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. Draped in a uniform coat of vibrant grass-green and possessing eyes that shimmer like amber, a newly discovered pitviper is the latest hidden jewel to be found in the misty mountains of western Sichuan, China. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-philosopher-serpent-grass-green-pitviper.html Plants & Animals Wed, 22 Apr 2026 13:40:05 EDT news696076681 Research by microbiologists Reinier Egas and Cornelia Welte of Radboud University shows that many methane-consuming microorganisms actually prefer carbon monoxide over methane. When carbon monoxide is present, they consume far less methane. This suggests that in carbon monoxide–rich environments, more methane may be released from the soil into the atmosphere. The paper is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-picky-methane-consuming-microorganisms-carbon.html Ecology Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:00:05 EDT news695388781 By analyzing the data from the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PandAS), European astronomers have discovered a new satellite of the Andromeda galaxy. The newfound object, which received the designation Andromeda XXXVI, appears to be an ultra-faint dwarf galaxy. The finding is reported in a paper published March 30 on the arXiv preprint server . https://phys.org/news/2026-04-astronomers-andromeda-xxxvi-ultra-faint.html Astronomy Tue, 07 Apr 2026 08:10:01 EDT news694706609 Ever woken up to find that a crafty raccoon has overturned your garbage bin and spread the discarded contents of your life across the street? Raccoons—sometimes referred to as "trash pandas"—are renowned as excellent innovators and problem-solvers who can often find their way through the trickiest barriers in their search for food. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-raccoon-raiding-garbage-bin-puzzle.html Plants & Animals Sat, 28 Mar 2026 12:00:01 EDT news693753270 Mammals are not especially diverse. Roughly 6,800 mammal species are known to exist, compared with about 8,800 species of amphibian, 11,000 species of bird and 12,500 of reptile. Yet when most people picture biodiversity, they often think of charismatic mammals first: pandas, orangutans, elephants or tigers. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-tous-genus-mammal.html Plants & Animals Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:00:04 EST news692011013 Members of the arachnid class—think spiders, scorpions and harvestmen (daddy long legs)—are often the targets of revulsion, disgust and fear. Yet, they are crucial for ecosystems to thrive. Given the crash in worldwide biodiversity, including what some call the "insect apocalypse," a pair of ecologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst decided to check in on the general state of insects and arachnids in the U.S.—only to discover massive gaps in the data. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-spiders-real-horror-story-world.html Plants & Animals Mon, 02 Mar 2026 15:00:01 EST news691340307 Scientists have uncovered an elegant biophysical trick that tuberculosis-causing bacteria use to survive inside human cells, a discovery that could lead to new strategies for fighting one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-tuberculosis-bacteria-stealth-mechanism-evade.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 21 Feb 2026 08:00:03 EST news690818553 Indonesia's conservation park on Tuesday released a video showing the progress of a giant panda cub, 40 days after his birth in the country. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-indonesia-panda-cub-rio-days.html Plants & Animals Tue, 06 Jan 2026 10:12:11 EST news686916695 The ancestors of our furry cats and dogs once looked similar to today's modern mongoose, a mammal with a long body and small, round ears. In fact, all members of the order Carnivora, which includes a variety of mammalian species, such as bears, wolves and even seals, evolved from these 'mongoose-like' creatures. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-qa-climate-shifts-drove-carnivores.html Evolution Wed, 17 Dec 2025 15:59:43 EST news685209541 Popular twin pandas at a Tokyo zoo are set to return to their homeland in China in late January, officials said Monday, leaving Japan without a panda for the first time in about half a century. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-japan-panda-years-twins-tokyo.html Plants & Animals Mon, 15 Dec 2025 12:00:01 EST news685021722 The first giant panda cub born in Indonesia is noisy, nursing well and showing other signs of good health, the conservation park where he was born said Sunday. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-giant-panda-cub-born-indonesia.html Plants & Animals Mon, 08 Dec 2025 11:02:49 EST news684414133 That resourceful "trash panda" digging through your garbage may be more than just a nuisance—it could be a living example of evolution in progress. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-city-raccoons-domestication.html Plants & Animals Mon, 01 Dec 2025 07:08:38 EST news683795299 Even Swedish consumption contributes to the loss of rainforest—and nowadays coffee has overtaken beef as the product affecting deforestation the most. This is shown in a new report from the WWF in which Chalmers has participated, which for the first time gives a detailed picture of the drivers behind deforestation in the Amazon and its connections to local and global trade. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-swedish-coffee-habits-surpass-beef.html Environment Mon, 24 Nov 2025 17:50:03 EST news683221633 They look like tiny monkeys peering out from the mist. Known to scientists as Dracula, the so-called "monkey-face orchids" have become online celebrities. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-famous-monkey-dracula-orchids-wild.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Oct 2025 11:08:46 EDT news679658920 Whether we're talking about animals or humans, gut microbes are essential for health, metabolism and protecting against infection. While captivity is known to alter the gut microbiota of wildlife, the relative influence of diet, genetics and environment has been unclear, especially for endangered species. A new study published in the journal PLOS One compared the gut microbes of wild and captive giant pandas, red pandas and Asiatic black bears and found that captivity has the biggest impact on their gut microbiome. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-captivity-gut-bacteria-endangered-pandas.html Plants & Animals Mon, 13 Oct 2025 11:10:01 EDT news679572508 For over 100 years, teddy bears have been a hallmark of childhood nurseries, ubiquitously embedded in our early memories and rarely the object of deep scrutiny. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-teddy-valuable-tools.html Environment Wed, 24 Sep 2025 10:00:01 EDT news677820515 Berlin's newest panda twins have celebrated their first birthday with frozen vegetable treats and a candle made out of bamboo shoots. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-berlin-panda-twins-leni-lotti.html Plants & Animals Fri, 22 Aug 2025 10:40:01 EDT news675077985 Early in the pandemic, most research, including our own, focused on designing drugs that could block the virus's spike protein. This was a logical first step, but as we've seen, the virus is a moving target. It was rapidly evolving, and new variants acquired resistance due to changes in the surface spike glycoprotein (S protein). https://phys.org/news/2025-08-human-protein-ace2-modulation-entry.html Biochemistry Fri, 15 Aug 2025 10:50:02 EDT news674394408 Conservation should focus on protecting natural "processes"—not just specific species, researchers say. Current policies often focus on flagship animals, with priority given to rare and well-known species like pandas and polar bears. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-biodiversity-pandas-polar-experts.html Plants & Animals Wed, 06 Aug 2025 12:10:01 EDT news673700667 Anthony Albanese's recent visit to Chengdu's panda breeding base showed the enduring power of China's panda diplomacy. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-china-pandas-valuable-diplomats-vulnerable.html Political science Wed, 30 Jul 2025 10:52:04 EDT news673091521 Hong Kong's first locally born giant pandas have finally been named and introduced as Jia Jia and De De. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-jia-de-hong-kong-locally.html Plants & Animals Wed, 28 May 2025 05:10:02 EDT news667625500 Hong Kong's first locally born giant pandas have finally been named and introduced as Jia Jia and De De. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-hong-kong-baby-pandas-jia.html Plants & Animals Tue, 27 May 2025 04:03:44 EDT news667537416 When one thinks about conservation symbols, things that typically come to mind are particularly emblematic species—pandas, tigers, elephants, polar bears, dolphins, and the likes. Such iconic animals, referred to as flagship species, are widely used in conservation campaigns to capture public attention and mobilize support for conservation goals. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-pandas-broadening-flagship-concept-capture.html Plants & Animals Tue, 06 May 2025 15:44:56 EDT news665765084 Nepali police officer Jiwan Subba still feels pangs of regret decades after he bludgeoned a strange creature he found wandering in his barn, not realizing it was an endangered red panda. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-nepal-community-efforts-revive-red.html Plants & Animals Fri, 14 Mar 2025 04:22:59 EDT news661144969 The two species of African rhinoceros are conservation icons. Large, charismatic, and vitally important for their ecosystems, to lose either species would be a devastating blow. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-parasites-ecological-dark.html Ecology Tue, 11 Mar 2025 13:40:06 EDT news660918753 Catalytic function and its efficiency play a significant role in industrial reactions, and consistent reforms are made in the methodology to enhance the large-scale synthesis of drugs, polymers, and other desired products. Available catalysts can be homogeneous, which means that they possess the same phase as the reactants and products, making them difficult to separate from the reaction mixture. On the other hand, heterogeneous catalysts are a preferred choice for such reactions because of their ease of separation and reusability. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-advancing-catalysis-porous-thin-approach.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:31:03 EDT news660828661 Giant pandas have digestive systems that are typical for carnivores. Yet, bamboo is their main source of food. They have evolved several features; for example, pseudo thumbs to grasp bamboo and flat teeth that are well suited for crushing it, that make it possible for them to live off plants. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-dont-pandas-meat-molecules-bamboo.html Plants & Animals Fri, 28 Feb 2025 00:00:02 EST news659880901 More than one-third of all animals on Earth, from beetles to cows to elephants, depend on plant-based diets. Plants are a low-calorie food source, so it can be challenging for animals to consume enough energy to meet their needs. Now climate change is reducing the nutritional value of some foods that plant eaters rely on. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-climate-nutritious-animals-grazers.html Ecology Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:20:01 EST news654167800 A lizard with a name that sounds like it could star in Game of Thrones, a soft furred hedgehog, a high-altitude crocodile newt, a freshwater fish already well-known among aquarium enthusiasts, and a new genus of palm tree are just some of the of the 234 species described by scientists in the Greater Mekong region of Southeast Asia in 2023, according to a report released today by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). https://phys.org/news/2024-12-highlights-species-greater-mekong-region.html Plants & Animals Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:06:03 EST news653576761 Alongside a national flag, anthem and coat of arms, most countries have one or more plant and animal species that they designate as national symbols. The national animal of China, for example, is the giant panda, a nation-wide source of pride and diplomacy. Americans salute the bald eagle as a symbol of strength and freedom. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-south-africans-national-animals.html Ecology Mon, 04 Nov 2024 13:10:01 EST news649944668