https://phys.org/biology-news/ en-us Read the latest science news from Phys.org on biology, evolution, microbiology, biotechnology For more than 150 years, fossils of Jurassic fish scattered across Europe's museums were studied and drawn by generations of scientists. However, when a paleontologist decided to shine an ultraviolet light on them, a hidden world lit up. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ultraviolet-uncovers-juveniles-mysterious-jurassic.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:00:01 EDT news703319061 When extreme drought strikes, drier grasslands receive the greatest productivity benefit from biodiversity. By contrast, forests did not show the same context-dependent pattern under drought, according to a new global synthesis of 75 biodiversity experiments. Researchers from Yokohama National University published their results in Nature Ecology & Evolution on July 15. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-biodiversity-boosts-productivity-extreme-drought.html Ecology Wed, 15 Jul 2026 05:00:11 EDT news703173623 Elephants can communicate with other elephants across distances of up to five kilometers (3 miles) by producing sounds that travel through the air. However, they have a second way of sending signals: seismic waves traveling through the ground. These vibrations are transmitted from elephants' feet through their legs and ultimately through the bones of their skull directly into the inner ear. They can be perceived across distances of 10 kilometers (6 miles) or more. This is called bone-conduction hearing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-elephants-footsteps-messages-ground-skull.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:07 EDT news703173300 The mystery of why some amphibian populations recover following outbreaks of a deadly fungus has been solved in a new study led by University College London (UCL), ZSL and Imperial College London. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-mystery-toads-survive-deadly-fungus.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Jul 2026 20:00:06 EDT news703173454 Within every muscle of every living species with a backbone, a protein called myosin tugs on a partner protein to generate a muscle contraction. This function, discovered in mammals a century ago, has been presumed by scientists to operate the same way among birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-hidden-muscle-machinery-reveals-gene.html Evolution Tue, 14 Jul 2026 16:00:03 EDT news703255180 Cells are crowded, dynamic places where thousands of molecules interact in tight quarters. Until now, scientists lacked a reliable way to see many of these molecular interactions as they happen. Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have now developed a new imaging method that allows scientists to see previously hidden enzyme activities in small regions across the whole cell. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, open new possibilities for understanding how cells process information. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-cell-imaging-method.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:40:05 EDT news703255069 New research involving Queen Mary University of London reveals that amphibians can change what they eat to cope with rising temperatures, but that this natural survival strategy has limits. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-climate-amphibians-diet.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:50:01 EDT news703255297 The age-old question asks, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" While philosophers and scientists alike have pondered this question for centuries, the more relevant question for today's recreation and wildlife managers is: Does it matter what makes the sound? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-human-noise-alaska-predators-night.html Ecology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:40:05 EDT news703246996 When grizzly bears clamber onto the talus slopes high in Glacier National Park, they're searching for an abundant, fatty meal: army cutworm moths. The inch-long (2.5-centimeter-long) moths hatch on the Great Plains and fly en masse to escape the heat in the stony upper reaches of the Rocky Mountains. Grizzlies hoover them up by the thousands—at about a half-calorie each—as they fatten up for winter. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-amazing-moths-insect-habitat-grizzlies.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:20:07 EDT news703246082 Honey bee larvae lack the sophisticated olfactory capabilities of adult honey bees, a new study finds. Scientists point to this temporary loss of function as a side effect of the nurse bees' heroic level of brood care, calling it a consequence of social evolution. The new findings are detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-honey-bees-larval-adult-life.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:10:01 EDT news703255278 A new tool that allows researchers to create realistic full-body animations of monkeys has provided the first evidence that nonhuman primates experience the "uncanny valley" phenomenon for body avatars, according to a study by Lucas Maximilian Martini at the University Clinic Tübingen in Germany and colleagues at KU Leuven in Belgium, published in PLOS Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-uncanny-valley-effect-macaques-3d.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:00:07 EDT news703229447 Faster and more effective ways to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the most life-threatening pathogens, could be possible thanks to a first-of-its-kind 3D computer model developed by the University of Surrey. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-kind-tackles-antibiotic-resistance.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 13:40:07 EDT news703246076 Plants do not wait hours to respond to intense sunlight—they react within minutes. Researchers at Bielefeld University and the Australian National University have discovered a new signaling pathway that enables plants to directly adjust their protein production before genes in the cell nucleus change their activity. The findings open new perspectives for climate-resilient crops. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-mechanism-rapidly-intense-sunlight.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 13:20:03 EDT news703245753 Two types of carbohydrates are important to plants—structural carbohydrates (which form cell walls) and nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs). The latter group represents plants' stored energy reserves, which can be used to survive cold or drought; regrow after damage; recover from insects and disease; produce new leaves; and flower and reproduce. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-evolutionary-history-carbon-storage-strategies.html Evolution Tue, 14 Jul 2026 13:10:02 EDT news703250507 Researchers have demonstrated a novel AI model that can predict which DNA molecules bind with other DNA molecules. A more thorough understanding of these hypercomplex binding relationships has utility in applications ranging from biomedical diagnostic tools to DNA computing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-scientists-dna-sequences.