A new study from <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> reveals what is going on inside of your <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-brain-interactions-have-an-influence-on-diseases/">brain</a> when you get lost in a fictional fantasy. The experts discovered that the more immersed we become in the lives of our favorite characters of fiction, the more our brain activity reflects how much we identify with them.
&#8220;When they think about a favorite fictional character, it appears similar in one part of the brain as when they are thinking about themselves,&#8221; said study lead author Timothy Broom.
The research was focused on self-described fans of the HBO series &#8220;Game of Thrones.&#8221; The individuals were instructed to think about themselves, nine of their friends, and nine characters from the drama series. The participants also reported on which character they felt closest to and liked the most.
According to Broom, Game of Thrones was ideal for this study because it attracted a devoted fan base and the large cast presented a variety of characters that people could become attached to.
One of the key findings involved participants who scored highest on &#8220;trait identification.&#8221; These individuals agreed most strongly with statements like &#8220;I really get involved in the feelings of the characters in a novel.&#8221;
&#8220;People who are high in trait identification not only get absorbed into a story, they also are really absorbed into a particular character,&#8221; said Broom. &#8220;They report matching the thoughts of the character, they are thinking what the character is thinking, they are feeling what the character is feeling. They are inhabiting the role of that character.&#8221;
The researchers used an fMRI machine to measure activity in various parts of the brain through small changes in blood flow. As the participants&#8217; brains were scanned, they were evaluating themselves, their friends, and Game of Thrones characters. 
A part of the brain called the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC) is known to show increased activity when people think about themselves and, to a lesser extent, when they think about close friends.
While in the fMRI, the individuals were shown a series of names &#8211; including themselves, friends, or characters &#8211; along with a trait, such as lonely, sad, trustworthy, or smart. The participants simply said &#8220;yes&#8221; or &#8220;no&#8221; to imply whether the trait fit the person.
As expected, the vMPFC was most active when people were evaluating themselves, less active when they evaluated friends, and least active when they evaluated characters from Game of Thrones.
However, among those who were high in trait identification, the vMPFC was more active when they thought about the fictional characters than it was for participants who identified less with the characters. This region of the brain was particularly active when the individuals evaluated the character they identified with the most.
Study co-author Dylan Wanger said the findings help explain how fiction can have such a big impact on some people.
&#8220;For some people, fiction is a chance to take on new identities, to see worlds though others&#8217; eyes and return from those experiences changed,&#8221; said Wagner.
&#8220;What previous studies have found is that when people experience stories as if they were one of the characters, a connection is made with that character, and the character becomes intwined with the self. In our study, we see evidence of that in their brains.&#8221;
The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/scan">Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience</a>.
&#8211;&#8212;
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

What happens in your brain while you're lost in fiction

Every fleeting glance you take of your surroundings sets off a chain reaction inside your skull, shuttling retinal signals to a tiny midbrain hub. New findings show that this relay does more than position your eyes; it also helps you decide what those eyes are seeing.



Scientists from the <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Chicago</a> have now traced high‑level judgment back to the same circuit that pilots a reflexive gaze. 



<a href="https://neurobiology.uchicago.edu/faculty/david-freedman-phd" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Freedman</a>, professor of neurobiology at the university, says the discovery redraws some of the most familiar maps of the mind.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-collicular-midbrain-hub-is-ancient">Collicular midbrain hub is ancient</h2>



The <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10115501/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">superior colliculus</a> sits just above the brainstem and appears in fish, birds, and mammals alike, hinting at an ancestry stretching half a billion years. 



Its layered tissue forms a two‑dimensional grid that rapidly transforms flashes of light into head and eye movements.



For decades, textbooks described the structure as a simple switchboard for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10991/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">saccades</a>, the rapid jumps that refresh a scene several times a second. The cortex, by contrast, was said to handle every higher act, from object recognition to chess.



Growing evidence counters that neat divide. A 2017 <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5752317/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a> chronicled how collicular neurons encode attention and decision signals once thought exclusive to the cerebral mantle.



Those hints set the stage for a closer look at the midbrain in real time. Freedman’s group answered with electrodes and a clever behavioral trick.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gazing-and-judging">Gazing and judging</h2>



They trained two <a href="https://neprimateconservancy.org/rhesus-macaque/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Macaca mulatta monkeys</a> to hold their eyes on a central point while labeling drifting dot patterns as belonging to one of two learned categories. Fruit‑juice rewards encouraged fast, accurate button presses rather than eye shifts.



During the task, arrays of fine wires captured spikes in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/posterior-parietal-cortex" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">posterior parietal cortex</a>, a well‑known decision center, and simultaneously inside the colliculus. 



Timing analysis revealed that category information emerged in both places at almost the same moment.



More surprising, the midbrain signal was stronger and more consistent than the cortical one, indexing the upcoming choice with remarkable fidelity. That meant the ancient hub was not just echoing the cortex but <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01744-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">leading</a> the conversation.



“This is a really surprising place to find these kinds of cognitive signals because this area of the brain is traditionally associated with simpler <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/male-and-female-brains-are-wired-completely-differently/">spatial orienting behaviors</a> and even reflexive functions,” said Freedman. He notes that the finding challenges a long‑held hierarchy that placed the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/neocortex" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">neocortex</a> firmly on top.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-switching-off-the-collicular-midbrain">Switching off the collicular midbrain</h2>



Correlation, however, does not guarantee causation. To probe necessity, the team injected minute doses of muscimol to silence collicular <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rebooting-the-brain-experts-can-transform-cells-into-neurons/">neurons</a> for about 30 minutes.



The monkeys still stared at the fixation point and pushed buttons with normal speed, showing that motor paths remained largely intact. Even so, their category judgments slipped toward chance until normal firing returned.



A 2021 <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8338902/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> by Michele Basso and colleagues had already shown that damping the same region biases simpler motion decisions in primates. The new work extends that causal role to abstract rules untied to any spatial cue.



“Our results show us that this area is really important for the task,” Freedman added. Without its input, the cortex alone could not salvage performance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-collicular-neurons-and-spatial-maps">Collicular neurons and spatial maps</h2>



The collicular sheet represents space in a neat polar grid, each <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cell-division-discovery-challenges-a-century-of-textbook-biology/">cell</a> preferring a particular direction and eccentricity. Such organization may offer high‑speed scaffolding for loftier computations.



Freedman suspects that the brain projects non‑spatial information onto that grid to exploit wiring already optimized for rapid competition among options. 



Spatial coding could act as a common currency, letting disparate sensory and memory traces jostle under a single rulebook.



Separate teams have found midbrain <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627324004124" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">neurons</a> that single out faces mere milliseconds after stimulus onset, bypassing the slower ventral stream. 



Others report <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37352857/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">collicular bursts</a> that end deliberations once evidence reaches a threshold, acting like an internal referee.



“Some of this data might be telling us that the spatial parts of the brain are getting recruited into helping us perform these non-spatial cognitive functions,” said <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=em1qF1AAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Barbara Peysakhovich</a>, first author of the study. Her remark underscores how evolution can co‑opt one circuit for many jobs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-midbrain-collicular-circuits-and-perception">Midbrain collicular circuits and perception</h2>



Functional MRI supports the idea in humans. Activity flares in the colliculus when volunteers search <a href="https://bmcneurosci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2202-8-66" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cluttered scenes</a> or shift attention without moving their eyes.



A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4949391/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> that probed eye‑driven Go/No‑Go decisions in progressive supranuclear palsy linked slow saccades to impaired evidence accumulation, implicating the same midbrain route. 



Such overlap suggests that eye‑movement disorders and cognitive decline may share a single lesion site.



Computational neuroscientists are now modeling collicular circuits to design cameras that spot hazards before full scene analysis is complete. The Chicago data offer a fresh template for those algorithms.



Ultimately, the study blurs a tidy border between perception and reflection. It invites a broader search for additional double‑duty nodes throughout the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-changes-in-the-brain-between-the-ages-of-11-25-and-how-it-influence-our-decisions/">brain</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-next-steps-and-implications">Next steps and implications</h2>



Freedman plans to test whether similar signals appear in people using magnetoencephalography combined with deep‑brain electrical recordings during surgery. Such work could clarify how much of the primate finding generalizes to everyday human reasoning.



Another priority is mapping the pathways that carry the category code into and out of the midbrain. Anatomical <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10115501/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> already show dense links from frontal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unexpected-find-inside-the-eye-of-a-tiny-wasp-megaphragma-viggianii/">eye</a> field to colliculus as well as ascending fibers that reach the cortex via the thalamus.



Untangling those loops may reveal how a single decision circulates between brainstem and cortex <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/action-observation-network-human-brain-perception-see-what-we-expect-to-see-mind-eye/">before reaching awareness</a>. The results could also help clinicians fine‑tune deep‑brain stimulators aimed at restoring gaze and cognition in movement disorders.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01744-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Neuroscience</a>.



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Humans use the same ancient midbrain circuits for both seeing and thinking, says a new study

Every fleeting glance you take of your surroundings sets off...

Some imported seafoods on American dinner plates are carrying an invisible threat: bacteria equipped with genes that can disarm a high-priority, critically important antibiotic called colistin.



Colistin is reserved for life-threatening infections that have outwitted every other drug. When it fails, clinicians have nowhere left to turn.



In research presented at <a href="https://asm.org/events/asm-microbe/home">ASM Microbe 2025</a>, scientists at the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a> found colistin-resistance genes - known as mcr - in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shrimp-crisis-alarming-virus-threatens-global-seafood-supplies/">shrimp</a> and scallops purchased from eight Atlanta-area grocery stores.



It is the first evidence that U.S. seafood shoppers are unknowingly buying products harboring bacteria capable of shrugging off one of medicine’s last lines of defense.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-seafood-s-global-supply-chain">Seafood's global supply chain</h2>



Lead investigator Issmat Kassem has spent two decades tracing the global spread of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genes-for-antibiotic-resistance-lurk-in-our-wastewater-and-streams/">antimicrobial resistance</a>.



Sampling from local supermarkets, his team ran genetic screens on bacteria living in the imported seafood including shellfish and uncovered multiple plasmids - circular snippets of DNA - that carry mcr.



These plasmids make resistance “mobile,” because the genes can hop from one bacterium to another.



When Kassem talks about the popular appeal of shellfish, he puts it simply: “We love our seafood.”



And most Americans do: about 90 percent of the shrimp consumed in the United States are raised overseas. Many exporting nations still rely on antibiotics, including colistin, to treat or fatten farmed animals.



That practice creates selective pressure for resistant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-bacteria-breathe-by-creating-electricity/">bacteria</a>, which can end up in packing plants, shipping containers, and ultimately U.S. kitchens.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-last-resort-antibiotic">The last-resort antibiotic</h2>



Colistin debuted in the 1950s, then largely disappeared from U.S. hospitals because it can scar kidneys and nerves. Its toxic profile forced doctors to shelve it in favor of safer drugs.



That calculus reversed when so-called “superbugs” evolved resistance to nearly every other antibiotic. Colistin returned as a last resort, but its revival was overshadowed by news in 2016 of the first plasmid-borne mcr gene.



Until then, many scientists assumed colistin resistance evolved only through slow, vertical inheritance. The plasmid discovery rewrote that script, proving resistance could not jump between different bacteria - an assumption Kassem now calls dangerously outdated.



Today, at least ten mcr variants have been catalogued worldwide, and Kassem’s new findings reveal a pathway for them to enter U.S. ecosystems.



In earlier work, his lab found the same plasmids and bacterial hosts in Georgia wastewater. The match confirms that agricultural practices abroad can shape microbial landscapes at home.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-supply-chain-problem"><a></a>A supply chain problem</h2>



Although federal inspectors test imported seafood for chemical residues and visible pathogens, they do not routinely test for resistance genes.



“The bacteria that were carrying colistin resistance genes are not normally screened,” Kassem warned. Standard checks, designed decades ago, fail to catch this genomic stowaway.



“Our food is sourced from different places,” he said. “If you go out to lunch today, your plate might have ingredients from six, seven, eight countries.” These complex supply chains enable a hidden circulation of microbes.



“Some countries do not have strict regulations for using antibiotics in food animal production, so imported food can be a vehicle for transmission of resistance.”



Domestic aquaculture operations appear free of mcr for now, suggesting U.S. oversight can be effective when consistently applied.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-no-borders-for-seafood-superbugs">No borders for seafood "superbugs"</h2>



Resistance that travels by plasmid does not respect borders. “We live in a very connected world,” Kassem emphasized.



“We move a lot, we travel a lot, our food travels, and we are going to spread whatever emerges, even across national borders.” In other words, the United States cannot isolate itself from a problem embedded in international trade.



That reality underscores the need for better surveillance. “It’s important to invest in monitoring systems and expand them and collaborate, especially on the global level, on the issue of antimicrobial resistance,” Kassem said.



Enhanced screening at ports of entry could catch resistant bacteria before they enter the consumer market. Equally critical is global cooperation to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in aquaculture and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-in-livestock-are-major-drivers-of-antibiotic-resistance/">livestock</a> production.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-risks-in-the-kitchen">Hidden risks in the kitchen</h2>



Cooking <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shellfish-waste-can-be-used-for-fresher-safer-produce/">shellfish</a> thoroughly destroys live bacteria, but plasmid DNA may survive and flow into wastewater systems.



Consumers should handle raw imported seafood with the same caution they would raw poultry. This includes washing hands, sanitizing cutting boards, and avoiding cross-contamination with ready-to-eat foods. Yet individual diligence cannot solve a systemic problem.



The study shows that antimicrobial resistance is no longer confined to hospitals or far-off farms - it can ride quietly into suburban kitchens on ice. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-global-health-warning">A global health warning</h2>



If policymakers act swiftly, the United States can reinforce its defenses by updating import regulations and requiring genetic testing for high-risk resistance genes. It can also partner with exporting nations to curb antibiotic misuse.



For now, Kassem’s message is a wake-up call. Colistin remains a critical, if imperfect, guardian against multidrug-resistant infections.



Allowing its defenses to erode - even incrementally - brings the world closer to a post-antibiotic era where routine surgeries and minor wounds become life-threatening. 



The microbes in our seafood are sending a warning. Whether we heed it will shape the future of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antibiotic-resistance-could-cause-a-health-crisis-globally/">global health</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.asm.org/journal/msphere">mSphere</a>.



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Imported seafood is spreading antibiotic resistance genes

Some imported seafoods on American dinner plates are carrying an...

Scientists recently discovered that certain changes in the roots of teeth can reveal whether someone is a current or former smoker. 



This breakthrough came from a team at <a href="https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Northumbria University</a>, working alongside scientists from the <a href="https://le.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Leicester</a>. Their findings could offer powerful tools for both forensic science and archaeology.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-teeth-can-tell-us">What teeth can tell us</h2>



Your teeth aren’t just for chewing. They carry a hidden timeline of your life. Teeth are made up of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tooth-enamel-holds-a-record-of-human-health/">enamel</a>, dentine, and cementum. 



<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/cementum" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cementum</a> is the hard tissue that coats the tooth’s root, and it grows in layers - similar to the way trees deposit annual growth rings. Every year, a new layer forms.



The research team originally set out to use these cementum rings to estimate a person’s age. That kind of analysis can help identify victims of disasters when DNA samples aren’t available.



“By looking at <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tree-rings-reveal-the-carbon-storage-capacity-of-a-forest/">growth rings</a> in the teeth, we can also estimate a person’s age when the tooth was removed, or when they died,” said Dr. Ed Schwalbe, coauthor and professor in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Northumbria University.



“Together, this information could help identify unknown individuals - such as disaster victims or those buried in mass graves - and offer new tools for forensic and historical investigations,” he confirmed.



But they also found something unexpected.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smoking-marks-teeth-as-well">Smoking marks teeth as well</h2>



They examined 88 teeth from both living dental patients and archaeological remains. In many cases, the cementum rings weren’t smooth and regular. Some had disruptions - changes in thickness or shape that didn’t line up with the typical growth pattern.



They looked more closely. These disruptions weren’t random. They were consistently found in the teeth of people who smoked or used to smoke.



“Our research shows that it’s possible to tell if someone was a smoker just by examining their teeth,” said Dr. Schwalbe. 



“We found that the regular annual deposition of rings was disrupted for some individuals and realised that these disruptions were associated with current or ex-smokers, but were very rare in non-smokers.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smoking-s-undeniable-signature-in-teeth">Smoking's undeniable signature in teeth</h2>



In teeth from former <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smokers-have-weaker-hearts-that-pump-less-blood/">smokers</a>, the team saw thick layers of cementum built up over disrupted rings. They believe that when someone quits <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quitting-smoking-at-any-age-brings-big-and-immediate-health-benefits/">smoking</a>, the cementum begins to return to a normal growth pattern, forming denser layers on top of the older, damaged ones. 



That may explain why ex-smokers’ teeth showed thicker cementum than was found in the teeth of current smokers.



The numbers were striking. Disrupted cementum appeared in 70% of ex-smokers and 33% of current smokers - but in only 3% of people who had never smoked.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/smoking_teeth-stains-damage_cementum-rings_credit-NorthumbriaU_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/smoking_teeth-stains-damage_cementum-rings_credit-NorthumbriaU_1s.webp" alt="Example of smoking damage in an archaeological tooth. The magnified image shows variations in the tooth's cementum rings from smoking. Credit: Northumbria University" class="wp-image-1975125"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Example of smoking damage in an archaeological tooth. The magnified image shows variations in the tooth's cementum rings from smoking. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Northumbria University</figcaption></figure>



“We compared the cemental deposition of smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers visually and statistically to identify irregularities that were potentially connected to smoking activity,” said Dr. Valentina Perrone, lead author on the study. 



“We found that individuals with a history of smoking - whether as a current or former smoker – were significantly more likely to have disruption to their cementum than those who did not."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quitting-doesn-t-remove-smoking-markers">Quitting doesn't remove smoking markers</h2>



The study included 46 living participants who needed teeth extracted as part of routine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brushing-your-teeth-regularly-can-prevent-deadly-liver-disease/">dental care</a>. In one standout case, a participant’s tooth showed damage estimated to have occurred between the ages of 22 and 41.



When the researchers reviewed the patient’s history, they found that the individual, who was aged 58 at the time, had smoked between the ages of 28 and 38.



That matched the evidence exactly.



“Smoking is known to have a systemic impact on the body and numerous studies have highlighted the correlation between smoking, <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/periodontitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20354473" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">periodontitis</a> and tooth loss,” Dr Perrone added. 



“This study shows, for the first time, the biological record of smoking-related oral health damage within the dental structure.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-echoes-from-past-centuries">Echoes from past centuries</h2>



To test whether these markers of smoking could be found in much older remains, the team worked with Dr. Sarah Inskip, UKRI Fellow at the University of Leicester’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History. They examined 18 archaeological teeth dating from between 1776 and 1890.



Some of these teeth came from individuals known to have smoked. Signs included discoloration and even physical notches worn into the teeth by clay pipes.



Even after centuries underground, the cementum in those teeth still bore the same disruption patterns as found in the teeth of modern smokers.



“This could help us learn more about people’s lifestyles in the past, especially in archaeological studies where patterns of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tobacco-bans-could-help-prevent-1-2-million-lung-cancer-deaths/">tobacco</a> use can reveal important cultural insights,” said Dr. Schwalbe.



“The identification of 'smoking damage' in archaeological teeth opens up further avenues to understand how the long-term consumption of tobacco in populations has affected our health through time,” Dr. Inskip added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-your-teeth-don-t-lie">Your teeth don’t lie</h2>



These findings show that even if someone quits smoking, their teeth may carry the evidence for life. 



That insight has major implications - not just for understanding personal health histories, but for reconstructing the lives of people long gone.



The next time you smile, remember that your teeth are holding a history of some of your lifestyle choices.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0323812" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS One</a>.



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Smoking leaves permanent traces in teeth deep below the surface - a new forensic

Scientists recently discovered that certain changes in the roots of...

A potential single-dose vaccine might be closer than we think. Scientists say it could one day protect against viruses like HIV or COVID-19 without the need for repeat shots. 



The secret? Pairing two immune-boosting ingredients - called adjuvants - in the same formula.



In a recent study with mice, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (<a href="https://www.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIT</a>) and the <a href="https://www.scripps.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scripps Research Institute</a> showed how this dual-adjuvant strategy triggered a much broader immune response than standard vaccines. 



The mix helped the body produce a wider variety of antibodies, offering stronger, longer-lasting protection from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mild-obesity-linked-to-greater-risk-of-severe-covid-19-infection/">infection</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-adjuvants-matter-in-single-dose-vaccines">Adjuvants matter in single-dose vaccines</h2>



Adjuvants are added to many vaccines to help fire up the immune system. They don’t act on the virus directly, but they do help your body learn to recognize and fight it. 



One common adjuvant is alum (aluminum hydroxide), and it is used in vaccines for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mysterious-cases-of-hepatitis-detected-in-the-us-and-europe/">hepatitis</a> A and B. It boosts the immune system by activating the body’s first line of defense.



Years ago, scientists at Scripps created another adjuvant using saponin, a compound from the bark of the Chilean <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soap-bark-tree-discovery-could-revolutionize-vaccine-production/">soapbark tree</a>. 



This adjuvant, when packaged into tiny particles, along with another immune stimulator (MPLA), showed even better results.



That combo, known as SMNP, is already being tested in an HIV vaccine in human trials.



The team decided to test what would happen if they combined alum and SMNP in a single-dose vaccine. The result? An even more powerful immune response against both HIV and SARS-CoV-2.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-single-dose-vaccine-sticks-around">Single-dose vaccine sticks around</h2>



For the new study, researchers focused on how these two adjuvants work together. They used a protein from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genetic-variant-linked-to-both-covid-risk-and-hiv-protection/">HIV</a> called MD39 as their target and stuck dozens of these proteins to alum particles, along with SMNP.



When injected into mice, this enhanced vaccine headed straight for the lymph nodes. These small structures are where immune cells, like B cells, train to recognize invaders. 



Inside the lymph nodes, B cells mutate rapidly to make stronger, more precise <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-antibodies-are-adapting-to-fight-emerging-covid-variants/">antibodies</a>. This training happens in special clusters called germinal centers.



The scientists found that their vaccine was able to slip through the protective shell around the lymph nodes and stay intact. It remained inside for almost a month - a long time in immune system terms. That allowed B cells to keep working and improving their antibody response.



“As a result, the B cells that are cycling in the lymph nodes are constantly being exposed to the antigen over that time period, and they get the chance to refine their solution to the antigen,” said J. Christopher Love,&nbsp;the Raymond A. and Helen E. St. Laurent Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wider-arsenal-of-antibodies">Wider arsenal of antibodies</h2>



To understand the impact, the team used single-cell RNA sequencing to analyze the B cells from the vaccinated mice. 



The group that received both adjuvants in a single-dose vaccine showed a much more diverse set of B cells and antibodies.



They had two to three times more unique B cells than mice that got just one <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-based-covid-vaccine-is-safe-and-effective/">adjuvant</a>.



That matters. The more diverse the antibodies, the better the chances of being effective against different strains of a virus, like HIV, that mutates constantly.



“When you think about the immune system sampling all of the possible solutions, the more chances we give it to identify an effective solution, the better,” Love explained. 



“Generating broadly neutralizing antibodies is something that likely requires both the kind of approach that we showed here, to get that strong and diversified response, as well as antigen design to get the right part of the immunogen shown,” he added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-toward-a-one-and-done-vaccine">Toward a one-and-done vaccine</h2>



This approach could simplify vaccine schedules. Instead of needing multiple doses, a single shot might be enough.



“What’s potentially powerful about this approach is that you can achieve long-term exposures based on a combination of adjuvants that are already reasonably well-understood, so it doesn’t require a different technology. It’s just combining features of these adjuvants to enable low-dose or potentially even single-dose treatments,” Love concluded.



The research points to a future of smarter vaccines - and fewer needles.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.adw7499" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Translational Medicine</a>.



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A smarter shot: Scientists explore single-dose vaccine power

A potential single-dose vaccine might be closer than we think....

Queuosine may sound like a niche detail in a biochemistry textbook, yet this tiny compound touches nearly every corner of human physiology. Scientists have now identified how our cells grab it, opening new paths for research on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/first-map-of-the-brains-mitochondria-may-explain-cognitive-decline/">memory</a>, learning, and cancer resistance.



The work centers on queuosine, a vitamin‑like micronutrient we must borrow from food or friendly gut bacteria. 



A reseearch team led by Valérie de Crécy‑Lagard of the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a> traced the entry point of queuosine into the cell, the transporter gene SLC35F2.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-queuosine">What is queuosine?</h2>



Queuosine is not built into proteins or DNA. Instead, it slots into transfer RNA (<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39600051/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tRNA</a>), the molecular interpreters that read genetic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/action-observation-network-human-brain-perception-see-what-we-expect-to-see-mind-eye/">codes</a>. 



By modifying the wobble position of tRNAs for histidine, tyrosine, aspartate, and asparagine, queuosine helps ribosomes choose the correct amino acid more quickly and accurately. That fine‑tuning keeps translation errors and oxidative stress in check.



