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. 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 When trying to attract and recognize potential mates, animals are known to rely on various signals, traits and behaviors. In the case of birds, these signals can typically include a wide range of sounds—such as trills, whistles, chirps or melodious notes defined as "songs"—as well as the color and movement of their feathers. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-songs-play-greater-role-plumage.html Evolution Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:20:04 EDT news702042111 Vision shapes how many animals find food, avoid danger and navigate their world. In animals with two eyes, eye placement is often linked to lifestyle: predators such as lions tend to have forward-facing eyes that help them judge distance, while prey animals such as deer typically have eyes positioned on the sides of the head, providing a wider view of their surroundings. Eye placement can reveal much about ecology, yet most of what we know comes from animals with only two eyes. Spiders present a fascinating challenge to this picture. Most species possess eight eyes, arranged in remarkably diverse configurations, raising the question of how these patterns relate to hunting strategy. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-behavior-evolution-spider-eye.html Plants & Animals Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:00:03 EDT news702216541 Fossils tucked away in a museum drawer and identified merely as "feline" are actually from a very ancient and enigmatic saber-toothed cat that inhabited North America more than 5 million years ago. Newly identified by a UC Berkeley paleontologist, the nearly complete skull helps clarify how these large-fanged felines evolved over millennia before going extinct about 10,000 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-newly-fossil-evolutionary-history-saber.html Evolution Sat, 27 Jun 2026 14:00:01 EDT news701360015 Data spanning nearly half a century shows that endangered southern resident killer whales are spending less time in inland waters, whereas their larger cousins, Bigg's killer whales, are increasingly present in Puget Sound. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-decades-dataset-orcas-home-puget.html Plants & Animals Wed, 24 Jun 2026 14:00:06 EDT news701422585 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 Most people have experienced a heat wave on land. But heat waves can strike in the ocean too. And as the planet continues to warm, marine heat waves are growing longer and deadlier, hurting the seafood supply that billions of people worldwide rely on for their food and livelihoods. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-solar-geoengineering-shield-oceans.html Earth Sciences Fri, 12 Jun 2026 18:40:01 EDT news700413636 When kids watch cartoons, they're absorbing much more than a plot. Thanks to the use of foreign accents in shows, they're also learning a shorthand for moral character, new research from the University of Toronto Mississauga suggests. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-cartoon-villains-accent-reveals-impact.html Social Sciences Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:00:01 EDT news700308722 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 NASA scientists have developed an artificial intelligence tool to take on a longstanding challenge in ocean waters. In a study recently published in the Earth and Space Science journal, researchers reported the tool was able to fuse data from multiple satellites and detect harmful algal blooms that occurred in western Florida and Southern California. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ai-tool-fuses-satellite-datasets.html Earth Sciences Wed, 20 May 2026 18:00:05 EDT news698513041 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 Research from Adelaide University and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) has shown for the first time that Australian sea lion pups can learn foraging behavior from their mothers. Social information transition exists in some mammals, such as sea otters, bottlenose dolphins and chimpanzees—the latter of which teaches their young to fish for termites using a stick. However, this type of behavior was not previously known in otariids, or "eared seals," the family of pinnipeds that comprises fur seals and sea lions. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-australian-sea-lion-pups-foraging.html Plants & Animals Sat, 21 Feb 2026 13:00:03 EST news690716191 There aren't any native lion or tiger populations living in Japan today, but this was not always the case. Fossil evidence indicates that at least one species of large cat roamed the archipelago during the Late Pleistocene—a period lasting from approximately 129,000 to 11,700 years ago. While researchers initially thought the fossils came from ancient tigers, new DNA evidence, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicates that the fossils actually came from an ancient species of lion. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-japan-ancient-tigers-cave-lions.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:00:03 EST news690463233 More than 50 skuas in Antarctica died from the high pathogenicity avian influenza virus H5N1 in the summers of 2023 and 2024, marking the first documented die-off of wildlife from the virus on the continent. That is confirmed for the first time in a study led by Erasmus MC in The Netherlands and the University of California, Davis. It was published this week in the journal Scientific Reports. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-skua-deaths-wildlife-die-due.html Ecology Thu, 05 Feb 2026 11:50:41 EST news689514601 The mushrooms spread out on the chopping board seemed normal enough. They were rich and dense, and had a strong earthy aroma. In the saucepan, they melted—along with the cheese—to form a creamy pasta sauce. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ate-space-mushrooms-survived-tale.html Space Exploration Tue, 03 Feb 2026 11:00:06 EST news689338528 It might be less visible than dwindling lion populations or vanishing pandas, but the quiet crisis of small mammal extinction is arguably worse for biodiversity. These species are crucial indicators of environmental health, but they can be very hard to monitor, and many species with very different ecological niches look almost identical. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-footprint-tracker-tiny-mammals-accuracy.html Plants & Animals Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:02 EST news688292761 In the Kenyan savanna, lions and livestock essentially live in shifts: Cattle graze during the day and are enclosed at night when lions are active. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-kenya-big-cats-pressure-cattle.html Plants & Animals Wed, 21 Jan 2026 14:47:19 EST news688229221