Animals are able to count and use zero How far does their number sense go? -- Science & Technology -- Sott net sott.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sott.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Adrian Dyer, Associate Professor, RMIT University Scarlett Howard, Author provided
The intense colours of flowers have inspired us for centuries. They are celebrated through poems and songs praising the red of roses and blue of violets, and have inspired iconic pieces of art such as Vincent Van Gogh’s sunflowers. Vase with Three Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh.
But flowers did not evolve their colour for our pleasure. They did so to attract pollinators. Therefore, to understand why flowers produce such vibrant colours, we have to consider how pollinators such as bees perceive colour.
When observed under a powerful microscope, most flower petals show a textured surface made up of crests or “bumps”. Our research, published in the Journal of Pollination Ecology, shows that these structures have frequently evolved to interact with light, to enhance the colour produced by the pigments under the textured surface.
How can we support our native bees? miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Physics of birds and bees – sincerely, Albert Einstein
A newly discovered letter reveals that Einstein predicted recent bee research seventy years ago.
Extract from Einstein s letter to Davys. Credit: Dyer et al. 2021, J Comp Physiol A / The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
In 2019, a group of RMIT researchers were in the midst of publishing a series of grand discoveries about how bees use their brains, when they got an unexpected surprise from Albert Einstein.
Led by Scarlett Howard as part of her PhD, the team had shown that, despite their small size, bees could understand the concept of zero, and even perform simple arithmetic.
After interviewing Megan, I check her Instagram story – it’s an image of King’s Parade in the sunshine. Speaking at the Union last night, Megan said that her Instagram stories are where she tries to show the “natural me,” “the good days and the bad days.” I can’t help but think about how, although she describes herself as “introverted,” Megan came to the Union alone, warmly asked my name before the interview, and answered all of my questions with a smile.
Far from the tabloid headlines of sex, plastic surgery, and scandal, Megan spoke with warmth and strength last night. From discussing female sexual empowerment and gay representation in her interview with me to exploring mental wellbeing and social media in her talk at the Union, Megan uses her platform to raise awareness of a range of issues.