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Chemical structures of DMT, Psilocybin and serotonin
Infographic: What a Trip
Researchers took a mind-bending trip to understand the connections between psychedelic compounds produced by fungi, plants, and humans.
Infographic: What a Trip
Infographic: What a Trip

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

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

behavior

3D multicolored conceptual image representing hallucinogens and the human brain.
Natural High: Endogenous Psychedelics in the Gut and Brain
Iris Kulbatski, PhD | Sep 8, 2023 | 8 min read
Psychedelics are evolutionarily ancient compounds produced by fungi, plants, and microbes. Humans also synthesize psychedelics. Researchers want to know how and why.
Like many animals, field mice (<em >Apodemus agrarius</em>) fight to protect their territories.
Mouse Brain Cells Activate When They Witness a Fight
Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | Jun 1, 2023 | 2 min read
A subset of hypothalamic neurons mirrors aggression in mice, challenging previous views on the location and functional role of these cells.
The Scientist Speaks - Into the Mind of Human’s Best Friend: Using fMRI to Study Canine Cognition
Niki Spahich, PhD | 1 min read
Gregory Berns discusses training dogs to undergo fMRI scans to better understand their brains.
four wolves cluster together in the snow next to a tree. one wolf at the front looks out into the distance.
Toxoplasma-Infected Wolves More Likely to Lead Packs, Study Finds
Katherine Irving | Nov 29, 2022 | 3 min read
The parasite appears to make infected wolves less risk-averse, potentially influencing the behavior of packs.
Illustration of green fluorescent bacterial cells.
Cocaine Use Creates Feedback Loop with Gut Bacteria: Mouse Study
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Nov 1, 2022 | 3 min read
A jolt of norepinephrine in the mouse gut facilitates colonization by certain microbes, which in turn deplete glycine, enhancing cocaine-induced behaviors.
Kentish plover standing by nest with eggs
Avian Deception More Widespread Than Previously Thought
Andy Carstens | Oct 3, 2022 | 5 min read
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.
Male common fruit fly (Drosophila Melanogaster) - about 2 mm long - sitting on a blade of grass with green foliage background
The Sex Appeal of Symmetric Songs
Mary Bates | Aug 1, 2022 | 5 min read
Female fruit flies assess the physical symmetry of male suitors through the songs they sing, a study claims.
brown spotted octopus blending in with its background
Steroids May Explain Octopuses’ Self-Starvation
Andy Carstens | May 16, 2022 | 2 min read
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.
Dogs of various breeds running in the field.
They’re All (Potentially) Good Dogs
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Apr 29, 2022 | 2 min read
Research finds that a dog’s behavior has little to do with its genes.
Bee on purple flower
Dopamine Drives Bee Desires: Study
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Apr 28, 2022 | 3 min read
Like in humans, the neurotransmitter appears to play a role in generating wanting-like behavior and, perhaps, happy memories in honeybees.
an Australian magpie stares down the camera
Altruism in Birds? Magpies Have Outwitted Scientists by Helping Each Other Remove Tracking Devices
Dominique Potvin | Feb 22, 2022 | 4 min read
It was the first time a bird has removed a tracking device, and the second time a bird species showed cooperative “rescue” behavior.
octopus blue
What Scientists Learned by Putting Octopuses in MRI Machines
Chloe Tenn | Jan 20, 2022 | 3 min read
The size and complexity of cephalopod brain structures differ depending on the habitats the creatures occupy, a study finds.
Miscellaneous diatoms, appearing as translucent blue and brownish circles and rhomboid shapes, are imaged in front of a black background.
Q&A: Fluorescence Lets Diatoms Communicate, Coordinate Behavior
Dan Robitzski | Dec 16, 2021 | 6 min read
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.
Reconstruction of an indeterminate theropod running on lacustrine sediments during low water timespan
Car-Sized, Meat-Eating Dinosaur Could Run Faster Than Usain Bolt
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Dec 10, 2021 | 3 min read
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.
Cute sleeping newborn baby child on mother hands stock photo
Exposure to Chemical from Babies Linked to Aggression
Chloe Tenn | Nov 22, 2021 | 3 min read
A study finds that the odorless compound hexadecanal, or HEX, increases aggressive behavior in women but has a calming effect on men.
Artist's impression of the human microbiome
Diet Implicated in Autism-Microbiome Link
Ruth Williams | Nov 11, 2021 | 3 min read
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.
Illustration showing how seagull chicks know when predators are lurking
Infographic: Animal Embryos Coopt Sound to Survive and Thrive
Amanda Heidt | Nov 1, 2021 | 1 min read
Across the tree of life, animals use sound and other vibrations to glean valuable sensory information about their environments even before they are born.
macaque in zoo enclosure
Leading Japanese Primate Research Center is Closing
Chloe Tenn | Oct 19, 2021 | 2 min read
Kyoto University is shuttering its Primate Research Institute after its director was dismissed for misuse of funding.
Old man stands in front of tree, smiling at camera.
Neuroscientist Mortimer Mishkin Dies at 94
Lisa Winter | Oct 12, 2021 | 2 min read
His work bridged the gap between psychology and neurobiology.
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