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

Our bodies meet the sensory world long before our minds can make sense of it. Scientists now argue that what we feel, hear, and see in those first hidden months may lay the tracks for later behavior, including the hallmarks of autism <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-link-autism-to-neanderthal-dna-genetic-variants-found-in-modern-humans/">spectrum</a> disorder&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ASD</a>).



Carissa Cascio of the University of Kansas <a href="https://lifespan.ku.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Life Span Institute</a> helped assemble the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2026-24326-001.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence</a> and calls it the “cascading effects model.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-sensory-patterns-in-autism">Early sensory patterns in autism</h2>



ASD touches about one in 36 eight-year-olds in the United States, a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/ss/ss7202a1.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">figure</a> that keeps inching upward. 



Since 2013 the <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4345540/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Diagnostic and Statistical Manual</a> has listed atypical responses to light, sound, or touch right alongside social traits, confirming that sensory quirks are not side-notes.



Those quirks can lean both ways. Some toddlers barely blink at loud noises, while others recoil from a shirt tag, yet both patterns predict later communication <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-plastics-chemical-bpa-linked-to-autism-adhd-in-children/">hurdles</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-touch-develops-early-body-awareness">Touch develops early body awareness</h2>



<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6710198/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Research</a> tracing fetal physiology shows the sense of touch forming as early as eight weeks of gestation, long before hearing or vision join the party. 



That early tactile scaffold gives a fetus its first map of “me versus not-me,” a map that guides newborn rooting, grasping, and self-soothing.



At birth the world suddenly grows brighter, colder, and louder, forcing the newborn brain to stitch together sight, sound, and touch in swift <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4215474/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multisensory integration</a>. 



If any one strand lags or fires too fiercely, later strands, language, joint attention, play, may knot in unexpected ways.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sensory-changes-before-autism-signs">Sensory changes before autism signs</h2>



A landmark eye-tracking <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4035120/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> found that infants who would later be diagnosed with ASD began life looking at caregivers’ eyes as much as other babies but shifted away between two and six months. 



That tiny change in visual preference predates any obvious social difference, hinting that a developing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/autism-and-adhd-disorders-directly-linked-amount-of-time-kids-spend-on-screens/">brain</a> already feels mismatched input.



Brain scans echo the behavior. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5336143/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Infants</a> who went on to an autism diagnosis showed faster-than-typical cortical surface growth in sensory areas between six and twelve months, a burst linked to later social scores.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-autism-may-begin-with-small-differences">Autism may begin with small differences</h2>



“Our work is rooted in the idea that brain differences in autism are starting much earlier than the age at which we use complex social interactions to diagnose autism,” said Cascio. 



“We’re hopeful that the ideas in this paper will help researchers formulate and test questions about early sensory development,” said Cascio.



By framing sensory pathways as the first domino, the model explains why some children flap, spin, or crave noise: repetitive actions may be self-chosen ways to tame unpredictable signals. 



It also clarifies why others seem distant, if touch or sound barely registers, the wider world offers fewer hooks for connection, so social skills have less raw material.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sensory-signs-may-help-detect-autism-sooner">Sensory signs may help detect autism sooner</h2>



Follow-up <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8740754/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> show that higher sensory hyporesponsiveness at twelve months foretells lower expressive language at two years. Caregivers usually notice the silence, not the missing “aha” moments humble touch and sound should have sparked months before.



Yet plasticity cuts both ways. A 2025 randomized trial found that a parent-led program called <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-025-06928-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Project ImPACT</a> eased social hyporesponsiveness and, for some infants, boosted later language.



Not all sensory experiences are created equal, and not all babies grow up in the same sensory <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthal-dna-is-more-common-in-people-with-autism/">environments</a>. Cultural norms, parenting styles, and household dynamics can all shape how infants respond to sounds, touch, and movement in those critical early months. 



A baby raised in a quiet, low-stimulus setting may adapt differently than one growing up in a louder, more chaotic home, even if both develop along typical lines.



These early differences matter. For example, eye contact and physical touch carry different meanings across cultures. 



What one family sees as normal affection, another may view as intrusive. If a child with ASD is raised in a context where reduced touch or gaze is common, it may mask or complicate early signs.



That’s why researchers like Cascio emphasize the need for broader studies that account for diverse families and developmental contexts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-improving-autism-screening-and-support">Improving autism screening and support</h2>



Screening tools that focus only on gestures or words may miss children whose first signals are sensory. 



Pediatric check-ups that include simple tests, does a four-month-old turn toward a rattle, settle with gentle stroking, blink at bright light, could flag risk while brains remain highly <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-10/documents/ace3_neurodevelopmental.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">neurodevelopmental</a> and adaptable.



Interventions might then start with the senses themselves: patterned touch, predictable light, graded sound, and caregiver coaching to read a baby’s comfort zone. 



By tuning the earliest circuits, therapists hope to widen each child’s window for curiosity, play, and later learning.



The study is published in <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2026-24326-001.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Psychological Review</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Autism may begin with sensory changes well before social signs appear

Our bodies meet the sensory world long before our minds...

Solar farms are blooming across the planet, carpeting deserts, plains, and even former industrial sites with glittering panels that convert sunlight into carbon‑free electricity.



A new review led by wildlife ecologist Trish Fleming from <a href="https://www.murdoch.edu.au/">Murdoch University</a> finds those installations already occupy almost 14,700 square miles of land - roughly the size of West Virginia. That footprint is expanding rapidly.



The study celebrates the role of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solar-power-has-won-the-prize-to-become-earths-main-source-of-energy/">solar energy</a> in cutting greenhouse gas emissions but warns that poorly designed solar parks could harm birds, bats, and other wildlife. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-solar-reflections-mislead-wildlife">Solar reflections mislead wildlife</h2>



Flat, dark <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solar-panels-are-1000-times-more-powerful-with-new-tech-breakthrough/">solar panels</a> act like gigantic mirrors. They polarize and reflect light much as a lake does, a visual cue that many flying insects – and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-are-struggling-to-keep-pace-with-a-warming-climate/">birds</a> and bats that feed on them – instinctively follow.



Migrating waterbirds sometimes circle or land on solar panels, mistaking them for water, researchers have observed.



Insects drawn to panels create feeding hotspots, disrupting foraging patterns and increasing collision risks for birds and other predators.



The same reflective quality produces the “lake effect” hazard at concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, where mirrors focus sunlight onto a central receiver.



Some solar sites kill birds with intense heat or light reflections that confuse wildlife, the Murdoch review warns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fences-block-animal-paths">Fences block animal paths</h2>



To safeguard expensive equipment, solar developers typically surround their sites with chain-link fences. That security measure can have unintended consequences.



Ground-dwelling species such as reptiles, small mammals, and flight-shy birds may find their usual pathways blocked.



In worst-case scenarios, animals become trapped, unable to navigate out of the maze of panels and barriers.



Fleming cites reports from South African vineyards where large birds died after becoming trapped between parallel fences around solar panels.



A more encouraging example comes from Nevada, where a PV project left gaps at ground level and preserved native vegetation corridors.



Motion-camera monitoring has shown desert tortoises, kit foxes, and jackrabbits using those openings to move freely. It’s proof that thoughtful design can meet security needs while allowing wildlife to pass through.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-solar-panels-change-habitat">Solar panels change habitat</h2>



Utility‑scale PV plants usually require two to six hectares of land per megawatt of capacity. Clearing that space can fragment habitat and push sensitive species elsewhere.



Yet the review also finds cases in disturbed agricultural regions where solar parks support more wildlife. 



Managed with flowering groundcovers and minimal mowing, these sites have attracted more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-country-without-butterflies-rapid-decline-in-u-s-populations/">butterflies</a>, bees, and insect-eating birds compared to nearby croplands.



Whether a solar site turns into ecological desert or a surprising refuge depends on what was there before, how vegetation is managed afterward and where panels are placed.



In arid zones, the shade beneath panels can retain soil moisture and support native grasses that would otherwise struggle. This microclimate benefit is known as “agrivoltaics” when combined with grazing or cropping.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smarter-solar-site-layouts">Smarter solar site layouts</h2>



Technological tweaks could further soften solar’s impact. Lab tests show nano-textured panel coatings cut misleading light signals for wildlife and slightly improve solar efficiency.



Other researchers are experimenting with white grid lines or patterned films that break up large reflective expanses without compromising output.



Placement matters too. Orienting arrays to avoid glare toward flyways and leaving gaps for wildlife corridors can cut risk at little extra cost. 



The Australian review urges project planners to incorporate ecological mapping early, just as they already consider grid connection or slope.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fire-risk-and-seasonal-timing"><a></a>Fire risk and seasonal timing</h2>



One concern the scientists highlight is fire hazard: high-voltage weed zappers, trialed as herbicide alternatives, can ignite dry plant matter beneath panels.



Data from Western Australian vineyards show that operating in wetter months nearly eliminates that danger, suggesting it is wise to schedule maintenance during winter and spring.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-making-solar-wildlife-safe">Making solar wildlife-safe</h2>



Governments are banking on solar, with some projections calling for a tenfold increase in capacity by 2050 to meet climate goals. The study insists that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-action-and-biodiversity-striking-the-right-balance/">biodiversity</a> safeguards must travel in tandem.



The authors advocate mandatory wildlife‑friendly design standards, post‑construction monitoring, and adaptive management that tweaks operations when problems emerge.



Solar energy remains one of the greenest power options humanity has – but only if its rollout respects the creatures that share our sunlit planet. 



Designing solar sites with ecology in mind can protect birds, bats, and biodiversity while still generating clean energy.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032125006689?via%3Dihub">Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-ralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Solar farms need better design to protect wildlife

Solar farms are blooming across the planet, carpeting deserts, plains,...

Heatwaves are getting worse. That’s not new. But a less obvious reason for the rise in extreme heat, especially in cities, might be catching scientists and local governments off guard.



It turns out that a major driver of these heatwaves isn’t just greenhouse gases. It’s the steady decline of something we’ve spent decades trying to eliminate: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/millions-of-people-die-from-air-pollution-each-year-yet-theres-still-a-lack-of-monitoring/">air pollution</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smog-cuts-raise-urban-heat">Smog cuts raise urban heat</h2>



A new study from scientists at <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">The University of Texas at Austin</a> shows that falling levels of aerosols - tiny particles that contribute to smog and haze - are playing a much bigger role in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-heat-is-pushing-parts-of-earth-beyond-human-survival/">extreme heat</a> than previously thought. 



The researchers found that in populated areas, aerosols are up to 2.5 times more influential than greenhouse gases in driving changes in heatwave exposure.



While earlier research had connected aerosols to regional temperature patterns, this is the first study to look specifically at how those changes affect the number and intensity of heatwaves that people actually experience.



“Heatwaves near urban centers was much greater than we expected,” said study co-author Cameron Cummins. “So, as cities seek to curb their aerosol emissions to improve public health, they will also likely experience more heatwaves.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cleaner-air-hotter-cities">Cleaner air, hotter cities</h2>



Using global climate models, the researchers analyzed aerosol trends from 1920 to the present. They found that in cities and other populated regions, higher levels of aerosols helped cut heatwave exposure by nearly half.



That’s because aerosols can reflect sunlight, essentially shielding certain areas from the full brunt of global warming. But here’s the catch: those protective aerosols are disappearing.



As countries around the world pass clean air regulations to improve health and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reducing-air-pollution-could-greatly-boost-carbon-sequestration-by-plants/">reduce pollution</a>, aerosol levels are dropping. This is good news for our lungs - but it also means the natural "shade" they provided is vanishing fast.



“Aerosols are really good at counteracting exposure [to heatwaves] right now, but that could rapidly change in the future,” said Geeta Persad, who led the study. 



“We seem to have already crossed a tipping point where declining aerosols are accelerating heatwave exposure in a lot of places.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-heatwaves-on-the-way">More heatwaves on the way</h2>



If aerosol emissions continue to decline at the current pace, the effects could be dramatic. The researchers project that by 2080, the average number of heatwave days globally could nearly triple - from about 40 days a year to 110.



Regions most likely to be affected include Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, South America, and Western Europe. 



In this study, a heatwave is defined as three or more consecutive days during a region’s warm season that exceed the 90th percentile for temperature. 



Sustained heat like this strains power grids, worsens health risks, and pushes infrastructure to its limits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-not-all-emissions-are-the-same">Not all emissions are the same</h2>



Aerosols and greenhouse gases often come from the same sources - such as burning fossil fuels - but they behave very differently. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenhouse-gas-emissions-reach-another-all-time-high/">Greenhouse gases</a> trap heat, disperse globally, and can stay in the atmosphere for decades or even centuries. Aerosols, by contrast, have a short lifespan. They tend to stay localized and usually fall out of the air in a matter of weeks.



That short-term impact means we can see the effects of reduced aerosols quickly - which is good for health but risky for heat. Persad emphasized that this makes cities especially vulnerable as they clean up their air.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-urban-heatwaves-surge-without-aerosols">Urban heatwaves surge without aerosols</h2>



Western Europe is a clear example. In the latter half of the 20th century, high aerosol levels helped shield the region from heatwaves, even as greenhouse gas concentrations climbed - but that’s changing.



The study showed that in just the next 25 years, reduced aerosols could lead to as many as 40 extra heatwave days per year in urban parts of Western Europe. Still, the researchers aren’t calling for a return to dirtier air. Far from it.



“The study results shouldn’t be taken as a license to pollute,” said Persad. High aerosol levels are dangerous. They contribute to respiratory and cardiovascular problems and cause thousands of premature deaths every year. 



“This work suggests that what happens with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/aerosols-have-an-underestimated-effect-on-clouds-and-climate/">aerosols</a> in the near future is going to be really important for what happens with heat wave hazard and exposure and risk in the near future, the next 20 to 30 years.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-cities-can-do">What cities can do</h2>



The key takeaway? Cleaner air is non-negotiable, but it comes with trade-offs. As we cut pollution, cities need to be ready for more intense heat.



That means planning for infrastructure that can handle heatwaves, updating emergency response systems, expanding access to cooling centers, and rethinking urban design - all while continuing to fight climate change on a global scale.



Cleaner air is saving lives. But without better preparation, it could also mean hotter days ahead.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/addee0">Environmental Research Letters</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Urban heatwaves are accelerating for a surprising reason

Heatwaves are getting worse. That’s not new. But a less...

Animals are constantly fighting over food, shelter, mates, or space. Most studies judge those clashes in the moment - by who won, who lost, and who got hurt. Two behavioral ecologists argue that this snapshot view misses the bigger evolutionary picture. 



To understand why, when, and how animals choose to fight or flee, the researchers say we have to track the long arc of costs and payoffs across an individual’s whole life. That includes how conflict shapes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scents-of-survival-how-plant-aromas-shape-insect-diets/">survival</a> and the number of offspring left behind.



The study, led by Paulo Enrique Cardoso Peixoto from the <a href="https://ufmg.br/international-visitors">Federal University of Minas Gerais</a> in Brazil, lays out a path for linking contest behavior to fitness.



“By linking individual contests to lifetime <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reproductive-success-of-southern-white-rhinos-linked-to-gut-microbiome/">reproductive success</a>, we can understand how different contexts and environmental situations could favor the evolution of decision strategies in different species,” Peixoto said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-animals-fight-often">Why animals fight often</h2>



Displays, jousts, and all‑out fights occur across the animal kingdom. Sometimes they are ritualized shows of strength; sometimes they involve real blows, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mind-body-connection-wounds-heal-faster-if-we-think-more-time-has-passed/">wounds</a>, and death.



Even symbolic standoffs drain energy reserves. Because conflicts can bring both rewards and risks, natural selection should shape decision rules: when to escalate, when to back off, and when to never engage.



Value matters. A top‑tier resource - prime territory, a critical shelter site, or a receptive mate - might justify bigger risks. Lesser resources may not. The type of damage matters, too.



“If snapping <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shrimp-crisis-alarming-virus-threatens-global-seafood-supplies/">shrimp</a> lose a claw during a fight, it can regrow, so it’s not a total loss because they can recover and fight subsequent contests,” Peixoto said. 



“If a beetle breaks a horn during a fight, it will not regrow, so that individual will be unable to fight again. Since they often fight for female access, this means they will be unable to reproduce anymore.”



A recoverable cost and an irreversible cost have very different consequences for lifetime breeding success.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gaps-in-animal-conflict-research">Gaps in animal conflict research</h2>



To see how biologists have been scoring these bouts, the authors reviewed 73 field and lab studies covering 62 species.



They tallied 24 types of contest cost and folded them into six broader themes. These included elevated metabolic expenditure, stress responses tied to weakened immunity, and risks like injury or death. 



Other costs were lost foraging time, reduced vigilance to predators, and cutbacks in parental care.



Different research traditions focus on different angles. Work on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-invasive-crustacean-species-discovered-in-the-mediterranean/">crustaceans</a> and fishes often zeroes in on metabolism. Insect studies tend to document broken body parts. That patchwork makes cross‑species comparisons tough.



“There is huge variation in the measurements researchers take,” Peixoto said. Variation itself is fine; the trouble is that without some common yardsticks, we cannot ask whether, say, crabs and beetles pay similar average prices for fighting.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-expanding-our-view-of-animal-conflict">Expanding our view of animal conflict </h2>



Short‑term metrics also dominate. Many experiments measure what happens minutes or hours after a contest and stop there. 



Yet the most meaningful cost might unfold weeks later if an injured animal skips a breeding season, or years later if <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chronic-stress-disrupts-gut-bacteria-and-fuels-cancer-progression/">chronic stress</a> cuts lifespan.



So what should come next? “We need to link the average cost in a single contest to the individual’s longevity or lifetime reproductive success,” Peixoto said.



“For example, are there contexts that favor individuals that always fight and are more aggressive, and other situations that favor more cautious individuals that only fight weaker rivals to increase their chances of winning?”



The answer likely differs by species, habitat, and the reliability of signals about opponent strength.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-fights-across-lifetimes">Tracking fights across lifetimes</h2>



The researchers propose starting by identifying the cost that matters most for the focal species - irreparable injury, energy drain, or lost breeding time. 



Next, measure how that cost accumulates within a contest relative to baseline. Finally, scale up: track how often individuals engage in fights over a lifetime and tally their reproductive output.



“By knowing the average number of fights that different individuals are involved in and their lifespans, we can estimate whether individuals who fight more or less have better lifetime reproductive success,” Peixoto said.



“This connection would allow us to gain deeper insights into the evolutionary dynamics of animal contests and the trade-offs individuals face.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-implications-of-the-research">Broader implications of the research </h2>



Wildlife managers, conservation biologists, and evolutionary theorists all stand to benefit from a better understanding of animal conflict. 



If escalating human disturbance changes how often animals must fight for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-heat-shrinking-habitats-insects-face-hidden-threats/">shrinking resources</a>, the lifetime toll could ripple through populations.



Standardizing how we track contest costs - and extending those measures over years - will reveal when aggression pays and when it backfires. It will also show how natural selection calibrates the will to fight across the tree of life.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0169534725001533">Trends in Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Wild animal fights can harm a species for generations

Animals are constantly fighting over food, shelter, mates, or space. Most...

vibora-colores-brillantes-espinas-tailandia - 1

Divers exploring coral outcrops near Kumejima Island in Japan thought they had found novelty props for an aquarium display. Instead, their cameras captured a tiny siphon‑pumping animal whose stark white stripes and dark eye‑like spots looked like a cartoon <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/national-panda-day-2025-from-the-brink-of-extinction-to-hope/">panda</a> wearing a skeleton costume.



The inch‑tall surprise soon went viral in diver forums, and what began as a curiosity post led researchers to a bona fide species never cataloged before. 



Study coauthor <a href="https://researchmap.jp/hoya_nhasegawa?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Naohiro Hasegawa</a> of <a href="https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hokkaido University</a> arranged dives, collected specimens, and confirmed that the creature belonged to the genus Clavelina, yet was distinct enough for its own name.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-clavelina-species">New Clavelina species</h2>



Photos first appeared online in 2017, letting scientists inspect body shapes and color patterns without leaving their desks. 



Independent images posted by different dive operators also revealed that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-change-their-daily-schedules-when-tourists-are-watching/">animals</a> occurred at several reef patches between 16 and 66 feet, giving a hint that the oddity was not a photo trick.



Hasegawa’s team located colonies in 2022 and used gentle suction devices to move living clusters into chilled seawater dishes aboard their boat. 



Laboratory microscopy then mapped the arrangement of internal vessels, showing transverse white bars that create the “bones” illusion and four discrete black pigment patches on each zooid.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-morphology-and-genetics">Morphology and genetics</h2>



Thanks to the clear photos and field data, the scientists could write a precise morphological description even before genetic work began. 



Their approach echoes a broader move toward <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380943736_Passive_citizen_science_Social_media_as_a_tool_for_marine_wildlife_observation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">passive citizen‑science</a>, where researchers mine social media for reliable species observations instead of waiting for mailed specimens.



A final round of underwater surveys returned measurements on abundance and depth range, ensuring that the panda‑masked animal’s ecological niche was documented alongside its anatomy. 



