American Behaviroal Scientist

Yawning » American Scientist

Imagine a yawn. You stretch your jaws open in a wide gape, take a deep inward breath, followed by a shorter exhalation, and end by closing your jaws. Ahhh. You have just joined vertebrates everywhere in one of the animal kingdom's most ancient rites. Mammals and most other animals with backbones yawn; fish, turtles, crocodiles and birds do it. People start yawning very early, offering further e...

Scientists and Motherhood » American Scientist

As the husband of another professor and a parent of twins, I agree that the demands of parenthood are a compelling reason that more women than men leave high-demand career tracks. In our culture, women still do more parenting than men, so the burden falls asymmetrically on them. I would also argue that, compared to men, women define their self-worth less through their careers and more through t...

A reprint from American Scientist

Self-healing Polymers and Composites » American Scientist

Nothing lasts forever. Any humanmade material, used in anything from toys to bridges, will eventually fail, if not maintained and repaired. Traditionally, this problem has been addressed through extensive inspection and expensive replacement of damaged parts. Biological systems, however, have evolved to include alternative ways to repair internal and external damage via healing mechanisms. Mate...

The Experimental Analysis of Behavior » American Scientist

Not so long ago the expression “a science of behavior” would have been regarded as a contradiction in terms. Living organisms were distinguished by the fact that they were spontaneous and unpredictable. If you saw something move without being obviously pushed or pulled, you could be pretty sure it was alive. This was so much the case that mechanical imitations of living things—singing birds whi...