Every day hundreds of millions of people go to work. Hours upon hours are spent at desks, in offices, in meetings, and speaking to and collaborating with colleagues. But how many of those hours are productive ones? How can we make the most of those hours and become more successful?

Many factors–personal, professional, and psychological–combine to affect how we think, feel, and act while on the job, which ultimately affects our productivity and success. In 9 to 5: Your Mind at Work, we look at some of these factors, including the physical office space, how to foster creativity and communication, the psychology of effective leadership, the benefits and importance of diversity, and achieving work-life balance.

Is time an illusion? Is time travel possible? Could time end? In this audiobook, A Question of Time, we take an interdisciplinary look at the fourth dimension, exploring the latest thinking on the nature of time and the ways it dominates our physical and mental worlds.

In science fiction, artificial intelligence takes the shape of computers that can speak like people, think for themselves, and sometimes act against us. Reality of course is vastly different, though in many ways computers surpass their fictional counterparts. This book reviews work in the field and covers topics from chess-playing to quantum computing. The writers tackle how to make computers more powerful, how we define consciousness, what the hard problems are, and even how computers might be built once the limits of silicon chips have been reached.

During allergy season, sufferers know the drill: runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing up a storm. For the unlucky with asthma, symptoms might also include coughing and wheezing. However, asthma is not always caused by allergens like pollen and dust–nonallergenic asthma is brought on by a number of possible environmental or genetic triggers. Then there’s the common cold, which also presents with similar symptoms. So what’s causing your runny nose?

In Allergies, Asthma, and the Common Cold, we review what we know about these three conditions as well as take a look at food allergies and what’s on the horizon for allergy treatment and prevention. We begin with what causes allergies, in which Steve Mirsky interviews Johns Hopkins School of Medicine researcher Kathleen Barnes on the science behind the hygiene hypothesis, which suggests that early exposure to bacteria and viruses leads to a stronger immune system and a reduced likelihood of developing allergies later in life. Next we tackle asthma, which is reaching epidemic proportions in some parts of the world. Then we discuss interventions for food allergies specifically, including genetically modified foods and immunotherapy. And finally, we look into allergies in general, and how the fine-tuned “human microbiome” may be protecting us more than we know.

We humans tend to think that we are unique in our intelligence, social skill, and depth of emotion, but we think too much of ourselves. The animal kingdom teems with hidden stories of the weird and fascinating, and in Amazing Animals, we gather recent research on animal behavior, including surprising discoveries of how animals think and feel, from man’s best friend to some of the earth’s oddest creatures.

People behave in strange ways. We sometimes giggle when someone falls down, swear we’ve been to places we haven’t or continue believing in something despite scientific evidence to the contrary. For more than a decade, Scientific American MIND’s long-running feature “Ask the Brains” has addressed questions from their readers on the quirks and quandaries of human behavior, psychology, and neurology. Here, in Ask the Brains, Part 1, they’ve compiled some of the best and most interesting inquiries about the human brain.

From irrational phobias to a midlife crisis, we’ve all experienced moments of utter confusion about the nature of our own behavior, emotions, or perception of reality. In this audiobook, neurologists and other scientists share what they know about how the mind works, including some of these baffling psychological experiences.

For going on two decades, Scientific American’s “Ask the Experts” column has been answering reader questions on all fields of science. We’ve taken your questions from the basic to the esoteric and reached out to top scientists, professors, and researchers to find out why the sky is blue or whether we really only use 10 percent of our brains.

Now, we’ve combed through our archives and have compiled some of the most interesting questions (and answers) into a series of books. Organized by subject, each title provides short, easily digestible answers to questions on that particular branch of the sciences.

The second title in our series–Astronomy–looks skyward and explains a variety of universal phenomena and theories. Are you curious about how planets acquire rings or what creates those gorgeous spiral arms around galaxies? Or maybe you want to know why the Big Bang didn’t collapse into a black hole. Astrophysicists, professors, and scientists tackle questions about stars, planets, asteroids, galaxies, and nebulae, the expanding universe as well as the oddities–black holes, wormholes, and dark matter.

Listen in and find out what we know–and what we don’t know–about these wonders.

In this installment of the Ask the Experts series, Chemistry, our professors, scientists, and researchers tackle reader questions about the substances that compose all matter, their properties, and how they interact and change. Queries range from elementary questions, such as why some elements change color over a flame, to how chemistry works in everyday life, to how certain substances affect the body and more.

For going on two decades, Scientific American’s “Ask the Experts” column has been answering reader questions on all fields of science. We’ve taken your questions from the basic to the esoteric and reached out to top scientists, professors, and researchers to find out why the sky is blue or whether we really only use 10 percent of our brains.

