HadNews.com

With the arrival of spring, a timeless ritual begins anew: male birds fill the air with song, seeking to attract mates and defend their territories from other competing males. But there is a lot we still don’t understand about how birds learn which sounds to sing. Our latest study offers new insights and suggests genes may play a more important role than scientists realised. In nearly half of the world’s bird species, young birds learn by imitating the songs of adults. As birds learn songs from one another, mistakes inevitably happen, leading to variation in songs between populations of the same species, similar to the formation of d...... Read Full article on HadNews

Genes are quite remarkable things. But in the last few decades, the power that we have ascribed to them has gotten a little out of hand. This has led to the rise of biological (or genetic) determinism. This is the idea that our biological makeup (as opposed to culture, environment, or personal decisions) is the dominant determinant of our behavior.  There is now a “warrior gene” legal strategy for criminal defenders advocating on behalf of persons accused of violent crimes. (One cartoon depicts an attorney rendering his client’s plea before the bench: “Not guilty by reason of genetic determinism, Your Honor.”) There is at least one comp...... Read Full article on HadNews

The UK has long been considered to have some of the strongest animal welfare laws in the world. Beginning with Martin’s act on the cruel treatment of cattle, through to the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and then Finn’s law to protect service animals, UK animal welfare laws have sought to reduce harm and cruelty to animals. But what happens when companion animals suffer or live shorter lives simply because of their genetic make-up? On average, dogs live for 10-13 years, which is considered roughly equivalent to between 60-74 human years. Small, long-nosed dogs have the highest life expectancies in the UK, while male dogs from medium-sized, f...... Read Full article on HadNews