Cooperative Care Influences Brain Development in Humans and Marmosets

Summary: Cooperative breeding influences brain development in common marmosets and humans, allowing longer periods for social learning. Marmoset brains, like human brains, develop socio-cognitive regions slowly, maturing in early adulthood.…

AI Unveils Evolutionary Patterns Predicted by Darwin and Wallace

Summary: A novel AI-powered study explores evolutionary differences between male and female birdwing butterflies, shedding new light on a historical debate between Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Using machine…

First Neandertal with Down Syndrome: Evidence of Altruistic Care in Prehistory

Summary: A new study documents the first case of Down syndrome in a Neandertal child named “Tina,” found in Spain. Despite severe hearing loss and vertigo, Tina survived to at…

Why does temperature determine sex in long-lived reptiles? – Functional Ecologists

In this blog post, Samantha Bock, a post-doctoral researcher, discusses her study “Differential early-life survival underlies the adaptive significance of temperature-dependent sex determination in a long-lived reptile“, which has been…

Apes’ Long-Term Social Memory Mirrors Human Ability

Summary: A new study reveals that apes possess a remarkably long-lasting social memory, comparable to humans. Researchers found that chimpanzees and bonobos can recognize former groupmates they haven’t seen for…

Adversity, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Evolution: The Reproductive Trade-off Theory

Summary: A new study examines the association of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) with early life adversity and its potential influence on immediate reproductive strategies over somatic health. Using a sample…

Inside the feeding behavior of a pollinivore – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Laura Bellec—a new ecological researcher working at the Univ Rennes 1, Rennes, France—discusses her paper: Factors driving the within-plant patterns of resource exploitation in a herbivore—recently…

Foraging for efficiency—morphological traits provide support for variations in performance of the feeding apparatus in coexisting Neotropical bats – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, David Villalobos Chaves, a PhD student at Department of Biology and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, discusses his…

Deadly fungus Candida auris is spreading across US hospitals

In late March 2023, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlighted the threat posed by a rapidly spreading fungus called Candida auris that is causing infections and deaths…