1.
Crocodiles Were Played Classical Music.
Goldream
/ Getty Images
A group
of international researchers scanned Nile crocodiles
in MRI scanners while playing classical music to see how their brains handle
complicated sensory information.
The
researchers played Bach music to the crocodiles while also exposing them to
sophisticated visual cues.
The study
discovered that the brains of crocodiles, which evolved more than 200 million
years ago, exhibited distinct brain activation after being exposed to
sophisticated noises such as classical music versus when they were exposed to
simple sounds.
The
findings showed that this sophisticated sensory processing originated far
earlier than scientists previously believed.
2. Asian Elephants
Are Extremely Good at Counting.
Getty
Images
According
to research published in the Journal
of Ethology in October, Asian Elephants exhibit mathematical ability that
is more similar to humans than other species.
The
researchers taught a 14-year-old Asian elephant to utilize a
computer-controlled touch screen, which the elephant used its trunk to express
numerical judgments.
The
elephant picked the right answer 181 out of 271 times (66.8 percent of the
time), indicating that it possesses cognitive powers equivalent to human
counting.
3.
Scientists Have Developed A Sensory System Small Enough To Ride On Bumblebees.
Mark
Stone/University of Washington / Via University of Washington
Engineers
at the University
of Washington have developed a sensor device that rides on the backs of
bees to monitor temperature, humidity, and crop health.
Farmers
may employ drones for this purpose, but they take a lot of electricity to fly
over big fields, so they need to be recharged frequently.
The
bumblebee sensory system includes position tracking, wireless communication,
and a seven-hour battery that recharges as the bees sleep in their hives at
night.
4. Scientists
Rediscovered An Animal Not Seen In 30 Years.
The
Mexican government proclaimed the San Quintin kangaroo rat, a tiny, feisty
burrow-dwelling animal from northern Mexico, extinct in 1994.
However,
four of the kangaroo rats were discovered by researchers during a routine
survey in 2017 and their findings
were published in May of this year.
According
to the researchers, the kangaroo rat's comeback is an encouraging indicator
that natural ecosystems in the Baja California area are rebounding after an
agricultural boom severely altered the environment.
5. Three
New Rainbow Chameleon Species Have Been Discovered.
Delpixart
/ Getty Images
On an
expedition conducted by a German zoological association, three new species of
rainbow chameleons were found on Madagascar's east coast.
According
to the experts that found them, the three species are expected to have tiny
populations with a limited range.
One of
the chameleon species was only found in a 37-acre area of secluded jungle.
6. Goats Notice
When People Smile And Like Seeing It.
Flysnow /
Getty Images
Researchers
studied goat intelligence in recognizing social cues in a study
published by the Royal Society.
The
scientists noticed preference when 35 goats were shown images of either an
angry or a cheerful human expression.
The goats
preferred to spend time near photos of joyful human faces, indicating for the
first time that domesticated farm animals that haven't been raised particularly
to engage with humans can detect facial communication signs in people.
7.
Pterosaurs Were Most Likely Feathered.
Nanjing
University in China undertook a study that microscopically studied fossils of
pterosaurs, the flying reptiles that coexisted with dinosaurs, and discovered
that they were covered in tiny feathers.
The
unexpected discovery pushed back the origin of feathers by 70 million years.
The feathers of pterosaurs were shorter and were not designed to aid flying
like feathers on contemporary birds.
The
finding led scientists to believe that pterosaurs were feathered rather than
scaled in appearance.
8. Lizards
Dream In The Same Way That We Do.
Tane-mahuta
/ Getty Images
The
Neuroscience Research Center of Lyon conducted a sleep study
on lizards and discovered that they had different sleep phases similar to
humans.
The
researchers were looking at how lizards sleep to figure out how sleep states
evolved in humans.
The study
discovered that lizards go through stages that are comparable to human
rapid-eye-movement (REM) and slow-wave sleep states.
The
findings showed that lizards may have dreams in the same manner that humans do.
Source of
the information: www.buzzfeed.com
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