Battle of the bird brains! Wild cockatoos perform just as well as those raised by humans in intelligence tests, new study shows Researchers in Vienna tested the intelligence of Goffin’s cockatoos They compared a group of lab-raised birds with a group of wild birds They found both groups performed similarly in intelligence tests The main … Read more
Human activity is destroying more than 50 billion years of evolutionary history, with the Caribbean and parts of Southeast Asia hit the hardest, researchers claim. The study, by the Zoological Society of London and Imperial College mapped the evolutionary history of the world’s land vertebrates including birds and mammals. An ever increasing ‘human footprint’ with … Read more
Exotic animals known as ‘pangolins’ that were blamed for first transmitting coronavirus from bats to humans could be IMMUNE to the deadly disease, study claims Pangolins lack virus-sensing genes that normally trigger an immune response This means that they can carry the virus without necessarily suffering from it However, researchers are not sure how, then, the … Read more
It may sound like a plot from a science fiction film, but NASA and scientists are concerned about alien viruses contaminating Earth. As the first humans prepare for the Mars mission, experts warn that protocols are necessary to keep extraterrestrial pollutants from hitchhiking on space ships and astronauts when returning home from the Red Planet. Stanford … Read more
Scaly anteaters known as pangolins are NOT to blame for spreading coronavirus from bats to humans, study shows Experts mapped the genome of a coronavirus identified in Malayan pangolins They found it similar to both the virus behind COVID-19 and bat coronaviruses However, their analysis suggested that SARS-CoV-2 did not arise from this virus Here’s how to … Read more
Archaeologists working in a Bulgarian cave have unearthed the earliest direct evidence of modern humans ever found in Europe. The landmark finding reveals that human migration reached Europe around 45,000 years ago, proving the first ever Europeans overlapped with Neanderthals for much longer than previously thought. ‘Now we see there is a period of about … Read more
Scientists are developing suitable shelters for the first explorers of Mars, but a new study believes the Red Planet can provide natural settlements for the pioneers. After surveying 1,500 images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a team of experts believe they have discovered a solution – ‘lava tubes.’ An area, known as Hellas Planitia … Read more
Neolithic man may have been brewing beer 6,000 years ago, according to scientists who have developed a new method to analyse grains. Austrian researchers claim the first evidence of European production of malt-based drinks, including beer, from grains dating back to around 4,000 BC. The team say the thinning of a tiny layer of tissue … Read more
Impressionable young birds pick up style tips from their elders just like humans and ‘feather their nests’ with coloured materials they associate with older trendsetters. Experts set out to see if birds might prefer to build nests of the same colour as the one they hatched in, or whether juvenile experiences were more important. They … Read more
The average European carries more than 500 genetic ‘fragments’ from Neanderthals and other archaic human species, a study has found. Among this heritage is included genes that are linked to prostate cancer risk, iron retention, blood clotting speed and smaller height. The ancestors of Europeans are known to have mated with Neanderthals and other archaic … Read more