This is a fantastic series. Scholar Henry Louis Gates of Harvard traces the lineage through DNA analysis of several notable figures (poet Maya Angelou, author Bliss Broyard, actor Don Cheadle, actor Morgan Freeman, theologian Peter Gomes, publisher Linda Johnson Rice, athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, radio personality Tom Joyner, comedian Chris Rock, music legend Tina Turner, and college administrator Kathleen Henderson). The results are intriguing, and leave you thinking about the social construction of race. Go to site

Looks draw men and women equally

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Suicide is catching

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Girls More Prone to Online Brawling?

Two girls in Cincinnati were videotaped in their junior high locker room, slapping, punching, kicking and pulling hair. The video ended up on YouTube. A recent government report found that fights like this are common, and often involve girls. Sandy Hausman reports on why young woman are using their hands and fists with increasing frequency. Listen to story.

Coaching the Comeback

A therapist helps to rebuild functions (and families) shattered by brain trauma.

Crisis? Maybe he’s a narcissistic jerk.

Is the “midlife crisis” the newest excuse for poor behavior?

How to boost your will power

Do you lie to your therapist?

Sometimes it's tough for patients to tell the whole story.

Bridging the Gap Between Creative Genius and Insanity

Studying people who believe they are psychic may afford insight into the neuronal sources of innovation and help neuroscientists explore the borders between artistic inspiration and pathological ideation. Read story.

Denial Makes the World Go Around

The ability to look the other way, while potentially destructive, is also critically important to forming and nourishing close relationships. Read story

Love in the Time of Dementia

SO this, in the end, is what love is. Former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s husband, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, has a romance with another woman, and the former justice is thrilled — even visits with the new couple while they hold hands on the porch swing — because it is a relief to see her husband of 55 years so content. Read story

Robots Infiltrate, Influence Cockroach Groups

To explore how groups of cockroaches make collective decisions, scientists have created a robotic cockroach that the real insects accept as one of their own. Listen now.

Steven Pinker Comes to the 'F' Word's Defense

In his new book, The Stuff of Thought, Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker sorts through some of the paradoxes of profanity. He points out that in a society that prides itself on free speech, certain words pertaining to sex and excretion remain off-limits. Pinker says taboo words are particularly powerful for humans because they spark activity in the amygdala — a part of the brain involved in storing emotionally salient memories. Listen to interview

Exercise on the Brain Think Again

Feeling a little less mentally quick than you did a few years ago? Maybe you are among the many people who do "brain exercises" like sudoku to slow the cognitive decline associated with aging. We've got a better suggestion.

Scientists Narrow Optimism Area in Brain

Thank you Steve Nobles for sending the above link!

Mind Reading: Divining Other People’s Thoughts and Feelings

Study Ties Marital Strife and Heart Disease

The Stripper’s Secret

A Man’s Shelf Life

Bird Fertility Boosted if Sex Expected

Stress from Racism May Contribute to Black Infant Mortality Rates