Animal behavior

Neuroscientist Nacho Sanguinetti deadpanning the camera as he sits at his desk with a photo cutout of an agouti on his computer.

Improvising to study brains in the wild: Q&A with Nacho Sanguinetti-Scheck

A joke at a neuroscience summer program nearly a decade ago ignited a lifelong research interest for this Uruguayan scientist—one that plays on his comedic strengths.

By Rebecca Horne
9 July 2024 | 7 min read
Close-up image of a dead fly with visible growths protruding from its abdomen due to Entomophthora fungus infection.

Mind control in zombie flies: Q&A with Carolyn Elya

A parasitic fungus compels its insect host to behave in strange ways by hijacking secretory neurons and circadian pathways.

By Shaena Montanari
25 June 2024 | 5 min read

Dancing in the dark: Honeybees use antennae to decode nestmates’ waggles

The insects align their antennae with their body’s angle to a dancer—information that vector-processing circuitry in the brain deciphers into a flight path, a new study suggests.

By Shaena Montanari
3 April 2024 | 0 min watch

Wild and free: Understanding animal behavior beyond the lab

Technological advancements have made it possible to study animals in more natural settings, but researchers are debating what that really means and whether natural is always better.

By Shaena Montanari
20 March 2024 | 8 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of neurons in the fly’s ventral nerve cord.

New connectomes fly beyond the brain

Researchers are mapping the neurons in Drosophila’s ventral nerve cord, where the central nervous system meets the rest of the body.

By Laura Dattaro
26 July 2024 | 7 min read

Building an autism research registry: Q&A with Tony Charman

A purpose-built database of participants who have shared genomic and behavioral data could give clinical trials a boost, Charman says.

By Cathleen O’Grady
25 July 2024 | 8 min read

Cerebellar circuit may convert expected pain relief into real thing

The newly identified circuit taps into the brain’s opioid system to provide a top-down form of pain relief.

By Angie Voyles Askham
24 July 2024 | 6 min read