Laboratory <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-83451-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> show that supplementing queuosine reverses translation chaos and steadies protein production in stressed cells. Because humans cannot manufacture queuosine, diet and microbes must deliver a steady supply.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nutrient-and-cancer-connection">Nutrient and cancer connection</h2>



Experiments from the <a href="https://www.dkfz.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">German Cancer Research Center</a> uncovered a curious twist. Removing tRNA queuosine weakened context‑based memory in female mice but left males mostly unscathed.



The result hints that queuosine’s control over translation interacts with hormone‑sensitive neural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-brain-literally-changes-based-on-daily-activities-and-lifestyle/">circuits</a>. Cancer biologists track the nutrient for another reason.



Tumor tissues often show steep drops in queuosine modification, a change that encourages the rapid, glycolysis‑heavy metabolism called the <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7146442/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Warburg effect</a>. In cultured cells, adding the precursor queuine slows growth in colon, liver, and breast cancer lines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-queuosine-gets-in">How queuosine gets in</h2>



“For over 30 years, scientists have suspected that there had to be a transporter for this nutrient, but no one could find it. We’ve been hunting for it for a long time,” said de Crécy-Lagard. 



Hints about a queuosine gateway surfaced in the early 1990s when growth‑factor stimulation boosted uptake. Screens of known solute carrier proteins drew blanks, sending researchers back to the drawing board.



The investigators ran cross‑species genomics and <a href="https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/CRISPR" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CRISPR</a> knockouts in <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/henrietta-lacks/importance-of-hela-cells" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">human HeLa cells</a>. Only one gene, SLC35F2, consistently blocked uptake when deleted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-confirming-the-nutrient-s-pathway">Confirming the nutrient's pathway</h2>



Restoring SLC35F2 rescued transport, confirming it as the primary, high‑affinity channel for queuosine and its nucleobase form, queuine. 



Radiolabeled assays measured a Michaelis constant of 174 nanomoles, and competing nucleosides failed to displace queuosine from the transporter.



Fluorescence imaging placed SLC35F2 on the plasma membrane and inside the <a href="https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/golgi-body" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Golgi</a>, a hint that queuosine may cycle through secretory routes before reaching cytosolic tRNA pools. 



The study also revealed a second, low‑affinity pathway that kicks in when dietary levels spike.



“We don’t think we could have cracked it without the full team,” said Vincent Kelly of <a href="https://www.tcd.ie/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Trinity College Dublin</a>, joint senior author and professor of biochemistry and immunology, highlighting the collaborative push.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-brain-health">Implications for brain health</h2>



Neurons fire thousands of times per second, and any slowdown in protein synthesis can scramble that rhythm. 



In mice lacking tRNA queuosine, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128131466000059" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hippocampal neurons</a> mis‑translate codons, depressing long‑term potentiation, a cellular marker of learning.



Restoring dietary queuine fixed the translation lag and improved maze performance within days. With SLC35F2 in hand, neuroscientists can now ask whether genetic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-brains-use-storage-trick-to-keep-your-memories-in-sequential-order/">variants</a> of the transporter align with neurodevelopmental disorders.



Public databases list rare point mutations in SLC35F2 in fewer than one percent of the population. Their functional impact remains untested, but the data set gives clinicians a starting point for genotype‑phenotype studies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-could-this-nutrient-help-fight-cancer">Could this nutrient help fight cancer?</h2>



SLC35F2 carries an intriguing label as an oncogene. High expression predicts poor prognosis in some <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4365-leukemia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">leukemias</a> and solid tumors.



Researchers once assumed the protein simply imported chemotherapy drugs. Yet new data suggest that tumors may hijack SLC35F2 to starve cells of queuosine and rewire translation. Therapies could exploit the system in two ways.



Selective inhibitors might deprive cancer cells of the nutrient, pushing their error‑prone translation machinery past a lethal threshold. 



Alternatively, stabilized queuosine analogs could flood normal tissues that preserve SLC35F2, tamping down oxidative stress and inflammation. Early animal trials are already underway at several labs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dietary-sources-of-queuosine">Dietary sources of queuosine </h2>



Queuosine comes mainly from meat, dairy, and fermented foods, while some gut bacteria, especially members of the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/bacteroides" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bacteroides</a> genus, synthesize it from scratch. 



Vegans often show slightly lower circulating levels than omnivores, though the difference disappears when microbial producers are abundant.



Antibiotic courses can wipe out those producers for weeks. <a href="https://www.tcd.ie/medicine/psychiatry/research/neuropsychiatric-genetics-research-group/study-volunteers-needed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Researchers</a> in Ireland are now tracking whether short‑term queuosine drops after antibiotics correlate with slower reaction times or mood changes in healthy volunteers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cancer-drug-rides-along">Cancer drug rides along</h2>



SLC35F2 already had a reputation in oncology circles because it escorts the experimental anticancer drug <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7281096/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YM155</a> into cells. 



Knowing that the protein’s day job is moving queuosine gives pharmacologists a fresh angle: they can tweak YM155’s structure to ride the same pathway more efficiently.



Conversely, blocking SLC35F2 might protect healthy neurons during chemotherapy by keeping YM155 out while allowing other nucleosides through alternative transporters. 



That strategy would echo the way cardiologists use dexrazoxane to shield the heart from doxorubicin, targeting transporter specificity rather than the drug itself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gut-microbes-and-queuosine-boost-health">Gut microbes and queuosine boost health</h2>



The discovery also tightens the link between diet, microbes, and host gene expression. If intestinal bacteria ramp up queuosine output, plasma levels rise, SLC35F2 activity increases, and translation fidelity improves.



Better fidelity reduces misfolded proteins that would otherwise inflame the gut, creating a positive feedback loop. 



Disrupt the loop with a high‑fat, low‑fiber <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mixed-diets-offer-health-benefits-and-lower-carbon-footprint/">diet</a>, and queuosine production plummets. Misfolded proteins accumulate, triggering oxidative stress that further damages the gut barrier. Restoring queuosine, through supplements or fermented foods, could break the cycle.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions </h2>



The team wants to chart how queuosine levels rise and fall across organs and over the human lifespan. 



High‑throughput mass spectrometry, paired with SLC35F2 genotyping, should reveal whether deficiencies track with cognitive decline or chemotherapy resistance.



“This discovery opens up a whole new chapter in understanding how the microbiome and our diet can influence the translation of our genes,” said Kelly. Diagnostic kits could follow.



A simple blood test measuring queuosine might guide personalized nutrition plans, especially for patients with gut dysbiosis or limited dietary variety.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2425364122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Little-known nutrient can boost your brain and fight cancer

Queuosine may sound like a niche detail in a biochemistry...

If you logged onto your bank account this morning, the security protocols still seem secure - but things are changing quickly in the tech world. A team in China just showed that the math behind RSA encryption is starting to bend to the will of the quantum realm. 



Using a <a href="https://docs.dwavequantum.com/en/latest/quantum_research/quantum_annealing_intro.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">quantum annealing processor</a> built by D‑Wave Systems, the researchers say they factored a 22‑bit RSA integer that had resisted earlier attempts on the same class of hardware. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Chao-Wang-2171190355" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wang Chao</a> and colleagues at Shanghai University carried out the experiment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rsa-s-reputation-for-toughness">RSA's reputation for toughness</h2>



When <a href="https://65610.csail.mit.edu/2023/lec/l13-rsa.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RSA encryption</a> debuted in 1977 it was lauded for tying security to the difficulty of splitting a large semiprime into its two prime factors . 



Classic computers still need sub‑exponential time to break today’s 2048‑bit keys, and the largest key so far cracked with conventional methods is only 829 bits (RSA‑250) after weeks on a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-ai-framework-dimon-turning-any-laptop-into-a-supercomputer/">supercomputer</a>.



“Using the D‑Wave Advantage, we successfully factored a 22‑bit RSA integer, demonstrating the potential for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/schrodingers-cat-put-into-silicon-chip-may-be-holy-grail-for-error-proof-quantum-computing/">quantum machines</a> to tackle cryptographic problems,” the authors wrote. 



The group translated factorization into a Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization problem, which the D‑Wave Advantage system solves by letting qubits tunnel through energy barriers seeking the lowest energy state. 



They also applied the same method to <a href="https://how.dev/answers/what-are-substitution-permutation-networks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Substitution–Permutation Network ciphers</a> such as <a href="https://www.iacr.org/archive/ches2007/47270450/47270450.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Present</a> and <a href="https://eprint.iacr.org/2014/084.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rectangle</a>, calling it “the first time that a real quantum computer has posed a substantial threat to multiple full‑scale SPN structured algorithms in use today.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-twenty-two-bits-still-matter">Twenty‑two bits still matter</h2>



A 22‑bit key is trivially small compared with production‑grade RSA, yet the test matters because the approach scaled beyond past demonstrations that stopped at 19 bits and required more qubits per variable. 



Reducing the local‑field and coupling coefficients in the Ising model cut noise, letting the annealer reach correct factors more often and hinting at paths to bigger keys, according to the paper.



“The advancement of quantum computers can seriously threaten data security and privacy for various enterprises,” warned <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/prabhjyot-kaur-b7a006222/?originalSubdomain=in" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Prabhjyot Kaur</a> of analyst firm <a href="https://www.everestgrp.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Everest Group</a>, who was not involved in the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-annealing-vs-shor-s-promise">Annealing vs. Shor’s promise</h2>



Universal, gate‑based quantum machines run <a href="https://www.quera.com/glossary/shors-algorithm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shor’s algorithm</a>, which in principle can shred RSA by finding the period of modular exponentiation in polynomial time. 



Those devices still struggle with error correction, while <a href="https://docs.dwavequantum.com/en/latest/quantum_research/quantum_annealing_intro.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">D‑Wave’s annealers</a>, though not universal, already pack more than 5000 qubits and avoid deep circuits by using a chilling 15 mK environment and analog evolution.



Annealing excels at combinatorial optimization, so the Shanghai team reframed factoring as that type of search problem instead of using Shor’s period‑finding route. 



The strategy sidesteps current qubit‑count limits of gate machines but pays a price in exponential scaling, which is why only a 22‑bit modulus fell this time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-policy-clock-keeps-ticking">The policy clock keeps ticking</h2>



Standards bodies are not waiting. In August 2024 NIST released FIPS 203, 204 and 205, the first federal standards for post‑quantum cryptography based on lattice problems, and in March 2025 it selected HQC for the next wave.&nbsp;



A White House event framing the publication urged <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/08/13/nist-post-quantum-cryptography-encryption" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. agencies</a> to begin swapping vulnerable keys because adversaries may already be hoarding encrypted data for “hack now, decrypt later” attacks.



“Businesses must treat cryptographic renewal like a multi‑year infrastructure project,” the <a href="https://deloitte.wsj.com/cio/nists-postquantum-cryptography-standards-this-is-the-start-of-the-race-6e279b49" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wall Street Journal’s CIO briefing</a> noted when the final standards neared release last year. Corporate technology leaders echoed that sense of urgency.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rsa-vs-quantum-cracking">RSA vs. quantum cracking</h2>



Most businesses haven’t yet updated their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/baffling-quantum-entanglement-statistics-puzzle-finally-solved-advanced-technologies/">cryptography</a> inventories, and many don’t even know which algorithms their systems depend on. 



Security experts recommend starting with an internal audit to identify all uses of RSA, ECC, and other vulnerable algorithms before building a replacement plan.



While full migration may take years, organizations can begin by testing quantum-safe libraries such as <a href="https://openquantumsafe.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Open Quantum Safe</a>, deploying hybrid key exchange methods.



Integrating crypto-agility - the ability to swap <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/escaping-dead-zones-in-the-barren-plateau-of-quantum-computing/">cryptographic algorithms</a> without reengineering entire systems - is also a good option. This makes future upgrades less painful as new standards arrive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-comes-next-and-what-to-watch">What comes next and what to watch</h2>



Large‑key RSA is still safe today, yet the study shows that hardware improvements and smarter embeddings keep shaving away at the gap. 



D‑Wave plans a <a href="https://support.dwavesys.com/hc/en-us/articles/6820989477911-What-Is-the-Zephyr-Topology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zephyr‑topology processor</a> with more than 7000 qubits later this year, and each topology upgrade improves connectivity, which in turn reduces the number of physical qubits needed per logical variable.



Cryptographers, meanwhile, recommend adopting hybrid schemes that wrap lattice‑based algorithms such as <a href="https://eprint.iacr.org/2017/634.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CRYSTALS‑Kyber</a> around classical RSA signatures to provide forward secrecy during the transition period. 



Organizations holding sensitive data for decades, health records, genomic files, diplomatic cables, have the most to lose if they wait until a full‑scale <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/schrodingers-cat-put-into-silicon-chip-may-be-holy-grail-for-error-proof-quantum-computing/">quantum</a> computer arrives.



Some observers point out that the Shanghai result relied on heavy classical pre‑ and post‑processing, and that the annealer still required many runs to locate the right factors. 



Even so, history shows that cryptanalytic proofs of concept rarely stay small: DES fell to a $250,000 machine in 1998 only four years after the first partial cracks surfaced.



The study is published in the <a href="https://cirics.uqo.ca/chinese-researchers-break-rsa-encryption-with-a-quantum-computer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese Journal of Computers</a>.



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China breaks RSA encryption with a quantum computer, threatening global data security

If you logged onto your bank account this morning, the...

Ever found yourself glued to a playground spat, wondering what started it? You’re not alone. This common habit reflects our natural social curiosity, a deeply rooted instinct we share with chimpanzees.



A new cross-species study shows both children and chimpanzees enjoy watching <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-pressure-alters-how-you-make-decisions/">social</a> scenes more than solo performances, even when there’s something to lose.



Researchers found that curiosity about social life isn’t uniquely human. It likely helped our species build trust, choose allies, and survive in group settings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-young-minds-and-social-curiosity">Young minds and social curiosity</h2>



The study tested 94 children aged 4 to 6 and 27 chimpanzees living at the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary. 



The researchers used two boxes, each showing a video: one with a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-media-pressure-is-straining-teen-friendships/">social</a> interaction (like grooming, playing, or arguing), and another with an individual acting alone. Both kids and chimps spent more time with the social videos.



Statistical models showed strong effects. Chimpanzees watched social videos an average of 6.97 seconds, compared to 4.19 seconds for nonsocial ones. 



Kids showed an even stronger pattern, watching social videos for about 14 seconds versus just under 10 for the nonsocial ones.



Study lead author Dr. Laura Simone Lewis is an expert in developmental and evolutionary psychology at the <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California in Santa Barbara</a>.



“After years of observing both children and chimpanzees sometimes jumping up in the middle of research games to observe their peers, the research team was inspired to pursue a new social <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-activity-may-delay-the-onset-of-dementia-by-years/">avenue</a> in the blossoming field of curiosity research,” noted Dr. Lewis. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-info-over-rewards">Social info over rewards</h2>



The second experiment tested if participants would pay a cost for curiosity. For chimps, that meant giving up jackfruit seeds. For kids, it meant skipping a chance to earn marbles. Some, especially younger kids and male chimps, chose the social videos over the rewards.



The study showed 4-year-old children stayed longer at the video box in the social condition, while older children preferred the reward. Male chimps spent over 7.6 seconds watching the social video, significantly more than in the no-info condition.



“These findings mean social curiosity emerges early in human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gen-ai-and-social-media-divert-peoples-attention-from-climate-crisis/">development</a> and is shared with one of our closest living cousins, the chimpanzees,” said Dr. Lewis. 



“Our strong interest in the lives of others, think gossip magazines and celebrity shows, seems to have deep evolutionary roots in our great ape lineage.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-negative-or-positive-age-and-gender-matter">Negative or positive? Age and gender matter</h2>



In the third experiment, researchers tested interest in positive versus negative social content. Positive videos showed playing and grooming. Negative ones featured arguments or crying.



Chimpanzees didn’t care much either way. But in children, patterns emerged with age and gender. 



Younger boys watched more positive interactions. Older boys preferred negative ones. Girls, by contrast, leaned more toward positive content as they aged.



“This study tells us that curiosity about what others are doing, what you might call being a bit nosey, starts young and runs deep," noted study co-author Dr. Esther Herrmann.



"It’s probably something that helps not only us but also our closest living relatives to survive and thrive in complex social groups."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-curiosity-helps-us-survive">Social curiosity helps us survive</h2>



Social curiosity has clear benefits. It helps identify allies, threats, and opportunities without risk. Watching others helps us learn who to trust, what behaviors lead to success, and how relationships shift.



Children and chimps weren’t just seeking stimulation. They were seeking information. One possible reason is that a video with two agents contains more data than a solo video. Observers learn about both individuals and their relationship.



The study also suggests that male chimps may be more attentive to conflicts because they initiate the majority of them in the wild. Female chimps, who generally avoid conflict, showed less interest in aggressive videos.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-comes-next">What comes next?</h2>



The researchers suggest testing curiosity across different cultures, ages, and other great apes like bonobos or orangutans. 



Future work could explore how social roles, friendships, or dominance influence curiosity. Larger samples of young chimpanzees could also help compare developmental trajectories.



Curiosity is a tool that helps us build friendships, avoid danger, and understand the social web we live in. Whether at a zoo or on a playground, curiosity serves the same goal: making sense of the world through others.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.2242" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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Social curiosity starts young and helps us survive

Ever found yourself glued to a playground spat, wondering what...

As Earth’s temperature rises, nature begins to shift. Butterflies, along with many animals and plants, now move north into places that were once too cold. Scientists are closely watching this trend to see how evolution shapes these movements - and where it might fall short.



A new study focuses on wall brown butterflies, which offer big clues about the role of evolution in climate-driven movement. Researchers wanted to know how much change the species could manage on its own



The research reveals that while evolution helps, it has its limits. Temperature remains a gatekeeper, keeping some places off-limits despite warming trends.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-butterflies-adapt-as-they-move-north">Butterflies adapt as they move north</h2>



The wall brown (Lasiommata megera) is a grassland <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/butterfly-hovering-technique-could-revolutionize-drone-design/">butterfly</a> found across Europe. In recent decades, it has become more common in parts of Scandinavia. Yet it has declined sharply in Western Europe. 



The butterfly's success in the north is not random. It has changed its life cycle to suit longer days and different seasonal patterns.



Mats Ittonen is one of the lead authors of the study, which was conducted by researchers in the Department of Zoology at <a href="https://www.su.se/english/education">Stockholm University</a>.



“Our results show that even though the butterflies adapt their life cycle as they move northwards, there are limits that evolution cannot easily overcome,” said Ittonen. 



Evolution seems to help the species match new environments. In particular, it allows the butterfly to respond to cues that remain steady, like the number of daylight hours. 



These cues are important because they guide dormancy and development. Still, not everything can change easily. Winters in northern regions continue to block further movement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-does-evolution-help-butterflies-survive">Does evolution help butterflies survive?</h2>



To explore how the wall brown has changed over time, the researchers carried out detailed field experiments. They collected butterflies from both southern and northern parts of Sweden.



The southern group came from Skåne county. The northern group came from Södermanland and Uppland counties. Then, they placed the butterflies in cages in three places: Skåne, Södermanland, and southern Dalarna.



The goal was to see how each group fared when exposed to identical environmental conditions. 



Dalarna sits just beyond the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/national-learn-about-butterflies-day-an-enchanting-world-awaits/">species</a>’ current northern range. If butterflies from northern populations could survive there, it would suggest they had evolved better survival traits. The study looked at growth rate, timing of winter dormancy, and survival through the cold months.



“We wanted to know whether traits like faster growth, properly timed winter dormancy, and improved winter survival have evolved in northern butterflies, traits that could help them establish even further north,” said Professor Karl Gotthard.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-improved-some-butterfly-traits">Evolution improved some butterfly traits</h2>



The findings showed that northern caterpillars did indeed grow faster. Summers are shorter in higher latitudes, so a quicker life cycle helps. They also entered dormancy at the right time. 



But these advantages did not translate into long-term survival. When winter came, the caterpillars in Dalarna struggled. Most did not make it.



The researchers concluded that even though evolution had helped improve some of the butterfly's traits, it had not yet solved the problem of cold resistance. 



Insects need more than just good timing and growth to thrive through northern winters. Without <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/butterfly-migration-habits-are-not-determined-by-their-dna/">traits</a> that guard against extreme cold, they simply cannot expand further.



“These kinds of limits are important to recognize if we want to predict how far north other species, including pests and disease vectors, will be able to move in a future climate,” said Professor Gotthard.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-reality-of-environmental-pressures">The reality of environmental pressures</h2>



This study reveals something important about climate adaptation. Evolution can move quickly in insects, but it doesn’t always improve the right traits. 



Speed and timing matter, but without the ability to survive freezing temperatures, further expansion becomes impossible. Warmer summers help, but they do not guarantee success unless winters also become milder.



The butterflies serve as a reminder that not all environmental pressures can be overcome easily. Natural selection works with what’s available. 



If key genes for cold tolerance are rare or slow to spread, progress will stall. That seems to be the case with the wall brown butterfly. It has changed, but not enough.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-this-means-for-other-species">What this means for other species</h2>



Many insect species have shifted their ranges in the past few decades. Sweden, in particular, has seen a steady rise in insect diversity further north. But each species carries its own set of traits and limits. What works for one may not work for another.



“The wall brown is far from alone. Many other insect species have also expanded northward over the past few decades, both in Sweden and elsewhere," said Ittonen.



"Understanding both which traits evolve and which ones actually set the limits for where species can live is essential for predicting the future of ecosystems and biodiversity in a warming world."



If winters remain harsh, many species will hit similar boundaries. Their success will depend not just on temperature trends, but on how fast and in what direction evolution works. 



Predicting this will require close studies like this one, where fieldwork meets biology to trace nature’s next move.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-watching-the-edges-of-change">Watching the edges of change</h2>



The story of evolution in wall brown butterflies shows how nature reacts to climate change in small, careful steps. Evolution offers a path forward, but it is not a magic key. Cold winters still act as a wall. 



As climate change continues, scientists must ask not only if species can adapt, but whether those adaptations come in time.



For the wall brown and many others, survival at the edge depends not just on warming trends but also on biological timing, hidden traits, and chance. 



The cold sets a limit. And evolution, though powerful, sometimes stops short of breaking through.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2418392122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Butterflies can adapt quickly - but evolution has its limits

As Earth’s temperature rises, nature begins to shift. Butterflies, along...

Scientists have found that a common parasite might have a bigger impact on brain function than we previously realized - even when it infects only a few cells.



Most people who carry the parasite <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parasite-makes-infected-people-look-more-attractive/">Toxoplasma gondii</a> never even realize. It can hide in the brain for years without causing any symptoms.



A new study from researchers at the University of California, Riverside sheds light on how this microscopic intruder messes with the brain’s communication system. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-parasite-does-in-brain-cells">What the parasite does in brain cells</h2>



Toxoplasma gondii is able to infect almost any <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammals-and-birds-became-warm-blooded-after-surviving-a-mass-extinction/">warm-blooded</a> animal, including humans. It tends to settle in the brain, where it forms long-lasting cysts inside neurons. Once there, it can stay dormant for decades.



Using both mouse models and human cells, the researchers found that infected neurons release fewer extracellular vesicles - small packets used by cells to pass information. This breakdown in communication can have ripple effects throughout the brain.



Emma H. Wilson, a professor of biomedical sciences in the <a href="https://medschool.ucr.edu/">UC Riverside School of Medicine,</a> led the research team. 



“We found this disruption in EV signaling can interfere with how neurons and glial cells, especially astrocytes, maintain a healthy brain environment,” said Professor Wilson. “Even a handful of infected neurons can shift the brain’s neurochemical balance."



"This suggests that communication between neurons and supporting glial cells is not only critical, but also vulnerable to hijacking by parasites.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-common-infection-with-hidden-risks">A common infection with hidden risks</h2>



About 10–30% of people in the U.S. are estimated to be infected with Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite is usually picked up from eating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worrying-levels-of-antibiotic-resistance-found-in-uncooked-meats/">undercooked meat</a> or contact with cat feces.



While a healthy immune system keeps it in check, it can become dangerous in people with weakened immunity, such as those undergoing chemotherapy or living with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genetic-variant-linked-to-both-covid-risk-and-hiv-protection/">HIV</a>.



Current tests can only show if someone has been exposed by detecting antibodies. They can’t tell if the parasite is still in the brain or whether it’s affecting brain health.



According to Professor Wilson, the research opens the door to using EVs as biomarkers, which can be isolated from blood.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-brain-chemistry-breaks-down">When brain chemistry breaks down</h2>



Professor Wilson explained that in healthy mouse brains, astrocytes help keep neurotransmitters like glutamate in balance, preventing neurons from becoming overexcited.



But when Toxoplasma gondii infects neurons and disrupts their EV signaling, that balance is lost. Glutamate levels rise, which can lead to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-is-more-likely-to-cause-seizures-than-the-flu/">seizures</a>, neural damage, or changes in brain connectivity.



“The parasite may play a larger role in neurological and behavioral conditions than we previously thought,” said Professor Wilson.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blood-clues-and-future-treatments">Blood clues and future treatments</h2>



The research team is now analyzing human blood samples to search for EVs that could signal a Toxoplasma gondii brain infection.



