When David Carrier was handed a copy of `In the Heart of the Sea' it just looked like another good sea-faring yarn about a whaling ship called the Essex, and a sperm whale. As Carrier read about the real life encounter that inspired Herman Melville's `Moby Dick', he began wondering whether a male sperm whale really could successfully destroy a huge wooden ship. Would the mammal have `the right attitude', let alone the physical ability? Could male aggression be the main driving force behind the whale's head butting behaviour? Carrier needed to collect some evidence to support this idea. Collaborating with Jason Otterstrom and Stephen Deban, they began analysing the evolutionary development of the melon structure in the male sperm whale's forehead to see how it would perform in a head on collision. In this issue of the J. Exp Biol., they outline their new theory: that the...
Harnessing physiological research for smarter environmental policy
In their Perspective, Alexia Dubuc and colleagues discuss strategies to strengthen collaboration, communication and engagement between physiological researchers and environmental policy makers to ensure that conservation strategies address the threats posed by climate change.
JEB grants to support junior faculty
Learn about the grants that we launched in 2023 to support junior faculty from two of our awardees: Erin Leonard, Early-Career Researcher (ECR) Visiting Fellowship recipient, and Pauline Fleischmann, Research Partnership Kickstart Travel Grant recipient. The next deadline to apply is 28 November 2025.
Early testing could make risky falls a thing of the past for elderly people
Falls cost healthcare systems billions each year, but there may be a solution. Jiaen Wu and colleagues of Stanford University, USA, suggest that measuring the way someone walks before they get old might let doctors know who is at risk for a potentially life-threatening fall in the future.
Ecosystem engineers on tropical reefs in transition
Giant barrel sponges (GSBs) remain robust to rising seawater temperatures and have rapidly populated reefs stripped of coral cover by climate change. GBSs may be poised to become the dominant habitat-forming organisms in tropical reef ecosystems of the future. In this Review, Joseph Pawlik provides an integrative and critical assessment of research on giant barrel sponges.
Fast & Fair peer review
Our sister journal Biology Open has recently launched the next phase of their Fast & Fair peer review initiative: offering high-quality peer review within 7 working days. To learn more about BiO’s progress and future plans, read the Editorial by Daniel Gorelick, or visit the Fast & Fair peer review page.
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