https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from University of Lisbon Researchers have just published a study demonstrating that the flying gurnard (Dactylopterus volitans) emits sounds while simultaneously performing movements to communicate—a discovery that enriches our knowledge about the "symphony" of the ocean. Since the 1970s, scientists had suspected that this species produced sounds, but only now has definitive confirmation and detailed characterization been achieved. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-flying-gurnard-grunts-flares-fins.html Plants & Animals Thu, 29 Jan 2026 14:10:06 EST news688916379 In a paper published this week in npj Ocean Sustainability, researchers propose pathways to optimize synergies between marine spatial planning (MSP) and marine protected area (MPA) planning under a rapidly changing climate. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-climate-smart-ocean-solutions-require.html Environment Thu, 15 May 2025 14:36:55 EDT news666538611 The European catfish is the largest freshwater fish in Europe, reaching up to 2.8 meters in length and 130 kg in weight. It was first detected in Portugal in 2014. As a top predator, it has no natural enemies and exhibits high fecundity, with females capable of producing up to half a million oocytes (unfertilized eggs). https://phys.org/news/2025-04-european-catfish-prolonged-season-invasive.html Plants & Animals Thu, 03 Apr 2025 14:31:03 EDT news662909461 For the first time on a global scale, 20 years of observations on Mars have been condensed into a single study led by Francisco Brasil and Pedro Machado, both researchers from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Lisbon (CIÊNCIAS ULisboa). This study, an extensive and comprehensive analysis of the red planet's atmospheric waves, has just been published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-mars-earth-thought-condensing-years.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 25 Mar 2025 11:56:02 EDT news662122561 A study focusing on analyzing cell models found universality in their movement—an important discovery that could impact both health and robotics. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-universality-cells-discovery-impact-health.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 25 Mar 2025 09:31:04 EDT news662113861 The subterranean world holds a value that is often underestimated. Its significance seems to escape notice, particularly its vital role in storing drinking water—a resource long taken for granted—and its contribution to biodiversity, harboring unique and rich species. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-european-commission-groundwater-subterranean-life.html Ecology Tue, 10 Dec 2024 15:24:09 EST news653066642 A descendant of Sicilian progenitors, this daisy-family plant appeared in the UK, escaped from a botanical garden, and began its conquest of the region during the Industrial Revolution. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-mount-etna-uk-genetics-unveil.html Plants & Animals Thu, 12 Sep 2024 10:58:04 EDT news645357482 A new study led by Portuguese paleontologist Pedro Mocho, from the Instituto Dom Luiz of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (CIÊNCIAS), has just been published in Communications Biology. It announces a new species of sauropod dinosaur that lived in Cuenca, Spain, 75 million years ago: Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-qunkasaura-sauropod-dinosaur-cretaceous-iberian.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 04 Sep 2024 09:26:03 EDT news644660761 In a paper now published in Science, researchers from leading institutions worldwide propose a comprehensive strategy that connects the latest scientific insights to action on the high seas. The team developed a policy pathway for engaging all relevant stakeholders in managing the Southern Ocean. This novel approach ensures a wide range of interests are integrated in a climate-smart marine spatial planning (MSP) process. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-climate-smart-marine-spatial-antarctica.html Environment Wed, 22 May 2024 12:14:05 EDT news635598842 A new study identifies ten key components that will promote the development and implementation of sustainable, equitable, climate-smart ocean planning initiatives around the globe. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-scientists-ten-key-components-foster.html Environment Tue, 12 Mar 2024 14:48:33 EDT news629473710 Titan is the second-largest moon in the solar system and the only one with a dense atmosphere. At the top of this atmosphere, rich in nitrogen and methane, the sun's radiation produces a great diversity of organic molecules, some of which we also find on Earth as constituents of the basic unit of life, the cell. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-saturn-moon-ground-gain-methane.html Astronomy Mon, 11 Mar 2024 11:38:03 EDT news629375881 Wildlife trade affects all kinds of species, from insects and fungi to large plants and mammals. The global trade of numerous species poses a significant threat to their survival, increasing their risk of extinction. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-illegal-wildlife-european-union-comprehensive.html Plants & Animals Fri, 08 Mar 2024 11:27:58 EST news629119675 A new study, resorting to computational models, predicts that a subduction zone currently below the Gibraltar Strait will propagate further inside the Atlantic and contribute to forming an Atlantic subduction system—an Atlantic ring of fire. This will happen 'soon' in geological terms—in approximately 20 million years. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-gibraltar-subduction-zone-invading-atlantic.html Earth Sciences Thu, 15 Feb 2024 15:28:07 EST news627233281 A new study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, has produced a compressed 14-year movie of the sun observed in gamma rays, a visualization tool which revealed that—contrary to the expected uniform distribution of these high energy photons—the solar disk can become brighter on the polar regions. This tendency for the sun's glow in the gamma rays to be dominant at the highest latitudes is evident during the peak of solar activity, as could be seen in June of 2014. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-solar-maximum-puzzle-sun-gamma.html Astronomy Wed, 07 Feb 2024 09:39:22 EST news626521156 A recent study published in the Journal of Building Engineering shows that using open fireplaces for housewarming can decrease your life expectancy for up to 1.6 years, due to the fine particles that are emitted in the firewood combustion. These are the results of an experimental and computational modeling study led by the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-02-fireplaces-decrease-life-years.html Health Tue, 06 Feb 2024 17:09:03 EST news626461742 An international study of temperature variations in 12 caves around the world shows that a large part of the Earth's freshwater reserves available for immediate consumption can be at risk due to climate change. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-climate-planet-largest-reserves.html Earth Sciences Thu, 25 Jan 2024 12:04:03 EST news625406641 A new study, published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Marine Science, reports unprecedented evidence of ecological responses by calcifying phytoplankton to the deposition of nutrients provided by the Saharan dust. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-scientists-ecological-response-phytoplankton-nutrient.html Ecology Fri, 29 Dec 2023 09:35:39 EST news623064937 For the first time, an instrument to find planets light years away was used on an object in the solar system, in a study on Jupiter's winds. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-vlt-exoplanet-hunter-jupiter.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 22 Dec 2023 12:29:37 EST news622470568 Did you know that when a group of robots or bacteria moves in a space where there are several free objects, they deflect these objects so they can pass? An international research team managed to show that the trail left by this movement contributes to the formation of groups, functioning as an effective communication mechanism between them, in a study now published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-qa-mechanisms-decentralized.html General Physics Wed, 13 Dec 2023 12:15:09 EST news621692106 A new study describes a new sauropod dinosaur that lived in the Iberian Peninsula 122 million years ago. This new species of dinosaur, Garumbatitan morellensis, was described from remains discovered in Morella (Castelló, Spain) and made it possible to expand the diversity of dinosaurs known in one of the best fossil records from the Early Cretaceous in Europe. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-garumbatitan-giant-dinosaur-cretaceous-iberian.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 28 Sep 2023 16:05:34 EDT news615135915 A new study, modeling the potential of solar-powered vehicles in the urban context in 100 cities across the world, shows that solar energy provides a range between 11 and 29 km per day, reducing charging needs by half. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-09-exploring-potential-solar-cars.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 22 Sep 2023 14:05:02 EDT news614610301 Scientists have discovered a missing evolution puzzle piece in 130-million-year-old rocks. The discovery is a result of an international collaboration, in which the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Portugal) is involved. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-earliest-deep-sea-vertebrates-revealed-unusual.html Evolution Tue, 12 Sep 2023 14:30:04 EDT news613747802 A new study reports the discovery of hundreds of mummified bees inside their cocoons. These cocoons, produced almost 3,000 years ago, were discovered in a new paleontological site discovered on the coast of Odemira, in Portugal. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-bees-pharaohs-mummified-southwest-coast.html Evolution Thu, 24 Aug 2023 16:23:26 EDT news612113003