawling show that the animals have a special system control tactic to fix their odd form.[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150416132201.htm Morphing octopuses have unique way to control their 'odd' forms] sciencedaily.com
• Iranian researchers have produced a type of nanocatalyst which improves the performance of fuel cells.{{cite news | url=http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=51310 |title=Newly-Developed Nanocatalysts Increase Performance of Fuel Cells |work=Nanotechnology Now|date=16 April 2015 |access-date=24 April 2015}}
• 17 April – Bouvier's red colobus, a species of monkey last seen in the 1970s and thought to have been extinct, is rediscovered in the Republic of Congo.{{cite news|title=Monkey Presumed Extinct Appears in Congo Forest|date=17 April 2015|url=http://news.discovery.com/animals/endangered-species/monkey-presumed-extinct-appears-in-congo-forest-150417.htm|access-date=17 April 2015|publisher=Discovery News|author=Becky Oskin|archive-date=15 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415024925/http://news.discovery.com/animals/endangered-species/monkey-presumed-extinct-appears-in-congo-forest-150417.htm|url-status=dead}}
• 20 April – Japan announces plans to send an uncrewed lunar rover to the Moon's surface in 2018.{{cite news | url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/23/tech/japan-moon-lander-planned/index.html |title=Japan's space agency aims for the moon in 2018 |publisher=CNN|date=23 April 2015 |access-date=24 April 2015}}
• 21 April
• The Japanese L0 Series maglev becomes the first train to operate at a speed of {{convert|600|kph|mph}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-maglev-train-sets-speed-record-375-mph-2015-4|title=Japanese maglev train sets speed record|publisher=Business Insider UK|date=22 April 2015|access-date=24 April 2015}}
• Researchers demonstrate WiFiFO (WiFi Free space Optic), a technology capable of increasing the bandwidth of WiFi systems tenfold, using optical data transmission via LED lights.{{cite news | url=http://www.kurzweilai.net/new-wi-fi-system-uses-led-lights-to-boost-bandwidth-tenfold |title=New WiFi system uses LED lights to boost bandwidth tenfold |publisher=KurzweilAI|date=21 April 2015 |access-date=24 April 2015}}

File:8-cell stage embryo.png

• 22 April
• Astronomers have made the first-ever direct detection of the spectrum of visible light reflected off an exoplanet.{{cite news | url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150422084919.htm |title=First exoplanet visible light spectrum |work=Science Daily |date=22 April 2015 |access-date=22 April 2015}}
• Researchers in China publish results of basic research using CRISPR to edit genes in non-viable human embryos.{{cite news |last=Kolata |first=Gina |title=Chinese Scientists Edit Genes of Human Embryos, Raising Concerns |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/health/chinese-scientists-edit-genes-of-human-embryos-raising-concerns.html |date=23 April 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=24 April 2015 }}{{cite journal |last1=Liang |first1=Puping |last2=Xu |first2=Yanwen |last3=Zhang |first3=Xiya |last4=Ding |first4=Chenhui |last5=Huang |first5=Rui |last6=Zhang |first6=Zhen |last7=Lv |first7=Jie |last8=Xie |first8=Xiaowei |last9=Chen |first9=Yuxi |last10=Li |first10=Yujing |last11=Sun |first11=Ying |last12=Bai |first12=Yaofu |last13=Songyang |first13=Zhou |last14=Ma |first14=Wenbin |last15=Zhou |first15=Canquan |last16=Huang |first16=Junjiu |title=CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing in human tripronuclear zygotes |date=18 April 2015 |journal=Protein & Cell |doi=10.1007/s13238-015-0153-5 |pmid=25894090 |pmc=4417674 |volume=6 |issue=5 |pages=363–72}}
• 23 April
• Two huge magma chambers have been imaged in 3D below Yellowstone National Park.{{cite news | url=https://www.science.org/content/article/two-huge-magma-chambers-spied-beneath-yellowstone-national-park |title=Two huge magma chambers spied beneath Yellowstone National Park |work=Science|date=23 April 2015 |access-date=24 April 2015}}
• For the first time, signals relating to the constant ringing noise of tinnitus have been mapped across the brain of a patient undergoing surgery.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32414876 |title=Tinnitus mapped inside human brain |publisher=BBC|date=23 April 2015 |access-date=24 April 2015}}
• An international team of scientists has sequenced the complete genome of the woolly mammoth.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32432693 |title=Mammoth genome sequence completed |publisher=BBC|date=23 April 2015 |access-date=24 April 2015}}
• Researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada have developed a new algorithm for showing protein structures in 3D, based on 2D images, which is 100,000 times faster than current methods.{{cite news | url=http://www.technologyreview.com/view/536976/an-algorithm-set-to-revolutionize-3-d-protein-structure-discovery/|title=An Algorithm Set To Revolutionize 3-D Protein Structure Discovery |work=Technology Review|date=23 April 2015 |access-date=24 April 2015}}
• A new gene-editing technique is reported that could prevent mitochondrial diseases, without the need for three-parent IVF.{{cite web|title=Genetic editing can delete deleterious mitochondria|url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/genetic-editing-can-delete-deleterious-mitochondria|access-date=April 23, 2015|date=2015-04-23}}
• 27 April – Archaeologists discover fossil remnants of an ancient human species, dating from roughly 430,000 years ago, in two sites in Italy.{{cite web|url=http://au.ibtimes.com/ancient-teeth-modern-human-species-discovered-italy-1443320 |title=Ancient Teeth Of Modern Human Species Discovered In Italy|work=International Business Times|date= 27 April 2015 |access-date=28 April 2015}}
• 28 April
• A study from Arizona State University reveals the action of an experimental blood pressure drug in unprecedented detail, potentially aiding the development of new and better drugs.{{cite web|url=http://phys.org/news/2015-04-key-blood-pressure-drug-startling.html |title=Key blood pressure drug seen in startling new detail|publisher=Phys.org|date= 28 April 2015 |access-date=28 April 2015}}
• British and American psychologists claimed persecuting in schooldays result to at least mental health difficulties in adulthood.[https://www.sciencenews.org/article/childhood-bullying-leads-long-term-mental-health-problems Childhood bullying leads to long-term mental health problems] sciencenews.org _ April 28, 2015

File:Rubella virus TEM B82-0203 lores.jpg has been eradicated from the Americas.]]

• 29 April
• Scientists report finding a scansoriopterygid dinosaur, named Yi qi ("strange wing"), that may have flown without feathers.{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/nature14423| title = A bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran theropod with preserved evidence of membranous wings| journal = Nature| year = 2015| last1 = Xu | first1 = X. | last2 = Zheng | first2 = X. | last3 = Sullivan | first3 = C. | last4 = Wang | first4 = X. | last5 = Xing | first5 = L. | last6 = Wang | first6 = Y. | last7 = Zhang | first7 = X. | last8 = O'Connor | first8 = J. K. | last9 = Zhang | first9 = F. | last10 = Pan | first10 = Y. | pmid=25924069 | volume=521 | issue = 7550| pages=70–3| bibcode = 2015Natur.521...70X| s2cid = 205243599}}{{cite news |last=Wilford |first=John Noble |title=Small Jurassic Dinosaur May Have Flown Without Feathers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/science/small-jurassic-dinosaur-may-have-flown-without-feathers.html |date=29 April 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=29 April 2015 }}
• The World Health Organization (WHO) declares that rubella has been eradicated from the Americas.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32523300|title=Rubella (German measles) eradicated from Americas |publisher=BBC|date=29 April 2015 |access-date=29 April 2015}}{{cite news | url=http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10798%3Aamericas-free-of-rubella&Itemid=1926&lang=en|title=Americas region is declared the world's first to eliminate rubella |publisher=WHO|date=29 April 2015 |access-date=3 May 2015}}
• Two critical steps towards a practical quantum computer are achieved by IBM scientists, who demonstrate the ability to detect and measure both kinds of quantum errors simultaneously, as well as building a new, square quantum bit circuit design that is the only physical architecture that could successfully scale to larger dimensions.{{cite news | url=http://phys.org/news/2015-04-scientists-critical-quantum.html|title=Scientists achieve critical steps to building first practical quantum computer |work=PhysOrg|date=29 April 2015 |access-date=2 May 2015}}
• 30 April
• NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft concludes its four-year orbital mission over Mercury by crashing into the planet at a velocity of approximately {{convert|14080|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}, impacting at 54.4° N, 149.9° W, near the crater Janáček.{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=NASA's Messenger Mission Is Set to Crash Into Mercury |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/28/science/nasas-messenger-mission-is-set-to-crash-into-mercury.html |date=27 April 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=27 April 2015 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.universetoday.com/120043/mercury-messenger-mission-concludes-with-a-smashing-finale/|title=Mercury Messenger Mission Ends with a Smashing Finale|publisher=Universe Today|date=30 April 2015|access-date=2 May 2015}}
• Tesla Motors reveals a new large-scale battery technology for homes and businesses, which will provide a means of storing energy from localised renewables and a reliable backup system during power outages.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-32545081|title=Tesla unveils batteries to power homes |work=BBC News|date=1 May 2015 |access-date=1 May 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://www.teslamotors.com/presskit/teslaenergy |title=Tesla Energy |publisher=Tesla Motors |date=30 April 2015 |access-date=30 April 2015 |archive-date=8 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708142558/https://www.teslamotors.com/presskit/teslaenergy |url-status=dead }}
• Progeria researchers have shown how the disorganisation of DNA contributes to the cell disorder and is linked to aspects of aging.[https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dna-disorganization-linked-aging DNA disorganization linked to aging] sciencenews.org _ April 30, 2015

• 3 May – Astronomers report detection of a most distant galaxy, EGS-zs8-1, with an estimated distance of 13.1 billion light-years.{{cite journal |author1=Oesch, P.A. |title=A Spectroscopic Redshift Measurement for a Luminous Lyman Break Galaxy at z=7.730 using Keck/MOSFIRE |date=3 May 2015 |journal= The Astrophysical Journal|arxiv=1502.05399 |display-authors=etal |doi=10.1088/2041-8205/804/2/l30 |volume=804 |issue=2 |pages=L30|bibcode=2015ApJ...804L..30O |s2cid = 55115344}}

{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye |title=Astronomers Measure Distance to Farthest Galaxy Yet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/06/science/astronomers-measure-distance-to-farthest-galaxy-yet.html |date=5 May 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=6 May 2015 }}

• 5 May
• Researchers develop a centimetre-accurate GPS-based positioning system that could revolutionise geolocation on VR headsets, cellphones, drones and other technologies.{{cite news |url=http://news.utexas.edu/2015/05/05/texas-engineers-develop-centimeter-accurate-gps-system |title=New Centimeter-Accurate GPS System Could Transform Virtual Reality and Mobile Devices |publisher=The University of Texas at Austin |date=5 May 2015 |access-date=5 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509023150/http://news.utexas.edu/2015/05/05/texas-engineers-develop-centimeter-accurate-gps-system |archive-date=9 May 2015 |url-status=dead }}
• Vehicle manufacturer Daimler announces that its Freightliner Inspiration Truck has become the world's first autonomous truck to be granted a license for road use in the state of Nevada.{{cite news |url=http://media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-921-899449-1-1810873-1-0-1-0-0-1-12639-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0.html |title=Freightliner Inspiration Truck – the first licensed autonomous driving truck in the US |publisher=Daimler |date=5 May 2015 |access-date=7 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518063029/http://media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-921-899449-1-1810873-1-0-1-0-0-1-12639-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0.html |archive-date=18 May 2015 |url-status=dead }}
• Archaeornithura meemannae, a new species of prehistoric bird that represents the oldest known member of the modern bird lineage, is discovered.{{cite web|title=Feathered fossils from China reveal dawn of modern birds |author =Balter, Michael |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/feathered-fossils-china-reveal-dawn-modern-birds |date=5 May 2015 |access-date=6 May 2015| work=Science}}

File:Opah 6.jpg

• 6 May
• Atmospheric CO₂ remained above 400 parts per million (ppm) throughout March 2015, the first time it has been at this level for an entire month, according to NOAA. The current concentration of greenhouse gases is the highest it has been for millions of years.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/06/global-carbon-dioxide-levels-break-400ppm-milestone |title=Global carbon dioxide levels break 400ppm milestone |work=The Guardian |date=6 May 2015 |access-date=7 May 2015}}{{cite news|url=http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/global.html |title=ESRL Global Monitoring Division - Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network |publisher=NOAA |date=6 May 2015 |access-date=7 May 2015}}
• Scientists announce a 2020 uncrewed mission, named "Hope", to the planet Mars by the United Arab Emirates, to study the Martian atmosphere and climate.{{cite news |last=Shreck |first=Adam |title=UAE to explore Mars' atmosphere with probe named 'Hope' |url=http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150506/ml--emirates-mars_mission-a48c414829.html |date=6 May 2015 |work=AP News |access-date=7 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509000206/http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150506/ml--emirates-mars_mission-a48c414829.html |archive-date=9 May 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Rory |last2=Parasie |first2=Nicolas |title=U.A.E. Plans to Launch Mars Probe - Scientists behind Emirati orbiter 'Hope' aim to collect data on the Red Planet |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-a-e-plans-to-launch-mars-probe-1430935661 |date=7 May 2015 |work=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=7 May 2015 }}{{cite news |last=Berger |first=Brian |title=UAE Unveils Science Goals for 'Hope' Mars Probe |url=http://spacenews.com/uae-positions-2020-mars-probe-as-catalyst-for-a-new-generation-of-arab-scientists-and-engineers/ |date=6 May 2015 |work=SpaceNews |access-date=7 May 2015 }}
• A 3-D technology known as tomosynthesis is shown to detect 40 percent more breast cancers than mammography, while lowering the radiation dose.{{cite news|url=http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/watch-new-method-detects-more-breast-cancer-in-screening |title=New method detects more breast cancer in screening |publisher=Lund University |date=6 May 2015 |access-date=10 May 2015}}
• Scientists announce discovery of Lokiarchaeota, which is a transitional form between Archaea and Eukaryotes.{{cite journal|last1=Spang|first1=Anja|last2=Saw|first2=Jimmy H.|last3=Jørgensen|first3=Steffen L.|last4=Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka|first4=Katarzyna|last5=Martijn|first5=Joran|last6=Lind|first6=Anders E.|last7=van Eijk|first7=Roel|last8=Schleper|first8=Christa|last9=Guy|first9=Lionel|last10=Ettema|first10=Thijs J. G.|title=Complex archaea that bridge the gap between prokaryotes and eukaryotes|journal=Nature|year=2015|issn=0028-0836|doi=10.1038/nature14447|pmid=25945739|pmc=4444528|volume=521|issue=7551|pages=173–9|bibcode=2015Natur.521..173S}}
• 12 May
• The Australian Government's Bureau of Meteorology confirms that the tropical Pacific is in the early stages of an El Niño that is "likely to persist in the coming months."{{cite news|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/ |title=El Niño in the tropical Pacific |publisher=Bureau of Meteorology |date=12 May 2015 |access-date=12 May 2015}}
• New evidence has been uncovered that global warming will damage wheat yields, resulting in a 15 percent loss when average temperatures increase by 2 degrees Celsius and a 40 percent decline when average temperatures rise by 4 degrees.{{cite news|url=http://phys.org/news/2015-05-evidence-global-wheat-production.html |title=New evidence that global warming will hurt US wheat production |work=PhysOrg |date=12 May 2015 |access-date=13 May 2015}}
• 13 May – For the first time, the phase brightness variations in exoplanets have been measured to see the day-night cycle of exoplanetary weather dynamics.{{cite news|url=http://news.discovery.com/space/alien-life-exoplanets/exoplanet-forecast-cloudy-morning-outlook-horrific-heat-150513.htm |title=Exoplanet Forecast: Cloudy Morning. Outlook: Horrific Heat |work=Discovery |date=13 May 2015 |access-date=18 May 2015}}
• 14 May – Researchers confirm that strong warming is taking place in the upper troposphere, a phenomenon long predicted in global warming theory and climate models.{{cite news|url=http://www.newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/climate-scientists-find-elusive-tropospheric-hot-spot |title=Climate scientists find elusive tropospheric hot spot |publisher=UNSW |date=14 May 2015 |access-date=15 May 2015}}
• 15 May
• Larsen B and C, a pair of ice shelves in the Antarctic, are reportedly at risk of collapse in the near future, potentially adding several centimetres to global sea levels.{{cite news|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/massive-antarctic-ice-shelf-faces-imminent-risk-of-collapse/ |title=Massive Antarctic Ice Shelf Faces Imminent Risk of Collapse |work=Scientific American |date=13 May 2015 |access-date=15 May 2015}}
• Researchers have taken a step towards large-scale fabrication of graphene, using chemical vapor deposition to produce composites containing 2-inch-by-2-inch sheets of the material.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150515001353.htm |title=First large-scale graphene fabrication |work=Science Daily |date=15 May 2015 |access-date=18 May 2015}}
• The opah is confirmed as the first known "warm-blooded" fish, able to regulate the temperature of its entire body.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32742620 |title=Warm-blooded fish traps its own heat in the deep |publisher=BBC |date=15 May 2015 |access-date=18 May 2015}}

File:PIA19339-MostLuminousGalaxy-WISE-J224607.57-052635.0-20150521.jpg is the most luminous galaxy in the Universe. (artist's impression)]]

• 18 May – Scientists have reactivated neuroplasticity in older mice, restoring their brains to a more youthful state.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150518121847.htm |title=Neurobiologists restore youthful vigor to adult mouse brains |work=Science Daily|date=18 May 2015 |access-date=20 May 2015}}
• 19 May – Playing natural sounds such as flowing water in offices can boost worker moods and improve cognitive abilities, in addition to providing speech privacy, according to a new study.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150519151217.htm |title=Natural sounds improve mood and productivity |work=Science Daily|date=19 May 2015 |access-date=21 May 2015}}
• 20 May – NASA reports the Kepler space observatory observed KSN 2011b, a Type Ia supernova in the process of exploding: before, during and after. Details of the pre-nova moments may help scientists better understand dark energy.{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Michele |last2=Chandler |first2=Lynn |title=NASA Spacecraft Capture Rare, Early Moments of Baby Supernovae |url=http://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/nasa-spacecraft-capture-rare-early-moments-of-baby-supernovae |date=May 20, 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=May 21, 2015 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108105310/http://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/nasa-spacecraft-capture-rare-early-moments-of-baby-supernovae/ |url-status=dead }}
• 21 May
• NASA reports the most luminous galaxy yet discovered is galaxy WISE J224607.57-052635.0. Smaller than the Milky Way galaxy, this dusty galaxy releases 10,000 times more energy. Nearly 100 percent of the light emitted from galaxy WISE J224607.57-052635.0 is infrared radiation.{{cite web |author =Staff |title=PIA19339: Dusty 'Sunrise' at Core of Galaxy (Artist's Concept) |url=http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19339 |date=21 May 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=21 May 2015 }}{{cite web |author =Staff |title=WISE spacecraft discovers most luminous galaxy in universe |url=http://phys.org/news/2015-05-wise-spacecraft-luminous-galaxy-universe.html |date=21 May 2015 |website=PhysOrg |access-date=22 May 2015 }} (image)
• Scientists have observed a sudden increase of ice loss in a previously stable region of Antarctica. The ice loss is so large that it causes small changes in the gravity field of the Earth.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150521143926.htm |title=Sudden onset of ice loss in Antarctica so large it affects Earth's gravity field |work=Science Daily|date=21 May 2015 |access-date=22 May 2015}}
• 22 May – Researchers have developed algorithms that enable robots to learn motor tasks through trial and error using a process that more closely approximates the way humans learn, marking a major milestone in the field of artificial intelligence.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150522105402.htm |title=Robot masters new skills through trial and error |work=Science Daily|date=22 May 2015 |access-date=23 May 2015}}

File:Large Hadron Collider dipole magnets IMG 0955.jpg

• 25 May – A new technique to create a single-molecule diode has been developed by scientists, and, in doing so, they have developed molecular diodes that perform 50 times better than all prior designs.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150525115931.htm |title=One step closer to a single-molecule device |work=Science Daily|date=25 May 2015 |access-date=26 May 2015}}
• 27 May – Glacier volume in the Everest region of the Himalayas could be reduced between 70% and 99% by 2100, unless greenhouse gas emissions are curbed, according to a new study by the European Geosciences Union.{{cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150527095444.htm |title=Glacier changes at the top of the world |work=Science Daily|date=27 May 2015 |access-date=27 May 2015}}
• 28 May – A new species of ancient hominid – Australopithecus deyiremeda – is uncovered in Ethiopia, with jaw bones and teeth dating to between 3.3m and 3.5m years old.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32906836 |title='New species' of ancient human found |publisher=BBC|date=28 May 2015 |access-date=28 May 2015}}
• 29 May
• Researchers have developed a new shape-memory material that stays strong even after tens of millions of transformations.{{cite news|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a15773/shape-shifting-metal-alloy/ |title=This Breakthrough Shape-Memory Metal Practically Never Wears Out |work=Popular Mechanics|date=29 May 2015 |access-date=29 May 2015}}{{cite journal|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1261164 |title=Ultralow-fatigue shape memory alloy films |journal=Science|date=29 May 2015 |doi=10.1126/science.1261164 |access-date=29 May 2015|last1=Chluba |first1=Christoph |last2=Ge |first2=Wenwei |last3=Lima De Miranda |first3=Rodrigo |last4=Strobel |first4=Julian |last5=Kienle |first5=Lorenz |last6=Quandt |first6=Eckhard |last7=Wuttig |first7=Manfred |volume=348 |issue=6238 |pages=1004–1007 |pmid=26023135 |bibcode=2015Sci...348.1004C |s2cid=2563331 |url-access=subscription }}
• A new version of the Cheetah robot has been demonstrated with the ability to jump over obstacles while running.{{cite news|url=http://phys.org/news/2015-05-cheetah-robot-video.html |title=Cheetah robot lands the running jump |work=PhysOrg|date=29 May 2015 |access-date=29 May 2015}}
• 30 May – A new treatment for lung cancer using a drug called nivolumab has been shown to more than double life expectancy in some patients.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32936877 |title=Lung cancer therapy is 'milestone' |publisher=BBC|date=30 May 2015 |access-date=30 May 2015}}

• 1 June – A new study has linked rapid Arctic ice loss to extreme weather changes in Europe and the US.{{cite news |title=Rapid Arctic ice loss linked to extreme weather changes in Europe and US |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/01/rapid-arctic-ice-loss-linked-to-extreme-weather-changes-in-europe-and-us |date=1 June 2015 |work=The Guardian |access-date=1 June 2015 }}

File:No-slow-down-in-global-warming-NOAA.jpg

• 2 June
• NASA reports that the ALICE spectrograph on the Rosetta space probe studying comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P) determined that electrons (within {{convert|1|km|mi|abbr=on}} above the comet nucleus) produced from photoionization of water molecules by solar radiation, and not photons from the Sun as thought earlier, are responsible for the degradation of water and carbon dioxide molecules released from the comet nucleus into its coma.{{cite news |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4609 |title=NASA Instrument on Rosetta Makes Comet Atmosphere Discovery |publisher=NASA |last1=Agle |first1=D. C. |last2=Brown |first2=Dwayne |last3=Fohn |first3=Joe |last4=Bauer |first4=Markus |date=2 June 2015 |access-date=2 June 2015}}{{cite journal |url=http://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/forth/aa25925-15.pdf |title=Measurements of the near-nucleus coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with the Alice far-ultraviolet spectrograph on Rosetta |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |last1=Feldman |first1=Paul D. |last2=A'Hearn |first2=Michael F. |last3=Bertaux |first3=Jean-Loup |last4=Feaga |first4=Lori M. |last5=Parker |first5=Joel Wm. |last6=Schindhelm |first6=Eric |last7=Steiffl |first7=Andrew J. |last8=Stern |first8=S. Alan |last9=Weaver |first9=Harold A. |last10=Sierks |first10=Holger |last11=Vincent |first11=Jean-Baptiste |display-authors=5 |date=2 June 2015 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201525925 |bibcode=2015A&A...583A...8F |volume=583 |pages=A8|arxiv=1506.01203 |s2cid=119104807 }}
• Researchers have discovered a key protein required to maintain muscle mass and muscle strength during aging.{{cite news |title=Researchers discover key to maintaining muscle strength while we age |url=http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-06-key-muscle-strength-age.html |date=2 June 2015 |work=MedicalXpress |access-date=2 June 2015 }}
• For the first time, researchers have created a lab-grown limb of a rat.{{cite news |title=MGH team develops transplantable bioengineered forelimb in an animal model |url=http://www.massgeneral.org/about/pressrelease.aspx?id=1815 |date=2 June 2015 |publisher=Massachusetts General Hospital |access-date=3 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920070503/http://www.massgeneral.org/about/pressrelease.aspx?id=1815 |archive-date=20 September 2017 |url-status=dead }}{{cite journal |title=Engineered composite tissue as a bioartificial limb graft |doi=10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.04.051 |pmid=26004237 |volume=61 |journal=Biomaterials |pages=246–256 |year=2015 | last1 = Jank | first1 = Bernhard J.|pmc=4568187 }}
• California-based Tri Alpha Energy has shown a 10-fold improvement in its ability to contain the hot particles needed for fusion.{{cite news |title=Mystery company blazes a trail in fusion energy |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/mystery-company-blazes-trail-fusion-energy |work=Science |date=2 June 2015|access-date=5 June 2015 }}
• 3 June
• The Large Hadron Collider is reactivated after a two-year pause, during which upgrades and repairs were taking place. The machine is now able to experiment with higher energies, increasing from 8 to 13 trillion electron volts (TeV).{{cite news |title=Large Hadron Collider turns on 'data tap' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32976838 |date=3 June 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=3 June 2015 }}{{cite news |title=LHC experiments are back in business at a new record energy |url=http://press.web.cern.ch/press-releases/2015/06/lhc-experiments-are-back-business-new-record-energy |date=3 June 2015 |publisher=CERN |access-date=3 June 2015 }}
• 4 June
• Using new global surface temperature data, scientists at NOAA have shown that the rate of global warming in the last 15 years has not slowed, eliminating the "hiatus".{{cite news |title=The Recent Global Surface Warming Hiatus |url=http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/recent-global-surface-warming-hiatus |date=4 June 2015 |publisher=NOAA |access-date=5 June 2015 }}{{cite journal |title=Possible artifacts of data biases in the recent global surface warming hiatus |date=4 June 2015 |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.aaa5632 |last1=Karl |first1=Thomas R. |last2=Arguez |first2=Anthony |last3=Huang |first3=Boyin |last4=Lawrimore |first4=Jay H. |last5=McMahon |first5=James R. |last6=Menne |first6=Matthew J. |last7=Peterson |first7=Thomas C. |last8=Vose |first8=Russell S. |last9=Zhang |first9=Huai-Min |volume=348 |issue=6242 |pages=1469–1472 |pmid=26044301 |bibcode=2015Sci...348.1469K |s2cid=206635129 |doi-access=free }}
• For the first time, a computer intelligence without direct human help has produced a model of regeneration.{{cite news |title=Planarian regeneration model discovered by artificial intelligence |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150604162447.htm |date=4 June 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=5 June 2015 }}
• Warming ocean temperatures and decreasing oxygen levels will significantly shift marine habitats in the future, according to a study by the University of Washington.{{cite news |title=Warmer, lower-oxygen oceans will shift marine habitats |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150604162455.htm |date=4 June 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=5 June 2015 }}
• Researchers have achieved a significant breakthrough in combating antibiotic resistance using phages.{{cite news |title=Programming DNA to reverse antibiotic resistance in bacteria |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150604162632.htm |date=4 June 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=5 June 2015 }}

File:PIA19673-Mars-AlgaCrater-ImpactGlassDetected-MRO-20150608.jpg on Mars - detection of impact glass deposit - possible site for preserved ancient life.]]

• 8 June
• NASA reports that impact glass has been detected on the planet Mars - such material may contain preserved signs of ancient life.{{cite web |author =Staff |title=PIA19673: Spectral Signals Indicating Impact Glass on Mars |url=http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19673 |date=8 June 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=8 June 2015 }} (related image)
• May 2015 was the wettest month on record for the contiguous U.S. according to NOAA.{{cite news |title=National Summary Information - May 2015 |url=http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/national/201505 |date=8 June 2015 |publisher=NOAA |access-date=9 June 2015 }}
• Engineers at Stanford University have developed a state-by-state plan to convert the U.S. to 100% clean, renewable energy by 2050.{{cite news |title=Stanford engineers develop state-by-state plan to convert U.S. to 100% clean, renewable energy by 2050 |url=http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2015/pr-50states-renewable-energy-060815.html |date=8 June 2015 |publisher=Stanford |access-date=9 June 2015 |archive-date=9 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609160836/http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2015/pr-50states-renewable-energy-060815.html |url-status=dead }}
• 9 June – Researchers have discovered what appear to be the remnants of red blood cells and connective tissue in 75 million-year-old dinosaur fossils.{{cite news |title='Blood cells' found in dino fossils |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33067582 |date=9 June 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=10 June 2015 }}
• 10 June – A woman in Belgium is the first in the world to give birth to a baby using transplanted ovarian tissue frozen when she was still a child, doctors say.{{cite news |title=Baby born from ovary frozen in mother's childhood |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33063838 |date=10 June 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=10 June 2015 }}
• 14 June – News reports announce that the Philae lander, part of the Rosetta space mission, on the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, has woken up from hibernation and is communicating with Earth.{{cite journal |last1=Biever |first1=Celeste |last2=Gibney |first2=Elizabeth |title=Philae comet lander wakes up and phones home |url=http://www.nature.com/news/philae-comet-lander-wakes-up-and-phones-home-1.17756 |date=14 June 2015 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/nature.2015.17756 |s2cid=182262028 |access-date=14 June 2015 |url-access=subscription }}{{cite news |agency =Associated Press |title=Comet Lander Philae Awakes From Hibernation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/06/14/science/ap-eu-sci-comet-landing.html |date=14 June 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=14 June 2015 }}{{cite news |author =Staff |title=Philae comet lander wakes up |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33126885 |date=14 June 2015 |work=BBC News |access-date=14 June 2015 }}
• 15 June
• Researchers have sequenced and assembled the first full genome of a living organism using technology the size of smartphone.{{cite news |title=First full genome of a living organism sequenced and assembled using technology the size of smartphone |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150615124724.htm |date=15 June 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=16 June 2015 }}
• A study published in the British Medical Journal finds that consuming up to 100g of chocolate every day is linked to lowered heart disease and stroke risk.{{cite news |title=Eating 100 g of chocolate daily linked to lowered heart disease and stroke risk |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150615191518.htm |date=15 June 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=19 June 2015 }}

File:EasternCougar.jpg is declared extinct.]]