Now, we’ve combed through our archives and have compiled some of the most interesting questions (and answers) into a series of books. Organized by subject, each title provides short, easily digestible answers to questions on that particular branch of the sciences.

The first title in our series–Physics and Math–explains a wide range of natural phenomena and mathematical concepts. Have you ever wondered what exactly antimatter is? How about game theory, quantum mechanics, and the origin of pi? Mathematicians and professors from universities across the country tackle these topics, drawing on their extensive expertise to give answers that are at once accurate and comprehensible by those who haven’t studied physics or math since high school.

For going on two decades, Scientific American’s “Ask the Experts” column has been answering reader questions on all fields of science. We’ve taken your questions from the basic to the esoteric and reached out to top scientists, professors, and researchers to find out why the sky is blue or whether we really only use 10 percent of our brains.

Now, we’ve combed through our archives and have compiled some of the most interesting questions (and answers) into a series of books. Organized by subject, each title provides short, easily digestible answers to questions on that particular branch of the sciences.

The Human Body and Mind is the third book in this series, and it tackles questions about our own strange and mysterious biology. Our experts field queries on evolution, bodily quirks, and psychological feats. Have you ever wondered why humans lost their body hair? Curious about what causes a hangover? Or what makes that popping sound when we crack our knuckles? What about the oft-cited maxim that we only use 10 percent of our brains? Professors, scientists, and biologists provide answers that are at once accurate, understandable, and sometimes just plain funny.

The extreme drought in the US Southwest has brought the issues of water use and management to the forefront of media attention. Historically, arguments over water rights have plagued this area since the days of John Wesley Powell, and disputes mark the relations between states, city-dwellers, farmers, and environmentalists to this day. Add to that the challenges of climate change, which is altering rainfall patterns the world over, and the imperative to rethink water management policies becomes acute.

Battling Drought takes a long look at the situation in the American Southwest from the early engineering projects, such as building the Hoover and Grand Coulee dams, which were designed to tame the rivers, to the recycling and restoration efforts of today. Projects like the recycling of wastewater in Santa Rosa, CA, and the restoration of the Aral Sea in Central Asia offer both optimism and lessons for change. However, the story of the Himba in Africa–who have, so far, successfully blocked building a dam on a nearby river–illustrates that changing attitudes is often like trying to change the flow of a river. It’s an upstream battle. While successful projects like these move us toward that goal, new technologies, methods, and crops are still needed to combat diminishing water supplies. A common saying is that someone “spends money like water.” Over the last century, we’ve learned that water might be the more precious of the two.

We humans are a strange bunch. We have self-awareness and yet often act on impulses that remain hidden. How did we get here? What is to become of us? To these age-old questions, science has in recent years brought powerful tools and reams of data, and in this audiobook, Becoming Human, we look at what these data have to tell us about who we are.

Once dismissed as a mathematical curiosity, black holes are so strange they almost defy belief. Since their existence was confirmed, research into the nature of black holes has opened up new vistas in physics. In this audiobook, we examine some of the most fascinating discoveries about black hole formation and behavior, the new and evolving research in gravitational wave astronomy, theoretical possibilities such as wormholes, and much more.

Self-improvement is a lifelong quest. We all have things we’d like to change about ourselves, which is why many people make New Year’s resolutions. Yet, research shows that only about 8 percent of resolution-makers achieve their goals. Changing personal habits is both hugely difficult and hugely rewarding. Here, Scientific American offers this guide on breaking bad habits and the ultimate satisfaction of making difficult life changes.

From increasingly severe storms to collapsing coral reefs to the displacement of Syrian citizens, in this audiobook we examine the effects of Earth’s changing climate on weather systems, ecosystems, and human habitability and what this means for our future.

If climate catastrophes like Hurricane Sandy seem to be on the rise, it’s for a reason. The likelihood of these extreme weather events are increasingly being tied to man-made global warming, mostly through overproduction of carbon dioxide. It’s no longer an abstract idea; it’s being felt locally, on every level.

Climate Change and Extreme Weather gives you the tools to better understand what’s behind climate change, what might be in store during the coming decades, and how we can begin to reverse the detrimental effects mankind has had on the atmosphere.

Cyberspace has certainly transformed the world. From media and communications to banking, an increasing number of daily activities is performed online. We are living digital lifestyles. While this transformation has opened up exciting new frontiers, it also opens the door to security threats undreamed of in previous generations.

In Cyber Hacking: Wars in Virtual Space, we peer behind the cyber curtain. First, we look at the hackers–who they are, how they work, their motivations, and methods. The opening article examines hardware–specifically microprocessors and why they are vulnerable to tampering. Then we turn to the internal attacks, the worms and viruses whose resulting damage ranges from merely inconvenient and attention-getting to expensive and dangerous. Next, we take a broad look at issues of privacy and the technology used to gather and track personal information. With so much personal information volunteered on social networking and other sites, how much privacy can people expect? Most of us leave a trail of data wherever we go. On a positive note, we end by covering innovative technologies used to secure cyber networks and safeguard information.

The race between the hackers and information security professionals continues.

After smartphones, smart TVs, smart windows, and other smart products on the horizon, smart cities were the next logical step in trying to create a better, brighter, more sustainable, and economically sound future. A relatively new term, “smart cities” conjures images of a cooperative, wired, prosperous utopia where citizens of all classes achieve a high quality of life. In this audiobook, we look at the qualities needed for future cities to survive and thrive.

Terrible lizards. That’s what the word “dinosaurs” means. Yet dinosaurs are not true lizards, and they are not necessarily terrible either. Paleontologists have overturned many misconceptions, and in Dinosaurs!, we look at what the latest research tells us and what we still have to learn about these endlessly fascinating creatures.

Making ethical decisions involves more than listening to an inner moral compass, a feeling in the gut of what’s right and wrong. Questions of ethics in science are becoming increasingly complex, especially as technology encroaches upon even our most private cellular spaces. In Doing the Right Thing: Ethics in Science, we cover a wide range of areas in science and medicine where complicated ethical questions come to bear, including genomics and research where informed–and ethically sound–choices are the basis of many scientific studies.

While many of us strive to live healthy lives, the task can be daunting and the information overwhelming. Should we be more concerned with our diet or with keeping our weight down? How important is exercise? What kinds of diseases should we really be worried about getting–or preventing? In Eat, Move, Think: Living Healthy, we’ve assembled a number of stories on what we think sums up a healthy lifestyle, as well as some of the common obstacles faced in trying to achieve it.

The complex story of human evolution is a tale seven million years in the making. Each new discovery adds to or revises our story and our understanding of how we came to be the way we are.

In this audiobook, The Human Odyssey, we explore the evolution of those characteristics that make us human. The first section looks at our family tree and why some branches survived and not others. Swings in climate are emerging as a factor in what traits succeeded and failed; meanwhile, DNA analyses show that Homo sapiens interbred with other human species, which played a key role in our survival. Section two examines those traits that separate us from other primates. Recent data indicate that our hairless skin was important to the rise of other human features, and other research is getting closer to illuminating how humans became monogamous. In the final section we speculate on the future of human evolution in a world where advances in technology, medicine, and other areas protect us from harmful factors like disease, causing some scientists to claim that humans are no longer subject to natural selection and our evolution has ceased. But, like us, our story will continue to evolve.

Charles Robert Darwin’s 1859 landmark book On the Origin of Species introduced the theory of biological evolution to the masses and kicked off a controversy of ideas that persists to this day.

Darwin knew he would face religious opposition to a theory of creation that differed from the story in Genesis, but he probably didn’t imagine how long that opposition would last. More than 150 years after Origin, the fight over teaching evolution rages on.

Creationists, or those who hold the belief that the universe and all life was made by divine creator, have tried to use a myriad of tactics either to ban the teaching of evolution entirely or to have creationism and intelligent design taught alongside one another in public schools. In Evolution vs. Creationism, we take a close look at the rise of Darwinism, the arguments and opposition by the creationist movement, whether faith and science can coexist, and what could happen if the US continues on an antiscience trajectory.

With this book, we went from deep in our archives to current events to examine the revolutionary impact of Darwin’s theory and the controversy that continues today.

In the two decades since astronomers first discovered the existence of a planet outside of our solar system, “exoplanetology” has become the hottest specialty in astrophysics. Scientists young and old, inspired by the thought of finding either another habitable world or the Holy Grail of space exploration–life itself–flocked to be part of this burgeoning field. With so much brainpower on hand, it’s no wonder that investigative techniques advanced more quickly than anyone would have thought. To date, more than one thousand exoplanets have been found, and in this audiobook, Exoplanets: Worlds without End, we delve into this quest that sometimes sounds more like science fiction than science. So far, we’re still alone out here, but in a field where the discoveries are coming thick and fast, it’s exciting to think that it could all change tomorrow.

Our nearest planetary neighbor has been the subject of endless fascination and wide-ranging theories throughout history. Is there life on Mars? Was there ever life on Mars? What was the atmosphere like thousands or millions of years ago? From Percival Lowell, who built his own observatory so he could dedicate himself to studying the red planet, to NASA landing the car-sized Curiosity rover in 2012, this book traces Scientific American’s coverage of the observation and exploration of Mars.

Did NASA really spend millions creating a pen that would write in space? Is chocolate poisonous to dogs? Does stress cause gray hair?