Those data are now archived with <a href="https://www.kahaku.go.jp/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Japan’s National Museum of Nature and Science</a> for easy access by future investigators.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clavelina-ossipandae">Clavelina ossipandae</h2>



The new animal was christened <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1534455-Clavelina-ossipandae" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Clavelina ossipandae</a>, a nod to its bottle‑shaped body (Clavelina is Latin for “little bottle”) and its bone‑and‑panda palette. 



Each transparent zooid grows no longer than 0.8 inches, or about 20 millimeters, and sits free of its neighbors rather than sharing a common tunic, one of seven features that separate it from 44 known congeners.



Live specimens show ten to fourteen double‑row gill stigmata and two muscular ribbons running from abdomen to endostyle, details that place the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/colorful-aquarium-creature-cherax-pulverulentus-is-new-crayfish-species-never-catalogued/">species</a> within the tunicate lineage while ruling out close look‑alikes such as Clavina picta or Clavina moluccensis. 



“The white parts that look like bones are the blood vessels that run horizontally through the sea squirts' gills,” explained Hasegawa.



Another quirk involves the jet‑black <a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu/exploringourfluidearth/sites/default/files/Fig3.101A-InternalAnatomyTunicate.png" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">endostyle</a>, a mucus‑secreting groove used to trap food. 



Comparable grooves in other Clavelina members are pale, so the noir throat offers an easy field mark for photographers trying to separate the skeleton panda from less flashy relatives.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-family-ties-and-feeding">Family ties and feeding</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-squirts-cancer-treatment-promising-drug-trabectedin/">Sea squirts</a> are sessile members of the phylum Chordata, meaning their swimming larvae carry a notochord similar to the backbone we humans develop. Adults, however, cement themselves to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-oldest-known-rocks-formed-over-four-billion-years-ago/">rocks</a> and switch to a pump‑and‑filter lifestyle.



The skeleton panda follows the classic filter‑feeding routine, drawing seawater in through an oral siphon, passing it across a mesh of gill slits, and expelling it through an atrial siphon. 



Every hour, a zooid the size of a thumbnail can process volumes of water many times its own body capacity, quietly removing bacteria and microalgae that would otherwise cloud the lagoon.



Because the colony sits in sunlit shallows, stray plankton is plentiful, and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-may-have-three-million-undiscovered-animal-species/">animals</a> rarely exceed snorkel depth. For <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coastal-growth-squeezes-beaches-threatening-flood-protection/">coastal ecosystems</a>, these compact filters act like living water purifiers, clarifying reef zones where corals and juvenile fish need light.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clavelina-genes-seal-the-verdict">Clavelina genes seal the verdict</h2>



To double‑check that the panda mimic was not a color morph of an existing species, scientists sequenced 810 base pairs of the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/4512" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene</a>. 



Two individuals differed by ten nucleotides, a 1.26 percent divergence, yet translated into identical amino acids, a pattern typical of intraspecific variation.



Phylogenetic analysis grouped the samples squarely inside the Clavelina clade, confirming that the combination of free zooids, panda mask, and gene signature warranted a fresh binomial. 



Collection data were deposited in Japan’s National Museum of Nature and Science, making the record available for future comparative work.



Routine bar‑coding of new finds matters because many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-ancient-cousins-500-million-year-old-tunicate-holds-intriguing-secrets/">tunicates</a> carry compounds of biomedical interest, including anti‑cancer metabolites. 



Even if C. ossipandae never yields a drug, accurate placement in the tree of life guides bioprospectors toward branches more likely to host useful chemistry.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bigger-picture-for-these-tiny-creatures">Bigger picture for these tiny creatures</h2>



Diver photos once rejected as casual snapshots turned out to be first drafts of a taxonomic paper, highlighting how amateurs can accelerate discovery when scientists stay alert to online chatter. 



Mobile phone cameras now exceed the resolution of older lab instruments, so crisp images of soft‑bodied creatures travel the globe in seconds, creating virtual voucher collections.



Citizen monitoring platforms such as the <a href="https://dan.org/alert-diver/article/advancing-conservation-through-citizen-science/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reef Environmental Education Foundation</a> now log more than 300,000 underwater surveys gathered by 18,000 volunteer divers, a reminder that hobbyists routinely cover real estate scientists rarely see. 



Their effort frees researchers to focus on analysis instead of boat time, accelerating species checklists worldwide.



The find also underscores how much biodiversity hides in plain sight. Kumejima is a popular snorkel destination, yet a palm‑sized colony remained unnamed until someone noticed its Halloween stripes. 



Conservation planners use such surprises to argue for broad <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/conservation-success-stories-offer-hope-for-biodiversity/">habitat protection</a>, not just for charismatic megafauna but for sponge‑sized curiosities that stitch reef food webs together.



“We don't really know why the pattern is there,” admitted Hasegawa. The skeleton panda invites questions about evolution of color in non‑visual animals. Pigment may discourage predators or shield tissues from ultraviolet light, or it may simply be metabolic spillover with no clear purpose.&nbsp;



The study is published in <a href="https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/specdiv/29/1/29_SD22-16/_article" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Species Diversity</a>.



-----



Like what you read?<a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/"> Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on<a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/"> EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by<a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/"> Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Divers discovered tiny sea creatures that resemble 'swimming panda bear skeletons'

Divers exploring coral outcrops near Kumejima Island in Japan thought...

Astronomers caught a star system at the moment when solid grains began to form planets. This snapshot reveals how planets first start to form, just as Earth once did.



The infant star HOPS-315 sits about 1,300 light-years, roughly 7.6 quadrillion miles, away in the constellation Orion. Around it whirls a disc of gas and dust where heat is high enough to bake rock yet cool enough for those rocks to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-giant-planets-form/">re-form</a>.



<a href="https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/melissa-mcclure#tab-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Melissa McClure</a> of Leiden University led the international team that pieced together these first moments of planetary assembly. Their finding gives researchers a live laboratory that mirrors the opening chapter of the Solar System’s own story.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-planets-form-from-early-solids">How planets form from early solids</h2>



In primitive meteorites, tiny calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions tell us that the Solar System’s clock started ticking <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1226919" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">4.567 billion</a> years ago. Those inclusions condensed from a searing vapor and seeded every terrestrial planet we know.



Because the clock starts with condensation, catching that step beyond the Sun has been an astronomer’s white whale. 



The new observation marks the first time any telescope has seen <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/cp/d2cp02188a" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gas-phase silicon monoxide</a> (SiO) alongside freshly crystallizing silicates in the same patch of a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/protoplanetary-disk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">protoplanetary disc</a>.



McClure’s team spotted the minerals within an orbit comparable to our asteroid belt. That match matters, for it pins early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-planets-form-its-much-more-complicated-than-we-thought/">chemistry</a> to a region that later fed Earth with water and metals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crystals-forming-around-hops-315">Crystals forming around HOPS-315</h2>



The James Webb Space Telescope (<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JWST</a>) collects infrared light that pierces the dust cocoon shrouding HOPS-315, revealing the distinct fingerprint of hot SiO molecules. Those molecules glow at about 2,200°F, a temperature that vaporizes most common rocks.



<a href="https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ALMA</a>, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, then measured the same region at millimeter wavelengths and mapped where the glow comes from. 



By combining the two views, scientists confirmed that both gas and solid forms of silicon occupy a ring no farther than 2 astronomical units from the star.



Handling these observations is tricky because HOPS-315 also drives a jet rich in SiO. The team disentangled the jet’s signal from the disc’s by checking velocities, the jet gas races outward, whereas disc material <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/july-2025-skywatching-bright-planets-and-a-summer-constellation/">orbits</a> sedately.



A final check involved comparing the brightness of different SiO lines. The ratio matched laboratory predictions for vapor that is actively condensing, adding yet another layer of confidence to the result.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-planets-forming-from-gas-and-crystals">Planets forming from gas and crystals</h2>



Crystalline silicates appear where cooling vapor meets a sharp fall in temperature. The presence of both phases at one location means condensation is happening right now, not long ago nor far away in another part of the disc.



“This process has never been seen before in a protoplanetary disc, or anywhere outside our Solar System,” said <a href="https://lsa.umich.edu/astro/people/core-faculty/ebergin.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Edwin Bergin</a> of the <a href="https://lsa.umich.edu/astro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Michigan</a>, a co-author on the study. 



He adds that the minerals are the same kind locked inside 4.5-billion-year-old meteorites on Earth’s shelves.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://cdn.eso.org/images/wallpaper5/eso2512a.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/solar-system-forming_HOPS-315_ESO_1s.webp" alt="This is HOPS-315, a baby star where astronomers have observed evidence for the earliest stages of planet formation. Together with data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), these observations show that hot minerals are beginning to solidify. In orange we see the distribution of carbon monoxide, blowing away from the star in a butterfly-shaped wind. In blue we see a narrow jet of silicon monoxide, also beaming away from the star. These gaseous winds and jets are common around baby stars like HOPS-315. Credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al." class="wp-image-1978595"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This is HOPS-315, a baby star where astronomers have observed evidence for the earliest stages of planet formation. Together with data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), these observations show that hot minerals are beginning to solidify. In orange we see the distribution of carbon monoxide, blowing away from the star in a butterfly-shaped wind. In blue we see a narrow jet of silicon monoxide, also beaming away from the star. These gaseous winds and jets are common around baby stars like HOPS-315. Click image to enlarge. Credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al.</figcaption></figure>



“We’re really seeing these minerals at the same location in this extrasolar system as where we see them in asteroids in the Solar System,” said co-author, Logan Francis from the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (<a href="https://affoa.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AFFOA</a>). 



He notes that the condensation zone sits at almost the same orbital radius as our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asteroids-found-in-the-main-belt-are-the-smallest-ever-detected/">asteroid belt</a>. 



The mineral grains measure less than a micrometer across, yet they mark the first step toward kilometer-scale planetesimals. Electrostatic forces will make them clump for thousands of years until <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-announce-evidence-suggesting-that-our-solar-system-has-nine-planets-again/">gravity</a> takes over.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hops-315-mirrors-earth-s-origins">HOPS-315 mirrors Earth’s origins</h2>



Laboratory studies show that minerals rich in silicon and oxygen condense first, followed quickly by iron-nickel alloys and then more volatile compounds. 



Seeing hot SiO vapor around HOPS-315 hints that a similar chemical parade is marching there.



By estimating the star’s luminosity and the disc’s temperature gradient, McClure’s group concludes that crystalline silicates could mass about a tenth of the Moon. That is plenty to seed multiple rocky planets if subsequent growth is efficient, as models suggest.



Isotopic <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.02631" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> on chondrules indicates that the earliest building blocks in our own <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jupiters-past-how-the-young-gas-giant-shaped-our-solar-system/">Solar System</a> formed within the first million years, a timescale now testable in real time with HOPS-315.



Matching astronomical data to isotope chronometers promises a much sharper picture of planet formation than meteoritic studies alone.



The discovery may also shed light on why Earth contains less carbon than nebular models predict. If early minerals trap oxygen and silicon immediately, carbon may remain gaseous longer and get pushed outward before it can join newborn worlds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next-in-watching-planets-form">What’s next in watching planets form</h2>



Over the next year, ALMA will return to HOPS-315 to look for water ice farther out in the disc. 



If water lines up beyond the silicate ring, astronomers can test whether rocky seeds migrate inward before they acquire ice mantles, a step that may explain why Earth ended up with oceans.



JWST will track how the SiO signature evolves. A steady decline would show vapor freezing out, whereas a surge could hint at heating bursts from magnetic flares or spiral shocks.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/0j-MH6_QlBA?si=3P8FgBE0O2TTWsnM
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Witnessing the dawn of a new solar system. Credit: ESO</figcaption></figure>



Beyond the specifics of HOPS-315, the result boosts confidence that rocky planets are common. If condensation begins so early, many stars may launch planet formation well before their gas discs disperse, leaving time for worlds to migrate, collide, and settle into stable orbits.



Astronomer Elizabeth Humphreys at ESO, who was not involved in the study, said she was “really impressed” that the team could pinpoint the first solids. 



She argues that the synergy of Webb and ALMA is revealing a Universe “in which the steps toward life-bearing planets start earlier than we dared hope.”



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09163-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Astronomers capture the birth of a new solar system for the first time ever

Astronomers caught a star system at the moment when solid...

Antimicrobial resistance now kills at least 1.27 million people a year and is linked to almost five million deaths, making common infections progressively harder to treat. Meanwhile, the pipeline for new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genes-for-antibiotic-resistance-lurk-in-our-wastewater-and-streams/">antibiotics</a> has slowed, but animal venom offers new hope amid fears of a post‑antibiotic era.



Using deep-learning tools, researchers mined 40 million venom‑encoded peptides collected from snakes, scorpions, spiders, and other animals. They pinpointed 386 molecules with the hallmarks of powerful antibiotics.



The work was led by César de la Fuente at the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Pennsylvania</a>, who specializes in machine biology and antibiotic discovery.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-old-toxins-new-treatments">Old toxins, new treatments</h2>



Decades ago, a peptide from the Brazilian pit viper inspired captopril, the first ACE inhibitor for hypertension, proving that toxins can be tamed for therapy. 



More recently, FDA‑approved <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6214764/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ziconotide</a>, derived from cone snail venom, has provided severe pain relief without opioids.



Those successes hint at a vast pharmacological trove hidden in venoms, yet only a fraction of the peptides they contain have been examined. 



Digital screening can accelerate that search beyond what manual experiments allow.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-venom-holds-rare-chemistry">Venom holds rare chemistry</h2>



Venomous animals have evolved specialized chemistries for offense or defense over millions of years. These chemistries generate peptides that slice into nervous systems, coagulation pathways, and bacterial membranes.



Because each species fine‑tunes its arsenal, the combined library covers many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antibiotic-resistance-could-cause-a-health-crisis-globally/">chemical</a> shapes rarely found in conventional drug collections.



The Penn team compiled proteins from four databases, representing cone snails, spiders, snakes, scorpions, and more. This diversity fed the AI with sequences spanning more than 16,000 proteins. 



The model then shredded these sequences into over 40 million candidate peptides.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-antibiotic-candidates-found-in-venom">Antibiotic candidates found in venom</h2>



APEX turns each animal venom peptide’s sequence into numbers that reflect traits like charge and water-repellence. Then, it predicts how much of each peptide is needed to stop the growth of 34 different bacterial strains.



Sequences predicted to inhibit growth at 32 micromoles per liter or less advanced to a similarity filter that weeded out peptides too close to known antibiotics.



The filter left 386 candidates that occupied unexplored corners of peptide sequence space. This ensured any hits would add new chemical diversity. Crucially, the whole triage ran in a few hours on standard graphics‑processing hardware, a pace impossible for wet‑lab screening.



“Venoms are evolutionary masterpieces, yet their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antimicrobial-resistance-projected-to-kill-10-million-people-each-year/">antimicrobial</a> potential has barely been explored,” said César de la Fuente. His lab’s strategy turns that evolutionary advantage into a search engine for urgently needed drugs.



The platform also found over 2,000 new short sequence patterns that help break bacterial membranes -useful building blocks for future antibiotics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-peptides-killed-drug-resistant-bugs">Peptides killed drug-resistant bugs</h2>



The researchers synthesized 58 of the AI‑ranked peptides and challenged them against drug‑resistant strains of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/about/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Escherichia coli</a> and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/staphylococcus-aureus/about/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Staphylococcus aureus</a>; 53 wiped out the bacteria at doses that left human red blood cells unharmed.



“By pairing computational triage with traditional lab experimentation, we delivered one of the most comprehensive investigations of venom‑derived antibiotics to date,” said Marcelo Torres, a research associate at Penn. 



Torres noted that the most potent peptides came from spiders, mirroring the predators’ need to immobilize prey quickly.



One standout candidate knocked down <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3442836/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Acinetobacter baumannii</a> infections in mice by up to 99 percent after a single topical dose. The animals showed no weight loss or other toxicity signs, an early but encouraging safety signal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-venom-bypasses-resistance-paths">Venom bypasses resistance paths</h2>



Most classic antibiotics block <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-enzyme-developed-to-recycle-plastic/">enzymes</a>, so single genetic tweaks can disarm them, but venom peptides that destabilize bacterial membranes face fewer resistance routes.



Animal venom hits carried strong positive charges and balanced hydrophobic residues, a combination that latches onto the negatively charged bacterial surface and punches holes in it.



Fluorescence assays confirmed that 26 peptides swiftly collapsed the cytoplasmic membrane potential in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.



Outer membrane permeabilization played a smaller role, suggesting depolarization is their primary kill step.



This mechanism works like human defensins but uses new sequences that bacteria haven’t seen, making resistance unlikely - and because human cells have cholesterol and a neutral charge, they aren’t harmed in the same way.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-venom-worked-without-harming-cells">Venom worked without harming cells</h2>



Testing in human kidney cells found that most scorpion and cone snail peptides were benign at concentrations far above their antibacterial doses. 



A handful of spider peptides showed cytotoxicity, guiding the team to prioritize safer scaffolds.



In the mouse skin‑infection model, the lead spider peptide cut bacterial counts by roughly three orders of magnitude without harming the animals.



Pharmacokinetic tweaks such as end‑capping or non‑natural amino acids could further prolong its activity and reduce dosing frequency.



Computational screens suggest 40 percent of candidates likely avoid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/potassium-depletion-in-agricultural-soils-threatens-food-security/">potassium</a> channels, a common off-target for cationic peptides. Electrophysiology studies now under way will test that prediction before systemic trials begin.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next-for-venom-based-antibiotics">What’s next for venom-based antibiotics</h2>



Medicinal chemists are refining the top animal venom hits to sharpen selectivity, resist protease degradation and improve serum half‑life. 



Machine‑learning feedback loops will retrain APEX with every new data point, steadily raising prediction accuracy.



Regulatory hurdles remain, yet the researchers argue that topical use in skin or burn infections could reach patients faster than systemic applications. 



Researchers can also pair peptide antibiotics with existing drugs to delay resistance evolution.



The goal is a pipeline where venom data trains artificial intelligence, AI guides chemistry, and chemistry delivers antibiotics in months. If realized, that loop could turn the tide in the struggle against superbugs.



The study is published in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40645962/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

AI found a way to turn venom into antibiotics

Antimicrobial resistance now kills at least 1.27 million people a...

A flexible membrane stretched between elongated fingers allows bats to maneuver through the night with extraordinary agility. 



New research comparing bat and mouse embryos shows that the bat wing didn't come from a brand-new cell type.



Instead, it formed by reusing the same genetic programs found in all mammalian limbs - but activated at a different time and place during development.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-hands-to-fins-to-wings">From hands to fins to wings</h2>



“We chose bats because they are an excellent example of phenotypic adaptation," said co-author Stefan Mundlos, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.molgen.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics</a>. "The limbs are a beautiful model system to see how evolution produces different forms and functions,” 



“Think of the limbs of a horse or the fins of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-dolphin-brains-evolved-to-see-underwater-by-using-sound-echolocation/">dolphin</a>, or our hands or a wing. These are prime examples of how evolution takes one form and turns it into something completely different.”



At roughly 1,400 species, bats constitute the second‑most diverse order of mammals after <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-modern-day-plague-rodents-fleas-and-their-impact-on-wildlife/">rodents</a>, colonizing every continent except Antarctica and the driest deserts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bat-wings-form-from-familiar-cells">Bat wings form from familiar cells</h2>



In their new work, Mundlos and colleagues collected embryos at the critical stage when a bat’s forelimb begins to diverge from a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mice-actually-listen-to-their-whiskers-touching-things/">mouse</a>’s into a flight organ.



Using whole‑genome sequencing and single‑cell RNA sequencing, the team catalogued gene activity in thousands of individual cells from both the anterior limb bud (future wing) and posterior limb bud (future leg) in bats and mice.



The project united laboratories at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, the <a href="https://www.mdc-berlin.de/">Max Delbrück Center in Berlin</a>, and <a href="https://www.cabd.es/en/">Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo in Seville</a>.



Single‑cell technology provides a high‑resolution snapshot of which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bat-genes-are-crucial-in-the-fight-against-cancer/">genes</a> are active in each cell as tissue forms. 



Comparing species, however, is notoriously challenging, especially for non‑model organisms such as bats.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-reused-cells">Evolution reused cells</h2>



“One of the biggest surprises for us was that all cell types and functions in the limb appear to be conserved between species,” said senior author Francisca M. Real, an expert in development and disease at Max Planck.



“Initially, we thought that this technology and analysis would provide clear insights into some bat‑unique cells forming the wings, since wings and mouse limbs are very different from each other.”



Instead, every cell type in a bat limb found its counterpart in a mouse limb; what differed was when and where particular genes turned on.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-later-gene-use-drives-flight">Later gene use drives flight</h2>



The chiropatagium - the delicate skin membrane spanning digits II through V - forms later in bat development.



The team showed that the cells building this membrane resemble proximal limb‑bud cells found in all mammals, but bats reactivate their gene program farther out along the growing limb and at a later stage.



The same genetic toolkit, deployed on a different schedule, yields an entirely new wing surface without creating new cells.



“The cells present in the proximal part of the limb are similar in identity to the cells that later form the wing,” said lead author Christian Feregrino. "This reflects how evolution works."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bat-wings-echo-human-hands">Bat wings echo human hands</h2>



Because bat wings share the underlying bone layout of a human hand, they illustrate how modest tweaks in developmental timing - sometimes called heterochrony - can transform a limb into something entirely new.



