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. VUB researcher Robbe Neyns has developed artificial intelligence capable of identifying trees down to the species level in satellite and aerial imagery. The technology can help cities better map their trees and biodiversity, making the urban environment as livable as possible, particularly in the face of a warming climate. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-cities-greener-climate.html Environment Thu, 24 Sep 2026 21:40:01 EDT news709461907 In a win for pollinator conservation, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have developed a machine learning-based method to identify chemical compounds that can safely repel honey bees from pesticide-treated crops. The research offers a potential solution to one of agriculture's most urgent ecological challenges: the ongoing decline in honey bee populations, driven in part by pesticide exposure. The paper is published in the journal eLife. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-machine-chemicals-repel-honey-bees.html Ecology Thu, 24 Sep 2026 15:30:01 EDT news709480681 Propolis may not only inhibit the growth of certain fungi but also affect the activity of drugs used to treat fungal infections. Researchers have investigated how an ethanolic extract of Polish propolis interacts with various antifungal agents. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bee-propolis-boosts-antifungal-drug.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 23 Sep 2026 18:00:10 EDT news709398541 A display of flowers has bloomed across Chile's Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, after the El Niño climate phenomenon brought heavy rain to the region. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-chile-atacama-blossoms-life-el.html Environment Wed, 23 Sep 2026 04:31:28 EDT news709356650 Sheep grazing, rather than honey bees, could be the bigger threat to wild pollinators on Scotland's moorlands, according to a new University of Bristol-led study. The research, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, has found that grazing in spring can remove much of the nectar emerging bumblebees need, while commercial honey bee hives introduced during the summer heather flowering period have a much smaller impact. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-sheep-grazing-pose-greater-threat.html Ecology Tue, 22 Sep 2026 14:40:06 EDT news709298769 A new study reveals that an important pollinator is rapidly losing genetic diversity in Britain. Moss carder bumblebees were once widespread across the UK, living in flower-rich meadows, marshes and heathlands, where they pollinated a wide variety of plants. However, the loss of these habitats has caused the species to retreat into strongholds along the country's coasts and islands. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-threatened-bumblebee-populations-england-wales.html Ecology Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:20:21 EDT news708859322 Populations of the Western honeybee (Apis mellifera) are under immense pressure in the wild in Europe. New research published in Conservation Science and Practice by researchers at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart and Agroscope in Zürich shows that wild honeybees occur frequently across Europe. However, the researchers estimate that, without an influx of swarms from managed hives, wild honeybee populations in the European Union (EU) would decline by about 56% within 10 years. Wild honeybees have therefore been classified as "endangered" in the EU on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-wild-honeybee-populations-eu-red.html Plants & Animals Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:20:02 EDT news708854361 Human development may be changing more than where pollinators live—it may also be changing when they are active. University of Florida researchers at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have found that pollinator seasons shifted later in the year across some of the most human-modified landscapes in the eastern United States. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-pollinators-calendar-human-landscapes.html Plants & Animals Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:40:10 EDT news708594061 Life is not always easy for a bee: Not all plants place their pollen outside. Some flowers have to be set to vibrating before the pollen can get out of their tube-like stamens. Certain bee species have developed a special technique for this: They bite on the flower and use their flight muscles to generate rapid vibrations. The stamen is shaken and the pollen is released. This phenomenon is known as "buzz pollination." https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bees-pollen.html Ecology Fri, 11 Sep 2026 15:40:03 EDT news708345661 The globe is full of unknown species. But is it really possible to find a completely new animal species in the middle of the largest city in the United States? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-unknown-life-york-city.html Ecology Thu, 10 Sep 2026 20:40:03 EDT news708248409 This summer, you may have wondered why you are seeing so few insects squished on your car's windshield compared with a road trip several years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-squished-insects-windshield.html Ecology Tue, 08 Sep 2026 13:40:03 EDT news708088422 What makes more sense when farming wheat—strips of wildflowers along fields or organic farming? Both options provide financial support via the European Union as environmentally friendly and sustainable farming practices. An international research team, including researchers from the University of Göttingen, has compared the ecological and economic benefits of these two farming methods in fields planted with winter wheat. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-farming-outperforms-wildflower-profits-farm.html Ecology Mon, 07 Sep 2026 13:40:01 EDT news707995981 When it comes to bees, most of us can identify the ubiquitous honey bee (Apis mellifera) and that's about it. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-vital-native-bee-highway-backyard.html Ecology Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:20:05 EDT news707991182 Ever found a bare-nosed wombat napping under your house or heard a possum thumping around in your attic? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-house-haven-wildlife-homes-nature.html Plants & Animals Thu, 03 Sep 2026 22:20:01 EDT news707643067 The honey bee has held a special place in vision research. It is one of the best-studied insects, and much of what scientists know about how bees perceive the world is based on studies of honey bees. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bees-world-ways-previously-thought.html Plants & Animals Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:00:03 EDT news707470501 Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are widely known as essential pollinators, but researchers using a "One Health" approach have also identified them as biological sentinels of environmental health. Honey bees continuously interact with their surrounding environment through the collection of nectar, pollen and water and can therefore be exposed to contaminants present in agricultural and natural ecosystems. Their health may consequently provide valuable information about environmental pressures affecting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-honey-bees-sentinels-environmental-health.html Environment Fri, 28 Aug 2026 13:40:05 EDT news707142122 There is an old saying that nature is the best medicine, and it turns out bumblebees might agree. A new study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science suggests that buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) may self-medicate when exposed to a fungal brood disease. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bumblebees-medicate-exposed-fungal-infections.html Plants & Animals Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:50:01 EDT news707125828 A few months ago, a friend of mine told me that his father-in-law had been rushed to the hospital after eating some wild honey brought back from the hills of Nepal. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mad-honey-heart-sold-online.html Ecology Thu, 27 Aug 2026 21:00:03 EDT news707051205 New research by SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Margarita Orlova is providing new insight into how bumblebee queens communicate through chemical signals and how those signals change throughout their lives. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-exploring-bumble-bee-queens-chemical.html Plants & Animals Thu, 27 Aug 2026 13:40:04 EDT news707051151 Bees are the most important pollinators of flowering plants, and approximately 10% of flowering plants are functionally specialized for buzz pollination. Buzz pollination is a mechanism in which pollen can be extracted from flowers only through the application of mechanical vibrations. Many important crops, such as tomatoes, eggplants and blueberries, are buzz-pollinated because they conceal their pollen in so-called poricidal anthers—floral structures with only a minute opening through which pollen can be released only when mechanical vibrations are applied. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scoop-pores-pollen-efficiently.html Plants & Animals Wed, 26 Aug 2026 19:00:01 EDT news706969561 While extreme weather and habitat changes can spell doom for many native animals, including insects, a different picture has emerged from a new study led by Flinders University. Long-running investigations into Fiji's native bee populations indicate several species of lowland sweat bees (genus Lasioglossum) have evolved and used their individual traits to resist human-driven environmental changes, allowing them to survive and thrive. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-habitat-deterrent-fijian-native-bees.html Ecology Tue, 25 Aug 2026 17:40:05 EDT news706868979 With no tall trees reaching to the sky, Alaska's North Slope tundra can look desolate—especially to outsiders from the Lower 48 who are used to in-your-face greenery. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-lush-knee-high-jungle-arctic.html Environment Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:43:19 EDT news706880571 A study conducted in the Swiss Alps by the University of Lausanne and the University of Milan shows that glacier retreat and changing vegetation could influence the spread of certain pathogens between honeybees and wild bees. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-glacier-retreat-diseases-bees.html Plants & Animals Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:20:02 EDT news706800363 A research team at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) has developed a new optical corner-detection imaging method that uses azimuthal Hilbert transform metasurfaces and is designed to work as a universal framework. The study marks an important advance in high-speed, low-power optical information processing and has demonstrated potential for motion-tracking applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-corners-focus-metasurface-enables-motion.html General Physics Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:00:06 EDT news706792142 Last winter was tough for marmots living high in the Colorado mountains, where researchers say two-thirds of one population died while hibernating because of insufficient snow cover. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fat-marmot-week-spotlight-alpine.html Ecology Fri, 21 Aug 2026 13:40:11 EDT news706535574 In spring, on the traditional and treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, young children, Anishinaabe storytellers and educators walk together with Aki (Land) and Nibi (Water). https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dandelions-bees-responsibilities-natural-world.html Education Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:00:02 EDT news706515602 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 For decades, Australia was the last inhabited continent free of the bee-killing Varroa mite (Varroa destructor). https://phys.org/news/2026-08-australian-beekeepers-tackle-varroa-mite.html Ecology Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:00:08 EDT news706267202 Don't assume an uptick in ant activity after setting out pesticide traps means the treatment failed. New UC Riverside research shows their behavior changes as chemicals make their way through a colony. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-pesticides-argentine-ants-crazy-roaming.html Plants & Animals Mon, 17 Aug 2026 17:50:01 EDT news706205761 Bees may be relying on your lawn for their next meal, according to a new study from the University of Georgia. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-pollinators-grass.html Plants & Animals Mon, 17 Aug 2026 13:30:01 EDT news706190045