Evolution as Lottery Manipulator
June 22, 2012
Lady Luck is often clearly the stated referee of evolutionary events, but the vast number of times evolution wins suggests design afoot.
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Why Your Inner Ear Has a Spiral Shape
June 21, 2012
The cochlea in the inner ear, where sound is transmitted to the brain, has a spiral shape resembling a snail shell. It's not just to save space, researchers have found.
Pitcher Plant Inspires R&D Award
June 21, 2012
The R&D 100 award, previously given for inventions like the fax machine and automated teller machine, has been given this year for a biologically-inspired design that could revolutionize society in many ways.
Belief in Hell Lowers Crime
June 20, 2012
A psychologist has determined that belief in hell reduces the crime rate. A finding like this might belong in the "Well, duh" category, but more interesting is the interpretation.
Mating Turtles Fossilized Instantly
June 19, 2012
Evolutionary paleontologists have a mystery on their hands: how did turtles in the act of mating become fossilized?
Beethoven Rolls Under Darwin
June 18, 2012
Beethoven may indeed be rolling in his grave, but not for the reasons some Darwin-loving reporters think.
Scientific Method Evolves
June 17, 2012
The so-called "scientific method" (if there is such a thing) has undergone dramatic changes throughout history, but there is one constant that can be relied upon: the myth of scientism.
Titan Lake News: Throwing Caution to the Wind
June 15, 2012
Planetary scientists cautiously suggested the possible presence of an equatorial lake on Saturn's moon Titan. You wouldn't know that from the headlines.
Neanderthal-Heidelberg Distinction Blurs
June 14, 2012
"Heidelberg Man" has been a modern name imposed on certain fossil humans that have been unable to speak for themselves. Now, their bones appear to overlap with Neanderthals. But don't modern humans have Neanderthal DNA? Do the distinctions make any sense?
Animal Olympians Inspire Engineers
June 13, 2012
Here are more stories about animals, plants and cells attracting scientists with their astonishing capabilities, proving that biomimetics is one of the hottest trends in science.
Too Hot to Handle: Io and Enceladus
June 12, 2012
Two moons in the solar system are turning up the heat on beliefs that they could be billions of years old.
South Korea "Creationism" Means War
June 11, 2012
Give just one side of a controversy the press, and you will get a one-sided presentation of the issues. That happened this week in the journal Nature.
Myth Busters: Flubs in Evolutionary Anthropology
June 10, 2012
Evolutionary psychologists and anthropologists have trouble explaining living humans, let alone past ones.
Geology of the Gaps: Dolomite
June 9, 2012
Dolomite, a common rock minerals of the world, suffers from an "explanation gap."
"Darwin Fail" Entries Add Up
June 8, 2012
If nothing makes sense except in the light of evolution, the light sometimes is shining away from Darwin.