In a stark update on the deteriorating condition of our planet, an international assembly of climate experts has reported that the Earth’s vital signs have declined to levels never before witnessed in human history. This critical state threatens the very fabric of life on our planet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unprecedented-scientific-consensus">Unprecedented scientific consensus</h2>



Led by William Ripple, a prominent figure from the Oregon State University <a href="https://www.forestry.oregonstate.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">College of Forestry</a>, and Christopher Wolf, formerly associated with OSU, a team comprising 12 scientists has delivered a grim prognosis on Earth&#8217;s vital signs in their paper published in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/biosci/biad080" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BioScience</a>. 



Titled &#8220;The 2023 State of the climate report: Entering uncharted territory,&#8221; the study underscores that a staggering 20 out of 35 planetary vital signs used as barometers for climate health have hit record extremes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-world-on-the-brink">World on the brink</h2>



&#8220;Without decisive steps to address the fundamental issue of humanity&#8217;s overconsumption of the Earth&#8217;s resources, we are navigating towards the potential disintegration of natural and socioeconomic systems,&#8221; Wolf stated, painting a picture of a future marred by intolerable heat, food scarcity, and water shortages.



The authors highlight alarming data from 2023, pointing out that numerous records related to climate and Earth&#8217;s vital signs have been shattered &#8220;by enormous margins.&#8221; This includes unprecedented ocean temperatures, drastic reductions in sea ice, and an extraordinary Canadian wildfire season contributing to record levels of carbon dioxide emissions.



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



This report is not the first of its kind. It follows a significant &#8220;<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-has-pushed-earth-to-code-red/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency</a>&#8221; published four years ago, where Ripple, alongside other collaborators, received support from over 15,000 scientists from 161 countries. 



Despite these earlier calls to action, little progress has been made, with Ripple emphasizing, &#8220;Life on our planet is unmistakably under assault.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-alarming-climate-health-statistics">Alarming climate health statistics</h2>



The report lays bare several shocking statistics that outline why Earth&#8217;s vital signs are at an all-time low.



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.earth.com/news/un-chief-fossil-fuel-era-must-end-for-humanitys-survival/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fossil fuel</a> subsidies saw a staggering increase from $531 billion to over $1 trillion between 2021 and 2022, incentivizing harmful emissions. </li>



<li><a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-amplify-risks-for-socially-vulnerable-populations-in-western-states/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wildfires</a> in Canada alone have already contributed more than 1 gigaton of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in 2023, surpassing the nation&#8217;s total greenhouse gas emissions the previous year. </li>



<li>A concerning trend in global temperature rise, with 38 days already recorded where temperatures were more than <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/limiting-global-warming-to-1-5-degrees-celsius-would-save-billions-of-lives/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1.5 degrees Celsius</a> above pre-industrial levels. </li>



<li>July experienced the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/july-was-earths-hottest-month-in-120000-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">highest average</a> Earth surface temperature on record, likely the most extreme in the last 100,000 years.</li>
</ul>



Wolf expressed deep concern, stating, &#8220;As scientists, the sudden escalation in the frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters is deeply unsettling.&#8221;



The study cautions that these disasters&#8217; frequency and intensity might even be accelerating faster than temperature rises. The paper forecasts a dire future, where 3 to 6 billion people will find themselves in uninhabitable conditions by the end of this century.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-vital-signs-need-transformative-policies">Earth&#8217;s vital signs need transformative policies</h2>



The scientific community is advocating for policies that address &#8220;ecological overshoot,&#8221; a scenario where humanity&#8217;s demands exceed the Earth&#8217;s capacity, resulting in numerous environmental crises, including a decline in biodiversity.



They argue that solutions focusing solely on carbon or climate will fall short of repairing Earth&#8217;s vital signs unless the overarching pressures on global systems are alleviated. As Ripple puts it, the scientific community has a &#8220;moral duty&#8221; to guide humanity away from potential existential threats and lead action-driven dialogues.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-steering-towards-a-just-sustainable-future">Steering towards a just, sustainable future</h2>



The paper calls for a comprehensive overhaul of global economic practices. The authors of the study urge a transition that foregrounds human well-being, curtails excessive consumption, and drastically reduces affluent populations&#8217; emissions.



