Two new studies describe path of divergent sensing capabilities, tracking lineage from common ancestral neurons Cephalopods such as octopus and squid evolutionarily diverged from mollusks like slugs and snails. These animals have […]
Taking a lesson in evolutionary adaptation from octopus, squid
February 12, 2023: Darwin’s Drink
The Future Leadership Institute celebrates the birthday of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin: 12 February 1809 – 12 February 2023 Date: 12 February 2023, 19.00h Venue: Private (Belgium) Tickets: By invitation only Attendance: […]
New modelling study shows that most plastic debris on Seychelles beaches comes from far-off sources
A new modelling study shows that the Seychelles and other islands in the western Indian Ocean are not responsible for most of the plastic waste that accumulates on their beaches. Indonesia, India, […]
Food industry shows ‘stalled progress’ to reduce salt intakes, new Oxford-led analysis finds
Overall, the average salt content of food products sold at supermarkets showed no change between 2015 and 2020. The total volume of salt sold from these food products decreased by 6.7% from […]
Study reveals how hunting hawks home in on prey inside a chaotic swarm
New research by the University of Oxford has found that hawks hunting swarming bats steer towards a fixed point in the swarm rather than targeting any one individual Swarms of bats, flocks […]
February 12, 2022: Darwin’s Coronadrink
The Future Leadership Institute celebrates the birthday of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin: 12 February 1809 – 12 February 2022 Date: 12 February 2022, 19.00h Venue: Your Own House Tickets: Please invite yourself, to have drink […]
Nora Eisner: “Anyone can do real science”
Nora Eisner is an astrophysicist affiliated with KU Leuven’s Astronomy Unit. For her PhD at the University of Oxford, she is assisted by more than 30,000 volunteers. “I would never have been […]
Study suggests the paradoxical enjoyment of horror media serves an evolutionary function
Research published in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences presents evidence that the enjoyment of horror has evolved as a means of preparing for real-world encounters with danger. The study found that high enjoyment of horror involves […]
One in twenty workers are in ‘useless’ jobs – far fewer than previously thought
The so-called ‘bullshit jobs theory’ – which argues that a large and rapidly increasing number of workers are undertaking jobs that they themselves recognise as being useless and of no social value […]
Intensive agriculture could drive loss of bees and other tropical pollinators
Across the globe, lower levels of land use intensity are good for pollinators, finds the new Nature Communications paper which shows the importance of sustainable land management in cities and agricultural regions. As insect […]
Psychological safety
Every day, occupational safety professionals deal with the perception of risk – or lack thereof – and its consequences for human behavior and safety outcomes. But they might not consider some of […]
Kelp, maggots and mycoprotein among future foods that must be mass-farmed to combat malnutrition
Researchers at the University of Cambridge say our future global food supply cannot be safeguarded by traditional approaches to improving food production. They suggest state-of-the-art, controlled-environment systems, producing novel foods, should be […]
Smartphones have led to the ‘death of proximity’
The most in depth study ever to look at how adults use smartphones reveals how we are ‘homeless’ when we lose them because they are where we increasingly express our personalities, interests […]
Remote working: why some people are less productive at home than others
Has working at home during lockdown made people more productive or not? This has been the subject of some lively debate recently. Many companies do not routinely measure productivity. A large number will have traditionally assumed […]
