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Lessons from Darwin’s “Mischievous” Birds
Lessons from Darwin’s “Mischievous” Birds
An unsung group of South American falcons yields clues to the prehistory of a continent, and hints at secrets of the avian brain.
Lessons from Darwin’s “Mischievous” Birds
Lessons from Darwin’s “Mischievous” Birds

An unsung group of South American falcons yields clues to the prehistory of a continent, and hints at secrets of the avian brain.

An unsung group of South American falcons yields clues to the prehistory of a continent, and hints at secrets of the avian brain.

books, evolution

Book Excerpt from When Brains Dream
Robert Stickgold and Antonio Zadra | Dec 1, 2020 | 8 min read
Ferreting out the biological function of dreaming is a frontier in neuroscience.
Opinion: The Biological Function of Dreams
Robert Stickgold and Antonio Zadra | Dec 1, 2020 | 3 min read
The scenarios that run through our sleeping brains may help us explore possible solutions to concerns from our waking lives.
Book Excerpt from Every Life is On Fire
Jeremy England | Nov 1, 2020 | 7 min read
In Chapter 7, “Wind and Breath,” author Jeremy England considers research findings that point to a surprising, emergent property of seemingly disordered molecules.
Reconsidering Life’s Origin
Jeremy England | Nov 1, 2020 | 3 min read
Is the model of early life as a freak occurrence in a disordered, primordial soup of chemicals wrong?
Book Excerpt from The Nature of Fear
Daniel T. Blumstein | Oct 21, 2020 | 4 min read
In the book’s prologue, author Daniel T. Blumstein explains his introduction to the study of fear.
Opinion: What Animals Can Teach Us About Fear
Daniel T. Blumstein | Oct 1, 2020 | 3 min read
Fear binds us to our human and nonhuman ancestors. Understanding the emotion can help us grapple with challenges we face today.
Book Excerpt from Some Assembly Required
Neil Shubin | Jun 1, 2020 | 4 min read
In the prologue to the book, author Neil Shubin sets the stage for discussing the iterative repurposing that marks several transformational developments throughout evolution.
Revolutionary Repurposing
Neil Shubin | Jun 1, 2020 | 3 min read
Evolution needn’t make improbable leaps to facilitate transitions into uncharted biological territory. Adapting new uses for existing structures works just fine.
Hot Off the Presses
Bob Grant | Jul 1, 2016 | 3 min read
The Scientist reviews Serendipity, Complexity, The Human Superorgasism, and Love and Ruin
Start Making Sense
J.D. Trout | Jun 1, 2016 | 3 min read
Scientific progress is only achieved when humans' innate sense of understanding is validated by objective reality.
Capsule Reviews
Bob Grant | May 1, 2016 | 4 min read
Sorting the Beef from the Bull, Cheats and Deceits, A Sea of Glass, and Following the Wild Bees
Capsule Reviews
Bob Grant | Apr 1, 2016 | 3 min read
Lab Girl, The Most Perfect Thing, Half-Earth, and Cosmosapiens
Capsule Reviews
Bob Grant | Mar 1, 2016 | 3 min read
Herding Hemingway's Cats, Hair: A Human History, Restless Creatures, and The Mind Club
Capsule Reviews
Bob Grant | Dec 1, 2015 | 3 min read
Welcome to the Microbiome, The Paradox of Evolution, Newton's Apple, and Dawn of the Neuron.
Reimagining Humanity
Ian Tattersall | Jun 1, 2015 | 3 min read
As the science of paleoanthropology developed, human evolutionary trees changed as much as the minds that constructed them.
Capsule Reviews
Bob Grant | Jun 1, 2015 | 3 min read
How to Clone a Mammoth, The Upright Thinkers, The Thirteenth Step, and Humankind
Book Excerpt from The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack
Ian Tattersall | May 31, 2015 | 3 min read
In the prologue, “Lemurs and the Delights of Fieldwork,” author Ian Tattersall shares the paleoanthropological lessons he learned from studying non-human primates in Madagascar.
Capsule Reviews
Bob Grant | Apr 1, 2015 | 3 min read
Junk DNA, Cuckoo, Sapiens, and Cool
Capsule Reviews
Bob Grant | Feb 1, 2015 | 3 min read
Touch, The Altruistic Brain, Is Shame Necessary?, and Future Arctic
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