These questions are a sample of the urban lore investigated in this audiobook, Fact or Fiction: Science Tackles 58 Popular Myths. Drawing from Scientific American’s “Fact or Fiction” and “Strange But True” columns, we’ve selected fifty-eight of the most surprising, fascinating, useful, and just plain wacky topics confronted by our writers over the years.

The editors of Scientific American’s bestselling Fact or Fiction: Science Tackles 58 Popular Myths return with Fact or Fiction 2: 50 (More) Popular Myths Explained.

In it, we cast an analytical eye on another collection of urban lore and cultural myths that persist so long in our collective consciousness they acquire a ring of truth. Who hasn’t heard the “five-second rule,” which insists that food dropped on the floor is safe to eat if it’s picked up within five seconds? How many of us have been told by well-meaning relatives or friends to “feed a cold, starve a fever?”

Each article explores whether science can back up these and forty-eight other long-standing claims on a variety of topics including mind and brain, health and body, food, sustainability, and more. In some cases, such as whether a “base tan” protects against sunburn or people swallow eight spiders a year while they sleep, the explanation is relatively brief. Others, including whether diets work or if divorce is bad for children, require a little more digging. Either way, the science behind our mythology is surprising, fascinating, and–in the case of nocturnal spider-eating–reassuring.

Brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s affect an estimated one in six Americans and are increasing in incidence as the population ages. In this audiobook, we examine these and other conditions involving the damage and loss of neurons, including other forms of dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and multiple sclerosis (MS).

Genetic engineering, which refers to the direct manipulation of DNA, became a reality in the 1970s. In this audiobook, we take a look at how far the field has come, starting with a revolutionary gene-editing tool called CRISPR that’s taking the research world by storm. We then examine how CRISPR and other approaches are being investigated to treat disease, the fantastic-sounding research being done in synthetic biology, controversial efforts in modifying crops and saving species, as well as the numerous ethical issues raised in these areas.

Boy or girl? Even before a person is born, that’s the first thing everyone wants to know–underscoring just how much value human societies of all types place on gender.

In His Brain, Her Brain, we take a closer look at the anatomical, chemical, and functional differences in the brains of men and women–as well as some surprising similarities. For instance, studies of infants find few differences in cognitive skills between boys and girls; but there is no denying that boys love trucks, whereas girls prefer dolls.

While some gender differences are evident even on the first day of a baby’s life, most of these discrepancies start out small but get amplified by our gender-obsessed culture. Tea parties and wrestling matches leave their stamp on growing brains, but the gap that separates boys and girls would be less noticeable if parents encouraged activities such as reading for boys and video games for girls.

Few sex disparities are as hardwired as popular accounts make them out to be. A better understanding of the real–and imagined–differences between his brain and her brain can help us overcome cultural biases, improve communication, and strengthen relationships.

On June 5, 1981, the scientific community received a wake-up call from the CDC in the form of a terrible new illness that the world would soon know as AIDS. Three decades later, remarkable progress has been made, but much more remains to be understood and to be done. In this audiobook, we explore where the disease came from, how it works, how it spreads, the search for a vaccine, and cultural and sociological factors.

The Book of Revelation, the Maya, Nostradamus–humans have speculated about the end since, well, the beginning. In this book, we look at several “end of the world” scenarios–or at least, things that could make human life really difficult.

Sometimes All You Need Is Love; sometimes Love Is a Battlefield. Whether Love Hurts, Bites, Will Keep Us Together, Will Tear Us Apart, or Is a Four-Letter Word, it seems we Want To Know What Love Is.

Love–in both the abstract and the up-close-and-personal–has always provided limitless inspiration for artists, writers, and musicians, but scientists are just as fascinated by these affairs of the heart, though they seldom sing about it. In Love, Sex, and Science, our editors take a step back, analyzing romance using tools like fMRI studies instead of a paint brush or guitar. The writers examine a variety of topics, starting with the perceived sex differences between men and women discussed in Section 1–are we really as different as Mars and Venus?

We also don’t shy away from darker aspects of love, such as the psychology of prostitution and sex appeal of narcissists, because to ignore these aspects of love is to trivialize it. Besides, love’s paradoxes are one of the reasons why it is the topic for cultural discourse. As Pascal said, “The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.” Hopefully this audiobook will change the “nothing” to “at least something.”

How many people achieve a cult following because of their writing in mathematics? Only a handful, and Martin Gardner is among the most well known and well loved. Not only did he present a notoriously difficult subject in an engaging and accessible way, but in doing so, he attracted an incredibly broad readership. His correspondents ranged from academics like Roger Penrose and John Horton Conway to artists MC Escher and Salvador Dali to writer Isaac Asimov. His “Mathematical Games” column in Scientific American ran nearly every month for twenty-six years and was one of the most popular in the magazine’s history.

