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. Why do humans rely on XY chromosomes to determine sex, while birds use ZW—and many reptiles use neither, letting temperature decide instead? Sex determination is remarkably diverse across the animal kingdom. In genotypic sex determination (GSD), sex is encoded in the genome: XX individuals are female and XY males in humans and most mammals, while in the ZW system, found in birds and some reptiles, males are ZZ and females ZW. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-xy-zw-gecko-chromosomes-reveal.html Evolution Thu, 27 Aug 2026 14:00:08 EDT news707044201 A researcher from the University of North Carolina Asheville has published the first comprehensive checklist of the native terrestrial reptiles of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), drawing on 20 years of collaborative fieldwork to create a single illustrated reference for scientists, conservationists and nature enthusiasts. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-decades-fieldwork-native-reptiles-turks.html Ecology Thu, 27 Aug 2026 08:20:09 EDT news707034173 We share our planet with millions of plants and animals. This variety of life is known as biodiversity, a term encompassing everything from microscopic genes to entire ecosystems, such as deserts and vibrant coral reefs. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-species-discoveries-reveal-emerging-biodiversity.html Ecology Thu, 27 Aug 2026 08:20:04 EDT news707032202 Sea turtles are famous for being prodigious wanderers. Guided by Earth's magnetic field, ocean currents and the sun, they tend to crisscross the seas in search of food, returning to the region of their birth every few years to breed. So when scientists discovered a population of sea turtles that appear to be very much homebodies, they were taken aback. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-galpagos-yellow-sea-turtles-homebodies.html Plants & Animals Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:01 EDT news706880270 Australia's lizards and snakes are facing a far more precarious future than previously understood, with a new review led by Monash University researchers revealing that around 127 species, or just over 13% of Australia's terrestrial lizards and snakes, are now likely to be threatened with extinction—almost double previous estimates. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-australia-lizards-snakes-faster-previously.html Plants & Animals Wed, 26 Aug 2026 17:00:06 EDT news706966958 France's heat waves have produced an unusual outcome at a wildlife park, where 10 Nile crocodiles hatched without human assistance for the first time, the director of the reserve said Wednesday. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hot-incubate-nile-crocodiles-hatch.html Ecology Wed, 26 Aug 2026 10:10:01 EDT news706955005 During the Late Cretaceous period, parts of Egypt were covered in water. A new study, published in the journal Cretaceous Research, describes new evidence that this tropical sea was home to a diverse community of sharks. The study adds five new species to the region's history, found in what the authors refer to as a "shark graveyard." https://phys.org/news/2026-08-egypt-home-diverse-shark-community.html Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 25 Aug 2026 11:30:02 EDT news706874558 Slash, aka Saul Hudson, is probably best known as the guitarist for Guns N' Roses. But there's more to Slash than his music. He's also a lifelong reptile lover and an avid supporter of zoos and museums. And now, he's the namesake of the newly discovered Lielaphis slashi: Slash's groundsnake. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-jungle-newly-snake-slash-guns.html Plants & Animals Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:10:01 EDT news706465621 Around 15,000 years ago, the way of life of human communities in the southern Levant underwent a fundamental change. Groups of hunter-gatherers, who until then had been nomadic, reduced their mobility and established small, permanent settlements for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-snake-bones-flint-mount-carmel.html Archaeology Thu, 20 Aug 2026 08:40:03 EDT news706433326 Scientists studying one of nature's greatest reproductive innovations have discovered how some lizards evolved from laying eggs to giving birth to live young. The new research is the first to reveal the evolutionary process behind this important biological change and offers a unique insight into how other species—including mammals—may have evolved to give birth to live young millions of years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-evolutionary-birth-lizards-uncovered.html Plants & Animals Wed, 19 Aug 2026 17:00:04 EDT news706362782 Tsetse flies transmit some of Africa's most persistent parasitic diseases. They have affected human health, livestock production and rural development for generations, across a region spanning millions of square kilometers in 37 sub-Saharan countries. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bloodsucking-insect-mouth-tsetse-fly.html Plants & Animals Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:20:05 EDT news706359001 In British zoos and aquariums, fewer than 10% of vertebrate species are native to the UK, and just 2% are high conservation priorities, according to a study by Justin Lennon at the University of Brighton and colleagues, published Aug. 19, 2026, in the journal PLOS One. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-species-uk-zoos-native-threatened.html Ecology Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:00:17 EDT news706274761 According to a study by Brazilian scientists published in the journal npj Biodiversity, most new mammal species described over the past 35 years are housed in institutions in countries of the so-called Global North, even though the vast majority were discovered in poor or developing countries in the Southern Hemisphere. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mammal-species-global-south-northern.html Plants & Animals Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:00:01 EDT news706271641 The closest living relatives of crocodiles and alligators are, perhaps surprisingly, birds. Both are archosauriforms, a group of species that originated about 250 million years ago near the beginning of the Triassic period. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-crocodiles-fly-birds-scientists-figured.html Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 14 Aug 2026 07:10:01 EDT news705906771 Feral cats and foxes now roam across almost all of Australia. These predators are a major reason why many species have been driven to extinction. