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. Microscopic plankton are among the most important organisms on Earth. Phytoplankton produce around half of the oxygen we breathe, while plankton as a whole underpin marine food webs, support fisheries, help regulate carbon and sustain life across the ocean. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-decline-plankton-northeast-atlantic-stark.html Environment Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:20:02 EDT news701952001 A new study sheds light on how the ancestors of modern land plants survived one of the most challenging aspects of life outside water: exposure to harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. By examining a microscopic alga closely related to the earliest land plants, researchers have uncovered a sophisticated and dynamic system for coping with sunburn—one that likely helped plants colonize land more than 500 million years ago. The results are published in Current Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ancient-algal-defenses-uv-conquer.html Evolution Sun, 28 Jun 2026 13:00:01 EDT news701360043 Researchers at McMaster University have discovered what they describe as a "megacluster" of genes in Streptomyces bacteria that produces four antibiotics that work together to stop rival bacteria. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-megacluster-bacterial-genes-reveals-antibiotics.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:00:07 EDT news701596741 Until recently, researchers were unable to conduct satellite-tracking studies on juvenile turtles because of their small body sizes and immediate dispersal into the ocean, leaving this period of their lives enigmatic and often referred to as the "lost years." A study titled "Pioneering insights into the diving behavior of early-stage sea turtles revealed by novel marine miniaturized satellite tags," published in Scientific Reports in April 2026, provides the most comprehensive analysis to date of vertical diving behavior in early life stages of leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-miniature-satellite-tags-reveal-behavior.html Plants & Animals Thu, 25 Jun 2026 07:20:01 EDT news701535993 A 100-year-old equation and a fiber-optic cable off the coast of Svalbard led researchers to discover they could detect swimming whales—even if they were completely silent. The discovery broadens the tools biologists could someday use to detect and monitor these marine giants. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-fiber-optic-cables-silent-whales.html Ecology Wed, 24 Jun 2026 15:00:03 EDT news701523194 It's time we gave seagrass the credit it's due. This hero of a plant protects coastlines, stores vast amounts of carbon and supports ecosystems that people and wildlife depend on. But we don't often hear about it when it comes to ocean conservation. That's partly because we knew so little about it—until now. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-world-seagrass.html Environment Wed, 24 Jun 2026 11:00:03 EDT news701428382 New research from the University of St. Andrews shows how sperm whale vocal dialects evolve as they adopt new calls while still remembering the old. An international team of researchers studying vocal dialects in the endangered population of sperm whales that live in the Mediterranean Sea has captured the cultural evolution of new dialects in process. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-sperm-whale-vocal-dialects-evolve.html Plants & Animals Tue, 23 Jun 2026 21:00:03 EDT news701427003 Coral reef ecosystems, widely seen as a climate change bellwether, are more complex than previously understood. A new international study by the universities of Bristol, Wuhan in China, and Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany reveals that the evolutionary advantage of coral-algae symbiosis is not fixed; it depends entirely on environmental context. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-million-year-fossil-reveals-corals.html Evolution Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:40:07 EDT news701433193 Extreme weather is becoming the new normal, disrupting human communities across the globe. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-pups-seabird-chicks-extreme-weather.html Plants & Animals Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:00:03 EDT news701342391 Off Oman's coast lives a small population of just over 80 Arabian Sea humpback whales (ASHWs). They are classified as endangered and are thought to be the only humpback whale population that doesn't undertake seasonal migrations across the world's oceans. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-arabian-sea-humpback-whale-distance.html Plants & Animals Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:01 EDT news700989061 At an international heritage symposium in Japan, I heard a word that stayed with me: "contaminated." The discussion concerned whether Indigenous peoples needed to be named explicitly in a new World Heritage framework. One argument was that Indigenous cultures had changed through contact, survival and adaptation, and therefore no longer required distinct recognition. I found that deeply troubling. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-contaminated-cultures-nature-excluding-indigenous.html Social Sciences Wed, 17 Jun 2026 18:00:04 EDT news700831476 Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) have uncovered a mechanism that helps plants continue photosynthesizing under extreme heat and dry air conditions—a finding that could improve how scientists predict the effects of climate change on crops and ecosystems. The study is the first to successfully separate the effects of heat and air dryness on photosynthesis across different carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, which could have significant practical implications for agriculture by helping improve crop management strategies and strengthen food security. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-photosynthesis-hotter-drier-climates-biochemical.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 17 Jun 2026 08:40:08 EDT news700902481 The Ramsar Convention is the world's longest-standing international treaty for wetland and waterbird protection. Signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat has to date been signed by 172 countries, which have agreed to engage in "working together for wetland conservation and wise use" in more than 2,500 protected areas covering over 2.5 million square kilometers (965,000 square miles) around the world. However, the Ramsar Convention's measures are not legally binding, leaving open the possibility that many Ramsar sites may be akin to "paper parks"—protected in theory, but not in reality. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-slaughter-ramsar-convention-african-waterbirds.html Plants & Animals Tue, 16 Jun 2026 17:40:06 EDT news700822148 A night dive to study wild sharks that can walk on land has surfaced with something even rarer—a species unknown to science. "New shark species don't come along that often, and it's most definitely the first one named after me," said a surprised Dr. Christine Dudgeon of the University of the Sunshine Coast about the meter-long specimen she caught by hand and carefully guided back to the study boat. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-shark-discovery-reveals-species-tiny.html Plants & Animals Tue, 16 Jun 2026 10:20:03 EDT news700822142 In the crystalline waters off Kenya's coast, coral reefs are thriving—evidence of a rare good-news story in the battle to protect oceans from the ravages of climate change. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-global-reveals-coral-reefs-resist.html Ecology Tue, 16 Jun 2026 04:09:35 EDT news700801709 The vaquita (Phocoena sinus), an elusive porpoise found only in the shallow waters of Mexico's northern Gulf of California, is one of the rarest and most endangered marine mammals on Earth. Measuring about 5 feet (1.5 meters) in length, it is the world's smallest cetacean—a group that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Known for the distinctive dark rings around its eyes and mouth, the vaquita remained unknown to science until the latter half of the 20th century. Today, it has become a global symbol of the growing biodiversity crisis unfolding in the world's oceans. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-pixels-world-rarest-porpoise-3d.html Biotechnology Mon, 15 Jun 2026 12:00:01 EDT news700736341 Pomacea canaliculata, commonly known as the apple snail, is a pest commonly found in Hong Kong's wetlands and farmlands. It feeds on aquatic plants and produces toxic pink egg masses resembling miniature grapes that adhere to plants or stone bunds. It is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) among 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-jurassic-viral-gene-apple-snails.html Evolution Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:40:01 EDT news700484088 Around the world, ocean warming is causing fish to move poleward in search of cooler water. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-climate-fish-cooler-route-blocked.html Plants & Animals Fri, 12 Jun 2026 11:40:05 EDT news700477980 This new international study is calling for a major rethink of how rivers are managed, arguing that fish are not just passive victims of environmental change but active participants in a feedback loop that can reshape entire river systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-rivers-isnt-fish-evolving-response.html Plants & Animals Thu, 11 Jun 2026 20:00:07 EDT news700402735 Mycorrhizal fungi form underground networks that sustain plant life and help regulate Earth's climate by drawing carbon into soils. In a study published in Science, an international team of researchers produced the first global maps estimating the distribution and mass of the Earth's arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-global-mycorrhizal-fungi-reveals-true.html Ecology Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:00:09 EDT news700398301 A collaborative study has provided the most comprehensive assessment to date of the endangered Bornean ferret badger (Melogale everetti). Weighing only around one kilogram (2.2 pounds), the Bornean ferret badger is a small, nocturnal carnivore that is rarely seen by people. The paper is published in the journal Ecology and Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-borneo-ferret-badger-earth.html Plants & Animals Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:20:05 EDT news700321021 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 The asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs also created an underground environment suited to supporting new life, and new research suggests it lasted for millions of years longer than previously suspected. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-dino-asteroid-fueled-underground-life.html Astrobiology Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:20:02 EDT news700231012 New research from the University of Victoria (UVic) has found that some kelp forests around Vancouver Island were disappearing far earlier than scientists previously thought, highlighting that climate change has been altering ecosystems long before most people were aware anything was wrong. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-years-reveals-true-extent-climate.html Ecology Mon, 08 Jun 2026 21:20:01 EDT news700134815 Almost a quarter of all freshwater species are threatened with extinction. The removal of human-made barriers from rivers, such as dams and weirs, is a popular way to restore water flow and sediment transport to its natural state and allow fish and other aquatic wildlife to move more freely. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-river-wildlife-freely-invasive-species.html Ecology Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:20:01 EDT news700148254 Industrial-scale mining in Africa to support global supply chains is leading to unprecedented deforestation across the continent, with 34 hectares of forest removed for every single hectare of active mine site. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-infrastructure-african-destroying-forests.html Environment Sat, 06 Jun 2026 16:00:03 EDT news699720306 A seven-year collaborative study has revealed alarming fluctuations in the health of Hawaii's endangered insular false killer whales, with some individuals losing nearly a quarter of their body weight in just a few months. Published in Endangered Species Research, the findings provide the first quantitative evidence that nutritional stress and environmental shifts may be driving the decline of this iconic population, which now numbers fewer than 140 individuals. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-hawaii-false-killer-whales-threatened.html Plants & Animals Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:20:01 EDT news699875865 The supergiant bathynomid is a deep-sea isopod famous for surviving more than five years without food. Despite residing in an extremely low-nutrient habitat, these organisms exhibit pronounced body gigantism, a trait that requires substantial energy. This raises an energy paradox: How do these apparently energy-hungry isopods sustain their enormous size given the sporadic availability of food in the deep sea? https://phys.org/news/2026-06-deep-sea-supergiant-isopods-years.html Plants & Animals Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:00:04 EDT news699867498 Fish that split their lives between fresh and salt water often face obstacles getting back and forth. Dams and roads fracture river networks and interfere with traditional migratory routes, sparking concerns about fish health and abundance, as well as biodiversity on a broader scale. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-billions-fish-passage-methods-undercut.html Plants & Animals Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:20:03 EDT news699790441 Endangered basking sharks aren't fasting during long-distance migrations. A new study led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution shows that they may be foraging along the way, and in much deeper areas of the ocean than previously thought. As filter feeders, this species is most often observed close to the surface, especially in waters off of New England, but data show markedly different behavior during their winter migrations to the Sargasso Sea and the Caribbean. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-endangered-basking-sharks-ocean-twilight.html Plants & Animals Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:20:05 EDT news699780901