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For These Apes Social Networking is Worth More Than Food

May 25, 2025 • 12:00 AM

Bonobos will share some bread with strangers rather than with old friends, new research shows. The finding, led by Dr. Brian Hare, from Duke University, USA, was published online in the January 2 edition of PLoS ONE. Such behaviour has never been observed in non-human primates before and may help guide our understanding of how certain altruistic and social behaviors evolved in human ancestors.  Bonobos are very social creatures, and researchers think this behaviour may help. "...they're...

Good Genes, Bad Genes, Who Knows...

May 25, 2025 • 12:00 AM

Genetic testing aims to find altered genes that could lead to a disease, and give doctors a head start in finding the best treatment. However, new research now suggest that finding these potentially ill-fated genes may not be such a big deal.

Researchers from Cambridge and Cardiff universities found that a normal person typically has about 400 DNA mutations in potentially important sites in the genome. But the researchers also found that people carrying these disease-causing mutations usually,...

How plants helped us evolve

May 25, 2025 • 12:00 AM

A lesser known hypothesis suggesting that our relationship with fruit may have helped us evolve into humans, gains new support. According to the theory, known as the angiosperm coevolution hypothesis, long ago, our primate ancestors evolved key adaptations like forward-facing eyes, excellent colour vision, rounded, blunt teeth and fingers without claws, all for the purpose of eating and living from fruits.

The most widely accepted hypothesis proposed to explain how primates evolved from other...

Licence to die?

May 25, 2025 • 12:00 AM

The first time on an airplane is one of those experiences that leave a stamp on your memory. My first plane trip was about 20 years ago, and I would have great recollections of that flight if not only for what happened after the 'no smoking' lights went out. Shortly after the 'ding', a cloud of cigarette smoke filled the air cabin. For hours on end, I was crammed with over hundred other people in a small, enclosed space breathing recycled smoke-infested air. Not a pleasant memory.

As appalling...

How to Make a Black Dahlia

May 25, 2025 • 12:00 AM

New research uncovers the secret of how a flower gets its famous color. Dahlias (Dahlia variabilis) are very popular garden flowers, with almost 20,000 varieties bred in a wide range of shapes, sizes and colors. As far as color goes, you can find Dahlias  in white, yellow, many shades of red, orange and pink. There is also a very rare variety: the black Dahlia. About a dozen Black Dahlias exist, known by creative names such as "Arabian Knight", "Chat Noir", and, oddly, "Charles de...

Evolution in mosaic

May 25, 2025 • 12:00 AM

A controversial idea of how evolution works gains new support.

Mosaic evolution is a long-discussed and still controversial idea that different parts or characteristics of an organism evolve separately, in different ways and at different times. The current dogma suggests, instead, that most parts of an organism evolve together, and thus that single traits are good approximations for how all traits in an organism evolve. For example the shape of a deer's antler might change along with tooth...

Head first into danger?

May 25, 2025 • 12:00 AM

Research points to the dangers of a popular sport practice. Seeing head to head collisions in sports is always unsettling, and efforts are currently being made to raise awareness of the dangers associated with head injuries in contact sports such as rugby and American Football. Take heading in football, for example. It is not only part of the game, but also a prominent goal scoring and passing technique that rarely leads to injury. Now, new research led by Dr. Inga Koerte, from Ludwig Maximilian...

Did you know...

May 25, 2025 • 12:00 AM

...blind patients can read words thanks to eye prostheses. Using a neuroprosthetic device, a blind patient has been able to read letters and words in the form of visual Braille, streamed directly onto his retina. Retinal prostheses are able to restore partial vision in patients with certain types of blindness. "" is a company that develops, manufactures and markets implantable visual prosthetics, such as the Argus II retinal prosthesis system. So far, this device has been implanted in over 50...

Meet the new real-life Transformer Robot Car

May 25, 2025 • 12:00 AM

Recently, Japanese hobbyist Kenji Ishida revealed a new version of his real-life, remote controlled, Transformer Robot Car. The robo will be presented officially at the Maker Faire Tokyo 2012. The robot/car was made using a custom 3D printer, designed by Mr. Ishida himself, and it is able to transform from a sports car into a walking robot, and then back to a car, all within seconds. The new robot, inspired in the classical Transformers series,  will be available for sale at some point,...

Munich Musings: A fine day for a cycle

May 25, 2025 • 12:00 AM

I heard München was a bike city - so when I moved here, I brought mine with me. I'd been riding bikes for nigh on twenty-three years. Nothing to learn then...
The transport of said bike obviously required it be disassembled in order to fit into a bike box for transport. This is when I learned my first lesson. Bike boxes are slim, wide enough for the frame only so pedals must be removed, handlebars turned, front wheel removed and tyres deflated. The first pedal came off easily; the second was a...

Curiosity's Martian Odyssey

May 25, 2025 • 12:00 AM

Not too long ago, Curiosity touched down on Mars, in a feat most only thought possible in the craziest of sci-fi movies. The world cheered as it watched the spacecraft descend flawlessly: speeding towards surface, opening the supersonic parachute, releasing the hovercraft, and lastly, lowering the rover to the ground via a mid-air pulley system. The space industry has recaptured the public's imagination.

Curiosity's mission is to determine if Mars ever had the ability to harbor life. This rover...

World's oldest panda comes from Spain

May 25, 2025 • 12:00 AM

The panda might not strike you as the most Spanish of animals, but is seems that 11 million years ago it roamed on Spanish land. Now, new research is suggesting that the panda's subfamily, Ailuropodinae, originated in Spain and only spread to China some time later. These conclusions are based on a new fossil panda, thought to be a close cousin of the modern giant panda, and the oldest panda fossil found so far. The fossil, called Kretzoiarctos ("Kretzoi bear", after Hungarian palaeontologist...

German PKV Insurance

German Private Health Insurance

Both private Health Insurance in Germany and public insurance, is often complicated to navigate, not to mention expensive. As an expat, you are required to navigate this landscape within weeks of arriving, so check our FAQ on PKV. For our guide on resources and access to agents who can give you a competitive quote, try our PKV Cost comparison tool.

Hospitals

Hospital and Clinic Directory

Germany is famous for its medical expertise and extensive number of hospitals and clinics. See this comprehensive directory of hospitals and clinics across the country, complete with links to their websites, addresses, contact info, and specializations/services.

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Christoph Scheuerecker: ,,Ereignis: Erzählung"

Join us at the Kunstraum in der Au for the exhibition titled ,,Ereignis: Erzählung" by Christoph Scheuerecker, focusing on the captivating world of bees. This exhibition invites visitors to explore the intricate relationship between bees and their environment through various artistic expressions,...

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Authorities in the western Pacific have issued the highest level of alert as Super Typhoon Sinlaku...
SPD Candidate Withdraws from Berlin Mayoral Race Amid Controversy Over Sick Leave
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