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-safe-havens-australian-mammals-invasive.html Plants & Animals Thu, 13 Aug 2026 17:20:02 EDT news705853982 Newly published research offers some of the clearest evidence yet of why the invasive barred owl has become one of the greatest threats to the northern spotted owl and delivers encouraging evidence that managing barred owl populations can restore old-growth habitat for spotted owl recovery. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-gps-tracking-reveals-invasive-barred.html Ecology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:40:01 EDT news705841681 Some cynodonts may have been giving birth to live young much sooner in evolutionary history than previously assumed. A new Frontiers in Mammal Science study has offered the first compelling evidence that cynodonts may have been viviparous—a reproductive mode characterized by live birth. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-million-year-fossil-story-mammalian.html Evolution Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:02 EDT news705656222 Fever is one of the best-known mechanisms by which animals combat infectious diseases. Sick animals can increase their body temperature in two ways: through physiological regulation, by altering internal metabolic processes, or through behavioral changes, such as seeking warmer environments. Ectothermic animals, including amphibians, fish and reptiles, generally rely only on the latter strategy. However, fever is not always the most effective response against every pathogen. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fever-isnt-infected-tadpoles-cool.html Plants & Animals Mon, 10 Aug 2026 14:00:08 EDT news705587942 The dodo has been extinct for more than 300 years, wiped out within decades of humans arriving on its home island of Mauritius, but it lives on in the public imagination. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dodos-werent-stupid-historians.html Paleontology & Fossils Sat, 08 Aug 2026 10:00:01 EDT news705231121 A new study by San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance researchers has identified a less invasive way to estimate the body temperature of hatchling Mojave desert tortoises, offering scientists a promising tool for studying endangered reptiles while reducing disturbance and handling stress. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-invasive-thermal-imaging-endangered-hatchling.html Plants & Animals Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:40:01 EDT news705226322 Mangroves are perplexing plants. They breathe through their roots, appear to stand on stilts and grow best in hot, salty seawater drawn in and out by the tide. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-good-news-coasts-climate-mangrove.html Environment Thu, 06 Aug 2026 08:40:04 EDT news705218521 For the first time, researchers have discovered a new species of extinct amphibian from Ice Age Los Angeles at La Brea Tar Pits: a spadefoot toad they have named Spea labreae. Only one other extinct Pleistocene amphibian from North America has ever been found (a tree frog from Florida). https://phys.org/news/2026-08-species-ice-age-toad-la.html Ecology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 03:00:01 EDT news705052441 Australia's unique animal species are in sharp decline, with more than 40 mammal extinctions over the past 238 years. This atrocious mammal conservation record is the worst in the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-feral-cats-australian-native-animals.html Ecology Tue, 04 Aug 2026 17:00:07 EDT news705060705 Snakes are seemingly simple in structure: a head attached to a long, unremarkable noodle. They do have some pretty cool features at the front end, with venomous fangs and the ability to stretch their mouths and swallow large prey whole, but their bodies are not just the simple tubes we once thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-snakes-simple-tubes-bodies-regions.html Plants & Animals Tue, 04 Aug 2026 16:00:01 EDT news705059342 Why do humans keep pets? A new international study suggests that some of the behavioral foundations of human-animal companionship may have much deeper evolutionary roots than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-monkey-friendships-dogs-deer-pigs.html Evolution Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:10:01 EDT news704551502 Scientists from China, Europe and the U.S., including Dr. Stephan Spiekman, a paleontologist at the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart and the University of Hohenheim, have described a fossil of the long-necked marine reptile Austronaga minuta from China. Although this reptile descended from land-dwelling reptiles, it was already well adapted to life in the water around 245 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-unique-fossil-reveals-internal-million.html Evolution Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:00:11 EDT news704451961 An ancient marine 'crime scene' discovered near Richmond captures the world first evidence of a flying reptile being eaten by a sea monster… before that predator became dinner itself. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bag-bones-rare-tier-prehistoric.html Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 28 Jul 2026 18:40:06 EDT news704476081 Historians and archaeologists know that maize was a central food source and cultural symbol across the ancient Maya world, but much of what is known has come from studies focused on large Maya cities and elite burials. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ancient-bones-smaller-maya-communities.html Archaeology Sat, 25 Jul 2026 11:20:01 EDT news704029965 Snakes are everywhere in our legends and mythology. Yet for most of us, our blood runs cold whenever we encounter these strangely undulating, scaly tubes of muscle slithering through the leaf litter. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-80millionyearold-snake-fossil-lizards-lost.html Evolution Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:40:02 EDT news704029143 For more than 25 years, Liopleurodon has been one of the world's most recognizable prehistoric marine predators. Immortalized in the BBC's landmark Walking with Dinosaurs series as a colossal 25-meter (82-foot) marine hunter, it captured the imagination of millions and became synonymous with the giant reptiles that ruled Jurassic seas. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-jurassic-sea-monster-smaller-thought.html Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:20:01 EDT news703852022