All posts filed under “Animals

Birds saved centuries old documents in their nests

Birds saved centuries old documents in their nests
Photos by Alexey Alexeyev.

During the restoration work in the Assumption Cathedral built in early XV century in Zvenigorod Russian archaeologists found numerous birds’ nests built throughout several centuries under the decayed roof. Researchers were surprised when during the decomposition of the nests they started finding paper documents from different periods in the addition to birds’ bones and eggshells. In particular, they found 18th century manuscripts and notes from early 20th century. Read More

Chris Mortensen: It’s much healthier for people to work with horses, rather than playing video games

Chris Mortensen

Equine physiologist Chris Mortensen studies the influence of exercise and stress on mare fertility. His laboratory at University of Florida conducts research on reproductive function in horses and other mammals. Dr. Mortensen also teaches marvelous The Horse Course at Coursera, which is absolutely essential for anyone interested in equids. In his interview for metkere.com Chris Mortensen explained why horses are man’s and woman’s best friends and talked about their role in modern economy. Read More

Foxes, stress and evolution

Лисы, стресс и эволюция
Photo by Alexander Dubynin.

metkere.com is launching a joint project with Eureka magazine dedicated to the scientific ideas born in Siberia. The first issue is devoted to the destabilizing selection and domestication of foxes. The idea of destabilizing selection was initially proposed by Dmitry Belyaev, first director of Institute of Cytology and Genetics of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Science (from 1959). Thanks to him we now have a better understanding of the domestication process in terms of biology, primarily for the ancestors of the dogs. And that seems to be universally recognized. Read More