Odd Creatures News

Baby Owls Sleep Like Baby Humans: Owlets Spend More Time in REM Sleep Than Adult Owls

Baby birds have sleep patterns similar to baby mammals, and their sleep changes in the same way when growing up. This is what a ...  > full story

Scientists Uncover Secrets of Starfish’s Bizarre Feeding Mechanism

Scientists have identified a molecule that enables starfish to carry out one of the most remarkable forms of feeding in the natural ...  > full story

'Evolution Will Punish You If You're Selfish and Mean'

Evolutionary biologists offer new evidence that evolution doesn't favor the selfish, disproving a theory popularized in 2012. ...  > full story

Chanel, UCSB's Corpse Flower, Blooms and Causes a Big Stink

Chanel, UC Santa Barbara's corpse flower, has finally spread her odiferous wings, broadcasting a stench that smells like a cross between rotting flesh and Limburger ...  > full story

• Birds
  Bird Flu Research
  Mice
  Biology
  Behavioral Science
  Zoology
   
  

  Bird Brains Predate Birds Themselves: 'Flight-Ready' Brain Was Present in Some Non-Avian Dinosaurs, CT Scans Indicate

  July 31, 2013 — New research provides evidence that dinosaurs evolved the brainpower necessary for flight well before they actually took to the air as birds. Based on computed tomographic scans, the study takes a ... > full story
• Fish
  Anxiety
  Robotics Research
  Behavioral Science
  Fisheries
  Psychiatry
   
  

  Robots Strike Fear in the Hearts of Fish: Anxious Zebrafish Help Researchers Understand How Alcohol Affects Fear

  July 31, 2013 — The latest in a series of experiments testing the ability of robots to influence live animals shows that bio-inspired robots can not only elicit fear in zebrafish, but that this reaction can be ... > full story
• Social Psychology
  Psychology
  Insects (including Butterflies)
  Behavioral Science
  Nutrition Research
  Food
   
  

  By Tracking Maggots' Food Choices, Scientists Open Significant New Window Into Human Learning

  July 31, 2013 — The larva of the fruit fly is helping scientists understand the way humans learn information from each other. Fruit flies have long served as models for studying behavior, but new findings show their ... > full story
• Water
  Insects (including Butterflies)
  Environmental Issues
  Fish
  Exotic Species
  Nature
   
  

  Hide, Ambush, Kill, Eat: The Giant Water Bug Lethocerus Patruelis Kills a Fish

  July 31, 2013 — The largest European water insect Lethocerus patruelis, commonly known as giant water bug, can reach the impressive size of up to 8 cm in length. A recent study provides detailed information on ... > full story
• Fish
  Fisheries
  Marine Biology
  Wild Animals
  Sea Life
  Zoology
   
  

  Aquatic Playground Can Turn Water Tanks Into Fish Schools

  July 30, 2013 — Raising fish in tanks that contain hiding places and other obstacles can make the fish both smarter and improve their chances of survival when they are released into the wild, according to ... > full story
• Personalized Medicine
  Workplace Health
  Human Biology
  Chronic Illness
  Stress
  Mental Health Research
   
  

  Human Cells Respond in Healthy, Unhealthy Ways to Different Kinds of Happiness

  July 29, 2013 — Human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal, responding in ways that can help or hinder physical health, according to new ... > full story

  More: 

  • Be Happy: Your Genes May Thank You for It
• Bacteria
  Microbes and More
  Agriculture and Food
  Microbiology
  Food and Agriculture
  Extreme Survival
   
  

  Social Amoebae Travel With a Posse: Tiny Single-Celled Organisms Have Amazingly Complicated Social Lives

  July 29, 2013 — Some social amoebae farm the bacteria they eat. Now scientists have taken a closer look at one lineage, or clone, of D. discoideum farmer. This farmer carries not one but two strains of bacteria. One ... > full story
• Evolutionary Biology
  Evolution
  Charles Darwin
  Mice
  Nature
  Infant's Health
   
  

  Evolution of Monogamy in Humans the Result of Infanticide Risk, New Study Suggests

  July 29, 2013 — The threat of infants being killed by unrelated males is the key driver of monogamy in humans and other primates, a new study ... > full story
• New Species
  Insects (including Butterflies)
  Trees
  Nature
  Exotic Species
  Invasive Species
   
  

  Mini-Monsters of the Forest Floor

  July 29, 2013 — A biologist has identified 33 new species of predatory ants in Central America and the Caribbean, and named about a third of the tiny but monstrous-looking insects after ancient Mayan lords and ... > full story
• Bacteria
  Infectious Diseases
  Colitis
  Microbes and More
  Ulcers
  Wounds and Healing
   

  Therapeutic Fecal Transplant: Hope for Cure of Childhood Diarrhea Comes Straight from the Gut

  July 29, 2013 — Call it therapeutic poop, if you will, but the best hope yet for an effective treatment of childhood infections with the drug-resistant bacterium C. difficile may come straight from the gut, ... > full story

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