Biology & Evolution News

Finalists announced for US$100,000 TAU/Coller Foundation prize to decode animal communication

June 4th, 2026

The Jeremy Coller Foundation and Tel Aviv University (TAU) have announced the four finalists for the annual US$100,000 prize from the Coller Dolittle Challenge for Two-Way Interspecies Communication. The research spans zebra finches, African striped mice, chimpanzees and bonobos, revealing groundbreaking new advancements towards human-animal communication. Through the challenge, a prize of US$100,000 is awarded… Read More

Artificial lighting disrupts immune system in mammals, TAU study finds

April 27th, 2026

A new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) indicates for the first time that artificial lighting may disrupt the natural rhythms of the immune system in wild rodents. According to the study, even exposure to minimal artificial light at night (ALAN), at intensities equivalent to standard street lighting, leads to a 2.35-fold increase in mortality…. Read More

TAU research finds how early-life experiences shape adult bat behavior

February 23rd, 2026

What makes one bat take risks and venture far from its roost in search of food, while another stays close to familiar, safer areas? A new study from the School of Zoology at Tel Aviv University (TAU) reveals that the environment in which a bat is raised during the first months of its life largely… Read More

TAU research about dinosaurs sheds light on the evolution of flight

December 16th, 2025

A new study led by a Tel Aviv University (TAU) researcher examined dinosaur fossils preserved with their feathers and found that these dinosaurs had lost the ability to fly. According to the researchers, this finding offers a glimpse into the functioning of creatures that lived 160 million years ago and their impact on the evolution… Read More

Bats grow “bolder” in the springtime, TAU researchers say

October 28th, 2025

A new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) reveals that fruit bats employ a variety of strategies in their competition with other animals for food. The research team examined bat behavior in the presence of black rats, which vie for the same food sources. They found that the bats’ behavior changes with the seasons and… Read More

TAU researcher to revisit 120-year-old science to redefine the future of epigenetics

August 5th, 2025

In 1902, three prominent Jewish biologists established the Biologische Versuchsanstalt (BVA) in then Austro-Hungarian Vienna. Now an international team led by Professor Oded Rechavi of Tel Aviv University (TAU) has been awarded a $1.2 million grant by the prestigious Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) to follow in their footsteps. HFSP is known for its highly… Read More

TAU finds first scientific evidence of plant/animal auditory interaction

July 14th, 2025

A new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) proves an acoustic interaction between plants and insects. The researchers found that female months decide where to lay their eggs based on ultrasonic sounds emitted by nearby plants. When plants emitted distress sounds, the female moths chose healthy plants that were not emitting such sounds. These sounds… Read More

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