Life Science

Researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz determined that only about 1.5 to 7 percent of the modern human genome is unique to humans. The rest we share with our relatives the Neanderthals and the Denisovans.

By Joanna Thompson

Batesian mimicry is an evolutionary strategy used by vulnerable species to look like a dangerous species so predators will leave them alone. But it only works under the right circumstances.

By Jesslyn Shields

They might look like piles of goop, but slime molds can think and seemingly make decisions without a brain.

By Jesslyn Shields

The marshmallow test is all about delayed gratification in children, but can other animals pass it too? And why would they?

By Jennifer Walker-Journey

Mold is a type of fungus, and it's everywhere — indoors, outdoors and even in the air. But is black mold worse than the rest?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

The U.S. has been a nation in mourning for more than a year. But the normal rituals for mourning deceased loved ones have been anything but normal. How do we move on and when?

By John Donovan

One of the weirdest organisms on Earth has a predictably quirky method of deciding where to go and what to do.

By Jesslyn Shields

The question of exactly what is human consciousness and how it came to be in the human mind has raged forever between philosophers, religious scholars and scientists, but does the theory of the bicameral mind explain it?

By Robert Lamb

Erosion and weather can combine to make rock formations look like all kinds of things, from human faces to animals. They're called mimetoliths and we've taken a look at four of the most famous.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Do we owe the emergence of language and self-reflection to the ancient and sustained consumption of psilocybin mushrooms?

By Robert Lamb

Organisms not related to each other can develop similar physical attributes without even exchanging notes.

By Jesslyn Shields

We see faces in clouds, on buildings — heck, in grilled cheese sandwiches. But why is that? And how is this a help to our survival?

By Dave Roos

Niels Bohr proposed the model of the atom that we still learn in school today, even though it's technically incorrect.

By Jesslyn Shields

We are who we are because of the genes our parents pass to us, but what happens when both parents contribute the same version of a specific gene?

By Jesslyn Shields

This new form of sound therapy takes advantage of the fact that a different frequency in each ear yields a third frequency that can allegedly calm you down or improve your focus. Does it really work? Our writer tried it out.

By Alia Hoyt

Nitrogen is essential to living things, but it also plays hard to get.

By Jesslyn Shields

Ever feel like others are out to get you, or that you're in danger even though there's no clear threat? Is this normal in today's crazy world or is paranoia creeping in?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Centrioles are spindles that create the pathways for chromosomes to follow during cell division.

By Jesslyn Shields

Heuristics are rule-of-thumb strategies that help us shorten decision-making time and solve problems quickly and effortlessly.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Phrenology, the belief that you could determine personality from the shape of someone's skull, was so popular in the Victorian era that phrenology parlors sprung up all over Europe and America. But the trend was soon debunked.

By Jennifer Walker-Journey

Autumn rolls out its very own red carpet to make a fashionable arrival. So why do falling leaves change colors to vibrant hues of crimson, yellow and orange?

By Jennifer Horton

Whether you're a procrastinator or a workaholic, you can improve your time management. How? With a timer, scheduled breaks and some serious discipline.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

The Kobayashi Maru simulation puts future Starfleet commanders in a classic "no-win" scenario. It's so accurate, even the U.S. military uses the exercise to test the measure of a good leader.

By Mark Mancini

It's one of those words that might remind you of certain gender-bending musicians from the '80s, but what does it mean today?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

With cemetery space at a premium and the increasingly evident environmental drawbacks to traditional burial, what better way to memorialize your beloved pet, or a beloved person, than to turn their remains into a tree?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky