Welfare news

3D map of cell signaling sites could help improve cancer treatment

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

Cell-communication molecules called kinases play a key role in the growth and spread of many cancers. But exactly which kinases are active in a particular cancer is not always clear—there are 1.8 million sites on human proteins that kinases might act on, and researchers have ful…

Most species in UK zoos are non-native and not threatened, undermining conservation goals

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

In British zoos and aquariums, fewer than 10% of vertebrate species are native to the UK, and just 2% are high conservation priorities, according to a study by Justin Lennon at the University of Brighton and colleagues, published Aug. 19, 2026, in the journal PLOS One.

More people, farms, and drought could mean more elephant conflict in Southern Africa

Focusing on Wildlife · Supertrooper · 19/08/2026

A growing human population, expanding croplands, and drier conditions driven by climate change within protected areas could significantly intensify human-elephant conflict in Southern Africa, a recent study finds. Southern Africa is home to almost 300,000 African savanna elephan…

What if our cities were designed for wildlife as well as people?

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

On a warm evening in May, swifts scream over rooftops, chasing insects above the traffic. A fox slips along a garden wall while gulls squabble on a supermarket roof. We tend to treat these animals as visitors. But they're residents too, living alongside us in places designed for…

Parasite linked to 'mushy fish' could be much more widespread than thought

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

If you're a keen angler and regularly catch yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi), you may have encountered instances of the fish's flesh turning mushy and unpalatable once cooked. Some have said it's a bit like trying to eat wet newspaper.

Shrews exhibit reversible size changes in their skulls and noses to get through the winter

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

Scientists had previously observed that some species of shrews undergo a form of biological plasticity in which their bodies, skulls, brains and some organs shrink in the winter, then regrow in the spring. Now, a new study in Japan, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Soci…

Jellyfish reveal how rapid cell turnover may suppress early cancer growth

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

Although increased cell proliferation is a hallmark of cancerous tissues, in some cases it may actually protect against tumor growth, according to a new study by Caltech researchers. Using mathematical models, the work suggests a new paradigm for the earliest stages of cancer de…

Egypt’s deserts show why ecological knowledge matters in conservation (commentary)

Mongabay · Marwan Mahmoud Kamal Hamdoun · 19/08/2026

Egypt’s deserts are often introduced to the world as empty: Wide horizons, silence, heat, sand and stone. In tourism brochures they become dramatic scenery. In archaeological writing they can appear as corridors around monuments. In some conservation documents they are fragile s…

A 100-year-old mystery in the cat kidney may be linked to scent communication

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

Many animals obtain information about others from scent marks left in the environment, including urine. Because these marks remain after the sender has left, they allow animals to communicate across space and time. But odor molecules evaporate, degrade and change after release.…

New Zealand opens marine reserves with groundbreaking Māori co-management model

Mongabay · Edward Carver · 19/08/2026

DUNEDIN, Aotearoa New Zealand — At a U.N. meeting in 2015, Aotearoa New Zealand’s then Prime Minister John Key made a major announcement that drew praise from international conservation groups: His administration would turn a swath of waters far larger than the country’s land ma…

Philippine Supreme Court rules monitoring commercial fishing vessels is unconstitutional

Mongabay · Keith Anthony Fabro · 19/08/2026

The Philippine Supreme Court has struck down a regulation requiring commercial fishing vessels to continuously transmit their locations and submit electronic catch reports, a decision small-scale fishers say could make it harder to protect coastal grounds already strained by ove…

Concerns about the New World screwworm have put Texas pet adoptions on hold

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

Adoptions are on hold for thousands of dogs and cats in Texas, potentially putting the animals at risk of being euthanized, because of efforts to stop the spread of the New World screwworm, an insect that has crossed the border from Mexico into the United States for the first ti…

Why many birds add fresh plants to their nests remains unclear despite signs of healthier offspring

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

As they build their nests, many birds are known to interweave dried grasses and other materials with green plants, such as fresh leaves, grass stems, herbs and aromatic leaves. While this behavior is well documented, why many bird species choose to add fresh plants has remained…

Sea cucumber breeding clues could help rebuild populations depleted by overfishing

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

The reproductive life of sea cucumbers has come under the microscope as University of the Sunshine Coast researchers battle overfishing of the marine creatures. Sea cucumbers—which can spawn by wobbling their heads and ejecting reproductive cells—are of particular interest to Ce…

Cougars cut deadly vehicle-deer collisions in the U.S. by up to 76%, study shows

Mongabay · Starre Vartan · 19/08/2026

If you’re a black-tailed deer on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington, you’re always surrounded by friends and family. You are free-range, with abundant food to forage in familiar woods and meadows. But you’re also vigilant because you’re a prey species and your…

