Why the long face? Experts provide a new theory for why larger mammals tend to have longer faces

Dec 12, 2023 15:57 pm UTC| Nature

A horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks, why the long face? Its one of the oldest puns in the book, and theres no shortage of entertaining answers. With our new review we add our own scientific explanation:...

8 ways to tone down the Christmas lights to help wildlife – and why we should

Dec 12, 2023 15:55 pm UTC| Nature

The Australian government has launched a campaign asking people to switch off light pollution to protect wildlife. So, what does the science say? Should we rethink Christmas lights? In our latest report, we reviewed...

How agriculture can make the most of one of the world’s biggest carbon sink, soil

Dec 07, 2023 08:01 am UTC| Nature

Its right under our feet. We barely notice as we go about our lives, yet it is nothing less than the largest carbon repository among all of Earths ecosystems. This distinction is awarded neither to forests, nor to the...

New genetic research uncovers the lives of Bornean hunter-gatherers

Dec 06, 2023 07:57 am UTC| Nature

Borneo is one of the worlds most biodiversity-rich regions, home to ancient rainforests and an immense variety of wildlife. Among its inhabitants are the Punan Batu, a group of contemporary nomadic hunter-gatherers with...

Climate Change Series

We're in an El Niño – so why has Australia been so wet?

Dec 05, 2023 09:20 am UTC| Nature

After three La Niña summers many of us would have been expecting much hotter and drier conditions this spring and summer after the arrival of El Niño. Instead, in many parts of eastern Australia its rained...

Why iconic trees are so important to us – and how replacing those that fall is often complicated

Dec 05, 2023 05:38 am UTC| Nature

An ancient kola tree has been cut down in southern Ghana. Local tradition held that the tree had grown on the spot where spiritual leader Komfo Anokye had spat a kola nut onto the ground three centuries...

Rats are more human than you think – and they certainly like being around us

Dec 05, 2023 05:37 am UTC| Nature

Rats have a somewhat unfortunate tendency to enjoy living where people live. Thats how a biologist tried to explain peoples hatred for the rodents in a television news feature about rats gnawing electrical cables in parked...