Ecology & Zoology

The number of species who can dance- actually get down, shake their groove thing, etc- has jumped from one (humans) to three. The other two? Parrots and elephants. Unlike other animals, according to this NPR article, parrots and elephants are vocal mimics ...

Blog Post - Becky Jungbauer - Apr 30 2009 - 11:56am

Hey Bird, So You Think You Can Dance?

People aren't the only ones who've got rhythm. Two reports published online on April 30th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, reveal that birds – and parrots in particular – can also bob their heads, tap their feet, and sway their bodie ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 30 2009 - 12:00pm

Dolphins Only Mostly Asleep- But Vigilance Never Seems To Impair Them

Dolphins have a clever trick for overcoming sleep deprivation, according to Sam Ridgway from the US Navy Marine Mammal Program and colleagues. They are able to send half of their brains to sleep while the other half remains conscious. What is more, the m ...

Article - News Staff - May 1 2009 - 11:54am

Frequency Dependent Selection: It Is Different And Therefore I Fear It

Rare traits persist in a population because predators detect common forms of prey more easily. Researchers writing in BMC Ecology found that birds will target salamanders that look like the majority – even reversing their behavior in response to alteration ...

Article - News Staff - May 12 2009 - 9:40am

The Montauk Monster

I decided to go ahead and start with this one, as the rest of my research material is all on my laptop and said laptop is not hooked up to the internet while my home computer is. Plus, this article was the one that finally inspired me to write a blog, the ...

Blog Post - Lara Holt - May 14 2009 - 4:46pm

Understanding The (Circadian) Rhythm Of Biological Clocks

Dartmouth Medical School geneticists say they have made new inroads into understanding the regulatory circuitry of the biological clock that synchronizes the ebb and flow of daily activities, according to two studies published May 15. Research on the rela ...

Article - News Staff - May 15 2009 - 10:17am

How Is A Protist Like A Flying Pig? Mutualism

Before the days of mandatory underseat pet carriers, my airline colleagues received a call from a woman who needed to bring her therapy pet, a pig, on a flight. The airline didn’t see a problem, since Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs are about the size of dogs ...

Article - Stephanie Pulford - May 18 2009 - 3:31pm

Cells On Petals Are 'Velcro' For Bees

When bees collect nectar, how do they hold onto the flower? Cambridge University scientists have shown that it is down to small cone-shaped cells on the petals that act like 'velcro' on the bees' feet. New research, published online in toda ...

Article - News Staff - May 16 2009 - 5:15pm

Komodo Dragon Tooth-Venom Arsenal, Not Bacteria, Makes It Deadly

A new study has shown that the effectiveness of the Komodo Dragon bite is a combination of highly specialized serrated teeth and venom and the authors say this dismisses the widely accepted theory that prey die from septicemia caused by toxic bacteria livi ...

Article - News Staff - May 20 2009 - 11:38am

Top 10 New Species For 2009

The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists – scientists responsible for species exploration and classification – today announce the top 10 new species for 2009, consisting ...

Article - News Staff - May 23 2009 - 5:21pm