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. Saturn's moon Enceladus sports a thick shell of ice surrounding a liquid water ocean. As though scraped by an enormous claw, four parallel cracks slash across its south pole. Each about 500 meters (1,600 feet) deep, 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) across and 130 kilometers (81 miles) long, the fissures spew water vapor and other materials from the subsurface ocean directly into space. But the origin of these "tiger stripes" is mysterious. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ocean-motion-enceladus-tiger-stripes.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:20:15 EDT news706960681 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 Rat poisons used in homes, businesses and on farms are moving into South Africa's wildlife, according to new research from the Urban Caracal Project, a key research and education initiative based in the Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa (iCWild) at the University of Cape Town, together with international collaborators from the Institute for Game and Wildlife Research (IREC) and the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (CSIC) in Spain. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-cape-town-caracals-expose-hidden.html Plants & Animals Wed, 19 Aug 2026 07:00:07 EDT news706333141 Scientists have described a new species of lizard from the high mountain forests of western Thailand and have given it a name straight out of an American fantasy drama television series: Acanthosaura syrax, named after Syrax, the dragon ridden by Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen in "House of the Dragon." https://phys.org/news/2026-08-species-mountain-horned-dragon-thailand.html Plants & Animals Mon, 10 Aug 2026 10:40:04 EDT news705575461 Todd Montgomery pops the lid off a small tube and taps out hundreds of mosquitoes into the backyard of a suburban home outside Washington. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-firm-backyard-mosquitoes.html Ecology Fri, 07 Aug 2026 03:20:02 EDT news705288775 Deep in the forests of North Sumatra, Indonesia, lives the Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis), the world's rarest great ape. Fewer than 800 individuals remain, confined to the Batang Toru ecosystem, a landscape that is also home to other rare species like Sumatran tigers, Sunda pangolins, agile gibbons and helmeted hornbills. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-multiple-threats-endanger-world-rarest.html Plants & Animals Tue, 04 Aug 2026 16:40:06 EDT news705060700 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 Some mosquitoes really are picky eaters. They will not just stick their proboscis into any old human. We know this anecdotally, with some people claiming they are always bitten while others are completely ignored, though we don't really know why. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-people-mosquito-magnets-unbitten.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:20:03 EDT news705055569 Nate Rouette and his brother Nelson went shark fishing on Cape Cod hoping for an exciting catch, but were shocked by what they reeled in—a tropical species of shark with a reputation for eating everything it can swallow. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tiger-shark-caught-massachusetts.html Ecology Tue, 04 Aug 2026 02:45:16 EDT news705030273 The bison carried on grazing peacefully as the flames approached, imperturbable despite the fires ravaging the land around their wildlife park west of Madrid. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-spain-safari-animals-grazed-calmly.html Environment Fri, 31 Jul 2026 03:50:01 EDT news704685869 Offshore Northwest reefs Rankin Bank and Glomar Shoal are remote and little known, but Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) researchers are using technology and people power to help us understand them better. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-australia-remote-northwest-reefs-indigenous.html Ecology Thu, 30 Jul 2026 07:20:04 EDT news704609281 Nepal's tiger population has risen by roughly 20% in the past four years to an estimated 429, officials said Wednesday, a conservation milestone despite challenges from human-wildlife conflict. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nepal-tiger-climb-percent-survey.html Ecology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:20:05 EDT news704540725 "Shark Week," which kicks off this week, has captivated audiences for decades with stories of these powerful ocean predators. But the secret behind their extraordinary swimming abilities lies far deeper than their impressive teeth or iconic tails—it's hidden inside their spines. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-sharks-spines-hidden-architecture-styles.html Plants & Animals Mon, 27 Jul 2026 11:40:07 EDT news704368926 The critically endangered sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus) appears to have found a refuge off the northern coast of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, for mating and reproduction. This was revealed in a study conducted by scientists and divers in the Alcatrazes Archipelago, a protected marine area located 35 kilometers (22 miles) off the coast of São Sebastião. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-paulo-archipelago-ground-endangered-sharks.html Plants & Animals Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:30:04 EDT news703871941 In many urban areas, low-income neighborhoods have more mosquitoes, making residents more vulnerable to mosquito-borne diseases. A new study co-authored by scientists at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies found that invasive, nonnative plants, which tend to be more common in low-income areas, boosted mosquito populations in Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-invasive-boost-mosquitoes-income-areas.html Ecology Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:30:03 EDT news703868401 The choices people make to control mosquitoes in their own backyards may be helping some of those mosquitoes survive the very insecticides meant to kill them, according to two new studies from North Carolina State University. The paper on the emergence and spatial distribution of resistance appears in Parasites & Vectors. The