social behavior

From spatial structuring to policing, cooperative bacteria have a wide toolkit to contain the spread of cheaters.

Prairie voles lacking functional receptors for oxytocin form normal social bonds, a finding that could explain the hormone’s clinical failures.

The molting fluid of ant pupae functions as “metabolic currency” in the ant colony and may have enabled the evolution of eusociality. 

Pups born to mice whose mothers had been fed a high-fat diet showed social deficits, a study shows. 

Pet dogs produce a larger volume of tears when they are reunited with their owners than with acquaintances, possibly because of surging oxytocin levels—findings that could be the first evidence of emotional crying in nonhuman animals.

Pairs of same-sex friends who reported strong connections when they first met had similar body odors, and body odor similarity predicted whether two strangers would hit it off.

Health data from 5,744 adults over the age of 50 reveals an association between stressors such as discrimination and a relatively small proportion of younger infection-fighting immune cells.

The Scientist spoke to hyena researcher Eve Davidian for a broad look at power relationships between male and female mammals.

A series of rodent experiments showed that even with abundant food and water, personal space is essential to prevent societal collapse.

These social animals keep tabs on aggressive members of the group and groom them less after fights to punish them.

Researchers who study the phenomenon in humans should incorporate subjective experiences into data on love.

It was the first time a bird has removed a tracking device, and the second time a bird species showed cooperative “rescue” behavior.

The practice, which hasn’t been previously observed among nonhuman animals, may be a display of empathy. 

The transcription factor can also drive the opposite transition depending on which hormone activates it, according to a new study.

In both a mouse model and the hospital records of more than 3 million children, researchers found a connection between strong immune activation in males and later symptoms of autism spectrum disorder.

A group of self-styled screamologists are sifting through the noisiness of nonverbal human vocalizations and finding previously undemonstrated forms of communication.

A 12-year study shows variation among primate groups in how the animals clasp hands during grooming, but consistency within them, even as group membership shifts over time.

Researchers find that the animals can account for others’ behavior and circumstances in their strategies.

Chirp dialects appear to be enforced by the colony’s queen, but scientists aren’t sure how.