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Evolution

The better to infect you with, my dear...

New Research

For Viruses, the Best Way to Infect Baby Is Through Mama

Some viruses might take it easier on women—to get to their children

Underside of preserved tail section, displaying paler plumage, numerous decay products, and an associated ant.

New Research

This 99-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Tail Trapped in Amber Hints at Feather Evolution

The rare specimen provides new insights into how feathers came to be

Showy traits, like the large antlers of these bull moose, can be detrimental to an animal's health.

New Research

Go Big or Go Generic: How Sexual Selection Is Like Advertising

When it comes to attracting mates, it pays to either go all out—or not try at all

The shipworm, scourge of sailors everywhere, is actually a kind of ghostly saltwater clam.

How a Ship-Sinking Clam Conquered the Ocean

The wood-boring shipworm has bedeviled humans for centuries. What’s its secret?

Erich Fitzgerald and Tim Ziegler with a 3D model of Alfred's skull.

New Research

The Earliest Baleen Whales Literally Sucked

No offense to toothy whale ancestors

Many scientists believe we are standing on the edge of an unprecedented era of extinction.

Age of Humans

Why Should Humans Care if We’re Entering the Sixth Mass Extinction?

In this episode of Generation Anthropocene, learn what a new era of extinction means for diverse species—including our own

The three-spine stickleback usually forages and builds its nest near the lake bottom. But in Enos Lake, it appears to have merged with a related species that spends its time near the surface.

Extinction or Evolution? The Answer Isn’t Always Clear

The same factors that kill off some species cause others to evolve at lightning speed

New Research

Hanging Out With Friends Makes Chimps Less Stressed

We all need somebody to lean on

A common swift in flight.

New Research

Swifts Spend Nearly a Year on the Wing

The tiny birds spend about ten months of the year in the air almost without a break

The original Frankenstein didn't create a bride for his creature–and with good scientific reason.

New Research

Scientists Find That Frankenstein’s Monster Could Have Wiped Out Humanity

Thank goodness his creator never finished his proposed girlfriend

New Research

Cave Paintings Help Unravel the Mystery of the ‘Higgs Bison’

The hybrid bovine has been a missing link in the ancestral tree of modern European bison

New Research

Doggonit: Genes That Make Fido Human Friendly Also Linked to Mental Disorders

Dogs’ diversity could make them vulnerable to disorders similar to OCD and autism

Some hybrid thrushes varied their routes, suggesting that different genes may influence fall and spring migration.

Migratory Birds May Come Programmed With a Genetic Google Maps

These hybrid avians inherit some mixed directional messages

Wild horses in Death Valley, California.

Trending Today

A Brief History of America’s Complicated Relationship With Wild Horses

The iconic symbol of the Wild West has a tangled and controversial story

E. coli quickly becomes antibiotic resistant.

New Research

Watch E.coli Evolve Before Your Eyes

This is how antibiotic resistance happens

The only one who really understands me.

New Research

Dogs Know When You’re Praising Them. That Doesn’t Mean They Understand Human Speech

A dose of caution with the results of an intriguing new study

These glow-in-the-dark roaches have the goods.

I Am Officially in Love With Cockroaches

And after you read this, you will be too

A nesting male with a female in his nest.

New Research

Give it Up, Sneaky Males: These Lady Fish Have You Outwitted

Female ocellated wrasses have developed a surprising trick to control who fathers their offspring

Trending Today

Look Out New Yorkers: Hot Weather Makes Roaches Take to the Skies

Ew ew ew ew ew

Thanks, evolution.

New Research

The Evolutionary Reason Why Women Orgasm

New research suggests the female orgasm is tied to ovulation, not reproduction

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