Knowledge of the diet of people living in the prehistoric settlement of Çatalhöyük almost 8000 years ago has been completed in astonishing scope and detail by analyzing proteins from their ceramic bowls and jars. Using this new approach, an international team of researchers has determined that vessels from this early farming site in central Anatolia,...
Cobra cannibalism more prevalent than previously thought
Last spring, researchers in South Africa's Kalahari Desert found a large male cape cobra devouring another smaller male of the same species. Surprised by the thought-to-be-rare event, they decided to investigate how common and widespread cannibalism was in cobras.
Apart from a few species, scientific understanding of snake diets is lacking. Snakes are elusive creatures that...
More mammals than expected live near people
It's a jungle out there in the suburbs, where many wild mammals are thriving near humans. That's the conclusion of a large-scale study using camera trap images from hundreds of citizen scientists in Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, North Carolina.
The study contradicts assumptions that developed areas have fewer mammals and less variety in mammal species, says...
Making mice a tiny bit more human to study preterm birth
Preterm birth remains a global epidemic linked to a lifetime of potential health complications. It also is difficult to study in living creatures -- especially the uniquely precise biology of preterm birth in humans.
Researchers report in PLoS Biology successfully inserting just enough human DNA into transgenic laboratory mice that it allowed the team to study...
How the African elephant cracked its skin to cool off
An intricate network of minuscule crevices adorns the skin surface of the African bush elephant. By retaining water and mud, these micrometer-wide channels greatly help elephants in regulating their body temperature and protecting their skin against parasites and intense solar radiation. Today, researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, and the SIB Swiss Institute...
Giraffe babies inherit spot patterns from their mothers
Some features of a giraffe's spot pattern are passed on from mother to baby, according to a new study led by researchers from Penn State. The study also reveals that survival of young giraffes is related to spot pattern, which may help provide camouflage from predators. The new study, published October 2 in the journal...