Behaviour Interactive

Researchers have identified an aphrodisiac in fruit flies that shows how mating behaviour is shaped by social and environmental context. The finding suggests that chemical signals driving courtship are not fixed but depend on the fly's surroundings and interactions. Scientists say the work offers a model for understanding how flexible mating strategies evolve across species.

ScienceAlert reports that researchers have documented a male donkey and a bull engaging in sexual behaviour, an unusual cross-species interaction that scientists are treating as noteworthy. Observations of same-sex and cross-species behaviour in livestock are rare in the scientific literature, and the report has drawn attention as an odd but real recorded case.

Physical Intelligence, a robotics company, is drawing attention for its work on robot foundation models — AI systems trained on large amounts of physical interaction data so robots can perform varied tasks rather than single programmed behaviours. Coverage is explainer-style, outlining how these models could bring the kind of general-purpose progress seen in language AI to the physical world, and what hurdles remain.

A new study published in Nature examines how electric vehicle charging infrastructure interacts with multimodal transport policy in a university city. The research looks at modal shift among commuters and segments travellers by behaviour, arguing that charging planning cannot be separated from wider transport policy. The work is drawing attention among urban mobility and clean transport specialists.

A new study reports that a chemical aphrodisiac in fruit flies influences mating behaviour differently depending on the social and environmental setting surrounding the flies. Researchers say the findings show that mate choice is not driven by pheromones alone but by interaction between chemical signals and the flies' surroundings. The work is being shared in science coverage of how context shapes animal reproduction.

Psychology Today outlines three ways humanoid robots could reshape how children grow up, focusing on how interaction with robots may influence kids' development, behaviour and emotional lives. The piece frames robots not just as tools but as companions and fixtures in family life, prompting questions about what children learn from machines and how parents should respond as robotics enters homes and classrooms.

Researchers observed how real rummy-nose tetra fish interact with virtual counterparts, finding that within a group each fish takes its cues from just one influential neighbour rather than the whole shoal. The finding offers insight into how collective behaviour and decision-making emerge in animal groups, and has been picked up widely in science coverage.

Researchers report witnessing an unusual sexual interaction between a bull and a male donkey, a behaviour described as mysterious given that such cross-species bonds between two male animals are rarely documented. The observation is drawing attention from readers curious about animal behaviour and what it might reveal about mating drives and social bonding in livestock.