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

A four week voyage across the North Atlantic has uncovered a pollutant so small that standard nets could never snag it. Researchers found that plastic particles under one micrometer, known as nanoplastics, saturate ocean water from the Azores to Europe.



When the team scaled their measurements up, they calculated roughly <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09218-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">twenty seven million tons</a> of these specks floating in the top 650 feet of the North Atlantic, rivaling every estimate of larger debris for the entire world <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-plastic-crisis-goes-way-deeper-than-we-thought/">ocean</a>.



This estimate comes from geochemist Helge Niemann of the <a href="https://www.nioz.nl/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research</a> and <a href="https://www.uu.nl/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Utrecht University</a>, who worked with graduate student Sophie ten Hietbrink aboard the research vessel RV Pelagia.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-detecting-invisible-plastic-particles">Detecting invisible plastic particles</h2>



Ten Hietbrink drew two‑liter samples at twelve stations, collecting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-environment-day-2025-plastic-pollution-is-choking-our-planet/">water</a> from the surface, 3,300 feet, and near the seabed. She passed each sample through filters finer than a red blood cell.



Back in the Utrecht lab, the residue was baked inside a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer, a device that fingerprints polymers by the gases they release. “By drying and heating the remaining material, we were able to measure the characteristic molecules of different types of plastics,” noted Ten Hietbrink.



The approach allowed the crew to log <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/polyethylene-terephthalate" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polyethylene terephthalate</a>, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride even at 15,000‑foot depths. Every vial, no matter its origin, contained plastic.



Because the mass spectrometer ignores <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-algorithms-can-increase-ocean-plastic-cleanup-efficiency/">pieces</a> above one micrometer, the expedition focused exclusively on bits far smaller than conventional <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microplastic</a>, the fragments between one micrometer and five millimeters often photographed on beaches.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shocking-amount-of-ocean-plastic">Shocking amount of ocean plastic</h2>



When the numbers from each station were extended across latitudes eight to fifty-five degrees north, the tally reached masses never before assigned to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coca-cola-may-dump-1-3b-pounds-plastic-into-oceans-by-2030/">plastic</a> pollution. The final figure equals the combined cargo of almost 2,000 container ships.



Niemann described the result as a shocking amount and explained that it finally answers the puzzle of missing plastic that production statistics could not account for.



“There is more plastic in the form of nanoparticles floating in this part of the ocean than there is in larger particles floating in the Atlantic or even all the world's oceans,” said Niemann.



The data also reshape the popular image of ocean garbage patches. Nets that trap bottle caps and food wrappers sample only a thin veneer; the bulk of the load is invisible and dispersed.



Within the <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/gyre.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">North Atlantic subtropical gyre</a>, currents corral microplastics at the surface, yet the researchers found the highest nanoplastic concentrations closer to the European shelf, hinting at strong land-based sources.



The nanoplastic concentration dropped by roughly one half at 3,300 feet, and fell to about a third of surface levels near the seabed - yet plastic still appeared at every depth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nanoplastics-harm-animals-and-humans">Nanoplastics harm animals and humans</h2>



Laboratory and clinical <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022001258" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> show that particles smaller than a micrometer can slip past the intestinal lining and enter the bloodstream, where they appear in human blood samples.



Once circulating, they can also cross the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35302003/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blood‑brain barrier</a>, ferrying other contaminants into nervous tissue - as demonstrated in mice.



Marine life confronts the same risk. Bacteria may mistake nanoplastics for food, zooplankton ingest them, and the particles ascend the food web to fish and seabirds.



A recent <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30861380/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">meta‑analysis</a> concludes that smaller pieces accumulate more readily than larger debris and may trigger oxidative stress in cells.



Field experiments in the Mediterranean have linked nanoplastic exposure to reduced filtration rates in farmed <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37379876/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filter feeder mussels</a>, a sector worth more than $4 billion to coastal economies.



Economic losses could rise if shellfish accumulate particles that lower growth or market appeal, adding a financial dimension to what was once viewed solely as an environmental issue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-the-fragments-come-from">Where the fragments come from</h2>



Sunlight bleaches and cracks larger items at the surface, eventually grinding them into nanoscale dust. River mouths add steady plumes of city trash each day.



The air itself delivers particles. Atmosphere monitors detect plastic aerosols over both continents and oceans, which settle by rainfall or dry deposition.



Once in seawater, nanoplastics no longer obey buoyancy rules. Their motion is governed by <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11905425/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brownian motion</a>, letting them drift vertically and reach depths where light never penetrates.



Sediment cores from the deep <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10919090/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">North Pacific</a> and equatorial trenches already hold threads of polyester and shards of polyvinyl chloride, proving that tiny plastics sink or hitchhike on marine snow to the seabed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-types-of-ocean-plastic-still-unclear">Types of ocean plastic still unclear</h2>



Curiously, the expedition detected no nanoparticles of polyethylene or polypropylene, the two polymers that dominate surface trash. Niemann suspects chemical weathering may hide their fingerprints, or the fragments may degrade faster than they form.



Future cruises will test other oceans and refine techniques to reveal modified polymers, because the Atlantic is unlikely to be unique.



Researchers also need time‑series records to track whether nanoplastic levels continue climbing or have reached a plateau.



Equally urgent is understanding how mixtures of plastic and natural organic matter interact, potentially altering toxicity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-choosing-prevention-over-cleanup">Choosing prevention over cleanup</h2>



Niemann stresses that the particles already adrift are beyond recovery; their size makes skimming devices useless. The logical path is to curb new emissions.



Several countries now restrict the use of microbeads in cosmetics and plan to phase out certain single‑use items, yet production of virgin plastic keeps rising faster than recycling capacity.



Standardized monitoring that includes nanoscale particles would give policymakers a clearer target and let them judge whether interventions are working.



Citizen science beach cleanups, while unable to net nanoparticles, still remove items that would otherwise weather into new fragments, providing a frontline defense against future invisible pollution.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09218-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Nanoplastic particles have infiltrated the ocean's food web at the most important levels

A four week voyage across the North Atlantic has uncovered...

Humans generated about 485 billion pounds of plastic waste in 2024 - an amount so large it's incredibly difficult to comprehend. One quick drink or single shipment box often lingers for centuries, so researchers keep hunting for materials that disappear safely after use. 



Now <a href="https://www.me.uh.edu/faculty/rahman-maksud" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Maksud Rahman</a>, a mechanical engineer at the <a href="https://www.uh.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Houston</a>, and collaborators at <a href="https://www.rice.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rice University</a> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60242-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> bacterial cellulose sheets that rival <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-material-could-make-computers-1000-times-faster/">metal</a> for strength yet compost like paper.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-bacterial-cellulose-sheet-is-useful">Why bacterial cellulose sheet is useful</h2>



This <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/biopolymer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biopolymer</a> is spun outside the cell wall of species such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Info&amp;id=436" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Novacetimonas hansenii</a>, forming ribbons only a few nanometers thick that lock together like Velcro and can reach <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/tensile-strength" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tensile strength</a> values above 400 MPa.



Because the fiber network is pure, porous, and matches human tissue chemistry, clinicians already <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9963514/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">test</a> it as a transparent wound covering that eases pain and speeds healing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-microbes-build-strong-sheets">Microbes build strong sheets</h2>



“We envision these strong, multifunctional and eco‑friendly bacterial cellulose sheets becoming ubiquitous, replacing plastics in various <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-create-a-two-dimensional-carbon-material-eight-times-stronger-than-graphene/">industries</a> and helping mitigate environmental damage,” said Rahman.



Guided by a slow, continuous spin inside an oxygen‑permeable cylinder, the bacteria swim in one direction and lay each thread side‑by‑side, turning random mats into ordered cables that reach 436 MPa and a 32 GPa modulus.



“The resulting bacterial cellulose sheets display high tensile strength, flexibility, foldability, optical transparency, and long‑term mechanical stability,” noted doctoral researcher <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Emevh2EAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">M.A.S.R. Saadi</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-boosting-bacterial-cellulose-sheet">Boosting bacterial cellulose sheet</h2>



The team then mixed in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41699-021-00231-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hexagonal boron nitride</a> flakes, a 2‑D material whose <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/youngs-modulus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Young’s modulus</a> hovers near 0.8 TPa and whose <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/thermal-conductivity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">thermal conductivity</a> can exceed 700 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹.



With the flakes wedged between cellulose ribbons, strength jumped to 553 MPa while heat dissipated three times faster, leading Rahman to call the single‑step process “a scalable, flexible biosynthesis method with various nanomaterials.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-uses-of-bacterial-sheet-in-real-life">Uses of bacterial sheet in real life</h2>



A sheet this tough could fold into a disposable water bottle, line a shipping pouch, or reinforce fiber‑based electronics without shedding microplastic shards.



Biomedical companies eye the same platform for burn dressings and tissue scaffolds, since bacterial cellulose absorbs fluid yet releases it slowly enough to keep wounds moist.



Petroleum‑based plastics <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021020211" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">persist</a> precisely because their carbon backbone resists microbial attack, whereas cellulose breaks down under ordinary composting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/graphene-wonder-material-changing-the-world-is-officially-declared-safe-for-humans/">conditions</a> and spares the atmosphere extra fossil‑derived CO₂.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-holding-up-over-time">Holding up over time</h2>



Yield now sits around 7.5 mg day⁻¹ in a lab reactor; industrial drums must multiply that figure without tilting the delicate oxygen balance the microbes require.



Boron nitride adds cost and mining footprints, so engineers will test other mineral plates or even plant‑derived nanofibers that could supply similar stiffness at lower price.



Durability testing showed the rotational <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/bacterial-cellulose" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bacterial cellulose</a> sheets maintained their shape and strength even after 10,000 mechanical loading cycles. 



Under stress conditions simulating real-world fatigue, their structure stayed intact with no visible fractures or surface separation.



The material’s response to repeated tension suggests it could handle long-term use in flexible electronics, medical devices, or lightweight load-bearing applications where both elasticity and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-ai-designed-material-is-light-as-foam-tough-as-steel/">toughness</a> are essential.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mixing-in-other-materials-for-new-traits">Mixing in other materials for new traits</h2>



The team used <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41699-021-00231-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">boron nitride nanosheets</a> to enhance strength and thermal conductivity, but the same setup could accept other additives. 



Materials like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/graphene-wonder-material-changing-the-world-is-officially-declared-safe-for-humans/">graphene oxide</a>, cellulose nanocrystals, or clay nanosheets might bring conductivity, flame resistance, or moisture control depending on the use case.



Because the bacteria spin cellulose in real time, the added particles get embedded directly into the fiber network. 



This lets researchers customize each sheet’s behavior during growth, rather than requiring extra manufacturing steps after production.



Life‑cycle assessments, regulatory scrutiny, and consumer perception studies still lie ahead, yet the flow‑guided approach hints at a future where packaging strength no longer means permanent pollution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-to-scale-bacterial-sheet-production">How to scale bacterial sheet production</h2>



Right now, the setup uses a <a href="https://suigenerisbrewing.com/index.php/2024/06/14/diy-culture-rotator/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">custom-built rotational culture device</a> that spins at 60 rpm and yields about 7.5 mg of dry material per day. 



That works for lab testing, but industrial applications will need much larger volumes and faster throughput.



To scale up, engineers will have to optimize oxygen flow, nutrient cycling, and bacteria strain performance while keeping alignment intact. 



If successful, the method could be adapted to existing fermentation or bioreactor infrastructure with minor retrofitting.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bacterial-cellulose-sheet-vs-plastic-and-metal">Bacterial cellulose sheet vs plastic and metal</h2>



Aligned bacterial cellulose sheets already outperform many commercial polymers and glass when mapped on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/material-selection-chart" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ashby plots</a> comparing tensile strength and Young’s modulus to density. 



These charts show the material achieving stiffness values close to some metals while remaining far lighter.



That balance of strength and low weight could make it attractive for aerospace, structural packaging, or thermal insulation where reducing load matters but performance cannot be compromised.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60242-1.epdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Scientists think their biotech breakthrough could end plastic waste forever

Humans generated about 485 billion pounds of plastic waste in...

A short twelve‑week trial shows that adults with type 1 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-type-of-diabetes-type-5-is-now-officially-recognized-linked-to-nutritional-deficiencies/">diabetes</a> who replaced every animal food with plant‑based diet lost weight and improved <a href="https://www.verywellhealth.com/insulin-sensitivity-8621169" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">insulin sensitivity</a>.



“Choosing a veggie burger instead of a cheeseburger, and other plant‑based dietary swaps, can help people with type 1 diabetes who want to lose weight and improve how their body responds to insulin,” noted <a href="https://www.pcrm.org/about-us/staff/hana-kahleova" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD</a>, director of clinical research at the <a href="https://www.pcrm.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-diet-still-matters-in-type-1-diabetes">Why diet still matters in type 1 diabetes</h2>



Most people with <a href="https://diabetes.org/about-diabetes/type-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">type 1 diabetes</a> rely on insulin injections, pumps, or pens to cover every meal. Food choice can lighten that burden by lowering the amount of insulin the body needs, trimming both cost and daily hassle.



Fifty‑eight adults were randomly assigned to either an unrestricted low‑fat vegan menu or a portion‑controlled omnivorous plan for three months. Participants logged every bite in a nutrition app while keeping exercise and medication routines unchanged.



Five ounces of animal protein dropped from the average vegan plate each day, replaced mostly by fruits, vegetables, beans, and grain dishes. 



The researchers tracked body weight, meal insulin doses, and the carbohydrate‑to‑insulin ratio, a practical bedside marker of insulin <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-this-amount-of-coffee-helps-prevent-heart-disease-and-diabetes/">action</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-removing-meat-matters-most">Removing meat matters most</h2>



Each recorded food was slotted into the four‑tier <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41430-022-01099-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NOVA system</a>, a common way to grade processing from raw produce (category 1) to ultra‑processed snacks (category 4). 



Contrary to popular belief, the vegan group did not slash category 4 items; cereal, plant milks, and meat substitutes stayed about the same.



Instead, the key shift was the near elimination of animal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-identify-a-cellular-switch-mitochondria-that-could-reverse-type-2-diabetes/">foods</a> in every NOVA bracket. Plant foods in category 1 rose by roughly three‑quarters of a pound a day, filling the gap left by meat and dairy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vegan-group-lost-weight">Vegan group lost weight</h2>



On average the vegan arm shed 11 pounds, while the portion‑controlled group’s weight barely budged. Statistical modeling showed that every five‑ounce cut of unprocessed animal food predicted a two‑pound drop on the scale.



That weight loss happened with no calorie counting or carbohydrate limits, underscoring the natural energy density advantage of low‑fat plant meals. 



Earlier <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2773291" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> in overweight adults also found a spontaneous rise in post‑meal calorie burn on a similar diet, boosting “after‑dinner” metabolism by 14 percent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plant-diet-improved-diabetes-care">Plant diet improved diabetes care</h2>



The carbohydrate‑to‑insulin ratio climbed by six points in the vegan group, meaning muscles pulled more glucose from the blood with less injected hormone. Clinical teams often view a shift that large as a meaningful reduction in daily <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-this-amount-of-water-per-day-helps-control-blood-sugar-levels-in-people-with-diabetes/">insulin</a> need.



“Replacing all animal products with plant‑based foods, whether unprocessed fruits and veggies or ultra‑processed cereal, plant milks, and meat alternatives, is the key to success,” stressed Dr. Kahleova. Lower doses cut the risk of hypoglycemia and may simplify dosing around exercise or illness.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-less-meat-in-diet-helped-in-diabetes">Less meat in diet helped in diabetes</h2>



The drop in weight and boost in insulin response wasn’t tied to a total ban on processed food. It was directly linked to removing animal products, especially unprocessed ones like chicken breast, eggs, and plain yogurt.



Each five-ounce reduction in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924224421004970" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">animal-based NOVA category 1 foods</a> led to about two pounds lost and improved glucose use in muscles. That’s surprising, given how often these foods are promoted as part of a healthy diet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-processed-foods-and-diabetes-diet">Processed foods and diabetes diet</h2>



Observational studies link high intake of packaged pastries and processed meats to type 2 diabetes, yet those analyses do not separate plant from animal sources. 



A 2023 three‑cohort <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36854188/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a> found that ultra‑processed breads and cereals carried a lower diabetes risk than bacon or sugar‑sweetened drinks.



The present trial supports that nuance, hinting that origin may matter more than factory steps. Many plant‑based meat analogs supply similar protein to chicken but with zero cholesterol and far less saturated fat.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-proof-needed">More proof needed</h2>



Self‑reported food logs can misjudge portion size, and continuous glucose monitors were optional, limiting precision. 



Roughly one‑third of volunteers dropped out, a reminder that tracking every meal for months is tough in real life. 



The sample was small, urban, and highly motivated, so results may not copy‑paste to teenagers or adults with less nutrition support. 



Longer trials are needed to confirm whether weight and insulin gains hold beyond the twelve‑week mark. 



For now the takeaway is simple: a full plant swap, even with convenience foods, trims weight and boosts insulin action in adults living with type 1 diabetes.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nmcd-journal.com/article/S0939-4753(25)00351-5/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nutrition, Metabolism &amp; Cardiovascular Diseases</a>.



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Switching to a vegan diet helps most people lose weight and control diabetes

A short twelve‑week trial shows that adults with type 1...

Long before the first mammals walked the Earth, the oceans were home to strange, powerful fish. Some of these ancient fish eventually crawled onto land and kicked off a new chapter in evolution. 



Now, thanks to new fossil research, we’re learning even more about how these early animals lived - and ate.



In a new study led by scientists from <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders University</a>, researchers examined jawbones from 380-million-year-old lungfish found in Western Australia's remote Gogo fossil field. 



The findings shed light on the evolution of feeding strategies in fish that are closely related to all land-dwelling <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/over-half-of-the-worlds-vertebrates-reside-in-the-tropics/">vertebrates</a>, including us.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-biting-power-of-ancient-fish">Biting power of ancient fish</h2>



The researchers used 3D finite element modeling (FEM) - a tool more commonly seen in engineering. They digitally tested how different fossilized jaws handled biting stress. 



By running simulations on fish jawbones from multiple species, the team revealed surprising variation in shape, strength, and eating behavior.



“Lungfish are ‘sister taxa’ to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/we-know-far-less-about-four-footed-animals-than-expected/">tetrapods</a> - or all four-limbed animals with a backbone, including humans - which means they are our closest ‘fishy’ relatives,” noted Dr. Alice Clement.



“They have an extensive fossil history stretching back over 400 million years and still with living representatives today and their phylogenetic proximity to tetrapods giving insight into our long-distant ancestors who first made the move from water to land.”



That close relationship makes lungfish fossils especially valuable. The Gogo Formation in northern Western Australia is a goldmine of such specimens. With 11 known species, it holds the most diverse group of lungfish ever discovered from one place or time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-bite-force-and-eating-style">Fish bite force and eating style</h2>



Until now, scientists knew these fish had different jaw shapes. What they didn’t know was how those jaws worked. The new models changed that.



“We’re slowly teasing apart the details of how the bodies and lifestyles of these animals changed, as they moved from being fish that lived in water, to becoming tetrapods that moved about on land,” said Dr. Clement.



By scanning seven fossil species and applying FEM to five of them, the team was able to measure how the jawbones responded to stress during simulated bites.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossil-bites-defy-expectations">Fossil bites defy expectations</h2>



The dataset is the most detailed look yet at biting performance in any <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossilized-fish-lived-15-million-years-ago-still-has-preserved-food-in-stomach-ferruaspis-brocksi/">fossil fish</a>. It provides biomechanical evidence for diverse feeding adaptations and niche partitioning within Gogo lungfishes, noted Dr. Olga Panagiotopoulou, a functional anatomist at Touro University California.



Some of the findings contradicted assumptions. Jaws that looked sturdy on the outside didn’t always perform well in bite-force simulations. And some that looked more delicate turned out to be much stronger than expected.



“The results were somewhat surprising, with some ‘robust’-looking lower jaws appearing to not be all that well suited to biting stress, and some of the more gracile or slender jaws appeared to be able to withstand stress and strain very well,” said Professor John Long of Flinders University.



“This diversity of biomechanical function seen in the Gogo lungfishes suggest that there was niche partitioning and trophic differentiation among lungfishes, possibly accounting for their incredibly high species diversity at this site.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-fish-reinvented-eating">When fish reinvented eating</h2>



The Devonian period, often called the “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/early-jawless-fish-rhinopteraspis-dunensis-filter-feeders/">Age of Fishes</a>,” was ruled by placoderms and other ancient species for about 60 million years. Many of their fossils were found decades ago, but new tools like FEM are finally revealing how these animals actually lived.



Joshua Bland, a researcher at the Flinders Palaeontology Lab, is the study's lead author. He noted that the Gogo lungfish of the Late Devonian reefs were truly unique, with species possessing a host of different behaviors and abilities.



“To capture parts of that story, hidden in the bone, was extremely rewarding. It felt like we lifted the veil on some real functions behind the form. It was impressive to see the more complex morphology perform better in our tests," said Bland. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-science-from-old-bones">Future science from old bones</h2>



All 3D models from the study are now available on Morphosource, allowing other researchers to explore and expand on this work.



By combining old fossils with new technology, the team has brought us one step closer to understanding the creatures that helped shape life on land. 



The researchers have also shown that even after 380 million years, ancient bones can still have something new to say.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(25)01231-3?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2589004225012313%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">iScience</a>.



Image Credit: John Long, Flinders University



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Ancient fish bones reveal clues about the evolution of eating

Long before the first mammals walked the Earth, the oceans...

Astronomers have found a fresh way to look for planets, and it starts by searching for binary stars - stars that come in pairs and keep their orbits tidily aligned.



A new study shows that, when two sibling suns wheel around each other edge‑on from Earth’s viewpoint, they may indicate the presence of planets that are far easier to spot than usual.



“This could be an unprecedented avenue for examining how deterministic, or orderly, the process of planet formation is,” said <a href="http://www.astro.yale.edu/malenarice/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Malena Rice</a> of <a href="https://www.yale.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yale University</a> who led the work, which lays out a practical map for planet hunters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-binary-stars-hold-promise">Why binary stars hold promise</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-sun-like-stars-with-secret-companions/">Most Sun‑like stars</a> live with at least one stellar companion, forming what <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/interstellar-comet-31-atlas-stuns-astronomers-with-size-and-speed/">astronomers</a> call binary stars. 



When that duo circles in a flat plane that happens to face us, telescopes see the stars move directly toward and away from Earth. This presents an edge‑on orientation that magnifies every wobble caused by orbiting planets.



Earlier surveys of <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/kepler/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kepler</a> and <a href="https://tess.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TESS</a> data found that planets in binaries that are less than about 74 billion miles, or 800 astronomical units, often share the same plane as the twin suns, suggesting a natural alignment during birth.



