50% of Australians want to read more – but don’t. So what is stopping us?
New research from Monash University has found that readers and non-readers alike aspire to read more books but struggle with distractions, motivation and even browsing
The Big Idea: how do our brains know what’s real?
From seeing things to hearing voices, there’s a finer line between hallucination and reality than you might suppose
‘She couldn’t walk, she couldn’t talk’: music therapy helped Joni Mitchell recover from a stroke – could it ward off depression and dementia too?
When his friend, the legendary songwriter, had a catastrophic stroke, neuroscientist Daniel Levitin put together a programme of music therapy. Now he’s recommending it for a whole range of conditions
Music As Medicine by Daniel Levitin review – musician, heal thyself
In this fascinating book, the neuroscientist makes a strong case for the therapeutic force of music, describing ways in which it can be a beneficial part of recovery for patients
The big idea: why it’s great to be an only child
The notion that it’s bad to be brought up without siblings should be banished for good
Barry Malzberg obituary
Prolific science fiction writer who conceived alternative lives for figures including Emily Dickinson and Sigmund Freud
The big idea: can what you eat change your mind?
From designer drinks to dodgy leftovers, our brain responds to food in surprising ways
Michael Mosley remembered by Dr Phil Hammond
His former TV colleague recalls an exhilarating advocate for self-help with a zeal for exposing health scandals
It’s quiz time: how well do you remember 2024?
Sports, scandals, music, memes… Take our bumper quiz of all the highs and lows of the year that was
Hubris by Johannes Krause and Thomas Trappe review – learning from the Neanderthals
Why did we succeed when other hominins didn’t, and can lessons from our evolutionary past help rein in our destructive impulses?
Ouch! Solving the riddle of pain
We all know what hurts, but why is it so difficult to describe? Emma Cook meets the neurologists attempting to answer one of medicine’s hardest questions
Newly uncovered sites reveal true power of great Viking army in Britain
Previously unseen artefacts show invading forces included communities of men, women, children, craftworkers and merchants
The best ideas books of 2024
Richard Dawkins’s greatest hits, the diaries of a sociopath and a history of the gut
The big idea: on Remembrance Day for Lost Species, here’s why it matters
A way to personally connect with wildlife is vital when statistics alone can’t convey the scale of the loss
The Guardian view on Nasa’s next frontier: exploring the hidden oceans of Uranus is worth it
Editorial: What lies beneath this ice giant’s surface might be the potential for life – but not as we know it