Evolution

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.

The Art and Science of Embarrassing Art

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

Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist E.O. Wilson appears in his office at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass. Wilson, an author, biologist, and humanist made well-chronicled efforts to team with evangelical Christians to fight global warming.

What Does E.O. Wilson Mean By a "Social Conquest of the Earth"

Carl Zimmer asks the evolutionary biologist about the theories in his high-profile new book

Casanova's spirit is everywhere in the Czech capital city of Prague.

When Casanova Met Mozart

The world's most notorious lover lived in Prague at the same time as the composer, but the mystery remains: did they collaborate on a famous opera?

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Bizarre Bee-havior in the Battle Against the Giant Hornet

To protect their hive from an invading hornet, Asian honeybees gang up and surround it, forming a "hot defensive bee ball"

The endangered pygmy hippopotamus reproduces well in captivity

In Little Hippos, Males Beget Females

A new study in pygmy hippos shows that males can influence the sex ratio of their offspring

Alan Turing’s Prediction About Patterns in Nature Proven True

With nothing but numbers, logic and some basic know-how, the inventor of the Turing Test explained how to make a stripe

The bluetongue skink. Note the blue tongue.

How Animals Prepare for an Alien Invasion

Why can some--but only some--bluetongue skinks eat a toad that is poisonous to eat or even lick?

Top: The ninespine stickleback, Pungitus pungitus, is typical of the saltwater form. Bottom: A freshwater form of stickleback with fewer bony plates and fewer spines.

What Robot Fish Can Tell Us About Parallel Evolution

When housed in an aquarium with a swirling robotic school, what determines whether a fish will join the crowd?

A dragon statue in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Where Did Dragons Come From?

In honor of the Year of the Dragon, we take a look at some potential inspirations for the dragon myth

A good eye will spot the black-marble jawfish next to the mimic octopus's arm

Fish Mimics Fish-Mimicking Octopus

The black-marble jawfish takes advantage of its coloring to blend in with an octopus and stay safe from predators

John Kress, a Smithsonian botanist, suggests Dominica's Morne Trois Pitons National Park for an evolution vacation.

A Smithsonian Botanist Suggests an Evotourism Site

We turned to John Kress, an expert on how plants and birds co-evolved over time, for his pick for an evolution vacation

If spicy fruits are helpful to a chili plant, why aren't all chili peppers hot?

Why Not All Chili Peppers Are Hot

Being spicy helps a chili plant protect its fruit from fungal rot, but it has a downside in dry conditions

The Burgess Shale, a crumbling slope in Canada's Rocky Mountains, has provided our first good look at the rich variety of organisms that once flourished in the region.

Evolution World Tour: Burgess Shale, British Columbia, Canada

Located in the Canadian Rockies, the fossil-rich dig site provides clues to scientists investigating how animal life began

Three-toed horses such as Cormohipparion occidentale were adapted to forests prior to 12 million years ago. As the climate dried, one-toed horses became prevalent.

Evolution World Tour: Ashfall Fossil Beds, Nebraska

Prehistoric rhinoceroses and horses died of volcanic ash inhalation 12 million years ago – their fossils are studied now as an example of natural selection

Heavily forested slopes near Spirit Lake were devastated by the eruption as shown in this photo in 1982.

Evolution World Tour: Mount St. Helens, Washington

Over thirty years after the volcanic eruption, plant and animal life has returned to the disaster site, a veritable living laboratory

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