Key policy recommendations to reverse the decline of Earth&#8217;s vital signs include:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies. </li>



<li>Encouraging shifts towards plant-based diets. </li>



<li>Amplifying efforts to protect global forest areas. </li>



<li>Establishing international treaties focused on eliminating coal and preventing new fossil fuel exploration.</li>
</ul>



The authors underscore the necessity for equity and social justice in all climate-related decisions. They clearly recognize the disproportionate impact of climate calamities on the world&#8217;s most impoverished populations, who have the smallest carbon footprints.



In a world where climate-related disasters are becoming the norm rather than the exception, this clarion call from the scientific community is more urgent than ever. It implores global leaders, decision-makers, and individuals alike to embark on a more sustainable path, with the understanding that the very future of life on Earth hinges on the actions humanity takes now.



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Life under siege: Earth’s vital signs reach an all-time low

In early 2025, something unusual happened in the Gulf of Panama. The deep, cold water that normally rises to the surface each dry season never appeared. According to a new study, this seasonal upwelling failed for the first time in at least four decades.



Researchers recorded warmer surface waters, fewer cool days, and a steep decline in productivity during the months when the system is usually most active.



Lead author Aaron O’Dea of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (<a href="https://stri.si.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">STRI</a>) points out the event disrupted one of the Gulf’s most reliable ocean patterns. 



His team’s data show that the region’s cool season shifted in ways that carry real consequences for both marine ecosystems and the people who depend on them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-upwelling-shapes-ecosystems">Upwelling shapes ecosystems</h2>



Upwelling occurs when winds push surface water aside and allow deeper, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-a-wandering-jet-stream-is-draining-marine-life-in-the-mediterranean-sea/">nutrient-rich water</a> to rise. That nutrient pulse fuels phytoplankton - tiny plant-like drifters that are the base of marine food webs.



The result is a burst of life that supports fisheries and cools nearshore waters. That cooling can reduce coral bleaching, the stress response when corals lose their symbiotic algae under heat.



A long term study of Panama’s Pacific shelf showed how predictable winter winds typically drive this cycle. Year after year, that reliability shaped coastal economies and expectations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-waters-stay-warmer-longer">Waters stay warmer longer</h2>



The 2025 season broke the pattern in clear ways. Historically, Panama's upwelling began by January 20, lasted about 66 days, and surface temperatures sometimes dipped to 66.2°F, with extremes near 58.8°F.



In 2025, surface temperatures did not fall below the 77°F threshold until March 4 - 42 days later than usual. The cool period persisted for only 12 days, an 82 percent reduction, and the minimum temperature was about 73.9°F.



The wind signal tells a similar story. When northerly winds did blow, their speeds and wind stress matched normal years, but they occurred 74 percent less often and relaxed 25 percent more hours than usual.



Those metrics line up with reduced biological production during the same window. Fewer cold days meant fewer nutrient injections and fewer phytoplankton-fueled food chains.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-weaker-jets-weaker-waters">Weaker jets, weaker waters</h2>



To understand the physics, it helps to define the Intertropical Convergence Zone (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertropical_Convergence_Zone" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ITCZ</a>). 



This is a band near the equator where trade winds meet and storms form, and its seasonal shift steers wind patterns across Central America.



In boreal winter, pressure gradients funnel air through mountain gaps to form the Panama Low-Level Jet (PLLJ). 



The jet accelerates offshore winds that normally push surface waters away from the coast and set up the classic upwelling response.



The team notes that 2025 featured fewer of those northerly wind events. Fewer bursts meant less cumulative push on the ocean surface, so deeper water did not break the stratified layers and rise.



This change likely interacted with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/winter-of-extremes-how-will-la-nina-affect-weather-in-the-u-s/">La Niña</a>, a climate phase that can nudge the ITCZ north or south and modulate wind frequency. The authors flag this as a plausible driver but stop short of declaring a single cause.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fisheries-and-reefs-on-the-line">Fisheries and reefs on the line</h2>



Upwelling hotspots punch above their size. They produce food and jobs by feeding forage fish that in turn support larger species targeted by coastal fleets.



Warm, stable surface layers can dampen that productivity. Less nutrient delivery means weaker <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plankton-at-risk-global-warming-threatens-the-oceans-lifeline/">plankton</a> blooms and a thinner energy pipeline to the fish that communities depend on.



