Culture

“The Rise of Yeast” explains how one fungus altered history.

Elite athletes are now maintaining their level of performance in their 40s and beyond. What can they teach the rest of us?

Genes play a refreshingly limited role in Carl Zimmer’s new book about heredity.

Michael Pollan explores the neuroscience of psychedelics in this excerpt from his new book.

Stanford bioengineer Drew Endy doesn’t mind bringing dragons to life. What really scares him are humans. by David Ewing Duncan

Get inspired by documentaries on food, human performance, and more.

Emotions don’t get in the way of rational thought, says Antonio Damasio. They make it possible.

What “Frankenstein” and the golem tell us about the power and responsibility of science.

Fifteen new things that promote fitness, celebrate science, and make self improvement a bit more stimulating.

In “The Runaway Species,” Anthony Brandt and David Eagleman try to unlock the secrets of creativity. by Michael Hawley

A thriller about cloning, gene editing, and bioengineering is the perfect show for our times.

Sophia Roosth puts big questions to the people who are reviving extinct species and building organisms from scratch.

Geoffrey West’s monumental book “Scale” channels math and physics to explore the limits of our biology, our companies, and our civilization. by Esther Dyson

Back by popular demand: more great reading recommendations from people shaping the future of our species.

Trying to stay young isn’t just futile: it’s also bad for you. Here’s how to think about aging in the era of ultra longevity.