The human ability to cook may seem ordinary, but it marks one of the most important evolutionary turning points in our ...

In the movie Hoppers, scientists “hop” human consciousness into animal-like robots to talk to other species. We asked the experts their thoughts on how conceivable the plot is.

Why do humans have language and other animals apparently don't? It's one of the most enduring questions in the study of mind and communication. Across all cultures, humans use richly expressive ...

The bright colors of butterfly wings, the sweet aromas of flowers, and the euphonious melodies of songbirds all evolved as signals that help individuals propagate, yet humans also find these very same ...

Did Earth’s major diversification event really happen in one sudden explosion? Our fossil discovery suggests not.

New research by Smithsonian scientists suggests that preferences for certain sounds might be evolutionarily conserved ...

Your taste in music may feel unique, but there may be something more biologically innate driving your acoustic choices: A new study found that animals and humans tend to prefer many of the same ...

Crying is one of the most recognizable human emotional signals. Tears appear when people experience grief, relief, joy, or deep stress. Because this response is so familiar, observers often assume ...

Animal-borne illnesses that infect humans, known as zoonotic viruses, require little to no evolution before jumping between ...