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Department of Zoology

 
Read more at: Coating could end cockroach and termite infestation by giving the insects the slip

Coating could end cockroach and termite infestation by giving the insects the slip

8 August 2013

A new insect repellent which helps people give termites, cockroaches and other pests the slip has been unveiled by the Department's Insect Biomechanics Group.


Read more at: Deforestation causes ‘boom-and-bust’ development in the Amazon

Deforestation causes ‘boom-and-bust’ development in the Amazon

8 August 2013

Clearing the Amazon rainforest provides a quick boost to Brazilian communities’ wealth and quality of life, but these improvements are short-lived, according to new research published today in Science.


Read more at: The Whale: A History

The Whale: A History

8 August 2013

Professor Bill Amos appeared on Radio Four's In Our Time programme discussing the evolutionary history of the whale with Melvyn Bragg, Professor Steve Jones from UCL and Eleanor Weston from the Natural History Museum.


Read more at: Corvids continue to impress

Corvids continue to impress

8 August 2013

Work carried out at the Sub-department of Animal Behaviour in Madingley is continuing to reveal the extraordinary intelligence of corvids.


Read more at: Last surviving Beagle egg discovered by chance

Last surviving Beagle egg discovered by chance

8 August 2013

An egg collected by Charles Darwin while on HMS Beagle - and thought to be the last such specimen known to exist - has been rediscovered by an octogenarian volunteer at Cambridge University’s Zoology Museum.


Read more at: Darwin's 200th Birthday

Darwin's 200th Birthday

8 August 2013

February 12th 2009 was the anniversary of Darwin's birth 200 years ago and was celebrated across the university and the world.


Read more at: First edition copy of 'On the origin of species' featured on Countryfile

First edition copy of 'On the origin of species' featured on Countryfile

8 August 2013

The Balfour & Newton Libraries' first edition copy of Charles Darwin's On the origin of species featured on an episode of the BBC's Countryfile programme.


Read more at: Serotonin Mediates Behavioural Gregarization Underlying Swarm Formation in Desert Locusts

Serotonin Mediates Behavioural Gregarization Underlying Swarm Formation in Desert Locusts

8 August 2013

Three members of the department have authored a paper in Science that describes how a change in behaviour in locusts from mutual repulsion to attraction is brought about by serotonin, a common substance in the brain.


Read more at: BBC Natural World - Cuckoo

BBC Natural World - Cuckoo

8 August 2013

Friday 9th January on BBC 2 at 8pm. (Repeat on Sunday 11th January at 5pm)


Read more at: Meerkat groups have 'traditions'

Meerkat groups have 'traditions'

8 August 2013

Just as afternoon tea is traditional in England but not in France, different groups of meerkats have different ways of doing things, Cambridge zoologists have found.