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. The global push for a transition to green energy has sparked demand for critical minerals such as lithium, vanadium, copper and cobalt. These are needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels. Sub-Saharan Africa hosts about 30% of the world's mineral reserves, including huge quantities of critical minerals: 92% of all platinum, 36% of all chromium, 54% of all manganese and 56% of all cobalt. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-20km-ripple-effect-trigger-distant.html Environment Mon, 29 Jun 2026 19:00:02 EDT news701956321 As climate change warms rivers across British Columbia, young salmon are facing increasing heat stress at vulnerable stages of their lives. Two studies from UBC's Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Lab have found that younger fish cope with heat differently than older fish and that current methods may be underestimating the risks salmon face in warming waterways. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-qa-streams-young-salmon-limits.html Plants & Animals Mon, 29 Jun 2026 16:50:01 EDT news701969941 Australia's Great Southern Reef is built not by coral but by seaweed. The seaweed forests on these rocky reefs stretch more than 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) around southern Australia. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-destroying-australia-underwater-forests-seaweed.html Ecology Mon, 29 Jun 2026 14:00:01 EDT news701952361 Microscopic plankton are among the most important organisms on Earth. Phytoplankton produce around half of the oxygen we breathe, while plankton as a whole underpin marine food webs, support fisheries, help regulate carbon and sustain life across the ocean. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-decline-plankton-northeast-atlantic-stark.html Environment Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:20:02 EDT news701952001 A new study sheds light on how the ancestors of modern land plants survived one of the most challenging aspects of life outside water: exposure to harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. By examining a microscopic alga closely related to the earliest land plants, researchers have uncovered a sophisticated and dynamic system for coping with sunburn—one that likely helped plants colonize land more than 500 million years ago. The results are published in Current Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ancient-algal-defenses-uv-conquer.html Evolution Sun, 28 Jun 2026 13:00:01 EDT news701360043 As drought and water uncertainty put increasing pressure on orchard systems, researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service's Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, West Virginia, launched a study in response to strong grower interest in how modern apple rootstocks hold up under drought stress. Apple producers have been looking for clearer, science-based answers about which rootstocks may perform better when water is limited, particularly as intensive production systems expand and weather becomes less predictable. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-apple-rootstock-response-varies-threshold.html Plants & Animals Fri, 26 Jun 2026 14:40:02 EDT news701694301 Long-term conservation policies may help restore freshwater ecosystems and prevent extreme species loss, new research suggests. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ecosystems-environmental-biodiversity-loss.html Ecology Fri, 26 Jun 2026 13:00:03 EDT news701685362 The closest thing marine taxonomists have to the Olympics is now underway in San Diego. But instead of racing for medals, leading scientists are spending two weeks working together to catalog the extraordinary diversity of life along the California coast. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-california-unidentified-coastal-species-dna.html Ecology Fri, 26 Jun 2026 12:00:02 EDT news701684521 A marine heat wave has undermined the success of seagrass restoration efforts at a site in north Wales, new research has found. More than 1.1 million seagrass seeds were planted at sites in two bays in north Wales between 2023 and 2024 as part of Seagrass Ocean Rescue: North Wales, the U.K.'s largest active seagrass restoration program. Despite being located less than 50 kilometers (31 miles) apart, the planting efforts in Bae Caergybi saw seedling establishment and overwinter survival, while planting at Bae Tremadog failed. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-marine-pose-significant-threat-seagrass.html Environment Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:40:04 EDT news701682471 Sertraline is one of the most widely prescribed antidepressants in the world. Global sertraline sales are expected to keep growing, projected to expand from an estimated US$1.94 billion in 2025 to approximately US$3.13 billion by 2032. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scientists-antidepressant-brains-sharks-coast.html Ecology Fri, 26 Jun 2026 09:00:03 EDT news701674201 Old oak trees and semi-natural grasslands are very important for a large number of species that risk disappearing as habitats decline. In a new study, researchers at Linköping University in Sweden present their findings on the habitat amount needed. The results can help nature conservation agencies set scientifically based goals and take more precise action to ensure the long-term survival of threatened species. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-experts-nature-greatest-difference-endangered.html Ecology Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:40:01 EDT news701600307 University of Miami researchers and collaborators have expanded an offshore reef restoration and coastal resilience project off Miami Beach with the deployment of three 3D-printed SEAHIVE clustered structures. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-hybrid-reef-miami-beach-attenuation.html Ecology Thu, 25 Jun 2026 11:40:07 EDT news701598721 Researchers at McMaster University have discovered what they describe as a "megacluster" of genes in Streptomyces bacteria that produces four antibiotics that work together to stop rival bacteria. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-megacluster-bacterial-genes-reveals-antibiotics.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:00:07 EDT news701596741 Until recently, researchers were unable to conduct satellite-tracking studies on juvenile turtles because of their small body sizes and immediate dispersal into the ocean, leaving this period of their lives enigmatic and often referred to as the "lost years." A study titled "Pioneering insights into the diving behavior of early-stage sea turtles revealed by novel marine miniaturized satellite tags," published in Scientific Reports in April 2026, provides the most comprehensive analysis to date of vertical diving behavior in early life stages of leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-miniature-satellite-tags-reveal-behavior.html Plants & Animals Thu, 25 Jun 2026 07:20:01 EDT news701535993 A global analysis of fish biodiversity using environmental DNA (eDNA) reveals how human activity and climate influence biodiversity patterns in river ecosystems. An international research team led by the University of Zurich, Eawag and Yunnan University has found that in warmer climates, biodiversity accumulation is more pronounced as river catchment size increases, while human activities weaken this relationship. The work is published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-environmental-dna-reveals-impact-climate.html Ecology Wed, 24 Jun 2026 18:00:01 EDT news701536443 In a recent viewpoint published in Nature Climate Change, six researchers from South America, Asia and Africa examine how glacier retreat in the Andes, Himalayas and other high-altitude regions is reshaping the cultural and spiritual life of different glacial communities. According to the article, local communities see melting glaciers as signs of moral imbalance, punishment or fading protection from ancestors and deities. