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Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling

How busting some moves on the dance floor is good for your brain

18 December 2018

Whether you do the robot, shake your tail feather or go full ballroom, dancing has benefits that go way beyond having a good time


Tyrannosaurus

T. rex evolved into a monster predator by dumbing down its brain

3 October 2018

The very first tyrannosaurs were relatively small dinosaurs – and the skull of one of them seems to have contained a brain with a more complex shape than that of the enormous T. rex


Seals only sleep with half their brain when they're out at sea

Seals only sleep with half their brain when they're out at sea

7 June 2018

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


Chimp evolution was shaped by sex with their bonobo relatives

Chimp evolution was shaped by sex with their bonobo relatives

24 May 2018

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

We may have got the evolution of our big brains entirely wrong

23 May 2018

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


People adapted to the cold and got more migraines as a result

People adapted to the cold and got more migraines as a result

3 May 2018

A gene variant that helps humans cope with colder climates also seems to have put people living in northerly regions at a higher risk of migraine


Horses remember if you smiled or frowned when they last saw you

Horses remember if you smiled or frowned when they last saw you

26 April 2018

Horses can remember the expressions on people’s faces and use them to make judgements about whether people are nice or unpleasant


Male fruit flies feel pleasure when they ejaculate

Male fruit flies feel pleasure when they ejaculate

19 April 2018

Male insects have been genetically engineered to climax on command, and it seems they get a real buzz out of it – perhaps even a fly orgasm


Dog brain scans show if they are looking at a happy or sad face

Dog brain scans show if they are looking at a happy or sad face

29 March 2018

Dogs can recognise different human facial expressions, like happy or sad, and now a simple brain scan can reveal which expression a dog is looking at


Heavy metal poisoning may be changing birds’ personalities

Heavy metal poisoning may be changing birds’ personalities

22 March 2018

Great tits exposed to toxic metals like cadmium and lead alter their behaviour, becoming less exploratory and more cautious, suggesting their personalities have been reshaped


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