behavior

Researchers took a mind-bending trip to understand the connections between psychedelic compounds produced by fungi, plants, and humans.

Psychedelics are evolutionarily ancient compounds produced by fungi, plants, and microbes. Humans also synthesize psychedelics. Researchers want to know how and why.

A subset of hypothalamic neurons mirrors aggression in mice, challenging previous views on the location and functional role of these cells.

The parasite appears to make infected wolves less risk-averse, potentially influencing the behavior of packs.

A jolt of norepinephrine in the mouse gut facilitates colonization by certain microbes, which in turn deplete glycine, enhancing cocaine-induced behaviors.

The broken-wing display, in which birds fake being wounded to protect their nests from predators, is found across the avian phylogenetic tree, a study finds.

Female fruit flies assess the physical symmetry of male suitors through the songs they sing, a study claims.

Two glands increase steroid production after female California two-spot octopuses mate, a study finds. Those hormones may be responsible for the animals’ self-destructive behavior.

Research finds that a dog’s behavior has little to do with its genes.

Like in humans, the neurotransmitter appears to play a role in generating wanting-like behavior and, perhaps, happy memories in honeybees.

It was the first time a bird has removed a tracking device, and the second time a bird species showed cooperative “rescue” behavior.

The size and complexity of cephalopod brain structures differ depending on the habitats the creatures occupy, a study finds.

The Scientist spoke with physicist and microbial ecologist Idan Tuval, whose recent paper challenges the assumption that these single-celled organisms only communicate via chemical signals.

A new analysis of fossil footprints suggests that the 2-meter-tall, 4- to 5-meter-long carnivores that left them could run nearly 45 kilometers per hour, bolstering the evidence that at least some dinosaurs were speedy, agile hunters.

A study finds that the odorless compound hexadecanal, or HEX, increases aggressive behavior in women but has a calming effect on men.

The unbalanced gut flora present in some people with autism is not a driver of the condition but rather a consequence of eating behaviors characteristic of the condition, a new study claims.

Across the tree of life, animals use sound and other vibrations to glean valuable sensory information about their environments even before they are born.