Being Human

Sales of anti-obesity drug rimonabant are suspended over suicide fears, while a new fat pill promises to help dieters lose twice as much as any previous drug

Males are better at detecting unfaithful lovers than women, but women are better at covering up affairs, finds a new study of love rats

Age-related testosterone deficiency threatens one in five men with health problems and obesity – the good news is, boosting the hormone could help

Athletes burn more energy than couch potatoes when just sitting around – the discovery might lead to new treatments for diabetes

Olympic athletes and even some US presidents are likely to live longer than the average Joe – because they are more conscientious, say researchers (full text available to subscribers)

Olympic athletes and even some US presidents are likely to live longer than the average Joe – because they are more conscientious, say researchers (full text available to subscribers)

Is racism causing polls to overestimate support for Barack Obama? The 2008 elections may finally consign this effect to history, says

The Personal Genome Project eventually aims to get 100,000 volunteers to publish their genes and medical histories online in the name of medical science (full text available to subscribers)

Children brought up on black-and-white films are more likely to dream in greyscale, researchers say

Athletes burn more energy even when their muscles are not working – the discovery might point the way to new treatments for diabetes

Communicating on an instant messenger can reveal as much about your emotions as talking in person, studies suggest

Is consciousness necessary to explain human behaviour? This book presents ample evidence that we may not be as in control of our destinies as we like to think (full text available to subscribers)

Fire alarms with a lower-pitched signal would save more lives by stirring people when they are most fast sleep, researchers say

A mathematical model of the leg has revealed that heel length could affect athletes' ability to keep on running

Whether people act on news of their genetic predisposition to disease, or simply ignore it, has prompted a lengthy study of 10,000 Americans

Breaking our dependence on profits and growth would make our lives better, not worse, says philosopher (full text available to subscribers)

A gambling experiment suggests that people with autism are less prone to letting emotional bias cloud their judgement

Fire alarms would wake more people from their deepest sleep if they had a lower-pitched signal

Claims that we are chronically sleep-deprived are lazy and irresponsible, says sleep researcher

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