In this anthology, we strove to create a new “slice” through his wealth of material. Here, we focus on all flavors of numbers, from common integers and negative numbers to figurate numbers and the exotic random number Omega, which can be described but not computed.

Some of these columns are less well known, but they are no less fun. In true Gardner fashion, they leap from magic and games–as well as art, music, and literature–to flashes of deep mathematical insight. We hope that they will prove as inspirational now as they did to earlier audiences.

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common conditions affecting mental health and overall quality of life, but there are tools for managing them. In this audiobook, we’ll explore how depression shows up in the brain, different manifestations of depression and anxiety, various talk therapies, technological innovations, lifestyle interventions, and more.

Neuroscientists have shown that music recruits nearly every area of the brain, fostering connections across different regions. In this book, we examine the latest imaging studies and discuss the effects of music on emotion, cognition, sensation, and motor function. This includes an examination of the brain’s anatomy when listening to or creating music, of music’s relationship to learning math and language skills, and of its role in promoting social connections and treating brain disorders and injuries.

How did life begin on Earth? Does it exist elsewhere? What would those life forms be like? These fundamental questions about the nature of life and our own cosmic significance are endlessly fascinating. In this book, we present several theories on the origin of life, some of its extreme and surprising forms, and the ongoing search for signs–or sentience–on distant worlds.

For more than a century, scientists across disciplines have investigated the workings of nature’s most complex organ. Findings from cutting-edge neuroscience are moving us closer to understanding processes like how we make decisions or navigate our environment. In this audiobook, we examine the latest research on cognition, how the brain gives rise to consciousness, and how we can improve mental health.

Until recently, one idea has dominated research in treating Alzheimer’s disease: the amyloid hypothesis. Those therapies have repeatedly fallen short, and in this audiobook we take a look at where that hypothesis stands today. We examine recent research into the spectrum of disease causes, including inflammation and immune dysfunction; cutting-edge treatments, including deep-brain stimulation and magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound; as well as lifestyle interventions that can help protect from disease.

Burning. Shooting. Stabbing. Sometimes the cause is unknown. Sometimes it begins as the result of an injury. Whatever form it takes, chronic pain often resists treatment. In this audiobook, we examine the latest advances in understanding the pathology of chronic pain and the efforts to find better, nonopioid treatment options including electrical stimulation of nerves, venom from spiders and other creatures, and psychological interventions including virtual-reality therapy and acupuncture.

Science fiction has imagined some pretty wild ideas about how the universe could work–from hidden extra dimensions in Interstellar to life as a mental projection in The Matrix. But these imaginings seem downright tame compared to the mind-bending science now coming out of physics and astronomy, and in this book, we look at the strange and fascinating discoveries shaping (and reshaping) the field today.

Strange and probabilistic, physics at the smallest scales is driving innovation and research into the nature of reality. In this audiobook, we examine the latest mind-bending studies in quantum mechanics, including theoretical mysteries such as entanglement, real-world applications, innovations in communications and computing, and more.

Why do facts fail to change people’s minds? In this audiobook, we examine how we form our beliefs and maintain them with a host of cognitive biases, the difference between intelligence and thinking rationally, and some solutions for how to overcome these obstacles both in reasoning with others and in dealing with our own prejudices.

The sense of position and movement is often called the sixth sense; the brain’s connection to the immune system might be a seventh. In this audiobook, we examine the diverse functions of the brain beyond the five senses, including the glymphatic system for maintaining brain health, the processes behind intuition, and new research raising questions about “brain death.”

Instead of “what if the South won the Civil War?” cosmologists ask, “what if the constants that make up the fundamental building blocks of physics were different?” Physicists argue that any slight change to the laws of physics would mean a disruption in the evolution of the universe, and thus our existence. With the many factors that had to align for us to exist, it can seem like the laws of physics might seem finely tuned to make our existence possible. Instead of a supernatural or divine explanation, this book explores the possibility is that our universe isn’t the only one.

Chronic stress makes people sick. The fight-or-flight response activates our bodies to face immediate threats, but that stress system must turn off to allow organs to recover. Constant anxiety keeps the system active, and in this audiobook we examine the effects of ongoing stress and trauma on both body and mind as well as ways to arm ourselves against adversity by managing stress and building resilience.

In the digital age, information, both true and false, spreads faster than ever. The same technology that provides access to data across the globe can abet the warping of truth and normalization of lies. In this audiobook, we examine the intersection of truth, untruth, and technology, including how social media manipulates behavior, technologies such as deepfakes that spread misinformation, the bias inherent in algorithms, and more.

The nuclear bomb ushered in a new age. The rules of warfare had to change when one act might end civilization. In this audiobook, The Changing Face of War, we examine the technologies being developed or adapted for war and defense–and what these innovations mean for the way nations (and non-state antagonists) conduct military or security operations.

