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. Bright colors in animals are beautiful but often considered risky because they are more obvious to predators. However, conspicuous colors can also serve defensively, signaling toxicity or even luring predators away from more vulnerable body parts. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-predator-triggered-orange-tails-tadpoles.html Plants & Animals Fri, 29 May 2026 15:00:03 EDT news699279902 A new raptor-like dinosaur from some 70 million years ago that ate fish and behaved like modern herons has been unearthed from southern Patagonia. The new species, which has been named Kank australis, was identified based on the discovery of fossil remains including teeth, vertebrae, and toe bones. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-heron-fish-dinosaur-million-years.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 28 May 2026 19:10:06 EDT news699176102 A University of Texas at Austin-led team has reconstructed the most detailed map to date of the molecular machines that carried out the functions of life in an ancient ancestor that gave rise to all complex life on Earth, including us, shedding new light on genetic causes of human diseases. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-reconstructed-15billionyearold-protein-network-reveals.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 27 May 2026 11:00:01 EDT news699029585 The Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is famous because adults look like overgrown babies, or tadpoles, retaining juvenile features as adults and capable of remarkable regeneration of lost limbs or tails. New studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico have revealed a new species related to this living form. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-fossil-salamander-species-famous-axolotl.html Plants & Animals Tue, 26 May 2026 17:40:01 EDT news699005399 Snakes are threatened with extinction in many places around the globe. Disease, often caused by parasites or fungi, is thought to be one of the key factors alongside habitat destruction. Prominent among fungal diseases is ophidiomycosis—also known as snake fungal disease—which is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola (Oo). In the 20 years since its discovery, it has been found in many snake species. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-rattlesnakes-vulnerable-fungal-disease-parasitic.html Ecology Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:01 EDT news698917321 Hurricanes can be a devastating force—leveling trees, erasing beaches and damaging homes. But what do they do to wildlife? The answer ranges from the good to the bad to the ugly. Hurricanes sometimes help native species, but other times, they introduce and spread invasive species. Sometimes, they cause animals to evolve to survive these storms more easily, and sometimes they lead to mass migration or extinction. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-midwest-flamingos-hurricane-toads-wildlife.html Evolution Fri, 22 May 2026 09:00:01 EDT news698658241 A new paper calls for ecologists and evolutionary biologists to consider how organisms experience climate rather than how weather stations record it when doing climate–biology research. The paper, "Matching climate to biological scales," is published in the April 2026 edition of Trends in Ecology & Evolution. Postdoctoral associate David Klinges, an incoming assistant professor at Rutgers University, was the lead author, and Yale Peabody Museum curators David Skelly and Martha Muñoz were among the co-authors. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-paper-biologists-rethink-impact-climate.html Ecology Wed, 20 May 2026 15:00:08 EDT news698499649 Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed ApexGO, a novel, AI-powered method for turning promising but imperfect antibiotic candidates into more potent ones. Unlike many existing AI approaches to antibiotic discovery, which screen large databases for molecules that might work, ApexGO starts with a small number of imperfect candidates and improves them step by step, using a predictive algorithm to evaluate each modification and guide the next. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ai-tool-boosts-imperfect-antibiotic.html Biotechnology Wed, 13 May 2026 13:23:45 EDT news697897381 Biologists have long puzzled over why organisms with similar numbers of protein-coding genes can differ so dramatically in nervous system complexity. New research points to a potential link between the expanding diversity of RNA-binding proteins, which shape how genetic instructions are processed, and greater brain sophistication. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-paradox-similar-genes-brains.html Evolution Mon, 11 May 2026 11:37:23 EDT news697717929 A single scoop of water from an Irish river has revealed evidence not only of Ireland's only frog species—as expected—but also signs of the dreaded B. dendrobatidis fungus, marking the first time this devastating amphibian disease has been spotted in the country and exposing a previously unknown risk to Ireland's frog population. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-river-dna-track-fish-frogs.html Molecular & Computational biology Sat, 09 May 2026 17:00:01 EDT news697300018 Each animal species has an optimal temperature at which it can metabolize food and its immune system can best fight off pathogens. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-cold-animals-disease-climate-knowledge.html Plants & Animals Thu, 30 Apr 2026 19:00:01 EDT news696774187 Maintaining connections between natural habitats may support beneficial microbes that help wildlife defend against disease. In a new study of tropical amphibians, a team led by Penn State biologists found that amphibians in connected natural forests and aquatic habitats were more likely to host beneficial skin microbes that inhibit a deadly fungal pathogen. But when these habitats become spatially separated due to planted crops, infrastructure development or other human land use, those microbial defenses weaken and pathogen infection levels can increase with potentially deadly results. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-habitats-frogs-microbes-curb-deadly.html Ecology Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:00:05 EDT news695915581 Poison frogs are small and brightly colored amphibians that originate from Central and South America. As suggested by their name, these frogs can release highly toxic chemicals from their skin, which deter and neutralize predators. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-poison-frogs-built-chemical-weapons.html Plants & Animals Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:50:01 EDT news695467298 Animal communication can look wildly different—flashing lights, chirping calls, croaking songs and elaborate dances. But new research from Northwestern University suggests many of these signals share a surprising feature: They repeat at nearly the same tempo. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-nature-universal-rhythm.html Ecology Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:20:09 EDT news695461382 Some animals can regrow lost body parts. Salamanders and frog tadpoles can rebuild entire limbs after amputation. Mammals cannot. For decades, biologists have tried to understand why. Now a team led by Can Aztekin at EPFL (now at the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society) has discovered that oxygen plays a crucial role in limb regeneration. By comparing amputated limbs from frog tadpoles and embryonic mice, the researchers found that the way cells sense oxygen determines whether regeneration can even begin. The study is published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-oxygen-amphibians-regenerate-limbs-mammals.html Plants & Animals Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:00:01 EDT news694880761 Tropical rainforests are home to almost two-thirds of all vertebrate species and three-quarters of all tree species: they are the most species-rich terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. However, over half of these diverse rainforests have already been cleared, and their area continues to decline drastically, primarily for agricultural purposes. Is there a chance of regeneration, and can not only trees but also the unique diversity of thousands of animal species return to cleared areas? https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ecuador-tropical-rainforest-biodiversity-rebounds.html Plants & Animals Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:20:01 EDT news694880641 Researchers have discovered a new species of glassfrog in Ecuador—the Dajomes glassfrog—named after Neisi Dajomes, the first Ecuadorian woman to receive an Olympic gold medal, which she won in Tokyo 2020 in women's 76 kg weightlifting. Mylena Masache, a Biology student of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, and colleagues describe the frog in a new study published April 8, 2026 in the journal PLOS One. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-glassfrog-species-ecuadorian-woman-gold.html Plants & Animals Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:00:10 EDT news694688253 Why are frogs diverse in some parts of Africa's rainforests and less so in others? The patterns of cooling and glaciation during the last ice age would probably not have been your first answer or even your last-ditch guess, but it is, nonetheless, correct. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-african-frogs-havent-forgotten-ice.html Evolution Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:40:03 EDT news694790761 Humans are creatures of rhythms. As far as we know, humans have always sung and always danced. We can recognize a song by its rhythm alone, regardless of whether it is played fast or slow. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-bumblebees-rhythm-brains-size-sesame.html Plants & Animals Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:00:03 EDT news694424281 James Cook University researchers have tested frog housing and nursery preferences in the Wet Tropics rainforest of North Queensland, with frogs finding the thermal regulation of concrete shelters to be the perfect tropical retreat. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tiny-frogs-concrete-apartments-wooden.html Plants & Animals Thu, 02 Apr 2026 09:20:01 EDT news694338181 Scientists have discovered a new species of miniature marsupial frog in the Peruvian Amazon that carries its young in a natural pouch on its back, a research institute reported Wednesday. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-miniature-marsupial-frog-peru-eggs.html Plants & Animals Thu, 02 Apr 2026 01:12:30 EDT news694311123 A paleontologist from The University of Texas at Austin has discovered the fossilized remains of Ice Age animals that have never been found in Central Texas before—and he came across the bones while snorkeling for fossils in an underground stream. The new fossils are from a giant tortoise and an armadillo relative called a pampathere that was about the size of a lion. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-ice-age-animals-slice-earth.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 25 Mar 2026 21:20:03 EDT news693672121 The bright colors of butterfly wings, the sweet aromas of flowers, and the euphonious melodies of songbirds all evolved as signals that help individuals propagate, yet humans also find these very same signals pleasing to their own senses. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-humans-animals-citizen-science.html Evolution Thu, 19 Mar 2026 14:00:08 EDT news693129661 Biobots, whose growing line of variants started with xenobots, are fascinating tiny self-powered living robots built exclusively using frog embryonic cells. Originally developed in the laboratories of Wyss Institute Associate Faculty member and Tufts University Professor Michael Levin, Ph.D. and his collaborators at University of Vermont, biobots are remarkably motile, moving autonomously through aqueous environments. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-frog-cell-neurobots-nervous-gene.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:00:05 EDT news692895820 Across the animal kingdom, sound is more than communication—it's a signal of survival and success. From birds and primates to insects, fish, and amphibians, animals broadcast acoustic "advertisements" to defend territory, attract mates, and reveal their physical condition. Because these calls can reflect traits such as body size, strength, or health, they play a powerful role in sexual selection and help shape how species compete and reproduce. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-croak-conundrum-parasites-complicate-frogs.html Plants & Animals Thu, 12 Mar 2026 12:20:04 EDT news692527775 A Kobe University study shows that small aquatic beetles survive catfish attacks by resisting ingestion inside the catfish's mouth and being spat out alive. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of size-dependent predator-prey relationships in aquatic insects and fish. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-caught-eaten-smaller-insects-catfish.html Plants & Animals Thu, 12 Mar 2026 06:00:01 EDT news692437021 Certain species of wasps and frogs share a pain and inflammation peptide similar to one found in vertebrates to help defend against predators—a discovery that contributes to a shifting view of how evolution works, say researchers. Their paper is published in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-toxic-evolution-wasps-frogs-mimic.html Plants & Animals Thu, 05 Mar 2026 19:40:01 EST news691949282 When a new species is discovered, it's tempting to imagine an adventure novel, said Chan Kin Onn of Michigan State University. "Most people have this image of an intrepid explorer braving an isolated mountain or some other remote place, and stumbling across a creature that no one has ever seen before," Chan said. Sure, that still happens occasionally. "But most of the time it's far less glamorous," he added. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-fanged-frog-thought-species-revealing.html Plants & Animals Tue, 03 Mar 2026 18:00:01 EST news691771621 Keeping amphibians as pets offers hobbyists an opportunity to connect with the non-human world, often increasing interest in conserving animals in the wild. But there's a dark side to the amphibian trade, according to a study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, published in the journal Biological Conservation. The study is titled "Tracking the hidden trade of non-native pet amphibians in the United States." https://phys.org/news/2026-02-whered-frog-illicit-online-amphibian.html Plants & Animals Thu, 12 Feb 2026 17:20:01 EST news690114019 Multicellularity is one of the most profound phenomena in biology, and relies on the ability of a single cell to reorganize itself into a complex organism. It underpins the diversity in the animal kingdom, from insects to frogs, to humans. But how do cells establish and maintain their individuality with such precision? A team led by Jan Brugués at the Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (PoL) at TUD Dresden University of Technology has uncovered fundamental mechanisms that shed light on this question. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-perspectives-physical-instabilities-embryonic.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 12 Feb 2026 15:32:23 EST news690132721