Latest Articles
Why Are There Two Sexes?
Asexual reproduction can produce twice as many offspring as sexual reproduction without the hassle of finding and courting a mate. So why do most complex animals have two sexes? Why not three?
Solution: ‘Bongard Problems and Scientific Discovery’
Like scientific puzzles, Bongard problems can lead you through a frustrating blind search until you find that simple, elegant rule that fits a seemingly random pattern.
Bongard Problems and Scientific Discovery
For your frustration, joy and entertainment, our puzzle challenges you to find general patterns or rules based on seemingly random, specific examples.
Solution: ‘Darwinian Evolution Explains Lamarckism’
How Darwinian natural selection can produce and sustain a Lamarckian “inheritance of acquired characteristics.”
Can Darwinian Evolution Explain Lamarckism?
Answering three questions can help reveal how the “inheritance of acquired characteristics” fits into modern evolutionary theory.
Solution: ‘Friday the 13th’
There’s more than one good way to bring order to our unruly, seemingly arbitrary calendar.
Is It Friday the 13th Again?
How our society defines years, months and weeks can seem frustratingly arbitrary. Can you bring order to our unruly calendar?
Solution: ‘A Ticking Evolutionary Clock’
How to calculate when a gene’s rate of evolution will slow to a crawl.
A Ticking Evolutionary Clock
How quickly will a gene’s rate of evolution slow to a crawl?