It’s not magic, it’s neuroscience (p. 22)

The architecture of our genomes is anything but basic (p. 16)

Perfect liquids suggest theory’s math mirrors something real (p. 26)

New observations of full-grown galaxies in the young universe may force astrophysicists to revise their leading theory of galaxy formation, at least as it applies to regions where galaxies congregate into clusters. (p. 5)

By age 2, kids with autism focus on synchronized physical events, such as a person’s moving lips accompanied by sounds, rather than on eye movements and other social cues, a new study suggests. (p. 8)

Evolution may have endowed a controversial species with small but humanlike brains equipped to support advanced thinking (p. 9)

A survey of water-collection holes dug on the banks of an African river by wild chimpanzees indicates that, unlike people, these apes don’t have a preference for using either the right or left hand on manual tasks. (p. 9)

Male circumcision prevents some genital herpes and human papillomavirus infections, a study in Ugandan adolescent boys and men shows. (p. 10)

Researchers identify a key player in the reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1. (p. 10)

Carbon 14 from Cold War–era nuclear bomb tests allowed researchers to track cell birth. (p. 11)

Harboring intestinal parasites seems to limit a person’s ability to fend off cholera, a new study conducted in Bangladesh shows. (p. 11)

A new study of shape-shifting proteins in baker’s yeast reveals that prions are common and may help organisms survive in changing conditions. (p. 11)

A test for human papillomavirus outperforms the standard Pap smear in catching precancerous cervical lesions, a study of women age 30 and over shows. (p. 11)

Long-lived helix offers a new way to keep electron spin stable and in sync (p. 12)

Viruses — the biological kind — could be used to construct more efficient, environmentally friendly lithium ion batteries (p. 12)

Planetary scientists have determined the composition and orbits of two moons at the fringes of the solar system, finding that the bodies were created when an impactor struck the dwarf planet that they now orbit. (p. 13)

For the first time, researchers followed an asteroid from space to its crash into Earth, providing the opportunity to study an asteroid in a new way. (p. 13)

At least 40 genes help monarch butterflies find their way to overwintering sites in Mexico. (p. 14)

Blood-sucking body lice have an odd arrangement of mitochondrial genes. (p. 14)

Using the natural inclination of young chickens to cluster in large groups, researchers show that the birds are hatched with a numerical sense. (p. 15)

Review by Susan Milius (p. 30)

Review by Bruce Bower (p. 30)

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