• 16 June – The eastern cougar is declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.{{cite news |title=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declares eastern cougar extinct |url=http://kxan.com/2015/06/19/u-s-fish-and-wildlife-service-declares-eastern-cougar-extinct/ |date=19 June 2015 |publisher=KXAN |access-date=20 June 2015 }}
• 17 June
• Astronomers report evidence, for the first time, of the existence of the very early stars that may have provided the chemical elements needed for the later formation of planets and life as we know it. These very old population III stars are postulated to have been formed after the Big Bang, when the Universe was about 800 million years old, and may have been detected in galaxy Cosmos Redshift 7 (CR7), about 12.9 billion light-years from Earth.{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye |title=Astronomers Report Finding Earliest Stars That Enriched Cosmos |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/18/science/space/astronomers-report-finding-earliest-stars-that-enriched-cosmos.html |date=17 June 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=17 June 2015 }}{{cite journal |last1=Sobral |first1=David |last2=Matthee |first2=Jorryt |last3=Darvish |first3=Behnam |last4=Schaerer |first4=Daniel |last5=Mobasher |first5=Bahram |last6=Röttgering |first6=Huub J. A. |last7=Santos |first7=Sérgio |last8=Hemmati |first8=Shoubaneh |title=Evidence For POPIII-Like Stellar Populations In The Most Luminous LYMAN-α Emitters At The Epoch Of Re-Ionisation: Spectroscopic Confirmation |arxiv=1504.01734|date=4 June 2015 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |doi=10.1088/0004-637x/808/2/139 |bibcode=2015ApJ...808..139S |volume=808 |issue=2 |pages=139|s2cid=18471887 }}
• The world's thinnest light source is created using graphene.{{cite news |title=World's thinnest light source made from graphene |url=http://www.kurzweilai.net/worlds-thinnest-light-source-made-from-graphene |date=17 June 2015 |publisher=KurzweilAI |access-date=17 June 2015 }}
• 18 June – By reactivating a single gene, colorectal cancer cells in mice stop growing and re-establish normal intestinal function within four days, according to a study published in the journal Cell.{{cite news |title= A single gene turns colorectal cancer cells back into normal tissue in mice |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-06/cp-asg061115.php |date=18 June 2015 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=20 June 2015 }}
• 19 June – A major study confirms that Earth is currently witnessing the start of a mass extinction event the likes of which have not been seen for at least 65 million years. It is being precipitated by human actions over the past 500 years.{{cite news |title=Sixth mass extinction is here: Humanity's existence threatened |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150619152142.htm |date=19 June 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=19 June 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Earth's sixth mass extinction has begun, new study confirms |url=https://theconversation.com/earths-sixth-mass-extinction-has-begun-new-study-confirms-43432 |date=20 June 2015 |work=The Conversation |access-date=19 June 2015 }}
• 20 June – A titanium 3D-printed prosthetic jaw is successfully implanted in a male patient by surgeons in Melbourne, Australia.{{cite news |title=Titanium, 3D-printed prosthetic jaw implanted in Melbourne man in Australian first surgery |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-20/melbourne-man-receives-titanium-3d-printed-prosthetic-jaw/6536788 |date=20 June 2015 |work=ABC Online |access-date=20 June 2015 }}
• 23 June – The Sentinel-2A Earth observation satellite is launched.
• 24 June
• Astronomers report the discovery of a brand new type of planet, resembling a giant comet. GJ 436b is a "warm Neptune" located 33 light years from Earth and features a huge cloud of gas trailing away from its parent red dwarf star.{{cite journal |title=A giant comet-like cloud of hydrogen escaping the warm Neptune-mass exoplanet GJ 436b |date=24 June 2015 |volume=522 |issue=7557 |doi=10.1038/nature14501 |pmid=26108854 |journal=Nature |pages=459–461 | last1 = Ehrenreich | first1 = David|arxiv=1506.07541 |bibcode=2015Natur.522..459E |s2cid=4388969 }}{{cite news |title=Bizarre Cometlike Alien Planet Is First of Its Kind |url=http://www.space.com/29752-cometlike-planet-first-of-its-kind.html |date=24 June 2015 |work=Space.com |access-date=24 June 2015 }}
• Researchers identify a protein on tiny particles, GPC1+ crExos, released by pancreatic cancer cells, which may help in detecting the illness at its earliest stage.{{cite news |title=MD Anderson researchers find potential way to detect pancreatic cancer early |url=http://www.chron.com/local/prognosis/article/MD-Anderson-researchers-find-potential-way-to-6346813.php |date=24 June 2015 |work=Houston Chronicle |access-date=24 June 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Tiny particles in blood useful for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer |url=http://www.mdanderson.org/newsroom/news-releases/2015/tiny-particles-blood-early-diagnosis-pancreatic-cancer.html |date=24 June 2015 |publisher=The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |access-date=24 June 2015 }}

File:Meteor Crater - Arizona.jpgs on Earth have been identified.]]

• 25 June
• A new compound, MM41, is shown to reduce pancreatic cancer tumours by 80 percent in mice.{{cite news |title=New class of compounds shrinks pancreatic cancer tumors, prevents regrowth |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150625125958.htm |date=25 June 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=25 June 2015 }}
• Google demonstrates a new AI chatbot that is able to "remember facts, understand contexts and perform common sense reasoning, all with fewer hand-crafted rules."{{cite news |title=Training a Conversational Engine |url=https://plus.google.com/+ResearchatGoogle/posts/DMEepg7uZid |date=25 June 2015 |work=Google |access-date=28 June 2015 }}{{cite arXiv |title=A Neural Conversational Model |eprint=1506.05869|date=25 June 2015 |last1=Vinyals|first1=Oriol|last2=Le|first2=Quoc|class=cs.CL}}
• 26 June – All of the biggest impact craters on Earth have now been identified, with none left to be found at {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=on}} or greater width, according to a study by geophysicists.{{cite news |title=Earth's colossal crater count complete |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/earths-colossal-crater-count-complete |date=26 June 2015 |work=Science |access-date=28 June 2015 }}
• 27 June – SpaceX CRS-7, a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station, explodes shortly after launch.
• 29 June – The dwarf planet Pluto passes between a distant star and the Earth producing a shadow on the Earth near New Zealand that allows SOFIA, an airborne observatory, to study the atmosphere of Pluto.{{cite web |last1=Veronico |first1=Nicholas A. |last2=Squires |first2=Kate K. |title=SOFIA in the Right Place at the Right Time for Pluto Observations |url=http://www.nasa.gov/feature/sofia-in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time-for-pluto-observations |date=29 June 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=1 July 2015 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208114955/http://www.nasa.gov/feature/sofia-in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time-for-pluto-observations/ |url-status=dead }}
• 30 June – A new model created by mathematicians and physicists suggests a "Big Rip" end to the universe.{{cite news |title=New model of cosmic stickiness favors 'Big Rip' demise of universe |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150630155221.htm |date=30 June 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=2 July 2015 }}

File:Ibm-7nm-chip.jpg

• 2 July
• Scientists report that active pits, related to sinkhole collapses and possibly associated with outbursts, have been found on the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko by the Rosetta space probe.{{cite journal |author =Vincent, Jean-Baptiste |title=Large heterogeneities in comet 67P as revealed by active pits from sinkhole collapse |date=2 July 2015 |journal=Nature |volume=523 |issue=7558 |pages=63–66 |doi=10.1038/nature14564 |pmid=26135448 |display-authors=etal|bibcode=2015Natur.523...63V |s2cid=2993705 |url=https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01176031/file/JBV2015.pdf }}{{cite news |last=Ritter |first=Malcolm |title=It's the pits: Comet appears to have sinkholes, study says |url=http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150701/us-sci--comet_sinkholes-11254d29fb.html |date=1 July 2015 |work=AP News |access-date=2 July 2015 }}
• The first comprehensive analysis of the mammoth genome is completed, revealing a number of traits that enabled the animals to survive in the Arctic cold.{{cite news |title=First comprehensive analysis of the woolly mammoth genome completed |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150702131757.htm |date=2 July 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=3 July 2015 }}
• 8 July
• Astronomers report the discovery of an extremely rare five-star system.{{cite news |title=Rare system of five stars dicscovered |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33428506 |date=8 July 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=8 July 2015 }}
• Scientists announce a project, as part of the Global Genome Initiative, to sample and freeze DNA from half of the world's plant species within two years.{{cite news |title=Scientists rush to freeze plant DNA before 'sixth extinction' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-33450398 |date=9 July 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=12 July 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Smithsonian Launches Effort to Capture Plant Genome Diversity Amid Global Biodiversity Crisis |url=http://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/smithsonian-launches-effort-capture-plant-genome-diversity-amid-global-biodiversity-crisis |date=8 July 2015 |publisher=Smithsonian |access-date=12 July 2015 }}
• 9 July
• The FDA toughens warnings of increased heart attack and stroke risk associated with pain relievers containing ibuprofen, like Advil, Aleve, Motrin and related nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). Tylenol, containing acetaminophen, is not an NSAID and is not affected by the new warnings. However, Aspirin is an NSAID but is not affected by the new warnings.{{cite news |last=Tavernise |first=Sabrina |title=F.D.A. Is Set to Toughen Nonaspirin Warnings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/us/fda-is-set-to-toughen-nonaspirin-warnings.html |date=9 July 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=10 July 2015 }}{{cite news |last=Fox |first=Maggie |title=FDA Strengthens Heart Safety Warnings on Painkillers |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heart-health/fda-strengthens-heart-safety-warnings-painkillers-n389516 |date=9 July 2015 |work=NBC News |access-date=9 July 2015 }}{{cite web |author =Staff |title=FDA Strengthens Warning of Heart Attack and Stroke Risk for Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs |url=https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm453610.htm |date=9 July 2015 |publisher=FDA |access-date=9 July 2015 }}{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
• IBM announces a breakthrough in the manufacture of 7 nm computer chips that will enable the trend of Moore's Law to continue for the next few years.{{cite news |title=IBM makes chips with 'smallest components' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-33460913 |date=9 July 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=9 July 2015 }}{{cite news |title=A New Wave of Innovation in Computer Chips |url=http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2015/07/a-new-wave-innovation-chips.html |date=9 July 2015 |work=Smarter Planet |access-date=9 July 2015 }}

File:Nh-pluto-in-true-color 2x JPEG.jpg, dwarf planet, as viewed by the New Horizons spacecraft just before closest flyby.]]

• 13 July – Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider report observing two exotic particles belonging to a new class, pentaquarks.

{{Cite journal|author =R. Aaij (LHCb collaboration)|title=Observation of J/ψp resonances consistent with pentaquark states in Λ0b→J/ψK−p decays |journal=Physical Review Letters |volume=115 |issue=7 |pages=072001 |year=2015|arxiv=1507.03414|display-authors=etal|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.072001 |pmid=26317714 |bibcode=2015PhRvL.115g2001A|s2cid=119204136 }}{{cite news |title=Large Hadron Collider discovers new pentaquark particle |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33517492 |date=14 July 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=14 July 2015 }}{{cite news |last=Jordans |first=Frank |title=CERN scientists claim discovery of new particles |url=https://apnews.com/6b2e0add00954c7ca3fced0065d6a129 |date=14 July 2015 |work=AP News |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=9 October 2018 }}

• 14 July
• NASA's New Horizons spacecraft performs a close flyby of Pluto, becoming the first spacecraft in history to visit the distant world.{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft Completes Flyby of Pluto |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/15/science/space/nasa-new-horizons-spacecraft-reaches-pluto.html |date=14 July 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=14 July 2015 }}{{cite news |last=Dunn |first=Marcia |title=Pluto up close: Spacecraft achieves flyby, then calls home |url=https://apnews.com/750ae529c6fa4e188e3c29b6f66f7012 |date=15 July 2015 |work=AP News |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=9 October 2018 }}{{cite news |title=New Horizons: Nasa spacecraft speeds past Pluto |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33524589 |date=14 July 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=14 July 2015 }} It will explore the area for five months, before entering the Kuiper belt and eventually leaving the Solar System.
• The latest State of the Climate report confirms that 2014 was the hottest year on record globally.{{cite news |title=2014 State of the Climate: Highlights |url=http://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/2014-state-climate-highlights |date=14 July 2015 |work=Climate.gov |access-date=18 July 2015 }}
• 16 July
• Scientists report the discovery of the Weyl fermion after an 85-year search. This massless quasiparticle could help in the development of future electronics such as quantum computing.{{cite news |title=After 85-year search, massless particle with promise for next-generation electronics found |url=http://phys.org/news/2015-07-year-massless-particle-next-generation-electronics.html |date=16 July 2015 |work=PhysOrg |access-date=17 July 2015 }}
• A new study adds to the growing evidence that polar bears are unable to adapt to a warming Arctic.{{cite news |title=Polar bears fail to adapt to lack of food in warmer Arctic |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33551569 |date=16 July 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=17 July 2015 }}
• 17 July – Nanowires are used by Dutch researchers to boost solar fuel cell efficiency tenfold, while using 10,000 times less precious material.{{cite news |title=Nanowires give 'solar fuel cell' efficiency a tenfold boost |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150717104920.htm |date=17 July 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=18 July 2015 }}
• 20 July
• Stephen Hawking, British physicist, helps launch a well-funded effort, called Breakthrough Initiatives, to search for extraterrestrial life and attempt to answer the question: Are we alone?{{cite news |last=Katz |first=Gregory |title=Searching for ET: Hawking to look for extraterrestrial life |url=https://apnews.com/5f684bc31fa344f7b03222b705a9c288 |date=20 July 2015 |work=AP News |access-date=9 October 2018 }}
• Through private and international partnerships, the cost of colonising the Moon could be reduced by 90 percent, according to a joint study released by the National Space Society and the Space Frontier Foundation and reviewed by an independent team of experts.{{cite news |title=Colonizing The Moon May Be 90 Percent Cheaper Than We Thought |url=http://www.popsci.com/colonizing-moon-may-be-90-percent-cheaper-we-thought |date=20 July 2015 |work=PopSci|access-date=21 July 2015 }}
• 21 July
• The latest global analysis of temperature data from NOAA shows that the first half of 2015 was the hottest such period on record, at 0.85 °C (1.53 °F) above the 20th century average, surpassing the previous record set in 2010 by 0.09 °C (0.16 °F). The Earth also experienced its hottest ever June.{{cite news |title=Global Analysis - June 2015 |url=http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201506 |date=21 July 2015 |publisher=NOAA|access-date=21 July 2015 }}{{cite news |title= Climate scientists say 2015 on track to be warmest year on record |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/21/climate-scientists-say-2015-on-track-to-be-warmest-year-on-record |date=21 July 2015 |work=The Guardian|access-date=21 July 2015 }}
• Men who become fathers experience weight gain and an increase in body mass index according to a new, large-scale study that tracked more than 10,000 men over a 20-year period. Men who didn't become dads actually lost weight over the same time period.{{cite news |title=Yes, men gain weight when they become dads, study confirms |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/07/21/yes-men-gain-weight-when-they-become-dads-study-confirms/ |date=21 July 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=22 July 2015 }}
• A new computer program is the first to recognise sketches more accurately than a human.{{cite news |title=New computer program first to recognize sketches more accurately than a human |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150721081638.htm |date=21 July 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=24 July 2015 }}
• A potential new class of antibiotics based on modified sugar molecules is reported.{{cite news |title=Sweet revenge against superbugs |url=http://www.imb.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=222340&pid=12193 |date=21 July 2015 |publisher=The University of Queensland|access-date=30 July 2015 }}
• 22 July
• The results of a trial involving 1,322 patients shows further evidence that solanezumab can slow Alzheimer's disease.{{cite news |title=Early signs drug delays Alzheimer's |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33617141 |date=22 July 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=22 July 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Further evidence that solanezumab slows mild Alzheimer's disease |url=http://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/solanezumab-trials/ |date=22 July 2015 |publisher=Alzheimer's Research UK |access-date=22 July 2015 |archive-date=22 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722201041/http://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/solanezumab-trials/ |url-status=dead }}
• US firm [http://www.secondsight.com/ Second Sight] announces the first age-related macular degeneration patient has received its Argus II bionic eye, at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital in the UK, as part of a groundbreaking study.{{cite news |title=Bionic eye implant world first |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33571412 |date=22 July 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=22 July 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Second Sight Announces First Age-Related Macular Degeneration Patient Receives the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System as Part of Groundbreaking Study |url=http://investors.secondsight.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=923158 |date=22 July 2015 |work=Second Sight |access-date=22 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023130201/http://investors.secondsight.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=923158 |archive-date=23 October 2015 |url-status=dead }}
• A promising new treatment using eye drops to treat cataracts is reported by the University of California, San Diego.{{cite news |title=Eye drops could dissolve cataracts |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/eye-drops-could-dissolve-cataracts |date=22 July 2015 |work=Science|access-date=26 July 2015 }}
• 23 July
• NASA announces the discovery of Kepler-452b, a confirmed exoplanet that is near-Earth-size and found orbiting the habitable zone of a Sun-like star.{{cite press release|last1=Chou|first1=Felicia|last2=Johnson|first2=Michele|title=NASA's Kepler Mission Discovers Bigger, Older Cousin to Earth|url=http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-kepler-mission-discovers-bigger-older-cousin-to-earth|access-date=23 July 2015|agency=NASA|date=July 23, 2015}}
• A provocative new paper by climate scientists including James Hansen warns that future sea level rises may have been dramatically underestimated, and that even 2 °C of global warming is "highly dangerous".{{cite journal|url=http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/acp-2015-432/|title=Ice melt, sea level rise and superstorms: evidence from paleoclimate data, climate modeling, and modern observations that 2 °C global warming is highly dangerous|journal=Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions|volume=15|issue=14|pages=20059–20179|year=2015|author1=J. Hansen |author2=M. Sato |author3=P. Hearty |author4=R. Ruedy |author5=M. Kelley |author6=V. Masson-Delmotte |author7=G. Russell |author8=G. Tselioudis |author9=J. Cao |author10=E. Rignot |author11=I. Velicogna |author12=E. Kandiano |author13=K. von Schuckmann |author14=P. Kharecha |author15=A. N. Legrande |author16=M. Bauer |author17=K.-W. Lo |display-authors=3 |doi=10.5194/acpd-15-20059-2015|bibcode=2015ACPD...1520059H|doi-access=free }}
• Intel and Micron unveil 3D XPoint, a new memory technology that is 1,000 times faster than NAND and 10 times denser than conventional DRAM.{{cite news |title=Intel and Micron unveil 3D XPoint, a brand new memory technology |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/07/intel-and-micron-unveil-3d-xpoint-a-brand-new-memory-technology/ |date=29 July 2015 |work=arstechnica|access-date=30 July 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Intel and Micron Produce Breakthrough Memory Technology |url=http://newsroom.intel.com/docs/DOC-6713 |date=23 July 2015 |publisher=Intel|access-date=1 August 2015 }}
• 24 July – The 133-million-year-old fossil of Tetrapodophis amplectus, the first four-legged snake to be found, is reported by paleontologists in Brazil.{{cite news |title=Four-legged snake ancestor 'dug burrows' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33621491 |date=24 July 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=24 July 2015 }}
• 29 July
• The current world population of 7.3 billion is predicted to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100, according to a new analysis of data by the UN.{{cite news |title=UN projects world population to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, driven by growth in developing countries |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51526 |date=29 July 2015 |publisher=UN|access-date=30 July 2015 }}
• The first artificial ribosome is created, by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University.{{cite news |title=Researchers design first artificial ribosome |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150729215735.htm |date=29 July 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=31 July 2015 }}

File:Ebola virus virion.jpg vaccine is found to be 100% successful in an initial trial.]]

