Recent studies describing sophisticated plant traits, and some of the insects that feed on those plants, highlight once again how biology may be interpreted very differently. But usually, these interpretations are largely dependent on a researcher’s preexisting beliefs about the origins of living things.

What does the recently unveiled Amazon Go store have to do with several new studies detailing how flies find water or how tiny roundworms can "taste light?" The "world's most advanced shopping technology" that links the cutting-edge Amazon Go store to its customers depends on the same vital element linking roundworms and spiders to their environments: a sensor.

A new bioengineered medical device was designed to treat people with a severe loss of neurologic muscle control. It affords a rare opportunity to clearly see some of the hidden relationships between mind, body, and designed interfaces.

A recent paper by an international team of researchers shows that the skill of some songbirds to extemporaneously innovate musical repertoire equals that of human musicians.¹ Since none of the apes have this complex human-like capability, the discovery poses a big problem for the evolutionary model of human origins.