What To Make Of Zero Inflation: A Toad's Perspective

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably getting tired of being told we are all doomed and on the verge of another twelve dip recession, or something similarly economically sounding and depressing. But this week there was actually some apparent positive news, as inflation hit 0% for the first time since records began. Hearing this news, one may be...

May 2015

Could an Animal Bully Replace Jeremy Clarkson?

Jeremy Clarkson has been splashed across headlines in the last week following his suspension from BBC’s ‘Top Gear’, following a ‘fracas’ with a producer.  However this isn’t the first time Clarkson has caused controversy; his laddish antics and political incorrectness have in recent years been fuelling Top Gear’s biggest criticisms, and arguably its...

May 2015

5 Animal dancers for Dermot O'Leary's Comic Relief Danceathon

Dermot O'Leary is currently in the midst of a 24 hour Danceathon for Comic Relief; presumably a nod towards Gareth Keenan's 24 hour Comic Relief Hopathon from The Office.  In the spirit of charity and helping out, here are 5 of the top dancers from the animal kingdom to lend Dermot a hand/wing/paw etc.1)  Birds of Paradise, family ParadisaedaeMale Birds...

May 2015

Women Reign Supreme: Why are females usually the stronger sex?

This Sunday was International Women’s Day, a day observed every year since way back in 1909.  This year’s celebrations were of course marred by the usual examples of male ignorance and underlying sexism, as many took to twitter to question “why is there no International Men’s Day?” Much to their embarrassment, they were quickly corrected by many who...

May 2015

Will Flying Weasels Dominate the Earth?

It’s always nice when a big news story involves animals; it reminds people of the wonders of nature, provides a welcome a relief from the usual negativity, and it also makes life easier for biology-news comparison websites such as this.  The big news story in question, and it is big news, is that a weasel has taken flight aboard the back of a woodpecker,...

May 2015

Could a parrot be the next Green Party leader?

The Green Party in the UK used to conjure up images of eccentric bohemian hippies with unkempt beards and John Lennon-style glasses, wading their way through muesli in dishevelled sandals.  However, in 2015 things have been looking pretty good for the Greens, with a surge in membership seeing a new recruit join the party every 15 seconds. That was until...

May 2015

How and Why Do Animals Evolve To Look Like Pancakes?

Shrove Tuesday, or ‘Pancake Day’ as it’s more commonly known, is arguably the biggest date in the modern Christian calendar, after Christmas, Easter, Lent, Halloween and St Patrick’s Day.  The monumental popularity of Pancake Day stems from the bizarre assumption that the consumption of delicious, flat, circular cakes is somehow limited to Shrove Tuesday,...

May 2015

Are There Animal Tax-Dodgers?

This week, HSBC saw 106,000 of its customers’ account details leaked, many of whom have allegedly been using off-shore Swiss bank accounts to avoid tax.  However, HSBC didn’t just turn a blind eye to these occurrences, they actually offered to help by acting as a financial Patches O’Houlihan, teaching customers how to  dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge...

May 2015

Are 'Three-Parent' Babies Unnatural?

Should we allow parents who carry faulty genes to have healthy children?  Probably, but what on paper looks like a bit of a debate non-starter has hit headlines as members of the UK House of Commons voted to allow a radical new procedure.  Mitochondrial Donation aims to help around 150 couples a year that are at risk of having children with mitochondrial...

May 2015

How Do Animals Pull off 'Football Giant-Killings'?

Football, it’s a simple game, you and 10 friends work together in an attempt to shepherd a leather ball into a large rectangle more times than 11 other people can kick it into your rectangle. To clarify for any American readers, I am of course referring to Association Football (Soccer) and not American Football (hand-egg). Every year, one competition...

May 2015