A global study comparing 2,062 birds finds that, in highly variable environments, birds tend to have either larger or smaller brains relative to their body size. Birds with smaller brains tend to use ecological strategies that are not available to big-brained counterparts.
Researchers found that Charles Darwin's famous finches defy what has long been considered a key to evolutionary success: genetic diversity. The study of the finches of the Galapagos Islands could change the way conservation biologists think about species with naturally fragmented populations to understand their potential for extinction.
It normally takes about 21 days for chicken embryos to develop into chicks. By observing chicken hindlimb formation, a research team has just discovered that the mechanism at the origin of embryonic development consists of a sequence of reflexive contractions. The researchers were able to artificially recreate the same process and accelerate it by as […]
