Meet the Ecologist Who Wants You to Unleash the Wild on Your Backyard

Fed up with invasive species and sterile landscapes, Douglas Tallamy urges Americans to go native and go natural

Albert and Elsa Einstein in Japan

When Albert Einstein Visited Japan

As he traveled through Asia, including a trip to Palestine, the brilliant scientist discovered much he didn’t understand

The genetically modified Oncomouse has played a big role in the study and treatment of cancer.

The First Patented Animal Is Still Leading the Way on Cancer Research

Oncomouse was a genetically engineered animal designed to help scientists learn more about tumors

Environmental cues mosquitoes to swarm inside a lab.

Kill All the Mosquitoes?!

New gene-editing technology gives scientists the ability to wipe out the carriers of malaria and the Zika virus. But should they use it?

An 1877 mousetrap called “The Delusion.” Directions read “Put as large a piece of cheese you can crowd into the box…”

The Unceasing American Quest to Build a Better Mousetrap

There has always been some truth to the apocryphal Emerson quote

Smile, Frown, Grimace and Grin — Your Facial Expression Is the Next Frontier in Big Data

Engineer Rana el Kaliouby is set to change the way we interact with our devices—and each other

Scaled back so no two books share a page, the library still has 10 to the power of 4,677 books.

This Digital Library Contains Every Phrase That Could Ever Be Uttered

Inspired by an essay by Jorge Luis Borges, computer programmer Jonathan Basile has created a "Library" of Babel

Why Brain-to-Brain Communication Is No Longer Unthinkable

Exploring uncharted territory, neuroscientists are making strides with human subjects who can "talk" directly by using their minds

Human cortical neurons in the brain.

The Quest to Upload Your Mind Into the Digital Space

The idea is about as science fiction as it gets. But surprising progress in neuroscience has some entrepreneurs ready to press "send"

Hargrove greets Takara at SeaWorld of Texas in 2012.

Why Killer Whales Belong in the Ocean, Not SeaWorld

A former orca trainer makes the case against the theme park

Women, she said, “get more glory”—but “more notoriety when they crash.”

Will the Search for Amelia Earhart Ever End?

More than eight decades after she disappeared in the South Pacific, the aviator continues to spark intense passion—and controversy

Why the Leatherback Turtle Has a Skylight in its Head

How do animals with poor vision see in dark locales?

Why Do Humans Have Thumbs?

There’s a never-ending stream of theories about Homo sapiens’ most important digit

The Amazing Results When You Give a Prison Inmate a Liberal Arts Education

Prison reform activist Max Kenner champions the transformative power of a college degree for inmates nationwide

The History of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, 50 Years After Its Construction

Built in 1964, the span still stands as Americas’ largest suspension bridge

A dense flock of starlings in the sky above Rome.

How Just One Bird Can Urge an Entire Flock to Change Directions

The equations that describe these movements are equivalent to those that govern waves

Tiktaalik roseae had fish-like fins, a flattened skull (similar to a crocodile), and is thought to have lived in shallow water, using its fins to prop itself up.

Did the Evolution of Animal Intelligence Begin With Tiktaalik?

How one marvelously preserved fossil sheds light on how the vertebrate invasion of land took place

Phoenix glows even after 10 p.m. one April night in this image made with a camera sensitive to infrared light, which is generated by heat and invisible to the naked eye. Researchers call the city an “urban heat island.”

The Reality of a Hotter World is Already Here

As global warming makes sizzling temperatures more common, will human beings be able to keep their cool? New research suggests not

Going the distance: Evolution mavens in the Quantock Hills of England walked for some 3.5 billion years.

Take a Hike on Britain’s Ancestor’s Trail and Travel Back 10,000 Years

On a wild hike inspired by famed evolutionist Richard Dawkins, every step promises a strange encounter with the origins of species

At What Moment Do You Finally Become Yourself?

New psychological research considers whether you are ever really comfortable with your own taste

Page 1 of 2