* Astronomy

cóckatoo 'can make its own tools'

A cóckatoo from a species not known to use tools in the wild has been observed spontaneously making and using tools for reaching food and other objects.
A Goffin's cóckatoo called 'Figaro', that has been reared in captivity and lives near Vienna, used his powerful beak to cut long splinters out of wooden beams in its aviary, or twigs out of a branch, to reach and rake in objects out of its reach.
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A rhesus monkey has been observed inventing a new way to open coconuts.
The monkey, known as 'Pinocchio' by the scientists studying him due to his big nose, first rolls a nut down to the docks on the island of Cayo Santiago, which lies to the east of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea.
He then throws the nut up into the air and watches it smash onto concrete.
The technique is so complicated that no other monkey in Pinocchio's troop has yet learned to copy it.
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Paul the Octopus has been visited by the mayor of a Spanish town famous for its octopus festival.

Ancient octopus mystery resolved

Females of the argonaut family (Argonautidae) release trapped air from their shells to control very precisely their movement through the water.
This ability has puzzled naturalists for over 2,000 years, dating back to observations made by Aristotle in 300 BC.
Research published in the Royal Society journal, Proceedings B, finally explains why it may have evolved.
The Australian researchers describe how the mechanism enables the creatures to conserve energy, avoid predators and protect eggs during the brooding stage.
The study, led by Dr Julian Finn of Museum Victoria in Melbourne, is the first to observe directly how this unique species of octopus captures air at the sea surface and uses it to its advantage.
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