Cockatoos and sea lions can dance, bonobos can drum, and scientists are investigating the evolutionary story behind the animals’ sense of rhythm.

Paper wasps can recognize each others’ faces, researchers report. This ability is separate from the wasps’ more general capacity to distinguish shapes and patterns, and it seems to be a specialized skill that evolves independently in various lineages of social animals, including humans.

In an age when genetics and genomics research is progressing so fast that not even new teachers are up to date, two Web sites created at the University of Utah’s Genetic Science Learning Center are providing an excellent source of new material while educating a hugely diverse audience of users.

Because of their value as educational tools, Learn.Genetics and Teach.Genetics are being honored with the Science Prize for Online Resources in Education.