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. When a young golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) finally leaves its parents' territory, it leaves behind the only safety net it has ever known. Until now, biologists had assumed that eagles took this step as soon as they could fly well enough to survive on their own. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-young-golden-eagles-parents-territory.html Plants & Animals Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:20:03 EDT news706868519 For dolphins, the ocean is a world of sound. Their whistles carry social information, helping them communicate and stay connected, while echolocation—rapid-fire clicks—functions like underwater sonar, helping them navigate their surroundings and detect potential prey. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-snooping-dolphins-acoustic-clues-hotspots.html Plants & Animals Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:40:07 EDT news706263421 The first bird to inhabit Earth used its robust hind legs to make two or three powerful leaps while flapping its way to flight, according to a study by the University of Southampton published in Developmental Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-evidence-earliest-birds-flight.html Evolution Wed, 12 Aug 2026 14:20:01 EDT news705752805 In a rare study of snakes as nest predators, scientists found nesting birds were loath to strike rattlesnakes even though they likely had no previous experience with vipers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-unfamiliar-rattlesnakes-blackbirds-defending.html Plants & Animals Wed, 12 Aug 2026 10:40:03 EDT news705745921 Nearly 30 years ago, a simple question sent University of Washington researchers into the Puget Sound lowlands to look for birds. With Seattle's population swelling and housing developments pushing into once-forested suburbs, researchers wanted to know how land conversion was affecting birds and whether the type of development mattered. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-decade-seattle-suburbs-sensitive-bird.html Plants & Animals Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:10:01 EDT news705680222 From spears and the invention of the wheel to smartphones and robots, human societies have been building and using tools from the beginning. Human tool use has helped conquer new environments, increase communication and ultimately alter the course of human evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dolphins-tools-fish-mothers.html Plants & Animals Tue, 11 Aug 2026 11:20:01 EDT news705662221 The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has now spread from migratory birds to infect resident Australian birds. Clusters of dead birds have been found in several locations. The virus will inevitably infect other wildlife, most notably mammals. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ways-australia-birds-mammals-bird.html Ecology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 08:40:02 EDT news705136382 A few years ago, the first ceramic finds came to light during construction work in the Burg district of the municipality of Hannersdorf. Geomagnetic surveys in subsequent years provided evidence of numerous kilns thought to lie hidden beneath the field. In a recent educational excavation led by Basema Hamarneh from the University of Vienna, archaeologists uncovered two pottery kilns. Another 100 kilns are thought to remain buried—an unprecedented discovery of a local production center for utilitarian pottery from the Roman period. The finds date from the mid-1st century to the mid-2nd century CE. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-roman-workshop-reveals-large-scale.html Archaeology Thu, 30 Jul 2026 15:00:04 EDT news704632681 Scientists have long wondered whether loud, human-caused noise interferes with wild animals' cognition—their ability to think and learn—by causing stress, distraction or making it harder for them to focus. The results of a novel study of eastern bluebirds conducted by a team of researchers at Penn State suggest that, at least in some cases, short-term noise doesn't affect them much. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-industrial-noise-bluebird-behavior-cognitive.html Plants & Animals Wed, 29 Jul 2026 12:00:03 EDT news704540360 Feeding wild animals is a popular activity at tourist destinations. While these interactions often appear harmless, scientists are recognizing how supplemental feeding of wild animals can alter ecosystems in unexpected ways. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bunny-tourism-hidden-consequences-unregulated.html Plants & Animals Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:20:03 EDT news704539796 Australia is racing to contain the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which is now believed to have infected seven seabirds. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scavenger-animals-link-australia-bird.html Ecology Wed, 08 Jul 2026 10:20:12 EDT news702721862 In the humid jungle of Vietnam, Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela and Monte Neate-Clegg spent hours patiently waiting to spot the rare "Halloween bird." Officially known as the collared laughingthrush, this songbird has striking orange, silver and black coloring and a distinct, singsong call. It's extremely valuable and heavily traded as a pet in Vietnam, and is considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). https://phys.org/news/2026-07-songbirds-higher-extinction.html Plants & Animals Thu, 02 Jul 2026 11:20:05 EDT news702205470 The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been found in seabirds in two Australian states. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-bird-flu-deadly-backyard-chickens.html Veterinary medicine Sun, 28 Jun 2026 18:30:01 EDT news701605428 The modern Colorado moose is often considered just that: modern—brought to the state by wildlife officials in the late 1970s, preceded by very occasional reports of moose sightings in the 19th and early 20th centuries. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-moose-native-colorado.html Plants & Animals Tue, 23 Jun 2026 16:40:04 EDT news701443921 Many young adults are familiar with common species such as dandelions or sparrows. In contrast, plants and birds typical of fields, meadows and other agricultural habitats are significantly less well known. This is shown by a new study from the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) published in the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. For the study, the research team surveyed 463 adults of various age groups in an agricultural region of Germany. The results suggest that knowledge of typical agricultural landscape species is declining, particularly among younger generations. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-younger-adults-overlook-nearby-biodiversity.html Ecology Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:30:01 EDT news701086275 The first few billion years of Earth's history saw the rise of life, the atmosphere and the oceans. Still, that time is shrouded in mystery: Not many rocks remain that preserve a record of those early iterations of our modern world. Dynamic geologic processes like erosion, subduction and burial mean the surface is constantly being reshaped, and older rocks aren't very common. But that time period is critical to understanding our own origins and how catastrophic events like asteroid impacts might have affected early life on the planet. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scientists-billion-year-asteroid-impact.html Earth Sciences Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:00:06 EDT news700233527 Having Black teachers and other educators of color improves students' classroom experiences, research shows. They often serve as role models, set high academic expectations and teach material that connects to students' lives outside of schools. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-black-teachers-outcomes-students-largely.html Education Sat, 06 Jun 2026 20:30:03 EDT news699540038 A fossil bed in northwestern China is littered with the remains of hundreds of prehistoric birds—including some whose broken bones were crushed into pellets, similar to those coughed up by modern owls. For years, scientists guessed that a larger predatory animal must have hunted these ancient birds, but they never found direct fossil evidence of this predator. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-newfound-velociraptor-cousin-glided-wings.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:20:04 EDT news699792422 Researchers at the University of Plymouth recently confirmed what board game fans and role-playing game (RPG) enthusiasts have known for decades: that tabletop games "enhance well-being, foster inclusion, and support learning, with strong evidence that games improve engagement." https://phys.org/news/2026-05-fun-hobby-board-games-stress.html Social Sciences Sun, 24 May 2026 14:00:04 EDT news698331384 Urbanization is rapidly transforming natural habitats and poses growing challenges for wildlife. One lesser-known consequence is its potential impact on bird song, which plays a crucial role in communication, reproduction, and survival. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-city-life-bird-song-species.html Plants & Animals Wed, 20 May 2026 12:40:05 EDT news698495281 England's last recorded pair of golden eagles lived in the Lake District. After the female died in 2004, the male was left alone for 12 years before his death in 2016. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-golden-eagles-england-ecological-case.html Ecology Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:00:05 EDT news695909101 Geologists have solved the mystery of the disappearance from the geological record, millions of years ago, of one of North America's most important waterways: the Colorado River. A paper published in Science shows that the river flowed into an upstream lake over the course of a few million years, then likely flowed for the first time into the Grand Canyon. The moment marked the Colorado River's transition to a continental-scale river as it made its way down to the Gulf of California. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-colorado-river-geological-million-years.html Earth Sciences Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:00:03 EDT news695637782 Red foxes and birds regularly cross between human-dominated and natural ecosystems. For this reason, they may be heralds of spreading antibiotic resistance into ecosystems unexposed to antibiotic pressures, a study done in Italy showed. Results indicated that the share of K. pneumoniae isolates resistant to third-generation cephalosporins—a key group of hospital antibiotics—was about five times higher in wildlife than in isolates from human hospital patients. This shows that studying wildlife resistance can be an effective tool to monitor antimicrobial resistance in natural environments, the researchers said, and called for improved wastewater management, a reduction of antibiotic pollution of water, and a restriction of clinically important antibiotics to human medicine. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-foxes-birds-early-survey-antibiotic.html Ecology Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:01 EDT news695477064 With its striking San Francisco Bay settings, director Alfred Hitchcock's iconic horror film "The Birds" has captivated audiences for more than 60 years. For Hitchcock, the film—set in an ocean-side town terrorized by swarming, murderous birds, was about how an unexpected threat could shatter everyday life. Today, the plot reads like a warning about our warming climate. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-qa-red-tides-threaten-human.html Environment Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:20:01 EDT news694707615 When the environment changes dramatically, animals from mollusks to crows can make big changes in their behavior that enable them to survive. For example, marmots and ground squirrels in California are spending more time in wet vegetation and on steep slopes to counteract warmer temperatures. Polar bears, losing their floating ice habitats, are spending more time on land and adding birds' eggs and reindeer to their diets. And lake trout in Ontario, which rely on external water temperatures to maintain a healthy internal temperature, shift to cooler, deeper waters and eat smaller prey when the water becomes hotter than usual. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-behavioral-flexibility-affects-animal-evolution.html Evolution Wed, 01 Apr 2026 18:10:08 EDT news694277401 Deep below the surface of Murujuga, soil expands and contracts from the passage of water. Each wetting cycle is like a sodden breath from lungs holding fragments of stone and shell. Stone artifacts from millennia of Aboriginal life are pushed up slowly, maybe only a few millimeters each decade. In one final gasp, they break the surface, a thousand-year-old knife lying on the surface, as if dropped yesterday. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-earth-rearranging-history.html Archaeology Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:30:01 EDT news694175388 Public health can be a money maker if investors use the right techniques to make their cash injections a safe bet, according to a report by Northeastern University academics. The report, "Investor Action on Health: a review," offers major investors advice on how best to approach making a public health matter ripe for investment. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-investors-health-safe.html Economics & Business Mon, 02 Feb 2026 10:34:18 EST news689250842 In the icy waters of Alaska's Bristol Bay, a new study reveals how a small population of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) survive the long haul through a surprising strategy: they mate with multiple partners over several years. The combination of long-term genetics, observation and careful analysis is starting to reveal some of the most intimate insights into one of the Arctic's most elusive whales. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-strategic-sex-alaska-beluga-whales.html Plants & Animals Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:01 EST news688051776 Three species of the melodic African warbler bird refuse to get up early and sing their customary daybreak songs when the weather is cold. This new discovery was made recently by a team of soundscape ecologists in South Africa's mountainous Golden Gate Highlands National Park. The team's research co-leader, Mosikidi Toka, studies how animals and the environment make and use sounds, especially in mountains, and is currently completing a Ph.D. on the sounds of natural habitats. He deployed automated audio recorders to record the birdsong and find out how the birds were affected by freezing temperatures. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-mountain-birds-dawn-quiet-ecologists.html Plants & Animals Fri, 02 Jan 2026 11:30:01 EST news686575390 A yearslong surge in displaced roosters is overwhelming animal sanctuaries in Maryland and across the country, fueled by a pandemic-born boom in backyard chicken coops and the noisy realities of owning a male bird. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-rooster-epidemic-fueled-backyard-coops.html Plants & Animals Thu, 11 Dec 2025 07:22:49 EST news684660149