Life Science

A funny thing happens when you live in complete darkness. You lose your eyesight. At least that's what's happened to the species that have evolved inside our deepest, darkest caves.

By Debra Ronca

So you're at a family dinner, and your uncle stands up and dramatically announces that he has a brain tumor. How does he know? Because he researched his frequent headaches on the Internet.

By Emilie Sennebogen

We've all felt fury wash over us. Whether it's the guy who blurts the score to the game you TiVo'ed or the woman who lets the door slam in your face, anger is universal. You might as well learn how it works.

By Molly Edmonds

If you swim like a fish or run like a cheetah, you may understand biomimicry better than you realize. The practice involves imitating models in nature to improve technology and design.

By Robert Lamb

Ever since I took biology in high school I have wondered -- why do humans (and plants and animals) have two of every gene, and why is one "dominant" and the other "recessive"? How does my body know which one is dominant? How does it pick between the

Evolution is fascinating because it attempts to answer one of the most basic human questions: Where did life, and human beings, come from? The theory of evolution proposes that life and humans arose through a natural process.

By Marshall Brain

The physical you is a result of your DNA, and your DNA is part of the human gene pool. Find out what the "gene pool" really is and what happens when it shrinks.

By Marshall Brain

HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed more than 35 million lives so far.

By Kevin Bonsor & Oisin Curran

Whether brain death is a result of cardiac arrest and lack of oxygen to the brain, or of a gunshot wound to the head, the diagnosis is the same. Learn what the term "brain dead" actually means.

By Leslie C. Olson

Given the choice, would you rather have been born with a different eye color, hair color or skin tone? Of course, you didn't have these options, but could you have them for your own children?

By Kevin Bonsor & Julia Layton

Every animal you can think of -- mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians -- all have brains. But the human brain is unique. It gives us the power to think, plan, speak and imagine.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D. & Robynne Boyd

Plants that eat other creatures? It sounds like a genetic experiment gone awry. But there's actually nothing unnatural about it; carnivorous plants have been around for millions of years.

By Ann Meeker-O'Connell

The CBS drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" routinely uses cutting-edge technology to solve crimes, including collecting and analyzing DNA evidence. But catching a criminal using DNA evidence is not quite as easy as "CSI" makes it seem.

By William Harris

Cloning is the process of making a genetically identical organism through nonsexual means. In this article, we will examine how cloning works and look at possible uses of this technology.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

What is the difference between a hardwood and a softwood? How hard does a tree have to be to be considered hardwood?

With movie titles like "Attack of the Clones" and "The Clone Wars," it's no wonder human cloning makes us anxious. As scientists make startling discoveries cloning animals, are humans next?

By Kevin Bonsor & Cristen Conger

We can see dinosaur and plant fossils at just about any natural museum. What exactly are fossils, though, and how do they form?

By Austin Henderson

Your co-worker just yawned in a meeting, and now everyone on his side of the table is yawning, too. Learn about what might've caused him to do it in the first place and why you're likely to yawn right along with them.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

How can the grass on the greens at a golf course be so perfect? What are they doing that's different from a normal lawn? Could my lawn look like this?

By Austin Henderson

How does hemp work? What do rope and "organic clothes" and drugs have to do with each other?

We've all heard of a "sixth sense" and extra-sensory perception. So how many ways can we actually sense the world around us?

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

Mexican jumping beans are small, brown beans that seem to have a life of their own as they jump and move around. But what is it that makes them jump?

By Nicole Antonio

If you've heard of frankincense and myrrh, it's probably because of the biblical account of Jesus' birth. But have you ever wondered what exactly it was the three wise men gifted?

By Clint Pumphrey

Your body temperature has an important role to play in fighting off infections from viruses like the flu. Here's how it works.

It's a chicken-or-egg situation: What came first? Perplexed people need wonder no longer, as we've sussed out the answer to this ancient riddle.

By Alia Hoyt