You are walking down a familiar road when a small stone catches your attention. Without giving it much thought, you give it a gentle kick. It rolls a short distance ahead, and when you catch up, you kick it again. Soon, you are adjusting your steps to reach it at just the right moment, trying …
You probably remember learning that the nucleus is the control centre of a cell, the place where DNA stores the instructions needed to build and maintain a living organism. It is a useful explanation, although it leaves out an unusual detail. Scattered throughout many of your cells are tiny structures called mitochondria, and they carry …
You get up from your chair because you need something from the kitchen. The reason is perfectly clear when you begin walking, and you barely give it another thought. But when you reach the kitchen, you stop and look around. You know you came here for something, although whatever it was seems to have disappeared …
There is probably a photograph of you as a baby somewhere in your family’s collection. Perhaps you are sitting on someone’s lap, staring at the camera with an expression nobody can explain anymore. Your parents might remember when it was taken, what you were doing that day, or how difficult it was to make you …
Try running your fingers lightly along the side of your neck or across the sole of your foot. You will certainly feel the touch, and it might even be a little uncomfortable, but it is unlikely to make you burst into laughter. Now picture someone else lightly touching that very same spot. Suddenly, you might …
You pick up a towel from the clothesline and press it against your cheek. It looks dry, but something about it tells you otherwise. The fabric feels slightly cool against your skin, and when you squeeze it between your fingers, you can tell it hasn’t dried completely. You might even ask someone else to check …
You send a voice message without thinking much about it, then press play to check what you said. The words are yours. The accent is yours. Yet the person speaking seems to have borrowed your sentences and delivered them in a voice that is thinner, sharper or less assured than the one you remember using. …
