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. This large freshwater sawfish might look scary, but its greatest survival assets are tiny microbes that may give its young an invisible force field when environmental conditions get tough. New research led by Flinders University describes how microscopic communities living on the skin of the critically endangered largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis) could help these animals endure challenging dry-season conditions, offering a new perspective on their conservation. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-shield-skin-microbes-sawfish-survive.html Ecology Thu, 12 Nov 2026 13:00:12 EST news713699881 An Australian native plant traditionally used by Indigenous communities for food and medicine could help scientists develop stronger, more flexible biodegradable film. UNSW researchers have discovered that adding extracts from pigface, Carpobrotus glaucescens, a hardy coastal succulent, to seaweed-based films can significantly improve their strength and flexibility. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-bush-food-biodegradable-materials-potential.html Biochemistry Thu, 12 Nov 2026 10:40:31 EST news713697482 Animals communicate in ways that are sometimes obvious to us and sometimes almost completely hidden. Bright colors, songs and courtship displays are easy to notice. Chemical signals are different: an animal can leave a message behind long after it has moved away. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-male-lizard-perfumes-rivalry-seduction.html Plants & Animals Mon, 09 Nov 2026 17:40:06 EST news713438358 Using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), an international team led by Leiden University has produced the sharpest and most sensitive radio image of the sky ever made at low radio frequencies. The image reveals almost 63,000 radio sources, such as active galactic nuclei and star-forming galaxies, across a patch of sky about 25 times the area of the full moon. The results have been accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. The paper is currently available on the arXiv preprint server. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-astronomers-sharpest-deepest-view-frequency.html Astronomy Thu, 05 Nov 2026 19:40:06 EST news713122261 University of Sydney researchers have made a breakthrough by directly observing hydrogen in the tiny spaces between the atoms in metal alloys. The world-first observation of hydrogen dissolving in these 'metal crystal lattices' offers fresh insights into why hydrogen can weaken metals and how more hydrogen-resistant materials might be developed. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-reveal-hydrogen-dissolved-tiny-gaps.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 04 Nov 2026 19:20:06 EST news713034421 There are two lighthouses on Lady Elliot Island, at the southernmost tip of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The first was built in 1873, but was decommissioned in 1995 when the second took over the job of warning ships off the reef. Visitors to the island, however, regularly report seeing signs of a third lighthouse. At night the beams of a nonexistent phantom lighthouse are seen far off, shining on the horizon. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-phantom-lighthouse-australia-strangest-illusions.html Mathematics Wed, 28 Oct 2026 19:40:01 EDT news712402306 A landmass that broke away from northwestern Australia about 150 million years ago and drifted north for the next 100 million years helped lay the foundations for Southeast Asia's extraordinarily diverse tropical forests, new research has revealed. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-amber-fossils-reveal-ancient-australian.html Ecology Wed, 28 Oct 2026 09:40:11 EDT news712397281 Scientists have discovered a hidden layer of identity in plant root cells: an "environmental mode" that switches on in some cells and becomes more common when water is scarce. The study, led by Dr. Marina Oliva and professor Ryan Lister, from the ARC Center of Excellence in Plants for Space and The University of Western Australia's School of Molecular Sciences, examined how plant cells responded to drought conditions. The work is published in Nature https://phys.org/news/2026-10-drought-shifts-root-cells-newly.html Plants & Animals Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:40:14 EDT news711888302 Drone-mounted laser technology is helping archaeologists locate Aboriginal rock art sites hidden in the rugged, densely vegetated landscapes of Australia's Blue Mountains, demonstrating a new approach to surveying archaeological sites that can be difficult and expensive to reach on foot. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-drones-archaeologists-aboriginal-art-sites.html Archaeology Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:00:11 EDT news711712630 Environmental DNA (eDNA) is increasingly being investigated by forensic scientists as a tool to help solve criminal cases that lack biological traces—and attention is also turning to collecting trace airborne eDNA left behind by intruders in residential burglaries. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ways-thief-intruders-airborne-edna.html Biotechnology Thu, 15 Oct 2026 09:00:09 EDT news711272461 Two new research papers shed light on the growing practice of grazing sheep in fields with solar arrays. One demonstrates that, in the right numbers, sheep grazing increases populations of beneficial insects like bees and lady beetles compared to mowing around solar panels. The other research describes a decision-making support tool to help farmers profitably grow their solar grazing herds. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sheep-grazing-solar-fields-farmers.html Ecology Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:40:07 EDT news711192374 Why is there life on Earth? It's one of the oldest questions humans have asked, and as far as we know, our planet is the only one that holds the answer. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-earth-mantle-oxygen-billion-years.html Earth Sciences Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:20:01 EDT news711197461 Scientists have announced a new genus of deep-sea segmented marine "spaghetti worms" with suction cups on their bodies, showing just how much undiscovered biodiversity is out there in the deep seas around Australia. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-genus-deep-sea-spaghetti.html Plants & Animals Wed, 14 Oct 2026 14:20:23 EDT news711195902 Reaching net zero sooner would limit long-lasting changes to El Niño and the tropical Pacific, new climate modeling suggests, although heat stored deep in the ocean means changes to the tropical Pacific could persist for centuries. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-net-sooner-limit-el-nio.html Earth Sciences Tue, 13 Oct 2026 10:40:20 EDT news711101943 A region of Antarctica with some of the greatest potential to reshape the natural world and human society is also the least scientifically understood and explored. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-climate-threat-lurk-beneath-antarctica.html Earth Sciences Sun, 04 Oct 2026 19:00:01 EDT news709985866 The earliest animals may have evolved hundreds of millions of years before their first unmistakable fossils appear in the fossil record, according to a new study led by the University of Oxford. The findings, published in Science Advances, suggest animals may have originated deep in the Neoproterozoic Era, even before some of the most extreme ice ages in Earth's history. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-animals-evolved-vastly-earlier-fossil.html Evolution Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:00:13 EDT news710066581 Biodegradable films made from engineered honeybee silk could form the basis of a new generation of "smart" wound dressings, according to researchers at CSIRO and Adelaide University. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-honeybee-silk-power-smarter-wound.html Biotechnology Wed, 30 Sep 2026 13:00:06 EDT news709981381 A pair of exceptionally rare Cretaceous bird bones found at separate sites near Richmond, Queensland, reveal a previously unknown species—the second formally named Cretaceous bird from Australia. Cretaceous bird fossils are extremely scarce in Australia, with fewer than a dozen isolated bones reported, making these finds especially significant. The research is published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ancient-bird-australian-species-cretaceous.html Plants & Animals Tue, 29 Sep 2026 10:40:10 EDT news709891864 Weather forecasts in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) are generally less accurate than those in the Northern Hemisphere because Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean have relatively few weather observations. With limited information about atmospheric conditions in one of the world's most remote regions, forecasting models often struggle to predict the movement of weather systems. This is especially true for atmospheric rivers that can trigger heavy rain, snowfall, flooding and strong winds across Australia, New Zealand, South America and Antarctica. Improving forecasts of these weather systems is essential for protecting lives and property, supporting aviation and shipping, and helping communities prepare for hazardous weather. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-antarctic-radar-southern-hemisphere-atmospheric.html Earth Sciences Mon, 28 Sep 2026 03:00:02 EDT news709552350 Researchers at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory have teamed up to get a fresh look at the complex makeup of meteorites and glimpse into our solar system's past. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-glimpse-solar-molecules-meteorite.html Astrobiology Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:40:21 EDT news708860713 As the 2026 El Niño intensifies across the Amazon, new research highlights the urgent need to better protect the region's remaining forests from disturbances. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-amazonian-effective-ways-biodiversity-carbon.html Earth Sciences Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:00:07 EDT news708863192 Mysterious trenches stretching for kilometers across southern Australia's Nullarbor Plain have been revealed as the surface footprints of deep, hidden ancient cave systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nullarbor-reveals-surface-deep-hidden.html Earth Sciences Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:20:27 EDT news708857883 A University of Newcastle-led global study has produced the most complete genetic picture yet of a salt-loving plant with the potential to help grow food in some of the world's harshest environments. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-salicornia-genomes-reveal-genetic-secrets.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 14 Sep 2026 13:40:11 EDT news708606601 Snails carry weather records on their backs that could be used to map prehistoric cyclones, a University of Queensland study has shown. The project led by School of the Environment researchers examined the rings on the shell of a Biggenden Banded Snail (Figuladra bayensis) collected from Coalstoun Lakes National Park in southeast Queensland. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-snail-shells-weather-capsules.html Earth Sciences Mon, 14 Sep 2026 10:00:04 EDT news708594242 Tasmanian devils are among Australia's most distinctive mammals. Stocky, powerful and famously noisy, wild populations are now restricted to Tasmania. But this was not always the case. In fact, thousands of years ago, devils could be found across mainland Australia. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tasmanian-devils-people-outback-western.html Archaeology Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:20:01 EDT news708338241 The scavenging behavior of many wild birds plays an important role in the type, number and variety of viruses they have, a new University of Otago–Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka-led study has found. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scavenging-linked-virus-variety-wild.html Ecology Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:00:03 EDT news708238921 Taylor Swift is now the namesake of a genus of plant-feeding insects from Australia that were previously unknown to science. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-insect-genus-species-taylor-swift.html Plants & Animals Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:40:01 EDT news708185701 One-third of young scientists who had been planning careers in academic research changed their minds in the spring of 2025, according to a new survey. Fewer expected to remain in higher education or work in the U.S., or felt that pursuing a Ph.D. was the right decision. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-survey-young-future-science.html Economics & Business Mon, 07 Sep 2026 17:00:03 EDT news708011103 While the highly virulent avian influenza strain has only recently been discovered on Australian shores, researchers at Deakin University have been working behind the scenes for years, anticipating what an outbreak might look like. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bird-movements-track-global-virus.html Plants & Animals Sun, 06 Sep 2026 17:00:01 EDT news707401817 Common global narratives about political polarization are skewed because of an overreliance on literature about the U.S., leaving governments unprepared to tackle the problem at home. In new research led by King's College London and published in Nature Communications, experts across the U.K., Europe, Asia, Australia and the U.S. point to how common narratives about polarization are overgeneralized and often based on evidence from the U.S. alone. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-politics-world-template-polarization-experts.html Social Sciences Wed, 02 Sep 2026 15:00:02 EDT news707574782