• 30 July
• Scientists report that the Philae spacecraft, that landed on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November 2014, detected at least 16 organic compounds, of which four (including acetamide, acetone, methyl isocyanate and propionaldehyde) were detected for the first time on a comet.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/philae-probe-finds-evidence-that-comets-can-be-cosmic-labs/2015/07/30/63a2fc0e-36e5-11e5-ab7b-6416d97c73c2_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223235109/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/philae-probe-finds-evidence-that-comets-can-be-cosmic-labs/2015/07/30/63a2fc0e-36e5-11e5-ab7b-6416d97c73c2_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 December 2018 |title=Philae probe finds evidence that comets can be cosmic labs |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=Associated Press |first=Frank |last=Jordans |date=30 July 2015 |access-date=30 July 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Science_on_the_surface_of_a_comet |title=Science on the Surface of a Comet |publisher=European Space Agency |date=30 July 2015 |access-date=30 July 2015}}{{cite journal |last1=Bibring |first1=J.-P. |last2=Taylor |first2=M.G.G.T. |last3=Alexander |first3=C. |last4=Auster |first4=U. |last5=Biele |first5=J. |last6=Finzi |first6=A. Ercoli |last7=Goesmann |first7=F. |last8=Klingehoefer |first8=G. |last9=Kofman |first9=W. |last10=Mottola |first10=S. |last11=Seidenstiker |first11=K.J. |last12=Spohn |first12=T. |last13=Wright |first13=I. |title=Philae's First Days on the Comet - Introduction to Special Issue |date=31 July 2015 |journal=Science |volume=349 |issue=6247 |page=493 |doi=10.1126/science.aac5116 |bibcode=2015Sci...349..493B |pmid=26228139|doi-access=free }}
• The first aurora beyond the Solar System is reported, on a brown dwarf 18 light years from Earth.{{cite news |title=Aurora found around brown dwarf beyond our Solar System |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33711161 |date=30 July 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=30 July 2015 }}
• Astronomers report the discovery of HD 219134 b, a rocky exoplanet, due to its size of 1.6 Earth and density of 6 g/cm³, that is the closest such exoplanet to Earth, at 21.25 light-years away.{{cite web |title=PIA19832: Location of Nearest Rocky Exoplanet Known |url=http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19832 |date=30 July 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=30 July 2015 }}{{cite web |last1=Chou |first1=Felicia |last2=Clavin |first2=Whitney |title=NASA's Spitzer Confirms Closest Rocky Exoplanet |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4672 |date=30 July 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=31 July 2015 }}
• A new technique for obtaining nanoscale images of the brain at higher resolution than ever before is announced by Boston scientists.{{cite news |title=Take a Trip Through the Brain: New Imaging Tool |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150730130739.htm |date=30 July 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=1 August 2015 }}
• 31 July
• An ebola vaccine developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada is found to be 100% successful in an initial trial.{{cite news |title=World on the verge of an effective Ebola vaccine |url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/effective-ebola-vaccine/en/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731200521/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/effective-ebola-vaccine/en/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 31, 2015 |date=31 July 2015 |publisher=WHO |access-date=1 August 2015 }}
• By studying the structure and temperature of butterfly wings, researchers have observed physical properties that could hugely improve the efficiency of solar energy.{{cite news |title=Butterflies heat up the field of solar research |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150731070212.htm |date=31 July 2015 |publisher=University of Exeter |access-date=2 August 2015 }}

File:Baltoro glacier from air.jpg loss worldwide is reported to be "unprecedented" and occurring faster than ever.]]

• 3 August
• Researchers have demonstrated that even if a geoengineering solution to CO₂ emissions could be found, it would not be enough to save the oceans.{{cite news |title=CO₂ removal cannot save the oceans -- if we pursue business as usual |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-08/pifc-crc073115.php |date=3 August 2015 |work=Eurekalert |access-date=3 August 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Greenhouse gases' millennia-long ocean legacy |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-08/ci-ggm080315.php |date=3 August 2015 |work=Eurekalert |access-date=3 August 2015 }}
• A new comprehensive analysis of global glacier changes in the Journal of Glaciology concludes that melting rates are "unprecedented" and faster than ever.{{cite news |title=Glaciers melting faster than ever |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150803083445.htm |date=3 August 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=3 August 2015 }}
• 4 August
• The FDA approves Spritam, the first 3D-printed pill.{{cite news |title=First 3D-printed pill approved by US authorities |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-33772692 |date=4 August 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=4 August 2015 }}
• Spicy foods are linked to increased longevity in a study published by the British Medical Journal.{{cite news |title=Frequent spicy meals linked to human longevity |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/05/frequent-spicy-meals-linked-to-human-longevity |date=5 August 2015 |work=The Guardian|access-date=5 August 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Consumption of spicy foods and total and cause specific mortality: population based cohort study |url=http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h3942 |date=4 August 2015 |work=BMJ|access-date=5 August 2015 }}
• Plans are unveiled by Plymouth University for "Mayflower Autonomous Research Ship" (MARS), the world's first full-sized, fully autonomous uncrewed ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean.{{cite news |title=MARS mission aims to make historic Atlantic crossing |url=https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/mars-mission-aims-to-make-historic-atlantic-crossing |date=4 August 2015 |work=Plymouth University |access-date=7 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915101310/https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/mars-mission-aims-to-make-historic-atlantic-crossing |archive-date=15 September 2015 }}
• The first ever genetic analysis of people with extremely high intelligence reveals small but important genetic differences between some of the brightest people in the United States and the general population.{{cite news |title=Study offers first genetic analysis of people with extremely high intelligence |url=http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-08-genetic-analysis-people-extremely-high.html |date=5 August 2015 |work=Medical Xpress|access-date=11 August 2015 }}
• 5 August – Astronomers at the Keck Observatory announce a new record for the most distant galaxy ever observed. Known as EGSY8p7, its light needed 13.2 billion years to reach Earth.{{cite news |title=New Record: Keck Observatory Measures Most Distant Galaxy |url=http://www.keckobservatory.org/recent/entry/new_record_keck_observatory_confirms_most_distant_galaxy |date=5 August 2015 |work=Keck Observatory |access-date=6 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815100348/http://www.keckobservatory.org/recent/entry/new_record_keck_observatory_confirms_most_distant_galaxy |archive-date=2015-08-15 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |title=Ancient Galaxy Is Most Distant Ever Found |url=http://www.space.com/30170-most-distant-galaxy-discovered.html |date=5 August 2015 |work=Space.com|access-date=6 August 2015 }}
• 6 August – The first known venomous frog species, Corythomantis greeningi and Aparasphenodon brunoi, are identified by researchers in Brazil.{{cite news |title=Heads of Brazilian frogs are venomous weapons |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150806133038.htm |date=6 August 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=7 August 2015 }}
• 10 August – By measuring the energy output from a large portion of the Universe with greater precision than ever before, astronomers have determined that the Universe is gradually fading across all wavelengths. In effect, the Universe is slowly dying.{{cite news |title=Charting the slow death of the universe |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150810162511.htm |date=10 August 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=11 August 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Fading cosmos quantified in 21 colours |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33846857 |date=10 August 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=11 August 2015 }}

File:PIA19809-MarsCuriosityRover-HydrogenRichAreaFound-20150721.jpg by the Curiosity rover.]]

• 13 August
• An endangered species, the black-footed ferret, is successfully reproduced using frozen sperm from a ferret that had been dead for 20 years.{{cite news |title=Critically endangered species successfully reproduced using frozen sperm from ferret dead for 20 years |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150813130242.htm |date=13 August 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=15 August 2015 }}
• By altering a single gene, phosphodiesterase-4B (PDE4B), researchers have increased the intelligence of mice, while decreasing their fear and anxiety. This raises hopes of better treatments for human cognitive disorders in the future.{{cite news |title="Brainy" mice raise hope of better treatments for cognitive disorders |url=http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/3740/brainy_mice_raise_hope_of_better_treatments_for_cognitive_disorders |date=13 August 2015 |work=University of Leeds|access-date=17 August 2015 }}{{cite journal |title=Specific Inhibition of Phosphodiesterase-4B Results in Anxiolysis and Facilitates Memory Acquisition |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=1080–1092 |doi=10.1038/npp.2015.240 |date=14 August 2015 |journal=Neuropsychopharmacology|last1=McGirr |first1=Alexander |last2=Lipina |first2=Tatiana V |last3=Mun |first3=Ho-Suk |last4=Georgiou |first4=John |last5=Al-Amri |first5=Ahmed H |last6=Ng |first6=Enoch |last7=Zhai |first7=Dongxu |last8=Elliott |first8=Christina |last9=Cameron |first9=Ryan T |last10=Mullins |first10=Jonathan GL |last11=Liu |first11=Fang |last12=Baillie |first12=George S |last13=Clapcote |first13=Steven J |last14=Roder |first14=John C |pmid=26272049 |pmc=4748432}}
• 17 August – Based on studies with the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft, NASA scientists report the detection of neon in the exosphere of the moon.{{cite web |last=Steigerwald |first=William |title=NASA's LADEE Spacecraft Finds Neon in Lunar Atmosphere |url=http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/ladee-lunar-neon |date=17 August 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=18 August 2015 }}
• 19 August
• NASA reports that there is "no scientific basis" that the world will end due to a rumored impact of an asteroid near Puerto Rico between 15 and 28 September 2015.{{cite web |last=Agle |first=DC |title=NASA: There is No Asteroid Threatening Earth |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4692 |date=19 August 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=21 August 2015 }}{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=World Will Not End Next Month, NASA Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/summer-of-science-2015/latest/world-will-not-end-next-month-nasa-says |date=20 August 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=20 August 2015 }}
• NASA scientists report that the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument on the Curiosity rover detected an unusual hydrogen-rich area, at "Marias Pass," on Mars. The hydrogen found seems related to water or hydroxyl ions in rocks within three feet beneath the rover, according to the scientists.{{cite web |author =Staff |title=PIA19809: Curiosity Finds Hydrogen-Rich Area of Mars Subsurface |url=http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19809 |date=19 August 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=19 August 2015 }}
• People working a 55-hour week have a 33% increased risk of stroke than those working a 35- to 40-hour week, along with a 13% increased risk of coronary heart disease, according to a study published in The Lancet.{{cite journal |title=Long working hours and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis of published and unpublished data for 603 838 individuals |date=19 August 2015 |journal=The Lancet |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60295-1 |pmid=26298822 |volume=386 |issue=10005 |pages=1739–1746 | last1 = Kivimäki | first1 = Mika|doi-access=free |hdl=1854/LU-6992656 |hdl-access=free }}{{cite news |title=Working longer hours 'increases stroke risk' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/20/working-longer-hours-increases-stroke-risk |date=20 August 2015 |work=The Guardian |access-date=20 August 2015 }}
• Researchers at George Washington University demonstrate a process that turns atmospheric carbon dioxide into carbon nanofibers.{{cite news |title=A carbon capture strategy that pays |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/carbon-capture-strategy-pays |date=19 August 2015 |work=Science |access-date=22 August 2015 }}
• The Sumatran rhinoceros is declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia.{{cite news |title=The Sumatran rhino is extinct in the wild in Malaysia |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-08/nhmo-tsr081915.php |date=19 August 2015 |work=EurekAlert|access-date=21 August 2015 }}
• Using stem cells, researchers have developed a miniature human brain in a dish with the equivalent maturity of a five-week-old fetus. It is believed this model – the most advanced of its kind ever created – could be used for better and more accurate testing of drugs.{{cite news |title=Brain-in-a-dish as mature as five-week-old fetus brain |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150819083334.htm |date=19 August 2015 |work=ScienceDaily|access-date=22 August 2015 }}

File:SEM Lymphocyte.jpg

• 20 August
• July 2015 was the hottest month on Earth since records began in 1880, according to data from NOAA.{{cite news |title=July was Earth's hottest month on record, NOAA says |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34009289 |date=20 August 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=21 August 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Global Summary Information - July 2015 |url=http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/global/201507 |date=20 August 2015 |work=NOAA |access-date=21 August 2015 }}
• A new report in the journal Science underscores the need for improved management and protection of boreal forests in response to global changes this century.{{cite news |title=Boreal forests challenged by global change |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150820144722.htm |date=20 August 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=22 August 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Every Forest Biome on Earth Is Actively Dying Right Now |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/every-forest-biome-on-earth-is-actively-dying-right-now/ |date=20 August 2015 |work=Motherboard|access-date=22 August 2015 }}
• 21 August
• A new study published in Nature "removes any doubt" that rising levels of greenhouse gases were the primary driver of glacier retreat during the end of the last Ice Age.{{cite news |title=As Ice Age ended, greenhouse gas rise was lead factor in melting of Earth's glaciers |url=http://phys.org/news/2015-08-ice-age-greenhouse-gas-factor.html |date=21 August 2015 |work=PhysOrg|access-date=22 August 2015 }}
• Giant galaxies with an absence of young stars are more suitable for habitable planets, researchers say.{{cite news |title=Giant Galaxies May Be Better Cradles for Habitable Planets |url=http://www.space.com/30335-giant-galaxies-habitable-planets.html |date=21 August 2015 |work=Space.com|access-date=23 August 2015 }}
• 24 August
• A new way of "switching off" cancer cell growth, using the PLEKHA7 protein, is reported by the Mayo Clinic.{{cite news |title=Discovery of new code makes reprogramming of cancer cells possible |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150824064916.htm |date=24 August 2015 |work=ScienceDaily|access-date=27 August 2015 }}
• Physicists achieve a breakthrough in fusion power, by containing superheated hydrogen plasma for five milliseconds, longer than any other effort before.{{cite news |title=Tri Alpha Energy reportedly makes important breakthrough in developing fusion reactor |url=http://phys.org/news/2015-08-tri-alpha-energy-reportedly-important.html |date=26 August 2015 |work=PhysOrg|access-date=29 August 2015 }}
• 26 August – In a press briefing, NASA scientists warn that future sea level rise has been underestimated.{{cite news |title=Global sea levels have risen 8cm since 1992, Nasa research shows |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/27/global-sea-levels-have-climbed-8cm-since-1992-nasa-research-shows |date=27 August 2015 |work=The Guardian|access-date=28 August 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Rising Sea Levels More Dangerous Than Thought |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rising-sea-levels-more-dangerous-than-thought/ |date=27 August 2015 |work=Scientific American|access-date=28 August 2015 }}
• 28 August – In a landmark study of scientific reproducibility published in Science, a group of 270 psychologists attempted to directly replicate 100 psychology studies from three top-tier psychological journals and found that about one-third to one-half of the original findings could be successfully reproduced.{{Cite journal|last=Collaboration|first=Open Science|date=2015-08-28|title=Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science|journal=Science|language=en|volume=349|issue=6251|pages=aac4716|doi=10.1126/science.aac4716|issn=0036-8075|pmid=26315443|hdl=10722/230596|s2cid=218065162|url=https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/5257 |hdl-access=free}}
• 31 August – Scientists claim to have discovered the first new human prion in almost 50 years.{{cite news |title= A Red Flag for a Neurodegenerative Disease That May Be Transmissible |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-red-flag-for-a-neurodegenerative-disease-that-may-be-transmissible/ |date=31 August 2015 |work=Scientific American|access-date=2 September 2015 }}

