"Consciousness," although challenging to define, can be thought of as a first-person awareness of one's surroundings and oneself. You sense the world through your eyes, nose, ears and hands, and track ...

Life on Earth began in a way that still boggles the mind. Around 4.5 billion years ago, a chemical process called abiogenesis occurred, where life emerged from non-life. Imagine a hot, watery mix of ...

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of ...

Fossilized human teeth spanning two million years of evolution were studied for lead content, which was surprisingly high. To see the effect of lead on the human brain then and now, researchers ...

The humans who move to Mars might not remain "human" for very long. Evolution is a powerful force, transcending planetary boundaries. As Rice University biologist Scott Solomon points out in his ...