Human egg

Maintaining healthy DNA delays menopause

28 September 2015

An international study of nearly 70,000 women has identified more than forty regions of the human genome that are involved in governing at what age a woman goes through menopause. The study, led by scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Exeter, found that two thirds of those regions contain genes that act to keep DNA healthy, by repairing the small damages that can accumulate with age. 

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Jackdaws on nest box

Here’s looking at you: research shows jackdaws can recognise individual human faces

11 August 2015

When you’re prey, being able to spot and assess the threat posed by potential predators is of life-or-death importance. In a paper published today in Animal Behaviour, researchers from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Psychology show that wild jackdaws recognise individual human faces, and may be able to tell whether or not predators are looking directly at them.

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Mozambique Nightjar

Secrets of animal camouflage: Video reveals how predator vision works

06 August 2014

How do animals see? It’s a question that vexes biologists and fascinates anyone who has watched animals go about their business: what does the world look like through their eyes? In a new video, BBSRC-funded scientists are attempting to answer some of these fundamental questions by studying  the success of bird and egg camouflage.

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Jackdaw

The eyes have it

05 February 2014

Researchers in Cambridge and Exeter have discovered that jackdaws use their eyes to communicate with each other – the first time this has been shown in non-primates.

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Aerial photograph of sample location: an unnamed peninsula at Lazarev Bay on the northwest coast of Alexander Island

Moss growth in Antarctica linked to climate change

29 August 2013

Increases in temperature on the Antarctic Peninsula during the latter part of the 20th century were accompanied by an acceleration in moss growth, scientists have learned. Writing in the journal Current Biology they describe the activity as unprecedented in the last 150 years.

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