Reefs feel these swings too. During the 2015 - 2016 El Niño, evidence showed that upwelling in the Gulf of Panama moderated heat and reduced bleaching while nearby areas baked.



The two Pacific gulfs of Panama often move in opposite directions. A 2023 review described how the upwelling Gulf of Panama tends to run cooler and more nutrient-rich than the Gulf of Chiriquí, shaping different coral growth trajectories under today’s warming.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-40-year-record-broken">40-year record broken</h2>



The 40-year record makes the 2025 failure stand out. Average historical onset around January 20 contrasts with a March 4 threshold crossing in 2025.



The cool season shrank from roughly nine weeks to less than two weeks. Minimum <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-are-substantially-changing-the-seasons-of-the-ocean/">sea surface temperature</a> (SST) rose from historical lows near 66.2°F to about 73.9°F.



Northerly wind frequency fell by roughly three-quarters compared with typical seasons. Relaxation periods, when winds slacken and the ocean restratifies, increased by about one-quarter.



Those numbers capture a system that did not get enough wind energy often enough to do its usual work. The headline is not that winds were weak when they blew, but that they did not blow often.



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



Three questions now sit at the center of this story: Will the PLLJ return to its usual rhythm next dry season, will it keep sputtering, or will it swing between extremes that complicate planning?



If the failure of Panama's upwelling repeats, fishers may need to adjust timing, gear choices, or target species for leaner seasons. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/great-barrier-reef-suffers-record-coral-loss-after-years-of-growth/">Reef</a> managers may need localized alerts that treat upwelling corridors as temporary refuges that can fade without notice.



Models and moored sensors can close the gap. That means better wind tracking, finer SST mapping, and clearer links between physics, plankton, fish, and reefs across the Gulf.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512056122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Unprecedented collapse: Panama's ocean upwelling fails for the first time in 40 years

In early 2025, something unusual happened in the Gulf of...

For over a century, oil and gas companies have been pulling carbon out of the ground in the form of fossil fuels. Now, researchers are flipping that idea on its head - by putting carbon back underground. And not just anywhere, but into the very same wells that once helped release it.



This new approach doesn’t rely on fancy tech or sci-fi ideas. Instead, it uses leftovers from farms and forests - like corn stalks and tree trimmings - to create a thick liquid called bio-oil. 



Packed with carbon pulled from the air by plants, bio-oil can then be pumped into abandoned <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/abandoned-oil-wells-could-revolutionize-energy-storage/">oil wells</a> for permanent storage.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-old-oil-wells-meet-new-solutions">Old oil wells meet new solutions</h2>



Across the U.S., there are hundreds of thousands of old oil and gas wells sitting empty. Many of these wells weren’t properly sealed and now pose environmental and safety hazards. 



Plugging the wells costs about $1 million each. At the same time, tons of plant waste is discarded every year, ranging from corn stover in the Midwest to forest debris in the West. This is where researchers at <a href="https://www.iastate.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Iowa State University</a> saw a match.



“On the one hand, you have these underutilized waste products. On the other hand, you have abandoned oil wells that need to be plugged. It’s an abundant resource meeting an urgent demand,” said Professor Mark Mba-Wright, who led the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-oil-wells-for-carbon-capture">Oil wells for carbon capture</h2>



The process at the center of the research is called fast pyrolysis. It sounds complicated, but the idea is simple: you heat dried plant bits to extremely high temperatures (over 1,000°F) in the absence of oxygen. 



The result is three products - bio-oil, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-is-biochar-and-how-can-it-help-us-mitigate-climate-change-carbon-storage/">biochar</a>, and gas. The bio-oil captures most of the carbon. The gas helps fuel the system. The biochar can be sold to farmers to improve soil.



“One of the innovations here is that you can do <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-capture-technology-faces-uncertainty-despite-heavy-investment/">carbon capture</a> with units the size of a skid loader or a combine. You can start small,” Mba-Wright said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bio-oil-machines-for-the-job">Bio-oil machines for the job</h2>



The team modeled a network of 200 mobile pyrolysis units that could be moved around rural areas to process plant waste on-site. 



Each machine would handle about 10 tons of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/satellite-view-of-forest-biomass-reveals-hidden-carbon-trends/">biomass</a> daily, producing bio-oil that could be stored in terminals before being transported to empty well sites for injection.



