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 we think about nature in our cities, what often comes to mind are parks and reserves—planned, managed and clearly marked spaces that support animal and plant life in our urban environment. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-overlooked-melbourne-patch-reveals-animal.html Ecology Wed, 04 Nov 2026 13:00:01 EST news713008754 Yale research scientist Saúl Domínguez-Guerrero didn't set out to catch "evolution in the act" when he traveled to the Caribbean with a team of Yale researchers a few years ago. At the time, the team from the lab of evolutionary biologist Martha Muñoz planned to do fieldwork on Caribbean anoles, colorful, tree-dwelling lizards native to warmer regions of the Americas. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-evolution-forest-lizards-reveal-rapid.html Evolution Tue, 03 Nov 2026 10:00:09 EST news712919521 Whether it's gushing from a bumped nose or pooling atop a pricked finger, our blood is some hue of red. But red-bloodedness isn't universal in the animal kingdom. In some creatures, the vital fluid is purple; in others it's yellow, green or even white. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-blood-chemistry-reveals-animals-blue.html Plants & Animals Mon, 02 Nov 2026 14:40:06 EST news712834490 Science can't study a species—or unlock its potential to change the world—until people actually know it exists. Four new species of frogs have now been given names, thanks to the efforts of FIU biologist Alessandro Catenazzi. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-frog-species-reveal-peru-biodiversity.html Plants & Animals Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:00:02 EDT news712582742 Around this time of year, elaborate decorations featuring ghosts, vampires, zombies, witches and werewolves adorn front doors, gardens and store windows across the country. But you may be surprised to hear that in the animal world, there are many real-life creatures with tendencies similar to those of the fictional characters in our Halloween nightmares. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-werewolf-mice-ghostly-frogs-cockroach.html Plants & Animals Thu, 29 Oct 2026 13:20:01 EDT news712486624 Relocating amphibians and reptiles to protect them from development rarely leads to long-term conservation success, a new UBC-led global review has found. The findings highlight the importance of habitat protection rather than relying on moving animals out of harm's way. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-relocating-amphibians-reptiles-human-rarely.html Plants & Animals Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:20:05 EDT news712421821 Amphibians are the most threatened vertebrates on Earth, with 41% of species facing extinction. In the highlands of Central and South America, a killer fungus has wiped out much of the once-abundant amphibian diversity. Yet in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, amphibians still thrive. The mountain range is home to a remarkable amphibian community of at least 48 species, including 25 found nowhere else on the planet. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-frogs-current-amphibian-mass-extinction.html Ecology Tue, 27 Oct 2026 21:20:01 EDT news712322542 As winter approaches, many of us start clearing leaves and tidying up our gardens. But these jobs can remove vital winter habitats for wildlife, particularly with increasingly volatile weather conditions. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-embrace-lazy-fall-gardening-wildlife.html Ecology Tue, 27 Oct 2026 15:00:12 EDT news712311500 I never thought my shoelaces would get stolen. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-power-poop-conservationists-animal-scat.html Ecology Mon, 26 Oct 2026 15:20:04 EDT news712228105 Scientists report fossil evidence of the first fully marine amphibian in a study from the University of California, Davis; Peking University; and the Geological Museum of Guizhou. The amphibian is an armored, giant salamander–sized, bottom-dwelling ocean creature that the researchers named Gerrothorax maritimus. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-armored-amphibian-sea-million-years.html Evolution Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:06 EDT news711978961 Identifying individual animals in the wild has long meant tagging, branding or clipping. For amphibians, the standard approach has often been toe-clipping, a procedure that can affect survival, physiology and behavior. A new study suggests that, for at least one species of treefrog, nature has already provided a more humane solution: the eyes. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-iris-patterns-noninvasive-individual-amazonian.html Plants & Animals Fri, 23 Oct 2026 04:00:01 EDT news711945732 Climate change and changes in the way land is used are the two biggest threats to wildlife because they change the environment in which animals survive and thrive. Knowing how species respond to these pressures is central to planning conservation actions. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-africa-survive-climate.html Plants & Animals Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:50:01 EDT news711804721 In the 1970s, researchers began to observe drastic amphibian declines in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, a global hotspot of frog biodiversity. For decades, these disappearances remained a mystery. Now, new research from scientists at the Center for Conservation Genomics at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) and Pennsylvania State University (PSU), published today in the journal Molecular Ecology, points to amphibian chytridiomycosis, a devastating infectious disease, as the likely culprit. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-museum-specimens-reveal-pathogen-decades.html Ecology Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:00:01 EDT news711196682 With spring underway and the weather warming, reptiles are on the move in suburbs, parks and scrubland across Australia. Snake catchers and wildlife caregivers are responding to calls for help, and reptile enthusiasts—known as "herpers"—are heading outdoors in search of their next sighting. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-simple-curb-deadly-fungal-disease.html Plants & Animals Tue, 13 Oct 2026 20:20:01 EDT news711114053 Plants—like people—come in all shapes and sizes. And just like scientists want to understand the components of the human body to treat disease and improve our lives, they also want to understand how plants thrive, develop disease, succumb or survive. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-method-proteins-involved-health-disease.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 13 Oct 2026 17:00:01 EDT news711115034 Turning people into frogs—and back into princes—is the stuff of fairy tales. But back in January 2026, this fate befell a Heber City, Utah, police officer when AI accidentally cast the spell. Transcription software picked up the dialogue from "The Princess and the Frog" playing at the scene where the police encounter was unfolding. When AI software used the recording to draft the report, it mistook the movie dialogue for part of the encounter and claimed the officer had turned into a frog while on duty. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ai-bodycam-footage-text-speakers.html Political science Fri, 09 Oct 2026 09:00:01 EDT news710753583 The short-legged horned toad (Boulenophrys brachykolos), listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, is the only known small frog species in Hong Kong belonging to the genus Boulenophrys of the family Megophryidae. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-endangered-lantau-toads-genetic-differences.html Evolution Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:20:05 EDT news710501641 The Surinam toad is one of the strangest frogs on Earth. Flat-bodied, tiny-eyed and adapted to the murky waters of the Amazon basin, it hunts well despite having very poor vision. When a fish swims close, the frog suddenly opens its mouth and sucks the prey inside in a fraction of a second. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-unusual-secret-superpowers-amphibians-reptiles.html Plants & Animals Mon, 05 Oct 2026 19:00:02 EDT news710426461 Researchers at the University of Galway in Ireland have found that venomous snakes are significantly more likely than nonvenomous species to have colors that stand out against their natural surroundings. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-danger-venomous-snakes.html Evolution Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:30:01 EDT news710409782 If you've ever felt overwhelmed by menu options at a restaurant, cereal varieties at the grocery store or potential partners while scrolling through dating apps, you've experienced choice overload. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-males-overwhelm-female-frogs.html Plants & Animals Sun, 04 Oct 2026 16:20:01 EDT news710072966 As a deadly fungal disease ravages wild frog populations around the globe, scientists have identified potential locations in Panama where amphibians might persist despite the disease, according to new research from the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) published in the Journal for Nature Conservation. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-climate-refuges-key-imperiled-amphibians.html Plants & Animals Wed, 30 Sep 2026 10:00:15 EDT news709899902 While insects provide an essential food source for many vertebrate species, they're more than just a protein-laden snack. Chimpanzees use them to sterilize wounds, and herons use them as fishing bait. Sloths rely on moths to maintain the algae in their fur, which they then eat. Birds and reptiles lay their eggs inside the temperature-controlled sanctuary of termite mounds, while some desert frogs reside in ant nests because of the humidity. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-insects-essential-vertebrate-life-food.html Plants & Animals Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:10:01 EDT news709901461 Cell division is a complex process. At the heart of this complexity is a membraneless organelle called the centrosome, which is made up of more than 200 components. It is responsible for clustering mitotic spindles, threadlike structures needed to separate genetic material. It has long remained unclear which parts of the centrosome are necessary and sufficient for spindle assembly. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-lisa-cell-division.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 29 Sep 2026 17:00:12 EDT news709915201 The transition from tadpole to juvenile frog is never easy—legs sprout, tails shrink and lungs develop for a life on land, all while being hunted by fish and other predators. Talk about growing pains. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-endangered-frog-nursery-la-hundreds.html Ecology Tue, 29 Sep 2026 10:40:31 EDT news709897172 Evolution is driven by changes in DNA that sometimes promote adaptation, altering traits like disease resistance or reproduction. Often, these changes are minuscule, modifying a single letter in the DNA code—somewhat like altering a single letter on one page of a long book. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-genome-duplication-evolution-salmon-family.html Evolution Tue, 29 Sep 2026 06:00:01 EDT news709464205 For decades, scientists believed most animals relied on a steady supply of glucose, the body's primary fuel source, to power their brains. When glucose runs out, neural activity begins to fail, potentially leading to lasting brain damage. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bullfrog-brains-backup-fuel.html Plants & Animals Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:00:44 EDT news709810083 Around 309 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs, the area around Chicago was a swampy river delta swarming with early land-dwelling animals, giant insects and strange swimming animals. What was once a hotbed for new forms of life to flourish and evolve has become one of today's richest Carboniferous period fossil deposits. Two student scientists from the Field Museum have just described the latest animal discovered at this location—and they named it after their mothers, who both happen to be named Jean. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-species-proto-amphibian-students-honor.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 24 Sep 2026 10:00:01 EDT news709374961 The bacteria living on frogs' skin could play a vital role in protecting the animals from a deadly fungal disease. A team of researchers led by Penn State scientists found that frogs' natural skin bacteria can help them fight disease and improve their chances of survival. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-frog-coat-bacterial-armor-fungal.html Ecology Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:20:04 EDT news709459621 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