Bird building nest

March 7, 2017

Social Learning in Animals: Implications for the Evolution of Human Intelligence

Cross-posted with the permission of Prof. Nathan H. Lents, originally posted at The Human Evolution Blog.   The human capacity to learn exceeds that of any other animal. Indeed, our massive memories and impressive computing power are the...

Habitable zone

February 28, 2017

Goldilocks and the Seven Dwarfs: Exoplanet Discovery is a Sample of What’s to Come

Not 30 years ago, there was no evidence of any planet outside our Solar System and now over 3,400 such worlds have been confirmed. These include dozens of Earth-sized –many orbiting in the “Goldilocks zone” of...

February 21, 2017

Human Germline Modification: A Frontier for Biotechnology, or A Target for Prohibitions?

The prospect of human germline modification got a boost in mid-February, with a National Academies for Science and Medicine recommendation that genome editing to preventing genetic diseases in future generations should be permissible. The recommendation came...

February 9, 2017

From Our Archives: Celebrating African Americans in STEM – Katherine Johnson

To celebrate National African American History Month, we applaud Katherine G. Johnson, a living legend in the fields of math, physics, and space science. A lifelong love affair with numbers brought Johnson from a small town...

Color electron microscope image

December 28, 2016

2016 Year in Science

As 2016 comes to a close, here’s a selection of six significant science stories (by no means a complete list) for the year: Gravitational Waves Detected Arguably the biggest science story of the year is the announcement...

December 21, 2016

Hazards of Mars exploration demand top-notch wilderness medicine capabilities

If you’re considering becoming an early Mars colonist, the National Geographic Channel’s new TV series MARS is a must to watch. That’s partly because it shows you that settlers will not inhabit lavish domes on the...

December 9, 2016

John Glenn 1921-2016: NASA astronaut, US Senator, medical guinea pig, all around cool person

2016 saw public criticism that candidates pushing their early 70s would be too old to serve as US President, but 18 years ago a man took on the grueling physical stress of space flight at the age...

December 5, 2016

The biological foundations of justice

Cross-posted with the permission of Prof. Nathan H. Lents, originally posted at The Human Evolution Blog.   It’s not immediately obvious why we should consider animal behavior when we think about how best to craft a system...

November 22, 2016

From Our Archives: Turkey science – What’s on your plate?

Originally posted in 2015 by Bonnie Denmark. The 45 million turkeys that end up on the Thanksgiving table are nothing like their wild ancestors. In fact, they are very different from the typical Thanksgiving turkeys of...

November 18, 2016

From Our Archives: Nov. 18, 1929 – The Day the Cables Broke

Written in 2013 by Julia Rosen, this post explores what happened on November 18, 1929 when the underwater telegraph cables snapped. Today, a veritable superhighway of data rushes below the surface of the frigid North Atlantic....

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