Review of 96 healthy eating studies finds 'nudges' yield best changes in eating habits
A gentle nudge in the right direction is sometimes all people need. In this case, new research finds it works when it comes to promoting healthy eating.
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Deep3DFly: The deep-learning way to design fly-like robots
Scientists have developed a deep-learning based motion-capture software that uses multiple camera views to model the movements of a fly in three dimensions. The ultimate aim is to use this knowledge to design fly-like robots.
Read moreGenes play a role in dog breed differences in behavior
Border collies are highly trainable, greyhounds love to chase, and German shepherds make good guard dogs. While the environment plays a role, traits like these are highly heritable, according to a study of 101 dog breeds. The work identifies 131 genetic variants associated with breed differences in behavior.
Read moreWhen laying their eggs, tobacco hawkmoths avoid plants that smell of caterpillar feces
Scientists have demonstrated that not only plant odors determine the best oviposition site for egglaying hawkmoths, but also the frass of other larvae. They specified the repelling substance in the feces which signals the presence of competing conspecifics. Moreover, the researchers identified an odorant receptor which is involved in the detection of the typical smell of larval frass and thereby governs competition avoidance during oviposition.
Read moreDaddy daycare: Why some songbirds care for the 'wrong' kids
Interspecific feeding — when an adult of one species feeds the young of another — is rare among songbirds, and scientists could only speculate on why it occurs, but now, researchers have new insight into this behavior.
Read moreImplanted memories teach birds a song
A new songbird study that shows memories can be implanted in the brain to teach vocalizations — without any lessons from the parent.
Read moreMachine learning predicts behavior of biological circuits
Biomedical engineers have devised a machine learning approach to modeling the interactions between complex variables in engineered bacteria that would otherwise be too cumbersome to predict. Their algorithms are generalizable to many kinds of biological systems.
Read moreMob mentality rules jackdaw flocks
Jackdaws are more likely to join a mob to drive off predators if lots of their fellow birds are up for the fight, new research shows.
Read moreNew method improves measurement of animal behavior using deep learning
Konstanz researchers develop deep learning toolkit for high-speed measurement of body posture in animals.
Read moreCannabis study reveals how CBD offsets the psychiatric side-effects of THC
Researchers have shown for the first time the molecular mechanisms at work that cause cannabidiol, or CBD, to block the psychiatric side-effects caused by tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis.
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