They are also working to understand how glial cells sense and respond to parasite proteins. This knowledge could one day lead to new treatments - or even a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/universal-influenza-vaccine-could-offer-lifetime-immunity/">vaccine</a>.



“Our brains have built-in defenses that may recognize and respond to neurons infected by Toxoplasma gondii,” noted Professor Wilson. “If we can learn how to support or enhance that process, we may be able to better protect people, especially the most vulnerable.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-this-means-for-the-public">What this means for the public</h2>



Despite its potential effects, the parasite is often misunderstood. “There’s no need to avoid someone who is infected; most people live their entire lives without symptoms,” said Professor Wilson.



 “Pregnant individuals should be cautious as the parasite can cause serious birth defects if contracted for the first time during pregnancy."



The most effective prevention is proper food handling and hygiene. "Cook meat thoroughly, wash vegetables, and always wash your hands after handling cat litter, especially from young cats, which are more likely to shed the parasite."



This research doesn’t mean everyone needs to panic. But it does mean we should take this tiny parasite seriously - not just because of what it does when active, but because of how it quietly changes the way brain cells talk to each other. 



Understanding those changes may eventually help protect millions of people living with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/viruses-can-hide-in-lung-cells-and-cause-chronic-disease/">chronic infections</a> they never knew they had.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1012733">PLOS Pathogens</a>.



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Common parasite may be affecting your brain without symptoms

Scientists have found that a common parasite might have a...

Rust eats away at iron in bridges, ships, and garage tools. It turns strong metal into flaky, reddish-brown dust. If left unchecked, this corrosion costs the global economy around <a href="https://inspectioneering.com/news/2016-03-08/5202/nace-study-estimates-global-cost-of-corrosion-at-25-trillion-ann" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$2.5 trillion</a> each year. 



Professor Elad Gross and his team at the <a href="https://www.studyinjerusalem.com/?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=US%20ALO%20Google%20Search&amp;utm_content=Brand&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=21498753725&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw097CBhDIARIsAJ3-nxdh8hG35m15XlYauLeFiKVEP5YIWdcJotvnBO5b3VViQjWGqO6T_LAaAlf5EALw_wcB">Hebrew University of Jerusalem</a> have now developed a coating that sticks - and protects <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-largest-iron-ore-deposits-reveal-a-1-3-billion-year-old-secret/">iron</a> for longer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rust-weakens-iron-and-costs-billions">Rust weakens iron and costs billions</h2>



When a gate creaks or a car panel bubbles, we see the surface trouble, yet industries feel the deeper sting through unplanned shutdowns and heavier <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/geologists-found-the-worlds-largest-iron-ore-deposit/">designs</a>. 



Builders and ship owners pour money into maintenance crews and thicker steel plates, just to buy safety margins.



Iron anchors modern infrastructure because it is strong, workable, and cheap. Unfortunately, oxygen and moisture turn its skin into brittle oxide, exposing the fresh metal beneath.



Protective paints, <a href="https://galvanizeit.org/hot-dip-galvanizing/what-is-zinc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">zinc galvanizing</a>, and polymer wraps slow the cycle. Even so, salt spray, ultraviolet light, and thermal swings open pinholes that let water creep in. 



A single weak spot starts an electrochemical cell that accelerates decay. Inspections, sandblasting, and repainting follow, adding cost and downtime.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-old-coatings-don-t-stick-well-to-iron">Old coatings don’t stick well to iron</h2>



Traditional primers hinge on sulfur‑based molecules that bond firmly to noble <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/iron-was-lifes-first-essential-metal-and-shaped-early-evolution/">metals</a> yet break down on iron. Organic polymers form thick films but rarely achieve the chemical grip needed to survive abrasion and flexing.



Ceramic layers, sol‑gels, and graphene sheets each solve one piece of the problem, yet introduce production hurdles such as high heat conditions or exotic precursors.&nbsp;



A 2024 <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214785324004851" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a> of polymer barriers called poor adhesion the main bottleneck for long service. Gross’s team approached the problem from the bottom up by giving the polymer something to hold onto.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-iron-coating-sticks-better-lasts-longer">New iron coating sticks better, lasts longer </h2>



The new recipe begins with a one‑molecule‑thick primer of <a href="https://baranlab.org//images/grpmtgpdf/Eastman_May_07.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">N‑heterocyclic carbene (NHC)</a>, a species that bonds strongly to metals. 



Crudden and coworkers showed in 2014 that NHC films on gold shrug off boiling water and strong acids far better than do thiols. 



The process developed by Gross and colleagues involves electrodepositing a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24755592/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">self‑assembled monolayer</a> of <a href="https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/80662" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">benzNHC</a> across the iron surface. 



Next comes a spin‑coated layer of bisphenol‑A ethoxylate diacrylate that locks into a cross‑linked polymer network (<a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.3c09042" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CPN</a>) under ultraviolet light.



“This discovery offers a major leap forward in protecting iron from corrosion,” said Professor Gross, the study’s senior author. He stressed that the primer’s chemistry is what keeps the overcoat anchored in place.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-salt-tests-show-strong-rust-protection">Salt tests show strong rust protection</h2>



Engineers test anti‑rust films in 3.5 wt % sodium chloride, a seawater mimic recommended by <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/12/3/344" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ASTM G44</a>. Gross compared bare iron, iron with only CPN, iron with only NHC, and iron with the duplex <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-day-2025-innovation-takes-the-lead-in-environmental-action/">system</a>.



Bare substrates corroded fast, and the single‑layer samples offered modest relief. The NHC + CPN combo, however, slashed corrosion current by more than two orders of magnitude and shifted the corrosion potential 475 mV toward the noble side. 



That translates to 99.6 % rust protection after a full day in saltwater. Importantly, the film did not blister, peel, or crack during electrochemical cycling.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-peeking-inside-with-focused-beams">Peeking inside with focused beams</h2>



The group turned to focused ion beam–scanning electron microscopy (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0300944017301182" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FIB‑SEM</a>) to expose the hidden interface, a technique valued for its precision cross‑sections. Images showed an 11.8‑micron polymer layer clinging to NHC‑primed iron, even after testing.



A control sample lacking the primer lost nearly half its polymer and displayed voids where salt had invaded. 



X‑ray photoelectron and Raman spectra still carried NHC and ester signatures, confirming covalent bonding rather than weak physical contact.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-iron-coating-has-many-benefits">New iron coating has many benefits</h2>



Shipyards schedule dry‑dock visits years ahead because a three‑day coating job costs more than a transoceanic fuel bill. Extending intervals by even one season could save operators millions. 



Bridges and concrete rebar stand to gain as well. Coated bars resist chloride attack for longer, delaying cracking and spalling that demand disruptive repairs.



The primer deposits at room temperature and flows with electric field lines, so odd‑shaped parts and internal channels are within reach.&nbsp;



The polymer uses commercial monomers and standard UV lamps, which eases adoption on existing production lines. 



Environmental gains stack on top of the economic ones. Fewer recoating cycles mean less abrasive grit, solvent fumes, and steel scrap heading to landfills.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-upgrades-could-expand-its-uses">Future upgrades could expand its uses</h2>



Gross thinks tweaking the polymer recipe could adjust flexibility, tint, or conductivity for specific sectors. Early trials hint that low‑alloy steels and cast iron accept the primer as well, though each will need its own optimization.



Future studies will probe scratch healing, antifouling additives, and accelerated weathering under UV‑ozone lamps. The team also plans to explore varied electrolyte chemistries for chemical plants.



If those efforts pan out, the humble nail might one day rival stainless steel for staying power, without the nickel price tag.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202422879" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Angewandte Chemie International Edition</a>.



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New coating makes iron almost completely rust resistant

Rust eats away at iron in bridges, ships, and garage...

For centuries, scientists have tried to understand how sharks and other animals grow and function as they increase in size. 



At the heart of this inquiry lies a simple geometric principle: surface area grows more slowly than volume. The "two-thirds scaling law" captures this relationship, suggesting that surface area scales with volume to the power of 2/3. 



While the idea is elegant, proving it in large, complex animals like sharks has been a challenge.



Now, a new study led by researchers from James Cook University (JCU) and the <a href="https://www.umass.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Massachusetts</a> offers compelling proof that this rule holds true for one of the most diverse and ancient animal groups on the planet - sharks. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sharks-grow-by-the-rules">Sharks grow by the rules</h2>



Using digital models of 54 shark species, the team uncovered remarkable consistency in how these animals scale in size. Their work not only strengthens a foundational principle in biology but also reveals hidden constraints that may shape evolution itself.



“We found that sharks follow what's known as the 'two-thirds scaling law' almost perfectly,” said Joel Gayford, lead author and PhD candidate at <a href="https://www.jcu.edu.au" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JCU</a>.



This means that as the body of a shark gets larger, the surface area increases in a predictable way based on their volume.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3d-models-map-the-shark-s-body">3D models map the shark's body</h2>



The team created high-resolution 3D meshes from CT scans and photogrammetry of museum specimens. The models were cleaned and processed in Blender software to remove distortions caused by preservation. Surface area and volume were measured digitally for accuracy.



The sample ranged from the tiny&nbsp;Euprotomicrus bispinatus&nbsp;to the massive&nbsp;Rhincodon typus, the whale shark. Across these, the team observed nearly perfect adherence to the expected geometric rule. 



They scaled every <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prehistoric-sea-monster-shark-fossils-found-in-worlds-largest-cave-325-million-years/">species</a> to the same body length (500 cm) and still found minimal differences in surface area and volume. This step removed body length as a confounding factor.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shark-scaling-stays-consistent">Shark scaling stays consistent</h2>



The study grouped sharks by habitat - pelagic, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nearly-two-thirds-of-coral-reef-sharks-and-rays-face-extinction/">reef-associated</a>, demersal, and others. Most showed near-identical surface area-to-volume relationships. 



Only reef-associated sharks showed minor deviation, with a scaling exponent of 0.60. Pelagic sharks matched the theoretical 0.66 almost exactly.



The team also accounted for evolutionary history using phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) analysis. This ensured close relatives did not skew the results. Even after this, the average scaling value was just 0.64, only 3% off from 0.66.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-biology-restricts-growth">Biology restricts growth</h2>



“This ratio is fundamental,” said Professor Jodie Rummer. “It underpins how animals breathe, regulate temperature, and process waste.” The near-perfect fit hints at deep-rooted evolutionary and developmental constraints.



Developmental limitations may prevent major changes in tissue distribution. Altering body geometry early in development is likely energy-intensive.



“Changing the way tissue is distributed throughout the body might require major changes during early embryonic development, and that's expensive, energetically speaking,” said Gayford.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-shape-stills-matters">Why shape stills matters</h2>



The two-thirds law is not just theoretical. It supports models predicting how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sharks-may-benefit-from-rising-temperatures-but-not-from-rising-co2/">animals</a> regulate heat, absorb oxygen, or respond to climate change. 



“Surface area-to-volume ratios are key inputs in equations used to model how animals respond to climate change,” said Gayford. These equations can now be applied with greater confidence to sharks and other large animals.



The authors also observed that surface area in sharks did not follow phylogenetic patterns as strongly as volume did. This suggests that surface area may be more flexible but still constrained by developmental factors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shark-body-follows-deep-biology">Shark body follows deep biology</h2>



Despite massive variation in shark ecology and movement, some are sluggish bottom-dwellers and others fast-swimming predators, their surface-to-volume relationships stay constant. 



Even differences in shape and lifestyle do not seem to change the rule. That consistency points to deeper biological limits rather than ecological demands.



This study adds weight to the idea that body design follows strict physical and developmental rules. It also shows how new tools like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-ever-3d-map-of-human-brain-created-by-harvard-and-google/">3D imaging</a> can answer long-standing questions in biology. 



Although researchers still need to explore the energy costs of body shape changes, this study lays a strong foundation.



Sharks obey the geometry of life, their body surfaces grow in lockstep with volume in a way that supports a basic biological law. The rule holds true across shape, size, and ecological function.



That’s a rare kind of simplicity in biology and one that might apply far beyond sharks.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.242205" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Society Open Science</a>.



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How the shark's body grows with geometric precision

For centuries, scientists have tried to understand how sharks and...

Thick, planet-wide blankets of clay are among the Red Planet’s most intriguing geological puzzles. Because clay forms only in the presence of abundant liquid water, scientists have long viewed these deposits as potential time capsules for ancient life.



A new study now paints a clearer picture of where, when, and how those mineral layers took shape.



Led by planetary geologist Rhianna Moore during her postdoctoral work at <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">The University of Texas at Austin</a>, the team sifted through high-resolution images and topographic data for 150 previously cataloged clay outcrops.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quiet-clay-terraces-on-mars">Quiet clay terraces on Mars</h2>



Thick clay deposits span across Mars and consistently show a surprising set of shared traits. Most sit at low elevations, adjacent to the vestiges of long-vanished lakes. Yet they remain distinctly removed from ancient river valleys that once carved the highlands.



“These areas have a lot of water but not a lot of topographic uplift, so they’re very stable,” Moore said. She added that such stability would have limited destructive erosion by fast-moving water. 



This would have allowed clays to accumulate layer upon layer rather than being scoured away.



“If you have stable terrain, you’re not messing up your potentially habitable environments. Favorable conditions might be able to be sustained for longer periods of time,” she said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-from-earth-s-tropics"><a></a>Lessons From Earth’s tropics</h2>



Study co-author Tim Goudge, an assistant professor in <a href="https://eps.jsg.utexas.edu/">UT Austin’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences</a>, sees an echo of earthly analogues in Mars’ ancient past.



“On Earth, the places where we tend to see the thickest clay mineral sequences are in humid environments, and those with minimal physical erosion that can strip away newly created weathering products,” said Goudge.



The Martian patterns, he noted, match the latter half of that recipe almost perfectly. “These results suggest the latter element is true also on Mars, while there are hints at the former as well.”



Because Mars lacks plate tectonics, its surface doesn’t undergo the constant stirring seen on Earth. 



That relative stillness, combined with a clement climate billions of years ago, created quiet basins where rainfall and standing ponds could slowly break down <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-volcanic-clues-hint-at-ancient-life-on-mars/">volcanic rock </a>into clay minerals. Violent floods didn’t sweep the new sediments away, allowing them to accumulate over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-carbonate-conundrum"><a></a>A carbonate conundrum</h2>



The same conditions that favored clay formation could also explain one of Mars’ long-standing mysteries: the scarcity of carbonate rocks.



On Earth, volcanic CO2 reacts with fresh basaltic crust, eventually locking carbon into sprawling beds of limestone and dolomite. But on Mars, with no tectonic conveyor belt to bring up fresh <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/strange-lava-worlds-magma-oceans-affect-the-evolution-of-hot-planets/">lava</a>, that cycle stalled.



Instead, the study proposes, CO2 may have remained aloft longer, warming the planet and further fueling slow, persistent weathering that built clays.



At the same time, by trapping byproducts of that weathering inside impermeable mineral layers, clay growth might have robbed the environment of ingredients needed to form carbonates in the first place.



“It’s probably one of many factors contributing to this weird lack of predicted carbonates on Mars,” Moore said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-signs-of-life-friendly-conditions">Signs of life-friendly conditions</h2>



Taken together, the findings hint at expansive, placid watery habitats that persisted long enough to concentrate minerals - and perhaps organic molecules - essential for life.



Thick clays help astrobiologists by preserving biochemical evidence, protecting it from radiation and geological disruption.



Moore, now part of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grow-plants-on-moon-by-2026-nasa-artemis-iii-mission/">NASA’s Artemis</a> program team, emphasized that the work grew out of <a href="https://habitability.utexas.edu/">UT Austin’s Center for Planetary Systems Habitability</a>, an initiative that crosses disciplinary boundaries to answer where life might arise beyond Earth.



By mapping mild, lake-adjacent clay basins, the study offers a shortlist of enticing targets for future rover missions or even human explorers looking for fossilized biosignatures.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conditions-where-life-may-have-thrived">Conditions where life may have thrived</h2>



Mars today is frigid and desiccated, but during the period when these clays formed - more than three billion years ago - it was likely dotted with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-largest-lake-once-contained-an-enormous-amount-of-water/">lakes</a> and seas.



The new analysis suggests those bodies of water were not just transient puddles fed by catastrophic floods. Instead, long-lived, shallow basins may have hosted slow-unfolding chemical reactions over millennia.



Although valley networks delivered water downhill, the most extensive clay blankets on Mars avoided the valleys themselves. This is evidence that turbulence and sediment-choked streams were not the primary architects.



Instead, chemical dissolution - not physical abrasion - sculpted much of the ancient surface. That balance created calm, warm conditions where life might have thrived beneath a thicker, greenhouse-gas-rich atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-probing-clays-for-clues">Probing clays for clues</h2>



With <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/curiosity-rover-captured-driving-for-the-first-time/">orbiters</a> continuing to beam back ever finer data, researchers hope to refine models of how water cycled through early Mars. Drill cores from future missions could verify the age, chemistry, and longevity of the newly mapped clay fields.



Meanwhile, laboratories on Earth will experiment with simulated Martian conditions to test whether stable, low-energy ponds truly can yield the mineral fingerprints observed from space.



For now, the study suggests that Mars’ most promising habitats might not have been in raging river deltas. Instead, they may have been in quiet lakeshores where mud settled gently, season after season, sealing away the planet’s watery secrets - and perhaps its biological ones as well.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02584-w">Nature Astronomy</a>.



Image Credit: Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona



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Clay layers on Mars may have harbored ancient life

Thick, planet-wide blankets of clay are among the Red Planet’s...

Female honey bees inherit genes from their father and mother (the queen), but they don't all end up playing the same role. 



Some female bees end up becoming queens that reproduce, while others become workers that never lay eggs, and spend their lives caring for their sisters. What causes this dramatic difference?



New research points to a tug-of-war between parental genes, with mother's and father's genes pulling the developing bee larva in different directions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-parental-genes-in-a-bee-s-fate">The role of parental genes in a bee's fate</h2>



Scientists at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Penn State</a> have identified the molecular mechanism that tips the balance between <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-are-queen-honey-bees-failing-faster/">queen</a> and worker. The study reveals how the bee’s parents’ genes literally compete during a critical window of development.



“Imagine if your mother's genes and your father's genes were in constant disagreement about how you should develop - that is essentially what genomic imprinting is, and we see that it happens across the tree of life: from honey bees to humans,” explained Sean Bresnahan, lead author of the study.



“We found that this genetic ‘argument’ can be detected during a critical developmental window where a honey bee larva becomes either a queen or a worker.”



That window slams shut just 192 hours after the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-honey-bee-day-protecting-our-vital-pollinators/">egg</a> is laid. By then, the bee's genes lock it into its destiny.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploring-differences-in-bee-genes">Exploring differences in bee genes</h2>



To study the differences between the genes inherited from the mother bee (matrigenes) and those from the father bee (patrigenes), the researchers used a technique called instrumental insemination. It allowed them to control which queen mated with which drone.



The team then tracked how gene expression varied in the resulting bee larvae by analyzing RNA - the molecules that carry instructions from DNA to make proteins - and comparing gene activity based on whether it came from mother or father.



“We found patrigenes were expressed at higher levels in queen-destined larvae, and matrigenes were expressed at higher levels in worker-destined larvae,” Bresnahan said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tug-of-war-between-bee-genes">A tug-of-war between bee genes</h2>



The team didn’t stop there. They wanted to know what these parent-specific genes were actually doing. By analyzing the cellular pathways that the genes influenced, they spotted a clear pattern.



“We saw a striking match between the expression of matrigenes and patrigenes in the same pathway,” noted Bresnahan.



“If a matrigene had increased expression then a patrigene would have decreased expression in the same pathway, or vice versa, showing that the two genes were working against each other."



"If one gene showed parent-specific expression, another gene in the same pathway showed parent-specific expression from the opposite parent.”



So it wasn’t just random. The maternal and paternal genes seemed to be locked in direct opposition, battling over the bee’s fate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-not-dna-methylation-this-time">Not DNA methylation this time</h2>



In many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-mammals-live-depends-more-on-climate-than-human-activities/">animals</a> and plants, the mechanism that drives this kind of genetic conflict is a process called DNA methylation. It adds chemical tags to DNA that affect whether genes are turned on or off. 



But in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-diet-offers-hope-for-saving-endangered-honey-bees/">honey bees</a>, previous research had shown that methylation doesn’t play this role. So the team looked at another possibility: histones. 



DNA isn’t just floating around loose in cells. It’s wound tightly around proteins called histones, forming a structure known as chromatin. The shape and structure of chromatin help regulate which genes are accessible and active.



Changes to histone proteins - through chemical tags placed on them - can also affect gene expression without altering the DNA itself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bee-genes-are-affected-by-histones">Bee genes are affected by histones</h2>



Using a technique developed by study co-author Shaun Mahony, the researchers targeted histone-bound DNA. They isolated and analyzed the tagged histone proteins and the DNA they interacted with.



“We found that, in honey bees, parent-of-origin expression is regulated by histone modifications,” Bresnahan said.



This means chemical changes to histones - not the DNA itself - help determine which parental genes are active. And those gene activities ultimately decide if a larva will become a queen or a worker.



“What we're seeing in honey bees isn't actually that unusual when you take a step back - histone-based mechanisms for parent-of-origin effects are more widely utilized across the tree of life than DNA methylation-based systems,” explained Bresnahan.



“We see these chromatin-mediated imprinting mechanisms in flowering plants and in placental mammals as well. So, honey bees, and maybe other social insects, might be using the more ancestral toolkit for mediating these genetic conflicts,” he stated.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-this-research-matters">Why this research matters</h2>



Understanding how this parental conflict works could have real-world implications. For example, it might lead to new ways to breed bees with desired traits, such as resilience or productivity.



Christina Grozinger, co-author on the study, said her lab plans to explore how these genetic dynamics affect behaviors like nursing, where some worker bees specialize in caring for young.



The project also has reach beyond insects. Bresnahan now studies how genetic conflict shapes traits in humans - especially those related to maternal-child health during pregnancy.



“The skills I developed studying parent-of-origin effects translate directly to my current studies of maternal-child health mediated through the placenta,” Bresnahan said. 



“I am particularly interested in parent-of-origin gene expression associated with placenta-mediated traits, like early-life programming of metabolic and neuropsychiatric disease risk, that could help us better understand pregnancy complications and offspring health outcomes.”



This study peels back another layer in the mystery of how similar <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-can-detect-insect-dna-in-air-samples/">DNA</a> can lead to dramatically different lives - whether in bees, humans, or plants. And it reminds us that the story of inheritance is not just about what genes we get, but also about which ones win the argument.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13059-025-03628-0">Genome Biology</a>.



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Parental genes affect whether a bee becomes a queen or a worker

Female honey bees inherit genes from their father and mother...

At first glance, sea cucumbers seem like passive creatures. They sift along the ocean floor, slow-moving and peaceful. Much like sea snails, they tend to keep to themselves. 



But unlike sea cucumbers, some species of tiny sea snails aren't so harmless. These snails aren’t just bottom-feeders - they’re parasites. And for sea cucumbers, that makes them a serious nuisance. 



In Japan, where sea cucumbers are prized as seafood, scientists have spent years cataloging the various species of parasites that live on or inside them. 



But there's been a gap in the research: one species, Holothuria leucospilota, has been tough to study. Researchers at <a href="https://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en">Kyoto University</a> decided it was time to change that.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-identifying-snails-inside-a-sea-cucumber">Identifying snails inside a sea cucumber</h2>



Holothuria leucospilota defends itself by ejecting sticky threads known as Cuvierian tubules when it’s stressed. 



These threads can make dissection nearly impossible. So, to avoid triggering the defense, the team used menthol to gently anesthetize the animals before studying them.



The goal was to identify <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-snails-evolved-defenses-against-invasive-predators/">snails</a> from the genus Melanella that parasitize these sea cucumbers. They did this work in Shirahama, a popular beach area in Wakayama prefecture. 



After anesthetizing the sea cucumbers, the scientists examined both the outside and the inside of the animals. They identified the snails by looking at their shell shape and analyzing their mitochondrial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/airborne-dna-can-track-wildlife-diseases-and-even-drugs/">DNA</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-four-snails-one-sea-cucumber">Four snails, one sea cucumber</h2>



The team discovered four species of Melanella <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-parasites-are-vulnerable-to-warming-oceans/">parasites</a>. Two lived on the outside of the sea cucumber, and two more were found deep inside the body cavity. 



One of the external parasites was identified as Melanella spina - the first time this species has ever been recorded in Japan. The two internal parasites couldn’t be definitively identified yet.



"Our results represent the first record of eulimids exploiting the internal habitat of H. leucospilota," said study co-author Tomoyuki Nakano. 



"To the best of our knowledge, it is also the first record of a single holothurian species, like sea cucumbers, being utilized by both external and internal Melanella parasites."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-the-snails-get-in">How do the snails get in? </h2>



The researchers noted that these internal parasites are extremely rare - at least in Shirahama. They found two in 2022, but none in the following two years. That suggests the infection rate is low.



