Scientists are unveiling how the brain works when hypnotized (p. 26)

It started as a quiet dinner conversation, punctuated with laughter. Soon, the rapid-fire “ha-ha-has” took on the tone of gunfire. Convinced it was directed at him, the young man got up to confront the noisy diners. Naturally, the guests at the next table had no idea what the problem was. They were simply enjoying themselves and … laughing. Embarrassed by his outburst, the young man left the restaurant and never returned. By most accounts, laughter is good medicine, the best even. But for some, such as the embarrassed diner, a good-natured chuckle isn’t funny at all. Morbidly a... (p. 18)

Humans aren’t the only animals that endure the awkward transition to maturity

Until a century or so ago, nobody had any idea that there even was such a thing as quantum physics. But while humans operated for millennia in quantum darkness, it seems that plants, bacteria and birds may have been in the know all along. Quantum effects, human researchers have only recently discovered, may explain how the first steps of photosynthesis convert light to chemical energy with such high efficiency. Other studies suggest that quantum tricks may enable migratory birds to navigate using Earth’s magnetic field lines. Through studies like these, scientists are beginning to un... (p. 26)

The circle of life continues thanks to the carbon cycle.

There’s an air of excitement in the astrophysics community, created by a surplus of particles from space invading Earth’s atmosphere. Balloon flights high in the stratosphere over Antarctica detected electrons in numbers and energies much higher than what usually pours in from space, scientists on a project called ATIC reported in November. About the same time, a separate report from Milagro, a ground-based detector near Los Alamos, N.M., described two unexpected patches of high-energy protons in the sky. A review of seven years of Milagro data revealed an unusual distribution in th... (p. 16)

Your brain is more complex than a computer, but the two are similar.

Tropical glaciers are vanishing at an especially rapid pace—and taking valuable climate records with them.

Unexpected rates of warming threaten to change Antarctica and pose a threat to the survival of some of its penguins.

Researchers are uncovering what makes a mug attractive.

Bugs sing sweet nothings to each other.

Bacteria aren’t loners. In fact, they are quite social: These single-celled creatures band together to form sophisticated communities. They can even call out to each other to congregate, conspire and coordinate. Highly developed communication skills allow them to orchestrate small acts of cooperation and tackle big jobs as a unified force. For life’s tiniest players, living and working is a team sport. Researchers now want to join in the game — and change the rules. Synthetic biologists are working to find ways to manipulate entire microbe communities to get them to do thin... (p. 20)

Just expecting to feel better can sometimes cure what’s ailing you.

A collision between extraterrestrial objects and Earth’s ancient oceans could have produced raw materials for life.