Phys.org news

Phys.org / Female chickadees seek cognitively skilled males for extra‑pair matings, study shows

Female chickadees living in monogamous mating systems will proactively seek out males that have better cognitive skills than their nest mate, according to new findings.

Jun 16, 2026
Phys.org / Walking shark discovery reveals new species in tiny Papua New Guinea range

A night dive to study wild sharks that can walk on land has surfaced with something even rarer—a species unknown to science. "New shark species don't come along that often, and it's most definitely the first one named after ...

Jun 16, 2026
Phys.org / Distant ocean temperatures found to influence snowfall in Antarctica

Snowfall deep inside East Antarctica has increased in recent decades, and distant ocean temperature changes may be partly responsible. Using long-term climate data and observations from Dome Fuji station, researchers found ...

Jun 16, 2026
Phys.org / AI decodes plant DNA 'switches' to better predict gene control

An international research team led by Forschungszentrum Jülich and the IPK Leibniz Institute has developed an artificial intelligence model that predicts where regulatory proteins dock onto plant DNA to switch genes on and ...

Jun 16, 2026
Phys.org / Observation of living cells solves mystery of bacterial cell division

Using an innovative combination of biochemical experiments and ultra-high-resolution microscopy, a research team at Kiel University has solved the long-standing mystery of how the bacterium B. subtilis regulates its cell ...

Jun 16, 2026
Phys.org / Cockatoos learn when touchscreen rewards 'die,' then apply rule to new contexts

For humans, death is surrounded by culture, emotion, ritual and language. But the question can be framed in a much more basic way: What would an animal have to understand in order to recognize that someone has died?

Jun 16, 2026
Phys.org / Young coqui frogs 'play it safe' when disease strikes, study finds

For a frog no bigger than a fingernail, survival depends on how it spends every bit of energy. New research from the University of Florida shows that young frogs prioritize growing quickly even when infected with a deadly ...

Jun 16, 2026
Phys.org / Global surveys find carbon uptake in tropics overestimated

An international team of researchers has found plants in the tropics absorb much less carbon dioxide than previous modeling had suggested, which has implications for ecosystem management.

Jun 16, 2026
Phys.org / LiON: A fluorescent molecule tracks iron and oxygen levels in individual cells

A new fluorescent reporter capable of visualizing biologically active iron and oxygen inside living cells at single-cell resolution has been developed, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. Using this new tool, they ...

Jun 16, 2026
Phys.org / AI system evaluates chemical spectra in minutes

A research team has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that proposes suitable molecular structures from the raw data of spectroscopic measurements and assesses their plausibility. The system is openly accessible ...

Jun 16, 2026
Phys.org / Mongooses prepare for likely future battles with powerful enemies, study finds

Dwarf mongooses anticipate encounters with rival groups and adjust how they move, communicate and defend resources beforehand, according to new research from the University of Bristol. The study, published in Nature Ecology ...

Jun 16, 2026
Phys.org / Your body's secret sugar code could predict disease years before it strikes

Scientists have found that hidden health signals coating your cells could change medicine forever. The new study by Edith Cowan University (ECU) School of Medical and Health Sciences has shown sugar molecules in your body ...

Jun 16, 2026