Legislation currently making its way through the British parliament aims to dramatically widen the acceptable scope of assisted reproduction and embryo research in the UK. One of the bill’s provisions permits the creation of in vitro siblings with matching tissues that can be harvested in case the original child needs an organ or bone marrow transplant later in life.

In study after study, significant numbers of patients suffering from depression report feeling better after taking a sham pill. A few years ago, biobehavioral experts at UCLA actually measured physical changes in response to placebo treatment in some of their patients. Their findings may change the way we treat depression. Watch this full episode of Scientific American Frontiers to learn more.

They may look like big dumb lumps, but it turns out that walruses are actually musical prodigies. In fact, during mating rituals, walrus bulls seduce females with compositions that rival the songs of nightingales and humpback whales for their complexity.

In a major report published Friday, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says that Earth’s wildlife populations have plummeted by about 25 percent overall since the 1970s, despite increased awareness about …

Researchers at the New York Botanical Garden are coordinating an ambitious new project that will create a database of DNA information from the world’s tree species, according to an …