Mind & BrainSeptember 1, 2012
You Are What You Read
How you identify with a protagonist in a story influences your attitudes and beliefs
Stories by Daisy Yuhas
Daisy Yuhas edits the Scientific American column Mind Matters. She is a freelance science journalist and editor based in Austin, Tex. She is author of the Kids Field Guide to Birds.
August 30, 2012
Burn Notice: Mustard Species's Specialized Spices Keep Local Bugs at Bay
Plant's flavorful variations reveal evolution at work
August 22, 2012
Head Start: Early Learning Could Compensate for Cognitive Deterioration
Rat studies show that cognitive control, an ability eroded in disorders such as schizophrenia, could be protected with brain training
August 15, 2012
Brain's Drain: Neuroscientists Discover Cranial Cleansing System
Fluids coursing through the nervous system could help clear the brain of toxic detritus that leads to Alzheimer's and Huntington's disorders
EvolutionJuly 24, 2012
Lambs on the Lam Suggest Selfishness Motivates Herd Behavior
Sheep, a dog and GPS tracking reveal evolutionary rules behind sociality
The SciencesJuly 18, 2012
Storm Scents: It's True, You Can Smell Oncoming Summer Rain
Researchers have teased out the aromas associated with a rainstorm and deciphered the olfactory messages they convey
EnvironmentJuly 16, 2012
Cache Crop: Rodents May Have Replaced Extinct Megafauna as Seed Dispersers [Video]
The agouti, a cat-size rodent, may be sustaining populations of tropical palms, a role formerly occupied by megafauna
EvolutionJuly 10, 2012
Male Dragonflies Color Shift via Simple Chemical Reaction
Biologists have identified the pigments and chemical mechanism behind color-changing male dragonflies
The SciencesJuly 5, 2012
Sound Science: Where Did That Noise Come From?
An audible activity from Scientific American
Mind & BrainJuly 1, 2012
MIND Reviews: The Self Illusion
June 29, 2012
Fractals, Parasites and 3-D Reconstructions: 18 Startling Science Images
Czech "Science Is Beautiful" photo and illustration competition explores the wondrous worlds discovered via scientific investigation
Mind & BrainJune 21, 2012
What's a Voxel and What Can It Tell Us? A Primer on fMRI
Mind & BrainJune 14, 2012
Sleep Violence: A Real Danger, Little Understood
The SciencesJune 5, 2012
Where to Watch the Transit of Venus
May 31, 2012
Skin-Deep Science: Find Your Sensitive Side
A touchy-feely science assay from Scientific American
The SciencesMay 24, 2012
Speedy Science: How Fast Can You React?
A swift science activity from Scientific American
May 17, 2012
Unhurtful Thoughts: A Preoccupied Brain Produces Pain-Killing Compounds
Spinal scans reveal the mechanism by which intense thinking can block pain receptors in the nervous system
EvolutionMay 3, 2012
A Rose Is a Rose, Until It Isn't: 5 Reasons Plant DNA Is Totally Crazy
Mind & BrainMay 1, 2012
Acting in Unison Stirs Up Aggression
A more tightly knit team, it seems, is a fiercer foe
Mind & BrainMay 1, 2012
Anxiety May Hinder Your Sense of Danger
Tense people may miss the subtle warning signs of danger
Space & PhysicsApril 27, 2012
Space Shuttle Swan Songs: Enterprise and Discovery Fly their Final Missions [Slide Show]
Washington, D.C. and New York City greet the retiring shuttles
The SciencesApril 24, 2012
Genome Run: Andean Shrub Is First New Plant Species Described by Its DNA
It took a colorful floral species from South America, Brunfelsia plowmaniana, to finally break botany's nomenclatural gene barrier
Space & PhysicsApril 23, 2012
Closing in on Dark Matter: Another "Tentative" Step
April 20, 2012
BFF?: Cell Phone Study Shows Evolving Lifetime Relationships in Men and Women
The calling patterns of three million cell phone users support a theory that female relationships change with shifting biological priorities, suggesting that women drive the evolutionary fitness of humans