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Biology
Cognitive flexibility, opportunistic survival, and social cooperation have allowed rats to thrive in conditions that wipe out other species.
Speculative evolution explores the strange paths natural selection might have taken — and what that means for humans.
Technology, shifting rules, and human ambition push athletes beyond biology’s perceived limits.
The “dystopian” biotech imagined in these novels is now changing real lives for the better.
A big open question in 21st-century science is how life began here on Earth. The metabolism-first scenario just might be the best one.
The whole isn't greater than the sum of its parts; that's a flaw in our thinking. Non-reductionism requires magic, not merely science.
Our Earthbound definitions of life could leave us blind to the Universe’s strangest forms.
What happens when scientists "write what they know"? Some amazing science fiction stories.
“We can build AI scientists that are better than we are… these systems can be superhuman,” says the FutureHouse co-founder.
Could studying the Oriental hornet lead to a treatment for people with alcohol use disorder?
Whether your hair is straight, wavy, curly, or kinky isn't just genetic in nature. It depends on the physics of your hair's very atoms.
So far, Earth is the only planet that we're certain possesses active life processes. Here's what we shouldn't assume about life elsewhere.
Cats twist and snakes slide, exploiting and negotiating physical laws. Scientists are figuring out how.
A long view of biological survival might point us to new possibilities for finding life elsewhere in the Universe.
An excerpt from renowned neuropsychologist Nicholas Humphrey’s book “Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness.”
CRISPR study helps answer a question that has long puzzled scientists.
Here's the case for why science can't keep ignoring human experience.
We don’t yet know if these strange “obelisks” are helpful or harmful.
The answer is set to change in the year 2113, a recent estimate suggests.
The pattern 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc., is the Fibonacci sequence. It shows up all over nature. But what's the full explanation behind it?
Earth wasn't created until more than 9 billion years after the Big Bang. In some lucky places, life could have arisen almost right away.
Stem cells from a fetus can live within the mother for decades — and help her heal.
A new study provides the first proof-of-principle that genetic material transferred from one species to another can increase both longevity and healthspan in the recipient animal.
Inside the “out there” quest for a drug that would help doctors save lives before it’s too late.
The best answer we have is, "Life is matter with intentionality."
Looking at our planet with post-Copernican eyes has the power to change how we relate to it and each other.
Researchers estimate there may be as many as ten million trillion trillion phages on Earth — that's 10 with 30 zeros after it.
All biological systems are wildly disordered. Yet somehow, that disorder enables plant photosynthesis to be nearly 100% efficient.
Numerous videos online show that squid undergo a dramatic color-changing effect after being stunned or killed.