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. Eagles are symbols of hunting prowess. Known as top predators wherever they live, they are often assumed to kill as their primary mode of obtaining food. However, a new study published in the Journal of Raptor Research reports the first confirmed case of sustained carrion use by Verreaux's eagles (Aquila verreauxii) in the Arabian Peninsula, suggesting that the species' diet may be more adaptable than previously realized. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-eagles-specialists-reveal-unexpected-goat.html Plants & Animals Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:40:03 EDT news707124661 Different cover crops may affect how plants defend themselves against pests—including by attracting more insects that eat harmful caterpillars—according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-specific-crops-insects-pests.html Ecology Thu, 27 Aug 2026 18:40:01 EDT news707070601 In the opening scene of American writer Kim Stanley Robinson's "The Ministry for the Future," a heat wave combined with a breakdown of the electrical grid in India kills 20 million people. The devastation causes the world's nations to unite to combat climate change. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-world-inches-catastrophic-climate-events.html Environment Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:42:53 EDT news706794146 An international team of researchers from Belgium, France, Switzerland, Spain and the U.S. has reconstructed the evolution of body mass in carnivorous mammals during the Paleogene—a crucial window in the diversification of mammals that followed the extinction of dinosaurs. This work, published in Biology Letters, challenges the long-standing hypothesis that competition decided the fate of ancient top predators. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-climate-predator-million-years.html Ecology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:40:03 EDT news705841742 Online conflict tends to advance social movements rather than undermine them, according to new research from McGill's Desautels Faculty of Management. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-online-conflict-weaken-social-movements.html Political science Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:10:01 EDT news705753289 We call them "man's best friend," and the evidence supports it. Dogs have been found buried alongside humans in graves dating back 14,000 years. They appear in ancient art from every continent, and they feature in the mythology, religion and folklore of virtually every culture. Archaeological evidence shows they have helped us hunt, protected our homes, hauled our possessions, herded our livestock and provided companionship through the entirety of recorded history. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dogs-evolved-differently-globe-human.html Evolution Sun, 09 Aug 2026 19:10:01 EDT news705243839 A new study by ancient DNA researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, used paleogenomics to create a genetic roadmap to help guide the restoration of another iconic species once on the brink of extinction: the North American bison. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-decoding-north-american-bison-genome.html Plants & Animals Thu, 06 Aug 2026 18:10:01 EDT news705256562 African gray foam-nest treefrogs (Chiromantis xerampelina) are common across the savannas and dry forests of southeastern Africa. Despite their unremarkable outward appearance, these small animals display some of the most intriguing reproductive behaviors known to science. Most notably, the females are highly polyandrous, constructing elaborate foam nests and mating with many different male partners in a breeding season. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-sex-life-treefrogs-females-multiple.html Plants & Animals Thu, 23 Jul 2026 17:00:02 EDT news704028421 Wildlife protection frameworks in both the EU and the UK need stronger and more consistent implementation—and must recognize animals as "individuals capable of experiencing suffering," rather than mere ecological assets. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-biodiversity-europe-laws-wildlife-individuals.html Plants & Animals Thu, 16 Jul 2026 19:00:01 EDT news703402738 Horses know a predator when they see one—even if it's only on a video screen while they're standing in a stall, with no sounds, smells or previous experience providing context for what they're viewing, a new study suggests. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-eyeing-predator-horses-poker-hearts.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:00:07 EDT news703325708 It wouldn't make much sense to prohibit people from shooting a threatened woodpecker while allowing its forest to be cut down, or to bar killing endangered salmon while allowing a dam to dry out their habitat. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-redefining-word-endangered-species-ability.html Ecology Mon, 13 Jul 2026 20:40:04 EDT news703156053 Two new studies examining gray wolves in California paint a complex picture of life on the state's ranching landscapes: Wolves eat cattle more than anything else, and the presence of the predators causes significant stress among livestock. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-california-wolves-heavily-cattle-presence.html Plants & Animals Wed, 08 Jul 2026 14:00:23 EDT news702700961 A new international study led by researchers at the University of Oulu, Finland, shows that wolves living in different parts of the world are not anatomically identical. Their skulls differ in shape and size according to climate, prey availability, evolutionary history and, increasingly, the influence of humans. The paper is published in the journal Diversity and Distributions. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-wolves-world-evolved-skull-humans.html Plants & Animals Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:00:07 EDT news702638805 Movement data from wild predator–prey encounters and controlled human catch-tag games have been combined to create realistic simulations of high-intensity movement dynamics and energetics—before being transformed into a publicly accessible video game. This game uses a citizen science approach to data collection and is helping to further our understanding of the role of movement decision-making and fatigue in life-or-death encounters. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-cheetah-biologically-accurate-video-game.html Ecology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 08:00:11 EDT news702571229 A rat first frees a cagemate rat and then shares food with it. Is this animal just as empathetic as humans? In an American study from 2011, researchers observed that rats first freed their fellow rats from a cage and then shared food with them instead of leaving them in the cage and eating alone; this means they showed empathy. But do they have the same capacity for empathy as we humans, or do we differ in that regard? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rats-empathy.html Plants & Animals Sun, 05 Jul 2026 16:00:03 EDT news702217587 Throughout human ecological history, we have played a variety of roles within ecosystems around the world. In this so-called Anthropocene era, genomic innovations have given us new and powerful ways to influence the environment and the countless species with whom we share the planet. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-genomics-center-indigenous-knowledge-rights.html Plants & Animals Fri, 03 Jul 2026 19:40:01 EDT news702290439 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 Wolves use their urine to communicate with each other. A recent study looked at the reactions of a pack to the marking of an intruder. This is a first step toward understanding what attracts or repels canids. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-wolves-react-strongly-trespassers-breeders.html Plants & Animals Tue, 30 Jun 2026 15:00:05 EDT news702036781 Big cats have a big impact. A long-term study showed that when mountain lions began regular visits to a small suburban preserve about 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of San Francisco, they changed the behavior of many other animals. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-mountain-lions-major-ecological-impact.html Plants & Animals Wed, 17 Jun 2026 10:40:04 EDT news700907762 Ground squirrel droppings, preserved for millennia in the Yukon's deep permafrost, have yielded an enormous amount of environmental DNA from dozens of species of plants, insects, microbes and large mammals, offering detailed genetic information about an environment that no longer exists. It is among the oldest ancient DNA ever recovered and sequenced. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ancient-ground-squirrel-reveal-arctic.html Evolution Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:00:05 EDT news700130381 Armed with trail cameras, artificial intelligence, and a powerful national research network, scientists are revisiting Lewis and Clark's legendary journey to see how America's wildlife has changed over the past 200 years. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scientists-years-nature.html Plants & Animals Fri, 05 Jun 2026 22:40:01 EDT news699855345 Bison are political animals. A federal decision to revoke grazing leases for bison on public lands on the rolling plains of eastern Montana is the latest manifestation of long-standing contention. The largest land animal in North America, bison are considered a "keystone" species, meaning they have high ecological and cultural importance. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-bison-efforts-grazing-rights-hinge.html Plants & Animals Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:00:05 EDT news699795962 Human activity may be enabling the expansion of golden jackals across Europe by reducing the suppressive effect of gray wolves, suggests research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. This human-mediated interaction could allow jackals to occupy up to 75% of the continent, almost six times more than the current area, the authors suggest. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-wolves-recover-golden-jackals-conquer.html Plants & Animals Tue, 26 May 2026 16:00:03 EDT news699019121 Today's announcement by Texas-based de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences about a successful hatching of chicks from an artificial egg would represent a major innovation, if the claims can be verified. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-deextinction-company-artificial-egg-true.html Biotechnology Sat, 23 May 2026 09:30:01 EDT news698499765 A new large-scale study led by a research team from the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change has found that wildlife responds not only to how humans reshape their habitats, but also to the simple presence of humans—and sometimes in surprising ways. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-wildlife-behavior-response.html Plants & Animals Thu, 21 May 2026 14:00:14 EDT news698571662 Wolves in India, like the pack that raised Mowgli in "The Jungle Book," can often feel disconnected from both the research and storytelling of wolves. Rice University professor Lauren Hennelly is working to change that. Her research uncovers the stories that these gray wolves, along with the nearby Tibetan wolves, carry in their DNA. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-indian-tibetan-wolves-reveal-ancient.html Plants & Animals Mon, 18 May 2026 17:30:01 EDT news698342761 Dogs have long been known to have smaller brains than the wolves they descended from. But when they started to shrink has been a matter of some debate. New research published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, which compared ancient and modern canid skulls, puts the date at around 5,000 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tail-dog-brain-reveals-began.html Evolution Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:20:04 EDT news696675845 Between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, many of the world's largest mammals disappeared. Picture creatures like saber-toothed cats with 7-inch fangs and elephant-sized sloths. Woolly mammoths whose curved tusks grew longer than 12 feet. Even a three-ton wombat the size of a car. After roaming Earth for millions of years, most large-bodied mammals—especially those weighing over a ton—were wiped out. Vanished. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-giants-years-triggered-ripple-effects.html Ecology Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:00:11 EDT news696242881 Wolves on a remote island in Lake Superior appear to be thriving, but they're making deep dents in the moose population that they rely on as a leading food source, according to a report released Monday. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-remote-lake-superior-island-wolves.html Ecology Mon, 27 Apr 2026 11:00:14 EDT news696504050 In the novel "When There Are Wolves Again" by E.J. Swift, the Chernobyl disaster and its legacy is extrapolated to a near future where natural habitats are depleted and precarious. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-forty-years-disaster-foxes-bison.html Ecology Sat, 25 Apr 2026 17:30:02 EDT news695911516