by Mariëtte Le Roux Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Ants naturally produce powerful germicides against bacteria and fungi, said a study Wednesday that targeted the industrious insects as possible drug factories for humans. The discovery of ants’ pharmaceutical prowess comes as the armoury of effective antibiotics developed by humans over the last 100 years dwindles in the face of growing germ resistance. Experiments with 20 ant species found antimicrobials on 12 of them, […]
Tag: Human
When humans wage war, animals suffer too: study
by Mariëtte Le Roux Agence France Presse PARIS , France (AFP) — When humans wage war, they harm more than just one another. Wild animals suffer too, and some have verged on annihilation in Africa’s many anti-colonial and civil conflicts, researchers said Wednesday. More than 70 percent of the continent’s protected natural areas has been touched by war between 1946 and 2010, triggering a “downward spiral” for many populations of big plant-eating mammals, according to […]
Lemurs offer vocal clues to human socialization
VIENNA, Austria (Reuters) — Lemurs hum to protect them from predators and increase social cohesion within their troop, according to a Canadian primatologist. Research carried out by Laura Bolt, from University of Toronto Mississauga, could help future studies on how ancient human ancestors socialized with each other. During her five-month stint at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve in southwest Madagascar Bolt studied two specific vocalizations – “moans” and “hmms” produced by male ring-tailed lemurs, the […]
Baboons make vowel-like sounds, similar to humans
PARIS, France (AFP) — Baboons make sounds that are similar to the vowels a,e,i,o and u, researchers said Wednesday, suggesting that some monkeys have had the physical capacity for language for millions of years. The findings in the journal PLOS ONE add a new dimension to the long-running debate over how language began and evolved, by showing that baboons possess a tongue and larynx that allow them to make a series of vowel-like sounds. “This […]
Human error likely caused cruise ship death: French prosecuto
MARSEILLE, France (AFP) — Human error was probably to blame for the death of a Filipino crewman on the world’s biggest cruise liner the Harmony of the Seas, a prosecutor said Wednesday. The 42-year-old electrical engineer was killed on Tuesday when a lifeboat became detached from the liner during a safety drill, sending it plunging 10 metres (35 feet) into the water while the ship was docked in the French port of Marseille. Marseille prosecutor […]
Warming oceans are ‘sick,’ global scientists warn
by Kerry SHERIDAN HONOLULU, United States (AFP) — Global warming is making the oceans sicker than ever before, spreading disease among animals and humans and threatening food security across the planet, a major scientific report said on Monday. The findings, based on peer-reviewed research, were compiled by 80 scientists from 12 countries, experts said at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress in Hawaii. “We all know that the oceans sustain […]





