The humble honeybee can use symbols to perform basic maths including addition and subtraction, shows new research published today in the journal Science Advances.
When oil rigs become reefs, everyone benefits
Marine life typically thrives in the tropics – so why do whales prefer the poles?
What smart bees can teach humans about collective intelligence
I’ve Always Wondered: is rain better than tap water for plants?
Cool Tech: Internet of Trees maps the health of trees online
Carcasses of tiny animals sealed off by a one kilometer thick ice layer found on Antarctica
Bison are back, and that benefits many other species on the Great Plains
Can genetic engineering save disappearing forests?
For the first time ever scientists succeeded to grow plants on the Moon
When pets are family, the benefits extend into society
There is a growing global trend to consider pets as part of the family. In fact, millions of people around the world love their pets, enjoying their companionship, going for walks, playing and even talking to them. And there is evidence suggesting that attachment to pets is good for human health and even helps build community.
Animal welfare: how to keep your pet happy during thunderstorms and fireworks
Why do leaves change colour?
How forensic science has helped rediscover forgotten apples
It’s been a good year for apples. Across Europe the apple harvest is the biggest it has been for a decade. But the handful of apple types you see on supermarket shelves only tells part of the story. There are actually 7,500 varieties of eating apple grown all over the world, and growers and scientists are making efforts to conserve and extend this.
How the zebrafish got its stripes
Magnetic bacteria and their unique superpower attract researchers
As a graduate student in the 1970s, microbiologist Richard Blakemore probably wasn’t expecting to discover a new bacterial species with a never-before-seen ability. While studying bacteria that live in muddy swamps, he observed that some tended to swim reliably toward the same geographical direction. Even when he rotated the microscope, they persisted in wiggling toward one direction. After confirming that their swimming behaviors were unaffected by light, Blakemore suspected they might be responding to the weak magnetic fields naturally present on Earth.
How animals went from single cells to over 30 different body types
Whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved. So wrote Charles Darwin, in his On the Origin of Species. The origin and evolution of animals is one of the most fascinating questions in modern biology.