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. Giant manta rays can grow up to nine meters (30 feet) long with a disk size of seven meters (23 feet) across and weigh up to 2,000 kg (4,400 pounds). This size leaves them with very few natural enemies once they reach adulthood at around eight to 10 years old. But giant manta ray babies, called pups, cannot rely on their size to protect them from predators that live in the open ocean, including several species of shark and orcas. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-baby-manta-rays-hunker-coasts.html Plants & Animals Thu, 22 Oct 2026 00:00:01 EDT news711799141 A majority of Americans blame billionaires for the nation's ever-growing income and wealth divide. But economists Eric Zwick and Owen Zidar say there's a much larger but little-known cadre of very rich folks who may be even more important in closing the gap. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-private-business-fortunes-reveal-overlooked.html Economics & Business Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:00:01 EDT news711794714 Investing more in the military is not a solution to climate change and may cost us our security, warn experts in The BMJ's climate issue. In the first article, Neta Crawford at the University of St Andrews says the view that climate change is a "threat multiplier" that may cause instability and provoke conflict is leading governments to justify higher defense spending. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-military-worsen-climate-undermine-experts.html Environment Wed, 21 Oct 2026 18:30:01 EDT news711794044 When Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) urged Montrealers to limit outdoor activity during Canada's worst wildfire smoke episodes, the city's travel patterns shifted—but far less than public health officials might have hoped, according to a new McGill University study published in Health & Place. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-air-quality-modest-impact-montrealers.html Environment Wed, 21 Oct 2026 18:00:11 EDT news711798380 California's coastal bluffs and beaches look rugged, but they can be surprisingly fragile in the face of a powerful El Niño. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-el-nio-threatening-california-fragile.html Environment Wed, 21 Oct 2026 17:00:07 EDT news711797414 Public and private investments must address the financial barriers preventing women from benefiting fully from digital technologies and artificial intelligence as multiple global crises and aid cuts bite. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-women-farmers-benefit-ai.html Agriculture Tue, 20 Oct 2026 22:20:01 EDT news711714260 Oil and natural gas still account for the vast majority of the world's energy and raw materials, with all the associated environmental and biodiversity consequences. The bioeconomy is an approach to overcoming this dependence: Instead of using fossil fuels, it uses renewable resources such as plants, microorganisms and organic waste. The goal is for economic growth to go hand in hand with protecting species, the climate and soils. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-bioeconomy-gaining-ground-worldwide.html Environment Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:40:10 EDT news711713416 Plastics are accumulating in ecosystems around the world, and their tiny fragments can collect and carry chemical pollutants and pathogens into plants, animals and people. When fishermen in Cambodia's Mekong River became alarmed about the amounts of plastic they were hauling up with each catch, they reached out to scientists for help. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-limited-rural-communities-linked-high.html Environment Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:10:11 EDT news711726301 Even before they are old enough to vote, some young people are finding ways to make a difference. Civic engagement among youth ages 15 to 25 can range from volunteering in the community and joining a protest march to signing a petition or expressing political views on social media, according to Portland State University researcher Yue Ni. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-civic-laboratories-online-spaces-reshaping.html Social Sciences Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:20:24 EDT news711709698 Your phone vibrates, a notification pops up, or you just take a quick glance at the screen. Even minor interruptions can affect your concentration—not least when you're in class. Now, a large randomized trial involving more than 16,000 students in India shows that teaching without access to mobile phones can improve students' academic performance. The researchers also found that students who experience phone-free teaching firsthand become more supportive of the restrictions. The research is published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-college-lessons-grades-large-randomized.html Education Tue, 20 Oct 2026 12:00:01 EDT news711711183 It looks like a small, transparent patch with a rainbow on its surface—or for those old enough to remember, the back of a CD. The patch is the first of its kind in the world and, when combined with an ordinary smartphone camera, can measure two things: pulse and blood vessel stiffness. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-octopus-patch-skin-reveals-pulse.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 20 Oct 2026 10:00:16 EDT news711705901 During the COVID-19 pandemic, air travel declined dramatically. Many view the disruption as a potential tipping point for reducing emissions from the aviation sector. However, once travel restrictions were lifted, passenger traffic quickly rebounded to prepandemic levels and, in many regions, even surpassed them. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-social-norms-infrastructure-climate-transitions.html Environment Mon, 19 Oct 2026 14:20:01 EDT news711628141 A new international study led by Lund University examines what happened to population levels after the Kikai-Akahoya volcanic eruption in prehistoric Japan. The results paint a more complex picture than what had previously been believed. The paper is published in the journal Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-earth-worst-volcanic-disasters-affected.html Archaeology Sat, 17 Oct 2026 16:00:01 EDT news711298336 What happens when political violence is presented as a justified response to threat or injustice coming from an out-group? A study by Ursula Daxecker, director at the Max Planck Institute for Politics and Social Science in Göttingen, and Neeraj Prasad of the University of Amsterdam, published in The Journal of Politics, finds that legitimizing violence can increase public approval of both violence and the parties involved in it. Among BJP supporters, the effect went even further: when violence was portrayed as justified, they were less approving of a peaceful response by their own party. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-political-violence-justifications-voter.html Political science Fri, 16 Oct 2026 21:00:02 EDT news711371452 A new University of Melbourne-led study has identified insights and evidence that could help mitigate the fast-rising climate impact of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). https://phys.org/news/2026-10-wider-approach-mitigate-rechargeable-battery.html Environment Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:10:02 EDT news711378241 With the 2026 midterm elections around the corner, voters may be feeling everything from excitement to fear. But how might anger motivate political activism and, ultimately, influence who turns out to vote? https://phys.org/news/2026-10-belief-political-anger-voting-intentions.html Social Sciences Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:00:01 EDT news711371403 Scientists have learned a lot about what happens to the human body as we age. But there's still much to learn about how other species age, including dogs. Even carrying extra weight could affect a dog's cognitive health. Alexandra Genualdi, a student at Oklahoma State University who presented her research in September at the American Physiological Society's 2026 Comparative Physiology conference in Orlando, talks about her efforts to learn more. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-extra-weight-dog-brain.html Veterinary medicine Thu, 15 Oct 2026 21:00:01 EDT news711298309 Around the world, many people report distrusting their government. In some places, such as Latin America, North America and Africa, trust in government has declined in recent decades. How can governments rebuild this trust? https://phys.org/news/2026-10-digital-platforms.html Political science Thu, 15 Oct 2026 17:00:11 EDT news711285183 Where researchers go, their knowledge goes. And that shapes where innovation happens. "Recruiting researchers is one way institutions gain new knowledge and steer their research in particular directions," explains Vito D. P. Servedio, senior scientist at CSH. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-decades-reveal-alike-worldwide.html Education Thu, 15 Oct 2026 11:20:06 EDT news711274095 Using more than one type of app, including both mainstream apps such as Tinder or Hinge and gay apps like Grindr, could lead to lower levels of anxiety among gay men who use mobile dating platforms. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-relief-dating-app-anxiety-variety.html Social Sciences Thu, 15 Oct 2026 07:40:01 EDT news711262931 By 2025, 143 of 154 developing countries had a National Adaptation Plan process in place, yet implementation has not kept pace. Many countries still lack the institutional capacity, project preparation and finance needed to turn their priorities into strategies, bankable projects and results on the ground. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-climate-delivery-gap-national-action.html Earth Sciences Wed, 14 Oct 2026 22:00:11 EDT news711184189 Publishing scientific articles requires more than knowledge of academic writing conventions; it also depends on access to networks that support the research and publication process. Academic networks provide opportunities to exchange knowledge, receive feedback and develop collaborations that can strengthen both research and careers. For researchers in vulnerable situations, such connections can be crucial. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-exile-academic-contribute-knowledge-aid.html Education Wed, 14 Oct 2026 20:00:01 EDT news711195556 Jennie Brand, a UCLA professor of sociology with an appointment in statistics and data science, is an expert on the socioeconomic effects of job loss, including the long-term economic, psychological, physiological and intergenerational effects. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-job-loss-ai-exposed-jobs.html Social Sciences Wed, 14 Oct 2026 16:00:24 EDT news711192640 A new model using sturgeon as a material analog has made it possible to estimate how the backbones of some of the first animals on land could and could not move. These results disprove a long-standing hypothesis that changes in early tetrapod anatomy as they moved onto land gave them improved neck mobility. The study, led by a researcher at Uppsala University, formerly of Carleton University in Canada, has been published in the journal Nature. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-early-tetrapods-ability-necks.html Evolution Wed, 14 Oct 2026 11:00:52 EDT news711124258 Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have found that a largely overlooked class of "forever chemicals" is widespread in New Jersey drinking water and commercially available bottled beverages, raising new questions about how these persistent contaminants are monitored and potentially introduced into everyday products. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-overlooked-chemicals-widespread-jersey-bottled.html Environment Wed, 14 Oct 2026 07:00:06 EDT news711173950 Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), in collaboration with scientists from institutions in Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Germany, have demonstrated a way to introduce magnetism into an otherwise nonmagnetic two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor and subsequently control its magnetic properties using an electrical voltage. The findings, published in Science Advances, establish a new platform for investigating electrically controllable magnetism in atomically thin materials, with potential implications for future spintronic technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nonmagnetic-magnetic-2d-semiconductor-electrically.html Condensed Matter Mon, 12 Oct 2026 17:40:11 EDT news711014800 Africa boasts up to 25% of Earth's animal and plant species. This diversity is driven by varied habitats: harsh deserts, vast grasslands, dense forests, towering mountains, lush coastlines and teeming seas. It is also due to deep evolutionary roots, as many animal and plant groups originated here in the distant past. Paleontologists have been excavating this material for nearly two centuries. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-zimbabwe-dinosaurs-south-africa-species.html Paleontology & Fossils Sat, 10 Oct 2026 20:30:01 EDT news710684230 Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—a vast family of chemicals used largely for their nonstick, water-repellent and grease-resistant properties—are called "forever chemicals" because of their remarkable resistance to degradation. They are now ubiquitous in our environment. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-food-reveals-diet-exposure-chemicals.html Environment Fri, 09 Oct 2026 19:00:01 EDT news710758214 A new study led by Paul Schulze-Lefert from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, in collaboration with Ricardo F.H. Giehl at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben, revealed how Arabidopsis plants adapt their chemical communication with the bacterial root microbiota to maximize the acquisition of bio-unavailable iron from acidic or calcareous soils. The study is now published in Cell. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-bacteria-partnership-reveals-roots-access.html Plants & Animals Fri, 09 Oct 2026 16:20:07 EDT news710772482 When the COVID-19 pandemic brought human activity to a standstill around the world in the first half of 2020, wildfire incidents also declined by more than 12%. A new study published in Cell Reports Sustainability reveals the complex role humans play in shaping global fire patterns, both as a source of fire and in helping keep fires in check. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-global-wildfires-decreased-covid-lockdown.html Earth Sciences Fri, 09 Oct 2026 11:00:40 EDT news710677201