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Reproduction

Najin (left) and Fatu, the last two northern white rhinos, on the day before their eggs were harvested.

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Eggs Successfully Collected from the Last Two Northern White Rhinos

Advances in fertility science will hopefully allow researchers to implant embryos of the species into surrogate southern white rhinos

Ping incubates the egg as Skipper keeps guard.

Two Male Penguins in Berlin Join Long Line of Same-Sex Pairs to Adopt an Egg

Skipper and Ping have happily nurtured everything from rocks to fish before zookeepers let them incubate an egg

The bottlenose mother, pictured here with her adoptive whale calf and biological daughter, exhibited unusually tolerant behavior

Researchers Document First Known Case of Dolphin Mom Adopting Whale Calf

The melon-headed male whale actively competed for his adoptive mother’s attention, repeatedly shoving his bottlenose dolphin sister out of the way

The almost 3-year-old female offspring (left) and her 12-year-old mother (right)

The National Zoo’s Female Asian Water Dragon Successfully Reproduced Without a Male

This is the first time facultative parthenogenesis has been recorded in both the species and the reptilian Agamidae family

New Research

Bonobo Mothers Interfere in Their Sons’ Monkey Business

They find suitable mates for their offspring and chase away intruders once the mating begins, boosting fertility rates

New Research

A Nanoscale Light Trick Is the Key to Peacock Spiders’ Super-Black Spots

A new study shows how patches of bumpy microlenses capture 99.5 of the light that hits them

Monk parrots are among the species that successfully breed in the wild.

Escaped Pet Parrots Are Doing Great in the Wild

A new study has found that 25 non-native parrots species are breeding in 23 American states

New Research

How Do You Educate Climate Change Skeptics? Empower Their Kids to Teach Them

A new study shows that educating children may be the best way to reach parents who don’t seem to care about climate change

"I certainly see ourselves moving in a direction where conception through sex will come to be seen as natural, yet dangerous," says Metzl.

How To Prepare for a Future of Gene-Edited Babies—Because It’s Coming

In a new book, futurist Jamie Metzl considers the ethical questions we need to ask in order to navigate the realities of human genetic engineering

Grady's mother gave birth via caesarean section on April 16, 2018

Baby Monkey Born Using Frozen Testicular Tissue, Giving Hope for Infertile Childhood Cancer Survivors

Around 30 percent of pediatric cancer patients are rendered infertile by chemotherapy or radiation treatments

Ewe can't hurry love.

New Research

Healthy Baby Lambs Born Using World’s Oldest Sperm

Ram semen survived 50 years frozen in liquid nitrogen, matched insemination success rate of sperm frozen for just one year

While testosterone plays a significant role in fetal development, it is not the only hormone that influences masculinization.

In Addition to Testosterone, Another Hormone Is Vital for Early Male Development

A hormone called androsterone, produced in the placenta and other organs, plays a role in fetal development in the womb

Meet Juliet, a Sehuencas water frog recently collected from the Bolivian cloud forest.

Cool Finds

A Year Later, Match.com Profile Pays Off for World’s Loneliest Frog

The 2018 Valentine’s Day stunt raised funds for an expedition that located five new Sehuencas water frogs, including a mate for lonesome Romeo

Budgie love triangles are more complex than you might think

When Choosing a Mate, These Female Birds Prefer Brains Over Beauty or Brawn

After observing initially scorned male budgies performing complex cognitive tasks, females shifted mating preferences

A cane toad (Rhinella marina) at Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, Northern Territory, Australia.

See Ten Lusty Cane Toads Latch Onto a Powerless Python

The toads, which are invasive in Australia, have been known to try and mate with everything from human hands to rotting mangoes

Why More Babies Are Conceived in the Cold Winter Months

There’s evidence of seasonal reproduction all the way back to the 1800s

Hormone signals help ready worker mole-rats to treat pups as their own.

Eating the Queen’s Poop Makes Naked Mole-Rats Better Parents

Hive-minded naked mole-rats work together to care for the queen’s offspring, and eating her poop gives them hormones to boost nurturing instincts

Same-Sex Penguin Couple Take a Crack at Incubating an Egg

Sphen and Magic (or ‘Sphengic’) seem to be doing quite well at caring for their foster baby-to-be

Scientists used modified egg and stem cells to create female mice with two mothers. These fatherless mice grew up to have babies of their own (through more typical means of conception).

Scientists Break the Rules of Reproduction by Breeding Mice From Single-Sex Parents

By tinkering with the genes of sperm and egg cells, it’s possible to breed mice from two females—and even from two males

Researchers produced the immature egg cells (seen in pink) out of stem cells created using human blood

Scientists Create Immature Human Eggs Out of Blood Cells For the First Time

The lab-grown eggs were not advanced enough for fertilization, but researchers say this next step in the future of reproduction could arrive soon

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