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Why do humans cook? Holidays are celebrated in many ways, but chances are they involve eating, and eating a LOT. Ever wonder why we cook our food? We do it because it tastes good, of course, and because our customs and traditions are built around it. But we also cook our food for some basic biological reasons, because of evolution. Some scientists think that figuring out how to cook actually MADE us human! If conversation gets a little dry around your holiday table, now you'll have some awesome science to share with everyone!

You have your mom's smile, your dad's eyes, and the ear muscles of a Triassic mammal.

How does evolution really work? Actually, not how some of our common evolutionary metaphors would have us believe. For instance, it's species, not individual organisms, that adapt to produce evolution, and genes don't "want" to be passed on -- a gene can't want anything at all! Alex Gendler sets the record straight on the finer points of evolution.

Greg Foot tries to dive into the topic of Evolution; looking at why monkeys exist, who our common ancestor is, and how we branched away to become a new species.

Why does music make us feel happy or sad? Or angry or romantic? How can simple sound waves cause so much emotion? I went from my comfy chair to the streets of Austin to investigate how it might be written into our neuroscience and evolution. Modern neuroscience says our brains may be wired to pick certain emotions out of music because they remind us of how people move!

This fall, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Geographic are bringing the Birds-of-Paradise Project to the public. Get an advance look now...and witness diverse strategies of evolution at work and experience one of nature's extraordinary wonders - up close.