http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A $1 billion deal to save Indonesia's rainforests has slowed a "tidal wave" of logging destruction, Greenpeace's global chief said Monday, but he warned much more needed to be done. http://phys.org/news289501740.html Space & Earth Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:40:02 EST news289501740 Indonesia has extended a logging ban to protect rainforests despite fierce industry pressure, the government said Wednesday, but green groups slammed it as inadequate to safeguard threatened habitats. http://phys.org/news287806743.html Space & Earth Wed, 15 May 2013 03:30:01 EST news287806743 A baby Sumatran orangutan swings playfully on a branch at an Indonesian rescue centre, a far cry from the terror he endured when his pristine rainforest home was razed to the ground. http://phys.org/news286951379.html Biology Sun, 05 May 2013 06:00:03 EST news286951379 (Phys.org) —Researchers who unearthed the fossil specimen of an ape skeleton in Spain in 2002 assigned it a new genus and species, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus. They estimated that the ape lived about 11.9 million years ago, arguing that it could be the last common ancestor of modern great apes: chimpanzees, orangutans, bonobos, gorillas and humans. Now, a University of Missouri integrative anatomy expert says the shape of the specimen's pelvis indicates that it lived near the beginning of the great ape evolution, after the lesser apes had started to develop separately but before the great ape species began to diversify. http://phys.org/news286641955.html Biology Wed, 01 May 2013 15:46:09 EST news286641955 The Indonesian government has said it aims to approve within a month a plan that would free up vast swathes of protected virgin rainforest on Sumatra island for commercial exploitation. http://phys.org/news285564726.html Biology Fri, 19 Apr 2013 04:32:23 EST news285564726 (Phys.org) —A team of researchers made up of members from three academic centers in Italy has found the first instance of rapid facial mimicry (RFM) outside of humans and apes. In their paper published in Scientific Reports, the researchers report observation of RFM in geladas, a type of cercopithecoid or old-world monkey. http://phys.org/news284368564.html Biology Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:10:03 EST news284368564 Several footprints believed to be from critically endangered Sumatran rhino have been found on Indonesia's Borneo island, raising hopes for the existence of an animal long thought to be extinct in that area, a conservation group said Thursday. http://phys.org/news283665654.html Biology Thu, 28 Mar 2013 05:01:01 EST news283665654 The multibillion-dollar trade in illegal wildlife—clandestine trafficking that has driven iconic creatures like the tiger to near-extinction—is also threatening the survival of great apes, a new U.N. report says. http://phys.org/news283493943.html Biology Tue, 26 Mar 2013 05:19:21 EST news283493943 Perikymata are typical enamel growth markings of anterior teeth, and their spacing pattern and total counts can provide helpful information on dental development and life history. Recently, researchers from Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) studied the perikymata spacing pattern and counts of anterior teeth of fossil orangutans from South China and published their study in recent Vertebrata PalAsiatica (issue 4, volume 32). http://phys.org/news276421593.html Other Sciences Thu, 03 Jan 2013 08:00:01 EST news276421593 The roar of chainsaws has replaced birdsong, the once-lush, green jungle scorched to a barren grey. The equivalent of six football pitches of forest is lost every minute in Indonesia. http://phys.org/news274181665.html Biology Sat, 08 Dec 2012 09:50:01 EST news274181665 Chimpanzees and orangutans can experience a midlife crisis just like humans, a study suggests. http://phys.org/news272536839.html Biology Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:00:19 EST news272536839 An endangered orangutan on Borneo island has survived after being shot more than 100 times with an air rifle, Indonesian officials said on Thursday. http://phys.org/news270383836.html Biology Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:37:29 EST news270383836 Sumatran orangutans have undergone a substantial recent population decline, according to a new genetic study, but the same research revealed the existence of critical corridors for dispersal migrations that, if protected, can help maintain genetic diversity and aid in the species' conservation. http://phys.org/news269586867.html Biology Tue, 16 Oct 2012 06:15:22 EST news269586867 Will the tiger go the way of the passenger pigeon or be saved from extinction like the American bison? http://phys.org/news266078229.html Biology Wed, 05 Sep 2012 15:37:22 EST news266078229 Swaying trees is the way to go, if you are a primate crossing the jungle. Using human street athletes as stand-ins for