Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

This August, we're exploring the science behind the animals that share our planet. From the behaviors and adaptations that help species thrive to the conservation efforts protecting wildlife around the world, animal awareness days like World Lion Day, World Elephant Day, International Cat Day, and International Wolf Day are an opportunity to celebrate biodiversity and discover the research helping us better understand and protect the species that call our planet home.

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Oct-2026 04:16 ET (22-Oct-2026 08:16 GMT/UTC)

22-Sep-2026

 

Oak silkworm eggs use a natural chemical defence to keep parasitic wasps away

Insect Science, Chinese Academy of Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Oak silkworm eggs may appear defenceless as they sit exposed on plant surfaces, but new research has uncovered a hidden form of protection, a natural chemical scent that helps keep parasitic wasps away.

Journal

Insect Science

22-Sep-2026

 

Hot spring organism breaks record for heat tolerance of complex life

Cell Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A tiny, single-celled organism can thrive at temperatures that would kill all other known complex life. In a study publishing September 22 in the Cell Press journal Cell, scientists describe a new species of amoeba that can eat and reproduce in hot spring water as warm as 63°C (145°F) in California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park. The amoeba can protect itself at temperatures up to 70°C (158°F) by changing shape and forming a protective outer layer. 

Journal

Cell

Funder

National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, American Philosophical Society, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Water and Life Interface Institute, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Syracuse University, European Commission, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Swiss National Science Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Department of Energy

22-Sep-2026

 

What is your dog really saying? AI is helping researchers decode animal communication

Kaunas University of Technology

Is a dog’s bark simply an expression of emotion, or does it contain specific information that humans cannot understand? Artificial intelligence (AI) can already analyse thousands of animal sounds and identify patterns that would go unnoticed by the human ear. But researchers are asking a far more ambitious question: could technology one day help us understand what animals are actually saying?

22-Sep-2026

 

Ant diversity of the Xisha islands: Community structure, exotic species colonization, and ecological functions in a tropical coral archipelago

South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New comprehensive survey catalogues 21 ant species across seven South China Sea islands, revealing human activity as primary driver for exotic ant establishment amid climate-vulnerable coral island ecosystems.

Journal

Biological Diversity

Funder

National Key Research and Development Program of China

22-Sep-2026

   

Vivid orange killifish discovered in the Brazilian Amazon

Pensoft Publishers
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have described a new species of brilliantly coloured fish from a network of forest streams in the Brazilian Amazon, and have already recommended it for listing as Endangered because of the pressures facing its only known home.

Journal

Zoosystematics and Evolution

21-Sep-2026

   

Lemur uses opera singer's trick to belt out forest songs

University of Warwick
Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Warwick and University of Turin researchers find the world's only singing lemur opens its mouth wider on higher notes, just like a trained soprano.

Journal

PLOS Computational Biology

21-Sep-2026

 

TRAP Program turns lost fishing gear into lasting solutions as nationwide impact grows

Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Grant and Award Announcement

After recovering more than 600,000 pounds of lost fishing traps in just two years, the Nationwide Fishing Trap, Removal Assessment and Prevention (TRAP) Program is announcing 11 new coastal clean up projects in seven states.