How exactly does a newly-hatched spider weave a perfect web that is characteristic of his or her species—without ever even having seen such a web, let alone having been trained to spin one? How do ...

While anger and aggression are instinctive behaviors found across many species, leaving these emotions unchecked can lead to conflict and violence. In a recent study, researchers demonstrated that ...

Call it instinct, but something compels some animals to behave in certain ways, perhaps programs in their genes. Researchers have directly connected activities of genes with instinctive behavior in ...

I am a research assistant in Prof. Yang’s lab. My research focuses on how the brain organizes instinctive behaviors and emotional responses, and how dysfunctions in these fundamental systems lead to ...

Tampa, Fla (Nov. 6, 2025) — An international research team that includes USF Health researcher Dr. Yong Xu and two colleagues from Great Britain has been awarded a European Research Council Synergy ...

Researchers at the Sainsbury Wellcome Center (SWC) at University College London have uncovered a neural mechanism in the brains of mice that enables the animals to overcome instinctive fears. The ...

Self-harming behaviors such as nail biting and hair pulling out when we feel anxious are common in humans, and experts say these behaviors are 'a defense mechanism in the brain that prevents greater ...

Charles Darwin was born in 1809. He revolutionized evolutionary studies with his theory of natural selection. His ground-breaking work, first formulated privately and later published in "On the Origin ...

Some dogs are born with a powerful instinct to chase, stalk, and pursue. These traits once made them exceptional hunters, herders, or working companions. Known as prey drive, this natural behavior ...

Hiking a glacier with my family and dog, Lovie, I was thinking about the nature of instincts and how both humans and dogs share them—how they help us get along in the world, not having to ponder or ...