We humans are fixated on big brains as a proxy for smarts. But headless animals called brittle stars have no brains at all and still manage to learn through experience, new research reveals.
Plants & Animals
Nov 30, 2023
0
59
A small team of paleontologists with members from Rhodes University, in South Africa, the National Museum of Natural History, Luxembourg City, and the University of Oxford, in the U.K., has discovered the oldest known brittle ...
For the first time, researchers develop a metabarcoding technology for brittle stars. Japanese scientists, led by Dr. Masanori Okanishi of the Hiroshima Shudo University and the University of Tokyo, analyzed environmental ...
Ecology
Feb 28, 2023
0
4
One of the largest and most important finds of exquisitely preserved Jurassic echinoderms—spiny-skinned marine animals such as starfish and sea urchins—has been uncovered by a University of Birmingham Research Associate.
Paleontology & Fossils
Jul 22, 2021
0
333
Scientists have shown for the first time that brittle stars use vision to guide them through vibrant coral reefs, thanks to a neat colour-changing trick.
Plants & Animals
Jan 2, 2020
0
476
New research published in Nature overturns previous theories about how the stunning biodiversity of the oceans evolved, with important implications for conservation.
Ecology
Jan 24, 2019
3
234
Scientists have discovered the first evidence that brittle stars living in vibrant coral reefs use thousands of light sensors to navigate their way through their complex environments.
Astronomy
Jan 24, 2018
0
125
Researchers at Tohoku University and Hokkaido University have, for the first time, succeeded in developing a robot capable of immediately adapting to unexpected physical damage. This is a significant breakthrough, as robots ...
Robotics
Dec 15, 2017
0
20
An international team lead by researchers at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, together with colleagues from the European Synchrotron, Grenoble, France, have discovered how an echinoderm called Ophiocoma wendtii, known ...
Condensed Matter
Dec 8, 2017
0
38
Researchers have described a new species of brittle star, which are closely related to starfish, and showed how these sea creatures evolved in response to the rise of shell-crushing predators during the late Palaeozoic Era. ...
Archaeology
Aug 14, 2017
0
201
