The parallels between quarrelling animals and humans
The journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B—Biological Sciences published its theme issue "Conflict across taxa" on 4 April, which was edited by Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology Carsten de Dreu. Together with rese.....»»
Biodiversity in the city: Designing urban spaces for humans and animals
Animals and plants also live and thrive on public squares. This creates opportunities for greater biodiversity and well-being for the human population. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have studied at 103 locations in Munich ho.....»»
What Bird Flu in Wastewater Means for California and Beyond
Wastewater in several Californian cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, recently tested positive for bird flu. But understanding disease risk and exposure to humans isn’t so straightforward.....»»
Which animals carry mpox? Our study identified African forest dwelling rodents as one source
Mpox is a disease caused by the highly infectious monkeypox virus. It's quite easily passed on from one person to another. But it originally came from infected animals......»»
Q&A: Holobiont biology, a new concept for exploring how microbiome shapes evolution of visible life
Microorganisms—bacteria, viruses and other tiny life forms—may drive biological variation in visible life as much, if not more, than genetic mutations, creating new lineages and even new species of animals and plants, according to Seth Bordenstei.....»»
Experiments show backyard birds learn from their new neighbors when moving house
Scientists have found a trigger for social learning in wild animals. An experiment on great tits has pinpointed a single factor—immigration—that can cause birds to pay close attention to others, leading them to rapidly adopt useful behaviors......»»
Fossil teeth suggest a long childhood is the prelude to the evolution of a large brain
Compared to the great apes, humans have an exceptionally long childhood, during which parents, grandparents and other adults contribute to their physical and cognitive development. This is a key developmental period for acquiring all the cognitive sk.....»»
Teen in critical condition with Canada’s first human case of H5 bird flu
The teen had no clear exposures to animals. No contacts have tested positive. A British Columbia teen who contracted Canada's first known human case of H5 bird flu has deteriorate.....»»
Bioluminescent proteins made from scratch enable non-invasive, multi-functional biological imaging
Bioluminescence is the natural chemical process of light creation in some living creatures that makes fireflies flicker and some jellyfish glow. Scientists have long been interested in borrowing the secrets of these animals' light-producing genes to.....»»
Virtual fruity fly model can simulate sensory navigation
All animals, large or small, have to move at an incredible precision to interact with the world. Understanding how the brain controls movement is a fundamental question in neuroscience. For larger animals, this is challenging because of the complexit.....»»
Saturday Citations: Color vision created demand for colorful animals; observing black hole light echoes; deadlines!
This week, researchers hypothesized that human culture is distinguished from cultures of other species like whales by unique open-endedness—the ability to communicate and understand an infinite number of possibilities. An ancient unicellular organi.....»»
New insights into the Denisovans—the hominin group that interbred with modern day humans
Scientists believe individuals of the most recently discovered hominin group (the Denisovans) that interbred with modern day humans passed on some of their genes via multiple, distinct interbreeding events that helped shape early human history......»»
New tools give researchers hope for fungus-ravaged US bats
Standing at a woodland entrance to the world's longest cave system in Kentucky, a park ranger warns those about to enter of an extremely deadly fungus—not for humans, but for the bat populations it has devastated across North America......»»
Encouraging quiet during zoo visits might lead to a better appreciation of the animals, say researchers
Encouraging quietness during zoo trips can help visitors better appreciate their inhabitants and lead to more fulfilling, respectful and informative experiences, a new paper argues......»»
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.....»»
Researchers discover genetic reason for the red, yellow and orange bills of Australian finches
What gives an Australian finch its brilliantly colored red, yellow or orange bill? A major new study has uncovered the genetic switches controlling these distinctive colors, revealing a key piece in the puzzle of how animals develop their coloration......»»
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?.....»»
Australian dragon study reveals surprising link between motor systems control and sleep rhythms
Sleep is one of the most mysterious, yet ubiquitous components of our biology. It has been described in all major groups of animals, including worms, jellyfish, insects or cephalopods, and in all vertebrates, from fish to humans. Common characteristi.....»»
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......»»
"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......»»
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.....»»