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 12:50:02 EDT news703250253 Mathematics has always been at the core of securing information. From online banking to government communications, modern society relies on cryptography, in which complex mathematical algorithms transform readable information into an unreadable form to keep it secure. But as computing power grows and quantum technology advances, these mathematical safeguards are increasingly vulnerable to being broken. That's where biology stepped in. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-dna-origami-secret-messages-nanomorse.html Biotechnology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 11:20:07 EDT news703241682 Are giant sinkholes in China's karst mountains havens or traps for the rare plants that inhabit them? A new study finds they are both—offering refuge from heat and drought while gradually eroding the evolutionary potential of an endangered tree. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-haven-sinkholes-endangered-tree-evolutionary.html Evolution Tue, 14 Jul 2026 11:00:01 EDT news703173421 Tissue engineers are finding ways to grow living organs and tissues from cells, with the aim of replacing diseased and damaged counterparts in the body. Scientists have successfully grown artificial muscles, livers, kidneys, skin and other tissues. But there's been no reliable way to engineer precisely patterned networks of blood vessels, some of which can be finer than a human hair. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-precise-artificial-blood-vessels.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:30:02 EDT news703241819 A new study tracking soil microbial communities across six years of experimental drought in a tallgrass prairie finds that prolonged water stress diminishes biodiversity, pushing communities toward less predictable, harder-to-reverse configurations. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-years-drought-reshape-soil-microbiomes.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:20:01 EDT news703233013 Marine scientists at UC Santa Barbara have found that disturbances to giant kelp forests have a major influence on their net primary productivity (NPP)—an indicator of an ecosystem's health and its ability to support its community—even more so than the availability of the resources needed for growth. Using data from decades of monthly measurements in the kelp forests at the campus's National Science Foundation-supported Santa Barbara Coastal Long Term Ecological Research (SBC LTER) site, the researchers uncovered the direct, indirect and fascinating effects of disturbance on one of the world's most productive ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-disturbance-greater-effect-giant-kelp.html Ecology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 08:20:01 EDT news703232929 The era of "biomanufacturing," in which microbes, not petroleum, produce chemical products, is one step closer. A KAIST research team has analyzed the key challenges limiting the commercialization of biomanufacturing and proposed an AI-driven strategy for industrialization. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-era-microbial-cell-factories-closer.html Biotechnology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:35:14 EDT news703229595 Researchers have discovered that a group of viruses known to infect an agriculturally important plant pathogen has remained genetically stable for an astonishing four decades. The discovery of a disease-fighting virus that doesn't mutate at a rapid rate points the way toward new tools for fighting crop disease—and highlights how little is known about viruses that infect bacteria in agricultural settings. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-family-tree-viruses-grew-paves.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 13 Jul 2026 14:40:03 EDT news703167019 A University of Auckland scientist has uncovered the fates of chimpanzees who starred in seminal psychological studies of the early 20th century. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-famous-puzzle-chimps-lost-years.html Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 13 Jul 2026 14:10:02 EDT news703169610 On Caribbean coral reefs, an unlikely partnership has gone largely unnoticed: Tiny fish regularly nestle within the feathery structures of tube worms. While these sensitive worms typically snap shut at the slightest disturbance, they show a remarkable tolerance for their tiny guests. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-hidden-plain-sight-caribbean-reef.html Plants & Animals Mon, 13 Jul 2026 13:00:06 EDT news703160725 A team led by bioengineers at the University of California San Diego has developed a genome-scale reference map that details how individual genes control the functions and identities of human stem cells. This open-access resource could help researchers build virtual cell models for complex diseases, as well as design patient-specific treatments for these diseases. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-million-stem-cells-reveal-genome.html Biotechnology Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:30:01 EDT news703155590 Inside the cell nucleus, genes must be turned on and off with precision to regulate biological processes. The first models of gene regulation were developed in the 1960s, yet modern science continues to uncover new layers of control. A new study involving researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), the Institut Pasteur and Princeton University, published in PNAS, suggests that genes obey an optimal switching principle—random at any given moment, yet precise on average. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-random-flickering-genes-energy-precision.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:00:10 EDT news703149643 An invasive species found across West Texas may pose a greater threat to native bighorn sheep than previously understood. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-invasive-aoudad-pose-deadly-native.html Plants & Animals Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:40:26 EDT news703154381 In most modern cells, DNA stores the genetic blueprint, and proteins replicate, repair and build from those blueprints. At the same time, proteins require instructions from DNA to be made in the first place. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rna-enzyme-reveals-primordial-life.html Evolution Mon, 13 Jul 2026 05:00:05 EDT news702907471 Long before scientists began studying them in the lab, mind-altering substances were already being gathered from plants, fungi and even animals for use in rituals, healing practices and mental health treatment. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have now managed to bring together in a single organism five psychedelic substances that in nature are scattered across the tree of life. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-decipher-psychedelic-substance.html Biotechnology Sun, 12 Jul 2026 13:00:02 EDT news702724320 For researchers on the hunt for the genetic roots of disease, the cost of deep whole-genome sequencing makes it challenging to conduct large genetic studies involving thousands of participants, which are needed to reveal new genetic insights. So scientists at the Broad Institute came up with a clever approach, called the Blended Genome Exome (BGE), that lowers the cost of sequencing by 75% and is becoming one of the most commonly used sequencing methods at the Broad. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-genome-sequencing-approach-powering-genetics.html Molecular & Computational biology Sun, 12 Jul 2026 11:00:02 EDT news702737619