Surprising Science — March 7, 2014

This Is Not Yellow

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Your retina does not have individual cells programmed to see yellow. Then how can it tell your brain that you’re seeing the color? It turns out that it’s easy to lie to the brain. Our friends at VSauce explain how.

Image credit: Cygnus921/Flickr

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

A close up of a fish's eye, revealing its intriguing anatomy.

Neuropsych

Do spiders dream? What about cuttlefish? Bearded dragons?

Researchers are finding signs of multiple phases of sleep all over the animal kingdom. The ‘active’ sleep phases look very much like REM.

A crab with evolved brain functions.

Note: Keywords "crab" and "brain evolution" were used.

Neuropsych

Where did the brain come from?

600 million years ago, the sea sponge had a dream.

a black pug looking at a pie on a table.

Health

The neurons that make us feel hangry

Neuroscientists think a cluster of cells in the brain that stimulate appetite could be a target for eating disorder therapies.

a woman holding a rainbow colored kite in the air.

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: What is a woman?

If you think you know what sex, gender, and “the right thing to do” for trans youth and adults are, be sure it agrees with actual science.

a man's head with a bird flying out of it.

The Learning Curve

How meditation can change your life and mind

Meditation can put you in a wiser relationship with life.

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