Since the Industrial Revolution, our civilization has depended on fossil fuels for energy–first it was coal; then petroleum. If business as usual continues, we are looking at a world where sea levels will be high enough to submerge many coastal cities and extreme weather events like 2012’s Hurricane Sandy are the new normal. In this audiobook, The Future of Energy: Earth, Wind, and Fire, we review the energy problem and analyze the options from the mundane to the far out.

With global population numbers projected to increase by two billion by 2050, a veritable food crisis is on the horizon. In this audiobook we examine some of the complex factors involved in the coming “food crisis” and the innovative ideas and technologies designed to increase food production sustainably. We also examine current industry methods to increase production and the controversies surrounding them, including not only hot-button issues like genetically modified (or GM) and processed foods, but also food safety and the physical effects of the modern diet.

One of the biggest discoveries in physics, the quest for the Higgs boson demonstrates the value of a good theory. In July 2012, a Higgs-like particle was found near the energies scientists predicted. Now, armed with better evidence and better questions, the scientific process continues. In this audiobook, we’ve gathered our best reporting to explain that process–the theories, the search, the discovery, and the ongoing questions.

The onset of cold weather brings out the boots, coats, gloves–and the stoplight-red “Flu Shots Available Here” signs in drugstore windows. For many scientists and public health specialists alike, flu season has become a little like Russian roulette. The likelihood of a deadly pandemic outbreak of influenza is not far from reality considering the nature of some of the different viral strains. In this book, we delve into the science of the flu, starting with past pandemics and what we can learn from them.

We harbor roughly the same number of microbes as we have cells. This complex ecosystem is crucial to our health, affecting many processes including immunity, child development, and bone density regulation. Research in this area has exploded, and in this audiobook, we highlight some of the most exciting work on how the microbiome develops, its influence on brain and behavior, and implications in both contributing to and treating various disorders.

The reason we need sleep has long mystified scientists, but it’s crystal clear that we do need it. In fact, the more we learn about what happens while we snooze, the more we discover new benefits for multiple processes including hormone balance, immune function, emotional health, learning, and memory. Studies show that even one night of disturbed rest leads to measurable impairments, and for this minicollection, we’ve gathered the most recent research on the mechanisms of sleep.

Understanding why we age and how to prevent age-related physical and mental decline can help us to live in the moment and enjoy our health at any age. In this audiobook, we explore the latest thinking in why we age, strategies to help maintain good health, as well as research into the limits of human longevity.

Vital research is starting to challenge long-standing assumptions about gender identity and biological sex, such as work that indicates the brain is a “mosaic” of traits rather than a “male” and “female” brain. Growing knowledge of the genetic complexities of sexual determination is (slowly) changing the way the medical community treats intersex individuals, and in this audiobook, The New Science of Sex and Gender, we not only examine the latest studies in biology, medicine, and psychology but also, more importantly, their bearing on health care, identity, and access.

The zombie has had a bit of a renaissance over the last decade. Hollywood churns out films like World War Z and TV shows like The Walking Dead, and communities throughout the country hold zombie runs and races. So what’s driving the zombie obsession? Where did the fear of this creature originate? In this audiobook, The Real Zombies of Nature, we look at the myth of the zombie versus real instances of zombification in the natural world and engage in some scientific speculation about what would happen if myth ever became reality.

People say that they trust scientists, yet evidence often takes a back seat to emotions. In fact, for issues that cause the loudest public furor–like vaccine safety–there is almost no debate in the scientific community. This audiobook examines the science behind today’s most contentious debates–including gun control, GMOs, and evolution, as well as strategies for understanding and coping with denialism.

An infant born in the US today will probably live more than twenty years longer than the average lifespan a century ago. While living well into the eighties and nineties is becoming more and more attainable, how many more years can humanity expect to gain? And how can we raise the quality of those later years? The two main barriers are accumulated damage to cells and organs that occurs over time and age-related illnesses like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers are divided over where to pour their efforts, and in The Science of Aging, we take a look at what science knows–and what it’s striving to learn–about the aging process.

The past few years have seen tremendous strides in our understanding of cancer, including new hypotheses about its genetic origins and new treatment alternatives using the body’s own immune response. In The Science of Cancer, we examine what we know and what we’re finding out about this scourge of humankind. We delve into the molecular basis and complex causes of cancer, the arguments for and against screenings, minimizing risk, and several new and targeted therapies, including homing in on stem cells, making use of viruses, and making use of vaccines to jump-start the immune system.

