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Illustration shows a man in a suit holding a briefcase on a busy city sidewalk. He is looking at his own reflection.

The psychopathic path to success

Psychopathic tendencies may be present to some extent in all of us. New research is reframing this often sensationalized and maligned set of traits and finding some positive twists.

Cartoon illustration of two police officers looking suspiciously at a man in a striped shirt who is shrugging, blinking and smiling nervously.

The Mind

The truth about lying

You can’t spot a liar just by looking — but psychologists are zeroing in on methods that might actually work

Illustration of a mouth with megaphone and collage of items representing conspiracy theories coming out of it.

Society

The psychology and politics of conspiracy theories

VIDEO: In the past year, conspiracy theories have had a big impact on politics and public health. What makes them so appealing? How can we disrupt their influence? Join us to explore these issues and more.

In a cartoon, an assortment of people — young and old, male and female — queue for a restroom, waiting to relieve their full-to-bursting bladders.

Health & Disease

To pee or not to pee? That is a question for the bladder — and the brain

How do we sense the need to urinate? The basic urge is surprisingly complex and can go awry as we age.

People doing different things in a crowd: walking, standing and talking, rushing, carrying things, pushing strollers, walking dogs.

Society

Bustling through the physics of crowds

COMIC: Using tools from fields like fluid dynamics to better understand how groups of people move around can improve flow and make large gatherings safer

Animated illustration shows a golden key turning a switch inside the brain of a woman feeling despair. The key opens her eyes to a beautiful vista – a golden shoreline glistening in the sun. Ketamine is helping people with suicidal depression to feel better.

The Mind

Listening to ketamine

The fast-acting drug offers a new way to treat depression and fathom its origins. Recent approval of a nasal spray promises to expand access, but much remains unknown about long-term use and the potential for abuse.

Conceptual illustration of a hallucinogenic state.

The Mind

Psychedelics open a new window on the mechanisms of perception

Some neuroscientists think psychedelic drugs and the hallucinations they induce could help reveal how the brain generates our perceptions of the world around us — and of ourselves

The Mind

Effects of the pandemic on the developing child

VIDEO: Watch the replay of our live conversation about how Covid-19 and social distancing are affecting children now, and what to expect as we emerge from the crisis

A collage including children tattling, an old-fashioned telephone, an advertisement for a tip line, a pointing finger, police with a detainee, a mugshot and a woman blowing a whistle.

Society

See something, say something? The science of speaking out

From tattling to whistleblowing, a sociologist explores what drives people to tell on one another

Conceptual illustration of envy. A set of balance scales in the middle, with a sour-looking person sitting on the floor in the dark on the left. That person is looking enviously at a person on the right side of the scales, who is standing in a spotlight smiling brightly and and wearing a “First Place” rosette.

The Mind

The two sides of envy at work

When workers feel envious of their peers, it can undermine collaborations — or inspire them to do better on the job. Can organizations harness the green gremlin to boost productivity?

Illustration of men sitting in a room in a circle.

The Mind

Can a shift in strategy reduce intimate partner violence?

New research, innovative programs and emboldened advocates are challenging decades-old conventions about how to respond to domestic abuse

Collage featuring a brain, hippocampus, rabbit and neuronal activity.

The Mind

It began with a rabbit: Unraveling the mystery of memory

Half a century after the discovery of long-term potentiation, we’re still learning how the brain remembers

Conceptual illustration in dark blue tones shows a woman on her knees next to a smashed window; a chair is lying on its side behind her.

Health & Disease

Unsafe at home: The misery of intimate partner violence

Public health researchers explain the levers that can reduce — or worsen — this global blight. A bright spot: There are more data than ever on strategies that can help.

Illustration shows a handshake with money changing hands, and watching eyes.

Society

Corruption: When norms upstage the law

People with good motives may engage in bribery and worse depending on what society expects of them. A political scientist explains.

The eyes of a child are seen looking fearfully through a window.

The Mind

Unseen scars of childhood trauma

Twenty years of research have established the connection between adverse childhood experiences and long-term health. Now researchers are looking for ways to measure the biology behind the correlation and try to reverse it.

Photo, with shading, of a young woman holding an infant in her arms. She is leaning against the wall with a despairing look in her eyes.

The Mind

Postpartum depression: Better remedies, and now a predictive blood test

Scientists are learning more about this leading complication of childbirth. Treatments are improving and doctors can test for biological markers that flag heightened risk.