In a new study, researchers from the University of Queensland used advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to visualize the brains of several octopus species. The findings, published in Current Biology, shed new light on octopus brains and reveal previously unknown neuroanatomical diversity.

Read about the findings at my Animal Minds blog: Study Uncovers Brain Diversity in Octopuses.

In oceans all across the globe, fish have been observed rubbing up against sharks. Now, researchers collecting these observations have concluded that fish-on-shark chafing is more frequent and widespread than previously recognized—suggesting the behavior plays an important ecological role and raising more questions for scientists to explore.

Read more at my Animal Minds blog: Shark Spa Services.

Since stem cells give rise to all the different cell types that make up our bodies, they have the potential to repair or replace cells that are missing or dysfunctional in a wide range of diseases and injuries. In recent years, an explosion of clinical trials involving stem cell therapies has inspired hope that such regenerative strategies may soon cure some of our most vexing diseases. Before that hope is realized, we will need a greater understanding of the fundamentals of stem cell biology as well as the specifics of different disease processes.

Read my latest for IEEE Pulse magazine: Stem Cell Update: Where Are We Now?

There are more than 1,400 species of bat found all over the world. They have conquered every habitat except Antarctica and a few remote oceanic islands. So what makes bats so successful?

Over their 50-million years of evolution, bats have developed ingenious solutions to life’s challenges. In uncovering the secrets of bats’ “superpowers,” scientists are discovering just how much these amazing animals can teach us.

Read more about bats’ superpowers on Nat Geo: Why Bats Are the Real Superheroes of the Animal World.

In a new paper, animal welfare researchers reviewed the scientific literature to ask if animals can develop diagnosable clinical depression. They found worrying evidence in chronically stressed laboratory rats and animals living in sub-optimal conditions, such as intensively kept pigs, but a diagnosis of depression in another species is still elusive.

Read the whole story at my Animal Minds blog: Can Animals Experience Depression?