Ant-ibiotics: How Ants Treat Infections
Matabele ants of sub-Saharan Africa are the only other known species to recognize infections and be able to use antibiotics for treatment.
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Picky Eating and Brain Evolution in Butterflies
Brain evolution in the Heliconius butterfly is linked to their specific feeding preferences and foraging behaviors.
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Brains and Play Behavior in Rats
Play behavior and laughter in rats is influenced by their environment and by the part of the brain that controls fight or flight responses.
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To Sea Turtles, Ocean Plastic Smells Like Food
Sea turtles may eat plastic found in the ocean because it builds up a layer of microorganisms and smells the same as their food, a new study finds.
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Toxoplasma Infection Makes Mice More Brave
By Mackenzie Myers, @kenzwrites Quiet as a mouse. Timid as a mouse. When’s the last time you heard a mouse described as brave? The scientific community has already established that a parasite carried by cats and their feces, Toxoplasma gondii, causes infected mice to lose their fear of feline predators. But a new study from researchers at the University of Geneva and the University of Toronto points to a decrease in anxiety that may be less specific than previously thought, giving mice a one-size-fits-all fearlessness. What is Toxoplasmosis? T. gondii,…
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Amazonian Frog Uses Mimicry to Ward Off Ants
Amazonian frogs prevent ant attacks by releasing chemicals mimicking those of leaf-cutter ants.
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Simon’s Cat: Why Do Cats Love Boxes?
So, why do cats love boxes so much? Simon’s Cat Logic is a fun new video series in which an expert answers your burning questions about cat behavior. Special thanks from GotScience to the Simon’s Cat team for permission to republish this video, and for reminding all of us that science is fun. Seriously. Why Do Cats Love Boxes!? Simon’s Cat Logic is a fun new series where we speak to a cat behavior expert at Cats Protection (http://www.cats.org.uk) about why cats do the silly things they do, and how we…
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Zebra Finches: Learning from Lovebirds
From our Friends at ResearchGate Lovebirds know what they’re doing. It only takes zebra finches days to choose a partner, and yet their relationships last a lifetime. That’s what Malika Ihle, behavioral ecologist at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, found in her recent study on the birds’ courtship behavior. We speak with her about the secret to finches’ love, and what people might learn from them. Are human love and bird love alike in any way? What could be similar to human love is that birds have individual rather…
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Birds Bond After Team Fights
As any fan of Hitchcock knows, birds often work together and, when threatened by rivals, are capable of marshaling their troops to defend resources. Now, researchers from the University of Bristol have found that clashes between rival bird groups have a long-lasting impact on the birds’ behaviour, causing them to bond after team fights. Biologists Dr. Andy Radford and Dr. Tim Fawcett have been studying the social behaviour of green woodhoopoes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Following a territorial conflict with their neighbors, victorious green woodhoopoes will unite at nightfall. Such disputes…
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