Evolution & Behaviour
The belligerence of breeding: female aggression after mating
Sex changes us. In addition to the overwhelming Puberty-Blues kind of way, sex induces physical changes that occur across the entire animal kingdom, from elephants to fruit flies. Yet, there's one glaring aspect of sex that few scientists have studied - female aggression. That's where... click to read more
‘Laughing’ together: bridging avian-mammalian differences
We like animals that we perceive as being similar to ourselves. It is not a coincidence that those animals that humans consider similar to them in terms of appearance, intelligence and/or sociality, also enjoy the highest levels of protection in modern societies (for example primates,... click to read more
Saving the injured: The value of rescued veterans in a predatory ant species
In general, we imagine ants as little pieces of something bigger, with the value of the individual being marginal, even sacrificing themselves if necessary for the good of the colony. Matabele ants (Megaponera analis) are a specialized termite predator of sub-Saharan Africa. In the early... click to read more
How cats conquered the Ancient world: a 9,000-years DNA tale
When animals became domesticated, they gained protection from starvation, predation and disease but lost freedom. This is very well exemplified with the dog, the first animal that had been domesticated and that is very different from its ancestor, the wolf, in terms of behavior, morphology... click to read more
The daily life of Neandertals
Neandertals are our closest evolutionary relative. They have been extinct for approximately 40,000 years, but lived across Europe and West Asia where they co-existed and interbred with humans. Despite their remarkable physical and genetic similarity to us humans, our understanding of their lifestyle is limited.... click to read more
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