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How the Brain Reads Faces
Neuroscience

How the Brain Reads Faces

Brain regions that process faces reveal deep insights into the neural mechanisms of vision

By Doris Y. Tsao
What Is the Point of a Period?
Fitness

What Is the Point of a Period?

Age-old taboos against menstruation have led to a lack of research on how women's cycles work, with serious consequences for their health

By Virginia Sole-Smith
Why Are Girls Getting Their Periods So Young?
Fitness

Why Are Girls Getting Their Periods So Young?

Female puberty is starting earlier and earlier, with worrying consequences for women’s health

By Virginia Sole-Smith
Could a Single Live Vaccine Protect against a Multitude of Diseases?
Medicine

Could a Single Live Vaccine Protect against a Multitude of Diseases?

A controversial theory holds that one immunization, given properly, can protect against many diseases besides its target

By Melinda Wenner Moyer
Is Death Reversible?
Neuroscience

Is Death Reversible?

An experiment that partially revived slaughterhouse pig brains raises questions about the precise end point of life

By Christof Koch
Pluto Probe Encounters a Pristine World in the Solar System's Suburbs
Space & Physics

Pluto Probe Encounters a Pristine World in the Solar System's Suburbs

Ultima Thule, the most-distant object ever visited by a spacecraft, is revealing our solar system’s deepest history—and, just maybe, revolutionizing planetary science

By Corey S. Powell
An Exit Chute from the Universe: The Story of a Historic Effort to Image a Black Hole
Black Holes

An Exit Chute from the Universe: The Story of a Historic Effort to Image a Black Hole

After more than a decade of effort, a global network of radio telescopes revealed the first-ever picture of an enigmatic hole in spacetime

By Seth Fletcher
The New Scramble for the Moon  
Space & Physics

The New Scramble for the Moon

A new race could be heating up to claim valuable moon terrain amid uncertain laws

By Adam Mann
The Exquisite Precision of Time Crystals
Space & Physics

The Exquisite Precision of Time Crystals

Exotic new states of matter contain patterns that repeat like clockwork

By Frank Wilczek
The Rise of the First Animals
Evolution

The Rise of the First Animals

New fossils and analyses of ancient ocean chemistry reveal the surprisingly deep roots of the Cambrian explosion

By Rachel A. Wood
Humans Evolved to Exercise  
Evolution

Humans Evolved to Exercise

Unlike our ape cousins, humans require high levels of physical activity to be healthy

By Herman Pontzer
Fragrant Genes of Extinct Flowers Have Been Brought Back to Life  
Biology

Fragrant Genes of Extinct Flowers Have Been Brought Back to Life

The genes of Hawaiian plants, extinct for more than a century, have been brought back from the dead. Today we can smell their scents

By Rowan Jacobsen
The Face of the Earliest Human Ancestor, Revealed
Evolution

The Face of the Earliest Human Ancestor, Revealed

A long-sought fossil could redraw our family tree

By Kate Wong
Scrubbing Carbon from the Sky  
EARTH

Scrubbing Carbon from the Sky

Can we remove enough CO2from the atmosphere to slow or even reverse climate change?

By Richard Conniff
How the World's First Dengue Vaccination Drive Ended in Disaster
Public Health

How the World's First Dengue Vaccination Drive Ended in Disaster

Is a runaway immune reaction making a dengue vaccine dangerous?

By Seema Yasmin and Madhusree Mukerjee
Nations Claim Large Overlapping Sections of Arctic Seafloor
Policy

Nations Claim Large Overlapping Sections of Arctic Seafloor

The five coastal countries will have to rectify their science and their politics

By Mark Fischetti
How Misinformation Spreads--and Why We Trust It
Behavior

How Misinformation Spreads--and Why We Trust It

The most effective misinformation starts with seeds of truth

By Cailin O'Connor and James Owen Weatherall

Departments

  • From the Editor

    This Year in Science

  • Advances

    Minorities Breathe More Than Their Share of Polluted Air

  • Graphic Science

    Social Media Bots Deceive E-cigarette Users

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