Language

Fruit bats stand in for vocal-learning mammals in isolation tests to test language development

As more cultural commodities enter the market, cultural distinctions will become muted to suit the appetites of a wider clientele

For many decades, scientists have tried to understand the past by doing as our forebears did. One important endeavor in what is called experimental archaeology involves moderns crafting Stone Age tools by chipping away at rocks.

As adults, we don't often experience radical violations of our expectations, particularly those that concern core principles of object behavior.

Orange Is the New Black, the popular Netflix show based on the memoir by Piper Kerman, brought female prisons into America's living room, highlighting several issues that are plaguing the correctional system.

Books and recommendations from Scientific American

As longtime readers may have noticed, I have an abiding interest in Neandertals. To help me keep up with the latest scientific insights into these mysterious relatives of ours, I have a Google alert set for "Neandertal" (and the alternate spelling, "Neanderthal").

The last place anyone expects to find a designer is in a hospital, clinic or operating room, but those are exactly the spaces where I embed myself.

The newly identified gene is found in modern-day humans, Neandertals and Denisovans, but not in chimps

Whether you’re single or partnered up this Valentine’s Day, psychology has all sorts of tips for you on how to find your next great love or improve your existing relationship with the one you’ve got.

While we all may vary on just how much time we like spending with other people, humans are overall very social beings. Scientists have already found this to be reflected in our health and well-being - with social isolation being associated with more depression, worse health, and a shorter life.

The ease with which certain sounds are produced in different climes plays a role in the development of spoken languages. Christopher Intagliata reports