orangutans, researchers have measured the energy required to navigate a forest using different strategies and found it pays to stay up in the trees. Their work was presented at the Society for Experimental Biology's meeting in Salzburg, Austria on 2 July 2012. http://phys.org/news260593517.html Biology Wed, 04 Jul 2012 04:05:38 EST news260593517 (AP) — The more we study animals, the less special we seem. http://phys.org/news259759477.html Biology Sun, 24 Jun 2012 12:25:00 EST news259759477 Like their human cousins, orangutans enjoy food and don't mind working a little to get it. If the menu's right, giraffes are even less picky. http://phys.org/news255804763.html Biology Wed, 09 May 2012 17:55:27 EST news255804763 (AP) -- The 8-year-old twins love their iPad. They draw, play games and expand their vocabulary. Their family's teenagers also like the hand-held computer tablets, too, but the clan's elders show no interest. http://phys.org/news255782335.html Biology Wed, 09 May 2012 11:39:05 EST news255782335 Alu elements infiltrated the ancestral primate genome about 65 million years ago. Once gained an Alu element is rarely lost so comparison of Alu between species can be used to map primate evolution and diversity. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Mobile DNA has found a single Alu, which appears to be an ancestral great ape Alu, that has uniquely multiplied within the orangutan genome. http://phys.org/news254970888.html Biology Mon, 30 Apr 2012 02:15:15 EST news254970888 (AP) -- The 9-year-old patient sits still, munching on popcorn and sipping grape juice while he gets an ultrasound of his heart. http://phys.org/news254123639.html Biology Fri, 20 Apr 2012 06:54:27 EST news254123639 An innovative study looking at how orangutans build their nests has revealed that the apes use a high level of engineering know-how. http://phys.org/news253857385.html Biology Tue, 17 Apr 2012 04:56:48 EST news253857385 A study published online on April 12 in the journal Current Biology offers some news for parents: even toddlers have a tendency to follow the crowd. That sensitivity isn't unique to humans either; chimpanzees also appear more likely to pick up habits if "everyone else is doing it." http://phys.org/news253443874.html Biology Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:00:14 EST news253443874 The young orangutan reaches his hand through the cage and rubs his knuckles over an iPad, drawing wide colors across the screen with his favorite app. http://phys.org/news252905317.html Biology Fri, 06 Apr 2012 04:40:01 EST news252905317 Critically-endangered orangutans in a protected area of Indonesia will be wiped out by the end of the year if land clearing is not stopped, a coalition of environmental groups warned Wednesday. http://phys.org/news252146189.html Biology Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:36:33 EST news252146189 Wild orangutans that have come into contact with eco-tourists over a period of years show an immediate stress response but no signs of chronic stress, unlike other species in which permanent alterations in stress responses have been documented, new research from an Indiana University anthropologist has found. http://phys.org/news251051983.html Biology Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:39:56 EST news251051983 Four orangutans were released into the wild on Indonesia's Borneo island on Tuesday, an official said, as the country ramps up efforts to protect the animals from extinction. http://phys.org/news249646585.html Biology Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:19:12 EST news249646585 The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) announced today Sumatra's first ever successful sentence of an illegal orangutan owner and trader in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. http://phys.org/news249228734.html Biology Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:12:33 EST news249228734 The Sumatran elephant could be extinct in the wild within three decades unless immediate steps are taken to slow the breakneck pace of deforestation, environmentalists warned Tuesday. http://phys.org/news246596995.html Biology Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:10:06 EST news246596995 Chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas and bonobos make more sophisticated decisions than was previously thought. Great apes weigh their chances of success, based on what they know and the likelihood to succeed when guessing, according to a study of MPI researcher Daniel Haun, published on December 21 in the online journal PLoS ONE. The findings may provide insight into human decision-making as well. http://phys.org/news244373394.html Biology Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:40:01 EST news244373394 Starving orangutans in Borneo may be teaching us new lessons about human evolution. http://phys.org/news243016410.html Biology Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:00:04 EST news243016410