Polar bears are adapting to climate change at a genetic level - and it could help them avoid extinction ->The Conversation | #extinction #climate change #polar bear | More from Lil Dr Glen EcoChat at BigEarthData.ai

We are so back, y'all.

Scientists searching for new ways to combat cancer think they may have uncovered a promising new lead in the DNA of the bowhead whale. n.pr/4ocq6xG

Blink to the beat! Human movements are known to synchronize with rhythmic patterns in #music. This study reveals that spontaneous #EyeBlinks also align with musical beats, linking this to brain activity, #WhiteMatter structure & dynamic attention @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/44gYBMi

Why do whales and elephants have much lower rates of cancer than expected? "Species with a lower cancer prevalence and mortality risk are those with a higher presence of cooperative and caring habits, while the opposite is found....:" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

"Upland forests are like natural rainmakers," Jiang said. "Protecting these ecosystems isn't just about biodiversity—it's about sustaining agriculture." #ClimateEmergency and #NatureCrisis intimately interlinked phys.org/news/2025-11...

The intelligence of slime mold is that of its materials All of Physarum's intelligent behaviors can be explained by physics, as in non-living materials (e.g., water following the path of least resistance), and do not require a representation of the problem. (preprint) arxiv.org/pdf/2511.08531

Honoring James A. Estes, a pioneering ecologist whose research on sea otters in Alaska revealed how predators shape entire ecosystems. His work helped define the concept of trophic cascades and inspired generations of ecologists. Read the PNAS Retrospective: https://ow.ly/leKs50XrKBH

🐬 New study reveals rare insights into the anatomy of the hourglass dolphin (Cephalorhynchus cruciger) & spectacled porpoise (Phocoena dioptrica). Researchers detail organs, skeletons & unique traits. Graïc et al: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A new technique called ‘mind captioning’ generates descriptive sentences of what a person is seeing or picturing in their mind using a read-out of their brain activity, with impressive accuracy. go.nature.com/3XbnxB1

On Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island, gray wolves have been observed hunting sea otters, a rare and surprising behavior. Researchers are now working to learn more about how these wolves are adapting to marine prey, using methods such as wolf teeth analysis and trail cameras. Read more: bit.ly/4qofVsr

Absolutely amazing thread on fossil walruses 🦭 which are a surpisingly large group considering there is only one walrus species alive today!

160 scientists, 23 countries, 1 report: The Global Tipping Points Report 2025, together with @exeter.ac.uk, highlights mounting risks across Earth’s systems, from melting glaciers & ice fields to slowing ocean currents, ice sheets & rainforests under pressure. Watch now👇 👉global-tipping-points.org

Goodall transcribes field notes by lamplight in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park c.1960

Was happy to write a commentary for this very cool opportunistic study of long-term neural effects of partner loss in coyotes (which are the rare sexually monogamous species). Naturalistic studies of non-model species are a great complement to lab models. authors.elsevier.com/a/1lkyT15hTu...

⚠️ House Republicans’ new FY26 bill would slash EPA & Fish & Wildlife funding and gut the Endangered Species Act, stripping protections from gray wolves, grizzlies, wolverines & more. This is a direct attack on wildlife, ecosystems, and public health. We must speak out. 🔗Read more: bit.ly/4mgexFx

Donald Trump’s signature legislation would menace the American economy for at least a decade. It is a showcase of fiscal incontinence and ideological exhaustion https://econ.st/4kvmdT2 Illustration: Ricardo Tomás

1/4 Use of tools (for allogrooming) in orcas They have been recorded (Salish Sea) using kelp, cutting it (technically the first documentation of toolmaking in cetaceans) and using it to groom others. (paper) www.cell.com/current-biol...

The "rubber hand illusion" in mice... @lucestebanez.bsky.social &co use automated videography to show that mice display quantifiable behavioral markers of the embodiment of an #ArtificialLimb, opening the door to future research into human #BodyOwnership disorders @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4jHsESn

Precon_all is finally citeable! I’m relieved, pleased, thrilled and all other superlatives to present to you our preprint describing the inner workings of the precon_all pipeline for semi-automated non-human cortical surface reconstruction! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/10

journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... New paper from my grad lab at New College's Marine Mammal Science Master's program - @marmamsci-ncf.bsky.social - Grad student Sophie Flem did heroic work examining ascending and descending auditory pathways in baleen and toothed whale brains.

Some neurons act like body-proximity sensors, and in fact reflect the value of contacting or avoiding objects, composing a flexible predictive model for interacting with the world near the body www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Today is World Sea Lion Day! 🦭

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Love this - "soft assembly," that is, the ability for physical systems to organize/function in complex ways/based on physical structure and how it interacts with the environment, is understudied in neuroscience and biology and underused in robotics. Dynamic systems!