How these tiny snails manage to get inside the sea cucumbers is still unclear, but the team has a few leads. 



Both internal snails were found near the host’s mouth. Previous studies suggest that Melanella species often attach around this area. It's possible that the sea cucumbers accidentally ingest the snails while feeding, along with bits of sediment.



That’s one theory. Another possibility is more direct. One of the snails was found with part of its shell embedded in the sea cucumber’s body wall. That could mean it forced its way in by boring through tissue.



The invasion route is still a mystery - and that’s what the researchers want to investigate next.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parasitism-across-the-animal-kingdom">Parasitism across the animal kingdom </h2>



What the researchers observed in sea cucumbers isn’t unique. Nature is full of strange and sometimes unsettling examples of animals parasitizing others - both in the ocean and on land.



One well-known ocean example is the tongue-eating louse (Cymothoa exigua), a parasite that enters a fish’s mouth, attaches to its tongue, and eventually replaces it. The fish continues to live and eat, even as the louse occupies a central role in its body.



On land, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parasitic-wasp-had-a-flytrap-for-snatching-its-victims/">parasitic wasps</a> are notorious for their ruthless tactics. Some species lay their eggs inside caterpillars, and when the larvae hatch, they feed on the host from the inside out. In many cases, the host stays alive until the wasps are fully developed and ready to emerge.



Even in mammals, parasites play a role. Botflies, for instance, lay their eggs on animals like rodents or livestock, and the larvae burrow into the skin to grow.



These examples show that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-parasitism-balanophora-convinces-a-host-to-grow-into-its-tissue/">parasitism</a> is a successful - if grisly - survival strategy across the animal kingdom. What makes the Melanella-sea cucumber relationship fascinating is how subtle and understudied it remains. 



Scientists are only just beginning to understand how complex these interactions can be, especially when the host makes access so difficult.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/zoological-science/volume-42/issue-4/zs250003/Co-Occurrence-of-Gastropods-of-the-Genus-Melanella-Mollusca/10.2108/zs250003.short">ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE</a>.



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Parasitic snails are sneaking inside sea cucumbers

At first glance, sea cucumbers seem like passive creatures. They...

Dogs did not dash into South America with the first humans. Instead, they arrived slowly, traveling with early farmers. A new study uncovers this deliberate journey and connects it to the spread of agriculture and maize cultivation. 



A research team led by Dr. Aurélie Manin analyzed 70 mitochondrial genomes from ancient and modern dogs found between Mexico and Argentina.



The analysis revealed that dogs followed a slow southward path, not with hunter-gatherers, but with farming societies that were transforming the land around 7,000 to 5,000 years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-all-ancient-dogs-came-from-one-lineage">All ancient dogs came from one lineage</h2>



The study also revealed a single maternal lineage, the A2b1 haplogroup, as the root of all pre-contact dogs in Central and South America. This lineage emerged after dogs entered North America and gradually split as they moved southward. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/famous-ice-age-puppies-are-not-actually-dogs-according-to-new-study/">Dogs</a> likely crossed cultural and ecological boundaries slowly, adapting as they traveled alongside human groups.



The researchers found no signs of other A2b subgroups in South America. Thirty-six archaeological dogs fell into A2b1, forming a tightly clustered clade, with no early presence in the Amazon Basin. 



Genetic data shows that dogs in North, Central, and South America stayed regionally distinct, indicating minimal female-dog movement between areas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dogs-spread-with-ancient-maize-farmers">Dogs spread with ancient maize farmers</h2>



The arrival of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-and-dogs-were-bonding-much-earlier-than-we-thought/">dogs</a> in South America matches the introduction of maize agriculture. According to the study, maternal lineages of northern and southern dogs split around 7,000 years ago - around the same time maize began its journey south.



The results suggest that dogs spread with farmers rather than earlier foraging groups.



“We show that their spread was slow enough to allow the dogs to structure genetically between north, central and south America,” said Dr Manin. “It opens new research avenues on the relationship that existed between dogs and these early agrarian societies.”



The researchers tested this with molecular clocks and population models. Their data showed a north to south diversification pattern in ancient dogs. 



The timing aligns with archaeological remains of ancient dogs found in Mexico, Peru, and Argentina - all appearing after the earliest human settlements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-delay-in-arrival">Why the delay in arrival?</h2>



The study offers possible reasons for the delay in the arrival of dogs. Early foragers may not have needed dogs, or the tropical corridor posed too many risks such as disease, predators, or lack of food. 



European colonial records confirm that dogs remained vulnerable to these threats even in the 1700s.



This delay mirrors what happened in Europe, where Neolithic farmers replaced earlier <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/from-wolves-to-dogs-did-domestication-begin-without-human-help/">dog</a> lineages with ones from the Levant. The Americas may have seen a similar turnover during the farming transition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-dogs-still-carry-ancient-dna">Some dogs still carry ancient DNA </h2>



Colonial contact brought European dog lineages, which quickly replaced most indigenous dogs. Yet, not everything was lost. 



Some modern Chihuahuas still carry mitochondrial DNA from the ancient A2b1 clade. One Chihuahua's maternal line traces back over 1,500 years to pre-contact Mesoamerican dogs.



The researchers also found dogs in modern Peru with mitochondrial DNA belonging to European lineages. These lineages first appeared in Europe over 14,000 years ago and now dominate the Americas.



Still, ancient bonds with dogs left deeper marks. In some regions, archaeological burials show how ancient dogs were cared for and mourned. 



Early farmers may have used ancient dogs for protection, meat, or companionship. Farming surpluses could have supported feral ancient dogs or drawn scavengers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-journey-of-dogs-and-farming">The journey of dogs and farming</h2>



This study reshapes our view of dog-human history in the Americas. It places agrarian societies, not foragers, at the center of dog expansion. This pattern aligns with other regions like East Asia, where dog dispersal followed farming and surplus food.



The research also shows the fragility of early genetic lineages. Most pre-contact dog DNA is now gone, erased by colonial waves. But rare survivors, like the Chihuahua, still carry whispers of the past.



The study encourages further research using nuclear DNA analysis and isotopic methods. These advanced tools can reveal more than just the origins of ancient dogs. 



The tools can help scientists understand how ancient dogs lived, how they moved across regions, and how they interacted with early American communities.



This deeper knowledge could uncover the everyday roles ancient dogs played in human societies and how those relationships evolved over time.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.2443" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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Scientists discover how dogs spread across the Americas

Dogs did not dash into South America with the first...

The skies were empty for most of Earth’s history, but then light‑boned reptiles mastered powered flight roughly 220 million years ago. 



A new analysis of fossil maps and computer climate models shows that warm, damp air, not desert heat, gave those first <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-fossil-fills-crucial-gap-in-pterosaur-evolution/">pterosaurs</a> the environmental boost they needed.



Davide Foffa of the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/">University of Birmingham</a> led the work with Emma Dunne at Friedrich‑Alexander‑Universität Erlangen‑Nürnberg and Alessandro Chiarenza at University College London.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pterosaurs-lived-in-humid-regions">Pterosaurs lived in humid regions </h2>



Foffa’s team plotted every Triassic pterosaur and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981124001196" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lagerpetid</a> fossil they could verify, covering what was then the single supercontinent <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-was-pangea" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pangea</a>. 



The map revealed a pattern: early flyers cluster in low‑latitude sites that ancient climate simulations mark as humid, while their land‑bound cousins spread across drier belts.



Lagerpetids, rat‑ to dog‑sized sprinters, never left the ground yet roamed from today’s Brazil to the American Southwest. Ezcurra and colleagues confirmed in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-3011-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2020</a> that these agile reptiles form the sister branch to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pterosaur-bones-biomimicry-could-inspire-better-aircraft-technology/">pterosaurs</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pterosaur-flight-needed-humid-forests">Pterosaur flight needed humid forests</h2>



The question of why pterosaurs took flight when they did has puzzled researchers for decades. Their closest relatives, lagerpetids, had the anatomical tools for agility and climbing, but lacked the skeletal adaptations needed for powered flight.



Foffa’s team suggests it wasn’t just biology holding them back - it was the environment. Without expansive forest canopies and consistently humid ecosystems, early pterosaur <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pterosaurs-took-flight-millions-of-years-before-birds/">ancestors</a> may have lacked both the resources and the ecological pressure to evolve wings sooner.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rainfall-surge-led-to-pterosaur-flight">Rainfall surge led to pterosaur flight</h2>



As carbon‑rich volcanism drove the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7494334/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Carnian Pluvial Episode</a> about 234 million years ago, average rainfall spiked for roughly two million years. Forests thickened, insect populations jumped, and treetop launchpads multiplied exactly when the first pterosaur bones appear.



To test cause and effect, the authors fed Triassic geography into the <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/approach/modelling-systems/unified-model/climate-models/hadcm3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HadCM3L general circulation model</a>, a tool normally used for <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-cretaceous-period.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cretaceous</a> and future‑climate work. 



The simulation reproduced humid bands along the equator that matched every known <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012825221002786" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Norian pterosaur</a> site within a margin of about 60 miles.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-and-climate-maps-tell-the-story">Fossils and climate maps tell the story</h2>



To connect ancient reptile evolution with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cracking-the-code-of-pterosaur-flight-soaring-vs-flapping/">prehistoric</a> climate, the researchers needed more than just bones. They used global climate models that simulate temperature, precipitation, and seasonal variation from over 200 million years ago, then overlaid fossil data on those maps.



This approach revealed strong patterns. Pterosaur fossils linked to flight consistently appeared in regions the model predicted to be wet and forested.



On the other hand, lagerpetids showed up in a broader range of habitats, including dry, seasonal areas. These overlapping maps helped confirm the environmental preferences of each group.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-humid-air-and-the-rise-of-flying-reptiles">Humid air and the rise of flying reptiles</h2>



“Their wings catapulted them into every corner of the planet,” noted Chiarenza. Later Triassic decades saw wetter air creep poleward, and the fossil record follows: specimens pop up in what is now Greenland and Argentina, hundreds of miles from the original belt.



Marine <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03996-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">records</a> show that the same wet pulse coincided with a 33 percent loss of ocean genera and rapid dinosaur diversification, hinting at a broader reshuffling. 



Dunne noted that climate change is a leading cause of biodiversity change, both in the present day and the geological past - a reminder that weather can redraw evolutionary maps.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pterosaur-flight-aided-survival-for-some">Pterosaur flight aided survival for some</h2>



Lagerpetids tolerated scorchingly dry interiors yet vanished at the <a href="https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/understanding-extinction/mass-extinctions/end-triassic-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">end‑Triassic extinction</a>, while their winged relatives sailed through the crisis. Flight likely offered escape from predators and fire, plus access to scattered resources after forests burned.



The disappearance of lagerpetids at the end of the Triassic remains a mystery, especially since they had a broader climate tolerance and geographic range than early pterosaurs. 



Some scientists suggest they may have lacked the specialized adaptations - like flight - that helped other groups escape or adapt to rapid ecosystem changes.



Others think competition may have played a role. As pterosaurs and early dinosaurs spread into new environments, they may have outcompeted lagerpetids for food or territory, leaving the once-thriving reptiles with fewer niches to occupy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-for-future-fossil-hunts">Clues for future fossil hunts</h2>



“Model outputs flag humid Triassic pockets in Morocco, India, and the American Midwest where no pterosaur bones have been logged. Field crews may strike pay dirt there, especially in fine‑grained lake shales that entomb fragile skeletons whole,” explained Foffa.



The research links a short‑lived climate swing to a permanent ecological shake‑up in which pterosaur flight emerged, demonstrating how quickly new winners appear when habitats shift.



With modern CO₂ levels rising on a similar scale, today’s ecosystems could see equally swift turnovers, though not necessarily as majestic as a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981124001196" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pterosauromorpha</a> liftoff.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02767-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.



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Humid air gave pterosaurs the boost they needed to take flight

The skies were empty for most of Earth’s history, but...

Dolphins, like other toothed whales, live in a world of darkness where light fades fast. They stay oriented by sending out quick clicks and reading the echoes, a process known as echolocation. 



Each click acts like a tap on the water, letting their brains “feel” distant objects and fish through sound alone.



In a new study, a team of scientists led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (<a href="https://www.whoi.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHOI</a>) traced how this talent shows up inside the brain.



The study compares the neural wiring of echolocating dolphins to that of a species of non-echolocating baleen whale called a sei whale.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-echolocation-the-basics">Understanding echolocation - the basics</h2>



Echolocation in marine mammals is a sophisticated biological sonar system that allows animals like dolphins, whales, and porpoises to navigate, hunt, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dolphins-must-shout-over-underwater-noise-to-communicate/">communicate</a> in dark or murky underwater environments. 



These mammals emit a series of high-frequency clicks that travel through the water and bounce off objects. By listening to the returning echoes, they can determine the size, shape, distance, speed, and even internal structure of their targets. 



This process gives them an incredibly detailed picture of their surroundings, often surpassing what sight alone could provide in deep or cloudy waters.



This adaptation is especially critical for species that live in environments where visibility is limited. For example, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bowhead-whales-dive-in-synchrony-even-when-out-of-acoustic-range/">deep-diving whales</a> rely on echolocation to locate prey thousands of feet below the surface, where light cannot penetrate. 



Echolocation also plays a key role in social behavior, helping individuals coordinate movements or avoid collisions while swimming in pods. 



Remarkably, some species can even adjust the frequency and intensity of their clicks to focus on specific tasks, much like humans adjusting the lens on a camera.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-echolocation-in-dolphins">Studying echolocation in dolphins</h2>



Brain tissue from deceased, stranded animals is hard to obtain and even harder to scan. By partnering with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (<a href="https://www.ifaw.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IFAW</a>), the team secured enough samples to begin charting auditory circuits in detail.



“Our research sought to understand how the pathways for auditory information differed between echolocating and non-echolocating whales," said lead author Sophie Flem. 



"In humans, primates, rodents, and dogs, we have well-established maps of what parts of the brain contribute to what kind of processing. We don't yet have those in dolphin brains, which are strikingly <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/are-dolphins-smart-how-are-dolphins-intelligent/">unusual</a> compared to terrestrial animal brains," she added.



Researchers traced signals leaving the inferior colliculus, a mid-brain hub that all <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/are-dolphins-sharks-and-whales-mammals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mammals</a> share. 



In dolphins, this region is oversized, making it an ideal place to follow sound information as it travels into the cortex.



The team found more cortical targets in dolphins than in the sei whale, yet the strength of those links was similar. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cerebellum-s-role-in-dolphin-echolocation">Cerebellum's role in dolphin echolocation</h2>



The biggest surprise lay in the pathways heading the other way - down toward the cerebellum.



“While neuroscientists used to think of the cerebellum largely as a center for balance and motor (muscle/movement) control, newer evidence strongly suggests that it serves as an integration center for sensory and motor information and, importantly, a rapid prediction center," explained co-author Peter Tyack, emeritus research scholar in biology at WHOI.



“Dolphins use echolocation to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/listening-to-amazon-river-dolphins-can-help-us-save-them/">interact with their world</a> and, unlike hearing and vision, they must produce the energy that then returns to their sensory receptors - echolocation is part hearing and part vocalization," explained Tyack.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/echolocation_dolphins_cerebellar-lobules_graphic_credit-PLOSOne_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/echolocation_dolphins_cerebellar-lobules_graphic_credit-PLOSOne_1s.webp" alt="Color-coded diagram displaying cerebellar lobules targeted in the left, right, or bilateral cerebella in odontocete and mysticete specimens. Credit: PLOS One" class="wp-image-1974812"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Color-coded diagram displaying cerebellar lobules targeted in the left, right, or bilateral cerebella in odontocete and mysticete specimens. Click image to enlarge. Credit: PLOS One</figcaption></figure>



He likened the process to a person using a hand to produce the touch sense feedback that lets him or her find the light switch. 



In a similar manner, dolphins move around their echolocation beam to get the feedback they need to function in a dark, underwater environment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-imaging-brains-the-size-of-suitcases">Imaging brains the size of suitcases</h2>



Scanning a sei whale brain - nearly three times heavier than a human brain - posed technical challenges.



Oxford’s Karla Miller developed high-signal diffusion sequences, while UC Berkeley’s Ben Inglis optimized collection protocols. 



The result is some of the clearest diffusion imagery ever captured from large <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-mammals-in-the-us-are-highly-vulnerable-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marine mammal</a> brains.



"Comparative neurobiologists have longed to examine the patterns of connections within dolphin and whale brains for years, believing that the unique evolutionary history of these species will provide new insights into how brains evolve," said senior author Peter Cook of <a href="https://www.ncf.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New College of Florida</a>.



The technology is now available to begin tackling these mysterious nervous systems and finding out how they work. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-dolphin-echolocation-regions">Mapping dolphin echolocation regions</h2>



Cook and colleagues already have more baleen and toothed whale brains queued for study. 



"It's believed that neural control of vocal output has totally shifted in dolphins as they evolved their unique nasal vocal apparatus. We can now map out vocal control in dolphins and how it differs from baleen whales," remarked Cook.



Both groups of animals have the rare ability to learn new vocal behavior, and dolphin <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dolphins-smile-at-each-other-when-they-are-feeling-playful/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vocal systems</a> are some of the strangest in the animal kingdom. 



"Now that we can opportunistically and ethically look inside these animals' brains, they're just getting started teaching us," Cook concluded.



The team hopes that future maps of vocal pathways will reveal how sound production and perception blend together in one of nature’s most sophisticated sonar systems.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0323617" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS One</a>.



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Scientists learn how dolphin brains evolved to 'see' underwater by using sound

Dolphins, like other toothed whales, live in a world of...

Camels aren't just part of desert life - they are at the very heart of it, surviving where most cannot. On June 22, we observe World Camel Day. It’s a moment to honor their resilience, importance, and the vital role they play in sustaining communities across some of the world’s harshest landscapes.



In dry regions, the camel is extremely <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-animal-will-replace-humans-as-earths-dominant-species-this-scientist-has-an-idea/">crucial</a>. Whether the task is carrying loads, providing milk, or helping people travel, camels are reliable. With growing climate challenges, that reliability matters more than ever.



Camels have supported people for thousands of years. This day helps us remember and recognize that service.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-celebrate-world-camel-day">Why we celebrate World Camel Day</h2>



World Camel Day started in 2009 to raise awareness about the importance of camels. <a href="https://arkbiodiv.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Abdul Raziq Kakar</a> picked June 22 because it usually falls during the hottest days of the year. 



Camels are known for their ability to handle extreme heat, so this date fits the message. It symbolically connects the celebration to the kind of environment camels thrive in.



Since then, the event has grown. It is no longer just a scientist’s idea. Now, people from many backgrounds get involved. Camel farmers, students exploring desert ecosystems, climate scientists, and the herders who depend on camels every day all take part.



These groups organize events like camel <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-we-see-some-animals-as-more-human-than-others/">rides</a>, educational workshops, fun photo contests, and zoo visits where people can interact with camels and learn more. What began as a simple awareness campaign has turned into a global effort. 



The goal is clear. Remind everyone that camels are not just useful, but essential in many regions, especially in a changing climate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-camels-support-daily-life">How camels support daily life</h2>



Camels can travel for hours without drinking water. They eat tough, dry plants that other animals avoid. They do not show signs of stress. They keep going and get the job done.



Camel milk is becoming more popular around the world. It contains more iron and vitamin C than cow milk. Many people who can't tolerate regular milk can drink camel milk without issues. Some health experts refer to it as a superfood because of its nutrients.



Camels also support daily life in many places. In India, they help farmers by pulling carts and plows. In African countries, they provide meat, milk, and financial support. In the Middle East, camels appear in cultural festivals and special events.



These <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-day-2025-a-global-call-to-protect-nature/">animals</a> are not limited to one role. Camels adapt to different needs and situations and work wherever people need them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-camels-are-built-for-extremes">Camels are built for extremes</h2>



A camel’s body is built for survival. Its wide, padded feet keep it steady on loose sand. Thick eyelashes shield its eyes from dust, and its nostrils can close to block out blowing sand during storms. 



The hump stores fat, which the camel uses when food is scarce. Every part serves a clear purpose.



Even when water is hard to find and food is limited, a camel keeps going. It continues to produce milk during drought and remains steady in extreme heat where other animals struggle.



Because of this, many farmers now choose camels instead of cows. Camels require fewer resources, cost less to maintain, and live longer in dry regions.



In today’s unpredictable climate, camels are proving to be a practical and dependable choice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-camels-in-a-warming-world">Camels in a warming world</h2>



Climate change has made weather more extreme. Rainfall patterns have become harder to predict. Crops fail more often. Many animals cannot cope with these changes. But the camel continues to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-discovery-pushes-back-reptile-evolution-by-40-million-years/">adapt</a> and survive.



In countries like Kenya and Somalia, more families are choosing to raise camels instead of cattle. This change helps them stay food secure during long dry periods. Camels also produce less methane than cows, which makes them a better option for the environment.



They need very little to survive. Yet they continue to provide milk, meat, and labor. That makes them ideal for regions dealing with rising temperatures and shrinking water supplies.



World Camel Day is not only about culture or tradition. It is also about recognizing the camel’s growing role in modern food systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-people-celebrate-world-camel-day">How people celebrate World Camel Day</h2>



World Camel Day is celebrated in many parts of the world. In London, zoos hold sessions where visitors learn how to care for camels. In Rajasthan, herders come together for fairs that highlight camel traditions. In New York, urban farms give children their first experience of meeting a camel.



Online, the celebration continues through photo contests and awareness campaigns. Hashtags like #WorldCamelDay help share stories, facts, and personal experiences. Educational groups upload videos, quizzes, and interviews to reach more people.



These events show something important. The camel is not only a symbol of the desert. It is also a part of the future.



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World Camel Day 2025: Celebrating a desert lifeline

Camels aren't just part of desert life - they are...

Oceanographers have long used a simple rule of thumb: green water teems with microscopic life, while ultramarine blue usually signals relative scarcity.



A fresh analysis of two decades of satellite images suggests that the dividing line between those hues is on the move. 



Scientists have determined that open-ocean waters are steadily <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-ocean-turning-green-thanks-to-climate-change-algae-blooms/">greening</a> at high latitudes and becoming bluer in the tropics and subtropics.



Because the tint of seawater tracks chlorophyll - the pigment that phytoplankton use for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/revealing-the-secrets-of-photosynthesis-through-pep/">photosynthesis</a> - the trend hints at a large-scale rearrangement of life at the base of marine food webs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-our-oceans-shifting-color-code">Our oceans' shifting color code</h2>



The research team, led by <a href="https://duke.edu/">Duke University</a> post-doctoral scholar Haipeng Zhao, sifted through global data captured from 2003 to 2022. The data came from <a href="https://aqua.nasa.gov/modis">NASA’s MODIS-Aqua</a> instrument, which scans the planet every two days.



Each pass measures subtle shifts in reflected light that reveal chlorophyll concentration right at the surface. To avoid the optical noise of sediment-rich coastlines, the researchers focused exclusively on the open ocean.



“In the ocean, what we see based on satellite measurements is that the tropics and the subtropics are generally losing chlorophyll, whereas the polar regions - the high-latitude regions - are greening,” Zhao said.



In practical terms, that means less plankton in warm, blue waters flanking the equator and a rising abundance in polar waters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inventive-math-for-a-noisy-planet"><a></a>Inventive math for a noisy planet</h2>



Working with satellite imagery always involves gaps - patches of cloud, sensor dropouts, differences in daylight.



To tease out a coherent story, Zhao and colleagues borrowed a pair of statistical tools more often used to study household incomes: the Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient.



Lead investigator Nicolas Cassar, a scientist at Duke, explained the leap from economics to oceanography: “We borrowed concepts from economics called the Lorenz curve and the Gini index, which together show how wealth is distributed in a society.



“We thought, let’s apply these to see whether the proportion of the ocean that holds the most chlorophyll has changed over time.”



The result? Over twenty years, the ‘chlorophyll rich’ zones - already green - grew greener, particularly in the northern hemisphere, while blue regions lost even more pigment. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-the-climate-connections"><a></a>Testing the climate connections</h2>



Greener poles and bluer tropics might sound like a straightforward fingerprint of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-is-accelerating-beyond-control-as-co2-levels-rise/">global warming</a>. However, the study stops short of that conclusion.



The authors compared chlorophyll shifts with four environmental variables: sea-surface water temperature, wind speed, light availability, and mixed-layer depth. 



Only warming tracked consistently with the observed color change; the others showed no strong association.



Even so, co-author Susan Lozier of <a href="https://www.gatech.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Georgia Tech</a> cautioned against a rush to label climate change the culprit. “The study period was too short to rule out the influence of recurring climate phenomena such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/el-nino-climate-shifts-date-back-250-million-years/">El Niño</a>,” Lozier said.



“Having measurements for the next several decades will be important for determining influences beyond climate oscillations.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changing-plankton-big-impact">Changing plankton, big impact</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invisible-forest-of-phytoplankton-thrives-in-a-warming-climate/">Phytoplankton</a> do more than tint the waves. Through photosynthesis, they absorb carbon dioxide and convert it to organic matter, sequestering carbon when dead cells sink.



