“Genomes carry the torch of life from one generation to the next for every organism on Earth,” reads the journal. The breakthrough could “alter our view of the world we live in.”

The work sheds（流出, 发散）light on the profound similarities（类似, 类似处）among all biota（生物）on Earth. The human genome in particular gives insight to the heterogeneity（异种, 异质, 不同成分）of cancer, the causes of aging and the complexity of the immune system（免疫系统）.

While the potential to manipulate（操作, 使用）genomes has stirred（轰动，激起）the pot of ethical and social mores, scientists are eager to advance human health and attain greater understanding of all life, according to the journal.

Another perspective（观点, 看法）on human life came with the discovery of 1.7 million-year-old fossil skulls at Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia. They may represent the first human ancestors（祖先） to journey out of Africa, a journey that took place well before advances such as the hand axe（斧头）.

　

Fifteen images show the range of surface features on Jupiter's icy moon, Europa.

Scientific advances beyond Earth also center on an understanding of, and the search for, life. Strong evidence of recent water flow on Mars（火星）and a salty ocean on Jupiter’s（木星）moon Europa have piqued interest in the possibility of life within Earth’s immediate solar neighborhood.

Water is considered a key ingredient（成分, 因素）for the existence of life.

Other highlights on the list include a discovery that all forms of life on Earth began with RNA, electrically conducting plastics, a discovery that cells from one part of the body can remake themselves into other types of cells in other parts of the body.

The journal also handed out some other, more dubious, honors.

National Geographic’s Archaeoraptor, thought to represent the link between birds and dinosaurs, was credited as the “Disappearing Discovery of the Year” once it was discovered to have been composed of two different fossils.

Looking forward to 2001, the editors expect scientific breakthroughs in understanding of infectious（传染性的, 易传染的）diseases, ocean studies with satellites and an increase in science funding around the world.