Scientists in Britain have managed to teach bees to pull strings (线) to get to food and then pass on what they have learned to others in their colony (群体) — showing a high level of intelligence despite their tiny brains.

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London said the experiments, often used to test the intelligence of apes (猿) and birds, showed for the first time that some insects are up to the task, and can also pass skills on through several generations.

The findings add to the evidence suggesting the ability for “culture spread”— the ability to learn and pass on knowledge and skills — may not be exclusive to humans.

In the research, published in the journal PLOS Biology on Tuesday, the scientists were able to train 23 out of a group of 40 bees to pull strings with their legs and feet.

The strings were attached to discs — or artificial “flowers”— containing food at their center but placed under a transparent (透明的) screen. The bees, spotting the food beneath the screen, learned to pull the “flowers” out by pulling the string with their legs and feet to be able to get to it.

From another group of bees given the chance to solve the task without any training, only two of 110 were successful.

Another group of bees was then allowed to observe the trained bees pulling the strings, and 60 percent of them successfully learned the skill. Finally, trained bees were put in colonies, and the scientists found the technique spread successfully to a majority of the colony's worker bees.

Lars Chittka, a Queen Mary University professor who guided the project, said the team is interested in figuring out the brain processes behind the bees' learning and teaching skills.

Scientists and marine biologists(海洋生物学家) had something to celebrate last week when two lost humpback whales(座头鲸) returned to the Pacific Ocean. Delta and Dawn — a mother and a baby — had circled the Sacramento Bay area for two weeks before going back to the ocean.

＂We all shouted loudly like ‘Yay’!＂said Jim Oswald, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Center. ＂It’s been really exciting.＂

The humpback whales were last spotted on May 29 near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. Scientists are sure that the whales swam into open water during the evening of May 29 or early the next morning, since there have been no further sightings of the whales. Even so, boats were sent out to look for them, just in case the whales made another wrong turn.

Officials spent two weeks trying to get the whales to turn back towards the ocean. Biologists played recordings of whale-feeding as well as unfamiliar sounds to try to make the whales head back to the Pacific Ocean.

However, Delta and Dawn gave scientists an unexpected chance to study humpback whales in the wild. Scientists were able to gather sound recordings and watch their behaviors. This is especially exciting because humpback whales are an endangered species. What’s more, scientists don’t usually have the chance to observe (观察) them in their natural habitat.

＂All those things are very hard to get,＂ said Oswald,＂So what we are doing is filling up the knowledge blank on humpback whales in the wild. ＂ Scientists should be able to use this information to help other lost whales in the future.

Every day for a week, a strange, happy visitor would drop to play with Vanessa Prior’s pet dog Bobby. Prior thought Bobby had made a new dog friend. It seemed very friendly and got well along with Bobby. They would run after each other, play on the pool cover, gently wrestle (摔跤) or nap side by side.

At first she thought it was a wild dog. But when she posted a photo of the two playing on her Facebook, a pet rescue centre called her. The group told her the Atlanta Wolf Project had been trying to catch the wolf for months, but they failed. Prior gave them new hope.

Because of the wolfs friendship with her pet dog, it was likely to come back to her backyard. Researchers hoped Prior could help them. When they put some traps (陷阱) in the back of her yard, Prior got a very complicated (复杂的) feeling. She couldn’t describe what it was. The wolf would be in a safe place, but she would do something that harmed Bobby’s feelings.

Researchers told Prior that they would take the rare, black wolf to the Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary where it would live with another wolf. They didn’t think it a satisfying situation for a wild animal like a wolf to have a connection with humans’ life. They need to keep a natural awareness to humans and pets and keep to themselves.

Wolf experts added they would look into the genetics of the animal to try to learn why it liked to get close to people and tried to play with their pets. Some experts believe it could have a history with well-meaning humans. Prior had not expected that she and Bobby should meet such a special and lovely wolf. They just hoped the dear friend all the best.