Debate has long raged over the reasons for a zebra’s stripes. A new study has shed further light on this topic, uncovering new evidence that suggests the stripes are indeed used to help zebras control their temperature, even describing a previously unknown mechanism they use to keep them cool.
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Mole-rats are pretty amazing animals, with a remarkable resistance to pain. A new study has uncovered the molecular reasons for the pain insensitivity, which could eventually lead to new pain relief techniques for human use.
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Amber can be a veritable treasure trove of ancient animals and insects, but it most commonly captures creatures that lived in forests – understandable, given the stuff starts life as tree sap. But now researchers have found a piece of amber bearing a strange mix of land and sea-dwelling creatures.
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The winners of this year’s BigPicture: Natural World Photography Competition comprise a truly jaw-dropping selection of images, including a profoundly moving snap of an orphaned gorilla with its human caretaker.
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One of the most important transitions in human history was when we stopped hunting and gathering for food and settled down to become farmers. Now, to reconstruct the history of one particular archaeological site in Turkey, scientists have examined the salts left behind from human and animal pee.
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In a breakthrough study, researchers have managed to restore some brain function in pigs, including synaptic activity, as long as 4 hours after death. They used a system that pumps preserving chemicals through the brain’s circulatory system, but of course the finding raises some ethical questions.
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Whales weren’t always the giants of the sea that we know today – their ancestors plodded around on land before taking to a more aquatic lifestyle. Now a team of palaeontologists has uncovered the fossil bones of a strange new “missing link” whale species, which had four legs and was amphibious.
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Normally, animals reproduce by either laying eggs or giving birth to live young, but an Australian species of lizard can apparently do both in the same pregnancy. Scientists witnessed a three-toed skink lay three eggs before giving birth to a live baby, which has never been observed before.
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In the world of palaeontology, new discoveries usually proclaim things are older than we previously thought. But new research out of the Max Planck Institute has found that animals probably arose later than is currently believed.
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Humans can recognize their own face in the mirror, and so can apes, monkeys, dolphins, elephants, and some birds. Now a fish species has passed the mirror test for the first time, which may suggest that the animals are smarter than we give them credit for.
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