A report issued earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Education found that American students struggle with science.

Just one genus of flowering plant, Veronica, includes over 450 different species. They share similarities with other flower genera, some of which have radially symmetrical flowers and others with bilaterally symmetrical flower petal arrangements. Could varieties that look so different have descended from the same flower stock?

Darwinian evolution asserts that a single original organism morphed over countless generations into the modern known life forms. Each species alive today would therefore represent the tip of its own "branch" on a gigantic imaginary tree of life, with the hypothetical ancestor of all life forms situated at the base of the trunk.

Unlike other creatures, humans can compose, record, and enjoy music. A new study has identified a brain chemical that provides pleasure when people listen to certain music. Where did this amazing ability come from?

When boring into wood in search of food, a woodpecker exerts so much force with each strike that its beak should crumble, its skull should crack, and its brain should be reduced to mush. However, a suite of design features absorbs the shock and ensures that these tragedies do not happen. How are these features able to provide such effective protection?