society and culture

July–August 2008

Do baseballs obey the conventional laws of physics?

December 2009-January 2010

An Internet guide to the Iron Age Centic culture

July-August 2006

Alfred C. Kinsey's scientific interests went well beyond sex.

October 1950

Quaint court scenes of yesteryear show that ignorance of the law was once no excuse even for an animal.

September 1951

The anthropologist analyzes a modern culture

October 2009

Birth rates rise in the wealthiest nations.

October 2009

Aboriginal Australians might once have tended crops.

February 1937

Three Singing Mice

March 2009

Are double-crested cormorants overrunning their niche—or recovering from centuries of suppression?

September 2009

Contagious laughter, yawns, and moods offer insight into empathy’s origins.

Caves are among the predators’ favorite spots.

The brain doesn't much care whether an experience is real.

Humans will never win a sprint against your average quadruped. But our species is well-adapted for the marathon.

Hear author Xiaoming Wang interviewed by Vittorio Maestro, Editor in Chief of Natural History. (MP3, 17 minutes)