Want to Get Along With Robots? Pretend They’re Animals
Robotics ethicist Kate Darling surveys our history with animals—in work, war, and companionship—to show how we might develop similar relationships with robots......»»
Struggling pet owners feel pain of hard choices
Pet owners in financial difficulty can face "heart-wrenching" dilemmas about how to help animals that need unexpected veterinary care, a study suggests......»»
How "winner and loser effects" impact social rank in animals—and humans
Research has shown that in many animals, the winners of a fight are more likely to win subsequent contests, while the losers tend to lose their following fights. In experiments where male stickleback fish were randomly introduced to another fish, 65%.....»»
Beware of fake WhatsApp groups that are stealing accounts!
It seems that there is a rise of fake WhatsApp groups that pretend to be someone you know to steal your account. The post Beware of fake WhatsApp groups that are stealing accounts! appeared first on Phandroid. Scams are everywhere out ther.....»»
X-ray irradiation technique helps to control cancer-causing poison in corn
Corn, a staple food crop consumed by billions of people and animals worldwide, is frequently contaminated by the fungal toxin aflatoxin B1, a highly potent carcinogen produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus......»»
Tree mortality may lead to carbon tipping point in the Amazon by 2050s
The Amazon rainforest is home to a diverse cast of plants and animals. This vital, verdant landscape also plays a crucial role in managing the effects of climate change by storing significant amounts of carbon and helping regulate temperatures and ra.....»»
Islands in the sky: Could steep-sided hilltops offer safe haven to threatened species?
Species are disappearing at an alarming rate around the world. But Australia's extinction crisis is especially severe—since European colonization, we have lost about 100 species of animals and plants. The loss of 33 mammal species is largely due to.....»»
New generation of ecological models needed to safeguard future of biodiversity, says researcher
Protecting animals, ecosystems and biodiversity is one of the big challenges of our time. With climate change dramatically impacting the planet and transformations in society such as housing development and urbanization, protecting ecosystems and the.....»»
Apple’s next secret project sounds absolutely wild — and it involves robots
With the Apple Car being canned, a new report claims Apple could be pivoting to robotics in a fascinating new way......»»
Studying the journey, not the destination, provides new insight into songbird migrations
Migration is an adaptive phenomenon, typically triggered by a change of season, that is vital to ecosystem health. Animals may journey thousands of miles, in some cases, in search of food, better living conditions, or to find a mate. Conversely, huma.....»»
How color shapes which animals we fear—and which we protect
Around the world, animals that exhibit rare color morphisms—including lighter-colored variants with albinism or leucism and dark-colored variants with melanism—are often the subject of both veneration and fear in humans......»»
Bumblebees" sense of direction rivals that of humans, study shows
Bumblebees have a great capacity to navigate despite their small brain size. This is borne out of new research conducted at Lund University in Sweden. The research results can potentially benefit the development of navigation robots in crisis situati.....»»
The plight of the pig-nosed turtle, one of the unlucky 13 added to Australia"s threatened species list
Australia's unique biodiversity is under siege. The national list of species threatened with extinction is growing, with eight animals and five plants added just last month......»»
"Killer robots" are becoming a real threat in Africa
The use of drones in the Sahel, a region of Africa that has been plagued by violence driven by jihadist insurgency for much of the past decade, has become a real problem. In April, for example, Al Qaeda's affiliate in the Sahel, Jama'at Nusrat al Isl.....»»
Unveiling the ancient Maya"s relationship to animals and nature
As the scorching May sun of Central Belize blazes down on us, temperatures soar to a staggering 106°F. Local farmers anxiously await the onset of the rainy season to sow their crops, but the much-needed first rain remains elusive. This property is o.....»»
French sheep farmers fret over bluetongue outbreak
French authorities reported Thursday more than 20 suspected cases of bluetongue virus in sheep, raising fears a potentially fatal outbreak after hundreds of animals were infected in neighboring Belgium......»»
A new mechanism for animal food caching behavior discovered
New research from Hebrew University proposes a novel, non-memory-based mechanism for how animals cache and retrieve food. Instead of relying on memory, the researchers suggest that animals use a neural mechanism similar to hash functions in computing.....»»
Ten years of research shows chlamydia vaccine can save lives of wild koalas
The largest and longest-ever survey of wild koalas has confirmed a chlamydia vaccine, developed by the University of the Sunshine Coast, can protect the animals from developing and dying from the disease......»»
Get ready for creepy AI robots with human facial expressions
China has reportedly developed a robot that can respond with natural human facial expressions. The robot was created by Liu Xiaofeng, a professor at Hohai … The post Get ready for creepy AI robots with human facial expressions appeared first on.....»»
Lemurs use long-term memory, smell, and social cues to find food
How do foraging animals find their food? A new study by New York University researchers shows that lemurs use smell, social cues, and long-term memory to locate hidden fruit—a combination of factors that may have deep evolutionary roots......»»
Plants offer fruit to insects to disperse dust-like seeds, botanist discovers
Fruit exist to invite animals to disperse the swallowed seeds. A Kobe University research team found that plants targeting insects rather than birds or mammals for this service are more common than previously thought. These plants produce dust-like s.....»»