That discovery hinted that the companion star might act like a gyroscope, steadying the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-planet-forming-disks-lose-gas-faster-than-expected/">protoplanetary disk</a> and locking everything into one orderly sheet, instead of a random tilt.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turning-alignment-into-a-search-map">Turning alignment into a search map</h2>



Rice’s team mined the <a href="https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gaia DR3</a> catalog, filtering 20 million entries down to nearly 600 bright, nearby binaries whose motion angles scream “edge‑on.”



Because the European Space Agency (<a href="https://www.esa.int" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>) satellite records minute changes in position and proper motion, its data let the group calculate the orbital tilt of each pair with degree‑level precision.



For every qualified system the researchers ran computer simulations, populating each star with thousands of hypothetical planets that follow the size and period statistics measured around single stars. 



They then asked how many of those worlds could be recovered with today’s detectors. An aligned orientation boosts both <a href="https://www.planetary.org/articles/color-shifting-stars-the-radial-velocity-method" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">radial velocity</a> signals and the chance of a planet passing in front of its star, the transit method that astronomers use to see dips in light.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-the-591-star-shortlist">Building the 591 star shortlist</h2>



The final catalog listed 591 binaries, all brighter than magnitude 14 and separated by less than two arcseconds on the sky.



That narrow spacing matters because most high‑precision spectrographs collect starlight through fibers that are about one arcsecond wide, so the companion’s glare stays outside the slit, keeping the measurements clean.



Nearly 90 percent of the stars identified fall into the <a href="https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2015/10/aa26319-15/aa26319-15.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FGK temperature class</a>, meaning they are close cousins of the Sun and rotate slowly enough for stable spectroscopy.



Removing some hotter, broad‑lined stars leaves 940 individual suns that are suitable for velocity work. About two thirds of those show low magnetic jitter, which is an extra help for teasing out planet signals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-binary-star-hunters-may-find">What binary star hunters may find</h2>



At a precision threshold of 1 meter per second, simulations predict that 74 percent of the target stars should reveal at least one planet within 3 years of monitoring.



Even when the detection bar is raised to 10 meters per second, 1 percent of the stars still host worlds whose tugs are big enough to see from Earth.



Transits are rarer but still rewarding. With a typical 200 parts‑per‑million dip, and a 3‑hour crossing time, roughly 1 in 100 modeled <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-announce-evidence-suggesting-that-our-solar-system-has-nine-planets-again/">planets</a> could be tracked by a 1‑meter class ground telescope.



A handful of binaries are likely to show 2 separate planetary systems eclipsing in the same field of view.



“We outline how this could, for the first time, be used to conduct comparative studies of planet formation where we have a control sample,” said Rice. 



Having two planets born side by side around different stars lets astronomers test whether chemistry, mass, or disk turbulence drives the final architecture.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-next-steps-for-binary-star-mapping">Next steps for binary star mapping</h2>



Because the catalog covers the whole sky, observers in both hemispheres can assign targets to unused nights or piggyback on existing exoplanet surveys. 



The list also offers prime candidates for the upcoming <a href="https://www.tmt.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Thirty Meter Telescope</a> and <a href="https://elt.eso.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope</a>, whose adaptive optics imaging could pick out wide giants that are missed by current techniques.



Follow‑up teams plan to measure stellar rotation periods and projected spin speeds, a trick that can confirm whether the stars themselves tilt the same way as their orbit. 



If both stellar equators lie edge‑on, the case strengthens that any detected planets kept their original alignment and avoided later <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/finding-order-in-the-chaos-of-the-three-body-problem/">gravitational chaos</a>.



Gaia’s next data release may even show the subtle side‑to‑side wobble of massive outer planets directly, providing a mass estimate that pairs neatly with radial velocity curves. 



Meanwhile, citizen‑science projects like the <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/citizen-science/eclipsing-binary-patrol/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eclipsing Binary Patrol</a> keep flagging new, edge‑on pairs, thus feeding the pipeline with fresh targets every year.



The edge‑on binary approach will not catch every type of planet, especially those in wildly tilted orbits or circling lone stars. 



Yet by focusing on where nature already lines up the cue ball, astronomers can rack up discoveries faster and, for the first time, compare sister worlds that were born in the same stellar nursery.



The study is published in <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adce04" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Astrophysical Journal Letters</a>.



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Mapping binary star systems helps astronomers find new planets

Astronomers have found a fresh way to look for planets,...

Phrases like “feeling blue” or “seeing red” show up in everyday speech - and most people instantly know they mean feeling sad or angry. But how do we pick up those meanings? Do we learn them through seeing color in the world, or just by hearing how people use them?



A new study from the <a href="https://www.usc.edu/">University of Southern California</a> and <a href="https://deepmind.google/">Google DeepMind</a> put that question to the test - comparing color-seeing adults, colorblind adults, professional painters, and ChatGPT to see what really shapes our understanding of colorful language: vision or vocabulary.



Lisa Aziz‑Zadeh, a cognitive neuroscientist at <a href="https://dornsife.usc.edu/bci/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">USC’s Dornsife Brain and Creativity Institute</a>, headed the project with help from colleagues at Stanford, UC San Diego, Université de Montréal, and other centers. 



“<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-is-disrupting-jobs-but-countries-are-learning-to-adapt/">ChatGPT</a> uses an enormous amount of linguistic data to calculate probabilities and generate very human‑like responses,” said Aziz‑Zadeh. She wanted to know whether that statistical talent could ever replace the firsthand way people learn color through sight and touch.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-we-read-color-metaphors">How we read color metaphors</h2>



For the study, volunteers answered online surveys that asked them to match abstract nouns such as physics or friendship with a hue from a digital palette. 



They also judged familiar metaphors like being "on red alert" and unfamiliar ones that called a celebration a very pink party.



Color‑seeing and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hormone-see-color/">colorblind</a> adults gave almost identical answers, hinting that lifetime language exposure can stand in for missing retinal data. Painters, however, nailed the trickier metaphors more often, suggesting that daily, hands‑on work with pigments sharpens conceptual color maps.



ChatGPT produced steady associations too, but it stumbled on curveballs such as describing a burgundy meeting or reversing green to its opposite. When pressed to explain choices, the model leaned on culture.



“Pink is often associated with happiness, love, and kindness, which suggest that the party was filled with positive emotions and good vibes,” said ChatGPT.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-painters-did-better">Painters did better</h2>



Artists likely won because practice binds linguistic and sensorimotor knowledge; long hours mixing alizarin and ultramarine create a rich mental index of hue, lightness, and mood. 



Earlier <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2041669520902484" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> shows that emotional links to colors track both universal patterns and cultural twists.



In the new data, painters spotted fresh metaphors 14 percent more often than non‑painters, a gap the authors tie to the depth of tactile memory. 



That finding echoes classroom studies where drawing or sculpting helps students retain technical terms better than reading alone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-experience-beat-ai">Experience beat AI </h2>



Barsalou’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17705682/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">grounded‑cognition model</a> argues that every concept the mind stores reactivates sensory traces of how it was acquired. The USC results fit that idea: direct pigment play trumped pure sentence statistics when novelty appeared.



Large language models rely on pattern frequency, not felt experience; their success on common idioms shows how much culture leaves in text. Their failure on burgundy and inverted green hints at what culture omits, especially edges of meaning that seldom enter print.



The gap matters for safety because an AI assistant that misreads a color‑coded warning label could steer users toward hazards. 



Adding camera input or haptic feedback - as multimodal systems like <a href="https://milvus.io/ai-quick-reference/what-are-the-alternatives-to-clip-for-multimodal-embeddings">CLIP</a> already attempt - might help close that gap.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-color-without-sight-possible">Color without sight possible</h2>



One surprise was that adults born without red‑green vision still matched seething anger with red because language, not sight, planted the idea. 



The outcome backs earlier surveys showing nearly universal links between red and dominance, or blue and calm, regardless of pigment perception.



Still, colorblind comprehension is not proof that vision is irrelevant. Participants reported noticing social cues such as traffic lights and lipstick shades through brightness and context, offering partial visual grounding even when hue channels were muted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-grounding-ai-in-senses">Grounding AI in senses</h2>



Researchers already experiment with models that link pixels to words, allowing systems to point at a crimson apple or sketch a turquoise <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/young-stars-illuminate-a-reflection-nebula-in-taurus/">nebula.</a> Such pairing trains networks to ground vocabulary in wavelengths and textures, inching closer to the way toddlers learn.



Yet there is a cost. Multimodal models demand larger datasets and raise privacy concerns once cameras move from lab benches into public spaces.



Software designers will need governance frameworks that spell out who owns the visual streams, how long they persist, and what biases lurk in the collected scenes. 



Without such guardrails, better color sense could come at the price of social trust.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-might-improve-with-color-metaphors">AI might improve with color metaphors</h2>



“There’s still a difference between mimicking semantic patterns and the spectrum of human capacity for drawing upon embodied, hands‑on experiences in our reasoning,” said Aziz‑Zadeh. She believes fusing text with images, audio, or even olfactory streams will be key.&nbsp;



Technically, that means new training pipelines where robots taste paint or wear camera‑equipped gloves. 



Ethically, it means designing machines that know when they do not know, especially in domains like medicine, food safety, and aviation, where color signals life or death.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-color-metaphors-for-daily-learning">Color metaphors for daily learning</h2>



For readers, the study offers a nudge to engage more senses when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/variable-learning-the-key-to-more-effective-study-habits/">learning</a>. Writing with colored pens, mapping notes with sticky dots, or simply paying attention to sky hues can enrich both vocabulary and recall.



Meanwhile, if an AI chatbot claims your angry text is tinged chartreuse, treat the judgment lightly. Until models gain something like retinas, their color sense will remain an eloquent but secondhand story.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cogs.70083" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cognitive Science</a>.



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AI struggles with color metaphors that humans easily understand

Phrases like “feeling blue” or “seeing red” show up in...

Snowpack once reliably fed water into the Colorado River, yet winter precipitation across the Four Corners has dropped by roughly 23 percent since 1980. Reservoirs and ranchers feel the strain each spring.



Researchers have linked the ongoing shortage of rain directly to a warming Pacific and to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-025-01728-x">anthropogenic aerosols</a> - tiny pollution particles that alter atmospheric circulation. 



The evidence shows that drought conditions in the American Southwest are now effectively locked in as the climate continues to warm.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-megadrought-becomes-the-new-normal">Megadrought becomes the new normal</h2>



“What we find is that precipitation is more directly influenced by climate change than we previously thought, and precipitation is pretty sensitive to these external influences that are caused by humans,” said Flavio Lehner, assistant professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at <a href="https://cornellbigred.com/">Cornell University</a>.



Professor Lehner’s team combed through decades of climate‑model runs to untangle overlapping drivers.



Tree‑ring reconstructions show that the current Southwest megadrought is the driest 22‑year span since at least 800 CE. The finding puts today’s water crisis in a millennium‑scale context.



Lower precipitation, not just higher temperatures, sets this megadrought apart because it saps <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-soil-moisture-can-predict-severe-storms/">soil moisture</a> before summer even starts. That early‑season deficit undercuts the snowpack that supplies two‑thirds of regional river flow.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pollution-alters-storm-paths">Pollution alters storm paths</h2>



“In our models, if we see a warming trend in the tropical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pacific-sea-levels-are-rising-faster-than-anywhere-in-the-world/">Pacific</a>, we would expect more precipitation in the Southwestern United States - but that’s not the case here,” said Yan‑Ning Kuo, doctoral student at Cornell University.



Her point underscores the role that pollution‑driven circulation changes play in overriding ocean patterns.



Particles from coal burning, industrial smokestacks, and vehicle exhaust in East Asia rise into the atmosphere and scatter sunlight, cooling the surface and nudging the jet stream northward. 



That shift encourages a persistent high‑pressure ridge over the North Pacific that deflects winter storms away from Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern California.



China’s air‑quality campaign cut average <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332221001081">PM2.5 levels</a> by about one‑third between 2013 and 2019. Still, the Cornell team warns that rising greenhouse gases will overpower those short‑term gains.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pacific-can-t-deliver-rain">Pacific can’t deliver rain</h2>



In a typical <a href="https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/elnino/what-is-la-nina">La Niña</a>, cooler Pacific waters push the jet stream north, leaving the Southwest dry. Conversely, <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-el-nino-and-what-are-its-effects">El Niño</a> usually drapes moisture over the region, yet models show that warming and aerosols erase that benefit.



A <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/enso-and-southwest-united-states-megadrought">teleconnection</a> is a long‑distance link between climate features, and the new analysis finds that the Pacific‑to‑Southwest link has weakened. That subtle change allows a stubborn North Pacific high‑pressure system to settle in more often.



Between 1980 and 2014, soil moisture in the Southwest declined faster than at any other time in the past century, dropping by about 0.15 inches per decade. Less moisture in the ground means more summer heat spikes, as dry soils can’t cool the air through evaporation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-water-stress-is-locked-in">Water stress is locked in</h2>



Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, has hovered at just 35 percent of capacity for three straight years. Mandatory cutbacks on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/colorado-river-basin-has-lost-enough-water-to-fill-lake-mead/">Colorado River</a> allocations kicked in after the lake dropped below 1,075 feet.



<a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/chapter/chapter-8/">IPCC models</a> project that every 1.8°F of global warming could trim cool‑season precipitation in the Southwest by another four percent. That figure mounts because a warmer atmosphere pulls extra water from soils and plants, intensifying drought even if rain totals held steady.



Cities from Phoenix to Albuquerque already rely on indoor conservation and reclaimed water to stretch supplies. But climate‑induced precipitation losses eat into the margin of safety those programs provide.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-slowing-the-southwest-megadrought">Slowing the Southwest megadrought</h2>



Sulfur‑cutting fuel rules and clean‑energy mandates have begun shrinking <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reducing-aerosol-pollution-ironically-causes-more-wildfires/">aerosol emissions</a> from ships and factories. Cleaner air could, in theory, ease the North Pacific high and let more storms through.



The Cornell study warns that warming trends across the tropics may soon override any aerosol relief. Warmer seas pump extra heat into the atmosphere, reinforcing the pattern that steers wet winter systems elsewhere.



Scientists suggest ramping up soil‑moisture monitoring and forest‑thinning projects so managers can react quickly to dry spells. Improved early‑warning tools could buy precious time for farmers and power grid operators. 



For now, the Southwest must plan for decades of megadrought, not just dry years. Water managers, residents, and policymakers face a future where every raindrop matters.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-025-01728-x">Nature Geoscience</a>.



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Why the Southwest megadrought is here to stay

Snowpack once reliably fed water into the Colorado River, yet...

'Zombie' fungi that hijack insects are not just a modern forest horror story. A pair of tiny fossils locked in Burmese amber shows that these parasites stalked ants and flies nearly 100 million years ago in what is now Myanmar.



The newly described fungi, Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae and Paleoophiocordyceps ironomyiae, sprouted from their long‑dead hosts, just like today’s entomopathogenic relatives. This gruesome strategy has clearly been in play since ancient times. 



Study co‑author <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/pe/article/view/palaeoentomology.5.3.1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Professor Edmund Jarzembowski</a> of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology (<a href="http://english.nigpas.cas.cn/">NIGPAS</a>) and London’s <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural History Museum</a> helped craft the formal description.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-outbreak-of-parasitic-fungi">Ancient outbreak of parasitic fungi</h2>



Amber from the Hukawng Valley captures an ant pupa with a slender fungal stalk, and a fly pierced by a second projectile‑like stroma. 



The position of each growth mirrors the way that modern zombie fungi erupt from soft joints after the host’s last breath.



Palaeontologists reconstructed the scene and noted that the ant appears to have been dragged away from the nest before the infection reached its spore‑spraying stage. Social insects often quarantine sick kin, a behaviour already in place during the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-cretaceous-period.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cretaceous</a>.



“It’s fascinating to see some of the strangeness of the natural world that we see today was also present at the height of the age of the dinosaurs,” said Jarzembowski, reflecting on the familiar menace that infected the ancient insects.



The research team counted flask‑shaped perithecia, the microscopic chambers where sexual spores mature, on the fossilized stalks. 



Their arrangement ties the ancient genus to living Ophiocordyceps, even though the lineage split more than 130 million years ago.



Very few fossil pathogens display intact reproductive parts. This makes every new specimen a potential window into deep‑time disease ecology. 



The rarity arises because fungi are soft and because an insect corpse rarely fossilizes side by side with its killer, scientists noted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-a-fungus-a-zombie">What makes a fungus a zombie</h2>



Members of <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1005037" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ophiocordyceps</a> start with a pin‑sized spore that germinates. It drills through the exoskeleton of a living insect, and sets up shop in the haemolymph. 



Chemical signals then steer the victim to a perch that maximizes wind exposure for the dispersal of spores released after death.



A genome survey of ant‑infecting species uncovered dozens of genes that code for enterotoxin‑like proteins. This suggests that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deadly-fungus-aspergillus-that-can-eat-you-from-the-inside-out-is-quietly-spreading-around-the-world/">fungus</a> rewires muscles and nerves using the same tricks that bacteria use to upset mammalian guts.



Transcript <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/accumulating-glitches/how_fungus_makes_ant_zombies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> show that as the infection peaks, genes tied to serotonin and dopamine pathways in the ant surge or plunge, matching the precise timing of the so‑called death grip.



Today more than 1,500 insect‑killing <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/understanding-fungi-characteristics-and-function/">fungi</a> are catalogued, yet only a handful make headlines. Specialists target beetles that bore into crops or mosquitoes that spread malaria, demonstrating the ecological punch of these microbes, even outside tropical forests.



Their life cycle is a masterclass in recycling nutrients: the mycelium consumes host tissues from within, then the emergent stalk spreads fresh <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biodegradable-living-plastic-contains-bacterial-spores-that-break-it-down/">spores</a> that restore carbon and nitrogen to soil food webs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-amber-as-nature-s-time-capsule">Amber as nature's time capsule</h2>



Tree resin entombs soft bodies in minutes and hardens into amber that resists water, oxygen, and microbial decay. 



That airtight seal lets researchers inspect insect cuticles along with fungal filaments that are thinner than a human hair.



Kachin amber is celebrated for its clarity, but the deposit also raises ethical concerns because mining revenues can fund armed conflict. International guidelines now press museums to verify provenance before accepting new pieces.



Gem cutters often discard cloudy chunks, yet those fragments may shelter the best biological inclusions. Researchers therefore sift mine tailings for overlooked specimens, rather than fueling fresh extraction.



Because resin flows layer over layer, a single piece can trap snapshots separated by hours. That layering helps date biological events with unusual precision when volcanic ash beds bracket the deposit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fungi-give-clues-to-insect-evolution">Fungi give clues to insect evolution</h2>



Comparative anatomy and molecular clocks place Paleoophiocordyceps on a branch that diverged from the modern zombie‑ant fungus during the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392592127_Cretaceous_entomopathogenic_fungi_illuminate_the_early_evolution_of_insect-fungal_associations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Early Cretaceous</a>. this was at the time that flowering plants began reshaping terrestrial food webs.



The study’s host‑switch analysis flagged a likely jump from beetles to flies and ants, mirroring the radiation of pollinators and social insects. Such leaps underline how a parasite’s fate is tied to the fortunes of its preferred prey.



Beetles already thrived in decaying wood, an environment humid enough for fungal spores, while the rise of canopy flowers led <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/swarm-intelligence-ants-can-anticipate-obstacles-and-plan-ahead/">ants</a> to exploit new niches. The fungus followed its insect food, so to speak, adapting its toolkit for each cuticular landscape.



Host regulation may have checked insect booms long before birds or bats evolved sophisticated appetites for six‑legged prey. 



That invisible policing force could explain relatively stable herbivore damage in Cretaceous leaf fossils, despite soaring insect diversity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tale-familiar-to-modern-forests">A tale familiar to modern forests</h2>



Field surveys in Thailand show that fungus-infected ant graveyards form in patches where humidity hovers near 95 percent, suggesting the parasite needs microclimates as well as hosts.



Timing is equally precise. Infected carpenter ants bite down at solar noon more often than chance predicts, hinting that fungal circadian genes sync with the host’s biological clock.



When <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0004835" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cadavers</a> pile up, each fungal stalk releases millions of spores, yet infections remain patchy. Colony grooming, corpse removal, and antimicrobial secretions keep outbreaks from wiping out entire nests.



Lab trials with generalist insect fungi show a trade‑off between killing speed and spore burden, meaning parasites that act too quickly may sacrifice dispersal success.



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



Entomologists already deploy fungal <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/what-are-biopesticides" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bio‑pesticides</a> against insects such as locusts and crop‑boring moths. 



This method of control targets the insects without drenching fields in chemicals. Lessons from ancient lineages could sharpen that strategy by revealing how host jumps evolve.



Climate models predict that warmer nights and shifting rainfall will widen the habitat for many fungal pathogens. 



Tracking their evolutionary playbook helps forecast which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insect-populations-dramatically-declining-around-the-world-rising-temperatures/">insect</a> groups, helpful or harmful, might feel the heat next.



The fossils nevertheless remind us that even tiny microbes leave fingerprints on evolution, shaping who thrives and who fails. 



The study is published in <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rspb.2025.0407" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>.



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'Zombie' fungus that lived almost 100 million years ago found preserved in amber

'Zombie' fungi that hijack insects are not just a modern...

Hershey,Pennsylvania,,October,15,,2021:,Jolly,Rancher,Candy,On,Display

Without much warning last month, the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency ordered an <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/alert/fsa-fafa-02-2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">immediate recall</a> of four "Jolly Ranchers" products, made by the Hershey Company in the U.S., because they contained mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (<a href="https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/mineral-oil-hydrocarbons" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MOAH</a>) and mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5497826/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MOSH</a>).



Across the Atlantic, these same Hershey's hard candies remain on U.S. shelves, highlighting how two regulators can read the same toxicological literature yet reach opposite conclusions.



The split decision has reignited a long‑running debate over the U.S. practice of letting companies self‑certify many food additives as safe while European agencies treat similar <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/future-of-food-safety-ai-can-detect-contamination-early/">chemicals</a> with greater caution. 



That debate has moved from think‑tank white papers into a political fight now drawing attention from presidential hopefuls and state lawmakers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-mineral-oil-is-used-in-candy">Why mineral oil is used in candy</h2>



“Consuming mineral oil regularly and over time could pose a risk to your health,” warned <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/news/precautionary-advice-issued-to-pet-owners-on-dog-chews-linked-to-illness" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tina Potter</a>, head of incidents at the <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Food Standards Agency</a>. Potter leads the incident‑response team that enforces the nation’s additive limits.



Hershey spokesman Todd Scott counters that the oils act only as a processing aid to keep candy from sticking, calling them indispensable for the smooth, glassy finish consumers expect.



“The key takeaway from all of this is mineral oil is allowed and deemed safe for use in food in the US,” Scott said, noting that it never appears on the ingredient list because federal rules exempt aids used in tiny amounts.



