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In golden snub-nosed monkeys, sexual interactions between individuals of the same sex appear to strengthen social bonds. Credit: Thomas Marent/Nature Picture Library
Sexual behavior between same-sex primates is part of the normal life of some species and can play an important role in their long-term success. Researchers have identified instances of homosexual behavior in 59 species of non-human primates, and suggest that it may be a response to harsh environments, predation, and complex social hierarchies. “Many people have long considered homosexual behavior to be incidental or rare,” says evolutionary biologist and study co-author Vincent Savolainen. But “this is part of the normal social life of primates.”
Nature | 4 minutes read
reference: Nature ecology and evolution paper
Nearly £5 million ($6.6 million) will be spent. Store nut butters loaded with contraceptives in special squirrel feeders To suppress the population of invasive gray squirrels (Ceaurus carolinensis) in the United Kingdom. The researchers have been working on the world’s first contraceptive method for gray squirrels and a prototype feeder that allows the heavier gray squirrels to access the buttery bait, but blocks the lighter red squirrels (Common squirrel) from entering. If successful, this approach could be cheaper and more effective than culling the country’s beloved rodents.
The Economist | 4 minutes read (Free registration required)
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will reverse decades of policy and policy Stop including human health in the cost–Benefit analyzes when setting air pollution limitsReports New York Times. Instead, the agency will only count the cost to industry of regulating two of the most prevalent toxic pollutants: fine particulate matter PM2.5 and ozone. “The idea that the EPA does not consider the public health benefits provided by its regulations is anathema to the EPA’s very mission,” says legal scholar Richard Revesz.
New York Times | 8 minutes read
Features and opinion
Ultraviolet light helps reveal the soft tissue preserved with the animal’s bones Archeopteryx The fossil is at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois.Credit: Delaney Drummond/The Field Museum
For more than a century, Archeopteryx It was the oldest known bird genus, and the only one known from the Jurassic period, when birds first evolved. Last year, fossils of a newly discovered genus revealed this Archeopteryx He was not alone: a creature called Paminurnu He also walked on Jurassic Earth, and also flew. These two types of birds are so different that some researchers suggest that the first birds preceded them. The findings reveal clues about how and why birds evolved, and suggest that the evolutionary story of birds has an older chapter than researchers thought.
Nature | 11 minute read
To boost their creativity, people should ask AI models how to think, not what to think, says complexity researcher Brian Ozzie. The best collaborators help others discover their own knowledge, and help connect ideas from seemingly disparate schools of thought, two qualities users can find in AI, Ozzie says. If users ask robots for a thought process, rather than explicit answers, “we can create partnerships that push past conventions and foster scientific innovation,” Ozzie says.
Nature | 5 minute read
Nine climate researchers and policy leaders, including the head of the UK Climate Change Committee, say that “core elements of climate action are irreversible” despite factors “such as the current US administration’s deliberate efforts to weaken climate policy, discredit climate science and promote fossil fuels”. They point to backstops, such as the proliferation of long-term infrastructure needed to transport renewable energy. Another key positive force: talking about what’s going well. “Stories that envision positive, achievable futures are themselves feedback loops,” they write.
The nature of climate change 12 minute read
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Flora Graham is senior editor at Nature Briving
With contributions by Jacob Smith
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