Guest Work

Junk food packaging hijacks the same brain processes as drug and alcohol addiction

Guest Work • May 10, 2017

• brain imaging,
• Diet,
• fMRI,
• food,
• junk food,
• neuroscience,
• nutrition

By Bernd Weber, University of Bonn Food is important for our survival, which is why all living beings have developed an urge for high energy foods, like those high in sugar and fat. Historically, this hadn’t been an issue, as energy dense foods weren’t always as available as they are today. But in modern societies, we not only … Read More

Exploring the past to understand the ecological requirements of de-extinction candidate species

Guest Work • May 09, 2017

• de-extinction,
• de-extinction series,
• ecology,
• moa,
• palaeoecology

If we are going to resurrect an extinct species, where will it live and what will it eat? Sciblogs is running a series of posts on de-extinction to coincide with a special issue of the journal Functional Ecology focusing on the topic. In this guest post, special issue author Dr Jamie Wood from Landcare Research looks to the past to find answers … Read More

Conservation genetics of de-extinction: a primer

Guest Work • May 09, 2017

• conservation,
• conservation genetics,
• de-extinction,
• de-extinction series,
• ecology,
• extinction,
• genetics,
• Huia

Could we really bring an extinct species back from the dead, and, if we did – what happens next? Sciblogs is running a series of posts on de-extinction to coincide with a special issue of the journal Functional Ecology focusing on the topic. In this guest post, special issue author Dr Tammy Steeves from the University of Canterbury examines the genetic … Read More

De-extinction: the devil is in the details

Guest Work • May 09, 2017

• conservation,
• de-extinction,
• de-extinction series,
• ecology,
• Functional Ecology,
• genetics,
• rhino

If we could resurrect an extinct species, should we? Sciblogs is running a series of posts on de-extinction to coincide with a special feature issue of the journal Functional Ecology focusing on the issue. In this guest post, special issue editor Prof Phil Seddon from the University of Otago delves into the realities of bringing a species back from extinction.  Conservationists … Read More

Ten years after the crisis, what is happening to the world’s bees?

Guest Work • May 08, 2017

• bees,
• colony collapse disorder,
• honey,
• pollination,
• Varroa mite

By Simon Klein, Université de Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier and Andrew Barron, Macquarie University Ten years ago, beekeepers in the United States raised the alarm that thousands of their hives were mysteriously empty of bees. What followed was global concern over a new phenomenon: Colony Collapse Disorder. Since then we have realised that it was … Read More

The bark side: domestic dogs threaten endangered species worldwide

Guest Work • May 02, 2017

• canine,
• conservation,
• dogs,
• native,
• predation,
• species

By Tim Doherty, Deakin University; Aaron J. Wirsing, University of Washington; Chris Dickman, University of Sydney; Dale Nimmo, Charles Sturt University; Euan Ritchie, Deakin University, and Thomas Newsome, Deakin University Humans and their canine companions share many close bonds. Wolves (Canis lupus) were the first animal domesticated by … Read More

Facebook’s new anti-fake news strategy is not going to work – but something else might

Guest Work • Apr 28, 2017

• artificial intelligence,
• Facebook,
• fake news,
• media,
• news,
• Propaganda,
• Psychology

By Paul Ralph, University of Auckland Have you seen some “tips to spot fake news” on your Facebook newsfeed recently? Over the past year, the social media company has been scrutinized for influencing the US presidential election by spreading fake news (propoganda). Obviously, the ability to spread completely made-up stories about politicians trafficking … Read More

How virtual reality spiders are helping people face their arachnophobia

Guest Work • Apr 27, 2017

• arachnophobia,
• exposure therapy,
• phobias,
• virtual reality,
• VR

By Rebekah Boynton, James Cook University and Anne Swinbourne, James Cook University. Gradually exposing people to the thing they fear, say a spider, in a controlled environment has long been the mainstay of treating phobias. But with exposure therapy you don’t have to have a spider physically present in the room for you to feel … Read More

Citizen scientists discover new type of aurora

Guest Work • Apr 25, 2017

• aurora,
• Aurorasaurus,
• night sky,
• space,
• Steve

By Nathan Case, Lancaster University A collaboration between aurora-hunting citizen scientists and a team of professional researchers has resulted in the discovery of a completely new type of aurora. The finding was made possible thanks to photos taken by aurora enthusiasts from across the globe which scientists could then compare with data from satellites. The aurora, more … Read More

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Facts are not always more important than opinions: here’s why

Guest Work • Apr 19, 2017

• critical thinking,
• facts,
• opinions,
• philosophy,
• trump

By Peter Ellerton, The University of Queensland Which is more important, a fact or an opinion on any given subject? It might be tempting to say the fact. But not so fast… Lately, we find ourselves lamenting the post-truth world, in which facts seem no more important than opinions, and sometimes less so. We also tend … Read More

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