You are hiking in the mountains when, out of the corner of your eye, you see something suspiciously snakelike. You freeze and look more carefully, this time identifying the source of your terror: a stick. Yet you could have sworn it was a snake. The brain may play tricks, but in this case it was actually doing you a favor. The context — a mountain trail — was right for a snake. So your brain was primed to see one. And the stick was sufficiently snakelike to make your brain jump to a visual conclusion. But it turns out emotions are involved here, too. A fear of snakes means tha... (p. 22)

Blind and sighted people’s brains sort the living from the nonliving in the same way, suggesting this ability may be hard-wired.

The Large Hadron Collider will begin colliding protons at half of the designed energy this November, with plans to repair the faulty sections of the accelerator at the end of 2010.

Scientists find newborn nerve cells in the intestines of adult mice, suggesting a new line of research for treating intestinal disorders. (p. 9)

Changing pressure helps scientists gauge the speed of light in composite materials.

Animal study shows over-the-counter medications lower weight and treat type 2 diabetes. The study is one of four to link type 2 diabetes with the immune system. (p. 11)

A study reports a new, cheaper way to harvest energy from salt water and fresh water.

High-res Arctic sea images should be declassified, says National Research Council.

A new study shows that nanoparticles of frozen water melt at drastically lower temperatures than water in bulk.