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. Humans' exposure to high temperature burn injuries may have played an important role in our evolutionary development, shaping how our bodies heal, fight infection, and sometimes fail under extreme injury, according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-exposure-injuries-played-key-role.html Evolution Wed, 04 Feb 2026 19:10:06 EST news689446742 Victoria has just suffered some of its worst bushfires since the Black Summer fires of 2019–20. Over 400,000 hectares are estimated to have burnt so far, an area more than five times larger than Singapore. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-state-australia-victoria-native-wildlife.html Plants & Animals Fri, 16 Jan 2026 10:36:39 EST news687782161 Forest fires in southern Argentina have scorched more than 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) this week, authorities said, though rain began falling in parts of Patagonia on Sunday to the relief of residents. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-wildfires-hectares-argentine-patagonia.html Environment Mon, 12 Jan 2026 04:27:17 EST news687414412 Every year, government workers around Australia start fires in the bush. The idea behind these prescribed burning programs is that removing dry leaves and branches reduces the chance of bigger, more dangerous fires. Over many decades, prescribed burning has settled into a dogma—an unquestionable good. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-royal-commission-forests-bushfires-destruction.html Ecology Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:50:03 EST news683901186 Half a million pets are affected by home fires each year, with more than 40,000 of those animals losing their lives, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-home-success-small-animal-owner.html Veterinary medicine Fri, 10 Oct 2025 06:03:05 EDT news679294982 Researchers have found that low to moderate-severity fires not only benefit many bird species in the Sierra Nevada, but these benefits may persist for decades. In addition to a handful of bird species already known to be "post-fire specialists," a broad variety of other more generalist species, like Dark-eyed Juncos and Mountain Chickadees, clearly benefited from wildfire. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-benefits-bird-populations-sierra-nevada.html Plants & Animals Thu, 09 Oct 2025 20:00:04 EDT news679217881 Cultural burning is an Indigenous community-based practice where controlled fire is used to manage landscapes like forests. These work by reducing dried, flammable vegetation in a manageable way. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-collaborating-indigenous-communities-meaningful-climate.html Earth Sciences Mon, 18 Aug 2025 10:35:12 EDT news674732110 French firefighters on Wednesday battled to halt the spread of a wildfire in the south of the country that has left one person dead as emergency workers in Spain subdued a fire that had forced the evacuation of more than 1,500 people from a resort. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-dead-wildfire-southern-france.html Environment Wed, 06 Aug 2025 03:57:17 EDT news673671433 Prescribed burns are important for land management and preventing wildfires, but a new study finds these managed fires are also significant contributors to air pollution in the southeastern United States—particularly in areas with large minority and low-income populations. The study also finds these air quality impacts could become more pronounced in the decades ahead as the effects of climate change become more pronounced. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-climate-rarer-air-quality-impacts.html Environment Wed, 18 Jun 2025 11:49:05 EDT news669466141 For millennia, First Nations people have shaped Australian ecosystems through the purposeful and skillful use of fire. This cultural burning is an important way for Aboriginal people to connect to and care for Country. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-colonization-woodlands-indigenous-cultural.html Ecology Tue, 17 Jun 2025 11:01:04 EDT news669376861 Our backyards should be safe and inviting spaces all year round, including during the summer months. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-backyard-safer-cooler-summer.html Environment Tue, 29 Apr 2025 12:02:04 EDT news665146922 Prescribed burns literally fight fire with more fire. Often referred to as "beneficial fires," they target areas at risk for wildfires and burn away material that could otherwise fuel a future blaze. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-parameters-forest-safer-cleaner.html Environment Tue, 15 Apr 2025 15:36:05 EDT news663950161 Montana State University has long been a hub for research on the many unique features of nearby Yellowstone National Park, and now a doctoral student in one of the university's microbiology laboratories has published a paper on how some hot-spring-dwelling organisms thrive in their extreme environments. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-simultaneous-aerobic-anaerobic-respiration-yellowstone.html Ecology Fri, 07 Mar 2025 09:45:07 EST news660563095 On the shores of Lake Tahoe at Emerald Bay State Park grows what some consider to be the most iconic old-growth forest in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Giant ponderosa pines—some of the last remaining in the area—share space with at least 13 other tree species. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-growth-forest-tahoe.html Plants & Animals Thu, 27 Feb 2025 16:46:04 EST news659897161 Invasive plants and trees were introduced to South Africa from as early as the 17th century for a range of commercial, subsistence and ornamental uses. Today, every area of the country has been invaded by a variety of these plants. The most species are found in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, and major urban centers. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-south-africa-famous-fynbos-invasive.html Ecology Mon, 24 Feb 2025 16:40:01 EST news659622691 Storms now pounding Southern California are raising the specter of more danger for residents—debris flows in areas already reeling from devastating fires. Debris flows are like mudslides, except much faster and more destructive, as they contain a mix of rock, plants and even boulders or trees in addition to mud. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-storm-megafires-stage-debris.html Environment Fri, 14 Feb 2025 11:30:22 EST news658755019 When the fires erupted Jan. 7, burn centers across the Los Angeles region braced for an influx of patients, updating one another on the beds and staff available for critically injured people. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-la-centers-braced-crisis.html Environment Mon, 10 Feb 2025 07:43:17 EST news658395790 Firefighters who battled through the night to tame a new blaze that erupted near Los Angeles appeared to be making progress on Thursday, even as dangerous fire weather continued throughout Southern California. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-overnight-firefight-california-blaze.html Environment Thu, 23 Jan 2025 13:23:20 EST news656860992 The teeth of the mower chewed through a stand of small trees and shrubs 30 miles from Mount Rainier and belched out a brown cloud of dirt and wood chips. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-washington-state-hack-future-megafires.html Environment Mon, 30 Sep 2024 07:19:09 EDT news646899537 Sugarcane farmer Marcos Meloni is still haunted by his battle last month to fight the flames on his land, as the double-edged disaster of fires and drought hits Brazil's agricultural sector hard. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-brazil-farmers-fret-drought.html Environment Mon, 16 Sep 2024 14:40:01 EDT news645715814 At a shelter for big cats in Brazil, a vet gingerly dresses wounds on a jaguar that was caught in wildfires raging in the world's largest tropical wetland. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-brazil-vets-jaguar-pantanal.html Veterinary medicine Sun, 15 Sep 2024 04:37:42 EDT news645593857 Wildfires have been burning across Idaho this summer, and their list of harmful impacts is long, from worsening health conditions because of smoke to challenges recovering millions in costs to fight them. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-wildfires-toxic-mercury-streams-idaho.html Environment Thu, 15 Aug 2024 06:40:02 EDT news642922516 Wound infections, particularly associated with burns, are a serious health problem causing high morbidity and mortality. Aside from hygiene and basic dressings, antibiotics are the standard treatment for serious wounds. However, cost, access, and emerging bacterial resistance, make their use difficult and ineffective, especially when a course of treatment is not completed. Globally, a huge number of deaths occur because of infected burns especially in low- and middle-income countries, and most commonly in rural areas. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-tea-brews-silver-nanoparticles-wound.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 05 Aug 2024 08:58:39 EDT news642067116 Diabetic wounds are notoriously challenging to treat, due to prolonged inflammation and a high risk of infection. Traditional treatments generally offer only passive protection and fail to dynamically interact with the wound environment. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-advanced-nanofibrous-membranes-tackle-diabetic.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 17 Jul 2024 11:19:03 EDT news640433941 Severe wildfires increase with a decrease in prescribed burns—but new research shows that in some places across the United States there may be fewer opportunities to safely burn in the future. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-climate-opportunities.html Earth Sciences Mon, 01 Jul 2024 12:48:03 EDT news639056881 Chili peppers—love them or hate them, they've got a heat that's hard to ignore. Recently, their fiery nature has even caused a bit of a stir in Denmark, where Buldak Ramen noodles have been banned for being dangerously spicy. So, what's behind the burning sensation we experience when we bite into a chili pepper, and why do some people seek out the masochism of a super hot curry or Korean instant noodles? https://phys.org/news/2024-06-denmark-noodles-hot-chili.html Other Tue, 18 Jun 2024 12:01:06 EDT news637930800 A new UC Riverside study shows soot from large wildfires in California traps sunlight, making days warmer and drier than they ought to be. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-large-wildfires-weather-favors.html Earth Sciences Tue, 18 Jun 2024 06:29:55 EDT news637910981 Fighting woody plant encroachment with prescribed burns may be more effective than land managers previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-high-energy-effectiveness.html Environment Fri, 14 Jun 2024 12:47:09 EDT news637588023 Spicy foods taste spicy because they contain a family of compounds called capsaicinoids. Capsaicin is the major culprit. It's found in chilies, jalapeños, cayenne pepper, and is even the active ingredient in pepper spray. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-doesnt-spicy-food-beer.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 13 Jun 2024 12:18:03 EDT news637499882 Biomass burning, including wildfires and residential heating, emits a variety of air pollutants and has a series of negative impacts on the environment. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-uncovering-dominant-contribution-intermediate-volatility.html Environment Tue, 19 Mar 2024 15:28:03 EDT news630080882