A poleward migration of productivity could rearrange that natural pump. Cassar notes that the geographic shift may decide how long that captured carbon remains out of circulation.



“If carbon sinks deeper or in places where water doesn’t resurface for a long time, it stays stored much longer. In contrast, shallow carbon can return to the atmosphere more quickly, reducing the effect of phytoplankton on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-storage-mystery-emerges-in-the-southern-ocean/">carbon storage</a>,” he said.



Food security is another concern. Many equatorial nations rely on rich fisheries sustained by plankton blooms. A steady drop in primary producers could disrupt the food web, reducing fish stocks vital to diets and economies.



“Phytoplankton are at the base of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oceans-twilight-zone-stabilizes-the-marine-food-chain/">marine food chain</a>. If they are reduced, then the upper levels of the food chain could also be impacted, which could mean a potential redistribution of fisheries,” Cassar warned.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ocean-color-shift-continues">Ocean color shift continues</h2>



The study adds the open ocean to a list of Earth systems already showing poleward ecological drift. On land, satellite records have documented expanding forests in high latitudes and stressed vegetation in the subtropics. 



Now, with the ocean’s own chlorophyll belt shifting, researchers see a consistent planetary story unfolding.



Still, the authors emphasize that two decades are only an opening chapter. Longer records, deeper observations, and improved models of phytoplankton physiology are needed to predict the full ecological impact.



The ocean’s color shift signals change - green in high latitudes, blue near the equator - as ecosystems quietly reorganize. It silently tracks a significant re-ordering of marine life that could reshape climate feedbacks and global fisheries alike.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adr9715" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Ocean waters are changing colors and pushing marine life toward the poles

Oceanographers have long used a simple rule of thumb: green...

When a bonobo wrinkles its nose or lifts its browridge, those expressions do more than pose for the camera. Those flashes of movement form a language that researchers have struggled to pin down.



Now an international team has sharpened that language map by adapting a human facial‑coding toolkit to <a href="https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pan_paniscus/">Pan paniscus</a> (bonobos), cataloging 28 distinct moves and <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/19484/">showing</a> that 22 stem from specific muscles.



Dr. Catia Correia‑Caeiro of <a href="https://www.lw.uni-leipzig.de/institut-fuer-biologie" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Leipzig University’s Institute of Biology</a> leads the project, which unites experts from Germany, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 



The team borrowed the Facial Action Coding System, a 1978 catalog that labels every visible muscle shift with a numeric action unit, then upgraded the scheme for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bonobo-communication-shares-many-structural-similarities-with-human-language/">bonobos</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bonobos-use-expressions-to-communicate">Bonobos use expressions to communicate</h2>



“This adaptation of <a href="https://www.animalfacs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ChimpFACS</a> for bonobos fills an important gap in our ability to study facial expressions across different primate species,” said Dr. Correia‑Caeiro, who is also affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. 



The new manual lets scientists compare <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-bonobo-day-a-celebration-of-love-peace-and-conservation/">bonobo</a>, chimpanzee, and human faces move for move.



Humans can muster about 30 action units, yet bonobos rival their chimpanzee cousins with 22, demonstrating the social weight of facial cues rather than sheer anatomical range. 



The catalog even adds a rarely recorded brow‑lowering move, <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7790396/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AU41</a>, that deepens the <a href="https://www.imaios.com/en/e-anatomy/anatomical-structures/glabella-1536895880#" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">glabella</a> without the human‑exclusive corrugation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bonobo-expressions-mirror-spoken-language">Bonobo expressions mirror spoken language </h2>



The team sifted through roughly 55 hours of high‑definition <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12169169/#supplemental-information" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">video</a> featuring 241 bonobos in zoos, sanctuaries, and the wild, coding each frame by hand.



The footage revealed three independent ear gestures, ears forward, ears elevated, ears flattened, expanding the expressive palette beyond eyes and mouth. 



The researchers also spotted brief lid‑tightening blinks that accompany nose wrinkles, hinting at graded intensity in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bonobos-and-chimps-express-empathy-much-like-humans/">bonobo</a> signals.



The experts noticed that some action units, such as cheek‑raisers and glabella‑lowerers, often fire in rapid succession - suggesting combination rules that mirror syllables in spoken language.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-bonobos-needed-their-own-system">Why bonobos needed their own system</h2>



Despite their similarities to chimpanzees, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bonobos-are-more-endangered-than-previously-known/">bonobos</a> have distinct facial features that complicate direct comparison. 



Subtle traits, like lighter lip coloration, reduced brow-ridge prominence, and more flexible lower lips, affect how facial movements appear and are perceived. These differences can confuse coders if using chimpanzee references alone.



Without a dedicated coding system, earlier studies on bonobos varied wildly in the number of described expressions, from just 5 to as many as 46. 



That inconsistency made it hard to compare results or identify patterns. A tailored toolkit ensures more reliable tracking and opens the door to rigorous, reproducible analysis.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-decoding-expressions-helps-bonobo-care">Decoding expressions helps bonobo care</h2>



“By better understanding their facial expressions, we can more accurately evaluate their emotional states and overall well‑being,” Correia‑Caeiro explained. Caretakers can now read those signals with new confidence.&nbsp;



Bonobos are endangered, with population estimates hovering between 29,000 and 50,000 individuals according to the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15932/102331567" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IUCN Red List</a>.



Knowing when a captive ape is tense or relaxed helps zoos tweak enrichment schedules, separate clashing individuals sooner, and design habitats that cut social friction before it spirals into injury.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bonobo-expressions-and-social-units">Bonobo expressions and social units</h2>



Shared action units let scientists trace which facial abilities pre‑date the split between humans and the Pan lineage six million years ago. 



A 2020 multi‑species <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/files/19273293/Measuring_the_evolution.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a> argues that facial mobility scales with social complexity, placing bonobos near the top of the primate scale.



Bonobos live in female‑bonded, relatively tolerant groups, so extra facial nuance may diffuse conflicts without resorting to violence, offering a living model for hypotheses on early human cooperation.



The <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13428-021-01692-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NetFACS project</a> applies network analysis to thousands of coded faces, revealing that great‑ape expressions form dense interaction graphs where muscle combos shift with context. 



In bonobos, preliminary graphs show tighter clustering of play‑related units than threat units, hinting that relaxed social atmospheres encourage richer facial “vocabularies.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-facial-complexity-and-social-evolution">Facial complexity and social evolution</h2>



Computer‑vision engineers are training algorithms on the new bonobo library, aiming for real‑time welfare dashboards that flag stress before keepers can see it. 



The advanced systems could eventually watch forest camera traps, letting conservationists gauge mood across remote populations without intrusive tagging.



Comparative biologists plan to pit bonobo, chimpanzee, and human FACS data against group size, food‑sharing rates, and dominance styles. 



If facial complexity tracks tolerance as predicted, the findings could rewrite textbooks on primate social evolution.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/19484/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PeerJ</a>.



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Facial expressions of bonobos offer a window into their lives

When a bonobo wrinkles its nose or lifts its browridge,...

Bee populations around the world have been slipping for decades, even in areas with meadows. Across the United States, managed hives have dropped from about five million in the 1940s to 2.7 million in <a href="https://www.pollinator.org/threats" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2023</a>.



Pollination keeps the produce aisle stocked, and honey bees alone add roughly <a href="https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/general-information/initiatives-and-highlighted-programs/peoples-garden/importance-pollinators/honey-bees" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$15 billion</a> to the value of U.S. crops every year. 



Kathrin Czechofsky of the University of Göttingen says the latest <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.70074" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fieldwork</a> shows there is still room for optimism when farms and conservation <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-bee-day-2025-protecting-the-pollinators-that-feed-the-world/">habitats</a> are planned together.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bees-are-disappearing-despite-meadows">Bees are disappearing despite meadows</h2>



Habitat loss, pesticide exposure, and disease form a triple threat, yet land conversion remains the clearest driver of wild <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-dangers-threaten-the-survival-of-bees-and-pollinators/">bee</a> decline. 



Climate stress adds another layer, and recent work warns that many bumblebee broods fail when nest temperatures top 96 °F, a threshold that rising heat waves frequently exceed.



Fields blanketed in a single commodity crop create long floral dry spells that leave solitary bees hungry between brief bloom windows. 



Even well‑intended local actions, such as installing small flower strips, often struggle to reverse losses because bees forage across landscapes, not single fields.



Without a coordinated plan, conservation patches can cancel one another out or fail to meet nesting needs over an entire season.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-different-farm-types-were-tested">How different farm types were tested</h2>



To explore what really works, researchers at the <a href="https://www.uni-goettingen.de/">University of Göttingen</a> mapped 32 German farm landscapes roughly 0.6 mile across.



Each circular site combined different shares of organic cropland, annual flower strips, and <a href="https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/23-028_01_Creating-Perennial-Habitat-Using-Plugs-FS_web.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">perennial habitat</a> dominated by long‑lived plants such as meadow knapweed.



Transects criss‑crossed wheat, clover, hedgerows, and the open lanes where <a href="https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/learn-about-bumblebees/species-guide/red-tailed-bumblebee/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bombus lapidarius</a> and dozens of lesser‑known species feed. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-overlapping-support-for-bees">Overlapping support for bees</h2>



Over three summer runs, the team recorded more than 4,500 individual bees, and then scaled those counts to the full landscape for a big‑picture view.



The design allowed the researchers to test whether habitats simply add, work together in a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/synergistic-effect" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">synergistic effect</a>, or cancel each other out.



The analysis leaned on the same statistical muscle used in crop‑yield forecasting, but here the harvest metric was buzz and diversity. 



Organic acreage, flower strips, and perennial pockets each lifted flower cover, yet the payoff for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-are-highly-concerned-that-so-many-bee-hives-have-disappeared/">bees</a> hinged on how those elements overlapped.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bees-thrive-when-farms-meet-meadows">Bees thrive when farms meet meadows</h2>



Organic fields, managed without synthetic pesticides, proved especially valuable when at least five percent of the surrounding land also held perennial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bees-sleep-like-humans-with-similar-brain-patterns/">habitat</a>. 



Densities of non‑bumblebee wild species climbed steeply under that mix, evidence of a synergy between pesticide‑free forage and nearby nesting ground.



“This study offers important guidance for shaping future measures for agriculture and the environment. It highlights the value of coordinated, landscape‑scale planning,” noted Dr. Annika Haß, a lead scientist on <a href="https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/646422.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the ComBee project</a>.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stable-meadow-edges-support-bees">Stable meadow edges support bees </h2>



Organic plots alone boosted bumblebee numbers too, yet the gains were additive rather than synergistic. 



Many common Bombus species nest flexibly in grass margins or old rodent burrows, so they profit from pesticide‑free blossoms even without extra meadows. 



For orchard managers in the United States pondering organic transitions, the message is clear: pesticide reduction helps, but pairing it with stable meadow edges helps even more.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flower-strips-meadows-and-mixed-signals">Flower strips, meadows, and mixed signals</h2>



Annual flower fields, those bright strips tilled and reseeded every spring, sound perfect on paper but told a more tangled story in practice. 



When large flower strips were paired with broad organic acreage, overall bee numbers often plateaued rather than doubled because both habitats bloom at similar times. Redundancy in food, without added nesting sites, meant no bonus for pollinators.



Perennial meadows, by contrast, flower in staggered waves and offer bare or lightly vegetated soil where ground‑nesting bees dig. Their long-lived stems survive winter, protecting larvae and overwintering adults. 



That structural difference explains why meadows completed the resource puzzle alongside organic crops, while annual strips sometimes crowded it.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/honey-bees-spread-viruses-to-bumblebees-in-the-spring/">Bumblebees</a>, with their social colonies and bigger flight ranges, took advantage of annual strips only in simple landscapes that lacked meadows. For solitary bees with shorter foraging ranges, perennial patches again tipped the scale.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-benefits-of-diversified-landscapes">Benefits of diversified landscapes</h2>



The ComBee team calculated practical thresholds: organic farming starts to raise species richness when annual strips cover less than five acres inside a 500‑acre landscape. 



Synergy with perennial meadows kicks in once those meadows reach about 12 acres. These numbers translate neatly to many Midwestern farm sections or European parish blocks, giving planners concrete targets instead of guesswork.



Because budgets are limited, the authors argue for steering organic incentives toward places where annual flower strips are scarce, while investing separate funds to create long‑term meadows in regions already rich in organic acreage.



Such mixing of functionally different habitats promises the biggest biological return per dollar. Beyond bees, diversified landscapes cushion farms against drought, improve soil structure, and harbor predators that curb <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bats-assist-farmers-by-consuming-harmful-pests/">crop pests</a>.



Policies that reward cooperation among neighboring landowners, rather than isolated actions, could therefore yield multiple wins.



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.70074" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Applied Ecology</a>.



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Organic farms and meadows can help save wild bees

Bee populations around the world have been slipping for decades,...

Since 2014, June 21 has been observed globally as World Giraffe Day. Chosen deliberately for its distinction as the longest day of the year, the date honors the world’s tallest land mammal. The symbolism is compelling, but the message is urgent. 



Giraffes are undergoing a rapid and largely unrecognized population decline. While often admired for their appearance, their ecological importance and conservation status remain overlooked by the global public.



The <a href="https://giraffeconservation.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Giraffe Conservation Foundation</a> emphasizes that celebrating giraffes must go hand-in-hand with acknowledging the threats they face. Current trends suggest that without widespread intervention, these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giraffes-are-suffering-a-silent-extinction-and-need-more-protection/">animals</a> could disappear within our lifetime.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ecological-roles-of-giraffes">Ecological roles of giraffes </h2>



Giraffes may be quiet and unassuming, but they play a vital role in nature. They perform key ecological functions that support <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/its-world-giraffe-day-celebrate-the-worlds-tallest-animal-on-the-earths-longest-day/">biodiversity</a> in savanna ecosystems.



While feeding, giraffes naturally trim tree canopies, allowing more sunlight to reach the plants below. This promotes understory growth and enhances the structural diversity of the ecosystem.



As giraffes move across landscapes, they disperse seeds, contributing to forest regeneration.



Giraffes help many other animals by changing their surroundings. Birds, insects, and mammals all benefit. Yet, much like their silent presence, the decline of giraffes has largely gone unnoticed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-world-giraffe-day-a-quiet-decline">World Giraffe Day: A quiet decline</h2>



Over the past three decades, giraffe <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giraffes-gained-their-long-necks-for-food-not-sex/">populations</a> have declined by nearly one third. They have been extirpated from at least seven African countries. Despite this, their situation has received minimal public attention. Conservationists have described this phenomenon as a “silent extinction,” noting the contrast between the giraffe’s visibility in tourism and media, and its invisibility in conservation policy.



In comparison to elephants and rhinos, which receive considerable international focus, giraffes rarely appear in global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giraffes-hate-slopes-and-its-threatening-their-survival/">conservation</a> discourse. Their quiet presence may be contributing to their neglect. Yet, the threats they face are no less severe.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-drivers-of-population-loss">Drivers of population loss</h2>



Habitat fragmentation is a primary driver of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giraffes-have-gut-bacteria-that-are-unaffected-by-their-diet/">population</a> decline. Human expansion through agriculture, infrastructure, and urban development has significantly reduced the land available to giraffes. 



Poaching also persists. Some giraffes are killed for meat; others for tails, which are used as charms or tools.



Climate change compounds these pressures. Droughts force giraffes to approach farmlands, leading to human-wildlife conflict. In these cases, crop protection often results in giraffe fatalities. 



The cumulative effect of these stressors is a gradual erosion of giraffe populations across the continent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-emerging-scientific-urgency">Emerging scientific urgency</h2>



Recent genetic studies have shifted scientific understanding of giraffe taxonomy. What was once considered a single species with subspecies is now recognized as four distinct <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-four-unique-giraffe-species-across-africa/">species</a>. 



This taxonomic clarification carries conservation implications. Protection strategies must now be tailored to individual species, as threats and habitat needs vary. 



With improved clarity comes a renewed obligation to act swiftly. Several giraffe species are critically endangered, with populations below 2,000 individuals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-supporting-active-conservation-efforts">Supporting active conservation efforts</h2>



The Giraffe Conservation Foundation leads key interventions across Africa. One major strategy involves tracking giraffes using GPS collars to map their movement patterns and identify ecological corridors. These insights inform landscape-level protection strategies.



Translocation efforts have also proven successful. In areas where populations are especially vulnerable, small herds have been moved to protected zones with favorable conditions. 



Though resource-intensive, this approach has led to successful breeding and the birth of new calves, offering cautious optimism.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-public-action-on-world-giraffe-day">Public action on World Giraffe Day </h2>



Public involvement remains essential. While direct participation in fieldwork is not feasible for most individuals, awareness-raising remains powerful. 



Sharing verified information, supporting conservation organizations, and advocating for sustainable tourism all contribute to broader efforts.



Educators can also play a key role by integrating giraffe conservation into curricula. Artists, writers, and communicators can amplify messages that connect people emotionally and intellectually with the issue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cultural-significance-of-giraffes">Cultural significance of giraffes</h2>



Beyond biology, giraffes hold symbolic importance in many African cultures. Their image appears in rock art, oral traditions, and modern storytelling. 



Often associated with grace, patience, and heightened vision, giraffes represent qualities that humans value deeply.



In this sense, their disappearance would constitute not only an ecological loss but also a cultural one. Preserving giraffes means preserving shared human heritage.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-than-a-celebration">More than a celebration </h2>



This observance offers more than celebration. It invites reflection. Why has the decline of such an iconic animal gone largely unnoticed? What assumptions have shaped our collective inaction? And more importantly, how do we shift from admiration to responsibility?



The extra daylight on June 21 becomes a metaphor for awareness. The question is whether we will use it wisely. We already have the tools and science is catching up. 



Protecting giraffes isn’t just about saving a species - it’s about preserving the wild itself. We can’t afford to wait. What stands tall today could disappear tomorrow.



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World Giraffe Day 2025 calls for urgent action to save giraffes

Since 2014, June 21 has been observed globally as World...

A single fossil of a giant Appalachian salamander has been discovered by scientists at East Tennessee State University. 



Millions of years ago, this 16-inch salamander with a powerful bite threaded its way through the soft earth of what is now northeastern Tennessee.



The salamander tunnels criss-crossed ancient forests, and its appetite likely shaped the mix of smaller <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saving-amphibians-wildlife-tunnels-prevent-road-deaths/">amphibians</a> in the surrounding ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossil-may-explain-salamander-diversity">Fossil may explain salamander diversity </h2>



Today, the fossil of this new species may help explain how the region's salamanders became so diverse. The specimen surfaced at the Gray Fossil Site &amp; Museum, a dig next door to <a href="https://www.etsu.edu/ehome/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">East Tennessee State University</a> (ETSU).



After careful study, researchers described the animal - Dynamognathus robertsoni - in a publication in the journal Historical Biology.



The work comes from a team that includes assistant collections manager Davis Gunnin, professor of geosciences Dr. Blaine Schubert, head curator Dr. Joshua Samuels, museum specialist Keila Bredehoeft, and assistant collections manager Shay Maden.



“Our researchers are not only uncovering ancient life, they are modeling the kind of collaboration and curiosity that define ETSU,” said Dr. Joe Bidwell, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. 



“This exciting find underscores the vital role our university plays in preserving and exploring Appalachia’s deep natural history.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-species-named-for-its-powerful-jaw">Species named for its powerful jaw</h2>



Dynamognathus robertsoni ranks among the largest of the lungless salamanders from the family Plethodontidae. It exchanged gases through its skin and the lining of its mouth, rather than by means of lungs. 



The jaw anatomy of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/salamanders-can-adapt-better-to-climate-change-than-previously-thought/">ancient salamander</a> suggests a striking bite force, which would have made it a formidable predator.



“This group of salamanders has unusual cranial anatomy that gives them a strong bite force, so the genus name, Dynamognathus – Greek for ‘powerful jaw,’ is given to highlight the great size and power of the salamander compared to its living relatives,” explained Maden.



The species name honors Wayne Robertson, a longtime volunteer who spotted the first bone and has sifted through more than 50 tons of sediment since 2000.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-appalachia-s-surprising-salamander-legacy">Appalachia’s surprising salamander legacy</h2>



Today, the Southern Appalachian forests host more than 50 salamander species - about one-eighth of all known salamanders on Earth. 



Many of them are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/plethodontidae" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plethodonts</a> like the new fossil species. Scientists have long wondered how so many species could have arisen in this small corner of the world.



“Finding something that looks like a Red Hills salamander here in East Tennessee was a bit of a surprise,” Gunnin said. 



“Today they’re only found in a few counties in southern Alabama, and researchers thought of them as a highly specialized dead-end lineage, not particularly relevant to the evolution of the dusky salamanders."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-of-salamander-communities">Evolution of salamander communities </h2>



The discovery of Dynamognathus robertsoni in Southern Appalachia indicates that this type of relatively large, burrowing salamander was once more widespread in eastern North America, explained Gunnin.



He noted that this may have had a profound impact on the evolution of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/three-new-black-bellied-salamanders-were-hidden-in-plain-sight/">Appalachian</a> salamander communities.



Modern dusky salamanders max out at about seven inches (18 centimeters) - less than half the length of the fossil giant. The research team suspects that predators like D. robertsoni drove smaller stream-dwellers to diversify rapidly, setting the stage for today’s variety.



“The warmer climate in Tennessee 5 million years ago, followed by cooling during the Pleistocene <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/disastrous-climate-changes-of-the-last-ice-age-could-happen-again/">Ice Ages</a>, may have restricted large, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/red-backed-salamanders-will-struggle-to-adapt-to-climate-warming/">burrowing salamanders</a> to lower latitudes, like southern Alabama, where the Red Hills salamander lives today,” said Samuels.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-the-salamander-fossil">Significance of the salamander fossil</h2>



“The latest salamander publication is a testament to this teamwork and search for answers,” said Schubert. 



“When Davis Gunnin, the lead author, began volunteering at the museum as a teenager with an interest in fossil salamanders, I was thrilled because this region is known for its salamander diversity today, and we know so little about their fossil record."



From high-school volunteers to seasoned faculty, the Gray Fossil Site team keeps uncovering stories buried beneath Appalachian soil.



The stories explain why a walk through a modern Tennessee stream still reveals more salamander shapes and colors than almost anywhere else on Earth.



This shared effort blends curiosity, dedication, and local pride in a way that brings science to life. With each new find, the team adds another piece to the puzzle of Appalachia’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/triassic-fossils-shed-new-light-on-ancient-ecosystems/">ancient ecosystems</a>.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2025.2501332" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Historical Biology</a>.



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Giant salamander fossil reveals deep roots of Appalachian diversity

A single fossil of a giant Appalachian salamander has been...

For countless generations, every spring night in Australia has carried the faint whisper of wings. Billions of Bogong moths rise from the dry inland plains. Their destination is a handful of icy caves high in the Snowy Mountains, up to 600 miles away.



How these brief-lived insects - each one making the journey only once - find their way across such vast, feature-poor landscapes has long been one of biology’s quiet mysteries.



Now, an international research team has discovered the key: Bogong moths navigate by reading the constellations and the Milky Way, switching to Earth’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-magnetic-field-has-a-dent-and-nasa-is-watching-closely/">magnetic field</a> when clouds blot out the stars.



The findings make the species the first known invertebrate to use a stellar compass for long-distance migration.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unseen-nightly-moth-migration">An unseen nightly moth migration</h2>



Bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) hatch on parched farmland and grasslands across southeastern Australia. Triggered by spring warmth, each insect embarks on a marathon flight toward cool alpine refuges.



When they arrive - sometimes only weeks after leaving birth sites - they wedge themselves into narrow rock cracks. There, they lower their body temperature and remain torpid through the scorching summer months.



Come autumn, they reverse course, return to the lowlands, breed once and die, leaving offspring to repeat the cycle.



Although the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/migratory-behaviors-are-shaped-by-experience/">migrat</a><a href="https://www.earth.com/news/migratory-behaviors-are-shaped-by-experience/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">i</a><a href="https://www.earth.com/news/migratory-behaviors-are-shaped-by-experience/">on</a> is centuries old, its navigational underpinning has been elusive. Earlier work hinted that moths might sense Earth’s magnetic field. But that alone seemed too crude to guide them to specific caves occupying only a few square miles in the vast Australian Alps.



The new study shows the insects wield a two-part navigation toolkit every bit as sophisticated as that of migratory birds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moths-use-celestial-landmarks">Moths use celestial landmarks </h2>



Led by Professor Eric Warrant of <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a>, the research team built a custom flight simulator: a circular arena whose inner surface could project a perfectly realistic night sky, complete with Zodiac constellations and the luminous smear of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/milky-way-like-galaxies-were-present-in-the-early-universe/">Milky Way</a>.



By rotating or scrambling the projection, the team could test what cues the moths use. They also enclosed the device in coils that canceled Earth’s magnetic field, allowing independent manipulation of magnetic and visual information.



When moths collected during spring migrations were placed in the simulator under a natural star map, they reliably flew south-southeast - the direction to the Snowy Mountains from their capture location.



