Creativity
Here’s How to Use Dreams for Creative Inspiration
Channeling Thomas Edison and Salvador Dalí, researchers show that shaping dream imagery could spark creative ideas to target a specific problem
Stories by Ingrid Wickelgren
Biotech
Bacterial ‘Nanosyringe’ Could Deliver Gene Therapy to Human Cells
This novel injection system could help advance gene therapy by nimbly inserting gene-editing enzymes into a variety of cell types
Mental Health
Vitamin D Supplements Probably Won’t Prevent Mental Illness After All
Despite the stream of “good news” about vitamin D, the supplement’s prospects to prevent mental health disorders in adults remain dim
Cognition
Humans Can Correctly Guess the Meaning of Chimp Gestures
A new finding that humans can correctly interpret the gestures of chimps and bonobos adds to growing research that suggests that human language may have evolved from a dictionary of hand and body signals...
Psychology
Subliminal Cues, Precisely Timed, Might Help People Forget Bad Experiences
Suppressing memories using an “amnesic shadow” could someday lead to a gentler therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder
Neuroscience
Pregnancy Changes the Brain, Possibly Promoting Bonding with a Baby
A woman during pregnancy shows changes in a key brain network that may be important for bonding with her new child
Neurology
Is a Diagnostic Test to Blame for Why We Know So Little about Autism in Girls?
A standard diagnostic test may be one reason autism research includes so few female participants
Psychology
How to Stop Unwanted Thoughts
Suppressing the flow of unwanted thoughts is possible and can help people cope with difficult memories
Neuroscience
Newfound Brain Switch Labels Experiences as Good or Bad
A molecule tells the brain whether to put a positive or negative spin on events. Mental disorders may result when the up/down labeling goes awry
Physiology
A Natural Disaster Made Monkeys Age Faster
A large colony may provide clues about the biology of traumatic stress resulting from climate change and war
Epidemiology
When Should COVID School Restrictions Lift? Intense Debates Persist
Opinion among physicians and scientists still ranges widely on how quickly to proceed
Behavior
Unveiling the Real Evil Genius
Creative people are better at rationalizing small ethical lapses that can spiral out of control
Behavior
Parent Training Can Ease Problem Behavior in Kids
An interactive parent-training program can stamp out behavior problems in kids—and abuse from parents
Cognition
Mental Exercise Can Improve a Child's Thinking
Scientists have concocted mental fitness regimens to strengthen weak thinking skills in students—in effect, making kids smarter
Mind & Brain
Calisthenics for a Child's Mind
Scientists have concocted mental fitness regimens to strengthen weak thinking skills in students—in effect, making kids smarter
Blood Test Tells How Long Concussion Symptoms Will Last
The Sunday after Thanksgiving last year proved tragic for family and friends of 22-year-old Kosta Karageorge. The defensive tackle for the Ohio State Buckeyes was found dead that day after apparently shooting himself in the head...
Mind & Brain
Blood Test Forecasts Concussion Severity
Levels of a protein fragment in the blood paralleled how long head injuries benched hockey players. Ingrid Wickelgren reports
Neuroscientists Break into the Brain to Expose Its Workings
The brain is a dazzlingly complex web of somewhere around 100 billion neurons, each of which communicates with others through thousands of connections.
Mind & Brain
On Our Shelf: High Price
Books and recommendations from Scientific American MIND
Mind & Brain
Brilliance Often Springs from Boredom
Every so often, we face a job we dread because it seems exceedingly dull. As a child, I felt that way about household chores—scrubbing a toilet, sweeping a floor, wiping a countertop, weeding...
