Animal communication studies often classify signals by their physical similarity, assuming it reflects how animals perceive meaning. Using vocalizations of pre-linguistic toddlers, Taub et al. show that acoustic similarity does not necessarily correlate with the receiver’s perceptual space, highlighting a key challenge in interpreting animal communication systems.

The forming and breaking of habits has long been a focus of study in psychology, as well as appearing in many discussions about human behavior. Surprisingl

Life history traits constrain investments in costly neural and somatic embodied capital, potentially shaping the evolution of primate vocal communication systems. This study integrates life history th...

Rewilding has matured into a mainstream approach in nature conservation. More than 450 academic papers on rewilding have been published since the term first appeared in print in the early 1990s. Rewil...

Human actions have shaped ecosystems for thousands of years, and have profound effects on biodiversity and environmental processes. This Review explores the ways that humans have modified past ecosyst...

Abstract. Cultural transmission across generations is key to cumulative cultural evolution. While several mechanisms—such as vertical, horizontal, and obli

And why is it so toxic for political persuasion?

Science's Biggest Self-Control Failure

Humans perfected how to identify wild animals over millennia, and now biologists are rediscovering the exceptional worth of the tracks and marks left behind

“Just how charitable are you supposed to be when criticizing the views of an opponent?”

Long thought to be sterile, our brains are now believed to harbour all sorts of micro-organisms, from bacteria to fungi. How big a part do they play in Alzheimer’s and similar diseases?

SciDraw - an open repository of science drawings

– by Eric Schniter, Michael Gurven, & Hillard Kaplan Humans depend on culturally transmitted knowledge and skills crucial for their survival. But how is essential culture transmitted? In economicall...

Better-than-chance prediction of cooperative behaviour from first and second impressions - Volume 6

A hobby naturalist walking in the Santa Cruz Mountains discovered a patch of what turned out to be Humboldt County milkvetch, a rare plant that had never been spotted south of Mendocino County. Scient...