Stories by Melinda Wenner Moyer

Our subconscious notices incongruities in a scene

The new statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics warns of possible language delays. Instead, unstructured play is better for linguistic development

The illness that ultimately felled Apple founder Steve Jobs often kills shortly after diagnosis

The government may not be doing enough to regulate contaminants in tap water

The zealous drive by politicians to limit our salt intake has little basis in science

For most people, pornography use has no negative effects—and it may even deter sexual violence

A new generation of electrodes is small and flexible enough to fit inside the heart or brain

Scientists are taking a fresh look at obsessive-compulsive disorder, identifying its likely causes-and hints for new therapies

Physicians are using smart phones to diagnose diseases, check blood cell counts and identify pathogens in drinking water

A series of recent breakthroughs means that early, noninvasive genetic tests for fetuses may be just two years away

New devices may help bring drugs to market faster

Exposure to daylight may explain a link between birth season and mental illness

The recent finding by a panel that most Americans get enough vitamin D exposes a rift among researchers

Pancreatic tumors can germinate for a decade before turning deadly, raising hopes for early detection

Alzheimer's symptoms may arise from damaged "power plants" in brain cells

Novel materials promise better access to clean water around the world

Ten thoughts, trends and technologies that have the power to transform our lives

Biologists continue to be surprised by what was once dismissed as wasted space

Why the left hand doesn't always know what the right is doing

Resistant bacteria help their kin survive antibiotics, but at a cost

A merciless experiment reveals why some people can snooze through anything

A new imaging technique shows how diseases work in real time