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. A new livestream from a remote waterhole in the Northern Territory is giving people around the world the opportunity to observe wildlife in real time. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-livestream-remote-australian-arid-zone.html Plants & Animals Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:00:01 EDT news708844682 Brigid Lynch was working along a wooded creek in a mountainous part of the San Francisco Bay Area when something that didn't look like the rocks she'd been studying caught her eye. It turned out to be the fossilized tooth of a Pacific mastodon. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tooth-pacific-mastodon-creek-san.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 16 Sep 2026 04:07:13 EDT news708750407 Researchers at Stanford Medicine have developed two new artificial intelligence models of the biological cell. The first, called universal cell embedding, paved the way for a second-generation model called TranscriptFormer, which has been trained on data from 112 million cells representing 12 species, ranging from single-celled yeast to humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-enable-species-cell-biology.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 14 Sep 2026 17:30:02 EDT news708624361 In taxonomy, the location where specimens used to formally describe a new species are collected is called a type locality. These sites can be thought of as the species' formal birthplace, much as the scientific article containing the original description constitutes its scientific birth certificate, because this is how the species officially acquires its identity and name within the scientific community. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-amphibian-localities-ecuador-areas.html Plants & Animals Mon, 14 Sep 2026 15:40:01 EDT news708617944 A team of Griffith University archaeologists has uncovered evidence that humans were using mind-altering substances much earlier than previously supposed. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ice-age-humanity-oldest-drug.html Archaeology Wed, 09 Sep 2026 14:00:01 EDT news708089994 Look closely at Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, one of Japan's most iconic masterpieces. The brilliant white of the waves, snow on Mount Fuji and clouds above contain no white pigment. Instead, their whiteness comes from the way light scatters off the unprinted fibers of the washi paper itself. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-white-nature-sustainable-repellent-materials.html Polymers Wed, 09 Sep 2026 11:00:31 EDT news708168421 Surinam toads (Pipa pipa) are strange, flat frogs with minuscule eyes that live in the murky waters of the Amazon basin and carry their eggs on their backs. The way they catch prey is even weirder. They lie in wait with outstretched forelimbs until a small fish approaches, then snap open their jaws to create enough suction to draw the fish into their tongueless mouths and swallow it whole, all in a few hundredths of a second. But how do these frogs hunt in low visibility with poor vision? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-star-fingered-toads-fingertip-lobules.html Plants & Animals Tue, 08 Sep 2026 15:00:09 EDT news708091981 One of Australia's most comprehensive assessments of endemic, rare or threatened freshwater fish has found numerous species are at severe risk of extinction because of multiple threats, including habitat loss, invasive species and warmer waters. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-warmer-pest-species-habitat-loss.html Ecology Tue, 01 Sep 2026 16:20:07 EDT news707484301 Since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, artificial intelligence (AI) has dominated the cultural landscape. Uptake across various sectors, including law enforcement, quickly followed, usually with minimal foresight and little to no guardrails, like effective policies or laws, to govern AI use. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-aipowered-policing-endangering-police.html Social Sciences Fri, 28 Aug 2026 20:40:02 EDT news707126222 We share our planet with millions of plants and animals. This variety of life is known as biodiversity, a term encompassing everything from microscopic genes to entire ecosystems, such as deserts and vibrant coral reefs. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-species-discoveries-reveal-emerging-biodiversity.html Ecology Thu, 27 Aug 2026 08:20:04 EDT news707032202 New James Cook University research has used highly sensitive environmental DNA (e-DNA) techniques to find two species of threatened frogs in places they've never been seen before—and find another still struggling to recover from past disease outbreaks. The research is published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tiny-threatened-frogs.html Ecology Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:40:08 EDT news706866902 Researchers monitoring online activity for six weeks in mid-2025 found primates, birds, snakes, frogs, orchids and many other wildlife groups advertised for sale across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Wildlife is increasingly being trafficked through online platforms. Online illegal wildlife trade poses significant risks to species, ecosystems, and animal and public health. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-wildlife-trafficking-social-media-thousands.html Plants & Animals Mon, 24 Aug 2026 18:00:04 EDT news706802461 Dung beetles could provide scientists with a new way to uncover the animals living in Singapore's forests, including elusive species that are difficult to spot with conventional wildlife surveys. NTU researchers found that DNA preserved in the insects' guts can reveal the mammals, birds and other vertebrates whose waste they have fed on. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dung-beetles-insights-biodiversity-singapore.html Plants & Animals Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:20:01 EDT news706794585 In the opening scene of American writer Kim Stanley Robinson's "The Ministry for the Future," a heat wave combined with a breakdown of the electrical grid in India kills 20 million people. The devastation causes the world's nations to unite to combat climate change. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-world-inches-catastrophic-climate-events.html Environment Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:42:53 EDT news706794146 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 Where they could once hop and amble freely, urbanization is diminishing amphibians' habitats. Yet small-scale water bodies managed by people—such as those found in the gardens of Japan's temples, shrines and schools—remain within urban areas, providing oases for our moist neighbors. