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Reproduction

A male golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) with its vision-obscuring head feathers. 

For Some Male Pheasants, Love Really Is Blind. Their Elaborate Feathers That Impress Females Also Obstruct Their Vision

The adornments on the heads of male Lady Amherst’s and golden pheasants partially block their sight, according to new research, marking the first known sex-based differences in field of vision within bird species

A population of black-and-white ruffed lemurs on Madagascar is experiencing changes in the cadence of its breeding, researchers say.

Lemurs Are Having a Mysterious ‘Baby Boom’ in Madagascar. Here’s Why That Might Not Be a Good Thing

Researchers are investigating a sudden spike in pregnancies in one black-and-white ruffed lemur population that might signal environmental stress to the mammals

For two days at the start of monsoon season on the Indian subcontinent, male Asian common toads (right) turn bright yellow, while females (left) stay brown.

For Two Days Each Year, These Drab Brown Toads Turn a Dazzling Neon Yellow—and Scientists Finally Know Why

When monsoon rains begin to fall on the Indian subcontinent, Asian common toads congregate at temporary puddles for a frenzied, two-day mating spree

A mother breastfeeds a baby at home

Breastfeeding Has Long Been Linked to Reducing Cancer Risk. Scientists May Have Just Discovered Why

Patients with a history of breastfeeding showed higher levels of specialized immune cells in their breasts that may protect against malignant cancers

Postpartum depression affects some one in eight women in the United States. It typically occurs in the first weeks after childbirth, after a sudden drop in levels of estrogen and progesterone.

A Blood Test Can Now Predict a Mother’s Risk of Postpartum Depression

Scientists are learning more about this leading complication of childbirth, and treatments are improving

An egg with a human skin cell nucleus before fertilization

Scientists Made Functional Human Eggs With Skin Cells in ‘Proof of Concept’ for Advancing Fertility

The research could open up avenues for fertility treatments after additional refinement and trials, but it also raises ethical concerns

Dandelions are strategic about when to disperse their seeds, new research suggests.

Scientists Are Uncovering the Secrets of How Fluffy, White Dandelions Spread Their Seeds

Their seed dispersal strategies have helped these ubiquitous plants flourish all over the world, new research suggests

This event marks the first time the leopard shark (Stegostoma tigrinum) has been documented mating in the wild.

Rare Trio of Leopard Sharks Spotted Mating in the Wild for the First Time, and a Snorkeling Scientist Captured a Video

Conservationists say the unexpected observation could inform efforts to protect or reintroduce leopard sharks, an endangered species

An artistic rendering featuring a confrontation between two dome-headed dinosaurs

Cool Finds

Paleontologists Discover Earliest Known Dome-Headed Dinosaur in Excellent Condition, Shedding Light on Its Mysterious Anatomy

Most of what researchers previously knew about the iconic Cretaceous dinosaurs came from their domed heads, which endured better than the rest of their skeletons

Bull elk are fighting and bugling during their annual mating season in Rocky Mountain National Park and neighboring Estes Park in Colorado.

Amorous Elk Are Looking for Love Across North America in an Annual Spectacle Called the Rut

Fall is mating season for the large, antler-adorned ungulates—and you can catch a glimpse of them at several national parks in the United States and Canada

Ned (right) likely won't be able to reproduce unless another left-coiling snail is found.

A Rare, Left-Coiling Snail Needs Help Finding a Mate. New Zealanders Are Looking for Its 1-in-40,000 Match

Known as Ned, the creature needs a fellow left-coiling garden snail to reproduce—but the species almost always has shells that coil on their right side

Scott Adams, director of the Exotic Zoo, holds a casque-headed iguana. Eight hatchlings were produced at the zoo this summer without a father.

‘Once in a Lifetime’: Rare ‘Virgin Birth’ of Eight Iguana Babies Surprises Zookeepers in England

A female casque-headed iguana produced live hatchlings even though she has never shared an enclosure with a male

Two brothers of different species, produced by the same mother: Messor ibericus (left) and Messor structor (right).

These Ant Queens Seem to Defy Biology: They Lay Eggs That Hatch Into Another Species

Iberian harvester ant queens produce offspring of their own species and of the builder harvester ant, seemingly by cloning males

Pygmy seahorses are exceptional camouflage artists.

These Bumpy Little Seahorses Are Amazing Camouflage Artists. Scientists Pinpoint the Gene Loss Behind Their Special Traits

Bargibant’s pygmy seahorses look almost exactly like the gorgonian corals they live in, thanks in part to their unusually stubby snouts

Greater flamingos are abundant in the Camargue, a coastal region in southern France.

Migratory Flamingos Age Differently From Resident Ones, Offering a New Clue About Getting Old

A new study of the pink birds in France finds that aging sets in later for flamingos that migrate, though they face higher mortality in early adulthood

A human embryo embeds itself into a fake uterus created by researchers.

See the First 3D Images of a Human Embryo Implanting, Shedding Light on the Crucial but Little-Known Process

A new study shows how human embryos reshape their environment by pulling on uterine tissue

Researchers found scrape marks on a slope at Dinosaur Ridge, a fossil-rich site west of Denver.

Dinosaurs Gathered to Perform Mating Dances With Kicks and Spins at This Site in Colorado—and You Can Go See It for Yourself

Paleontologists have discovered what appears to be one of the largest dinosaur courtship arenas in the world, just 15 miles west of Denver

Lead author Judith Pardo-Pérez where the fossil, nicknamed Fiona, was discovered.

A Rare, Pregnant Ichthyosaur Fossil Discovered in Chile Is Revealing More Secrets About the Early Cretaceous World

The fossil helps scientists better understand not just the animal, but our planet’s geology

A close-up of a kelp gull in its native habitat in Chile. This is not the individual bird seen in Wisconsin.

Southern Hemisphere Gull Seen in Wisconsin for the First Time, Drawing Tourists for a Rare Glimpse of the Out-of-Place Bird

The vagrant kelp gull mated with a local herring gull, though the chick did not survive. Experts say it’s a “complete mystery” how the bird came to nest so far north in the first place

In December 2024, a trail camera installed on private property in Oklahoma's Cimarron County photographed an adult mountain lion with three kittens.

Rare Mountain Lion Kittens Spotted on Trail Cameras Suggest the Big Cats May Be Re-establishing a Population in Oklahoma

Two separate adult mountain lions were recorded with cubs in different parts of the state last year, offering the first evidence confirmed by state biologists that the cats could be breeding there

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