https://phys.org/biology-news/ en-us Read the latest science news from Phys.org on biology, evolution, microbiology, biotechnology Drought is written into trees, appearing as narrow bands in their annual growth rings. But aspen may go farther, creating "functional memories" of previous dry years reflected in the chemistry of their leaves, according to new research by University of Utah biologists. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-aspens-drought-year.html Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Oct 2026 16:40:06 EDT news710773921 A new study led by Paul Schulze-Lefert from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, in collaboration with Ricardo F.H. Giehl at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben, revealed how Arabidopsis plants adapt their chemical communication with the bacterial root microbiota to maximize the acquisition of bio-unavailable iron from acidic or calcareous soils. The study is now published in Cell. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-bacteria-partnership-reveals-roots-access.html Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Oct 2026 16:20:07 EDT news710772482 The fact that ecosystems change is nothing new. What is new, however, is the speed and scale at which new species communities are emerging as a result of climate change. Processes that once unfolded over centuries or even millennia are now being observed within just a few decades. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-climate-species-combinations-prompting-rethink.html Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Oct 2026 15:40:01 EDT news710768941 Cornell researchers have designed a new, faster form of two-photon fluorescence imaging for observing cell metabolism in real time, a method that could enable quicker screening of new therapeutic treatments. The findings were published Sept. 4 in Science Advances. The co-lead authors are former postdoctoral researcher Lu Ling, Ph.D. '20, and doctoral student Jack Crowley, M.S. '22. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-fluorescent-imaging-tracks-metabolism-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 09 Oct 2026 15:20:01 EDT news710767621 The European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus) is a nocturnal migratory bird that travels between Europe and southern Africa each year. However, its wings are not only used for long-distance journeys. When hunting insects, the nightjar must be able to slow down, turn sharply and fly at low speeds. Researchers at Lund University have now shown how this trade-off is reflected in the bird's flight mechanics. The study is published in the journal PLOS Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nightjar-wings-reveal-slowly.html Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:40:14 EDT news710767261 Majestic African antelopes known as gemsbok have been roaming the U.S. Southwest since their introduction in the 1960s and 1970s. Brought to New Mexico as a game species for hunting, gemsbok quickly settled in, expanding more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from their introduction point. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers say that's due to their exceptional adaptations to arid conditions, which they predict will dramatically expand under climate change. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-african-antelopes-mexico-climate.html Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:20:17 EDT news710765761 Many naturally occurring molecules such as menthol or limonene exist in two mirror-image forms, known as enantiomers, that look almost identical but can differ greatly in smell, taste or effect on the body. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-enzymes-mirror-image-molecules.html Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Oct 2026 11:20:01 EDT news710759952 Scientists have discovered a previously unknown microorganism that has the smallest genome ever found and may be able to replicate and express its own genetic information. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-tiny-marine-microbe-genetic-machinery.html Evolution Fri, 09 Oct 2026 11:00:12 EDT news710692981 Blue damselfish, with their striking blue hue, are easy to spot, even along Okinawa's heavily urbanized coastlines. But while abundant, their gene activity reveals a hidden cost to living in human-impacted environments. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-fish-fine-urban-genes-story.html Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Oct 2026 05:00:24 EDT news710610481 Octopuses, squid and cuttlefish, collectively known as coleoid cephalopods, have evolved exceptionally large and elaborately structured nervous systems capable of complex behaviors such as problem-solving and rapid camouflage. A new study by scientists at the University of Vienna suggests that the origins of this complexity may lie not just in the genes themselves, but in how the genome is organized in 3D. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-3d-genome-entanglement-cephalopods-evolved.html Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Oct 2026 05:00:12 EDT news710674442 Many insects see the world through hundreds of tiny lenses that are grouped together in a visual organ known as the compound eye. Behind each lens sits a cluster of eight light-detecting cells arranged in a pattern that scientists believe has existed for hundreds of millions of years. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-genetic-butterfly-visual-world.html Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Oct 2026 19:40:09 EDT news710691721 For decades, scientists have believed that a protein called interferon tau (IFNT) is indispensable for pregnancy in cattle. Produced by the early embryo, it was thought to signal its presence to the mother and prevent the hormonal changes that would otherwise end the pregnancy. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-cows-healthy-calves-embryonic-protein.html Biotechnology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 19:20:01 EDT news710690701 A new paper published in the journal Phytotaxa describes a new species in the genus Victoria, the Colombian giant water lily (Victoria colombiana). With only three other known species in the genus, V. colombiana joins the pantheon of nature's giants with pads measuring up to 2 meters (6.6 feet) across. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chance-instagram-sighting-discovery-rare.html Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Oct 2026 19:10:06 EDT news710667361 Bees, moths and other pollinating insects have a harder time smelling flowers in polluted air, according to research led by the University of Reading. Scientists analyzed 22 experimental studies on how the air pollutants ozone and nitrogen oxides (NOx) affect pollinators. Both pollutants make it harder for pollinators to find flowers by breaking down or altering the scents that flowers give off. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-bees-struggle-air-pollutants-combine.html Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Oct 2026 19:10:02 EDT news710667001 A prehistoric cold case near Drumheller reveals either a small-time raptor scavenged on an apex predator, or a baby Albertosaurus engaged in a shocking act of cannibalism. These two possible explanations for what happened to an Albertosaurus after its death near Drumheller are wildly divergent. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-fossil-evidence-small-raptor-apex.