Each unit would cost around $1.3 million to build. According to the study, the system could sequester carbon for about $152 per ton, which makes it cost-competitive with other carbon capture methods. For wood-based materials, the cost could drop closer to $100 per ton.



Filling a single crude oil well requires more than 216,000 gallons of liquid - plenty of space to lock away carbon for good. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-undocumented-oil-wells">Undocumented oil wells</h2>



The researchers estimate that there could be as many as 800,000 undocumented orphaned wells in the U.S., far beyond the 120,000 wells targeted by a $4.7 billion federal cleanup effort passed in 2021.



“The more units they build, the better they would get at building them,” Mba-Wright said. This is thanks to what’s called a “learning rate,” which means that building more machines over time helps lower both production and operating costs.



This isn’t just theory. A San Francisco startup, Charm Industrial, has already started using this method and signed deals with large companies to help them meet climate goals. These companies want carbon-removal credits, and bio-oil injection is emerging as one of the most promising ways to earn them.



"We hear it time and again: after taking a close look among their options, leading carbon-removal buyers find that bio-oil sequestration represents one of the highest-quality and most cost-effective approaches,” said Peter Reinhardt, CEO and co-founder of Charm Industrial.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-opportunities-for-carbon-removal">Opportunities for carbon removal </h2>



Charm funded part of the Iowa State study to better understand the technology’s full potential.



“While they were confident about the technology itself, they were looking for some validation of how much <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mountains-both-carbon-sinks-and-carbon-sources/">carbon</a> could be sequestered and how economical the process could be,” Mba-Wright said. “There are a lot of steps involved in getting this to work at scale.”



One important detail is that this method stacks up well against another popular carbon-removal option - direct air capture. That system also removes carbon from the air, but it’s more expensive to build and doesn’t offer the side benefits of using agricultural waste or creating new revenue for rural communities.



“What we’re trying to show here is that carbon removal doesn’t need to be either/or. There are a lot of opportunities,” Mba-Wright said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-win-for-rural-economies">A win for rural economies</h2>



Besides helping the climate, this system could give new life to the rural economy. Farmers could sell their leftover crop waste. Forest managers could get paid to clear wildfire-prone debris. 



Furthermore, small towns could host bio-oil terminals and benefit from new jobs and investments.



"Iowa State’s experts showed that bio-oil sequestration using corn stover can deliver a high-value, durable carbon removal product that outcompetes other technologies, while providing new markets for crop residues and delivering new economic value to the rural economy,” Reinhardt said. 



“As the carbon-removal sector grows, Charm is grateful to work with farm and forest communities to grow this opportunity."



The full study was published in the journal <a href="http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0196890425005047">Energy Conversion and Management</a>.



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Old oil wells are getting a new job - storing carbon

For over a century, oil and gas companies have been...

Memory complaints show up in clinics every day. Today, about 57 million people live with dementia worldwide, and Alzheimer’s disease causes most cases.



Doctors rely on interviews, brief cognitive checks, and brain scans when available. A clinically available blood test now offers another option that is simple, fast, and accurate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flagging-alzheimer-s-in-blood">Flagging Alzheimer's in blood</h2>



The research team was led by Sebastian Palmqvist at <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lund University</a> in Sweden. Their goal was clear: make an accurate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-blood-test-can-track-the-progression-of-alzheimers/">test</a> that a regular clinic can use to flag Alzheimer’s biology in people with memory concerns.



In a prospective study of 1,213 patients seen in both family practices and specialty memory clinics, a serum panel correctly identified Alzheimer’s pathology about 88 to 92 percent of the time. 



That performance was on par with the accuracy seen when samples were analyzed in batches or as they arrived, which matches how clinics actually work.



The test looks for a specific biomarker in plasma called <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10066514/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">phosphorylated tau 217</a>, often shortened to p-tau217. It also reads the ratio of amyloid beta 42 to amyloid beta 40, two forms of a protein linked to plaques in Alzheimer’s disease.



These measurements rise or fall in characteristic ways when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/this-simple-nighttime-sleep-habit-could-delay-or-prevent-alzheimers-in-all-adults/">Alzheimer’s</a> pathology is present. By combining them, the test gives a single probability score that tracks the biology behind memory loss, not just the symptoms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-help-for-primary-care-doctors">Help for primary care doctors</h2>



“Primary care doctors’ accuracy in identifying Alzheimer’s disease was 61 per cent, while specialist physicians were correct 73 per cent of the time,” added <a href="https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/sebastian-palmqvist" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sebastian Palmqvist</a>, Associate Professor of Neurology at Lund University and consultant at <a href="https://vard.skane.se/psykiatri-skane/mottagningar-och-avdelningar/akutmottagning-barn--och-ungdomspsykiatri/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Skåne</a> University Hospital. 