Autumn migrants, tested months later, flew north-northwest toward their breeding grounds. Rotating the star map 180 degrees caused the insects instantly to flip their direction of flight. 



Scrambling the star pattern left them disoriented, proving they were not just chasing the brightest point but reading specific celestial landmarks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moths-have-a-backup-migration-plan">Moths have a backup migration plan</h2>



Night skies are not always clear. The researchers next obscured the stars while reintroducing a controlled magnetic field.



Deprived of visual cues, the moths still flew along the correct migratory bearing, guided only by magnetism. When both stars and magnetic information were eliminated, the moths lost orientation entirely.



The results reveal a dual-compass strategy: starlight when available, magnetism when not. Such redundancy ensures reliability amid Australia’s famously changeable <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pollen-alters-cloud-formation-and-changes-weather-patterns/">spring weather</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brains-tuned-to-stars">Brains tuned to stars</h2>



The team also ventured inside the moth’s brain. Using microelectrodes thinner than a human hair, they recorded from neurons in the central complex - an insect brain hub for spatial processing.



Certain neurons fired maximally when the simulated starry sky aligned with the migratory heading. Rotating the sky shifted each cell’s peak activity by an equivalent angle, confirming that these neurons encode celestial direction.



That sophisticated computation, packed into a brain weighing a fraction of a gram, rivals the navigational circuitry found in far larger animals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-moths-to-machines">From moths to machines</h2>



The discovery joins earlier breakthroughs revealing that South African <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dung-beetles-share-their-workload-with-their-mates/">dung beetles</a> use the Milky Way to roll dung balls in straight lines.



Study co-author Javaan Chahl, a remote-sensing engineer at the University of South Australia, has already translated beetle astronomy into an AI sensor that allows robots to orient in low light.



He believes Bogong moths could inspire next-generation <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drones-reveal-hidden-biodiversity-in-rainforest-canopies/">drones</a> capable of navigating long distances at night without GPS.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moth-migration-needs-dark-skies">Moth migration needs dark skies</h2>



Bogong moth numbers have crashed due to drought, pesticides, land use changes, and climate-driven shifts in vegetation. The species is now listed as vulnerable.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/light-pollution-skyglow-fuels-toxic-algae-and-alters-carbon-cycle-in-lakes/">Light pollution</a> compounds the threat by washing out the night-sky cues the moths rely on. Losing dark skies could push the migratory system past a point of no return. 



This would trigger ripple effects across alpine ecosystems that rely on the moths as a seasonal food bonanza for birds and mammals.



“This is not just about a moth,” said Warrant, who also holds appointments at the <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/">Australian National University</a> and the <a href="https://online.unisa.edu.au/">University of South Australia</a>.



The findings help recognize that the night sky is a public commons, critical for countless species - humans included - that have used it to orient, to tell time, to wonder.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-navigation-by-starlight">Navigation by starlight</h2>



For millennia, Polynesian navigators steered canoes by starlight, and mariners followed the Southern Cross across oceans. 



Now we know that a creature no larger than a paper clip can do the same, threading a path across an entire continent by reading the celestial vault.



Safeguarding the Bogong moth’s migration means protecting the dark, starlit corridors overhead - an essential step if we are to keep both the insect’s ancient journey and our shared cosmic heritage alive.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09135-3">Nature</a>.



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Moths read the stars to complete an epic migration

For countless generations, every spring night in Australia has carried...

Mammoth Cave in Kentucky stretches for more than 420 miles (675 kilometers) below the surface of the ground and is often described as the world’s largest cave system. Recent explorations there uncovered two new fossil sharks that once roamed shallow coastal waters more than 325 million years ago.



Ancient shark specialist John-Paul (JP) Hodnett of the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission (<a href="https://www.mncppc.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MNCPPC</a>) worked with the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/index.htm">National Park Service Paleontology Program</a> to identify the fossils. 



These finds have everyone buzzing because they offer a glimpse into marine habitats that thrived when parts of what is now eastern North America were covered by a warm sea.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-prehistoric-shark-fossil-puzzle">Prehistoric shark fossil puzzle</h2>



The newly documented sharks are Troglocladodus trimblei and Glikmanius careforum, and they are from a group known as <a href="https://www.uky.edu/KGS/fossils/fossil-month-cten.php">ctenacanth</a> sharks. 



They both measured about 10–12 feet (3–3.6 meters) long, which is similar in size to an oceanic whitetip shark.



The shark fossils were collected from various limestone formations, which were deposited during the Middle to Late <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/mississippian-period.htm">Mississippian Period</a>. 



The bigger picture is that these habitats were once submerged under shallow seas and supported a wide range of fish life. Researchers have now identified more than 70 ancient fish species in the cave system.



A partial set of jaws belonging to a young <a href="https://shark-references.com/species/view/Glikmanius-careforum">Glikmanius careforum</a> revealed fresh details about cartilage, which rarely fossilizes well. 



Cartilaginous remains of sharks are often fragile and easily destroyed by erosion, so finding them preserved in a protected space is especially rewarding.



Experts note that this newly identified material adds depth to ongoing discussions of how shark groups diversified while the supercontinent <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-was-pangea">Pangea</a> was taking shape.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-collaborations-and-fieldwork">Collaborations and fieldwork</h2>



“Every new discovery at Mammoth Cave is possible due to collaborations,” said park superintendent <a href="https://www.nps.gov/maca/learn/management/index.htm">Barclay Trimble</a> of Mammoth Cave National Park. 



Researchers and volunteers have explored hidden passages, river channels, and even narrow crawlways in search of key fossils.



Members of the <a href="https://www.cave-research.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cave Research Foundation</a> also took part in these efforts. The name Glikmanius careforum was chosen to honor that organization’s valuable support in the field.



The partial cartilage from this genus points to a short head with a strong bite, possibly used to feed on smaller fish and <a href="https://www.geo.mtu.edu/KeweenawGeoheritage/HoughtonEC/Orthocones.html">orthocones</a>, which are squid-like creatures with elongated shells.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-help-trace-evolutionary-change">Fossils help trace evolutionary change </h2>



Troglocladodus trimblei stands out for its branching tooth design that helped it secure prey in the Mississippian seas. 



This prehistoric hunter probably shared a coastal environment with G. careforum, in waters that covered modern-day Kentucky and Alabama.



Researchers say these sharks likely thrived in nearshore habitats that teemed with bony fish, shelled organisms, and other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cocaine-sharks-brazilian-waters-sharpnose-sharks-rhizoprionodon-lalandii-ocean-pollution/">marine creatures</a>.



Tracing these fossils across multiple rock layers provides insights into how the environment changed over time. 



Coastal waters rose and fell as landmasses drifted toward each other, gradually merging into a single continent. 



These broader patterns helped shape the distribution and evolutionary paths of ancient sharks like T. trimblei and G. careforum.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-to-preserve-shark-fossils">How to preserve shark fossils</h2>



Field teams spent long hours underground carefully mapping and collecting small fragments of teeth. A single <a href="https://www.npca.org/articles/7703-the-unveiling-of-mammoth-cave-s-history">tooth</a> from T. trimblei sparked initial interest when Superintendent Trimble first discovered it on a 2019 trip. 



Seasoned cavers and geologists coordinated to ensure safe retrieval of each piece, knowing that one misstep could damage the delicate remains.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ctenacanth-sharks_cave-discovery_325-million-years-ago_1big.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ctenacanth-sharks_cave-discovery_325-million-years-ago_1s.webp" alt="A reconstruction of the new Middle to Late Mississippian ctenacanth sharks from Mammoth Cave National Park and northern Alabama. Glikmanius careforum is seen swimming in the foreground with two Troglocladodus trimblei swimming above. Artwork by Benji Paynose" class="wp-image-1973763"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A reconstruction of the new Middle to Late Mississippian ctenacanth sharks from Mammoth Cave National Park and northern Alabama. Glikmanius careforum is seen swimming in the foreground with two Troglocladodus trimblei swimming above. Click image to enlarge. Artwork by Benji Paynose</figcaption></figure>



Research at Mammoth Cave has led to conversations about how best to preserve fragile fossils within difficult-to-access passages. Experts say stable cave temperatures help keep these discoveries in good condition. 



Park managers have also integrated these new data into guidelines for future research so that more clues to marine life from 325 million years ago may be found.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-these-shark-fossils-matter">Why these shark fossils matter</h2>



Scientists use these finds to compare local fossil collections with specimens from similar periods in other parts of the world. 



Documenting body sizes, tooth arrangements, and skeletal details helps researchers build a clearer timeline of shark <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shark-skeletons-could-lead-to-technological-innovations/">evolution</a>.



These comprehensive studies uncover shifts in fish diversity that occurred as oceans changed and landmasses joined together. 



Experts also link fossil data with knowledge from bony fish records, coral structures, and other sea life. This combined approach paints a full picture of ancient marine habitats and shows how some species adapted while others vanished. 



The two new fossil sharks at Mammoth Cave highlight that even well-known geologic areas can hold <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopus-caught-riding-on-the-back-of-the-worlds-fastest-shark-in-the-open-ocean/">surprises</a> for many years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-cave-explorations">Future cave explorations</h2>



Mammoth Cave continues to yield glimpses into a vanished coastline that spanned what is now Kentucky, Europe, and northern Africa. 



T. trimblei and G. careforum are just two recent additions to an ever-expanding fossil catalog, reminding everyone that exploration still brings answers and new questions.



In many ways, these ancient sharks highlight how puzzle pieces of geologic history keep fitting together. Field teams are now eager to see what lies in deeper chambers or behind the narrow channels.



The next phase of study may involve more advanced imaging and careful excavation in lesser-known passages, guided by new mapping techniques. 



Findings like these spur a broader appreciation for the cave system’s scientific value, well beyond its length or visual features.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377873693_NEW_CTENACANTH_SHARKS_CHONDRICHTHYES_ELASMOBRANCHII_CTENACANTHIFORMES_FROM_THE_MIDDLE_TO_LATE_MISSISSIPPIAN_OF_KENTUCKY_AND_ALABAMA">Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</a>.



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Two prehistoric sea monsters found after 325 million years in the world’s largest cave

Mammoth Cave in Kentucky stretches for more than 420 miles...

The brown bear, Ursus arctos, is often described as adaptable, and its European range has never stayed still for long. 



New research shows that the bear’s wanderings are tied less to temperature than to where its food grows or grazes - an important detail with big conservation consequences.



Pablo M. Lucas and colleagues at the <a href="https://ics-seville.org/university-of-seville/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Seville</a> analyzed more than three million <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/endangered-brown-bears-have-a-genetic-weak-spot/">bear</a> locations and the energy yield of 276 food species to find the pattern.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bears-follow-food-with-most-energy">Bears follow food with most energy</h2>



“We detected 276 species in their diet. Bears occupy those places where the most energy from the species in their diet is available,” explained Lucas. 



Brown bears consume anything from acorns to red deer, shifting diet with local supply. Lucas’s team confirms that bears settle where the most calories are packed into the landscape, a principle ecologists call <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/10/1928" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trophic energy optimization</a>.&nbsp;



Europe holds about 17,000 free‑ranging brown <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/untangling-the-history-of-polar-bears-and-brown-bears/">bears</a> spread over 22 countries, yet the population is fragmented into 14 sub‑populations, from the Cantabrian Mountains to Karelia. 



The <a href="http://www.bearconservation.org.uk/eurasian-brown-bear/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IUCN</a> classifies the species as “Least Concern” globally, but several regional groups remain vulnerable. Fragmentation matters because food landscapes vary sharply across short distances.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-shifts-food-sources-for-bears">Climate shifts food sources for bears </h2>



Climate change is already nudging thousands of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-brown-bears-are-digging-up-japans-artificial-forests/">species</a> poleward and uphill, some three times faster than biologists once estimated. As fruiting plants, insects and ungulates relocate, bears face a moving target.&nbsp;



In warmer regions such as Greece and Türkiye, the study found bears behaving almost like herbivores, with nuts and berries dominating the diet. 



Farther north in Scandinavia and Finland, meat from wild boar or moose supplies over half of a bear’s annual calories.



American grizzlies offer a parallel: on Alaska’s Kodiak Island, warmer summers now ripen elderberries during salmon runs, and many bears abandon fish for fruit. 



The European analysis suggests similar switches are likely whenever plant and animal phenology collide.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-the-energy-landscape">Mapping the energy landscape</h2>



To quantify edible energy, the team combined scat and stomach studies with remote‑sensing models of plant and prey habitat. 



A key variable was <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/691/ds691.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">isothermality</a>, the ratio of day‑to‑night temperature range to annual range, which influences plant productivity.



Areas rich in reproductive plants such as oak and beech mast scored high for bears in Spain, while regions with dense roe‑deer populations pulled bears east of the Carpathians.



The researchers then layered these food maps onto climate and land‑use projections for 2050. Where forests shrink or heat stress pushes oaks uphill, the calories disappear and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grizzly-bears-help-huckleberries-thrive-in-a-changing-climate/">bear</a>’s probability of presence drops with them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bear-food-zones-may-shrink">Bear food zones may shrink</h2>



Under a mid‑range emissions pathway, suitable bear habitat could contract by one‑third if both abiotic (climate, land use) and biotic (food availability) changes unfold as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.70252" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">forecast</a>. 



Losses are steepest in the East Balkan and Türkiye groups, where warming outpaces plant adaptation. In contrast, the Scandinavian and Karelian sub‑populations may gain ground as forests march north, provided prey species keep pace.



A separate Swedish <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/296319593_Seasonal_and_annual_variation_in_the_diet_of_brown_bears_Ursus_arctos_in_the_boreal_forest_of_southcentral_Sweden" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> of 527 bear scats showed similar north-south dietary splits and underlines that bears quickly alter foraging tactics when new options arise. 



Such flexibility could buffer northern bears but offers little help to isolated southern populations hemmed in by farmland and roads.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-people-and-policy">Implications for people and policy</h2>



Europe’s large carnivores have rebounded over the past two decades, sparking new debates about coexistence. Where wild prey declines, bears turn to orchards, beehives and livestock carcasses, raising conflict costs. 



Predicting hotspots of future food scarcity can guide compensation schemes and habitat corridors before tensions flare.



Forest managers also gain a roadmap: protecting seed‑producing trees in southern Europe may retain critical autumn fattening grounds, while maintaining continuous ungulate habitat in the north ensures carnivorous diets stay wild. 



The study argues that conservation targets should shift from static range maps to dynamic “energy maps” that track how calories, not just climate, flow across the continent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-not-all-species-adapt-like-bears">Not all species adapt like bears</h2>



Brown bears are generalists, able to switch food sources as the landscape changes. But many species aren’t so lucky. 



Animals with a <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/generalist-and-specialist-species/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">specialist diet</a>, such as the Iberian lynx or alpine butterflies, may not adapt as quickly if their primary food vanishes or migrates beyond reach.



Species with limited mobility or narrow climate tolerance face a double threat: they can’t chase food, and even if they could, suitable shelter might not be there. 



Conservation strategies that work for flexible foragers like bears won’t always translate to more fragile species caught in tight ecological niches.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-next-step-is-testing-other-predators">Next step is testing other predators</h2>



Lucas and co‑authors hope to expand the model to wolves and lynx, testing whether prey‑driven range forecasts improve planning for multiple predators at once. 



The researchers are also calling for finer‑scale monitoring of plant phenology so managers can spot mismatches early.



For now, the brown bear reminds us that protecting a species means protecting its pantry. Where acorns fall and deer graze today will shape where cubs are born tomorrow.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.70252" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Change Biology</a>.



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Brown bears move where their food grows

The brown bear, Ursus arctos, is often described as adaptable,...

Anthropomorphism, or seeing animals as human-like, has long helped shape conservation efforts. From cartoons to fundraising campaigns, giving animals human emotions and faces makes them more relatable. But this seemingly harmless trick has deeper consequences. 



A new study in the journal iScience&nbsp;explores how cultural, personal, and social factors shape our willingness to see animals like ourselves. This impacts which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-and-possibly-even-insects-have-emotions/">species</a> we choose to protect.



“Unfortunately, anthropomorphism significantly influences conservation efforts... Species that appear more human-like or exhibit human-like behaviors usually tend to receive more attention, funding, and public support,” said Federica Amici of <a href="https://www.uni-leipzig.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Leipzig University</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-emotional-responses-to-animals">Emotional responses to animals</h2>



The research team surveyed 741 adults from Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, and Spain. Each participant rated how much they agreed with statements about animals’ emotions, minds, intentions, and even their ability to distinguish good from evil. 



Respondents also reported their religious beliefs, education level, social networks, and personal experiences with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animal-emotions-can-be-decoded-through-voice-recognition/">animals</a>.



Participants with less education tended to assign more human-like free will to animals. In contrast, those with more structured scientific learning were more cautious. 



Interestingly, urban experiences like owning pets or seeing animals in media predicted more emotional connections. These people were more likely to believe <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chick-emotions-shed-new-light-on-animal-welfare/">animals</a> had minds, emotions, and intent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lonely-humans-humanize-animals">Lonely humans humanize animals</h2>



Social isolation played a powerful role. People with weaker social ties were more likely to see animals as emotionally complex and similar to humans. 



This tendency was even more pronounced in allocentric individuals, who see themselves as part of a group rather than independent. 



These individuals often attributed more free will and emotions to animals, perhaps to meet their own need for companionship



“People who feel lonely or aren’t well connected to others often try to meet their need for social <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-emotions-evoke-different-responses-in-dogs-and-pigs/">connection</a> by seeing human-like qualities in animals or other non-human things,” noted Amici. 



This helps explain why pet owners or animal lovers may assign deeper personalities to their pets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-anthropomorphism">Understanding anthropomorphism</h2>



The attribution of human characteristics, emotions, or behaviors to non-human entities, including animals, objects, deities, or abstract concepts, is known as anthropomorphism. 



This tendency is deeply ingrained in human cognition and language, often used to make the unfamiliar more relatable or comprehensible. 



From ancient myths where gods possess <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/facial-expressions-arent-enough-to-understand-human-emotions/">human emotions</a> to modern cartoons where animals talk and act like people, anthropomorphism plays a key role in storytelling, religious belief, and even scientific interpretation. 



It serves as a cognitive shortcut, allowing individuals to empathize with and interpret the actions of non-human entities through a human lens.



In scientific and philosophical contexts, anthropomorphism can be both a useful heuristic and a source of bias. For instance, in animal behavior studies, attributing intentions or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lost-in-translation-how-we-misread-our-dogs-emotions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">emotions to animals</a> can aid observational insight, but it also risks oversimplifying or misrepresenting their true nature. 



Similarly, in technology and artificial intelligence, people often perceive machines as having intentions or feelings, a phenomenon that shapes user experience and ethical concerns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-religion-shapes-human-view-of-animals">Religion shapes human view of animals</h2>



Religious belief had a noticeable effect. Participants from monotheistic traditions like Islam and Christianity were less likely to attribute free will, emotions, and pain to animals. 



In contrast, those from non-monotheistic faiths such as Hinduism and Buddhism were more open to the idea that animals could feel, think, and even deceive.



“Non-monotheistic religions appear to contribute more strongly to envisioning a space of coexistence between humans and other species,” said Amici. This supports the idea that religions emphasizing interconnection nurture deeper empathy toward non-human life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-seeing-monkeys-as-moral-agents">Seeing monkeys as moral agents</h2>



The study included special focus on monkeys. People with greater exposure to monkeys were more likely to believe monkeys could deceive, plan, or act with intent but paradoxically, less likely to think monkeys felt pain.



Why the contradiction? The researchers suggest a possible reason. When animals are seen as threats, such as crop raiding monkeys, humans may still judge their behavior but downplay their suffering. 



This type of moral distancing may help humans justify their actions when conflicts arise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-feeling-and-understanding-emotions">Feeling and understanding emotions</h2>



The survey measured traits like the ability to feel primary emotions such as anger or fear, secondary emotions like guilt or shame, and understand others’ intentions. 



Most people saw monkeys as capable of feeling basic emotions and having minds of their own.



However, beliefs about more complex traits like distinguishing good from evil were more variable. These attributions often reflected a blend of religion, social closeness, and urban experience.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-assigning-human-traits-to-animals">Assigning human traits to animals</h2>



Assigning human traits to animals can help conservation efforts. It can boost empathy, raise funds, and build support. 



But it can also skew public concern toward cute or familiar species. That may leave less attractive yet ecologically vital creatures out of focus.



“I think anthropomorphizing species can be an effective approach, but it should be used with caution,” said Amici.



This study shows that conservationists must consider social context. Campaigns that resonate in one culture may fall flat in another. 



Customizing messaging based on local beliefs, education, and exposure to animals can make programs more effective.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-sympathy-to-strategy">From sympathy to strategy</h2>



This research uncovers how deeply our personal lives shape what we see in animals. By recognizing those patterns, conservation can become more inclusive and impactful. 



Instead of relying only on emotion or charisma, strategies can balance human connection with ecological urgency. When we see animals clearly, through both empathy and science, we might finally protect them wisely.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(25)00954-X" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">iScience</a>.



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Why we see some animals as more human than others

Anthropomorphism, or seeing animals as human-like, has long helped shape...

Echidna,In,The,Zoo

Tiny, spiny echidnas and the duck‑billed platypus already look like misfits, but the bigger oddity hides in their DNA. For most mammals, a gene on the Y chromosome called <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22246/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SRY</a> flips the switch for testis formation and sets sex development in motion.



Researchers have now shown that these <a href="https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/monotreme.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">monotremes</a> wield a completely different master key: a Y‑linked copy of anti-Müllerian hormone (<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4654491/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AMHY</a>). 



<a href="https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/linda.shearwin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Linda Shearwin</a> of the University of Adelaide’s School of Biological Sciences led the international team that cracked the case.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-different-sex-gene-in-monotremes">Different sex gene in monotremes</h2>



Platypuses carry five X and five Y <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2413164/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chromosomes</a> that line up in an alternating chain during male meiosis, a structure unlike anything in other mammals. 



Females hold five paired X chromosomes, yet the species thrives, proof that complicated does not always mean fragile.



Genomic clocks place the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/obl4he/vertebratediversity/monotremes.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">monotreme split</a> from other mammals at roughly <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8081666/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">187 million years ago</a>, long before SRY arose in placental and marsupial lineages. 



Their last common <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-mammals-have-evolved-over-66-million-years/">ancestor</a> with us never carried SRY, so a different mechanism had to evolve.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monotremes-have-10-sex-chromosomes">Monotremes have 10 sex chromosomes</h2>



Monotreme males don’t just have an X and a Y. They juggle a system with up to 10 sex chromosomes, five Xs and five Ys in platypuses, and a slightly smaller set in echidnas. 



These chromosomes form a chain during sperm production, a configuration that looks more like a daisy chain than the standard X–Y pair mammals typically carry.



This odd setup baffled scientists for decades. Unlike <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammals-ground-dwellers-survived-the-asteroid-impact-that-killed-the-dinosaurs/">therian mammals</a>, monotreme sex chromosomes share homology with bird Z chromosomes, not with the mammalian Y. 



That raised suspicions early on that monotremes must use a completely different trigger to determine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammal-evolution-kicked-off-with-daring-experiments/">sex</a>, but proving it required access to rare developmental stages.



Anti‑Müllerian hormone normally turns off female tract development in male embryos and later guides <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2024.1468364/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ovarian follicle growth</a>. In people, doctors measure AMH to gauge fertility or predict menopause timing.



Most mammals keep AMH on an ordinary chromosome, far downstream of SRY and <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/gene/sox9/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SOX9</a>. In echidnas and platypuses, evolution duplicated the gene, parked the copy on a Y chromosome, and rewired its control panel to switch on early in male gonads.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sex-starts-outside-the-cell-s-nucleus">Sex starts outside the cell’s nucleus</h2>



“This new understanding fills a significant knowledge gap and ultimately can be used to support conservation of these iconic Australian mammals. AMHY would be the first known example of a growth factor playing a sex‑determining role in mammals,” said Dr. Shearwin. 



Her team tracked AMHY activity in developing echidna testes well before visible sex differences appeared. 



The protein works outside the nucleus, binding a surface receptor and relaying signals rather than directly steering DNA. 



That makes monotremes the only known mammals where a secreted factor, not a transcription factor, calls the first shot in sex development.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-amhy-different-from-amhx">What makes AMHY different from AMHX</h2>



Although a X‑linked copy of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMHX) and AMHY both belong to the <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4325469/">TGF-β protein family</a> and share key structural features, they diverged significantly after an ancient gene inversion. 



The two proteins are only 52% identical, with differences concentrated in regions that affect hormone cleavage and signaling.



Their promoter regions also diverge. AMHY lacks the usual <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/gene/sox9/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SOX9</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/2626" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GATA4</a>, and <a href="https://www.genecards.org/cgi-bin/carddisp.pl?gene=SF1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SF-1</a> binding sites seen in AMHX and other mammalian AMH genes. 



Instead, AMHY uses unique transcription factor sites, like <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2820524/%5C" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DMRT1</a> and <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC548021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GATA1</a>, which are active only in male gonads, suggesting a custom regulatory setup designed for sex determination.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wider-view-of-sex-genes">Wider view of sex genes</h2>



AMH duplications have taken over sex determination more than once. A male‑specific <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5555456/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AMHY</a> copy steers testis formation in <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11907690/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Patagonian pejerrey fish</a> and old‑world silversides. 



