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Instant Expert: Evolution
Evolution is the unifying force in modern biology, but it remains a source of misunderstanding and controversy. Start finding out why it is so important with our beginner's guide
LATEST ARTICLES
P. Z. Myers: Mild-mannered scourge of creationists
18:00 25 November 2009 | 208 comments
His tirades against religion have provoked millions of readers, but the force behind the science blog Pharyngula turns out to be a rather genial firebrand
Charles Darwin: Writing Origin 'like confessing a murder'
07:00 23 November 2009 | 37 comments
Death is no barrier to New Scientist. 150 years after the publication of On the Origin of Species, we have obtained an interview with its author*
Pickled evidence for evolution
17:09 20 November 2009
Animal specimens preserved in jars look Victorian, but the images in Evidence of Evolution show there's still nothing better for studying new species
Was there a Stone Age apocalypse or not?
19:00 19 November 2009 | 19 comments
A comet blasted North America 13,000 years ago, wiping out its megafauna and early settlers, one group insists. Not a bit of it, the sceptics cry
Gene change in cannibals reveals evolution in action
14:27 19 November 2009 | 24 comments
Devastating brain disease caused by human cannibalism promoted protective gene mutation to emerge just 200 years ago
SEX
Has the mystery of sex been explained at last?
Biologists have long struggled to explain why most creatures reproduce sexually when they could just clone themselves – now at last it's becoming clear not only why sex evolved, but when
MORE EVOLUTION
Darwin's long argument is won
15:23 16 November 2009 | 29 comments
Creationists who try to smear The Origin of Species as the sacred text of science are making a basic error
Was life founded on cyanide from space crashes?
15:55 06 November 2009 | 21 comments
Comet and asteroid strikes may have seeded Earth with cyanide that prepared the planet for life
Nicky Clayton: Dancing with Darwin
12:26 05 November 2009 | 3 comments
The bird cognition expert has worked with the Rambert Dance Company on its new evolution-inspired show, now on tour in the UK
Microbes' globe-trotting has made them less diverse
14:14 02 November 2009 | 3 comments
The way microbes disperse via wind and dust storms means that the number of unique species may be smaller than expected
Mothering matters, but grandmothering counts too
14:57 28 October 2009 | 14 comments
Grandmothers stick around to protect the DNA they share with their grandchildren, new evidence suggests
VESTIGIAL ORGANS
Five things humans no longer need
Vestigial organs are hotly disputed, with some, like the appendix, possibly not vestigial after all. We pick out five that almost certainly are
HUMAN EVOLUTION
So you think humans are unique?
Over the past decade, hard scientific fact has steadily chipped away at our supposedly unique qualities. Now, even language is no longer something we can call our own
TOP 10
Life's greatest inventions
Over the eons, evolution has thrown up some staggering engineering feats. New Scientist looks at 10 of the best, from the eye to sex and language
