Margaux Lesaffre on abnormal brain waves that may cause hallucinations in schizophrenia

Faiza Peeran finds that animals can use the colour of the sky to tell the time

An ingenious new invention named ‘iChip’ allows detection of antibiotics produced by soil microbes – such antibiotics utilised by humans to fight infection

A concordat on animal research has been signed by Imperial College and 72 other organisations …

A concordat has been agreed by universities, medical research charities, pharmaceutical companies and the government to create greater transparency in animal research. This is a step toward …

Want to lose weight?  Eat a red pepper. Scientists have discovered that capsaicin – the ingredient that gives red peppers their pungent flavour – breaks down fat. It was already known that feeding rats capsaicin slowed their weight gain, but until now, no one knew why.  A team from Korea has found that adding capsaicin […]

Earlier this month, researchers from New Zealand announced that they had observed wasps lifting up ants and carrying them away from food. This video footage also shows how the wasps hurl the ants away in their desperate attempts to monopolise the food source.  Although this video was made in a laboratory environment, the ant-dropping behaviour […]

Most animals need sleep. Even C. elegans, the nematode worm, has sleep-like states and it is one of the simplest organisms that exists with a nervous system. Sleep comes in many guises, in invertebrates like the cockroach; it can be as simple as folding down your antennae, adopting your favourite posture and decreasing your sensitivity […]