Being Human

Whether a woman wants a quick fling or a long-term relationship, she's still likely to pick brains over brawn

Larger cities generate innovation as they increase social networking between very different types of people

The fascinating secrets of the human placenta are the subject of the winning entry (by Katherine Robertson) in New Scientist/Wellcome Trust 2008 essay competition. But she draws the line at eating it (full text available to subscribers)

As lovers and mourners know, a bunch of flowers speaks volumes – the way the brain makes sense of such gestures may explain why

Mental shortcuts that we use to make sense of the world may explain why we so often let politicians pull the wool over our eyes

With the US facing economic crisis and the shuttle on the brink of retirement, how will NASA's space programme fare under the next president?

People who contribute content to sites like YouTube and Wikipedia may be in it for personal glory, not the common good

To understand how we think, we need to study our surroundings as well as our brains, says (full text available to subscribers)

If you feel your life is out of control and you can't change it, it might be your mum's low expectations that are to blame – if you're a woman

Drugs that stimulate the "stress hormone" cortisol might one day curb violence and aggression, research suggests

With the US facing economic crisis and the shuttle on the brink of retirement, how will NASA's space programme fare under the next president

People who contribute content to sites like YouTube and Wikipedia may be in it for personal glory, not the common good

fMRI is a widely-accepted, useful research tool, but whether it can really predict who is telling the truth is another matter entirely (full text available to subscribers)

How do the most gifted and talented brains stand out from the crowd? discovers what grey matter is like at the outer limits of human achievement (full text available to subscribers)

People who are socially excluded seem to feel colder than people who are included in the group

People who are socially excluded seem to feel colder than people who are included in the group

A blast of rose scent stimulates pleasant dreams, whilst the stink of rotten eggs makes the land of nod a less hospitable place

Graphics that seem to move on paper give headaches to both observers and the scientists studying them – now it seems tiny eye movements are to blame

Winning the votes of white evangelical Christians was a vital push that helped Bush become president – if Obama fails to do the same, science could suffer

People who are socially excluded seem to feel colder than people who are included in the group