The lubricants fall into two broad camps, MOSH molecules with fully saturated carbon chains and MOAH molecules laced with ring‑shaped aromatics that can include three or more fused <a href="https://ionscience.com/en/news/benzene-ring-explained/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">benzene rings</a>. Manufacturers like the compounds because they stay stable under high heat and do not change a candy’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frozen-food-new-thawing-methods-will-improve-safety-and-quality/">taste</a> or smell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moah-and-mosh">MOAH and MOSH</h2>



A 2023 review by the <a href="https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/8215" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European Food Safety Authority</a> linked MOAH molecules with three or more aromatic rings to DNA damage and stated that no exposure level could be considered risk‑free. 



The same document reported that young consumers had the highest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/electronic-tongue-could-revolutionize-food-safety/">exposure</a> to MOSH but found less evidence of human harm, a nuance often lost in headlines.



Laboratory studies in rats show MOSH accumulating in the liver and lymph nodes, sometimes forming granulomas that hint at chronic inflammation. 



Because humans absorb and clear hydrocarbons differently than this strain of rat, regulators disagree on how seriously to weigh those findings.



European law therefore takes a precautionary stance, banning deliberate use of the oils in confectionery, whereas the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (<a href="https://www.fda.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FDA</a>) accepts tiny residues that migrate from processing equipment. This regulatory asymmetry sets the stage for the broader fight over the <a href="https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2025/03/closing-the-gras-loophole-secretary-kennedys-plan-to-enhance-fda-food-safety-regulations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GRAS loophole</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mineral-oil-avoids-full-safety-checks">Mineral oil avoids full safety checks</h2>



Under the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK216664/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1958 Food Additives Amendment</a>, companies can declare a substance “generally recognized as safe” without asking the FDA to review their data, provided a panel of experts, internal or external, endorses the conclusion. 



Between 2015 and 2020, one <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10481496/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> of 403 filings found that nearly 30 percent relied on the opinion of an employee of the manufacturer itself.



“A company can add a new ingredient and not even list its chemical compound on the packet,”  says public‑health lawyer <a href="https://publichealth.nyu.edu/faculty/jennifer-pomeranz" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jennifer Pomeranz</a>. 



She points out that the law never required such notices to reach the agency at all. Advocates fear that self‑policing fosters blind spots when cumulative exposures involve dozens of lightly studied chemicals.



“If a company can’t sell something in California or New York, they may as well reformulate their product for the whole country,” argues regulatory counsel Jensen Jose at the nonprofit <a href="https://www.cspi.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Center for Science in the Public Interest</a>. 



The train of thought is that state legislation can move faster than Washington and that strategy is now reshaping ingredient lists nationwide.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-states-fight-mineral-oil-in-food">How states fight mineral oil in food</h2>



California’s 2023 <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/AB-418-Signing.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AB 418</a> banned FD&amp;C Red 3, brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, and propylparaben in foods sold after 2027, making it the first U.S. state to bar these additives. 



Within months, the FDA proposed its own nationwide phase‑out of <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/brominated-vegetable-oil-bvo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">brominated vegetable oil</a> and accepted a citizens’ petition to reconsider <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/hfp-constituent-updates/fda-revoke-authorization-use-red-no-3-food-and-ingested-drugs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Red 3</a>, illustrating the ripple effect of state action.



Similar bills are pending in New York, Illinois, and Washington, and campaigners have signaled that MOAH will be on their next target list. 



<a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/robert-kennedy.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a> has already promised to close the GRAS loophole if elected, giving the issue fresh political visibility.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-avoid-risky-additives-while-shopping">Avoid risky additives while shopping</h2>



Dietitian <a href="https://www.lindsaymalonerd.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lindsay Malone</a> recommends focusing on whole foods and limiting ultra‑processed snacks that stack multiple controversial additives, including butylated hydroxyanisole, or BHA, which experimental <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4462476/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> link to hormone disruption. 



She suggests choosing plain nuts over flavored mixes and fruit over brightly colored gummies to shrink exposure without feeling punitive.



Consumers who still want an occasional hard candy can look for European‑made <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-food-nutrition-labels-may-be-based-on-50-year-old-data/">brands</a> that meet MOAH‑free standards or check confectioners’ websites for updated formulations. 



In the meantime, U.S. shoppers may see fresh warning labels as lawsuits and state bills push companies to reformulate.



For researchers, the Jolly Rancher episode underscores the need for publicly funded studies that track low‑dose, long‑term exposure across diverse populations. 



Until such data arrive, regulators will keep balancing uncertain risks against the sweet pull of consumer demand.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/8215" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EFSA Journal</a>.



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Very popular candy, Jolly Ranchers, were just banned in the UK but not in the US

Without much warning last month, the United Kingdom’s Food Standards...

Ever wonder what kind of videos would keep monkeys glued to a screen? Turns out, their preferences aren’t all that different from ours.



A recent study found that long-tailed macaques are especially drawn to watching aggressive behavior and familiar faces - just like us. The findings offer new insight into the social instincts we share with other primates.



The study was led by researchers at <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en">Utrecht University</a> in the Netherlands, in collaboration with The Ohio State University.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inside-the-monkey-theater">Inside the monkey theater</h2>



The team showed two-minute videos to 28 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/japanese-macaques-have-social-bonds-that-persist-beyond-death/">macaques</a> living at the Biomedical Primate Research Centre in Rijswijk, the Netherlands. 



Each video featured monkeys from the same group or complete strangers, engaged in one of four activities: fighting, grooming, running, or just sitting around.



The macaques were free to enter a testing corridor where laptops played the videos. These testing areas were already familiar to the animals, so the environment wasn’t new or stressful. While watching, researchers tracked how long the monkeys looked at the screen.



The results were clear: the macaques paid the most attention to videos showing fights between monkeys. Running came in second. Grooming and sitting barely registered.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conflict-grabs-attention">Conflict grabs attention</h2>



Brad Bushman is co-author of the study and professor of communication at The Ohio State University.



“<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-bonds-drive-learning-in-monkeys-and-humans-alike/">Humans</a> and macaques are both social animals who have a fundamental need to belong,” he said. “It’s not surprising that they both would be most interested in the video content that may help them navigate relationships in their groups.”



“We have plenty of research showing the popularity of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/early-exposure-to-violent-media-increases-aggression-in-teens/">violent media</a> with humans. Now we have some evidence that other primates might also be attracted to conflict and aggression in videos."



“From an evolutionary perspective, this makes sense. Both humans and other animals may be hardwired to pay attention to aggression because that is an adaptive response that increases survival,” Bushman added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-groupmates-get-more-views">Groupmates get more views</h2>



The macaques didn’t just favor <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/visually-striking-primate-features-ease-tension-and-reduce-conflict/">conflict</a> - they also preferred to watch monkeys they knew. Videos of their own group members got more attention than clips featuring strangers.



“This indicates that gathering social information on group members is more important than getting information about strangers,” said Elisabeth H.M. Sterck, professor of animal behavior and cognition at Utrecht University.



“When we as humans watch movies, we like to see actors we know – we like to see the stars playing in big movies more than we do actors who are not familiar to us,” Bushman said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monkey-social-status">Monkey social status </h2>



Not all monkeys watched with equal interest. Lower-ranking and less aggressive macaques were more attentive to the videos than their dominant peers.



“More dominant individuals can be more confident that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alcohol-increases-pain-tolerance-and-fuels-aggression/">aggression</a> will not affect them – they don’t have to pay attention to others as much,” Sterck said.



“Lower-ranking individuals can become an aggression victim and that may be why they pay more attention to what others are doing in the videos.”



Interestingly, monkeys that were more anxious or easily stressed were less focused on group members.



“We found that the gathering of social information from the videos differed with dominance rank and behavioral tendencies, which may reflect personality,” Sterck said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-shared-curiosity-across-species">A shared curiosity across species</h2>



These monkeys, known for their visual acuity, watched the videos on their own terms - walking into the test space voluntarily. Each session was brief, but the pull of conflict on screen was undeniable.



“The macaques are very visual animals. Their eyesight is similar to that of humans, and they are very interested in watching videos,” Sterck said.



And while the videos were short, their effect was real. Bushman noted that even this brief exposure to aggressive media captured the attention of macaques in the study.



“When you see this in some of our closest primate relatives, it is easy to see why humans are so interested in violent media," said Bushman. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-primate-preference-for-drama">A primate preference for drama</h2>



What we see on screen says a lot about who we are - and apparently, that’s true for monkeys too.



In this study, our primate cousins showed they’re drawn to social drama and familiar faces, just like humans sitting down with popcorn for a movie night. 



Whether it’s about survival, curiosity, or just plain interest, the content that grabs attention may be more universal than we thought.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-025-01970-1">Animal Cognition</a>.



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Monkeys love watching videos of fights and friends - just like humans

Ever wonder what kind of videos would keep monkeys glued...

The International Space Station (ISS) is not just a place to live in space - it’s an experimental laboratory. With astronauts onboard and Earth positioned below, the ISS offers a unique opportunity: long-duration research in microgravity.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
It also provides low Earth orbit views of our planet, along with a human crew who support experiments, swap samples, and troubleshoot in real time.
</blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
Since its launch, researchers have used the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/">space station</a> to conduct hundreds of studies. These range from characterizing fluid behavior in zero gravity to tracking changes in the human body. Their work advances science by answering questions that can’t be studied on Earth.
</blockquote>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-science-without-gravity">Science without gravity</h2>



Without Earth's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/matter-spacetime-gravitational-waves-fabric-of-the-universe/">gravity</a> pulling things down, scientists can run experiments that simply aren’t possible on the ground. For example, hot air doesn't rise. Flames take on a spherical shape. Fluids stop behaving the way they do in a glass of water.



This gives researchers a rare opportunity to examine physical, chemical, and biological processes in new ways. 



By eliminating variables like surface tension or capillary movement, they can get a much clearer picture of how things actually work.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-orbiting-lab-sees-it-all">Orbiting lab sees it all</h2>



The space station orbits Earth in about 90 minutes, traveling at 17,500 miles per hour from about 250 miles above the surface. 



This low vantage point means the ISS is able to make observations of the planet both in daylight and darkness, and from various angles and lighting conditions.



By being outside&nbsp;<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-shrinking-earths-atmosphere-and-thats-bad-for-satellites/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Earth's atmosphere</a>&nbsp;and magnetic field, the ISS carries instruments that could not be used on Earth. 



That makes it possible to study space radiation, neutron stars, and other phenomena - along with how materials and living organisms behave in space.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-iss-crew-makes-science-possible">ISS crew makes science possible</h2>



Other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-debris-issue-growing-exponentially-worse-now-threatens-working-satellites/">satellites</a> can carry instruments, but only the ISS has a living, breathing crew to run the science. Human operators are key. They adjust setups, monitor changes, fix problems, and pack samples for return to Earth.



This flexibility is critical for complex research on the ISS. It also means scientists can get a second chance if something doesn’t go as planned. 



Since experiments can stay on the station for months or even years, there's plenty of time to refine ideas and gather more data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-body-changes-in-space">Body changes in space</h2>



Because the space station has been operating for over two decades, scientists have been able to track long-term changes - including how space affects the human body. One example: vision changes that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronauts-can-survive-mars-space-journey-but-their-kidneys-will-be-permanently-damaged/">astronauts</a> began noticing after spending months in orbit.



Scientists launched the Fluid Shifts investigation in 2015 to understand what was happening. They suspected that in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microgravity-causes-big-problems-with-human-gene-expression/">microgravity</a>, fluids move from the lower to the upper body, increasing pressure in the head and possibly changing eye shape.



The study asked whether increased fluid pressure was the cause of these vision changes.



It ran through 2020 and tracked multiple astronauts over time. It marked a major step toward understanding the effects of spaceflight on human health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-research-on-the-space-station">Research on the space station</h2>



Research on the space station takes time. First, scientists have to identify a question and come up with a possible answer. Then, they design an experiment to test it, decide what data to collect, and figure out how.



Getting that experiment into space is its own process. NASA reviews proposals based on scientific value and relevance. 



Once approved, studies are scheduled for future missions - often many months away. Training, hardware development, flight procedures, and data collection plans all need to be worked out.



Once the experiment is on board, astronauts begin collecting data. After that, the real work begins: analyzing results and writing them up. That alone can take a year or more.



Before a study is published, it goes through peer review. One analysis found that peer review alone takes an average of 100 days. Editors may also ask for revisions or more analysis before giving the green light.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-crew-big-science">Small crew, big science</h2>



One challenge with human research on the International Space Station is the limited number of subjects. With only about six people on board at any given time, gathering enough data takes longer.



Consider the Lighting Effects study, which tested whether adjusting the station’s lighting could improve <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-prepares-the-brain-for-the-future-while-protecting-memories-of-the-past/">sleep</a>, mood, and performance by syncing with astronauts’ circadian rhythms.



Because researchers needed data from several astronauts, the study ran from 2016 to 2020. Other long-term human studies have looked at heart muscle loss and nutrition, including how to grow fresh food in space.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-space-station-research-takes-time">Space station research takes time</h2>



Research in physical science can often move more quickly. Scientists can send up batches of materials and collect results faster. But even then, one round of experiments often leads to more questions.



<a href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/space/iss-research/msg/bass/">The Burning and Suppression of Solids </a>(BASS) series ran from 2011 to 2017, studying how different fuels behave in space. That work led to the Saffire series, which began in 2016 and ended in 2024.



These fire safety demonstrations helped answer critical questions about how to prevent and put out fires in space.



Scientific breakthroughs don’t happen overnight, especially not in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shifts-in-earths-orbit-triggered-ancient-megadroughts/">orbit</a>. But the space station gives researchers something priceless: time, access, and the ability to keep going.



The payoff? New insights into how our bodies work, how materials behave, and how we can prepare for longer missions. That’s not just useful for life in space - it helps improve life back on Earth, too.



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What 20 years of space station research means for life on Earth

The International Space Station (ISS) is not just a place...

Female,Having,Heart,,Asthma,Or,Panic,Attack.,Difficulties,With,Breathe,

When we think of a heart attack, the image that often comes to mind is straight out of a movie: someone suddenly clutches their chest in pain and collapses as shocked bystanders look on. It's a scene etched into our collective memory by decades of TV and film.



However, the real experience of a heart attack rarely fits that narrative. In fact, believing in that dramatic version can delay life-saving treatment.



Hollywood’s version has shaped public perception in ways that may be doing more harm than good. The truth is far more complex and subtle. 



For Ann Eckhardt, a nursing professor and researcher at <a href="https://www.uta.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The University of Texas at Arlington</a>, this public misunderstanding is not just a matter of health education. It is a deeply personal mission rooted in years of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-disease-kills-differently-now-than-five-decades-ago/">research</a> and a family experience that first sparked her passion for the subject.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-missing-the-signs-of-a-heart-attack">Missing the signs of a heart attack </h2>



Movies from the 1980s and 1990s cemented an unrealistic idea of heart attacks. The result? Many people don’t recognize the signs when it happens to them.



“We did ourselves a disservice in the 1980s and 1990s with what’s known as ‘The Hollywood Heart Attack,’” Dr. Eckhardt said. “That’s unfortunately not real life. It’s not always intense." 



"Sometimes it’s just discomfort that doesn’t feel quite right, so people tend to wait to see a doctor. The longer you wait, the more likely you are to have negative consequences after your <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-disease-remains-the-leading-cause-of-death-worldwide/">heart</a> attack.”



This tendency to wait, to dismiss symptoms that don’t seem dramatic enough, can cost precious time. And in cardiology, time is muscle. 



The longer blood flow to the heart is restricted, the greater the damage. But if people are looking for cinematic signals, they might miss the real ones.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heart-attack-symptoms-can-be-subtle">Heart attack symptoms can be subtle </h2>



One of the biggest myths is that heart attacks always present with severe, sudden <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-sweeteners-erythritol-directly-linked-to-heart-attacks-and-strokes/">pain</a>. In reality, many symptoms are subtle. 



People may experience vague discomfort, pressure, or a strange feeling they can’t quite describe. These symptoms are easier to ignore, especially when life is busy or stressful.



Eckhardt and her team wanted to understand these misconceptions in detail. They explored how people interpret chest pain and whether that interpretation affects how and when they seek care. 



The team has identified a dangerous gap between public belief and medical reality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-the-warning-signs">Rethinking the warning signs </h2>



Many people also believe that heart attacks look drastically different in men and women. While that belief was once supported in the medical community, experts are now rethinking the language they use.



“We used to say men have typical symptoms and women have atypical symptoms,” Eckhardt said. “We’re trying very hard to move away from that language now."



"The most common symptom for men and women is chest-related. We created confusion by saying women are somehow completely different.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-false-expectations-about-heart-attacks">False expectations about heart attacks</h2>



Labeling symptoms as typical or atypical can confuse patients. If someone doesn’t feel the expected kind of pain, they may assume it isn’t serious. Worse, they might believe it can’t possibly be a heart attack. That false assurance can delay treatment.



Eckhardt’s team wanted to dig deeper into how people form these ideas. To do that, they created the <a href="https://www.heartandlung.org/article/S0147-9563(23)00121-8/abstract?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chest Pain Conception Questionnaire</a>. The tool is designed to measure what people think heart attack symptoms look like, and where those ideas come from.



Three years into the project, the team made a striking discovery: nearly 75% of respondents had gotten their information about heart attacks from media sources like TV and film. That suggests medical messaging is losing the battle for public attention.



“We often tell people chest pain is a symptom of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-this-amount-of-coffee-helps-prevent-heart-disease-and-diabetes/">heart</a> attack, but what we don’t tell them is what they might actually feel,” Eckhardt said. 



“For a lot of people, it’s not pain in the traditional sense. It’s more discomfort, pressure, tightness. They just don’t feel quite right, but they can’t really put their finger on it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vague-signs-delay-treatment">Vague signs delay treatment</h2>



Many heart attack sufferers report a general unease or tightness instead of sharp pain. But because it’s vague, they hesitate to call a doctor or go to the hospital. This indecision can lead to devastating outcomes.



Eckhardt wants medical professionals to change how they talk to patients. Instead of simply asking about chest pain, they should expand the question to include more accurate descriptions.



“The longer you wait, the more likely it is you’ll have irreversible damage to the heart,” Eckhardt said. 



“So, if we can determine what people think a heart attack will be like, perhaps we can help the medical community better triage and ask questions. It’s not just ‘Are you having chest pain?’; it’s also ‘Do you have any discomfort, pressure, tightness, squeezing?’”



This approach could help doctors identify patients at risk more effectively. It also makes space for individuals to describe their symptoms without second-guessing themselves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-lifelong-mission">A lifelong mission </h2>



For Eckhardt, this work is not just about data or education. It is deeply personal. Her commitment to the subject began when she was young, shaped by a frightening family event.



“That experience sparked my interest early on,” Eckhardt said. When she was in middle school, her grandfather was rushed to the hospital after a heart attack. 



Thankfully, he survived the ordeal thanks to timely bypass surgery and lived for another two decades. That moment planted the seeds of a lifelong commitment to health education and research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changing-the-public-perception">Changing the public perception </h2>



Eckhardt and her colleagues know it won’t be easy to re-educate the public. Hollywood images are hard to shake. 



However, the team's research continues, driven by a clear goal: help people recognize real heart attack symptoms, seek help early, and improve outcomes.



Every person who rethinks their idea of what a heart attack feels like could be one life saved. It is not always about pain. Sometimes, it is a quiet, persistent signal that something is wrong. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.heartandlung.org/article/S0147-9563(25)00104-9/abstract" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heart &amp; Lung</a>.



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What a heart attack really feels like - it's much different from what you see on TV

When we think of a heart attack, the image that...

Rainforests thrive on delicate relationships. Plants, animals, and insects like ants constantly interact, creating a web of survival and competition. Amid this chaos, unexpected harmony sometimes blooms.



In the tropical rainforests of Fiji, scientists uncovered a fascinating story of peacekeeping. It is not a tale of advanced creatures or complex brains. Instead, it centers around a plant with an unusual design. 



This plant has developed a surprisingly simple strategy to solve conflict among aggressive ants.



This discovery from <a href="https://www.durham.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Durham University</a> reshapes our understanding of cooperation in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-future-climate-conditions-will-transform-plant-growth/">nature</a>. It shows how something as basic as plant architecture can manage aggression and encourage mutual support. 



The study reveals that, sometimes, structure itself can shape behavior and nurture harmony among rivals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ants-and-plants-team-up">Ants and plants team up</h2>



The plant at the center of this story belongs to the genus Squamellaria. It is part of the Rubiaceae family, also known as the coffee family. These plants grow on the branches and trunks of rainforest trees.



The plants form large, bulbous structures called domatia. These domatia are not just growths - they serve as homes for ants. In return for shelter, ants provide the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-finally-learn-what-makes-plants-roots-grow-faster-and-stronger-autophagy/">plant</a> with essential nutrients from their waste.



However, the ants that live in these plants are not naturally friendly neighbors. Many of them are highly aggressive and often engage in violent fights with other species. 



This raises an important question: how can so many aggressive species coexist peacefully inside a single plant?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-walls-keep-rivals-apart">Walls keep rivals apart</h2>



The answer lies in the design of Squamellaria’s domatia. Professor Guillaume Chomicki of Durham University led an international team to investigate the mystery. 



Using high-resolution 3D CT scans, the researchers explored the inner structure of the plant’s domatia. What they found was remarkable. The plant creates domatia with multiple chambers, each completely sealed off from the others inside.



Every chamber has its own entrance, but inside, walls separate them from their neighbors. This design prevents physical contact between ant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-roots-could-be-key-to-fighting-climate-change/">species</a>. It is as if the plant built a miniature apartment complex, with each species living in its own secure unit.



This clever separation prevents fights and keeps the peace within the plant. It is not a chemical trick or behavioral adaptation by the ants. The plant’s architecture itself enforces harmony.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-one-plant-many-ants">One plant, many ants</h2>



To test the effectiveness of this system, the researchers conducted extensive fieldwork. They observed Squamellaria plants on three Fijian islands for over a decade.



The team's observations revealed that a single Squamellaria <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-could-soon-talk-to-farmers-and-listen-too/">plant</a> could house as many as five different ant species simultaneously. Despite their natural tendency to fight, the ants coexisted peacefully.



The researchers also performed nutrient labeling experiments using nitrogen isotopes. These experiments confirmed that all of the ant species provided valuable nutrients to the plant. 



Each ant colony contributed to the plant’s well-being, making the relationship mutually beneficial for all involved.



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



To truly understand the importance of separation, the researchers conducted a bold experiment. They surgically removed the internal walls between the chambers of the domatia.



The results were immediate and violent. Ant species that had previously lived peacefully erupted into fierce battles. These fights led to many ant deaths on both sides.



In contrast, plants with intact chambers saw no such conflict. Even outside the plant, ants shared food sources without issue. This highlights the importance of physical separation inside the plant.



