Biology

Changes in the 3D structure of their genome gave skates and rays their distinctive winglike fins and pancake flatness.

New experiments show that the brain distinguishes between perceived and imagined mental images by checking whether they cross a “reality threshold.”

Memories may affect how well the brain will learn about future events by shifting our perceptions of the world.

A new genetics study of ant “social parasites” shows how complex sets of features can emerge rapidly and potentially split species.

After decades of frustration, researchers have determined how an airborne scent molecule links to a human smell receptor.

A new, deeper understanding of how the breeding structure of species affects their genetic diversity is giving conservationists better tools for saving animals.

In all bilaterally symmetrical animals, from humans down to simple worms, nerves cross from one side of the body to the opposite side of the brain. Geometry may explain why.

On Mount Everest and in the Peruvian Andes, Tracie Seimon uses DNA to study how species and ecosystems respond to climate change, pathogens and other influences.

As researchers race to cultivate more of the intriguing cells from the deep seafloor, the few cells now growing in labs are giving us our best glimpses of the forerunners of all complex life.