A laser’s light tickle tricks molecules into sitting still (p. 22)

Brain imaging reveals the substance of placebos. Expectation alone triggers the same neural circuits and chemicals as real drugs (p. 26)

Here and now, a new suite of small telescopes are poised to look for Earthlike planets beyond the solar system (p. 16)

Virus could explain one symptom of colony collapse. (p. 5)

Two new studies suggest that, at 3 to 5 months of age, boys already outperform girls on mental rotation tasks. (p. 8)

The herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba fails to prevent Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia, a large trial finds. (p. 8)

Sleep erases old memories to make way for new learning (p. 9)

Using radar from an orbiting spacecraft to penetrate the hidden recesses of Mars, planetary prospectors have uncovered vast reserves of water-ice buried beneath rocky debris. (p. 10)

First human DNA extraction from hair bits in moth larval case. (p. 12)

A study of consensus decision making shows that sticklebacks make wider choices in groups of three or more. (p. 12)

Correct calculation strengthens theory of quark-gluon interactions in nuclear particles. (p. 13)

Electron fluctuations could explain why exotic material conducts without resistance. (p. 13)

Results of most drug trials are unreported, inaccessible to clinicians and patients, a new study confirms. (p. 14)

Fish may suffer substantially from even brief encounters with antidepressants, which wastewater releases into river water. (p. 15)

Cambridge Univ., 2008, 147 p., $19.99

HarperCollins, 2008, 460 p., $28.95

Review by Janet Raloff