Gunnar (editor) is intrigued by science in general and the diversity and complexity of life in specific. He has degrees in both evolutionary biology and philosophy of science and has been known to get lost in his own thoughts. So far, he has found the way back each time.
One of the universal aspects of living in a social arrangement with others is dealing with death. Or more specifically, dealing with the deceased. This is especially true when living close to each other as corpses tend to increase the spreading of diseases. Now imagine you live with a lot of people together, in an …Continue Reading
Study illustrates the usefulness of large scale genetic surveys of zoo animals. Our close evolutionary cousin, the common chimpanzee, comes in four subspecies, each one named after its location along an East-West band in Africa. Yet, there are chimps outside of Africa as well. Many European zoos possess a group of chimpanzees, which often plays a part in …Continue Reading
Using camera traps to monitor Komodo dragons How do you catch a dragon? Do you go looking for a brave knight to send forth on a difficult quest? Or a legendary hunter without fear? No. You use cameras to capture their image. To be clear, the dragons we’re talking about here are Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis), the largest …Continue Reading
Researchers managed to estimate the date on which Homer’s Iliad was produced. The Iliad, Homer’s epic poem telling the tale of Achilles and the war of Troy, is widely considered to be one of the greatest and well-known pieces of ancient literature. Despite its status, however, the date of its production is still uncertain. A new study, …Continue Reading
Could there be, or have been, a bigger whale than the Blue Whale? The Blue Whale (or Balaenoptera musculus) is big. Very big. In fact, as far as we know, it’s the largest animal to have ever lived on earth, growing to roughly 30m and weighing in at an impressive 175 tons. But could there …Continue Reading
