Walking efficiently takes next to no thought

Whether walking beside a lake or clambering a mountain, people adjust their strides to use the least energy possible. "People are continuously sensing their energy expenditure and adapting their gait to minimize costs," says ...

Humans ditched swiveling hips for shorter stride than chimps

Humans were thought to have the longest primate strides for their height, but now it turns out that chimpanzees take 25% longer strides than we do, thanks to their swiveling hips, which rotate by as much as 61deg every time ...

Black howler monkeys adapt mental maps like humans

Ever since humans began committing their view of the world to flat slabs of rock and papyrus, we had a sense that our mental maps are laid out in much the same way. However, our mental maps are nothing like paper maps. Humans ...

Scientists discover unreported plant body part

A previously unreported anatomical structure named the 'cantil' has been described in the popular plant model, Arabidopsis thaliana. Scientists from The Pennsylvania State University, U.S., reveal that the cantil forms between ...

Hope for infertile men: Mice could hold the secret

Male infertility affects more than 20 million men globally and is a contributing cause to around 50% of infertility in couples. Frequently, male infertility is the result of defects in the sperm tail, the flagellum, which ...

Serenading Lusitanian toadfish drowned out by water traffic

During spring, Lusitanian toadfish (Halobatrachus didactylus) suitors form choirs in Portugal's Tagus estuary to serenade the females, vibrating their swim bladders to produce a call, known as a boatwhistle, which sounds ...

A rice fish model of a rare metabolic disorder

Human cells are kept healthy by the activity of millions of proteins. These proteins are modified in different ways, such as by adding sugar molecules to them, which can be crucial for them to function properly. Given this ...

Mantis shrimp larvae punch just like mom and dad

Adult mantis shrimp pack an explosive punch that can split water, but no crustacean emerges fully formed. Minute larvae can undergo six or seven transformations before emerging as fully developed adults and limbs and maneuvers ...

Human hiking trails custom built for sauntering grizzlies

In the run up to hibernation, grizzly bears go on a colossal binge, consuming as many calories as possible to get them through the long winter. Yet, little was known about how much energy the massive mammals use as they shamble ...

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