Some amphibians use the same trick, showing that hormones can win the evolutionary race against classic DNA‑binding proteins.



The discovery also underlines how fragile Y chromosomes can be. SRY itself did not appear until about 160 million years ago and was identified in humans only in <a href="https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/sex-determining-region-y-mammals" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1990</a>. 



If SRY could pop up late, there is no reason other genes cannot step in when needed, as monotremes demonstrate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-monotreme-sex-matters">Why monotreme sex matters</h2>



Platypus populations face habitat loss and climate change, and captive breeding programs struggle because eggs are delicate and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-animals-balance-their-sex-chromosomes/">reproductive cycles</a> poorly understood. 



Knowing that AMHY, not SRY, dictates sex gives biologists a tool for early‑stage sexing of embryos in conservation labs.



The work also helps physicians dissect AMH’s many roles in humans. Because monotreme AMHY triggers an entire sex pathway on its own, comparing its sequence to human AMH may spotlight sites essential for receptor binding or signal strength. That insight could refine AMH‑based fertility tests or therapies.



To test AMHY's function, researchers tried introducing platypus AMHX and AMHY into developing chicken embryos, a model known to respond clearly to sex-determining signals. 



Overexpressing chicken AMH in females causes visible masculinization, so scientists hoped platypus versions might do the same.



But nothing changed. The monotreme proteins didn’t cause male traits in chickens, even when highly expressed. 



Structural analysis showed that key binding sites between mammalian AMH and the bird receptor don’t line up well. 



This mismatch confirms that early mammalian changes in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34155118/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AMH–AMHR2 interaction</a> likely limit cross-species functionality.



The full study is published in <a href="https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13059-025-03546-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Genome Biology</a>.



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Platypus and echidnas break mammal rules with weird sex system

Tiny, spiny echidnas and the duck‑billed platypus already look like...

Can farms produce enough food to feed us while still leaving space for wildlife? A new proposal says they can.



By setting aside one-fifth of farmland for nature, and tweaking everyday practices on the rest, we can help wildlife recover without sacrificing the food on our tables.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-farming-with-wildlife-in-mind">Farming with wildlife in mind</h2>



The plan comes from ecologists at the <a href="https://www.ceh.ac.uk/">UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology</a> and the University of Alcalá in Spain. Study co-author Professor James Bullock elaborated on the importance of the research.



“Reversing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/un-report-calls-for-global-change-to-stop-biodiversity-loss/">biodiversity loss</a> and degradation of ecosystems is essential both for nature as well as long-term global food security. But there is no single silver bullet for nature recovery and so far it has been unclear how to integrate rewilding into agricultural landscapes," said Professor Bullock. 



“Our proposed approach moves beyond land sparing versus land sharing. We believe rewilding can be interwoven into agricultural landscapes and could be key to maintaining <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/increasing-plant-based-food-production-would-have-extremely-positive-impact/">food production</a> in a way that is sustainable in the long term for people and the planet.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dedicating-land-to-nature-recovery">Dedicating land to nature recovery</h2>



According to the study, fostering rewilding approaches alongside farming could create agroecological landscapes that accommodate biodiversity while remaining resilient and functionally connected. Certain incentives would encourage farmers to adopt this approach.



“While setting aside land for nature recovery could potentially be made a legal requirement for farmers and landowners, there is more likely to be acceptance and success of rewilding if there are incentives in the form of payments for ecosystem services and tax deductions,” noted Professor José María Rey Benayas, lead author on the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-farming-needs-wildlife">Why farming needs wildlife</h2>



Modern farming has greatly increased food production since the 1940s. But this has often come at the expense of nature. 



Clearing land, using heavy fertilizers and pesticides, and removing natural features like hedgerows have pushed many plant and animal species to the edge.



This loss doesn’t just affect wildlife - it disrupts vital services that farms depend on, such as healthy soil, natural pest control, and water retention. As these services decline, the long-term productivity and resilience of farming systems are put at risk.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cost-of-declining-wildlife">The cost of declining wildlife</h2>



Across Europe and beyond, once-common species are disappearing from farmland. For example, the U.K. has lost over 40 million birds since 1970, and wild bee populations have declined in more than half of European countries, according to multiple long-term surveys.



These animals aren’t just part of the scenery - they’re key to food production. Birds eat crop pests. Bees and other insects pollinate the flowers that develop into fruits and vegetables. Their loss means greater reliance on artificial fertilisers, pesticides, and expensive manual labour.



Bringing wildlife back isn’t just a conservation goal - it’s a practical step toward more affordable and reliable <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mixed-cover-crops-may-be-the-future-of-sustainable-farming/">farming</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-steps-to-farming-alongside-wildlife">Steps to farming alongside wildlife </h2>



The researchers suggest a four-part plan that links nature conservation with everyday farming. 



First, they recommend reserving at least 20% of farmland for nature. This space would include large patches of woodland, wetlands, and species-rich grassland to form strong core habitats. 



Second, these patches should be connected by green corridors - such as hedgerows, ponds, and strips of scrubland - that allow wildlife to move, feed, and reproduce.



Third, they propose protecting small hotspots within working fields. This would involve setting aside about 10% of cropped land for flower strips, beetle banks, and bird perches, bringing the total to the 30% global restoration goal. 



Finally, they call for small changes in daily farming practices, like reducing chemical use, planting flowers for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pollinators-face-extinction-risk-due-to-climate-change/">pollinators</a>, and letting livestock graze more freely to help spread seeds and support healthy soil.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rewilding-has-benefits-for-farmers">Rewilding has benefits for farmers</h2>



Many European regions cannot host bears or bison. However, smaller species such as lynx, wildcat, or European hare can still boost ecosystem health. Choosing the right mix depends on local conditions.



Helping wildlife can pay off in more ways than one. When farms support natural habitats, they often see practical benefits in return. 



Better soil retains more water and nutrients, which supports stronger <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/farmers-can-help-make-crops-more-resilient/">crops</a>. Pollinators and natural predators of pests can help increase yields in nearby fields. 



Farmers may also spend less on fertilizers and pesticides, lowering overall input costs. In some places, governments might provide payments or tax breaks to reward efforts that support biodiversity and ecosystem services.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-making-room-for-wildlife">Making room for wildlife</h2>



Reaching the 20% target may be challenging for small farms, but collective action can make it achievable. At the same time, each region will need to adapt the plan to fit its local conditions. 



Areas with heavily degraded farmland have the most to gain, while places with traditional, low-impact farming may require fewer changes. 



The researchers emphasize that this is just a starting point - but the message is clear: making room for wildlife alongside farming can help secure both indigenous species and food for the future.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.2860">Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment</a>.



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Farming for wildlife: How traditional practices can protect nature

Can farms produce enough food to feed us while still...

A new species of dragonfish has surfaced from the chilly waters off the western Antarctic Peninsula, and it has a story that spans nearly a million winters.



Researchers report that Akarotaxis gouldae (nicknamed the banded dragonfish) branched off from its nearest cousin some 780,000 years ago, surviving cycles of advancing and retreating ice in near‑total isolation, according to <a href="https://www.vims.edu/people/corso_ad/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Andrew Corso</a> of the <a href="https://www.vims.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracing-the-dragonfish-family-tree">Tracing the dragonfish family tree</h2>



Genetic work showed that A. gouldae separated from A. nudiceps after glaciers sealed much of the Southern Ocean, leaving a pocket of fish marooned in deep trenches.



“There are two distinct bands on the sides of adult A. gouldae that are not present on A. nudiceps,” said Corso, adding that the specimens had sat unrecognized in museum jars for decades.



Time‑calibrated <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/phylogeny" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">phylogeny</a>, a technique that treats <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-detailed-map-of-human-genetic-mutations-unveiled/">DNA mutations</a> as a molecular clock, supports the 780,000‑year split and hints that the ancestors of today’s banded dragonfish rode out the ice age beneath moving glaciers before re‑emerging when the ice pulled back.



The banded dragonfish joins the family Bathydraconidae, a group famed for its sparse sampling and for species that often turn up only as larval traces in plankton nets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-importance-of-museum-collections">Importance of museum collections</h2>



Old jars, dusty shelves, and handwritten labels might not seem exciting, but they’ve become critical to discovering overlooked species like Akarotaxis gouldae. 



The adult fish had been sitting in museum <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/research/vertebrate-zoology/fishes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ichthyology</a> collections for years, misidentified as their more common relatives.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/dragonfish_new-species_Akarotaxis-gouldae_Akarotaxis-nudiceps_Andrew-Corso_1big.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/dragonfish_new-species_Akarotaxis-gouldae_Akarotaxis-nudiceps_Andrew-Corso_1s.webp" alt="Akarotaxis gouldae (left) compared to Akarotaxis nudiceps (right) show distinct morphological differences, including the presence of two bands on the bodies of Akarotaxis gouldae as well as a shorter snouts and jaws. Credit: Andrew Corso" class="wp-image-1974442"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Akarotaxis gouldae (left) compared to Akarotaxis nudiceps (right) show distinct morphological differences, including the presence of two bands on the bodies of Akarotaxis gouldae as well as a shorter snouts and jaws. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Andrew Corso</figcaption></figure>



By cross-checking DNA samples with these physical specimens, scientists were able to link the genetic evidence to real-world morphology. Without access to these archives, the banded dragonfish might still be hiding in plain sight.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dragonfish-species-in-isolation">Dragonfish species in isolation</h2>



Living cut off for hundreds of thousands of years forces species to adapt in unique ways. In the case of Akarotaxis gouldae, the isolation beneath glaciers may have shaped not only its body but also its behaviors and genetic resilience.



Studying <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-species-of-deep-sea-squid-discovered-that-broods-giant-eggs/">species</a> like this helps scientists understand how evolution works over long timescales when environments are extreme and gene flow is limited. It also gives clues about how animals might respond to rapid environmental changes happening today.



To persist in water that hovers around 28 °F, notothenioid fishes such as A. gouldae make <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14515019/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">antifreeze glycoproteins</a>, tiny molecules that latch onto ice crystals and halt their growth.



Adults likely spend most of the year hundreds of feet down, yet come inshore to guard nests, a behavior documented in related dragonfishes, while their larvae drift near the surface, where food is richer but fishing gear lurks. 



Dissections reveal ovaries holding surprisingly few eggs, suggesting a slow‑growing population that cannot quickly rebound from losses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-peninsula-matters">Why the peninsula matters</h2>



All confirmed records of A. gouldae fall inside a roughly 250‑mile swath along the western Antarctic Peninsula, giving the fish one of the narrowest ranges of any Antarctic vertebrate. 



That strip is also among the fastest‑warming places south of the equator; Esperanza Station <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41612-023-00529-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">logged</a> an air temperature of 64.9 °F in 2020, part of a trend of record heat events that are increasing in frequency.



As the water warms and sea ice shrinks, prey dynamics shift. A 25‑year survey shows that larvae of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-03042-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Antarctic silverfish</a>, an important forage species for penguins and seals, drop sharply when sea ice duration falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-krill-nets-and-collateral-damage">Krill nets and collateral damage</h2>



Commercial vessels net <a href="https://www.ccamlr.org/en/fisheries/krill-fisheries" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">krill</a> throughout the Peninsula in mid‑water trawls that work from the surface to about 820 ft, directly overlapping the depths where larval dragonfish ride the currents.



“This limited range combined with their low reproductive capacity and the presence of early life stages in shallower waters suggests that this is a vulnerable <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-species-of-tiger-swallowtail-butterfly-discovered-in-the-u-s-had-gone-unnoticed-by-scientists/">species</a> that could be impacted by the krill fishery,” said Corso. 



Observers note that juvenile finfish bycatch is poorly documented; a few hundred missed larvae could erase a year‑class of banded dragonfish before scientists even know it existed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-honoring-a-ship-s-legacy">Honoring a ship's legacy</h2>



The species honors the research vessel <a href="https://www.usap.gov/vesselscienceandoperations/1626/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Laurence M. Gould</a>, retired in 2024 after decades ferrying scientists through treacherous seas. Its departure leaves only one U.S. supply ship to cover a coastline the size of the continental United States.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/penguin-poop-helps-form-clouds-that-could-slow-antarctic-warming/">Penguin colonies</a> already illustrate what slips through gaps in monitoring: satellite and drone surveys reveal that many chinstrap penguin rookeries around the Peninsula have fallen by more than 50 % since the 1980s.



Corso and colleagues hope the banded dragonfish will become a flagship for hidden Antarctic biodiversity, spurring tighter catch limits and fresh investment in field campaigns before climate and commerce push the deep‑sea relic past a tipping point.



The full study is published in <a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/52879" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zootaxa</a>.



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New dragonfish species discovered in Antarctica has survived in isolation for 780,000 years

A new species of dragonfish has surfaced from the chilly...

Reefs are usually pictured as underwater rainforests crammed with species, yet the planet’s first large animal‑built reefs tell a quieter story. New work on fossils from Nevada shows that early Cambrian seas looked nothing like the bustling coral gardens we know today.



Graduate researcher Casey Bennett of the <a href="https://missouri.edu/">University of Missouri</a> and colleagues spent weeks among dusty outcrops, chipping out blocks packed with shells no bigger than grains of sand.



The analysis reveals surprising patterns of life around those ancient <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-reef-awareness-day-2025-bringing-corals-back-to-life/">structures</a>, offering a fresh window onto evolution half a billion years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animal-reefs-spanned-ancient-nevada">Animal reefs spanned ancient Nevada</h2>



More than 514 million years ago, sponge‑like <a href="https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/porifera/archaeo.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archaeocyathids</a> built the planet's earliest animal <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3514525.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reefs</a> in shallow seas stretching from Siberia to what is now Nevada.



The Harkless Formation near modern Death Valley hosts dozens of these patch reefs, some only a few yards across yet stacked through hundreds of feet of limestone.



Packed between the stone cups of the sponges are fragments of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342184591_Small_shelly_fossils_and_carbon_isotopes_from_the_early_Cambrian_Stages_3-4_Mural_Formation_of_western_Laurentia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">small shelly fauna</a>, the quirky menagerie of early mineralized animals that heralded the Cambrian explosion. These fossils, most under a tenth of an inch long, include baby <a href="https://home.wgnhs.wisc.edu/wisconsin-geology/fossils/brachiopods/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">brachiopods</a>, snail‑like mollusks, and bristly <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016699524000214" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chancelloriids</a>.



Bennett’s team measured fossil assemblages in multiple vertical sections and compared them to the distance from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reefs-cant-survive-rising-sea-urchin-numbers/">reef</a> walls.



The researchers logged grain size and chemistry of nearby layers to study how sediment influenced fossil preservation. The approach marries classic field mapping with CT scanning that can spot skeletal bits hidden in uncut rock.



That toolbox let the team count tiny creatures that earlier surveys missed, pushing sample sizes into the thousands.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiny-fossils-trace-ancient-reefs">Tiny fossils trace ancient reefs</h2>



Small shelly fauna crop up worldwide in rocks dating to the first 25 million years after animals evolved skeletons, making them key markers for global correlation. 



Because many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-temperature-swings-boost-coral-reef-resilience/">species</a> lived fast and died young, their remains provide fine‑scale time stamps that help synchronize distant stratigraphic sections.



The specimens also capture evolutionary experiments that never made it into the later fossil record, such as slug‑like <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.1995.0029" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">halkieriids</a> that wore chain‑mail armor of overlapping plates. Linking these animals to specific habitats can explain why some lineages thrived while others fizzled.



Modern coral reefs often harbor dense banks of filter feeders and crustaceans whose larvae settle preferentially on hard walls. If early reefs played a similar ecological role, small shelly species should cluster close to archaeocyathid mounds. 



That prediction has floated in textbooks for decades but rested on scant quantitative data. Bennett’s dataset provided the first rigorous test at meter‑scale resolution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-reefs-didn-t-increase-nearby-species">Ancient reefs didn’t increase nearby species</h2>



“With modern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-coral-collapse-may-help-save-the-great-barrier-reef/">reefs</a>, biodiversity is expected to decrease as you move away from the reef structure due to reduced shelter and food access,” said Bennett. Yet her counts showed no clear pattern - some distant fossil layers were as species-poor as those near the mounds.



Instead, a few hardy taxa dominate whole <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336585971_Palaeoecology_of_the_archaeocyathan_reefs_from_the_lower_Cambrian_Harkless_Formation_southern_Nevada_western_United_States_and_carbon_isotopic_evidence_for_their_demise" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">layers</a>, suggesting that early oceans sorted communities by environmental filters rather than by proximity to the reef.



That pattern echoes observations from later Cambrian sections in Mongolia and Labrador, where reefs also failed to boost local diversity.



“Potentially, this happened by preferentially removing or keeping certain faunas, rather than the reef serving as a major food source for surrounding organisms,” added Assistant Professor Sarah Jacquet.



The remark points fingers at <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/hydrodynamics" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hydrodynamics</a> - the way water flow scours or blankets parts of the seafloor. Models show gentle currents around low-relief reefs can form eddies that trap shells or carry them away. Those physics could produce patchy fossil carpets without invoking biological competition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sediment-dictated-fossil-survival">Sediment dictated fossil survival</h2>



The team noticed that changes in <a href="https://nautiluslive.org/blog/2023/08/18/science-lithology-dating-seafloors-movements-over-time" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lithology</a>, whether the rock was a grainy packstone or a micritic mud-governed which shells survived. Coarse beds preserved robust hyoliths, while fine muds favored delicate sponge spicules.



Taphonomic quirks can therefore mask true ecological signals, a warning for paleontologists who chase diversity curves through deep time. By pairing sedimentology with fossil tallies, Bennett shows how to tease apart the preservational filter.



The study also strengthens a growing view that archaeocyath reefs were short‑lived “experiments” rather than foundational keystones. 



Similar conclusions emerged from carbon‑isotope <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/390526423_Small_shelly_fauna_biodiversity_from_reef-adjacent_facies_of_the_lower_Cambrian_Harkless_formation_Nevada" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> that tracked the rise and crash of reef communities through Cambrian Stage 4.



Those geochemical shifts hint that global changes in seawater chemistry, perhaps tied to oxygen pulses, played a bigger role than local reef architecture. If true, the early oceans were less a patchwork of hotspots and more a landscape ruled by large‑scale physical drivers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-reefs-warn-us-about-today">Ancient reefs warn us about today</h2>



Coral ecologists <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225405507_Rapid_phase-shift_reversal_on_a_Jamaican_coral_reef">note</a> that today’s reefs often act as biodiversity magnets, with fish and invertebrate richness peaking on the reef and falling away into open sand. But those gradients may depend on the vertical relief and nutrient flow that Cambrian reefs lacked.



Understanding that difference matters because climate change is flattening many living reefs, slicing away the very architecture that supports complex food webs. 



Ancient analogues show that low-relief carbonate banks can persist without the riot of life we associate with reefs. This hints at future ocean floors that remain structurally intact but are ecologically simplified.



“Just because we know how the world works today doesn’t mean it worked the same way back then,” noted Professor Jacquet. Recognizing that flex in nature’s playbook can help scientists design conservation targets that account for multiple evolutionary baselines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-show-reef-loss-risk">Fossils show reef loss risk</h2>



Bennett plans to sample neighboring formations to see whether diversity patterns change in deeper water or in reefs built by different <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-sponges-play-a-critical-role-in-the-ocean-and-they-are-rapidly-vanishing/">sponge</a> species. 



Coupling those data with fluid‑dynamic models could finally pin down how current speed and direction sculpted early animal neighborhoods.



The Nevada hills still hold miles of limestone from ancient animal reefs, awaiting fresh eyes and new technology. Every chip of shale reminds us that even the smallest fossils can rewrite big chapters in Earth history.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S003101822500207X?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology</a>.



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Ancient reefs were surprisingly empty compared to today

Reefs are usually pictured as underwater rainforests crammed with species,...

Diseño sin título - 1

The fossil of Ferruaspis brocksi lay unnoticed inside a small slab of rust‑colored rock from a newly discovered exceptional fossil site in central New South Wales, Australia until a curious researcher split the stone in early March. 



“It was a complete fluke,” exclaimed <a href="https://earthsciences.anu.edu.au/people/professor-jochen-j-brocks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Prof. Jochen Brocks</a> of the <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Australian National University</a> after realizing what he had found. 



That single break exposed a two‑inch fish so complete that even its stomach contents and color cells were still visible.



During the <a href="https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/tertiary/miocene.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Miocene epoch</a>, central New South Wales was covered by temperate rainforest and freshwater oxbow lakes rather than today’s dusty paddocks. 



The new species belongs to the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/49887-Osmeriformes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Osmeriformes order</a>, a group better known for modern graylings and smelts but never before recorded in Australia’s fossil record.



Researchers led by <a href="https://australian.museum/get-involved/staff-profiles/matthew-mccurry/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Matthew McCurry</a> at the Australian Museum and <a href="https://researchprofiles.canberra.edu.au/en/persons/michael-frese" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Michael Frese</a> at the University of Canberra compared dozens of specimens ranging from 2.1 to 3 inches long, confirming a healthy resident population rather than scattered migrants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rainforest-lake-that-turned-to-rust">Rainforest lake that turned to rust</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-like-rainbow-trout-suffer-extreme-pain-when-killed-by-air/">fish</a> and many plants and insects were entombed in <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Goethite" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">goethite</a>, an <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3866414/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">iron‑oxide</a> mineral that precipitated rapidly in the stagnant lake water. 



Iron’s ability to lock soft tissue in place is now recognized as a key factor in deep‑time preservation of cells and proteins. 



Geochemists <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825223000569" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">note</a> that goethite’s fine crystals can replicate sub‑micron features before decay destroys the originals, explaining why pigment cells survived here while bones often did not.



McGraths Flat is classed as a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/abs/konservatlagerstatten-cause-and-classification/40A5D354B2DB79EFB6D654BC77421A33" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Konservat‑Lagerstätte</a>, a sedimentary deposit famous for extraordinary detail, and its ferric layers sit just three feet below the surface near Gulgong. 



The discovery encourages field crews to re‑examine iron‑rich outcrops worldwide that were once dismissed as fossil‑poor.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-fossil-was-a-two-inch-hunter">Fish fossil was a two‑inch hunter</h2>



Under a scanning electron microscope, the team identified packed groups of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1819" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">melanosomes</a> that once sat inside pigment cells called melanophores. 



Their distribution shows a dark back, pale belly, and two lateral racing stripes, classic countershading that helps living fish blend into sunlit water.



“It pushed the boundaries of what can be preserved,” noted Dr. Frese. Similar spherical and rod‑shaped melanosomes had been recorded earlier in an Eocene fish eye from Denmark, providing a useful comparison for the Australian material. 



The stripes also hint at schooling behavior, because bold horizontal bands are common in small modern smelts that rely on group camouflage.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-a-final-snack-reveals">What a final snack reveals</h2>



Each fossil gut contained antennae from <a href="https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4319/lo.1990.35.7.1631" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chaoborus larvae</a>, better known as phantom midge young, along with fragments of insect wings and an occasional bivalve shell. 



Modern Chaoborus sink into mud by day and rise at night to avoid fish, a strategy documented in laboratory and field studies.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/fossilized-fish-15-million-years-ago-last-meal-intact-stomach_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/fossilized-fish-15-million-years-ago-last-meal-intact-stomach_1s.webp" alt="Chromatophores and melanosomes in F. brocksi. Light microscopy photographs (A–F, AM F.155048) and scanning electron micrographs (G–L, AM F.146748). A, overview image showing the distribution pattern of melanophores in the fish’s skin. B–F, melanophores in the flank and the anal fin showing variation in size, form, and color. G–I, melanosomes in melanophores in an area of skin near the pectoral fin; single melanophore (G); edge of a single melanophore (H); center of a single melanophore (I). J–L, melanosomes in retinal pigment epithelial cells of the eye. Dashed lines mark areas that are depicted at higher magnifications in other panels. Credit: Australian National University" class="wp-image-1974319"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Chromatophores and melanosomes in F. brocksi. Light microscopy photographs (A–F, AM F.155048) and scanning electron micrographs (G–L, AM F.146748). A, overview image showing the distribution pattern of melanophores in the fish’s skin. B–F, melanophores in the flank and the anal fin showing variation in size, form, and color. G–I, melanosomes in melanophores in an area of skin near the pectoral fin; single melanophore (G); edge of a single melanophore (H); center of a single melanophore (I). J–L, melanosomes in retinal pigment epithelial cells of the eye. Dashed lines mark areas that are depicted at higher magnifications in other panels. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Australian National University</figcaption></figure>



The heavy reliance on pelagic prey suggests F. brocksi hunted in open water after dusk rather than picking along the bottom. 



Because several size classes died together, scientists infer the lake provided year‑round habitat, unlike many living smelts that migrate between rivers and the sea.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-parasite-hitchhiker">A parasite hitchhiker</h2>



One specimen shows a juvenile freshwater mussel, or glochidium, clamped to its tail fin. This is the oldest direct <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-some-animals-become-fossils-while-others-just-disappear/">fossil record</a> of such parasitism and implies the lake was periodically connected to a river where adult unionid mussels spawned.



