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. In dark skies at night, distant starlight twinkles and speaks to vast cosmic histories almost as old as time itself. New data from instruments such as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are helping astrophysicists probe deep cosmic mysteries, including the evolution of black holes and galaxies. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-astrid-billion-years-black-hole.html Astronomy Thu, 27 Aug 2026 17:10:01 EDT news707067781 More than 150 people are dead and hundreds more are missing after an enormous wave of water, ice, mud and rock cascaded more than 170 kilometers (106 miles) down the Bhote Koshi River valley in Nepal. The valley is the main link between Kathmandu in Nepal and Lhasa in Tibet. At least 34 Australians are missing. There was little warning. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tsunami-dirt-nepal-deadly-glacial.html Earth Sciences Thu, 27 Aug 2026 14:20:05 EDT news707054162 A new manufacturing method could help move the production of nanoscale sensors from specialized fabrication facilities to conventional semiconductor manufacturing plants.Publishing in Science Advances, researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology liken their technique to uprooting a tree stump with a rope. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-uprooting-tree-stumps-nanoscale-anchors.html Nanomaterials Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:40:03 EDT news707049181 Using a new combination of computational tools to analyze ancient DNA, Yale researchers have discovered two ancient, extinct giant tortoise lineages that once lived on the Galapagos Islands. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-degraded-dna-reveals-extinct-galapagos.html Evolution Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:40:03 EDT news707039701 What does a clean room smell like? Many people say citrus, pine, or flowers because these fragrances are common in cleaning products. A research team led by Brandon Boor found that scent compounds in cleaning products—conventional and botanical essential oil-based—quickly react in the air, forming nanoparticles that can travel deep into the lungs if inhaled. To reduce exposure to this invisible pollution, the team suggests using unscented products, running exhaust fans, and avoiding ozone-generating devices while cleaning. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scented-cleaners-nanoparticles-deep-lungs.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:00:03 EDT news706883273 Imagine the Western Plains of North America, from Texas to Alaska, submerged under a broad, shallow seaway. To the west lay the ancestral Rocky Mountains. To the east were low-lying plains traversed by large, sluggish rivers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-rare-dinosaur-tracks-coniacian-age.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 26 Aug 2026 18:00:05 EDT news706968249 Scientists have directly observed a fleeting chemical reaction that creates a key ingredient in urban smog. The research offers insight into the earliest stages of pollution formation and could help improve air quality forecasting models. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-years-elusive-molecules-reveal-ozone.html Environment Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:20:09 EDT news706953431 A new study that combines paleoclimate data and climate models suggests that large volcanic eruptions can disrupt the relationship between atmospheric circulation patterns over the tropical Indian and Pacific oceans. In addition, human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are now driving an unprecedented breakdown in interbasin coupling, according to researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). https://phys.org/news/2026-08-volcanic-eruptions-climate-disrupt-link.html Earth Sciences Wed, 26 Aug 2026 05:00:02 EDT news706872181 With the invasive emerald ash borer beetle decimating black ash across North America, according to the U.S. Forest Service, a team led by researchers at Penn State conducted an expansive study of genetic diversity in black ash seeds collected across the tree's geographic range and stored in seed banks. The research was done with an eye toward someday reintroducing the ecologically and culturally important tree to U.S. and Canadian forests. As part of the research, the team established three large common gardens—experimental plantings—of black ash that someday may play a role in producing seeds needed to bring the species back. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-noah-ark-trees-endangered-black.html Plants & Animals Tue, 25 Aug 2026 18:40:01 EDT news706888501 Tall trees are generally associated with high-biomass forests. This is particularly true for forests dominated by Sequoia sempervirens (hereafter redwood), the world's tallest tree species. Extreme decay resistance, the ability to survive high-severity fires, shade tolerance and prolific trunk reiteration (resprouting) make the species unique, allowing tall redwood forests to accumulate more biomass and store more aboveground carbon than any other vegetation type. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hydroclimate-whiplash-california-tallest-redwoods.html Plants & Animals Tue, 25 Aug 2026 18:20:01 EDT news706879229 Forests support much of the world's biodiversity and play a vital role in regulating Earth's climate, but they are increasingly exposed to drought. To understand the potential consequences of drought, a key question is whether trees can acclimate to prolonged water stress by altering their physiology. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-forty-forest-drought-reveal-trees.html Environment Tue, 25 Aug 2026 15:00:03 EDT news706876441 University of Oregon biologists have resurrected prehistoric proteins up to 160 million years old that carry natural antimicrobial properties. The revived molecules could inspire the design of new treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections, a pressing global health issue. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-resurrect-ancient-proteins-antibiotic.html Biotechnology Tue, 25 Aug 2026 14:00:07 EDT news706801801 Roses are known for their thorns, the sharp structures that can sting and prickle the skin. Thorns, botanically known as prickles, are thought to discourage animals from feeding on plants and may also help climbing roses grip other vegetation. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hidden-physics-rose-thorns.html Evolution Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:00:07 EDT news706868441 When I first arrived in Peru's Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve in 2005, a local youth surprised me with an offer to sell me a live owl, despite the fact that we were in a protected area where commercial hunting was prohibited. We set the owl free together, but this turned out to be an early lesson about the vulnerability of tropical protected areas to exploitation, even when laws and policies had been put in place to protect them. At that time, Allpahuayo-Mishana was a newly designated protected area with no paid staff except for its director, who was stationed in the nearby city of Iquitos. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bird-eye-view-illegal-consequences.html Plants & Animals Mon, 24 Aug 2026 17:40:06 EDT news706783338 What happens during a wildfire? The short answer is: much more than we know. As wildfires burn through trees, grasses and other vegetation, heat from the flames sets off thousands of chemical reactions at once. Molecules break apart, recombine and transform into new compounds, releasing gases, soot and other carbon-rich particles into the air. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-wildfire-phd-student.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:20:09 EDT news706793257 When a 10,000-year-old prairie is plowed up to plant corn or a savanna is consumed by a strip mall, these once-grassy expanses, if left to regrow, can eventually look vaguely like they did before. But a growing body of research suggests that what comes back isn't the same as what was lost, even decades later. And now scientists are starting to understand why. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ancient-grasslands-plowed-dont.html Ecology Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:00:07 EDT news706779601 For years, scientists have been using a method called "temporal autocorrelation (TAC)" to measure forest resilience using satellite data. However, scientists have not used TAC uniformly, and its use as a resilience indicator was based largely on theories and assumptions rather than direct evidence from observations on the ground. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-satellites-forests-resilience.html Environment Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:40:05 EDT news706791481 There's a new lighthouse on Long Island. But instead of shining light to guide ships through waterways, this one transmits and receives particles of light that carry quantum information. Perched atop a seven-story building at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, the "Quantum Lighthouse" is a key pillar of the free-space optical (FSO) link spanning Brookhaven Lab, the State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University) and Yale University. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-free-space-optical-link-wireless.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:43:00 EDT news706783326 Researchers at UC San Diego and UC Berkeley have found that certain landscapes surrounding California communities are associated with differing rates of Valley fever, a fungal respiratory infection caused by inhaling spores carried in windblown dust. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dry-landscapes-newly-fallowed-fields.html Ecology Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:40:02 EDT news706781031 A global symbol of parties and celebrations but an environmental headache, the humble balloon is undergoing a green revolution thanks to U.K. researchers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-humble-balloon-green-makeover.html Materials Science Sun, 23 Aug 2026 05:40:03 EDT news706681775 A human, an octopus, and a coral could hardly look more different—yet deep inside their cells, their chromosomes still carry recognizable pieces of a genome inherited from an animal ancestor that lived more than 600 million years ago. Since then, their chromosomes have fused, split and rearranged countless times. Today, thousands of animal genomes have been sequenced. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-animal-genomes-irreversible-evolutionary-highways.html Evolution Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:00:04 EDT news706454425 Modern biology research can now generate valuable data on an unprecedented scale. But there is one major obstacle: making sense of these complex high-dimensional datasets. A team at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has developed a new tool that can provide accurate pictures of the structures hiding within highly complex datasets. By helping scientists uncover hidden patterns in the data, the software will help make new scientific discoveries. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-unseen-tool-visualizes-hidden-complex.html Biotechnology Fri, 21 Aug 2026 05:00:03 EDT news706451341 Slash, aka Saul Hudson, is probably best known as the guitarist for Guns N' Roses. But there's more to Slash than his music. He's also a lifelong reptile lover and an avid supporter of zoos and museums. And now, he's the namesake of the newly discovered Lielaphis slashi: Slash's groundsnake. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-jungle-newly-snake-slash-guns.html Plants & Animals Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:10:01 EDT news706465621 As nations race to restore ecosystems and curb climate change, research has shown that letting nature do the work is a cost-effective, viable solution. A study from the University of Queensland and the University of Newcastle found that natural forest regeneration delivered substantial carbon and biodiversity benefits and could be up to 96% cheaper than traditional tree-planting programs. The work is published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-natural-forest-regrowth-path-climate.html Environment Thu, 20 Aug 2026 17:40:03 EDT news706450141 Researchers have created an interactive map identifying 1.8 million individual trees in New York City, using a new approach that could optimize the placement of trees for cooling in cities around the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-wall-nyc-trees-cool-cities.html Environment Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:20:09 EDT news706447322 Letting late-summer weeds grow could help honeybees when they find it most challenging to gather nectar, according to new research published in the journal, Functional Ecology. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-honeybees-struggle-nectar-august-reveal.html Plants & Animals Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:10:01 EDT news706281421 Scientists studying one of nature's greatest reproductive innovations have discovered how some lizards evolved from laying eggs to giving birth to live young. The new research is the first to reveal the evolutionary process behind this important biological change and offers a unique insight into how other species—including mammals—may have evolved to give birth to live young millions of years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-evolutionary-birth-lizards-uncovered.html Plants & Animals Wed, 19 Aug 2026 17:00:04 EDT news706362782 Amid current heat waves, urban greening is once again moving to the center of public debate. Greener cities are generally expected to have cleaner air because trees capture airborne particles, absorb gaseous pollutants and cool urban neighborhoods. But trees also emit biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) that, in the presence of sunlight and nitrogen oxides (NOx), can contribute to ground-level ozone formation. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-beijing-isoprene-emitting-trees-highlight.html Environment Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:00:19 EDT news706278421 Recent advances in our understanding of human evolution challenge the way we currently name and classify our ancestors, according to new research from Monash University. The study, published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology, argues that we need a rethink and proposes reclassifying all species of humans and our closely related fossil relatives that have lived in the past 4–5 million years as part of the genus Homo. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-rethinking-human-ancestors-evolutionary-discoveries.html Evolution Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:30:05 EDT news706291921 When a destroyed section of the Amazon rainforest begins to recover, nature deploys only a few tree species that can withstand poor soil conditions and blazing sun and grow rapidly, a Brazilian study has shown. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tree-species-amazon-forest-recovery.html Ecology Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:18:28 EDT news706274286