The team compared the test’s performance with doctors’ best clinical judgment before any biomarker results were known and those numbers show why an easy lab test can help the first clinicians who see most patients.



Earlier and more accurate classification steers people to the right next step. It also reduces unnecessary referrals for expensive imaging when the blood test rules out Alzheimer’s biology.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inside-the-aps2-score">Inside the APS2 score</h2>



The lab algorithm, sometimes called APS2, blends the p-tau217 percentage with the amyloid ratio to estimate the chance of amyloid positivity in the brain. Ratios help account for unrelated medical factors that can nudge a single marker up or down.



Independent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-02869-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> has shown that percent p-tau217 in blood closely matches the clinical performance of Food and Drug Administration (<a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-clears-first-blood-test-used-diagnosing-alzheimers-disease" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FDA</a>) cleared cerebrospinal fluid tests for detecting Alzheimer’s pathology. Accuracy climbs even higher when labs use two cutoff values, one to rule in and one to rule out.



Clinicians will still need other information in some cases. A subgroup will land in an intermediate zone, which is a cue to order a PET scan or repeat testing rather than guess.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-this-fits-with-current-treatments">How this fits with current treatments</h2>



Treatments that target amyloid require proof of amyloid biology before they start. The FDA granted traditional approval for lecanemab, marketed as <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-converts-novel-alzheimers-disease-treatment-traditional-approval" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Leqembi</a>, for early symptomatic Alzheimer’s treatment.



The agency also approved donanemab, now sold as <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/fda-approves-treatment-adults-alzheimers-disease" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kisunla</a>, for adults with early symptoms and confirmed amyloid pathology. As access to these drugs grows, fast triage in regular clinics becomes more important.



“The test is already available in the USA and is likely to become available in many other countries soon. Initially, it will mainly be used in specialist memory clinics, and it may take approximately one to two years to implement guidelines and training in primary care,” concluded <a href="https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/oskar-hansson" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oskar Hansson</a>, Professor of Neurology at Lund University and senior consultant at Skåne University Hospital. 



A blood draw in a familiar clinic setting lowers the barrier for people who cannot travel far or wait long.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-alzheimer-s-blood-and-healthcare">Alzheimer's, blood, and healthcare</h2>



A routine blood test is less invasive than a cerebrospinal fluid tap and easier to schedule than advanced imaging. Results can arrive quickly, which helps families move from uncertainty to a clear plan.



An accurate negative result can spare people from months of worry and unnecessary tests. A positive result, combined with a clinical assessment, helps providers arrange the right counseling, safety steps, and referrals.



This test does not replace a full evaluation. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brains-quiet-moments-may-shape-memory-and-fight-alzheimers/">Memory</a> changes can come from depression, sleep problems, medications, or other neurological diseases, so clinicians still need to take a careful history and examine the patient.



No test is perfect. A small fraction of results will fall between the lower and upper cutoffs, and that gray zone is best handled with follow up testing or specialty referral.



Local policies will shape how primary clinics use the assay alongside cognitive exams and imaging. Training and clear workflows will help teams decide when to test, how to interpret results, and when to refer.



Researchers will keep studying how comorbid conditions, age, and disease stage affect performance. Automated platforms and standardized reporting should make it easier for labs to deliver consistent results.



The study is published in <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2821669" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JAMA</a>.



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Scientists developed a blood test that identifies Alzheimer's disease in minutes

Memory complaints show up in clinics every day. Today, about...

Over the next few decades, climate change will test communities in ways that go well beyond storms or heat waves. The pressure point is socioeconomic vulnerability, the conditions that determine whether people can prepare, respond, and recover.



A new global projections <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-025-05732-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">database</a> looks ahead from 2020 to 2100 and tracks how social factors may raise or lower that vulnerability. 



The database translates hard to compare realities into a single scale, then follows three different development <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-wins-in-2025-came-from-unexpected-places/">paths</a> to show what changes.



