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Zoology

Sunfish2
Photo: Sunfish, by Per-Ola Norman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

When Orcas Play — With a Dead Sunfish

While the orcas’ sunfish-exploding behavior is remarkable, it is consistent, after all, with their reputation as the “wolves of the sea.” Read More ›
Octopustentacles
Photo credit: damn_unique, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Hey Octopus, How Did You Get to Be So Smart?

With the asocial brain hypothesis, researchers ask us to think beyond traditional explanations for why some animals display unexpected intelligence. Read More ›
Locustamigratoria-Szaranczawedrowna-Migratorylocu
Photo credit: Marta Boroń, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

To Be Honest, Most Humans Don’t Want Insect Burgers

What’s going on here may well be a case of preference falsification, a concept developed by Duke University economist Timur Kuran. Read More ›
Brown-beltedbumblebee30411
Photo credit: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Bee-ing There: Innovative Behavior by Bees

The design of organisms that have sufficient brain complexity and that produce these goal-directed behaviors requires an intelligent agent. Read More ›
061WildBumblebeeinflightpollinatingwithCrocusParcna
Photo credit: © Giles Laurent, gileslaurent.com, License CC BY-SA, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

When Bumblebees Cheat at Games

Perhaps the most significant aspect of the findings is in light of the fact that the bumblebee has only about one million neurons (humans have 86 billion). Read More ›
Aristotle
Photo: Bust of Aristotle, Acropolis Museum, Athens, by Deiadameian, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Of Bee Brains, ChatGPT, and Fists of Ham

Happily, a recent philosopher has provided some intellectual tools for avoiding the sort of ham-fisted either/or approach to consciousness. Read More ›
Duck-billedplatypusOrnithorhynchusanatinusScottsdale
Photo credit: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Evolutionary Mystery of the Platypus

The bill of the platypus is “the most remarkable organ for sensory perception found in the animal kingdom.” Read More ›
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Close-up of a mouse's nose
Image Credit: Gayan - Adobe Stock

Nose Knows Better than Darwinism; Design Logic Explains Why

"By mapping millions of neurons in mice, researchers discovered that smell receptors in the nose aren’t random at all." Read More ›
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Yellow-Crested Cockatoo Bird
Image Credit: THP Creative - Adobe Stock

What Is Consciousness For? Sixteen Theories Take a Crack at the Question

It sounds like we do not really know what we are looking for, which will doubtless complicate efforts to find it. Read More ›
sloth
Photo: Brown-headed sloth, by Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Spine, Human and Otherwise: A Miracle of Embryological Development

The sloth has ten neck vertebrae whereas almost all other mammals have seven. The sloth’s extra vertebrae allow it to swivel its neck almost all the way around Read More ›

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