600-million-year-old secret of the human body may lie inside this brainless ocean creature

The ocean still hides many secrets, and sometimes the smallest or simplest creatures reveal the biggest clues about life.

Will humans and animals ever be able to converse? Here’s what science says.

In the movie Hoppers, scientists “hop” human consciousness into animal-like robots to talk to other species. We asked the ...
news.ucsc

Rhythmically trained sea lion returns for an encore—and performs as well as humans

California sea lion Ronan at UC Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory. (Photo by Colleen Reichmuth; NOAA/NMFS 23554) Animal research on biomusicality, which looks at whether different species are ...
Salon

Some animals seem to appreciate music. What does that mean for human evolution?

Ronan the sea lion can dance to a lot of different songs, but there is something about “Boogie Wonderland,” by Earth, Wind and Fire that really gets her going. It didn’t take more than a few days for ...
NPR

This week in science: Eagles in Japan, the lives of deep-sea animals and 'SuperAgers'

Regina Barber and Rachel Carlson of Short Wave talk about endangered eagles in Japan, the lifestyles of deep-living ocean creatures and the longevity secrets of human 'SuperAgers,' aged 80 and older.

Animals can talk over huge distances – but humans might be changing their range

Animals are noisy. And their noises can travel a long way. But making sounds can be a double-edged sword: it can help them communicate, sometimes over long distances, but it can also reveal them to ...