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Researchers at the Max Planck Institute and the Santa Fe Institute have developed a new model to explain the evolutionary origins of empathy and other related phenomena, such as emotional contagion and contagious yawning. The model suggests that the origin of a broad range of empathetic responses lies in cognitive simulation. It shifts the theoretical focus from a top-down approach that begins with cooperation to one that begins with a single cognitive mechanism.

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A "big dating" analysis reveals geographic distance within the U.S. as the strongest driver of mutual romantic messaging.

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By providing an over-abundance of energy to cells, diseases like obesity and diabetes might super-charge growth and cause cells to become cancerous.

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After exploring every possible correlation, researchers shed new light on a long-standing question about what triggers cell division.

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Identifying meaningful information is a key challenge to disciplines from biology to artificial intelligence. In a new paper, Santa Fe Institute researchers propose a broadly applicable, fully formal definition for this kind of semantic information.

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Quantitative tools developed in math and physics to understand bifurcations in dynamical systems could help ecologists and biologists better understand -- and predict -- tipping points in animal societies.

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A new study suggests that defenses against extreme temperatures give E. coli bacteria an advantage in fending off certain drugs. The work could help doctors administer antibiotics in a more precise way.

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It may seem that there isn't much cross-discussion between theoretical and empirical scientists, but a new cross-citation network analysis shows there is more overlap than many believe. 

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To prevent bias in hiring and other contexts, researchers present an algorithm that imposes a fairness constraint on machine learning.

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Recent breakthroughs in the field of nonequilibrium statistical physics have revealed opportunities to advance the "thermodynamics of computation," a field that could have far-reaching consequences for how we understand, and engineer, our computers.

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Researchers analyzed new data on the Chilean elections of the 1970s to understand how economies react to institutional change.

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Seamus Blackley, Cory Doctorow, Ashton Eaton, Kate Greene, Annalee Newitz, Scott Ross, Martine Rothblatt, Neal Stephenson, and Pete Worden among luminary panelists and performers to converge in Santa Fe June 7-8, 2018

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In a new study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, researchers Albert Kao (Harvard University), Andrew Berdahl (Santa Fe Institute), and their colleagues examined just how accurate our collective intelligence is and how individual bias and information sharing skew aggregate estimates. Using their findings, they developed a mathematical correction that takes into account bias and social information to generate an improved crowd estimate.

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Most election polls take the political pulse of a state or nation by reaching out to citizens about their voting plans. Santa Fe Institute Professor Mirta Galesic says pollsters might also ask: how do your friends plan to vote?

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Models for extinction risk are necessarily simple. Most reduce complex ecological systems to a linear relationship between resource density and population growth—something that can be broadly applied to infer how much resource loss a species can survive.

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No individual fish or bee or neuron has enough information by itself to solve a complex problem, but together they can accomplish amazing things. In research recently published in Science Advances, Eleanor Brush (University of Maryland), David Krakauer, and Jessica Flack address how this is possible through a study of the emergence of social structure in primate social groups.

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In a new paper in Nature Communications, three Santa Fe Institute researchers describe a trio of paradoxical dynamics that can arise in simple microbial economies. The work could be important for approaching engineered microbial communities and better understanding microbiomes.

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In the Middle Ages, did contracting leprosy necessarily increase a person's chances of dying? Yes, says a new paper. But it's complicated.

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In a new paper published in PLOS ONE, researchers describe a recent, rapid, and ongoing invasion of monk parakeets in Mexico, and the regulatory changes that affected the species’ spread.

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New research finds evidence for a complicated structure behind primate conflict. It is not individuals who control the length of fights, but the relationships between pairs of individuals.

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A recurring theme in nature documentaries is that of choosy females selecting brightly colored males. A new study shows that, in monogamous mating systems, male birds may select their lifelong mates in much the same way.

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Unlike other mosquito-borne outbreaks, Zika doubles as a sexually transmitted infection, with men retaining the virus 10 times longer in their semen than women do in their vaginal fluids. According to research initiated at the Santa Fe Institute, populations least likely to get tested for Zika could create a silent, sustained outbreak.