“It is incredible how such an odd group of organisms, restricted to a couple of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-warning-sea-level-rise-in-pacific-island-nations-is-irreversible/">Fijian islands</a>, can provide general insights into the stability of cooperation between species,” noted Professor Chomicki.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-plant-that-solves-conflicts">A plant that solves conflicts</h2>



The team also created mathematical models to further explore the plant’s strategy. The models confirmed that compartmentalization helps maintain long-term partnerships. 



The system prevents fights during the early stages of colony establishment. This allows each chamber to develop into a stable, nutrient-contributing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/just-a-few-ants-can-change-an-entire-colonys-social-structure/">colony</a>.



Even in situations where only a small fraction of arriving ants were aggressive, the models showed that compartmentalized domatia performed better than single-chambered ones.



This shows that separating rivals is not just a short-term solution. It has lasting benefits for both the plant and its ant residents. The architecture ensures that mutualism remains stable over time, providing security and resources for all involved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-harmony-in-nature">Hidden harmony in nature</h2>



This discovery helps solve a long-standing mystery in ecology. Scientists have wondered how unrelated and sometimes hostile species manage to maintain cooperation.



The findings suggest that physical separation could be a widely used strategy in nature. Many organisms may rely on similar methods to prevent conflict and maintain beneficial relationships.



The study of Squamellaria shows that architecture alone can shape ecosystems. It highlights the hidden power of structural design in keeping peace among species that would otherwise be at odds.



In the rainforests of Fiji, a simple plant demonstrates that sometimes, the best way to manage conflict is to keep your neighbors at a safe distance.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu8429" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Some plants have a strategy to prevent violent ant fights

Rainforests thrive on delicate relationships. Plants, animals, and insects like...

The,Galapagos,Islands.,Ecuador.,Galapagos,Tortoise,In,Motion.,Island,Of

For centuries, turtles have fascinated people with their remarkably long lifespans.&nbsp;A new study reveals something even more extraordinary. Cancer is extremely rare in turtles, which makes them a promising model for cancer research.



The study, led by Dr. Ylenia Chiari at the <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/">University of Nottingham</a>, shows that cancer affects only about 1% of turtles. This rate is much lower than in mammals or birds.



The team analyzed decades of health records from zoos across Europe and the United States, including <a href="https://www.chesterzoo.org/">Chester Zoo</a>. 



The findings suggest that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-turtle-day-2025-ancient-creatures-with-modern-challenges/">turtles</a> could help scientists learn new ways to prevent or fight cancer in humans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turtles-rarely-get-cancer">Turtles rarely get cancer</h2>



The experts reviewed necropsy records from hundreds of zoo turtles. According to the detailed analysis, only about 0.34% of the turtles examined showed any abnormal growth. 



Cancer cases were even rarer. Most cancers found were isolated cases, and they rarely spread. Turtles show no clear pattern of cancers affecting specific organs.



Compared to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/beating-the-heat-how-sea-turtles-cope-with-warming-waters/">mammals</a> and birds, turtles remain outliers. Mammals have average cancer rates of 10 percent, while birds have rates around three percent. By contrast, cancer rates in turtles are consistently under one percent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turtles-have-strong-cancer-defense">Turtles have strong cancer defense</h2>



Turtles have slow metabolisms and strong defenses against oxidative stress. These traits reduce cellular damage over time.



Genomic studies revealed that turtles, especially Galapagos and Aldabra giant tortoises, have unique genetic mutations. These mutations enhance tumour suppression and help maintain DNA stability.



Functional tests on Galapagos giant tortoise cells showed an ability to trigger cell death early. This prevents damaged cells from becoming cancerous. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/turtle-heads-reveal-an-ancient-reptilian-secret/">Turtles</a> also exhibit robust antioxidant responses, even under stress.



Turtles’ low metabolic rates also limit the buildup of harmful byproducts. This may explain their strong cancer resistance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turtles-stay-cancer-free-despite-size">Turtles stay cancer-free despite size</h2>



Turtles challenge common biological patterns. Large, long-lived species often have higher cancer risks because of more cells. But turtles defy this rule.



Some species, like Galapagos and Aldabra tortoises, weigh over 660 pounds. Others, such as leatherback sea turtles, can exceed 1,100 pounds. Still, their cancer rates remain extremely low.



“Turtles, especially iconic species like Galapagos and Aldabra giant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-sea-turtles-swim-and-choose-their-paths-instead-of-drifting/">tortoises</a>, are famous for living long lives and growing to tremendous sizes," noted Dr. Chiari.



"You’d expect that to mean more cancer, but our study, which combines decades of zoo records with previous research, shows how incredibly rare cancer is in these animals." 



Dr. Chiari said that the study highlights turtles as an untapped model for understanding cancer resistance and healthy aging, and it shows the vital role zoos play in advancing science through collaboration.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turtle-secrets-and-medical-insights">Turtle secrets and medical insights</h2>



According to study lead author Dr. Scott Glaberman from the University of Birmingham, biodiversity has a lot to teach us about how the world works. 



"While fascinating in their own right, extreme species like giant tortoises may have already solved many of the problems humans face, including those related to aging and cancer. That makes biodiversity doubly worthy of protection,” said Dr. Glaberman.



Dr Helena Turner, Research Officer at Chester Zoo, said her team has been long been committed to detailed health monitoring and the long-term care of their animals. 



"It’s fantastic to see these efforts not only contribute to advancing scientific knowledge around cancer resistance but also support vital conservation work to protect these remarkable species that may hold keys to medical breakthroughs benefiting both wildlife and humans,” said Dr. Turner.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-turtles-in-the-wild">Studying turtles in the wild</h2>



Much of the current data comes from zoo populations. Zoo turtles often live longer than wild ones. This could increase chances of detecting cancer. However, researchers still lack cancer data from wild turtles.



Tracking turtles across their long lifespans remains difficult. Many species live as long as humans. Without decades of monitoring, it is hard to collect enough data.



Researchers suggest using turtle cell lines for laboratory studies. These experiments could reveal how turtle cells respond to stress, DNA damage, and other cancer-related triggers.



Such studies may unlock hidden mechanisms behind turtles’ resistance to cancer and aging. Insights from turtles could help both human medicine and wildlife conservation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conservation-efforts-remain-critical">Conservation efforts remain critical</h2>



Many turtle species face extinction threats. The <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IUCN Red List</a> categorizes several as Endangered or Critically Endangered.



Threats include habitat loss, illegal wildlife trade, and climate change. Many zoos in the study also lead breeding programmes to save these species.



Protecting turtles could also protect vital genetic secrets that benefit human health. Their remarkable resistance to cancer makes their conservation even more urgent.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biaf100/8185759" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BioScience</a>.



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Turtles may hold the secret to cancer prevention in humans

For centuries, turtles have fascinated people with their remarkably long...

In the arid, fossil-rich landscape of Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park, a team of paleontologists stumbled across something unexpected. The experts found the fossilized jawbone of a pterosaur that may be the oldest ever found in North America.



The discovery came from a remote site that revealed not just one remarkable creature, but a whole ecosystem preserved in stone.



The study was led by scientists from the Smithsonian’s <a href="https://www.si.edu/museums/natural-history-museum">National Museum of Natural History</a> and <a href="https://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Petrified Forest National Park</a>. The research introduces a new pterosaur species alongside more than 1,000 other fossils.



Some of these include one of the world’s oldest turtle specimens. Together, the fossils paint a vivid picture of life just before one of Earth’s biggest mass extinctions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-before-mass-extinction">Life before mass extinction</h2>



The pterosaur fossils come from rock layers that date back to the Late <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-did-not-impact-dinosaur-abundance-in-the-triassic/">Triassic</a> period. During this time, ancient amphibians and crocodile-like reptiles lived side by side with animals that would go on to shape the future of the planet, including early turtles, frogs, and flying reptiles.



“The site captures the transition to more modern terrestrial vertebrate communities, where we start seeing groups that thrive later in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-were-not-the-only-animals-that-grew-fast-during-the-mesozoic/">Mesozoic</a> living alongside these older animals that don’t make it past the Triassic,” said study lead author Ben Kligman.



This glimpse into prehistoric life is especially valuable because it dates to just before the end-Triassic extinction - about 201.5 million years ago - when massive volcanic eruptions dramatically altered Earth’s climate. 



The event wiped out roughly 75% of all species, paving the way for dinosaurs to rise to dominance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-hidden-by-ash">Fossils hidden by ash</h2>



Direct fossil evidence from just before this extinction is hard to come by. Few fossil-rich outcrops from this time exist, but Petrified Forest National Park is one of the rare exceptions. 



Known for its colorful layers of petrified wood and Triassic fossils, the park has long been a treasure trove for paleontologists.



One rock layer, called the Owl Rock Member, has proven especially important. It’s full of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fire-and-ice-volcanic-ash-plays-a-surprising-role-in-cloud-formation/">volcanic ash</a>, which helped scientists date it precisely to around 209 million years ago. These are some of the park’s youngest rocks - but also among its least explored.



Study co-author William Parker explained that the Owl Rock exposures are tucked away in extremely remote areas. Few teams have been able to study them in detail.



In 2011, a research group led by Kay Behrensmeyer decided to take on the challenge. Braving the rugged terrain - complete with rattlesnakes and wild horses - they went in search of mammal-like fossils. 



What they found instead was a densely packed bonebed, full of life from a vanished world.



“That’s the fun thing about paleontology: you go looking for one thing, and then you find something else that’s incredible that you weren’t expecting,” said Kligman, who started working at the site during his PhD studies in 2018.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-life-buried-by-floods">Ancient life buried by floods</h2>



Back in the Triassic, this part of Arizona was located near the equator and sat in the center of the supercontinent <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/supercontinents-101-pannotia-gondwana-and-pangea/">Pangaea</a>. 



The land was semi-arid, with winding river channels and a seasonal flood cycle. One of those floods likely buried the animals that are now preserved in the bonebed.



The fossil layer was so dense with tiny remains that collecting them onsite was impossible. Instead, researchers carved out large blocks of sediment, wrapped them in plaster, and brought them back to the lab.



Many of these blocks were sent to the Smithsonian’s FossiLab, where volunteers spent thousands of hours carefully exposing the bones. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-fossils-major-clues">Small fossils, major clues</h2>



The rivers teemed with fish like coelacanths and freshwater sharks. Giant amphibians - some stretching over six feet long - swam through the streams. On land, armored herbivores and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-crocodile-like-beast-was-a-terrifying-predator/">crocodile-like predators</a> ruled.



At the same time, smaller creatures were starting to make their mark. The team identified early frogs, relatives of today’s tuataras, and a turtle with spike-like armor that could fit in a shoebox. 



The remains of a small pterosaur were also hidden among the layers - just one part of a fossil record that shows how quickly new groups were emerging and spreading across Pangaea.



“This suggests that turtles rapidly dispersed across Pangaea, which is surprising for an animal that is not very large and is likely walking at a slow pace,” said Kligman.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pterosaur-that-perched-like-a-bird">Pterosaur that perched like a bird</h2>



One of the most exciting finds was a jawbone with teeth still in place. It belonged to a small pterosaur, one of the first vertebrates capable of powered flight. This early flier could have perched on a person’s shoulder.



The pterosaur fossil was uncovered by Suzanne McIntire, a volunteer who spent 18 years working in the FossiLab.



“What was exciting about uncovering this specimen was that the teeth were still in the bone, so I knew the animal would be much easier to identify,” McIntire said.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pterosaur_Eotephradactylus-mcintireae_Arizona_illustration_credit-Brian-Engh_1big.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pterosaur_Eotephradactylus-mcintireae_Arizona_illustration_credit-Brian-Engh_1s.webp" alt="An artist's reconstruction of the fossilized landscape, plants and animals found preserved in a remote bonebed in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. The newly described pterosaur Eotephradactylus mcintireae is seen eating an ancient ray-finned fish alongside an early species of turtle and an early frog species, with the skeleton of an armored crocodile relative lying on the ground and a palm-like plant growing in the background. Credit: Brian Engh" class="wp-image-1977432"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An artist's reconstruction of the fossilized landscape, plants and animals found preserved in a remote bonebed in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. The newly described pterosaur Eotephradactylus mcintireae is seen eating an ancient ray-finned fish alongside an early species of turtle and an early frog species, with the skeleton of an armored crocodile relative lying on the ground and a palm-like plant growing in the background. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Brian Engh</figcaption></figure>



The wear on the teeth gave scientists a clue about the pterosaur’s diet. It likely fed on armored fish that were common in the area. 



The new species was named Eotephradactylus mcintireae, which translates to “ash-winged dawn goddess." This title honors McIntire, who retired last year.



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



Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that existed during the time of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-did-dinosaurs-come-from-missing-fossils-hold-the-secret/">dinosaurs</a>. They were the first animals with backbones to evolve powered flight, well before birds or bats came on the scene.



Powered by skin stretched across an extended fourth finger, they ranged in size and shape from something no larger than a crow to giants with wings up to 30 feet or more.



Pterosaurs were not dinosaurs. They formed their own group of reptiles and possessed special adaptations for flight. Some flew above coastlines, while others preyed on fish or small land animals inland.



The new fossil contributes to what is known about those early birds and how they expanded around the globe.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2505513122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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North America's oldest known pterosaur discovered in a petrified forest

In the arid, fossil-rich landscape of Arizona’s Petrified Forest National...

Most people think aging always brings health problems. Inflammation seems like a part of getting older. It slowly builds up, leading to serious diseases. 



Doctors call this slow-burning process “inflammaging.” But not everyone is sure that this process is unavoidable. Some scientists are starting to ask new questions. Does every species experience inflammaging? Is it something we can avoid?



Elaine Guevara from <a href="https://duke.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Duke University</a> studies primates, a group that includes both lemurs and humans. Her work focuses on aging and how it works in different species.



Recently, Guevara began looking at lemurs for answers. These animals may look far removed from humans, but their biology has much to teach us. In fact, her latest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/endangered-lemurs-millions-of-years-of-diversity-at-risk/">research</a> suggests that inflammation during aging may not be as inevitable as people believe.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lemurs-challenge-our-view-of-aging">Lemurs challenge our view of aging </h2>



Guevara's study was focused on two <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hormones-influence-power-and-peace-in-lemur-society/">species</a>: the ring-tailed lemur and the sifaka lemur. These species have many similarities but also some key differences. They have different lifespans and distinct life patterns, which makes them perfect for comparison.



Lemurs share an ancient ancestor with humans. This connection makes them valuable for studying human biology. Scientists often use primates to answer tricky questions about human health.



Guevara wanted to see if lemurs show signs of inflammaging as they grow older. The idea was simple. If inflammation rises in both humans and lemurs, it might be a natural part of aging for all primates. But the results took everyone by surprise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lemurs-aged-without-more-inflammation">Lemurs aged without more inflammation</h2>



The team expected to see clear signs of inflammaging in lemurs. This would have matched patterns seen in humans. But that is not what happened.



“Contrary to our predictions, neither <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hibernation-allows-lemurs-to-slow-down-their-aging/">species</a> showed age-related change in either marker of oxidative stress," said Guevara.



"Neither lemur species exhibited age-related change in inflammation; if anything, contrary to our prediction, ring-tailed lemurs showed marginal declines in inflammation with age."



The findings challenge what many people think about aging. If lemurs do not show inflammaging, maybe it is not something all species must face.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-inflammaging-really-unavoidable">Is inflammaging really unavoidable?</h2>



Lemurs are not alone in this unexpected pattern. Researchers have seen similar results in other primate species. Christine Drea, a scientist involved in the lemur study, explained the bigger picture.



According to Drea, the research suggests inflammaging is not universal across primates. If that is true, it raises an important question. Could some humans also avoid inflammaging?



The idea turns traditional thinking about aging upside down. Many believed inflammaging was simply part of life, but the study shows it might not be that simple.



Scientists are now looking at aging in a whole new way. They are asking if the right conditions might prevent or delay inflammation in humans too.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inflammaging-causes-health-issues">Inflammaging causes health issues</h2>



Inflammaging sounds like a problem only scientists worry about, but it affects millions of people. As people age, their bodies often enter a state of low-level inflammation. This quiet <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/endangered-lemurs-now-prey-for-equally-endangered-fosas/">process</a> can cause serious harm over time.



Inflammaging connects to many common diseases. These include heart problems, strokes, diabetes, cancer, and arthritis.



Doctors and researchers are working hard to find solutions. If they can understand why inflammaging happens, they may find ways to stop it.



The lemur study offers new hope. It suggests that inflammaging is not locked into our biology. That alone is an exciting discovery.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-challenge-of-studying-lemurs">The challenge of studying lemurs</h2>



Studying aging in lemurs is not easy. The animals cannot explain their health. Researchers had to come up with a safe way to collect data.



"Our role at the beginning was planning, designing, brainstorming, comparing and getting these samples,” said Drea.



The team collected urine samples from the lemurs. This method allowed them to study oxidative stress and inflammation without harming the animals.



The research was conducted at the Duke Lemur Center. This facility only allows non-invasive studies. The lemurs remained unharmed throughout the entire project.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-on-lemurs-and-aging">Future research on lemurs and aging</h2>



Guevara now wants to expand her research. Her next focus will be wild lemurs living in their natural environment.



“There are a lot of good reasons to think that aging can be quite different in captivity and in the wild, and that in itself, is informative to evaluating the degree to which human inflammation is intrinsic versus environmental,” she said.



Wild lemurs face many challenges that captive lemurs do not. Their diet, stress, and activity levels all vary. 



By studying lemurs, scientists can learn whether environment shapes aging. The ongoing research could reveal even more about human aging.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lemurs-offer-new-aging-insights">Lemurs offer new aging insights</h2>



People around the world are living longer. However, many of those extra years come with health issues. Inflammaging is a major reason for this.



Guevara believes her work is an important first step toward finding new solutions. "These insights are essential for mitigating disability and improving quality of life in later years."



This study shows that aging does not look the same in every species. Lemurs have shown a very different path. They age without the same inflammation humans often face. 



Researchers now have a fresh question to explore. Can humans also avoid inflammaging? The answer could change how we think about growing older. It could shift how we approach health care for aging populations.



Lemurs may not have provided all the answers yet, but they have certainly started an important conversation.



The study is published in the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00360-025-01619-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Comparative Physiology B</a>. 



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Lemurs reveal surprising new clues about healthy aging

Most people think aging always brings health problems. Inflammation seems...

It’s easy to assume that when fish hang still in the water, they’re taking a break. After all, they look motionless - just calmly suspended in place. But new research shows that this “hovering” is actually a demanding task that takes more effort than resting.



The study comes from scientists at the University of California San Diego’s <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/">Scripps Institution of Oceanography</a>. It focused on how fish manage to stay still in open water without sinking or drifting away.



The team found that fish burn nearly twice as much energy while hovering as they do when resting on the tank floor. That means what looks like rest is really anything but.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-stillness-in-fish">Rethinking stillness in fish</h2>



Most bony fish have swim bladders - gas-filled sacs that help them stay neutrally buoyant, which make them neither float upward nor sink. 



Because of this, researchers once thought that hovering was easy. But the new findings challenge that idea.



The scientists studied 13 different <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-fish-species-are-the-big-catch-of-the-future/">fish species</a> with swim bladders. Each fish was placed in a special tank where its oxygen use was recorded during two behaviors: resting on the bottom and hovering midwater. 



At the same time, high-speed cameras captured every fin twitch and tail flick.



The team also measured body features like the shape of the fish and the position of its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fins-and-limbs-share-a-deep-evolutionary-history/">fins</a>. One key measurement was the distance between the fish’s center of mass and center of buoyancy. 



These don’t always align. That small misalignment creates instability, which the fish must constantly correct.



“Hovering is a bit like trying to balance on a bicycle that’s not moving,” said Valentina Di Santo, an assistant professor at UC San Diego and study author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stability-drains-fish-energy">Stability drains fish energy</h2>



Because of the mismatch between mass and buoyancy, hovering fish have to work against the natural tendency to roll, tilt, or drift. 



The more misaligned those centers are, the more energy the fish burns trying to stay still. That constant effort means hovering is far from restful.



“What struck me was how superbly all these fishes maintain a stable posture, despite their intrinsic instability,” said Di Santo.



Fish with more compact, deeper bodies like goldfish or pufferfish were better at hovering efficiently. In contrast, longer, thinner fish - like giant danios or shell dwellers - had to work harder. 



Fin position also played a role. Fish with pectoral fins placed farther back on their bodies generally hovered more efficiently. The researchers believe this may be due to improved leverage.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-goldfish-have-an-edge">Goldfish have an edge</h2>



“This changes how we see hovering. It’s not a form of rest at all,” said Di Santo. “It’s an energetically costly activity but one that fish engage in anyway because it can be very useful.”



Fish may hover when guarding a nest, feeding in a specific spot, or holding their place in fast-moving water. These tasks require them to stay stable in one position, even when it’s exhausting. 



The study also pointed out a trade-off. Fish with shapes that give them greater control and agility often burn more energy while hovering. Meanwhile, more stable shapes are less agile.



But that trade-off may be worth it. Being able to move nimbly through coral reefs or complex underwater environments is key to survival.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-inspire-robot-design">Fish inspire robot design</h2>



The findings could also influence the next generation of underwater vehicles. Most robots today are built to be stable. But like fish, that stability may limit their agility.



“By studying how fish achieve this balance, we can gain powerful design principles for building more efficient, responsive underwater technologies,” said Di Santo.



For engineers, this could mean building in a bit of instability and designing systems that, like fins, actively correct for it. 



Doing so could allow underwater robots to better explore tight or cluttered environments, such as coral reefs or wreck sites.



“If you want a robot that can maneuver through tight spaces, you might have to learn from these fishes to design in some instability and then add systems that can dynamically maintain stability when needed,” said Di Santo.



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Fish don’t rest while hovering - it's actually hard work

It’s easy to assume that when fish hang still in...

Bees have long been admired for their delicate beauty and essential role in pollination. These small creatures, however, face growing challenges from their environment. 



Rising temperatures and pollution continue to reshape bee behavior in unexpected ways. Recent research is unveiling surprising links between environmental changes and the subtle buzzes bees produce.



These quiet vibrations are more than just background noise. They hold deep meaning for the survival of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-bee-day-2025-protecting-the-pollinators-that-feed-the-world/">bees</a> and the ecosystems they support. As environmental pressures increase, understanding these sounds becomes even more important. 



Researchers are now focusing on how changes in temperature and exposure to heavy metals affect these essential vibrations. The findings offer insight into the hidden world of bee communication and pollination.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-power-of-bee-muscles">Hidden power of bee muscles</h2>



Bees are renowned for their efficient flight. Their wings beat rapidly, allowing them to hover and move gracefully between flowers. However, not many know that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/honey-bee-invasion-a-growing-threat-to-native-pollinators/">bees</a> also use their flight muscles for other important tasks.



“People have been long interested in how insect flight muscles work, as these muscles power the most efficient flight systems in nature,” said Dr. Charlie Woodrow, a post-doctoral researcher at <a href="https://www.uu.se/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Uppsala University</a>. “However, many do not know that bees use these muscles for functions other than flight.”



