Introduction If you look at today’s $50 Mexican peso (left), you won’t see the image of a past president or monument. Instead, you’ll see a lone salamander with outstretched arms and gills in the middle of a lake. For centuries, this small creature, known as the axolotl (ax-oh-lot-al), was well known to the people that […]
Category Archives: Evolution
July
16
Perks of Being a Trichromat
posted by egeyalcinbas
As a youngster, many excursions with my grandmother would end with her pointing out the breathtaking combination of hues that graces the sky during golden hour. She would be sure to mention the weather predictions that stem from our folklore: Warm mixtures of pink and lavender, she would tell me, means that tomorrow will be […]
May
07
Like reality TV? You might be a neuroscientist
posted by Laura Beebe
Imagine … a lush, tropical island with carefully controlled temperature and humidity, where the lights come on and off at regular intervals, where its inhabitants consume dinner in unison from predetermined food sources…. Believe it or not, this paradise exists! It’s called Love Island. And for the many millions of viewers that tune into Love […]
December
19
Genomic Imprinting: A Genetic Custody Dispute for Your Brain
posted by Joseph Herdy
During this holiday season, we would do well to reflect on what we’ve inherited from our parents. You might have your mother’s sense of humor but your father’s sense of direction. You and your Ma might share the same tastes in music, but you prefer your Pa’s tastes for ice cream. Although heavily influenced by […]
October
10
Why do neuroscientists study weird animals?: A primer on neuroethology
posted by Jess Haley
Why do neuroscientists study weird animals? And I don’t mean borderline weird; I mean the kind of extraordinary animals that can create electric fields and lift 100 times their body weight. The sort of animals that can camouflage despite being colorblind and can capture flying prey in fractions of a second. The kind of creatures […]
September
26
Now you see me… now you don’t
posted by kelseysundby
At a very young age, I was caught on camera during a game of hide-and-seek. In my bright red coat, I sat crouched against a tree in full view of the seeker with my hands cleverly placed over my face to obstruct any chance of being found. Until ages 4 to 5, we humans are […]
September
19
How long have we been sleeping?
posted by Joydeep De
“J’ai peur du sommeil comme on a peur d’un grand trou, Tout plein de vague horreur…” In his phenomenal ‘Les fleurs du mal’ (‘Flowers of Evil’), Baudelaire promenades through the darkness of the night and with his characteristic gloomy brush, paints sleep as ‘a great hole’ that he fears. This myth surrounding sleep as a […]
August
22
Is evolution the missing link to understanding mental health?
posted by Nicole Mlynaryk
The human brain has been shaped over hundreds of thousands of years, with evolution selecting for traits that helped our species survive and thrive. So why do we still have so many genes that make us struggle? Why did our remarkable cognitive capacity come with such a susceptibility to disorder?
May
31
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Genetic Memory
posted by James R. Howe VI
We are all products of our past, for better or for worse. At first glance, such a statement seems so obvious it hardly bears mentioning; our earlier experiences, both our successes and our failures, shape our current behavior. But dig just a bit deeper, and it becomes far murkier. What can you call your past? […]
March
29
The animals snakes have nightmares about
posted by Seraphina Solders
The Box Jellyfish has venom so powerful that its human victims go straight into shock. The bite of a king cobra can result in the death of a healthy human adult within fifteen minutes. One drop of venom from a cone snail is capable of killing more than twenty humans. We live in fear of […]
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