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The primordial emotion is apt to run amok. But harnessing it can lead to responsible behavior and sound thinking.

Meet some of the people featured in the October 2020 issue of The Scientist.

Some viruses, possibly even SARS-CoV-2, can sneak into the brain through the nose. Recent studies show that microglia are ready for them when they do.

A study in two macaques reveals the importance of increasing connectivity between muscles and the reticulospinal tract that runs from the brain stem down the spinal cord.

Comparing the brain scans of high-impact rugby players with those of athletes in noncontact sports, such as rowing and swimming, revealed tiny, yet significant, differences in the brain’s white matter.

Patterns of neural activity known as alpha waves, long thought to originate in the thalamus, may actually stem from a different brain region entirely.

Researchers tease out the effects of the two cravings by having participants gamble for the chance to satisfy them.

Fighting the spread of an infectious disease goes hand in hand with stemming the dissemination of lies, bad science, and misdirection.

A combination of factors, from oxytocin release as an indicator of emotional investment to cortisol and other hormones that correlate with attention, can forecast what people will do after an experience.

The high-profile retractions of two COVID-19 studies stunned the scientific community earlier this year and prompted calls for reviews of how science is conducted, published, and acted upon. The warning signs had been there all along.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham neuroscientist aims to determine which cells are most important in prompting the disease’s initiation and progression.

The three smaller water bodies join a previously discovered lake buried beneath ice at the red planet’s south pole.