The same principle likely shaped the stiff forelimbs of horses, the broad flippers of dolphins, and the dexterous hands that humans use to write, cook, and build.



By mapping the exact genetic switches that shift limb programs along both the spatial and temporal axes, scientists hope to uncover general rules that govern morphological innovation across the tree of life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bat-wings-built-by-timing">Bat wings built by timing</h2>



The study also provides an annotated catalog of bat limb cell states and regulatory elements. 



This opens the door to identifying enhancers - non-coding DNA sequences that act like genetic dimmer switches - responsible for delayed, distal activation.



Identifying those elements could show whether similar regulatory changes exist in other animals that evolved gliding or flight membranes, like flying squirrels or sugar gliders. 



It could also help scientists better understand congenital limb malformations in humans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-made-flight-with-old-tools">Evolution made flight with old tools</h2>



Bats rose to the skies not by inventing entirely new genes but by choreographing familiar ones in new ways.



Their wings demonstrate nature’s talent for editing an existing blueprint into fresh structures, underscoring Darwin’s insight that evolution works with what is already there.



As single‑cell technologies and comparative genomics mature, more secrets of evolutionary ingenuity are likely to emerge from the membranes that beat silently above our heads each night.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02780-x">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-ralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Bats once had hands - but evolution turned them into wings

A flexible membrane stretched between elongated fingers allows bats to...

An exoplanet named WASP-127b just smashed the cosmic wind record. Astronomers clocked supersonic gales racing around its waist at about 20,500 miles (33,000 kilometers) per hour, which is seven times faster than fighter‑jet speed.



“There is an extremely fast circumplanetary jet wind found on the planet. The velocity of the winds is surprisingly high,” said <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lisa-Nortmann" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lisa Nortmann</a> of the <a href="https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/1.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Göttingen</a>, lead author of the discovery. 



The supersonic <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2502/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">streak</a> hugs the planet’s equator, which sits 520 light‑years from Earth in the constellation of <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/fujii-constellation-image-of-virgocoma/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Virgo</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-jet-streams-on-wasp-127b">Jet streams on WASP-127b</h2>



WASP‑127b is a <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/resource/hot-jupiter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hot Jupiter</a>, a gas‑rich world that roasts close to its parent star. Its diameter is 30 percent larger than Jupiter’s, yet its mass is only one‑sixth, giving it a marshmallow‑like density. 



That low weight lets starlight puff the atmosphere into a balloon thousands of miles deep, a feature that makes the planet easy to probe with modern telescopes.



Earth’s <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/jet-stream" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polar jet stream</a> tops out near 275 mph (442 kph), and <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/neptune/neptune-facts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neptune’s</a> famous winds reach about 1,200 mph (1,930 kph). 



WASP-127b’s 20,500‑mph (33,000 kph) supersonic gales lap the globe in less than a day, making it the most extreme sustained wind yet measured on any planet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chasing-the-jet-with-light">Chasing the jet with light</h2>



Scientists traced the wind using <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/03/Transmission_spectroscopy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">transmission spectroscopy</a>. They watched the star’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cosmic-lighthouses-emanated-earliest-starlight-universe/">light</a> filter through the planet’s atmosphere during each four‑day orbit. 



Molecules of water and carbon monoxide left fingerprints that slid in wavelength as the air sped toward and away from us, revealing two clear Doppler peaks.



If the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/super-earth-toi-1846-b-possible-oceans-discovered-orbiting-red-dwarf-star/">planet</a> merely <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-a-hidden-pattern-in-planet-orbits/">rotated</a> once per orbit, the equator would move around 1.6 kms-1 (1 mile s-1). Instead, the measured equatorial jet reaches about 9 km s‑1 (5.6 miles s-1), roughly six times that <a href="https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/01/aa50438-24/aa50438-24.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“tidally locked”</a> pace. 



That translates to a Mach number near three, which is well above the local speed of sound in the 2,060°F (1,127 °C) hydrogen‑helium air.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wasp-127b-s-puffy-atmosphere">WASP-127b's puffy atmosphere</h2>



The inflated envelope means that light from the star penetrates deeply, driving huge temperature contrasts between day and night. 



Such contrasts push gas sideways, setting up the equatorial jet that now defines the planet’s climate.



More than 5,900 confirmed planets are cataloged today, but none show a wind like this. The result widens the gap between solar‑system weather and the extremes seen among <a href="https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exoplanets</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fueling-wasp-127b-s-supersonic-winds">Fueling WASP-127b's supersonic winds</h2>



Researchers think <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/stellar-radiation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stellar irradiation</a> is the main power source. Air heated on the perpetual day side rushes eastward, overshooting the limb before it can cool. 



Modelers also point to the planet’s low gravity, which reduces friction and lets airflow accelerate to dizzying speeds.



The jet’s velocity wasn’t the only surprise. Researchers also found that the poles of WASP‑127b contribute almost nothing to the planet’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exoplanet-k2-18b-strongest-evidence-yet-of-extraterrestrial-life-discovered-webb/">transmission spectrum</a>, suggesting they may be veiled by thick clouds or cooled significantly compared to the equator.



That drop in signal matches predictions from general circulation models, where high-latitude air remains colder and more stable while the equator churns with superheated motion. 



These regional differences matter, because they help scientists refine how heat and chemicals move across gas giants under extreme conditions.



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



Earth science uses jet streams to steer storms. On WASP‑127b the jet alone shapes global heat flow, suggesting that “superrotation” may be common on close‑in giants. 



Future climate codes must now reproduce both the speed and the double‑peaked pattern seen in the data.



The <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Very Large Telescope</a> in Chile, newly upgraded with the <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/vlt-instr/crires+/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CRIRES+ infrared spectrograph</a>, supplied the precision needed to isolate 10 kms-1 shifts. CRIRES+ can resolve one part in 140,000, turning subtle molecular lines into a speedometer for alien weather.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-standard-for-planetary-chemistry">New standard for planetary chemistry</h2>



Beyond wind speeds, the study locked in precise measurements of WASP‑127b’s <a href="https://fiveable.me/key-terms/astrophysics-ii/co-ratio" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">C/O ratio</a> and <a href="https://www.aanda.org/glossary/194-metallicity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">metallicity</a>. Both values closely matched solar levels, contradicting earlier reports that suggested a carbon-depleted atmosphere.



That shift matters. Planetary formation theories often link atmospheric chemistry to where a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-announce-evidence-suggesting-that-our-solar-system-has-nine-planets-again/">planet</a> formed in its protoplanetary disk. 



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/S84jjw__zlg?si=7M7BAQvEoocQagT0
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Extreme supersonic winds raging on WASP-127b. Credit: ESO</figcaption></figure>



The updated results mean WASP‑127b likely didn’t migrate as far as previously assumed, changing how scientists think hot Jupiters end up in such tight orbits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-other-planets-have-supersonic-gales">Do other planets have supersonic gales?</h2>



Next‑generation instruments will test whether cooler, more temperate planets hide slower winds or exhibit surprises of their own. 



For WASP‑127b, follow‑up work may track seasonal changes, map clouds at the poles, and refine the chemistry that rides the jet. &nbsp;



The study is published in <a href="https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/01/aa50438-24/aa50438-24.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Astronomy &amp; Astrophysics</a>.



-----



Like what you read?<a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/"> Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on<a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/"> EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by<a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/"> Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Supersonic winds blowing at 20,500 miles per hour detected on a giant planet

An exoplanet named WASP-127b just smashed the cosmic wind record....

In nature’s endless game of survival and attraction, appearances can deceive. A soft flutter of wings might signal prey, a wasp, or danger. A bright color could warn of poison or invite a mate. But in one curious case, a dancing jumping spider has taken deception to a whole new level.



Jumping spiders are not what people typically imagine when they think of showy, dramatic displays. Yet one species, the Maratus vespa, does something few creatures dare. This jumping spider imitates one of its biggest threats - a wasp.



This surprising performance raised a question that scientists at the University of Cincinnati couldn’t ignore: why would a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/all-legs-no-guts-sea-spider-genome-stuns-scientists/">spider</a> mimic a predator during something as important as courtship?



That question led to an experiment unlike most in behavioral biology. And the journey from simple curiosity to machine-aided discovery unveiled a strange and brilliant piece of evolutionary theater.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-jumping-spiders-in-a-wasp-disguise">Jumping spiders in a wasp disguise</h2>



With travel restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, fieldwork came to a halt. But curiosity did not. Biologists at the <a href="https://www.uc.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Cincinnati</a> turned to computers, hoping to uncover the secrets behind the spider’s dramatic disguise.



Humans often see faces where none exist, on rocks, in tree bark, even in cloud formations. Scientists wondered if the spider’s “wasp face” was a real mimicry or simply a trick of human perception. 



To answer this question, the researchers needed a third party without such bias. They used computer vision techniques and machine learning. 



Neural networks were trained to identify and classify images of different insect and spider species based on patterns and shapes. The test included 62 species, from jumping spiders to flies and wasps.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wasp-like-spiders-trick-algorithm">Wasp-like spiders trick algorithm</h2>



The results surprised the researchers. The artificial intelligence made classification errors nearly 12 percent of the time across all species. Thirteen species were identified correctly every single time. But others were harder to pin down.



“The original idea was inspired by one species, a peacock jumping spider called Maratus vespa, which is Latin for wasp,” said UC student and study lead author Olivia Harris.



In the case of Maratus vespa and a few other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/spiders-adapt-their-webs-to-filter-out-human-made-noise/">spiders,</a> the AI struggled more than usual. It misidentified these spiders as wasps more than 20 percent of the time. Even without human bias, the computer saw what looked like a wasp.



This revealed something important. The spider's mimicry may be strong enough to fool not just people but machines as well. If artificial intelligence gets confused, real predators might too.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spider-s-dance-looks-like-a-wasp">Spider’s dance looks like a wasp</h2>



Maratus vespa is no ordinary spider. During courtship, it performs an elaborate dance. It raises its abdomen to display bright, bold patterns. The colors echo those of a wasp’s body. But it doesn’t stop there.



This jumping spider also raises side flaps on its body. The added shape creates the outline of a wasp’s triangular face. 



The mimicry becomes more convincing with movement, colors, and structure. And this illusion, oddly enough, is used in one of the most vulnerable moments of its life, mating.



“That got us thinking,” Harris said. “Why would a spider want to look like a wasp, which is a predator of spiders, especially as a primary element of its courtship display?" The answer lies in attention, survival, and split-second timing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-male-jumping-spiders-seeking-attention">Male jumping spiders seeking attention</h2>



Jumping spiders are highly visual animals. They have multiple sets of eyes, each with different abilities. Females especially are careful observers. 



When they detect movement from afar, particularly something that resembles a predator, they freeze and focus.



It turns out, this reaction might give males a critical opening. If the female thinks a wasp is nearby, she becomes alert but still. That moment of pause may allow the male spider to begin his courtship display.



The study’s authors believe the male uses this mimicry as a tactic. It isn’t to scare her, but to capture her attention and hold it long enough to start the dance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spiders-aren-t-the-only-tricksters">Spiders aren't the only tricksters</h2>



Nature is full of strange strategies when it comes to attracting mates. Some male<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/moths-read-the-stars-to-complete-an-epic-migration/"> moths</a>, for example, imitate the ultrasonic calls of bats. This discourages females from flying away. 



In Africa, topi antelope bulls pretend to spot predators to stop females from leaving their territory.



“But this is the only case we’ve found of males mimicking a predator visually,” she said.



Visual mimicry as a courtship trick remains extremely rare. That makes the Maratus vespa spider an unusual and fascinating example. 



The study suggests this behavior represents a form of sensory exploitation. The male takes advantage of how the female processes visual information.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-limits-of-illusion">The limits of illusion</h2>



Professor Nathan Morehouse, who co-authored the study, explained that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shiny-animals-outwit-predators-with-optical-illusions/">illusion</a> works best from a distance or from the female’s side view.



These angles rely on her peripheral vision, which sees only in green. At that range, the bright pattern and angular shape suggest danger. But when the male moves closer, the illusion wears off.



“Females will not be fooled forever. If they were, they would be robbed of the ability to make mate choices, which would put the species at a long-term disadvantage,” Morehouse said. “It’s beneficial for the males to break the illusion.”



In other words, the mimicry is a tool to get noticed, not to deceive permanently. The female must still decide if the male is worthy. And once she’s focused, she uses her color-sensitive front eyes to make that decision.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-jumping-spiders-posing-as-wasps">Jumping spiders posing as wasps</h2>



The team now hopes to follow up with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/science-behind-predicting-and-changing-human-behavior/">behavioral studies</a>. They want to test if live female spiders behave differently based on the strength of the male’s visual mimicry.



Do some jumping spiders copy wasps better than others? Do females prefer males with more convincing patterns? And can these differences affect which males succeed in passing on their genes?



These questions may reveal even more about how animals use deception not just for survival, but for love.



In the meantime, Maratus vespa continues to dance its strange, bright, and possibly risky dance in the wilds of Australia. A spider pretending to be its enemy, all in the name of romance.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article-abstract/36/4/araf074/8203202?redirectedFrom=fulltext&amp;login=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Behavioral Ecology</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Why jumping spiders mimic wasps during mating dances

In nature’s endless game of survival and attraction, appearances can...

Life feels smaller when friends are far away. Now scientists have measured just how literally the brain itself can shrink due to social isolation when people spend a year cut off from the wider world.



Their new work follows 25 volunteers who “wintered over” at Concordia Station, an Antarctic outpost 685 miles from the nearest coast, enduring months of darkness and a chronic lack of rescue options. 



The findings come from Dr. Mathias Basner and Dr. David R. Roalf of the University of Pennsylvania <a href="https://www.med.upenn.edu/">Perelman School of Medicine</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-antarctica-simulates-space-like-isolation">Antarctica simulates space-like isolation</h2>



Few spots on Earth mimic the deep <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/loneliness-harms-health-more-than-alcohol-obesity-or-smoking/">isolation</a> astronauts will face on future Mars missions, yet Concordia comes close. Its altitude feels like 13,000 feet to the body, air temperatures plunge well below -70°F, and the Sun disappears for weeks. 



Those stressors force crews to rely solely on one another, providing a rare, ethically acceptable model for studying chronic social separation.



Earlier Antarctic MRI work hinted that solitude can sap regions linked to memory and navigation, but sample sizes were tiny and scans happened long after crews returned. 



Basner’s team scanned participants before they left Europe, within 16 days of touchdown back home, and again five months later, capturing changes while they were still fresh.



The volunteers served as their own controls, and four “flying phantom” participants were scanned at every site to align machines. A matched group in Germany, who never left home, offered a reality check against normal aging.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-isolation-causes-brain-shrinkage">Isolation causes brain shrinkage</h2>



High‑resolution MRI revealed that total <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/childhood-experiences-trigger-lasting-changes-in-brain-structure/">gray matter</a> fell in the temporal and parietal lobes as well as in deep structures such as the hippocampus, pallidum, and thalamus. 



Ventricular spaces holding cerebrospinal fluid expanded at the same time, suggesting tissue gave way to fluid. Virtually all of those losses reversed after five months except in the thalamus, a hub for sensory relay.



Parietal lobe volume dropped about 0.4 standard deviations immediately post‑mission, while lateral ventricles swelled by a similar margin.



Control participants showed no such pattern, implying that cold, confinement, and social deprivation, not calendar time, drove the shift.



While discussing Mars travel earlier this year, Basner warned that “something quite bad is happening in the brain” during lengthy expeditions. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-good-sleep-and-exercise-protect-brain">Good sleep and exercise protect brain</h2>



Sleep logs and wrist‑worn actigraphs painted a clear picture: crew members who slept longer and more efficiently lost less gray matter in the temporal cortex and hippocampus. 



Laboratory <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10281670/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> back the idea, linking deep sleep to the glymphatic system that clears metabolic waste and guards neurons.



Gym visits mattered, too. Time spent lifting weights or cycling correlated with healthier <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sitting-for-hours-daily-shrinks-your-brain-even-if-you-exercise/">brain volumes</a>, echoing decades of research on exercise‑induced neurogenesis. 



Thus, the polar crew’s cramped fitness room served not just morale but measurable neuroprotection.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-isolation-harms-the-brain">Isolation harms the brain </h2>



Antarctica may seem far from daily life, yet social isolation is rising worldwide and carries similar neurological fingerprints. 



A Neurology <a href="https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000207602" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> of 8,896 Japanese seniors found that those with the least contact had total brain volumes 0.5 percent lower than their most connected peers and smaller hippocampus and amygdala volumes.



Systematic reviews tie chronic loneliness to thinning of anterior hippocampal tissue, reduced cortical thickness, and weaker white‑matter efficiency. 



These civilian data reinforce the Antarctic results: whether you are on a frozen plateau or an urban block, prolonged disconnection chips away at brain real estate involved in memory, mood, and orientation.



Animal work supports the link. Rodents housed alone show dendritic pruning in hippocampal neurons, mirroring the human MRI findings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-it-means-for-future-space-travel">What it means for future space travel</h2>



NASA and ESA advisors now rank safeguarding brain health among the top 14 research goals before any multiyear mission beyond low Earth orbit. In microgravity, fluid shifts already enlarge ventricles and raise intracranial pressure, adding social <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-isolation-and-loneliness-trigger-changes-in-blood-proteins/">isolation</a> could amplify risk.



Countermeasures under study include structured exercise, regulated light cycles that protect sleep, and virtual reality visits with family. 



The Concordia data hint that such steps are not optional extras but necessities if crews are to think clearly by the time they reach Mars.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-isolation-as-a-brain-health-issue">Isolation as a brain health issue</h2>



For public health officials, the Antarctic story demonstrates the need to treat loneliness as a biological threat, not just an emotional one. 



Simple interventions, encouraging community ties, securing access to green spaces, prescribing exercise with social components, might slow neural wear.



Meanwhile, Basner and Roalf plan to track a new Concordia cohort using portable low‑field scanners, hoping to capture changes in real time. Broader samples, including more women and older adults, will test how universal the brain‑shrink response really is.



Policy makers could also draw lessons about elder‑care design. Housing that fosters hallway chats or communal meals might buffer the brain much like gym sessions did for the polar explorers. 



Regions with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/aging-populations-have-less-cohesive-social-networks/">aging populations</a> may see cognitive dividends from investments that fight isolation.



Finally, ordinary readers can take a cue from the ice: protect your sleep, keep moving, and stay socially engaged. The brain, it seems, is as hungry for company as it is for oxygen.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41526-025-00497-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">npj Microgravity</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Long periods of social isolation can physically shrink the brain

Life feels smaller when friends are far away. Now scientists...

Many people trust dogs' instincts when it comes to another person's character. When a dog greets someone warmly, it’s seen as a good sign - but when a dog keeps its distance, this can cause suspicion. Still, the question remains: do dogs actually evaluate humans?



Scientists have long explored whether animals, especially <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/national-puppy-day-2025-where-happiness-meets-responsibility/">dogs</a>, can socially judge humans. Previous studies showed mixed results, and the newest research deepens the mystery.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-dogs-might-judge-people">Why dogs might judge people</h2>



Reputation in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-suffer-from-the-january-blues-just-like-humans/">animals</a> means recognizing others based on past behavior. Some animals learn through direct experience. Others can eavesdrop and learn by watching others. This ability, called third-party evaluation, can help animals choose helpful social partners.



Dogs, as domesticated companions, seemed like strong candidates for such skills. They were bred to work with humans. So, researchers expected them to notice human behavior differences - but the data doesn't always agree.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-study-was-designed">How the study was designed</h2>



Researchers tested 40 pet dogs of various ages. Dogs either watched two humans interact with another dog, or interacted directly with the humans themselves. One person was generous, offering food, while the other withheld it.



Dogs were split into age groups - young, adult, and senior. Each <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-may-respond-to-each-other-through-blinking/">dog</a> was exposed to both the generous and selfish person multiple times. 



The researchers carefully controlled the setup, ensuring consistency across trials. They also ran control sessions to rule out effects like clothing color or position preference.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dogs-don-t-seem-to-judge-people">Dogs don't seem to judge people</h2>



In both the observation (eavesdropping) and direct interaction tests, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-can-understand-words-even-in-monotone-speech/">dogs</a> showed no consistent preference. They did not favor the generous partner more than the selfish one. This pattern held across all age groups and both experimental conditions.



"It's clear that reputation formation may be more complex than previously thought, even for animals like dogs that closely cooperate with humans," said corresponding researcher Hoi-Lam Jim, who recently joined the faculty at <a href="https://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kyoto University</a>.



Even dogs with more life experience didn’t do better. Older dogs didn’t show stronger preferences. The generous partner’s kind actions didn’t lead to more trust or affection, even after repeated encounters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-complexity-in-social-evaluation">Complexity in social evaluation</h2>



While earlier studies claimed dogs could form reputations, this study addressed key flaws in those designs. Many past results may have stemmed from bias, such as dogs simply responding to visible cues or choosing based on location.



This new research controlled for those factors. The researchers accounted for side preference, controlled for experimenter visibility, and extended trial numbers to give dogs more learning opportunities.



