This tiny, blue octopus is new to science

Nearly 1,800 meters beneath the surface of the Pacific, a remotely operated submersible was creeping along the slope of a Galápagos seamount when its camera caught a tiny, dark blue…

Suzana Alcantara – Functional Ecologists

In this week’s blog post, Dr. Suzana Alcantara – a researcher at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil – discusses the story behind the cover of Volume 29, Issue 12. Suzana…

Bumblebees can solve problems on their own

Bumblebees faced with a challenge know how to play ball. Buff-tailed bumblebees can figure out on their own how to use a ball as a ladder to nab sugar from…

Cannabis & Tobacco Co-Use Lower Cognitive Scores in Teens

Summary: A new study filled a critical diagnostic gap regarding substance use during the early warning phases of mental illness. Investigating adolescents and young adults at clinical high risk for…

Upama Aich | Salty ups and downs: fluctuating salinity affects egg and ejaculate investments – Functional Ecologists

In this ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, author Upama Aich – a Forrest Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia – discusses her paper “Developmental environment and age shape macronutrient allocation to…

Brain’s Internal Disappointment Meter Forces Behavioral Change

Summary: A precision developmental neurobiology and behavioral study has identified a dedicated group of brain cells that function as a physical “disappointment meter.” The research isolates a distinct type of…

Are Long-Term Antidepressant Benefits Overstated?

Summary: A clinical overview challenged the scientific consensus supporting long-term antidepressant use. The review unmasked a fundamental flaw in existing clinical trial designs. Investigators revealed that the widely cited benefits…

A secret to making a queen bee may lie in the wax around it

A queen bee may be shaped by more than its famous royal diet. The wax of the peanut-shaped chamber where the queen develops has distinct physical and chemical properties that…

Stroop Test Exposes Inherent LLM Flaw

Summary: A new cognitive evaluation of artificial intelligence has unmasked a fundamental, systemic flaw running through large language model (LLM) attention mechanisms. By administering the classic psychological “Stroop task” to…

Semantic Knowledge Is Key to Human Innovation

Summary: A new study has isolated the foundational cognitive engine driving human creativity and technological advancement. The research demonstrates that our “semantic knowledge”, the internal cognitive map of how concepts…