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. New research has found that the rate of hip fractures among astronauts after spaceflights lasting more than 90 days was higher than after shorter spaceflights or among people who were not astronauts. The findings of the study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, underscore the need for expanded assessment of astronauts' long-term skeletal health. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-day-spaceflights-linked-higher-hip.html Space Exploration Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:10:01 EDT news709985522 Storms routinely wash marine material ashore, providing food for land animals and other organisms. This is known as marine subsidization (MS). Today, MS is particularly common in coastal ecosystems and is especially important to animals when land ecosystems produce less food than usual, such as during droughts. A new Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution study has shown that dinos and their prey, too, may have eaten seafood washed onto beaches. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-dinosaur-snacked-seaweed-north-american.html Ecology Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:05 EDT news709895461 In the 1960s, a miner working at a mineral extraction site in Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, struck something far more valuable than any mineral in the area: a skull with distinctly humanlike features. After an initial examination, archaeologists excavated further and uncovered more remains, which they estimated to be around 40,000 years old. They identified the main skull as an African Neanderthal and named it Irhoud 1. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ancient-human-emerges-pieced-moroccan.html Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 28 Sep 2026 08:00:02 EDT news709546556 Since 1995, archaeologists have excavated hundreds of human bones from Göbeklitepe, an archaeological site in southeastern Türkiye. The ancient remains are around 10,000 years old and date to a time when humans were beginning to settle into permanent farming communities. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ancient-burial-sites-mystery-gbeklitepe.html Archaeology Fri, 25 Sep 2026 11:20:01 EDT news709547675 Seeing a bachelor's thesis published in a scientific journal is relatively uncommon. For three theses linked to the same research group to result in scientific publications within just three months is downright rare. Yet that is exactly what has happened in Elsebeth Schröder's research group at the Division of Quantum Device Physics. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-amino-acids-bone-mineral-magnesium.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:40:01 EDT news708954721 When picturing a scaled, toothy Tyrannosaurus rex stomping across North America, building nests and eating other dinosaurs, it's easy to forget that scientists have gleaned everything we know about T. rex from clues left more than 60 million years ago. While the presence of fossils in Alaska suggested that this prehistoric ancestor of birds was already on the evolutionary path from cold-blooded reptile to warm-blooded avian, there wasn't a way to take T. rex's temperature—until now. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tyrannosaurus-rex-teeth-reveal-body.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:00:19 EDT news708777841 Deep within an ancient sinkhole lie the remains of dozens of mammoths, prehistoric wanderers who waded into the warm springs to their deaths. These deaths had long been accepted as having occurred roughly 26,000 years ago, but new dates published in the journal Quaternary Research suggest these ice-age giants were more than 160,000 years old. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-luminescence-dating-age-south-dakota.html Plants & Animals Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:40:02 EDT news708253643 About 66 million years ago, a dinosaur—maybe a T. rex or a Nanotyrannus—ate a bird. The record of that meal, in the form of fossilized poop, has survived to today, preserving the best example of a feather ever found from the age of dinosaurs. By studying this feather, scientists reported in a new study in the journal Current Biology, researchers have found clues that help explain why birds are the only group of dinosaurs that survived the mass extinction 66 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-fossil-feather-dinosaur-poop-birds.html Evolution Thu, 10 Sep 2026 11:00:04 EDT news708089942 A broken rib from Scotty, the largest T. rex skeleton discovered, is helping scientists uncover new information about life on Earth 66 million years ago. Scotty's rib preserves something rarely seen in the fossil record: a healing injury frozen in time. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-neutron-bone-imaging-rex-life.html Biotechnology Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:20:11 EDT news707652061 In productive marine environments, a square meter (10.8 square feet) of seafloor can be perforated by hundreds to thousands of isolated and interconnected tunnels through which crawl and writhe a cornucopia of clams, shrimp, sea stars, sand dollars, snails, worms and other animals. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-twenty-years-fossils-reveal-blurs.html Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 21 Aug 2026 13:00:07 EDT news706530721 The United States could exhaust its domestic phosphorus supply within 40 years. Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia already depend on imports from China and Morocco to meet their needs. Without phosphorus, crops cannot grow—and without a reliable supply of the mineral, the world's food supply is at risk. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-exhaust-domestic-phosphorus-years-reserves.html Agriculture Fri, 14 Aug 2026 11:40:04 EDT news705924241 The tiny bones in your fingers withstand countless taps and swipes thanks to a precise blend of materials. Flexible collagen fibers form the framework, reinforced by hard calcium phosphate hydroxyapatite crystals. This is just one of countless examples in which living organisms weave organic materials directly into inorganic crystals with exquisite precision. In a recent study published in Nature Communications, scientists attempted to recreate such precise spatial arrangements in biomimetic composite materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-protein-nanoparticles-crystals-enabling.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 13 Aug 2026 06:40:02 EDT news705724225 A naturally abundant plant material best known for giving trees and crops their strength may one day help repair broken bones, according to a new study led by postdoctoral researcher Dr. Srinath Palakurthy and Professor Rivka Elbaum of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-derived-lignin-bone-minerals.html Biochemistry Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:40:01 EDT news704463362 A technique for judging whether a common mineral formed through biological activity could aid the search for ancient life on Earth and Mars. Apatite is a ubiquitous phosphate mineral found in terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments. It is a major component of teeth and bones, but it also occurs in igneous rocks and sedimentary phosphorites. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-driven-tool-mineral-biosignatures-worlds.html Astrobiology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 11:50:01 EDT news703246314 An international study led by Curtin University has revealed new insights into how an ancient flying reptile was preserved in extraordinary detail for 113 million years, offering a rare glimpse into a vanished world. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-pterosaur-wing-rewrites-fossil-rulebook.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:00:11 EDT news700897502 In the past, scientists thought that prehistoric peoples only traveled briefly through high-altitude mountain areas, rather than staying to take advantage of their resources. But new evidence suggests that, starting about 5,500 years ago, a prehistoric community repeatedly climbed up to Cave 338, 2,235 meters above sea level in the Pyrenees, to collect and process malachite for copper—returning many times over thousands of years. Additional finds, including jewelry, suggest that much more remains to be found when excavations reopen this summer. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-stone-child-bones-lost-jewelry.html Archaeology Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:03 EDT news697099501 Scientists at Curtin University have solved a long-standing mystery about how some of the world's best-preserved fossils formed in ancient oxygen-free ocean floor settings. The research, published in Communications Earth & Environment, focuses on a 183-million-year-old ichthyosaur—a dolphin-like marine reptile, preserved three dimensionally inside a carbonate concretion from Germany's Posidonia Shale. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-scientists-uncover-secret-3d-sea.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 26 Mar 2026 13:40:02 EDT news693744541 Biologists have long wondered why caribou are the only deer in the world in which females—like males—have antlers. A study of shed antlers collected from calving grounds in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge provides a new answer. The study is published in the journal Ecology and Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-female-caribou-antlers-arctic-nutrition.html Plants & Animals Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:40:01 EST news691168621 Historical accounts of the Punic Wars—and many other ancient wars—often paint a picture of soldiers riding in on imposing "war elephants." Yet, no skeletal remains of these war elephants had ever been found from the Punic War period and region. But, in 2020, archaeologists found a single bone at the Colina de los Quemados site in Córdoba, Spain that may finally provide some more direct evidence for the existence of these beasts of war. The finding is described in the team's newly published study, in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-hannibal-famous-war-elephants-bone.html Archaeology Thu, 05 Feb 2026 13:00:06 EST news689517763 An international collaboration study reveals how evolution and locomotion patterns, such as bipedalism, shaped bone structures through proteins present in the bone matrix. The findings of the study, led by researchers from the University of Turku, the UAB and the URL, are important for understanding bone fragility and regeneration and could help guide the development of biomaterials inspired by natural skeletal adaptation. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-key-proteins-reveal-evolution-locomotion.html Evolution Thu, 18 Dec 2025 13:08:22 EST news685285681 You might think that glass has no business acting as a replacement for bone, but it turns out the two materials have many similarities. For a new study published in ACS Nano, researchers developed a 3D printable bio-active glass that served as an effective bone replacement material. In rabbits, it sustained bone cell growth better than regular glass and a commercially available bone substitute. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-bone-substitute-3d-glass.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 23 Sep 2025 14:07:44 EDT news677855261 A new study from North Carolina State University identifies vertebrate hemoglobin in bone extracts from two dinosaurs and shows that this molecule is original to those animals. The work also shows how heme, a small molecule that gives hemoglobin the ability to transport oxygen in blood, degrades over time. The study both adds to the body of evidence that biological remains can and do persist across deep time in some fossils and provides further insight into the process of fossilization. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-precise-imaging-technique-hemoglobin-dinosaur.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 10 Sep 2025 12:11:04 EDT news676725061 If biomolecules were people, heparin would be a celebrity. Best known as a powerful blood thinner with a global market of more than $7 billion, heparin is used during and after surgery and is essential to kidney dialysis. Most of today's heparin comes from pigs, but the Food and Drug Administration is encouraging the use of alternative sources, including cows and synthetic forms of heparin, to diversify the supply chain. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-insight-blood-thinners-bone-builders.html Biochemistry Thu, 04 Sep 2025 14:28:57 EDT news676214932 Almost three decades ago, the chert mining area in Krumlov Forest was discovered. Since then, much has been written about the mining activity that took place here. While chert mining occurred here from as early as the beginning of the Holocene until the Early Iron Age, it was not a particularly widespread activity. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-prehistoric-female-miners-multidisciplinary-approach.html Archaeology Tue, 19 Aug 2025 07:00:01 EDT news674736254 Sharks have been evolving for more than 450 million years, developing skeletons not from bone, but from a tough, mineralized form of cartilage. These creatures are more than just fast swimmers—they're built for efficiency. Their spines act like natural springs, storing and releasing energy with each tailbeat, allowing them to move through the water with smooth, powerful grace. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-sharkitecture-nanoscale-blacktip-shark-skeleton.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 20 May 2025 11:01:04 EDT news666957661 According to UNESCO, plastic waste makes up 80% of all marine pollution, with 8–10 million metric tons of plastic making its way into our oceans each year. USC Viterbi School of Engineering researchers have discovered a mineral commonly found in seashells could be the key to a safer plastic alternative. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-eco-friendly-plastic-mineral-seashells.html Biochemistry Wed, 16 Apr 2025 11:22:03 EDT news664021321 A new study by archaeologist Xingtao Wei and his colleagues, published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, provides insights into some of the earliest forms of humans processing bones into powder for cooking, dating back nearly 8,000 years (6,085 and 6,369 BC). https://phys.org/news/2025-01-archaeologists-reveal-year-bone-powder.html Archaeology Wed, 15 Jan 2025 07:30:01 EST news656071193 A pilot study from North Carolina State University shows that nanoscopic 3D imaging of ancient bone not only provides further insight into the changes soft tissues undergo during fossilization, it also has potential as a fast, practical way to determine which specimens are likely candidates for ancient DNA and protein sequence preservation. The work appears in iScience. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-nanoscopic-imaging-aids-protein-tissue.html Biotechnology Mon, 22 Jul 2024 15:12:02 EDT news640879921 The latest dinosaur being mounted at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles is not only a member of a new species—it's also the only one found on the planet whose bones are green, according to museum officials. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-gnatalie-green-boned-dinosaur-planet.html Paleontology & Fossils Sun, 14 Jul 2024 10:08:20 EDT news640170494 Several similar large, fossilized bone fragments have been discovered in various regions across Western and Central Europe since the 19th century. The animal group to which they belonged is still the subject of much debate to this day. A study carried out at the University of Bonn could now settle this dispute once and for all: The microstructure of the fossils indicates that they come from the lower jaw of a gigantic ichthyosaur. These animals could reach 25 to 30 meters in length, a similar size to the modern blue whale. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-mysterious-bones-gigantic-ichthyosaurs.html Evolution Tue, 09 Apr 2024 16:50:01 EDT news631899620