EurekAlert! In the Spotlight

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: 21-Oct-2026 09:16 ET (21-Oct-2026 13:16 GMT/UTC)

14-Oct-2026

Roger Portell, director of invertebrate paleontology, retires after 42 years, receives society award and conference session in his honor

Florida Museum of Natural History
Grant and Award Announcement

Roger Portell, collections director of invertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, has retired this month after 42 years on the job.

14-Oct-2026

The stubby legs of ancient sled dogs helped people traverse the Arctic for the past 9,000 years

Cell Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

For centuries, dogs have helped people travel across the Arctic, hauling supplies, equipment, and other goods through snowy landscapes where other domesticated animals struggled to venture. Now, a new study publishing October 14 in the Cell Press journal iScience finds that sled dogs might have evolved shorter legs that helped them pull loads more efficiently. By examining the ancient remains of ritually buried dogs, the team found that both current sled dogs and dogs that were alive 2,000 ago had 6% shorter leg bones than other similar species—a finding that could help researchers trace the origins of sled dogs and better understand how dog-powered transportation spread across the cold regions of the world over the past 9,000 years.

Journal: iScience

14-Oct-2026

OU researchers lead creation of NSF-backed grassland ecosystem forecasting center

University of Oklahoma
Grant and Award Announcement

A team of researchers headquartered at the University of Oklahoma is taking an innovative approach toward advancing grassland conservation and management, with grant support from the the U.S. National Science Foundation. The project brings together experts and observatory sites from across the state.

14-Oct-2026

Museum specimens reveal pathogen behind decades-old mystery of disappearing frogs

Smithsonian
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In the 1970s, researchers began to observe drastic amphibian declines in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, a global hotspot of frog biodiversity. For decades, these disappearances remained a mystery. Now, new research from scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and Pennsylvania State University, published today in the journal Molecular Ecology, points to amphibian chytridiomycosis, a devastating infectious disease, as the likely culprit.

Journal: Molecular Ecology

14-Oct-2026

Researchers describe how a protein linked to cancer activates silent regions of DNA

Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team from IRB Barcelona, in collaboration with the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute and the Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona at Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, has described a mechanism by which a cancer-related protein can activate regions of DNA that normally remain silenced.

Using the Drosophila fruit fly, the researchers demonstrated that this activation depends on collaboration with another protein, enabling the study of a mechanism that is difficult to isolate in human cells.

The study, published in G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics, may help explain previous observations in prostate cancer and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Journal: G3 Genes Genomes Genetics

14-Oct-2026

Honeybees exert flower power over other species

Anglia Ruskin University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Honeybees are outcompeting wild pollinators in the UK and research has found evidence of their aggressive behaviour.

The new study took place in and around the city of Cambridge and recorded, for the first time, the extent to which honeybees restrict access to food and attack and chase wild pollinators.

The research, by a team from Anglia Ruskin University, also indicates that climate change could further intensify competition between pollinator species.

Journal: Ecological Entomology

14-Oct-2026

Imperial Woodpecker returns to life as a detailed digital specimen

Pensoft Publishers
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Open-access 3D model of the world’s largest woodpecker brings an extinct Mexican bird into the public eye.

Journal: Natural History Collections and Museomics

13-Oct-2026

How shark ecotourism sparks long-term conservation

University of Sydney
Peer-Reviewed Publication

People who join shark ecotourism tours are more likely to take action to protect sharks, including donating to related causes, signing petitions, or speaking up online, new research from the University of Sydney shows.