Still, most dogs did not show learning over time. Only three dogs in the entire sample developed a clear preference - two for the generous person, and one for the selfish person.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dogs-may-struggle-to-judge-people">Dogs may struggle to judge people</h2>



Several factors may explain the findings. Pet dogs often encounter friendly strangers, which might reduce their need to quickly assess people’s behavior. 



Since the dogs were not hungry during the study, their motivation to respond to food-based generosity may have been low.



The outdoor setting introduced natural distractions such as sun and shade, and over a third of the dogs displayed side biases that could have influenced their choices. 



The visible presence of food may also have shifted their attention away from evaluating human behavior.



Even chimpanzees, despite their high intelligence, have struggled in similar tests, often requiring dozens of repetitions before showing a consistent preference.



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



The study suggests that forming reputations may require more nuanced setups. The calm and trusting lives of pet dogs may reduce their need to judge unfamiliar people. Free-ranging dogs or working dogs might respond differently.



"It is possible that methodological challenges in the experimental design, particularly the use of a two-choice test, may explain our negative findings, rather than an absence of capacity," said Jim.



Future studies might vary social cues, increase emotional contrast, or test dogs in environments where outcomes matter more - like food security or social belonging.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dogs-may-not-judge-people-as-we-expect">Dogs may not judge people as we expect</h2>



Dogs may not judge us in the way we assume. While they thrive on routine, affection, and social bonds, they might not socially evaluate strangers after just a few interactions.



This doesn’t mean dogs lack intelligence or emotional insight. But reputation-building, it seems, is a more complex process than we once believed.



For now, we may need to rethink the idea that "dogs always know who to trust."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-025-01967-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Animal Cognition</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Do dogs actually judge people? It's not as simple as we thought

Many people trust dogs' instincts when it comes to another...

The ocean is vast, wild, and constantly in motion. For animals that rely on it to survive, every trip is a test. Some animals fly, others swim, but all must find their way through a landscape that changes every hour. 



For Magellanic penguins, the challenge is especially tough. These flightless <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/penguins-are-threatened-by-mercury-contamination/">birds</a> must leave the safety of their nests, dive into unpredictable waters, and forage far from land - all while ensuring they return in time to feed their chicks.



Without visual landmarks or a clear view of the coast, the journey becomes more than a physical effort. It becomes a navigation puzzle. A new study reveals how these penguins do it.



Led by Richard Michael Gunner from <a href="https://www.ab.mpg.de" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour</a>, the study shows that Magellanic penguins are not just strong swimmers. They are clever navigators, capable of adjusting their movement in response to ocean currents to travel efficiently and even hunt along the way.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-penguins-adjust-to-ocean-currents">Penguins adjust to ocean currents</h2>



The study tracked 27 adult penguins during a single foraging trip in Argentina’s San Matías Gulf. Scientists fitted each <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/emperor-penguins-may-disappear-in-our-lifetime/">bird</a> with GPS and motion sensors. 



These loggers captured heading, speed, dive depth, and prey-catching attempts. The goal was to see how penguins deal with drifting forces without visible land cues.



The researchers discovered that penguins switch strategies based on current strength. When waters were calm, penguins swam in straight lines home. 



In stronger flows, they followed the currents, even if it meant drifting sideways. This made their path longer but saved energy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-penguins-drift-to-save-energy">Penguins drift to save energy</h2>



Penguins didn’t always choose the shortest route. Instead, they allowed the currents to carry them sideways and then corrected course as currents shifted. This created S-shaped return paths. 



These movements were not random. They reduced energy costs by taking advantage of tidal reversals in the 12-hour cycle.



“Our results indicate that penguins notice discrepancies between their intended path and actual displacement over ground, then adjust accordingly,” noted the researchers.



“While penguins still aim broadly toward the colony under strong currents, they exhibit a more dispersed heading distribution, potentially reflecting repeated or fine-scale corrections to compensate for the drift. Such behavior is consistent with effective navigation even when out of sight of land.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-penguins-forage-on-the-way-home">Penguins forage on the way home</h2>



Rather than swimming straight home, penguins adjusted their path to conserve energy and hunt. Many dove over 10 meters deep during their return. 



The penguins caught prey up to 80% of the way back. As they got closer to land, dive depths reduced, and travel paths became more direct.



“Magellanic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/penguin-poop-helps-form-clouds-that-could-slow-antarctic-warming/">penguins</a> finding their way back to their nests from the open ocean subtly adjust their headings to exploit tidal currents, following paths that reduce energy costs while maintaining remarkable accuracy," wrote the authors of the study.



"Rather than swimming directly home, they drift laterally with the tides, balancing travel efficiency with opportunistic foraging along the way."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-penguins-stay-on-course">Penguins stay on course</h2>



The study used advanced modeling to compare real and simulated paths. If penguins followed a fixed heading, they would often miss the colony by several kilometers. 



Real penguins did better. Their deviations were shaped by current strength, prey activity, and dive behavior. The researchers found that current-aligned swimming boosted speed without adding energy cost.



These findings suggest penguins might not detect currents directly. Instead, they may sense how far they have been displaced from their compass-based heading and make adjustments. This could involve mechanosensing or even smell, though the exact cues remain unclear.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-incredible-accuracy-over-long-distances">Incredible accuracy over long distances</h2>



Despite navigating rough waters, 85% of Magellanic penguins returned within 984 feet of their departure point. That translates to 99.4% accuracy over a 31-mile journey.



Even those returning at night reached their nests with similar precision, proving that visual cues are not required for successful navigation. 



Scientists believe these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/emperor-penguins-are-struggling-to-survive-as-sea-ice-vanishes/">penguins</a> may rely on a mix of non-visual tools. Possible mechanisms include detecting magnetic fields, using their sense of smell, or sensing low-frequency sounds like infrasound.



This remarkable ability highlights the penguins’ capacity to orient themselves in the open ocean, even when completely out of sight of their colony.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-penguins-handle-ocean-currents">How penguins handle ocean currents</h2>



The study shows how animals can respond to unpredictable environments with smart, energy-saving strategies.



By combining direction sensing with dynamic drift usage, Magellanic penguins show a flexible approach that supports both travel and foraging. These insights may apply to other marine species, especially those navigating far from land.



Future research may uncover how these penguins detect and respond to water movement. Until then, their ocean journeys remain a stunning example of natural precision and adaptability.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002981" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS Biology</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

How do penguins navigate the ocean? Secret strategy revealed

The ocean is vast, wild, and constantly in motion. For...

Elephants that live near farms in Thailand are bolder and more willing to investigate new things than elephants that range deep in protected forests. That curiosity may help them locate calorie-rich crops - but it also raises the odds of dangerous encounters with people. 



Understanding how personality and place interact could be key to easing human-elephant conflict. 



A new study led by <a href="https://www.gc.cuny.edu/">CUNY Graduate Center</a> doctoral student Sarah Jacobson, under the supervision of Professor Joshua Plotnik, examined this issue.



The research forms a chapter of Jacobson’s dissertation and expands what we know about how wide-ranging, intelligent animals adjust their behavior across human-dominated vs. protected landscapes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-curious-elephants-take-chances">Curious elephants take chances</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/beehive-fences-keep-elephants-from-raiding-farms/">Crop-raiding</a> is one of the most persistent problems between people and Asian elephants. Some individuals routinely leave forest cover to forage in orchards, cassava fields, or storage sheds, creating economic losses for farmers and risking injury on both sides.



Any trait that predicts which elephants are most likely to take those chances could help communities target early-warning systems, deterrents, or alternative food programs where they are most needed.



“Understanding why some elephants are more willing to take risks to engage with humans in habitats where they share food and other resources may help in the development of more effective conflict mitigation methods,” said Plotnik, who directs the <a href="https://ccconservation.org/">Comparative Cognition for Conservation Lab at Hunter College</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-the-daring-elephants">Tracking the daring elephants</h2>



Jacobson set out to look beyond “average elephant behavior” and instead focus on individuals. “We conducted this study because we wanted to learn more about how individual elephants differ,” she said.



“We were interested in the characteristics of those elephants who are leaving the forest to spend time close to people, which can cause a lot of problems.”



Working with field teams in Thailand, she and her colleagues compared elephants that frequented a remote forest sanctuary with elephants whose home ranges overlapped village <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/feeding-the-world-without-harming-nature-the-complex-balance-of-farming/">farmland</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-elephant-curiosity">Testing elephant curiosity</h2>



Because elephants are smart, flexible, and wary, measuring their willingness to explore is not trivial. 



The researchers presented unfamiliar, low-risk objects - things elephants had not encountered before, such as cattle brushes and lengths of retired firehose - at sites used by each group.



Motion-triggered video and direct observation captured whether elephants approached, touched, manipulated, or ignored the objects.



Elephants living near people were more likely to investigate and interact, showing higher levels of neophilia (attraction to novelty) than forest-dwelling elephants that rarely encounter human gear.



That extra curiosity could be an advantage when seeking high-energy food in crop fields, but it also lures elephants into places where conflict flares.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-personality-stability">Testing personality stability</h2>



Jacobson set out to test whether an elephant that explores one new object will also explore others - a sign of stable <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/personality-has-a-profound-influence-on-gene-expression/">personality</a>. Some individuals did encounter multiple objects across the study.



However, sample sizes were too small to draw firm conclusions about consistency; wild elephants’ vast ranges and the rarity of repeat encounters limited the data. Even so, the pattern of heightened exploration in the farm-edge population held.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-elephants-adapt-to-people">Elephants adapt to people</h2>



The findings offer a window into how environment shapes behavior. Edge-dwelling elephants encounter people, machines, livestock, fences, and crops; those that are less fearful of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/digital-distraction-our-phones-are-irresistible-because-we-crave-novelty/">novelty</a> may learn to exploit new foods faster.



The trade-off is exposure to people with different tolerance levels, from elephant-friendly farmers to communities that rely on noise, lights, or other deterrents - sometimes more lethal ones - to protect their livelihoods.



Mapping which elephants are bold could help tailor responses: early alerts in high-risk zones, reinforcement of barriers where daring elephants probe, or targeted community outreach.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-using-minds-to-save-lives">Using minds to save lives</h2>



The project builds on Plotnik’s long-running effort to connect animal cognition with on-the-ground conservation solutions; his lab’s work on human-elephant conflict in Thailand was recently profiled on CBS’s 60 Minutes.



Jacobson sees promise in scaling behavioral insight into practical tools. “I feel fortunate to have been able to work on a research project that can help both people and elephants as part of my dissertation at the Graduate Center."



“I look forward to seeing more results about elephant personality traits and the current work to integrate this behavioral knowledge into novel ways to reduce negative interactions between elephants and people.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-personality-for-peace">Mapping personality for peace</h2>



Future research will need larger samples and longer tracking to nail down how stable traits like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/curiosity-of-cichlid-fish-boosts-biodiversity-in-lake-tanganyika/">curiosity</a>, boldness, or risk tolerance are within and across elephant populations.



Integrating GPS collar data, crop-raiding records, and local community reports with behavioral tests could reveal whether the most neophilic elephants are also the most frequent crop-raiders - and whether interventions aimed at them yield the biggest gains in coexistence.



For now, the message is encouraging: personalities matter, and paying attention to them could help people share landscapes with one of the world’s most intelligent - and resourceful - animals.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250896">Royal Society Open Science</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Elephants take more risks when they live around people

Elephants that live near farms in Thailand are bolder and...

Recognition,Of,Odor,Traces,By,Police,Dog,On,Location

A pair of specially trained dogs has shown that Parkinson’s disease leaves a telltale scent on human skin. This scent is strong enough for a canine nose to detect with remarkable accuracy.



This discovery could open the door to faster, cheaper, and entirely non‑invasive screening for a condition that currently lacks an early diagnostic test.



The study brought together <a href="https://www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/">Medical Detection Dogs</a> in Milton Keynes with scientists from the Universities of <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/%C3%B9">Bristol</a> and <a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/">Manchester</a>.



Over several months, the charity’s trainers conditioned two retriever-type dogs to recognize the odor that clings to sebum. This oily substance, which our skin naturally produces, changes when <a href="https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/parkinsons-disease" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Parkinson’s disease</a> (PD) is present.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-training-dogs-to-detect-disease">Training dogs to detect disease</h2>



During training, the canines encountered more than 200 gauze swabs. Some were taken from recently <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-that-dogs-can-alert-humans-to-valley-fever-disease/">diagnosed patients</a>, others from volunteers with no neurological illness, and a few from people living with different conditions.



Each pad was clipped to a stand. When a dog paused and pointed at a positive sample, the handler quietly clicked and offered a reward.



In the final double-blind trial - where neither the dog handler nor the overseeing scientist knew which positions held a patient’s swab - the dogs showed sensitivity of up to 80 percent and specificity of up to 98 percent.



Moreover, they were also able to detect Parkinson’s in swabs from people with multiple health conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-scent-of-parkinson-s">The scent of Parkinson’s</h2>



Dog noses are legendary, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cancer-immunotherapy-drug-also-works-to-slow-progression-of-parkinsons-disease/">Parkinson’s</a> researchers turned to them for a very specific reason. Excess sebum and a change in body odor often precede the familiar motor symptoms - shaking, slowed movement, and rigid muscles - by years.



A Scottish nurse named Joy Milne famously noticed a musky shift in her husband’s scent long before his diagnosis. Her observation inspired scientists to hunt for molecular fingerprints in skin oil.



A laboratory method based on mass‑spectrometry is inching forward, yet requires expensive instruments and trained personnel. Canines offer a shortcut.



“We are extremely proud to say that once again, dogs can very accurately detect disease," said Claire Guest, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer at Medical Detection Dogs.



“There is currently no early test for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cancer-immunotherapy-drug-also-works-to-slow-progression-of-parkinsons-disease/">Parkinson’s disease</a> and symptoms may start up to 20 years before they become visible and persistent leading to a confirmed diagnosis."



"Timely diagnosis is key as subsequent treatment could slow down the progression of the disease, and reduce the intensity of symptoms.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-detection-rates-that-rival-medical-tests">Detection rates that rival medical tests</h2>



Even seasoned neurologists can misclassify early Parkinson’s, and imaging scans or spinal fluid assays are costly. By contrast, the gold-coated sensitivity and specificity reported here exceed those of many existing point-of-care tests in medical use.



“Identifying diagnostic biomarkers of PD - particularly those that may predict development or help diagnose disease earlier - is the subject of much ongoing research,” said lead author Nicola Rooney, an animal behavior specialist at the University of Bristol.



Rooney noted that the dogs in the study achieved high sensitivity and specificity and showed there is an olfactory signature distinct to patients with the disease.



“Sensitivity levels of 70 percent and 80 percent are well above chance, and I believe that dogs could help us develop a quick, noninvasive, and cost-effective method to identify patients with Parkinson’s disease.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blinded-trials-confirm-the-results">Blinded trials confirm the results</h2>



To guard against subconscious cues or handler bias, the researchers also presented every testing line in reverse order.



A computer kept track of which sample sat where, and only after the dog’s choice did researchers learn whether to dispense a treat. 



This rigorous protocol mirrors clinical trial standards and boosts confidence that the animals relied on smell alone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dogs-help-build-smell-sensors">Dogs help build smell sensors</h2>



Dogs will never replace neurologists, but the findings give chemists a shortlist of volatile molecules to capture with sensors.



"This study adds to the growing body of evidence showing that simple, noninvasive skin swabs can be used to diagnose Parkinson’s disease," said Perdita Barran, a professor of analytical chemistry at the University of Manchester.



Professor Barran's lab is already dissecting the swab chemistry; the canine results confirm those molecules belong on the diagnostic radar.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dogs-and-other-neurological-diseases">Dogs and other neurological diseases</h2>



Researchers and dog trainers are beginning to explore how these animals can detect other neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, and even conditions like migraines or autism-related sensory episodes. 



In the case of Alzheimer’s, for example, people in early stages of the disease may emit subtle changes in body odor - things a human nose would never catch, but a dog’s nose picks up with ease. 



These scent cues could one day help in screening or early detection, well before symptoms become obvious.



There are also stories of dogs acting differently before their owners have a migraine or during MS flare-ups - becoming restless or unusually attentive - as if they sense something’s coming. 



Some families of children with autism even report that service dogs notice sensory overload before it escalates, helping calm things down before a meltdown.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-expanding-the-science-of-scent">Expanding the science of scent</h2>



Future trials aim to include people with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-disruptions-could-signal-the-onset-of-alzheimers/">REM sleep behavior disorder</a> - a risk state for Parkinson’s - to see whether dogs can spot the disease before a neurologist could.



Parallel chemical analyses will hunt for the exact compounds responsible for the odor. If those molecules prove consistent worldwide, engineers could embed them in low‑cost sensor chips.



For now the message is hopeful: a straightforward skin swab carries hidden information about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coffee-grounds-could-help-prevent-neurodegenerative-diseases/">neurodegeneration</a>, and a dog’s nose can read it.



That knowledge could accelerate the quest for a rapid, painless test. It would offer one more tool to bring Parkinson’s onto clinicians’ radar while there is still time to slow its march.



The study is published in the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1877718X251342485" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Parkinson’s Disease</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Dogs can detect some neurological diseases, like Parkinson's, years before symptoms appear

A pair of specially trained dogs has shown that Parkinson’s...

What if the survival of half a species depended on a gene so small, it barely counts as one? Deep in the early embryonic stages of birds, a powerful microRNA does exactly that. It doesn’t build feathers or shape beaks. Instead, it quietly ensures that male embryos survive in a genetically uneven world. 



Until now, no one knew just how vital this molecule was, or that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tropical-birds-migrate-without-riding-the-wind/">birds</a> had taken such a different evolutionary path from mammals.



A recent study, led by researchers from Heidelberg University and the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Edinburgh</a>, uncovers a hidden mechanism in birds that balances the uneven load of sex chromosome genes.



The study shows that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hundreds-of-bird-species-could-vanish-in-the-next-century/">birds</a> didn’t adopt the strategies used by mammals to fix the same problem. Instead, they crafted a unique genetic answer using a microRNA called MIR2954 to rescue their males from potential developmental collapse.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gene-balance-of-birds-and-mammals">Gene balance of birds and mammals </h2>



In both <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-may-be-using-quantum-physics-for-migration/">birds</a> and mammals, sex is determined by a pair of chromosomes. In mammals, females have two X chromosomes, and males have one X and one Y. In birds, it is the opposite in structure: males are ZZ and females are ZW. 



Over evolutionary time, the Y chromosome in mammals and the W chromosome in birds lost many of their genes. This created a genetic imbalance where one sex had two full chromosome copies, while the other sex had only one.



Mammals solved this by boosting the X chromosome’s activity and then silencing one of the two X chromosomes in females. This careful adjustment equalized gene expression. 



However, birds took a very different approach. Instead of inactivating an entire chromosome, they increased gene activity on the single Z chromosome in females. That solved one side of the problem - but it created another.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-overactive-genes-in-male-birds">Overactive genes in male birds</h2>



In birds, males carry two Z chromosomes. When the genes on these chromosomes are too active, it can cause developmental issues. 



Without a way to reduce this double dose, male embryos are vulnerable. For a long time, scientists weren’t sure how birds avoided this problem.



This mystery led Professor Henrik Kaessmann and Dr. Mike McGrew to study chickens. Prior research hinted that a specific microRNA might be involved. It showed up repeatedly in male tissues and seemed absent in females. 



Known as MIR2954, this tiny RNA didn’t code for proteins but influenced how other genes behaved. It had the markings of a regulatory tool.



“This microRNA is predominantly active in male birds, which led us to assume that it helps balance the activity of the Z chromosome,” explained Professor Kaessmann, who conducts research at the Center for Molecular Biology of <a href="https://www.uni-heidelberg.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heidelberg University</a> (ZMBH).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-crucial-gene-for-male-birds">A crucial gene for male birds</h2>



To test their theory, the team used CRISPR/Cas9 to delete MIR2954 from chicken embryos. What followed confirmed their suspicion. 



Male embryos without this microRNA failed to survive. Females developed normally. On a molecular level, males experienced runaway activity from their Z-linked genes. The balance had been lost.



The paper shows the stark contrast in survival between male embryos with and without the microRNA. In its absence, the males exhibited developmental arrest by embryonic day 5. Females, with only one Z chromosome and no need for suppression, continued unaffected.



According to the researchers, this microRNA is present in all birds studied to date, but absent in other animals. 



“It is the only known microRNA that is essential for the survival of one sex, but not the other,” said Dr. Amir Fallahshahroudi, a researcher at <a href="https://www.uu.se/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Uppsala University</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dialing-down-gene-activity">Dialing down gene activity</h2>



Dr. Mike McGrew describes the microRNA’s function in simple terms. “The mechanism of the male-specific microRNA works like a dimmer switch, dialing down the overactive genes on the two male Z chromosomes.”



Instead of silencing a chromosome, MIR2954 modulates individual gene activity. This precision tool prevents developmental chaos in male embryos. 



It doesn’t act alone. MIR2954 binds to mRNAs from many Z-linked genes, especially those that would otherwise be expressed at dangerously high levels. These include transcription factors, growth regulators, and metabolic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-are-declining-fastest-where-they-were-once-common/">genes</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-of-sex-chromosomes">Evolution of sex chromosomes</h2>



Birds seem to have evolved this system independently. Mammals use different tools. But this raises an interesting question. Is MIR2954 an evolutionary one-off, or are there similar microRNAs at work in other animals?