These non-flight muscle vibrations help in several key behaviors. Bees use them for communication within the hive, to ward off threats, and during a special kind of pollination known as buzz pollination.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bees-buzz-flowers-to-collect-pollen">Bees buzz flowers to collect pollen</h2>



Buzz pollination stands out as one of the most fascinating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-bumble-bees-are-sabotaging-their-own-health/">behaviors</a> in the insect world. It is a process where bees vibrate their bodies to dislodge pollen from certain types of flowers.



“Buzz pollination is an incredible behavior whereby a bee will curl its body around the pollen-concealing anthers of some flowers, and contract the flight muscles up to 400 times per second to produce vibrations which shake the pollen loose,” said Dr. Woodrow.



This act requires great energy and precision. The buzzing shakes the flower at exactly the right frequency, releasing the trapped pollen. 



Dr. Woodrow and his team aim to understand how these vibrations vary between species and environmental conditions. They hope to uncover how these differences affect pollination success and bee behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tools-to-study-bee-buzzing">Tools to study bee buzzing</h2>



To explore these mysteries, Dr. Woodrow’s team turned to advanced technology. They studied buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), a common species found across Europe. These bees are ideal subjects because they are well-researched and easily handled.



Using accelerometers, the researchers measured the frequency of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/organic-farms-and-meadows-can-help-save-wild-bees/">buzzing</a>. This frequency corresponds to the pitch of the sound we can hear.



“They are super easy to use in the field,” said Dr. Woodrow. “We press these against the thorax of the bee, or against the flower the bee is visiting, and we can record the vibrations the bee produces.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-bees-handle-buzzing-heat">How bees handle buzzing heat</h2>



Beyond vibration measurements, the team also used thermal imaging to understand how bees manage heat during buzzing. This approach allowed them to observe how bees balance their body temperature while performing demanding tasks.



“We have also been using high-speed filming to uncover never before seen behaviors,” said Dr. Woodrow. “For example, we recently discovered that bees don’t just vibrate on flowers, but they periodically transmit these vibrations to flowers by biting.”



These unexpected discoveries reveal how much remains hidden in the world of bees. They also highlight the importance of studying these creatures in detail, especially as the climate warms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-role-of-temperature">Hidden role of temperature</h2>



One of the most surprising findings from Dr. Woodrow’s research involves temperature. His experiments showed that temperature has a much stronger impact on buzzing than scientists had previously realised.



“We have recently found that temperature plays a vital role, much more than was previously appreciated, and this work is currently in review for publication,” said Dr. Woodrow. 



“This has many implications for how we study buzz-pollination, as temperature is not really something that has been considered up to this point.”



This insight could reshape how pollination research is conducted in the future, as temperature clearly affects buzzing behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pollution-changes-bee-buzzing">Pollution changes bee buzzing</h2>



In addition to temperature, pollution also affects bee vibrations. Dr. Woodrow teamed up with Dr. Sarah Scott from <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Newcastle University</a> to investigate how heavy metals influence buzzing.



The experiments showed that heavy metal exposure reduces buzzing frequency during non-flight activities. 



Surprisingly, when the researchers tested bees in Arctic regions compared to those further south, they found no difference in the temperature’s effects on buzzing.



This suggests that internal muscle physiology may govern buzzing traits more than local adaptation does.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-way-to-monitor-bee-health">A new way to monitor bee health</h2>



The research offers exciting possibilities beyond academic study. Understanding how environmental changes alter buzzing can reveal much about bee health and behavior. This knowledge can also improve technology designed to detect bee species using sound.



“Perhaps buzzes could even be used as a marker of stress or environmental change,” said Dr. Woodrow. “For example, we now know that certain environmental pollutants can affect the buzzes bees produce, so they could even serve as an indicator of ecosystem health.”



Monitoring bee buzzes could help identify species at risk and provide early warnings about environmental threats.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-buzzing-changes-may-harm-bees">Buzzing changes may harm bees</h2>



The potential risks from disrupted buzzing extend beyond bees. Dr. Woodrow points out that changes in buzzing could damage several aspects of bee life.



“It is important we understand how these changes will affect non-flight buzzes because they are responsible for so many aspects of a bee’s ecology,” said Dr. Woodrow. 



“If these vibrations are disrupted, this could lead to poor communication in the colony, inefficient thermoregulation, or poor resource acquisition for their offspring.”



This disruption could limit pollination, affecting plant reproduction and biodiversity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rising-heat-may-shift-bee-behavior">Rising heat may shift bee behavior</h2>



One particularly worrying result relates to the combination of high temperatures and energy costs.



“For example, buzz-pollination is energetically expensive and causes the bee to generate metabolic heat - therefore if the environment gets too warm, it may simply choose to avoid buzz-pollinated flowers,” noted Dr. Woodrow.



This behavioral change could weaken entire ecosystems, as many plants rely on bees for pollination. If bees avoid these plants, pollination rates could drop sharply.



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



While these findings raise concerns, they also point toward future innovation. Dr. Woodrow’s team is working on applying their research to robotics.



“We are working towards understanding bee vibrations through micro-robotics, so our results are also going towards developing micro-robots to understand pollen release,” said Dr. Woodrow.



This cross-disciplinary work may someday help protect pollination services by mimicking bee buzzing with machines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-urgent-need-to-protect-pollinators">Urgent need to protect pollinators</h2>



These discoveries will be shared at the <a href="https://www.sebiology.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference</a> in Antwerp, Belgium, on July 8, 2025. 



The findings show that bees face increasing challenges from environmental shifts, but they also present new tools to help understand and protect them.



As temperatures climb and pollutants spread, paying attention to the quiet buzz of bees could become more important than ever. Their tiny vibrations may hold the key to preserving plant life, biodiversity, and our shared future.



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Heat and pollution are changing the buzz of bees

Bees have long been admired for their delicate beauty and...

Koalas are everywhere on postcards and souvenirs. People think of them as calm animals sleeping in trees. But life isn’t simple for koalas anymore.



Their numbers keep dropping across Australia. Habitat loss, disease, and land clearing cause serious damage. Many forests are now small patches surrounded by roads and buildings.



Most people don’t realize how risky it is for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/koalas-face-critical-threats-from-disease-and-habitat-loss/">koalas</a> when they leave trees. New research now shows something alarming. Koalas spend only about ten minutes a day on the ground, but those short minutes cause almost two-thirds of all recorded koala deaths.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-koalas-risk-lives-when-leaving-trees">Koalas risk lives when leaving trees</h2>



Gabriella Sparkes, a PhD student at the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Queensland</a>, wanted to gain a better understanding of koala behavior.



“Koalas are mostly tree-dwelling, but due to extensive land clearing, they’re increasingly forced to travel on the ground, which puts them at serious risk of injury and death,” said Sparkes. “I wanted to better understand what koalas do during these ground movements.”



Vehicles and dogs kill most <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/koalas-can-predict-hot-days-and-adjust-their-body-temperature/">koalas</a> while they walk on the ground. Even though this danger is known, many details about their movements remained unknown.



“We don’t yet have a clear understanding of how often koalas come down from trees, how far or fast they move, how long they stay on the ground, or what influences those decisions,” noted Sparkes. 



“These are critical knowledge gaps if we want to identify high-risk areas or times and develop strategies to reduce threats during these vulnerable moments.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-koalas-in-their-habitats">Tracking koalas in their habitats</h2>



Sparkes and her team used special collars on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-day-2025-a-global-call-to-protect-nature/">wild</a> koalas. These collars had GPS trackers and sensors called accelerometers.



The GPS recorded their locations every five minutes. When koalas started walking on the ground, the system switched to record every five seconds. 



The sensors measured their movements in detail. They showed if a koala was walking, sitting, or climbing.



“When paired with GPS tracks, this gives us an incredibly detailed view of how koalas move through their habitat,” said Sparkes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-koalas-prefer-staying-in-trees">Koalas prefer staying in trees </h2>



The results were clear. Koalas prefer staying in trees. They sleep, eat, and rest there most of the time. The researchers were surprised by how rarely koalas use the ground.



“What surprised us was how infrequently and briefly they use the ground—just 2-3 times per night, averaging around 10 minutes in total, or less than 1% of their day,” says Ms. Sparkes.



Koalas only climb down when they need to move between trees. But when trees are far apart, ground travel becomes unavoidable.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-koalas-move-slowly-between-trees">Koalas move slowly between trees</h2>



People often think <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/un-report-disturbing-details-about-the-state-of-earths-wildlife/">animals</a> move quickly when they’re in danger. But this research showed that koalas don’t rush. They move slowly and pause often. They spend almost as much time sitting as they do walking.



“They spent nearly as much time sitting and pausing as they did walking, and only about 7% of their time on the ground was spent bounding,” said Sparkes. 



“This may indicate that koalas are carefully assessing their environment as they move, possibly evaluating trees before selecting one to climb, or it may reflect the energetic costs of bounding.”



Koalas may need to check for safety before climbing a tree. They might also avoid fast movements to save energy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ways-to-keep-koalas-safe">Ways to keep koalas safe</h2>



This study, which was the first to track fine details of ground movement in wild koalas, has revealed clear risks and raised more questions. Sparkes and her team now study what makes koalas stay longer in trees.



“We’re now looking at environmental features that influence how long koalas stay in trees,” said Sparkes. 



“If we can identify the kinds of trees or habitat conditions that encourage koalas to remain in trees for longer, we may be able to design or manage landscapes in ways that reduce the need for ground travel.”



The goal is to find trees that keep koalas off the ground. The researchers also wanted to see if certain habitats lower the need for risky movements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-changes-can-help-koalas-survive">Small changes can help koalas survive</h2>



The team hopes their research can guide better conservation work. They suggest keeping tree canopies connected and reducing the space between trees.



Simple actions like planting the right trees may help. Koalas need safer, connected habitats to avoid ground travel.



“This research is just one piece of the puzzle, but it adds an important layer to our understanding of how koalas interact with increasingly human-altered environments,” said Sparkes.



The findings will be presented at the <a href="https://www.sebiology.org/">Society for Experimental Biology</a> Annual Conference in Antwerp, Belgium, in July.



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Most koalas don’t survive after leaving the safety of trees

Koalas are everywhere on postcards and souvenirs. People think of...

Anyone who has ever stopped on a busy street because a cluster of strangers were gazing at the sky knows how contagious attention can be. Humans aren’t the only species drawn into looking where others look.



A new study has shown that pigeons also track the gaze of their flockmates. The number of birds already looking determines how strongly the behavior spreads.



The research was led by Fumihiro Kano and Mathilde Delacoux at the <a href="https://www.uni-konstanz.de/en/">University of Konstanz</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-cues-guide-attention">Social cues guide attention</h2>



“Many animals, including humans, tend to look where others are looking. This is called gaze following,” said Delacoux. “It’s a simple but important way of sharing attention and learning from others.”



In the 1960s, social psychologist Stanley Milgram famously demonstrated what he called the “quorum effect” in people. If only one or two individuals stare at a building’s roof, most passers-by ignore them. But as the crowd of sky-watchers grows, almost everyone stops and looks up.



Previous animal studies confirmed that birds such as ravens, starlings, geese, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/penguins-are-threatened-by-mercury-contamination/">penguins</a> follow another’s gaze. Yet those experiments almost always involved a pair of birds. 



The Konstanz team wanted to know whether flock size changes the equation for species that live in large groups.



According to Delacoux, pigeons are well-suited to this task because they typically form relatively large flocks, where individuals are usually surrounded by multiple conspecifics. 



"In such flocks, following another’s gaze should be beneficial for key activities such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-foraging-behavior-changing-climate-warming-waters/">foraging</a> and vigilance," noted Delacoux.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-gaze-with-flocks">Studying gaze with flocks</h2>



To test the idea, the researchers used a state-of-the-art barn near Lake Constance. Two groups of pigeons were placed face-to-face.



One group had an unobstructed view of a gently moving object designed to catch their attention; the other group’s view was blocked by a screen. 



Sophisticated cameras recorded every head movement from several angles, letting the scientists pinpoint to the millisecond when each pigeon oriented toward the hidden object.



The experiment was repeated with various “informed” group sizes. Sometimes just one pigeon could see the object; other times three, five, or more birds had the privileged view. 



The question was whether - and how quickly - the uninformed pigeons would swivel their heads to match the gaze of their companions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gaze-spreads-with-flock-size">Gaze spreads with flock size</h2>



The results confirmed that pigeons do notice and copy the direction of others’ attention. However, the effect depended heavily on group size. When a lone pigeon stared, few flockmates joined in.



As the number of gazing birds climbed, more and more uninformed birds aligned their vision the same way. 



Unlike Milgram’s human crowds, the researchers did not find a sharp cut-off - no fixed “quorum” that suddenly triggered mass participation. Instead, the likelihood of following grew steadily with each additional pigeon already looking.



Thus, while <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/all-birds-one-tree-complete-evolutionary-map-reveals-hidden-links/">birds</a> responded to collective cues, they did so on a sliding scale rather than an all-or-nothing basis.



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



Does gaze following in groups mean pigeons understand that their neighbors possess knowledge they lack? Delacoux is cautious. 



“I would not assume that their behavior means any more than that they are just following the gazes of others,” he said.



The birds did not reposition themselves to get a clearer view, for example, a move one might expect if they inferred what another bird could see. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pigeons_gaze_eye-motion_observers_illustration_credit-UKonstanz_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pigeons_gaze_eye-motion_observers_illustration_credit-UKonstanz_1s.webp" alt="Test setup in the high-tech barn: The pigeons are divided into two groups. Only one group (&quot;demonstrators&quot;) sees the moving object. Does the second group (&quot;observers&quot;) now follow the gaze of their peers? Credit: Mathilde Delacoux" class="wp-image-1977083"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Test setup in the high-tech barn: The pigeons are divided into two groups. Only one group ("demonstrators") sees the moving object. Does the second group ("observers") now follow the gaze of their peers? Click image to enlarge. Credit: Mathilde Delacoux</figcaption></figure>



The researchers interpret the response as largely reflexive - an efficient rule of thumb in flock life, rather than evidence of higher-order perspective-taking.



Still, the study illuminates how pigeons use social information. “Now, we know pigeons don’t just copy their flockmates' gaze; they modulate their gaze-following behavior depending on how many peers give a gaze cue,” Kano said. “They respond to a collective cue.”



In other words, a single bird’s glance carries little weight, but a chorus of looks quickly draws the rest of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-flocking-dynamics-inspire-advancements-in-technology/">flock</a>’s attention.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gaze-in-social-animals">Gaze in social animals</h2>



The findings underscore the value of studying animals in the social settings where they evolved. As Kano argued, “many animals evolved in groups. To truly understand how they think and communicate, we need to study them in groups, too.”



By mapping the subtle ways that group size shapes behavior, the researchers add a new layer to our understanding of how animals share information and make collective decisions. 



Such insights may apply well beyond pigeons, offering clues to the social cognition of many flocking or herding species, and even echoing back to the street-corner instincts of our own species.



The full study can be found in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225011186" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">iScience</a>.



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Pigeons exhibit the same behavior as humans by following the gaze of others in their flock

Anyone who has ever stopped on a busy street because...

Chimpanzees are showing us that culture isn't just about tools or survival. A new study at a sanctuary in Zambia has revealed something remarkable. Several chimpanzees began to copy each other by dangling blades of grass from their ears or behinds, for no clear reason. 



The unexpected behavior appeared only in certain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-chimpanzee-mothers-raise-babies-more-successfully/">groups</a>, despite all living in similar environments.



“This shows that, like humans, other animals also copy seemingly pointless behaviors from one another,” said <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Utrecht University</a> researcher Edwin van Leeuwen. “And that, in turn, may offer insights into the evolutionary roots of human culture.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mimicking-others-without-clear-purpose">Mimicking others, without clear purpose</h2>



People often copy odd trends like shaving eyebrow lines or dressing their pets. These habits spread fast but serve no obvious function.



In animals, copying usually relates to survival. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-select-the-best-materials-for-termite-fishing/">Chimps</a> teach each other how to crack nuts or fish for termites. But sometimes, animals embrace habits that seem to lack any benefit. Orcas wearing dead salmon as hats is one recent example.



This study focuses on such non-functional behaviors, rarely explored in depth. Back in 2010, a chimpanzee named Julie at <a href="https://www.chimfunshiwildlife.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage</a> Trust started putting grass in her ear. Soon, seven others followed. Even after Julie’s death, her group kept the habit.



Researchers saw this as a cultural tradition, as it remained confined to her group and persisted over years. The behavior looked more like a fashion statement than a survival tactic.



Years later, another group at the same sanctuary began doing the same. They had no contact with Julie’s group, ruling out direct copying. Five out of eight chimps in the new group copied the grass-in-ear <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-curiosity-starts-young-and-helps-us-survive/">behavior</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimpanzees-copying-an-odd-trend">Chimpanzees copying an odd trend</h2>



In an unexpected twist, the new group added a unique spin. Six chimps began inserting grass into their behinds, letting it dangle freely. Scientists named this “grass-in-rectum behavior.”



The researchers closely observed the spread of both habits. In August 2023, a chimp named Juma was the first to do both <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-use-rhythmic-drumming-to-communicate-in-forests/">behaviors</a>. 



Within a week, four others copied the grass-in-ear trick. Within six weeks, five others copied the grass-in-rectum behavior. This happened without external prompting or visible irritation in their ears or behinds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evidence-of-social-learning">Evidence of social learning</h2>



The researchers analyzed how these behaviors spread within the groups. They used a statistical method called Network-Based Diffusion Analysis (NBDA).



The analysis showed that both behaviors spread mainly through social learning. In fact, over 80% of the chimps adopted them through copying others. Social ties strongly predicted who picked up the habits first.



Interestingly, even new chimps integrated into the group later copied the grass-in-ear habit within months.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimpanzees-may-copy-humans">Chimpanzees may copy humans</h2>



The researchers also considered the role of humans. Both chimp groups with these behaviors shared the same caregivers. 



The caregivers sometimes cleaned their ears with grass or sticks. Other groups with different caregivers did not develop such habits.



“The chimps in the one group then figured out to stick the blade of grass in another place as well,” said Van Leeuwen.



In the wild, such trends are absent among chimpanzees. Captivity offers more free time and fewer survival pressures. That might explain why chimps experiment with odd habits there.



“Why they do exactly this particular thing, I’m not really concerned about. But them copying the behaviour from each other, that is the important insight,” noted Van Leeuwen.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-human-culture">Lessons for human culture</h2>



Some scientists think humans evolved culturally because we copy tiny details, even useless ones. Animals supposedly cannot do this, yet the study suggests otherwise.



“Our study shows that chimpanzees are able to copy small, useless behaviors from each other,” said Jake Brooker from Durham University. “That is why we felt it was important to share these new observations.”



Van Leeuwen’s team noted that these behaviors may not be entirely useless. They might serve as social signals.



“It could also serve a social purpose. By copying someone else’s behavior, you show that you notice and maybe even like that individual. So, it might help strengthen social bonds and create a sense of belonging within the group, just like it does in humans,” said Van Leeuwen.



The researchers also suggest these behaviors may reflect a deep social drive. Young chimps often form alliances and bonds through mimicry. In this case, lower-ranking males copied higher-ranking ones, likely to gain approval.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimps-may-copy-for-social-reasons">Chimps may copy for social reasons</h2>



Scientists propose that copying odd behaviors might help chimps integrate socially. Just like humans, they may copy group norms to build trust and reduce conflict.



One theory, the Zone of Proximal Acquisition, suggests that animals copy behaviors they can already physically perform but haven’t yet tried in that exact way. The grass behaviors fit this model well.



Another theory, the Zone of Bounded Surprisal, suggests animals are drawn to behaviors that surprise them yet feel familiar. Chimps already examine each other’s behinds frequently, making this behavior more noticeable and likely to spread.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimps-have-complex-social-lives">Chimps have complex social lives</h2>



The findings challenge long-held views about animals’ cultural limits. Chimps show they can adopt unusual, non-functional behaviors through social learning. Whether these habits offer hidden social benefits remains to be seen.



Still, the very act of copying and passing down such behaviors highlights the complexity of animal cultures. It suggests that even seemingly pointless acts may hold value in the social lives of chimpanzees.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/beh/aop/article-10.1163-1568539X-bja10313/article-10.1163-1568539X-bja10313.xml" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Behaviour</a>.



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Chimpanzees copy strange, useless trends just like humans do

Chimpanzees are showing us that culture isn't just about tools...

Two small, sand‑colored nymphs of the seldom‑seen mayfly Behningia baei surfaced from the Mae Chaem River in northern Thailand during a December 2024 field survey. 



The find ends a 22‑year drought of sightings and puts the insect back on scientists’ maps after generations of silence in entomological records.



Until now the species, first described in 2006 from a site about 250 miles to the south, had vanished from every subsequent expedition. 



The rediscovery team was led by <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sedtawut-Kwanboon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sedtawut Kwanboon</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Boonsatien-Boonsoong" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Boonsatien Boonsoong</a> of <a href="https://www.ku.ac.th/en/community-home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kasetsart University</a>, Bangkok.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-behningia-was-in-the-sand">Why Behningia was in the sand</h2>



Most <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/mayfly" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mayfly</a> work chases fluttering adults, yet the Thai team instead scuffed the riverbed with kick nets, stirring up juveniles hidden like grains of rice in the fine sediment. 



Burrowing youngsters cling to loose sand where sunlight and predators rarely reach, making them easier to sample than their airborne parents.



After hours of microscope work, every mandible, leg, and gill on the two specimens matched the 2006 description of B. baei. High‑resolution images confirmed the identity beyond doubt.



“These new data about the geographic and habitat distributions of behningiid mayflies helps to fill knowledge gaps and improves our ability to address conservation issues surrounding these rarely seen mayflies, not only in Thailand but also globally,” wrote Boonsatien Boonsoong. 



The quote hints at how a single rediscovery can redraw conservation priorities far beyond one stream.



The <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g790338-Mae_Chaem-Vacations.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mae Chaem site</a> sits about 1,350 feet above sea level and 250 miles north of the original locality in <a href="https://www.tourismthailand.org/Destinations/Provinces/Phitsanulok/112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Phitsanulok Province</a>. That span suggests the insect occupies more rivers than anyone ever suspected.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sand-dwelling-mayflies">Sand‑dwelling mayflies</h2>



Mayflies move the energy stored in algae to fish, birds, and other animals. They achieve this by grazing as juveniles and then by becoming prey along nearly every link of the freshwater food web.



Because nymphs breathe through exposed gills, they suffocate in low‑oxygen or polluted streams, so biologists use their numbers as a living <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70195672" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">water‑quality score</a>. 



Locating B. baei confirms that the Mae Chaem reach still carries clean, oxygen‑rich water over stable sand.



