Neuroscience

Infants exposed to their mother’s scent during interactions with strangers were more relaxed, smiled more and made more eye contact.

Smelling Moms' Scent May Help Infants Bond With Strangers

Even if the mother isn’t around, traces of her body odor on clothing may increase a child’s trust and comfort with others

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Why Do Dogs Tilt Their Heads? New Study Offers Clues

The adorable behavior may be a sign of concentration and memory recall

According to the American Library Association, Scary Stories were the most challenged books between 1990 and 1999.

Why 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark' Frightened So Many Parents in the 1990s

Launched 40 years ago, Alvin Schwartz's spooky series pitted school administrators against PTO members pleading to ban the books

The Nautilus, a research vessel operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust, and the ROV Hercules (in the water) on the hunt for a cancer-busting marine bacteria.

A Marine Bacteria Species Shows Promise for Curing an Aggressive Brain Cancer

A new glioblastoma drug is derived from a microbe found in the ocean at depths of up to 6,500 feet

Fruit flies are social creatures. But when isolated, they begin to act differently—not unlike a human in quarantine.

Just Like Humans, Lonely Fruit Flies Eat More, Sleep Less

The insects are hardwired to consume lots of food and avoid rest as a way of coping with loneliness

President Barack Obama fist bumps a robotic arm being controlled by electrodes implanted in Nathan Copeland's brain at the University of Pittsburgh on October 13, 2016.

New Research

Researchers Create Mind-Controlled Robotic Arm With Sense of Touch

Touch feedback allowed a man with electrodes implanted into his brain to command a robotic arm and complete tasks quickly

The device allowed the man to write about 18 words per minute

New Research

New Device Allows Man With Paralysis to Type by Imagining Handwriting

When the man visualizes his written messages, a pair of electrical sensors measure his brain activity and translate it into letters

Bodies lose their vigor with the passing of the years, but emotional well-being tends to improve, studies find. Among the observations: Though older people may have fewer social contacts, those they retain bring more satisfaction and meaning.

Why Do Older Individuals Have Greater Control of Their Feelings?

Psychologist Susan Turk Charles talks about findings that reveal the elderly have higher emotional well-being

For moms, there's physiological and neurological truth to the cliché that parenthood changes a person.

The New Science of Motherhood

Through studies of fetal DNA, researchers are revealing how a child can shape a mom's heart and mind—literally

The Indian jumping ant (Harpegnathos saltator).

New Research

This Ant Can Shrink and Regrow Its Brain

Indian jumping ants shrink their brains when they become their colony’s queen, but they can also grow the brain back if they quit the gig

Researchers used A.I. to reconstruct the likely colors and brushstrokes of this landscape, which Pablo Picasso painted over to create a 1902 portrait.

Art Meets Science

Scientists Used A.I. to Recreate a Landscape Hidden Beneath a Picasso Painting

Physical reconstructions of the early 20th-century depiction of Barcelona are now on sale for $11,111.11 each

After five weeks of development, a human brain organoid (left) is roughly twice the size of those from a chimpanzee (top right) and a gorilla (bottom right).

New Research

Experiments Find Gene Key to the Human Brain's Large Size

The single gene identified by the study may be what makes human brains three times larger than our closest great ape relatives at birth

A heat map of the receptive fields of sensory neuron receptors on a human fingertip.

New Research

Study Shows Fingerprint Ridges Play Key Role in Sense of Touch

Experiments show that our fingertips’ finely tuned sensitivity maps onto the whorled ridges of our prints

What if literature was an invention for making us happier and healthier?

Eight of Literature's Most Powerful Inventions—and the Neuroscience Behind How They Work

These reoccuring story elements have proven effects on our imagination, our emotions and other parts of our psyche

This year's top ten titles explore the cosmos, fear and cleanliness alongside narratives about owls, fish and eels.

The Ten Best Science Books of 2020

New titles explore the mysterious lives of eels, the science of fear and our connections to the stars

Tomova used a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine to see how participants' brains responded to images of drool-worthy food and social gatherings.

Why Hunger and Loneliness Activate the Same Part of the Brain

The study suggests that social interaction isn't just comforting or fun—it's a human need

Winston, a 100-pound longhaired German shepherd, is a veteran participant in a series of research projects at Yale.

The New Science of Our Ancient Bond With Dogs

A growing number of researchers are hot on the trail of a surprisingly profound question: What makes dogs such good companions?

A young man watches incoming presidential election results in 2016 on the giant screens of Times Square.

Anxious About Election Results? Here's What's Happening in Your Brain as You Wait

Scientists are learning more about the neuroscience of awaiting uncertain outcomes

Researchers studying how dog respond to human and dog faces found no difference in brain activity when domestic dogs were shown the back of a dog or human head compared to a dog or person's face.

New Research

Dog Brains Don’t Appear to Pay Special Attention to Faces

Researchers find dog brains show similar levels of activity when shown the back of a dog or person’s head compared to a dog or human face

The results of a new study suggest crows are aware of their own sensory perceptions, a hallmark of what's called primary or sensory consciousness.

New Research

Do Crows Possess a Form of Consciousness?

New study suggests the corvids may join humans and some primates as one of the rare animals capable of having subjective experiences

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