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it is precisely because science is so powerful that we need the humanities now more than ever. In your science, mathematics and engineering classes, you're given facts, answers, knowledge, truth. Your professors say, "This is how things are." They give you certainty. The humanities, at least the way I teach them, give you uncertainty, doubt and skepticism. The humanities are subversive. They undermine the claims of all authorities, whether political, religious or scientific. This skepticism is especially important when it comes to claims about humanity, about what we are, where we came from, and even what we can be and should be. Science has replaced religion as our main source of answers to these questions. Science has told us a lot about ourselves, and we're learning more every day. But the humanities remind us that we have an enormous capacity for deluding ourselves. They also tell us that every single human is unique, different than every other human, and each of us keeps changing in unpredictable ways. The societies we live in also keep changing-in part because of science and technology! So in certain important ways, humans resist the kind of explanations that science gives us.

"Neuroscientists believe that we have distinct neural systems for processing different types of time, for example, to maintain a circadian rhythm, to control the timing of fine body movements, and for conscious awareness of time passage. A new study in the Journal of Neuroscience reveals that the brain may in fact have a second method for sensing elapsed time [that] not only works in parallel with our primary neural clock, but may even compete with it. 'Past research suggested that a brain region called the striatum lies at the heart of our central inner clock, working with the brain's surrounding cortex to integrate temporal information. But conscious awareness of elapsed time demands that the brain not only measure time, but also keep a running memory of how much time has passed. The hippocampus is critically important for remembering past experiences [and ]might also play a role in remembering the passage of time. Studies recording electrical brain activity in animals have shown that neurons in the hippocampus signal particular moments in time. But the hippocampus isn't always necessary for tracking time. Remarkably, people with damage to their hippocampus can accurately remember the passage of short time periods, but are impaired at remembering long time intervals.' Striatum - highly accurate (to secs) Hippocampus - about 5-min intervals

Striatum - highly accurate (to secs) Hippocampus - about 5-min intervals

A.D. 375: Monks living in the desert in Egypt identify eight thoughts that weaken their devotion. Talking Back, a book by Roman monk Evagrius of Pontus, instructs monks on how to fight gluttony, lust, love of money, sadness, anger, listlessness, vainglory and pride. This article was originally published with the title History of Sin.

A.D. 375: Monks living in the desert in Egypt identify eight thoughts that weaken their devotion. Talking Back, a book by Roman monk Evagrius of Pontus, instructs monks on how to fight gluttony, lust, love of money, sadness, anger, listlessness, vainglory and pride. This article was originally published with the title History of Sin.

Love and lust have distinct but interlocking brain signatures: People often think of love and lust as polar opposites-love exalted as the binder of two souls, lust the transient devil on our shoulders, disturbing and disruptive. Now neuroscientists are discovering that lust and love work together more closely than we think. Indeed, the strongest relationships have elements of both. (rest of article not provided free) In Brief Brain imaging is revealing the distinct but interlocking patterns of neural activation associated with lust and love. Lust is most likely grounded in the concrete sensations of the given moment. Love is a more abstract gloss on our experiences with another person. Imaging is also helping to decipher the disorders of lust, including anorgasmia. Dozens of discrete regions across the brain fire at the point of orgasm-suggesting many different ways to develop anorgasmia.

Scientist Matthew Lieberman uncovers the neuroscience of human connections - and the broad implications for how we live our lives. "When we experience social pain - a snub, a cruel word - the feeling is as real as physical pain. That finding is among those in a new book, SOCIAL."

Also: yogurt bacteria may benefit brain & mood

Also: yogurt bacteria may benefit brain & mood