• 1 September – Scientists report the discovery of Pentecopterus decorahens, the oldest described eurypterida (sea scorpions), an extinct arthropod group that lived as early as 467.3 million years ago. With an estimated length of up to {{convert|1.83|m}},{{cite web |last=Shelton |first=Jim |title=Meet Pentecopterus, a new predator from the prehistoric seas |url=http://news.yale.edu/2015/08/31/meet-pentecopterus-new-predator-prehistoric-seas |date=31 August 2015 |work=Yale University |access-date=1 September 2015 }}{{cite web |author =Staff |title=Pentecopterus decorahensis: Ancient Giant Sea Scorpion Unearthed in Iowa |url=http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/science-pentecopterus-decorahensis-sea-scorpion-03190.html |date=1 September 2015 |work=Sci-news.com |access-date=1 September 2015 }} it has been described as "the first real big predator".{{cite journal |last1=Lamsdell |first1=James C. |last2=Briggs |first2=Derek E. G. |last3=Liu |first3=Huaibao |last4=Witzke |first4=Brian J. |last5=McKay |first5=Robert M. |title=The oldest described eurypterid: a giant Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian) megalograptid from the Winneshiek Lagerstätte of Iowa |date=1 September 2015 |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=15 |pages=169 |doi=10.1186/s12862-015-0443-9 |pmid=26324341 |pmc=4556007 |doi-access=free }}{{cite news |last=Borenstein |first=Seth |title=Fossils show big bug ruled the seas 460 million years ago |url=https://apnews.com/5d0225573f534c35a50fb5734054f4e1 |date=1 September 2015 |work=AP News |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=9 October 2018 }}
• 2 September
• A report by [http://climateactiontracker.org/ Climate Action Tracker] warns that pledges by governments for the upcoming UN climate change conference in Paris, are grossly inadequate if the rise in global temperatures is to be kept below 2 °C.{{cite web |title=Emissions Gap - How close are INDCs to 2 and 1.5°C pathways? |url=http://climateactiontracker.org/news/222/Emissions-Gap-How-close-are-INDCs-to-2-and-1.5C-pathways.html |date=2 September 2015 |work=Climate Action Tracker |access-date=5 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904221051/http://climateactiontracker.org/news/222/Emissions-Gap-How-close-are-INDCs-to-2-and-1.5C-pathways.html |archive-date=4 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}
• There are just over three trillion trees on Earth, according to a new assessment.{{Cite news | title=Earth's trees number 'three trillion' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34134366 |date=3 September 2015 |newspaper=BBC News |access-date=3 September 2015 |last1=Amos |first1=Jonathan }}{{cite journal |last=Ehrenberg |first=Rachel |title=Global count reaches 3 trillion trees - Approach combines ground-based surveys with satellite imaging to find higher density than anticipated. |url=http://www.nature.com/news/global-count-reaches-3-trillion-trees-1.18287 |date=2 September 2015 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/nature.2015.18287 |s2cid=189415504 |access-date=28 November 2015 |url-access=subscription }}
• 3 September
• Researchers at MIT demonstrate the first 3D printing technique able to make transparent glass objects.{{cite web | title=3-D Printing Breaks the Glass Barrier |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/news/540926/3-d-printing-breaks-the-glass-barrier/ |date=3 September 2015 |work=MIT |access-date=5 September 2015 }}
• Philips introduces the world's first quantum dot monitor.{{cite web | title=Philips introduces the world's first quantum dot monitor |url=http://hexus.net/tech/news/monitors/86099-philips-introduces-worlds-first-quantum-dot-monitor/ |date=3 September 2015 |work=Hexus |access-date=5 September 2015 }}
• Scientists working on the Large Hadron Collider report that the production of quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter present in the early Universe, is possible with fewer particles than previously thought.{{cite web | title='Littlest' quark–gluon plasma produced: State of matter thought to have existed at birth of the universe |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150903131726.htm |date=3 September 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=6 September 2015 }}
• 7 September – A bright fireball over Thailand, believed to be a bolide, is seen in Bangkok and some other locations.{{cite web | url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11848168/Mysterious-fireball-caught-on-camera-blazing-over-Bangkok.html| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150907224645/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11848168/Mysterious-fireball-caught-on-camera-blazing-over-Bangkok.html| url-status =dead| archive-date =September 7, 2015|title=Mysterious 'fireball' caught on camera blazing over Bangkok|work=The Daily Telegraph| access-date =September 7, 2015}}
• 10 September
• Paleontologists report a new human-like species, Homo naledi, based on the discovery of 15 partial skeletons, the largest single find of its type in Africa. It is believed that H. naledi could have lived in Africa up to three million years ago and were capable of ritualistic behaviour.{{Cite news | title=New human-like species discovered in S Africa |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34192447 |date=10 September 2015 |newspaper=BBC News|access-date=10 September 2015 |last1=Ghosh |first1=Pallab }} Although the discoverers claim the bones represent a new species of early humans, other experts contend that more evidence is needed before such a claim can be justified.{{cite news |last=Sample |first=Ian |title=Homo naledi: New species of ancient human discovered, claim scientists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/sep/10/new-species-of-ancient-human-discovered-claim-scientists |date=10 September 2015 |work=The Guardian |access-date=10 September 2015 }}
• A report by scientists, ethicists and policy experts from the Hinxton Group states that research into genetically modified human embryos is "essential" and that GM babies could be "morally acceptable" in the future.{{Cite news | title=GM embryos 'essential', says report |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34200029 |date=10 September 2015 |newspaper=BBC News|access-date=11 September 2015 |last1=Gallagher |first1=James }}
• 11 September
• NASA releases the first clear images of Pluto's small moon Nix, showing rough edges and a prominent crater.{{cite web | title=NASA releases first clear image of Pluto's small moon Nix |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/9/11/9311015/nasa-first-clear-image-pluto-moon-nix-new-horizons |date=11 September 2015 |work=The Verge|access-date=11 September 2015 }}
• A study by the British Psychological Society warns that constant pressure on teenagers to use social media technology causes lower sleep quality, lower self-esteem, higher anxiety and increased depression levels.{{cite web | title=Pressure to be available 24/7 on social media causes teen anxiety, depression |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150911094917.htm |date=11 September 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=12 September 2015 }}
• Through DARPA, a 28-year-old paralysed man becomes the first person to feel physical sensations through a prosthetic hand directly connected to his brain.{{cite web | title=Neurotechnology Provides Near-Natural Sense of Touch |url=http://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2015-09-11 |date=11 September 2015 |work=DARPA |access-date=14 September 2015 }}
• 13 September – A partial solar eclipse occurs.

File:PIA19656-SaturnMoon-Enceladus-Ocean-ArtConcept-20150915.jpg.]]

• 14 September
• First observation of gravitational waves, announced 11 February 2016.
• The next two years could be the hottest on record globally, according to research by the UK's Met Office.{{Cite news | title=Next two years hottest, says Met Office |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34226178 |date=14 September 2015 |newspaper=BBC News |access-date=14 September 2015 |last1=Harrabin |first1=Roger }}
• Astronomers report unusual light fluctuations of KIC 8462852, an F-type main-sequence star in the constellation Cygnus, as detected by the Kepler space telescope, while searching for exoplanets. Various explanations have been presented, including those based on comets, asteroids, as well as, an alien civilization.{{cite news |last=Kaplan |first=Sarah |title=The strange star that has serious scientists talking about an alien megastructure |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/10/15/the-strange-star-that-has-serious-scientists-talking-about-an-alien-megastructure/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=15 October 2015 |access-date=15 October 2015 |issn=0190-8286 }}{{cite web| last1=Andersen| first1=Ross| title=The Most Mysterious Star in Our Galaxy |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/10/the-most-interesting-star-in-our-galaxy/410023/ |date=13 October 2015 |work=The Atlantic| access-date=13 October 2015}}{{cite journal|last1=Boyajian|first1=T.S.|last2=LaCourse|first2=D.M.|last3=Rappaport|first3=S.A.|last4=Fabrycky|first4=D.|last5=Fischer|first5=D.A.|last6=Gandolfi|first6=D.|last7=Kennedy|first7=G.M.|last8=Liu|first8=M.C.|last9=Moor|first9=A.|last10=Olah|first10=K.|last11=Vida|first11=K.|last12=Wyatt|first12=M.C.|last13=Best|first13=W.M.J.|last14=Ciesla|first14=F.|last15=Csak|first15=B.|last16=Dupuy|first16=T.J.|last17=Handler|first17=G.|last18=Heng|first18=K.|last19=Korhonen|first19=H.|last20=Kovacs|first20=J.|last21=Kozakis|first21=T.|last22=Kriskovics|first22=L.|last23=Schmitt|first23=J.R.|last24=Szabo|first24=Gy.|last25=Szabo|first25=R.|last26=Wang|first26=J.|last27=Goodman|first27=S.|last28=Hoekstra|first28=A.|last29=Jek|first29=K.J.|title=Planet Hunters X. KIC 8462852- Where's the flux?|journal=MNRAS|volume=457|issue=4|pages=3988–4004|date=14 September 2015|arxiv=1509.03622|bibcode=2016MNRAS.457.3988B|doi=10.1093/mnras/stw218|doi-access=free }}
• 15 September – NASA's Cassini probe finds a global ocean lying beneath the icy crust of Saturn's geologically active moon Enceladus.{{cite web | title=Cassini finds global ocean in Saturn's moon Enceladus |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150915155309.htm |date=15 September 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=16 September 2015 }}
• 16 September
• It is reported that oil companies knew that burning oil and gas could cause global warming since the 1970s but, nonetheless, funded deniers for years.{{cite web | title=Exxon's Own Research Confirmed Fossil Fuels' Role in Global Warming Decades Ago |url=http://insideclimatenews.org/news/15092015/Exxons-own-research-confirmed-fossil-fuels-role-in-global-warming |date=16 September 2015 |work=InsideClimate News |access-date=15 November 2015 }}{{cite news |last=Egan |first=Timothy |author-link=Timothy Egan |title=Exxon Mobil and the G.O.P.: Fossil Fools |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/opinion/fossil-fools.html |date=5 November 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=9 November 2015 }}{{cite news|last=Goldenberg |first=Suzanne|title=Exxon knew of climate change in 1981, email says – but it funded deniers for 27 more years|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/08/exxon-climate-change-1981-climate-denier-funding|date=8 July 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=9 November 2015}}
• A study by WWF and the Zoological Society of London finds that populations of marine mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have declined by 49% since 1970.{{Cite news|title=Marine population halved since 1970 - report|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34265672|date=16 September 2015|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=16 September 2015}} The report highlights tuna and mackerel as in a particularly dire state, having declined 74%.{{Cite news|title=Tuna and mackerel populations suffer catastrophic 74% decline, research shows|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/15/tuna-and-mackerel-populations-suffer-catastrophic-74-decline-research-shows|date=16 September 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=16 September 2015|last1=Harvey|first1=Fiona|author-link=Fiona Harvey }}
• 22 September
• Researchers announce discovery of the second known human pegivirus, HPgV-2.{{cite journal|doi=10.1128/mBio.01466-15|pmid=26396247|pmc=4600124|title=Virome Analysis of Transfusion Recipients Reveals a Novel Human Virus That Shares Genomic Features with Hepaciviruses and Pegiviruses|journal=mBio|volume=6|issue=5|pages=e01466–15|year=2015|last1=Kapoor|first1=Amit|last2=Kumar|first2=Arvind|last3=Simmonds|first3=Peter|last4=Bhuva|first4=Nishit|last5=Singh Chauhan|first5=Lokendra|last6=Lee|first6=Bohyun|last7=Sall|first7=Amadou Alpha|last8=Jin|first8=Zhezhen|last9=Morse|first9=Stephen S|last10=Shaz|first10=Beth|last11=Burbelo|first11=Peter D|last12=Lipkin|first12=W. Ian}}
• Researchers teleport quantum information carried in light particles over 100 kilometres of optical fibre, four times farther than the previous record.{{cite web|title=NIST Team Breaks Distance Record for Quantum Teleportation|url=https://www.nist.gov/pml/nist-team-breaks-distance-record-for-quantum-teleportation.cfm|date=22 September 2015|work=NIST|access-date=24 September 2015}}
• Scientists announce the discovery of a new dinosaur species, Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis, a 30 foot long plant eater, that lived 69 million years ago above the Arctic Circle, the farthest north of any known dinosaur.{{cite news |last=Bakalar |first=Nicholas |title=New Dinosaur Species That Lived Above Arctic Circle Is Discovered |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/science/new-dinosaur-species-that-lived-above-arctic-circle-discovered.html |date=28 September 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=1 October 2015 }}{{Cite journal |author1=Mori, Hirotsugu |author2=Druckenmiller, Patrick S. |author3=Erickson, Gregory M. |year=2015 |title=A new Arctic hadrosaurid from the Prince Creek Formation (lower Maastrichtian) of northern Alaska |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |doi=10.4202/app.00152.2015 |volume=61|doi-access=free }}
• 23 September
• A NASA study indicates that oceanic phytoplankton are declining significantly in the northern hemisphere.{{cite web | title=NASA Study Shows Oceanic Phytoplankton Declines in Northern Hemisphere |url=http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-study-shows-oceanic-phytoplankton-declines-in-northern-hemisphere |date=23 September 2015 |work=NASA |access-date=24 September 2015 }}
• Tiny carbon-capturing motors are developed at the University of California, potentially offering a way to absorb carbon dioxide from the oceans.{{cite web | title= Tiny carbon-capturing motors may help tackle rising carbon dioxide levels |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/uoc--tcm092215.php |date=23 September 2015 |work=EurekAlert |access-date=24 September 2015 }}
• 24 September
• A paraplegic American man walks again using a computer system that reroutes signals from his brain to electrodes on his knees.{{Cite news | title=Paraplegic man walks with own legs again |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/sep/24/paraplegic-man-walks-with-own-legs-again |date=24 September 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=24 September 2015 |last1=Sample |first1=Ian }}
• Scientists build a wrench just 1.7 nanometers wide, providing a fundamentally new way to control the shape of molecules.{{cite web | title=Scientists build wrench 1.7 nanometers wide |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150924142843.htm |date=24 September 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=25 September 2015 }}

File:Liquid water on mars.jpg

• 27 September – A total lunar eclipse, dubbed a "supermoon" because of its apparent larger size in the sky, takes place over Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. The next supermoon eclipse will not occur until October 2033.{{Cite news | title='Supermoon' coincides with lunar eclipse |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34375868 |date=28 September 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=28 September 2015 }}
• 28 September
• NASA scientists, including Lujendra Ojha et al., report evidence, for the first time, supporting the presence of liquid water (in the form of liquid brine) currently flowing on the planet Mars{{cite journal |last1=Ojha |first1=Lujendra |last2=Wilhelm |first2=Mary Beth |last3=Murchie |first3=scortt L. |last4=McEwen |first4=Alfred S. |last5=Wray |first5=James J. |last6=Hanley |first6=Jennifer |last7=Massé |first7=Marion |last8=Chojnacki |first8=Matt |title=Spectral evidence for hydrated salts in recurring slope lineae on Mars |date=28 September 2015 |journal=Nature Geoscience |doi=10.1038/ngeo2546 |volume=8 |issue=11 |pages=829–832|bibcode=2015NatGe...8..829O }}{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=NASA Says Signs of Liquid Water Flowing on Mars thanks to the work of Lujendra Ojha |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/science/space/mars-life-liquid-water.html |date=28 September 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=28 September 2015 }}{{cite web |last1=Webster |first1=Guy |last2=Agle |first2=DC |last3=Brown |first3=Dwayne |last4=Cantillo |first4=Laurie |title=NASA Confirms Evidence That Liquid Water Flows on Today's Mars |website=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4722 |date=28 September 2015 |access-date=28 September 2015 }} (conference videos{{cite web |author =Staff |title=Video Highlight (02:58) - NASA News Conference - Evidence of Liquid Water on Today's Mars

|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDv4FRHI3J8 |date=28 September 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=30 September 2015 }}{{cite web |author =Staff |title=Video Complete (58:18) - NASA News Conference - Water Flowing on Present-Day Mars m|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRQ5B_ik2dU |date=28 September 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=30 September 2015 }}).

• Angustopila dominikae, the smallest snail ever found, is reported in Southern China. The species measures just 0.86mm in height.{{Cite news | title= World's smallest snail discovered in China |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/28/worlds-smallest-snail-discovered-in-china |date=28 September 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=29 September 2015 |last1=Howard |first1=Emma }}
• Researchers at Queen Mary University of London demonstrate a self-assembling organic material that grows and changes shape, which could lead to artificial arteries.{{cite web |title=Self-assembling material that grows and changes shape could lead to artificial arteries |url=http://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/items/se/164051.html |date=28 September 2015 |work=Queen Mary University of London |access-date=1 October 2015 |archive-date=7 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907194258/https://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/items/se/164051.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Self-assembling material could lead to artificial arteries |url=http://www.kurzweilai.net/self-assembling-material-could-lead-to-artificial-arteries |date=29 September 2015 |work=KurzweilAI |access-date=1 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002104114/http://www.kurzweilai.net/self-assembling-material-could-lead-to-artificial-arteries |archive-date=2 October 2015 }}
• Because of warming oceans, king crabs threaten to overrun Antarctic marine ecosystems within a few decades, according to research by the Florida Institute of Technology.{{cite web | title=King crabs threaten Antarctic ecosystem due to warming ocean |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150928155847.htm |date=28 September 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=6 October 2015 }}
• 29 September – Researchers develop a new test, ViroCap, that can detect nearly any virus known to infect humans and animals. The researchers are making the technology publicly available worldwide, for the benefit of patients and research.{{cite web | title=New test detects all the viruses that infect people, animals |url=http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2015/09/29/New-test-detects-all-the-viruses-that-infect-people-animals/7991443551878/ |date=29 September 2015 |work=UPI |access-date=30 September 2015 }}

• 1 October – IBM announces a breakthrough that could accelerate the replacement of silicon transistors with carbon nanotubes and work down to 1.8 nm node sizes.{{cite web | title=IBM Research Breakthrough Paves Way for Post-Silicon Future with Carbon Nanotube Electronics |url=http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/47767.wss |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004050558/http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/47767.wss |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |date=1 October 2015 |work=IBM |access-date=3 October 2015 }}

File:Keppelbleaching.jpg event is announced, likely to be the worst on record.]]

