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Evolution

Essays and videos exploring physics, evolution, cosmology and other frontiers in science

Astronomy Biology Biotechnology Chemistry Complexity Computing and artificial intelligence Cosmology Deep time Earth science and climate Ecology and environmental sciences Engineering Evolution Genetics History of science Human evolution Human reproduction Illness and disease Mathematics Medicine Oceans and water Palaeontology Physics Quantum theory Space exploration

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essayThe future

Homo crustaceous

‘Everything becomes crab’ is more than an absurd meme. The crab is a deep symbol of our devil’s bargain with technology

Michael Garfield

Black birds flying over snowy mountains with dramatic cloudy skies in the background.

essayEvolution

Empire of flight

They have big brains, long childhoods and sociable, curious minds. So why haven’t birds developed complex culture?

Antone Martinho-Truswell

Photo of a black and white moth with speckled wings against a dark background.

essayGenetics

Beanbag genetics

Today a bitter dispute about the nature of biology is underway. A simple bag of beans may be what tips the balance

Zachary B Hancock

A cheetah cub playfully interacts with a brown dog on grass, with a toy in the background.

essayBioethics

Why the cat wags her tail

Here’s a puzzle: how could evolution favour such a costly, frivolous and fun activity as animal play?

Mathilde Tahar-Malaussena

Black and white close-up photo of a lizard with its tongue extended, about to catch a worm. The background is dark and blurred.

videoEvolution

The many ways a lizard tongue sticks, grasps, pinches and plops – in slo-mo

6 minutes

Black and white photograph of a cloudy sky with swirling lines resembling bird flight patterns.

videoBiology

Starlings swoosh like brushstrokes across the sky in this dazzling short

3 minutes

A brown wren standing on a rock with a blurred background.

essayBiology

In praise of subspecies

To lump or to split? Deciding whether an animal is a species or subspecies profoundly influences our conservation priorities

Richard Smyth

A small animal curled up asleep on brown moss against a black background illuminated by a spotlight.

essayBiology

Could humans hibernate?

Hibernation allows many animals to time-travel from difficult times to plenty. Could humans learn how to do it too?

Vladyslav Vyazovskiy

Painting of two anthropomorphic peacocks in 18th-century attire in front of a stately home surrounded by trees.

essayBeauty and aesthetics

Is beauty natural?

Charles Darwin was as fascinated by extravagant ornament in nature as Jane Austen was in culture. Did their explanations agree?

Abigail Tulenko

Photo of two grey birds on a rock by water, one standing and the other appearing to crash land into the rock, neck bent with wings raised; green reeds in background.

essayPhilosophy of science

Life makes mistakes

Hens try to hatch golf balls, whales get beached. Getting things wrong seems to play a fundamental role in life on Earth

David S Oderberg

A man in yellow shorts floating on his back in a swimming pool, with dark lane markings and reflections in the water.

essayHistory of science

Forwards, not back

Medicine aims to return bodies to the state they were in before illness. But there’s a better way of thinking about health

Kate MacCord & Jane Maienschein

Close-up photo of butterfly wing scales in shades of orange, pink, white and black arranged in a mosaic-like pattern.

videoBiology

Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings

3 minutes

A kingfisher underwater catching a fish amid rising bubbles.

essayComplexity

Problem-solving matter

Life is starting to look a lot less like an outcome of chemistry and physics, and more like a computational process

David C Krakauer & Chris Kempes

Illustration of a dodo bird with grey feathers, brown beak, and stubby wings, standing on a grassy, sandy ground.

videoEvolution

How – and how not – to think about the role randomness plays in evolution

60 minutes

Bright yellow bird building a nest with grass on a branch surrounded by green leaves.

videoEngineering

For one of nature’s great builders, finding a mate means weaving the perfect nest

4 minutes

Close-up image of a jumping spider showing its detailed features, including multiple eyes, hairy legs, and fangs. The spider is facing forward with a white background.

essayEvolution

What is intelligent life?

Our human minds hold us back from truly understanding the many brilliant ways that other creatures solve their problems

Abigail Desmond & Michael Haslam

Bees push coloured tabs to access a sugary reward

videoCognition and intelligence

What’s this buzz about bees having culture? Inside a groundbreaking experiment

8 minutes

Close-up of a person’s hand gently holding the wet snout of a black cow, with a blurred green background.

essayEvolution

Kinship

Science must become attuned to the subtle conversations that pervade all life, from the primordial to the present

David Waltner-Toews

Close-up of several reddish-brown ants on soil, with one carrying small white eggs. The background is blurry, focusing attention on the ants.

essayAnimals and humans

Ant geopolitics

Over the past four centuries quadrillions of ants have created a strange and turbulent global society that shadows our own

John Whitfield

Illustration of a prehistoric forest with various dinosaurs, including herbivores, a pterosaur flying, and a small carnivorous mammal-like creature.

essayPalaeontology

The dinosaurs didn’t rule

When we think of changes in Earth’s history as changes of dynasty we miss out on understanding how life really works

Riley Black

Illustration showing a grid of nine eyes, each uniquely stylised, depicting a variety of creatures, including a human with a blue iris, a cat with a vertical slit pupil, and a toad with a heart-shaped pupil.

videoBiology

To understand how an animal sees the world, start with the shape of its pupils

5 minutes

Blue Betta fish with flowing fins swimming in a black background.

essayGenetics

Evolution without accidents

Despite advances in molecular genetics, too many biologists think that natural selection is driven by random mutations

James A Shapiro

Close-up of a green gecko with red markings and blue eyes, clinging upside down to a leaf.

videoBiology

The key to geckos’ unrivalled climbing skills isn’t sticky feet. It’s subatomic

4 minutes

Cartoon of a yellow character with pink hair buns, holding a small blue puppy, set against a light blue background.

videoHuman evolution

Far from frivolous, cuteness is a powerful – and still mysterious – force of nature

6 minutes