Being called a "bird brain" implies that an individual is scatterbrained and flighty. Through the decades, however, ornithologists have grown to appreciate the amazing design and abilities of these feathered creatures. From their respiratory system to intricate vocalization patterns, birds reveal profound sophistication.

Microbiologists contend that instead of increasing complexity, evolution of some systems—like interdependent microbial communities—can occur by losing complexity. How accurate or meaningful is this new idea about "reductive evolution," whereby life evolves by losing genes?¹

Media reports are buzzing with misleading headlines. Wired Science reported, "Giant Feathered Tyrannosaur Found in China."¹ Even the technical description, published in Nature, is titled, "A gigantic feathered dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China."² Despite these assertions, the fossils' details show no actual feathers or feather imprints.

Physicists have spent enormous amounts of time and billions of dollars building supercolliders to search for fundamental particles, including the European Large Hadron Collider, which is designed to find the elusive Higgs boson.^1,2 A recent article in Nature asked what kinds of discoveries in biology would garner similar attention—"the biological Higgs."³

What was the earth's atmosphere like when ancient rocks were forming? Was it cold and thin because the sun was supposedly dimmer back then?