Mosaic

The tiny fruit fly has been beloved by developmental biologists for more than a century. Turing patterns may yet explain its shape.

• By Kat Arney

Biology and mathematics—the practical and the theoretical—can be surprisingly uneasy bedfellows, but their union could help uncover the mysteries of life.

• By Kat Arney

Where do a zebra’s stripes, a leopard’s spots, and our fingers come from? The key was found years ago—by the man who cracked the Enigma code.

• By Kat Arney

Are we asking the right questions about smart drugs? Marek Kohn looks at what they can do for us—and what they can’t.

• By Marek Kohn

When Kim Goodsell discovered that she had two extremely rare genetic diseases, she taught herself genetics to help find out why.

• By Ed Yong

The notion that aging is a natural, inevitable part of life is so fixed in our culture that we rarely question it. But biologists have been questioning it for a long time.

• By Virginia Hughes

Phantom pain, experienced in missing limbs, tortures amputees and puzzles scientists. Srinath Perur cycles around Cambodia with a man who treats it with mirrors.

• By Srinath Perur

More than a century after their discovery, we still don’t really know what blood types are for. Do they really matter?

• By Carl Zimmer

Is there real science in the spiritualism of meditation? Jo Marchant meets a Nobel Prize-winner who thinks so.

• By Jo Marchant

How do I explain an existence dominated by the bleakest, darkest moods? And do I even want to?

• By Jenny Diski

For over 30 years, Brazil has run one of the largest studies of a population since birth.

• By Catherine de Lange

For many, the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games represent missed opportunities to tackle health problems and inequality.

• By Catherine de Lange

Physical activity has recently come to be seen as one of the best forms of medicine available. But how much do you need to do to reap the benefits?

• By Catherine de Lange

Can a grand vision of 4,000 free public gyms overcome inequality and fight Brazil’s health crisis?

• By Catherine de Lange

Trapped by the Cold War and scarred after a failed revolution, Hungary fought one of its greatest battles against polio.

• By Penny Bailey

Artificial insemination is much more efficient.

• By Sujata Gupta

Researchers are wading into the murky waters of animal psychology.

• By Sujata Gupta

Buying a pig born to a humanely raised mama is harder than you’d think.

• By Sujata Gupta

How have the farm animals of today been shaped by centuries of domestication and selective breeding? Sujata Gupta investigates.

• By Sujata Gupta

In reporting about electrical brain stimulation, Emma Young of course had to try it for herself. Would it change her?

• By Emma Young

For Vince Clark, immediate pain relief for his son came not from brain-stimulating devices, but something more low-tech.

• By Emma Young

Applying mild electrical currents to your head could take away pain, help memory, and improve attention—and the U.S. military is very interested.

• By Emma Young

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi shares her views on three exciting areas of HIV research.

• By Patrick Strudwick

Patrick Strudwick talks to Françoise Barré-Sinoussi about how she identified HIV as the cause of AIDS; her receipt of the Nobel Prize; and the latest efforts to prevent, treat, and manage HIV.

• By Patrick Strudwick