A new study led by the Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition at the University of Vienna sheds light on a long-standing mystery in animal behavior: why do certain individuals gain more influence than others within a group? The research shows that bold geese – but not aggressive ones – are more likely to be accepted as leaders, while exploratory individuals tend to follow them – revealing a nuanced interplay of personality and social roles in collective movement decisions. The results of the study have just been published in the journal iScience.

By uncovering the blinking communication of river birds, scientists have shed new light on the mechanisms and evolution of animal interactions

Manual harvesting remains a major bottleneck in muscadine grape production, accounting for up to 40% of production costs. 

Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have recorded human embryo implantation in real time for the first time, using an innovative system developed in the laboratory that simulates the outer layers of the uterus in 3D. Implantation failure is one of the main causes of infertility, accounting for 60% of miscarriages. The work, published in the journal Science Advances, may help to better understand the mechanisms underlying the implantation process, improving fertility rates and optimising assisted reproduction processes.

One of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment is that certain cancers reappear after chemotherapy—and an aggressive type of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is notorious for this. Now, new research from The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) points to a previously unknown molecular mechanism behind that chemoresistance, and a way to potentially disarm it.