There’s a great article up on nytimes.com with an analysis of the most-emailed content on the site – i.e., what kinds of articles are readers most likely to share? The conclusion: awe-inspiring articles that cause an emotional response are the most popular, which explains why those from the science section perform exceptionally well on the most-emailed list, says University of Pennsylvania researcher Jonah Berger:

“Emotion in general leads to transmission, and awe is quite a strong emotion,” he said. “If I’ve just read this story that changes the way I understand the world and myself, I want to talk to others about what it means. I want to proselytize and share the feeling of awe. If you read the article and feel the same emotion, it will bring us closer together.”