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. More than 80 years ago, scientists discovered that differences in yellow pigmentation were critical to courtship success and failure for fruit flies. It was one of the first demonstrations linking genes to complex behavior, and ever since, the Yellow proteins that paint these shades in nature have been a fruitful source of scientific inquiry. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-tortoise-beetles-pigmentation-protein-shield.html Ecology Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:40:08 EDT news710590201 Anyone who has ever tried and failed to swat a fly has experienced the speed of a tiny nervous system. Now, a new review brings together evidence that its secret lies partly in microscopic movements and shape changes within sensory cells and neurons, challenging conventional views of how brains process information. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-shifting-sensory-cells-insects-visual.html Plants & Animals Tue, 06 Oct 2026 16:20:12 EDT news710507162 A new study seeks to challenge the conventional view of a honey bee colony. Viewing colonies as superorganisms redefines the fundamental biology of the honey bee colony. These insights may have implications for modern beekeeping. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-viewing-honey-bee-colonies-superorganisms.html Plants & Animals Tue, 06 Oct 2026 15:30:01 EDT news710516041 When a person falls and gets a cut or a scrape, they often use hydrogen peroxide to clean the wound. This molecular compound is also produced within our cells, helping our immune system build its defenses against harmful bacteria or other pathogens. Hydrogen peroxide is produced inside plants, too, where it acts as a messenger, telling cells to beef up a plant's defenses when it is stressed, wounded or under attack. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-tiny-channels-cells-wound-hydrogen.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:50:01 EDT news710514961 When you walk into a bakery and smell fresh cookies, the enticing smell draws you in. After you eat a handful of cookies, though, the same smell likely doesn't send you back for more. Researchers in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis sought to determine the biological mechanisms in the brain that controllably alters odor-evoked behavior by using an unlikely model—a locust. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-locust-neuromodulators-odor.html Plants & Animals Mon, 05 Oct 2026 18:40:10 EDT news710440622 Some 99 million years ago, during the age of the dinosaurs, a tiny insect belonging to a species previously unknown to science became trapped in tree resin. The resin hardened and turned into amber, and the fossil preserved within it has now enabled a team of researchers from the School of Zoology and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History to identify and describe a new species: Cretodorus noonoo, or "Noo-Noo." https://phys.org/news/2026-10-rare-insect-discovery-reveals-species.html Plants & Animals Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:40:14 EDT news710432941 Forest soils store an estimated 40% of the world's terrestrial carbon, but estimates suggest that around 15–30% of that soil carbon is lost when a forest is harvested. Tracking such losses can be tricky: wildfires, insects, disease and past forest management can all affect forest soil carbon stores, and tree type, climate and harvesting method can all affect how much carbon is lost. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-term-reveals-forest-floor-soil.html Earth Sciences Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:20:15 EDT news710429701 Roadsides may not look like wildlife habitat, but a few simple changes to how they are maintained could turn them into much better places for pollinators. A new uOttawa-led study found that reducing mowing and herbicide use along rural roadsides led to a 45% jump in pollinator numbers and a 23% increase in the number of species found there. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-spraying-smarter-pollinators-boost.html Plants & Animals Fri, 02 Oct 2026 17:00:04 EDT news710163902 The success of a large-scale recovery program for wētāpunga/Little Barrier giant wētā, New Zealand's heaviest insect, has been officially documented in the New Zealand Journal of Zoology. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-success-story-zealand-heaviest-insect.html Plants & Animals Fri, 02 Oct 2026 10:00:01 EDT news710151181 Moth swarms so thick they can blot out the stars are fluttering across Australia, heralding a migratory spectacle unseen since the creature's brush with extinction nearly 10 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-swarming-moth-spectacle-australia-flutter.html Ecology Fri, 02 Oct 2026 02:40:01 EDT news710123704 An international study led by researchers from Charles University in Prague (CUNI) and the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences (BC CAS) has mapped how closely flowering plants and their pollinators depend on each other. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-global-pollination-analysis-reveals-climate.html Ecology Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:10:01 EDT news710089141 How do bacteria adapt when resources run low? ISTA researchers have found that, under starvation stress, E. coli can use bacteriophages and CRISPR-Cas immunity to transfer and incorporate DNA, accelerating genetic reshuffling. The process resembles a primitive form of sexual reproduction and may help bacterial populations adapt to changing conditions. The findings were published in Molecular Biology and Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sex-dna-exchange-starving-bacteria.html Evolution Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:24 EDT news710066761 A new species of click beetle with a glossy and highly domed black body has been described from cloud forest sites in the mountains of the Dominican Republic and named in honor of the Arawak peoples who lived on the island before European colonization. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-click-beetle-species-dominican-republic.html Plants & Animals Wed, 30 Sep 2026 15:00:26 EDT news709985341 While insects provide an essential food source for many vertebrate species, they're more than just a protein-laden snack. Chimpanzees use them to sterilize wounds, and herons use them as fishing bait. Sloths rely on moths to maintain the algae in their fur, which they then eat. Birds and reptiles lay their eggs inside the temperature-controlled sanctuary of termite mounds, while some desert frogs reside in ant nests because of the humidity. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-insects-essential-vertebrate-life-food.html Plants & Animals Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:10:01 EDT news709901461 A new textile used to cover strawberry plants more than tripled fruit yields in tunnel field tests without harming plant health. The technology could also significantly reduce water and pesticide use in strawberry fields. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-textile-fabric-triple-production-strawberry.html Biotechnology Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:20:06 EDT news709915921 Plants cannot run away when the wind picks up, rain lashes down or a hungry herbivore begins chewing on their leaves. Instead, they must sense their surroundings and adapt. Now, researchers have uncovered an important piece of the puzzle of what happens inside plants when they are exposed to touch, injury or other physical stimuli. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-protein-cascade.html Plants & Animals Tue, 29 Sep 2026 16:50:01 EDT news709917481 Landing on a moving target is a challenge for all flying animals. For bumblebees, a flower swaying in the wind creates an erratic landing pad. Reaching it means matching its sideways motion while continuing to face it. When the bee turns in flight, its view of the flower changes, which complicates the feat. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bumblebees-wont-stay.html Plants & Animals Tue, 29 Sep 2026 06:40:02 EDT news709821559 Earwigs, small, elongated insects with distinctive pincers at the rear of their abdomens, have little reason to enter open water. While many earwig species are attracted to damp environments, they typically avoid open water. Yet past studies have found that European earwigs infected with a parasitic roundworm called Mermis nigrescens tend to head toward open water. The molecular and biological reasons for this unusual behavior have not been fully uncovered. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-earwigs-infected-parasitic-worms.html Plants & Animals Sat, 26 Sep 2026 16:00:02 EDT news709549242 When plant roots are injured—by insects, for example—the pressure inside the root drops, and a pressure wave spreads rapidly throughout the root system. In neighboring roots, tiny proteins that act as mechanical pressure sensors detect the change and generate electrical and calcium signals. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-root-injuries-unleash-pressure-distances.html Plants & Animals Fri, 25 Sep 2026 14:00:18 EDT news709557902 Wild African elephants living in the Mount Elgon region of Kenya appear to seek out specific plants when unwell. Local experts also reported mothers administering plant-based "medicine" to their offspring. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-african-elephants-medicinal-medication-documented.html Plants & Animals Fri, 25 Sep 2026 11:40:01 EDT news709547742 Scientists at Cornell University have found a human genetic element in a poxvirus and discovered that it is both an important gene for brain function and a jumping gene capable of moving and inserting itself into genomes. A study published in Science reports that the gene, called BC200, combines characteristics never before seen together. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-human-gene-poxvirus.html Evolution Fri, 25 Sep 2026 09:40:01 EDT news709544957 Tiny insects called aphids inject hundreds of mysterious proteins into plants, hijacking the plants' own genomes to build galls: structures made of plant tissue but constructed to the insects' specifications to house and feed their offspring. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-blueprint-aphid-proteins-ai.html Plants & Animals Thu, 24 Sep 2026 16:10:01 EDT news709481221 In a win for pollinator conservation, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have developed a machine learning-based method to identify chemical compounds that can safely repel honey bees from pesticide-treated crops. The research offers a potential solution to one of agriculture's most urgent ecological challenges: the ongoing decline in honey bee populations, driven in part by pesticide exposure. The paper is published in the journal eLife. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-machine-chemicals-repel-honey-bees.html Ecology Thu, 24 Sep 2026 15:30:01 EDT news709480681 Great Britain has long been thought to be home to a single venomous snake species, the adder. Although its bites are rarely life-threatening, they require a trip to the emergency department and will more than likely ruin your week. The other two native British snakes, the grass snake and the smooth snake, have largely been considered nonvenomous. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-venomous-british-snake-panic.html Plants & Animals Thu, 24 Sep 2026 13:50:01 EDT news709473961 About 66 million years ago, the asteroid that ended the age of the dinosaurs paved the way for a spectacular expansion of new animal species. During this period, ants rose to ecological dominance. Today, they form the largest family of social insects, with more than 15,000 species worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-genes-ants-evolutionary-triumph-extinction.html Evolution Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:40:15 EDT news709460406 Around 309 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs, the area around Chicago was a swampy river delta swarming with early land-dwelling animals, giant insects and strange swimming animals. What was once a hotbed for new forms of life to flourish and evolve has become one of today's richest Carboniferous period fossil deposits. Two student scientists from the Field Museum have just described the latest animal discovered at this location—and they named it after their mothers, who both happen to be named Jean. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-species-proto-amphibian-students-honor.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 24 Sep 2026 10:00:01 EDT news709374961 Tropical army ants are known to form devastating armadas that march through forests eating other insects and small creatures. As they march, they deposit chemical trails of pheromones that others behind them sense and follow. But occasionally one of these ants will walk in a circle, prompting a subset of ants behind them to follow until they all collapse and die. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-reveals-biological-echo-chambers.html Plants & Animals Wed, 23 Sep 2026 15:20:01 EDT news709388731 New research from the University of St Andrews has created the largest combined study of bat genomes and fossils ever undertaken, finding that bats most likely originated in Europe around 65 million years ago before spreading across the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-genomes-fossils-european-million-years.html Evolution Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:00:05 EDT news709214222 Scents govern most key events in the lives of mosquitoes, and there is extensive research on their sense of smell. A new study reveals how a young female mosquito shifts from focusing entirely on nectar to seeking only blood. An odor receptor that reacts to camphor was found to play a key role. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-mosquito-transition-vegan-bloodsucker.html Plants & Animals Tue, 22 Sep 2026 15:20:01 EDT news709307641 Insect "detectives" have discovered two new types of large stick insects, showing scientists are still uncovering new species in some of Australia's most well-studied landscapes. Researchers at the University of Sydney have revised the Australian representatives of the stick insect genus Anchiale, identifying two new species, one with unique "lidded" eggs. They also reinstated a third species that had been hidden in plain sight for decades. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-large-insect-species-australia-backyards.html Plants & Animals Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:40:01 EDT news709215362