In Review

Stop motion photo shows how a cat twists and turns during a fall so that it can safely land on its feet.

Animals use physics? Let us count the ways

Cats twist and snakes slide, exploiting and negotiating physical laws. Scientists are figuring out how.

A mouse runs along a moss-covered tree branch fleeing from a swooping owl

How the brain calculates a quick escape

Whether fly or human, fleeing from danger is key to staying alive. Scientists are beginning to unravel the complex circuitry behind the split-second decision to beat a hasty retreat.

Processed color view of Jovian moon Europa showing cracks, ridges and disrupted terrain on the icy surface. From Galileo spacecraft.

Physical World

New projects broaden the search for alien signals from space

A longer list of Earth-like planets, eavesdropping on radio waves and looking for laser light shows: All raise the chances of detecting E.T.

Illustration shows various body organs each with an embedded time piece.

Living World

Winding the body’s clock

Medicines and other small molecules may play a role in fixing rhythms gone awry

Illustration shows an E. coli bacterium with its long flagellum and pili that help it steer through its environment.

Technology

Cell meets robot in hybrid microbots

Researchers are developing microbe-propelled tiny bots to deliver drugs, target cancer or do other work in the body

Cartoon shows many people talking. No other animals have developed spoken language.

The Mind

Why speech is a human innovation

Many animals have the equipment for spoken language, but only people have all the right neural connections

Living World

Cracking life’s code

We think we know DNA, but little progress has been made in understanding the evolution of how it encodes proteins

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