Stories by Ferris Jabr

Recommended: The Age of Insight

Books and recommendations from Scientific American

Scary Stuff: Fright Chemical Identified in Injured Fish

A molecule related to chondroitin supplements alerts fish of nearby danger

The Perils and Pleasures of Online Gaming for Married Life

If someone asked you to sketch a portrait of a gamer who spends countless hours each week inhabiting an avatar—say, an elf or a warlock—in a virtual fantasy world, what kind of person would you draw?...

Mountain Maladies: Genetic Screening Susses Out Susceptibility to Altitude Sickness

New tests could spare soldiers from debilitating sickness at high altitudes--and mitigate cattle deaths in the Rockies

Tiny, Tree-Dwelling Primate Called Tarsier Sends and Receives Ultrasonic Calls

Let's be honest: tarsiers look odd. Among the smallest of all primates, most species of tarsier would fit easily in the palm of your hand. They have long, slender, largely hairless tails and elongated fingers with knobby knuckles and mushroom-cap finger pads.To fully confront the tarsier's bizarre anatomy, you must stare it in the face...

Sight Seen: Gene Therapy Restores Vision in Both Eyes

Two doses of gene therapy restore vision to three women who were born nearly blind

By the Numbers: Autism Is Not a Math Problem

There are 2,027 ways to be diagnosed with autism in DSM-IV and only 11 ways in DSM-5, but the numbers alone are misleading

Redefining Autism: Will New DSM-5 Criteria for ASD Exclude Some People?

Experts call for small and easy changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the "bible" of psychiatry, so that everyone with autism spectrum disorder qualifies for a diagnosis...

Dirty Dancing: Dung Beetles Get Down to Walk the Line

The meticulous insects pirouette atop their dung balls to get their bearings and correct navigational errors

Gumming Up Appetite

The obese may soon have a new tool to curb hunger

Shape-Shifting: Researchers Change How Monkeys See in 3-D

Stimulating a particular region of the brain alters the way rhesus macaques perceive optical illusions

Late Bloomer: Trailblazing 18th-Century Woman Botanist Finally Honored with Namesake

In the 18 th century, not yet 30 years old, she became the first woman to travel around the world. Along the way she helped collect thousands of plant specimens, some of which were new species...

Fearless Youth: Prozac Extinguishes Anxiety by Rejuvenating the Brain

New research shows that the antidepressant reduces fear in adult mice by increasing brain plasticity

Jailbreak Rat: Selfless Rodents Spring Their Pals and Share Their Sweets

A new study suggests that rodents are far more altruistic than previously thought

Cache Cab: Taxi Drivers' Brains Grow to Navigate London's Streets

Memorizing 25,000 city streets balloons the hippocampus, but cabbies may pay a hidden fare in cognitive skills

Was Jane Austen Poisoned by Arsenic? Science May Soon Find Out

Modern techniques could reveal whether the celebrated English novelist's surviving hair contains unusually high levels of arsenic

Gumming Up Appetite to Treat Obesity

Researchers plan to create chewing gum that sneaks an appetite-suppressing hormone through the gut and into the blood

Do MRIs Relieve Symptoms of Depression?

Researchers continue to explore whether magnetic fields produced by magnetic resonance imaging devices and others improve mood in those who suffer from depressive disorders

A Nobel Celebration

As Nobel Prize winners gather this month to share their wisdom with younger researchers, Scientific American recalls some of the articles that Nobel laureates have published in our pages...

Nobel Laureates Speak in Scientific American