A new Tel Aviv University (TAU) study has demonstrated that the magical phenomenon in which deep-reef corals display glowing colors (fluorescence) is intended to serve as a mechanism for attracting prey. The study shows that the marine animals on which corals prey recognize the fluorescent colors and are attracted to them. The research was conducted… Read More
A joint study by researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the Hebrew University has unraveled the earliest evidence for domestication of a fruit tree. The researchers analyzed remnants of charcoal from the Chalcolithic site of Tel Zaf in the Jordan Valley and determined that they came from olive trees. Since the olive did not… Read More
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