Seals only sleep with half their brain when they’re out at sea
Northern fur seals mostly sleep with half their brain while they’re at sea, but sleep with all their brain while on land – unlike any other animal studied
The most elusive whales reveal their secrets in their wakes
We know almost nothing about the enormous beaked whales because they spend so much time deep underwater, but a new DNA technique could unmask them
Zambia to kill 2,000 hippos because they might spread anthrax
Over the next five years 2,000 hippos are to be culled in Zambia, supposedly to stop them giving people anthrax, but the cull may inadvertently fuel the trade in hippo ivory
In big cities even the fish are always rushing around the place
Two common US fish have evolved different body shapes to help them survive in the fast-moving streams in built-up areas
In big cities even the fish are always rushing around the place
Two common US fish have evolved different body shapes to help them survive in the fast-moving streams in built-up areas
Asteroid that killed the dinosaurs caused massive global warming
The asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago caused dramatic climate change, which could mean we are underestimating how much the planet will warm in the coming centuries
Chimp evolution was shaped by sex with their bonobo relatives
Some chimpanzee populations gained useful DNA from interbreeding with bonobos, and one may even have become more gentle and “bonobo-like” in its brain structure and behaviour
We may have got the evolution of our big brains entirely wrong
Many scientists think that our big brains evolved to help us cope with the complexities of social living, but a model suggests it was more to do with finding food and lighting fires
Half of life on Earth has vanished since we arrived on the scene
The biomass of living organisms on the planet has halved since human civilisation began, and humans now outweigh all wild mammals tenfold
Chinese giant salamanders may already be virtually extinct
Researchers spent four years looking for Chinese giant salamanders and only found 24 – and that’s not even the worst bit of news