Evolution

135 articles

A Crystal Ball for Evolution
- By Katharine Gammon
- May 28, 2024
Long-term evolution may be more predictable than we assumed.
These Eyes Shine Light on the Path of Evolution
- By Viviane Callier
- March 19, 2024
The visual systems of a group of mollusks reveal how future evolution depends on the past.
Evolution Is Going According to God’s Plan
- By Ed Simon
- February 28, 2024
In the new book Purpose, a Yale psychiatrist argues Darwinian forces are divinely guided.
Evolution Led Humans into a Trap
- By Kristen French
- January 5, 2024
The cultural forces that fueled our success now threaten to end it.
What You Don’t Know About Sperm
- By David P. Barash
- January 3, 2024
A remarkable tale of evolution.
A Peculiar Fish and an Evolutionary Mystery
- By Jeffrey McKinnon
- December 4, 2023
What we can learn from the macabre diets of a curious species of cichlids.
Thank Eve for Human Evolution
- By Lucy Cooke
- November 29, 2023
It’s females who vaulted biological hurdles and forged our evolutionary success.
My 3 Greatest Revelations
- By Joseph LeDoux
- November 17, 2023
Joseph LeDoux on writing his new book, “The Four Realms of Existence: A New Theory of Being Human.”
Psychology Lost a Great Mind
- By Steven Pinker
- November 14, 2023
With his wife, Leda Cosmides, John Tooby transformed our understanding of human nature.
Why Is Everything an Orchid?
- By Sofia Quaglia
- October 26, 2023
Orchids were Darwin’s “abominable mystery.” They continue to elude science—and efforts to save them.

What We Can Learn from an Insomniac Fish

When sleep doesn’t come on time.
- By Katherine Harmon Courage
- October 2, 2023
Where Did the Brain Come From?

600 million years ago, the sea sponge had a dream.
- By Kenneth S. Kosik
- September 12, 2023
Elephants Never Forget War

Violence is written in their genes.
- By Charles Digges
- August 23, 2023
Wildfires Are Changing Animal Evolution

Adaptations that once saved creatures are now putting them in peril.
- By Katherine Harmon Courage
- July 28, 2023
Animal Sex Determination Is Weirder Than You Think

Parasites, weather, and luck can play a role in determining whether some animals are male or female.
- By Danna Staaf
- April 12, 2023
The Spiritual Materialist

How transcendent feelings arise from the forces of Darwinian natural selection.
- By Alan Lightman
- March 30, 2023

Why Is That Funny?
- By Brian Gallagher
- October 19, 2022
How evolution made us laugh.
The Wizards of Mind Control
- By Laith Al-Shawaf
- September 7, 2022
How parasites manipulate the behavior of their hosts.
Another Path to Intelligence
- By James Bridle
- August 17, 2022
Octopus brains are nothing like ours—yet we have much in common.
The Evolutionary Mystery of Menopause
- By David P. Barash
- August 9, 2022
New studies reinforce the hypothesis that grandmothers fostered our evolutionary success.
The Giraffe Neck Evolved for Sexual Combat
- By David P. Barash
- June 10, 2022
Discovery of a previously unknown ancient giraffe species offers a new look into sexual selection and evolution.