We like to believe that human societies are the most complex in the animal kingdom, with intricate family structures and a unique repertoire of sophisticated social interactions. A new study reveals an insect society so complex that we are forced to reconsider our role as conquerors of complexity.

As a reflection on recent debates on the value of wild animals we examine the question of the intrinsic value of wild animals in both natural and man-made surroundings. We examine the concepts being wild and domesticated. In our approach we consider animals as dependent on their environment, whether it is a human or a natural environment. Stressing this dependence we argue that a distinction ca...

4465 ABSTRACT The satellite symposium on ‘Making and breaking the left-right axis: implications of laterality in development and disease’ was held in June 2013 in conjunction with the 17th International Society for Developmental Biology meeting in Cancún, Mexico. As we summarize here, leaders in the field gathered at the symposium to discuss recent advances in understanding how left-right asymm...