Feature
- Neuroscience
The Inconstant Gardener
Microglia, the same immune cells that help sculpt the developing brain, may do damage later in life .
By Susan Gaidos - Health & Medicine
Old drug, new tricks
Metformin, cheap and widely used for diabetes, takes a swipe at cancer.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Waiting to exhale
Scientists sift through the chemical potpourri that escapes our lungs for new ways to diagnose disease.
By Laura Beil - Neuroscience
Mind to motion
Brain-computer interfaces promise new freedom for the paralyzed and immobile.
By Meghan Rosen - Astronomy
Quiet maximum
By almost any measure, this solar maximum has been pathetic. No more than 67 sunspots have appeared in a month so far; at the last peak, in 2000, that number was above 120.
- Psychology
The bright side of sadness
Bad moods can have unappreciated mental upsides.
By Bruce Bower - Astronomy
Voyager’s view
Though the 1970s-era space probe has finally slipped into an interstellar realm, in some senses it is still very much within the bounds of the solar system.
By Andrew Grant - Tech
Memory upgrade
The demands of modern computing call for a seismic shift in data storage and retrieval.
By Andrew Grant - Earth
Deep network
The NEPTUNE observatory — a ring of six underwater research stations connected to the Internet with fiber optic cables — is the first online observatory to brave the depths of the abyss.
- Life
Dangerous Digs
By properly managing a tumor cell’s microenvironment, cancer researchers are making cancer something people live with, not die from.
- Environment
Cool Idea
While nations concede a pressing need for attacking carbon dioxide emissions, other pollutants offer quicker paybacks.
By Erin Wayman - Humans
The Tune Wreckers
People who can’t carry a tune, or can but think they can’t, are a rich resource for researchers studying musical ability.
By Bruce Bower