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by Rebecca Silberman figures by Aparna Nathan Seen through the harsh, unsentimental lens of evolutionary biology, menopause doesn’t make sense. Why don’t women live like giraffes, like tarantulas, like pigeons, reproducing throughout their lives in…

by Catherine Gutierrez figures by Aparna Nathan Forty-nine years ago, President Richard Nixon launched a “War on Cancer”. That war has not ended—it rages on today, with cancer right behind heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States.…

Researchers at Max Planck Institute for Brain Research have discovered a mammalian claustrum in reptiles, believed to impact decision-making and consciousness. The study hints at the claustrum’s prehistoric existence, in mammals, reptiles, and possibly…

by Anthony Badea figures by Anastasia Ershova Long before our world took shape, The Big Bang sent a shockwave of energy irradiating through a violently expanding Universe. In one millionth of a millionth of a second, the primordial fabric of existence…

by Lorena Lyon figures by Rebecca Senft Today, the discussion of climate change generally relates to human impact on the environment since the Industrial Revolution (1760 to mid-1800s). But, how have humans been impacting the planet before then? And how…

by Gregory Brunette figures by Daniel Utter Every year, new biology students dig for tiny, bacteria-infecting viruses called phages. Short for bacteriophages, these ubiquitous viruses thrive unseen in the world around us, replicating endlessly through…

In the event of worst-case nuclear war fallout, what would happen to our oceans? Climate scientists predict that our oceans would become less acidic, and shelled animals would suffer (again).

Bioengineers from the University of Texas at Dallas have developed a new form of composite material by incorporating yeast into a gel. They demonstrated that the composite can change size depending on the nutrients present around the gel and that…

by Sam Zimmerman  figures by Hannah Zucker If we were all mice, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, diabetes, and most inherited disorders would be a thing of the past. We could nibble on as much cheese as we wanted without fear of heart disease and run around…

Scientists discovered that a family of proteins known as Sestrins can actually mimic the beneficial effects of exercise. This could potentially be useful for maintaining the health of people who have difficulty moving and exercising.