Evolution

Woman in a gym on an exercise machine

What’s the point of exercise?

The science behind why you’re sweating away on a stationary bike.

What’s the point of exercise?
British primatologist Jane Goodall

Dr. Jane Goodall on her work with chimpanzees, and the new documentary ‘JANE’

Dr. Jane Goodall on her work with chimpanzees, and the new documentary ‘JANE’
A modern human skull (left) and a Neanderthal skull (right) at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Neanderthals went extinct, but many of us still carry around fragments of their DNA

Neanderthals went extinct, but many of us still carry around fragments of their DNA
books in a library

Florida allows any resident to challenge textbooks — and it has some science supporters concerned

Florida allows any resident to challenge textbooks — and it has some science supporters concerned
Pileated woodpecker

What the aye-aye and the woodpecker can tell us about how evolution works

What the aye-aye and the woodpecker can tell us about how evolution works
Anole lizard

A little lizard in Puerto Rico is adapting quickly to big-city life

The crested anole is undergoing some remarkable changes — and fast.

A little lizard in Puerto Rico is adapting quickly to big-city life
Zebrafish

If other animals can regenerate their limbs, why can’t humans?

Modern fish and salamander genes tell us a lot about where our hands come from — and a little about why we can’t regrow them after a fight.

If other animals can regenerate their limbs, why can’t humans?

Museum of God

An amateur paleontologist in Texas doesn’t see any conflict between the fossil record and his religious faith.

Museum of God

The Art Instinct

Is taste in the arts just a social construction, or is it determined by evolution?

The Art Instinct

Darwin’s Life in Verse

Charles Darwin’s great-great-granddaughter Ruth Padel writes poetry inspired by the life and contradictions of her famous ancestor.

Darwin’s Life in Verse

Homo-Thespian

A play about chimpanzees can make actors go bananas. 

Homo-Thespian

Decoding Nature's Most Elaborate Mating Dances

An ornithologist argues that our definition or art is way too narrow. It’s not just a human activity — lots of plants and animals have aesthetic preferences, too.

Decoding Nature's Most Elaborate Mating Dances
Dino snout

Scientists roll back evolution by turning a chick's beak into a 'dino-snout'

Scientists believe today's birds descended from dinosaurs. Paleontologists dig up new fossils every few months that confirm this theory. Now, there's a new piece of evidence from experiments with a chicken embryo.

Scientists roll back evolution by turning a chick's beak into a 'dino-snout'

Decoding Nature’s Most Elaborate Mating Dances

A Yale ornithologist argues that our definition or art is way too narrow. It’s not just a human activity — lots of plants and animals have aesthetic experiences, too.

Decoding Nature’s Most Elaborate Mating Dances
Chimp moss sponge

Chimps can learn behavior from one another, a new study shows

The old line "monkey see, monkey do" isn't entirely accurate: chimps and apes in the wild have rarely been observed passing new behaviors from one to the other. But recently, for the first time, a researcher caught on film a group of chimps doing exactly that.

Chimps can learn behavior from one another, a new study shows