Mating and Breeding News

June 26, 2025

Top Headlines

Mining the Deep Could Mute the Songs of Sperm Whales

June 24, 2025 — Exploration for deep-sea minerals in the Clarion Clipperton Zone threatens to disrupt an unexpectedly rich ecosystem of whales and dolphins. New studies have detected endangered species in the area and warn that mining noise and sediment could ...

Something More Toxic Than Gators Is Hiding in the Swamps

June 12, 2025 — Mercury contamination is surfacing as a serious concern in parts of Georgia and South Carolina, particularly in regions like the Okefenokee Swamp. University of Georgia researchers found alarmingly high levels of the neurotoxic metal in alligators, ...

Tea, Berries, Dark Chocolate and Apples Could Lead to a Longer Life Span, Study Shows

June 3, 2025 — Eating a colorful variety of flavonoid-rich foods like tea, berries, dark chocolate, and apples may significantly lower your risk of chronic diseases and even help you live longer. A major study ...

Study Deepens Understanding of Cell Migration, Important for Potential Medical Advances

May 30, 2025 — A new study integrated mathematical modeling with advanced imaging to discover that the physical shape of the fruit fly egg chamber, combined with chemical signals, significantly influences how cells ...

Cannabis Pangenome Reveals Potential for Medicinal and Industrial Use

May 29, 2025 — Scientists analyzed almost 200 cannabis genomes to create the most comprehensive, high-quality, detailed genetic atlas of the plant to date. The atlas reveals unprecedented diversity and complexity within the species, sets the stage for advances in ...

Birds Nested in Arctic Alongside Dinosaurs

May 29, 2025 — Spring in the Arctic brings forth a plethora of peeps and downy hatchlings as millions of birds gather to raise their young. The same was true 73 million years ago, according to a new article. The paper documents the earliest-known example of birds ...

Diversity Is Key to Ecosystem Stability

May 26, 2025 — An analysis of 900 species over a 20-year period showed that biodiversity enhances ecosystem stability and helps safeguard natural communities in a changing ...

Ox-Eye Daisy, Bellis and Yarrow: Flower Strips With at Least Two Sown Species Provide 70 Percent More Natural Enemies of Pests

May 26, 2025 — Planting flower strips in a field with at least two species can increase the number of natural enemies of pests by 70 percent. The more flower species, the better the effect, according to a new ...

Researchers Identify a Dual Origin of Cells Controlling Puberty and Reproduction

May 22, 2025 — Researchers have shown that gonadotrophs, cells in the pituitary gland with a key role in puberty and reproduction, come from two different populations, with the majority produced after birth rather ...

Songbirds' Great Risk Results in Great Genetic Reward

May 22, 2025 — Songbirds who make the arduous flight from their nesting sites in northern boreal forests to warm, southern climates in the winter may be rewarded for their journey with greater genetic ...

How Hibiscus Flowers Lost Their Bullseyes

May 22, 2025 — New research reveals how repeated genetic changes in hibiscus flowers have led to the loss of visually striking bullseye patterns despite their advantage in attracting pollinators like ...

This Gene Variant Contributed to the Dietary and Physiological Evolution of Modern Humans

May 22, 2025 — Two of the traits that set modern humans apart from non-human primates are taller stature and a higher basal metabolic rate. Researchers have identified a genetic variant that contributed to the ...

Latest Headlines

updated 2:17pm EDT

Scientists Reprogram Ant Behavior Using Brain Molecules

June 25, 2025 — Leafcutter ants live in highly organized colonies where every ant has a job, and now researchers can flip those jobs like a switch. By manipulating just two neuropeptides, scientists can turn ...

Tiny Wasp’s Shocking Reproductive Trick May Transform Global Agriculture

June 15, 2025 — Aphid-hunting wasps can reproduce with or without sex, challenging previous assumptions. This unique flexibility could boost sustainable pest control if its hidden drawbacks can be ...

Koalas on the Brink: Precision DNA Test Offers a Lifeline to Australia’s Icons

June 15, 2025 — A University of Queensland-led project has developed a tool to standardise genetic testing of koala populations, providing a significant boost to ...

Pincer Plot Twist: How Female Earwigs Evolved Deadly Claws for Love and War

June 11, 2025 — Female earwigs may be evolving exaggerated weaponry just like males. A study from Toho University found that female forceps, once assumed to be passive tools, show the same kind of outsized growth ...

Scientists Reveal the Hidden Pause That Keeps Bee Colonies Alive

June 10, 2025 — Bumblebee queens don t work nonstop. UC Riverside scientists discovered that queens take strategic reproductive breaks early in colony formation likely to conserve energy and increase the chance of ...

Selenium Exposure During Pregnancy May Reduce Childhood Streptococcal Infections

May 20, 2025 — Higher maternal selenium levels during pregnancy were associated with a lower risk of streptococcal infections in children, suggesting a potential ...

Common Diabetes Drug Helps Chickens Lay More Eggs

May 20, 2025 — What do chickens and people with a common reproductive disorder have in common? More than one might think -- and a widely-used diabetes medication might just be the surprising ...

