Stories by Melinda Wenner

Reviews and recommendations from the February/March 2009 issue of Scientific American MIND

Certain life experiences may lead to brain changes in suicide victims

New evidence points to a link between the herpesvirus and the deadly cancer glioblastoma

How synthetic hormones change desire in women—and their choice in a mate

Childhood ear infections may damage the nerve for taste, leading to obesity

Overeating may be a self-medication attempt by dopamine-deprived brains

Compared with veterans who have not killed, those who have more strongly begrudge Americans who oppose the war

When the mind is fooled into disowning a limb, body functions go awry

Reviews and recommendations from the December 2008/January 2009 issue of Scientific American MIND

Should you be worried about that mobile plastered to your ear?

Mice reveal how changes to the regulatory system can be fatal

Key genes, rather than cell and DNA damage, as causes of aging

Reviews and recommendations from the October/November 2008 issue of Scientific American MIND

Florida debuts its innovative in plasma technology, backed by Atlanta-based Geoplasma

How conservation, urban development and logging requirements can coexist

A secure place to store copies of crops and other plants in case of global calamity

Last week, NFL great Gene Upshaw passed away suddenly from pancreatic cancer. Oncologist Allyson Ocean explains how the illness felled Upshaw only four days after doctors found it

Finding could explain why many people don't get enough of the nutrient and develop osteoporosis

Physiologist Lee Sweeney has been asked to dope an entire junior college football team, but his day job is studying age-related muscle decline

Getting stressed isn't just a state of mind. It can also seriously harm the body.

Compounds that enhance the sweet and salty flavors of foods could combat obesity and heart disease

Mice sing complex ultrasonic songs that gives researchers clues to the genetic roots of pleasure