String pulling is a popular problem-solving task for investigating cognitive abilities in vertebrates, but has never been tested in insects. Now, a social insect has joined the club, according to a study publishing October ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 4, 2016
0
2
Young children will spontaneously invent tool behaviours to solve novel problems, without the help of adults, much as non-human great apes have been observed to do. The findings, from the University of Birmingham, are contrary ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 23, 2016
0
422
The question of what sets humans apart from other animals is one of the oldest philosophical puzzles. A popular answer is that only humans can understand that others also have minds like their own.
Plants & Animals
Feb 2, 2016
1
3222
Why do dolphins evolve large brains relative to the size of their bodies, while blue whales and hippos have brains that are relatively small?
Plants & Animals
Jan 29, 2016
0
22
Historically, males have been considered the vulnerable sex, sometimes called "male vulnerability." Charles Darwin noted that boys are more likely to die in infancy than girls and have a higher risk of premature death throughout ...
Evolution
Aug 17, 2015
0
12
Persuading people to support a particular candidate or party is an essential test of any political campaign. But precisely how to move voters successfully is a matter still not fully understood—and the raison d'etre for ...
Social Sciences
Jun 22, 2015
4
269
The society you live in can shape the complexity of your brain—and it does so differently for social insects than for humans and other vertebrate animals.
Plants & Animals
Jun 16, 2015
11
1669
If you've ever found it hard to concentrate on one thing without stopping to check your emails or post to social media, you're not alone. The average human attention span – how long we can concentrate effectively on a single ...
Other
May 28, 2015
0
38
Programming fundamental 'social intelligence' skills into software agents can make humans substantially more trusting of online negotiations, which can lead to superior outcomes in e-commerce transactions, finds an A*STAR-led ...
Computer Sciences
Mar 18, 2015
0
24
Mythology has attributed many supernatural features to ravens. Studies on the cognitive abilities of ravens have indeed revealed that they are exceptionally intelligent. Ravens live in complex social groups and they can gain ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 31, 2014
0
1
