Stories by Melinda Wenner Moyer

Spies Inside: Ultrasmall Electrodes Go Anywhere

A new generation of electrodes is small and flexible enough to fit inside the heart or brain

A New Look at Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Scientists are taking a fresh look at obsessive-compulsive disorder, identifying its likely causes-and hints for new therapies

The Language of Love: Word Usage Predicts Romantic Attraction

Cancer Testing? There's an App for That

Physicians are using smart phones to diagnose diseases, check blood cell counts and identify pathogens in drinking water

Too Much Information? Noninvasive Genetic Tests for the Unborn

A series of recent breakthroughs means that early, noninvasive genetic tests for fetuses may be just two years away

Organs-on-a-Chip for Faster Drug Development

New devices may help bring drugs to market faster

Which Pills Work? Questions about the Necessity of Vitamin D Supplements

The recent finding by a panel that most Americans get enough vitamin D exposes a rift among researchers

A Case of Low Energy: The Link between Alzheimer's and Mitochondria

Alzheimer's symptoms may arise from damaged "power plants" in brain cells

Blame It on Winter: Newborns' Exposure to Daylight Affects Mental Health for Life

Exposure to daylight may explain a link between birth season and mental illness

How Old Is Your Cancer?

Pancreatic tumors can germinate for a decade before turning deadly, raising hopes for early detection

Split Motivation: Half Your Brain Can Be Subliminally Motivated

Why the left hand doesn't always know what the right is doing

World Changing Ideas 2010

Ten thoughts, trends and technologies that have the power to transform our lives

A Killer Water Filter

Novel materials promise better access to clean water around the world

The Importance of Junk DNA

Biologists continue to be surprised by what was once dismissed as wasted space

Nice Germs Finish Last: "Good Samaritan" Bacteria Provide New Clues in Antibiotic Resistance

Resistant bacteria help their kin survive antibiotics, but at a cost

Things That Go Bump in the Night

A merciless experiment reveals why some people can snooze through anything

It's Not Dementia, It's Your Heart Medication: Cholesterol Drugs and Memory

Why cholesterol drugs might affect memory

A View to a Kill: New Imaging Watches How Mitochondria Change During Disease

A new imaging technique shows how diseases work in real time

You're Happy, I'm Happy: Biology Plays a Role in Our Aversion to Inequity

Fairness can matter more to people than their own self-interest

Childbirth Still a Risky Undertaking in Many Countries

The U.N. has made improving maternal health a major goal for 2015, but progress has been slow despite good science on what makes motherhood safer