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Evolution & Behaviour

showing 26-30 of 148 breaks

Raincoats in nature: waterproof armors for insects and plants

Raining is perhaps spectacular, but for small insects or plant leaves, fast-falling raindrops with high impact can be very dangerous. Imagine how scary if bowling balls are falling at your head from the sky. What kind of trick do they use to protect themselves? As a... click to read more

  • Sunghwan Jung | Associate Professor at Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, New York, USA
Views 2778
Reading time 3 min
published on Apr 30, 2021
Have the ancestors become too much to bear? Emergence of cremation 9000 years ago in the Near East

Caring for the dead is a significant issue in all societies. While burials were known since at least 120,000 years ago, it was an unusual practice in the Near East throughout the Paleolithic period. It only became common practice when people adopted a sedentary lifestyle,... click to read more

  • Fanny Bocquentin | Tenure at National Center of Scientific Research and Equipe Ethnologie Préhistorique, MSH Mondes, Nanterre, France
Views 2025
Reading time 4.5 min
published on Apr 23, 2021
More than money: what do we need to adapt to climate change?

Climate change is already threatening the daily lives of people across the globe. In response, considerable investments are being made by governments, non-governmental organizations, and development agencies to help communities build their capacity to adapt. For example, one such initiative (The Adaptation Fund) has alone... click to read more

  • Michele L. Barnes | Senior Research Fellow at ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, North Queensland, Australia
  • Jacqueline Lau | Research Fellow at ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, North Queensland, Australia
Views 2229
Reading time 3.5 min
published on Apr 22, 2021
How wombats poop cubes

A great mystery of the natural world has been how wombats make cubic faeces from their round anus. Wombats are the only species known to make these box-shaped poops which scientists believe they strategically place to communicate with each other. The cubic shape helps the... click to read more

  • Zoé Valbret | PhD Student at University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Views 6125
Reading time 3.5 min
published on Apr 21, 2021
How the ancient ‘hell ant’ got its bizarre horn

Imagine our planet about 145-66 million years ago during the ancient Cretaceous period. Dinosaurs may perhaps come first into your mind as the most iconic ancient animal. But of course, many other organisms lived together as parts of the ancient ecosystem, including ants. Many ancient ants... click to read more

  • Christine E. Sosiak | PhD Student at Department of Biological Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, USA
  • Phillip Barden | Assistant Professor at Department of Biological Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, USA
Views 2816
Reading time 3 min
published on Apr 20, 2021