Wired has come up with its closely-watched list of top scientific breakthroughs of the past year, and the life sciences figure prominently on the top-10 countdown.

On the list: A new approach to reprogramming stem cells to avoid a tendency to become cancerous; sequencing the entire genome [1] of a cancer patient; using a bone marrow transplant from an HIV-resistant donor [2] in Germany to eradicate the virus, pointing to gene editing as a possible cure; using a patient's stem cells to grow a new trachea [3].

The new trachea was number two on the hit parade and earned kudos as the greatest single breakthrough in life sciences. At the top of the list? Finding ice on Mars. But that's another story.

- read the feature [4] in Wired

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Gene therapy could offer AIDS cure [5]
Researchers map the cancer genome [6]
Stem cells used to create new trachea [7]