• 2 October
• A new study adds to previous findings that dinosaurs were driven to extinction by a combination of increased volcanism at the Deccan Traps and the Chicxulub asteroid impact.{{Cite journal | title=State shift in Deccan volcanism at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, possibly induced by impact |date=2 October 2015 |journal=Science |volume=350 |issue=6256 |pages=76–78 |doi=10.1126/science.aac7549 |pmid=26430116 |last1=Renne |first1=P. R. |last2=Sprain |first2=C. J. |last3=Richards |first3=M. A. |last4=Self |first4=S. |last5=Vanderkluysen |first5=L. |last6=Pande |first6=K. |doi-access=free |bibcode=2015Sci...350...76R }}{{Cite news | title=Asteroid that killed dinosaurs also intensified volcanic eruptions - study |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/oct/01/asteroid-that-killed-dinosaurs-also-intensified-volcanic-eruptions-study |date=2 October 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2 October 2015 |first1=Ian |last1=Sample }}
• Fusion reactors could be economically viable within a few decades, and policy makers should start planning to build them as a replacement for conventional nuclear power stations, according to research by Durham University.{{cite web | title=Fusion reactors 'economically viable' say experts |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151002103306.htm |date=2 October 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=6 October 2015 }}
• 5 October
• Nearly one-third of cacti species face extinction, according to the first comprehensive global assessment, largely due to illegal trade and other human activity.{{cite web | title=Illegal trade contributes to placing cacti among world's most threatened species – IUCN Red List |url=http://www.iucn.org/news_homepage/?21955/Illegal-trade-contributes-to-placing-cacti-among-worlds-most-threatened-species--IUCN-Red-List |date=5 October 2015 |work=IUCN |access-date=6 October 2015 }}{{Cite news | title=Nearly a third of world's cacti face extinction, says IUCN |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/05/nearly-a-third-of-worlds-cacti-face-extinction-says-iucn |date=5 October 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=6 October 2015 |last1=Neslen |first1=Arthur }}
• NASA reports recurrent slope lineae, wet brine flows, may have been detected on Mount Sharp near the Curiosity rover.{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Mars Is Pretty Clean. Her Job at NASA Is to Keep It That Way. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/science/mars-catharine-conley-nasa-planetary-protection-officer.html |date=5 October 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=6 October 2015 }} In addition, an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 heat-resistant bacterial spores were on the Curiosity rover at launch. As many as 1,000 times more than that may not have been counted.
• 6 October
• Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald win the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass."{{Cite news | title=Neutrino 'flip' wins physics Nobel Prize |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34443695 |date=6 October 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=7 October 2015 |last1=Webb |first1=Jonathan }}
• Researchers build a quantum logic gate in silicon for the first time, making calculations between two qubits of information possible – and thereby clearing the final hurdle to making silicon quantum computers a reality.{{cite web | title=Crucial hurdle overcome in quantum computing |url=https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/crucial-hurdle-overcome-quantum-computing |date=6 October 2015 |work=UNSW |access-date=12 October 2015 |author1=z3509982 }}
• 7 October – Tomas Lindahl, Paul L. Modrich and Aziz Sancar win the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for explaining "the basic mechanisms that help to guard the integrity of our genomes."{{cite news |last=Broad |first=William J. |title=Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded to Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar for DNA Studies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/08/science/tomas-lindahl-paul-modrich-aziz-sancarn-nobel-chemistry.html |date=7 October 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=7 October 2015 }}{{cite news |author =Staff |title=THE NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY 2015 - DNA repair – providing chemical stability for life |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2015/popular-chemistryprize2015.pdf |date=7 October 2015 |work=Nobel Prize |access-date=7 October 2015 }}

File:PIA19808-MarsCuriosityRover-AeolisMons-BuckskinRock-20150805.jpg, and related [https://oig.nasa.gov/audits/reports/FY16/IG-16-003.pdf health hazards], released.]]

• 8 October
• NASA releases details of its long-term plan for human exploration of Mars.{{cite web | title=NASA Releases Plan Outlining Next Steps in the Journey to Mars |url=http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-releases-plan-outlining-next-steps-in-the-journey-to-mars |date=8 October 2015 |work=NASA |access-date=11 October 2015 }}
• NASA confirms, based on results from the Curiosity rover (and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter), that lakes and streams existed in Gale crater on Mars 3.3 – 3.8 billion years ago delivering sediments to build up the lower layers of Mount Sharp.{{cite web |last=Clavin |first=Whitney |title=NASA's Curiosity Rover Team Confirms Ancient Lakes on Mars |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4734 |date=8 October 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=9 October 2015 }}{{cite web |author =Staff |title=Wet Paleoclimate of Mars Revealed by Ancient Lakes at Gale Crater |url=http://astrobiology.com/2015/10/wet-paleoclimate-of-mars-revealed-by-ancient-lakes-at-gale-crater.html |date=October 8, 2015 |work=Astrobiology web |access-date=October 9, 2015 }}{{cite journal |author =Grotzinger, J.P. |title=Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of an ancient lake deposit, Gale crater, Mars |date=9 October 2015 |journal=Science |volume=350 |issue=6257 |doi=10.1126/science.aac7575 |display-authors=etal |pages=aac7575|bibcode=2015Sci...350.7575G |pmid=26450214|s2cid=586848 |url=https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20151009-084255932 }}
• NASA announces that the New Horizons spacecraft has detected blue skies and water ice on Pluto.{{cite web | title=New Horizons Finds Blue Skies and Water Ice on Pluto |url=https://www.nasa.gov/nh/nh-finds-blue-skies-and-water-ice-on-pluto |date=8 October 2015 |work=NASA |access-date=8 October 2015 }}
• Scientists confirm that a third global coral bleaching event is underway that is likely to be the most intense ever recorded.{{Cite news | title=World's oceans facing biggest coral die-off in history, scientists warn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/08/worlds-oceans-facing-biggest-coral-die-off-in-history-scientists-warn |date=8 October 2015 |work=Guardian |access-date=8 October 2015 |last1=Mathiesen |first1=Karl }}
• Up to 1 billion people are at risk of blindness by 2050, according to researchers at the Brien Holden Vision Institute.{{cite web | title=Up to 1 billion people at risk of blindness by 2050 |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/bhvi-uto100615.php |date=8 October 2015 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=9 October 2015 }}
• Following a comprehensive, 10-year effort, researchers identify 238 genes that affect aging in yeast cells.{{cite web | title=Mapping the genes that increase lifespan |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151008142230.htm |date=8 October 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=12 October 2015 }}
• 13 October
• Astronomers discover V774104, an object which initially appeared to have a 103 AU distance from the Sun, which would have made it the furthest known object from the sun. Upon public release of the object in March 2018, it was only 90 AU from the Sun, making it only the third furthest known object.
• Scientists achieve a breakthrough in finding a general cure for cancer by attaching malaria proteins to cancer cells, which appears effective on 90% of cancer types. Human trials are expected to begin within four years.{{cite web | title=Destructive disease shows potential as a cancer treatment |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151013135548.htm |date=13 October 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=14 October 2015 }}{{cite web | title=Malaria vaccine provides hope for a general cure for cancer |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151013135546.htm |date=13 October 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=14 October 2015 }}
• Forensic scientists report a chemical procedure that can identify gender from a fingerprint. The fingerprint test is based on the much higher levels of certain amino acids in the perspiration of women than in men.{{cite news |last=Bhanoo |first=Sindya N. |title=Science - New Technique Can Identify Gender From a Fingerprint |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/24/science/new-technique-can-identify-gender-from-a-fingerprint.html |date=20 November 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=21 November 2015 }}{{cite journal |last1=Huynh |first1=Crystal |last2=Brunelle |first2=Erica |last3=Halámková |first3=Lenka |last4=Agudelo |first4=Juliana |last5=Halámek |first5=Jan |title=Forensic Identification of Gender from Fingerprints |date=13 October 2015 |journal=Analytical Chemistry |volume=87 |issue=22 |pages=11531–11536 |doi=10.1021/acs.analchem.5b03323 |pmid=26460203 }}
• 14 October – Scientists report finding fossil evidence of life on the very young Earth 4.1 billion years ago, 300 million years older than known earlier. According to one of the researchers, "If life arose relatively quickly on Earth ... then it could be common in the universe.{{cite news |last=Borenstein |first=Seth |title=Hints of life on what was thought to be desolate early Earth |url=https://apnews.com/e6be2537b4cd46ffb9c0585bae2b2e51 |date=19 October 2015 |work=Associated Press |access-date=9 October 2018}}{{cite journal |last1=Bell |first1=Elizabeth A. |last2=Boehnike |first2=Patrick |last3=Harrison |first3=T. Mark |last4=Mao |first4=Wendy L. |display-authors=3 |date=19 October 2015 |title=Potentially biogenic carbon preserved in a 4.1 billion-year-old zircon |journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |doi=10.1073/pnas.1517557112 |issn=1091-6490 |pmid=26483481 |pmc=4664351 |volume=112 |issue=47 |pages=14518–21 |bibcode=2015PNAS..11214518B |doi-access=free }} Early edition, published online before print.
• 15 October
• Researchers at Stockholm University develop a material for capturing CO₂ in the presence of water.{{cite web | title=New crystal captures carbon from the air, even in the presence of water |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151015144806.htm |date=15 October 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=17 October 2015 }}
• Chattanooga announces that a public utility will offer the world's first 10 gigabit broadband service across a large community-wide territory.{{cite web | title=Chattanooga Implements World's First Community-wide 10 Gigabit Internet Service |url=https://www.epb.net/media-relations/news/news_archive/chattanooga-implements-worlds-first-community-wide-10-gigabit-internet-service/ |date=15 October 2015 |work=EPB |access-date=17 October 2015 }}
• 20 October
• Sulfur-limonene polysulphide is used to synthesise a new material able to cheaply and efficiently absorb mercury pollution from soils and water.{{cite web |title=Flinders researcher's new material lays waste to mercury pollution |url=http://blogs.flinders.edu.au/flinders-news/2015/10/20/flinders-reseachers-new-material-lays-waste-to-mercury-pollution/ |date=20 October 2015 |work=Flinders University |access-date=22 October 2015 |archive-date=15 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615134843/http://blogs.flinders.edu.au/flinders-news/2015/10/20/flinders-reseachers-new-material-lays-waste-to-mercury-pollution/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web | title=New material created from orange peel cleans up mercury pollution |url=http://www.gizmag.com/material-orange-peel-mercury-pollution/39917/ |date=19 October 2015 |work=Gizmag|access-date=22 October 2015 }}
• Researchers in California use big data to identify over 100 novel cancer driver genes.{{cite web | title='Big Data' used to identify new cancer driver genes |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/spmd-du102015.php |date=20 October 2015 |work=EurekAlert!|access-date=22 October 2015 }}
• Sunscreen chemicals such as oxybenzone may be contributing to the decline of coral reefs popular with tourists, according to a study by the University of Central Florida.{{cite web | title=Lathering Up with Sunscreen May Protect Against Cancer - Killing Coral Reefs Worldwide |url=http://today.ucf.edu/lathering-up-with-sunscreen-may-protect-against-cancer-killing-coral-reefs-worldwide/ |date=20 October 2015 |work=University of Central Florida|access-date=23 October 2015 }}

File:Patricia 2015-10-23 1730Z Worldview.jpg

• 21 October
• The first direct observation of a solar system being torn apart by a white dwarf is described in the journal Nature. The star, known as WD 1145+017, is transited by at least one, and probably several, disintegrating planetesimals, with periods ranging from 4.5 hours to 4.9 hours.{{cite web | title=Zombie white dwarf star caught destroying an orbiting planet |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/21/9585994/nasa-kepler-white-dwarf-planet-discovery-virgo |date=21 October 2015 |work=The Verge |access-date=22 October 2015 }}{{cite journal | title=A disintegrating minor planet transiting a white dwarf |date=21 October 2015 |journal=Nature |volume=526 |issue=7574 |doi=10.1038/nature15527 |pmid=26490620 |pages=546–549 | last1 = Vanderburg | first1 = Andrew|arxiv=1510.06387 |bibcode=2015Natur.526..546V |s2cid=4451207 }}
• Astronomers using the ESO Very Large Telescope identify the hottest and most massive contact binary. The double star system, VFTS 352, is located 160,000 light-years away in the Tarantula Nebula, which is part of the Large Magellanic Cloud.{{cite web | title=Final Kiss of Two Stars Heading for Catastrophe |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1540/ |date=21 October 2015 |work=ESO |access-date=21 October 2015 }}
• Scientists report that the quantum entanglement phenomenon is strongly supported based on a "loophole-free Bell test" study.{{cite journal |author =Hensen, B. |title=Loophole-free Bell inequality violation using electron spins separated by 1.3 kilometres |date=21 October 2015 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/nature15759 |display-authors=etal |volume=526 |issue=7575 |pages=682–686|bibcode=2015Natur.526..682H |pmid=26503041|arxiv=1508.05949 |s2cid=205246446 }}{{cite news |last=Markoff |first=Jack |title=Sorry, Einstein. Quantum Study Suggests 'Spooky Action' Is Real. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/science/quantum-theory-experiment-said-to-prove-spooky-interactions.html |date=21 October 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=21 October 2015 }}
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that September's global average temperature was the largest departure from normal for any month on record.{{cite web | title=Global Analysis - September 2015 |url=http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201509 |date=21 October 2015 |work=NOAA|access-date=22 October 2015 }}
• The Eastern Santa Cruz Tortoise (Chelonoidis donfaustoi), a newly discovered species of giant tortoise on the Galápagos Islands, is described in the journal PLOS ONE.{{cite web | title=New giant tortoise species found in Galapagos |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151021151357.htm |date=21 October 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=22 October 2015 }}
• The European Space Agency reports that Oxia Planum on the planet Mars is the preferred landing site for the ExoMars rover.{{cite news |last=Amos |first=Jonathan |title=ExoMars rover: Landing preference is for Oxia Planum |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34584214 |date=October 21, 2015 |work=BBC News |access-date=October 22, 2015 }}{{cite web |last=Atkinson |first=Nancy |title=Scientists Want ExoMars Rover to Land at Oxia Planum |url=http://www.universetoday.com/123018/scientists-want-exomars-rover-to-land-at-oxia-planum/ |date=October 21, 2015 |work=Universe Today |access-date=October 22, 2015 }}
• 22 October – A new gene therapy cures muscular dystrophy in dogs, with human trials expected to follow in the next few years, according to researchers at the University of Missouri.{{cite web | title=Gene Therapy Treats All Muscles in the Body in Muscular Dystrophy Dogs; Human Clinical Trials Are Next Step |url=http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2015/1022-gene-therapy-treats-all-muscles-in-the-body-in-muscular-dystrophy-dogs-human-clinical-trials-are-next-step/ |date=22 October 2015 |work=University of Missouri|access-date=26 October 2015 }}
• 23 October
• Hurricane Patricia becomes the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Western Hemisphere in terms of barometric pressure and the strongest globally in terms of maximum sustained winds.{{Cite news | title=Hurricane Patricia: Risk of floods and landslides |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-34625357 |date=24 October 2015 |newspaper=BBC News |access-date=24 October 2015 }}
• U.S. physicists use lasers to create positrons – the antiparticle of electrons – in record numbers and density.{{cite web |title=Positrons are plentiful in ultra-intense laser blasts |url=http://news.rice.edu/2015/10/23/positrons-are-plentiful-in-ultra-intense-laser-blasts/ |date=23 October 2015 |work=Rice University |access-date=24 October 2015 |archive-date=27 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227012211/http://news.rice.edu/2015/10/23/positrons-are-plentiful-in-ultra-intense-laser-blasts/ |url-status=dead }}

File:FoodMeat.jpg or red meat linked to some cancers by WHO.]]

