Awaking From a Coma: What Did the Doctors Miss?

The case of a Belgian patient who was discovered to be nearly fully conscious after 23 years in a coma raises numerous tricky questions that doctors are still trying to answer

• Top 10 Comas
• Health Care Around the World

Can Dopamine Make Your Future Look Brighter?

Reseachers have found that regulating the chemical can affect people's decisions on what will make them happy

China's Pledge on Carbon Emissions: Is It Enough?

Beijing's decision to bring targets on carbon emissions reductions to Copenhagen is hopeful, but it is important to understand what exactly Beijing is promising — and what it's not

Is Gene Therapy Finally Ready for Prime Time?

After years of complications and high-profile setbacks, a series of small but intriguing advances has suggested that gene therapy may hold real future potential for treatment

• Genetic Tests For Newborns Now Widespread

East Antarctica, Long Stable, Is Now Losing Ice

A new study suggests that the East Antarctic ice sheet, which holds about five times as much ice as West Antarctica and Greenland combined, is in decline

• Heroes of the Environment 2009
• 10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now

Wellness

Medical Students Don't Always Report Needle Injuries

In the course of their training, many medical students accidentally stick themselves with needles, yet too often fail to report the incidents, according to new research.

Climate Change Conference

TIME looks at what's on the agenda for the talks in Copenhagen that begin on Dec. 2