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. On the banks of the Waal, the Dutch branch of the Rhine, swimmers are sunning themselves on a Nijmegen beach that didn't exist before the river level dropped a few months ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-historic-drought-dutch-rethink.html Environment Sat, 15 Aug 2026 04:00:01 EDT news705983288 From launchpads to low Earth orbit and beyond, space companies and their affiliates are deploying a familiar marketing tactic—with a new twist. In a space economy projected to reach US$1.8 trillion by 2035, they sell space exploration narratives by appealing to a desire to expand humankind beyond Earth—while downplaying or omitting the negative repercussions for Earth and the space environment. Welcome to the age of starwashing. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-starwashing-space-companies-greenwashing-playbook.html Space Exploration Fri, 14 Aug 2026 21:00:01 EDT news705765127 Why do disagreements about vaccines, climate change or elections often feel so personal? Our research suggests it is not simply because other people have different beliefs. It is because we think those beliefs are mistaken. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-false-furious-bothered-beliefs-wrong.html Political science Fri, 14 Aug 2026 20:20:02 EDT news705830906 As summer temperatures soar across the United States and Europe, cities are being forced to confront the difficult reality that they're getting dangerously hot. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-green-roofs-cool-cities-summer.html Environment Fri, 14 Aug 2026 19:40:01 EDT news705756601 Decades of climate change have not left Europe's mountain vegetation unscathed. However, the changes observed do not always match expectations. As a new international study by a research team led by researchers from the University of Vienna, the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the BOKU University shows, alpine vegetation has shifted significantly towards warmth-associated species. However, the direct link between this so-called thermophilization and local warming is surprisingly weak. The study has recently been published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-europe-mountain-summits-vegetation-ways.html Evolution Fri, 14 Aug 2026 18:00:01 EDT news705935104 Over 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) of protected tropical forest—an area double the size of Wales—have been lost to wildfires since 2001. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-wildfires-destroyed-area-tropical-forest.html Earth Sciences Fri, 14 Aug 2026 16:00:01 EDT news705925203 Chalk streams are among the world's rarest river habitats. Fewer than 300 exist globally, and most are found in England. They support rich wildlife and have been described as England's 'Great Barrier Reef' due to their biodiversity. But they face pressure from climate change and other long-term impacts including pollution and water abstraction. Professor Rachel Stubbington of Nottingham Trent University's School of Science and Technology explains what makes chalk streams unique, why they are important and what can be done to protect them. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-qa-chalk-streams-rare-rivers.html Ecology Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:20:06 EDT news705935102 According to a new study led by researchers from Brazil and Germany, the main system that transports heat from one end of the Atlantic Ocean to the other may undergo sudden changes in intensity driven by climate change similar to what we are experiencing now, even when it is already weakened. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sediments-brazil-northeast-coast-reveal.html Earth Sciences Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:00:04 EDT news705931022 When it comes to compounding natural hazards like landslides, wildfires, flooding and extreme heat, where you live makes all the difference. New research from Portland State University underscores this disproportionate reality, finding that in Portland, the areas most vulnerable to multiple climate hazards are historically underinvested neighborhoods marked by lower median incomes, lower levels of education and greater racial diversity. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hazards-converge-east-portland-underinvestment.html Earth Sciences Fri, 14 Aug 2026 11:20:06 EDT news705924916 Three factors—spectacular images, a high death toll and strong personal ties—make it more likely that the media in one country will report on a natural disaster in another, according to a study by the University of Bonn, the University of Warwick and Imperial College London, which has been published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-climate-driven-droughts-rarely-international.html Environment Fri, 14 Aug 2026 10:20:01 EDT news705921028 The Huashan rock art landscape in southern China, close to the border with Vietnam, is a remarkable UNESCO World Heritage site. Thousands of images are painted on river cliffs across more than 80 locations stretching 260 kilometers (162 miles). They depict people, musical instruments, boats, animals, weapons and many other figures, and date back at least 2,000 years. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-human-blood-ancient-chinese-art.html Archaeology Fri, 14 Aug 2026 10:00:01 EDT news705842919 Salt and sugar from the sea can rise as far as the free troposphere, thereby influencing both cloud formation and the Arctic climate. This is the finding of balloon measurements carried out by a team of researchers on Spitsbergen in autumn 2021 and spring 2022. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-arctic-balloon-samples-marine-sugars.html Earth Sciences Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:40:01 EDT news705916225 For thousands of years, farmers in the Pacific have lived in harmony with their environment. But rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and tired soils are testing even the most experienced hands. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-pacific-farmers-reviving-traditional-knowledge.html Agriculture Fri, 14 Aug 2026 08:30:01 EDT news705910018 Imagine you wake up one morning and look out your window. You see a red sky, hear a ferocious blast of wind and watch as tree branches creak and crack. No, the apocalypse has not descended on your local neighborhood. You've just been caught in the middle of a dust storm. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-red-skies-lost-solar-power.html Earth Sciences Fri, 14 Aug 2026 08:10:01 EDT news705909958 Approximately 1.4 million Californians live in areas at high risk of flooding each year, and climate change is only driving this number up. But flood risk can be a tricky concept for residents and policymakers alike to grasp. Just looking at a FEMA map or knowing that a home is built in a 100-year floodplain doesn't give people an intuitive understanding of how likely it is that a flood will occur—or what could happen when one does. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-digital-twins-california.html Environment Fri, 14 Aug 2026 07:50:02 EDT news705906892 An analysis of 103 European cities' climate-neutral plans for 2030 (including 22 capital cities) shows that municipalities are planning to rely on carbon removal to compensate for about a fifth of their emissions. This would mean removing roughly 61 million tonnes of emissions from the atmosphere—close to Austria's annual emissions. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-eu-cities-compensate-emissions-carbon.html Environment Fri, 14 Aug 2026 05:00:05 EDT news705752702 Fields, parks and lawns across Europe have turned to straw this summer. Landscapes thousands of years old have been revealed as green outlines against yellow backgrounds, where ancient underground walls and ditches retain enough water to sustain pockets of grass above them. Lawns and parklands have been especially affected because what water is available is being directed to homes and farms. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-britain-grass-yellow-scientist.html Plants & Animals Thu, 13 Aug 2026 20:40:01 EDT news705765107 The Australian National Insect Collection at CSIRO holds 2,000 drawers of butterfly specimens, including some that were collected more than a century ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-butterfly-effects-climate.html Ecology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 18:00:01 EDT news705854281 There's good news and bad news for folks who love a good coat of ice on the Great Lakes for the activities and businesses it supports. The good news is that, after decades of declining annual average ice cover, there's reason to believe that trend could slow or even temporarily reverse. That's according to new research from the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, or CIGLR, at the University of Michigan. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-great-lakes-ice-temporary-respite.html Earth Sciences Thu, 13 Aug 2026 17:40:07 EDT news705846181 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 Consumers are increasingly choosing products from companies that demonstrate genuine environmental responsibility. While many studies have linked environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance with stronger financial results, exactly how environmental responsibility translates into higher profits has remained unclear. A new study suggests that sustainability improves corporate financial performance indirectly by increasing sales. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-environmental-responsibility-financial.html Economics & Business Thu, 13 Aug 2026 17:00:01 EDT news705853621 A wildfire needs a name long before anyone knows what caused it. When the pines of the Gironde in southwestern France caught fire in July, the fire was reported within hours under the name of the ground it was burning. By the time it had taken 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres), that name was fixed in every bulletin in Europe. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-wild-wildfires-humans-dangerous.html Environment Thu, 13 Aug 2026 16:40:03 EDT news705853202 Climate change and biodiversity loss require us to base our decisions on the best possible knowledge. Yet a new study conducted by Dr. Roxana Roos at the University of Bergen shows that valuable knowledge about local nature and climate conditions often does not become part of the decision-making basis. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-important-local-knowledge-nature-climate.html Environment Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:40:01 EDT news705850681 Torrential rain pummeled eastern Japan on Thursday, triggering landslides and power outages and prompting the weather authority to issue its highest-level heavy rain warning for the region for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-heavy-eastern-japan-prompting-highest.html Environment Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:20:04 EDT news705849576 Smoke from Canada's July wildfires exposed people across Canada and the United States to unhealthy, very unhealthy or hazardous air for nearly 106 million person-days between July 15–17. Over the peak impact period of July 13–18, moderate or worse air quality accounted for more than 769 million person-days. For a period, Toronto recorded the poorest air quality of any major city in the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-days-ontario-wildfire-brought-unhealthy.html Environment Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:00:08 EDT news705842432 Millions of people across Europe—particularly in France, Italy, Spain and Britain—baked through a new wave of extreme temperatures Thursday as the continent's latest heat wave picked up. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-millions-europeans-struggle-extreme.html Environment Thu, 13 Aug 2026 14:19:12 EDT news705849483 If you want to know how rapidly pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere will affect future forest ecosystems, you have to look into the distant past. The researchers behind a new study published in Science have done just that, reconstructing the forest canopy of 56 million years ago, during a massive and abrupt emission of carbon into the atmosphere during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). For the first time, the study's authors used fossilized leaf cells to reconstruct the tree canopy of the PETM, Earth's most recent period of comparable global warming, with chilling implications for our near future. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-paleontologists-reconstruct-forests-million-years.html Ecology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 14:00:06 EDT news705678121 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 Satellite images can be used to estimate how much carbon forests store as aboveground biomass (AGB) and how biomass varies in different forests. In a study published in the journal Nature, a team of researchers affiliated with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), the University of Maryland, NASA and the Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Brazil, analyzed 16 million 2020 NASA-GEDI satellite estimates of biomass from forests in the Amazon, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-satellite-reveal-tropical-forests-differently.html Earth Sciences Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:20:12 EDT news705840962 A new joint study from Constructor University and Princeton University in the Journal of the American Chemical Society focuses on PC645, a protein complex that contributes to cryptophyte algae's ability to photosynthesize efficiently using specialized light-harvesting pigments that can capture energy from dim, blue-green underwater light. During photosynthesis, the pH inside the algae can fluctuate significantly, affecting how they manage light energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nature-dimmer-algae-photosynthesis-ph.html Biochemistry Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:20:03 EDT news705831782