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Biology

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Brain’s Positioning System Linked to Memory

October 7, 2014

The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to three researchers who discovered how the brain navigates the world. Their work may also help illuminate how the mind stores memories.

Elusive Form of Evolution Seen in Spiders

October 2, 2014

A study of diverse colonies of spiders supports a controversial idea in evolution — that natural selection can act on communities as well as on individuals.

Lizard Stowaways Revise Principle of Ecology

September 24, 2014

The movement of lizards around the Caribbean is forcing researchers to account for human activity in even their most basic ecological models.

Evolution’s Random Paths Lead to One Place

September 11, 2014

A massive statistical study suggests that even though genetic changes happen at random, the final evolutionary outcome — fitness — is predictable.

The Thermodynamic Theory of Ecology

September 3, 2014

Nature’s large-scale patterns emerge from incomplete surveys that borrow ideas from information theory.

I Contain Multitudes

August 21, 2014

Our bodies are a genetic patchwork, possessing variation from cell to cell. Is that a good thing?

As Animals Mingle, a Baffling Genetic Barrier

August 5, 2014

Despite swapping DNA through interbreeding, butterflies and other animals can maintain distinct species.

Where Animals Come From

July 29, 2014

Bacteria may have helped single-celled organisms make the leap to multicellular animals.

The New Science of Evolutionary Forecasting

July 17, 2014

Newly discovered patterns in evolution may help scientists make accurate short-term predictions.

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