Creativity was long thought to be a gift from the muses, a special quality of a select minority of people. Fortunately, more recent studies have debunked this belief and have shown promise for techniques to help us all boost our creative potential. Nature gives some people a genetic edge, but nurture has a large role in developing creative genius. In this audiobook, we look at this difficult-to-define quality from all angles: where creativity comes from, lessons we can learn from creative geniuses, and how to cultivate creativity. We hope that these techniques, and this audiobook as a whole, will help unleash your own creative self.

The Science of Diet & Exercise examines traditional weight loss advice and finds it wanting. Data shows that the kinds of foods you eat are as important as how much you eat, and studies of physically active hunter-gatherers illustrate that energy expenditure (caloric burn) stays virtually constant, regardless of activity. The nine articles in this collection present the most recent research examining the details of the metabolic process and testing new approaches, some of which can be applied to how we think about diet and exercise today.

The science of education is elusive. Educators, academics, and scientists have struggled with issues like how to make learning approachable yet challenging, what to include in the curriculum and when, what the optimal class size is, and so on. In this collection, we explore the many ways that learning is also a scientific process and offer the latest theories of teaching and learning.

Politics makes strange bedfellows, and that becomes even more apparent when trying to analyze the science of politics. Pulling from an array of disciplines including social science, behavioral science, and mathematics, this audiobook analyzes key factors in the process of electing a leader: from dissecting those qualities considered to be ideal, to how potential leaders are portrayed, to voter behavior, to the voting process–casting, collecting, and counting the votes.

How do we define genius? Standardized testing to measure intelligence began in the first half of the twentieth century, but a high IQ score is only one way to quantify genius. Another is by virtue of extraordinary achievement and expertise in science and the arts. The second is probably more useful, but these debates illustrate how little we know about the origins, development, or processes of intelligence.

In this audiobook, Eureka! The Science of Genius, we review the latest research on the nature of intellectual and creative achievement, including traits that geniuses tend to share, how much of their ability is nature versus nurture, the cognitive processes involved during the stages of discovery and creativity, and, most importantly, what we can do to enhance intelligence.

While genetics have a large role to play, even geniuses have to work to gain the necessary expertise–although they spend less time to acquire it than their less endowed counterparts. Imaging research also indicates that there is no one “blueprint” for intelligence. Many articles look at either nurturing intelligence in children or enhancing it in adults, and the good news is that intellectual abilities are not set in stone. Research is providing insight into what happens in the brain when we learn, leading to changes in educational practices.

This audiobook contains a collection of columns written by Claudia Wallis, an award-winning science journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Time, Fortune, and the New Republic. Claudia was the science editor at Time and the former managing editor of Scientific American Mind.

Together, these stories will demystify recent medical research and developments and expand your understanding of how these developments impact the mind and body. Section one sets the stage with a focus on cognition, neurological, and mental health; section two covers public health issues; section three focuses on the body; and the book concludes with innovative stories related to medicine and biotech.

Why can you vividly recall the day your father took you to your first baseball game many years ago, but you can’t remember where you just put the car keys? The process of how–and what–we remember is a fascinating window into who we are and what makes us tick. In this audiobook, we explore what science can and can’t tell us about memory.

In the US, more than half of households have a pet–usually more than one. They’re usually considered members of the family, and some of us even call them our “furry children.” The strength of the human-pet bond tells us as much or more about ourselves as it does about our pets, and in this audiobook, we look at why dogs and cats behave the way they do and what makes our bond with them so strong.

Consciousness is more than mere awareness. It’s how we experience the world, how we turn input into experience. Once the province of philosophy, religion, or perhaps fantasy, neuroscientists have added a scientific voice to the discussion, using available medical technology to explore just what separates so-called “mind” from brain. In this audiobook, we look at what science has to say about one of humankind’s most fundamental, existential mysteries.

One hundred years ago, most of the medical treatments and technologies that we take for granted hadn’t even been imagined or were found in the pages of science fiction novels rather than medical journals. Today, on the other hand, medical research often sounds like science fiction.

This audiobook, Tomorrow’s Medicine, looks at some of the more fascinating areas where technology that could transform health is being developed, including cybernetics, regenerative medicine, nanotechnology, and genetically tailored treatments. Although many of these advances may not be ready to treat humans for many years, some of them may someday profoundly change–and extend–our lives. As exciting as the possibilities are to extend both the length and quality of life, immortality–or at least agelessness–may be forever out of our reach.

Even so, the doctors of a century past would surely be impressed by what medical science has accomplished in the past hundred years: antibiotics, organ transplants, and the elimination of smallpox, to name but a few. The next century should be equally impressive, and with the various types of new technologies on the horizon, many of us have a good chance of seeing it happen.

