A new study led by Nebraska's John Benson and Kyle Dougherty shows young mountain lions in California struggle to disperse between populations because they avoid developed areas and busy roads, limiting the gene flow needed to keep populations healthy. The study shows that freeways and human development isolate vulnerable populations, while small habitat patches and potential wildlife crossings could help restore connectivity. 

Bumblebees respond to physical disturbance of their nest with a sequence of defensive behaviors that lasts up to 10 minutes, according to a study by Sajedeh Sarlak at the University of Konstanz, Germany, and colleagues, publishing December 3, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One.

Dolphins produce a range of vocalizations used for echolocation and communication. These vocalizations vary with social context, environmental conditions, and external stimuli, communication, reflecting their cognitive and behavioral complexity. A study published in PLOS One on December 3, 2025 by Francesco Di Nardo at Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy and colleagues suggests that the frequency and duration of captive dolphin vocalizations may indicate engagement with structured activities.

Male infertility is a major issue worldwide and its causes remain unclear. Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) in Japan have now discovered a key structure in the germ cells of male mice that, when disturbed, leads to abnormal sperm tails and infertility. The discovery was made possible by the first observation of the mouse flagellar base structure using ultrastructure expansion microscopy and could explain some forms of infertility in human men. 

Paleontologists pin down brain evolution in the first flying reptiles.

In one of the largest African ancient-DNA studies to date, geneticists from Uppsala University, Sweden, and an archaeologist from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, analysed the DNA of 28 people who lived in southern Africa between 1200 and just a few hundred years ago. It contributes further evidence that southern African hunter-gatherers were the earliest known human group with a unique Homo sapiens genetic ancestry tracing back to about 300 000 years ago.

Complex life began to develop earlier, and over a longer span of time, than previously believed, a groundbreaking new study has revealed. The research sheds new light on the conditions needed for early organisms to evolve and challenges several long-standing scientific theories in this area.