Biology

The paleontologist Pincelli Hull has nailed down the timing and speed of the extinction that killed off the dinosaurs — details that carry ominous warnings for today.

How does experience alter our perceptions? This adapted book excerpt from We Know It When We See It describes how the brain’s visual system rewires itself to make the best use of its neural resources.

We give our genes and our environment all the credit for making us who we are. But random noise during development might be just as important.

To combat resistant bacteria and refill the trickling antibiotic pipeline, scientists are getting help from deep learning networks.

Recent findings add weight to the evidence that the intransitive competitions between species enrich the diversity of nature.

Zoonotic diseases like influenza and many coronaviruses start out in animals, but their biological machinery often enables them to jump to humans.

Faced with a decision, the brain weighs its options by bundling them into rapidly alternating cycles of brain waves.

For decades, scientists have been intrigued by tiny viruses whose genetic material can be read both forward and backward. New research begins to explain this puzzling property.

Don’t be misled by the bloodthirsty names of immune cells. Mounting research shows that the cells also fine-tune tissues and help the body heal.