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Evolution

Beehive ginger

Flower Power, Redefined

In a new book, Andrew Zuckerman embraces minimalism, capturing 150 colorful blooms on white backdrops

A new study shows that microscopic barbs allow porcupine quills to slice into flesh easily and stay there stubbornly.

Could Porcupine Quills Help Us Design the Next Hypodermic Needle?

Microscopic barbs allow porcupine quills to slice into flesh easily and stay there stubbornly—qualities that could prove useful in medical applications

The enlightened truth of the role of fire in human evolution.

Fire Good. Make Human Inspiration Happen.

New evidence suggests that fire may have influenced the evolution of the human mind

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Why Do We Hiccup? And Other Scientific Mysteries—Seen Through the Eyes of Artists

In a new book, 75 artists illustrate questions scientists haven’t fully answered yet

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Scientists Say Chimps and Orangutans Have Mid-Life Crises

A new study indicates that, like humans, these great apes go through a nadir of happiness in middle age

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Video: This 750-Leg Millipede is the Leggiest Creature in the World

Illacme plenipes, an extremely rare species endemic to just a few wooded areas in Northern California, is fully described for the first time

Delphinium pergrinum

Amazing Close-Ups of Seeds

A scientist-artist duo creates stunning images, taken through a scanning electron microscope, of seeds in the Millennium Seed Bank

Crocodylians are the last living representatives of the crocodylomorpha, an even bigger group that originated over 205 million years ago.

The Top 10 Greatest Survivors of Evolution

Travel back millions of years in your time machine and you’d find some of these species thriving and looking much as they do today

According to the hypothesis, grandmothers can help collect food and feed children before they are able to feed themselves, enabling mothers to have more children.

New Evidence That Grandmothers Were Crucial for Human Evolution

A computer simulation supports the idea that grandmothers helped our species evolve social skills and longer lives

A new study debunks the idea that friendships are influenced by shared genes.

Cracking the Code of the Human Genome

Do We Really Pick Our Friends Based On Genetic Similarities?

A new study debunks the idea that friendships are influenced by shared genes

New research indicates that the influenza virus can jump from humans to pet animals, raising the possibility of dangerous mutations.

Can You Give the Flu To Your Dog or Cat?

New research indicates that the influenza virus can jump from humans to pet animals, raising the possibility of dangerous mutations

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VIDEO: Watch This Carnivorous Plant Fling an Insect Into Its Mouth

A small plant native to Australia features two sets of touch-sensitive tentacles to catapult insects towards its digestive concavity and then draw them in deeper

A nearly-microscopic animal known as the tardigrade, above, is capable of surviving in a dry, lifeless state for over a decade.

How Does the Tiny Waterbear Survive in Outer Space?

A special adaptation allows the tiny animal known as the tardigrade to curl up into a dry, lifeless ball and survive for decades

King penguins are the second largest species of penguin

King Penguins Stressed Out By Scientists And Tourists

The king penguins appear to be habituated to the presence of humans, but a new study finds that even limited human contact may be negatively affecting them

According to one evolutionary biologist, the modern family might look very different had some scrawny male hominids not found a clever workaround to having to physically compete against strong alpha males for mates.

Nerd Love and Why It’s Better For Everyone

In a new study, evolutionary biologist Sergey Gavrilets makes a fascinating claim for how monogamy took root several million years ago

In a recent experiment, researchers used directed evolution to create enzymes that make silicon dioxide, used in semiconductors and computer chips.

Can Evolution Make the Next Generation of Computer Chips?

In a recent experiment, genetic mutation and artificial selection were harnessed to make semiconductors

Cave art evolved in Europe 40,000 years ago. Archaeologists reasoned the art was a sign that humans could use symbols to represent their world and themselves.

When Did the Human Mind Evolve to What It is Today?

Archaeologists are finding signs of surprisingly sophisticated behavior in the ancient fossil record

A new study uses high-speed videography to examine how mosquitoes survive the impact of raindrops.

How Do Mosquitoes Fly in the Rain?

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

Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel's expertise in the realm of neuroscience is unsurpassed.

Austria

The Art and Science of Embarrassing Art

Neuroscientist and Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel explores the flourishing of culture in Vienna

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