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. 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 A team of marine scientists led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has developed a new approach to predicting harmful algal blooms (HABs), changing how oceanographers track these hazardous marine events. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ocean-predator-chemical-cues-early.html Ecology Wed, 30 Sep 2026 18:10:07 EDT news710006402 For centuries, a life-size petroglyph has stood over the rocky landscape of Miseeda in northern Sudan. Exactly who the figure carved into a granite hill represents remains uncertain, but researchers suspect it may depict an ancient Kushite ruler. In the 7th century CE, local builders constructed a Christian church directly around it. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-mysterious-giant-kushite-ruler-ancient.html Archaeology Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:20:02 EDT news709911508 In the first detailed chromosome map of the aardwolf, Texas A&M University researchers have discovered that, despite millions of years of separate evolution, the chromosomes of aardwolves, other hyenas and even domestic cats have remained remarkably similar. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-aardwolves-cats-chromosome-similarities.html Plants & Animals Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:40:02 EDT news709460281 The seafloor is more than just the ground beneath the sea. Two-thirds of Earth's surface is covered by oceans, which have an average depth of almost 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). For a long time, the seafloor's remoteness protected it from widespread human disturbance. But that is changing: Bottom trawling now reaches depths of around 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) and already disturbs up to 2% of the global seafloor each year. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-healthy-seafloor-earth.html Earth Sciences Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:40:08 EDT news709374843 The seemingly trivial ability to hear a regular pulse in music is a remarkable—and perhaps distinctively human—feature of the brain. In a wide-ranging critical review, Gábor Háden of the HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences and Henkjan Honing of the University of Amsterdam evaluate more than two decades of research into how this capacity develops and has evolved. Their paper was published this week in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-brain-ability-musical-distinctly-human.html Plants & Animals Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:20:04 EDT news708343081 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 Hidden deep in the bush, ranging over huge territories at speeds humans can't match and through terrain not even the most rugged vehicle can handle, hyenas and lions are hard to study. Now, new research using GPS collars to map the movements of individual animals has revealed crucial information about the relationship between these competing carnivore species. We've long assumed that hyenas simply shadow lions for scraps, but these findings show that when they encounter each other, it's the lions, especially males, that approach hyenas, and the hyenas that give way. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-gps-collars-reveal-secrets-power.html Plants & Animals Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:00:01 EDT news708004081 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 With their slender bodies and long front legs, Miracinonyx trumani—often nicknamed the "American cheetah"—was long thought to be a North American analog of the African big cat. But in a new study published in the journal Current Biology, researchers reveal that the extinct cat was more closely related to pumas. Some populations living near the Arctic preyed almost exclusively on fish, challenging the long-held assumption that these "cheetahs" chased fast-running prey, such as pronghorns. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-extinct-american-cheetah.html Evolution Sun, 06 Sep 2026 11:00:01 EDT news707573172 A study on Roman law by the Carlos III University of Madrid analyzes the regulations and complex imperial logistics governing the capture, transport and safety of animals used in spectacles in the Roman Empire—which were far more popular than gladiatorial combat. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-late-roman-decrees-uncover-military.html Archaeology Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:20:01 EDT news707750426 Many animals obtain information about others from scent marks left in the environment, including urine. Because these marks remain after the sender has left, they allow animals to communicate across space and time. But odor molecules evaporate, degrade and change after release. How, then, can a scent mark continue to convey reliable information about who left it? https://phys.org/news/2026-08-year-mystery-cat-kidney-linked.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:00:26 EDT news706194782 An international team of researchers from Belgium, France, Switzerland, Spain and the U.S. has reconstructed the evolution of body mass in carnivorous mammals during the Paleogene—a crucial window in the diversification of mammals that followed the extinction of dinosaurs. This work, published in Biology Letters, challenges the long-standing hypothesis that competition decided the fate of ancient top predators. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-climate-predator-million-years.html Ecology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:40:03 EDT news705841742 A new Australian study has found that feeding zoo-housed lions whole-animal carcasses on a feast-and-fast schedule encourages behaviors more closely aligned with those seen in the wild. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-zoo-housed-lions-wild-style.html Plants & Animals Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:40:20 EDT news705229921 Living among large predatory carnivores could actually make you safer. A study published in the journal Current Biology found that pumas—wild cats also known as mountain lions, cougars or panthers—change deer behavior, leading to fewer collisions with cars on roadways. In areas where puma occupancy is high, the authors report a significant reduction in the total expected number of collisions over a 5-year period. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-pumas-roads-safer-drivers-prey.html Plants & Animals Wed, 05 Aug 2026 11:00:11 EDT news705059578 A microscopic predator may offer a new way to protect some of the Caribbean's most endangered corals. Georgia Tech researchers found that tiny predatory bacteria can halt the spread of a destructive coral disease by hunting and consuming pathogens responsible for the infection. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tiny-predatory-bacteria-endangered-caribbean.html Ecology Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:20:01 EDT news704980562 Excavations at Hohle Fels Cave in the UNESCO World Heritage area of the Swabian Jura in southwestern Germany have again yielded two spectacular 40,000-year-old depictions of birds carved from mammoth ivory. The two figurines are the smallest discovered so far and are the size of a thumbnail, while still including many details. These remarkable finds come from the rich Aurignacian layers at Hohle Fels, which have produced some of the oldest figurative art known and date to the initial arrival of modern humans in the Upper Danube region. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ice-age-artists-thumbnail-size.html Archaeology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:40:01 EDT news704550903 Dozens of archaeological sites were destroyed by looting during Syria's civil war, which began in 2011 and lasted until 2024. Because the last comprehensive analysis was published in 2017, the extent of more recent damage to cultural heritage sites since 2016—including at UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Palmyra, long-running archaeological excavations like Mari, and the ancient Roman city of Apamea, known for its Great Colonnade—has been largely unknown. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-syria-ancient-sites-widespread-looting.html Archaeology Sat, 25 Jul 2026 16:00:01 EDT news704032741 Archaeologists have uncovered a rare and intricate polychrome mosaic within the remains of a Roman villa beneath Devon farmland. Made up of thousands of red, white and dark blue-gray cubes, the 12 m2 (129 square feet) mosaic would have been a striking decorative floor feature in the villa when it was likely installed sometime in the 4th century A.D. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-archaeological-reveals-full-extent-roman.html Archaeology Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:20:01 EDT news703759561 Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have discovered that tiny photosynthetic bacteria band together into protective "herds" when attacked by predators—a survival strategy that could also influence how carbon is stored in the world's waters. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bacteria-herds-survive-predators-fresh.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:20:04 EDT news703340944 Big cats have a big impact. A long-term study showed that when mountain lions began regular visits to a small suburban preserve about 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of San Francisco, they changed the behavior of many other animals. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-mountain-lions-major-ecological-impact.html Plants & Animals Wed, 17 Jun 2026 10:40:04 EDT news700907762 California's iconic Santa Cruz Mountains are an outdoor recreation wonderland. With a world-class network of hiking, mountain biking and equestrian trails, they draw millions of visitors each year from neighboring Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-santa-cruz-trail-reveals-mountain.html Plants & Animals Tue, 16 Jun 2026 19:10:03 EDT news700846801 A new fluorescent reporter capable of visualizing biologically active iron and oxygen inside living cells at single-cell resolution has been developed, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. Using this new tool, they revealed striking differences in the distribution of iron and oxygen across organs and even between neighboring cells of the same type. This innovation could serve as a platform for studying cancer, liver diseases, neurodegeneration and aging. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-lion-fluorescent-molecule-tracks-iron.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 16 Jun 2026 15:30:01 EDT news700841341 A new study on multiple genomes from the extinct cave lion has discovered that it represented a highly distinct evolutionary lineage, which separated from modern lions more than a million years ago. The results also show that the cave lion had a history of interbreeding with modern lions that was tightly linked to past climatic changes. These findings are published in the journal Cell in a study led by Swedish and British scientists. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ancient-cave-lion-genomes-reveal.html Plants & Animals Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:00:02 EDT news699608582 Roaring over long distances is a key behavior of lions. They communicate within prides as well as with other animals using distinct sequences of moans and grunts. Scientists from the GAIA Initiative have now published a machine learning approach in the journal Ecological Informatics that improves how roaring behavior can be studied. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-machine-roars-lion-collars-actual.html Ecology Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:20:02 EDT news696163502 Imagine a creature nearly twice the size of a modern African elephant, which can weigh up to 6,000 kg. This was Elephas (Paleoxodon) recki, a prehistoric titan that roamed the landscape of what is now Tanzania nearly two million years ago. Now, imagine a group of our ancestors standing over its carcass, then butchering it and eating it. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-elephant-fossil-tanzania-oldest-butchering.html Archaeology Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:00:02 EDT news694695961 When the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was discovered on a poultry farm in Asia in 1996, there was little indication that it would become so widespread and so destructive. Within 30 years, it reached every continental region except Oceania, infecting more than 400 million poultry, tens of thousands of elephant seals and sea lions, about 1,000 people and many other mammals and wild birds. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-h5n1-marine-mammals-tallies-sea.html Plants & Animals Thu, 19 Mar 2026 17:00:01 EDT news693153961 Neuroscientists have uncovered new insights into a key evolutionary question: Why can humans talk when most animals can't? The journal Science published the research led by Emory University and the New College of Florida. The findings suggest that seals and sea lions may have vocal flexibility as a side effect of developing a brain "bypass" for voluntary breath control. This same bypass allowed them to adapt to aquatic life. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-sea-lions-clues-evolution-vocalization.html Plants & Animals Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:10:01 EDT news692553061 Scores of sea lions continue to beach themselves along the Southern California coastline, stricken with sickness. Toxic algae blooms are to blame, though a mechanical engineering innovation could shift the tide in favor of the marine mammals. Now, UNLV-led research published in Scientific Reports has successfully developed a synthetic California sea lion pelvic region, mimicking its bone and soft tissue. This allows medical professionals to conduct blood collection training on anatomically authentic models, improving efforts to treat the live animals. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-3d-synthetic-sea-lion-pelvis.html Biotechnology Wed, 25 Feb 2026 18:10:01 EST news691258501 Over 40,000 years ago, our early ancestors were already carving signs into tools and sculptures. According to a new analysis by linguist Christian Bentz at Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa Dutkiewicz at the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte (Museum of Prehistory and Early History) in Berlin, these sign sequences have the same level of complexity and information density as the earliest proto-cuneiform script that emerged tens of thousands of years later, around 3,000 B.C.E. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-year-stone-age-paved-mesopotamia.html Archaeology Mon, 23 Feb 2026 15:00:09 EST news690820220