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. Conservationists are in a race against time to prevent one of the world's rarest island plants from disappearing forever, after seeds collected from the only surviving wild Dendroseris neriifolia tree arrived at the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) at Kew Wakehurst in Sussex last month. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-kind-tree-cliffside-botanic-gardens.html Plants & Animals Fri, 29 May 2026 06:00:02 EDT news699206581 Madagascar is home to seven species of baobab trees, of which six are found nowhere else on the planet. Many of the trees have been alive for well over 1,000 years. The ancient trees have become symbols of Madagascar itself. They're also gifts to climate science. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-madagascar-ancient-baobabs-years-climate.html Environment Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:40:05 EDT news695902142 Think of the destruction of Earth's rainforests and a familiar image may come to mind: fires or chainsaws tearing through enormous swaths of the Amazon, releasing masses of planet-warming carbon dioxide. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-small-scale-rainforest-majority-carbon.html Earth Sciences Wed, 07 Jan 2026 11:12:49 EST news687006731 Australia's forests are losing trees more rapidly as the climate warms, a new study examining decades of data said Tuesday, warning the trend was likely a "widespread phenomenon." https://phys.org/news/2026-01-climate-tree-deaths-australian-forests.html Ecology Tue, 06 Jan 2026 10:08:05 EST news686916453 A paper in Molecular Biology and Evolution, reports that Italian bears living in areas with many villages evolved and became smaller and less aggressive. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-italian-villages-evolved-smaller-aggressive.html Evolution Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:10:01 EST news684756181 A new study reveals that the impact humans are having on the Amazon rainforest is so profound it is even changing the evolutionary history and functionality of the forests. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-human-impact-amazon-forests-ecological.html Evolution Mon, 10 Nov 2025 05:10:02 EST news681730382 Archaeologists from the University of Glasgow and the National Trust for Scotland have recovered more than 100 projectiles, including lead musket balls and cannon shot, from Culloden Battlefield. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-archaeologists-recover-jacobite-projectiles-unexplored.html Archaeology Thu, 30 Oct 2025 13:24:03 EDT news681049441 Researchers have conducted the world's biggest ever bird survey, recording 971 different species living in forests and cattle pastures across the South American country of Colombia. This represents almost 10% of the world's birds. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-rainforest-clearance-cattle-pasture-greater.html Plants & Animals Tue, 22 Jul 2025 05:00:05 EDT news672299684 Today, at the Living Planet Symposium, ESA revealed the first stunning images from its Biomass satellite mission—marking a major leap forward in our ability to understand how Earth's forests are changing and exactly how they contribute to the global carbon cycle. But these inaugural glimpses go beyond forests. Remarkably, the satellite is already showing potential to unlock new insights into some of Earth's most extreme environments. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-biomass-satellite-images-forests.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:00:04 EDT news669902394 Humans have been reshaping the environment for at least 10,000 years. But the Anthropocene is the name given to the specific period of Earth history during which humans have had a global effect on the planet's climate and ecosystems. Despite formal rejection as a geological epoch, it's widely understood within academic research as useful shorthand for the age of human interference in the Earth system. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-date-anthropocene-humans-global-methane.html Earth Sciences Thu, 19 Jun 2025 13:00:01 EDT news669554966 Tropical forests host an estimated 62% of global terrestrial vertebrate species on less than 20% of the Earth's land area and provide resources that directly benefit ~1.5 billion people throughout the world. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-life-tracking-recovery-forest-bird.html Plants & Animals Mon, 20 Jan 2025 09:16:05 EST news656586956 A research team led by the University of Oxford has carried out the most comprehensive assessment to date of how logging and conversion to oil palm plantations affect tropical forest ecosystems. The results demonstrate that logging and conversion have significantly different and cumulative environmental impacts. The results were published 10 January in Science. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-conversion-tropical-forests-oil-palm.html Plants & Animals Thu, 09 Jan 2025 14:00:03 EST news655641701 Scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and their partners reveal their pick of the top 10 plants and fungi named new to science in 2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-fungal-species-science.html Plants & Animals Thu, 19 Dec 2024 06:47:52 EST news653813262 On a remote tropical island in the Atlantic Ocean, a pair of marooned pirates have been discovered. While they lack eyepatches and cutlasses, the two new species of pirate spider certainly live up to their nautical name, which refers to their habit of violently taking over the webs of other spiders and killing the occupants. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-species-pirate-spiders-south-atlantic.html Plants & Animals Fri, 16 Feb 2024 13:00:01 EST news627310595 A new approach to valuing the carbon storage potential of natural habitats aims to help restore faith in offset schemes, by enabling investors to directly compare carbon credit pricing across a wide range of projects. