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. Iñaki Intxaurbe, a researcher at the EHU-University of the Basque Country, analyzed the distribution of images in nine caves in the Basque Country using network-based analysis and statistical techniques. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-animals-prehistoric-reveal-hidden-pattern.html Archaeology Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:40:06 EDT news703857472 The spidery wattle (Acacia araneosa) is a national treasure. The plant is named for its spidery, leaflike phyllodes and shares the same iconic golden flowers as Australia's floral emblem, the golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha). https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rare-australian-wattle-brink-extinction.html Plants & Animals Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:20:07 EDT news703410588 Steep hillsides and mountainsides in many regions worldwide are often covered in characteristic step-like patterns, also known as terracettes. These repeating landforms have fascinated scientists for more than a century, yet the factors contributing to their formation had not been clearly confirmed until now. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-darwin-150yearold-hillside-mystery-virtual.html Plants & Animals Fri, 10 Jul 2026 07:30:01 EDT news702823350 Scientists have detected the highly contagious H5 bird flu in an Australian seabird for the first time, the government said Friday. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-h5-bird-flu-australian-seabird.html Veterinary medicine Fri, 10 Jul 2026 04:10:01 EDT news702874673 Arguably one of the most curious ancient human relatives is Homo floresiensis, a 3-foot-tall species that lived on the Indonesian island of Flores and has been nicknamed "hobbit" for its diminutive stature. Even though they had small brains, scientists had thought they were surprisingly advanced because early research linked them to big-game hunting, specifically targeting the extinct dwarf elephant (Stegodon florensis insularis), as well as the use of fire. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ancient-hobbit-humans-survived-meat.html Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:55:04 EDT news702550397 The warblers—those harbingers of spring in the U.K.—have an unappreciated talent of a different sort. Common U.K. birds, including chiffchaffs and blackcaps, are playing a real role in the pollination of plants, according to new research in the Journal of Ecology. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-songbirds-pollinate-uk-trees-pollen.html Plants & Animals Sun, 05 Jul 2026 16:00:01 EDT news702223678 The agricultural economy was the backbone of wealth in ancient Greece. Food brought people together, whether in smaller groups at a wine-drinking symposium or the entire community in a sacrificial feast of epic proportions. In The Odyssey, the ancient Greek epic poem, Odysseus' son joins one of these early feasts—a community barbecue of 100 cattle. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-goat-tooth-100year-debate-ancient.html Archaeology Mon, 29 Jun 2026 14:20:02 EDT news701953880 For conservation and the management of human–wildlife conflicts, it is of great interest to know which species are eaten by carnivores. Scientists from the Ngorongoro Hyena Project at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) analyzed this dynamic for spotted hyenas in the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania using DNA analysis of hundreds of fecal samples collected over 24 years. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-hyenas-livestock-rhinos-behavioral-biologists.html Plants & Animals Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:20:03 EDT news701510943 Scientists have detected the highly contagious H5 bird flu strain in a second Australian state, the nation's agriculture minister said Wednesday. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-h5-bird-flu-australia-state.html Veterinary medicine Wed, 24 Jun 2026 04:10:02 EDT news701491836 Scientists have detected the H5 strain of bird flu in Australia for the first time, the country's agriculture minister said Saturday, meaning the highly contagious variant has now spread to every continent. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-australia-case-contagious-h5-bird.html Veterinary medicine Sat, 20 Jun 2026 02:55:27 EDT news701142893 The identity of a centuries-old shipwreck discovered off the south coast of England, holding 400 gold coins, has finally been identified as the Dutch trading ship "Dom van Keulen," which left Morocco for the Netherlands in the autumn of 1633. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-mystery-17th-century-shipwreck-gold.html Archaeology Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:40:05 EDT news700997942 On India's hot plains, scorching summers have become increasingly hard to endure, requiring adaptations and forcing life into the dark hours before the sun turns punishing. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-india-hotter-summers.html Environment Thu, 18 Jun 2026 04:50:01 EDT news700975847 Goats appear to have a rare ability not shared by many in the animal kingdom, and that is being able to follow the direction of a human voice to locate hidden objects. While dogs have been shown to do this, even our closest primate cousins, like chimpanzees, have struggled with the task in previous experiments. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-goats-human-voices-hidden-food.html Plants & Animals Wed, 17 Jun 2026 10:20:01 EDT news700909066 Archaeological evidence from the Canary Islands suggests that by the 11th century, people there were harvesting and processing a variety of fish and other marine organisms—indicating that coastal resources may have played a vital role in the economic system, according to a study published in PLOS One by Jonathan Santana of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain, and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-canary-island-relics-clues-north.html Archaeology Sun, 14 Jun 2026 14:00:06 EDT news700325786 On a blazing hot day in South Africa, female southern pied babblers can't think straight. The medium-sized black-and-white birds are trying to get at tasty mealworms behind a see-through barrier. On cooler days, the birds can quickly figure out that all they have to do is go around the small wall of plastic. But when the mercury goes up, the birds just keep stubbornly pecking at the barrier. