Polygamy, Paternal Care In Birds Linked To Dinosaur Ancestors:
Sure, they're polygamous, but male emus and several other ground-dwelling birds also are devoted dads, serving as the sole incubators and caregivers to oversized broods from multiple mothers. It is rare behavior, but research described in the Dec. 19 Science found that it runs in this avian family, all the way back to its dinosaur ancestors.
'Hobbit' Fossils Represent A New Species, Concludes Anthropologist:
University of Minnesota anthropology professor Kieran McNulty (along with colleague Karen Baab of Stony Brook University in New York) has made an important contribution toward solving one of the greatest paleoanthropological mysteries in recent history -- that fossilized skeletons resembling a mythical "hobbit" creature represent an entirely new species in humanity's evolutionary chain.
'Dirty War Index': New Tool Identifies Rates Of Prohibited Or Undesirable War Outcomes:
Researchers have developed a new tool called the "Dirty War Index (DWI)" based on the laws of war, a tool which identifies rates of prohibited or highly undesirable ("dirty") war outcomes, such as torture, child injury, and civilian death.
Cry Me A River: The Psychology Of Crying:
We've all experienced a "good cry"--whether following a breakup or just after a really stressful day, shedding some tears can often make us feel better and help us put things in perspective. But why is crying beneficial? And is there such a thing as a "bad cry"?
Whispering Bats Are Shrieking 100 Times Louder Than Previously Thought:
Annemarie Surlykke from the University of Southern Denmark is fascinated by echolocation. She really wants to know how it works. Surlykke equates the ultrasound cries that bats use for echolocation with the beam of light from a torch: you won't see much with the light from a small bulb but you could see several hundred metres with a powerful beam. Surlykke explains that it's the same with echolocating bats. Some have big powerful calls for perception over a long range, while others are said to whisper; which puzzled Surlykke.
How Genes And Proteins Interact To Build Life's Dynamic Architecture:
While life on Earth didn't originate from a blueprint, Stephen Michnick is helping the scientific community uncover the basic architecture of living things. A Université de Montréal biochemistry professor and Canada Research Chair in Integrative Genomics, Dr. Michnick has developed novel technologies that have enabled him to examine how proteins interact within cells.
New York City's most famous beaver, José, has come home for the holidays! After a year-long hiatus, José - the first wild beaver to return to New York in at least two centuries - is back at the zoo and has even cut down his own Christmas tree, which he is now using to construct a new lodge on the Bronx River.
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