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. Curtin University and Taronga Conservation Society Australia researchers have conducted the first hearing tests on Australian sea lions and long-nosed fur seals, revealing what sounds these marine mammals can hear and helping assess how human-made noise could affect them. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-reveal-sea-lions-fur-human.html Plants & Animals Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:40:06 EDT news710679241 A team of marine scientists led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has developed a new approach to predicting harmful algal blooms (HABs), changing how oceanographers track these hazardous marine events. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ocean-predator-chemical-cues-early.html Ecology Wed, 30 Sep 2026 18:10:07 EDT news710006402 For centuries, a life-size petroglyph has stood over the rocky landscape of Miseeda in northern Sudan. Exactly who the figure carved into a granite hill represents remains uncertain, but researchers suspect it may depict an ancient Kushite ruler. In the 7th century CE, local builders constructed a Christian church directly around it. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-mysterious-giant-kushite-ruler-ancient.html Archaeology Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:20:02 EDT news709911508 You might be among the 46 million people who've seen a video showing how wolves changed Yellowstone, or you may have heard another version of the story. Yellowstone, which covers nearly 3,500 square miles (9,100 square kilometers) of the western United States, was the world's first national park. Its pioneering reintroduction of wolves, which began in 1995, set a worldwide precedent for conservation. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-wolves-yellowstone-desperate.html Plants & Animals Tue, 29 Sep 2026 14:20:02 EDT news709896722 There's a new cat in town, but this one won't curl up on your hamper, knead your sweaters or squeeze in front of your screen during a Zoom meeting. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-cat-science-species.html Plants & Animals Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:01 EDT news709890482 In Switzerland, 40% of the working population works part-time, according to 2025 figures from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Women account for the lion's share: 60% of women in the workforce are employed part-time, while only more than 1 in 5 men work part-time. These figures place Switzerland second among the 38 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of part-time work, just behind the Netherlands. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-men.html Social Sciences Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:00:22 EDT news709804164 In the first detailed chromosome map of the aardwolf, Texas A&M University researchers have discovered that, despite millions of years of separate evolution, the chromosomes of aardwolves, other hyenas and even domestic cats have remained remarkably similar. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-aardwolves-cats-chromosome-similarities.html Plants & Animals Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:40:02 EDT news709460281 The race to space continues, with the number of rockets launched increasing every year. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-space-endanger-australian-wildlife.html Environment Thu, 24 Sep 2026 08:20:10 EDT news709449601 The seafloor is more than just the ground beneath the sea. Two-thirds of Earth's surface is covered by oceans, which have an average depth of almost 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). For a long time, the seafloor's remoteness protected it from widespread human disturbance. But that is changing: Bottom trawling now reaches depths of around 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) and already disturbs up to 2% of the global seafloor each year. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-healthy-seafloor-earth.html Earth Sciences Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:40:08 EDT news709374843 An interdisciplinary team of researchers has created an open-source website for learning what different organisms eat and what eats them. The site—called Who Eats Whom—draws on data from a worldwide citizen science platform and serves as both a valuable resource for ecological research and an educational tool to advance public understanding of the global food web. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-amateur-naturalists-scientists-track.html Ecology Tue, 22 Sep 2026 14:00:02 EDT news709200632 Structural variants and so-called tandem repeats are individual differences in the human genome. They are increasingly linked to diseases, but analyzing and interpreting them poses challenges for researchers. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bioinformatics-tools-pathogenic-variants-genome.html Biotechnology Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:20:02 EDT news708868415 A rare Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) on Kangaroo Island has been confirmed to have died from highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu. The sea lion had recently been attacked by a shark, weakening it. Testing revealed that the virus caused its death. Another dead sea lion is being tested. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bird-flu-australian-sea-lion.html Ecology Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:40:01 EDT news708788881 The seemingly trivial ability to hear a regular pulse in music is a remarkable—and perhaps distinctively human—feature of the brain. In a wide-ranging critical review, Gábor Háden of the HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences and Henkjan Honing of the University of Amsterdam evaluate more than two decades of research into how this capacity develops and has evolved. Their paper was published this week in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-brain-ability-musical-distinctly-human.html Plants & Animals Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:20:04 EDT news708343081 The scavenging behavior of many wild birds plays an important role in the type, number and variety of viruses they have, a new University of Otago–Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka-led study has found. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scavenging-linked-virus-variety-wild.html Ecology Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:00:03 EDT news708238921 Once coyotes get a taste for city living, the call of the wild fades to a whisper. Food is abundant and predators are few. Research indicates that coyotes enjoy the benefits of urban areas enough to put up with all the people, and Seattle is no exception. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-coyote-density-higher-seattle-washington.html Plants & Animals Thu, 10 Sep 2026 04:00:01 EDT news708155294 The prediction that this season's El Niño phenomenon will be stronger than normal has alarmed the Ecuadorian scientific community, which has warned of its impact on the flora and fauna of the Galapagos Islands, home to the highest concentration of species not found elsewhere on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-stronger-el-nino-alarms-scientists.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 03:34:55 EDT news708230058 Senegalese engineers in hairnets and white gloves are carefully assembling a nanosatellite at a French lab—another step toward fostering their own space industry back home. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-african-space-senegal-pursues-homemade.html Space Exploration Wed, 09 Sep 2026 10:20:12 EDT news708166235 Hidden deep in the bush, ranging over huge territories at speeds humans can't match and through terrain not even the most rugged vehicle can handle, hyenas and lions are hard to study. Now, new research using GPS collars to map the movements of individual animals has revealed crucial information about the relationship between these competing carnivore species. We've long assumed that hyenas simply shadow lions for scraps, but these findings show that when they encounter each other, it's the lions, especially males, that approach hyenas, and the hyenas that give way. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-gps-collars-reveal-secrets-power.html Plants & Animals Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:00:01 EDT news708004081 For more than a decade, children in Year 6—the final year of elementary school in England—have taken the grammar, punctuation and spelling test as part of their Key Stage 2 Standard Assessment Tests (SATs). This GPS test has shaped how grammar is taught in elementary schools. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-compulsory-grammar-england-schools-children.html Education Tue, 08 Sep 2026 10:40:04 EDT news708075782 While the highly virulent avian influenza strain has only recently been discovered on Australian shores, researchers at Deakin University have been working behind the scenes for years, anticipating what an outbreak might look like. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bird-movements-track-global-virus.html Plants & Animals Sun, 06 Sep 2026 17:00:01 EDT news707401817 With their slender bodies and long front legs, Miracinonyx trumani—often nicknamed the "American cheetah"—was long thought to be a North American analog of the African big cat. But in a new study published in the journal Current Biology, researchers reveal that the extinct cat was more closely related to pumas. Some populations living near the Arctic preyed almost exclusively on fish, challenging the long-held assumption that these "cheetahs" chased fast-running prey, such as pronghorns. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-extinct-american-cheetah.html Evolution Sun, 06 Sep 2026 11:00:01 EDT news707573172 A study on Roman law by the Carlos III University of Madrid analyzes the regulations and complex imperial logistics governing the capture, transport and safety of animals used in spectacles in the Roman Empire—which were far more popular than gladiatorial combat. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-late-roman-decrees-uncover-military.html Archaeology Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:20:01 EDT news707750426 The lethal H5N1 strain of avian influenza is rapidly spreading along the coast of southern Australia, where it has killed thousands of wild birds and infected at least two long-nosed fur seals. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bird-flu-expert.html Ecology Mon, 31 Aug 2026 07:20:03 EDT news707378822 The confirmation of Australia's first mainland death of a mammal from bird flu last week highlights New Zealand's challenge in managing the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bird-flu-stay-nz-response.html Veterinary medicine Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:20:03 EDT news707117101 The deadly rabies virus was once common across Europe. A bite from an infected dog, wolf or fox could be fatal. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-iconic-australian-mammals-real-bird.html Plants & Animals Thu, 27 Aug 2026 08:00:02 EDT news707031902 When news broke over the weekend that Australia's first mainland case of bird flu in a mammal—the death of a long-nosed fur seal—had been detected, I felt deep sadness and dread for what's likely to come next. We should expect large-scale deaths of mammals, in addition to birds. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-australia-bird-flu-response-late.html Veterinary medicine Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:00:02 EDT news706776661 Hundreds of dead birds are now being reported as the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu begins to spread across Australia. Government reports show the virus is circulating in resident birds. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bird-flu-worst-australia-overseas.html Ecology Thu, 20 Aug 2026 11:20:01 EDT news706437961 Many animals obtain information about others from scent marks left in the environment, including urine. Because these marks remain after the sender has left, they allow animals to communicate across space and time. But odor molecules evaporate, degrade and change after release. How, then, can a scent mark continue to convey reliable information about who left it? https://phys.org/news/2026-08-year-mystery-cat-kidney-linked.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:00:26 EDT news706194782 The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope recently imaged NGC 2392 (also known as the Lion Nebula), named for its distinctive appearance, which resembles a lion's face seen head-on. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-webb-captures-clearest-image-lion.html Astronomy Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:40:01 EDT news706262701 When people think about climate change and animals, they might picture melting sea ice, drought-stricken landscapes or species struggling in the wild. Far less attention is given to the animals living in our care. Yet as heat waves become more frequent, intense and unpredictable, zoos may be facing one of the biggest animal welfare challenges of the coming decades. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-zoos-ready-climate.html Ecology Mon, 17 Aug 2026 15:40:05 EDT news706190821