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-stupid-hot-animal-brains.html Ecology Mon, 08 Jun 2026 20:00:05 EDT news700146061 A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrates how radiocarbon dating can reveal the maximum lifespan of Mediterranean hardwoods, uncovering hidden links between human history and long-term ecosystem dynamics. By analyzing mature and ancient oak trees across Italy, researchers found that a millennium of age is attainable from the Mediterranean coast to mountain environments. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-medieval-pandemic-left-hidden-legacy.html Plants & Animals Sat, 06 Jun 2026 19:40:01 EDT news699875318 New research shows Cheviot goats are one of the UK's most genetically distinct goat populations. Led by Newcastle University, this is the first genetic study to determine the ancestry and genetic health of a UK feral goat population. It provides a genetic assessment of the Cheviot goats in Northumberland's College Valley, identifying them as a historically significant and genetically distinct population unlike the other European goat breeds. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-rare-wild-goats-northumberland-genetically.html Plants & Animals Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:40:03 EDT news699801481 For the past three decades, a team of archaeologists have been uncovering some of the field's most recent monumental discoveries, relying on gut instinct, persistent hard work, and cutting-edge methods and technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-years-el-mirn-cave-uncover.html Archaeology Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:20:07 EDT news699535561 Last year, we noted early signs of recovery in Australia's high country, following the reduction of feral horse numbers. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-feral-horse-australia-alps.html Ecology Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:40:08 EDT news699527342 A fast-growing wildfire sparked by the fatal crash of a small medical plane outside Ruidoso, New Mexico, has triggered evacuations for a rural area north of the Capitan Mountains and closures in the Lincoln National Forest, officials said Monday. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mexico-wildfire-fatal-medical-plane.html Environment Tue, 19 May 2026 03:53:40 EDT news698381595 The climate of the ancient Eastern Mediterranean was far more turbulent than previously thought—and a new study suggests that people adapted anyway. An international team of scientists, spearheaded by UC San Diego's Center for Cyber-Archaeology and Sustainability (CCAS) and the University of Haifa's Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies (RIMS), has developed a new way to track ancient climate and used it to decode 4,000 years of key environmental history in the ancient Mediterranean. The paper was published in Quaternary Science Reviews on May 13. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-wetland-sediment-scientists-uncover-centuries.html Archaeology Mon, 18 May 2026 17:20:04 EDT news698337181 Sticking needles into arms—or rather, haunches—is often the hardest part of distributing an effective agricultural vaccine. Now, University of Connecticut researchers show in the April 15 issue of Advanced Healthcare Materials that a patch can deliver a safe, temperature-stabilized vaccine against foot and mouth disease, no needles required. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-microneedle-patch-vaccine-farming-stubborn.html Veterinary medicine Mon, 18 May 2026 17:10:01 EDT news698342101 Eastern Africa's earliest livestock herders continued fishing, hunting and gathering for centuries after livestock were first brought to the region. The first pastoralists in eastern Africa didn't suddenly switch to a diet centered only on cows, sheep and goats. Instead, they kept eating a wide mix of foods—fish, wild animals and plants—alongside livestock for at least 1,000 years. The strategy may have helped them adapt to a harsh, changing climate. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-cattle-early-east-african-herders.html Archaeology Mon, 18 May 2026 15:00:09 EDT news698317797 Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth. Somehow, it feels like it's getting hotter and drier every day. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-western-australia-edging-desertification.html Environment Tue, 12 May 2026 16:40:06 EDT news697817881 We have been on a years-long campaign of satellite remote sensing of the vast desert landscapes in Eastern Sudan. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hundreds-huge-ancient-mass-graves.html Archaeology Tue, 12 May 2026 12:00:01 EDT news697800955 British Columbia's wildlife is in trouble, and governments aren't working hard enough to keep wild animals and plants alive. How do we know? https://phys.org/news/2026-04-british-columbia-endangered-wildlife.html Ecology Mon, 20 Apr 2026 13:20:05 EDT news695903222 Humans have always been playful. But for much of our history, play has left little trace. Unlike tools or bones, games rarely preserve and the fleeting pleasures they produce are even harder to recover. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-archaeologists-12000yearold-dice-reveal-history.html Archaeology Sun, 19 Apr 2026 17:00:01 EDT news695564112 Hidden among the red sandstone escarpments of Mutawintji National Park in western New South Wales lives a rare lizard, long isolated in this arid landscape. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-kungaka-hidden-ancient-lizard-rarest.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:00:08 EDT news695384624 Permanently wiping out a disease is tricky business. Polio, measles, mumps—all have effective vaccines, yet they persist in certain pockets around the world. To date, the World Health Organization considers just two viruses as successfully eradicated: smallpox and rinderpest. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-years-eradication-rinderpest-lessons-true.html Biotechnology Tue, 07 Apr 2026 09:50:02 EDT news694773661 Khirigsuurs are Late Bronze Age monuments found across Mongolia and parts of southern Siberia. They are typically thought to be burial monuments or ritual spaces, consisting of a burial mound surrounded by satellite features beneath which horse and caprine (goat/sheep) remains were deposited. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-evidence-assumptions-mass-feasting-ancient.html Archaeology Thu, 02 Apr 2026 08:10:01 EDT news694258066