Multiple reports describe how naked mole-rat queens prevent other colony females from reproducing by emitting a specific volatile chemical. An international team led by Dr. Gary Lewin at the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin identifies the queen-produced compound as isopropyl myristate. The compound is present in the queen’s odor and is detectable by other, non-queen females within the colony. Sources report that exposure to this scent produces temporary infertility in rival females. Nature also reports that the chemical affects reproductive hormone production in other females, including changes in prolactin and progesterone, which contributes to reproductive suppression. One Nature article describes the queen’s odor as a single chemical signal that alters hormone levels in other females, while another emphasizes that the compound mediates reproductive suppression to help maintain the eusocial hierarchy. Together, the findings indicate that queens use a self-produced chemical signal to control colony reproduction, allowing only the queen to reproduce while other females are hormonally shifted away from fertility.