In all likelihood, this means our ability to laugh came about through evolution; a sense of humor must have given our ancestors a functional advantage. Lynch wants to understand what that advantage is: He wants to know why humor evolved. >>Read More

Of the 16 qualities, men ranked sense of humor as the quality they found most attractive in a significant other. >>Read More

Prayer seems to work as a form of pain relief—but is this a physiological response, or is it purely psychological? >>Read More

So, your significant other takes you for granted — and you think you might want to make him a little bit jealous, just to send a message. One way to do it would be to spend an hour with an ex. >>Read More

Ideologues will usually grab at anything that suits their worldview and ignore whatever contradicts it. But that should not change the questions scientists ask. In fact, modern evolutionary biology is making enormous contributions to our understanding of how our ideas of race, racism, gender, and sexism arise. >>Read More

When Olympic athletes throw up their arms, clench their fists and grimace after a win, they are displaying triumph through a gesture that is the same across cultures, a new study suggests. New findings due to be published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior suggest this victory pose signals feelings of triumph, challenging previous research that labeled the expression pride. >>Read More

We can really appreciate how magnificent the process is by seeing what happens when it breaks down. If we examine puzzling visual illusions we can get an idea of how the brain normally does its work. >>Read More