Should a beehive be viewed as a collection of individual organisms, or a single organism unto itself? Or both? Over the last several days I've written about the proposition that evolution can't be ...

The question of why an individual would actively kill itself has been an evolutionary mystery. Death could hardly provide a fitness advantage to the dying individual. However, a new study has found ...

When you see a dominant trait, the underlying genetic make-up can still be ambiguous. See how researchers use test crosses to find out the genotype behind the phenotype. The test cross is another ...

Today, more than half of the human population lives in hive-like warrens called cities. Does this mean we are on the tipping point of becoming colony animals the way bees and ants did? It’s not ...

Find out what Darwin never knew. He understood that species adapt and change, but he didn't understand the actual processes that made this happen. New discoveries in the emerging science of "evo devo" ...

Natural history, in focusing on the individual whole organism in its environment, occupies a central position in the spectra of spatial and temporal scales appropriate to biological science. This ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. A list of features will also mention what life does -- processes like growth, reproduction, ability to adapt and metabolism ...

The world's biggest fungus, discovered in Oregon's Blue Mountains in 2001, is challenging traditional notions of what constitutes an individual. The underground fungus--estimated to be between ...

There are few forms of the botanical world as readily identifiable as fern leaves. These often large, lacy fronds lend ...