Science & Society

  1. Psychology

    Mastering the art of self-control

    Walter Mischel, the psychologist behind the marshmallow test, discusses his new book on self-control and willpower.

    By Bruce Bower
  2. Neuroscience

    At-home brain stimulation gaining followers

    People are building at-home electric brain stimulators in hopes of becoming better gamers, problem solvers, and even to beat back depression.

    By Laura Sanders
  3. Science & Society

    Asteroids closer to home may get us to Mars

    NASA should abandon its attempt to bring a space rock into lunar orbit and instead scrutinize ones already whizzing by Earth, one scientist argues.

    By Science News Staff
  4. Science & Society

    Sewing study stitches up Broadcom prize

    Holly Jackson of San Jose, Calif., zigzagged her way through three days of science, engineering and math challenges to win the top prize at the Broadcom MASTERS middle school science competition.

    By Sid Perkins
  5. Health & Medicine

    Daylight savings time tied to more exercise in children

    Kids in Europe and Australia are slightly more active in longer-lit evenings, a new study shows.

    By Nathan Seppa
  6. Science & Society

    Is NIH policy the best way to sex equality in studies?

    A new NIH policy will require females to be studied alongside males in preclinical studies. The mandate comes with both opportunities and challenges, and little funding.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  7. Science & Society

    E-commerce sites personalize search results to maximize profits

    Travel and retail websites alter search results depending on whether consumers use smartphones or particular web browsers.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  8. Astronomy

    A musician composes a solar soundtrack

    Robert Alexander combines life long passions of both music and astronomy to uncover solar secrets.

    By Christopher Crockett
  9. Science & Society

    Two books explore winding path from basic science to useful invention

    ‘How We Got to Now’ and ‘Science Unshackled’ explain how basic scientific research can transform society in unexpected ways.

    By Sid Perkins
  10. Cosmology

    ‘The Theory of Everything’ reveals Stephen Hawking’s personal side

    A new film explores love and science in the life of physicist Stephen Hawking.

    By Andrew Grant
  11. Math

    In science, popularity breeds unreliability

    Popularity can mean unreliability both in science news coverage and within research itself.

    By Tom Siegfried
  12. Chemistry

    Crystallography celebrates centennial

    Dubbed the international year of crystallography, 2014 marks the centennial of X-ray diffraction.

    By Beth Mole