Feature
- Psychology
Morality Play
Universal concerns, not cultural values, may shape kids’ developing notions of right and wrong.
By Bruce Bower - Space
The Status Quark
Murray Gell-Mann reflects on matter’s building blocks and scientists’ resistance to new ideas.
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Disaster Goes Global
The eruption in 1600 of a seemingly quiet volcano in Peru changed global climate and triggered famine as far away as Russia
By Sid Perkins - Earth
Shaky Forecasts
Despite past failures, geophysicists think earthquake prediction might still be possible.
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What do you see?
Emotion may help the visual system jump the gun to predict what the brain will see.
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Pearls Unstrung
For a while, the Great Lakes weren’t connected by rivers and Niagara Falls was just a trickle.
By Sid Perkins -
- Planetary Science
Stars go kaboom, spilling cosmic secrets
Astronomers hope type 1a supernovas will help in quest to explain dark energy.
By Ron Cowen -
Venom hunters
Scientists probe toxins, revealing the healing powers of biochemical weapons.
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When Humor Humiliates
For gelotophobes, even good-natured laughter can sound a lot like ridicule.
By Susan Gaidos -
- Astronomy
The Star That Ate a Mars
COVER STORY: Scientists probe debris trapped by white dwarfs to learn more about what faraway Earthlike planets are made of.