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. More than 80 years ago, scientists discovered that differences in yellow pigmentation were critical to courtship success and failure for fruit flies. It was one of the first demonstrations linking genes to complex behavior, and ever since, the Yellow proteins that paint these shades in nature have been a fruitful source of scientific inquiry. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-tortoise-beetles-pigmentation-protein-shield.html Ecology Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:40:08 EDT news710590201 Anyone who has ever tried and failed to swat a fly has experienced the speed of a tiny nervous system. Now, a new review brings together evidence that its secret lies partly in microscopic movements and shape changes within sensory cells and neurons, challenging conventional views of how brains process information. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-shifting-sensory-cells-insects-visual.html Plants & Animals Tue, 06 Oct 2026 16:20:12 EDT news710507162 A new study seeks to challenge the conventional view of a honey bee colony. Viewing colonies as superorganisms redefines the fundamental biology of the honey bee colony. These insights may have implications for modern beekeeping. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-viewing-honey-bee-colonies-superorganisms.html Plants & Animals Tue, 06 Oct 2026 15:30:01 EDT news710516041 When a person falls and gets a cut or a scrape, they often use hydrogen peroxide to clean the wound. This molecular compound is also produced within our cells, helping our immune system build its defenses against harmful bacteria or other pathogens. Hydrogen peroxide is produced inside plants, too, where it acts as a messenger, telling cells to beef up a plant's defenses when it is stressed, wounded or under attack. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-tiny-channels-cells-wound-hydrogen.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:50:01 EDT news710514961 A new global review of observed climate change impacts on plant communities reveals major gaps in where and how we monitor some of the world's most climate-vulnerable ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-global-reveals-major-climate-impacts.html Environment Mon, 05 Oct 2026 21:40:01 EDT news710433302 When you walk into a bakery and smell fresh cookies, the enticing smell draws you in. After you eat a handful of cookies, though, the same smell likely doesn't send you back for more. Researchers in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis sought to determine the biological mechanisms in the brain that controllably alters odor-evoked behavior by using an unlikely model—a locust. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-locust-neuromodulators-odor.html Plants & Animals Mon, 05 Oct 2026 18:40:10 EDT news710440622 Some 99 million years ago, during the age of the dinosaurs, a tiny insect belonging to a species previously unknown to science became trapped in tree resin. The resin hardened and turned into amber, and the fossil preserved within it has now enabled a team of researchers from the School of Zoology and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History to identify and describe a new species: Cretodorus noonoo, or "Noo-Noo." https://phys.org/news/2026-10-rare-insect-discovery-reveals-species.html Plants & Animals Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:40:14 EDT news710432941 Forest soils store an estimated 40% of the world's terrestrial carbon, but estimates suggest that around 15–30% of that soil carbon is lost when a forest is harvested. Tracking such losses can be tricky: wildfires, insects, disease and past forest management can all affect forest soil carbon stores, and tree type, climate and harvesting method can all affect how much carbon is lost. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-term-reveals-forest-floor-soil.html Earth Sciences Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:20:15 EDT news710429701 Municipalities are increasingly mowing dikes and verges in stages, so that insects can make longer use of the plants growing there. Mowing is essential to keep a dike strong, explains ecologist Constant Swinkels of Radboud University. "If you don't mow, trees or sturdy shrubs such as blackberries may start to grow. You don't want that, because their roots are so thick that they can cause dikes to collapse." https://phys.org/news/2026-10-unmowed-insects-abandon-partially-dikes.html Plants & Animals Mon, 05 Oct 2026 16:00:06 EDT news710422081 In front of most Australian houses, between the sidewalk and the road, runs a strip of land most people never really think about. In Australia, it's called the nature strip, but it goes by other names in other regions, including a verge, parkway or tree lawn. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nature-gardens-paradise-pollinators-street.html Ecology Sun, 04 Oct 2026 20:30:01 EDT news709888570 Roadsides may not look like wildlife habitat, but a few simple changes to how they are maintained could turn them into much better places for pollinators. A new uOttawa-led study found that reducing mowing and herbicide use along rural roadsides led to a 45% jump in pollinator numbers and a 23% increase in the number of species found there. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-spraying-smarter-pollinators-boost.html Plants & Animals Fri, 02 Oct 2026 17:00:04 EDT news710163902 New technology from Texas A&M AgriLife Research could be a major step toward bringing disease-resistant peppers and tomatoes to growers' fields and lowering costs at grocery stores. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-tomato-wilt-virus-clone-disease.html Biotechnology Fri, 02 Oct 2026 11:00:01 EDT news710142841 The success of a large-scale recovery program for wētāpunga/Little Barrier giant wētā, New Zealand's heaviest insect, has been officially documented in the New Zealand Journal of Zoology. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-success-story-zealand-heaviest-insect.html Plants & Animals Fri, 02 Oct 2026 10:00:01 EDT news710151181 Birds calling back and forth in the morning make up one of the defining sounds of tropical forests. We're likely to assume that hearing or seeing more types of birds indicates a healthy forest. