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Evolution & Behaviour

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Rudimentary form of syntax present in chimpanzees

Our language-based complex communication system is one of the defining features that makes us unique among all species. Syntax -combining words together into phrases- makes language-based communication limitless in terms of the amount and type of information we can communicate about. This is due to... click to read more

  • Maël Leroux | Associate professor at Department of Animal and Human Behaviour
Views 93
Reading time 3 min
published on Nov 29, 2023
An incredibly massive ancient whale skeleton reveals a new way to become a giant

Which animal is the largest? The fastest? The most ferocious? These are some of the first topics in natural sciences to be discussed between children. These should not be considered as trivial, as they often lead to relevant questions about how, when, and why such... click to read more

  • Olivier Lambert | Group leader at Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, D.O. Terre et Histoire de la Vie, Brussels, Belgium
Views 234
Reading time 4 min
published on Nov 27, 2023
Vikings and Migrants: Unravelling Scandinavia's Genetic Mosaic in the Viking Era

We recently published a study in Cell that reveals that the Viking period, spanning from the late 8th to mid-11th century, saw a massive influx of people into Scandinavia. Interestingly, later Scandinavians don't have as much ancestry from other places from outside Scandinavia as their... click to read more

Views 385
Reading time 3 min
published on Nov 13, 2023
Fish identify themselves in mirrors and portraits

“Intelligent animals” like chimpanzees and dolphins, possess an ability to recognize themselves in a mirror. Mirror self-recognition (MSR) via mental image of the self provides a background of the animal’s private self-awareness or “mind”. However, implications remain controversial since an alternative process, such as checking... click to read more

Views 429
Reading time 3.5 min
published on Oct 18, 2023
The fate of a century-old partnership between humans and dolphins

Humans’ interactions with nature have been the key to our global ecological success. But such interactions are typically one-sided—humans gain the largest benefits; nature pays the larger cost—thereby fueling the current global ecological crisis. Compared to the widespread escalating human-wildlife conflicts, interactions that benefit both... click to read more

Views 856
Reading time 4 min
published on Sep 4, 2023