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Fossil ‘weird wonders’ discovered in a sheep field in mid Wales

24 November 2022

Exceptional fossil deposits such as the Burgess Shale in Canada and Chengjiang in China, which preserve soft tissues and internal organs alongside typical shells and ‘hard parts’, provide the oldest evidence for many major animal groups. While many of these fossils can be readily recognized as relatives of modern groups...

Planar cell polarity: intracellular asymmetry and supracellular gradients of Dachsous

1 November 2022

This work documents one final step in a scientific journey of 60 years. It is exactly 60 years since I (Peter) first had the idea, when a graduate student playing in a sandbox on the 3rd floor of the Zoology Department, that planar polarity might depend on a gradient of some molecule. The hypothesis was that cells are...

Learning about the first animals on Earth from life at the poles

12 October 2022

Emily Mitchell from our Deeptime Ecology Group and a team from British Antarctic Survey have recently published a paper about the amazing survival strategies of polar marine creatures might help to explain how the first animals on earth could have evolved earlier than the oldest fossils suggest according to new research...

Drought changes the smell of flowers affecting bee visits

8 August 2022

Pollination in a drier world: Even moderate drought alters floral scent Climate change is everyday more present and dramatic in our everyday life, and 2022 has been no exception: heatwaves, drought, floods. Climate change also affects animals and plants, but more importantly it can have dramatic impacts on species...

Oil palm plantation with fruit cut down and on the floor

A new systematic map explores the level of research on within-plantation management practices in oil palm.

3 August 2022

Megan Popkin and other members of the Insect Ecology Group have just published a new systematic map investigating the level of research on within-plantation management practices in oil palm. The article particularly highlights which practices have been researched and/or experimentally tested, as well as research gaps. Each...

honeyguide eating wax by Dominic Cram, dolphin and fisherman’s hands with net by Fábio Daura-Jorge

Cooperation between humans and wild animals

21 June 2022

Cooperation between humans and wild animals People cooperate with many species of animals, such as falcons and sheep-dogs, but most cases involve the human controlling the animal’s actions through domestication and captivity. Sometimes, people and wild animals cooperate without human control and to mutual benefit, but much...

Intensive farming may actually reduce risk of pandemics

21 June 2022

Intensive farming may actually reduce risk of pandemics Scientists evaluated the evidence that intensive livestock farming is causing pandemics, with surprising results. They find that intensive livestock farming could actually reduce the risk of future pandemics, compared to non-intensive farming. In a paper, published...

A group of Ediacaran specimens of Fractofusus and Plumeropriscum from the “E” surface, Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland, Canada. Credit: Charlotte G. Kenchington

First animals developed complex ecosystems before the Cambrian explosion

16 May 2022

First animals developed complex ecosystems before the Cambrian explosion Metacommunity analysis suggests succession, not mass extinction, explains Ediacaran diversity drop Early animals formed complex ecological communities more than 550 million years ago, setting the evolutionary stage for the Cambrian explosion...

World map indicating places where research carried out by Cambridge University is having a positive impact

Cambridge’s global reputation in Biological Sciences recognised in REF 2021

11 May 2022

Cambridge’s global reputation in Biological Sciences recognised in REF 2021 The results from the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF) have highlighted the global impact of Cambridge’s research in the field of Biological Sciences. 96% of Cambridge’s overall submissions within the Biological Sciences Unit of Assessment...

Dr Tim Weil in a green demonstrator's lab coat talking to year 12 students in the lab at an outreach event

Pilkington Prize for Teaching awarded to Tim Weil

15 March 2022

Congratulations to Tim Weil on the award of the Pilkington Prize for Teaching This prize recognises outstanding contributions to teaching and learning at Cambridge. Tim deserves to receive this award for his exceptional and sustained contribution to teaching. Tim is a natural communicator and has brought his unique blend...

Department of Zoology

Fossil ‘weird wonders’ discovered in a sheep field in mid Wales

Planar cell polarity: intracellular asymmetry and supracellular gradients of Dachsous

Learning about the first animals on Earth from life at the poles

Drought changes the smell of flowers affecting bee visits

A new systematic map explores the level of research on within-plantation management practices in oil palm.

Cooperation between humans and wild animals

Intensive farming may actually reduce risk of pandemics

First animals developed complex ecosystems before the Cambrian explosion

Cambridge’s global reputation in Biological Sciences recognised in REF 2021

Pilkington Prize for Teaching awarded to Tim Weil

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