Evolutionary Biology1968 articles archived since 1845

Treating Tourette's: Histamine Gene May Be Behind Some Tic Disorders

A genetic mutation causes low histamine levels to be produced

Newly Discovered Microscopic Worm Thrives in Gold Mines a Kilometer Underground

High temperature, low oxygen and permanent darkness are no problem for a previously unknown species of nematode

BeeSpotter

More than 75 percent of the planet's flowering plants depend on pollinators (mostly insects) in order to reproduce. Among the most important pollinators are the 5,000+ species of bees in the family Apidae, a group that includes honey bees and bumble bees...

Whither the Honey Bee?

For the fourth consecutive year, roughly one third of managed honey bees died last winter. David Biello reports

Too Hard for Science? E. O. Wilson--A Vertical Map of Life on Earth

What Is It?

A new spin on silk

So You Want to Live Forever?

Editor's Note: The following blog post first appeared May 19 on the World Science Festival's Web site. Most people look for the key to postponing old age in mega-antioxidant-loaded juices, extreme exercise regimens or expensive skin creams...

100 Years Ago: Science of the Unfit

Innovation and discovery as chronicled in past issues of Scientific American

The Early Days of Eugenics

Our editorial from 1911 praising the new science of eugenics also hints at the darker side of this philosophy

Top 10 Newly Discovered Species Include 6-Foot-Long Lizard and Glowing Mushroom

A glow-in-the-dark mushroom, a lumpy pancake-shaped fish and a spider that weaves 25-meter-wide webs are among the top 10 new species chosen by the International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) at Arizona State University in Tempe...

Crying Women Turn Men Off

Weeping releases a chemical that reduces sexual arousal

Massive Ocean Eddies Stir Up Life around Deep-Sea Vents

New research suggests that surface-generated eddies help distribute heat, chemistry and life at deep-ocean hydrothermal vents

Devils' Advocates: Catching a Slice of Tasmanian Devil Life [Slide Show]

Take a look at the animals that researchers have sighted or captured while in the field to study a contagious cancer that is destroying Tasmanian devil populations

Devils' Advocates: Catching a Slice of Tasmanian Devil Life [Slide Show]

Take a look at the animals that researchers have sighted or captured while in the field to study a contagious cancer that is destroying Tasmanian devil populations

The Data Are In Regarding Satoshi Kanazawa

The Tasmanian Devil's Cancer: Could Contagious Tumors Affect Humans?

A contagious tumor threatens to wipe out the famous Tasmanian devil. Could similarly "catching" cancers arise in humans, too?

Readers Respond to "How to Fix the Obesity Crisis" and Other Articles

Letters to the editor from the February 2011 issue of Scientific American

Mammalian Brain Followed a Scented Evolutionary Trail

Digital scans suggest mammals have their ancestors to thank for their keen sense of smell.

Wisconsin Bat Monitoring Program

As deadly white-nose syndrome moves toward Wisconsin's borders, citizens are called upon to help investigate the threat through the collection of data about these nocturnal insectivores

New Fossil Severs Snakes from Legless Lizard Line