An ancient site of worship for the dugong, or sea cow, has been discovered in the Persian Gulf and predates other known dugong worship sites by more than 5,000 years. The sanctuary, believed to date back between 3500 and 3200 BC, was discovered on Akab Island in the United Arab Emirates, 50 km north of Dubai. A French archaeological mission in the Emirates and the Umm al-Quwain museum in the UAE said in the archaeology magazine Antiquity that the sanctuary on the deserted island provided key details "on the rituals of prehistoric coastal societies in the Gulf."
Dugong
Biologists have discovered that a species of pigeon has a secret way of alerting fellow birds to predators – a ‘whistle’ emitted by flapping wings when the bird takes off in alarm.
The Australian crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) is well known for the abrupt metallic-sounding whistle that it makes on takeoff. Until now, though, nobody had analysed the sound or explored whether it may have a use.
Robert Magrath and Mae Hingee of the Australian National University, in Canberra, recorded a crested pigeon as it tucked into grain on a feeding table.
Crested pigeon
A new study explains why people swing their arms as they walk, a seemingly unnecessary movement for which researchers have tried to find an explanation.
The research, detailed today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, used simple robots and human experiments to show that arm swinging is both easy and beneficial. The movement requires little muscular effort, yet it makes walking much easier.
"This puts to rest the theory that arm swinging is a vestigial relic from our quadrupedal ancestors," said Steven Collins, a biomechanical engineer with the University of Michigan in the USA. "Instead, arm swinging is a sensible part of an economic gait on two legs."
Whale researchers have witnessed the birth of a humpback whale off the coast of Australia. This may be the first time the initial breath of a humpback calf has ever been captured on film.
Though they didn't understand what they were watching at the time, the experts later realised from photographs that they had witnessed a "calf's first breath of life," which they described as a "holy grail" for whale science.
Births are rarely witnessed for any large species of whale, making this an exhilarating experience said husband and wife team, Curt and Micheline Jenner from the Centre for Whale Research in Fremantle, Western Australia, who captured the images on 19 July.
An ancient site of worship for the dugong, or sea cow, has been discovered in the Persian Gulf and predates other known dugong worship sites by more than 5,000 years. The sanctuary, believed to date back between 3500 and 3200 BC, was discovered on Akab Island in the United Arab Emirates, 50 km north of Dubai. A French archaeological mission in the Emirates and the Umm al-Quwain museum in the UAE said in the archaeology magazine Antiquity that the sanctuary on the deserted island provided key details "on the rituals of prehistoric coastal societies in the Gulf."
Biologists have discovered that a species of pigeon has a secret way of alerting fellow birds to predators – a ‘whistle’ emitted by flapping wings when the bird takes off in alarm.
The Australian crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) is well known for the abrupt metallic-sounding whistle that it makes on takeoff. Until now, though, nobody had analysed the sound or explored whether it may have a use.
Robert Magrath and Mae Hingee of the Australian National University, in Canberra, recorded a crested pigeon as it tucked into grain on a feeding table.
A new study explains why people swing their arms as they walk, a seemingly unnecessary movement for which researchers have tried to find an explanation.
The research, detailed today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, used simple robots and human experiments to show that arm swinging is both easy and beneficial. The movement requires little muscular effort, yet it makes walking much easier.
"This puts to rest the theory that arm swinging is a vestigial relic from our quadrupedal ancestors," said Steven Collins, a biomechanical engineer with the University of Michigan in the USA. "Instead, arm swinging is a sensible part of an economic gait on two legs."
Whale researchers have witnessed the birth of a humpback whale off the coast of Australia. This may be the first time the initial breath of a humpback calf has ever been captured on film.
Though they didn't understand what they were watching at the time, the experts later realised from photographs that they had witnessed a "calf's first breath of life," which they described as a "holy grail" for whale science.
Births are rarely witnessed for any large species of whale, making this an exhilarating experience said husband and wife team, Curt and Micheline Jenner from the Centre for Whale Research in Fremantle, Western Australia, who captured the images on 19 July.