Biology | Biochemistry
Chapter one
Nature's Codes
Matter | Cosmology
Beyond the Horizon of the Universe
Want to see evidence of other universes? Just look up.
Biology | Medicine
Genomic Loopholes and Other Weapons
Turning bacteria against each other can help fight antibiotic resistance.
Matter | Cosmology
Ingenious: Laura Mersini-Houghton
The universe chaser.
Chapter two
Machine Codes
Numbers | Education
Teaching Me Softly
Machine learning is teaching us the secret to teaching.
Numbers | Literature
Literature by the Numbers
Critical reading gets even better when you use your computer.
Numbers | Psychology
When Hackers Fight
A leet hacker recounts an epic pwning.
Biology | Technology
“Pop, Pop, Pop.” She Heard Her Brain in Action
Brain-computer interfaces are getting very sensitive.
Chapter three
Codes Between People
Culture | Linguistics
The Secret Language of Tennis Champions
How identical twins Mike and Bob Bryan serve science.
Biology | Bioengineering
What’s the Sound of Personhood?
Opening locked minds with music.
Culture | Cryptography
The Artist of the Unbreakable Code
Composer Edward Elgar still has cryptographers playing his tune.
Ideas | Psychology
Secrets That Won’t Rest
A family therapist uncovers the cost of keeping silent.
Culture | Archaeology
The Code of the Conch
How the science of sound explained an ancient Peruvian oracle.
Culture | Fiction
Trading Places
If your daughter was a prisoner of a repressive regime, how far would you go to save her?
Culture | Linguistics
Cracking Avatar’s Language Codes
A fictional language makes the jump to reality.
Chapter four
Body Codes
Numbers | Neurology
Safecracking the Brain
What neuroscience is learning from code-breakers and thieves.
Biology | Genetics
The Science of War
How DNA puts a face on the missing.
Numbers | Fiction
Prime
She had to possess the secret code.
Biology | Genetics
Creating Life As We Don’t Know It
Scientists are changing the rules for how DNA works.
Numbers | Health
For Preventing Disease, Data Are the New Drugs
Is giving up your biological secrets too bitter a pill?
Chapter five
Talking Codes
Culture | Psychology
Cracking the Social Code
New approaches are helping autistic people understand “neurotypicals”—and vice versa.
Culture | Sociology
The Youngest Code-Makers
We learn as kids that knowledge is power—secret knowledge even more so.
Biology | Genetics
The Menu Says “Snapper.” Really?
DNA barcodes could keep restaurants honest.
Biology | Neurology
Can’t Remember Your Password?
Welcome to subconscious encryption, the ultimate private security.
Culture | Technology
Science Gets Down With Miles Davis and Bernini
Analyzing music and sculpture in the digital age.
Related Facts So Romantic
“Reality provides us with facts so romantic that imagination itself could add nothing to them.” —Jules Verne
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