Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the University of Naples have examined the mass extinction of large animals over the past tens of thousands of years and found that extinct species had, on average, much smaller brains than species that survived. The researchers link the size of the brain (in relation to the body… Read More
A new Tel Aviv University (TAU) study has found that fruit bats use their biological sonar during the day, even though their vision is excellent and would presumably eliminate the need for the bats to emit calls to the environment and use their echoes to locate objects (a process known as echolocation). The researchers believe… Read More
Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers say that climate change may be responsible for changes in the morphology of many birds in Israel over the past 70 years. The body mass of some species decreased while in others body length increased, in both cases increasing the ratio between surface area and volume. The researchers contend that… Read More
Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) are offering a new evolutionary explanation for the familiar scenario in which women bring a sweater into work, while their male counterparts feel comfortable wearing short sleeves in an air-conditioned office: A built-in evolutionary difference between the heat-sensing systems of the two sexes, related to the reproduction process and… Read More
Seahorses are considered particularly poor swimmers. However, despite being relatively slow, they are adept at preying on small, quick-moving animals. Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers have succeeded in characterizing the incredible preying capability of seahorses, discovering that they can move their heads up at the remarkable speed of 0.002 seconds. The rapid head movement is… Read More
Can mammals other than human beings demonstrate empathy for one another, engage in pro-social behavior, and help others in distress? New Tel Aviv University (TAU) research based on an animal model using rats found that, just as with humans, rats are also split into various groups with different indicators to the point that they come… Read More
Researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) participated in a new international study proposing an amendment to the widely accepted theory on the extinction of animal species, moving the focus from the animal’s body size to its reproductive capacity. The researchers found gaps and incompatibilities between mammals and amphibians in the relation between body size and… Read More
A new Tel Aviv University study has revealed for the first time that bats “know” the speed of sound from birth. Unlike humans, who map the world in units of distance, bats map the world in units of time, the researchers say. The research was led by Professor Yossi Yovel, head of the Sagol School… Read More