The “shocking” tactic electric fish use to collectively sense the world

The “shocking” tactic electric fish use to collectively sense the world

Neuroscientist Nathan Sawtell has spent a lot of time studying the electric elephantnose fish. These fish send and decipher weak electric signals, which Sawtell hopes will eventually help neuroscientists better understand how the brain filters sensory information about the outside world. As Sawtell has studied these electric critters, he’s had a lingering question: why do…

One woolly mammoth’s journey at the end of the Ice Age

One woolly mammoth’s journey at the end of the Ice Age

Lately, paleoecologist Audrey Rowe has been a bit preoccupied with a girl named Elma. That’s because Elma is … a woolly mammoth. And 14,000 years ago, when Elma was alive, her habitat in interior Alaska was rapidly changing. The Ice Age was coming to a close and human hunters were starting early settlements. Which leads…