New research suggests hominids were building fire by at least one million years ago.

The Earliest Example of Hominid Fire

New research reveals hominids were building fires one million years ago, pushing back the origins of controlled fire by more than half a million years

Were the arms of Tyrannosaurus adapted for catching and inspecting fish? No way.

Paleontologists Sink Aquatic Dinosaur Nonsense

Tales of aquatic dinosaurs have proliferated through the news, providing one more sad example of failed reporting and the parroting of fantastic claims

A new study suggests that a daydreaming is an indicator of a well-equipped brain

The Benefits of Daydreaming

A new study indicates that daydreamers are better at remembering information in the face of distraction

Dinosaurs, such as this Apatosaurus at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, were landlubbers, not aquatic creatures.

Aquatic Dinosaurs? Not So Fast!

A cell biologist says dinosaurs spent their days floating in lakes, but his idea doesn’t hold water

In his new book, Learning From the Octopus, Rafe Sagarin argues that we ought to look to nature for how to better protect ourselves from danger.

How Plants and Animals Can Prepare Us for the Next Big Disaster

Author Rafe Sagarin looks to the natural world for tips on how to plan for national emergencies

The eight bones of the new fossil foot discovered in Ethiopia.

New Hominid Fossil Foot Belonged to Lucy’s Neighbor

A 3.4-million-year-old fossil foot shows that early hominids had more than one way of walking around

Burning the midnight sauropod

Dinosaur Sighting: Our Lady of Sauropods

For an April Fool’s prank, one of our readers created a burning sauropod

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Who Would Live on Wall Street?

In the wake of the financial crisis, New York’s financial district is getting something new: full-time residents

Wilson says our instinct to settle down both ensures our success and dooms us to conflict.

Edward O. Wilson’s New Take on Human Nature

The eminent biologist argues in a controversial new book that our Stone Age emotions are still at war with our high-tech sophistication

The Prehistoric Giants Hall of Fame

What were the largest species of all time? Does the Tyrannosaurus rex make the list?

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A Debate Over The Best Way to Protect the Tiger

Experts battle each other over a $350 million plan to keep the tiger from becoming extinct

Tigers are thriving in and around India’s Nagarhole National Park, with a regional population of 250. “If we do everything right, we can have 500,” says big-cat biologist Ullas Karanth.

The Fight to Save the Tiger

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Dear Science Fiction Writers: Stop Being So Pessimistic!

Neal Stephenson created the Hieroglyph Project to convince sci-fi writers to stop worrying and learn to love the future

Chart Sources: Meadows, D.H., Meadows, D.L., Randers, J. and Behrens III, W.W. (1972)

Looking Back on the Limits of Growth

Forty years after the release of the groundbreaking study, were the concerns about overpopulation and the environment correct?

“Closer Than We Think”, May 11, 1958

Before the Jetsons, Arthur Radebaugh Illustrated the Future

In the 1950s and ‘60s, the newspaper cartoonist dreamed up a madcap American utopia, filled with flying cars and fantastical skyscrapers

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How to Become the Engineers of Our Own Evolution

The “transhumanist” movement says better technology will enable you to replace more and more body parts—even your brain

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Bruce McCall Illustrates the Future That Wasn’t

According to past predictions, we should be living in an era of flying cars and other marvels. But be glad that some advances haven’t happened

The cover illustration of the Book Le Vingtieme Siecle by Albert Robida, depicts futuristic means of transport flying above a city.

The Origins of Futurism

The celebrated science fiction writer and author of Tomorrow Now, explains why you don’t need to be clairvoyant to predict the future

Titanoboa, pictured with a dyrosaur and a turtle, ruled the swampy South American tropics 58 million years ago.

How Titanoboa, the 40-Foot-Long Snake, Was Found

In Colombia, the fossil of a gargantuan snake has stunned scientists, forcing them to rethink the nature of prehistoric life

A selection of a new image of distant galaxies in the COSMOS field. Click to see the whole view.

Picture of the Week: A Deep View of the Universe

A new survey of a slice of the distant reaches of the universe reveals 200,000 galaxies

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