• 26 October
• The International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization reports that eating processed meat (e.g., bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausages) or red meat is linked to some cancers.{{cite news |publisher =World Health Organization|title= IARC Monographs evaluate consumption of red meat and processed meat |url=http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2015/pdfs/pr240_E.pdf |date=26 October 2015 |work=International Agency for Research on Cancer }}{{cite news |last=Hauser |first=Christine |title=W.H.O. Report Links Some Cancers With Processed or Red Meat |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/health/report-links-some-types-of-cancer-with-processed-or-red-meat.html |date=26 October 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=26 October 2015 }}{{cite news |author =Staff |title=Processed meats do cause cancer - WHO |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34615621 |date=26 October 2015 |work=BBC News |access-date=26 October 2015 }}
• A new study by MIT predicts that extreme heatwaves will make large parts of the Gulf region intolerable for humans in the late 21st century.{{cite web | title= Study: Persian Gulf could experience deadly heat |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/miot-spg102615.php |date=26 October 2015 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=31 October 2015 }}{{Cite news | title=Extreme heatwaves could push Gulf climate beyond human endurance, study shows |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/26/extreme-heatwaves-could-push-gulf-climate-beyond-human-endurance-study-shows |date=26 October 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=31 October 2015 |last1=Carrington |first1=Damian }}
• 27 October
• Researchers at the University of Bristol create a tractor beam using "holograms" made of sound waves, able to move small objects from up to 40 cm away.{{Cite news | title='Tractor beam' grabs beads with sound waves |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34647921 |date=27 October 2015 |newspaper=BBC News |access-date=27 October 2015 |last1=Webb |first1=Jonathan }}
• Using computer models of geoengineering, a study in PNAS shows that a halving of Katrina-sized hurricanes over the next half century might be possible, but only if a new and safer aerosol can be found.{{cite web | title=Models show injecting aerosols into the atmosphere to prevent hurricanes possibly feasible |url=http://phys.org/news/2015-10-aerosols-atmosphere-hurricanes-possibly-feasible.html |date=27 October 2015 |work=PhysOrg |access-date=28 October 2015 }}
• 28 October – NASA administrator, Charlie Bolden, presents the next steps for a human journey to Mars at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C.{{cite web |author =Staff |title=REPORT: NASA's Pioneering Next Steps in Space Exploration |url=http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/journey-to-mars-next-steps-20151008_508.pdf |date=8 October 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=29 October 2015 }}{{cite web |author =Staff |title=Human Space Exploration: The Next Steps |url=https://www.americanprogress.org/events/2015/10/19/123515/human-space-exploration-the-next-steps/ |date=28 October 2015 |work=Center for American Progress |access-date=29 October 2015 }}{{cite web |author =Staff |title=NASA: "Human Space Exploration - The Next Steps" - Video (55:48) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bem-Lqsg_9U |work=Center for American Progress |date=28 October 2015 |access-date=29 October 2015 }}{{cite web |last=Gipson |first=Lillian |title=Follow Mark Watney's Epic Trek on Mars with New NASA Web Tool |url=http://www.nasa.gov/feature/follow-mark-watney-s-epic-trek-on-mars-with-new-nasa-web-tool |date=8 October 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=29 October 2015 }}
• 29 October – NASA Office of Inspector General issues a health hazards report related to human missions to Mars.{{cite news |last=Dunn |first=Marcia |title=Report: NASA needs better handle on health hazards for Mars |url=https://apnews.com/2eee674e498b45d88738c8af05f6808d |date=29 October 2015 |work=AP News |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=9 October 2018 }}{{cite web |author =Staff |title=NASA's Efforts to Manage Health and Human Performance Risks for Space Exploration (IG-16-003) |url=https://oig.nasa.gov/audits/reports/FY16/IG-16-003.pdf |date=29 October 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=29 October 2015 }}
• 30 October – Researchers at the VUMC Cancer Center Amsterdam develop a blood test that, from a single drop of blood, can diagnose cancer with a probability of 97%, and about 6-8% probability of a false diagnosis, in healthy patients.{{cite news |last=Simons |first=Warren |title=Single Drop Of Blood Will Soon Be Enough To Diagnose Most Types of Cancer |url=http://www.thelatestnews.com/single-drop-of-blood-soon-enough-to-diagnose-most-types-of-cancer/ |date=30 October 2015 |work=The Latest News |access-date=6 November 2015 }}{{cite journal |author =Best, Myron G. |title=RNA-Seq of Tumor-Educated Platelets Enables Blood-Based Pan-Cancer, Multiclass, and Molecular Pathway Cancer Diagnostics |url= |journal=Cancer Cell |date=9 November 2015 |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=666–676 |doi=10.1016/j.ccell.2015.09.018 |pmid=26525104 |pmc=4644263 |display-authors=etal}}
• 31 October – Asteroid 2015 TB145, a near-Earth asteroid roughly {{convert|600|m|ft|sigfig=1|abbr=off|sp=us}} in diameter, passes 1.27 lunar distances from Earth.{{cite web | title=Nasa tracking Asteroid TB145 with radio telescopes |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34684761 |date=31 October 2015 |work=BBC News |access-date=31 October 2015 }}

File:Mars-MAVEN-Orbiter-20140921.jpg, an orbiter circling Mars, helped determine that the solar wind stripped away the atmosphere from Mars over the years.]]

• 4 November – New Horizons completes the last in a series of four maneuvers putting it on course for a rendezvous with 486958 Arrokoth in January 2019, a billion miles beyond Pluto. This propulsive maneuver is the most distant trajectory correction ever performed by any spacecraft.{{cite news |title=NASA's New Horizons Completes Record-Setting Kuiper Belt Targeting Maneuvers |url=http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20151105 |date=5 November 2015 |work=The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory |access-date=9 November 2015 }}
• 5 November
• NASA scientists report, based on results from the MAVEN orbiter circling Mars, that the solar wind is responsible for stripping away the atmosphere of Mars over the years.{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Solar Storms Strip Air From Mars, NASA Says |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/science/space/mars-atmosphere-stripped-away-by-solar-storms-nasa-says.html |date=5 November 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=5 November 2015 }}{{cite web |author =Staff |title=VIDEO (51:58) - MAVEN - Measuring Mars' Atmospheric Loss |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4vVFetfSF8 |date=5 November 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=5 November 2015 }}
• A chemical that could potentially be used in eye drops to reverse cataracts, the leading cause of blindness, is identified by scientists at the University of California.{{cite news |title=Eye drops could clear up cataracts using newly identified chemical |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151105143817.htm |date=5 November 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=7 November 2015 }}
• In a world first, gene-edited immune cells are used to treat 'incurable' leukaemia in a one-year-old girl.{{cite news |title=World first use of gene-edited immune cells to treat 'incurable' leukaemia |url=http://www.gosh.nhs.uk/news/latest-press-releases/2015-press-release-archive/world-first-use-gene-edited-immune-cells-treat-incurable-leukaemia |date=5 November 2015 |work=Great Ormond Street Hospital |access-date=7 November 2015 }}
• Stem cell scientists at the University Health Network identify an entirely new "two tier" process of how blood is made, overturning decades of established science. The researchers claim their finding could lead to radically improved and personalised treatments for blood disorders.{{cite news |title=Stem-cell scientists redefine how blood is made, toppling conventional 'textbook' view from 1960s |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151105143819.htm |date=5 November 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=8 November 2015 }}
• 11 November
• Groundwork begins on the 24.5m Giant Magellan Telescope. Early operations are expected to begin by 2021, with full operations by 2025.{{cite news |title=Giant Magellan Telescope: Super-scope project to break ground |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34791372 |date=11 November 2015 |work=BBC News |access-date=11 November 2015 }}{{cite news |title=The Giant Magellan Telescope Organization Breaks Ground in Chile |url=http://www.gmto.org/2015/11/the-giant-magellan-telescope-organization-breaks-ground-in-chile/ |date=11 November 2015 |work=GMTO |access-date=11 November 2015 }}
• Scientists report finding a 110,000-years-old tooth fossil containing DNA from Denisovan hominin, an extinct species of human in the genus Homo.{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Zimmer |title=In a Tooth, DNA From Some Very Old Cousins, the Denisovans |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/science/in-a-tooth-dna-from-some-very-old-cousins-the-denisovans.html |date=16 November 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=16 November 2015 }}{{cite journal |last1=Sawyer |first1=Susanna |last2=Renaud |first2=Gabriel |last3=Viola |first3=Bence |last4=Hublin

|first4=Jean-Jacques |last5=Gansauge |first5=Marie-Theres |last6=Shunkov |first6=Michael V. |last7=Derevianko |first7=Anatoly P. |last8=Prüfer |first8=Kay |last9=Kelso |first9=Janet |last10=Pääbo |first10=Svante |title=Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences from two Denisovan individuals |date=11 November 2015 |journal=PNAS |volume=112 |issue=51 |pages=15696–700 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1519905112 |pmid=26630009 |pmc=4697428 |bibcode=2015PNAS..11215696S |doi-access=free }}

File:M15-162b-EarthAtmosphere-CarbonDioxide-FutureRoleInGlobalWarming-Simulation-20151109.jpg in Earth's atmosphere if half of global-warming emissions are not absorbed.
(NASA computer simulation).]]

• 12 November
• NASA scientists report that human-made carbon dioxide (CO₂) continues to increase above levels not seen in hundreds of thousands of years: currently, about half of the carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuels remains in the atmosphere and is not absorbed by vegetation and the oceans.{{cite web |last1=Buis |first1=Alan |last2=Ramsayer |first2=Kate |last3=Rasmussen |first3=Carol |title=A Breathing Planet, Off Balance |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4769 |date=12 November 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=13 November 2015 }}{{cite web |author =Staff |title=Audio (66:01) - NASA News Conference - Carbon & Climate Telecon |url=http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/77531778 |date=12 November 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=12 November 2015 }}{{cite news |last=St. Fleur |first=Nicholas |title=Atmospheric Greenhouse Gas Levels Hit Record, Report Says |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/science/atmospheric-greenhouse-gas-levels-hit-record-report-says.html |date=10 November 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=11 November 2015 }}{{cite news |last=Ritter |first=Karl |title=UK: In 1st, global temps average could be 1 degree C higher |url=https://apnews.com/bb49340d0da24bef8f9c36cd2345fabb |date=9 November 2015 |work=AP News |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=9 October 2018 }}
• MIT invents an efficient new shockwave-based process for the desalination of water.{{cite news |title=Shocking new way to get the salt out |url=https://news.mit.edu/2015/shockwave-process-desalination-water-1112 |date=12 November 2015 |work=MIT |access-date=13 November 2015 }}
• The huge Zachariæ Isstrøm glacier in Greenland, which holds enough water to raise global sea levels by half a metre, is reported to be melting and crumbling into the North Atlantic Ocean.{{cite news |title=Massive northeast Greenland glacier is rapidly melting |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151112150438.htm |date=12 November 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=13 November 2015 }}
• 16 November
• Scientists report that Haramiyavia, a type of Haramiyida living about 200 million years ago and at first thought to be the earliest known herbivores among very early mammals, may not have been mammals after all, but part of a more ancestral side branch instead.{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Jawbone in Rock May Clear Up a Mammal Family Mystery |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/science/haramiyid-jawbone-in-rock-may-clear-up-a-mammal-family-mystery.html |date=16 November 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=17 November 2015 }}{{cite journal |last1=Luo |first1=Zhe-Xi |last2=Gates

|first2=Stephen M. |last3=Jenkins Jr. |first3=Farish A. |last4=Amaral |first4=William W. |last5=Shubin |first5=Neil H. |title=Mandibular and dental characteristics of Late Triassic mammaliaform Haramiyavia and their ramifications for basal mammal evolution |doi=10.1073/pnas.1519387112 |pmid=26630008 |pmc=4697399 |date=16 November 2015 |journal=PNAS |volume=112 |issue=51 |pages=E7101–9|bibcode=2015PNAS..112E7101L |doi-access=free }}

• Iranian researchers at the University of Tehran demonstrate the latest generation of their humanoid robot, Surena III.{{cite news |title=Iran Demonstrates New Humanoid Robot Surena III |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/iran-humanoid-robot-surena-iii |date=17 November 2015 |work=IEEE|access-date=18 November 2015 }}
• Nano-scale submarines built from 244 atoms and capable of moving at 1 inch per second are demonstrated by Rice University.{{cite news |title=Scientists build nanoscale submarines powered by light |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151116112302.htm |date=16 November 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=18 November 2015 }}{{cite news |title=A molecular light-driven nanosubmarine |url=http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-molecular-light-driven-nanosubmarine |date=16 November 2015 |work=KurzweilAI |access-date=18 November 2015 }}
• 17 November
• A point mutation in a gene of the serotonin 2B receptor is linked to impulsive behaviour in humans, particularly those who are drunk, according to research by the University of Helsinki in Finland.{{cite news |title=Gene mutation linked to reckless drunken behavior |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/uoh-gml111615.php |date=17 November 2015 |work=EurekAlert|access-date=18 November 2015 }}
• Scientists develop a self-healing, flexible sensor that mimics the self-healing properties of human skin. Incidental scratches or cuts to the sensors "heal" themselves in less than one day.{{cite news |title=Self-healing sensor brings 'electronic skin' closer to reality |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151117112958.htm |date=17 November 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=19 November 2015 }}
• 18 November
• University of Washington engineers report the development of a novel technology that uses a Wi-Fi router to power devices.{{cite news |title=Powering the next billion devices with Wi-Fi |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/uow-ptn111815.php |date=18 November 2015 |work=EurekAlert|access-date=19 November 2015 }}
• Astronomers at the University of Arizona capture the first image of an exoplanet being formed in a protoplanetary disk. The object, LkCa 15 b, is located 450 light years away, orbiting a young star named LkCa15.{{cite news |title=Researchers capture first photo of planet in making |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151118155303.htm |date=18 November 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=19 November 2015 }}
• University of Massachusetts Medical School researchers have created a greatly improved implementation of CRISPR with potentially far reaching implications.{{cite news |title=New technology vastly improves CRISPR/Cas9 accuracy |url= https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151118155446.htm|date=18 November 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=27 November 2015 }}

File:Salmo salar GLERL 1.jpg approves genetically modified salmon for human consumption.]]

• 19 November – For the first time, the FDA approves genetically modified salmon for human consumption.{{cite news |title=FDA takes several actions involving genetically engineered plants and animals for food |url=https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm473249.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120183227/http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm473249.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 November 2015 |date=19 November 2015 |work=FDA |access-date=20 November 2015 }}
• 20 November – Doctors use virtual reality in surgery for the first time, which helps to clear the blocked coronary artery of a male patient.{{cite news |title=First-in-human use of virtual reality imaging in cardiac cath lab to treat blocked coronary artery |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151120092137.htm |date=20 November 2015 |work=Science Daily|access-date=30 November 2015 }}
• 23 November – The genome of the tardigrade is published, revealing that 17.5% is foreign DNA (from other organisms). It is the only animal able to survive in the vacuum of space.{{cite news |title=PNAS: The tardigrade (water bear), the only known animal that can survive in the vacuum of space, has the most foreign DNA of any animal. |url=http://news.meta.com/2015/11/23/waterbear/ |date=23 November 2015 |work=Meta |access-date=30 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124014336/http://news.meta.com/2015/11/23/waterbear/ |archive-date=24 November 2015 }}
• 24 November – A review of scientific literature by Bristol University finds no substantive evidence of a "pause" or "hiatus" in global warming.{{cite news |title=No substantive evidence for 'pause' in global warming |url=http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2015/november/no-pause-in-global-warming.html |date=24 November 2015 |work=Bristol University|access-date=26 November 2015 }}
• 25 November – By switching off, one by one, almost 18,000 genes — 90 per cent of the entire human genome — scientists at the University of Toronto identify genes that are essential for cell survival.{{cite news |title=New gene map reveals cancer's Achilles heel |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151125233110.htm |date=25 November 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=27 November 2015 }}
• 30 November – The U.S. Geological Survey predicts that between 16 and 24 percent of Alaskan permafrost will disappear by 2100.{{cite news |title=USGS Projects Large Loss of Alaska Permafrost by 2100 |url=http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=4400 |date=30 November 2015 |work=USGS |access-date=10 December 2015 }}

• 1–3 December – The International Summit on Human Gene Editing is held in Washington.{{cite news |title=Media Coverage |url= http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/PGA_165766|date=19 November 2015 |access-date=27 November 2015 }}
• 1 December
• Blood vessel-like structures found in an 80 million-year-old hadrosaur fossil are confirmed to be original to the animal, and not biofilm or other contaminants.{{cite news |title=Original blood vessels in 80 million-year-old fossil |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151201130459.htm |date=1 December 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=3 December 2015 }}
• A new "Polarised 3D" system developed by MIT can increase the resolution of conventional 3-D imaging devices 1,000-fold.{{cite news |title=System boosts resolution of commercial depth sensors 1,000-fold |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151201141244.htm |date=1 December 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=3 December 2015 }}
• Epson debuts "PaperLab", the world's first office papermaking system that turns waste paper into new sheets.{{cite news |title=Epson Develops the World's First Office Papermaking System that Turns Waste Paper into New Paper |url=http://global.epson.com/newsroom/2015/news_20151201.html |date=1 December 2015 |work=Epson |access-date=28 December 2015 }}
• 2 December – A new mass spectral imaging device at Colorado State University allows 3-D mapping of cellular composition at a resolution of 75 nanometres wide and 20 nanometres deep — more than 100 times higher than was previously possible.{{cite news |title=Breakthrough imaging tool maps cells' composition in 3-D |url=http://source.colostate.edu/colorado-state-universitys-breakthrough-imaging-tool-maps-cells-in-3-d-at-nanoscale/ |date=2 December 2015 |work=Colorado State University |access-date=16 December 2015 }}

File:ADN static.png on inheritable human genome edits.]]

