Ever wonder how soft bodied creatures exert forces as they move? Now a new theory by @mchtweet & co reveals how starfish feet propel the echinoderms, how worms burrow & how squid propel their tentacles.
We know that great apes are super-smart, but, even so, wow: Wounded wild orangutan Rakus "repeatedly applied the liquid onto his cheek for seven minutes. Rakus then smeared the chewed leaves onto his wound until it was fully covered. He continued to feed on the plant for over 30 minutes... researchers saw no sign of infection and the wound closed within five days." https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68942123#primates#orangutan#animals#animalcognition#anthropology#zoology
In his ECR Spotlight, Jarrod Petersen tells us about his research, which showed that ingesting a large meal does not affect how #boaconstrictors move, and that you can always learn something, even from failed experiments
Do honey #bees adjust their metabolic rate depending on the air temperature? Some thought not but others thought they did. Now Jordan Glass & Jon Harrison show that the bees do adjust their metabolic rates to ensure that their #muscles always run smoothly
I've been in and out of Glasgow University's Graham Kerr Building, home to what was the Zoology Department when I was an undergrad, many times over the last 30 years, but it was only yesterday that I noticed this wonderful little detail of a snake on the handles of the outermost doors.
Ever wondered what a #Platypus skeleton looks like? Thanks to a new #Web app by the Musee Zoologique de #Strasbourg, you can not only look at but also interact with it!
Contrary to a recent study, we show that these rodents indeed have otoacustic emissions and their pattern highlights specializations for low frequency hearing (acoustic fovea) in common and naked mole-rats.
Ever wonder how Baleen whales (Blues, Greys, Humpbacks), the largest
and some of the most magnificent animals to ever roam the earth,
produce their highly complex communication sounds and whale songs?
Just a reminder that, following the Royal Society event in Jan, my article 'Mendel's Closet: Genetics, Eugenics and the Exceptions of Sex in Edwardian Britain' has been made freely available until the end of Feb/LGBTQ+ History Month.
In all walks of life there's only so much to go around, and now Cristina Ottocento & co show that wood tiger moths that developed from larvae fed an inferior diet don't taste so bad because they cut back production of their unpleasant taste in favour of their distinctive dark deterrent markings