Welcome to Animals ≠ Things

Professor Norbert Sachser discusses his fascinating insights into the inner lives of animals. Sachser's book "Much Like Us" highlights the enormous advances in our understanding of animal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. He challenges us to question our assumptions and see humanity in our fellow creatures, touching on topics like animal empathy, warfare, and tool-making. Listen to a podcast in which Sachser discusses the evolution of behavioral biology and its implications for our understanding of animal behavior and emotions.

David Dobbs' "What Conservation Sounds Like" describes how modern biacoustic technologies are transforming wildlife research and conservation. The article explores using autonomous recording devices (ARUs) and call recognizers like the new BirdNET app to capture and analyze natural noises. This novel method lets researchers constantly monitor animal and human presence in numerous places and develop a big new instrument sensitive to population and ecosystem change.

Neuroscientist Josh Neunuebel and his team utilize ultrasonic "mouse melodies" to explore how mice engage socially. They are constructing a "mouse song dictionary" to relate sounds to activities and track neural activity to learn how the brain remembers this knowledge. Neunuebel's studies can illuminate social dynamics and autism diagnosis and therapy.

Boyan Slat, a young environmentalist, started The Ocean Cleanup to deal with the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans. His innovative idea and unwavering determination have turned his vision into a global solution that has a big effect on animal health and helps people understand how important it is to be sustainable.

Animals and Humans Teaming Up: Uncover the Rare and Fascinating World of Mutualistic Relationships