While every mayfly supports predators, sand‑burrowing families such as Behningiidae also churn and aerate the top inch of sediment. Their digging loosens grains and speeds nutrient exchange, turning them into tiny ecosystem engineers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-behningia-s-life-measured-in-hours">Behningia's life measured in hours</h2>



Mayflies belong to the order <a href="https://bugguide.net/node/view/78" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ephemeroptera</a>, a name that nods to adult lives frequently shorter than a single day. Most adult mayflies survive only 48–72 hours, with some species lasting barely ninety minutes.



The champion of brevity, the North American <a href="https://georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=all&amp;es_id=21325" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dolania americana</a>, holds the record at under five minutes for adult females. Such fleeting adulthood explains why researchers almost never catch rarities like B. baei on the wing.



By focusing on juveniles, the Thai team sidestepped that scheduling nightmare. The method also avoids killing breeding adults, an ethical bonus when populations appear thin.



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-thought-extinct-for-85-years-reappears-in-himalayan-river-chel-snakehead/">rediscovery</a> underscores how insect timelines differ from human ambitions. Two decades to us equal perhaps twenty complete life cycles for B. baei, enough time for habitats to vanish or rebound.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-rediscovery-tells-conservationists">What the rediscovery tells conservationists</h2>



Thailand lists more than 300 mayfly species, yet only one other Behningia species, <a href="https://publication.plazi.org/GgServer/html/E47AD7D9ECE556F7863FE00403810630/3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Protobehningia merga</a>, was previously noted in the Mae Chaem basin. Finding both taxa in one river shows that fine‑sand beds remain a refuge worth guarding.



The study’s distribution map extends B. baei nearly 250 miles northward, hinting that tropical Behningiidae can tolerate cooler upland currents. That clue will guide future surveys toward similar sandy reaches.



River managers in Southeast Asia often focus on charismatic megafauna, but tiny <a href="https://www.macroinvertebrates.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">macroinvertebrate</a> indicators flag trouble years earlier. Adding routine kick‑net checks to water‑quality programs could save money and species alike.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next-for-behningia-baei">What's next for Behningia baei</h2>



Kwanboon plans DNA bar‑coding of the two specimens to confirm there is no cryptic sibling <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-may-have-three-million-undiscovered-animal-species/">species</a> hiding under the same name. He also hopes to sample neighboring tributaries before the next monsoon blankets sites in turbid runoff.



Meanwhile, the team is training local students to run simple kick‑net protocols so discoveries will not depend on brief visits by city scientists. Community observers could turn rare rediscoveries into routine data points.



Sand bars, often overlooked by conservation rules, shelter specialized <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-found-to-have-a-sixth-sense-gecko-hearing-vibrations-changing-science-view-of-sound/">animals</a> that vanish if substrates shift even a few inches. Keeping those substrates stable may prove as vital as controlling chemical pollutants.



For a creature that spends most of its life buried and the rest aloft on borrowed minutes, reappearing after two decades is indeed dramatic. Yet the authors treat it as the first chapter of a longer investigation, not the final page.



The study is published in <a href="https://checklist.pensoft.net/article/148597/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Check List</a>.



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Rare insect that was thought to be extinct for 20 years was rediscovered

Two small, sand‑colored nymphs of the seldom‑seen mayfly Behningia baei...

Horses are helping fill a major gap in mental health care for children. With long waitlists and limited success from traditional talk therapy, many kids are still falling through the cracks. 



For some, sitting in a therapist’s office just doesn’t work. But therapy sessions held outdoors, with horses as part of the team, are starting to make a real difference.



A recent study from the <a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/">University of South Australia</a> shows that equine-assisted therapy is shifting the way social workers support children. The research highlights the experiences of ten professionals already using horses to connect with kids in powerful ways.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-horse-therapy-in-nature">Horse therapy in nature</h2>



Equine-assisted interventions (EAI) are a form of therapy that brings children and horses together in natural, outdoor settings. 



The sessions are led by trained <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-reduces-depression-and-anxiety-in-children-and-teens-with-mental-health-issues/">mental health</a> professionals working alongside experienced equine practitioners. And the results, according to those involved, can be transformative.



The study found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supportive-adults-help-protect-children-from-mental-health-issues/">children</a> often connect more easily in this environment than they do in traditional therapy rooms. The calm of nature, the presence of horses, and the physical space to move and breathe - these all contribute to a sense of safety and openness.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-children-trust-horses">Children trust horses</h2>



Morgyn Stacy, a University of South Australia Social Work graduate who led the study as part of her Honors project, noted that conventional talk therapy doesn’t work for every child.



“But give them the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-nature-heals-outdoor-activities-greatly-improve-mental-health/">space</a> to be outside, to connect with a horse, and something powerful happens. They begin to feel safe, calm, and ready to open up,” noted Stacy.



The connection doesn’t happen by chance. Horses are naturally sensitive to human emotions and body language. 



The horses reflect the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/words-shape-how-our-brains-process-feelings-and-guide-decisions/">feelings</a> of the child standing next to them. This mirroring effect can help children understand and manage their emotions in ways they haven’t before.



One practitioner in the study described the experience as “being seen through the eyes of a horse,” a kind of connection that can shift something deep inside a child.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-extended-benefits-of-horse-therapy">Extended benefits of horse therapy</h2>



Therapists working in these settings don’t just use the horses - they also use the land. Sessions might include walking barefoot in sand, noticing animal tracks, or standing quietly with a horse. These simple activities help children feel grounded and present.



"The benefits go beyond mental health," said Stacy. "Children often gain confidence, improve communication skills, and build stronger emotional resilience."



Some kids even come in afraid of horses. Therapists help them work through those fears by matching them with the right animal. And when a child overcomes that fear, it becomes a confidence boost they can carry into other areas of life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-horses-can-help-kids-with-trauma">Horses can help kids with trauma</h2>



Dr. Fatin Shabbar, a senior researcher at the University of South Australia and a qualified social worker, said this approach can be especially helpful for children who have experienced <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/childhood-trauma-can-cause-physical-pain-in-late-life/">trauma</a>, such as those in the child protection system.



"Practitioners in the study described deeply moving examples of children bonding with horses in ways that sparked emotional breakthroughs where other therapies had failed," said Dr. Shabbar.



But this kind of therapy isn’t widely available. It costs a lot to care for horses and maintain rural therapy spaces. Without funding support - from programs like the NDIS or child protection services - many families just can’t afford it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-need-for-recognition-and-guidelines">Need for recognition and guidelines</h2>



Despite its potential, equine-assisted therapy still faces major roadblocks. The absence of national standards in Australia means there's no consistent guarantee of practitioner training - raising serious concerns about the safety of both children and animals.



"Another concern is the lack of regulation in Australia," said Dr. Shabbar. "Without clear guidelines, unqualified practitioners may offer equine-assisted services without appropriate training, which puts both children and the animals at risk."



Even highly qualified professionals face an uphill battle. The therapy isn’t formally recognized as evidence-based in many settings.



"This research shows that equine-assisted therapy can be a deeply healing experience. But for it to reach more children, we need formal recognition, ethical guidelines and proper funding," noted the authors of the study. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-what-healing-looks-like">Rethinking what healing looks like</h2>



This study isn’t just about horses. It’s about expanding how we think about healing. It’s about listening to the people on the ground - therapists, social workers, and most importantly, the kids - who are saying that there’s another way to do things.



With the right support, equine-assisted therapy could become more than a niche offering. It could become a trusted option for children who need something different, something real, and something that works.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02650533.2025.2495741">Journal of Social Work Practice</a>.



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Therapy horses are helping children heal from trauma

Horses are helping fill a major gap in mental health...

While age may bring wisdom for people, it appears to bring peril for white-lined sphinx moths. A recent field study shows that birds, rodents, and other predators are far more likely to peck, bite, or maul these insects once they emerge from the pupal stage and spread their wings.



Led by the <a href="https://www.utep.edu/">University of Texas at El Paso</a> (UTEP), the research lends experimental weight to a long-standing evolutionary idea. Complete metamorphosis may protect youthful stages from predation, allowing individuals to reach reproductive maturity before facing the most dangerous chapter of life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-caterpillars-versus-adult-moths">Caterpillars versus adult moths</h2>



Biologist Brett Seymoure, principal investigator and assistant professor at UTEP, studies holometabolous insects - species that pass through egg, larva, pupa, and adult phases.



The prevailing theory suggests that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dragonfly-larvae-expose-climates-hidden-influence-on-biology/">larvae</a> enjoy a relative sanctuary from predators, giving them a chance to grow before adulthood brings mobility, exposure, and heightened risk.



“There are multiple hypotheses about why these insects go through so many stages before reaching adulthood,” Seymoure said.



“Our research set out to test the prediction that caterpillars are less likely to be attacked by predators, enabling the insect to survive to adulthood and reproduce before it has to face the most dangerous part of its life.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-creating-life-sized-decoys">Creating life-sized decoys</h2>



Directly observing countless <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-predator-prey-feast-ever-seen-in-the-ocean-enormous-quickly-altered-food-chain/">predator attacks</a> on real moths would be impractical. Instead, graduate student and lead author Braulio Alexis Sanchez created convincing clay replicas of both caterpillars and adult moths.



To mimic the wing patterns of Hyles lineata accurately, he printed photographs on special paper calibrated for precise color matching, then attached the wings to the clay bodies. 



Because clay records punctures and impressions, each model would serve as a forensic logbook, revealing encounters with sharp beaks or probing mandibles.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moths-meet-predators-in-texas">Moths meet predators in Texas</h2>



The team installed pairs of decoys - one caterpillar, one adult - on creosote bushes scattered across the rugged Indio Mountains Research Station in West Texas, a property managed by UTEP. 



Spacing the models closely ensured they faced identical environmental conditions. Over three consecutive days, researchers visited sites at dawn and dusk, inspecting every replica for new damage, counting beak marks, tooth gouges, or missing segments.



“Out of 70 replicas that were attacked, 50 were adults and 20 were caterpillars, and most of the attack marks were consistent with birds,” noted Sanchez.



In other words, adult-shaped models were assaulted two and a half times more often than larval shapes. Because both forms were equally available to predators, the data point toward active selection: visually oriented hunters seemed to prefer the adult silhouette.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predators-prefer-winged-moths">Predators prefer winged moths</h2>



The results bolster the notion that larval life provides a safer developmental window. If predation focused primarily on caterpillars, populations might struggle to produce enough breeding adults.



“If moths in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/caterpillars-inherit-food-preferences-through-their-blood/">caterpillar</a> stage were more heavily attacked, it would be much more difficult for moths to reach adulthood and reproduce,” Seymoure noted. 



Instead, the danger spikes only when the moth takes wing - precisely when reproduction becomes possible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-reminder-of-insect-importance"><a></a>A reminder of insect importance</h2>



Beyond theoretical interest, the study highlights insects’ ecological centrality. As Sanchez put it, “Without insects, there are no humans, trees, or plants.”



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-are-still-disappearing-and-there-are-hundreds-of-reasons-why/">Insects</a> pollinate crops, decompose organic matter, seed food webs, and cycle nutrients. Yet global surveys report worrying declines. 



Understanding at what life stage insects are most vulnerable can inform habitat management, pesticide timing, and conservation priorities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-identifying-the-moth-s-predators">Identifying the moth's predators</h2>



While bite impressions suggested birds were the main culprits, the researchers plan to broaden their surveillance.



Nocturnal moth predators - <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frog-mating-calls-teach-bats-which-prey-to-avoid/">bats</a>, rodents, even wandering spiders - might attack under cover of darkness. 



Motion-activated cameras, night-vision optics, and ultrasonic detectors could capture real-time predation events and complement the static clay evidence.



The Chihuahuan Desert hosts unique avian assemblages and sparse vegetation, potentially exaggerating visual hunting cues. To test generality, Seymoure’s team hopes to replicate experiments in woodland, grassland, and urban settings, and with different moth species.



If adult-biased predation proves universal, it would underscore metamorphosis as a widespread risk-management strategy in insects.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-maturity-invites-greater-danger">Maturity invites greater danger</h2>



Complete metamorphosis remains one of evolution’s most ingenious inventions, separating growth and reproduction into distinct anatomical phases.



The new findings suggest an additional benefit: by bottling youth within a relatively inconspicuous caterpillar, nature minimizes early-life losses. 



Once it stockpiles resources and unfurls its wings, the adult embarks on the perilous business of mating and dispersal. For Hyles lineata, growing older quite literally means stepping into the firing line.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-focusing-on-climate-and-scent">Focusing on climate and scent</h2>



Future studies may integrate chemical cues - some predators use scent rather than sight - or assess how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/danger-zones-climate-change-is-altering-predator-prey-dynamics/">climate change</a> alters predator-prey dynamics.



For now, the clay decoys at Indio Mountains recount a simple story: in the desert sky, an adult moth is a conspicuous, protein-rich morsel, while a plump caterpillar clinging to creosote is more likely to pass unnoticed. 



Age, it seems, is more than just a number for these shapeshifting insects; it marks the difference between relative safety and a sudden, predatory strike.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/4/347">Insects</a>.



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Why predators attack adult moths instead of caterpillars

While age may bring wisdom for people, it appears to...

Gender dynamics among primates have long fascinated both scientists and the public. Many people assume that male dominance over females is natural across primates, a belief that also shapes how we think about human gender roles. However, a new study challenges this view. 



Conducted by researchers from the University of Montpellier, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&amp;rls=en&amp;q=German+Primate+Center&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;oe=UTF-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">German Primate Center</a>, the work sheds light on the surprising flexibility of power relations among primates.



The findings reveal that neither male nor female dominance is universal. Instead, power shifts depend on factors such as ecology, reproductive strategies, and social structures. The study spans 253 populations from 121 primate species, making it the largest of its kind.



The results call for a reconsideration of our assumptions - not only about other primates but also about ourselves. The study highlights how gendered power dynamics emerge through complex, evolving interactions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-power-matters-in-primates">Why power matters in primates</h2>



The researchers examined patterns of aggression between males and females in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-select-the-best-materials-for-termite-fishing/">primates</a>. They discovered that nearly half of all aggressive encounters occur between opposite sexes.



This finding contrasts with previous studies that focused mostly on same-sex competition. These older views assumed that males and females compete for different resources, leading to separate social hierarchies.



“The observation that, in most populations, any given individual is more likely to be involved in a fight against another individual of the opposite rather than the same sex highlights that the battle of the sexes is common in other animals,” said Dieter Lukas from the Max Planck Institute.



The researchers then studied the outcomes of these conflicts to identify whether males or females tend to dominate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-male-dominance-is-rare-in-primates">Male dominance is rare in primates</h2>



Traditionally, many assumed that male dominance is the default in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/laughter-lifts-bonobo-moods-offering-clues-to-human-emotion/">primate</a> societies. Iconic cases like female-dominant bonobos or lemurs were seen as rare exceptions.



Yet this study revealed a more complex picture. Among the 151 primate populations with quantitative data, only 17 percent showed strict male dominance. In comparison, 13 percent showed strict female dominance.



The remaining 70 percent of populations displayed moderate or no clear dominance by either sex. 



“Recent research started to challenge the traditional views of male dominance being the default status, and our study now provides a more comprehensive exploration of variation in intersexual dominance relationships," noted Peter Kappeler from the German Primate Center.



The research marks a major shift from old assumptions, showing that rigid male dominance is far less common than once believed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-female-primates-take-charge">When female primates take charge</h2>



To explain these varied outcomes, the researchers tested five hypotheses. The strongest support emerged for the reproductive control hypothesis.



In species where females gain more control over reproduction, they are more likely to dominate socially as well. This pattern appears in species that are monogamous, arboreal, or where males and females are similar in size.



In such species, females can often reject male advances. They also tend to live in environments that allow them to avoid physical coercion.



Female dominance also flourishes in societies with high female-female <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-animal-will-replace-humans-as-earths-dominant-species-this-scientist-has-an-idea/">competition</a>. This includes pair-living or solitary species where females are territorial and fiercely guard resources.



Interestingly, female dominance often coincides with low sexual dimorphism, short periods of sexual receptivity, and balanced sex ratios within groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-male-primates-keep-power">Where male primates keep power</h2>



Conversely, male-biased dominance typically appears in terrestrial, polygynous species with high sexual dimorphism. In these societies, males dominate through sheer physical power.



“Critically, while primate males gain power via physical force and coercion, female empowerment relies on alternative pathways, such as reproductive strategies to gain control over matings,” noted Elise Huchard from the <a href="https://www.umontpellier.fr/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Montpellier</a>.



This pattern often involves larger male body size, specialized weapons like large canines, and polygynous mating systems. Terrestrial species are especially prone to this male-dominated structure, as females have fewer opportunities to escape or resist male control.



The findings reveal that the ecological context - whether arboreal or terrestrial - shapes the way power is exercised.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-female-power-shifts-within-primates">Female power shifts within primates</h2>



One striking discovery is that dominance patterns often vary within a species. The study revealed wide-ranging variation in female dominance across different populations of the same species.



For example, in bonobos, females win between 48 percent and 79 percent of contests with males, depending on the group. Other species show similar variation, proving that social dynamics can shift based on local conditions.



Some species even display all three dominance types - female-biased, male-biased, and neutral - across different groups.



The researchers also noted a clear link between evolutionary history and dominance patterns. Great apes and African and Asian monkeys tend to show male-biased dominance, while lemurs and lorises frequently show female dominance. New World monkeys often fall somewhere in between.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-competition-and-female-dominance">Competition and female dominance </h2>



Another major finding comes from testing the female competition hypothesis. The study found that species with intense female-female competition often show female-biased dominance.



Such competition appears frequently in pair-living or solitary species where females exclude rivals from resources. Female dominance also tends to emerge in stable social groups where female conflicts over food are common.



Interestingly, ecological harshness and environmental unpredictability were not strong predictors of female dominance, despite past claims to the contrary.



Instead, social structure and mating systems - such as group stability and reproductive strategies - emerged as stronger influences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-female-parenting-and-primate-power">Female parenting and primate power</h2>



The study also explored the offspring safety hypothesis, which links dominance to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orangutan-mothers-have-unique-parenting-styles-like-humans/">parenting</a> strategies. It found that female-biased dominance is more common in species where mothers park their young rather than carrying them constantly.



Species with shorter lactation periods and lower risks of male-inflicted infanticide also tend to show greater female dominance. These traits reduce the cost of engaging in risky conflicts with males.



Interestingly, allomaternal care, where other group members help care for infants, also plays a role in shaping power dynamics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-bonds-and-female-dominance">Social bonds and female dominance </h2>



Researchers also tested whether female social bonds, such as coalition formation, explain female dominance. Their findings showed only limited support for this idea.



While female philopatry - where females remain in their birth group - was linked to greater female dominance, this pattern was not strongly tied to coalition formation.



This challenges theories that female alliances drive dominance in species like bonobos. The authors suggest that in many cases, sex-biased dispersal may be a result of dominance structures rather than their cause.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-view-of-power-and-evolution">New view of power and evolution</h2>



The findings offer a profound shift in how we think about male and female <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-endangered-primate-species-identified-in-new-report/">primates</a> - and humans - by revealing that dominance is not fixed by nature but shaped by many intertwined factors.



Female power often emerges through reproductive strategies, social competition, and ecological flexibility. Male dominance, on the other hand, typically relies on brute force, physical coercion, and ecological constraints.



By showing that female dominance is neither rare nor accidental, this research opens the door to new ways of thinking about gender roles. 



Ultimately, the study highlights that both male and female dominance can emerge through different routes, depending on specific ecological and social pressures.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500405122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Female dominance in primates is more common than we thought

Gender dynamics among primates have long fascinated both scientists and...

Insects are being harmed by a fungicide sprayed on fruits and vegetables - even at levels that are considered safe. 



A new study from <a href="https://www.mq.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Macquarie University</a> reveals that the chemical chlorothalonil, which is used globally to prevent fungal disease, is damaging insect fertility and survival.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-the-fungicide-on-fruit-flies">Testing the fungicide on fruit flies</h2>



Researchers at Macquarie’s School of Natural Sciences tested the effects of chlorothalonil on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fruit-flies-can-walk-jump-and-dance-using-the-same-motor-neurons/">fruit flies</a>, a common insect model used in labs. Fruit flies are representative of a large number of similar insect species in the wild.



The team used <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/for-the-first-time-scientists-have-genetically-engineered-virgin-births/">Drosophila melanogaster</a>, known as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Unlike pests that target crops, these flies feed on rotting fruit. They play an important role in breaking down waste and recycling nutrients on farms and in orchards.



“D. melanogaster is also at the bottom of the food chain, becoming food for a whole lot of other species,” said Ph.D. candidate Darshika Dissawa, lead author of the research paper.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-surprising-decline-in-insect-fertility">A surprising decline in insect fertility</h2>



The experiment exposed fruit fly larvae to chlorothalonil at levels that match what’s found on real agricultural produce, such as cranberries and wine grapes. What they found shocked the team.



“Even the very lowest concentration has a huge impact on the reproduction of the flies that we tested,” said Dissawa. “This can have a big knock-on population impact over time because it affects both male and female fertility.”



Flies exposed to the chemical showed a 37% drop in egg production at maturity, compared to those that were not exposed.



“We expected the effect to increase far more gradually with higher amounts. But we found that even a very small amount can have a strong negative effect,” noted Professor Fleur Ponton.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fungicide-still-in-use-despite-risks">Fungicide still in use, despite risks</h2>



Chlorothalonil is <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2024-000263_EN.html">banned</a> in the European Union. But in Australia, it’s still sprayed widely to stop fungal diseases like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/disease-attacking-blueberry-plants-is-spreading-around-the-world/">mildew</a> and leaf blight.



Residue from this fungicide has been found in soils and water near farms. On food, the levels can range from almost zero to 460 milligrams per kilogram.



“Chlorothalonil is particularly common in orchards and vineyards, and is often used preventatively when no disease is present,” explained Professor Ponton. 



“People assume <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-birds-are-significantly-threatened-by-vineyard-fungicides/">fungicides</a> like chlorothalonil only impact fungal diseases, but they can have devastating, unintended consequences for other species,” she stated.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fungicide-fuels-insect-decline">Fungicide fuels insect decline </h2>



The study revealed that chlorothalonil exposure during the larval stage caused major reproductive issues in the adult flies.



Female flies were smaller, had fewer egg-producing structures, and laid far fewer eggs. Male flies had lower iron levels, which can interfere with sperm production and other metabolic functions.



The researchers also checked whether the flies were avoiding the contaminated food. They weren’t.



“We didn’t find a significant aversion for food contaminated with chlorothalonil, except when there was a very high concentration of the chemical,” explained Professor Ponton. “This means the impacts are due to chlorothalonil ingestion.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-effects-on-insect-pollinators">Effects on insect pollinators</h2>



In agricultural settings where whole crops are treated with fungicides, insects like flies and bees have no way to avoid the chemicals. This creates a larger problem for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parasitic-plant-has-some-unlikely-allies-for-pollination-and-seed-dispersal/">pollination</a>, ecosystem stability, and food production.



