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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · 13d

Cephalopods have plenty of tricks, and they may be strategic about using them, demonstrating sophisticated cognitive abilities like understanding others' perspectives.
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anim...

Do Octopuses Mean to Deceive?

Cephalopods like octopuses, cuttlefish, and squid display a range of deceptive behaviors, which may rely on sophisticated cognitive abilities such as Theory of Mind.

www.psychologytoday.com

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Aug 27

Human exceptionalism - the idea that we are somehow separate from nature and not inherently linked to (or even like) other beings - is a myth.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/huma...

Whales Mourn, Birds Show Self-Awareness, Plants Remember—Are Humans Really So Special?

Other species exhibit capabilities that were once thought to be exclusive to Homo sapiens

www.scientificamerican.com

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Aug 18

Some captive apes have more experience participating in research than others. Could this prior experience affect how they think and behave, biasing results from cognitive studies?
Check out my latest blog post!

Are Research-Savvy Chimpanzees Skewing Study Results?

Some captive apes have more experience participating in research than others. Could this prior experience affect how they think and behave, biasing results from cognitive studies?

www.psychologytoday.com

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Aug 8

Morris and Pepper wonder how you are celebrating International Cat Day.

Two gray and white cats stretched out and sleeping in a sunny window.

A cat in a window hammock leans over to touch another cat below her in a cat bed.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Aug 6

Are consumer neurofeedback devices more than just hype for brain health? My latest for IEEE Pulse:

Why Consumer Neurofeedback Devices Are More Than Hype for Brain Health - IEEE Pulse

Mind-reading headphones that prevent burnout and boost focus may sound like science fiction. But according to Ramses Alcaide, the co-founder and CEO of Neurable, that’s exactly what his company’s MW75...

www.embs.org

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 22

Please enjoy some of my embroidered brains and neurons for #worldbrainday.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 21

What's your call on the golden snub-nosed monkey: cute or terrifying? Yes, they can stare into your soul, but they also love hugging.

The Creature Feature: 10 Fun Facts About the Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey — Mary Bates, PhD

Get to know a most unusual primate: the golden snub-nosed monkey ( Rhinopithecus roxellana ). These colorful, social, and tough monkeys live in the mountains of central and southwestern China - and it...

marybatessciencewriter.com

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Reposted by Mary Bates

Gretchen Goldman, PhD @gretchentg.bsky.social · Jul 21

We are six months into the second Trump administration and the scale and severity of its assault on our nation's science and democracy has been unrelenting.

Today, @ucs.org releases a detailed assessment of the damage so far and where we go from here: www.ucs.org/resources/sc... #ProtectScience

Science and Democracy Under Siege

Documenting Six Months of the Trump Administration’s Destructive Actions

www.ucs.org

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 19

Does playfulness support a cooperative and tolerant society? A new study links play, tolerance, and empathy in elephants.

Play Encourages Cooperation and Tolerance in Elephants

Signals used by elephants to manage competitive play sessions provide hints to the roots of empathy in social mammals.

www.psychologytoday.com

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 19

Mexico's "Batman," ecologist Rodrigo Medellín, shares his love and admiration for bats. They are incredibly ecologically important - and look at those adorable faces!

Protecting Mexico’s bats | CNN

Encountering vampire bats and snakes in dark caves may sound like the stuff of nightmares, but for Mexican ecologist Rodrigo Medellín it’s just another day at work. As part of the Rolex Perpetual Plan...

www.cnn.com

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 18

Playful pachyderms promote peace! Rapid motor mimicry of play signals may help keep elephant play sessions from getting too rough.

Play Encourages Cooperation and Tolerance in Elephants

Signals used by elephants to manage competitive play sessions provide hints to the roots of empathy in social mammals.

www.psychologytoday.com

Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 18

I love this article by @brandonkeim.bsky.social asking if animals can appreciate beauty.
psyche.co/ideas/what-i...

What if animals find beauty in the world, just like we do? | Psyche Ideas

Chimpanzees favour the colour red. Junglefowl prefer symmetry. Our shared capacity for aesthetic pleasure is cause for wonder

psyche.co

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 16

Thinking about my guinea pig companions over the years on this Guinea Pig Appreciation Day - including Tiger, Stella, Stanley, Lentil, and Garbanzo. They were all very good pigs.

Two guinea pigs, Garbanzo and Lentil, look out from their habitat.