Brazil marks borders for isolated Indigenous group in the Amazon after decades

Mongabay · Shanna Hanbury · 19/08/2026

Agents of Brazil’s Indigenous agency, FUNAI, spent 60 days in June and July 2026 physically marking the borders of the Rio Pardo Kawahiva Indigenous Territory. The 411,000-hectare (1 million-acre) area in the Amazon biome of Mato Grosso state is home to the Kawahiva, an isolated…

Pollen has a surprising problem — and honeybees have found a way around it

ScienceDaily · 19/08/2026

Honeybees can apparently detect when their food has the wrong balance of essential nutrients and adjust how much they eat to avoid potentially harmful excesses. They also transform pollen into remarkably well-balanced “baby food” for their larvae, revealing a sophisticated nutri…

Cape Town's caracals expose a hidden rat poison problem for the city's wildlife

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

Rat poisons used in homes, businesses and on farms are moving into South Africa's wildlife, according to new research from the Urban Caracal Project, a key research and education initiative based in the Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa (iCWild) at the University…

New leadership initiative carries on legacy of late Indonesian environmental activist

Mongabay · Hans Nicholas Jong · 19/08/2026

JAKARTA — It had been 648 days since Nur Hidayati, an Indonesian environmental activist fondly known as Yaya or Mbak Yaya, died of cancer. Rukka Sombolinggi, secretary-general of Indonesia’s largest Indigenous organization, AMAN, had counted every one of those days. “ It makes m…

Spotted by AI: seahorses and shark fins

Mongabay · Abhishyant Kidangoor · 19/08/2026

While elephant ivory, rhino horns and pangolin scales get a lot of attention when it comes to illegal wildlife trade, marine wildlife are widely targeted as well. A new AI-driven tool detects marine wildlife in luggages and bags at airports. The tool can detect sea cucumbers, se…

This 23-foot crocodylian may have ruled South America’s food chain

ScienceDaily · 19/08/2026

Miocene South America was packed with giant prey—and the predators hunting them were just as spectacular. Fossil bite marks suggest crocodylians, especially the enormous Purussaurus neivensis, were more important predators than mammals in this ancient tropical ecosystem. At arou…

Italian scientists bet on octopus to fight crab invasion

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

From a fishing trawler in the Adriatic, Italian scientists gently release thousands of tiny octopuses in the hope of fighting an invasive crab species that has devastated local fisheries.

Rare cows part of estate's rewilding project

BBC · 19/08/2026

White Park cattle arrive at the Castle Howard estate in North Yorkshire to support conservation.

Why carbon markets alone won’t save Southeast Asia’s concessions forests

Mongabay · Mongabay.com · 19/08/2026

New research suggests a “massive and untapped” opportunity for conservation within commercial concessions in Southeast Asia, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan. Using satellite data, researchers identified roughly 42 million hectares (104 million acres) of intact forest still stan…

“Its bristles are like thousands of tiny, hollow needles poking out of every inch of skin, ready to inject you with neurotoxin that burns like fire for several hours…”

Focusing on Wildlife · Supertrooper · 19/08/2026

These ocean predators might look soft and fuzzy but don’t be tempted to stroke their bristles – they’re full of a potent neurotoxin that can be seriously painful if you get stung. Apart from the burning pain, you might feel a bit dizzy or sick but the symptoms aren’t typically a…

New set of international rules needed to protect health of fishing stocks, study shows

Phys.org · 19/08/2026

The global community should work to establish an array of new international legal rules to protect the health of fish stocks, new research says. Rather than one set of laws covering all possible maritime sustainability issues, there should be a range of different rules, each wit…

Largest catalog yet of how human cells read DNA shows how chemical marks alter genetic instructions

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

Every cell in the body contains essentially the same DNA, yet a brain cell behaves differently from a muscle cell or an immune cell. The difference lies largely in how each cell reads its genetic instructions.

Rethinking how we name and classify our human ancestors following recent evolutionary discoveries

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

Recent advances in our understanding of human evolution challenge the way we currently name and classify our ancestors, according to new research from Monash University. The study, published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology, argues that we need a rethink and pr…

How can AI help identify pain when animals can't tell us they're suffering?

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

A new AI framework, known as SHIC-XE, has been developed to detect signs of pain in horses from video analysis while providing stable, anatomically consistent explanations for its decisions. The framework was developed by an international team of researchers led by Dr. Marcelo F…

Tapirs, bats and nests: How plastic infiltrates Amazonian wildlife

Mongabay · Tiago da Mota e Silva · 18/08/2026

At the mouth of the Amazon River, birds are already building blue nests out of discarded plastic.

