Reviews

  1. Animals

    The Thing With Feathers

    In the new book, "The Thing With Feathers," Noah Strycker brings people nose to beak with the plumed creatures he knows so well.

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  2. Tech

    Mindless: Why Smarter Machines are Making Dumber Humans

    Simon Head argues that computer business systems leave middle managers and workers with little creative latitude. They acquire fewer skills and their wages stagnate, hurting their job quality and buying power.

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  3. Neuroscience

    Ha! The Science of When We Laugh and Why

    Scott Weems, a neuroscientist, takes readers on a wide-ranging tour that explains what humor is and why readers should care.

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  4. Astronomy

    Zoom in on amazing detail in NASA moon map

    An interactive mosaic of images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter lets you fly over the Moon’s north pole with unprecedented detail.

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  5. Life

    To do: Exhibits to explore in the U.S. and London

    Highlights include the impending arrival of a T. rex skeleton in Washington, D.C., a pterosaur exhibit coming to New York City, and the history of longevity at the Royal Society in London.

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  6. Math

    Our Mathematical Universe

    Math is everywhere: medicine, sports, banking, gambling, National Security Agency espionage.

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  7. Ecosystems

    Do your bit for bumblebees

    The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and its partners have launched the Bumble Bee Watch website to track sightings. When you see a bee bumbling around, snap a photo.

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  8. Life

    The Monkey’s Voyage

    By 26 million years ago, the ancestors of today’s New World monkeys had arrived in South America. How those primates reached the continent is something of a conundrum.

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  9. Neuroscience

    Me, Myself, and Why

    Me, Myself, and Why is an ambitious effort to dissect the hodgepodge of genetic and environmental factors that sculpt people’s identities.

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  10. Genetics

    Neanderthal Man

    The hottest thing in human evolution studies right now is DNA extracted from hominid fossils. Svante Pääbo, the dean of ancient-gene research, explains in Neandertal Man how it all began when he bought a piece of calf liver at a supermarket in 1981.

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  11. Particle Physics

    Catching Particle Fever

    Interspersed with the plot of Particle Fever are artful explanatory animations and commentary by six articulate physicists. Through these characters, we learn that the Higgs is a stepping stone toward a deeper understanding of the universe.

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  12. Psychology

    Lend an ear to science

    Pop music hit maker Clive Davis knows a catchy song when he hears one. Now an app aims to define that elusive quality more concretely.

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