“We now have to ask whether other animal species also use microRNAs to regulate their sex chromosomes, or whether they rely on different systems entirely,” noted Professor Kaessmann.



This discovery changes how scientists think about sex chromosome evolution. It proves that even the smallest genetic elements can shape the fate of an entire sex. 



While mammals use a global shutdown system, birds opted for selective moderation using a single molecule with laser focus.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiny-gene-keeps-male-birds-alive">Tiny gene keeps male birds alive</h2>



The study highlights how different evolutionary paths can lead to the same endpoint: survival. 



The research also reminds us that solutions in biology are not one-size-fits-all. Birds didn't copy the mammalian strategy. They created something new, a micro-sized solution with macro-level impact.



What started as a minor RNA fragment turned out to be the key to male bird life. In doing so, it opened new doors for research into sex chromosome regulation across the animal kingdom. And once again, it showed that in biology, size rarely predicts power.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09256-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Male birds depend on a special gene to survive

What if the survival of half a species depended on...

A fossil found on Vancouver Island in 1988 looked like a typical long‑necked marine reptile, yet every expert who studied Traskasaura sandrae left with new questions. 



Scientists have now confirmed that the 39‑foot creature, which lived about 85 million years ago, represents an entirely new species with a hunting style never before documented in its family.



“It has a very odd mix of primitive and derived traits,” said <a href="https://www.marshall.edu/cohp/profile/f-robin-okeefe-phd/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Professor F. Robin O’Keefe</a> of <a href="https://www.marshall.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marshall University</a>, whose group named the predator Traskasaura sandrae. He led the team that solved the puzzle.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-digging-up-traskasaura-sandrae">Digging up Traskasaura sandrae</h2>



The first bones came from the <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/sepm/jsedres/article-abstract/52/3/975/97637/The-Haslam-Formation-a-late-Santonian-early?redirectedFrom=PDF" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Haslam Formation</a>, a shale layer laid down when shallow seas covered what is now British Columbia. 



Community volunteers spent three summers freeing the skeleton, which included more than fifty tightly linked neck vertebrae.



Additional material surfaced during highway construction and a separate riverbank dig, bringing the total to three individuals. 



Together they revealed a full neck, torso, limbs, and the crushing teeth that tipped researchers off to an unusual feeding strategy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-neck-was-built-for-ambush">Neck was built for ambush</h2>



Most <a href="https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Elasmosaurus/390035" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">elasmosaurs</a> relied on sideways sweeps to grab fish, but the team noticed that the neck joints of Traskasaura sandrae allow smooth downward flexion. 



That range, paired with robust shoulder muscles, supports the idea that the reptile hovered above prey before plunging like a heron.



Each cervical rib points slightly forward, a feature seen only in a handful of southern-hemisphere relatives. The forward slant stiffened the neck during a rapid dive, preventing whiplash while the head shot toward a target below.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-in-the-shoulders-and-teeth">Clues in the shoulders and teeth</h2>



The <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Dinosaur+Paleobiology-p-9780470656587" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">glenoid cavity</a>, where the humerus meets the body, faces partly downward instead of purely sideways. That tilt aimed the paddles to push water straight back and down, giving the animal a quick vertical burst.



“Its teeth were ideal for crushing,” explained O’Keefe. One preserved crown still holds fragments of broken shell. 



Heavy conical teeth, round in cross‑section and ringed by deep grooves, suggest a diet of shelled <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-an-ammonite.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ammonites</a> common in the same rocks. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-in-the-late-cretaceous-pacific">Life in the late Cretaceous pacific</h2>



During the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-cretaceous-period.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Late Cretaceous</a>, Vancouver Island sat around the latitude of present‑day Oregon, edged by warm fore‑arc basins teeming with mollusks and early sharks. 



Ammonite fossils from the Pachydiscus group dominate these beds, matching the menu implied by the reptile’s dentition.



The sea also hosted sleek mosasaurs and blade‑toothed birds, yet Traskasaura filled a separate niche: the slow‑motion stalker that attacked from above. 



Its 12‑foot paddles produced short bursts rather than long chases, conserving energy in nutrient‑rich but cooler northern waters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rewriting-the-plesiosaur-family-tree">Rewriting the plesiosaur family tree</h2>



Although classified as a plesiosaur, the newcomer sits near the base of the elasmosaur branch. The phylogenetic work by O’Keefe and colleagues shows it split early from southern cousins such as <a href="https://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/aristonectes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aristonectes</a> yet later evolved similar shoulder joints, an example of convergent evolution.



That finding warns against sorting species by one standout trait. Neck length alone once grouped nearly every long‑necked reptile together, but limb and girdle details tell a more nuanced story about how different lineages hunted and swam.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-traskasaura-sandrae-anatomy">Traskasaura sandrae anatomy</h2>



The first fossil puzzled paleontologists because it blended features usually found in different branches of the plesiosaur family. 



Its skull and teeth matched primitive species, but its shoulders and forelimbs looked like more specialized animals from the southern hemisphere.



Researchers initially hesitated to call it a new species because many of the bones were fragmented or eroded. It wasn’t until a second, better-preserved skeleton was uncovered that scientists could confidently identify the creature’s unique traits and confirm its identity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-find-means-today">What the find means today</h2>



The <a href="https://www.courtenay.ca/EN/main/community/arts-and-culture/courtenay-district-museum.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Courtenay and District Museum</a> now displays the best skeleton, giving British Columbia a provincial fossil with unmistakable local flavor. 



School groups can stand beside vertebrae longer than their hands and imagine a reptile that prowled the same coastal waters where orcas swim.



“Our new research finally solves this mystery,” added O’Keefe. 



Beyond regional pride, the study highlights how community collectors, careful curation, and modern scans can unlock decades‑old mysteries. The creature’s hybrid anatomy will keep fueling debates about function and evolution for years. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-traskasaura-sandrae-got-its-name">How Traskasaura sandrae got its name</h2>



The genus name Traskasaura honors <a href="https://my.northcoastchurch.com/FindAGroup/316626" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael and Heather Trask</a>, the father-daughter team who found the original fossil along the Puntledge River in 1988. The name combines their surname with the Greek word sauros, meaning lizard.



The species name sandrae was chosen in memory of <a href="https://www.bcrf.org/blog/sandra-lee-being-breast-cancer-survivor-activist-and-advocate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sandra Lee O’Keefe</a>, a Pacific Northwest native and advocate for breast cancer awareness. 



This tribute mirrors the legacy of <a href="https://dbpedia.org/page/Elizabeth_Nicholls" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elizabeth Nicholls</a>, a paleontologist who helped identify the fossils in 2002.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2025.2489938" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Systematic Palaeontology</a>.



-----



Like what you read?<a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/"> Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on<a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/"> EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by<a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/"> Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Very rare and predatory marine reptile identified as a completely new species

A fossil found on Vancouver Island in 1988 looked like...

Evolution often follows curious paths, especially when it comes to food. Over the past 100 million years, mammals have explored an incredible range of diets. 



Some mammals graze on grass, others hunt prey, and a few even sip tree sap or dive for krill. But one of the strangest dietary turns comes from species that eat and depend deeply on ants and termites.



This peculiar choice may seem limiting, even risky. Yet, it has driven major transformations in anatomy, behavior and even survival <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammals-ground-dwellers-survived-the-asteroid-impact-that-killed-the-dinosaurs/">strategies</a>. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dietary-changes-for-mammals">Dietary changes for mammals</h2>



According to new research, mammals evolved ant and termite-only diets at least 12 separate times over 66 million years.



This shift, called myrmecophagy, followed the dinosaur extinction. It allowed ants and termites to thrive and opened a new food niche for mammals.



“There’s not been an investigation into how this dramatic diet evolved across all known mammal species until now,” said Phillip Barden of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (<a href="https://www.njit.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NJIT</a>).



“This work gives us the first real roadmap, and what really stands out is just how powerful a selective force ants and termites have been over the last 50 million years - shaping environments and literally changing the face of entire species.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-mammals-adapted-to-eat-ants">How mammals adapted to eat ants</h2>



Over 200 mammal species consume ants or termites occasionally. But just 20, like pangolins and anteaters, rely on them completely. 



These true myrmecophages evolved long, sticky tongues and powerful claws. Many even lost their teeth.



To track this trend, the researchers collected diet records from 4,099 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-mammals-have-evolved-over-66-million-years/">species</a>. These came from nearly 100 years of scientific papers, field notes and conservation reports.



“Compiling dietary data for nearly every living mammal was daunting, but it really illuminates the sheer diversity of diets and ecologies in the mammalian world,” said Thomas Vida from the <a href="https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bonn</a>. 



Small ant-eaters need to eat huge numbers to survive. Numbats eat around 20,000 termites daily. Aardwolves can eat over 300,000 ants in one night.



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



Anteaters belong to the suborder Vermilingua, which literally means “worm tongue” - an apt name, since their tongues can extend up to two feet and flick in and out of their mouths up to 160 times per minute. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-anteater-day-a-tribute-to-natures-unique-foragers/">Modern-day anteaters</a> don’t have teeth, so they rely on their sticky tongues and powerful stomachs to digest the thousands of ants and termites they consume daily. 



Their long, tubular snouts house an excellent sense of smell, which is key to locating insect nests in the wild.



Despite their name, anteaters don’t just eat ants. They also snack on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/termites-play-an-unexpected-role-in-rainforest-revival/">termites</a>, and they’re careful not to destroy an entire colony - they’ll feed for just a minute or two before moving on, ensuring the nest can recover for future visits. 



Giant anteaters, like the one pictured in this article, can grow over 7 feet long from nose to tail. These solitary animals roam grasslands and rainforests across Central and South America. 



With their shaggy coats and slow, deliberate movements, they might seem awkward - but they’re incredibly strong, especially in their forelimbs, which they use to rip open tough termite mounds or defend themselves from predators.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-rise-of-ants-and-termites">The rise of ants and termites </h2>



The team grouped <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-fossil-big-discovery-student-uncovers-a-lost-mammal-species/">species</a> by diet. From ant-only eaters to generalists. Then they mapped these onto a mammal family tree and ran evolutionary models.



The experts found at least 12 independent shifts to strict myrmecophagy. These happened in marsupials, monotremes and placental mammals. But not evenly. Some groups showed more change than others.



The researchers also looked back 145 million years to study the rise of ant and termite colonies. During the Cretaceous, ants and termites were rare. By the Miocene, 23 million years ago, they made up over a third of insect populations.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/anteater_mammal-phylogeny_evolution_NIJT_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/anteater_mammal-phylogeny_evolution_NIJT_1s.webp" alt="A mammal phylogeny with colors depicting the diet of living species and their ancestors; silhouettes of myrmecophagous mammals surround the tree. An inset diagram in the upper right illustrates transitions between dietary states. Credit: Vida, Calamari, &amp; Barden/NJIT" class="wp-image-1978347"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A mammal phylogeny with colors depicting the diet of living species and their ancestors; silhouettes of myrmecophagous mammals surround the tree. An inset diagram in the upper right illustrates transitions between dietary states. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Vida, Calamari, &amp; Barden/NJIT</figcaption></figure>



“It’s not clear exactly why ants and termites both took off around the same time. Some work has implicated the rise of flowering plants, along with some of the planet’s warmest temperatures during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum about 55 million years ago,” said Barden. 



“What is clear is that their sheer biomass set off a cascade of evolutionary responses across plants and animals.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ant-eating-mammals-rarely-change-diets">Ant-eating mammals rarely change diets</h2>



Myrmecophagy arose more often from insect-eating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammals-tried-different-ways-to-move-before-walking-upright/">ancestors</a> than from carnivores. But surprisingly, carnivores like dogs and bears made the switch several times too.



“That was a surprise,” Barden said. “Making the leap from eating other vertebrates to consuming thousands of tiny insects daily is a major shift.”



Once a mammal becomes a myrmecophage, it rarely reverts. Only one genus, Macroscelides, the elephant shrews, ever switched back to a broader diet after specializing.



Eight of the twelve times mammals evolved to eat only ants or termites, just one species survived each time. 



This limited survival suggests that highly specialized creatures, while successful in their niche, may face a greater risk of extinction due to changing environments, food scarcity, or habitat disruption over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ant-eaters-survive-as-insects-spread">Ant-eaters survive as insects spread</h2>



“In some ways, specializing on ants and termites paints a species into a corner,” Barden said. But for now, these specialists thrive.



Ants and termites now outweigh all wild mammals combined. Climate change favors species with massive colonies. 



This shift may help ant- and termite-eating mammals, known as myrmecophages, survive and thrive. Their specialized diet could become a surprising advantage in a world increasingly ruled by social insects.



“If you can’t beat them, eat them,” Barden said. That idea, repeated across millions of years, has changed the face of mammals again and again.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/evolut/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/evolut/qpaf121/8155241?redirectedFrom=fulltext&amp;login=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Evolution</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Mammals have evolved to eat ants and termites 12 different times since the dinosaurs

Evolution often follows curious paths, especially when it comes to...

A new study shows how everyday waste - like ropes and plastic bags - is silently killing baby birds, not just in the oceans, but on land too.



Researchers spent four years tracking white storks in southern Portugal. What they found was brutal: plastic-filled nests, chicks caught in rope, and many young birds that didn’t survive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bird-nests-built-with-trash">Bird nests built with trash</h2>



The research was led by scientists at the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a>, along with teams from the University of Montpellier and the University of Lisbon. 



The team focused on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/white-storks-and-humans-have-a-long-intertwined-history/">white storks</a> - large, land-dwelling birds that often build their nests near people. And those nests? They were filled with trash.



The researchers inspected 568 nests from 32 colonies in Portugal’s Alentejo and Algarve regions. Of those nests, 91 percent contained human-made debris - mostly plastic. 



Soft plastic like shopping bags was found in 65 percent of nests. But the bigger danger was rope. Nearly half the nests had it, and it was the top cause of fatal entanglement.



In one especially detailed year of the study, scientists visited 93 nests weekly. They found that 12 percent of the chicks became tangled in debris - many fatally.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chicks-caught-in-cords">Chicks caught in cords</h2>



Most of the ropes came from agriculture - specifically, baler twine made of polypropylene. 



This tough plastic rope is used to bind hay bales, but it doesn’t break down easily. Once it ends up in the environment, birds collect it for their nests. The consequences are often deadly.



In 63 percent of cases, entanglements were caused by ropes. Some nests contained as many as 22 separate ropes. Baler wrap, another plastic material used in farming, showed up in 13 percent of nests and entangled six nestlings.



White stork chicks in nests with more rope were more likely to get stuck. And once entangled, their chances of survival dropped dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-plastic-nest-problem">The plastic nest problem</h2>



“This is a serious issue,” said Professor Aldina Franco of the University of East Anglia. “These chicks get entangled in synthetic ropes when they are very young and the ropes slowly strangle their limbs as they grow - mostly legs and feet - leading to necrosis and amputations, they suffer a horrible death.”



It’s not just happening in Portugal. According to Franco, birds across Europe are weaving plastic waste into their nests. 



In Ukraine, soldiers have reported nests containing drone wiring. In the UK, small birds like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/goldfinches-are-moving-to-new-homes-in-unusual-places/">goldfinches</a> and wrens are building nests with colored plastic threads.



“We show that the impact of plastic in the nests can be underestimated, because the negative effects of the ropes and other human-produced materials tend to happen in the early life of the chicks, at an average age of two weeks, and the deaths can go unnoticed," said Professor Franco. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-storks-signal-wider-threat">Storks signal wider threat</h2>



White storks are what scientists call an “indicator species” - meaning they can signal a wider environmental problem. If this many of them are getting trapped in plastic, other birds likely are too.



“This study suggests that the threat posed by human-derived materials to terrestrial birds may be far more severe than previously recognized,” said lead author Ursula Heinze of the University of East Anglia.



“Our findings offer new insights into the extent of nestling deaths caused by entanglement, and highlights the urgent need to remove and replace hazardous materials such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hotspots-of-microplastic-pollution-found-in-the-north-sea/">polypropylene</a> baler twine from both agricultural use and the environment, given its harmful impacts on nestlings.”



While past research has looked at the presence of plastic in nests, this study went a step further. It tracked chicks from hatching to fledging, allowing scientists to see exactly when the entanglements occurred.



“Our main goal has been to identify the nesting materials that may pose significant risks to terrestrial bird species and pinpoint their origins, in order to develop effective strategies to mitigate these risks to wildlife,” noted Professor Franco.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mistaking-trash-for-twigs">Mistaking trash for twigs</h2>



Why do birds use plastic in the first place? According to Dr. Inês Catry from the University of Lisbon, white storks are known to incorporate discarded human-made materials into their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tangled-twigs-the-secrets-of-sturdy-bird-nests/">nests</a>, frequently nest near or within human settlements and often forage on organic waste at landfill sites.



“The reasons for using these materials in nest-building are not fully understood but may relate to their availability and the scarcity of natural ones, while some might also be mistaken for food, being inadvertently incorporated in the nests," said Dr. Catry.



“This study highlights that plastic pollution in terrestrial environments needs to be addressed and solutions to replace or safely discard of hazardous materials are urgently needed.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-land-birds-face-plastic-threat">Land birds face plastic threat</h2>



The study’s message is clear: plastic pollution isn’t just a marine problem. It’s affecting life on land in painful, visible ways. And even common farming tools like baler twine are part of the problem.



If these findings are ignored, more birds will suffer. However, if people and industries take responsibility - by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/surprise-study-some-scientists-call-for-halting-ocean-plastic-cleanup-efforts/">cleaning up</a>, switching materials, and being more aware - there’s a chance to stop these deaths before they happen. 



The full study was published in the journal Ecological Indicators.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Birds are building nests with plastic, and the consequences are deadly

A new study shows how everyday waste - like ropes...

As wild chimpanzees grow older, they tend to back away from complex tool-use activities. When they do engage, they become less efficient - paralleling many of the changes seen in aging humans.



This is the central finding of a new study based on an extraordinary 17-year record of wild chimpanzee behavior in Guinea’s Bossou Forest.



Researchers discovered that aging chimpanzees were not only less likely to participate in nut-cracking sessions using stone tools, but those who did often worked more slowly and less effectively than in their youth.



Some individuals appeared to struggle considerably with the task, while others retained strong abilities into their later years. The data suggest that, just like humans, chimpanzees vary widely in how age impacts their technical skills.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aging-chimpanzees-slow-down">Aging chimpanzees slow down</h2>



Scientists know much less about how growing older affects wild animals than they do about human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lemurs-reveal-surprising-new-clues-about-healthy-aging/">aging</a>, which is well studied. This is especially true when it comes to physically and cognitively demanding behaviors.



Elliot Howard-Spink, a postdoctoral researcher at the <a href="https://www.ab.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior</a>, is the study's lead author.



“<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-pass-tool-use-skills-across-generations/">Tool use</a> is uncommon among animals, possibly because it requires a suite of physical and cognitive abilities, such as planning, fine motor coordination, understanding causal relationships, and identifying physical properties of objects,” he said.



“Given many of these faculties can be impacted by aging, wild animals’ tool-use behaviors could be vulnerable to decline with old age.”



The team analyzed behavior records from Bossou, where chimpanzees use stones to crack oil palm nuts. The technique involves selecting appropriate hammer and anvil stones and executing coordinated, targeted strikes.



Over the 17-year study period, the researchers focused on five adult chimpanzees - four females and one male - who aged from around 40 to 60 years old during the observation window.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-less-interest-lower-efficiency"><a></a>Less interest, lower efficiency</h2>



What they saw was a steady decline in nut-cracking activity among the older individuals. Unlike younger adults, older chimpanzees showed a major decline in their attendance at the outdoor laboratory over successive field seasons.



This reduction suggested a gradual disengagement from the demanding <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-foraging-behavior-changing-climate-warming-waters/">foraging behavior</a>. Even when older chimpanzees did show up, some spent noticeably less time interacting with the tools and nuts - further evidence of an age-related withdrawal.



The team also documented changes in performance. Some older chimpanzees took longer to select appropriate tools, switched stones more frequently, or required more attempts to open each nut.



The inefficiencies accumulated: it took more time and more strikes for the older apes to get the job done. But the degree of decline was not universal.



The scientists found stark differences in the magnitude of changes across individuals. Some chimpanzees maintained relatively steady skill levels into old age, while others showed marked decline.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-one-elder-stands-out">One elder stands out</h2>



Susana Carvalho, a group leader at the <a href="https://www.cibio.up.pt/en/about/">Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources</a> (CIBIO) in Portugal recalled a particularly vivid example from a chimpanzee named Yo. 



“We first spotted an elderly female (Yo) seemingly experiencing difficulties during <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/just-one-handful-of-pecan-nuts-each-day-can-lower-cholesterol-heart-health/">nut</a> cracking whilst observing chimpanzees in 2012,” she said. “Yo, formerly a keen and efficient tool-user, was taking a very long time to crack each nut, and was changing the stone tools she was using frequently.” 



The long-term data later confirmed those early observations. This deep behavioral record from Bossou is unique because it covers nearly two decades. 



