Metaphors like the Great Chain of Being can lead people to misunderstand evolution and humanity’s place in the web of life.
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A gigantic bacterium evolved differently than fundamental models of biology would have predicted. Simply put, these bacteria shouldn't exist.
Livestock now outweighs wild mammals and birds ten-fold.
Bathybius haeckelii was briefly thought to be the link between inorganic matter and organic life.
There might be a hard limit to our knowledge of the Universe.
Observations of an enormous cosmic structure, dubbed the "Big Ring," seem to violate the Copernican principle.
Evolution repeatedly hit upon this solution simply because it works.
Like sneaking veggies into dessert, these board games teach STEM, strategy, and executive functions through the joys of play.
Human beings are descendants of these early tetrapods – at least those who made a new life on land.
Known as the Great Oxygenation Event, Earth froze over as oxygen accumulated in our atmosphere, nearly driving all life extinct.
Public mass shooters almost always have worldviews shaped by the "3 Rs": rage, resentment, and revenge.
Researchers are finding signs of multiple phases of sleep all over the animal kingdom. The ‘active’ sleep phases look very much like REM.
There will always be "wolf-criers" whose claims wither under scrutiny. But aliens are certainly out there, if science dares to find them.
The laws of physics don't prefer matter over antimatter. So how can we be certain that distant stars & galaxies aren't made of antimatter?
The world is facing many crises, and we should look to natural interdependence and ancient wisdom as we explore science for solutions.
As the world warms, trees in forests such as those in Minnesota will no longer be adapted to their local climates. That’s where assisted migration comes in.
According to Peter Ward's "Medea hypothesis," photosynthesizing organisms regularly doom most life on Earth by over-consuming carbon dioxide.
Probably not. Even though we're still investigating the origin of life, the evidence suggests that cells came much later.
Its apples taste bad, but institutions all over the world want a descendant or clone of the tree, anyway.
To be successful at bonsai cultivation, you must acquire the perseverance and unconditional kindness normally reserved for devout monks.
The Vertebrate Genomes Project may spell good news for the kakapo and the vaquita.
Financial expert Paula Pant explains how you can afford anything, but not everything.
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Mammals have a history stretching back 325 million years. To study that ancient history is to know our own origins.
We don't know what causes Miyake events, but these great surges of energy can help us understand the past — while posing a threat to our future.
Although mammals may be the dominant form of life today, we're relative newcomers on planet Earth. Here's our place in natural history.
Ignoring the legacy of William Shakespeare is difficult for any writer, let alone one as quintessentially English as "Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien.
"I grew up in New Jersey in the 1970s and that experience gave me everything I needed to become a skeptic."
When you do something with all your heart and mind, you do it with "meraki." When we lack this feeling, it can lead to burnout.