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The Brain: Our Strange, Important, Subconscious Light Detectors

02.15.2012 Sightless cells hidden within the eye may set our circadian rhythms, trigger migraines, and explain the seasonal ebb and flow of our moods.

by Carl Zimmer

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The Brain: A Body Fit for a Freaky-Big Brain

Human biology reorganized itself to cope with the punishing burden of our oversize thinking parts. That shift completely reshaped who we are.
 07.26.2011

The Brain: A Tiny Key to a Terrible Lock

Scientists have traced chronic pain to a defect in one enzyme in a single region of the brain. Could this be a decisive turn in the battle against pain? 06.16.2011

The Brain Is Made of Its Own Architects

Brains are wired with such stunning precision that every neuron knows its place. Miswiring leads to disorders of emotion and thought. 05.17.2011

The Brain: Memories Are Crucial for Looking Into the Future

Without remembering how the past unfolded, trying to plan ahead is "like being in a room with nothing there and having a guy tell you to go find a chair." 04.24.2011

The Brain: The Trouble With Teens

Fast driving, drugs, and unsafe sex: The risk-loving behavior of adolescents may result from a neurological gap in the developing brain. 03.24.2011

The Brain: Seeing the Person Behind the Face

Neuroscience sleuths are on the case of face blindness, a strange malady that makes some people unable to distinguish friend from foe. 01.19.2011

Is Music for Wooing, Mothering, Bonding—or Is It Just "Auditory Cheesecake"?

Older than civilization, music fosters communication, wellness, and bonding across all cultures—but where it comes from is disputed. 12.22.2010

The Brain: The "Router" in Your Head—a Bottleneck of Processing

Researchers have a new theory explaining why a simple math problem can bring our very powerful brains to a halt. 11.15.2010

The Brain: "Ringing in the Ears" Actually Goes Much Deeper Than That

Research on tinnitus has shown that it's rooted in the very way we process and understand sound. 10.27.2010

The Brain: The Places in the Brain Where Space Lives

Our sense of space is crucial to our understanding of the world around us. So what happens when injury takes that sense away? 09.21.2010

The Brain: What Happens to a Linebacker's Neurons?

A blow to the head can change the neural architecture of the brain from elastic to brittle, with devastating consequences. 08.18.2010

The Brain: The Switches That Can Turn Mental Illness On and Off

The difference between one personality and another is not determined by genes alone. Love’s got something to do with it too. 06.16.2010

The Brain: The First Yardstick for Measuring Smells

Smell is a powerful and evocative sense yet also a deeply enigmatic one. So scientists have invented a more concrete way to pin down what our noses are telling us. 05.17.2010

The Brain: Why Athletes Are Geniuses

Neuroscientists have found several ways in which the brains of top-notch athletes seem to function better than those of regular folks. 04.16.2010

The Brain: Look Deep Into the Mind's Eye

We take visual imagination for granted. But the blank inner world of a patient called MX demonstrates the rich neural processes needed to create the images in our heads. 03.23.2010

The Primitive, Complicated, Essential Emotion Called Fear

Are you a man or a mouse? No matter how you answer, you experience fear the same way in your brain. 02.16.2010

The Brain: What Is the Speed of Thought?

Faster than a bird and slower than sound. But that may be besides the point: Efficiency and timing seem to be more important anyway. 12.16.2009

The Brain: Humanity's Other Basic Instinct: Math

New research suggests that math has evolved its way right into our neurons—and monkeys', too. 11.17.2009

The Brain: Where Does Sex Live in the Brain? From Top to Bottom.

Neuroscientists explore the mind's sexual side and discover that desire is not quite what we thought it was. 09.10.2009

The Brain: The Dark Matter of the Human Brain

Meet the forgotten 90 percent of your brain: glial cells, which outnumber your neurons ten to one. And no one really knows what they do. 08.19.2009

The Brain: Stop Paying Attention: Zoning Out Is a Crucial Mental State

Researchers say a wandering mind may be important to setting goals, making discoveries, and living a balanced life. 06.15.2009

Can a Single Neuron Tell Halle Berry From Grandma Esther?

A new theory says the brain stores complex pieces of information in "sparse-coding networks." 05.15.2009

The Big Similarities & Quirky Differences Between Our Left and Right Brains

A broken symmetry from our evolutionary heritage is part of what makes us human. 04.15.2009

Could a Dose of Ether Contain the Secret to Consciousness?

Researchers may soon be able to measure consciousness as well as we can measure a person's temperature. 03.16.2009

Is Patriotism a Subconscious Way for Humans to Avoid Disease?

We're not very aware of the “behavioral immune system,” but it may push us toward life-saving behaviors. 02.18.2009

How Google Is Making Us Smarter

Humans are "natural-born cyborgs," and the Internet is our giant "extended mind." 01.15.2009

Mom and Dad Are Fighting in Your Genes—and in Your Brain

Our brains may contain a battle of the sexes that can cause schizophrenia and autism. 11.10.2008

Why Darwin Would Have Loved Botox

All those wrinkle-causing winces, smirks, and sneers may have been the product of evolution. 10.15.2008

Could an Inner Zombie Be Controlling Your Brain?

Scientists have found evidence that the self-aware part of our brains isn't always in charge. 09.08.2008

How Your Brain Can Control Time

The three methods your mind uses to reverse, speed, and even slow the minutes. 07.12.2008