Hidden losses of amphibians and dragonflies in Berlin's municipal water supply

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

A new study led by researchers at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin shows that Berlin's dragonfly populations have declined by more than half since 1963, while populations of frogs, toads and newts have fallen by more than three-quarters since 1981. The study also involved Berlin…

Secrets of a mystery mammal from Patagonia revealed at last

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

Eight years of painstaking research on the virtually unknown Wolffsohn's viscacha have helped to shine the spotlight on this super-rare South American rodent and catalyze the conservation action it so urgently needs.

‘Remembering Wildlife’ shines a spotlight on the species we risk losing forever

Mongabay · Mike DiGirolamo · 18/08/2026

British wildlife photographer Margot Raggett says she created the book Remembering Elephants after she heard David Attenborough say, “The question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?” Her effort was to…

Elders, conservationists race to record fading sacred ties to Philippines’ endemic birds

Mongabay · Keith Anthony Fabro · 18/08/2026

PUERTO GALERA, Philippines — The forest settles into a gentle rhythm as the trail climbs into the Iraya Mangyan ancestral domain in Puerto Galera town, on the Philippines’ Mindoro Island. Only birdsong breaks the silence as towering trees sway overhead. A clear stream tumbles ac…

Structural snapshots reveal key steps in switching on DNA replication

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

Every time a cell divides, it must accurately copy its entire genetic instruction manual. Before this process can begin, cells load their DNA-copying motor—a complex of six subunits known as the MCM2-7 helicase—onto DNA. However, this motor is deliberately kept inactive to preve…

An African bat overlooked for two centuries is confirmed in Europe

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

An African bat whose presence in Sicily had remained an unresolved zoological mystery for almost two centuries has now been documented on Pantelleria Island. A study published in Global Ecology and Conservation reports the first solid evidence of the Egyptian slit-faced bat (Nyc…

Most mammal species discovered in the Global South since 1990 end up in Northern collections

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

According to a study by Brazilian scientists published in the journal npj Biodiversity, most new mammal species described over the past 35 years are housed in institutions in countries of the so-called Global North, even though the vast majority were discovered in poor or develo…

A new mathematical tool to uncover 'who eats whom' in nature

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

Understanding "who eats whom" is the key to keeping our oceans alive—and our dinner plates full. However, this invisible network that makes up the food chain can unravel with the pull of just one thread. Overfish one species, and its predators starve. Cut off a tiny prey species…

Lost 'botanical hotspot' identified at University of York campus

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

A forgotten landscape that once drew world-leading botanists to North Yorkshire could hold the key to restoring lost wildlife, according to new research.

On the Great Barrier Reef, management by Traditional Owners is growing

Mongabay · Cat Williams · 18/08/2026

PERTH, Australia — “There’s this beautiful underwater garden out there,” says Mercy Singleton, referring to the vast network of colorful corals that make up the Great Barrier Reef off eastern Australia’s Queensland coast. “We’d like to see it safe and recovering.” Singleton is Y…

From the coasts to the plains, bird flu could threaten not just birds—but their homes

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

Yesterday, I woke to a cold, damp Canberra morning—and silence. The trees around my home were empty of feathered silhouettes. Even the usual bright-eyed, warble-voiced magpies were absent.

Cells remodel actin normally without coronins, challenging textbook view

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

Coronins are found throughout the animal kingdom, from single-celled amoebae to humans, and are involved in many vital processes, including immunity, development and cell survival. For decades, textbooks and hundreds of scientific papers have described coronins primarily as prot…

Fifteen years of data link plastic pollution to seabird population losses

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

Every year, about 50 million metric tons of plastic is dumped into the environment. This waste entangles, chokes and poisons wildlife worldwide, including sable shearwaters living on the remote Australian island of Lord Howe. After hatching on the island, these birds head out to…

A looming rock collapse threatens a Swiss village as thawing permafrost destabilizes the Alps

Mongabay · Associated Press · 18/08/2026

KANDERSTEG, Switzerland (AP) — An unstable mountain rock formation looming above the Swiss village of Kandersteg threatens a landslide that could rival the disaster that destroyed nearby Blatten last year, a collapse scientists linked to thawing permafrost and glacier dynamics.…

Killer fungus: how a disease threatening bat species has spread to northern Canada

Focusing on Wildlife · Supertrooper · 18/08/2026

Crawling through a narrow passage in a cave beneath a boreal forest near Fort Smith in Canada’s Northwest Territories in May, two biologists spotted a lifeless bat on a limestone ledge, its body covered in a spindly white fungus. When they shone their headlamps to get a closer l…

How healthy are our coral reefs? Researchers have built a tool to help find out

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

Researchers at the University of Sydney have harnessed more than 30 years of data to build a new method to more accurately measure the impact of climate change-induced events on the Great Barrier Reef. The findings are published in the journal Marine Environmental Research.

