Thermoregulation

Recent articles

Illustration of a mouse melting in front of a fan.

To beat the heat, hypothalamus neurons in mice ramp up their firing

The uptick may help the rodents acclimate to temperature hikes and keep their cool.

By Calli McMurray
11 December 2024 | 7 min read
A squirrel sleeps on the ground with its toe in its mouth.

Rousing a ‘new era’ of hibernation research

Novel applications of neuroscience tools have enabled researchers to uncover the neural controls of an extreme biological trait.

By Shaena Montanari
8 November 2024 | 9 min read
Illustration of a thermostat set to 22 point 5 degrees celsius, with a silhouette of a mouse adjusting its dial.

Mouse housing temperatures can cook experimental outcomes

Neuroscientists need to take note of how thermoregulatory processes influence the brain and behavior—for the sake of reproducibility and animal welfare.

By Caitlin James, Elizabeth Repasky, Sandra Sexton
5 November 2024 | 5 min read
A man walks a dromedary camel down an outdoor walkway.

Temperature tunes circadian timing in some desert mammals

Light has hogged all the attention in chronobiology research—but now, in camel, goat and mole rat experiments, temperature takes the lead.

By Calli McMurray
28 June 2024 | 5 min read
A photograph of a crab

In hot water: Climate change tests limits of neuronal resilience in crabs

Warming seas disrupt the function of neurons — and could seed permanent changes in marine species, according to studies of a circuit that controls digestion in crustaceans.

By Angie Voyles Askham
12 February 2024 | 7 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

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
Illustration of primate hands interacting with objects of cognitive tests.

The neuroscience questions that need nonhuman primates

The Transmitter asked 17 neuroscientists what questions might remain unanswered if support for nonhuman primate research continues to decline.

By Alissa de Chassey
9 October 2026 | 10 min read