The data was gathered in a consistent field setup known as the “outdoor laboratory.” The researchers placed nuts and tools in a clearing and filmed the chimpanzees who came to use them.



“This research was only possible through the unique video archive produced by decades of continuous observation,” said Tetsuro Matsuzawa, the founding director of the Bossou Archive.



“The Bossou Archive offers a baseline to inform conservation strategies across wild chimpanzee populations, including accounting for behavioral changes over lifetimes.”



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



The study also demonstrates the cultural dimension of tool use among chimpanzees.



“Just as with human technical skills, chimpanzee tool use is culturally learned through social learning and individual practice,” noted study co-author Katarina Almeida-Warren, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-and-bees-are-capable-of-complex-social-learning/">University of Oxford</a>.



“By studying the same chimpanzees over two decades, we’ve been able to see how chimpanzees’ cultural skills change with old age.”



While the research did not pinpoint the biological mechanisms behind the decline, it opens new avenues for exploring how age affects cognition and behavior in our closest living relatives.



“As ours was an observational study, we can’t yet identify the specific reasons why aging affects nut cracking,” said co-senior author Dora Biro, a primatologist at the <a href="https://www.rochester.edu/">University of Rochester</a>.



“But our results raise important questions about how aging influences apes’ cognition and behavior in natural settings.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aging-changes-chimpanzee-culture">Aging changes chimpanzee culture</h2>



With its detailed focus on individual animals over many years, the Bossou study provides a rare look at aging outside of captivity or the human species.



It also raises questions about how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/adults-learn-skills-faster-than-children-but-theres-a-catch/">skill learning</a>, use, and decline might shape not only individual lives but group dynamics and traditions in wild chimpanzee communities.



“Until now, there has been no systematic study of how old age influences the technological behaviors of wild animals,” said Howard-Spink. That’s beginning to change - and the results suggest that even in the forest, age can bring challenges similar to those in humans.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/105411">eLife</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

What aging chimpanzees can teach us about ourselves

As wild chimpanzees grow older, they tend to back away...

Across Earth's long timeline, extinction often seems like a silent erasure. Yet behind many disappearances lies a chain of ecological tension. Researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil explored predator-prey dynamics.



The results of two new studies suggest predator-prey relationships shaped extinction patterns in ancient species. Supported by FAPESP, the work focuses on predators like saber-toothed cats and their herbivore prey in North America.



The scientists used fossil records, body size data, and climate history from the last 20 million years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predators-left-without-their-prey">Predators left without their prey </h2>



Saber-toothed tigers, known for long canines, likely hunted large animals. A popular theory links their extinction to the loss of megafauna during the late Pleistocene, caused by climate change and human actions.



“One of the hypotheses that’s received the most attention in the literature was that the end of saber-toothed tigers," said study author and <a href="https://unicamp.br">UNICAMP</a> researcher João Nascimento.



"It could be linked to the extinction of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/superfamily-of-bacterial-predator-proteins-is-changing-scientific-theory/">megafauna</a> at the end of the Pleistocene, which occurred between 50,000 and 11,000 years ago."



"These large animals became extinct due to climate change and human actions, and as a result, the predators were left without their main prey."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-extinction-started-before-humans">Extinction started before humans</h2>



Nascimento noted that the research offers a new timeline. “We found that the process began millions of years earlier,” he said.



Saber-toothed cats went through repeated extinctions over time, often during periods of reduced prey diversity. This long-term view changes how we understand their fate.



The second study, published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/evolut/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/evolut/qpaf091/8124702?login=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Evolution</a>, takes a reverse approach. It looks at how predator expansion drove herbivore decline. Antilocaprids, once a diverse group in North America, now have just one species left: the American antelope.



This group includes two extinct subfamilies. Merycodontinae vanished about six million years ago, likely outcompeted by proboscideans, ancestors of modern elephants. These massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-predator-prey-feast-ever-seen-in-the-ocean-enormous-quickly-altered-food-chain/">animals</a> dominated forest habitats, squeezing out smaller herbivores.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predators-vanished-after-prey">Predators vanished after prey</h2>



The Antilocaprinae subfamily started fading when felids grew more diverse. The American cheetah (Miracinonyx), built for speed, emerged during this time. It likely drove antelopes to become faster.



Predator-driven speed might be why the American antelope is so fast today. The study gives new weight to that idea. More predators meant more evolutionary pressure on prey <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-otter-day-2025-on-the-front-lines-of-a-habitat-crisis/">species</a>. Fewer herbivores meant fewer niches to support diverse predators.



In a previous study, the researchers had suggested that large herbivores in the Iberian Peninsula caused predator decline 15 million years ago. These new papers expand that perspective to much broader regions.



“The great contribution of this set of studies is precisely to present the idea that the interaction between predators and prey can have an effect on large evolutionary patterns," said Professor Mathias Pires, who supervised the work.



"This had been debated for decades, but there was no really robust set of results to support this hypothesis."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-reveal-extinction-clues">Fossils reveal extinction clues</h2>



These discoveries rest on detailed fossil records. The team analyzed size, diet, and coexistence patterns of animals across millions of years. 



For example, saber-toothed cats appeared around 14 million years ago in Eurasia and 12 million years ago in North America. Eight species once coexisted, but numbers shrank over time.



Six million years ago, the saber-toothed cat population began a steady decline. This drop happened during a shift toward a more arid climate. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grasslands-crucial-role-global-agriculture-environment-ecosystems/">Grasslands</a> expanded while forests shrank, affecting food chains.



Leaf-eating prey lost their food sources, reducing available prey for predators. 



“Our study did not find a direct relationship between this event and the reduction in saber-toothed cats, but these changes in the environment had an indirect impact on the extinctions of different saber-toothed species by reducing the availability of prey,” Pires said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predators-and-prey-need-balance">Predators and prey need balance</h2>



Forest-dependent Merycodontinae went extinct as their habitats disappeared. Grass-eating Antilocaprinae lasted longer but declined with increasing predator pressure. This chain reaction mirrors how nature balances itself.



“We’re showing how an increase in predators can reduce the availability of prey, which in turn reduces the abundance of predators, and how this can manifest on an evolutionary scale," Pires said. 



"It’s a warning about how we may be altering the future with the extinctions we’re causing now.”



The studies not only map the past but also warn how predator loss and extinction trends today may echo through millennia, reshaping life far beyond our own time.



The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jeb/voaf043/8115575?login=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Evolutionary Biology</a>. 



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Lessons from the past: Predators are doomed when their prey vanishes

Across Earth's long timeline, extinction often seems like a silent...

Most people don’t like snakes. Some fear them and others avoid even talking about them. Every year on July 16, the world takes a moment to pause, reconsider, and appreciate snakes.



For World Snake Day 2025, the message is clear: “Respect, Don’t Fear: Protecting Nature’s Silent Guardians.” It’s more than a catchy slogan - it’s a call to rethink everything we’ve been taught. Are snakes truly the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-species-of-tree-snake-with-completely-black-eyes-is-discovered/">villains</a> we’ve made them out to be?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-ecological-role-of-snakes">The ecological role of snakes</h2>



Snakes are natural rodent controllers, consuming large numbers of pests that threaten crops and spread disease. 



On farms and in forests, they work silently and efficiently, reducing the need for chemical pesticides. Just one snake can eat dozens of mice in a year - a small act with a big impact on food security and human health.



Snakes are also a vital food source for predators like hawks, owls, coyotes, and foxes. If snakes vanish, these animals lose a key part of their diet - and the balance begins to unravel. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/34-million-year-old-snake-fossil-hibernophis-breithaupti-changes-our-understanding-of-evolution/">Nature</a> doesn’t function well when pieces go missing.



However, it's easy to forget the important ecological role of snakes, especially when you come face to face with one. 



The reality is that most snakes aren’t dangerous. In the United States, garter snakes and corn snakes are harmless. King snakes are also harmless, and they even eat venomous snakes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-world-snake-day-2025-fear-and-myths">World Snake Day 2025: Fear and myths</h2>



Movies have affected our perception of snakes. They are often depicted as monsters or bad omens, and that image sticks with us. But in reality, snakes don’t chase people, don’t plot attacks, and they’re certainly not evil.



Venomous snakes do exist - from rattlesnakes and copperheads in North America to vipers, cobras, and kraits in Asia and Africa. 



While these snakes do pose risks, they generally avoid human contact and rarely bite unless threatened or provoked. Most bites occur when people try to handle, move, or harm them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-humans-are-the-biggest-threat-nbsp">Humans are the biggest threat&nbsp;</h2>



Habitat loss hits snakes hard. Cities expand, forests shrink, and wetlands dry up. Roads cut through territory, and cars hit snakes crossing them. Lawns replace wild grass. Fewer places to hide means that fewer snakes survive.



Then there’s the pet trade. People catch wild snakes, stuff them into containers, and sell them online. Some die in transit, while others live in tanks that are too small, too hot, or too dry. Many do not survive these conditions for very long.



Furthermore, misinformation spreads fast. One fake video of a “deadly” snake goes viral and people panic. More snakes get killed. We don’t do this to most <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-birds-use-snake-skins-in-their-nests-to-deter-predators/">animals</a>, but for snakes, fear seems like justification. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meaning-of-world-snake-day">Meaning of World Snake Day </h2>



World Snake Day isn’t about loving snakes - it’s simply about respecting them. That means giving them space, learning the facts, and stopping needless harm. 



Across the country, zoos and wildlife groups hold events this week. They show people how snakes behave, and some offer safe encounters. Others run online sessions, where you can ask a herpetologist questions. 



These events open minds and help break down fear and misconceptions, promoting a greater appreciation for the important role snakes play in ecosystems everywhere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changing-our-perception-of-snakes">Changing our perception of snakes</h2>



First, stop believing every snake is dangerous. Learn which ones live near you. In most U.S. states, for example, venomous snakes are rare and easy to identify. 



If you spot a snake, stay calm and give it space to move away. If it’s in your yard and you’re concerned, contact a local wildlife organization for help. Avoid using sticks, guns, or any force. 



If you know someone who still believes “the only good snake is a dead snake,” start a conversation. Sharing just one fact can be enough to change how they see snakes. You don’t have to become an expert; just stop being their enemy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-creature-that-is-misunderstood">A creature that is misunderstood </h2>



Snakes have existed for over 100 million years. They’ve outlived dinosaurs. They’ve adapted, evolved, and survived major extinctions - but they might not survive us.



That’s the uncomfortable part of this story. We’re the problem, but we can also be the solution.



World Snake Day 2025 offers us a <a href="https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/our-campaigns/sentience/animal-awareness-days/world-snake-day/">moment</a> - not to idolize snakes or adore them without question, but to pause, gain understanding, and perhaps take steps to protect a creature that has long been misunderstood.



So next time you see a snake, remember this: it’s not out to get you. It’s just trying to live its quiet, necessary life. 



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

World Snake Day 2025: Protecting nature’s silent guardians

Most people don’t like snakes. Some fear them and others...

These complex, looping tracks pressed into ancient seafloor mud look much more like doodles made by a child with a stick than fossils of animal movement. 



However, new measurements have shown those squiggles were, in fact, purposeful movements along paths made by primitive animals navigating their world almost 550 million years ago, well before textbooks say complex life "took off" during the Cambrian Explosion.



Analysis of 170 <a href="https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/nature/trace-fossils.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trace fossils</a>, which are the preserved marks of animal movement rather than the animals actual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animal-movement-predictions-matter-more-than-ever/">bodies</a>, tell a much different story. 



They suggest that streamlined, sensor‑rich creatures were gliding across the seabed roughly 10 million years before the start of the <a href="https://stratigraphy.org/ICSchart/ChronostratChart2024-12.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cambrian Explosion</a>, a 20‑million‑year interval beginning near 538.8 million years ago when most major animal groups appear in rocks.



Paleontologist Dr. Zekun Wang of the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural History Museum, London</a>, led the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2025.0889" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> with colleagues in Canada and China.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-animals-started-moving">When animals started moving</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grand-canyon-fossils-reveal-secrets-of-the-cambrian-explosion/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cambrian Explosion</a> has often been framed as a sudden evolutionary big bang that conjured eyes, limbs, and hard shells out of nowhere.



Yet the new study argues that many key traits, including directed movement and elongated bodies, emerged quietly during the preceding <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/591-million-years-ago-complex-life-emerged-on-earth-magnetic-field-ediacaran-period/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ediacaran Period</a>, which stretched from 635 million to 539 million years ago.



Wang’s team grouped the oldest tracks into three phases that mirror escalating anatomical sophistication. Early trails twist abruptly, matching stubby builders with limited perception. 



Mid‑stage paths smooth out, implying better coordination. Latest tracks resemble modern worm burrows, pointing to long, hydrodynamic bodies.



“Life in the Ediacaran was no longer microscopic, but typically, it wasn't able to move along the seafloor,” said Wang. His catalog shows that by about 545 million years ago, motion had transformed from stumble to cruise.



That timeline overlaps a sedimentary upheaval known as the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229535050_The_Cambrian_Substrate_Revolution" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cambrian Substrate Revolution</a>, when burrowers began churning seafloor mud and opening new ecological real estate. The traces imply the engineers of that revolution were already in rehearsal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-ancient-animals-moved">How ancient animals moved</h2>



Most Ediacaran body fossils are little more than quilted impressions, making it tricky to match shape to behavior. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/ichnology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ichnology</a>, the study of trace fossils, fills the gap by reading sediment as a behavioral diary.



Classic ichnology relies on eyeballing trail patterns, but Wang’s group added mathematics. They calculated curvature along each path, converting wavy lines into numbers that capture turning radius and smoothness. 



Paths that rarely bend sharply signal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-secretly-reshape-landscapes-in-powerful-ways/">creatures</a> with elongated, flexible trunks; jerky turns point to compact forms that pivot on the spot.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/complex-animals_Psammichnites_fossil_movement-before-skeletons_credit-Zhao_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/complex-animals_Psammichnites_fossil_movement-before-skeletons_credit-Zhao_1s.webp" alt="By analyzing trace fossils of ancient animal movement, like Psammichnites, researchers have been able to determine how animals lived and moved more than half a billion years ago. Credit: Ziwei Zhao and Dr Xiaoya Ma" class="wp-image-1978192"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">By analyzing trace fossils of ancient animal movement, like Psammichnites, researchers have been able to determine how animals lived and moved more than half a billion years ago. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Ziwei Zhao and Dr Xiaoya Ma</figcaption></figure>



Those metrics can also hint at senses. An animal plotting a straight, efficient route was likely following chemical or tactile gradients toward food, whereas a meandering track betrays a blind wanderer bumping into meals by chance.



By comparing fossil tracks to modern analogs, horseshoe crabs, snails, and worms, the researchers estimated how animals moved and found body length‑to‑width ratios climbing from roughly 1:1 to as high as 12:1 during the final Ediacaran chapter.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-movement-style-and-animal-shapes">Movement style and animal shapes</h2>



In a second paper, the team applied <a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~wjh/dataview/tutorials/sonogram.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">power‑spectral analysis</a>, a signal‑processing tool more common in engineering than paleontology. 



The technique isolates periodicities in trajectory curvature, teasing out repeated movement motifs such as rhythmic undulation or <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/peristalsis">peristalsis</a>.



Results hint that early trace makers moved by extending blobs of tissue, akin to giant amoebae. Later forms show signatures of muscular waves consistent with bilateral nerve‑muscle systems, the hallmark of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/Bilateria" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bilaterian animals</a> that dominate today’s fauna.



“By studying their mathematical properties instead, we can infer what the animals that made the traces might have been like,” added Wang. The numbers back a gradual rise in body coordination rather than an overnight makeover.



Because trace density also spikes near the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301926819306278" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ediacaran‑Cambrian boundary</a>, some researchers speculate that mobile bilaterians outcompeted stationary soft‑bodied cousins, contributing to an extinction that wiped out many iconic quilt‑patterned taxa.



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



Curvature metrics separated paths into “unsmooth,” “regional‑smooth,” and “smooth” categories. Unsmooth tracks, older than 550 million years, loop and kink like cracked phone cords. 



<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40628487/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Regional‑smooth trails</a> appear a few million years later, tracking short animals that likely glided with cilia or stubby legs. 



Smooth trails dominate at 545 million years, matching long, tapered worms using muscular ripples to push through sediment.



Importantly, the switch did not require shells or skeletons. Streamlining alone would have lowered drag and extended sensory coverage, advantages in search of patchy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-share-hidden-behavior-patterns-across-continents/">microbial</a> mats that coated the sea floor.



As body plans slimmed, animals began to burrow vertically, ventilating deeper layers and altering chemical gradients. 



That engineering likely changed oxygen levels and nutrient cycling, paving the way for the bustling Cambrian seascapes familiar from <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/research/paleobiology/collections-overview/burgess-shale" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Burgess Shale</a> snapshots.



The data reinforce a view that evolution’s tempo can accelerate smoothly rather than spiking. What looks like an explosion in body fossils may instead record the moment when durable hard parts first preserved an already diverse cast of animals and their moves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-early-animal-movement-matters">Why early animal movement matters</h2>



Mobility reshapes ecosystems by mixing sediments, redistributing microbes, and linking food webs. The Ediacaran traces show these processes igniting earlier than once thought, giving Earth an extra 10 million years of ecological tinkering before skeletons burst onto the scene.



Understanding that prelude helps resolve puzzles such as why some soft‑bodied lineages vanished while others thrived. 



Animals able to seek favorable niches or escape stress would outlast immobile epifauna during environmental swings of the <a href="https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Introductory_Biology_(CK-12)/05%3A_Evolution/5.08%3A_Late_Precambrian_Period" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">late Precambrian</a>.



The work also highlights how quantitative tools borrowed from physics and computer science can wring fresh insight from humble scrapes in stone. 



What once looked like random squiggles now provide centimeter‑scale snapshots of nervous systems coming online.



Next steps include three‑dimensional imaging of burrow architecture and geochemical probes that trace oxygen footprints around the tunnels, offering further clues to how early animals moved, breathed, and fed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-beyond-the-fossil-bones">Looking beyond the fossil bones</h2>



The updated timeline invites revisions to evolutionary trees calibrated on the <a href="https://evolution.berkeley.edu/the-cambrian-explosion/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cambrian Explosion</a>, because behavioral innovations precede skeletal ones. 



It may also adjust models of Earth’s biogeochemistry, as active burrowing accelerates the burial of carbon and sulfur.



Paleobiologists are already scanning older rock layers for similar curved tracks, hoping to push complex mobility even deeper into geological time. 



Each new find tightens the connection between behavior, environment, and evolutionary opportunity.



By quantifying wiggles in mud, Wang and colleagues show that the story of animals and their moves is written not only in bones but in the graceful arcs of forgotten journeys. The quiet crawl before the boom matters as much as the boom itself.



The study is published in <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2025.0889" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Fossil discovery casts fresh doubt on the 'burst of evolution' known as the Cambrian Explosion

These complex, looping tracks pressed into ancient seafloor mud look...

Every year, billions of birds take on epic journeys between North America’s temperate zones and the tropical forests of South America. 



While their migration patterns have been studied extensively, most of what we know comes from data collected in North America and Europe. That’s left a big gap in our understanding - especially in tropical regions.



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/en">University of Chicago</a>, working with scientists in Colombia and at universities across the United States, are now filling in those gaps. 



The team used radar data from across Colombia to see how birds behave when migrating through tropical skies. What they found is changing how we think about migration, weather, and conservation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-birds-migrate-without-weather-cues">Birds migrate without weather cues</h2>



In places like the U.S. and Canada, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vanishing-forests-make-bird-migration-harder-across-the-corn-belt/">bird migration</a> often happens in big waves. Birds wait for just the right wind conditions - usually during cold or warm fronts - then take off by the thousands in a single night. But in Colombia, birds follow a different rhythm.



“Birds are great indicator species of environmental health, serving as bellwethers of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-biodiversity-crisis-is-actually-worse-than-we-thought/">global biodiversity</a> gain and loss," said Jacob Drucker, a doctoral student at the University of Chicago. "So understanding their migration on a global scale is extremely important.”



“But until now, our knowledge of this massive natural phenomenon has been heavily biased towards temperate latitudes in North America and Europe.”



Unlike temperate zones, Colombia doesn’t have strong seasonal wind patterns. Instead, its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-can-predict-the-weather-but-what-about-extreme-events/">weather</a> is more stable. The study revealed that birds migrating over the country travel at a steadier pace. They don’t wait for perfect nights - they go when they need to.



“It turns out that wind isn't as important to birds in deciding which nights to fly in Colombia, but it plays a major role in deciding the altitude they fly,” noted Drucker.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-soaring-to-beat-the-wind">Soaring to beat the wind</h2>



The Colombian Andes offer a special case. High above the forests, winds blow southward as part of the Orinoco Low-Level Jet. 



These winds can either help or hinder birds, depending on the season. In the fall, they act as tailwinds. In the spring, they become headwinds.



“We saw birds flying as high as 3,000 meters above the Amazon to avoid headwinds. It was spectacular,” Drucker said. “When the wind weakened at lower altitudes, birds adjusted by flying lower.”



