Frogs use brains or camouflage to evade predators
Throughout evolution, prey animals have adopted a range of strategies to evade their predators. But often these elaborate strategies come at a cost. For example, looking out for and fleeing from predators involves a great deal of cognitive capacity a.....»»
Research explores cell-based theory of consciousness and what it entails
Humans and other animals with brains perhaps aren't the only beings on the planet to experience consciousness, says a study in the journal EMBO Reports......»»
Hotter weather caused by climate change could mean more mosquitos, according to study
A warmer environment could mean more mosquitos as it becomes harder for their predators to control the population, according to a recent study led by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers......»»
Resting gray reef sharks change what we know about how they breathe
Predators in perpetual motion. Sleepless in our seas. If that's your image of sharks, you're not alone. And for good reason: sharks must swim to breathe (or so we were told). The science of how sharks sleep and breathe is linked, and while all sharks.....»»
“Pool Party” process injection techniques evade EDRs
SafeBreach researchers have discovered eight new process injection techniques that can be used to covertly execute malicious code on Windows systems. Dubbed “Pool Party” because they (ab)use Windows thread pools, these process injection t.....»»
Beluga whales" calls may get drowned out by shipping noise in Alaska"s Cook Inlet
Beluga whales are highly social and vocal marine mammals. They use acoustics to navigate, find prey, avoid predators and maintain group cohesion. For Alaska's critically endangered Cook Inlet beluga population, these crucial communications may compet.....»»
A mathematical model connects the evolution of chickens, fish and frogs
One of the most enduring, basic questions of life is: How does it happen? For instance, in human development, how do cells self-organize into skin, muscles or bones? How do they form a brain, a finger, a spine?.....»»
Study reveals genes that set humans apart from other primates in cognitive ability
An international team led by researchers at the University of Toronto has uncovered over 100 genes that are common to primate brains but have undergone evolutionary divergence only in humans—and which could be a source of our unique cognitive abili.....»»
Brains of newborns aren"t underdeveloped compared to other primates, finds new study
Contrary to current understanding, the brains of human newborns aren't significantly less developed compared to other primate species, but appear so because so much brain development happens after birth, finds a new study led by University College Lo.....»»
The ocean"s first large swimming apex predators had exceptionally rapid growth, fossil study finds
The rapid diversification of animals over 500 million years ago—often referred to as the Cambrian Explosion—saw the appearance of the first large swimming predators in our oceans. Amplectobelua symbrachiata, a member of the group Radiodonta, whic.....»»
Pickier dogs found to have pickier brains
Dogs' food preferences are mirrored in their brain activity, particularly within their caudate nuclei -a brain region associated with reward processing, a new study combining behavioral and neuroimaging data by researchers from the Department of Etho.....»»
Brittle stars can learn just fine, even without a brain
We humans are fixated on big brains as a proxy for smarts. But headless animals called brittle stars have no brains at all and still manage to learn through experience, new research reveals......»»
Fish brains may provide insight into the molecular basis of decision-making
How do animals make decisions when faced with competing demands, and how have decision making processes evolved over time? In a recent publication in Biology Letters, Tina Barbasch, a postdoctoral researcher at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic.....»»
Australian mosquito species found to target frogs" noses
A pair of environmental and life scientists, one with the University of Newcastle, in Australia, the other the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research, has found that one species of mosquito native to Australia targets only the noses of f.....»»
Skunks" warning stripes less prominent where predators are sparse, study finds
Striped skunks are less likely to evolve with their famous and white markings where the threat of predation from mammals is low, scientists from the University of Bristol, Montana and Long Beach, California have discovered......»»
Study suggests brain regulatory program predates central nervous system evolution
New research from the Layden Lab at Lehigh has demonstrated that the gene mechanisms at work during neurogenesis in the brain actually predate the evolutionary development of the central nervous system. In other words, to build our brains, nature is.....»»
Is fear of sharks being overblown?
"Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water...." It's one of the most famous taglines in film history, immortalizing sharks as ruthless predators. But beyond the horror generated by Spielberg's "Jaws" series, a persistent fear of shar.....»»
Climate change is altering animal brains and behavior—a neuroscientist explains how
Human-driven climate change is increasingly shaping the Earth's living environments. Rising temperatures, rapid shifts in rainfall and seasonality, and ocean acidification are presenting altered environments to many animal species. How do animals adj.....»»
Animals skin patterns are a matter of physics—research could improve medical diagnostics and synthetic materials
Patterns on animal skin, such as zebra stripes and poison frog color patches, serve various biological functions, including temperature regulation, camouflage and warning signals. The colors making up these patterns must be distinct and well separate.....»»
Poison dart frogs: Personality determines reproductive strategies, research suggests
Unlike their relatives, individuals of the poison frog Allobates femoralis are not poisonous but are captivating due to their different behavioral profiles: They successfully reproduce with different strategies depending on whether they are bold, agg.....»»
A croc"s life: There"s more than meets the eye
Saltwater crocodiles are large predators that lurk in muddy waters, with jaws powerful enough to attack anything from water buffalo to humans... but they are also just big chilled-out lounge-lizards who love to sunbake......»»