Another <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-fish-provide-climate-resilient-nutrition-for-a-warming-world/">fish</a> swallowed a similar mussel, meaning it likely ventured near the river mouth shortly before dying. 



These clues help reconstruct seasonal flooding patterns in Miocene Australia without relying solely on sedimentology.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-iron-fish-fossils-matter">Why iron fish fossils matter</h2>



Palaeontologist <a href="https://staffportal.curtin.edu.au/staff/profile/view/kate-trinajstic-f0dcf6b1/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kate Trinajstic</a>, Curtin University, observed that iron deposits “open up a new area for people to investigate.” 



Her point is underscored by experimental decay work showing that early iron infiltration can arrest bacterial breakdown within days.



Goethite <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-euarthropod-youti-yuanshi-lived-520-million-years-ago-insect-evolution/">fossils</a> therefore extend the window for studying fragile tissues like eyes, muscles, and even viral particles that normally vanish. 



They also capture ecological interactions, predation, parasitism, pigmentation, that skeletons alone cannot.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-australia-s-fossil-record">Rethinking Australia's fossil record</h2>



The discovery of Ferruaspis brocksi challenges the long-held notion that Australia’s freshwater fish fossil record is too sparse for meaningful evolutionary study. 



Until now, no complete body fossils of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/osmeriformes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Osmeriformes</a> had been found on the continent, leaving major gaps in understanding their arrival and development.



With dozens of specimens at a single site, paleontologists now have a rare opportunity to study not just anatomy, but behavior, ecology, and population structure. 



This level of detail is nearly unheard of in Miocene freshwater <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-are-quietly-battling-climate-change-on-the-seabed/">fish</a> fossils from the Southern Hemisphere.



The team’s phylogenetic analysis places F. brocksi near the base of the southern Osmeriformes radiation, pushing the group’s Australian arrival to at least 15 million years ago. 



That timeline aligns with molecular studies indicating a mid‑Miocene split between Australian and New Zealand graylings. Fieldwork will resume next dry season, targeting deeper layers that may hold older relatives or their predators.&nbsp;



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2024.2445684" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</a>.



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Fossilized fish that lived 15 million years ago still has preserved food in its stomach

The fossil of Ferruaspis brocksi lay unnoticed inside a small...

Mammals usually avoid sour flavors, but a robin can devour berries so tart they would make most of us pucker in pain. How do birds pull off this dietary feat?



A new study answers the riddle by showing that evolution has rewired birds' sour-taste machinery. 



The discovery not only reveals why avian diners relish fruits with pH values as low as lemon juice, it also hints that a molecular tweak in taste may have opened new ecological doors during <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-evolution-timeline-pushed-back-20-million-years-by-baminornis-zhenghensis-discovery/">bird evolution</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-sour-switch-in-birds">The sour switch in birds</h2>



To decode avian acid tolerance, scientists at the <a href="http://english.kiz.cas.cn/">Kunming Institute of Zoology</a>, the <a href="https://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>, and the <a href="https://www.bi.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence</a> focused on OTOP1. It is the only known vertebrate receptor that detects <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-surprising-amount-of-adults-like-intensely-sour-flavors/">sour flavors</a>.



In mammals - including people - OTOP1 channels fire vigorously when acidity rises, sending a sharp warning to the brain. 



In many birds, however, OTOP1 does the opposite: as the surrounding fluid turns more acidic, the channel shuts down. With the bitter alarm silenced, beaks keep munching.



The team began by cataloging bird feeding habits across Asia, Europe, and South America. The data confirmed that many songbirds, pigeons, and parrots thrive on fruits whose pH dips below 3 - a level similar to vinegar.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genes-that-change-taste">Genes that change taste</h2>



Genetic sequencing of their taste receptors revealed a cluster of four amino acid changes - H239, L306, H314, and G378 - that alter how the OTOP1 protein behaves under acid stress.



Functional tests delivered the clincher. When researchers used <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crispr-used-to-remove-extra-chromosomes-in-down-syndrome-and-restore-cell-function/">CRISPR</a> to edit these mutations into the OTOP1 gene of laboratory mice, the rodents’ brain cells fired far less in response to sour liquids.



Conversely, when they blocked OTOP1 in pigeons and canaries with a targeted inhibitor, the birds promptly abandoned their usual acidic fare. The receptor is therefore both necessary and sufficient for avian acid tolerance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sour-and-sweet-together">Sour and sweet together</h2>



Tracing the family tree of OTOP1 revealed another twist. The last of the four mutations - G378 - arose only in songbirds, a lineage that today accounts for nearly half of all living bird species.



The timing is suggestive. Earlier work had shown that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-benefit-from-social-networks-during-migration/">songbirds</a> also gained a sweet-taste receptor not found in most other birds. 



The new study raises the possibility that upgrades in both sour suppression and sweet perception co-evolved, enabling ancestral songbirds to exploit nectar and acidic fruit simultaneously. That ecological flexibility might help explain the group’s modern success.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-impacts-from-taste">Big impacts from taste</h2>



Why should anyone beyond ornithology circles care about a bird’s taste tolerance? For one, the findings illuminate how sensory systems evolve under dietary pressures.



Sour taste originally signaled unsafe or unripe food. Turning that alarm off required a molecular workaround - achieved with just a handful of amino acid swaps. This shows how rapidly chemosensory genes can reshape animal behavior and niche use.



There are broader ecosystem implications too. Birds that devour harshly acidic fruits are pivotal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-play-a-much-bigger-role-in-seed-dispersal-than-we-thought/">seed dispersers</a> in many tropical forests. Birds ability to stomach such fare ensures that plant species with defensive sour pulp still find willing couriers.



Understanding the molecular roots of that partnership refines predictions about how changing climates or fruit chemistry could cascade through food webs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-blueprint-for-taste">A blueprint for taste</h2>



The study also provides a roadmap for probing taste evolution in other animals. Similar OTOP1 edits might help explain why some primates relish citrus while others avoid it, or why certain fish tolerate acidic streams. 



Meanwhile, the CRISPR-mouse model offers a living platform to test how sour aversion shapes diet, metabolism, and health.



For agricultural science, the insights could guide breeding of poultry or songbird populations used in pest control, tailoring feed formulations to their altered taste sensitivities. 



Plant biologists might likewise engineer fruit acidity to attract or deter specific avian consumers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-taste-and-bird-evolution">Taste and bird evolution</h2>



Birds captivated biologists with their songs, colors, and aerial exploits. Now, thanks to a little proton-gated channel in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/electronic-tongue-could-revolutionize-food-safety/">tongue</a>, they have added another evolutionary marvel: an internal dial that mutes the sting of acid.



Researchers found that tweaks to sour taste may have co-evolved with sweetness, reshaping how birds sense and seek food. Together, these changes helped propel birds into ecological niches overflowing with nectar and tangy fruit.



The work highlights a recurring theme in evolutionary biology: subtle molecular changes can yield sweeping macro-scale outcomes. 



A quartet of amino acid substitutions may sound trivial, yet it probably influenced what early songbirds ate, where they migrated, and how they diversified.



The next time you watch a thrush gulp down a crabapple or a tanager feast on still-green berries, remember their dauntless palate is the legacy of eons of microscopic tinkering. That subtle adaptation continues to shape forests and fields around the globe.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adr7946">Science</a>.



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Why birds have an unusual appetite for sour foods

Mammals usually avoid sour flavors, but a robin can devour...

Striped,Frogfish,Antennarius,Striatus,Indonesia

The hairy frogfish looks more like a tuft of drifting seaweed than a hunter. Yet beneath the mop of filaments sits an anglerfish that can inhale prey faster than most cameras can blink.



Marine ecologist Dr. Maarten De Brauwer of <a href="https://research.csiro.au/environomics/our-people/early-career-researchers-separate-bios/dr-maarten-brauwer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Curtin University</a> first noticed that the fish’s lure shines neon orange under blue light, while the rest of the body stays dull. 



His team’s 2016 field <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-016-1493-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">survey</a> on Philippine reefs linked that glow to free‑swimming worms that share the same color and size.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hairy-frogfish-hides-by-copying-reef-textures">Hairy frogfish hides by copying reef textures</h2>



The hairy frogfish belongs to the anglerfish <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frogfish-lure-their-prey-with-a-built-in-fishing-rod-and-bait/">family</a>, but instead of lurking in the deep it prowls coral rubble in tropical shallows. 



A coat of branching spinules lets it copy the texture of algae, sponge, or coral until the head seems to vanish into the seafloor.



Individuals can swap pattern and shade within weeks, shifting from lemon yellow to mottled black as sediment, light, and growth change around them. 



That rapid makeover is a textbook example of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022519323002801" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Batesian mimicry</a>, a tactic where harmless looks discourage predators while inviting unsuspecting prey.



Sight alone does not give the trick away, because even the fish’s eyes carry radiating stripes that obscure the pupil. 



Only the stubby “arm” formed by the first dorsal spine, called the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/illicium-zoology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">illicium</a>, rises above the camouflage like a tiny fishing pole.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-glowing-lure-helps-the-hairy-frogfish">How the glowing lure helps the hairy frogfish</h2>



“These observations indicate a novel function, prey capture, for biofluorescence in coral reef fishes,” wrote De Brauwer. 



Under daylight the illicium ends in a dull worm‑shaped tassel, but blue‑filtered lamps reveal intense <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-59528-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biofluorescence</a> that converts blue light to orange. 



The idea fits a wider pattern, because a survey of 180 fish species found <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0083259" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">glowing pigments</a> clustered in cryptic reef lineages. 



<a href="https://www.amnh.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Museum of Natural History</a> ichthyologist <a href="https://www.amnh.org/research/staff-directory/john-s-sparks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. John Sparks</a> noted that “biofluorescence is especially common and morphologically variable in cryptically patterned coral‑reef lineages,” hinting at communication or hunting value.



By matching the fluorescent worms that drift over sandy bottoms at night, the lure likely acts as a living decoy. 



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sea-anglerfish-defy-evolutionary-expectations/">fish</a> twitches the tip in arcs and pulses that copy the jellied plankton’s swim, drawing curious gobies and cardinalfish within lunging range.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fastest-strikes-on-record">Fastest strikes on record</h2>



Once a victim lines up, the mouth opens twelve times wider than its resting size, pulling in water and prey through rapid <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/striated-frogfish/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suction feeding</a>. 



High‑speed videos have timed the attack at just six milliseconds, making the frogfish one of the quickest predators recorded.



That burst happens because elastic ligaments around the jaw store energy while the fish crouches. Releasing the latch snaps the head forward, creating a pressure wave that drags prey inward before the target knows it moved. 



The stomach then stretches like a balloon, letting a four‑inch frogfish swallow a meal almost twice its own length. Mouth, stomach, and even gill covers reset within minutes, ready for the next ambush without swimming far.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hairy-frogfish-lives-without-swimming">Hairy frogfish lives without swimming</h2>



Frogfish seldom swim, preferring a slow shuffle powered by limb‑like pectoral and pelvic fins. The gait looks clumsy, yet it lets the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-frog-day-2025-protecting-natures-tiny-guardians/">animal</a> creep through branching corals or over sponges without stirring mud.



<a href="https://fishbase.se/summary/Antennarius-striatus.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FishBase</a> records show the species from New Jersey to Brazil and across the Indo‑Pacific, at depths ranging from tide pools to 720 feet. 



Most adults settle below 100 feet where wave surge is gentle, but juveniles often lurk among shore grass beds that teem with shrimp.



Males change color during courtship, trailing females to the surface where a buoyant ribbon of up to 288,000 eggs drifts free. Larvae hatch in open water and later drop to the bottom, beginning the camouflage dance anew.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-findings-mean">What the findings mean</h2>



“Aggressive mimicry allows a predator to masquerade as something harmless to approach prey,” wrote marine zoologist <a href="https://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/44.3/299.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John E. Randall</a>. Aggressive mimicry, where a predator disguises itself as the prey’s food, shows up in a handful of reef hunters.&nbsp;



The fluorescent lure adds a light signal to that illusion, effective only for animals with visual pigments tuned to blue and green. Future lab tests will measure how often fish reject non‑fluorescent lures compared with glowing ones, refining ideas about sensory ecology.



Understanding these cues may also improve non‑invasive survey methods that use fluorescence to spot cryptic species on night dives. Conservation teams already trial blue‑light transects to count seahorses and pipefish that vanish under white lamps.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-to-protect-hairy-frogfish">How to protect hairy frogfish</h2>



Antennarius striatus sits on the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/16406979/115354869#assessment-information" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IUCN list</a> as “Least Concern,” but habitat loss threatens local populations on polluted coasts. 



Collectors sometimes trawl adults for the aquarium trade, yet demand remains modest compared with bright reef staples like clownfish.



Protecting rubble fields and sea‑grass beds will likely benefit the frogfish alongside countless small invertebrates. Marine parks can also restrict night fishing with lights that might interfere with fluorescent signaling.



Citizen scientists armed with blue torches contribute valuable sightings through photo databases. Each image builds a map of occurrence, molt timing, and lure color that researchers can mine for long‑term trends.



The study is published in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-016-1493-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coral Reefs</a>.



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"Hairy frogfish" walk on the seafloor and use lures to catch dinner

The hairy frogfish looks more like a tuft of drifting...

In 1859, Darwin proposed that evolution worked slowly - even for creatures like the worm. Tiny changes, stacked over time, led species to gradually become something new.



But even he had to admit the fossil record didn’t back that up. It was missing too many pieces - too many “in-between” species. He chalked it up to a broken archive: most of the story was lost.



Then, in 1972, scientists Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge made a bold claim. Maybe <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopuses-and-squids-defy-the-slow-pace-of-evolution/">species don’t evolve slowly</a> at all. Maybe they stay mostly the same for millions of years, and then - bang - something dramatic happens.



This idea, called “punctuated equilibrium,” could explain why so many transitional fossils are missing. But decades later, scientists still argue about whether it’s the rule or just a rare exception.



Now, researchers at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) - a joint center between the <a href="https://www.csic.es/en/csic">Spanish National Research Council</a> (CSIC) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) - have found compelling genomic evidence that supports the “bang” theory of evolution. And the evidence comes from a very unexpected place: worms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-worms-and-evolution-s-missing-chapter">Worms and evolution's missing chapter</h2>



The team sequenced, for the first time, high-quality genomes of several earthworm species. They compared these to the genomes of other annelids like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/first-proof-of-leeches-jumping-captured-on-video/">leeches</a> and bristle worms. 



The work was painstaking - done at a level of detail usually reserved for human genome studies. And it filled a major gap. Until now, scientists lacked complete genomes for many invertebrates, which made it hard to study evolution at the chromosomal level.



That changed with this study. The new genomes allowed the researchers to look back more than 200 million years.



Rosa Fernández is the lead researcher of the IBE’s Metazoa Phylogenomics and Genome Evolution Lab.



“This is an essential episode in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/breakthrough-discoveries-about-the-evolution-of-life-on-land/">evolution of life</a> on our planet, given that many species, such as worms and vertebrates, which had been living in the ocean, now ventured onto land for the first time,” she said. What the team found was not slow, steady change. It was upheaval.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-worms-that-broke-all-the-rules">Worms that broke all the rules</h2>



The worm genomes didn’t just shift gradually, as traditional Neo-Darwinian models would expect. They shattered. Then they reassembled in totally new ways.



“The enormous reorganization of the genomes we observed in the worms as they moved from the ocean to land cannot be explained with the parsimonious mechanism Darwin proposed; our observations chime much more with Gould and Eldredge’s theory of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crocodiles-have-not-changed-much-in-200-million-years/">punctuated equilibrium</a>,” Fernández said.



In simple terms: these marine worms broke their DNA into pieces, stitched it back together in a new order, and kept going. It wasn’t just odd - it was unheard of.



Across most species, including sponges, corals, and mammals, genomic structure tends to stay surprisingly stable. This was something else entirely.



“The entire genome of the marine worms was broken down and then reorganized in a completely random way, in a very short period on the evolutionary scale,” said Fernández. “I made my team repeat the analysis again and again, because I just couldn’t believe it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surviving-dna-chaos">Surviving DNA chaos</h2>



Normally, that kind of chaos would spell extinction. But in this case, the worms didn’t just survive. They adapted. 



The research team found that annelid genomes are much more structurally flexible than those of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/over-half-of-the-worlds-vertebrates-reside-in-the-tropics/">vertebrates</a>. That flexibility could allow genes in different parts of the genome to change positions without losing function.



The shift to land was a massive environmental change. Suddenly, these animals had to breathe air, deal with sunlight, and navigate new terrains. The genomic rewiring may have helped them adapt quickly by creating new gene combinations.



“You could think that this chaos would mean the lineage would die out, but it’s possible that some species’ evolutionary success is based on that superpower,” said Fernández.



The study suggests that some genes didn’t just move - they fused with others. These new “genetic chimeras” may have played a role in helping the worms handle life on land.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-isn-t-orderly-for-worms">Evolution isn’t orderly for worms</h2>



This finding also raises a bigger question: is genome stability really all that important?



“It seems from this study that conserving the genomic structure at the linear level - i.e., where the genes are more or less in the same place in different species - may not be as essential as had been thought,” said Fernández. 



“In fact, stability could be the exception and not the rule in animals, which could benefit from a more fluid genome.”



That idea has serious implications. In humans, similar genomic breakdowns are seen in cancer. There’s even a term for it: chromoanagenesis. It refers to catastrophic chromosome reorganization in cancer cells. The difference? In humans, it's a disease. In these worms, it was a survival strategy.



The comparison could open up new ways to study how genomes work - and how they break.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dna-evidence-challenges-darwin">DNA evidence challenges Darwin</h2>



The debate between slow change and sudden leaps isn’t settled. But this study adds strong support for the idea that both models might be right, depending on the circumstances.



“Both visions, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/charles-darwins-complete-research-library-published-for-the-first-time/">Darwin’s</a> and Gould’s, are compatible and complementary," Fernández said. "While Neo-Darwinism can explain the evolution of populations perfectly, it has not yet been able to explain some exceptional and crucial episodes in the history of life on Earth."



"Those events included such as the initial explosion of animal life in the oceans over 500 million years ago, or the transition from the sea to land 200 million years ago in the case of earthworms. This is where the punctuated equilibrium theory could offer some answers.”



And this might just be the beginning. There are thousands of invertebrate species we know almost nothing about. Their genomes may hold more surprises - and more exceptions to the rules we thought we understood.



“There is a great diversity we know nothing about, hidden in the invertebrates, and studying them could bring new discoveries about the diversity and plasticity of genomic organization, and challenge dogmas on how we think genomes are organized,” Fernández concluded.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02728-1">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.



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Earthworm DNA is changing how we understand evolution, possibly proving Darwin wrong

In 1859, Darwin proposed that evolution worked slowly - even...

Bluebottles - also known as Portuguese man o’ war - are jellyfish-like marine creatures with long, stinging tentacles that often wash up on beaches. It's been widely assumed that bluebottles all belong to a single species, but a new global genetic survey has revealed otherwise.



Dr. Samuel H. Church of <a href="https://www.yale.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yale University</a> coordinated the genome work with Australian colleagues, including Professor Kylie Pitt from Griffith University. Their findings overturn two centuries of scientific classification.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-four-species-of-bluebottles">Four species of bluebottles</h2>



The team sorted the <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/portuguese-man-o-war.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">specimens</a> into Physalia physalis, P. utriculus, P. megalista, and a newly named Physalia minuta, the last discovered in waters south of New Zealand. Each species carries distinctive sail colors and float shapes - traits once dismissed as harmless variation.



Genetic markers show the four <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-jellyfish-day-2024-protecting-the-health-of-our-oceans/">lineages</a> do not interbreed, even when they occupy the same stretch of ocean. This pattern means evolution is at work in the open sea, not only along coastlines or around islands.



“We were shocked, because we assumed they were all the same species,” said Professor Pitt. Her remark echoes a long‑held textbook view now overturned.



Every colony is a <a href="https://twilightzone.whoi.edu/explore-the-otz/creature-features/siphonophore/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">siphonophore</a> - a floating commune of genetically identical zooids that act as one animal. The arrangement lets a bluebottle grow long feeding tentacles while the gas‑filled float keeps the colony at the surface, a lifestyle that defines the <a href="https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/neuston-in-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-and-the-impact-of-cleanup/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">neuston</a> layer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-differences-go-beyond-appearance">Differences go beyond appearance</h2>



Raw genomes alone rarely hint at an animal’s appearance, so the researchers combed through 4,000 beach photographs. Color signatures and sail angles in the pictures matched the genetic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-phantom-jelly-discovered-exposed-ecosystem-under-antarctic-iceberg/">lineages</a> one by one.



Citizen scientists had, in effect, been taking field notes for years without knowing it. Their uploads supplied location data that helped map where each species turns up during different wind seasons. 



Machine‑learning tools flagged subtle differences, such as a deep‑purple crest on P. megalista or the small, clear float on P. minuta. Laboratory vouchers later verified those traits under a microscope.



The public photo trove also clarified left‑handed versus right‑handed sails, a feature that decides which way a bluebottle is blown. Such handedness now appears tied to species identity rather than simple developmental chance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ocean-currents-separate-bluebottle-species">Ocean currents separate bluebottle species</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jellyfish-more-than-just-a-snack-for-predatory-fish/">Ocean</a> circulation models recreated likely drift paths from hatchling to adult, revealing corridors that keep populations apart. Prevailing winds in the Pacific sweep P. utriculus west toward Australia, while the South Equatorial Current loops P. megalista into the Atlantic.&nbsp;



The new species, P. minuta, hugs eddies of the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924796319300259" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tasman Front</a>, a route that spirals larvae southward before they ever cross open ocean. Because gonads detach and sink below the surface to spawn, deep water layers also partition gene flow.



Subtle climate shifts could shuffle these corridors and mix the species in the future, but for now the lines stay crisp. That stability gives evolutionary forces room to sculpt body size, venom genes, and reproductive timing without interference. 



The finding challenges a common idea that wind‑powered drifters form one gigantic, well‑mixed population. Instead, even a creature built for travel can remain genetically provincial.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bluebottle-stings-vary-by-species">Bluebottle stings vary by species</h2>



<a href="https://sls.com.au/bluebottlewatch-a-new-research-project-to-develop-a-bluebottle-prediction-tool-for-our-beaches/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Surf Life Saving Australia</a> ranks bluebottle contact as a leading reason for first‑aid calls, spurring a research grant to build a beach sting forecast. 



Knowing which species is likely to arrive could sharpen those alerts, because tentacle length and venom chemistry differ among the four.



During the summer of 2017, more than <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-01/bluebottle-stings-up-900-per-cent-in-queensland/8313970" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">38,000 people</a> were treated for bluebottle stings in Queensland alone - a spike of 900 percent over the prior season. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forecasting-bluebottle-seasons">Forecasting bluebottle seasons</h2>



Public health planners can now add species identity to their toolbox instead of relying on wind direction alone.



Lighter winds often carry the smaller P. minuta onto sheltered south‑facing bays, where novice swimmers gather. 



Lifeguards armed with species‑level forecasts might adjust patrols or signage accordingly. Thermal anomalies that favor jellyfish blooms may not boost every bluebottle equally, given their genetic split.



Future sting seasons could therefore hinge on which lineage catches the breeze rather than on sheer water temperature.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-population-structure-in-the-ocean">Hidden population structure in the ocean </h2>



The bluebottle story joins other case studies of copepods and pteropods that show hidden population structure in the high seas. 



Collectively, these results overturn the old axiom that “everything is everywhere” once an organism can drift. Marine cleanup projects often claim surface life is sparse, implying little ecological risk when skimming plastics. 



Evidence of partitioned diversity urges far more caution before nets sweep across convergence zones.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-implications-of-the-research">Broader implications of the research </h2>



Pharmaceutical scouts have isolated novel peptide toxins from P. physalis, but untapped species may hold different compounds with medical promise. A four‑species framework sets a clearer path for bioprospecting teams.&nbsp;



Climate models aiming to forecast <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-robots-are-exploring-the-oceans-role-in-climate-control/">oceanic carbon</a> cycling need accurate species counts because each colony’s buoyant gas is nearly 13 percent carbon monoxide. Four distinct production rates could alter estimates of gas exchange at the air–sea interface.



Researchers who track long‑range migrants, from sea turtles to seabirds, can now refine diet studies. Predator scat may tell which bluebottle species dominates a given flyway, adding another layer to ecosystem maps.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-toxin-genes-in-bluebottle-species">Toxin genes in bluebottle species </h2>



Work is already under way to test whether the four lineages differ in toxin genes, an angle that could explain regional differences in sting severity. 



Another puzzle lies in the handedness trait, which might be hardwired by alleles rather than molded by early winds.



Field biologists plan to tag floats with tiny temperature loggers to see how much time each species spends in sun‑baked surface water. Results should reveal whether thermal tolerance helped split the lineages in the first place.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(25)00682-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



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Scientists were shocked to find that bluebottles are not one species

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