These shifts in altitude helped them conserve energy as they responded to changing wind conditions in the Andes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-migrating-birds-tracked-by-radar">Migrating birds tracked by radar</h2>



This study wouldn't have been possible without an unusual data source: Colombia’s national weather radar network. Seven years ago, 



Drucker reached out to fellow researchers with a simple idea - what if they used weather radar to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/machine-learning-may-solve-the-mystery-of-bird-movements/">track birds</a>? He teamed up with Nick Bayly from the Colombian conservation nonprofit SELVA and Alfonso Ladino, a meteorologist with ties to Colombia’s weather agency and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 



Together, the researchers began a multi-year project to decode the tropical migration story. A major challenge was filtering out radar 'noise'. In tropical skies, there are a lot of insects - more than in temperate regions - and they can look a lot like birds on radar.



“We initially struggled to distinguish between insects and birds,” said Drucker. “There are far more insects in the tropics, creating substantial radar noise from an ornithological perspective."



"To solve this, we built a model that assumes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/very-little-is-known-about-99-of-all-insects-on-earth/">insects</a> move passively with the wind, while birds move independently and purposefully.”



The researchers tested that model using radar data from both Colombia and Australia. It’s likely to help other scientists in future studies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bird-safe-cities-need-rethinking">Bird-safe cities need rethinking</h2>



The study doesn’t just add to our understanding of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-behavior-productivity-being-directly-impacted-by-climate-change/">bird behavior</a> - it could shape how we protect birds in cities.



In cities like Chicago or Toronto, turning off lights during major migration nights can reduce bird deaths caused by building collisions. These “lights out” campaigns are carefully timed based on weather forecasts and migration patterns. But that strategy might not work in tropical cities.



“Since bird migration in Colombia isn't tied to predictable wind events, it becomes much harder to anticipate large migration nights and tell people when to turn their lights off,” Drucker said.



That means new strategies will be needed in cities like Bogotá, Medellín, and Calí. Conservation efforts in the tropics may need to focus less on timing and more on continuous solutions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-next-migration-frontier">The next migration frontier</h2>



This study is just the start. There’s still a lot to learn about how birds react to local weather and terrain as they move. For Drucker and his team, the goal is to go deeper - zooming in on finer scales to understand every twist and turn in a bird’s journey.



“We need to drill down into the granular details of how birds react to specific habitats and finer-scale weather patterns along migration routes,” he said.



By combining new technology with international teamwork, researchers are opening new ways to better understand and protect migratory birds - wherever they fly.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.2609">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Tropical birds migrate without riding the wind

Every year, billions of birds take on epic journeys between...

A fossilized rhino tooth, buried for over 20 million years, is now helping scientists rewrite the history of early rhino evolution. 



Inside the tooth enamel, researchers found something remarkable: preserved proteins that held clues to the animal’s lineage and evolutionary split from other species.



This breakthrough came from scientists at the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of York</a>. By analyzing enamel proteins in the tooth, the experts traced key moments in rhino evolution much further back than previously possible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reconstructing-the-rhino-family-tree">Reconstructing the rhino family tree</h2>



The team discovered that this particular rhino diverged from other members of the family <a href="https://www.su.se/english/news/geneticists-map-the-rhinoceros-family-tree-1.568317" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rhinocerotidae</a> during a window between 41 and 25 million years ago. This coincides with a time between the Middle Eocene and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-climate-shift-sheds-light-on-future-global-warming/">Oligocene</a> Epochs. 



Even more surprising was that the data revealed that the two main subfamilies of rhinos - Elasmotheriinae and Rhinocerotinae - split later than previously thought.



Instead of parting ways in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossils-reveal-a-previously-unknown-mass-extinction-event/">Eocene</a>, as earlier bone studies suggested, this separation likely occurred during the Oligocene, between 34 and 22 million years ago.



This new timeline helps scientists better understand how different rhino species emerged, adapted, and survived (or didn’t) through changing environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rhino-evolution-revealed-in-dna">Rhino evolution revealed in DNA</h2>



Ancient DNA has helped researchers study <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cave-art-discovery-depicts-animal-dicynodont-that-went-extinct-280-million-year-ago/">extinct</a> species, but it rarely survives beyond a million years. This fossil tooth changes that. 



The successful recovery of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/enamel-protein">enamel proteins</a> from a sample over 20 million years old extends the timeline for molecular research by a factor of ten.



This is important because it allows scientists to explore evolutionary history through molecular evidence - not just fossil shapes. Well-preserved enamel proteins offer access to valuable genetic information, opening new avenues for discovery.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tooth-enamel-analysis-suggests-early-eurasians-were-multiple-species-paranthropus-robustus/">Enamel</a> is the hardest tissue in the body. Its mineral-rich structure protects proteins for millions of years, especially in cold environments where this tooth was found.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keeping-the-fossil-tooth-data-pure">Keeping the fossil tooth data pure</h2>



The fossil tooth was found in Canada’s High Arctic - a region where permafrost still dominates. That cold environment played a key role in keeping the proteins intact, but cold alone wasn’t enough.



To make sure the proteins were truly ancient, researchers at the University of York ran tests using a method called chiral amino acid analysis.



This technique helped the team distinguish between original proteins from the rhino’s life and any later contamination. 



By comparing the degraded proteins in this tooth with those from previously studied rhino fossils, they confirmed the material was genuine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unique-environmental-history-of-the-site">Unique environmental history of the site</h2>



Professor Enrico Cappellini from the University of Copenhagen’s Globe Institute emphasized the significance of the fossil site.



“The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016703721002234" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Haughton Crater</a> may be a truly special place for palaeontology: a biomolecular vault protecting proteins from decay over vast geological timescales,” said Cappellini.



“Its unique environmental history has created a site with exceptional preservation of ancient biomolecules, akin to how certain sites preserve soft tissues. This finding should encourage more paleontological fieldwork in regions around the world."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploring-further-back-in-time">Exploring further back in time</h2>



Dr. Marc Dickinson, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of York’s Department of Chemistry, was one of the co-authors on the study.



“It is phenomenal that these tools are enabling us to explore further and further back in time. Building on our knowledge of ancient proteins, we can now start asking fascinating new questions about the evolution of ancient life on our planet,” said Dickinson.



The team sees this fossil tooth as more than just an isolated find. It’s a signal that there may be more ancient biomolecules waiting to be studied.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-perspective-on-rhino-evolution">New perspective on rhino evolution </h2>



“Successful analysis of ancient proteins from such an old sample gives a fresh perspective to scientists around the globe who already have incredible fossils in their collections. This important fossil helps us to understand our ancient <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supernovae-explosions-seem-to-have-altered-earths-climate-in-the-past-and-could-do-so-again-at-any-time/">past</a>,” said Fazeelah Munir, who analyzed the tooth during her doctoral research at York.



Modern rhinos are threatened by habitat loss, poaching, and climate change. Tracing their evolutionary history reveals how past environmental shifts shaped the species we see today. 



The more we understand what helped ancient rhinos survive - or led to their decline - the better equipped we are to protect the few that remain.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09231-4">Nature</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Secrets of rhino evolution found in 20-million-year-old tooth

A fossilized rhino tooth, buried for over 20 million years,...

New scans of two small predatory dinosaurs reveal a pea-sized wrist bone once thought unique to birds. The research suggests that the engines of flight were revving inside dinosaur arms long before any creature flapped skyward.



The study was led by James Napoli of <a href="https://www.stonybrook.edu/">Stony Brook University</a> with colleagues at the <a href="https://www.amnh.org/">American Museum of Natural History</a> and the <a href="https://mas.ac.mn/en/">Mongolian Academy of Sciences</a>. 



The research overturns earlier claims that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/large-theropod-dinosaurs-thrived-in-polar-environments/">theropods</a> lacked a bird-like pisiform and raises the possibility that the path to powered flight was, as the authors put it, “all in the wrist.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-wrist-bone-on-the-move">Dinosaur wrist bone on the move</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earliest-modern-bird-lived-in-antarctica-69-million-years-ago/">Modern birds</a> fold their wings automatically when the elbow bends. The hinge works because a tiny carpal called the pisiform migrated from the edge of the wrist to replace another bone, the ulnare. 



Its new spot lets a V-shaped notch clamp the hand bones and stop them from popping loose during vigorous flapping.



For years, paleontologists assumed non-avian dinosaurs never made that switch. Napoli’s team tested the dogma by CT-scanning an exquisitely preserved troodontid, a quick, velociraptor-like hunter. They also scanned an oviraptorid, a beaked omnivore with a long neck.



Digital slices peeled away surrounding rock, isolating each pebble-sized carpal in three dimensions. The images showed a bead-like bone tucked where the pisiform sits in modern birds.



“We believe this is the first time a migrated pisiform in a non-bird meat-eating dinosaur has been identified,” Napoli said. 



The discovery pushes the joint’s redesign back to Pennaraptora, a diverse branch of feathered theropods that includes velociraptors, troodontids, and oviraptorosaurs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flight-link-to-wrist-evolution">Flight link to wrist evolution</h2>



“While we currently do not know precisely how many times dinosaurs learned to fly, it is intriguing that experimentation with flight in these creatures appears only after the pisiform migrated into the wrist joint,” Napoli explained.



“Therefore, it is possible this established the automated mechanisms found in current living birds, though we would need to test this hypothesis with more research and analysis of dinosaur wrist bones.”



The scientists argue that the pisiform’s relocation was gradual. Early pennaraptorans still carried a small ulnare. Later species lost that bone entirely as the pisiform enlarged and took over its role.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gradual-wrist-bone-replacement">Gradual wrist bone replacement</h2>



The replacement mirrors other avian traits - hollow bones, enlarged brains, filamentous feathers - that spread outward through theropod evolution before coalescing into true birds.



According to the authors of the study, the findings make clear that the topological and functional replacement of the ulnare by the pisiform occurred much deeper in theropod history than has been previously understood and was a stepwise process.



“Over the past few decades, our knowledge of theropod <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-extinction-theories-are-challenged-by-new-research/">dinosaur</a> anatomy and evolution has increased exponentially, much of it revealing that classically ‘avian’ traits such as thin-walled bones, an enlarged brain, and feathers, all characterize more inclusive groups of theropod dinosaurs," noted the researchers.



"Our results suggest that the construction of the avian wrist is no exception and follows topological patterns laid down by the origin of Pennaraptora.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scans-reveals-hidden-features">Scans reveals hidden features</h2>



Identifying the bone took both luck and technology. The fossils - discovered in Mongolia’s Cretaceous rocks - had escaped crushing, so their wrist bones lay undisturbed. 



Micro-CT resolution below 50 microns allowed the researchers to trace delicate sutures, distinguishing the pisiform’s spoon-like head and its telltale notch. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/dinosaur-wrist-bone_Citipati_flight-evolution_credit-Henry-Sharpe_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/dinosaur-wrist-bone_Citipati_flight-evolution_credit-Henry-Sharpe_1s.webp" alt="This is an illustration of an oviraptorid dinosaur called Citipati. The scene depicts Citipati being startled while resting on a sand dune. The creature raises its arms in a threat display, which reveals its wrists, highlighting the small migrated pisiform carpal (blue X-ray view) bone. Credit: Henry S. Sharpe" class="wp-image-1978020"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This is an illustration of an oviraptorid dinosaur called Citipati. The scene depicts Citipati being startled while resting on a sand dune. The creature raises its arms in a threat display, which reveals its wrists, highlighting the small migrated pisiform carpal (blue X-ray view) bone. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Henry S. Sharpe</figcaption></figure>



Without such scans, the structure would look like one of several nubs commonly lumped together as generic carpals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wrist-bone-shaped-evolution">Wrist bone shaped evolution</h2>



Flight appears to have evolved at least twice within Pennaraptora and perhaps as many as five times. If the pisiform swap predates those experiments, it may have primed the limb for aerial feats in separate lineages. 



That echoes convergent “upgrades” seen in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pterosaurs-mastered-land-before-dominating-the-sky/">pterosaurs</a>, bats, and birds, where wrist and shoulder tweaks unleash new kinematic possibilities.



The finding also casts fresh light on grounded relatives like Velociraptor. Though too heavy to fly, such animals wielded feathered arms for display, brooding, or balance.



A bird-style pisiform would have let them tuck and unfurl their limbs with mechanical efficiency. This hints that the crouched, wing-guarding pose seen in some fossil nests used the same automatic folding action modern roosters employ.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-fossil-finds">Future fossil finds</h2>



Future work will scan additional fossils to see exactly when the pisiform first slid into place. The researchers want to investigate whether the move coincided with feather lengthening or muscle shifts.



They also hope to model forces across the joint to test how much stability the new bone adds during flapping or mantling motions.



For now, the lesson is clear: tiny parts can steer colossal evolutionary leaps. A marble-sized bone drifting a few millimeters may have set the stage for the skies to fill with beating wings. It began inside dinosaur wrists millions of years before the first true birds appeared.



Image credit: Henry Sharpe



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09232-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Flight may have started with a tiny wrist bone from a dinosaur called "Citipati"

New scans of two small predatory dinosaurs reveal a pea-sized...

Humans have limited regenerative abilities compared to some animals. Once sensory hair cells in the inner ear are damaged, hearing and balance often decline for good. Meanwhile, animals like fish, frogs, and chicks use gene-driven repair to easily renew these cells.



Scientists at the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> have discovered how two genes guide this regeneration in zebrafish. This research may shape future work on hearing loss in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-genetic-mutation-dramatically-increases-the-risk-of-dementia-in-men/">humans</a>.



“Mammals such as ourselves cannot regenerate hair cells in the inner ear,” said study co-author Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski. “As we age or are subjected to prolonged noise exposure, we lose our hearing and balance.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-genes-and-hearing-cells">Fish genes and hearing cells </h2>



The study was designed to investigate how zebrafish control cell division during hair cell regeneration. The team, led by Dr. Mark Lush, found two genes that regulate how two support <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gene-regulation-controlling-cells-to-improve-medical-treatments/">cell</a> types divide.



The researchers used single-cell RNA sequencing and lineage tracing to uncover gene activity patterns. This helped them see which genes were responsible for maintaining stem cells and triggering regeneration.



“During normal tissue maintenance and regeneration, cells need to proliferate to replace the cells that are dying or being shed - however, this only works if there are existing cells that can divide to replace them,” said Piotrowski.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-zebrafish-offer-rare-insight">Why zebrafish offer rare insight</h2>



Zebrafish have sensory structures called neuromasts, which contain hair <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-dna-reveals-37000-years-of-hidden-human-infections/">cells</a> resembling those in the human inner ear. These neuromasts are distributed in a line from head to tail and help detect water motion.



Because zebrafish larvae are transparent, scientists can observe their cells directly. The team studied how hair cells regrow using imaging, gene editing, and molecular tracing.



“We can manipulate genes and test which ones are important for regeneration,” said Piotrowski. “By understanding how these cells regenerate in zebrafish, we hope to identify why similar regeneration does not occur in mammals and whether it might be possible to encourage this process in the future.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-genes-control-hearing-cell-repair">Two genes control hearing cell repair</h2>



Within neuromasts, two groups of support cells drive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drugs-may-be-available-to-prevent-hearing-loss/">regeneration</a>. Stem cells lie at the edges, while progenitor cells are in the center. The research team discovered two cyclinD genes, each linked to only one cell group.



“When we rendered one of these genes non-functional, only one population stopped dividing,” said Piotrowski. 



“This finding shows that different groups of cells within an organ can be controlled separately, which may help scientists understand cell growth in other tissues, such as the intestine or blood.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-uncoupling-division-and-differentiation">Uncoupling division and differentiation</h2>



When the progenitor-specific gene was removed, those cells stopped dividing but still turned into hair cells. This meant cell division wasn’t always needed for differentiation. When the stem-cell gene was added to progenitors, their division restarted.



The ability to separate growth from differentiation could have broad biological implications.



The&nbsp;study&nbsp;illustrates this gene-switching in detail, using labeled cell populations and fluorescent markers to track regeneration.



"Our findings have important implications for the understanding of how proliferation of symmetrically dividing stem and progenitor cells is controlled during homeostasis and disease," wrote the researchers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-genes-may-help-human-hearing">Fish genes may help human hearing</h2>



Dr. David Raible, a professor at the <a href="https://www.washington.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Washington</a>, highlighted the significance of the research. 



“This work illuminates an elegant mechanism for maintaining neuromast stem cells while promoting hair cell regeneration. It may help us investigate whether similar processes exist or could be activated in mammals," said Dr. Raible.



CyclinD genes also affect many human tissues, such as the gut, brain, skin, and blood. The findings in zebrafish may offer clues for regenerative therapies beyond hearing.



“Insights from zebrafish hair cell regeneration could eventually inform research on other organs and tissues, both those that naturally regenerate and those that do not,” said Piotrowski.



The study received funding from the <a href="https://www.nih.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NIH</a>, the <a href="https://hearinghealthfoundation.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hearing Health Foundation</a>, and the Stowers Institute. The findings reflect the authors' views and not necessarily those of the NIH.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60251-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Fish genes offer clues to reversing human hearing loss

Humans have limited regenerative abilities compared to some animals. Once...

Butterflies are slipping away from the British countryside. Yet hope may lie in some of its most familiar sights: thorny hedges, pocket-sized woods, even a single oak in the middle of a field.



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> and <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/">Butterfly Conservation</a> shows that these modest features can lift <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/butterflies-can-adapt-quickly-but-evolution-has-its-limits/">butterfly</a> numbers in ordinary farmland.



This gives species such as the Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown a fighting chance just as national counts have hit historic lows.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-ten-year-countryside-snapshot">A ten-year countryside snapshot</h2>



The research team mined ten years of records from the <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/our-work/recording-and-monitoring/wider-countryside-butterfly-survey">Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey</a>, in which volunteers stroll one-kilometer routes around farmland and record every butterfly they see.



Altogether, they analyzed more than a thousand routes scattered across England. They then matched each one to habitat maps that reach three kilometers in every direction.



Wherever hedgerows, groves, or field trees took up more space on that map, the counts rose. The pattern was clearest in arable regions where otherwise tidy fields leave few wild corners.



Dr. Ruth Feber, lead author of the study, pointed out numbers told only part of the story. 



“As well as demonstrating the importance of trees and hedgerows for biodiversity on farmland, our results also highlighted the relatively lower numbers of butterflies on intensively managed grassland compared to arable land," said Dr. Feber.



Those silage pastures, cut and fertilized for maximum yield, now cover more than a quarter of the country. Even small changes in how they are managed could tip the scales for wildlife.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-farmers-want-to-help-and-need-support">Farmers want to help, and need support</h2>



The scientists also spoke with 31 farmers who manage land near the survey squares. Most recognized the upside of hedges and shade trees - from sheltering <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/livestock-grazing-is-changing-soil-plants-and-insect-populations/">livestock</a> to soaking up floodwater.



But nearly expressed concern about the cost and commitment of planting, trimming, and replacing them. That tension sits at the heart of the study.



“It is clear that farmers recognize the importance of these crucial habitats," noted Dr. Feber. "But they need to be supported. We need to recognize that these trees and hedgerows provide public goods which benefit <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/un-report-disturbing-details-about-the-state-of-earths-wildlife/">wildlife</a> and people."



She noted that agri-environment payments must stretch beyond basic prescriptions and cover the true expense of keeping woody features healthy for decades. Otherwise, good intentions can wither the moment grain prices tighten.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-farmland-hedges-are-butterfly-highways">Farmland hedges are butterfly highways</h2>



Hedges do more than mark a boundary. Their tangled branches serve as food plants for caterpillars and provide adult butterflies with a buffet of nectar. Thick growth breaks the wind, allowing butterflies to warm up and fly on cooler days. 



Above all, lines of woody cover act as green corridors, guiding insects from one flower-rich patch to another so that no colony becomes isolated.



That highway network is exactly what common butterflies need right now. Fresh figures show that 2024 ranks among the worst years on record. For the first time, more than half of U.K. species have slipped into long-term decline.



“We know that butterflies are in desperate trouble, including our common countryside species. Butterflies are important indicators of wider biodiversity, so actions that help butterflies will also help other declining wildlife,” said Dr. Feber.



“With 70 percent of the U.K.'s land area being farmland, our farmers and landowners play a vital role in helping these species recover, through protecting and restoring hedgerows and trees.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-farming-with-butterflies-in-mind">Farming with butterflies in mind</h2>



Dr. Feber’s group is already probing one promising route. At Northfield Farm near Oxford, cattle are moved daily in a “mob grazing” system that leaves each paddock to regrow for weeks.



“My current project is investigating regenerative <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/feeding-the-world-without-harming-nature-the-complex-balance-of-farming/">farming</a>, which uses livestock grazing and other practices to help promote soil health and increase soil carbon,” said Dr. Feber. 



“This is receiving increasing attention as an approach to grassland management that might contribute to tackling some <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-and-agriculture-are-locked-in-a-destructive-feedback-loop/">climate impacts of agriculture</a>."



Dr. Feber added that more research is needed on how this may impact biodiversity, particularly above-ground invertebrate groups, such as butterflies, moths, and other pollinators.



Early surveys will track whether butterflies bounce back when lush grass is replaced by more varied, flower-rich swards.