paper on socioeconomic predictors of resistance appears in Royal Society Open Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-wealthier-north-carolina-neighborhoods-hotspots.html Evolution Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:40:08 EDT news703757343 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 In a new study led by University of Delaware researchers Aaron Carlisle and Ed Hale, researchers point to concerns in the international trade of sand tiger sharks, a critically endangered shark species globally, for display in aquariums. The work is published in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-international-critically-endangered-sand-tiger.html Plants & Animals Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:00:09 EDT news702819301 New research reveals the unusual shape, size and pattern of the dermal denticles that cover basking sharks—thought to be unique to this species. Researchers propose that the shape and arrangement of the skin's scales protect the skin while also allowing for the stretchiness required to open and close their colossal mouths during ram filter feeding. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-uncovering-secrets-basking-shark-bizarre.html Plants & Animals Thu, 09 Jul 2026 07:00:01 EDT news702794042 Pan Sok still remembers his relative screaming as a tiger dragged him away one night, deep inside the Cambodian rainforest where they were tapping trees for resin. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-cambodia-tigers.html Ecology Wed, 08 Jul 2026 04:40:01 EDT news702702357 When trying to attract and recognize potential mates, animals are known to rely on various signals, traits and behaviors. In the case of birds, these signals can typically include a wide range of sounds—such as trills, whistles, chirps or melodious notes defined as "songs"—as well as the color and movement of their feathers. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-songs-play-greater-role-plumage.html Evolution Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:20:04 EDT news702042111 Saturn's moon Enceladus has become a prime solar system target for astrobiologists. This is because the small moon, which is just over 10% the diameter of Earth's moon, harbors a vast subsurface ocean beneath its icy crust. This subsurface ocean, combined with the geysers at Enceladus' south pole that discharge bits of this ocean into the void, provides scientists with a treasure trove of opportunities for scientific research into whether Enceladus could harbor ingredients for life as we know it, or even direct evidence of life. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-esa-outlines-high-tech-lander.html Space Exploration Wed, 01 Jul 2026 11:20:03 EDT news702116986 Sharks are front of mind for many Sydneysiders and coastal New South Wales residents. In January, a teenager died amid a spate of attacks in and around Sydney. This month, a woman was bitten by a large great white while swimming close to shore and between the flags at Coogee Beach. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-sharkspotting-drones-reassurance-full.html Plants & Animals Tue, 30 Jun 2026 19:00:03 EDT news702033959 Fossils tucked away in a museum drawer and identified merely as "feline" are actually from a very ancient and enigmatic saber-toothed cat that inhabited North America more than 5 million years ago. Newly identified by a UC Berkeley paleontologist, the nearly complete skull helps clarify how these large-fanged felines evolved over millennia before going extinct about 10,000 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-newly-fossil-evolutionary-history-saber.html Evolution Sat, 27 Jun 2026 14:00:01 EDT news701360015 The tropical rainforests of Central and South America are among the most biodiverse places on Earth. Costa Rica alone is home to half a million species, five times more than exist in the entire country of Canada, despite the former having 200 times less land area than the latter. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-widespread-butterfly-species-disguise.html Plants & Animals Thu, 25 Jun 2026 09:40:01 EDT news701594281 Patterns reveal the individual: A novel AI algorithm equips researchers with a powerful new tool to accurately identify individual jaguars, zebras and giraffes in real time based on their unique coat patterns. Biologists and ecologists can now observe individual wild animals as they move from place to place, as well as their behavior and development over long periods, accurately, with much less effort and significantly faster than before—a major step forward for nature conservation. The scientists explain how this works in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ai-tool-wild-animals-unique.html Ecology Tue, 23 Jun 2026 14:20:06 EDT news701436782 Inside a factory in southern France, millions of tiger mosquitoes are being bred, not to spread, but to stop them from reproducing—though scaling up such efforts poses a mighty challenge. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scaling-key-french-firm-sterile.html Ecology Tue, 16 Jun 2026 05:40:01 EDT news700801606 Growing up in Tahiti, Anna-Bella Failloux saw firsthand the threat posed by mosquitoes: Nearly a third of adults on the picturesque island once had swollen limbs from elephantiasis caused by their bites. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scientist-global-threat-mosquitoes.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 16 Jun 2026 03:55:55 EDT news700800917 A young mother remains in hospital after being bitten by a shark at Coogee Beach in Sydney on Saturday morning. Leah Stewart, 35, was swimming about 30 meters (33 yards) offshore when the shark—believed to be a 3- to 4-meter (10- to 13-foot) great white shark—struck. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-shark-culls-people-safe-ocean.html Ecology Mon, 15 Jun 2026 15:20:02 EDT news700740001 It's an insect everybody loves to hate. Pesky mosquitoes will be out in swarms as the weather warms up across the U.S.—and their bites aren't just itchy. They can transmit pathogens that can cause diseases like West Nile virus, Zika virus and malaria, to name a few. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-harmonic-radar-tags-reveal-mosquitoes.html Plants & Animals Sat, 13 Jun 2026 09:00:02 EDT news700403639