Honey, I ate the kids: how hunger and hormones make mice aggressive

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Oct 22, 2025

Join neuroscientist Johnny Cool as he explains how hunger and hormonal changes drive aggressive behavior in hungry female mice towards pups. Discover the surprising link between AGRP neurons and aggression levels. Helen Pearson dives into the world of generative AI in higher education, discussing its potential benefits and concerns about stifling critical thinking. With insights into how universities are adapting to AI tools, this conversation uncovers the complex interplay of nature and technology.

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ANECDOTE

Hunger Triggered Unexpected Aggression

A graduate student discovered that mild food deprivation made virgin female mice attack pups.
The team observed biting and aggressive carrying and interrupted experiments to prevent escalation.

INSIGHT

Hunger Neurons Drive Multiple Behaviors

AGRP neurons, about 8,000 cells, drive hunger and can evoke feeding when stimulated.
Chemogenetic activation of AGRP neurons also induced pup-directed aggression in sated females.

INSIGHT

Hormone Ratios Gate Aggression

Only ~50–60% of food-deprived virgin females showed pup aggression despite similar hunger markers.
Aggression correlated with the progesterone-to-estrogen ratio, not absolute hormone levels.

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00:48 How hunger, hormones and aggression interact in mouse brains

Researchers have uncovered the neural mechanisms that underlie an aggressive behaviour in mice prompted by hunger and hormonal state. Virgin female mice can become aggressive towards mouse pups when they are food deprived, but it seems that the relevant amounts of pregnancy hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, also played a role. By investigating the neurons involved, neuroscientists showed how hunger and hormones are integrated by the brain to lead to aggressive behaviour. This could help researchers understand more about how multiple stimuli are interpreted by the brain, something much harder to study than single stimulus effects.

Research Article: Cao et al.

09:35 Research Highlights

The overlooked environmental costs of wastewater treatment facilities — plus, an ancient communal hunting system that lasted well into the eighteenth century.

Research Highlight: Wastewater treatment produces surprising amounts of greenhouse gases

Research Highlight: Andean peoples hunted and gathered long after they embraced farming

11:53 What generative AI could mean for higher education

Around the world, universities and students are scrambling to adapt to the use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. And while there is optimism that these tools could improve education, there are also concerns about the ways they could stifle independent, critical thought. We hear about the studies trying to unpick the potential impact of this new technology.

News Feature: Universities are embracing AI: will students get smarter or stop thinking?

21:26 Briefing Chat

A blood test for Alzheimer’s, and what should be the next ‘test’ for AI after the Turing test?

Nature: Blood tests are now approved for Alzheimer’s: how accurate are they?

Nature: AI language models killed the Turing test: do we even need a replacement?

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