Several mammal species live in cold-water environments thanks to adaptations like blubber and large size. A notable exception is the sea otter—so how does it stay warm? A 2021 Science study found an answer: skeletal muscle thermogenesis. Learn more on #WorldOtterDay: scim.ag/4jjvMDL

By playing rhythmic audio to comatose patients, then skipping a beat, researchers could elicit changes in heart rate—but only in patients who went on to have favorable outcomes. The phenomenon could be used to predict patient outcomes. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Animal migrations are extensive and crucial for ecosystem health but are in decline. A study in Nature Communications identifies 1,787 sites and links among them for 109 marine species, providing policymakers with essential knowledge for effective conservation. 🌊 🧪

Whale Calves Are Born On “Humpback Highway”, Changing What We Knew About Migration

Babak Tafreshi natgeo science photographer "In May-June, the Great Smoky Mountains in TN. and NC, is the mating ground for multiple lightning bugs species, most notable the synchronous fireflies. The males glow together every 7-8 sec. This video is 2x faster than real-time.

The observation of bonding behaviours in wild chimpanzees suggests that some aspects of human attachment have a deep evolutionary origin https://go.nature.com/4352zYp

abcnews.go.com/US/video/sea... Fun, my Master's student Carson Hood @marmamsci-ncf.bsky.social was just on network news w/ our beat-keeping sea lion (who also sat for the Zoom)

The titans of the tech industry say A.I. will soon match the powers of humans’ brains. Are they underestimating us? “Claims of A.G.I.’s imminent arrival are based on statistical extrapolations — and wishful thinking,” Cade Metz writes.

Lucrative prizes are offered for an AI-powered breakthrough in communications between humans and other species https://go.nature.com/3Hh8z7K

"We are in the throes of the worst animal disease outbreak that our country, and perhaps the world, has ever seen." www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05...

ecological catastrophe in florida but no worries they are focusing on the real threats: fluoridated water project.tampabay.com/investigatio...

Categorization of vocalizations had been attributed to the cortex. With 2P-Imaging in 🦇, J Lawlor, M. Wohlgemuth, C. Moss & @kishoreneuro.bsky.social show that such a categorization already occurs at the level of the midbrain. www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natneuro.nature.com

🚨 Language connection FOUND in chimpanzees? 🧠🗣️ For years, scientists thought the key to human language was a fibre connection, missing in chimp brains. New high-res brain scans just changed the game. 👀🐒 www.nature.com/articles/s41... #Neuroscience #LanguageEvolution #Chimpanzees 1/n 🧵👇

"While not all animals appear to have musical skills like beat perception or relative pitch, it has become increasingly likely that musicality has a biological basis and a long evolutionary history."

There is a healthy sense of crisis in fundamental theoretical physics https://go.nature.com/4iVhVmP

Chatbots Hallucinate More With Confident or Short Prompts, Accuracy Drops Up to 20% in Critical Tasks ->Digital Information World | #Chatbot #AI | More info from EcoSearch

TLDR: new paper headed up by @vestaeleuteri.bsky.social & with an awesome team, incl @andrearavignani.bsky.social , showing chimps have rhythm in their drumming & differences b/w east & west drum rhythms! www.cell.com/current-biol... But didn’t we know this already you ask? Well… 🧵1/16

youtube.com/shorts/ENk49... This is a fun one from @jossfong.bsky.social at howtown (lots of cool science coverage over there). One of the commenters suggested my whiteboard was a scientific flex - but that’s the only part of my office that’s not windows. Nowhere else to point the camera!

This article makes a good case that every dollar spent on Federal research & development generates between $5-12 in return. In the graph below, the lower line is economic benefit alone, while the upper includes health and other benefits. So why the rush to drastically cut R&D?

8/8 Given what we know about these "names" (SW and SWc), such as the fact that they are learned and used referentially, the authors hypothesize that the rest of the discovered vocalizations (NSW) are as well. If this is correct, it would be extraordinary.

Interactive Map Reveals Ocean Pathways Vital For 109 Species ->ScienceAlert | #Ocean #Species #Biodiversity | More info from EcoSearch

1/9 Clashing theories of consciousness They have finally published the first result of the ARC-COGITATE initiative after comparing the best known theories, the “global neuronal workspace (GNWT)” and the “integrated information theory (IIT)”. (paper) www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Ronan the head-bobbing sea lion proves animals can keep a beat: ‘No human was better’

Phew when you’ve leapfrogged the coelacanth and dementia you know your article has picked up some juice….