Origins of speech crow

The Origins of Human Speech: More Like a Raven or a Writing Desk?

Language is the cognitive faculty that separates humans from other animals, but interjections have often been equated with the primitive cries of animals.
Fresh mushroom in sawdust

Company Uses Mushrooms to Grow Plastic Alternatives

Plastic has become ubiquitous in our home and work lives, but is a pollutant that won't break down. Mushrooms may provide a sustainable alternative.
French bulldog puppy sleeping on the carpet

Why Do We Sleep?

A growing consensus among those who hold this view is that sleep is needed for maintaining a healthy nervous system, not necessarily a brain.
Scientists working in lab

To Save the Threatened, Scientists Clone Cacao, Fertilize Mollusks, and Hunt Porpoises

All over the world, researchers are trying to better understand a world in constant flux and to prevent species from extinction as they battle for survival.
A dwarf epauletted fruit bat flying

Why Human Echolocators Will Never Be As Precise As Bats

Research seems to indicate that human echolocation is surprisingly sophisticated, and may aid a deeper understanding of hearing and sensory perception.
Satellite view of Hurricane Irma.

Hurricanes May be Getting More Severe: Do We Need a Whole New Cateogry to Describe Them?

There’s been a devastating trail of destruction and flooding along the east Atlantic coast in the last few ...
NOAA image of Irma Jose and Katia

Is This Triple-Hurricane Image the Sign of the New Norm?

There are currently three hurricanes swirling over the Atlantic Ocean, and meteorologists are saying they have never seen anything like.
Derek Bentley

Sentenced to Death (and Other Tales from the Dark Side of Language)

One cold morning in 1953, Derek Bentley, a nineteen-year-old youth in the wrong place with the wrong words, was hanged for a murder he did not commit.
Spotted Owl sitting on a tree branch

Scientists Turn to Spotted Owls to Understand Wildfire Patterns

To better understand how the warming climate affects wildfires, Scientists are turning to Spotted Owls that evolved to deal with such disasters.
Costa Rican rainforest

A Clever Way to Conserve Forests

As climate change looms, scientists seek ways to reduce the release of carbon. Sometimes a low-tech approach is overlooked: conserving forests.