Mating and Breeding News

April 18, 2025

Top Headlines

Little Birds' Personalities Shine Through Their Song -- And May Help Find a Mate

Apr. 15, 2025 — In birds, singing behaviors play a critical role in mating and territory defense. Although birdsong can signal individual quality and personality, very few studies have explored the relationship ...

First New Plant Tissue Discovered in 160 Years Boosts Crop Yields

Apr. 10, 2025 — A research team has discovered a new tissue in plants that plays an essential role in seed formation by regulating the flow of nutrients into the seed. The team used their findings to increase the yields of important crop plants, including rice. ...

Protein Necessary for Fruit Fly Fertility

Apr. 9, 2025 — Researchers have found a new role for the transcription factor (proteins that regulate the transcription, or copying, of genes). In the fruit fly, this transcription factor, named Traffic Jam, activates a non-coding piRNA gene named Flamenco to ...

From Bacterial Immunity to Plant Sex

Apr. 9, 2025 — Could it be that one of only three known markers directly targeting the DNA does not exist outside the realm of microbes? Now, researchers have demonstrated that this marker -- N4-methylcytosine (4mC) -- is essential for sperm development and ...

Latest Headlines

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New Research Finds Fluorescence in Feathers of Long-Eared Owls

Apr. 8, 2025 — Researchers report their discovery of fluorescent pigments in the feathers of Long-eared Owls, that can only be seen by humans with the help of ultraviolet ...

How This Tiny Snake Could Change Our View of Genetics

Apr. 2, 2025 — By analyzing the flowerpot snake's unique genome, scientists are uncovering how the tiny reptile repairs its DNA and prevents harmful mutations. The findings provides valuable insights into genetic ...

Corpse Flowers Are Threatened by Spotty Recordkeeping

Apr. 3, 2025 — Plant biologists examined records for nearly 1,200 individual corpse flower plants from 111 institutions around the world. The data and records were severely lacking and not standardized. Without ...

Butterflies Choose Mates Because They Are More Attractive, Not Just Easier to See

Mar. 11, 2025 — A simple neural change alters mating preferences in male butterflies, aiding rapid behavioral evolution, researchers ...

New STI Impacts 1 in 3 Women: Landmark Study Reveals Men Are the Missing Link

Mar. 5, 2025 — A landmark study reveals that bacterial vaginosis (BV), a condition affecting nearly a third of women worldwide and causing infertility, premature ...

Naturally Occurring Mechanism Hampers Fertility

Mar. 3, 2025 — A research team has uncovered how a naturally occurring biological mechanism found in mammals is able to prevent sperm cells from interacting with an egg, preventing fertilization. The discovery, ...

Giant Clone of Seaweed in the Baltic Sea

Mar. 4, 2025 — Researchers have discovered that what was previously thought to be a unique seaweed species of bladderwrack for the Baltic Sea is in fact a giant clone of common bladderwrack, perhaps the world's ...

'Smarts' Count: Evolution of Intelligence

Feb. 25, 2025 — The Beatles said it best: Love is all you need. And according to new research, the same may be true in the animal kingdom. Well, at least for mosquitofish -- a matchstick-sized fish endemic to ...

Turtles Change Nesting Patterns in Response to Climate Change

Feb. 20, 2025 — New research shows that turtles are responding to climate change by nesting ...

Function of Red Stigmas in Wind-Pollinated Flowers

Feb. 13, 2025 — Scientists discovered that the red stigmas in wind-pollinated trees accumulate anthocyanin, the same compounds that are revealed in autumn leaves after green chlorophyll production slows down and ...

How Fruit Flies Flit Between Courtship and Aggression to Fight for Mates

Feb. 13, 2025 — Male fruit flies don't just sing to their mates; they also use sound-cancelling wing-flicks to jockey with rivals. This new understanding of how male flies compete for female partners could shed ...

Female Hoverflies Beat Males on Long-Distance Migrations

Feb. 11, 2025 — Male hoverflies are outflown by females when it comes to long-distance migration, research ...

Birds-of-Paradise Are Biofluorescent

Feb. 11, 2025 — New research reports, for the first time, the widespread occurrence of biofluorescence in birds-of-paradise. The study, based on specimens collected since the 1800s, finds biofluorescence in 37 of ...

