How do we know chilli is hot and mint cool?
Rubbed on the skin, chilli peppers feel hot and mint leaves cool. Why? The answers might surprise you
Curvology by David Bainbridge review – the female body, dissected and confused
A study that sets out to identify the factors that influence eating disorders, body image and clothing choices collapses in a welter of contradictions
Lesser spotted: Melanie’s Marvelous Measles wiped out online
An anti-vaccination book for children has received more than 800 one-star reviews on Amazon
Tips from widows – a guide to getting through the grief
Jan Robinson collected the advice from a network of widows after her husband died suddenly. The result is a funny, comforting and therapeutic handbook for bereavement
Doctors Dissected review – an eloquent case for consistent GP care
Britain’s GPs face the questions under Jane Haynes and Martin Scurr’s wonderfully humane examination, writes Kate Kellaway
The Wellness Syndrome by Carl Cederström & André Spicer – exploitation with a smiley face
People who fail to look after their bodies are now demonised as lazy, feeble or weak-willed, writes Steven Poole
The Three Things That Will Change Your Destiny Today! by Paul McKenna – digested read
John Crace resolves to follow McKenna’s instructions for a happier life, based on the latest neuro-scientific findings in the Journal of Applied Wishful Thinking
The Offering by Grace McCleen – a vivid insight into mental illness
A psychiatric patient rebels against the men who play God – with moving results. By John Burnside
Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole review – fascinating tales about the brain
Neurologist Allan Ropper’s journeys into the brain illuminate the number of strange ways it can go wrong, says Andrew Anthony
Why Grow Up? by Susan Neiman, and Juvenescence by Robert Pogue Harrison – review
We worship youth – and at the same time respond to idealism with the injunction: ‘Grow up!’ What do we really want?. By Josh Cohen
The best psychology books of 2014
From moving accounts of how we deal with dying and suffering to two brilliant takes on Freud. By Lisa Appignanesi
Being Mortal review – a surgeon’s view of how we should end our days
Doctor and New Yorker writer Atul Gawande argues that we should focus less on prolonging life and more on making it meaningful, writes Geraldine Bedell
In Your Prime: Older, Wiser, Happier by India Knight review – sharp, slanted and bracingly unbothered
All about me – yes, but these tips on ageing are also full of wit and style, writes Kathryn Hughes
In Your Prime review – India Knight tackles ageing with wit
The 48-year-old author’s guide to the joys and challenges of middle age is like a funny, informative conversation, writes Kate Kellaway
Atul Gawande: ‘If I haven’t succeeded in making you itchy, disgusted or cry I haven’t done my job’
The books interview: The surgeon-author talks to Sukhdev Sandhu about the limits of medicine, our view of death, and battles over taste with the editor of the New Yorker