4 . Harbour seals may sound different than expected from their body size. Is this ability related to their vocal (声音的) talents or is it the result of an anatomical (身体结构上的) adaptation? An international team of researchers led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics Nijmegen investigated the vocal tracts of harbour seals, which matched their body size. This means that harbour seals are capable of learning new sounds thanks to their brains rather than their anatomy.

Most animals produce calls that reflect their body size. A larger animal will sound lower-pitched because its vocal tract, the air-filled tube that produces and filters sounds, is longer. But harbour seals do not always sound like they look. They may sound larger —perhaps to impress a rival (对手)—or smaller—perhaps to get attention from their mothers. Are these animals very good at learning sounds (vocal learners), or have their vocal tracts adapted to allow this vocal flexibility?

To answer this question, PhD student Koen De Reus and senior investigator Andrea Ravignani from the MPI worked together with researchers from Sealcentre Pieterburen. The team measured young harbour seals’ vocal tracts and body size. The measurements were taken from 68 young seals (up to twelve months old) who had died. The team also re-analysed previously gathered harbour seal vocalisations to confirm their impressive vocal flexibility.

De Reus and Ravignani found that the length of harbour seals’ vocal tracts matched their body size. There were no anatomical explanations for their vocal skills. Rather, the researchers argue that only vocal learning can explain why harbour seals do not always sound like they look. “Vocal learners will sound different from their body size, but the size of their vocal tracts will match their body size. The combined findings from acoustic (听觉的) and anatomical data may help us to identify more vocal learners,” says de Reus. “Studying different vocal learners may help us to find the biological bases of vocal learning and shed light on the evolution of complex communication systems, such as speech.” “The more we look, the more we see that seals have something to say about human speech capacities.” adds Ravignani.

5 . When you’re bored, you might start playing with a ball or other objects. Such behavior is common in people. Other animals like it too—that’s why a dog fetches a stick, or a cat bats at toys. Play is an enjoyable way to pass the time. A new study finds that it’s not just mammals that like to play. Bumblebees (大黄蜂) do it too, making them the first insects known to play.

In the study, Hiruni Samadi Galpayage Dona, an insect expert, did an experiment using 200 untrained bumblebees to see if they might play. Of those, 45 would be marked with a number when they emerged as adults.

A pathway was set up from the bumblebees’ nest to a feeding area. One side contained small wooden balls that rolled. The other side had the same number of balls, but they were stuck to the floor. Half balls on each side were colored balls. The rest were left unpainted.

For three hours a day over 18 days, Galpayage Dona found bumblebees weren’t so interested in the side where the balls didn’t move, but they explored the side areas and interacted with the balls. Once they managed to roll a ball, they strongly preferred that side. They returned, climbing on the balls and rolling them around. She also found bumblebees preferred certain colors of balls.

“There’s something about the mobility that is more interesting for the bumblebees than just colored objects,” Galpayage Dona says. In another experiment, she sometimes left the balls out overnight. “When I came in the next day, I would always find some bumblebees rolling the balls.” As with mammals, the bumblebees who played the most were the younger ones. Their play tapered off as they got older.

The scientists say it’s not clear why the bumblebees roll the balls or whether they enjoy it. But the experiment raises important questions about how the insects’ minds work and whether they have feelings.

8 . ALIEN invasions, Kungfu, hidden treasure——they’re the topics of a thousand computer games. Now comes a game with a difference: climate change. And the challenge? How to beat it.

Fate of the World, which came out last week, puts the Earth’s future in your hands. In this game, you become the head of an international environmental body. You either save the world from the effects of rising greenhouse gas emissions (排放) or let it die by continuing to use emissions-heavy fossil fuels (矿物燃料).

Created by Oxford-based games developer Red Redemption, Fate of the World uses data from real climate models. “There are a range of options including nuclear power and renewable energy. We are not saying one route is the best route,” Gobion Rowlands, Red Redemption’s founder, told Reuters.

Tom Chatfield, gaming expert and the author of Fun Inc: Why Games Are the 21st Century’s Most Serious Business, told British newspaper The Guardian that computer games are uniquely placed to prepare people to deal with climate change. “Two of the problems with environmental issues are time and geography- getting people to care about people on the other side of the earth and problems far in the future, ” Chatfield told The Guardian. “But if people can feel and see the gradual development of changing climate, it can be a better way of learning than reading lots of scientific articles. ”

9 . According to the Solar Energy Industry Association, the number of solar panels installed(安装)has grown rapidly in the past decade, and it has to grow even faster to meet climate goals. But all of that growth will take up a lot of space, and though more and more people accept the concept of solar energy, few like large solar panels to be installed near them.

Solar developers want to put up panels as quickly and cheaply as possible, so they haven’t given much thought to what they put under them. Often, they’ll end up filling the area with small stones and using chemicals to control weeds. The result is that many communities, especially in farming regions, see solar farms as destroyers of the soil.

“Solar projects need to be good neighbors,” says Jordan Macknick, the head of the Innovative Site Preparation and Impact Reductions on the Environment(InSPIRE)project. “They need to be protectors of the land and contribute to the agricultural economy.” InSPIRE is investigating practical approaches to “low-impact” solar development, which focuses on establishing and operating solar farms in a way that is kinder to the land. One of the easiest low-impact solar strategies is providing habitat for pollinators(传粉昆虫).

Habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change have caused dramatic declines in pollinator populations over the past couple of decades, which has damaged the U.S. agricultural economy. Over 28 states have passed laws related to pollinator habitat protection and pesticide use. Conservation organizations put out pollinator-friendliness guidelines for home gardens, businesses, schools, cities—and now there are guidelines for solar farms.

Over the past few years, many solar farm developers have transformed the space under their solar panels into a shelter for various kinds of pollinators, resulting in soil improvement and carbon reduction. “These pollinator-friendly solar farms can have a valuable impact on everything that’s going on in the landscape,” says Macknick.