The idea that our brains influence our physical and mental health is both commonplace and somewhat taboo. We've heard that exercise can cheer us up, and stress can make us queasy, but the placebo effect "fools" us into getting well. Such mind-body connections, essential for... click to read more

Complex life on Earth requires oxygen. Understanding how oxygen levels have evolved on our planet can provide an insight into our own evolution and the possibility of complex life evolving elsewhere. Current theories suggest that Earth's O2 levels have risen three times over its 4.5... click to read more

For at least 10,000 years, approximately 90% of humans have preferred using the right hand over the left. The question of why about one in ten people are left-handed has fascinated scientists for centuries, but no clear answer has yet emerged. We already knew that genetic... click to read more

Memory is how our past experiences shape our behavior in the future. For example, as children, we form memories of our parents and other people speaking and use those memories to learn spoken language ourselves. Forming memories cause changes to many different regions of our... click to read more

Imagine the global threat of a potentially lethal virus, showing up in mainland China and rapidly spreading worldwide, for which no effective treatments or vaccines are available. A few months ago, this would have been nothing more than a book or a movie plot. Unfortunately, it... click to read more