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When Did Nature Burst Into Vivid Color?

June 27, 2025

Scientists reconstructed 500 million years of evolutionary history to reveal which came first: colorful signals or the color vision needed to see them.

The Ecosystem Dynamics That Can Make or Break an Invasion

June 16, 2025

By speedrunning ecosystems with microbes, researchers revealed intrinsic properties that may make a community susceptible to invasion.

Does Form Really Shape Function?

June 12, 2025

From brain folds to insect architecture, L. Mahadevan explains how complex biological forms and behaviors emerge through the interplay of physical forces, environment and embodiment.

How Much Energy Does It Take To Think?

June 4, 2025

Studies of neural metabolism reveal our brain’s effort to keep us alive and the evolutionary constraints that sculpted our most complex organ.

Manu Prakash holds a paper microscope to his eye and turns toward the sky.

How Paradoxical Questions and Simple Wonder Lead to Great Science

Manu Prakash works on the world’s most urgent problems and seemingly frivolous questions at the same time. They add up to a philosophy he calls “recreational biology.”

‘Turbocharged’ Mitochondria Power Birds’ Epic Migratory Journeys

May 19, 2025

Slight changes in the number, shape, efficiency and interconnectedness of organelles in the cells of flight muscles provide extra energy for birds’ continent-spanning feats.

How the Universe Differs From Its Mirror Image

May 14, 2025

From living matter to molecules to elementary particles, the world is made of “chiral” objects that differ from their reflected forms.

The Molecular Bond That Helps Secure Your Memories

May 7, 2025

How do memories last a lifetime when the molecules that form them turn over within days, weeks or months? An interaction between two proteins points to a molecular basis for memory.

AI Is Nothing Like a Brain, and That’s OK

April 30, 2025

The brain’s astounding cellular diversity and networked complexity could show how to make AI better.

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