Nora Bradford

All Stories by Nora Bradford

  1. Asian elephant grabbing a banana with her trunk
    Animals

    This elephant peels bananas, but only slightly ripe ones

    Pang Pha, an Asian elephant at Zoo Berlin, probably picked up the skill by observing her zookeeper.

  2. An illustration of a blue person from the shoulders up with their head turned in profile and the outline of their brain. There are several different colored lines following the contour of the person.
    Neuroscience

    The classic map of how the human brain manages movement gets an update

    Functional MRI scans provide a new version of the motor homunculus, the mapping of how the primary motor cortex controls parts of the body.

  3. A photo of a big blue octopus hovering in the water with several of its tentacles curled up around its body.
    Animals

    Scientists have now recorded brain waves from freely moving octopuses

    The data reveal some unexpected patterns, though it’s too early to know how octopus brains control the animals’ behavior, a new study finds.