The Sciences
How Bar-Headed Geese Scale the Himalayas
Researchers unravel some long-standing mysteries of bar-headed geese, the world's highest-flying birds
Evolutionary Biology1968 articles archived since 1845
Space & Physics
The Smallest "Astronauts" Set for Launch November 8
Did space rocks seed Earth with life? To test that idea, a Russian probe is about to see whether microbes can survive a round-trip to Mars
The Sciences
Birds Show Price Humans Pay for Good Clotting
Birds have different clotting proteins than humans, which explains our better clotting in trauma, but their avoidance of certain cardiovascular problems. Karen Hopkin reports
Evolution
Why Pioneers Breed Like Rabbits
Families that colonized the Canadian frontier contributed more genetic material to the modern population than folks who stayed home, says a new study
Biology
Lions and Tigers Bear Vocal Cords for Roars
Most animal vocal cords are triangular, but the uniquely stretchable square cords of the big cats let them produce their amazingly loud roars. Rose Eveleth reports
Evolution
How Woolly Mammoths Lost the Extinction Lottery
Fossils, climate records and DNA reveal unpredictability of ice-age die-offs.
Biology
The Sweet Smell of Chocolate: Sweat, Cabbage and Beef
The new discipline of "sensomics" is helping to find ways to make chocolate even tastier
The Sciences
Zombie Insects: A Q&A about a Sinister Virus
A bug expert discusses a sinister virus that causes gypsy moth caterpillars to self-destruct
Evolution
Meet Your Newest Ancestor
A fossil of a shrewlike creature pushes back by 35 million years the day when mammals first nourished their young in the womb
The Sciences
Recommended: The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott
Books and recommendations from Scientific American
The Sciences
Robins Found Guilty in West Nile Virus Spread
A study of the spread of West Nile virus across North America since its introduction in 1999 implicates robins as a key disease vector. Sophie Bushwick
The Sciences
The Wildlife of Your Home Project
Join N.C. State's study of the microorganisms living on and around us
The Sciences
The Wipeout Gene
A new breed of genetically modified mosquitoes carries a gene that cripples its own offspring. They could crush native mosquito populations and block the spread of disease. And they are already in the air—though that's been a secret...
The Sciences
Pathogen Genomics Has Become Dirt Cheap
Microbiologist Paul Keim at the ScienceWriters2011 conference in Flagstaff on October 16 explained that sequencing a pathogen's genome has dropped in 10 years from $500,000 to as low as $10...
Biology
Cyclops Shark Joins Ranks of Cryptic Creatures
Researchers report that the shark's single eye is made of functional optical tissue, so it's not a fake
Biology
Animal Production Practices Create Antibiotic Resistance
Microbiologist Lance Price at the ScienceWriters2011 conference in Flagstaff on October 16 explained that modern animal production methods are virtually designed to create antibiotic resistant bacteria...
Evolution
Tool Found in Mastodon Fossil Supports Role of Human Hunters in Megafauna Extinction
A bone tool embedded in a mastodon rib suggests humans were hunting big game earlier than thought.
Evolution
Longevity Shown for First Time to Be Inherited via a Non-DNA Mechanism
Experiments with worms show that altering an enzyme can not only lengthen their life spans, but that the longevity effect can be carried across several generations
Biology
Cold Cases: Scientists use a variety of tools to help them identify human remains [Video and Slide Show]
Forensic anthropologists refer to animal skeletons and to new 3D software to help identify victims.
Environment
A Scientific Argument for Intervening in Nature
The science behind moving species under threat from climate change
