Sleep and Memory – We spend about one third of our lives sleeping. Why? Scientists don't know for sure, but evidence is building that sleep plays a crucial role in strengthening memories and facilitating learning, not just in humans, but in all animals. Many scientists are convinced that learning and higher-level decision-making rely heavily on the unique experience sleep provides – and they worry about the state of our sleep-deprived culture.  

 

T-Rex – Mary Schweitzer, who entered the field of paleontology as a middle-aged housewife, has questioned the science every step of the way. As a graduate student, she found what looked like red blood cells in a dinosaur bone, except that every paleontologist knew that was impossible and promptly attacked her work. Last March, Schweitzer announced the discovery of soft, spongy tissue from a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex and is about to show that what science thinks is impossible sometimes turns out to be quite possible.  

 

Kryptos – A strange sculpture resides on the CIA campus, in an area that only CIA agents are allowed to roam. Code-breakers have been obsessed with cracking the complex, alphanumeric code incorporated in the monument. The parts already decoded are mystifying: an allusion to the discovery of King Tut's tomb; a poem; and a reference to something buried on CIA grounds. It is said that only the director of the CIA and the artist himself know the meaning of Kryptos. Which code-breaker will be the first to share this knowledge?