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What will it take to become an InterPlanetary civilization? The Santa Fe Institute convenes a panel of scientists and sci-fi authors to answer this question Tuesday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m. MDT. Watch the discussion live on YouTube.

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When many individual neurons collect data, how do they reach a unanimous decision? New research from the Santa Fe Institute's collective computation group suggests a two-phase process.

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In an article that appears in the current issue of Evolutionary Anthropology, researchers synthesize over 15 years of theoretical and empirical findings from long-term study of the Tsimane forager-farmers. They find productivity and social status peak long after physical strength.

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Understanding how cities develop at the neighborhood level is key to promoting equitable, sustainable urbanization.

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When public goods like clean water, air, and health care compete with funding for particular districts, citizen lawsuits can tilt the legislative process toward a middle ground.

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Why do salmon travel in pulse-like groups? A new model challenges standard explanations by suggesting social cues trigger migration.

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Investigating the lower bound of energy required for life helps us understand ecological constraints on other planetary bodies in our solar system as well as our own. In a new study, researchers analyze cellular processes across species and sizes of bacteria, to zoom in on life's minimal energy requirements.

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A new technique based in information theory promises to improve researchers' ability to interpret ice core samples and our understanding of the earth's climate history.

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Networks evolve in different ways depending how often "second neighbor," or friends of friends, connections occur.

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Researchers suggest a better algorithm for digital recommendation systems that suggest songs, movies, or romantic partners for you.

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What is the best way for a group to collaborate on solving a difficult problem? A new study finds that the answer depends on how that particular group learns.

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Modern European cities and medieval cities share a population-density-to-area relationship, a new paper concludes – the latest research to find regularities in human settlement patterns across space and time.

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Three researchers have devised a new network community detection technique that hopscotches over the limitations of other methods, revealing network structure at the microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic levels quickly and simultaneously.

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When disease outbreaks occur, front-line workers become infected and healthy individuals take their places. Based on network models of this “human exchange,” researchers from the Santa Fe Institute and the University of Vermont find that replacing sick individuals with healthy ones can actually accelerate the spread of infection.

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A new study suggests that people who participate in regular religious acts send a clear signal to others that they're ready and willing to contribute to their communities.

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New research suggests that larger crowds do not always produce wiser decisions. Moderately-sized crowds are likely to outperform larger ones when faced with combinations of easy and difficult qualitative decisions.

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Young male bluebirds may gain an evolutionary advantage by delaying breeding and helping out their parents' nests instead, according to new research led by Caitlin Stern of the Santa Fe Institute.

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New research explores the impact of hunter-gatherers on north Pacific marine food webs and the behaviors that helped preserve their network of food sources. The findings hold implications for modern food webs.

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Using a new methodology that measures how closely words’ meanings are related within and between languages, an international team of researchers has revealed that for many universal concepts, the world’s languages feature a common structure of semantic relatedness.

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A team from the Santa Fe Institute, Arizona State University, and Slum Dwellers International has been selected to find new ways to help the world's poorest, most vulnerable communities.

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Models suggest that when social isolation and coinfection occur together, diseases can spread faster and further than with either effect alone.

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In a new study, researchers used anonymized cell phone data to assess the feasibility of electrification options for rural communities in Senegal, demonstrating a potentially valuable approach to using data to solve problems of development.

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Most new patents are combinations of existing ideas and pretty much always have been, even as the stream of fundamentally new core technologies has slowed, according to a new study led by Santa Fe Institute researchers.

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Dispersal and adaptation are two evolutionary strategies available to species given an environment. Generalists, like dandelions, send their offspring far and wide. Specialists, like alpine flowers, adapt to the conditions of a particular place. New research models the interplay between these two strategies and shows how even minor changes in an environment can create feedback and trigger dramatic shifts in evolutionary strategy.

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A new study from the Santa Fe Institute confirms quantitatively that partisan disagreements in the U.S. Congress are worsening and that polarization is harmful to policy innovation.

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New research by Santa Fe Institute scientists reveals a surprising insight: publicly-traded firms die off at the same rate regardless of their age or economic sector.