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. Capuchin monkeys hunt prey when fruits and vegetables become scarce, potentially mirroring the habits of human ancestors, according to a study published in PLOS One by Susana Carvalho (Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique), Noemi Spagnoletti (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy) and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fruits-veggies-scarce-monkeys-meat.html Plants & Animals Wed, 26 Aug 2026 14:00:26 EDT news706953420 In the last few centuries, mammals and other animals have been going extinct at least 100 times faster than they did before humans arrived on the scene. So who will be next? Which species are most likely to survive, and which will die out? https://phys.org/news/2026-08-extinctions-extinction-today.html Plants & Animals Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:30:02 EDT news706456261 New research suggests that no matter what we eventually determine the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees to be, we'll learn it was a primate that climbed trees. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-common-ancestor-humans-chimpanzees-vertical.html Evolution Mon, 17 Aug 2026 16:10:01 EDT news706200721 A new study led by a Duke University scientist overturns a long-held idea about how primates, including humans, came to have such large and sophisticated brains. The research finds that the dramatic expansion of the primate neocortex was driven largely by vision, not by the disproportionate growth of the frontal lobe often associated with higher reasoning. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fossil-vision-frontal-lobe-drove.html Evolution Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:00:10 EDT news705166741 A new study provides experimental evidence that wild capuchin monkeys use more than just physical cues when selecting stone tools; they also rely on visible signs that a stone has previously been used for this purpose. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-worn-wild-capuchin-monkeys-stones.html Plants & Animals Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:20:09 EDT news705154622 A new study from the University of Kansas complicates the picture of primates living in North America some 55 million years ago during the Eocene, a warm period that allowed mammals to diversify quickly. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fossils-wyoming-smiley-deepen-early.html Evolution Tue, 04 Aug 2026 16:40:04 EDT news705071821 A review led by the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has revealed that tiny ground-dwelling invertebrates are overlooked but important seed dispersers, challenging the traditional focus on birds and mammals and offering new insights into forest regeneration and biodiversity conservation. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-forest-floors-reveal-overlooked-seed.html Plants & Animals Mon, 03 Aug 2026 19:00:03 EDT news704991723 Scientists created an AI system that uses facial recognition and real-time touchscreen testing to automate cognitive studies of capuchin monkeys in the wild. The American Journal of Primatology published a proof-of-concept for the novel method—dubbed CapuchinAI—developed by researchers at Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-era-cognitive-wild-primates.html Plants & Animals Sat, 01 Aug 2026 16:00:02 EDT news704556415 The ancient Egyptian god of the moon had two very different faces: a crescent-beaked white bird and a silver-coated baboon. Now, researchers think they may have found the common thread connecting them all. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-moonlight-fur-feathers-egyptian-god.html Archaeology Sat, 01 Aug 2026 11:00:01 EDT news704365393 Why do humans keep pets? A new international study suggests that some of the behavioral foundations of human-animal companionship may have much deeper evolutionary roots than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-monkey-friendships-dogs-deer-pigs.html Evolution Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:10:01 EDT news704551502 New research from the University of St Andrews has shed light on baboons, moonlight and their link to an ancient Egyptian deity. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-moon-baboon-insight-mind-ancient.html Archaeology Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:00:01 EDT news704018883 With their ability to use tools, remember faces and even learn how to communicate with humans through sign language, nonhuman primates are considered to be among the smartest creatures on Earth. However, some concepts—geometry, for instance—have traditionally been thought of as beyond the abilities of humanity's closest cousins. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-children-monkeys-common-geometry.html Plants & Animals Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:00:11 EDT news703766521 Social animals use a suite of preemptive behaviors in anticipation of conflict, including staying quiet, monitoring their surroundings, conducting raids and bonding through play. In a review published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution , researchers describe how environmental cues and memories of past events can trigger these behaviors. Over generations, these prewar preparations could affect sociocognitive evolution, population dynamics and community structures. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-animals-war.html Plants & Animals Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:00:03 EDT news703318203 In the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), scientists have identified a previously unknown species of African monkey—one of the rarest discoveries in modern primatology. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-species-african-monkey-deep-congo.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:00:28 EDT news703317869 Scientists have described a new species of colobus monkey in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), report John Hart at Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation and colleagues in PLOS One. The first hint that a new primate species might be hiding in the dense forests of Lomami National Park came in 2008, when conservationists photographed an unidentified monkey during an expedition. After a second sighting in 2018, researchers embarked on a dedicated mission to find and describe the mysterious monkey. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-species-monkey-unusual-orange-lips.