Evolution

A genetic analysis reveals that Fiji’s iguanas are most closely related to lizards living in North America’s deserts. How is this possible?

Charged water droplets generate sparks that can forge organic compounds

The Internet’s vast cat resources help researchers chart cat eye evolution

A century after the Scopes trial, hopeful prospects beckon for teaching the unifying principle of the biological sciences in the U.S.’s classrooms

The genes that build the cartilage of fish gills were repurposed to build the cartilage in mammals’ outer ears

Three-dimensional models of Australopithecus afarensis hint at the muscular adaptations that made modern humans better runners

Scientific racism today must be seen and rejected for what it truly is—a hollow attempt to dress discrimination in the garb of science and reason

Evolution is often depicted as a steady forward march from simple to complex forms. But new research shows that certain ferns can evolve “backward”

The oldest human genomes ever sequenced reveal that our Neandertal ancestry came from one “pulse” of interbreeding and pins down the timing

Animals were able to see colors long before species developed the riot of colors that enlivens our world today

Two sets of fossilized footprints from early human species were made within a few hours of each other about 1.5 million years ago, researchers suggest

Odds are that we’re not truly alone in the cosmos. But practically speaking, we might as well be