Wasps, and their unsung contributions to the ecosystem February 27, 2021 The sting. Pain is what we associate with the word “wasp,” because our definition of wasp is far too narrow. Read More
Celebrating women in STEM February 11, 2021 International Day of Women and Girls in Science marks an opportunity to celebrate the brilliant women whose ideas have graced our bookshelves and touched our minds. Read More
Jeremy DeSilva on A Most Interesting Problem January 22, 2021 On February 24, 1871 Charles Darwin published The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, a follow-up to his most famous book On the Origin of Species. Read More
Can we bring extinct species back? January 05, 2021 Could extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? In How to Clone a Mammoth, Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary biologist and pioneer in ancient DNA research, addresses this intriguing question by walking readers through the astonishing and controversial process of de-extinction. Read More
By Design | Setting A Series of Fortunate Events in motion October 26, 2020 In a world governed by chance, one book peers into the randomness of existence. From cosmic collisions and tectonic shifts to the infinitesimal accidents of biology, Sean B. Carroll’s A Series of Fortunate Events ranges across time and space, showing how chance occurrences brought us to where we are, fashioned us as we are, and contributed to all the beauty and diversity we see around us. Read More
Listen in: A Series of Fortunate Events October 23, 2020 A Series of Fortunate Events tells the story of the awesome power of chance and how it is the surprising source of all the beauty and diversity in the living world. Enjoy listening to this free audio sample, recorded by the author himself. Read More
Sean B. Carroll on The Serengeti Rules October 12, 2020 “The Serengeti Rules” won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Nature Documentary during the 41st annual News and Documentary Awards ceremony on September 22 and was nominated as a finalist for best cinematography. In the fields of biological and environmental studies, Sean B. Carroll has made a name for himself not only as a scientist, writer, and educator, but as a storyteller. Read More
A Series of Fortunate Events book trailer September 17, 2020 Like every other species, we humans are here by accident. But it is shocking just how many things—any of which might never have occurred—had to happen in certain ways for any of us to exist. Read More
Rethinking how we view and manage cancer March 16, 2020 When we think of the forces driving cancer, we don’t necessarily think of evolution. But evolution and cancer are closely linked, for the historical processes that created life also created cancer. Read More
In Dialogue with Susan Mattern and Richard Bribiescas: Reframing how we think about aging October 09, 2019 Are we looking at male/female aging all wrong? Susan Mattern and Richard Bribiescas discuss. Read More
In Dialogue with Sara Lewis and Jeffrey Skevington: Reframing how we think about bugs August 26, 2019 We live in a world dominated by insects. Sometimes it may seem to us that all of them are pests, but in reality, pest species are an infinitesimally small component of our biodiversity. Read More
In Dialogue with Thomas Seeley and Nick Haddad: Why is insect conservation important? April 18, 2019 Thomas Seeley and Nick Haddad sound off on why insect conservation is important, and to reflect on the magnitude of the loss of key populations. Read More
David Hu on How to Walk on Water and Climb Up Walls November 12, 2018 Insects walk on water, snakes slither, and fish swim. Animals move with astounding grace, speed, and versatility: how do they do it, and what can we learn from them? Read More
Biology Michael J. Ryan: A Taste for the Beautiful February 20, 2018 Darwin developed the theory of sexual selection to explain why the animal world abounds in stunning beauty, from the brilliant colors of butterflies and fishes to the songs of birds and frogs. Read More