Five new wasp species discovered in Cyprus, including one named after Aphrodite

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

Scientists have described five new species of parasitoid wasps from Cyprus, more than doubling the number of chalcid wasps known to be found nowhere else on the island. The wasps, all belonging to the family Pteromalidae, are small insects that play an important role as natural…

Indigenous food sovereignty is one of the most overlooked conservation strategies (commentary)

Mongabay · Brijlal ChaudhariGemma Sethsmith · 18/08/2026

As governments and conservation organizations search for solutions to the interconnected crises of biodiversity loss, climate change and food insecurity, they are overlooking one of the most effective approaches already working on the ground: Indigenous food sovereignty. Around…

How only a few tree species drive Amazon forest recovery

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

When a destroyed section of the Amazon rainforest begins to recover, nature deploys only a few tree species that can withstand poor soil conditions and blazing sun and grow rapidly, a Brazilian study has shown.

Why Focusing on Wildlife Is Offering Permanently Ad-Free Subscriptions

Focusing on Wildlife · Supertrooper · 18/08/2026

The modern internet has a noise problem. Click on almost any online article about wildlife conservation today, and you are immediately bombarded. Autoplay videos block the text. Pop-up banners tracking your data flash across your screen. Interstitial ads force you to hunt for a…

'Snooping' on dolphins offers acoustic clues to hotspots for food and friends

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

For dolphins, the ocean is a world of sound. Their whistles carry social information, helping them communicate and stay connected, while echolocation—rapid-fire clicks—functions like underwater sonar, helping them navigate their surroundings and detect potential prey.

More than 5,000 little penguins will be vaxxed against bird flu. How will this protect them?

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

A major push is underway to catch and vaccinate more than 5,000 little penguins in Victoria to protect them against the virulent H5N1 bird flu.

On an Indonesian island, an ancient ritual evolves to protect an endangered cockatoo

Mongabay · Basten Gokkon · 18/08/2026

An Indigenous community on Indonesia’s Seram Island is preserving a centuries-old coming-of-age ritual while helping protect the endangered salmon-crested cockatoo, a new study has found. The study, published in July in the Journal of Ethnobiology, documents how the Huaulu peopl…

Distinct neurons drive mice's social sounds and squeaks

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

Mice use almost completely distinct sets of neurons for their two different types of vocalizations—the squeaks they produce when in distress or fighting and the whistle-like ultrasonic vocalizations they use when communicating socially, Cornell neuroscientists have found. The di…

As an industry and a cooking ingredient, seaweed is gaining ground in Brazil

Mongabay · Letícia Klein · 18/08/2026

On a Brazilian beach, a family gave seaweed new life.

'Ecological engineers' an existential threat to wildlife of iconic wetland

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

A study examining how feral water buffalo interact with landscapes has uncovered the pest's disastrous impacts on northern long-necked turtles in the Top End's tropical wetlands.

Indonesia leads global tally of abuses linked to Chinese transition-mineral investments

Mongabay · Hans Nicholas Jong · 18/08/2026

JAKARTA — Indonesia recorded more allegations of human rights and environmental abuses linked to Chinese investments in transition minerals than any other country between 2023 and 2025, a new report says. It identifies the vast majority of problems with the country’s rapidly exp…

How body size and habitat shape the vocal repertoires of primates

Phys.org · 18/08/2026

Biologists, zoologists and psychologists have been trying to trace the origins of human language for centuries. One well-known theory, known as the social brain hypothesis, suggests that increasingly complex social lives prompted primates to evolve increasingly larger brains, wh…

Mobile queen conch hatcheries strive to help the species, engage Caribbean communities

Mongabay · André Habet · 18/08/2026

Queen conch were once so abundant that fishers in many parts of the Caribbean could wade into knee-deep waters and gather armfuls of the pink, whorled shells. Today, however, the giant marine snails are in decline across the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, while some popul…

Despite energy crisis, Bangladesh’s factories are slow to adopt solar power: Study

Mongabay · Md Asaduz Zaman · 18/08/2026

Bangladesh’s energy system is facing intense pressure from the country’s ongoing fuel crisis and rising electricity bills. Yet thousands of garment factories’ rooftops that could be fitted with solar panels remain largely unused. Renewable energy such as solar could be a potenti…