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-glaciers-deities.html Environment Wed, 24 Jun 2026 16:40:06 EDT news701525910 A 100-year-old equation and a fiber-optic cable off the coast of Svalbard led researchers to discover they could detect swimming whales—even if they were completely silent. The discovery broadens the tools biologists could someday use to detect and monitor these marine giants. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-fiber-optic-cables-silent-whales.html Ecology Wed, 24 Jun 2026 15:00:03 EDT news701523194 Florida International University scientists have, for the first time, detected a toxic tire-derived chemical in Florida waterways and developed a new testing method that makes it easier to find and monitor the pollutant at extremely low levels. The study focuses on 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-Q), a toxic chemical formed when the tire additive 6PPD reacts with ozone in the atmosphere. The compound has been linked to fish deaths in other parts of the country and is drawing increasing concern among environmental scientists. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-heavy-pollution-florida-waterways.html Environment Wed, 24 Jun 2026 14:00:17 EDT news701521322 It's time we gave seagrass the credit it's due. This hero of a plant protects coastlines, stores vast amounts of carbon and supports ecosystems that people and wildlife depend on. But we don't often hear about it when it comes to ocean conservation. That's partly because we knew so little about it—until now. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-world-seagrass.html Environment Wed, 24 Jun 2026 11:00:03 EDT news701428382 New research from the University of St. Andrews shows how sperm whale vocal dialects evolve as they adopt new calls while still remembering the old. An international team of researchers studying vocal dialects in the endangered population of sperm whales that live in the Mediterranean Sea has captured the cultural evolution of new dialects in process. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-sperm-whale-vocal-dialects-evolve.html Plants & Animals Tue, 23 Jun 2026 21:00:03 EDT news701427003 Long-awaited monsoon rains arrived in India's financial capital, Mumbai, on Tuesday, cooling weeks of blazing heat despite persistent fears of water shortages, with total rainfall so far staying below the long-term average. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-india-monsoon-north-usual.html Environment Tue, 23 Jun 2026 13:42:01 EDT news701440899 Coral reef ecosystems, widely seen as a climate change bellwether, are more complex than previously understood. A new international study by the universities of Bristol, Wuhan in China, and Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany reveals that the evolutionary advantage of coral-algae symbiosis is not fixed; it depends entirely on environmental context. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-million-year-fossil-reveals-corals.html Evolution Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:40:07 EDT news701433193 Extreme weather is becoming the new normal, disrupting human communities across the globe. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-pups-seabird-chicks-extreme-weather.html Plants & Animals Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:00:03 EDT news701342391 At the icy, wind-swept tip of South America lies Inútil Bay, a remote marine environment in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago that has long guarded its underwater secrets because of severe logistical and meteorological challenges. A multi-institutional team of researchers has successfully conducted the first comprehensive exploration of the intertidal and subtidal rocky ecosystems of Inútil Bay. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-underwater-seaweed-forests-remote-southern.html Ecology Mon, 22 Jun 2026 14:40:01 EDT news701352841 Larger areas contain more species. This is one of the most ironclad laws of ecology, which explains why large natural areas usually receive higher priority in conservation strategies. In fragmented landscapes, this logic has also led small forest fragments to be seen as environments of lower value for biodiversity. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-small-forest-fragments-birds-landscape.html Ecology Fri, 19 Jun 2026 09:00:01 EDT news701076001 Off Oman's coast lives a small population of just over 80 Arabian Sea humpback whales (ASHWs). They are classified as endangered and are thought to be the only humpback whale population that doesn't undertake seasonal migrations across the world's oceans. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-arabian-sea-humpback-whale-distance.html Plants & Animals Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:01 EDT news700989061 If you've noticed more whales visiting local waters, you're not imagining it: Vancouver's gargantuan guests are here thanks to the season, great grub and conservation successes, researchers say. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-qa-whales-vancouver-legally.html Plants & Animals Wed, 17 Jun 2026 19:20:01 EDT news700931574 At an international heritage symposium in Japan, I heard a word that stayed with me: "contaminated." The discussion concerned whether Indigenous peoples needed to be named explicitly in a new World Heritage framework. One argument was that Indigenous cultures had changed through contact, survival and adaptation, and therefore no longer required distinct recognition. I found that deeply troubling. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-contaminated-cultures-nature-excluding-indigenous.html Social Sciences Wed, 17 Jun 2026 18:00:04 EDT news700831476 Birdwatching is one of the most common and popular ways people experience nature. But it's not often that even the most enthusiastic birdwatcher returns to the same place more than 800 times to witness the changes over four decades. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-suburban-epic-40year-birdwatching-quest.html Plants & Animals Wed, 17 Jun 2026 11:00:13 EDT news700910341 Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is developing electronics and flight software for the NASA/U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat 10 satellite, which is set to launch in 2031 to collect new and improved Earth observation data. The mission continues NASA's and USGS's partnership on the ongoing Landsat program, which has launched nine satellites since 1972 and provided more than 10 million images of Earth's surface. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-payload-electronics-flight-software-nasa.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 17 Jun 2026 10:20:11 EDT news700909922