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-offset-approach-tropical-forests-faith.html Earth Sciences Mon, 30 Oct 2023 12:00:01 EDT news617877819 Tropical forests in South America lose their ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere when conditions become exceptionally hot and dry, according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-extreme-el-nio-weather-south.html Earth Sciences Mon, 04 Sep 2023 11:00:01 EDT news613035486 A new species of gliding gecko has been uncovered in northern India. Bearing the name of the Indian state it was discovered in, the Mizoram parachute gecko, or Gekko mizoramensis, is one of 14 geckos known to take to the air. While one specimen of the new species was collected more than 20 years ago, the differences from its relatives have only now been appreciated. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-flying-gecko-species-reveals-hidden.html Plants & Animals Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:12:36 EDT news605880753 In a new study, bioscientists argue that strengthening the protection given to areas already protected under law or by local communities is as critical for safeguarding biodiversity as creating new protected areas. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-crucial-biodiversity.html Ecology Fri, 02 Jun 2023 14:00:02 EDT news604915072 Adopting high yield dairy cattle breeds and improving feed would allow Tanzania to increase milk production, while reducing planet warming greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and alleviating poverty, a new study reveals. https://phys.org/news/2022-11-dairy-production-east-africa.html Agriculture Wed, 16 Nov 2022 11:00:03 EST news587818601 More companies must make and implement zero-deforestation supply chain commitments in order to significantly reduce deforestation and protect diverse ecosystems, say researchers. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-deforestation-free-chain-pledges-impacted-forest.html Environment Thu, 27 Oct 2022 19:00:01 EDT news586108792 Plans to restore Indonesian peatlands are a cost-effective strategy for reducing the impacts of peatland fires to the environment, climate and human health, says a new study. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-efforts-indonesian-peatlands-billions-wildfire.html Environment Thu, 02 Dec 2021 05:00:03 EST news557643503 Setting fire to forest and agricultural land in Southeast Asia to prepare it for cultivation or grazing contributes to an estimated 59,000 premature deaths a year, say scientists. https://phys.org/news/2021-09-forest-linked-tens-thousands-deaths.html Earth Sciences Thu, 02 Sep 2021 17:06:39 EDT news549821194 Around a third of all the world's tree species are threatened with extinction, according to a global index published Wednesday, warning that climate change could tip some forests into ecosystem collapse. https://phys.org/news/2021-09-global-tree-species-threatened-extinction.html Ecology Wed, 01 Sep 2021 13:18:42 EDT news549721119 Forest clearance in Southeast Asia is accelerating, leading to unprecedented increases in carbon emissions, according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-southeast-asia-forest-clearance-greenhouse.html Environment Mon, 12 Jul 2021 11:13:18 EDT news545307195 Whatever ultimately caused inhabitants to abandon Cahokia, it was not because they cut down too many trees, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis. https://phys.org/news/2021-04-scant-evidence-wood-overuse-cahokia.html Archaeology Thu, 08 Apr 2021 09:52:36 EDT news537094353 Mammals, birds and amphibians worldwide have lost on average 18% of their natural habitat range as a result of changes in land use and climate change, a new study has found. In a worst-case scenario this loss could increase to 23% over the next 80 years. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-climate-food-demand-species-habitats.html Ecology Fri, 06 Nov 2020 05:00:01 EST news523858613 In a new article published in Trends in Plant Science, an international team of scientists presents the combined use of dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating and isotopic and genetic analysis as a means of investigating the effects of human activities on forest disturbances and the growth dynamics of tropical tree species. The study presents the potential applicability of these methods for investigating prehistoric, historical and industrial periods in tropical forests around the world and suggests that they have the potential to detect time-transgressive anthropogenic threats, insights that can inform and guide conservation priorities in these rapidly disappearing environments. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-trees-amazon-capsules-human-history.html Plants & Animals Thu, 06 Feb 2020 11:00:11 EST news500196530 A new study in the journal Nature Sustainability overturns long-held interpretations of the role humans played in shaping the American landscape before European colonization. The findings give new insight into the rationale and approaches for managing some of the most biodiverse landscapes in the eastern U.S. https://phys.org/news/2020-01-climate-humans-early-forests-england.html Earth Sciences Mon, 20 Jan 2020 11:00:11 EST news498723044 A new study in the journal Science Advances says that carbon impacts from the loss of intact tropical forests has been grossly underreported. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-carbon-climate-impact-loss-intact.html Environment Wed, 30 Oct 2019 14:00:26 EDT news491652112 A new species of marmoset has been discovered in the southwest of Pará State in Brazil, a discovery that, while thrilling, already has conservationists worrying about its long-term prospects. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-monkey-species-amazon-arc-deforestation.html Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Aug 2019 09:41:29 EDT news484475686