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. A human, an octopus, and a coral could hardly look more different—yet deep inside their cells, their chromosomes still carry recognizable pieces of a genome inherited from an animal ancestor that lived more than 600 million years ago. Since then, their chromosomes have fused, split and rearranged countless times. Today, thousands of animal genomes have been sequenced. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-animal-genomes-irreversible-evolutionary-highways.html Evolution Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:00:04 EDT news706454425 From a fishing trawler in the Adriatic, Italian scientists gently release thousands of tiny octopuses in the hope of fighting an invasive crab species that has devastated local fisheries. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-italian-scientists-octopus-crab-invasion.html Plants & Animals Wed, 19 Aug 2026 04:30:02 EDT news706332058 Made entirely of muscle, with no rigid skeleton, muscular hydrostats like octopus arms, elephant trunks and human tongues can move in ways traditional mechanical systems cannot. Between crawling across the seafloor, picking up a peanut and enabling speech, scientists have long wondered how soft structures can perform so many different functions without becoming impossible to control. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-soft-bodied-sea-slug-reconfigures.html Plants & Animals Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:20:05 EDT news705841253 From spears and the invention of the wheel to smartphones and robots, human societies have been building and using tools from the beginning. Human tool use has helped conquer new environments, increase communication and ultimately alter the course of human evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dolphins-tools-fish-mothers.html Plants & Animals Tue, 11 Aug 2026 11:20:01 EDT news705662221 This year's cuttlefish season has been unlike any other. Every winter, more than 100,000 giant Australian cuttlefish can usually be found mating along the rocky coastline of Point Lowly, northeast of Whyalla, South Australia. They put on shape-shifting, colorful displays in their attempts to attract a mate. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-australia-home-mass-cuttlefish-world.html Ecology Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:20:02 EDT news705572642 Extant and ancient cephalopods—including octopuses, squids, extinct ammonites, cuttlefish and nautiluses—have all had to solve the problem of buoyancy, whether they have hard external shells or not. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-early-cambrian-fossil-uncovers-key.html Evolution Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:40:05 EDT news704541901 The octopus is a biological oddity. It can use tools, open jars, and its complex nervous system supports as many neurons as a small primate. Now Harvard biologists have discovered a mysterious distinction in octopuses' core biology: Some octopuses have an unusual adaptation in the protein-making machinery of their cells that helps ensure accuracy, perhaps an evolutionary byproduct of their acute sensory system. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-biology-cells-octopus-sleeve.html Plants & Animals Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:00:10 EDT news704447041 Just as humans exhibit right- or left-handedness, moths also have a preferred side on which they place their proboscis when inspecting a flower for nectar. This observation was made by Konstanz-based biologists in their latest study. The researchers see this as an example of nature efficiently coping with the limited computational capacity of the insect brain. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-left-moths-side-nectar.html Plants & Animals Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:40:07 EDT news703931581 Marine biologists have observed the Arctic bobtail squid in its natural habitat in the North Atlantic Ocean for the first time, including the rare discovery of a mature female with eggs. Dr Paige Maroni, from The University of Western Australia's School of Biological Sciences, is lead author of the study published in Polar Biology, which recorded the Arctic bobtail squid, Rossia moelleri, in Northeast Greenland National Park. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rare-sighting-reveals-arctic-bobtail.html Plants & Animals Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:20:03 EDT news703771202 An ongoing research project exploring the effects of rising levels of oceanic CO2 on squid neurology reveals that exposure to future levels of ocean acidification could shrink their brain volume by around 50%. This severe brain shrinkage appears to be most pronounced in the areas that interpret visual information, correlating with significant reductions in normal feeding behaviors and suggesting serious consequences for the future of squid and other cephalopods. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ocean-acidification-brains-world-intelligent.html Plants & Animals Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:00:05 EDT news702630449 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 Octopuses, squid and cuttlefish may have evolved large brains because of the challenges posed by their environments rather than the demands of social life, according to a new study published in iScience today. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ecological-factors-social-behavior-brain.html Evolution Thu, 02 Jul 2026 18:40:03 EDT news702223381 How does a stripy tree snail hide from hungry birds? The Hypselostyla camelopardalis from the Philippines and Reinia variegata from Japan have both evolved a form of dynamic camouflage to survive. Their light-colored patterns vanish in the rain, and the shell turns dark brown, similar to damp tree bark. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-camouflaging-snails.html Plants & Animals Tue, 30 Jun 2026 10:00:03 EDT news702030541 The closest thing marine taxonomists have to the Olympics is now underway in San Diego. But instead of racing for medals, leading scientists are spending two weeks working together to catalog the extraordinary diversity of life along the California coast. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-california-unidentified-coastal-species-dna.html Ecology Fri, 26 Jun 2026 12:00:02 EDT news701684521 Sertraline is one of the most widely prescribed antidepressants in the world. Global sertraline sales are expected to keep growing, projected to expand from an estimated US$1.94 billion in 2025 to approximately US$3.13 billion by 2032. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scientists-antidepressant-brains-sharks-coast.html Ecology Fri, 26 Jun 2026 09:00:03 EDT news701674201 Our relationships with wildlife are dynamic. They can change rapidly and unexpectedly. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-sharks-hunters-tourists-wildlifehuman-interactions.html Ecology Thu, 11 Jun 2026 15:00:05 EDT news700398601 The integration of biological organisms into synthetic structures offers a radical new pathway for developing intelligent, self-powered materials. Researchers have pioneered an innovative approach to biomanufacturing by using light-based 3D printing to engineer living material systems capable of localized environmental processing. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ocean-3d-gels-mechanical.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:40:04 EDT news700395422 Does consciousness depend on flesh and blood? The answer is almost certainly no, according to Eric Schwitzgebel, a distinguished professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. In a new working paper, Schwitzgebel and Jeremy Pober, a former UCR graduate student who is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Lisbon, assert that consciousness is likely possible in life forms made of very different stuff. Think of the five-limbed alien with a rocklike exterior in the recent blockbuster movie "Project Hail Mary." https://phys.org/news/2026-06-consciousness-unique-earthlings-paper.html Astrobiology Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:20:01 EDT news700381442 Octopuses are remarkably intelligent creatures, as was demonstrated by Inky the Octopus's famous escape from the National Aquarium of New Zealand through a drainpipe back to sea in 2016. A new Dartmouth study shows octopuses can use mirrors to find food out of sight, demonstrating spatial cognitive abilities. The results are published in Current Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-octopuses-mirror-prey.html Plants & Animals Wed, 03 Jun 2026 13:40:07 EDT news699709322 The Galápagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador are home to more than a thousand plant and animal species found nowhere else on Earth—things like marine iguanas and giant tortoises. In a new paper in the journal Zootaxa, scientists have announced the discovery of the newest animal found in the Galápagos: a tiny blue octopus. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tiny-blue-octopus-galpagos-deep.html Plants & Animals Sun, 24 May 2026 21:00:01 EDT news698660703 Being a single mother of 20 is no joke, especially if the survival of a whole species depends on it. A queen bumblebee faces this very challenge when she lays her first eggs in the spring: She is utterly alone, with no worker bees to help. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mother-quickly-colony-wont-survive.html Plants & Animals Mon, 18 May 2026 10:20:02 EDT news698317442 The top predator prowling the seas during the age of the dinosaurs 100 million years ago may have been the octopus. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-massive-kraken-octopus-prowled-seas.html Paleontology & Fossils Sun, 17 May 2026 08:00:01 EDT news696222032 RIKEN researchers have determined the molecular structure of an enzyme that occurs in fish. This could shed light on molecular processes in a wide range of marine organisms. The work is published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-overlooked-gene-deglycosylating-enzyme-fish.html Plants & Animals Wed, 13 May 2026 18:40:01 EDT news697904123 Biologists have long puzzled over why organisms with similar numbers of protein-coding genes can differ so dramatically in nervous system complexity. New research points to a potential link between the expanding diversity of RNA-binding proteins, which shape how genetic instructions are processed, and greater brain sophistication. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-paradox-similar-genes-brains.html Evolution Mon, 11 May 2026 11:37:23 EDT news697717929 Biological invasions occur when organisms such as animals and plants are introduced by people to regions of the world where they do not naturally occur. In these new locations, these organisms are referred to as "alien species." https://phys.org/news/2026-05-biological-invasions-severe-animal.html Plants & Animals Tue, 05 May 2026 17:40:01 EDT news697206842 Today's octopuses are intelligent, remarkably flexible animals that lurk in reefs, hide in crevices, or drift through the deep sea. But new research suggests that their earliest relatives may have played a far more predatory role in ocean ecosystems. A study led by researchers at Hokkaido University has found that the earliest known octopuses were giant predators that hunted at the very top of the food web, alongside large marine vertebrates. The study is published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-giant-octopuses-oceans-million-years.html Evolution Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:30:02 EDT news696182161 "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," said Juliet Capulet in William Shakespeare's famous play. And the same is presumably true for mollusks, albeit with different odors. When you think about the scientific names of animals, including our own species, Homo sapiens, it's tempting to see these as neutral, objective labels. But Taro Yoshimura, a researcher in evolutionary paleontology at the University Museum, the University of Tokyo, sees scientific names as time capsules that reflect the culture and education of the people who coined them. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mollusks-greek-evolves-snail-pace.html Plants & Animals Mon, 20 Apr 2026 05:00:03 EDT news695634182 Happy Saturday! This week, researchers reported on the familiar phenomenon of speeding away from a slower-driving car only to have it catch up at the next traffic light—they've named it Voorhees law, after the well-known movie slasher who always catches up to his victims. A study finds that nonpsychotropic cannabinoid CBD reverses brain damage in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. And scientists are testing methods to regrow joints damaged by arthritis. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-saturday-citations-octopus-behavior-children.html Other Sat, 11 Apr 2026 09:00:02 EDT news695044047 For mating male octopuses, one limb is more important than all others. That is the third right arm or hectocotylus, which is used to transfer sperm to the female because the penis cannot do it directly. Losing the limb can severely affect their ability to father offspring, at least until a new one regenerates. That is why they take extra care to avoid damaging it or losing it to a predator, according to new research published in the journal Ethology. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-lengths-male-octopuses-arm.html Plants & Animals Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:40:03 EDT news694870425 A famous 300-million-year-old fossil that was thought to be the world's oldest octopus—even featuring in the Guinness Book of Records—has turned out to be something else altogether. In what amounts to a case of mistaken identity, the fossil hid its true nature through decay 300 million years ago, before being fossilized. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-oldest-octopus-fossil-scans-reveal.html Evolution Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:10:01 EDT news694683001