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: 24-Oct-2026 08:16 ET (24-Oct-2026 12:16 GMT/UTC)

29-Jun-2026

There may be 3 times more insect species than previously thought

Cornell University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new estimate of insect species globally finds that there may be 8 to 14 million more species than people thought, with few of them discovered.   

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

29-Jun-2026

 

Warming streams are pushing young salmon beyond their limits: new research

University of British Columbia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at UBC find that young salmon face greater heat risks than previously measured—and that younger fish and older fish cope with warming water very differently.

Journal

Journal of Experimental Biology

29-Jun-2026

Childbirth is not uniquely difficult to humans

University College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The tight fit of a baby’s head through a mother’s birth canal, which causes great difficulty in childbirth, is not unique to humans, as previously understood. Instead, some small-bodied primate babies have heads almost twice as large as their mothers’ pelvic space, a new study led by UCL researchers has found.

Journal

Nature Ecology & Evolution

29-Jun-2026

 

The ANERIS project holds its Final Consortium Meeting in Spain

Pensoft Publishers
Meeting Announcement

The ANERIS project has held its Final Consortium Meeting in person, bringing together all project partners for a two-day progress gathering.

Funder

European Commission

29-Jun-2026

Climate change is reshaping the rules of survival

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Which species benefit from climate change, and which are coming under pressure? A new international study involving FAU shows: Evolutionary success follows no fixed rules. Using corals as an example, researchers demonstrated that even seemingly successful life strategies can lose their advantage when environmental conditions change.

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

29-Jun-2026

 

Study: Tick-borne diseases reported every month of the year and in every Illinois county

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new analysis of state health department data reveals that more than 6,400 Illinois residents were diagnosed with tickborne diseases from 2004-2022. The most commonly reported infections in the state are Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis and spotted-fever group rickettsioses.

Journal

Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases

Funder

U.S. Department of Defense, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

29-Jun-2026

 

How a landmark study revealed the Great Barrier Reef’s survival over 30,000 years of upheaval

University of Sydney
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international expedition including University of Sydney researchers has pieced together the clearest picture yet of how the Great Barrier Reef responded to dramatic environmental change over the past 30,000 years. Multiple studies since the expedition more than 10 years ago traced the reef’s retreat, regrowth and repeated collapse from the last ice age to the dawn of the modern reef.

Journal

Marine Geology

Funder

Australian Research Council

29-Jun-2026

   

Camera traps reveal the true culprit behind crop damage in Honduras 

Pensoft Publishers
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Using noninvasive monitoring in eastern Honduras, researchers found that small mammals, not large wildlife like tapirs, drive cassava crop loss, highlighting the need for evidence-based, wildlife-friendly solutions. The full detailed results have been published in the open-access peer-reviewed journal Neotropical Biology and Conservation.

Journal

Neotropical Biology and Conservation