Feature
The unfinished business of obesity
The disease has been around for centuries, but only now are scientists learning how to treat it. Drugs like Ozempic may just be the beginning.
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The mechanics of memory
Memory underpins our sense of being a person, a continuous “me” to whom experiences happen and stick. A search to understand its basic machinery led scientists to the center of the brain—and toward new questions about the self
Interview
"Embargoing discoveries is like saying, I’ll sell you this loaf of bread for $10,000, or you can wait 12 months and get it free when it’s stale."
Leslie Vosshall
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Upping our game
FOREFRONT
FOREFRONT
Insights and ideas from Rockefeller labs
Scientists are asking if octopuses dream, how ants smell danger, and what happens in our lungs when COVID strikes.
Features
Interview
Li Zhao
Evolution happens very slowly—except when organisms have no time to lose. Li Zhao investigates how individuals and species might shortcut the process.
Evolution happens very slowly—except when organisms have no time to lose. Li Zhao investigates how individuals and species might shortcut the process.
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Beak speak
How did songbirds start singing? Neuroscientists are reshaping our understanding of speech—pinpointing the cells and molecules that built it and what happens in the brain when we learn a new word, chirp, or squeal.
How did songbirds start singing? Neuroscientists are reshaping our understanding of speech—pinpointing the cells and molecules that built it and what happens in the brain when we learn a new word, chirp, or squeal.
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Frames of mind
We think of brains as computers—stimulus in, action out. But they’re far more finicky than any iMac. Easily swayed by underlying internal states such as hunger, aggression, or arousal, our neurons are capable of incredible flexibility. For neuroscientists, it’s yet another wrinkle in understanding our wrinkliest organ.
We think of brains as computers—stimulus in, action out. But they’re far more finicky than any iMac. Easily swayed by underlying internal states such as hunger, aggression, or arousal, our neurons are capable of incredible flexibility. For neuroscientists, it’s yet another wrinkle in understanding our wrinkliest organ.