What are microplastics doing to your brain? We’re starting to find out

GIVEN a choice between two sea snail shells, hermit crabs know which will make a better home. That is, unless their thinking has been muddled by ingesting microplastics. Then, they struggle with a decision that could be crucial for survival. They aren’t alone: across the animal kingdom, it appears, tiny bits of plastic change behaviours … Read more

Our wounds heal slower than the cuts and scrapes of other primates

Lesions close up quicker if you’re a chimpanzee than a person Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Human wounds take almost three times as long to heal as the injuries of other mammals, including chimpanzees, which are among our closest living relatives. It isn’t clear why, but it may be an evolutionary adaptation connected to the loss of … Read more

Stewart Copeland plays with the animals on latest project ‘Wild Concerto’

Stewart Copeland is best known as one-third of the Police, the chart-topping trio that called it quits after five acclaimed albums released between 1978-1983 and launched Sting to solo stardom. With the Police, which also included guitarist Andy Summers, out of the picture, the drummer-percussionist changed course and became an in-demand film and TV score … Read more

Train strikes elephant herd in Sri Lanka, killing 6 animals

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A passenger train hit an elephant herd near a wildlife sanctuary in Sri Lankakilling six of the animals, an official said Thursday. Four babies and two adults died near Minneriya, about 124 miles from the capital, Colombo. The area is renowned for its nature park and wildlife, said Hasini Sarathchandra, a … Read more