Feature

  1. Psychology

    Morality Play

    Universal concerns, not cultural values, may shape kids’ developing notions of right and wrong.

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  2. Space

    The Status Quark

    Murray Gell-Mann reflects on matter’s building blocks and scientists’ resistance to new ideas.

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  3. 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

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  4. Earth

    Shaky Forecasts

    Despite past failures, geophysicists think earthquake prediction might still be possible.

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  5. What do you see?

    Emotion may help the visual system jump the gun to predict what the brain will see.

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  6. Pearls Unstrung

    For a while, the Great Lakes weren’t connected by rivers and Niagara Falls was just a trickle.

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  7. Smart from the start

    Animal embryos get some respect for their survival skills.

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  8. Planetary Science

    Stars go kaboom, spilling cosmic secrets

    Astronomers hope type 1a supernovas will help in quest to explain dark energy.

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  9. Venom hunters

    Scientists probe toxins, revealing the healing powers of biochemical weapons.

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  10. When Humor Humiliates

    For gelotophobes, even good-natured laughter can sound a lot like ridicule.

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  11. The Biofuel Future

    Scientists seek ways to make green energy pay off.

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  12. 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.

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