Evolutionary Biology

The soil in Manhattan's Central Park contains microbial life that also exists in deserts, frozen tundra, forests, rainforests and prairies. Steve Mirsky reports

 

An interview with the author of WTF Evolution?, a book and blog on the oddities of nature

Innovation and discovery as chronicled in past issues of Scientific American

Books and recommendations from Scientific American

Is chimpanzee violence a product of nature or nurture? Genes or environment? Two weeks ago Nature published a report, "Lethal aggression in Pan is better explained by adaptive strategies than human impacts," in which 30 primatologists came down on the side of nature.

The eyeless cavefish saves energy by freezing its circadian rhythm

Joshua Lambus is an award winning photographer and videographer based on the Big Island of Hawaii. He specialises in ‘blackwater’ diving, which involves travelling up to 8 kilometres off the shore of Hawaii, and diving into the ocean in the black of night, when thousands upon thousands of deep-sea species head to the surface to [...]

Discovering a new species isn't always as easy as saying “Look, there’s a new species!” In the case of a rare bird recently identified in Brazil, it took about 20 years for scientists to gather enough evidence to classify it as a new species.

Here are some amazing things that me and my friends have been talking about lately. They all concern fascinating discoveries or insights into unusual aspects of tetrapod behaviour.

"Left-handed" electrons have been found to destroy certain organic molecules faster than their mirror versions

Mike meet everyone, everyone meet Mike. No, no, don't wave. He can't see, you're just making this awkward. Also known as Miracle Mike, Mike the Headless Chicken was a plump, five-year-old cockerel when he was unceremoniously beheaded on 10 September 1945.

Robot octopuses can already walk, jet along and even grasp tools. But new advances have these machines swimming faster than ever. And thanks to the addition of soft, fleshy webs, they’re starting to look—and move—much more like the real thing, too.