“In this system, areas of land are grazed for a short period of time before the cattle are moved on and the pasture allowed to recover,” Dr. Feber said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-butterflies-need-better-farmland">Butterflies need better farmland</h2>



The study’s message is disarmingly simple: keep - or better yet, expand - the scruffy, butterfly-friendly edges of Britain’s farmlands. A single thorn hedge or an untidy willow clump can be enough to connect the dots for butterflies.



For farmers, the next step is clear financial backing that rewards the effort year after year. For policymakers, it means seeing hedges and field trees as green infrastructure every bit as vital as roads and drains.



Butterflies respond quickly; give them corridors and they will return. The countryside may look pared to the bone, but its recovery could begin with nothing fancier than a line of hawthorn left to bloom or a young oak allowed to stand. Recognizing that these small gestures stitch life back into the land is the first step.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2688-8319.70042">Ecological Solutions and Evidence</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Simple farmland features can reverse butterfly declines

Butterflies are slipping away from the British countryside. Yet hope...

In 1960, a young woman walked into the forests of Gombe with a notebook and binoculars. Jane Goodall didn’t have formal scientific training, but she had a question: what are chimpanzees really like? Her observations would change science forever. 



On July 14 of that year, Goodall saw her first chimp using a stick to fish for termites. Until then, tool use was considered uniquely human. Today, we remember that moment with World Chimpanzee Day.



But this day is not just about honoring Jane’s legacy. It’s about recognizing who chimpanzees are and why they matter. They’re not just fascinating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-curiosity-starts-young-and-helps-us-survive/">animals</a>. They are our closest living relatives, and they need our help.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-day-to-focus-on-chimpanzees">A day to focus on chimpanzees </h2>



Chimpanzees don’t just live in the wild. They live full, emotional lives. They use tools, share food, form friendships, and sometimes even hold hands. 



In some places, chimps use leaves like sponges. In others, they sharpen sticks to hunt. Every <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-select-the-best-materials-for-termite-fishing/">group</a> has its own habits and culture, passed down through generations.



Chimpanzees care for their young for years. They play, tease, and comfort each other. And when a chimp dies, others mourn. One mother carried her infant’s body for days, unable to let go. 



These aren’t instincts on repeat. These are actions driven by memory, emotion, and thought. The more we watch chimps, the more familiar they feel.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-threats-to-chimpanzees">Threats to chimpanzees </h2>



Despite all this richness, chimpanzees are vanishing. Habitat loss is their biggest enemy. Forests are cleared for farming, roads, and mining. As the trees fall, so do the homes and feeding grounds of chimpanzees. 



Illegal hunting also takes a toll. Some chimps are killed for bushmeat. Others are captured and sold as pets or performers.



Diseases passed from humans spread quickly among <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-chimpanzee-mothers-raise-babies-more-successfully/">chimps</a>. Unlike us, they don’t have the immunity to fight back. What feels like a harmless cold to a human can be deadly for them. 



Climate change adds pressure too, shrinking food sources and drying up water. Fewer than 200,000 wild chimpanzees remain, and that number is dropping fast.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-jane-goodall-changed-everything">Jane Goodall changed everything</h2>



<a href="https://janegoodall.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jane Goodall</a> broke the rules of science. She named chimps instead of numbering them. She saw personalities, not data points. There was David Greybeard, the first chimp she saw using a tool. There was Flo, a strong mother, and Flint, her emotional son. 



Goodall didn’t just watch - she listened, and that made all the difference. Her compassionate approach lives on through the Jane Goodall Institute and conservation efforts around the world. 



These programs safeguard forests, support education, and empower future generations. Her legacy proves the power of one person who chooses to truly care.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-take-action-on-world-chimpanzee-day">Take action on World Chimpanzee Day </h2>



You don’t have to be a scientist to make a difference. Start small - learn something new about chimpanzees. Watch a documentary, share a story, or tell a child that chimps laugh and grieve just like we do. The more we understand them, the harder it becomes to ignore their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-copy-strange-useless-trends-just-like-humans-do/">struggles</a>.



Supporting trusted conservation groups can help protect wild habitats. Speaking out against wildlife trade and unethical animal shows can also help. 



Even simple choices, like avoiding unsustainable palm oil, can reduce pressure on forests. Every action matters, no matter how small it seems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-safe-places-new-beginnings">Safe places, new beginnings</h2>



Across Africa, sanctuaries now give rescued chimpanzees a second chance. In Uganda, Ngamba Island houses chimps rescued from illegal trade. 



In Liberia, hundreds of chimps once used in medical research now roam protected river islands. These places do more than provide safety. They offer peace, freedom, and healing.



Many of these chimpanzees arrive fearful and malnourished. With time, they climb again. They play again. They trust again. Sanctuaries remind us that healing is possible - not just for animals, but for the people who help them too.



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



World Chimpanzee Day isn’t just a date on the calendar. It’s a moment to stop and remember that chimpanzees are still here - but they’re in danger. 



If we let them disappear, we lose more than animals. We lose their stories, their intelligence, and a part of our own history.



Chimpanzees are more than a species in decline - they’re a reflection of who we are and what we choose to value. World Chimpanzee Day isn’t about sympathy; it’s about connection, respect, and a promise to protect a future we still share.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

World Chimpanzee Day 2025: Protecting our closest relatives

In 1960, a young woman walked into the forests of...

For decades, reptiles - including tortoises - have lingered in the background of animal sentience discussions. Popular imagination often casts them as simple, instinct-driven beings - unfeeling and unaware. 



Unlike mammals and birds, they rarely show overt emotion, leading many to dismiss the idea that reptiles might feel in complex ways. 



But a new study from the <a href="https://www.lincoln.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Lincoln</a> has disrupted that belief, offering compelling evidence that red-footed tortoises (Chelonoidis carbonaria) can experience long-term mood states.



Published in the journal Animal Cognition, the study reveals that tortoises can show optimism and pessimism depending on their environment. These emotional states then shapes their response to the world around them.



The implications are profound. If tortoises can feel mood shifts similar to mammals and birds, we must rethink how they are treated in captivity and reconsider their place in the story of animal consciousness.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-moods-mean-in-animals">What moods mean in animals</h2>



Mood and emotion are not the same. Emotions are short-lived responses to immediate situations, like fear when chased or joy at finding food. Moods, on the other hand, linger. 



They form a kind of emotional background noise, influencing how an animal perceives new experiences. Scientists call these “free-floating” states, unattached to specific triggers but powerful in shaping behavior.



In humans and other mammals, we have tested mood using cognitive bias tasks. These tests explore how an individual interprets ambiguous situations. 



Someone in a good mood will expect a positive outcome, while someone in a bad mood will expect the worst. Until now, no study had used this method on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/turtles-may-hold-the-secret-to-cancer-prevention/">reptiles</a>.



That gap has finally been closed. Researchers at Lincoln tested 15 red-footed tortoises to determine if they could exhibit mood-driven bias. Their approach was clear and controlled, building on established methods from mammal studies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tortoises-respond-to-uncertainty">Tortoises respond to uncertainty</h2>



Each <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/turtle-heads-reveal-an-ancient-reptilian-secret/">tortoise</a> was trained in a simple spatial judgment task. A bowl placed in one spot always contained a food reward (rocket leaves). 



The same bowl, placed elsewhere, never had food. Once trained, tortoises were presented with the bowl at three new, in-between locations: one near the positive spot, one in the middle, and one near the negative.



How quickly a tortoise approached the bowl at each of these ambiguous points showed its expectation. Quick approach meant optimism. Hesitation meant doubt or pessimism. 



Every trial was carefully timed, filmed, and structured to avoid smell-based cues or random behavior. The test was fair.



Interestingly, the tortoises judged the near-positive and middle spots more optimistically. They moved faster toward these bowls, showing an “optimistic skew” similar to that seen in mammals and birds. This alone is a strong sign of mood in action. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-anxiety-measured-in-action">Anxiety measured in action</h2>



To confirm that mood shaped behavior beyond just one task, the tortoises were also subjected to two classic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-do-fear-and-anxiety-reside-in-the-brain-new-cells-identified/">anxiety</a> tests: the novel object test and the novel environment test. 



These are used widely in animal cognition to assess emotional reactions to unfamiliar situations.



In the novel object test, each tortoise encountered an unusual item, a colorful bead coaster, inside a familiar arena. 



The researchers recorded how long it took the tortoise to approach the object, how far it extended its head, and how quickly it began to move. Confident, relaxed tortoises moved sooner and extended their heads farther.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tortoise-mood-affects-behavior">Tortoise mood affects behavior </h2>



The novel environment test changed the tortoises’ surroundings. Different textures, colors, and patterns created a new sensory world. 



Again, tortoises were watched for how they responded to unfamiliarity. The researchers noted that tortoises who showed optimistic bias in the earlier task also behaved with more confidence in these settings.



For example, tortoises that approached ambiguous bowls faster also reached new objects more quickly. 



Some even extended their heads farther in strange environments, indicating comfort and curiosity. These behavioral links show a deep connection between mood and action.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-reptile-feelings">Rethinking reptile feelings</h2>



The authors of the study interpret these results as remarkable. The presence of a mood state in a tortoise means that reptiles do not simply react. They evaluate, anticipate, and feel. That changes the ethical landscape.



"Animal welfare concerns are reliant upon evidence that a given <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-turtle-day-protecting-turtles-tortoises-and-their-vanishing-habitats/">species</a> has the capacity to experience affective states," said Anna Wilkinson, a professor of Animal Cognition at the University of Lincoln. 



"With reptiles becoming increasingly common as pets, it is essential for us to study their moods and emotions to try to understand how captivity may impact them."



Professor Oliver Burman noted that the research represents a significant shift in our understanding of what reptiles can experience, with important implications for how we care for these animals in captivity and interact with them in the wild.



The researchers emphasized that these findings align reptiles more closely with mammals and birds in terms of emotional capacity.



While reptiles may lack certain emotional expressions seen in other animals, they still experience shifts in affective state. Their moods impact how they explore, respond, and behave.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tortoise-mood-and-the-roots-of-emotions">Tortoise mood and the roots of emotions</h2>



Reptiles diverged from mammals and birds hundreds of millions of years ago. That makes this discovery even more significant. If a tortoise, members of one of the oldest lineages of land animals, can experience mood, then the evolutionary roots of emotion run deeper than we thought.



The study references earlier research that found reptiles do show some emotional behavior, such as emotional fever and response to enrichment. 



But until now, no one had shown that they could experience long-lasting, mood-like states. These new results argue against the idea that reptiles have a narrow emotional spectrum.



They suggest that affective states, both emotional and mood-based, might be ancient features of vertebrate brains. These are not recent innovations. This insight matters for biology, psychology, and ethics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reptiles-need-more-than-basics">Reptiles need more than basics</h2>



The researchers argue for major changes in how we house and care for reptiles. Current enclosures often focus on physical health and basic habitat needs. 



But if tortoises have moods, then their emotional well-being must also be addressed. That means offering larger enclosures, complex terrain, opportunities for exploration, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-stimulation-could-change-the-future-of-math-education/">mental stimulation</a>.



According to the researchers, we should assume that they are not only capable of suffering but also experiencing enduring positive moods. Captive reptiles deserve spaces that support both.



The research also expands the toolkit for welfare assessments. Behavioral and mood-based testing can help zookeepers, researchers, and pet owners recognize when a reptile like a tortoise is distressed or thriving.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-how-we-see-tortoises">Rethinking how we see tortoises</h2>



For too long, tortoises have been treated as slow-moving curiosities. But this new evidence invites us to see them differently. They can be optimistic, feel anxiety, and might even experience contentment.



This is not just about red-footed tortoises. It is about revising our relationship with all <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reptile-ancestors-appeared-40-million-years-earlier-than-we-thought/">reptiles</a>. The cold-blooded no longer seem cold-hearted. They are thinking, feeling beings. And now we have the science to prove it.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-025-01973-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Animal Cognition</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Grumpy tortoise? Reptiles can experience mood swings too

For decades, reptiles - including tortoises - have lingered in...

Sharks have survived five mass extinctions and ruled the oceans for over 400 million years. As apex predators, they play a critical role in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems.&nbsp;But today, sharks are more threatened than ever. 



On Shark Awareness Day, we highlight the science behind their importance. Without sharks, ocean ecosystems would become unbalanced, leading to overpopulation of some species and the collapse of others.



This disruption would harm the overall health of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-climate-fixes-could-worsen-the-oxygen-crisis/">ocean</a>, ultimately affecting food security and coastal economies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-when-sharks-disappear">What happens when sharks disappear?</h2>



A <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/top-predator-missing-what-happens-when-great-white-sharks-disappear/#google_vignette">long-term study</a> conducted in False Bay, South Africa, offers a real-world example of what happens when sharks disappear from an ecosystem.



The researchers found that by mid‑2018, great white sharks had vanished from the region. This led to dramatic shifts throughout the ecosystem.&nbsp;



With the disappearance of great whites, Cape fur seal and sevengill shark populations surged, while their prey - smaller fish and bottom-dwelling shark species - declined sharply.&nbsp;



The findings provide real-world evidence of a “trophic cascade,” where the loss of a top predator triggers a ripple effect through lower levels of the food web.



The researchers suggest that the sharks may have disappeared due to several potential causes, including targeted attacks by orcas - which have been observed killing and eating great white livers.&nbsp;



The study demonstrates the importance of apex predators in maintaining ocean health. The research highlights how their loss can destabilize marine webs and reduce biodiversity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-declining-shark-populations-nbsp">Declining shark populations&nbsp;</h2>



According to a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/overfishing-has-caused-a-50-decline-in-sharks-and-rays/">study</a> led by researchers from Simon Fraser University, over half of all sharks and rays have disappeared globally since 1970 - with overfishing identified as the primary cause.&nbsp;



Sharks and rays, serving as critical predators and sediment stirrers, help maintain food webs and nutrient flows. The report revealed that around one-third of shark and ray species now face extinction. 



However, there is cause for hope: countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US, parts of Europe, and South Africa have implemented science-based fishing limits, reduced bycatch, and protected critical habitats.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-endangered-shark-species-nbsp">Endangered shark species&nbsp;</h2>



Among the most threatened are the great <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-some-great-hammerhead-sharks-rarely-leave-home/">hammerhead</a> and the scalloped hammerhead sharks - both of which have seen dramatic population declines worldwide.&nbsp;



These species are particularly vulnerable because they grow slowly and reproduce rarely, making it hard for their populations to bounce back once they decline.



The oceanic whitetip shark, once abundant across tropical and subtropical waters, has suffered steep losses from bycatch and targeted fishing - pushing it toward critical endangerment.&nbsp;



Many deep-sea sharks, like the bluntnose sixgill and the gulper shark, are also threatened due to slow reproduction rates combined with increased fishing pressures.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-campaigns-around-the-world">Campaigns around the world</h2>



Around the world, numerous campaigns and organizations are dedicated to protecting sharks and raising awareness about their critical role in ocean ecosystems.&nbsp;



One of the most widely recognized efforts is <a href="https://www.discovery.com/shark-week/shark-week-2025-kicks-off-july-20">Shark Week</a>, a series on the Discovery Channel that draws millions of viewers each summer. Through documentaries and expert interviews, the series highlights both the awe-inspiring nature of sharks and the threats they face from human activity.



<a href="https://iucn.org/our-union/members/iucn-members/project-aware-foundation">Project AWARE</a> mobilizes scuba divers globally to advocate for shark conservation by pushing for bans on shark finning and the creation of marine protected areas.&nbsp;



On a larger scale, coalitions like the <a href="https://www.globalsharkmovement.org/">Global Shark Movement Project</a> work to influence policy and fisheries management worldwide.



The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) <a href="https://www.iucnssg.org/">Shark Specialist Group</a> also plays a vital role by assessing species status and guiding conservation strategies globally.&nbsp;



Together, these campaigns combine public education, advocacy, and policy efforts to reduce shark deaths and support healthier oceans for future generations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-celebrate-shark-awareness-day-nbsp">Celebrate Shark Awareness Day&nbsp;</h2>



Shark Awareness Day highlights the urgent need for stronger protections and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sustainable-fishing-must-be-redefined-to-halt-ocean-destruction/">sustainable fishing practices</a> to prevent the irreversible loss of these vital ocean predators.



Today, people around the world are encouraged to learn about sharks and the threats they face from human activities. We are also encouraged to take action by choosing sustainable seafood and speaking up for better laws to protect sharks.&nbsp;



Shark Awareness Day helps build a stronger global community committed to conservation efforts. Ultimately, protecting sharks is about protecting the entire ocean system - and a planet that depends on it.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-ralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Shark Awareness Day: Protecting the balance of the ocean 

Sharks have survived five mass extinctions and ruled the oceans...

What started as a student field trip along the cliffs of Dorset turned into the discovery of a new prehistoric species. A 16.5-millimeter lower jaw, embedded in rock near Swanage, is now reshaping how scientists view early mammal evolution.



The discovery was made by an undergraduate student from the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a>. The fossil belongs to a type of extinct mammal called a multituberculate. 



These small, rodent-like creatures once lived alongside <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-did-dinosaurs-come-from-missing-fossils-hold-the-secret/">dinosaurs</a> and were known for their distinctively complex teeth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-curious-jaw-a-surprising-species">A curious jaw, a surprising species</h2>



The fossil was uncovered at Durlston Bay, a site famous for its rich geological layers. It’s the first multituberculate jaw found there since the 1800s. 



Though it looks a bit like a rabbit's jaw at first glance, the structure of the teeth tells a different story. A sharp incisor juts out at the front, followed by a gap, and then four blade-like premolars.



“I instantly had my suspicions of what the jaw was when I found it at the beach, but couldn’t have imagined where the discovery would take me,” said Ben Weston,&nbsp;an undergraduate paleontology student.



“I’m extremely grateful to the team and to the university for helping me take my first steps into academic paleontology.”



Researchers at the University of Portsmouth confirmed that the fossil is from a species that had never been identified before.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-technology-brings-the-fossil-to-life">Technology brings the fossil to life</h2>



The fossil wasn’t easy to examine. Rock still clung to key parts of the specimen. To get around this, the team turned to high-resolution <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gordonia-traquairi-pig-like-creature-discovered-roamed-earth-250-million-years-ago/">CT scanning</a>. 



Dr. Charles Wood, a senior scientific officer at the university, scanned the fossil, allowing scientists to see inside the rock without damaging the sample.



Jake Keane, a former Portsmouth paleontology student now working in Abu Dhabi, helped process the scans. In just a few hours, he digitally removed the surrounding rock and isolated the teeth in fine detail.



The scans were then turned into 3D-printed models by John Fearnly, lead technician in the university’s Faculty of Technology. These models were ten times larger than the original, making it safer and easier to study the fossil in depth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-mammal-gets-a-name">New mammal gets a name</h2>



The team named the new species Novaculadon mirabilis. “Novacula” means razor, a nod to its sharp back teeth. “Mirabilis” refers to the jaw’s almost perfect preservation.



Portsmouth student Hamzah Imran created an artistic rendering of the animal. It’s imagined as a small, furry creature with a mix of spots and stripes - though its actual appearance remains speculative.



Based on its teeth, Novaculadon mirabilis likely ate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/very-little-is-known-about-99-of-all-insects-on-earth/">insects</a> and other small <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-noise-can-be-fatal-to-marine-invertebrates/">invertebrates</a>. Its slicing premolars and pointed incisors set it apart from modern rodents like rats or squirrels.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-hotspot-for-new-mammal-species">A hotspot for new mammal species</h2>



This isn't the first time a student has made a big find in the same area. In 2017, another Portsmouth undergraduate, Grant Smith, discovered fossils of two new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-mammals-live-depends-more-on-climate-than-human-activities/">mammal</a> species thought to be among humanity’s earliest relatives.



Dr. Steve Sweetman, a researcher at the University of Portsmouth, also worked on this new discovery. 



“This is a remarkable find that reminds me of when Grant found those extraordinary eutherian mammal teeth," said Dr. Sweetman.



"When I first saw Grant's specimens, my jaw dropped - and I had exactly the same reaction to Ben's multituberculate jaw. It's incredible that Durlston Bay keeps delivering such significant mammal discoveries by our undergraduate students.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-insights-from-tiny-jaw">Evolution insights from tiny jaw </h2>



Beyond the scientific importance, the discovery highlights the value of collaborative research. 



“Looking back now that the discovery has been published, I am amazed at how many people it took to describe this little mammal," said Professor David Martill.



"I especially appreciated that all team members were University staff or present and former students - a true team effort including academics, technicians, alumni, and students with diverse talents across three departments.” 



The fossil helps researchers better understand how early mammals survived during the age of dinosaurs. While multituberculates lived through the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-was-the-cause-of-earths-largest-mass-extinction/">mass extinction</a> that wiped out dinosaurs, they eventually died out during the Oligocene, around 33 million years ago.



With over 200 known species, multituberculates were the most diverse group of mammals in the Mesozoic era. They filled many ecological roles - some burrowed, others climbed trees. This new discovery adds to what we know about their evolution and survival.



And it serves as a reminder that major scientific contributions can come from anyone - even a 22-year-old student on a windy beach in Dorset.



Image Credit: Hamzah Imran



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2025.101128">Proceedings of the Geologists Association</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Tiny fossil, big discovery: Student uncovers a lost mammal species

What started as a student field trip along the cliffs...

species in Wemersoniellidae

News coming your way