WEIRD ANIMALS
Study finds rats instinctively move in time to music – an ability previously thought to be uniquely human. Rats were fitted with miniature accelerometers and played excerpts from Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major. Photograph: Thomas Leirikh/Getty Images/iStockphoto – Hannah Devlin …
The study showed that synthetic fertilizers temporarily alter the electrical field produced by flowers such as lavender, causing bumblebees to pass them over. Depositphotos – By Ben Coxworth 2022 Nov 09 – A number of studies have already shown that synthetic chemicals can harm …
An expedition to find Wallace’s giant bee in the wild led to its ‘rediscovery’ in Indonesia’s Maluku islands. Entomologist Eli Wyman with the first rediscovered individual of Wallace’s giant bee. It was the first time the bee had been seen alive in the …
Scientists suggest octopuses propel material as part of den cleaning, but also in interactions and with purpose. The octopuses may hit each other with projectiles as an assertion of personal space, it has been suggested. Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images Nicola Davis Science correspondent …
A pit bull is not an official breed – it’s an umbrella term for a type of dog. Barbara Rich via Getty Images – By Colin Dayan, Professor of English, Robert Penn Warren Professor in the Humanities, and Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University …
Latest finding adds to theory that animals, including humans, naturally arrange things in a certain order, even without being able to count. The study found that bees headed to the left to get a smaller number of items, and to the right to …
Bees look for water on an outdoor tap in Berlin, Germany during a hot spell, 2022 Jun 19. Wolfram Steinberg/picture alliance via Getty Images – By Jennie L. Durant, Research Affiliate in Human Ecology, University of California, Davis Published: 2022 Oct 13 – …
Microscope images of the newly discovered moving “superorganisms,” made up of bacteria (green) attached to filaments of fungus (blue). Penn Dental Medicine – By Michael Irving 2022 Oct 05 – If you needed more motivation to brush your teeth regularly, this could do the …
Its enzymes degrade polyethylene within hours at room temperature and could ‘revolutionize’ recycling. Wax worm eating a piece of plastic. Photograph: CSIC Communications Department/PA – Damian Carrington Environment editor @dpcarrington Last modified on 2022 Oct 04 – Enzymes that rapidly break down plastic …
A new study provides “firm” evidence that dogs can detect the smell of stress. Depositphotos – By Nick Lavars 2022 Sep 28 – Having been domesticated many thousands of years ago, dogs have evolved to become highly attuned to human behavior, but a study …