“We need <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-bees-value-quality-over-quantity-in-flower-selection/">bees</a> and flies and other beneficial insects for pollination, and we think this is an important problem for pollinator populations,” said Professor Ponton. “There is a strong commercial incentive to understand the impact in the field and address the use of this chemical.”



Despite the widespread use of <a href="https://www.publiceye.ch/en/topics/pesticides/chlorothalonil-a-banned-pesticide-exported-from-europe">chlorothalonil</a>, there's a surprising lack of research into how it affects insects. Fewer than 25 scientific studies have examined this - far too few, considering the global decline in insect numbers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-call-for-smarter-farming">A call for smarter farming</h2>



The team behind the study says it’s time to rethink how fungicides are used in agriculture. Reducing the frequency of spraying could give insect populations a chance to recover. But that requires more research.



“We need field trials to explore options and develop evidence-based guidelines to consider the knock-on effects of fungicides on beneficial insects,” said Professor Ponton.



Next, the researchers will study whether these reproductive problems are passed on to future generations. 



The team also plans to investigate what happens when insects are exposed to combinations of chemicals - something that’s far more common in real-world farming.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250136" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Society Open Science</a>.



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How crop protection is fueling the global decline of insects

Insects are being harmed by a fungicide sprayed on fruits...

Pollinators are vital for the natural world. They help plants reproduce, support food webs, and sustain ecosystems. Among them, honey bees hold a special place. 



Honey bees are widely celebrated for their role in agriculture and are often seen as environmental heroes. However, their growing presence in places where they are not native raises new concerns.



Southern California is a well-known biodiversity hotspot. It is home to hundreds of native pollinator species. But this unique region now faces a quiet threat. 



Feral honey <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-bee-day-2025-protecting-the-pollinators-that-feed-the-world/">bees</a>, thriving outside human control, have begun to dominate pollination networks here. Their influence extends far beyond what most people realize.



A new study from <a href="https://ucsd.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California San Diego</a> sheds light on this issue. The research uncovers how honey bees, despite their benefits, may unintentionally harm native pollinators. The findings challenge common perceptions and bring attention to a growing ecological conflict.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-honey-bees-outcompete-native-pollinators">Honey bees outcompete native pollinators </h2>



Honey bees are highly effective <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-bumble-bees-are-sabotaging-their-own-health/">pollinators</a>. They have been introduced worldwide to support crop production. In the U.S., they are responsible for pollinating crops that contribute billions of dollars to the economy each year.



Their ability to communicate allows them to locate and exploit floral resources efficiently. They share information about flower locations with their colony mates, which makes them powerful foragers. Unlike most native bees, honey bees live in large colonies that work together to gather resources.



Because of their efficiency, honey bees outcompete many native bees. They can strip flowers of pollen and nectar quickly. 



Studies show that in Southern California, honey bees now represent nearly 90% of all bees visiting flowers. This leaves little for the region’s diverse native bee <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-dangers-threaten-the-survival-of-bees-and-pollinators/">species</a>, which rely on the same resources.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scale-of-the-honey-bee-invasion">Scale of the honey bee invasion</h2>



The study found that honey bees now make up 98% of total bee biomass in Southern California’s scrublands. This is not just about numbers. Honey bees are much larger than most native bees in this region. Their dominance extends both in terms of individuals and body size.



One reason for this imbalance is the honey bees' remarkable ability to remove pollen. The research showed that honey bees can remove up to 80% of pollen from flowers within just one day. 



In experiments, just two visits by honey bees stripped over 60% of pollen from flowers of native plants like black sage, white sage, and distant phacelia.



Such high pollen removal rates mean that other bees have far fewer resources left. Native <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/native-bee-species-face-extinction-due-to-honey-bee-competition/">bees</a>, many of which are solitary and less efficient foragers, simply cannot compete at this scale.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-honey-bees-and-pollen-resources">Honey bees and pollen resources </h2>



Pollen is critical for bee reproduction. Bees collect pollen to feed their larvae. When honey bees take most of the pollen, native bees struggle to raise their young.



The study estimated the daily impact of honey bees on pollen resources. In one hectare of habitat, honey bees removed enough pollen each day to potentially raise hundreds to thousands of native bees. 



Over an entire bloom season, this could result in the loss of tens of thousands of potential native bee offspring.



This finding is alarming. It highlights how honey bees, though often viewed positively, may reduce native bee populations by monopolizing food sources.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-larger-bees-face-greater-risks">Larger bees face greater risks</h2>



Interestingly, larger native bees appear to be most affected. The study found that only a tiny fraction of native bees were larger than honey bees. Bumble bees, for instance, made up just 0.1% of all bees observed.



Larger bees generally require more pollen to raise their offspring. When honey bees deplete resources, these species may be pushed out first.



“Although honey bees are rightly considered an indispensable asset to humans, they can also pose a serious ecological threat to natural ecosystems where they are not native,” said Hung.



The loss of large bees could also reduce the effectiveness of pollination. These bees tend to carry more pollen per visit, which benefits many plants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-honey-bees-vs-native-pollinators">Honey bees vs. native pollinators</h2>



The damage does not stop with bees. The study also highlights that honey bee pollination leads to poorer plant offspring quality compared to native bee pollination.



This happens because honey bees often visit many flowers on the same plant before moving to another. This behavior increases the chances of self-pollination, which can lead to inbreeding depression in plants.



Such effects could ripple through ecosystems. Plants that rely on native bees for effective pollination may see lower reproduction rates. This could further degrade habitats that native bees and other wildlife depend on.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-spread-of-feral-honey-bees">The spread of feral honey bees </h2>



Feral honey bee colonies are not just an issue in Southern California. These bees have spread worldwide and often outnumber managed colonies.



They thrive in many ecosystems and are difficult to remove once established. Unlike managed bees, feral colonies are self-sustaining and active year-round.



The study points out that feral honey bees have even replaced native bees in other regions. In the southwestern United States, they are increasingly common on both abundant and rare plants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-conservation-priorities">Rethinking conservation priorities</h2>



Many people remain unaware of the negative effects of honey bees on native wildlife. Public concern tends to focus on protecting honey bees from disease and habitat loss.



Yet, the study’s authors warn that in North America, honey bees often act as competitors, not conservation targets.



“The plight of the honey bee is an issue of animal husbandry and livestock management, whereas when it comes to conservation issues here in North America, honey bees are likelier to be part of the problem, not a solution or a target for conservation,” said Hung.



This statement challenges common assumptions. It suggests a need for more balanced conservation strategies that consider native pollinators too.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-steps-toward-potential-solutions">Steps toward potential solutions</h2>



Managing honey bee populations in sensitive areas may help. The researchers suggest limiting commercial beekeeping on public lands after crop blooms end.



“In areas with threatened bee species, natural preserve managers may also want to consider systematic removals or relocations of non-native honey bee colonies to provide wild bees a fighting chance,” said Hung.



Though such measures may seem extreme, they are not unprecedented. Many conservation programs already target invasive species to protect native wildlife.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-honey-bees-harming-native-life">Honey bees harming native life</h2>



The study reveals a hidden layer of the pollination crisis. Honey bees, often seen as ecological heroes, can create serious problems in certain ecosystems.



As more people become aware of this issue, discussions around pollinator conservation may shift. Future efforts must balance the needs of agriculture with the importance of protecting native species.



The story of honey bees in Southern California serves as a reminder. Even well-known species can become a threat when removed from their native contexts.



Protecting biodiversity requires seeing the full picture, even when it challenges popular beliefs.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/icad.12858" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Insect Conservation and Diversity</a>.



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Honey bee invasion: A growing threat to native pollinators

Pollinators are vital for the natural world. They help plants...

Coral reefs are in trouble. As oceans warm and environments shift, the vibrant ecosystems built by corals are turning pale and dying off. 



While scientists have known for years that coral bleaching is linked to the loss of symbiotic algae, they’ve never been able to watch the process unfold at the cellular level in realtime - until now.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-underwater-microscope-for-studying-coral">Underwater microscope for studying coral</h2>



Researchers at the <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/">Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego</a> have created a handheld underwater microscope. The device makes it possible to study coral photosynthesis right where it happens - in the ocean, inside living coral tissue - without causing any damage.



The team named the device the Benthic Underwater Microscope imaging PAM - BUMP, for short.



The Jaffe Lab for Underwater Imaging at Scripps Oceanography built the microscope with support from the U.S. National Science Foundation.



The tool combines imaging with a light-based technique known as pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry to measure how efficiently tiny algae inside corals are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-fate-of-coral-reefs-lies-in-the-hands-of-their-tiny-inhabitants/">photosynthesizing</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coral-depends-on-glowing-algae">Coral depends on glowing algae</h2>



The algae, called <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/symbiosis-will-help-some-corals-survive-in-a-warming-world/">symbionts</a>, are essential for coral survival. They live within coral tissue and convert sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into sugars and oxygen.



The coral, in turn, uses that energy to grow and build reefs. But when stressed by warming seas or pollution, corals eject these algae. Without them, corals appear white and slowly starve - known as the bleaching effect.



The BUMP microscope makes it possible to monitor this relationship in real-time and in natural environments - something that couldn’t be done before.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-huge-technological-leap">A huge technological leap</h2>



“This microscope is a huge technological leap in the field of coral health assessment,” said study lead author Or Ben-Zvi, a postdoctoral researcher at Scripps Oceanography. 



“Coral reefs are rapidly declining, losing their photosynthetic symbiotic algae in the process known as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-worlds-largest-coral-bleaching-event-is-now-underway/">coral bleaching</a>."



"We now have a tool that allows us to examine these microalgae within the coral tissue, noninvasively and in their natural environment.”



The microscope is small enough to fit in a carry-on suitcase. It’s light enough for a diver to bring to the seafloor without a ship’s help. 



Controlled with a touchscreen and powered by a battery pack, the microscope uses focused LED lights and high-magnification lenses to capture vivid images and videos. It also creates detailed 3D scans and maps photosynthesis in high resolution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-microscope-reveals-corals-inner-glow">Microscope reveals corals’ inner glow</h2>



At just 10 micrometers wide - one-tenth the width of a human hair - coral symbionts are invisible to the naked eye. But when corals are viewed under the microscope, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-algae-genes-chlorophyll-boost-crop-yields-land-plants/">algae</a> glow red due to chlorophyll, the pigment that powers <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/key-to-life-on-earth-photosynthesis-begins-on-the-quantum-level-with-a-single-photon/">photosynthesis</a>. 



PAM technology measures this glow to calculate how efficiently the algae are converting light into energy. Other glowing areas, like cyan and green patches, come from fluorescent proteins that the coral produces, often around its mouth and tentacles. 



The images help researchers “see” coral health without touching or harming them. "We get a lot of information about their health without the need to interrupt nature,” said Ben-Zvi. 



“It's similar to a nurse who takes your pulse and tells you how well you're doing. We're checking the coral's pulse without giving them a shot or doing an intrusive procedure on them.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-observing-corals-at-unseen-scales">Observing corals at unseen scales</h2>



Ben-Zvi and her colleagues tested the microscope at coral hotspots around the world - including Hawaii, the Red Sea, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reefs-in-some-parts-of-the-world-actually-benefit-from-warming-el-nino-events/">Palmyra Atoll</a> - in collaboration with the Smith Lab at Scripps Oceanography. 



What they saw surprised them. Corals weren’t passive. They moved constantly, changing shape, reacting to particles, and even behaving in ways that looked like fighting or kissing.



Ben-Zvi observed coral polyps contracting their tentacles, possibly trying to remove or capture something floating by.



“The more time we spend with this microscope, the more we hope to learn about corals and why they do what they do under certain conditions,” she said. 



“We are visualizing photosynthesis, something that was previously unseen at the scales we are examining, and that feels like magic.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-detection-of-coral-stress">Early detection of coral stress</h2>



Corals face serious threats from climate change, and once bleaching begins, it can be hard to stop. But this microscope might help researchers catch problems earlier.



“The microscope facilitates previously unavailable, underwater observations of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-grazing-halos-and-parrotfish-reveal-about-coral-reef-health/">coral health</a>, a breakthrough made possible thanks to the National Science Foundation and its critical investment in technology development,” said Jules Jaffe, a research oceanographer at Scripps and co-author of the study. 



Without continued federal funding, scientific research is at risk. In this case, however, support from <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">NSF</a> enabled the team to build a device that helps solve the physiological mystery of coral bleaching and, ultimately, inform efforts to reverse it.



By detecting signs of stress before the coral reaches the tipping point, the researchers hope to create better strategies for protecting reefs from events like marine heatwaves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-kelp-and-ocean-algae">Studying kelp and ocean algae</h2>



The potential doesn’t stop with corals. Scientists at Scripps Oceanography are already using the BUMP microscope to study other tiny marine life that rely on photosynthesis, including baby kelp off the coast of California.



“Since photosynthesis in the ocean is important for life on earth, a host of other applications are imaginable with this tool, including right here off the coast of San Diego,” said Jaffe.



In short, the BUMP microscope gives scientists something they’ve never had before: a new way to look at life underwater - close up, in motion, and alive. And with this new perspective, scientists are hoping to find better ways to protect some of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.70078">Methods in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



About the image: The photo features the coral&nbsp;Stylophora pistillata&nbsp;taken with the new micrsope, BUMP. Each polyp has a mouth and a set of tentacles, and the red dots are individual microalgae residing inside the coral tissue. Credit: Or Ben-Zvi



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Microscope reveals coral health in unprecedented detail

Coral reefs are in trouble. As oceans warm and environments...

Indian,Senior,Woman,Have,Sensitive,Teeth,With,Ice,Lolly,Or

For most of us, teeth mean crunching pretzels or tearing steak. But a new fossil analysis suggests their first job was feeling the world, not shredding it.



“What good is having all these teeth on the outside?” asked Yara Haridy of the <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Chicago</a>, lead author of the study. Using high‑energy scans, researchers found that the earliest tooth‑like bumps sat on fish skin and were wired for sensation.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-teeth-began-as-skin-sensors">Teeth began as skin sensors</h2>



These skin teeth, known as <a href="https://www.morphosource.org/projects/000626244" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">odontode units</a>, appear in Eriptychius fossils from the middle <a href="https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/ordovician/ordovician.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ordovician Period</a>, roughly 460 million years ago. 



Slicing the fossils reveals thick bands of <a href="https://www.drbicuspid.com/clinical/imaging-cad-cam/article/15747523/fossil-scans-of-ancient-fish-may-explain-modernday-tooth-sensitivity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dentine</a>, the same pain‑transmitting material that still lies beneath human enamel.



Each odontode contains a pulp <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tooth-enamel-analysis-suggests-early-eurasians-were-multiple-species-paranthropus-robustus/">cavity</a> and wide tubules that open at the surface, a layout ideal for detecting pressure or temperature shifts. By contrast, later fish with heavy enamel caps muted that sensitivity but gained better protection.



One celebrated Cambrian candidate for the “first fish,” Anatolepis, has been demoted after fresh scans showed its bumps match arthropod <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/post/university-chicago-study-finds-tooth-sensitivity-may-linked-ancient-fish-led-dr-yara-haridy/16499129/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sensilla</a>, not vertebrate dentine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-armor-came-with-nerves">Early armor came with nerves</h2>



Sensilla in crabs and scorpions let them taste, feel vibration, and track currents. Early vertebrates adopted a similar strategy, embedding nerves inside mineral caps that hardened into armor.



“Tooth‑like structures likely first evolved in the skin of early vertebrates, prior to the oral invasion of these structures that became teeth,” said <a href="https://biology.ufl.edu/gareth-fraser/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gareth Fraser</a> of the University of Florida, an evolutionary biologist not involved in the scans.



Because armor muffles most tactile cues, adding built‑in sensors restored environmental awareness without sacrificing defense. The same compromise appears again and again whenever <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-finally-confirm-species-identity-of-the-dragon-man-fossil-skull-denisovan/">animals</a> grow shells, scales, or plates.



The Ordovician seas teemed with cephalopods and sea scorpions, so feeling a predator brush past could mark the difference between survival and lunch. Even a thin sensory layer offered that edge.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-teeth-moved-from-skin-to-mouth">Teeth moved from skin to mouth</h2>



Once fish started lunging at prey, bringing those hard nodules inside the oral cavity made practical sense. The genetic toolkit for building odontodes simply redeployed along the jaw line.



CT reconstructions show a stepwise shift, first lining lips, then clustering on internal ridges that became true teeth. No new tissue was required, only a new address.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/human-teeth-sensitivity_evolution_skate-fish_CT-scan_tooth-like-denticles_Yara-Haridy_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/human-teeth-sensitivity_evolution_skate-fish_CT-scan_tooth-like-denticles_Yara-Haridy_1s.webp" alt="CT scan of the front of a skate, showing the hard, tooth-like denticles (orange) on its skin. Yara Haridy" class="wp-image-1976721"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">CT scan of the front of a skate, showing the hard, tooth-like denticles (orange) on its skin. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Yara Haridy</figcaption></figure>



This migration explains why modern teeth still flinch when chilled soda hits exposed dentine. The tissue did not lose its ancient job, even after millions of years chewing. 



Human <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21168271/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">odontoblast cells</a> inside dentine express <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK5244/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">temperature‑sensing TRP channels</a> that trigger pain signals, reinforcing the link between sensation and tooth structure.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ice-cream-pain-is-ancient">Ice cream pain is ancient</h2>



Skates, sharks, and certain catfish still wear odontodes across their skin, and fluorescent imaging reveals nerves curling around each unit. The same wiring lights up in their oral teeth.



Dentists encounter the legacy daily: about 30 percent of adults report <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34302871/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dentin hypersensitivity</a> - a direct outcome of open tubules harking back to those armored swimmers.



Laboratory studies show that activating <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4541108/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TRPA1 and TRPV4</a> channels in human odontoblasts releases ATP, a chemical that excites nearby nerves and sparks the familiar zing of ice‑cream pain.



Understanding the fossil record clarifies why blocking tubules with varnishes or bioactive glasses calms sensitivity more reliably than numbing gels alone. Closing the ancient sensory windows cuts the signal at its source.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossil-mistake-changed-tooth-history">Fossil mistake changed tooth history</h2>



The misidentification of Anatolepis as a vertebrate with dentine pushed the timeline of true teeth further back than the evidence supports. 



With updated scans showing Anatolepis as an arthropod, the emergence of real vertebrate dental tissue now firmly begins in the middle Ordovician.



This correction removes about 40 million years of assumed vertebrate history. It also reorients where scientists search for the evolutionary leap from external skin sensors to internal biting tools.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-teeth-link-to-modern-health">Ancient teeth link to modern health</h2>



Reclassifying Anatolepis as an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cambrian-fossils-reveal-new-clues-about-arthropod-evolution/">arthropod</a> pushes the oldest confirmed vertebrate dentine forward by almost 40 million years, tightening the evolutionary timeline. Paleontologists can now focus on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/470-million-year-old-animal-fossils-discovered-in-frances-cabrieres-biota/">Ordovician</a> strata when hunting the first mouths with teeth.



The fossil findings also challenge textbook diagrams that present teeth as novel structures formed deep inside the jaw. 



Instead, they appear as immigrants from the skin, carrying sensory baggage that still shapes dental health.



Medical researchers already mine shark and skate genes to inspire regenerative dentistry. Knowing those genes once built skin sensors may guide efforts to coax human cells into growing replacement enamel.



Finally, the study highlights a broader pattern: nature often solves different problems with the same parts. 



Sensory armor, lateral‑line canals, and even mammal whiskers show how sensation sneaks into protective structures whenever the need arises.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08944-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Fossil discovery explains why our teeth are still so sensitive to cold

For most of us, teeth mean crunching pretzels or tearing...

Earth’s earliest complex organisms endured harsh environments, and a new study reveals how these ancient life forms used arsenic to survive.



Researchers studied 2.1-billion-year-old fossils from Gabon’s Francevillian Basin. These fossils belong to eukaryotes, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-microbes-may-have-given-rise-to-complex-life/">organisms</a> with advanced cells.



The team found that these ancient organisms stored arsenic inside special cell compartments. This strategy helped them survive in seas with even low arsenic levels.



Using advanced X-ray technology, they mapped arsenic inside of the fossils. The analysis revealed that arsenic was not the result of later contamination. Instead, it was locked inside during the organisms’ lives.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-seas-triggered-arsenic-defenses">Ancient seas triggered arsenic defenses</h2>



The study offers a fresh view of early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-turtle-day-2025-ancient-creatures-with-modern-challenges/">life</a>’s fight against toxins. The fossils lived in oxygen-rich seas with plenty of phosphate. However, even in these waters, arsenate - the toxic form of arsenic - posed a problem.



“The ability to cope with arsenic was not something eukaryotes developed randomly,” explained Dr. Ernest Chi Fru from <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cardiff University</a>.



During this period, Earth’s oxygen levels began to rise. This change made arsenate more common. Since arsenate closely resembles phosphate, it easily entered cells.



Organisms faced a tough challenge. They needed ways to avoid poisoning while still absorbing phosphate, a nutrient essential for life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-show-arsenic-stored-in-bodies">Fossils show arsenic stored in bodies</h2>



The fossils showed high arsenic concentrations, far above the levels in surrounding rocks. This suggests they absorbed arsenic during their lifetime.



X-ray imaging revealed arsenic at the core of tiny pyrite crystals inside the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cambrian-explosion-fossils-push-back-the-rise-of-complex-life/">fossils</a>. This points to a biological origin. The arsenic likely came from within the organisms, not from the environment after burial.



Other structures in the same rocks did not show such patterns. Abiotic concretions nearby lacked this arsenic core structure. Similar arsenic-rich patterns appear in some younger animal fossils. However, they are absent in purely mineral samples.



This difference suggests that the Francevillian organisms actively stored arsenic. It wasn’t simply absorbed from surrounding waters after death.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-arsenic-storage-for-survival">Arsenic storage for survival</h2>



The researchers tested three scenarios to explain arsenic in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-we-see-some-animals-as-more-human-than-others/">fossils</a>. First, they ruled out passive absorption from decaying organic material. 



Second, the team dismissed the idea that sulfate-reducing microbes introduced the arsenic. The most likely explanation was bioaccumulation. These organisms absorbed arsenic during their lifetime and stored it inside their bodies.



“This suggests a pronounced biogenic control on arsenic storage,” wrote the researchers. They argue that arsenic storage was not just a survival trick. It was an adaptation tied to the rise of oxygen in Earth’s oceans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-arsenic-damaged-ancient-life-systems">Arsenic damaged ancient life systems</h2>



Arsenic disrupts life by mimicking phosphate. Once inside cells, it blocks key processes like energy production and genetic functions.



Modern organisms use efflux pumps or special enzymes to remove arsenic. Some even store it safely in vacuoles or vesicles.



The fossils showed traces of arsenic linked with other metals like nickel and copper. These metals can also be toxic in high amounts.



