When you wonder how science works:
Lego-pushing bumblebees reveal insect collaboration dynamics
May 2024, phys.org
In the study, pairs of bumblebees were trained in two different cooperative tasks. Bees learned to simultaneously push a Lego block in the middle of an arena, or to simultaneously push a door at the end of a transparent double tunnel to gain access to rewarding nectar.Bumblebees' behaviors suggest their efforts towards solving the cooperative tasks were influenced by the presence, absence, and movement direction of their partner. When their partner was delayed, bees tended to take longer than controls to initiate pushing and were more likely to push only when their partner pushed with them.In short, bees trained on cooperative tasks seemed to wait for their partner. The bumblebees in the control group, which had been trained alone, did not show similar behavior.
via University of Oulu in Finland: Olli J. Loukola et al, Evidence for socially influenced and potentially actively coordinated cooperation by bumblebees, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0055
Unrelated image credit: AI Art - A Man Giving His Dirty Nails a Manicure - 2024
Genetic study of cauliflower reveals its evolutionary history
May 2024, phys.org
Yes cauliflower.
via Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Science's State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding: Rui Chen et al, Genomic analyses reveal the stepwise domestication and genetic mechanism of curd biogenesis in cauliflower, Nature Genetics (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01744-4
Cat collaboration demonstrates what it takes to trust robots
May 2024, phys.org
Cat Royale is a unique collaboration between Computer Scientists from the University of Nottingham and artists at Blast Theory who worked together to create a multispecies world centered around a be-spoke enclosure in which three cats and a robot arm coexist for six hours a day during a twelve-day installation as part of an artist-led project. The installation was launched in 2023 at the World Science Festival in Brisbane, Australia and has been touring since, it has just won a Webby award for its creative experience.The robot arm offering activities to make the cats happier, these included dragging a "mouse" toy along the floor, raising a feather "bird" into the air, and even offering them treats to eat."It explores the question of what it takes to trust a robot to look after our loved ones and potentially ourselves."
via University of Nottingham: Eike Schneiders et al, Designing Multispecies Worlds for Robots, Cats, and Humans, Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2024). DOI: 10.1145/3613904.3642115
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