• 3 December
• The LISA Pathfinder mission is launched by ESA.{{cite news |title=Lisa Pathfinder launches to test space 'ripples' technology |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34985807 |date=3 December 2015 |work=BBC News |access-date=3 December 2015 }}
• Scientists of major world academies call for a moratorium on inheritable human genome edits, including those related to CRISPR-Cas9 technologies.{{cite news |last=Wade |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Wade |title=Scientists Place Moratorium on Edits to Human Genome That Could Be Inherited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/04/science/crispr-cas9-human-genome-editing-moratorium.html |date=3 December 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=3 December 2015 }}
• 4 December
• The Earth Institute at Columbia University publishes a study that reinforces previous findings that the Medieval warm period was limited in extent and not global.{{cite news |title=Study undercuts idea that 'Medieval Warm Period' was global |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151204145919.htm |date=4 December 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=6 December 2015 }}
• Dams and irrigation raise the global human freshwater footprint almost 20 percent higher than previously thought, according to new research by Stockholm University.{{cite news |title=Global human freshwater footprint surges |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151204000252.htm |date=4 December 2015 |work=Science Daily |access-date=6 December 2015 }}
• 7 December
• The Japanese Akatsuki probe, which failed to orbit Venus in 2010, is reported to have succeeded following a second attempt.{{cite news |title=Japanese probe succeeds in second try at Venus orbit |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/japanese-probe-succeeds-second-try-venus-orbit |date=7 December 2015 |work=Science |last = Normile|first = Dennis }}
• Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology create the world's smallest temperature sensor, powered by radio waves, which they say could be used in developing the Internet of Things.{{cite news |title=The world's tiniest temperature sensor is powered by radio waves |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-12/euot-twt120715.php |date=7 December 2015 |work=EurekAlert!|access-date=10 December 2015 }}{{cite news |title=Tiny chip that powers itself from radio waves |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35038430 |date=8 December 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=10 December 2015 }}
• 9 December
• The world's first "test tube" puppies created through IVF are born in the US after years of attempts.{{cite news |title=World's first IVF puppies born to surrogate mother dog |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35053391 |date=10 December 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=10 December 2015 }}{{cite news |title=First "test tube" puppies born at Cornell veterinary college |url=http://mediarelations.cornell.edu/2015/12/09/first-test-tube-puppies-born-at-cornell-veterinary-college/ |date=9 December 2015 |work=Cornell|access-date=10 December 2015 }}
• NASA scientists report that the bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres, including those in Ceres' largest bright spot region located in Occator crater, may be related to a type of salt, particularly a form of brine containing magnesium sulfate hexahydrite (MgSO₄·6H₂O); the spots were also found to be associated with ammonia-rich clays.{{cite web |last=Landau |first=Elizabeth |title=New Clues to Ceres' Bright Spots and Origins |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4785 |date=9 December 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=10 December 2015 }}
• 10 December
• The first helium plasma test is conducted at the Wendelstein 7-X fusion device.{{cite news |title=The first plasma: the Wendelstein 7-X fusion device is now in operation|url=http://www.ipp.mpg.de/3984226/12_15 |date=10 December 2015 |work=Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics|access-date=10 December 2015 }}
• Based on data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers report the possibility of a large "super-Earth" or Planet X lurking at the far edges of the Solar System in the direction of Alpha Centauri.{{cite news |title=Astronomers Find New Object, Possible Super-Earth In Our Solar System|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/briankoberlein/2015/12/10/astronomers-find-new-object-possible-super-earth-in-our-solar-system/ |date=10 December 2015 |work=Forbes|access-date=12 December 2015 }}
• 11 December
• Paleontologists report the discovery of Hualianceratops wucaiwanensis, an herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur that lived about 160 million years ago in western China.{{Cite journal|author1=Fenglu Han |author2=Catherine A. Forster |author3=James M. Clark |author4=Xing Xu |year=2015 |title=A New Taxon of Basal Ceratopsian from China and the Early Evolution of Ceratopsia |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=10 |issue=12 |pages=e0143369 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0143369 |pmid=26649770 |bibcode=2015PLoSO..1043369H |pmc=4674058|doi-access=free }}{{cite news |last=Bhanoo |first=Sindya A. |title=Paleontologists Discover a Poor Cousin to Triceratops |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/15/science/paleontologists-discover-a-poor-cousin-to-triceratops.html |date=11 December 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=11 December 2015 }}
• Disney Research unveils "FaceDirector", a new method of synthesising an actor's facial performances in post-production to get just the right emotion, instead of re-shooting the scene multiple times.{{cite news |title=FaceDirector software generates desired performances in post-production, avoiding reshoots |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-12/dr-fsg121015.php |date=11 December 2015 |work=EurekAlert!|access-date=14 December 2015 }}
• OpenAI is founded.{{cite news |title=Tech giants pledge $1bn for 'altruistic AI' venture, OpenAI |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35082344 |date=12 December 2015 |work=BBC News|access-date=14 December 2015 }}

File:DARK CLOUDS OF FACTORY SMOKE OBSCURE CLARK AVENUE BRIDGE - NARA - 550179.jpg mainly the result of environmental factors.]]

• 14 December – A new atomic force microscope is announced by MIT, capable of scanning images 2,000 times faster than existing commercial models. This allows it to operate with near-real-time video speed to capture structures as small as a fraction of a nanometer from single strands of DNA down to individual hydrogen bonds.{{cite news |title=New microscope creates near-real-time videos of nanoscale processes |url=https://news.mit.edu/2015/new-microscope-real-time-videos-nanoscale-1214 |date=14 December 2015 |work=MIT|access-date=16 December 2015 }}
• 15 December
• Two teams of physicists, working independently at CERN, report preliminary hints of a possible new subatomic particle (more specifically, the ATLAS and CMS experiments, using 13 TeV proton collision data, showed a moderate excess around 750 GeV, in the two-photon spectrum): if real, the particle could be either a heavier version of a Higgs boson or a graviton.{{cite news |last =Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye |title=Physicists in Europe Find Tantalizing Hints of a Mysterious New Particle |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/science/physicists-in-europe-find-tantalizing-hints-of-a-mysterious-new-particle.html |date=15 December 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=15 December 2015 }}{{cite web |author =Staff |title=Search for new physics in high mass diphoton events in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV |url=http://cms-results.web.cern.ch/cms-results/public-results/preliminary-results/EXO-15-004/index.html |date=15 December 2015 |work=CMS Collaboration |access-date=2 January 2016 }}{{cite web |author =Staff |title=Search for resonances decaying to photon pairs in 3.2 fb-1 of pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector |url=https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/CONFNOTES/ATLAS-CONF-2015-081/ |date=15 December 2015 |work=ATLAS Collaboration |access-date=2 January 2016 }}
• A new world record for the smallest inkjet image is announced, after researchers in Switzerland used quantum dots to produce a 0.0092 mm² (80 μm x 115 μm) colour photo of tropical clown fish at a resolution of 25,000 dpi.{{cite news |title=Quantum dots print tiniest inkjet image |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35110483 |date=16 December 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=21 December 2015 }}
• 16 December – Cancer is overwhelmingly a result of environmental factors, and not largely down to bad luck, a study by medical scientists suggests. Maintaining a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, minimizing alcohol and eliminating smoking reduces the risk of developing the disease, according to researchers.{{cite news |last=Gallagher |first=James |title=Cancer is not just 'bad luck' but down to environment, study suggests |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35111449 |date=17 December 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=17 December 2015 }}{{cite journal |last1=Wu |first1=Song |last2=Powers |first2=Scott |last3=Zhu |first3=Wei |last4=Hannun |first4=Yusuf A. |title=Substantial contribution of extrinsic risk factors to cancer development |journal=Nature |volume=529 |issue=7584 |pages=43–7 |doi=10.1038/nature16166 |pmid=26675728 |pmc=4836858 |year=2015|bibcode=2016Natur.529...43W }}
• 17 December – Researchers develop a new Big Data statistical method, known as iGWAS, which identifies five longevity loci associated with healthy aging.{{cite journal |title=Genome-Wide Scan Informed by Age-Related Disease Identifies Loci for Exceptional Human Longevity |date=17 December 2015 |journal=PLOS Genetics|doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1005728 |pmid=26677855 |pmc=4683064 |volume=11 |issue=12 |page=e1005728 | last1 = Fortney | first1 = Kristen |doi-access=free }}
• 19 December – A final flyby of Enceladus, moon of Saturn, by the Cassini spacecraft, is reported by NASA.{{cite web |last=Dyches |first=Preston |title=Cassini Completes Final Close Enceladus Flyby |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4803 |date=21 December 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=22 December 2015 }}
• 21 December
• U.S. company SpaceX, headed by Elon Musk, achieves a historic milestone in space flight by landing a Falcon 9 rocket vertically, demonstrating that cheaper reusable rockets might be possible.{{cite news |title=SpaceX rocket in historic upright landing |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35157782 |date=22 December 2015 |publisher=BBC|access-date=22 December 2015 }}
• In response to the dramatic decline of lion populations in the wild, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces two lion subspecies as endangered and threatened. Panthera leo leo, found in India and Africa, is listed as endangered, and Panthera leo melanochaita, in eastern and southern Africa, is listed as threatened.{{cite news |title=Endangered Species Act Listing Protects Lions in Africa and India, Director's Order Strengthens Wildlife Import Restrictions for Violators of Wildlife Laws |url=http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ref=endangered-species-act-listing-protects-lions-in-africa-and-india-&_ID=35403 |date=21 December 2015 |work=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|access-date=23 December 2015 }}
• 22 December – NASA delays the launch of the InSight mission to Mars in March 2016, due to an air leak in one of the primary scientific instruments.{{cite news |author =Staff |title=NASA calls off next Mars mission because of instrument leak |url=http://apnews.excite.com/article/20151222/us-sci--mars_lander-de6da5a926.html |date=22 December 2015 |work=AP News |access-date=22 December 2015 }}{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Leaks in Instrument Force NASA to Delay Mars Mission Until 2018 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/23/science/space/leaks-in-instrument-force-nasa-to-delay-mars-mission-until-2018.html |date=22 December 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=22 December 2015 }}{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Dwayne |last2=Cantillo |first2=Laurie |last3=Webster |first3=Guy |last4=Watelet |first4=Julien |title=NASA Suspends 2016 Launch of InSight Mission to Mars |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4805 |date=22 December 2015 |publisher=NASA |access-date=23 December 2015 }} The mission was launched in May 2018.{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=NASA's InSight Launches for Six-Month Journey to Mars |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/05/science/nasa-mars-insight-launch.html |date=5 May 2018 |work=The New York Times |access-date=6 November 2018}}
• 28 December – Scientists report the discovery of a new type of basaltic rock, rich in ilmenite, a black mineral, on the moon by Chang'e-3, a Chinese spacecraft that landed on the moon in 2013.{{cite news |last=Bhanoo |first=Sindya N. |title=New Type of Rock Is Discovered on Moon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/29/science/new-type-of-rock-is-discovered-on-moon.html |date=28 December 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=29 December 2015 }}
• 30 December – The seventh row of the periodic table is officially declared full, after the discovery of elements 113, 115, 117 and 118.{{cite news |title=Four elements earn permanent seats on the periodic table |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/four-elements-earn-permanent-seats-periodic-table |date=31 December 2015 |work=Science News|access-date=2 January 2016 }}

• Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering: Robert S. Langer.
• UNESCO Medal for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies: Valentin Bukhtoyarov, Constance Chang-Hasnain, Soodabeh Davaran, Vladimir Fortov, Mikhail Kovalchuk, Tebello Nyokong, Mikhail Selyanin and Shem Wandiga.{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/director-general/singleview-dg/news/eight_unesco_medals_awarded_to_nanotechnology_and_nanoscience_specialists/#.VT9r8nCkqrU|title=Eight UNESCO Medals awarded to nanotechnology and nanoscience specialists|publisher=UNESCO|date=13 April 2015|access-date=28 April 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=51331|title=Iranian Female Professor Awarded UNESCO Medal in Nanoscience|publisher=Nanotech-now.com|date=20 April 2015|access-date=28 April 2015}}

• 8 January – John Duckworth, British physicist (b. 1916).{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11390309/John-Duckworth-physicist-obituary.html|title=John Duckworth, physicist - obituary|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=4 February 2015|access-date=15 April 2015}}
• 20 January – Lawrence Hogben, New Zealand meteorologist and naval officer (b.1916).{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11449835/Lawrence-Hogben-D-Day-meteorologist-obituary.html|title=Lawrence Hogben, D-Day meteorologist - obituary|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=4 March 2015|access-date=22 March 2015}}
• 27 January – Charles H. Townes, American Nobel Prize-winning physicist and contributor to the invention of the laser (b.1915).{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/29/charles-townes|title=Charles Townes obituary|work=The Guardian|date=29 January 2015|access-date=27 March 2015|last1=Tucker|first1=Anthony}}
• 25 February – Raymond Smallman, British metallurgist and academic (b. 1929).{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11502533/Professor-Ray-Smallman-metallurgist-obituary.html|title=Professor Ray Smallman, metallurgist - obituary|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=29 March 2015|access-date=10 April 2015}}
• 4 April – Ioan Pușcaș, Romanian gastroenterologist (b. 1932).
• 23 May – John Forbes Nash, Jr., American mathematician, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Economics (1994), subject of A Beautiful Mind (b. 1928).[http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2015/05/famed_a_beautiful_mind_mathematician_wife_killed_in_taxi_crash_police_say.html Famed 'A Beautiful Mind' mathematician John Nash, wife killed in taxi crash, police say]
• 29 June – Joseph Bryan Nelson, British ornithologist and academic (b. 1932).{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/doctor-bryan-nelson-environmental-activist-and-ornithologist-acclaimed-as-the-worlds-leading-expert-on-the-northern-gannet-10373247.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/doctor-bryan-nelson-environmental-activist-and-ornithologist-acclaimed-as-the-worlds-leading-expert-on-the-northern-gannet-10373247.html |archive-date=2022-05-01 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Doctor Bryan Nelson: Environmental activist and ornithologist acclaimed as the world's leading expert on the northern gannet|work=The Independent|date=7 July 2015}}{{cbignore}}
• 30 August – Oliver Sacks, British neurologist (b. 1933).{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34102119|title=Oliver Sacks dies in New York aged 82|newspaper=BBC News|date=30 August 2015|access-date=30 August 2015}}
• 30 September – Guido Altarelli, Italian theoretical physicist (b. 1941).{{cite journal | title = Guido Altarelli (1941 - 2015) | journal = CERN Bulletin | volume = 901 | issue = 41 & 42, Mon 05 Oct | pages = 249–251 |year=2015 | url =https://cds.cern.ch/record/2056743| bibcode = 2015NuPhB.901..249F | last1 = Forte | first1 = Stefano | last2 = Ridolfi | first2 = Giovanni | doi = 10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2015.10.021 | doi-access = free }}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• 2015 in paleontology
• 2015 in spaceflight
• List of emerging technologies
• List of years in science
• List of species described in 2015

{{div col end}}

{{reflist|3}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• {{cite journal | doi = 10.1038/528448a | volume=528 | title=365 days: The science events that shaped 2015 | year=2015 | journal=Nature | pages=448–451 | last1 = Baker | first1 = Monya| issue=7583 | pmid=26701034 | bibcode=2015Natur.528..448B | doi-access=free }}

Category:21st century in science

Category:2010s in science