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. Some microorganisms that hold great promise for research have long lain dormant in historical collections. But only through new methods are their diversity and potential becoming apparent. The team led by Professor Christian Jogler at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena examined one such collection: bacterial strains isolated between the 1980s and the early 2000s by Heinz Schlesner from various bodies of water in northern Germany, including the Schlei, a Baltic Sea fjord, as well as ponds and a wastewater lagoon. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-decades-strains-reveal-brakhagea-budding.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:10:01 EDT news703867381 A new study from Edith Cowan University (ECU) confirms that the presence of fungal food resources is important for supporting the reintroduction of two threatened marsupials to the Shark Bay World Heritage area, which could simultaneously advance species conservation and ecosystem restoration. This study, led by Edith Cowan University Ph.D. candidate Rebecca Quah, took place at six sites across Western Australia and the Northern Territory, including Dirk Hartog Island in Shark Bay. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-truffles-menu-threatened-marsupials-world.html Plants & Animals Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:00:09 EDT news703862221 It's 5 a.m. when we crawl out of our tents. The catbirds are calling and the night sky is fading to dawn as we prepare to head into the wilderness. We're surrounded by the towering eucalypts of southeast Queensland in search of a small, native mouse called the pookila. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-reveal-pookila-southeast-queensland-survey.html Plants & Animals Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:20:05 EDT news703846322 New research has uncovered the complex biological history preserved within DNA traces found on the Shroud of Turin, offering fresh insights into one of the world's most studied and debated historical artifacts. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-shroud-turin-dna-biological-history.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:00:06 EDT news703770901 How life started on our own planet may not seem as interesting as finding evidence of life on Mars or the icy moons Europa or Enceladus. But the search for the first eukaryotes on Earth remains as important to astrobiology as finding life on a far-flung planet. That's in part because, for 90% of Earth's history, life was microbial. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-earth-complex-life.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 20 Jul 2026 07:00:05 EDT news703747742 Erosion, salinization and shrinking numbers of organisms such as worms and beneficial fungi can have a devastating effect on soil fertility, and so many parts of the world have passed laws to curb these processes. A study by the University of Bonn has now shown that these measures have improved soil quality in many countries. Their impact, however, is heavily dependent on the political and institutional environment in which they are implemented. The researchers' findings have been published in the journal Nature Food. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-global-soil-gains-farmland-health.html Agriculture Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:40:04 EDT news703498412 They are the cell's "gatekeepers": specialized proteins, known as transporters, selectively control which substances enter a cell and which do not. Researchers at the University of Münster and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens have investigated these transporters in a specific case: the UapA transporter of the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans. The findings are not only relevant to cell biology but could also offer new approaches to treating fungal infections. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-cellular-protein-essential-nutrient-absorption.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:40:04 EDT news703410519 Paleontologists in China have discovered the oldest chemically verified amber ever found, dating to 385 million years ago. That's approximately 140 million years before dinosaurs roamed Earth. The previous record holder was an amber sample from the Late Carboniferous period, dating to about 320 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-holder-world-oldest-amber-china.html Earth Sciences Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:49:37 EDT news703417753 Another last-resort antibiotic has fallen victim to the rapid evolution of drug-resistant superbugs. The powerful antibiotic combination ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA), widely used to treat severe hospital-acquired infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa—particularly in critically ill and immunocompromised patients—can no longer eliminate some of these infections. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rare-mutations-dangerous-hospital-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 16 Jul 2026 07:40:10 EDT news703402921 Researchers at Uppsala University have discovered a completely new fungal species, which they named after the king of Sweden. The species has been given the Latin name Semicentenialea rex, which means the king's 50th anniversary. It is the first known representative of a new class of fungi called Semicentenialomycetes. The paper is published in the journal IMA Fungus. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-class-root-fungi-king-sweden.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Jul 2026 15:40:06 EDT news703340764 The mystery of why some amphibian populations recover following outbreaks of a deadly fungus has been solved in a new study led by University College London (UCL), ZSL and Imperial College London. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-mystery-toads-survive-deadly-fungus.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Jul 2026 20:00:06 EDT news703173454 Humans have been turning seeds and soil into food for thousands of years. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-notill-farming-environment.html Agriculture Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:40:01 EDT news703255362 A new study tracking soil microbial communities across six years of experimental drought in a tallgrass prairie finds that prolonged water stress diminishes biodiversity, pushing communities toward less predictable, harder-to-reverse configurations. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-years-drought-reshape-soil-microbiomes.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:20:01 EDT news703233013 For over a century, the accepted value for a firefly's brightness has mostly stood, tracing its origins to experiments carried out in 1912. Through rigorous new analysis published in the American Journal of Physics, David Silver of Remiza AI in New York has discovered that this value has likely been vastly overestimated. His results provide a stark reminder of what can happen when widely accepted older measurements are converted into modern standard units. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-firefly-brightness-cautionary-tale-older.html General Physics Mon, 13 Jul 2026 08:20:09 EDT news703147806 Long before scientists began studying them in the lab, mind-altering substances were already being gathered from plants, fungi and even animals for use in rituals, healing practices and mental health treatment. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have now managed to bring together in a single organism five psychedelic substances that in nature are scattered across the tree of life. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-decipher-psychedelic-substance.html Biotechnology Sun, 12 Jul 2026 13:00:02 EDT news702724320 Tiny particles made from the membranes of human immune cells could offer a promising new way to fight fungal infections that are becoming harder to treat. Engineers at the University of California San Diego created antifungal nanoparticles that target Candida albicans, a fungus responsible for oral and vaginal yeast infections as well as life-threatening bloodstream infections. In mice with severe Candida infections, the nanoparticles greatly reduced the amount of fungus in major organs and significantly improved survival. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-immune-cells-fungus-nanoparticles.html Bio & Medicine Sat, 11 Jul 2026 16:00:04 EDT news702808902 Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), together with Wismut GmbH and scientists from the University of Granada in Spain, have demonstrated for the first time that bacteria can convert uranium dissolved in water into a stable chemical compound when they have access to glycerol as a food source. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bacteria-dissolved-uranium-stable-compound.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:20:10 EDT news702888774 Decaying matter shapes life in soil, but it can also create hostile zones for growing roots. Professor Jiří Friml of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and international collaborators have now identified "saprotropism," a root response that guides plants away from decaying plant-derived matter—but not animal-derived decay. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-newly-saprotropism-roots-decaying-animal.html Ecology Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:00:09 EDT news702793687 Across North America, in places such as Illinois, Iowa and Texas, farmers are busy growing the crops the world depends on for food, fuel and fiber. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-fertilizers-hidden-soil-crucial-microbes.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 08 Jul 2026 15:20:05 EDT news702734701 Nature has invented countless types of pointy appendages, and scientists have long sought to explain what makes these structures so effective at puncturing other things. A new study models the key physical characteristics of puncturing tools to reflect their diversity in nature, finding that the shape of a biological tool is driven in part by trade-offs between its puncture efficiency and its ability to resist bending or buckling. The findings are described in the journal Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nature-tools-reveal-offs-piercing.html Plants & Animals Wed, 08 Jul 2026 14:00:13 EDT news702700982 The DNA in a single cup of water can track wildlife, monitor pollution and survey pathogens in waterways and their surroundings, all at the same time. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-fishing-dna-cup-river-reveal.html Ecology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 19:00:05 EDT news702650101 VUB researcher Maarten Ottaway investigated how trees and their invisible underground allies—the fungi—respond to soil pollution. His Ph.D. sheds new light on an age-old partnership that is crucial for healthy forests, and on how that partnership holds up under the pressure of metal pollution. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-fungi-communicate-presence-metal-pollution.html Ecology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 18:20:02 EDT news702647053 In Europe, trees are increasingly dying prematurely. A new study by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) on French forests now shows that it is not only drought but also unusually warm or wet springs that increase the risk—even ideal growing conditions can prove fatal later on. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-europe-trees-dying.html Ecology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 10:40:06 EDT news702638796 When drinking water is stored in containers, a thin layer of microorganisms can grow at the interface of the container and water. This thin layer is called a biofilm. It's made up of bacteria that make the water unsafe to drink. Slimy biofilms are harder to kill with ordinary disinfectants like chlorine. So scientists are always looking for new ways to clean water in household storage systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-slimy-bacterial-nanotechnology-solution.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 06 Jul 2026 19:20:01 EDT news702562502 Scientists at Leiden University have discovered that plants are strongly influenced by their neighbors, not just above ground but also through hidden networks in the soil. Their findings challenge long-held ideas about how plants shape their environment and could help improve sustainable farming. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-neighbors-life-scientists.html Ecology Mon, 06 Jul 2026 14:40:03 EDT news702562701 Beneath forests, grasslands and wetlands lies a hidden underground network of fungi known as mycorrhizal networks, sometimes nicknamed the "wood-wide web." These fungi live in partnership with plant roots, helping plants absorb nutrients from the soil in exchange for carbon compounds produced through photosynthesis. These fungal connections can also link different neighboring plant species. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-hidden-fungal-networks-carbon-green.html Plants & Animals Mon, 06 Jul 2026 13:00:01 EDT news702552497 Climate change is shifting forest conditions faster than local tree species can adapt. Higher temperatures, more frequent droughts and less predictable winters can weaken species that have been established in a region for centuries. In light of this, one idea is gaining ground: assisted migration. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-forests-rewards-tree-migration.html Ecology Mon, 06 Jul 2026 11:00:10 EDT news702550801 Researchers have spent decades—and billions of dollars—sequencing animal and crop genomes, but fungi have historically been the forgotten middle child of genomics, only noticed when they're ruining bread or colonizing toes. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-fungal-genome-tool-fresh-paths.html Biotechnology Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:40:03 EDT news702287408 Many fungi lead triple lives—acting as deadly insect pathogens, decomposers in the soil, and helpful partners living inside and transferring insect-derived nitrogen to plant roots. Scientists have long wondered what allows a single species to pull off these very different roles. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-broader-fungus-diet-insects.html Ecology Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:40:01 EDT news702216721 Millions of women worldwide suffer from vaginal yeast infections. These infections are most commonly caused by the fungus Candida albicans and can lead to symptoms ranging from itching and burning to recurrent inflammation. An international research team has now shown that an unlikely ally—a member of the yeast species known from the worlds of baking and brewing—could help combat these infections: the baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-baker-yeast-potential-treatment-persistent.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 01 Jul 2026 15:40:05 EDT news702126661