When liquid metal cools in the form of spherical drops, it does not freeze the same way a flat pool does. This #ProcA study reveals how the curved, confined geometry of microscopic metal droplets can drastically alter the solidification process buff.ly/o04IvbI | #Engineering #MaterialScience

Specialist and generalist parasites succeed in different ways. This #BiologyLetters study shows that specialist parasites are more likely to infect non-native fish closely related to native hosts, while generalists can infect more distantly related species buff.ly/mmojusd | #Ecology #Evolution

New paper Using historical sawfish 'saws' often found in museums, loss of genetic diversity is demonstrated in these critically endangered shark-like rays Led by the excellent Annmarie Fearing. Great to be involved/a part of Annmarie's PhD! royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Kalman-filter Force Inference: an estimation framework for cellular forces from temporal evolution of epithelial morphogenesis doi.org/10.1098/rsif... | #JRSocInterface #Biophysics #ComputationalBiology

Human-like helpless infancy may have evolved much earlier than previously thought. This #ProcB study finds cranial evidence of prolonged infant dependence in Homo erectus and Homo floresiensis doi.org/10.1098/rspb... | #DevelopmentalBiology #Evolution #Neuroscience

A firefly relative that smelled and shined: evidence for complex signalling systems in Cretaceous lampyroids doi.org/10.1098/rspb... | #ProcB #Palaeontology #Taxonomy #Systematics

New research from #BiologyLetters: Physical constraints, not sociality, shape primate vocal repertoire size doi.org/10.1098/rsbl... | #Behaviour #Cognition #Ecology #Evolution

Why do birds suddenly burst into song at dawn? This #JRSocInterface study shows how simple individual decisions can produce synchronized dawn choruses, with small environmental changes triggering community-wide "tipping points" doi.org/10.1098/rsif... #Biocomplexity #ComputationalBiology #Ecosystem

Is it better to have lots of friends or just a few close ones? This #ProcB study of wild Soay sheep finds the answer depends on the weather. Large social networks boost survival in harsh winters, while close bonds matter more in milder conditions buff.ly/iKKcWBp | #Behaviour #Ecology #Evolution

This new #RSOS paper shows that electric motor scaling is much more complicated than engineering textbooks suggest, and that technology is as messy as biology. Read more: doi.org/10.1098/rsos... #bioengineering

New #RSOS paper: Nitrogen deposition interacts with water availability to influence herbivore abundance and herbivory on red maple. Read more: doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

Camel #spiders are among the least understood arachnids, yet they possess some of the most intricate reproductive structures in the animal kingdom. This #RSOS study provides the first direct glimpse into how a camel spider species mates by using microCT scans: doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

#RSOS in @the-independent.com | The high end of toy motivation in dogs: developmental predictors and relevance for sport and working dogs: doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

Your pup could actually be addicted to its toys

Some dogs were so fixated on accessing lost toy that they even prioritised retrieving it over consuming food

independent.co.uk

This new #RSOS study describes a new arthropod suspension feeder from the Guanshan biota, China, from the Cambrian period, over 500 million years ago: doi.org/10.1098/rsos... #palaeontology #fossils

Non-native fish acquire specialist/generalist parasites according to relatedness to fish community (if related +S, if unrelated +G) ∴ costs & benefits to both S&G strategies. Can help predict if fish remain parasite-free (i.e. good invader) or contribute to parasite spillback doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...

Evolutionary distinctiveness and parasite specificity determine infection of non-native fish

Abstract. While parasites frequently cross the host species barrier and increase their host range, the mechanisms underlying successful novel cross-species

doi.org

To eat or not to eat: that is the question! A new #OpenBiology review synthesizes current understanding of the neural and physiological mechanisms that shape feeding-related decision-making across species: doi.org/10.1098/rsob... #SystemsBiology

A follow-up post on my first DPhil paper out in @royalsocietypublishing.org Interface! We found that natural flight in small birds (< 25 g) is repeatable within individual (*basis for selection*) and scalable by wing loading. Small bird flight = behavioural trait & model for non-steady-state bursts!

Many natural systems are unbalanced and difficult to predict. Among these phenomena is turbulence: chaotic motion in fluids and plasmas. The latest issue of #PhilTransA explores how scientists are trying to uncover hidden order within turbulence. Read here: royalsocietypublishing.org/rsta/issue/3...

#ProcB in @science.org | Reassuring body contact promotes social tolerance in bonobos and chimpanzees: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Chimps and bonobos hug and hold hands just like us

New study suggests ancient origins of reassuring social touch among apes

science.org

🪽🧬 Migration is one of the most spectacular behaviors in nature, yet we still know little about its molecular basis. Our new paper explores whether epigenetic variation contributes to migratory orientation in a songbird hybrid zone. doi.org/10.1098/rstb... tamuartsci.bsky.social columbia.bsky.social

#ProcB in @science.org | Cranial evidence for human-like helpless infancy in Homo erectus and Homo floresiensis: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Fossil skull flattening suggests ancient origins of infant helplessness

Homo erectus and H. floresiensis skulls both show defects similar to those modern human babies can develop after repeatedly resting on the same side

science.org

🐦 Thrilled to share our latest research, a milestone: the first first-author paper from @shreyadimri.bsky.social, published in @royalsocietypublishing.org Why do birds add fresh green nest material to their nests? 🧵 🔗 doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Microtubules in the coenocyte Phytophthora function in nuclear positioning and sustaining tip growth: doi.org/10.1098/rsob... #OpenBiology #CellBio

New paper out today led by @gallinaciega.bsky.social We show that seed-eating songbirds have enlarged a somatosensory nucleus, especially the part associated with the tongue, suggesting that seed-cracking is dependent on a fine sense of touch. #ornithology #neuroethology doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Are you a researcher, policy maker or industry leader with an interest in the conservation of tropical forests? Join our upcoming Science+ meeting in London: royalsociety.org/science-even... @janehillyork.bsky.social

Would chimpanzees or bonobos huddle before a penalty shootout in the World Cup? 🐵⚽ In both species, reassuring body contact promotes social tolerance, read more in our new study led by Jake Brooker out now in @royalsociety.org Proc B. (doi.org/10.1098/rspb...) A thread of the main findings 🧵 (1/10)

Why do some deep-sea anglerfish males become permanent parasites? This #ProcB study finds that parasitic males evolve when mating opportunities are rare. doi.org/10.1098/rspb... | #Evolution #TheoreticalBiology

📝 New paper out in PRSB on plant-epiphyte network recovery after invasive plant removal in the endangered Scalesia forest, Galapagos! We show that: 🌿 Restoration increases epiphyte richness, 🌳 large mossy trees promote recovery, and 🌱 Scalesia is a keystone host. More info 👉 doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

#PhilTransB in nationalgeographic.com | Fishing pressure induces changes in DNA methylation in genetically homogeneous marine metapopulations: doi.org/10.1098/rstb... www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

How human behavior impacts these sex-changing fish

When a male pearly razorfish is snatched from the sea, a female is forced to transition their sex too early. Scientists say this may have a wide-ranging impact on the fish’s DNA.

nationalgeographic.com

Did one era really have more stories, songs, or tools than another, or was it just better recorded? When collections are built unevenly, diversity comparisons can measure the collectors instead of the cultures. Our new paper is about how to fix that.

Correcting collection bias in comparative studies of diversity

Abstract. Comparative analyses of diversity in human populations often rely on historical, archival and observational data, which are systematically shaped

doi.org