You don’t need perfect features to be physically beautiful
New research reveals that physical attractiveness is more about personal compatibility than meeting universal standards
by Annett Schirmer
Human evolution
Humans are uniquely reliant on caregivers. This isn’t a weakness, but a wondrous gift
Video by Aeon
The hidden calculations that determine whether you will cry
We think of tears as an overflow of emotion, but an evolutionary lens shows they’re a rational form of social signalling
by Daniel Sznycer & Debra Lieberman
For a happier life, we must balance two old psychological needs
Personal autonomy is abundant in the modern world. As a result, many of us get what we want but not what we need
by William von Hippel
Cultural taboos arise from a basic feature of the human mind
Unquestioned community rules on marriage, dining and even black cats often stem from our hunger to explain random events
by Kevin (Ze) Hong
Digging for answers in a cave filled with Neanderthal skeletons
When a team of researchers returned to an Iraqi cave believed to be a Neanderthal burial site, here’s what they found
by Shayla Love
Let everyone sparkle: psychotechnology in the year 2067
In the year 2067, the decorations are not the only things that sparkle. We ourselves glow and fizz with psychotechnology
by Eric Schwitzgebel
We’re children of ice and snow. Can we survive the coming heat?
Temperature is more than a number; it’s an experience of our flesh. How will our bodies cope with an ever-warmer planet?
by Robert Frodeman & Mark Bullock
Humans’ gift for charades helps explain the origin of language
How did humans create the earliest words? Iconic vocal sounds, which match form and meaning, likely played a key role
by Marcus Perlman
Our evolved intuitions about privacy aren’t made for this era
Our emotional responses evolved in a very different world. In the online era, that makes us more vulnerable to privacy risks
by Joe Green & Azim Shariff
What dream characters reveal about the astonishing dreaming brain
Such stuff as dreams are made on: the characters who populate your dreams have their own minds, separate from yours
by Antonio Zadra
Why it took us thousands of years to see the colour violet
The colour violet was largely missing from art before the Impressionists, and is seen differently by different cultures. Why?
by Allen Tager
If smiles are so easy to fake, why do we trust them?
Smiles can be a way to dupe people because they’re easy to fake – but we’ve figured out which smiles can be trusted
by Alexander Danvers
Why awesome natural beauty drops the jaw and lifts the spirit
Experiencing awe in nature can transform our sense of connectedness to other people and help maintain a spiritual vitality
by T Ryan Byerly
Most anguish isn’t an illness but an evolved response to adversity
An anthropological view shows us that the root causes of depression and anxiety are usually social conflict and adversity
by Kristen Syme & Edward H Hagen
Do humans really have a killer instinct or is that just manly fancy?
The killer-instinct idea achieved such cultural power because it came embedded in gripping stories about human nature
by Nadine Weidman