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Sarah Benson-Amram, MSU graduate student, demonstrated that hyenas' ability to count helps them decide to fight or flee.
Being able to count helps spotted hyenas decide to fight or flee, according to research at Michigan State University.
When animals fight, the larger group tends to win. In the current issue of Animal Behaviour, Sarah Benson-Amram, an MSU graduate student studying zoology, showed that hyenas listen to the sound of intruders’ voices to determine who has the advantage.
“They’re more cautious when they’re outnumbered and take more risks when they have the numerical advantage,” said Benson-Amram, who conducted the study through MSU’s BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action. “Hyenas appear to be as capable as chimpanzees or lions at assessing their advantage.”
The finding supports the concept that living in complex social groups, as hyenas, lions and chimpanzees do, is one of the keys to the evolution of big brains, Benson-Amram added.
The high-stakes push to have all students complete algebra by the end of ninth grade is meant to increase U.S. competitiveness and help level the playing field for poor and minority students. But how are school districts dealing with this demand?
A team of researchers from MSU and the University of Pennsylvania will use a $1 million National Science Foundation grant to identify trends and problems created by this phenomenon, called universal early algebra. More »
Climate and growing seasons are changing, and a Michigan State University professor is helping farmers adapt to those changes.
Ask farmers if they believe in climate change and political views tend to temper their responses. However, if asked if they’ve noticed changes in how weather has affected their work, farmers will cite numerous trends, said Jeff Andresen, MSU associate professor of geography and Michigan’s state climatologist. More »
MSU has received $50,000 as part of the Innovation Generation grant program from the Motorola Solutions Foundation, the charitable arm of Motorola Solutions, Inc. This is the fifth consecutive year that MSU’s College of Engineering has received funding through the program.
The grant will support MSU’s Spartan Middle and High School Robotics Program —beyond FLL (FIRST LEGO League). More »
More than 220 of the world’s top nuclear scientists converged on MSU last week for the first-ever joint user meeting of researchers who do their work at the four of the country’s most prominent nuclear science user facilities.
The four user groups involved came from MSU’s National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory and the soon-to-be-constructed Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, as well as ATLAS at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, and HRIBF at Oak Ridge National laboratory in Tennessee. More »
New MSU undergraduate research on the U.S. Supreme Court agenda setting spells bad news for prisoners hoping to appeal their cases.
In the battle between Joe Public and John Prisoner, MSU political science/pre-law senior Sydney Hawthorne found paupers (which can include prisoners) are 30 percent less likely to have their cases heard. Paupers are defined as low-income individuals, who often can’t afford legal services such as filing petitions. More »
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The sun fades behind the MSU Alumni Memorial Chapel on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011. Photo taken by G.L. Kohuth.
View the weekly photo gallery >>
Every day, Spartans are making a difference in ways big and small. Alumnus Merritt Lutz loves his work in the financial services industry, which allows him to invest in companies and help them become great. He also focuses on investing—in people—outside his successful career. Spartans Will. Watch>>
Robert Floden, interim dean and University Distinguished Professor in the College of Education, says the No Child Left Behind guidelines for schools are unrealistic. Read more >>