Male Flies Sharpened Their Eyesight to Call the Females' Bluff

Feb. 5, 2025 — With bloated bellies and hairy legs, female flies try to look bigger to get food from courting mates. But male flies, in turn, have sharpened their eyesight to call their bluff. A new study suggests ...

Octopuses Have Some of the Oldest Known Sex Chromosomes

Feb. 3, 2025 — Researchers have identified a sex chromosome in the California two-spot octopus. This chromosome has likely been around for 480 million years, since before octopuses split apart from the nautilus on ...

First Mouse With Two Male Parents to Reach Adulthood

Jan. 28, 2025 — A team of stem cell scientists have successfully used embryonic stem cell engineering to create a bi-paternal mouse -- a mouse with two male parents -- that lived until adulthood. Their results ...

Evolution Without Sex: How Mites Have Survived for Millions of Years

Jan. 24, 2025 — An international research team has discovered various mechanisms in asexual mites that generate genetic diversity and thus ensure ...

Fruit Flies' Courtship Song May Hold Key to Controlling Mosquitoes

Jan. 24, 2025 — Researchers have found and confirmed a gene that allows female fruit flies to get on the same frequency as courting males. Mosquitoes have the same gene and a similar courtship ritual, meaning that ...

The Secret 'Sex Lives' of Bacteria: Study Challenges Old Ideas About How Species Form

Jan. 23, 2025 — New research shows bacteria form distinct species and maintain cohesion through frequent DNA exchange via homologous ...

More Acidic Oceans May Affect the Sex of Oysters

Jan. 23, 2025 — Rising carbon dioxide levels affect more than just the climate; they also affect the chemistry of the oceans. When saltwater absorbs carbon dioxide, it becomes acidic, which alters the aquatic animal ...

Uncovering the Role of Y Chromosome Genes in Male Fertility in Mice

Jan. 23, 2025 — Researchers have uncovered which genes on the Y chromosome regulate the development of sperm and impact fertility in male mice. This research could help us understand why some men don't produce ...

Super Enzyme That Regulates Testosterone Levels in Males Discovered in 'Crazy' Bird Species

Jan. 23, 2025 — A single gene that regulates testosterone levels in a 'crazy' species of shore bird controls the development of three wildly different types of males, a new study has found. Ruffs have long ...

Plant's Name-Giving Feature Found to Be New Offspring-Ensuring Method

Jan. 23, 2025 — 130 years after a fungus-eating plant received its name, a researcher has uncovered the purpose of the structure that inspired its name -- revealing a novel mechanism by which plants ensure ...

Ecologists Uncover Significant Ecological Impact of Hybrid Grouper Release Through Religious Practices

Jan. 19, 2025 — Ecologists have identified significant ecological risks associated with the release of hybrid groupers into Hong Kong's coastal waters, a practice often linked to religious 'mercy ...

Polygamy Is (Not) for the Birds

Jan. 13, 2025 — Researchers have uncovered new insights into the evolution of bird behavior, revealing why certain mating systems persist while others disappear over ...

Love Bites? Scientists Identify Pre-Mating Behaviors of Whale Sharks in Coastal Western Australia

Jan. 13, 2025 — Researchers have witnessed behavior in the wild which could reveal critical clues about how the endangered whale shark ...

Fishy Business: Male Medaka Mating Limits Revealed

Jan. 7, 2025 — Researchers have uncovered a daily mating capacity for medaka, providing important insights into the relationship between the cost of gamete production and sexual ...

Quantity Over Quality? Different Bees Are Attracted to Different Floral Traits

Jan. 2, 2025 — When it comes to deciding where they're going to get their next meal, different species of bees may be attracted to different flower ...

Dogs Trained to Sniff out Spotted Lanternflies Could Help Reduce Spread

Jan. 2, 2025 — Growers and conservationists have a new weapon to detect invasive spotted lanternflies early and limit their spread: dogs trained to sniff out egg masses that overwinter in vineyards and ...

Genetics of Alternating Sexes in Walnuts

Jan. 2, 2025 — Biologists have revealed genetics behind the alternating sexes of walnut trees. The research reveals a mechanism that has been stable in walnuts and their ancestors going back 40 million years -- and ...