BiologyJuly 1, 2018
How Gene Expression Runs on a Clock--and What It Means for Medical Treatments
How the body's cycles went from folk medicine to modern science
Stories by Veronique Greenwood
Veronique Greenwood is a science writer and essayist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic and National Geographic, among others.
FitnessDecember 14, 2017
How Bacteria May Help Regulate Blood Pressure
Smell receptors in kidneys sniff out signals from gut bacteria for cues to moderate blood pressure
BiologyJuly 7, 2017
Having This Gene May Make Some People Night Owls
Researchers have identified a mutation in some people who suffer from delayed sleep phase disorder, which interferes with their circadian clocks
BehaviorMarch 1, 2017
Why Emotional Snap Judgments Are Often Wrong
When reading people's emotions, careful thinking may pay off
NeuroscienceMarch 1, 2017
Can You Tell Someone's Emotional State from an MRI?
The quest to read emotions from brain scans
CognitionJanuary 1, 2017
Learn a New Lingo While Doing Something Else
Hearing a foreign language in the background can help you learn it faster, even if you are not paying attention
CognitionJanuary 1, 2017
Some People’s Brains Are Wired for Languages
Brain scans may offer clues to a person’s natural aptitude—and help those less gifted learn how to study better
NeuroscienceSeptember 1, 2016
You Smell Sick: Detecting Illness by Scent
Scientists are racing to create tests that can identify illness via odors in patients’ sweat, breath and urine
CognitionMay 1, 2016
Are You Sure That's the Guy?
Asking eyewitnesses about their level of certainty improves the efficacy of police lineups
BehaviorMarch 1, 2016
Still Waiting for That E-Mail?
A study of 16 billion e-mails reveals distinct patterns in our e-mail behavior
Mind & BrainMarch 1, 2016
The Problem with Perfect Posture
Slouching may help us concentrate on a challenging task
MedicineJanuary 1, 2016
Pharma Watch: A User's Guide to Sleeping Pills
A new pill adds to the choices but behavioral therapy can be a better option for some
BehaviorDecember 24, 2015
Confident Eyewitnesses Considered Credible
Eyewitness identification can give us valuable information—but only if done right
The SciencesDecember 1, 2015
The Woman Who Stared at Wasps
The biologist Joan Strassmann discusses the evolution of cooperation, how amoebas can teach us about competition, and why the definition of “organism” needs an overhaul
HealthOctober 27, 2015
Networks Untangle Malaria's Deadly Shuffle
The world’s most dangerous malaria parasite shuffles its genes in a clever attempt to avoid the immune system. A new approach has begun to reveal how the process works
HealthFebruary 5, 2015
Newly Discovered Networks among Different Diseases Reveal Hidden Connections
Enormous databases of medical records have begun to reveal connections among diseases that could provide insights into the biological missteps that make us sick
EvolutionApril 1, 2014
Blind Cave Fish Could Change Our Understanding of Evolution
A protein may have eased a fish's transition from rivers to caves
HealthOctober 1, 2013
Taste-Blind Mice Make Tangled Sperm
Mice missing certain sensory genes wind up with busted gametes
HealthApril 1, 2011
Why Are Asthma Rates Soaring?
Researchers once blamed a cleaner world. Now they are not so sure
HealthJanuary 1, 2011
Curing the Common Cold
Be careful what you wish for. The remedies may be far worse than the illness
BiotechSeptember 1, 2010
New Microscope Enables Real-Time 3-D Movies of Developing Embryos [Slide Show]
A European lab combines "light sheet" microscopy with an illumination process that subtracts the static caused by scattered photons to devise a way to clearly observe the inner workings of cells over a period of days