Showing results by author "Scientific American" in All Categories

Why can you vividly recall the day your father took you to your first baseball game many years ago, but you can’t remember where you just put the car keys? The process of how - and what - we remember is a fascinating window into who we are and what makes us tick. In this audiobook, we explore what science can and can’t tell us about memory.

Vital research is starting to challenge long-standing assumptions about gender identity and biological sex, such as work that indicates the brain is a “mosaic” of traits rather than a “male” and “female” brain. Growing knowledge of the genetic complexities of sexual determination is changing the way the medical community treats intersex individuals, and in this audiobook, The New Science of Sex and Gender, we not only examine the latest studies in biology, medicine, and psychology but also, more importantly, their bearing on healthcare, identity, and access.

Boy or girl? Even before a person is born, that’s the first thing everyone wants to know - underscoring just how much value human societies of all types place on gender. In His Brain, Her Brain, we take a closer look at the anatomical, chemical, and functional differences in the brains of men and women - as well as some surprising similarities. For instance, studies of infants find few differences in cognitive skills between boys and girls; but there is no denying that boys love trucks, whereas girls prefer dolls.

Autism is one of three diagnoses that the DSM-5 includes in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While our understanding of this condition has grown exponentially, research has been fraught with controversy. Autism appears to be on the rise, depending on how you define it, and its causes more complex than imagined.

Until recently, one idea has dominated research in treating Alzheimer’s disease: the amyloid hypothesis. Those therapies have repeatedly fallen short, and in this audiobook we take a look at where that hypothesis stands today. We examine recent research into the spectrum of disease causes, including inflammation and immune dysfunction; cutting-edge treatments, including deep-brain stimulation and magnetic resonance - guided focused ultrasound; as well as lifestyle interventions that can help protect from disease.

This audiobook, Tomorrow's Medicine, looks at some of the more fascinating areas where technology that could transform health is being developed, including cybernetics, regenerative medicine, nanotechnology, and genetically tailored treatments. Although many of these advances may not be ready to treat humans for many years, some of them may someday profoundly change - and extend - our lives. As exciting as the possibilities are to extend both the length and quality of life, immortality - or at least agelessness - may be forever out of our reach.

Take control and retrain your brain to achieve a happier, healthier state of mind. In this audiobook, we examine aspects of daily life that affect mood such as perception, social support, and time management and offer approaches shown to boost contentment, including reframing negative events, increasing resilience through self-compassion, and practicing mindfulness.

Why do facts fail to change people’s minds? In this audiobook, we examine how we form our beliefs and maintain them with a host of cognitive biases, the difference between intelligence and thinking rationally, and some solutions for how to overcome these obstacles both in reasoning with others and in dealing with our own prejudices.

We humans tend to think that we are unique in our intelligence, social skill, and depth of emotion, but we think too much of ourselves. The animal kingdom teems with hidden stories of the weird and fascinating, and in Amazing Animals, we gather recent research on animal behavior, including surprising discoveries of how animals think and feel, from man’s best friend to some of the earth’s oddest creatures.

How do we define genius? Standardized testing to measure intelligence began in the first half of the 20th century, but a high IQ score is only one way to quantify genius. In this audiobook, Eureka! The Science of Genius, we review the latest research on the nature of intellectual and creative achievement, including traits that geniuses tend to share, how much of their ability is nature versus nurture, the cognitive processes involved during the stages of discovery and creativity, and, most importantly, what we can do to enhance intelligence.

Many factors - personal, professional, and psychological - combine to affect how we think, feel, and act while on the job, which ultimately affects our productivity and success. In 9 to 5: Your Mind at Work, we look at some of these factors, including the physical office space, how to foster creativity and communication, the psychology of effective leadership, the benefits and importance of diversity, and achieving work-life balance.

In The Science of Cancer, we examine what we know and what we’re finding out about this scourge of humankind. We delve into the molecular basis and complex causes of cancer, the arguments for and against screenings, minimizing risk, and several new and targeted therapies, including homing in on stem cells, making use of viruses, and making use of vaccines to jump-start the immune system.

Our nearest planetary neighbor has been the subject of endless fascination and wide-ranging theories throughout history. Is there life on Mars? Was there ever life on Mars? What was the atmosphere like thousands or millions of years ago? From Percival Lowell, who built his own observatory so he could dedicate himself to studying the red planet, to NASA landing the car-sized Curiosity rover in 2012, this book traces Scientific American's coverage of the observation and exploration of Mars.

The zombie has had a bit of a renaissance over the last decade. Hollywood churns out films like World War Z and TV shows like The Walking Dead, and communities throughout the country hold zombie runs and races. So what’s driving the zombie obsession? Where did the fear of this creature originate? In this audiobook, The Real Zombies of Nature, we look at the myth of the zombie versus real instances of zombification in the natural world and engage in some scientific speculation about what would happen if myth ever became reality.

In the digital age, information, both true and false, spreads faster than ever. The same technology that provides access to data across the globe can abet the warping of truth and normalization of lies. In this audiobook, we examine the intersection of truth, untruth, and technology, including how social media manipulates behavior, technologies such as deepfakes that spread misinformation, the bias inherent in algorithms, and more.

Host Rachel Feltman, alongside leading science and tech journalists, dives into the rich world of scientific discovery in this bite-size science variety show.

Host Rachel Feltman, alongside leading science and tech journalists, dives into the rich world of scientific discovery in this bite-size science variety show.

Chronic stress makes people sick. The fight-or-flight response activates our bodies to face immediate threats, but that stress system must turn off to allow organs to recover. Constant anxiety keeps the system active, and in this audiobook we examine the effects of ongoing stress and trauma on both body and mind as well as ways to arm ourselves against adversity by managing stress and building resilience.

Sally Ride, the first American woman to go to space, once said that she didn’t set out to be a role model, but after her first flight, she realized that she was one. Like her, the 12 women scientists in this collection became unintentional heroes through perseverance and hard work, making great discoveries in all areas of science. From Vera Rubin’s examination of the internal dynamics of galaxies to Nobel Prize winner May-Britt Moser’s study of the brain’s GPS-like navigation system, Trailblazers highlights the achievements of women who became role models for us all.

Burning. Shooting. Stabbing. Sometimes the cause is unknown. Sometimes it begins as the result of an injury. Whatever form it takes, chronic pain often resists treatment. In this audiobook, we examine the latest advances in understanding the pathology of chronic pain and the efforts to find better, non-opioid treatment options, including electrical stimulation of nerves, venom from spiders and other creatures, and psychological interventions including virtual-reality therapy and acupuncture.