Male chimpanzees sometimes make sexual contact in stressful times Jake Brooker/ Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust Some chimpanzees seem to use sexual behaviour like genital rubbing to manage stressful situations, which shows they aren’t as different from hypersexual bonobos – our other closest living ape relatives – or, indeed, people as we thought. Jake Brooker at…
A coot’s nest filled with plastic rubbish in Amsterdam AUKE-FLORIAN HIEMSTRA Covid-19 face masks, a chocolate wrapper from 1994 and a 30-year-old polystyrene burger box – the nests of Amsterdam’s Eurasian coots chart changes to consumer society through plastic waste. Usually, Eurasian coots (Fulica atra) build their waterside nests from scratch each year using natural,…
Artist’s impression of an asteroid nearing the moon NASA/JPL-Caltech Asteroid 2024 YR4 is on a potential crash course with Earth, but there’s a very slight chance the moon could take the hit. Based on current observations, there is a 2.1 per cent chance that the asteroid – about as long as the Leaning Tower of…
The Space Launch System at Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2022 NASA/Joel Kowsky NASA’s enormous rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), seems to be in danger. It has been controversial for decades thanks to its high cost and many delays, but now there are hints that it may finally be on the chopping block….
A whole lot of mating garter snakes seeer/Imazins/Getty Images Birds do it, a few bees get to do it – but how did sexual reproduction evolve in the first place? An evolutionary model suggests that it could have started as a way for two cells to pool their resources when favourable environments turn harsh. “The…
A male blue-lined octopus mounts a female during mating and injects venom into her body WEN-SUNG CHUNG During mating, some male octopuses inject females with their potent venom to paralyse them – and avoid being eaten by their mates. Typically, animals use venom to kill prey or defend themselves from predators. Some species of pufferfish,…
Adélie penguins in Antarctica are under threat from bird flu Steve Bloom Images / Alamy Stock Photo H5N1 bird flu has been found in dead birds on Antarctica for the first time. The deadly strain of bird flu is currently spreading south along the Antarctic Peninsula and could spread around the continent, with devastating consequences…
The Large Magellanic Cloud may have its own supermassive black hole Alan Dyer/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images A supermassive black hole in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) may be the source of nine stars zooming through our galaxy – a surprising hint that dwarf galaxies can host large black holes. “This is the first…
Anthony Romilio examines the slab at Biloela State High School in Queensland, Australia University of Queensland A slab of 200-million-year-old rock that has been on display for 20 years at a school in Queensland, Australia, contains 66 footprints from 47 individual dinosaurs. The rock was gifted to Biloela State High School by the nearby Callide…
Jonathan McDowell with some of his extensive space archive MAX ALEXANDER Jonathan McDowell has been a load-bearing part of the world’s spaceflight knowledge for more than four decades. His monthly newsletter on the industry – Jonathan’s Space Report – details all upcoming launches and has become an essential resource for everyone from keen amateurs to…
