Focus on function helps identify the changes that made us human

A new approach for identifying significant differences in gene use between closely-related species provides insights into human evolution.

Greta Friar | Whitehead Institute • mit
July 6, 2023 ~11 min

By 'helping' wild animals, you could end their freedom or even their lives – here's why you should keep your distance

A newborn bison calf in Yellowstone National Park had to be euthanized after a visitor handled it in May 2023 – a recent example of how trying to help wild animals often harms them.

Julian Avery, Associate Research Professor of Wildlife Conservation, Penn State • conversation
June 30, 2023 ~11 min


Here's how much water it takes to make a serving of beef – and why where it comes from is so important

Climate change threatens longer and more severe droughts. What will it mean for our diets?

Adrian Williams, Visting Reseach Fellow in Environmental Systems, Cranfield University • conversation
June 26, 2023 ~8 min

Dog detectives can sniff out protected great crested newts and reduce costly construction delays

Great crested newts cause expensive delays to construction – trained sniffer dogs may offer a solution.

Nikki Glover, PhD Candidate in Environmental Biology, University of Salford • conversation
June 26, 2023 ~6 min

To see how smoke affects endangered orangutans, we studied their voices during and after massive Indonesian wildfires

Orangutans are vocal animals, so analyzing their calls during events like wildfires can indicate how smoke is affecting their health.

Wendy M. Erb, Postdoctoral Associate in Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell University • conversation
June 22, 2023 ~10 min

Backpack-wearing chickens are helping change the way we study animal welfare

Tracking data suggests individual chickens have very different movement patterns.

Mary Baxter, Research Fellow in Animal Welfare, Queen's University Belfast • conversation
June 19, 2023 ~7 min

Light pollution is taking the sparkle out of glow-worm mating

Artificial light is making it harder for male glow-worms to find bioluminescent females.

Jeremy Niven, Professor of Zoology (Evolution, Behaviour and Environment), University of Sussex • conversation
June 13, 2023 ~6 min

Of mice and matriarchs: the female led societies of the animal kingdom

If you think relationships between male and female animals are simple, it’s time to have a rethink.

Tim Clutton Brock, Professor of zoology, University of Cambridge • conversation
June 13, 2023 ~8 min


Why we're 'interviewing' captive birds to find the best to release into the wild

Our experiments with the critically endangered Bail myna showed some birds are bolder than others.

Stuart Marsden, Professor of Conservation Ecology, Manchester Metropolitan University • conversation
June 9, 2023 ~7 min

While humans were in strict lockdown, wild mammals roamed further – new research

Researchers tracked 2,300 wild mammals during the strict 2020 lockdowns and found they moved 73% further than in the previous year.

Robert Patchett, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Covid-19 Bio-Logging Initiative, University of St Andrews • conversation
June 8, 2023 ~6 min

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