Darwin in Love
Charles Darwin, who of all people should have known better, married his first cousin. Did his love for Emma color his later works?
Take These Teenage Dinosaurs Seriously!
Paleontologists recently solved the riddle of whether two fossil specimens were young T. rexes or a whole different species.
The Science of Baby-Name Trends
What makes a name suddenly pop—and then die? Social scientists and historians have been puzzling over this for decades.
Where the Small Fish Clean the Bigger Ones
A "cleaner station" is a sort of undersea business, a place where large, often predatory, fish go to have parasites removed.
Richard Prum: How Does Beauty Evolve?
Prum speaks on Darwin’s idea of sexual selection, the importance of arbitrary traits, and why he could never choose a favorite species of bird.
The Biology of Death-Feigning
Some animals, when faced with predators, play dead instead of trying to escape. But for death-feigning to work, a lot of things have to go well.
Paper Nautilus, Octopus of the Open Sea
Why the argonaut, or paper nautilus, may be your new favorite cephalopod.
Can Wildlife Adapt to Heat Waves?
Heatwaves have led to widespread deaths of animals like big-eyed tarsiers and flying foxes. Is there hope for species like this as temperatures rise?
Love, Sex, and Cyanide—The Private Life of a Toxic Butterfly
Heliconian butterflies choose mates with similar wing patterns. Their genes make them do it.