Burmese python mothers can generate heat while guarding their eggs; scientists documented the behaviour in a wild Florida nest

Burmese python mothers can generate heat while guarding their eggs; scientists documented the behaviour in a wild Florida nest

A Burmese python guarding a clutch of eggs may appear to be doing little more than lying tightly coiled around them. In fact, the female can play an active role in controlling the temperature inside the nest. When conditions become too cool, muscles along her body begin contracting rapidly, producing heat that raises her own … Read more

Chinese AI agents display ‘concerning’ behaviour in safety tests, mirroring US systems

Chinese AI agents display 'concerning' behaviour in safety tests, mirroring US systems

Chinese-powered AI agents are showing behaviours such as deception, bypassing safeguards and concealing failures, according to research papers and technical assessments reviewed by Reuters.These findings mirror growing concerns about the risks posed by increasingly autonomous AI systems in the United States.In one experiment, agents powered by models from Alibaba, DeepSeek and Moonshot falsely exaggerated their … Read more

‘Heartbreaking and extremely rare’: Mother humpback whale carries stillborn calf through the ocean; scientists explain the unusual behaviour

‘Heartbreaking and extremely rare’: Mother humpback whale carries stillborn calf through the ocean; scientists explain the unusual behaviour

A mother humpback whale was filmed repeatedly returning to her stillborn calf off Australia’s Gold Coast, displaying prolonged attention toward the newborn in an encounter researchers describe as the first scientifically documented case of such behaviour in the species. The footage, recorded in July 2025, is now detailed in a new study published in Discover … Read more

Male redback spiders somersault directly towards a female’s fangs during mating; scientists found the bizarre behaviour may come from surprisingly simple genetics

Male redback spiders somersault directly towards a female’s fangs during mating; scientists found the bizarre behaviour may come from surprisingly simple genetics

Breeding scheme to produce backcross males and (b) possible inheritance patterns of self-sacrificial mating traits. Credit: Biology Letters (2026) Male Australian redback spiders perform an acrobatic somersault during mating that sends their abdomen directly toward the female’s fangs. Scientists have now found that this deadly self-sacrifice behavior comes from a surprisingly simple genetic region.In a … Read more