Stanley, a ginger guinea pig, looks clean and happy after a bath.

Seven-year-old me holding my childhood guinea pig, Tiger.

College-age me sitting on the grass with my guinea pig Stella on a halter.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 16

Trail cameras in the Amazon captured an odd couple - an ocelot and an opossum - wandering around together. “Like two old friends walking home from a bar,” according to one scientist.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/s...

Videos From the Amazon Reveal an Unexpected Animal Friendship

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Mary Bates

Catarina Vila-Pouca @catarina-vp.bsky.social · Jul 15

It was a pleasure talking to Mary about our apparatus to take fish cognition research into the wild! 🐟🧠 Read it on Psychology Today ⬇️⬇️
with @kotrschal.bsky.social and @amydeacon.bsky.social

Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 9

Hey, I'm back to blogging about animal behavior at Psychology Today! Check out my article on studying fish cognition in the wild, featuring the work of @catarina-vp.bsky.social and colleagues.

Fish Are Smarter Than You Think

Researchers developed a way to run tests on fish learning and memory in the animals' natural environments. The results may reveal that fish are smarter than previously assumed.

www.psychologytoday.com

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 10

Fish are smarter than you think! They can distinguish and remember individuals, navigate with mental maps, cooperate and communicate with one another, build complex structures, use tools, and keep track of quantities.

Fish Are Smarter Than You Think

Researchers developed a way to run tests on fish learning and memory in the animals' natural environments. The results may reveal that fish are smarter than previously assumed.

www.psychologytoday.com

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 9

Hey, I'm back to blogging about animal behavior at Psychology Today! Check out my article on studying fish cognition in the wild, featuring the work of @catarina-vp.bsky.social and colleagues.

Fish Are Smarter Than You Think

Researchers developed a way to run tests on fish learning and memory in the animals' natural environments. The results may reveal that fish are smarter than previously assumed.

www.psychologytoday.com

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 8

Vampire bats' habit of grooming one another can help spread a gel-based rabies vaccine applied to the fur! www.science.org/content/arti...

Vampire bats’ mutual grooming helps spread innovative rabies vaccine

A gel that bats lick off one another’s fur could help prevent rabies outbreaks in cattle, a growing problem in Latin America

www.science.org

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 2

Researchers have documented 34 instances over two decades in which wild orcas have offered food to humans.
www.apa.org/news/press/r...
And the original paper: psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...

www.apa.org

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Reposted by Mary Bates

Jennifer Ouellette @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social · Jul 2

For Dolphins, Echolocation May Be More Like ‘Touching’ Than ‘Seeing’ www.scientificamerican.com/article/for-...

For Dolphins, Echolocation May Be More Like ‘Touching’ Than ‘Seeing’

Dolphins seem to “feel” their way across the sea with narrow, sweeping beams of sonar

www.scientificamerican.com

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Reposted by Mary Bates

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Jun 17

My latest for American Scientist Magazine helps give scientists the tools to fight back against politicized charges that our research is silly or pointless- tools that will work whether you’re asked “why are we funding this” from your asshole uncle at Thanksgiving or an asshole US Senator.
🧪🌎

“Why Are We Funding This?”

Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.

www.americanscientist.org

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 1

What marine creature is adorably blobby, neutrally buoyant, and at home on the deep sea floor? It's the dumbo octopus!
marybatessciencewriter.com/home/the-cre...

The Creature Feature: 10 Fun Facts About the Dumbo Octopus — Mary Bates, PhD

It’s not often that an octopus is described as cute or whimsical. But dumbo octopuses have a certain squishy charm about them. With their large eyes and prominent, ear-like fins, they resemble the flo...

marybatessciencewriter.com

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jun 18

That is Morris. He is a mess.

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Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jun 17

Sometimes you just have to take a break to nap in a pile with friends.

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Reposted by Mary Bates

Scott Waldman @scottpwaldman.bsky.social · Jun 16

Trump claims climate change is a “hoax.” Now, his administration is silencing government research that proves him wrong. Climate-monitoring spacecraft will be shut down, thousands of scientists have been dismissed, invaluable data eliminated. The assault has just begun www.eenews.net/articles/how...

How Trump’s assault on science is blinding America to climate change

Through budget cuts and layoffs, the administration has begun to cripple the government's ability to research global warming.

www.eenews.net

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