Sally Ride, the first American woman to go to space, once said that she didn’t set out to be a role model, but after her first flight, she realized that she was one. Like her, the twelve women scientists in this collection became unintentional heroes through perseverance and hard work, making great discoveries in all areas of science. From Vera Rubin’s examination of the internal dynamics of galaxies to Nobel Prize winner May-Britt Moser’s study of the brain’s GPS-like navigation system, Trailblazers highlights the achievements of women who became role models for us all.

The fundamental outlines of the physical world, from its tiniest particles to massive galaxy clusters, have been apparent for decades. Does this mean physicists are about to tie it all up into a neat package? Not at all. Just when you think you’re figuring it out, the universe begins to look its strangest, and this audiobook illustrates how answers often lead to more questions and open up new paths to insight.

Addiction is costly on many levels to the individuals affected, their families, and society as a whole, but science may soon be able to offer treatment options to make the road to recovery a little smoother. In this audiobook, From Abuse to Recovery: Understanding Addiction, we tackle the many facets of this complex issue.

First, we investigate why and how people succumb to a veritable prison of the mind as sections one and two delve respectively into the psychology and the neurochemistry behind addiction. Subsequent sections break out addictive substances individually: recreational drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol, and nicotine. Finally, section seven examines new avenues for overcoming addiction. While rehab centers, counseling, and twelve-step programs are effective for many substance abusers, they’re also ingrained as the only way to overcome addiction. New research advances our knowledge of the physical component, knowledge that could lead to a more complete protocol that treats both the psychological and physiological aspects of addiction.

Autism is one of three diagnoses that the DSM-5 includes in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While our understanding of this condition has grown exponentially, research has been fraught with controversy. Autism appears to be on the rise, depending on how you define it, and its causes more complex than imagined. In Understanding Autism, Scientific American’s editors have gathered the most current information on autism, including how it’s diagnosed, risk factors, treatments, and therapies.

How exactly do children become the adults they were meant to be?

In this audiobook, Understanding Child Development, we investigate this profoundly complicated process from infancy through early childhood (the teenage years will be covered in a separate audiobook). Included in this collection are several seminal studies on infant cognition where researchers found evidence that many of our abilities are “pre-programmed.” For example, most human infants are able to judge depth as soon as they can crawl, suggesting that we are born with an ability to perceive falling-off places without having to go through the trial-and-error process. Section two looks at how we learn to communicate using both symbols and language, and examines the process that toddlers must go through to learn to discriminate between an object and a representation of that object, such as a photograph. With the ability to communicate comes social development, covered in section three. The fourth section focuses on developmental disorders, from ADHD to Down syndrome, autism, and less common diseases that are linked to faulty genomic imprinting.

Finally, we end with a section on parenting, which includes a Q&A on the evolutionary lessons of motherhood, and why cooperative parenting and community-based child-rearing is not only better for kids, but essential to their healthy development.

Take control and retrain your brain to achieve a happier, healthier state of mind. In this audiobook, we examine aspects of daily life that affect mood such as perception, social support, and time management and offer approaches shown to boost contentment, including reframing negative events, increasing resilience through self-compassion, and practicing mindfulness.

Science history is chock full of world-changing innovations that initially faced skepticism and ridicule for being too unconventional: light bulbs, cars, and home computers are just a few examples. In this audiobook, we take a look at the latest out-of-the-box ideas to tackle today’s biggest challenges, including so-called sponge cities designed to combat flooding, technology that mimics photosynthesis to produce fuel, modifying bacteria’s genetic circuits to treat genetic diseases, and much more.

The Olympics are the world’s most prestigious stage for athletic competition. Fans both casual and hardcore tune-in religiously every few years to watch as men and women push themselves to the limits of human performance. But what makes a champion? Is it genetics? Hours of training? A psychological advantage? Of all the athletes who dedicate their lives–and bodies–to achieving that perfect moment of triumph, why will one person or team win out over another?

Science has some compelling answers, and in this audiobook, Winning in the Olympics, Scientific American explores this topic from various angles. Beginning with section one, we look inside the mind of an elite athlete and tackle questions of how to face a rivalry or maintain a positive attitude in the face of defeat. Other sections discuss the sticky issues surrounding genetic advantages and physical prowess, drugs and doping, injury and recovery, and finally the latest scientific advice for the rest of us mere mortals to be fit and healthy. You’ll find both inspiration and answers in this indispensable audiobook from the editors of Scientific American, the leading authority on science, technology, and innovation.

“Cosmos” comes from a Greek word for an orderly and systematic universe. In this book, we present the most riveting discoveries and mind-bending ideas about our cosmic home, from what we know of the origins of the universe and the cartography of space to the most bizarre phenomena and the search for life. Discussions include the possibility that the big bang was the consequence of a black hole in a fourth spatial dimension, that cosmic ripples created infinite universes, that entangled black holes could act as wormhole-like passageways through space, and much more.