Where, when, and how did life arise on earth? These questions have intrigued mankind for centuries. Evolutionary theorists have tried to answer them, but without definitive success. And now even their prized “primordial soup” recipe has failed them. Where can they turn next?

Some frogs build nests to hold their eggs by whipping up a kind of floating foam. A recent study discovered that the proper frothy architecture is only achieved by following precise construction parameters. How did the frogs acquire such a sophisticated building technique?

Every known system degenerates. Metal rusts, food rots, and flowers wither. Even something as large as the universe will eventually run down. How much usable and still-ordered energy remains in the universe?

Fossil fibers found in China over a decade ago are believed by some to have come from “dinosaur feathers.” It has been suggested that the fibers bolster the claim that birds evolved from dinosaurs. But a recent study calls the whole evolutionary paradigm into question by presenting evidence of a young age for these “millions of years old” fibers.

Most residents of the southern states of America are uncomfortably familiar with fire ants. People who have experienced the bites and stings that give these insects their name are often willing to try almost anything to get rid of them. Many of them might hesitate, however, to use the particularly gruesome method favored by one tiny predator.