Guest Post by Priya Kalra, Harvard University Although scientists now understand dyslexia better than ever before, it is still a condition shrouded in myth and misunderstanding. I first came to see our flawed perceptions of dyslexia while tutoring a 4th grader. Despite normal intelligence and effort, he could not read. I saw […]
Smells are undeniably powerful, able to transport us to different places and times in our memories. Think of how you feel when you smell cookies baking in the oven. But can they also change how we see things? New research shows that smells can enhance visual processing – but only […]
“Think of it as a weird massage…” Journal articles can often feel impersonal to the readers. The participants are nameless subjects, the equipment and the meticulous lab set-up overshadowed by the findings. But as I learned firsthand, such studies are anything but impersonal. I recently participated in an electroencephalogram (EEG) […]
Ka-Ka-Ka-r-r-r-et-et-et: Carrot. For parents helping their children learn to read, sounding out words like that is a daily occurrence. Letter-by-letter, syllable-by-syllable, kids make the sounds before thinking about the meaning of the words. As they become reading proficient, they can recognize the words without this painstaking process. The path that […]
Scientists are still trying to figure out exactly why exercise promotes cognitive health, especially in older adults. Some researchers posit that physical activity helps maintain youthful brain structures, but a new study instead suggests exercise changes the way seniors’ brains process information – making the aging brain more adaptable. Understanding […]
Q&A with Micah Allen From the CIA to Ashton Kutcher to CNN, Twitter is the social medium du jour for rapidly communicating ideas. And the scientific community is no exception – a growing community of scientists and science communicators are using Twitter to share ideas and news. Just last month, […]
We’ve all had moments when something just didn’t seem quite right – perhaps a slightly crooked photo hanging or a book that seems out of place on the shelf. For people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), these feelings are more frequent and intense. In a new study, researchers have found […]
Guest Post by Amitai Shenhav, Princeton University Tonight, after dinner, I will go out for ice cream at one of my favorite spots in Princeton. I will salivate in anticipation of my visit, delighting in all of the options that await me. I will carry that excitement with me as I enter […]
When we see children moving their bodies uncontrollably, we sometimes tell them to calm their bodies and thereby draw their attention to the unwanted behavior. But for people with Tourette’s syndrome, being more aware of their tics may actually exacerbate the actions. In a new study, researchers found that people […]
Before writing this story, I had never heard the song “Pills” by Bo Diddly, but once I listened to it, I couldn’t help but snap my fingers. I needed a refresher course on beat and meter to figure out the rhythmic organization of the song, but as it turns out, […]
March 29–April 1 | 2025
