Communication requires a sender, a receiver, and a message. But communication doesn’t take place in a vacuum. Often, there are unintended receivers listening in and unintentional messages getting across. Illustrating just how complicated sending a message can be is the example of the túngara frog (Physalaemus pustulosus). Male túngara frogs, native to Central and South America, gather at night in…
They went boating alone without life vests and gave no thought to shimmying up very tall coconut trees. And although they were only figments of a writer’s imagination, the fictional adventurers helped provide new insight into how humans, especially men, gauge the threat of a potential adversary. Those reading the stories — dozens of residents of a small village on…
A new study has found that species living together are not forced to evolve differently to avoid competing with each other, challenging a theory that has held since Darwin’s Origin of Species. By focusing on ovenbirds, one of the most diverse bird families in the world, the Oxford University-led team conducted the most in-depth analysis yet of the processes causing…
A study to be published later this month in the journal Molecular Autism confirms previous research that people with Asperger Syndrome (AS) are more likely to carry specific variations in a particular gene. More strikingly, the study supports existing findings that the same gene is also linked to how much empathy typically shown by individuals in the general population. The research was…
To the classic case studies of evolution, such as Darwin’s finches and the peppered moth, a small group of researchers would now add the Mexican tetra. This small, freshwater fish is mostly found as a drably colored inhabitant of creeks and rivers. But at least a half dozen times, populations have taken up residence in caves, where they have been…
Lemurs can be sneaky. They’ll wait until a human’s back is turned to take a treat. But a new study shows that in the same situation, they don’t seem to realize that making a racket will draw unwanted attention. Joel Bray, Christopher Krupenye, and Brian Hare of Duke University wanted to see if ring-tailed lemurs could take the perspective of others.…