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. When biologists study cooperation in animals, they usually offer just a single task at a time. But what happens when animals can choose among several opportunities to work together? Biologists at Utrecht University discovered that this can make a remarkable difference. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-animal-behavior-distorted-view-cooperation.html Plants & Animals Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:20:03 EDT news701684942 Inequality is not unique to human groups and societies. Individuals with relatively little power possess a variety of behavioral strategies to counterbalance or regulate power differences. In humans, these strategies include criticism, ridicule, disobedience, or even the expulsion or execution of powerful individuals. Similar inequality-reducing behaviors, which carry comparable social costs, are also found in animal societies. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-animals-behaviors-alphas.html Plants & Animals Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:00:01 EDT news700229941 There's a conundrum that has perplexed biologists since Charles Darwin himself. Why do some exotic species take off as invasive pests while others don't? https://phys.org/news/2026-05-vast-botanical-darwin-puzzle-exotic.html Evolution Fri, 29 May 2026 13:40:04 EDT news699273241 For decades, historians have generally agreed that the progress of small villages as they evolved into cities came at the price of widening inequality. A small group of leaders, kings and priests, would inevitably seize control of the wealth and the gap between rich and poor would grow. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-year-city-defied-history-equal.html Archaeology Tue, 19 May 2026 14:10:01 EDT news698414541 Researchers have recently found a new way to summon useful structures in magnetic materials using light, heat, and electric fields. This new method, described in a new study published in Physical Review Letters, may lead to more energy-efficient and flexible technologies for data storage and optical devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-liquid-crystal-demand-skyrmions-room.html Condensed Matter Wed, 13 May 2026 12:40:02 EDT news697890165 In many primate species, males are much larger than their female counterparts, which is generally attributed to male competition for mates (sexual selection). But bigger bodies may not just be about alpha males defeating rivals. They could also come about because of competition between neighboring social groups, according to a new study published in the journal Biology Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-rivalry-neighboring-groups-key-driver.html Plants & Animals Wed, 13 May 2026 10:30:01 EDT news697886163 Most people have experienced it: when you're moving, engaged, and focused, pain fades into the background, then flares when you're immobilized with nothing to do. That isn't imagination; it's biology. A comprehensive review published in Frontiers in Animal Science shows that barren captive housing removes exactly those pain-dampening inputs—movement, exploration, social contact—while triggering stress-driven mechanisms that amplify pain. Drawing on decades of evidence from neuroscience, immunology, veterinary medicine, and animal welfare science, the study reveals that an animal's environment doesn't just provide the backdrop to pain; it actively shapes how pain is processed, amplified, or suppressed at the biological level. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-barren-captive-environments-dont-restrict.html Veterinary medicine Tue, 24 Mar 2026 18:10:02 EDT news693565856 A new study on ancient societies from around the world is rewriting what we thought we knew about democracy. A team of researchers analyzed archaeological and historical evidence from 31 ancient societies across Europe, Asia, and the Americas and found that shared, inclusive governance was far more common than was once believed. The findings are published in the journal Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-democracy-deep-global-roots-greece.html Archaeology Wed, 18 Mar 2026 14:00:04 EDT news693053822 In recent years, Nepal has been heralded as a global leader in community-based forest conservation. By handing over nearly a third of its nationally owned forest to local villagers in the 1980s, the country reversed years of deforestation and effectively doubled its forest cover between 1992 and 2016. For many in rural Nepal, these forests are a lifeline, providing essential subsistence resources such as firewood for cooking and fodder for livestock. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-nepal-green-success-story-hidden.html Environment Mon, 26 Jan 2026 11:21:32 EST news688648861 Political published writing retains an "important and complex role" in the national conversation—despite huge social and technological changes this century, a new book shows. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-political-retains-important-complex-role.html Political science Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:43:21 EST news688146182 "All I want is an income of 20,000 sesterces from secure investments," proclaims a character in a poem by Juvenal (1st–2nd century CE), the Roman poet. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-weights-gold-bullion-ancients-invested.html Archaeology Tue, 30 Dec 2025 10:30:01 EST news686312500 A study on the legal history of printing press regulation in early modern England yields insights relevant to contemporary debates on the regulation of emerging technologies like AI and virtual reality, a McGill researcher says. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-history-ai.html Political science Wed, 19 Nov 2025 11:35:03 EST news682774501 Biologists often form deep bonds with the species they study. For some, that relationship begins early in their careers and shapes decades of research. The connection can be personal, even affectionate, but it can also create tensions when others set their sights on the same species. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-animals-equal-dark-side-popular.html Plants & Animals Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:15:05 EDT news681045302 As the world grapples with the dynamic tech environment that shapes public perceptions, trust in governance, public and private institutions, and the media has become topical. As these conversations unfold, researchers caution that trust in public institutions and governance mechanisms will continue to deteriorate if regulatory developments fail to keep up. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-falters-weak-digital-misinformation.html Economics & Business Wed, 15 Oct 2025 11:50:05 EDT news679744854 That vibrant carpet of pink and yellow flowers blanketing Mediterranean cliffs might look beautiful in holiday photos on a social media feed. But scientists have discovered these same Instagram snapshots are revealing how one of the world's most destructive coastal plants is taking over new environments by extending its flowering season and threatening native biodiversity. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-instagram-photos-scientists-track-invasive.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Oct 2025 09:09:04 EDT news679738142 New fossil research shows how human impacts, particularly through the rise of agriculture and livestock, have disrupted natural mammal communities as profoundly as the Ice Age extinctions. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-humans-reshaped-animal-world-years.html Ecology Tue, 30 Sep 2025 09:20:03 EDT news678442717 The recent lawsuits associated with HP preventing third-party ink cartridges from being used in their printers highlight the challenges of monopolizing complementary, or add-on, products. HP's case, though, might be considered the more contentious version of a common business practice. Movie theaters and concert venues often restrict people's ability to bring in cheaper snacks to prioritize their own, more expensive, options—and effective monopolies. But this practice is generally accepted (if not loved). https://phys.org/news/2025-09-interplay-base-products-consumer-complementary.html Economics & Business Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:24:04 EDT news677327042 The Middle East is experiencing a period of intense political and economic turbulence, with several countries in the region embroiled in conflict. These conflicts are taking place against the backdrop of an escalating climate crisis. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-middle-eastern-countries-exposed-climate.html Environment Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:48:05 EDT news677256482 A newly published study has found that males of some of our earliest known ancestors were significantly larger than females. The pronounced difference in body size present in both Australopithecus afarensis (the East African species that includes the famous fossil "Lucy") and A. africanus (a closely related southern African species) suggests the ancient hominins may have lived in social systems marked by intense competition among males, leading to the substantial size disparity among the sexes. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-early-human-ancestors-extreme-size.html Evolution Tue, 29 Jul 2025 13:36:39 EDT news673014991 The Helfrich theory of membrane bending, supported by molecular dynamics simulations, is a promising approach for evaluating mechanical properties of graphene nanosheets, report researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo. This hybrid approach allows direct evaluation of bending rigidities of graphene nanosheets, even with lattice defects, without requiring experimental tests, offering valuable insights for designing novel two-dimensional materials with tailored mechanical properties. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-hybrid-approach-graphene-nanosheet-based.html Nanomaterials Wed, 23 Jul 2025 13:10:01 EDT news672494456 Solar cells and computer chips need silicon layers that are as perfect as possible. Every imperfection in the crystalline structure increases the risk of reduced efficiency or defective switching processes. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-cosmic-chips-cooling-triggers-phase.html Condensed Matter Tue, 22 Jul 2025 07:30:05 EDT news672386224 In the sweltering summer of AD18, a desperate chant echoed across China's sun-scorched plains: "Heaven has gone blind!" Thousands of starving farmers, their faces smeared with ox blood, marched toward the opulent vaults held by the Han dynasty's elite rulers. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-years-chinese-history-reveals-today.html Economics & Business Thu, 24 Apr 2025 13:40:03 EDT news664719972 Biologically speaking, female and male bonobos have a weird relationship. First, there's the sex. It's the females who decide when and with whom they mate. They easily parry unwanted sexual advances—and the males know better than to force the issue. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-wild-bonobos-reveals-females-team.html Plants & Animals Thu, 24 Apr 2025 11:00:01 EDT news664695602 King Charles's recent visit to the Vatican may appear to be simply a symbolic gesture of ecumenical goodwill. But moments like this provide an opportunity to look at the long-term consequences of church-state relations around the world. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-countries-catholic-church.html Economics & Business Wed, 16 Apr 2025 13:10:01 EDT news664025606 A new study led by Amy Bogaard, Professor of European Archaeology, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, reveals that high wealth inequality in human societies over the past 10,000 years was encouraged by land-hungry farming practices. Where land became scarce, wealth inequality often grew among households, but where land was abundant, wealth was more equally distributed. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-agricultural-wealth-inequality-years.html Archaeology Tue, 15 Apr 2025 10:50:01 EDT news663931973 If the archaeological record has been correctly interpreted, stone alignments in Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge are remnants of shelters built 1.7 million years ago by Homo habilis, an extinct species representing one of the earliest branches of humanity's family tree. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-archaeological-database-reveals-links-housing.html Archaeology Tue, 15 Apr 2025 08:10:01 EDT news663865283 An international team led by Rutgers University-New Brunswick researchers has merged two lab-synthesized materials into a synthetic quantum structure once thought impossible to exist and produced an exotic structure expected to provide insights that could lead to new materials at the core of quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-scientists-merge-impossible-materials-artificial.html Nanophysics Tue, 01 Apr 2025 11:49:05 EDT news662726941 Scientists don't call it the "Great Dying" for nothing. About 252 million years ago, upward of 80% of all marine species vanished during the end-Permian mass extinction—the most extreme event of its kind in Earth's history. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-survivors-spanned-globe-earth-biggest.html Ecology Wed, 26 Mar 2025 14:33:05 EDT news662218381 Researchers from Würzburg have experimentally demonstrated a quantum tornado for the first time by refining an established method. In the quantum semimetal tantalum arsenide (TaAs), electrons in momentum space behave like a swirling vortex. This quantum phenomenon was first predicted eight years ago by a Dresden-based founding member of the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-quantum-tornadoes-momentum-space-experimental.html Condensed Matter Mon, 10 Mar 2025 11:24:11 EDT news660824646 A few things come to mind when we imagine the alpha male type. They're the ones calling the shots, who get all the girls. But there's a downside to being a strong and powerful alpha stud—at least if you're a baboon. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-ladies-price-alpha-male-baboons.html Plants & Animals Wed, 22 Jan 2025 17:09:04 EST news656788141