(Left) The optic lobes are thought to be involved in visual processing. In this study, researchers found that guppies with larger optic lobes more quickly learned a visual discrimination task—identifying which color well contained food. (Right) The fish telencephalon is thought to be involved in spatial learning, memory, and inhibitory control. Here, the researchers found that a larger telencephalon might enhance the fish’s cognitive flexibility, allowing them to more quickly associate food with a new color after the researchers switched it.
| 1 min read
While guppies with larger optic lobes were champions at learning visual discrimination tasks, guppies with larger telencephalons fared better when researchers switched things up.

animal intelligence

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Uncovering Monkey Pattern Recognition: Why Macaques See Patterns That Aren't There

Cover of When Animals Dream: A colourful illustration of an octopus.<br><br>

Book Excerpt from When Animals Dream

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Opinion: Animal Dreaming Should Give Us Ethical Pause

Bock's pygmy octopus in a lab tank—researchers explore if invertebrates like octopuses and crabs can feel emotions.

Do Crabs Have Feelings? Exploring Emotions in Invertebrates

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Reshuffled Genomes May Explain Cephalopods’ Smarts

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Altruism in Birds? Magpies Have Outwitted Scientists by Helping Each Other Remove Tracking Devices

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Cuttlefish Delay Gratification, a Sign of Smarts

See Pigs Master a Joystick Video Game

Cats recognize their names

Cats Perk Up at the Sound of Their Own Names

The Mirror Test Peers Into the Workings of Animal Minds

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Image of the Day: Bird Brain

Biologist Who Communicated With Dolphins Dies

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Immune Markers Help Identify Subgroups of ME/CFS Patients

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Universe 25 Experiment

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Engineered Bacteria Detox Mercury from a Fish-Rich Diet

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Scientists Divided on Mexico’s Genetically Modified Corn Ban

Multimedia

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Making the Most of Membrane Protein Production

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Combating Incubator Contamination

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July Digest 2025
July 2025, Issue 1

What Causes an Earworm?

Memory-enhancing neural networks may also drive involuntary musical loops in the brain.

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Explore synthetic DNA’s many applications in cancer research

Weaving the Fabric of Cancer Research with Synthetic DNA

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Enhancing Elution of Plasmid DNA

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Maximizing Lentivirus Recovery

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Explore new strategies for improving plasmid DNA manufacturing workflows.

Overcoming Obstacles in Plasmid DNA Manufacturing

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Shift Bioscience proposes improved ranking system for virtual cell models to accelerate gene target discovery

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BRANDTECH Scientific Launches New Website for VACUU·LAN® Lab Vacuum Systems

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Waters Enhances Alliance iS HPLC System Software, Setting a New Standard for End-to-End Traceability and Data Integrity 

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Agilent Unveils the Next Generation in LC-Mass Detection: The InfinityLab Pro iQ Series