Portside

According to a new finding, described as a "shock" by its discoverers, a single mutation 600 million years ago may be responsible for the emergence of complex organisms -- including all of the plants and animals that we are familiar with -- from a single-celled ancestor. This evolutionary accident enabled cells to communicate with each others and therefore to cooperate.

Nature offers a panoply of ways to determine an organism’s sex. How can such a fundamental property be so variable?

Problematic entries reinforce the popular impression that science is impossible to understand and isn't for most people—they make science seem elitist. And that's an impression that we as a society really can't afford.

Black Voters Explain Why They Feel the Bern. Dr. John & Odetta: Brother Can You Spare a Dime. If Guys Said What Donald Trump Says. Rashad Robinson Dispels Myth of 'Ferguson Effect.' Why Alcohol Doesn't Come With Nutrition Facts.

There’s no getting around the fact that climate change is a bummer. The planet is warming, ice is melting, oceans are acidifying and, well, you get the point. While the bad news is important — it lets us know what we’re getting into with this whole climate change thing — it’s also worth remembering there’s reason for hope.

A nasty and incurable fungus has spread through the banana-producing countries around the world, and it could be making its way straight toward banana heartland: Latin America, which produces 80 percent of the world's exports, threatening to drive the most popular variety of banana to extinction. So scientists are focusing on building a better banana to withstand the fungal assault.

String theory, the multiverse and other ideas of modern physics are potentially untestable. At a historic meeting in Munich, scientists and philosophers asked: should we trust them anyway?

A new study shows that anti-evolution lessons have become more stealthily integrated into curricula.

Bernie Sanders Knocks Donald Trump's Scapegoating. Why Einstein Hated Quantum Mechanics. Merry Confederate Christmas. How Girls Who Code Is Bridging The Gender Gap In Tech. Movie: Where to Invade Next.