Behavior
Ho-Ho-Horrible: Why We're So Bad at Choosing Good Gifts
Recent research highlights the mismatch between what people want and what they want to give
Stories by Catherine Caruso
Medicine
Freeze-Dried Placenta Pills Linked to Newborn’s Dangerous Bacterial Infection
Some celebrities take such therapies, claiming health benefits
Medicine
Tests for Lyme Disease Miss Early Cases—but a New Approach Might Help
Standard methods often fail to catch infections during the first month
Mental Health
Most Opioid Prescriptions Are for People with Depression, Other Mood Disorders
The finding raises questions about how different people respond to pain
Biotech
The Beauty of “Mini Brains”
Lab-grown bundles of brain cells may be the future of drug testing
Engineering
Grandma’s Little Robot
Machines that can read and react to social cues may be more acceptable companions and caretakers
Behavior
Drunk Mice Get the Munchies
Alcohol activates brain cells linked to hunger
Mind & Brain
A New Theory for Why Killer Whales Go Through Menopause
Evidence suggests it is for the greater social good
Behavior
Good Relationships Are All in the Family
A decades-long study finds men raised in close families have stronger attachments in old age
Cognition
Don't Forget: You, Too, Can Acquire a Super Memory
Learning a memorization technique used by elite memory athletes leads to widespread changes in brain wiring
Behavior
Slo-mo Made Him Do It
Watching video in slow motion can lead us to believe actions are more intentional
Engineering
Time to Fold, Humans: Poker-Playing AI Beats Pros at Texas Hold’em
The feat represents a leap forward in developing artificial intelligence that can learn with incomplete information
Environment
Make Earth Great Again!—Here's How
Political conservatives are more likely to care about the environment if climate messages focus on restoring the planet to its past state, a study shows
Mental Health
Psychiatrists Debate Weighing in on Trump's Mental Health
A long-standing code of ethics prohibits diagnosing public figures from afar
Cognition
Super Bowl Psychology: Why Athletes "Choke"--and How to Avoid It
Putting too much conscious thought into an automatic action can derail it
Neuroscience
Drunk Mice Get the Munchies
A study in mice reveals that alcohol activates brain cells linked to hunger
Cognition
We Remember Faces Better as Adults
Brain regions involved in recognizing visages continue to develop into young adulthood
Public Health
New Test Spots Human Form of Mad Cow Disease with 100 Percent Accuracy
Blood screening technology may be able to diagnose infections before symptoms emerge
Neuroscience
Pregnancy Causes Lasting Changes in a Woman's Brain
New mothers showed evidence of neural remodeling up to two years after giving birth
Chemistry
Teen Wins Big for a Homemade Polymer
An orange–avocado material that could keep crops hydrated during droughts places first at the Google Science Fair