Bees Facing New Threats, Putting Our Survival and Theirs at Risk

May 20, 2025 — A new report identifies the top 12 emerging threats that could accelerate pollinator losses within the next 5-15 years, according to ten of the world's leading ...

A Head and a Hundred Tails: How a Branching Worm Manages Reproductive Complexity

May 20, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered the genetic underpinnings of one of the ocean's most bizarre animals: a branching marine worm named Ramisyllis ...

Scientists Describe 71 New Australian Bee Species

May 19, 2025 — A team of researchers has discovered 71 new native bee species belonging to the resin pot bees, or Megachile (Austrochile), which are unique to Australia and present in every state and territory ...

Fitness Fight: Native Bees Struggle Against Invasive Honey Bee

May 19, 2025 — New research has revealed that high densities of European honey bees could be harming Australian native bees' 'fitness' by reducing their reproductive success and altering key traits ...

Key Player in Childhood Food Allergies Identified: Thetis Cells

May 15, 2025 — Thetis cells, a class of immune cells first described in 2022, play an essential and previously unknown role in suppressing inflammatory responses to food, a new study ...

Scientists Track Down Mutation That Makes Orange Cats Orange

May 15, 2025 — Many an orange cat-affiliated human will vouch for their cat's, let's say, specialness. But now scientists have confirmed that there is, in fact, something unique about ginger-hued domestic ...

Marsupial Research Reveals How Mammalian Embryos Form

May 14, 2025 — Researchers have revealed insight into why embryos erase a key epigenetic mark during early development, suggesting this may have evolved to help form a ...

An Ink That Boosts Coral Reef Settlement by 20 Times

May 14, 2025 — With coral reefs in crisis due to climate change, scientists have engineered a bio-ink that could help promote coral larvae settlement and restore these underwater ecosystems before it's too ...

Genome of Near-Extinct Northern White Rhino Offers Hope for Reviving the Species

May 14, 2025 — The northern white rhinoceros is one of the rarest animals on Earth, with just two females left and no natural way for the species to reproduce. Now, scientists have mapped the entire genome of a ...

Echidna Microbiome Changes While Mums Nurse Puggle

May 12, 2025 — Research shows microbial communities in echidna pseudo-pouches undergo dramatic changes while the animal is lactating, which could help in creating an environment for their young, known as puggles, ...

The Origins of Language

May 9, 2025 — Wild chimpanzees alter the meaning of single calls when embedding them into diverse call combinations, mirroring linguistic operations in human language. Human language, however, allows an infinite ...

Heat and Land Use: Bees Suffer in Particular

May 9, 2025 — In a new study, researchers are investigating the interaction of major global change drivers on ...

Can Frisky Flies Save Human Lives?

May 9, 2025 — A scientist decided to find out why a bacterial infection makes fruit flies promiscuous. What he discovered could help curb mosquito-borne diseases and manage crop ...

Wasp Mums Use Remarkable Memory When Feeding Offspring

May 9, 2025 — Wasp mothers have stunning brainpower when it comes to feeding their young, new research ...

A 'Roadmap' of the Fruit Fly Brain

May 7, 2025 — Researchers have gained comprehensive insights into the entire nervous system of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). The study describes in detail the neurons that span the entire nervous system ...

Gorilla Study Reveals Complex Pros and Cons of Friendship

May 5, 2025 — Friendship comes with complex pros and cons -- possibly explaining why some individuals are less sociable, according to a new study of ...

Deciphering the Migratory Behavior and Connectivity of Mediterranean and Atlantic Cory's Shearwaters

Apr. 30, 2025 — A good wildlife management plan must include information on their migratory processes if the conservation of a species, particularly an endangered species, is to be improved. In the marine ...

Protein Sources Change the Gut Microbiome -- Some Drastically

Apr. 30, 2025 — Protein sources appear to have major effects on both the population and function of the mouse gut ...

New Pangenome Analysis Uncovers Genetic Key to Larger Peanut Yields

Apr. 28, 2025 — Researchers have identified crucial structural variations that determine seed size and weight in peanuts, paving the way for the development of higher-yielding crop ...

Social 'Hippie' Spiders Don't Believe in Labels: Study Challenges Long-Held Assumptions About Animal Personalities

Apr. 28, 2025 — Scientists suggest social spiders are more about going with the flow than sticking to a role, after new research challenges the idea of fixed ...

Family First: Scientists Reveal Long-Tailed Tits' Remarkable Family Bonds

Apr. 28, 2025 — Forget fleeting friendships the social secrets of the long-tailed tit has revealed an extraordinary level of family commitment even during migratory journeys. Birds that babysit: scientists reveal ...

New Research on Bird Behavior Suggests That Evolution May Repeat Itself

Apr. 28, 2025 — The study found that bird species who nest in tree cavities have independently evolved heightened aggression across lineages, particularly in ...

Evolution of Pugs and Persians Converges on Cuteness

Apr. 28, 2025 — Through intensive breeding, humans have pushed breeds such as pug dogs and Persian cats to evolve with very similar skulls and 'smushed' faces, so they're more similar to each other ...