Foreword by Tim Folger

Introduction by Dan Ariely

Part One: Bacteria/Microorganisms

BRENDAN BUHLER. The Teeming Metropolis of You
from California Magazine

VIRGINIA HUGHES. Our Body the Ecosystem
from Popular Science

JEROME GROOPMAN. The Peanut Puzzle
from The New Yorker

Part Two: Animals

CARL ZIMMER. The Long, Curious, Extravagant Evolution of Feathers
from National Geographic

THOMAS HAYDEN. How to Hatch a Dinosaur
from Wired

MICHAEL BEHAR. Faster. Higher. Squeakier
from Outside

BIJAL P. TRIVEDI. The Wipeout Gene
from Scientific American

SY MONTGOMERY. Deep Intellect
from Orion

MARK W. MOFFETT. Ants & the Art of War
from Scientific American

Part Three: Humans (the Good)

DEBORAH BLUM. The Scent of Your Thoughts
from Scientific American

ELIZABETH KOLBERT. Sleeping with the Enemy
from The New Yorker

MICHAEL ROBERTS. The Touchy-Feely (but Totally Scientific!) Methods of Wallace J. Nichols
from Outside

Part Four: Humans (the Bad)

THOMAS GOETZ. The Feedback Loop
from Wired

JASON DALEY. What You Don’t Know Can Kill You
from Discover

DAVID DOBBS. Beautiful Brains
from National Geographic

DAVID EAGLEMAN. The Brain on Trial
from The Atlantic

Part Five: Society and Environment

JOHN SEABROOK. Crush Point
from The New Yorker

DAVID KIRBY. Ill Wind
from Discover

ROBERT KUNZIG. The City Solution
from National Geographic

Part Six: Technology

MICHAEL SPECTER. Test-tube Burgers
from The New Yorker

MARK MCCLUSKY. Mad Science
from Wired

RIVKA GALCHEN. Dream Machine
from The New Yorker

JOSHUA DAVIS. The Crypto-Currency
from The New Yorker

BRIAN CHRISTIAN. Mind vs. Machine
from The Atlantic

Contributors’ Notes

Other Notable Science and Nature Writing of 2011