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Only female anglerfish have luminescent lures. Males have large chambers in their heads, possibly for detecting the scent of females, and big eyes with which they might spot a tempting glimmer. (David Shale/Bluegreen Pictures via Alamy)
The glowing lure that female anglerfishes (Lophiiformes) use to attract prey might have originally evolved to help potential mates find them in the pitch dark of their deep-sea homes. Researchers found that deep-sea anglerfish species began to proliferate shortly after females developed bioluminescence in their lures, which could suggest that the glow helped the fish reproduce as they moved into the darkness. “The evolution of this group may be driven because of the sexual attraction of the lures,” says evolutionary biologist and study co-author Alex Maile. “That’s the fun, weird part about all this.”
Reference: Ichthyology & Herpetology paper
Mentions of AI in the research literature are booming and the number of specialist science AI models are on the rise, finds an influential annual report from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI. Many researchers have started to rely on AI ‘agents’ that autonomously carry out science tasks but the report is sceptical about their performance. AI agents still struggle to reliably perform multistep workflows, it says, with the best AI agents scoring roughly half as well as human specialists with PhDs.
Reference: Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2026
A group of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Uganda appears to be embroiled in a ‘civil war’ that’s been rumbling on for nearly a decade. The well-studied Ngogo chimpanzee group seemed to live in harmony until around 2015, at which point researchers noticed fractures among the community. By 2018, two factions had emerged, one of which has since made several co-ordinated attacks against the other. The divide might have been prompted by a combination of disease outbreak and shifting social hierarchies after the death of some key older individuals, researchers say.
Features & opinion
In Sex, Genes and Chromosomes, geneticist Jennifer Graves leads readers through “one of the great detective stories of genetics”, writes biologist Michael Goldman in his review: the hunt for the genes that determine sex in vertebrates. Graves makes the ideal guide, having contributed to many of the advances she describes. With clear explanations for beginners — including a crash course in the lingo required to comprehend genomics — and fresh insights for experts, the book “should be a standard reference on X- and Y-chromosome biology”, Goldman writes.
“Please tell me when you’re struggling, and I will remind you that you are doing a good job and that I’m proud of you.” Those words — spoken by the supervisor of Emmarie Alexander, a PhD candidate studying genetics — are an example of good supervision reported by respondents to Nature’s 2025 PhD survey. Others thanked their lab leaders for supporting them through personal life-changes, treating them as trusted colleagues and encouraging them to face their fears.
When asked about her journey around the Moon, NASA astronaut Christina Koch said she had to impress upon her husband that “it’s not like the International Space Station … he’s not going to be able to call me and ask where something is in the house”. Sounds like Koch is familiar with people’s differences in ‘visual search’ — the process by which we find what we’re looking for in a scene. Anatomist Michelle Spear spells out why it’s so hard for some of us to spot the elephant in the room, the needle in the haystack and the scissors in the kitchen drawer.
On Friday, Leif Penguinson was enjoying the vibrant hues of the Gruta do Lago Azul, a natural monument in Bonito, Brazil. Did you find the penguin? When you’re ready, here’s the answer.
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