Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier show how CRISPR-Cas9 can cut DNA at chosen sites, launching a revolution in gene editing.
CERN announces that the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider have observed a particle consistent with the Higgs boson.
The LIGO detectors record gravitational waves from two merging black holes, confirming a prediction of general relativity; the result is announced in February 2016.
A person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto publishes the white paper describing Bitcoin, the first decentralised cryptocurrency.
Barack Obama wins the presidential election, becoming the first African American elected to the office.
Steve Jobs unveils the first iPhone, accelerating the era of touchscreen smartphones.
Vietnam becomes the 150th member of the World Trade Organization.