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-birdsong-forest-story-evolutionary-trees.html Evolution Fri, 02 Oct 2026 09:40:14 EDT news710141342 Moth swarms so thick they can blot out the stars are fluttering across Australia, heralding a migratory spectacle unseen since the creature's brush with extinction nearly 10 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-swarming-moth-spectacle-australia-flutter.html Ecology Fri, 02 Oct 2026 02:40:01 EDT news710123704 An international study led by researchers from Charles University in Prague (CUNI) and the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences (BC CAS) has mapped how closely flowering plants and their pollinators depend on each other. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-global-pollination-analysis-reveals-climate.html Ecology Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:10:01 EDT news710089141 How do bacteria adapt when resources run low? ISTA researchers have found that, under starvation stress, E. coli can use bacteriophages and CRISPR-Cas immunity to transfer and incorporate DNA, accelerating genetic reshuffling. The process resembles a primitive form of sexual reproduction and may help bacterial populations adapt to changing conditions. The findings were published in Molecular Biology and Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sex-dna-exchange-starving-bacteria.html Evolution Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:24 EDT news710066761 Every fall, monarch butterflies fuel up on nectar from Iowa's fall-blooming wildflowers before embarking on an extraordinary migration from North America to Mexico. But the pathways they take and how their travel is affected by weather and other factors have largely remained a mystery. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-wildlife-tracking-gaps-monarch-migration.html Plants & Animals Wed, 30 Sep 2026 22:40:01 EDT news710002106 A new species of click beetle with a glossy and highly domed black body has been described from cloud forest sites in the mountains of the Dominican Republic and named in honor of the Arawak peoples who lived on the island before European colonization. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-click-beetle-species-dominican-republic.html Plants & Animals Wed, 30 Sep 2026 15:00:26 EDT news709985341 Federal prosecutors recently described an interstate criminal enterprise with all the trappings of organized crime: clandestine warehouses, money laundering and stolen goods transported across state lines. The mid-September 2026 announcement stated that 19 defendants faced charges; two had just pleaded guilty, while the remainder are slated for trial in April 2027. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-criminal-conspiracy-cooking-oil-trash.html Environment Wed, 30 Sep 2026 13:20:24 EDT news709983722 A University of Kentucky forest entomologist is advancing a pest-control approach designed to target destructive forest beetles while minimizing effects on surrounding wildlife. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-gene-silencing-technology-forests-invasive.html Plants & Animals Wed, 30 Sep 2026 07:20:01 EDT news709967942 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 A new textile used to cover strawberry plants more than tripled fruit yields in tunnel field tests without harming plant health. The technology could also significantly reduce water and pesticide use in strawberry fields. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-textile-fabric-triple-production-strawberry.html Biotechnology Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:20:06 EDT news709915921 Plants cannot run away when the wind picks up, rain lashes down or a hungry herbivore begins chewing on their leaves. Instead, they must sense their surroundings and adapt. Now, researchers have uncovered an important piece of the puzzle of what happens inside plants when they are exposed to touch, injury or other physical stimuli. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-protein-cascade.html Plants & Animals Tue, 29 Sep 2026 16:50:01 EDT news709917481 Researchers at the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE) have discovered that a fungus living inside a common Kentucky woodland grass produces a rare combination of chemicals that likely helps protect the plant from hungry insects. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-fungus-kentucky-forest-grass-rare.html Ecology Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:40:01 EDT news709895762 Over the last several years, invasive plant and insect species have found their way into more and more social media feeds. From the tree of heaven to Bradford pear trees and the ubiquitous spotted lanternfly, home gardeners are spreading the word about problematic species to their networks. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-lovers-highlights-demand-citizen-science.html Education Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:20:04 EDT news709895102 University of Melbourne researchers have found that planting native gardens on suburban nature strips can boost urban biodiversity, with insect numbers increasing sevenfold and the number of species approximately doubling. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nature-gardens-boost-biodiversity-bugs.html Ecology Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:00:04 EDT news709884302 Landing on a moving target is a challenge for all flying animals. For bumblebees, a flower swaying in the wind creates an erratic landing pad. Reaching it means matching its sideways motion while continuing to face it. When the bee turns in flight, its view of the flower changes, which complicates the feat. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bumblebees-wont-stay.html Plants & Animals Tue, 29 Sep 2026 06:40:02 EDT news709821559 Researchers at the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have discovered that mating changes the chemical coating on the New World screwworm, a fly species with maggots that can cause serious tissue destruction and deadly diseases in livestock and other animals. The findings may help scientists better understand how the insects recognize mates and could provide leads for future monitoring and control methods. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-chemical-world-screwworm.html Plants & Animals Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:40:06 EDT news709808825 In 2001, I had an epiphany while making my first trip to Australia. Walking across a remote sheep station in the dusty west, my ears were suddenly filled with the rich, spirited song of three pied butcherbirds. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-joy-song-songbirds.html Plants & Animals Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:20:11 EDT news709806241