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-kyoto-gardens-habitats-local-amphibians.html Plants & Animals Wed, 19 Aug 2026 19:20:03 EDT news706370762 On a warm evening in May, swifts scream over rooftops, chasing insects above the traffic. A fox slips along a garden wall while gulls squabble on a supermarket roof. We tend to treat these animals as visitors. But they're residents too, living alongside us in places designed for people. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-cities-wildlife-people.html Ecology Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:40:03 EDT news706346882 A new study led by researchers at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin shows that Berlin's dragonfly populations have declined by more than half since 1963, while populations of frogs, toads and newts have fallen by more than three-quarters since 1981. The study also involved Berlin-based experts Falk Petzold and Klaus-Detlef Kühnel, who coordinate the data series. The research, which was carried out as part of the project "Understanding Diversity—Exploring and Experiencing Nature," was published in the journal Global Change Biology Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hidden-losses-amphibians-dragonflies-berlin.html Ecology Tue, 18 Aug 2026 17:00:01 EDT news706275583 Prolonged dry spells or droughts can sometimes reduce aquatic diseases, many of which affect people. Yet other times, water scarcity can counterintuitively lead to an uptick in diseases that depend on water. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bodies-drought-disease-hotspots-dead.html Plants & Animals Sun, 16 Aug 2026 10:40:02 EDT news705752839 Scientists from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador officially described Pristimantis milpe, an abundant and widely distributed species that had been confused with another species for more than a century. To solve the mystery, researchers reviewed historical specimens collected in Ecuador during the 19th century and preserved at the Natural History Museum in London. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mystery-london-discovery-ecuadorian-frog.html Plants & Animals Thu, 13 Aug 2026 17:20:04 EDT news705846001 Feral cats and foxes now roam across almost all of Australia. These predators are a major reason why many species have been driven to extinction. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-safe-havens-australian-mammals-invasive.html Plants & Animals Thu, 13 Aug 2026 17:20:02 EDT news705853982 Scientists from Brazil and other countries have discovered a new species of frog in the flooded forests of the western Amazon. They named it Adenomera varcena. This finding significantly advances our understanding of Amazonian biodiversity and cryptic diversity, or cases in which two or more animals appear identical but are actually different species. To distinguish this species, the researchers analyzed details such as the frog's call and DNA. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-frog-species-amazon-forests.html Plants & Animals Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:10:04 EDT news705765001 From the American West to Europe, droughts are drying up rivers, fueling destructive fires and reshaping ecosystems. They are also changing the spread of infectious diseases, leading to surges in illnesses like cholera and West Nile virus around the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-drought-reshaping-infectious-diseases.html Ecology Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:00:11 EDT news705749461 Much like an indecisive single person on a dating app, female treefrogs struggle to pick the most desirable mates when they have too many options to choose from. According to a new study published Aug. 12 in the journal iScience, when female Cope's gray treefrogs gather around ponds during mating season to listen to large groups of males chirping in noisy "choruses," they struggle to pick the most desirable male. The researchers call this phenomenon "choice overload," and it may affect the way species evolve over time. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-male-suitors-abound-female-treefrogs.html Plants & Animals Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:00:01 EDT news705588684 Fever is one of the best-known mechanisms by which animals combat infectious diseases. Sick animals can increase their body temperature in two ways: through physiological regulation, by altering internal metabolic processes, or through behavioral changes, such as seeking warmer environments. Ectothermic animals, including amphibians, fish and reptiles, generally rely only on the latter strategy. However, fever is not always the most effective response against every pathogen. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fever-isnt-infected-tadpoles-cool.html Plants & Animals Mon, 10 Aug 2026 14:00:08 EDT news705587942 A tiny greenish, nocturnal frog that thrives in coffee plantations has been discovered in Costa Rica's central Pacific region, where it also faces risks from agrochemicals used in farming. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nocturnal-coffee-frog-costa-rica.html Ecology Sat, 08 Aug 2026 06:00:03 EDT news705380574 In the animal kingdom, only those that adapt to their environment survive. This adaptation takes a wide range of forms, from invisible internal shifts in gene expression to dramatic anatomical changes, such as tadpoles growing legs and transitioning to life on land as frogs. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hidden-hormonehabitat-relationship-revealed-reef.html Plants & Animals Fri, 07 Aug 2026 14:00:09 EDT news705236641 Many people are blissfully unaware that the world's frogs and amphibians are fighting their own deadly pandemic. In fact, this fungal disease—chytridiomycosis, or chytrid for short—is the worst wildlife disease on record. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-frogs-deadly-disease.html Plants & Animals Wed, 05 Aug 2026 18:20:01 EDT news705138706 A rare fossil discovered near South America's largest known meteorite crater has been named a new species. Initially mistaken for a frog by locals, Leolepis matogrossensis is actually a species of ancient ray-finned fish—the group that includes 96% of all bony fishes living today, including tuna, salmon and cod. It's a fairly primitive member of the group and lived around 254 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ancient-armored-fish-narrowly-meteorite.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:20:05 EDT news705141902 For the first time, researchers have discovered a new species of extinct amphibian from Ice Age Los Angeles at La Brea Tar Pits: a spadefoot toad they have named Spea labreae. Only one other extinct Pleistocene amphibian from North America has ever been found (a tree frog from Florida). https://phys.org/news/2026-08-species-ice-age-toad-la.html Ecology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 03:00:01 EDT news705052441