By Dr Joe Milton, the Australian Science Media Centre

Every year, the AusSMC trawls the year's science news to pick our top 10 science stories, and 2025 was another big year for science, both globally and locally.

The Trump Administration declared war... on science, extinct animals made a comeback, at least to the headlines, and DeepSeek shook up the AI world.

Meanwhile, in Australia, we pushed on with our social media ban for kids, found forever chemicals everywhere - even in possums - and reeled from the news of a pair of IVF stuff ups and a trio of major cyber breaches and failures.

It was a tough year in environment news as South Australia was hit by the country's longest and most destructive algal bloom, and it became harder than ever to deny that climate change is already having disastrous consequences.

However, there were some glimmers of hope among all the climate gloom, and news that the world's first 'three-person' babies are now healthy, thriving children provided some much-needed cheer. Head over to Scimex to read more about our pick of 2025's best and biggest science yarns.

This article originally appeared in Science Deadline, a weekly newsletter from the AusSMC. You are free to republish this story, in full, with appropriate credit.

Contact: Dr Joe Milton

Phone: +61 8 7120 8666

Email: info@smc.org.au