Animals Come Pre-Equipped With Machinery
January 14, 2015
Guidance systems, compasses, switchboards, motors, robotic machines: we're talking about systems inside animals—and you.
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Fish Ancestry Turned On Its Head
January 13, 2015
A so-called "primitive" bony fish with traits of sharks confuses the usual story of fish ancestry.
Humans' Groovy Language Brain
January 12, 2015
More features are discovered that set humans apart from apes.
Theory of Early Oxygenation Undermined
January 9, 2015
Fossils living in and around newly-discovered methane seeps have cast strong doubt on a leading theory of earth's climate history.
Music Is a Human Thing
January 8, 2015
Many animals make sounds; birds and whales can sing; but there's nothing to compare with the human brain's capacity for music.
Is Animal Play Just an Evolutionary Survival Mechanism?
January 6, 2015
Your dog enjoys play, and so do birds, dolphins and many other kinds of animals, but how did "having fun" evolve?
Overqualified Mammals
December 22, 2014
Here are some mammals with capabilities that exceed the requirements of mere survival.
Birds Go Splat on Evolutionary Theories
December 19, 2014
A flock of surprising traits of birds has dropped a load on simplistic notions of evolution.
Mars Methane Is Not Alive
December 16, 2014
Small periodic spikes in methane on Mars are turning the Mars-lifers into spin doctors.
The Silent Underground Network
December 15, 2014
Under your feet in the woods is a vast communication network where information technology keeps the ecosystem functioning.
Bird Evolution Explodes
December 13, 2014
Did birds arrive in a 'big bang' of evolution, or is their explosive appearance yielding a scattered jetsam of Darwinian theories?
Pathogens Don't Exist
December 10, 2014
It takes a partnership to have a disease, say two microbiologists who argue for ditching the word "pathogen."
Monday Morning Design Cheer
December 8, 2014
Start your week with nuggets of good news about all the things inventors are learning from animals, plants, and the human body.
The New Horse Series: Genomes Confuse "Textbook Example of Evolution"
December 3, 2014
Horses, asses and zebras show evidence of gene flow despite extreme chromosome rearrangements.
Mosquitoes Developed a Taste for Human Blood Recently
December 1, 2014
An experiment with disease-carrying mosquitoes in Africa showed a surprising result: they switched to human blood just thousands of years ago.