The architectural feats of animals — from beaver dams to birds’ nests — not only make for great nature television, but, since the plans for such constructions seem largely inherited, they also offer an opportunity for scientists to tackle the profoundly difficult question of how genes control complicated behavior in animals and humans. A long-term…
Can crabs feel pain? New research on the clawed crustaceans suggests the answer is yes. A group of UK researchers came to this conclusion by examining the reactions of common shore crabs to mild electric shocks in a study released today in the Journal of Experimental Biology. The key to their finding is the distinction…
An international research team says it has identified a specific DNA sequence associated with leadership skills. The findings, which appeared online in the journal Leadership Quarterly, suggest that a quarter of the variation among leadership qualities in individuals could be inherited — due to the genotype rs4950. To find this genotype, the team analyzed the…
To humans, all fire ants may look alike. But the tiny, red, stinging bugs known as Solenopsis invicta have two types of social organization, and these factions are as recognizable to the ants as rival football teams are to us. Researchers once thought that the groups’ distinct physiological and behavioral profiles stemmed from a variant…
Last year the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved its famous “Doomsday Clock” — which measures the likelihood of global catastrophe — one minute closer to midnight, citing a lack of progress on nuclear disarmament and measures to address climate change. The Bulletin again saw a year of stasis, but opted to keep the clock…
Air pollution in China is at an all-time high. The Asian Development Bank together with Tsinghua University recently released the “National Environmental Analysis,” has reported that among the world’s ten most air polluted cities, 7 are in China. They are Taiyuan, Beijing, Urumqi, Lanzhou, Chongqing, Jinan and Shijiazhuang. The NY Times recently reported that the…
The first drill sample ever collected on Mars will come from a rockbed shot through with unexpected veins of what appears to be the mineral gypsum. Delighted members of the Curiosity science team announced that the rover was now in a virtual “candy store” of scientific targets—the lowest point of Gale crater, called Yellowknife Bay,…
The stifling pollution in Beijing is being called “airpocalypse” by some. According to an air monitoring station located at the U.S. Embassy there, particulate pollution was literally off the charts — with readings well into the 700s on a 0-500 scale. To see how the pollution over much of China increased from Jan. 3 to…
Australia experienced a wave of migration from India about 4,000 years ago, a genetic study suggests. It was thought the continent had been largely isolated after the first humans arrived about 40,000 years ago until the Europeans moved in in the 1800s. But DNA from Aboriginal Australians revealed there had been some movement from India…
A new way of determining hair and eye from modern forensic samples can also be used to identify details from ancient human remains, European researchers say. Researchers in Poland and the Netherlands who developed the system dubbed HIrisPlex for forensic analysis said it is sufficiently robust to successfully work on older and more degraded samples…