Neuroethology

Recent articles

Illustration of pipa frog showing nerves in fingertips.

How the pipa frog hunts prey by touch

Each of the frog’s eight fingers branches into 16 ultra-sensitive tips, which together function as a fovea—potentially the first demonstration of this type of sensory structure outside of mammals.

By Calli McMurray
30 September 2026 | 7 min read
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Response to ‘Finally, a new route for the magnetic-sense field’

Magnetoreception in Drosophila has much to offer those with an interest in neuroscience.

By Denis Henshaw
30 September 2026 | 3 min read
Researcher examining butterfly in lab.

Finally, a new route for the magnetic-sense field

Researchers have dueled for years over how the magnetic sense works. New data from monarch butterflies could finally help settle the debate.

By Calli McMurray
11 September 2026 | 16 min read

Revealing how crabs make their escape

Houdini-like Neohelice granulata offers a rare opportunity to record intracellularly from awake, behaving animals.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 0 min watch

Discovering how butterflies choose their mate

Heliconius butterflies offer a window into the neural circuits and genes involved in mate color preference.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 0 min watch
Scientists with giant animals: Frog, butterfly, electric fish and a bird.

La biodiversidad de Latinoamérica impulsa avances en comportamiento social y cognición

Horneros, peces eléctricos, ranitas y otra fauna regional ayudan a los neurocientíficos a plantear nuevas preguntas de investigación en el campo.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 2 min read

Descobrindo como as borboletas escolhem seus parceiros

As borboletas do gênero Heliconius permitem investigar os circuitos neurais e os genes envolvidos na preferência pela cor dos parceiros.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 0 min watch
Rufous horneros bird.

Identificando o que torna o canto de uma ave único

As oscinas e as suboscinas, duas linhagens de aves evolutivamente próximas, aprendem e não aprendem a cantar, respectivamente, ajudando os cientistas a desvendar os correlatos neuronais da aprendizagem e da variabilidade vocal.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 4 min read
Rufous horneros bird.

Qué hace único al canto de un ave

Los oscinos y los suboscinos son dos linajes de aves evolutivamente cercanos, pero solo uno de ellos aprende a cantar. Esa diferencia les permite a los científicos rastrear las bases neuronales del aprendizaje vocal.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 4 min read

Revelando como os caranguejos conseguem escapar

Os Neohelice granulata, verdadeiros Houdinis, oferecem uma rara oportunidade de realizar registros intracelulares em animais acordados e em movimento.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 0 min watch

Explore more from The Transmitter

Edgar Adrian works in the laboratory, around 1920.

The neural code at 100

In two 1926 articles, Edgar Douglas Adrian revealed that neurons communicate through trains of spikes.

By Matteo Carandini
12 October 2026 | 8 min read
Illustrated collage of a monkey profile, a gloved hand holding a vaccine syringe touching an outline of the United States with two primates sitting near it, a strand of DNA, and flags of the United States and China in the background.

U.S. national primate research centers face an uncertain future

The facilities were meant to last 100 years. Four decades shy of that mark, amid flatlined funds and mounting political pressure, their directors are trying to find a path forward.

By Calli McMurray
9 October 2026 | 12 min read
Reflections of primates in lab equipment (bottom left: Rhesus macaque, top left: Pig-tailed macaque, bottom right: Crab-eating macaque. top right: Marmoset

What if nonhuman primate research goes away?

As the U.S. government takes steps to stop using nonhuman primates in research, The Transmitter investigates what that shift could mean for neuroscience.

By The Transmitter
9 October 2026 | 2 min read