The World’s Smartest Chimp Has Died

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times, written by philosophy professor Lori Gruen: Sarah, who could have been deemed the world’s smartest chimp, was brought to the United States from Africa as an infant to work with David and Ann Premack in a series of experiments designed to find out what chimpanzees might think. In order to…

High Levels of Oestrogens In the Womb Linked To Autism, Study Finds

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ScienceDaily: Scientist have identified a link between exposure to high levels of oestrogen sex hormones in the womb and the likelihood of developing autism. The findings are published today in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. In 2015, a team of scientists at the University of Cambridge and the State Serum Institute in Denmark measured the…

How fireflies glow and what signals they’re sending

Are the gentle blinks of fireflies flashing a favorite part of your summer evenings? An entomologist explains some lightning bug basics. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/how-fireflies-glow-light-up-and-signals…

Why do birds sing?

Birds spend a lot of time and energy singing, but they don’t do it the same way in every season of the year. And some can’t sing at all. What’s the purpose of birdsong? Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/why-do-birds-sing…

A Clue To the Reason for Women’s Pervasive Car-Safety Problem

Women are far more likely to suffer serious injuries in a car crash. From a report: The danger divide was first quantified in a 2011 study out of the University of Virginia, which found that for men and women who wore seatbelts, women were nearly 50 percent more likely to be seriously or fatally injured in a crash. And now it’s…

Sexual images are just as arousing for women as they are for men

It was thought that male brains respond more to pornographic images than female brains – but a large review finds there is no significant difference Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2209908-sexual-images-are-just-as-arousing-for-women-as-they-are-for-men/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Bluehead wrasse fish switch from female to male in just 20 days

Hundreds of fish can change sex, but only now have we discovered exactly how at least one makes this change Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2209254-bluehead-wrasse-fish-switch-from-female-to-male-in-just-20-days/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

How neuroscience is exploding the myth of male and female brains

Stereotypes of how biological sex influences ability and behaviour abound – but the latest research reveals a very different story, says Gina Rippon Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24132190-100-how-neuroscience-is-exploding-the-myth-of-male-and-female-brains/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…