Science & the Big Questions

Fossil Worm Shows Us Our Evolutionary Beginnings

A worm-like creature that burrowed on the seafloor more than 500 million years ago may be key to the evolution of much of the animal kingdom.

BBC News

Topics: Evolutionary Theory

What Is Philosophy of Biology?

Watch the interview series.

Closer To Truth

Topics: Consciousness Emergence Evolutionary Theory Origin of Life Wisdom

The Urgency of Agency

Our consciousness gets in the way of thinking about evolution.

Life, Unbounded, Scientific American

Topics: Agency Evolutionary Mechanisms Evolutionary Theory Extraterrestrial Life Origin of Life

The Secret History of Science and Religion: On the Origin of Humans

Nick Spencer examines the history of science and religion and questions the extent to which they have been in conflict with one another.

BBC Radio 4

Topics: Elaine Howard Ecklund Evolutionary Theory Human Uniqueness Models of Science & Religion Science & Religion Dialogue

Wings May All Be Universal. Smarts, Not So Much

Many astrobiologists believe life gets going easily on Earthlike planets and so will be widespread in the universe. It is then possible that some of those planets might have evolved intelligent beings.

Cosmos

Topics: Epigenetics Evolutionary Theory Extraterrestrial Life Intelligence

Gifted Education, Hope, Male Incompetence, and Contextual Evolution

The Psychology Podcast recap for May 2019.

Beautiful Minds, Scientific American

Topics: Education Evolutionary Theory Hope

Edward O. Wilson on the Evolution of Social Behaviors

Here, he explains the relevance of evolved insect behaviors to human nature.

Quanta Magazine

Topics: Altruism Animal Studies Cooperation Evolutionary Mechanisms Evolutionary Theory Social Behavior

In Ecology Studies and Selfless Ants, He Finds Hope for the Future

For more than six decades, the influential biologist Edward O. Wilson has drawn connections between evolution, ecology, and behavior, often sparking controversies inside and outside of science.

Quanta Magazine

Topics: Altruism Animal Studies Cooperation Evolutionary Mechanisms Evolutionary Theory Social Behavior

How Evolutionary Theory Guides Policy

A review of David Sloan Wilson’s new book, This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution.

Nature

Topics: Cultural Evolution David Sloan Wilson Evolutionary Mechanisms Evolutionary Theory

How Highly Religious Americans View Evolution Depends on How They’re Asked About It

The shares of white evangelical Protestants and black Protestants who say humans have evolved depend on how the question is asked.

Pew Research Center

Topics: Evolutionary Theory Religious Groups

How Beauty Is Making Scientists Rethink Evolution

The extravagant splendor of the animal kingdom can’t be explained by natural selection alone — so how did it come to be?

The New York Times Magazine

Topics: Animal Studies Beauty Evolutionary Mechanisms Evolutionary Theory Nature

Proof of Life: How Would We Recognize an Alien If We Saw One?

What exactly is it that astrobiologists are looking for? How will we know when it’s time to pop the champagne?

Aeon

Topics: Evolutionary Mechanisms Evolutionary Theory Extraterrestrial Life

Evolutionary Math and Just-So Stories

Evolutionary stories like the grandmother hypothesis are easy to construct from mathematical models, but how well do they reflect reality?

Quanta Magazine

Topics: Evolutionary Mechanisms Evolutionary Theory

Mathematics Shows How to Ensure Evolution

New results emerging from graph theory prove that the way a population is organized can guarantee the eventual triumph of natural selection — or permanently thwart it.

Quanta Magazine

Topics: Evolutionary Mechanisms Evolutionary Theory Martin Nowak

Why Social Science Needs Evolutionary Theory

The lack of willingness to view human cognition and behavior as within the purview of evolutionary processes has prevented evolution from being fully integrated into the social science curriculum.

Nautilus

Topics: Cognition Cristine Legare Cultural Evolution Evolutionary Theory Social Behavior Social Learning

Humans Evolved But Are Still Special

Steve Mirsky spoke to Ken Miller, a professor of biology at Brown University and the author, most recently, of The Human Instinct.

Science Talk, Scientific American

Topics: Consciousness Evolutionary Theory Human Uniqueness

The Human Instinct: A Conversation with Ken Miller

Too many people think evolution demeans our species. But maybe evolutionary theory indicates the opposite: our special place among life on Earth.

Behavioral Scientist

Topics: Consciousness Evolutionary Theory Free Will Human Evolution

Speaking of Evolution, in Non-Threatening Tones

For two years, researchers from the Smithsonian traveled the country to discuss — calmly — the science of human evolution. Here’s why.

Undark

Topics: Evolutionary Theory Human Evolution Human Origins Models of Science & Religion Rick Potts Science & Religion Dialogue

The Elusive Calculus of Insects’ Altruism and Kin Selection

How the ultra-cooperative behavior of ants, bees, and other social insects could have evolved continues to challenge formal analysis. But a new theory that includes hedging bets against nature’s unpredictability may help to change the math and shift the debate.

Quanta Magazine

Topics: Altruism Cooperation Evolutionary Theory Social Behavior

The Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism

Alvin Plantinga believes it is a mistake to accept both naturalism and evolution together.

Center for Philosophy of Religion

Topics: Belief Evolutionary Theory Naturalism

When Evolution Is Not a Slow Dance But a Fast Race to Survive

On the local level, adaptation and natural selection are always at work, adapting us to combat whatever threats — new diseases, climate change, new social selection processes — are now, often invisibly, at hand.

Aeon

Topics: Evolutionary Mechanisms Evolutionary Theory