Lipstick vines in Taiwan look different from their red-flowered relatives. When scientists dug into the family tree, they ...

Rhythm is everywhere. Even if you don’t think you have it, it’s fundamental to humans’ biological systems. Our heartbeat is ...

Humans' exposure to high temperature burn injuries may have played an important role in our evolutionary development, shaping ...

For a long time, evolutionary biologists have thought that the genetic mutations that drive the evolution of genes and proteins are largely neutral: they're neither good nor bad, but just ordinary ...

ANN ARBOR—For a long time, evolutionary biologists have thought that the genetic mutations that drive the evolution of genes and proteins are largely neutral: they're neither good nor bad, but just ...

It’s widely accepted conventional wisdom that when it comes to creative works—TV shows, films, music, books—consumers crave an optimal balance between novelty and familiarity. What we choose to ...

One hundred years ago, the small town of Dayton, Tenn., became the unlikely stage for one of the most sensational trials in American history. A local substitute teacher, John Scopes, was charged with ...

Our brains are powerful processors, capable of interpreting vast amounts of data in real time. However, they are far from perfect. From optical illusions to false memories, we frequently encounter ...

Laurence D. Hurst is the author of The Evolution of Imperfection, published by Princeton University Press. This was enabled by funding from The Humboldt Foundation and the European Research Council.

The origin of reptiles on Earth has been pushed back by an astonishing 40 million years. Fossilized tracks unearthed in Australia provide compelling evidence that reptile-like animals existed far ...

Yet modern biology has revealed that cells are preternaturally sophisticated assemblages — literally automated, miniaturized factories. How could the evidence have been overwhelming but now orthodoxy ...