archive
The Salt
Dr Pepper's Evolution Ad Strikes A Nerve With Some Christians
September 18, 2012 Some creationists are taking offense at Dr. Pepper's new take on a famous 1965 evolutionary drawing called "March of Progress." And the outrage and "counteroutrage" are spreading across social media.
Shots - Health News
Why Does Pregnancy Last 9 Months?
August 28, 2012 If human newborns came out as fully developed as chimp babies, human pregnancy would have to last at least twice as long. In a new theory, researchers argue that how much energy mothers can spare is the key factor in how long pregnancy lasts.
Shots - Health News
An Anthropologist Walks Into A Bar And Asks, 'Why Is This Joke Funny?'
August 6, 2012 Graduate student Robert Lynch is on a quest to deconstruct our built-in instinct for humor, and find out why making people laugh could be important to the way we've adapted to survive.
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
Gut Check: Should You Embrace Our (Mostly) Vegetarian Past?
July 26, 2012 Should a healthy human diet be based on the almost-entirely vegetarian habits of ancestral monkeys and apes? Or should we accept that no evolutionary time period is a helpful guide to making good eating choices in today's world?
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
The Mutative Entrepreneur
July 2, 2012 The evolution that started with cellular organisms continues in a new venue with the growth in complexity of electronic devices and networks.
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
For Summer's First Full Day: The Science Of Skin Color And Vitamin D
June 21, 2012 Our evolutionary history is inscribed on our very skin. The explanation for why diverse skin colors evolved over time makes not only for good anthropology, but also for applied knowledge that may help us keep intact our Vitamin D health.
The Salt
For Most Of Human History, Being An Omnivore Was No Dilemma
April 20, 2012 Humans and other primates have been omnivores for some time, which may have given us an evolutionary edge over strictly meat or plant eaters, a new study shows. It may have also prompted us to wean our babies faster, another study says.
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
Darwin, Survival Of The Fittest And Arrival Of The Fittest
April 16, 2012 Why is Darwin's "bank of life" tangled? Because, in part, the "arrival of the fittest" is sufficiently likely. Adaptation is able to happen only because of this. Selection winnows, as the wag said, but the abundant possibilities of the ways of life yields the arrival of the fittest.
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
Getting Excited About Fake Meat
March 15, 2012 Why would anyone get excited about eating fake meat? If plant-based "meatless chicken" tastes fine, is good for our health and the environment's health, and rescues chickens from slaughterhouse horrors, what's not to like?
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
Mama Don't Let Your Babies Deny Evolution
March 3, 2012 Bill Nye explains the danger of letting the nation fall behind in science because of evolution denial.
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
Will Richard Dawkins Drive A Stake Through The Heart Of The 'Reason Rally'?
February 16, 2012 Next month, a non-believers' Woodstock comes to Washington. Commentator Barbara J. King considers whether headline speaker Richard Dawkins is the best person to lead The Reason Rally's fight against negative stereotypes of non-believers.
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
A Darwinian Against Darwin Day
February 12, 2012 Personally I plan on celebrating Darwin Day because when I contemplate the enormity of his insight into the physical world I am awed. But it's interesting to note that not everyone who feels that awe thinks there should be a "Darwin Day".
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
Sunday Is Darwin Day
February 11, 2012 Sunday, February 12th is the 203rd anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. Celebrations focus not only on Darwin's brilliant work but also on what we may learn about the world from science more generally.
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
A Famous Gorilla Plays The Recorder, And We All May Learn Something
February 2, 2012 When Koko the gorilla plays tones on a recorder, she skillfully controls her breathing patterns. Commentator Barbara J. King explains why this is unexpected for a gorilla — and what it may mean for challenging ourselves to learn new skills throughout life.
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
Why Should You Care About Science?
January 25, 2012 As science advances, it becomes more abstract and distant from people's everyday reality. How do we bridge the gap so that society as a whole can engage in the questions of the day, from global warming to the debate on evolution?
