Human Traits Roundup
Scientists gain insights into two essentially human traits: walking and talking.
Placebo Effect
Scientists look to the brain to find out why some people respond better to the placebo effect than others.
Sparrow Song
Song dialects make a big difference when white-crowned sparrows choose mates and defend territories.
Wild Teen Roundup
A new skin test could predict which kids are most at risk for developing behavioral problems.
Podcast
Do women really talk more than men? Insects that explode to foil predators. Energy from vibrations. What happens to our brains when we get thirsty. A skin test to predict behavioral problems.
Talkative Men
Contrary to popular belief, men are just as talkative as women, according to new research.
Podcast
How fetuses breathe inside the womb, rats that help out other rats, ancient chile peppers found in Mexico, why we yawn, and the surprising forms alien life might take.
Art and Brain Damage
Brain damage sometimes has a suprisingly positive effect on artists' work.
Podcast
Why cows have four stomachs, a new development in wireless electricity, babies' surprising eye for language, a genetic typo detector, and an archaeological debunking.
Babies’ Eye for Language
Babies can see the differences between languages, even without hearing them.
Podcast
Making sounds morph, a lost herd of elephants, twins' secret languages, runaway carbon emissions, and the marriage-obesity connection.
Suggestible Sin Roundup
Mentioning a bad behavior may lead people to engage in it.
Podcast
Lasers + diamonds = cool physics, TV ads make kids eat more junk food, the domestic robot is inching closer to reality, talking about sin could lead to it, and a listener asks why allergies exist.
Podcast
IQ is overrated, why we have wisdom teeth (and why some people don't), an ancient Chinese remedy for malaria, how not to repel mosquitoes, and your skin's natural defenses against bacteria.
Podcast
Grilling could take a toll on your health, smarter doesn't equal richer, an infection could help prevent asthma, a step toward fusion reactors, and the closest living descendants of dinosaurs.
Brain Brake Roundup
Can dirt make you happy? Can your brain save your life?
Podcast
Replacing your skeleton with metal, a sniff test for neurological diseases, a decline in baby boy births, how your brain puts on the brakes, and the Robin Hood inside many of us.
Robin Hood Effect
Many of us would take from the rich and give to the poor if given a chance.