A Failure of Imagination
Nature does not have to play fair with our puny human brains
Evolution
Life inside the Extinction
These are startling times, but there’s a way out
Self-Terminating Biospheres
Is life’s persistence on Earth really the norm?
The Noninevitability of Life
In a vast game of chance and competition, things can get ugly
Some Dinosaurs Regurgitated Pellets Just like Birds
Small, feathery dinosaurs jettisoned indigestible food just like some modern birds do
My Own Personal Extinction
At the end of her time at Scientific American, Riley Black reflects on the history of Laelaps
Saber-Toothed Protomammal was a Quick Healer
An injury on an ancient bone hints that a saber-toothed carnivore healed fast for its time
Sharp-Nosed Marine Reptile Is a Triassic Surprise
A fossil found in Alaska may help explain why a mysterious group of seagoing creatures went extinct
Squishy Cephalopod Was Almost a Pterosaur’s Lunch
The fossil of an ancient squid relative tells paleontologists something new about the reptile that tried to feed on it
Slime Molds Have Been Oozing around Earth for at Least 100 Million Years
Stunning new fossil reveals that at least one Cretaceous slime mold—an “intelligent” giant amoeba—looks identical to one alive today
Penguin Skin Offers Hints about Dinosaur Fluff
A fossil penguin wing found in Antarctica has broader implications for what dinosaurs looked like
Paleontologists Dig Into a Giant Sloth Boneyard
Ancient drought and unfortunate bathroom habits may have doomed some ice age sloths
What Did Dinosaurs Smell Like?
Smell was certainly an important part of dinosaur life. What do we know about it?
The Biggest Whales Are Yet to Come
A study of whale feeding habits found that food is the main limit to the size of ocean giants
The Time of Giants
Envisioning the Jurassic world requires a lot of fossil detective work
Doing the Crocodile Trot
A new study finds that many crocodile species can bound and gallop. But alligators can’t
Deep Breather
Explaining the very long steps of Earth’s oxygenation—and perhaps that of other planets, too
Alligators Don’t Play Pick-Up Sticks to Lure Lunch
A new study casts doubt over the suggestion that alligators use sticks to catch birds
The Real Riverworld
Meandering rivers may hold a vital clue to the earth’s capacity for life
The Secret of the Crocodile “Death Roll”
Out of 25 living crocodilian species, all but one have been seen to “death roll”
