Human Nature

Human Nature encompasses peoples' actions, perceptions, and thought processes. Topics include food cravings, mind-reading, and contagious yawning.

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This expression is repeated about as often apples are eaten. But does it have any truth to it? Should the apple really take credit for keeping people in impeccable health?

By Amy Hunter

Another headache? Time to reach for your snake oil -- or maybe your electromagnetic belt. Quacks have pulled the wool over people's eyes for years in the name of medicine. Here are 10 of their more outrageous cons.

By Tom Scheve

Why does the combination of orange juice and toothpaste have to taste so awful? Why can't your sense of taste resolve the problem?

By Josh Clark

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Smell is a basic sense, but scientists are still exploring how it works. Why are researchers, developers and even government agencies so curious about smell? What makes a seemingly simple sense so tantalizing?

By Sarah Dowdey

Taste might seem like the simplest sense. But we know much less about taste than we do about sight and hearing. Why is taste so mysterious? And what on earth is umami?

By Sarah Dowdey

Ears are truly extraordinary organs and hearing is a fascinating process. Ears pick up all the sounds around you and then translate this information into a form your brain can understand.

By Tom Harris

What causes smell? When I walk into a bakery, I smell the bread. What actually has happened? Do objects give off pieces of matter? What has entered my nose to cause the sensation of smell?

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Light is what drives life. It’s hard to imagine our world and life without it. The sensing of light by living things is almost universal. Find out all about the amazing inner workings of the human eye.

By Carl Bianco, M.D.