This suggests the organisms had a broader detoxification system. They may have stored multiple harmful elements together.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-sponges-use-similar-storage">Modern sponges use similar storage</h2>



The researchers drew comparisons with modern sponges. These ancient animals often store arsenic in special compartments.



Sponges use this strategy because it helps them manage metal exposure from their filter-feeding lifestyle.



The Francevillian organisms might have done something similar. Their environment had low arsenic levels, but long-term exposure likely led to gradual buildup inside their bodies.



The stored arsenic later formed pyrite crystals during fossilization. The researchers’ model shows how this process left clear chemical markers in the fossils.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-evolution-of-complex-life">The evolution of complex life</h2>



The findings suggest that arsenic detoxification emerged very early in the evolution of eukaryotic life. It was likely not a rare or isolated event. 



Instead, the ability to manage arsenic probably evolved multiple times throughout Earth’s long history, as different organisms adapted to shifting environmental conditions.



These arsenic-rich fossils reveal much more than just details about ancient organisms. They serve as powerful tools for researchers, offering a way to detect signs of early life in rocks that are billions of years old. 



The chemical traces left behind provide strong clues about how life evolved and adapted in hostile environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-survival-strategies-of-ancient-life">Survival strategies of ancient life</h2>



Ultimately, the research highlights the importance of chemical signatures as records of biological processes. 



Even when organic material disappears, these chemical patterns can tell the story of ancient survival strategies and environmental challenges.



By storing arsenic within their cells, these early organisms developed a unique way to survive in toxic seas. In doing so, they not only overcame dangerous conditions but also preserved a chemical fingerprint that allows scientists today to uncover their ancient existence.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59760-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



Image Credit: Arnaud Mazurier and Abderrazak El Albani



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Why ancient organisms stored arsenic inside their cells

Earth’s earliest complex organisms endured harsh environments, and a new...

When researchers lowered a cow carcass 5,345 feet (1,629 meters) beneath the waves off Hainan Island, they were studying natural whale fall processes in the deep sea. Instead, the bait attracted uninvited guests never before filmed in these waters: Pacific sleeper sharks (Somniosus pacificus).



The video, captured on the continental slope of the northern South China Sea, marks the species’ southernmost sighting in the Pacific Basin. 



It also reveals a suite of behaviors - from polite feeding queues to protective eye retractions - that deepen our understanding of how large predators survive in the deep ocean.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sharks-spotted-far-from-home">Sharks spotted far from home</h2>



Until now, Pacific sleeper sharks were considered residents of the North Pacific, with records stretching from Japan and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-did-billions-of-crabs-vanish-from-the-bering-sea/">Bering Sea</a> to Alaska and as far south as Baja California. Their sudden appearance in tropical latitudes stunned marine biologists.



The deployment, designed to mimic a natural whale fall, quickly drew multiple sharks that took turns tearing at the carcass. 



Because sleeper sharks routinely dive below 3,280 feet (1,000 meters), direct observations have been scarce. Remote baited cameras provided the first clear window into their deep-sea routines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-size-shapes-shark-feeding-style">Size shapes shark feeding style</h2>



Back on shore, the research team reviewed hours of footage and divided the sharks into two categories: individuals longer than 8.85 feet (2.7 meters) and those shorter. 



The threshold was chosen purely as a reference point, not as a marker of maturity.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-the-sharks-body-grows-with-geometric-precision/">Size</a> proved to be a major factor in feeding style. The bigger sharks charged the carcass head-on, ripping chunks of flesh with sweeping bites. Smaller sharks kept their distance, circling watchfully before making tentative nips. 



The contrast suggests a competitive hierarchy in which bulk confers priority access to limited resources.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sharks-take-polite-turns">Sharks take polite turns</h2>



Perhaps the most unexpected behavior was a kind of underwater etiquette. As each shark finished feeding, it glided away, making room for the next arrival. 



<a href="https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/olar.0095" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">On the video camera footage</a>, the handover looked almost orderly, with newcomers approaching steadily from behind while current feeders yielded position.



“This behavior suggests that feeding priority is determined by individual competitive intensity, even in deep-water environments," said study author Han Tian, a marine biologist at <a href="https://www.sysu.edu.cn/sysuen/">Sun Yat-sen University</a>. 



"This reflects a survival strategy suitable for non-solitary foraging among Pacific sleeper sharks.”



Comparable line-ups have been reported when sharks scavenge floating whale carcasses near the surface, where space is equally contested. 



The deep-sea footage indicates that such social rules persist even in the aphotic zone, where encounters are rare and every calorie counts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-defensive-eye-roll"><a></a>Defensive eye roll</h2>



Pacific sleeper sharks lack the nictitating membrane - a transparent eyelid - found in many shark species. Yet the video shows them repeatedly retracting their eyes while feeding.



Scientists interpret this as a built-in safeguard against sudden jabs from protruding bones or the teeth of rival sharks. 



The involuntary eye roll could compensate for the missing membrane, protecting vision during frenzied meals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-to-an-expanded-range"><a></a>Clues to an expanded range</h2>



Finding Pacific sleeper sharks 1,800 miles (3,000 kilometers) south of their documented range forces scientists to rethink what governs their distribution. 



Do shifting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-temperatures-are-rising-faster-than-expected-and-likely-to-accelerate/">ocean temperatures</a> invite them farther into the tropics? Or does the South China Sea offer prey reservoirs that make the journey worthwhile?



All individuals filmed were female - a pattern echoed by other rarely seen giants such as the megamouth shark, which also shows a female bias here. 



The sex skew hints that the region might double as a nursery or feeding ground for pregnant sharks needing high-energy meals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-energy-in-the-abyss">Energy in the abyss</h2>



Large predators cannot thrive without a steady food supply. Sleeper sharks typically scavenge or ambush seals and squids in colder waters.



In the subtropical South China Sea, their presence implies robust nutrient pathways moving organic matter from surface ecosystems to abyssal depths.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/olar.0095" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pacific-sleeper-sharks_rare-observations_deep-ocean_SME-DEEP_1s.webp" alt="The presence of Pacific sleeper sharks of varying body sizes was detected in the deep waters of the South China Sea using stationary cameras, with all individuals identified as female. Credit: Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research" class="wp-image-1976702"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The presence of Pacific sleeper sharks of varying body sizes was detected in the deep waters of the South China Sea using stationary cameras, with all individuals identified as female. Click image to watch the video. Credit: Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research</figcaption></figure>



“The highly aggressive behavior of sharks observed in the South China Sea suggests that this region still harbors abundant food sources in the deep sea," Tan said. 



"But what exactly are they? This question is intriguing for both animal distribution and behavioral research.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-sharks-in-the-deep">Tracking sharks in the deep</h2>



The team plans to deploy additional baited cameras and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dna-fishing-helps-scientists-survey-marine-life-in-the-deep-ocean/">environmental DNA</a> samplers across the basin to gauge how many Pacific sleeper sharks prowl these depths and whether they stay year-round. 



Comparative studies from other oceans could reveal whether deep-water queuing is widespread among large scavengers or unique to this lineage.



Biologists also hope to determine if <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/danger-zones-climate-change-is-altering-predator-prey-dynamics/">climatic changes</a> or altered current patterns are drawing cold-adapted predators southward. 



Answers will feed into global models of deep-sea energy flow and illuminate how carbon moves from surface waters to the seafloor, a key piece of the climate puzzle.



For now, the footage shatters old assumptions. Pacific sleeper sharks are not confined to polar and subpolar seas. 



They form loose social hierarchies, even in perpetual darkness, and they may rely on uncharted nutrient highways that link surface productivity with the deep ocean.



-----



<a href="https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/olar.0095" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Click here to watch the full video footage...</a>



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/olar.0095" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research</a>.



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Rare video shows elusive deep-sea predators feeding thousands of miles from home

When researchers lowered a cow carcass 5,345 feet (1,629 meters)...

Greenland sharks cruise the North Atlantic at a pace slower than most people walk, yet some were already adults when the United States was founded. 



Their astonishing lifespan has turned this elusive fish into a living time capsule, capturing the imagination of biologists and longevity researchers alike.



Julius Nielsen of the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Copenhagen</a> leads many of the modern expeditions that tag, scan, and sometimes briefly corral these giants in the icy dark.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-greenland-sharks-live-so-long">Why Greenland sharks live so long</h2>



<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaf1703" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eye‑lens radiocarbon dating</a> shows females can live at least 272 years, with one specimen estimated at 392 ± 120 years. The method pinpoints birth dates because the lens proteins stop exchanging carbon after a shark pup forms in utero.



“This is the longest living vertebrate that we know of,” said Nielsen, who helped age the record fish. He and colleagues calculate that females do not reach sexual maturity until roughly 150 years, a timetable unheard of in other sharks.



Slow annual growth, barely half an inch, means injuries heal gradually but bones and organs escape the cumulative cellular wear seen in faster‑growing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shark-skeletons-could-lead-to-technological-innovations/">animals</a>. 



Researchers suspect a combination of frigid water, low oxygen demand, and genes that police DNA damage all contribute, yet no single “silver bullet” for longevity has appeared.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-greenland-sharks-have-slow-heartbeats">Greenland sharks have slow heartbeats</h2>



Greenland sharks have resting <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/221/19/jeb186957/33812" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">heart rates</a> of about 10 beats per minute and unusually low blood pressure. That’s much lower than what you’d find in other large sharks, and it may help protect their blood vessels from long-term damage like heart attacks or strokes.



Even with such a slow heartbeat, each pump moves a lot of blood, keeping their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/different-shark-species-seen-scavenge-feeding-together-in-rare-event/">bodies</a> fueled during slow swimming under Arctic ice. 



Doctors are paying attention, hoping this natural “strong pump, gentle pressure” system could offer ideas for treating high blood pressure in people.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-slow-bodies-save-energy">Slow bodies save energy</h2>



These sharks burn energy very slowly. In fact, their oxygen use is among the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-76371-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lowest ever recorded</a> for a fish their size. That kind of slow metabolism may reduce cell damage over time and help them survive long gaps between meals. 



A 280-pound shark might get through the day on fewer calories than a cheeseburger, making a single big meal last for months.



Because the deep Arctic is so cold, they digest food slowly too. Instead of burning energy for speed or growth, they stretch it out for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mediterranean-sharks-face-growing-threats-despite-conservation-efforts/">survival</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-they-are-toxic-top-predators">Why they are toxic top predators</h2>



Greenland shark meat is laced with <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5127123/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trimethylamine N‑oxide</a>, a compound that stabilizes proteins under high pressure yet renders the raw flesh neurotoxic to mammals.



Icelanders neutralize it through months of fermentation to create the ceremonial dish kæstur hákarl, but few tourists finish more than a nibble.



The species ranks as an apex predator; evidence shows adults seizing fish, squid, and the occasional sleeping seal. 



Sightings in the Gulf of Mexico and off Spain reveal a wider range than once believed, hinting at deep‑water corridors that connect polar and temperate seas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-greenland-sharks-are-at-risk">Greenland sharks are at risk</h2>



Commercial trawlers unintentionally haul up about 3,500 Greenland <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2022/11/07/greenland-shark-finally-gets-protection/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sharks</a> each year as bycatch. Because breeding may not begin for a century and a half, losing even sub‑adults chips away at population recovery.



The <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/60213/3112909" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a> lists the species as “Vulnerable,” citing low fecundity and expanding deep‑sea fisheries. 



Simple changes, switching to LED‑lit nets that deter sharks, banning deep set gill nets in nursery zones, and funding release‑training for crews, can cut mortality without shrinking catches of cod or halibut.



Scientists also urge Arctic nations to establish no‑take refuges around known mating aggregations once those secret sites are found. Protecting a fish that may still be swimming in 2425 demands policies that look far beyond typical political horizons.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-search-for-hidden-nursery-grounds">The search for hidden nursery grounds</h2>



No one has ever observed Greenland sharks mating or giving birth in the wild. Only one pregnant female has been studied, and her embryos suggest the species may be <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/sharpen-your-shark-facts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">aplacental viviparous</a>, meaning the young develop inside eggs that hatch within the mother’s body.



Females seem to carry up to 10 pups at a time, but the <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/five-wild-facts-about-shark-reproduction" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gestation period</a> could last several years. Without regular breeding or nursery sightings, it's hard to estimate how often they reproduce or whether their range shifts during these vulnerable periods.



This gap in knowledge makes population modeling difficult. Without better data, scientists can't say how quickly these sharks could recover if current bycatch trends continue. 



Tagging mature females may help reveal mating routes or hidden nursery grounds. Learning how and where they reproduce could play a key role in designing effective marine protected areas.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaf1703" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



Image Credit: Julius Nielsen



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Longest-living vertebrates on Earth survive for centuries in icy waters

Greenland sharks cruise the North Atlantic at a pace slower...

A new fossil skull, dug out of purple siltstone in northern China, belongs to a creature that walked the planet about 259 million years ago. The animal was named Yinshanosaurus angustus, and the find helps fill a gap in the family tree of large plant‑eating reptiles that roamed just before the greatest die‑off in Earth’s history.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unearthing-yinshanosaurus-angustus">Unearthing Yinshanosaurus angustus</h2>



<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jian-Yi-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Jian Yi</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jun-Liu-222" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Jun Liu</a> of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (<a href="http://english.ivpp.cas.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IVPP</a>), compared two well‑preserved specimens from Shanxi and Inner Mongolia.



Both fossils include almost complete skulls, giving researchers a rare full view of the head and much of the spine.



“Pareiasauria are a bizarre herbivorous clade of tetrapods that existed in the Guadalupian and Lopingian and were victims of both the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.631198/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Late Capitanian</a> and the end‑Permian mass extinction events,” reminded Liu. 



The more complete of the two skulls measures 10 inches long yet barely 4 inches wide across the cheeks, the narrowest head known for any pareiasaur.



That unusual shape is not the only odd trait. The snout is as wide as it is high, the frontal bone is slender and twice as long as it is wide, and the upper‑jaw teeth stand almost vertical instead of tilting backward as in relatives.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-on-earth-is-a-pareiasaur">What on Earth is a pareiasaur?</h2>



A pareiasaur is a stocky, barrel‑bodied tetrapod that carried a tiny tail and a head often ringed with bony knobs. Most species topped out at about 8 feet long and weighed as much as today’s American bison.



They thrived across the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22096103/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">late Permian period</a>, serving as key plant chompers in ecosystems from South Africa to Russia. Their success ended abruptly when roughly 90 percent of marine species and 70 percent of land vertebrates vanished at the close of the era.



Yinshanosaurus angustus foraged on the northern shoulder of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forest-fossils-from-earths-largest-mass-extinction-carry-a-climate-warning/">Pangea</a>, the single landmass that stitched together today’s continents. 



At the time, the interior of the supercontinent swung between searing summers and bitter winters, pressuring animals to adapt or disappear.



China’s Naobaogou and Sunjiagou formations capture that turbulent landscape in stacked mudstones and siltstones. 



Periodic floods buried carcasses quickly enough to preserve delicate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-a-33-foot-jurassic-giant-twice-as-big-as-its-cousin-xingxiulong/">skeletal</a> links, a stroke of luck for modern paleontologists.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-written-in-bone">Clues written in bone</h2>



Yi and Liu spotted a forked rear projection on the nasal bone and a notch in the tabular bone at the back of the skull, features never seen together before. 



They also noticed a U‑shaped paraoccipital process that differs from the V‑shaped version in close cousins.



“The skeleton of Yinshanosaurus angustus provides the complete cranial and articulated postcranial details of Chinese pareiasaurs for the first time,” added Jian Yi after months of lab preparation. 



Using 183 anatomical characters, the team ran computer analyses that split Chinese pareiasaurs into three distinct branches, placing the new taxon beside <a href="https://dbpedia.org/page/Shihtienfenia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shihtienfenia completus</a> within a fresh sub‑group.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-permian-still-matters">Why the Permian still matters</h2>



The Permian ended with volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia, pumping out enough carbon dioxide to warm oceans by at least 14°F. 



That spike drove <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cascading-oxygen-loss-could-endanger-our-oceans/">ocean anoxia</a>, acid rain, and habitat collapse, setting the stage for the dinosaurs that would follow in the Triassic.



Each newly described pre‑extinction species sharpens models of how ecosystems responded to rising heat and disrupted carbon cycles. 



Because pareiasaurs sat low on the land food chain, they reflect the health of primary plant production more directly than predators do.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-dig-site-to-digital-tree">From dig site to digital tree</h2>



CT scans of the Shanxi skull reveal replacement tooth buds waiting beneath worn crowns, confirming lifelong dental turnover like that in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-discovery-shifts-the-origin-of-lizards-back-35-million-years/">modern lizards</a>. 



The scans also expose internal canals that once carried blood vessels to horn‑like bosses, suggesting seasonal growth tied to mating display or species recognition



Digital models of those structures feed into the expanding open database hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 



By pooling 3‑D files from separate labs, researchers can test competing family trees without moving fragile <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-fossils-tell-us-about-life-after-mass-extinction/">fossils</a> across borders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-yinshanosaurus-angustus-and-the-future">Yinshanosaurus angustus and the future</h2>



Work now shifts to beds just above the current fossil horizon, layers that may hold early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/triassic-fossils-shed-new-light-on-ancient-ecosystems/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Triassic</a> survivors or fresh victims of the end‑Permian crisis. 



Liu’s group plans a targeted survey during the next field season, armed with drone‑based photogrammetry to map promising outcrops.



The team also hopes to sample bone collagen, if any remains, for stable‑isotope studies that could reveal diet and seasonal water stress. 



Combined with climate models, those data might show whether narrow‑snouted herbivores had a feeding edge in arid late Permian landscapes.



Understanding how a mid‑sized, flat‑snouted browser fit into the pre‑extinction puzzle helps scientists refine the timeline of faunal turnover. 



Each added piece, however small, tests broader ideas about resilience and collapse as Earth’s systems tip past critical thresholds.



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Yinshanosaurus angustus <a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Yinshanosaurus-angustus_tetraod_illustration_credit-Guo-IVPP_1m.jpg">image credit</a>: Guo, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP)



The study is published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.70020" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Papers in Palaeontology</a>.



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Scientists discover a prehistoric animal that lived on Earth 259 million years ago

A new fossil skull, dug out of purple siltstone in...

As oceans heat up, coastal sharks are adjusting their calendars. Instead of swimming south in early fall, many are now sticking around longer due to global warming. 



Researchers at <a href="https://www.stonybrook.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stony Brook University</a> tracked this trend by following six shark species along the U.S. East Coast. They used acoustic tags and detection models to uncover how ocean warming delays the sharks’ southern migrations by up to 29 days.



"Both temperature and photoperiod (length of sunlight) influenced the timing of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-sharks-survive-for-centuries-in-icy-waters/">sharks</a>’ southernly migration, and it is likely that they both cumulatively influence migratory patterns,” said lead author Maria Manz.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sharks-delay-migration-due-to-warming">Sharks delay migration due to warming</h2>



The study observed blacktip, dusky, sand tiger, sandbar, thresher, and white <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-the-sharks-body-grows-with-geometric-precision/">sharks</a>. Among them, sandbar sharks showed the longest delay of up to 29 days. They also used the widest range of latitudinal zones, from the New England Shelf to Florida.



White sharks, by contrast, showed the least delay. Being partially warm-bodied (regional endotherms), they are less dependent on external temperature shifts. Their migration changed by only one day under future climate scenarios.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-east-coast-is-warming-fast">East Coast is warming fast</h2>



The study focused on the Mid-Atlantic Bight. This region, especially the New York Bight and New England Shelf, is heating faster than many other parts of the Atlantic. 



According to projections based on the high-emissions SSP5 8.5 scenario, the New England Shelf could warm by over 2°C (3.6°F) by 2049.



This rise in temperature affects not just the water, but everything in it. Fish prey species may move earlier or later, altering food availability for predators like sharks.



“Results of the models suggested that projected increases in SST across decades may delay southern autumn <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-video-footage-of-an-elusive-deep-sea-predator-pacific-sleeper-shark/">migrations</a> of coastal sharks with many species remaining in northern habitats for longer durations," wrote the researchers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-sharks-were-tracked-in-warming-waters">How sharks were tracked in warming waters</h2>



The researchers tagged 155 sharks and monitored their movements using over 390 acoustic receivers. These receivers picked up signals from the tags whenever sharks came within 900 meters (2,953 feet).



The sharks’ migrations were tracked across five defined zones: New England Shelf (NES), New York Bight (NYB), Mid-Atlantic (MA), Southern Atlantic (SA) and Florida (FL).



Some species, like sandbar and thresher sharks, appeared in all zones. Others, like white sharks, showed more restricted ranges.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predictors-of-migration-timing">Predictors of migration timing</h2>



To understand what drives sharks to migrate, the researchers fed their data into mixed-effect Cox models. 



The team tested sea surface temperature (SST), photoperiod, and lunar phase. Photoperiod emerged as a consistently strong predictor, especially for thresher <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shark-skeletons-could-lead-to-technological-innovations/">sharks</a>.



Interestingly, lunar phase had less influence than expected. Only sandbar sharks showed some sensitivity to moonlight patterns. 



Most migration timing was better explained by combinations of light and temperature, which can vary regionally.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-warming-delays-and-shark-survival">Warming delays and shark survival</h2>



If sharks delay migration but human activities continue on schedule, it could spell trouble. For example, commercial fishing in the Northeast typically ramps up in the fall. Sharks that remain in the area face a higher risk of accidental catch.



“Our findings suggest that climate change could increase vulnerability to bycatch, particularly in mixed-use areas like the New York Bight,” the authors wrote.



There is also concern that shark diets and reproductive cycles may shift out of sync with prey availability. A mismatch in timing could reduce feeding success or breeding success.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-strategies-for-a-changing-ocean">New strategies for a changing ocean</h2>



Static conservation policies will not hold up if shark behavior keeps changing. The researchers suggest dynamic management tools, like adjusting fishery closures based on temperature data.



Sandbar sharks, which showed the most migration delay, may require special focus. They are already listed as vulnerable due to previous overfishing and slow reproduction.



Successful conservation now depends on real-time data and predictive modeling. As this study shows, changes in migration are not hypothetical. They are already underway.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shark-migration-is-shifting-with-warming">Shark migration is shifting with warming</h2>



The timing of shark migrations is shifting. Some species are adapting by staying longer in warming northern waters. While that may suit them for now, it raises questions about long-term ecological impacts.



Maria Manz and her team stress the importance of using both regional climate data and shark movement models. Doing so can improve predictions and help managers adjust strategies before the ocean changes even more.



"Our study adds to the growing body of evidence demonstrating how migratory populations will respond to a warming climate, potentially altering regional ecosystem dynamics and exposure to anthropogenic threats."



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.70080" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Conservation Biology</a>.



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Warming oceans are changing shark migration patterns

As oceans heat up, coastal sharks are adjusting their calendars....

species in Pyramimitridae

News coming your way