News by Subject Policy & Ethics

Using a series of well-designed experiments in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, a Princeton-led research team confirmed each step in a trophic cascade between the elimination of predators (including leopards, African wild dogs, and hyenas) and growth of local plants. They demonstrated that the fear of predators alone can drive change in herbivore behaviors in large-mammal ecosystems.

If it walks like a duck (or a goose or a swan), it can find food in mud without seeing or smelling it. These waterfowl bills are covered in skin that's a lot like the sensitive skin on the palms of our hands, and it can feel food in mud and murky water. Slav Bagriantsev, Eve Schneider, and Evan Anderson at Yale University are researching duck skin to learn more about how our sense of touch works.

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder study fast-growing python hearts, which could provide insights to aid those with diseased heart growth. Their latest work reveals ways to study python heart cells.

Researchers at the University of Illinois College of Medicine find that TRPM8, long ago identified as a cold-temperature sensor, regulates aggressive and hypersexual behavior in response to testosterone.

Giraffes that live close to densely populated towns have larger home ranges than giraffes that live far from towns, suggesting that the giraffes in human-impacted areas need to travel longer distances -- and expend more energy -- to obtain critical resources.

Hesperos reports the successful testing of multi-organ 'human-on-a-chip' models to recapitulate the 28-day experiments typically used in animals to evaluate the systemic toxicity of drug and cosmetic compounds. The work is published in Advanced Functional Materials.