News

Research published in the journal Nature reveals for the first time how a famous extinct animal, the early four-legged vertebrate (tetrapod) called Ichthyostega, moved on land.The study, conducted by Dr. Stephanie E Pierce and Professor John R Hutchinson from the Royal Veterinary College and Professor Jennifer A Clack from the Department of Zoology…

It might be possible for human-to-human airborne transmissible avian H5N1 influenza viruses to evolve in nature, new research has found. The findings, from research led by Professor Derek Smith and Dr Colin Russell from the Department, were published last month in the journal Science.Currently, avian H5N1 influenza, also known as bird flu, can be t…

News about the environment can seem like one long litany of loss, but is nature’s continued decline inevitable? Certainly not, argues Andrew Balmford in his book Wild Hope, published by University of Chicago Press, which instead explores the successful side of conservation.From the floodplain of Assam to the mountains of western Ecuador Andrew disc…

A new paper published in Current Biology this week by several members of the department looks at substrate-borne vibratory communication during courtship in Drosophila melanogaster. Courtship in Drosophila melanogaster has become an iconic example of an innate and interactive series of behaviors. The female signals her acceptance of copulation by b…

The Department received with sadness the news of the death of Dr Ken Joysey on 25th November 2012.Ken Joysey spent most of his scientific career in the University Museum of Zoology , and was Director of the Museum from 1970 until his retirement in 1995.An appreciation of his life and contribution to the Department can be found below. Ken JoyseyKen …