Research Magazine

The United States is a "litigation-happy" society, with citizens just waiting for the opportunity to sue. This belief is widely accepted and widely proclaimed–but is it true? Not really. --by Diane Boudreau

People narrate their lives through stories, especially as they age. Kevin McHugh has found that the cinema offers a compelling laboratory for examining this process. --by Melissa Olson-Petrie

Cuatro Cienegas, in Mexico's Chihuahuan desert, might hold the key to secrets about microbial evolution, the Cambrian Explosion, speciation, extraterrestrial life, and just about everything else. That key is phosphorus. --by Margaret Coulombe

It looks like an ant. It moves like an ant. It even smells like an ant. It's an ant--right? Or maybe it's a cleverly disguised spider. --by Margaret Coulombe

Laura Fulginiti's students call her "The Bone Doctor." The forensic anthropologist teaches ASU students how to get information out of bones, and shows them the reality of life in a career glamorized by shows like CSI and Bones. --by Jeff Crane

Youngtown, Ariz., used to be an age-restricted retirement community, but not anymore. Kevin McHugh calls the change the "unraveling of an idea." --by Melissa Olson-Petrie

Through the Earthscope program, scientists are installing hundreds of seismometers across the U.S. to record earthquakes from around the world and to help them understand what lies beneath the Earth's surface. --by Diane Boudreau

Inner core. Outer core. Mantle. Crust. Most of us learned the layers of planet Earth in elementary school. But how do geologists really know what kind of stuff makes up these layers that lie so deep below? --by Diane Boudreau

Say goodbye to invasive electrodes--scientists may be able to use ultrasound to remotely stimulate brain cells. --by Margaret Coulombe

The streetscape outside Terminal 2 at Sky Harbor Airport was hot, ugly, and unfriendly to wheelchairs. ASU architects were tasked with the job of making the space human- and Earth-friendly. Their design had to combine function with safety, comfort and elegance--for a budget of just $1 million. --by Adelheid Fischer