https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Oregon State University research into marine protected areas plays a crucial role in the historic High Seas Treaty that goes into effect Jan. 17. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-historic-ocean-treaty-safeguard-sustainably.html Environment Thu, 15 Jan 2026 15:30:28 EST news687713402 The US is saber-rattling over Greenland once again. The vast island's natural resources are back on the agenda, a year after then-US national security advisor Michael Waltz announced: "This is about critical minerals. This is about natural resources." https://phys.org/news/2026-01-greenland-vast-natural-resources-wont.html Earth Sciences Mon, 12 Jan 2026 13:33:24 EST news687447182 Gale-force winds and storms barreled through northern Europe on Friday, claiming more lives, causing travel mayhem, shutting schools, and cutting power to hundreds of thousands in freezing temperatures. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-storms-mayhem-power-northern-europe.html Environment Sat, 10 Jan 2026 06:25:05 EST news687248684 During heat waves, everyday life tends to feel more difficult than on an average day. Travel and daily movement are no exception. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-roads-dangerous-hot-days-pedestrians.html Environment Thu, 08 Jan 2026 20:50:01 EST news687091609 With only five years until the 2030 deadline for achieving the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a new international study reveals uneven progress in achieving the goals since their adoption in 2015. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-persists-baseline-sustainable-goals-high.html Environment Mon, 29 Dec 2025 10:19:11 EST news686225922 Researchers have developed a tool that reliably predicts where destructive new roads are likely to carve through tropical forests, giving environmentalists and public health officials a head-start in identifying at-risk areas and potential disease outbreaks in humans. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-tool-road-expansion-deforestation-disease.html Environment Tue, 23 Dec 2025 10:19:19 EST news685707542 Snow and ice can damage paved surfaces, leading to frost heaves and potholes. These become potential hazards for drivers and pedestrians and are expensive to fix. Now, researchers propose in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering a figurative and literal green solution to improve the durability of roads and sidewalks: an algae-derived asphalt binder. For temperatures below freezing, results indicated that the algae binder reduced asphalt cracks when compared to a conventional, petroleum-based binder. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-algae-based-asphalt-binder-roads.html Materials Science Mon, 15 Dec 2025 14:37:30 EST news685031821 A research team led by Professor Luo Shujin from the School of Life Sciences has uncovered a surprising chapter in the history of cats in China. Through ancient DNA sequencing of feline remains spanning more than 5,000 years, the team discovered that the animals living alongside early Chinese farming communities were not domestic cats, but the native leopard cat. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-human-cat-friendship.html Plants & Animals Fri, 05 Dec 2025 08:35:17 EST news684146102 Stanford researchers have become the first to demonstrate that machine-learning control can safely guide a robot aboard the ISS, laying the groundwork for more autonomous space missions. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ai-advances-robot-international-space.html Space Exploration Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:52:23 EST news684136321 While many global road maps exist, few include detailed surface information or keep pace with rapid infrastructure change. The new HeiGIT dataset closes this gap by combining 3–4 meter resolution PlanetScope imagery (2020–2024) with deep-learning models to analyze 9.2 million kilometers of major transport routes connecting cities and rural regions. The result is a high-accuracy global classification (89.2%), outperforming widely used open datasets by over 20 percentage points. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-global-satellite-dataset-humanitarian-routing.html Social Sciences Wed, 19 Nov 2025 10:11:03 EST news682769461 Traveling on Africa's roads comes with many challenges. The biggest is arriving at your destination safely. The continent is one of the hotspots of global road trauma. Its traffic deaths account for about one-quarter of the global number of victims, despite having less than 4% of the world's vehicle fleet. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-toilets-africa-roads-safer.html Social Sciences Tue, 18 Nov 2025 13:39:36 EST news682695568 Being mobile means people can get access to opportunities and take part in economic and social life. Mobility, in all its forms, is critical for cities to thrive. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-habits-young-men-cape-town.html Social Sciences Thu, 13 Nov 2025 12:23:05 EST news682258982 As global climate talks at COP30 shift from setting lofty targets to transforming the systems that will get us there, Australia has been quietly strengthening its climate resilience rulebook. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-paperwork-wont-climate.html Earth Sciences Thu, 13 Nov 2025 06:57:05 EST news682239422 The European Union struck a deal Wednesday on the 27-nation bloc's next big emissions-cutting targets in time for next week's UN COP30 climate summit at the cost of deep concessions to reluctant capitals. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-eu-ditch-climate-cop30-looms.html Environment Wed, 05 Nov 2025 11:20:04 EST news681562854 Human disturbance has a significant impact on the behavior and habitat use of urban wildlife; however, in some situations, urban gray squirrels may actually feel safer from predators where our activity is high. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-road-noise-squirrels-safer.html Plants & Animals Thu, 16 Oct 2025 10:35:03 EDT news679829702 When a storm or tropical cyclone impacts mainland Australia, would you get behind the wheel of a vehicle? https://phys.org/news/2025-10-behaviors-extreme-weather-events-explored.html Social Sciences Thu, 09 Oct 2025 09:57:04 EDT news679222622 For years, researchers have puzzled over how the ancient people of Rapa Nui did the seemingly impossible and moved their iconic moai statues. Using a combination of physics, 3D modeling and on-the-ground experiments, a team including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York, has confirmed that the statues actually walked—with a little rope and remarkably few people. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-easter-island-statues-physics.html Archaeology Tue, 07 Oct 2025 11:56:03 EDT news679056961 Nobody wants to admit that a lowly bumper sticker can influence their behavior. But researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that drivers were far more likely to honk after being cut off by a vehicle bearing a political bumper sticker, particularly one for the opposing political party. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-politics-road-bumper-sticker.html Social Sciences Mon, 06 Oct 2025 16:12:03 EDT news678985921 Australia has one of the world's longest road networks, covering almost 900,000 kilometers. More than 80% of it is rural or remote. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-intense-landslides-potholes-climate-trashing.html Environment Mon, 06 Oct 2025 11:35:05 EDT news678969302 Imagine stepping into a 2,500-year-old tomb—without ever leaving your sofa. Using advanced digital technology, Swedish researchers have documented and visualized nearly 280 Etruscan chamber tombs in Italy. The result is a new digital portal that opens up this cultural heritage to scholars, students, and the public worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-etruscan-chamber-tombs-accessible-digital.html Archaeology Thu, 18 Sep 2025 15:00:01 EDT news677425368 After heavy rains, a landslide "completely leveled" a remote village in western Sudan in early September. It was the temporary home of hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had fled the conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, to what they had hoped would be a safe location. In all, more than 1,000 people are feared to have died in the landslide. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-people-displaced-conflict-vulnerable-climate.html Environment Wed, 10 Sep 2025 14:20:01 EDT news676727675 Scientists at the University of Manchester are calling for the creation of a global network of air monitoring stations to track the movement of airborne plastic pollution, which may be traveling further and faster around the planet than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-global-action-micro-nanoplastics-atmosphere.html Environment Fri, 05 Sep 2025 07:27:05 EDT news676276022 On August 27, the Trump administration took formal steps to rescind a decades-old rule that protects 58.5 million acres of wild areas in national forests, including 4.4 million acres in California. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-trump-administration-rollback-roadless-wild.html Environment Thu, 28 Aug 2025 10:00:01 EDT news675589191 The urban heat island effect describes the way urban areas get significantly warmer than the surrounding rural or suburban areas. There are a number of reasons why this occurs, although it can mostly be boiled down to the fact that there are fewer green spaces containing plants that cool off the surrounding air by evapotranspiration and more buildings and roads, which all have a tendency to hold more heat from the sun and keep the city warmer. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-cars-cities-significantly-contributing-urban.html Environment Tue, 26 Aug 2025 12:00:01 EDT news675428278 Thousands of firefighters backed by soldiers and water-bombing aircraft on Monday battled over 20 major wildfires raging across western Spain, where officials say a record area of land has already been burned. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-deadly-wildfires-rage-spain-area.html Environment Mon, 18 Aug 2025 11:55:20 EDT news674736916 Experts are calling for a global effort to identify "positive tipping points" to accelerate the green transition—and have devised a method to find them. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-method-positive-climate-action.html Earth Sciences Wed, 06 Aug 2025 19:00:01 EDT news673677419 Global supply chains account for 70% of world trade. They are the arteries of global capitalism, moving goods and services across borders multiple times before reaching consumers. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-hidden-environmental-chains.html Environment Mon, 28 Jul 2025 11:00:12 EDT news672918621 Wildlife everywhere faces a growing challenge: moving safely across an increasingly fragmented landscape. Roads, urban development, and other human-made barriers can make it harder for animals to access food, shelter, and breeding areas, while also increasing the risk of wildlife-vehicle collisions. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-oregon-wildlife-corridors-safe-people.html Plants & Animals Wed, 23 Jul 2025 06:26:56 EDT news672470809 Giving pedestrians a 7-second head start at traffic lights—known as Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs)—is associated with a 33% reduction in total pedestrian injuries—both fatal and non-fatal—at New York City intersections, according to a new study from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-york-city-intersections-pedestrian-injuries.html Social Sciences Fri, 18 Jul 2025 11:20:05 EDT news672056334 Geology is full of detective stories about the Earth's history, and a new paper in Geology by University of New Mexico Distinguished Professors Emeritus Karl Karlstrom and Laurie Crossey, along with their co‐authors, links two iconic geologic landmarks of the American Southwest: the Grand Canyon and Meteor Crater. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-link-grand-canyon-landslide-meteor.html Space Exploration Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:10:07 EDT news671780123