THINGS WE LEARNED THIS MONTH

BABIES CAN LEARN THE VALUE OF HARD WORK

A study at MIT showed that babies as young as 15 months old persevered more with tasks they were attempting if they had previously seen an adult struggling hard to achieve something.

FISH HAVE PERSONALITIES

University of Exeter researchers studying Trinidadian guppies found that particular guppies were consistently more cautious, curious or aggressive than others across a range of situations and environments.

MOODS ARE CONTAGIOUS, DEPRESSION ISN’T

A US study has found that teenagers whose friends are in a good or bad mood are more likely to feel the same way – although this doesn’t apply if their friends are severely depressed.

GIRAFFES’ LONG NECKS MAY BE A COOLING MECHANISM

Giraffes’ necks are an evolutionary mystery, but a new study suggests that distributing body mass in this way enables them to present a smaller surface area to bright sunlight, and hence keep cool.