How bacteria cope with stress

When exposed to stress, bacteria allow their metabolism to take a break during which they suppress, for example, the incorporation of proteins into membranes. Scientists from Marburg, Freiburg and Munich have discovered this ...

Crested pigeons use feathers to sound the alarm

Many animals will sound an alarm to alert other members of their group of impending danger. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology on November 9 have shown that crested pigeons do this in a surprisingly non-vocal way. ...

For fish, fear smells like sugar

When one fish gets injured, the rest of the school takes off in fear, tipped off by a mysterious substance known as "Schreckstoff" (meaning "scary stuff" in German). Now, researchers reporting online on February 23 in the ...

Vigilant windows

Is someone sneaking around in front of the window trying to break in? Windows and doors are now being sensitized to suspicious movements: they can detect whether and how quickly something is moving. If it is a person, the ...