The most basic function of a living organism is to take in energy and spend it on survival and reproduction. If humans are unique, then so must our energy use be. What we know today…

We’re used to the idea that some among us are colorblind, perceiving the world differently because of a quirk in their genetics. And it’s well-known that teenagers and young adults…

In the next war, instead of a soldier going on a reconnaissance mission into enemy territory, consider this possibility: a cloud of “micro air vehicles,” flying cyborgs, with built-in…

In his book Wonderful Life, the late, great paleobiologist Stephen Jay Gould argued that chance has had the single greatest influence on the history of life. He wrote about a thought…

When you first meet Peter Ward he loves to say things like “See this beige baseball hat? It was dark brown until it faded under the thin ozone layer in Antarctica.” That’s his…