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. In a new study Indiana University researchers observed episodic memory in rats to a degree never documented before, suggesting that rats can serve as a model for complex cognitive processes often considered exclusively human. Unlike semantic memory, which involves isolated facts, episodic memory involves replaying events in the order and context in which they occurred. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-rats-ability-replay-episodic-memories.html Plants & Animals Sat, 24 Jan 2026 10:14:53 EST news688472050 Rats and other rodents and pests can make great archivists. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-rat-rodents-great-archivists.html Plants & Animals Mon, 22 Dec 2025 11:00:01 EST news685623022 Animals in children's stories are often depicted as living in neat mom, dad and children family units. Examples include Fantastic Mr. Fox, 101 Dalmatians and, more recently, Peppa Pig and Bluey. But, this might leave people feeling like outsiders if they don't come from a traditional nuclear family set-up. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-children-feature-tidy-nuclear-families.html Education Fri, 07 Nov 2025 00:40:01 EST news681655100 Naked mole-rats are one of nature's most extraordinary creatures. These burrowing rodents can live for up to 37 years, around ten times longer than relatives of a similar size. But what is the secret to their extreme longevity? How are they able to delay the decay and decline that befalls other rodents? The answer, at least in part, is due to a switch in a common protein that boosts DNA repair, according to new research published in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-dna-mechanisms-naked-mole-rats.html Plants & Animals Sun, 12 Oct 2025 01:06:58 EDT news679322131 Naked mole-rats are one of the rare examples of eusocial mammals. Eusocial animal species are those in which a single female within the group is tasked with reproduction, along with a select group of males, while the rest of the group focuses on other tasks related to maintaining the living area, gathering food, or caring for young. This kind of caste system is most often seen in insects, like ants and bees. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-toilet-cleaners-tail-reveals-complex.html Plants & Animals Thu, 09 Oct 2025 13:00:04 EDT news679233260 The latest weapon in Chicago's war against rats is plant-based, naturally flavored and nutritious. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-based-birth-chicago-rats-deaths.html Plants & Animals Tue, 02 Sep 2025 06:52:28 EDT news676014741 An introduced black rat scratches through leaf litter, looking for food. Nearby, a native water rat watches on, its beady eyes shining. The native rat pounces out from the shadows, sending the invader fleeing. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-rat-uprising-footage-evidence-native.html Ecology Mon, 28 Jul 2025 10:46:56 EDT news672918407 High school students learn that Pavlov's dogs were conditioned to associate the sound of a bell with getting food. The association was so strong that the dogs would begin to salivate when they heard the bell, before there was even a whiff of food. When they were finally presented with the food, they ate it. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-pavlov-dogs-conditioned-animals-interact.html Plants & Animals Tue, 15 Jul 2025 16:20:12 EDT news671815205 From the bright lights of cities that don't sleep—where people hustle and bustle through the night to keep subways, servers, and supply chains alive—to the whisper-dark understory of tropical forests where ants hum in syncopated lines, the planet's most intricate societies hinge on round-the-clock cooperation and finely tuned roles. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-tiny-molecules-ants-naked-mole.html Ecology Mon, 16 Jun 2025 11:49:28 EDT news669293356 A team of wildlife management specialists, environmental toxicologists and geneticists at the Conservation and Biodiversity Research Center, Edith Cowan University, in Australia, has found that some black rats living in Australian cities have developed a genetic mutation that potentially increases their resistance to the most popular poisons used to kill them. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-rats-australia-genetic-mutation-resistance.html Evolution Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:40:15 EDT news668961597 A study to look at why long-lived bats do not get cancer has broken new ground about the biological defenses that resist the disease. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-dont-cancer-genes-strong-immune.html Plants & Animals Mon, 09 Jun 2025 15:46:02 EDT news668702747 As urban development continues to creep further into Earth's oldest and most diverse rainforests, a Swansea University-led study reveals native and invasive small mammals aren't just adapting to their changing habitats—they may also be sharing their microbes. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-invasive-rats-rainforest-mammals-gut.html Ecology Thu, 01 May 2025 11:56:03 EDT news665319361 The Prague Zoo has joined an international effort to ensure the survival of a rare insect that had been considered extinct for more than 80 years. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-prague-zoo-effort-survival-rare.html Plants & Animals Tue, 08 Apr 2025 11:10:00 EDT news663329396 A longstanding scientific belief about a link between cancer prevalence and animal body size has been tested for the first time in our new study ranging across hundreds of animal species. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-bigger-animals-cancer-defying-decades.html Plants & Animals Sun, 09 Mar 2025 13:20:01 EDT news660568805 Rats successfully distinguished between two varieties of white wine, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc, in a study led by researchers from the University of Trento, the University of Lincoln, the University of London, and the University of Vienna. Findings indicate that non-human animals can categorize complex olfactory stimuli without linguistic or human-specific cognitive abilities. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-rat-sommeliers-advanced-olfactory-wine.html Plants & Animals Fri, 28 Feb 2025 09:40:01 EST news659957471 Elephants, giraffes, pythons and other large species have higher cancer rates than smaller ones like mice, bats, and frogs, a new study has shown, overturning a 45-year-old belief about cancer in the animal kingdom. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-bigger-animals-cancer-defying-decades.html Plants & Animals Mon, 24 Feb 2025 15:00:11 EST news659609701 An international research team led by the University of Konstanz and Oxford Brookes University concludes that gentle touch is not only good for mental health, but also for the evolution of cooperation. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-power-animal-world-highlights-role.html Evolution Wed, 15 Jan 2025 16:59:03 EST news656182741 In the past, African giant pouched rats have learned to detect explosives and the tuberculosis-causing pathogen. Now, a team of researchers have trained these rats to pick up the scent of pangolin scales, elephant ivory, rhino horn, and African blackwood. These animals and plants are listed as threatened and at high danger of extinction. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-giant-rats-illegal-wildlife-sniffing.html Plants & Animals Wed, 30 Oct 2024 01:00:01 EDT news649410601 Fancy, high-quality products such as Rolex watches and Red Wing boots often cost more to make but last longer. This is a principle that manufacturers and customers are familiar with. But while this also applies to biology, scientists rarely discuss it. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-fast-die-young-animals-invest.html Plants & Animals Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:10:09 EDT news649426206 Rats and humans have lived together for thousands of years. However, written historical records of rats migrating alongside people are sparse and some are entangled with myth and folklore. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-evolutionary-history-rats-holes-swiss.html Plants & Animals Mon, 30 Sep 2024 12:25:03 EDT news646917901 Depression is a significant challenge to diagnose and treat. Among the factors influencing depression onset and severity, there is growing evidence for chemical imbalances that generate oxidative stress throughout the body. To address this problem, researchers reporting in the journal Langmuir have developed antioxidant carbon dot nanozymes (synthetic enzyme-like substances) that reduced oxidative stress, rebalanced gut microbes and alleviated stress-induced depression in rats. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-antioxidant-carbon-dot-nanozymes-alleviate.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 18 Sep 2024 17:08:06 EDT news645898081 Do aliens sleep? You may take sleep for granted, but research suggests many planets that could evolve life don't have a day and night cycle. It's hard to imagine, but there are organisms living in Earth's lightless habitats, deep underground or at the bottom of the sea, that give us an idea what alien life without a circadian rhythm may be like. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-life-alien-planets-wouldnt-day.html Astrobiology Wed, 04 Sep 2024 13:00:28 EDT news644673619 Rats are present in almost every city in the world, building their own rat settlements in parallel with human urban infrastructure. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-rat-birth-efficient-urban-infestations.html Plants & Animals Wed, 14 Aug 2024 13:10:01 EDT news642859244 Rats thrive around humans, for good reason: They feed off crops and garbage and readily adapt to many settings, from farms to the world's largest cities. To control them, people often resort to poisons. But chemicals that kill rats can also harm other animals. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-rat-poison-food-chains-threatening.html Ecology Mon, 12 Aug 2024 11:30:01 EDT news642679693 You're enjoying the evening breeze in your California backyard when you notice something dark and scaly slithering up a tree branch. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-rattlesnakes-climb-trees-california-experts.html Plants & Animals Mon, 15 Jul 2024 13:10:06 EDT news640267802 In a world-first experiment, JCU researchers have been using the pelts of dead rats to test if the glow-in-the-dark fur of mammals is being used for secret nocturnal communication. The results are published in the Australian Journal of Zoology. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-rats-photoluminescent-fur-nocturnal-communication.html Plants & Animals Tue, 18 Jun 2024 13:27:02 EDT news637936021 Research definitively confirms that muscle-moving, calorie-burning activity slows the advance of disease, improves cognitive function, boosts the immune system, and reduces rates of mortality from all causes. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-body-molecular-responses.html Molecular & Computational biology Sun, 05 May 2024 08:50:01 EDT news633880193 Brown rats are the undisputed winners of the real rat race. New research suggests that they crawled off ships arriving in North America earlier than previously thought and out-competed rodent rivals—going on to infuriate and disgust generations of city-dwellers and becoming so ubiquitous that they're known as common rats, street rats or sewer rats. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-brown-rats-ships-conquered-north.html Plants & Animals Wed, 03 Apr 2024 15:53:55 EDT news631378429 This unusual, subterranean mammal with extreme longevity shows genetic adaptations to low oxygen environments which could offer opportunities for advancing other areas of physiological and medical research in humans, including the development of novel therapeutic approaches. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-secrets-naked-mole-rat-reveals.html Plants & Animals Wed, 27 Mar 2024 06:00:01 EDT news630674462 Australia can lay claim to two new species of native rodent thanks to a study from The Australian National University (ANU). https://phys.org/news/2024-02-australian-native-rodent-species.html Plants & Animals Thu, 22 Feb 2024 05:00:01 EST news627751761