Biology
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On Discovering Life
March 14, 2011
Two separate quests, one to discover habitable worlds, the other to synthesize artificial organisms, now unite to redefine “life” and its place in the universe.
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Wild Animal Sex
January 26, 2011
New research in birds, reptiles, and insects is redefining “normal” sexual behavior, revealing that gender-bending, promiscuous, and dangerous sex isn’t limited to humans.
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Death for “Arsenic-Based Life”?
December 07, 2010
A hotly anticipated announcement last week from NASA that scientists had discovered an exotic form of life ended up revealing more about science journalism than astrobiology.
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Knowing Sooner
December 06, 2010
Our world is an uncertain place where biological systems and financial markets can collapse in an instant. Powerful predictive models fueled by smarter data sets are the tools that will allow us to know sooner and adapt more quickly to the problems that define our complex age.
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Agriculture in the Wild
November 10, 2010
Humans aren’t the only creatures that grow their own food. Leaf-cutter ants, trees, and even protists do it too.
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600 Million Years of Jet Lag
October 13, 2010
Although the common ancestor of sea anemones and humans would look nothing like us, it still shares one of our basic traits: the capacity to experience jet lag.
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The Forgotten Domain
September 29, 2010
New research shows the importance of Archaea, one of three domains into which all living things are classified, for understanding all of biology.
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Sniffing Out ET
September 01, 2010
The discovery of potentially habitable planets beyond our solar system is imminent. But no one really knows when we might learn whether any of those distant worlds are inhabited.
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Deconstructing Death
August 31, 2010
Why are we so bad at caring for the dying? In Final Exam, surgeon Pauline Chen reveals a complex array of reasons, from the training of young physicians to a culture that believes a cure is the only goal.
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Projectile Pooping
August 25, 2010
When it comes to eliminating wastes, some animals are overachievers. Silver-spotted skipper caterpillars and Adelie penguins both can fling poo to startling lengths. But how, and why?
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Tiny Viruses, Big Controversy
August 11, 2010
A recent dispute over the active mechanism for adamantanes, antiviral drugs that combat influenza, sheds light on the difficulties of designing effective antiviral therapies.
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Yawning Together
July 28, 2010
Why do we yawn, and why is yawning contagious even across species? Studies are beginning to explain, but the results aren’t yet conclusive.
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The Evolution of Cooperation
July 14, 2010
Insects that survive on plant sap alone offer insights into the likely origin and evolution of all multicellular life.
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Slippery Cellularities
June 21, 2010
Synthetic biology can mean reconstructing organisms, redesigning biology, or recreating life—and each of these uses has different implications.
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Spineless But Deadly
June 02, 2010
New research reveals the origins of “mystery blobs,” the feeding habits of carnivorous sponges, and the lethal lifecycle of a jelly fungus.
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The Meaning of Life
May 24, 2010
Last week, biologist J. Craig Venter crossed a momentous threshold—creating a living organism with no ancestor. In 2007, Carl Zimmer gave Seed this provocative look at the difficulties inherent in defining "life."
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To Cheat or Not To Cheat?
April 28, 2010
Across the animal kingdom, the decision of whether or not to be faithful to a mate often comes down to Darwinian considerations.
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Drosophila, We Hardly Knew Ye
April 21, 2010
A proposal to change the formal name of Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, has significant implications for research in the life sciences.
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The Living City
July 01, 2007
In some ways, cities are like elephants: they get more economical with size. But as scientists apply metabolism to the metropolis, they are uncovering the surprising paradoxes of urban growth.
Now on SEEDMAGAZINE.COM
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Ideas
I Tried Almost Everything Else
John Rinn, snowboarder, skateboarder, and “genomic origamist,” on why we should dumpster-dive in our genomes and the inspiration of a middle-distance runner.
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Ideas
Going, Going, Gone
The second most common element in the universe is increasingly rare on Earth—except, for now, in America.
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Ideas
Earth-like Planets Aren’t Rare
Renowned planetary scientist James Kasting on the odds of finding another Earth-like planet and the power of science fiction.