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 08 Oct 2026 18:20:11 EDT news710682841 The DNA in our cells wraps around proteins called histones to form nucleosomes, which organize into chromatin. This organization helps pack genetic material into the nucleus and influences how easily genes can be read and DNA damage repaired. Understanding how chromatin changes requires studying molecular movements and interactions that are difficult to capture experimentally. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-microscope-simulates-dna-packaging-ten.html Biotechnology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 18:10:01 EDT news710698381 Nitrogen is essential for life. It's needed to build proteins, DNA and many other components of cells. Although nitrogen gas makes up almost 80% of Earth's atmosphere, most organisms cannot use it directly. Certain microbes solve this problem through a process called nitrogen fixation, which converts nitrogen gas into ammonia. This process is carried out by an enzyme called nitrogenase. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nitrogen-fixation-discovery-day-crops.html Biotechnology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:20:21 EDT news710680802 A new technology promises to enable more comprehensive investigations into how individual genes determine the appearance and behavior of cells. Researchers led by professor Veit Hornung at LMU's Gene Center and professor Matthias Mann at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, together with professor Fabian Theis at Helmholtz Munich, have developed SPARCS, a technology that combines artificial intelligence with microscopy and genetic screening. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-tracking-cellular-gene-functions-ai.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:20:12 EDT news710679661 Light sheet microscopy allows biologists to selectively light up a thin slice of a sample. This method can improve image contrast by reducing background light while remaining gentle on the sample, reducing photodamage and photobleaching. Rice University's Anna-Karin Gustavsson has published a method in Nano Letters that expands the use of light sheet microscopy to work with a single objective in commercially available sample chambers. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-3d-inserts-sheet-microscopy-commercial.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:50:01 EDT news710692262 Curtin University and Taronga Conservation Society Australia researchers have conducted the first hearing tests on Australian sea lions and long-nosed fur seals, revealing what sounds these marine mammals can hear and helping assess how human-made noise could affect them. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-reveal-sea-lions-fur-human.html Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:40:06 EDT news710679241 Across mammals, larger species typically have longer lifespans, ranging from only a couple of years for mice to almost 200 years for some whales. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-genes-big-dogs-age-faster.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:00:48 EDT news710602201 Growing inside each of us is a cellular family tree. Every one of the 37 trillion cells in our body is generated from another cell, going all the way back to a single fertilized egg. Much like we can draw a family tree tracking generations of our ancestors, scientists can also create family trees of cells, showing how they're related to each other. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-cell-entire-mouse.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:00:16 EDT news710587681 Wild African savanna elephants use a wide range of gestures when competing with other elephants, according to research from an international group of scientists, including researchers from the University of Portsmouth, University of Vienna and University of St Andrews. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-wild-elephants-rich-gestural-repertoire.html Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Oct 2026 13:40:18 EDT news710677584 Engineers from Brown University have developed a new way of imaging cell migration dynamics that are important in understanding critical processes like cancer metastasis, wound healing and immune response. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-electrical-imaging-alternative-tracking-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 13:20:17 EDT news710677556 What may have looked like a cross between a platypus and a beaverlike rodent and lived around 120 million years ago? Dongoconodon platycauda, a newly discovered fossil mammal from northeastern China. Beyond its unusual features, such as evidence of webbed paddling feet and a rudderlike tail, this semiaquatic mammal had a surprise waiting for scientists in its jaw: a third generation of teeth. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ancient-mammal-fossil-evolutionary-teeth.html Evolution Thu, 08 Oct 2026 13:00:26 EDT news710677552 A giant isopod from Puerto Rico, rediscovered in the depository of the University of Tübingen's Paleontological Collection, has turned out to be a previously unknown species. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-puerto-rico-specimen-reveals-giant.html Evolution Thu, 08 Oct 2026 12:40:01 EDT news710677142 A remarkably preserved elephant tooth previously recovered from Gesher Benot Ya'aqov (GBY-NBA)—a prehistoric site in northern Israel where early humans made stone tools some 700,000 years ago—has now enabled researchers to reconstruct a lush landscape of woodlands, wetlands and waterways from the Pleistocene. The findings provide a rare glimpse into the environment shared by giant elephants and some of the region's earliest human populations. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-year-elephant-tooth-reveals-lost.html Ecology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 12:00:06 EDT news710676422 Immune cells are the elite athletes of the human body. While other cells stay in place, immune cells travel throughout our bodies, squeezing through small channels, stretching themselves, sampling the surfaces of other cells and swallowing up invaders. One of their most extreme behaviors is NETosis, a process in which certain immune cells burst and release their DNA as a way to trap pathogens. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-dna-packaging-immune-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:20:13 EDT news710673241 Researchers may have uncovered the reason why some of Earth's earliest animals were commonly preserved as fossils—even though they were essentially fragile "bags of goo"—while later soft-bodied creatures have largely disappeared from the fossil record. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-collagen-microbes-gaps-fossil.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:00:02 EDT news710585221 Coral reefs are renowned for their visual beauty, but for the marine life they support, their sounds may be just as enticing. Two new studies led by UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography reveal how underwater acoustic enrichment—the playback of sounds from healthy reefs—can help spur the recovery of degraded coral reefs and their fish communities. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-healthy-reef-boost-coral-fish.html Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Oct 2026 05:00:14 EDT news710587621