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In The News
5 STORY ONE
s s Homossapiens may have left
Africa earlier than thought
8 ENviRONmENT
s Tackling the dynamics of a
disturbed ecosystem
s Oil dispersants lingered in
Gulf of Mexico
s Amoebas out of the faucet
s Himalaya ice not all melting
10 BOd Y & BRaiN
s Adding touch helps prosthetic
limbs feel more real
s Assessing global longevity
s Building better blood vessels
s Flu shot worry dismissed
12 ma TTER & ENERg Y
s X-rays spotlight molecules
s A bigger invisibility cloak
14 LifE
s Ants go clonal for success
s Genomes for ant trio
s Pigeons’ nostril preference
15 humaNS
s Oxytocin not always warm
and fuzzy
s Fishy: more than a metaphor
s Tracking marital woes
16 gENES & CELLS
s Genes show how a wily strain
of pneumonia evades attack
s Heart cells made from skin
18 a TOm & COSmOS
s Old stars hang on
s Kepler spots more than 1,200
possible new exoplanets
Features
20 RivERS iN ThE Sk Y
Atmospheric bands of water
vapor, discovered just over a
decade ago, play a big role in the
planet’s water cycle — delivering
as much precipitation as
landfalling hurricanes.
BysAlexandrasWitze
22 CEREBRaL dELigh TS
COVER STORY: A brain structure
known as the amygdala is tuned
to fear, but also perks up when
good things come your way.
BysSusansGaidos
26 BRaiN BOOSTERS
Dietary supplements claim to
offer a cognitive zip, improving
performance on mental tasks.
Now researchers are testing
whether the science lives up to
the hype.
BysJanetsRaloff
Departments
2 fROm ThE Edi TOR
4 NOTEBOOk
30 BOOkShELf
31 fEEdBaCk
32 COmmENT
Medicinal chemist David
Nichols shares his tale of good
research put to dangerous use.