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:00:14 EDT news703314757 A new tool that allows researchers to create realistic full-body animations of monkeys has provided the first evidence that nonhuman primates experience the "uncanny valley" phenomenon for body avatars, according to a study by Lucas Maximilian Martini at the University Clinic Tübingen in Germany and colleagues at KU Leuven in Belgium, published in PLOS Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-uncanny-valley-effect-macaques-3d.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:00:07 EDT news703229447 When you think of a South American rainforest, you probably don't imagine biting winds, heavy frosts and freezing temperatures. But in the mountains of southern Brazil, that's exactly what you can find. On this highland plateau, far from Amazonia in the country's coldest region, grows one of the world's most intriguing ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-brazil-highland-forest-climate-indigenous.html Environment Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:40:20 EDT news703159501 A new analysis supports the previously overlooked "brain lag" hypothesis—the idea that, in some primate lineages, the evolution of larger body size preceded the evolution of larger brain size—while also building on that hypothesis by suggesting that some lineages' brain sizes then continued to grow beyond an expected baseline. Robin Dunbar of the University of Oxford presents these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-primate-brains-evolved-larger-bodies.html Evolution Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:00:09 EDT news702027061 The tight fit of a baby's head through a mother's birth canal, which causes great difficulty in childbirth, is not unique to humans, as previously understood. Instead, some small-bodied primate babies have heads almost twice as large as their mothers' pelvic space, a new study led by UCL researchers has found. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-childbirth-uniquely-difficult-humans.html Plants & Animals Mon, 29 Jun 2026 11:00:01 EDT news701699881 Biologists group animals with similar traits into broad categories called orders. Despite their similarities, animal species in the same order can have very different average lifespans. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-primate-evolution-aging-stable-million.html Evolution Sat, 27 Jun 2026 07:40:01 EDT news701690542 When biologists study cooperation in animals, they usually offer just a single task at a time. But what happens when animals can choose among several opportunities to work together? Biologists at Utrecht University discovered that this can make a remarkable difference. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-animal-behavior-distorted-view-cooperation.html Plants & Animals Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:20:03 EDT news701684942 Many animal species that live in groups are known to adjust their behavior to strengthen their social bonds or increase their coordination with others around them. For instance, humans and some other animals exhibit vocal plasticity, meaning they tend to modify the sounds they produce based on their past experiences and the peers they have interacted with. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-marmoset-monkeys-voices-social-partners.html Plants & Animals Mon, 22 Jun 2026 09:20:08 EDT news701337349 We see glass objects every day and often don't think much about them. Mass-produced glass has become so cheap we barely think about the things it allows us to do. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-glassblowing-everyday-life-ancient-rome.html Archaeology Sun, 14 Jun 2026 18:30:01 EDT news700232984 Primates, including humans, are among the social animals living on Earth. Their survival relies heavily on cooperation with others, alliances, the sharing of resources and other social interactions. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-chimpanzees-react-negatively-unfairness-partners.html Plants & Animals Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:50:28 EDT news700303774 An international group of scientists led by Josep M. Serra-Diaz, researcher at the Botanical Institute of Barcelona (IBB, CSIC-MCNB), has developed the first global early warning system capable of forecasting when and where vertebrate species will be exposed to unprecedented heat up to nine months in advance. The study, published in Nature Climate Change, demonstrates how operational climate prediction tools can be repurposed to anticipate biological risks in near-real time, providing the kind of foresight needed as extreme heat events intensify worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-wildlife-months.html Ecology Tue, 09 Jun 2026 17:50:01 EDT news700243862 As climate change alters the temperatures of animal habitats, it seems natural that endotherms, warm-blooded animals, would prefer to hang out in the shade during hot weather. The use of microhabitats in the sun and shade is an important thermoregulatory behavior that has been reported across a wide range of animal species, and researchers are becoming increasingly interested in how animals—especially those with long lifespans—flexibly cope with thermal stress. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-sunny-shady-japanese-macaques.html Plants & Animals Thu, 04 Jun 2026 11:20:01 EDT news699782822 The old "monkey see, monkey do" adage may rest on some neuroscientific evidence, finds a new Yale study. To examine how the primate brain facilitates cooperative behavior among individuals during social interaction, a team of researchers trained pairs of marmoset monkeys to cooperate in a task. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-monkey-cooperative-decision.html Plants & Animals Wed, 27 May 2026 18:40:04 EDT news699117841 A colony of macaques that gorge on snacks offered by tourists in the British territory of Gibraltar swallow soil to recover from their junk food binges, a study has found. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-gibraltar-monkeys-soil-junk-food.html Plants & Animals Fri, 22 May 2026 04:40:05 EDT news698642297 Azara's owl monkeys, a small primate species found in South America, are heavier today than those that lived a quarter-century ago, and evidence suggests that rising temperatures might have driven the weight gain, according to a Yale-led study of a wild population. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-climate-spurs-weight-gain-owl.html Plants & Animals Wed, 20 May 2026 14:03:45 EDT news698504595 The intrinsic information-seeking impulse we call curiosity is independent of extrinsic rewards, such as food or mating opportunities. Curiosity is purely the pursuit of understanding the unknown, driving both humans and animals to explore their environments. Still, certain stimuli tend to spark curiosity more than others. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-gaming-monkeys-curiosity-japanese-macaques.html Plants & Animals Thu, 07 May 2026 16:40:03 EDT news697378692