Reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine‘s Abstractions blog.The heartbeat and other bodily processes play a surprising role in shaping perception and cognition.ManuMata /…

In the summer of 1977, on a field trip in northern Patagonia, the American archaeologist Tom Dillehay made a stunning discovery. Digging by a creek in a nondescript scrubland called…

This summer, NASA’s Perseverance rover will set out on a voyage to the edge of the Jezero crater on Mars. The goal of the mission is to learn more about our neighboring planet, and…

Dear Bella,I’m going to imitate Rudyard Kipling and tell you a just-so story. Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the world 100 years ago. He wrote The Jungle Book. And…

A concerned clownfish father looking after his nest of tiny, orange eggs.Justin RhodesBecoming a parent brings out the best in many animals. Although parenting is usually left to the…

When I was about 6, my mind did something wondrous, although it felt perfectly natural at the time. When I encountered the name of any day of the week, I automatically associated it…

In our evolving understanding of dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex has acquired a new persona in recent decades. It’s always been the imperious, curiously agile two-ton gargantua, personified…

Science can be a peculiar source of joy—the joy, largely unique to human beings, of understanding the universe in which we live. For some, the joys of science are readily accessible;…

I’m young and perfectly healthy, but I’m waiting for the day when I finally get sick. While many of us are locked down in our homes due to the coronavirus pandemic, it may feel…

In the bowels of an animal research facility at Oxford University, mice are stirring in cages. Half of them have been given an injection of saline solution and behave like the docile…