New discoveries in animal behavior and cognition
Something I get asked occasionally as someone who works on animal cognition is ‘what makes humans different from other animals?’ This is a tough one, because, as humans are of course animals, it is much easier to list the similarities between us and other animals in our behaviour and how our brains process things than the differences...
With the historic supreme court hearings this week, there has been much discussion about homosexuality*. One of the ‘arguments’ that you often hear from the anti-gay rights side is that being gay isn’t natural...
This move from my old site to the Scientific American network has also coincided with my own physical move from the UK to the USA to start some new research.
I remember a moment I had in high school where a friend of mine told me that she was going to become an animal behaviour scientist. I had a feeling of shock at the notion that this was actually a job...
I've been away from writing here for a while, as recently I've been stuck into a very different type of writing - finishing up my thesis for my PhD.
I recently attended a meeting in london (‘Animal Minds: from computation to evolution), where there were some really interesting talks.
In shows like Lassie, I was always impressed at the amount of information a dog was able to convey to a human: `What's that, Lassie? A little girl trapped in a building that you tried to reach but then couldn't owing to the fire that caught alight to the fence surrounding it?' I never owned [...]..
One question in an animal cognition is whether animals other than humans have the ability to recognise themselves. A classic way of testing this, established in 1970 by Gordon Gallup, is the `mirror test'...
What do shingleback lizards, budgerigars and Mexican grey wolves all have in common? All these animals are monogamous: they generally mate with a partner for a substantial period of time, in many cases to raise offspring together...
The largest animal behaviour conference in the UK (the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour) was held last Thursday and Friday in my hometown of St Andrews.
STAFFBehind the scenes at Scientific American
Read
STAFF
Read
Exploring the human condition.
Read
Insights into intelligence, creativity, personality, and well-being
Read
Everything you always wanted to know about raising science-literate kids
Read
Critical views of science in the news
Read
STAFF
Read
Explore the science behind the dog in your bed
Read
News and research about endangered species from around the world
Read
The Science Behind Extreme Weather
Read
Science by and for kids ages 8-15
Read
Commentary invited by editors of Scientific American
Read
Climate science in a changing world
Read
Illusions, Delusions, and Everyday Deceptions
Read
Discussion and news about planets, exoplanets, and astrobiology
Read
Opinion, arguments & analyses from guest experts and from the editors of Scientific American
Read
Mathematics: learning it, doing it, celebrating it.
Read
Adventures in the good science of rock-breaking.
Read
STAFFIllustrating science since 1845
Read
STAFFA science blog, sans blague
Read
A Blog About the Weird Wonderfulness of Life on Earth
Read
Exploring and celebrating diversity in science.
Read