Audible yawns in a non-human species may convey important social information
Most of us are familiar with yawn contagion, which is the act of spontaneous yawning when someone nearby yawns, often but not always audibly. For humans, yawning can emanate from fatigue or boredom, and either seeing or hearing someone else yawn may.....»»
The rise of color vision in animals: Study maps dramatic 100-million-year explosion in color signals
Colors are widely used in communication within and among animal species. For example, peacocks proudly display their vibrant tails, adorned with iridescent eyespots, to attract peahens for courtship. This is a classic example of sexual selection usin.....»»
Death Stranding connects to Xbox for 5th anniversary
Death Stranding Director's Cut got a surprise release on Xbox Series X and S, making the social connection game available to even more players......»»
Microsoft just learned its lesson about overcharging for AI features
Apple is just getting started with building AI into its various software platforms. However, one of its chief competitors, Microsoft, just learned an important lesson the company could take to heart: most consumers aren’t willing to pay very much f.....»»
Industrial companies in Europe targeted with GuLoader
A recent spear-phishing campaign targeting industrial and engineering companies in Europe was aimed at saddling victims with the popular GuLoader downloader and, ultimately, a remote access trojan that would permit attackers to steal information from.....»»
Q&A: Looking at ancient Roman plagues through an environmental lens
A pit of human bones, potential evidence of a catastrophic epidemic that struck Constantinople in 541 A.D. Sulfur deposits trapped in polar ice, showing traces of a series of massive volcanic eruptions. For Brandon McDonald, these seemingly incongruo.....»»
Mountaineering mice shed light on evolutionary adaptation
Teams of mountaineering mice are helping advance understanding into how evolutionary adaptation to localized conditions can enable a single species to thrive across diverse environments......»»
North Korean hackers employ new tactics to compromise crypto-related businesses
North Korean hackers are targeting crypto-related businesses with phishing emails and novel macOS-specific malware. The crypto-related phishing campaign Since July 2024, phishing emails seemingly containing helpful information on risks related to the.....»»
Evolutionary anthropologist presents hypothesis about why humans are dominating the world over other animals
Why is human culture—the shared body of knowledge passed down across generations—so much more powerful than animal cultures?.....»»
Earliest evidence of Ephedra use found in 15,000-year-old Moroccan burial
An international group of researchers led by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria have uncovered the earliest evidence of Ephedra use from the charred remains of the plant in a 15,000-year-old human burial site in northeastern Morocco......»»
Ancient unicellular organism indicates embryonic development might have existed prior to animals" evolution
Chromosphaera perkinsii is a single-celled species discovered in 2017 in marine sediments around Hawaii. The first signs of its presence on Earth have been dated at over a billion years, well before the appearance of the first animals......»»
Researcher highlights the combined effects of climate change and chemical pollution
Traditionally, research has focused on either climate change or chemical pollution in isolation, overlooking their combined effects. This oversight creates a blind spot in understanding the full scope of risks to ecosystems and human health......»»
Coyotes are thriving despite human and predator pressures, large-scale study finds
Research led by the University of New Hampshire sheds light on how coyotes, North America's most successful predators, are responding to various environmental pressures, including human development, hunting and competition with larger carnivores. Sur.....»»
iOS 18.2: Apple Intelligence image features have a waitlist, here’s why
Apple just launched the public beta for iOS 18.2. If you’re excited to try out the latest Apple Intelligence features and more, we have an important PSA to share. Image features like Genmoji and Image Playground come with a waitlist in iOS 18.2, so.....»»
Pathogens that cling to microplastics may survive wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment fails to kill several human pathogens when they hide out on microplastics in the water, reports a study led by Ingun Lund Witsø of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, published November 6, 2024 in the open-access journal.....»»
New PFAS testing method could make water testing more affordable, portable and accessible
University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have discovered a new way to detect per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water. This marks an important step forward in creating testing devices that are simpler, more cost-effective, faster an.....»»
"Shallow" sports and "deep" social hierarchies: Not all pecking orders are created equally
University of Michigan researchers have added a new dimension to the mathematics used to predict the outcomes of all manner of competitions, including sports, games and social hierarchies in both humans and animals......»»
Struggling with relationships? You may be too materialistic
Digital technology and social media have revolutionized communication, making people more connected than ever. Yet many developed nations are struggling with loneliness and data has shown that while we have more ways to connect with others, the quant.....»»
Balancing quantity and quality: How X/Twitter"s algorithm influences our consumption of news
Are we only seeing the kind of news we want to see on social media? What effects do personalized algorithms have on our perception of news quality? Do algorithms help us serendipitously encounter information that we didn't expect? These are the quest.....»»
New research reveals how stormy conditions affect albatrosses" ability to feed
Albatrosses are exceptionally mobile and use the wind to travel hundreds of thousands of miles to feed on squid, fish, or other animals found near the water surface in the open ocean. In fact, some larger species of albatrosses are so reliant on the.....»»
Tracking biodiversity: Researchers outline strengths and challenges in new monitoring framework
As the UN COP16 on biodiversity meets in Calì, Colombia, experts from McGill University are on-site, providing important input into the global conversation. These experts have been instrumental in shaping the global biodiversity monitoring framework.....»»