Daniel Levitin on our musical brain

Music activates neurons in more regions of the brain than almost anything else scientists know of and causes the release of neurochemicals in our brains.

Jean Auel on painted caves and writing about stone age life

Jean Auel talked to EarthSky about writing her bestselling novel, The Land of Painted Caves.

Rebecca Costa on thinking our way out of extinction

Costa warns that the accelerating complexity of our world problems - global recession, climate change, and pandemics - is outpacing our brain’s ability to solve them.

Humble people are more helpful, study shows

Past studies said the decision to help depends on things like time pressure, and the number of bystanders. But self-identified humility trumps these other factors.

Turn down the sound on your iPod or risk early hearing loss

One in four teens might be at risk of early hearing loss due to too many hours listening - at too high a volume - to music on their iPods and other MP3 devices.

New medicines from the sea

Scientists are finding new medicines via research on sponges and corals. They could make some antibiotic resistant bacteria respond once more to antibiotics.

Smart grid may be designed with GIS

Geographic information systems may play a role in building and implementing the U.S. electrical service smart grid, and other smart grids worldwide.

Samoa’s calendar drops Friday, December 30, 2011

Because Samoa moved across the International Date Line, Samoa's calendar goes straight from Thursday, December 29 to Saturday, December 31, 2011.

Mosquitoes like some people more. Why?

The types and number of bacteria on people's skin can make them more attractive to mosquitoes. This could be important to malaria control.

Mark Changizi: Why human eyes see in color

A scientist says that the human eye evolved to see in color in part to scope out what another person feels by detecting subtle color changes in their skin.