Iain Couzin
Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University
Iain Couzin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University, where he manages the Couzin Lab. His research focuses on collective behavior and self-organized pattern formation in a variety of biological systems, including fish schools, bird flocks, insect swarms, human crowds, and cellular networks.
Why do some societies seem more conformist than others? And how can all societies avoid the kind of foolish conformity that leads to financial bubbles and panics?
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5 min
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Locusts weren’t just our ancestors’ problem; they still impact the livelihood of 1 in 10 human beings. The discovery that their “swarms” are actually cannibalistic melees may offer a solution.
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4 min
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Unlike many species, humans have had to adapt to living in large crowds. Yet in many ways, our crowds are as predictable as animals’.
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2 min
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How the awesome computational power of video game cards has transformed the study of evolution.
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2 min
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Cutting-edge research that suggests small and large-scale biological collectives behave similarly promises to deepen our understanding of cancer.
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2 min
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From the formerly migratory North American squirrel to the much-misunderstood lemming, biologist Iain Couzin explains the power of animal collectives.
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4 min
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Animal flocks, schools, and swarms perform extraordinary feats of collective behavior. How do they do it, and how does it help them?
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5 min
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The expert on animal collectives reveals whether he considers himself an ordinary member of the human crowd—or, like his favorite band, a maverick.
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2 min
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A conversation with the Princeton University biologist.
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24 min
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