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



The study was led by Dr. Janine Huisman, a researcher at Radboud University’s <a href="https://globaldatalab.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Data Lab</a>. Her team worked with Climate Analytics to build a forward looking tool that focuses on people, not just physics.



In climate science, risk arises from the interaction of hazards, exposure, and vulnerability. Hazards are the physical events, exposure is what lies in their path, and vulnerability is the human system’s sensitivity and capacity to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-is-just-three-years-away-from-dangerous-carbon-milestone/">adapt</a>.



This framing matters because cutting risk is not only about predicting the next flood. It is also about strengthening the social systems that keep losses from spiraling.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-index-works">How the index works</h2>



The team published a peer-reviewed paper that turns 11 indicators into a single index and then projects it to 2100. The index includes seven domains: the economy, education, health, gender, infrastructure, governance, and demographics.



Gender inequality is measured with the UNDP’s <a href="https://hdr.undp.org/gender-development-index" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GDI</a>. Governance uses the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators, while education relies on mean years of schooling.



“The GVI quantifies how societies are likely to respond to climate hazards,” said Dr. Huisman. The index emphasizes social conditions that shape readiness and recovery.



Countries with higher education and stronger health tend to anticipate change and adjust faster. Better infrastructure improves evacuation, communication, and emergency <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hot-oceans-weaken-earths-carbon-sink/">response</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-climate-vulnerability-paths">Future climate vulnerability paths</h2>



Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (<a href="https://earth.gov/sealevel/faq/124/what-are-shared-socioeconomic-pathways-or-ssps/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SSPs</a>) are stories that scientists use to think about different possible futures for the world. Each pathway describes how people, governments, and economies might change over the next century.&nbsp;



They include ideas about things like how fast populations grow, how much technology improves, and whether countries work together or stay divided. By comparing these different futures, researchers can see how social and economic choices affect our ability to handle climate change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-same-climate-hazard-different-outcomes">Same climate hazard, different outcomes </h2>



The projections follow the IIASA SSP <a href="https://data.ece.iiasa.ac.at/ssp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">database</a>, using three paths that researchers often pair with climate models. SSP1 ("Sustainability") is a green road with gains in health and education and lower inequality.



SSP2 ("Middle of the Road") continues mixed trends and uneven development. SSP3 ("Regional Rivalry") is a rocky road with fragmentation, weaker cooperation, and high challenges for mitigation and adaptation.



Each path reshapes vulnerability not by changing the weather, but by changing social capacity. That is why the same hazard can produce very different outcomes across scenarios.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-projections-show">What the projections show</h2>



Under SSP1, the median vulnerability falls steadily this century, with the largest improvements in today’s most vulnerable countries. Under SSP3, change is slow, and large gaps persist between regions with high and low capacity.



Regional patterns remain visible in the mid-century maps. Northern America, Northern and Western Europe, and Australia and New Zealand sit at the low end of vulnerability by 2050 and 2100, while parts of Africa, Southern Asia, and Pacific Island States remain higher.



The gap is smallest in SSP1, wider in SSP2, and widest in SSP3. That spread reflects the storylines behind each pathway.



The projections also show that countries starting in the highest vulnerability group can, under SSP1, approach today’s low vulnerability levels by century’s end. Starting points still matter, but the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astonishing-global-heat-in-january-2025-defied-climate-expectations/">social</a> trajectory matters more.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-directing-resources-where-they-re-needed">Directing resources where they're needed</h2>



The <a href="https://www.v-20.org/the-voluntary-carbon-markets-integrity-initiative-and-climate-vulnerable-forum-and-its-v20-finance-ministers-partner-to-leverage-carbon-markets-in-support-of-climate-prosperity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vulnerable Twenty</a> (V20) countries are home to over one-fifth of the world’s population but produce only about 5 percent of global emissions. 



The researchers called for projections that prioritize human capacity, since funding and policy decisions often hinge on those measures.



“This allows policymakers and scholars to assess whether countries remain vulnerable under traditional energy use patterns, or whether vulnerabilities persist even in a rapid transition to renewable energy,” explained Dr. Rosanne Martyr of Climate Analytics.



The scenarios make it possible to test policy ideas against different social futures. The result is a tool that can support international finance decisions, loss and damage debates, and national planning. 



The database provides a clearer rationale for directing resources to places where social drivers keep risk high.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-index-with-a-stable-formula">Global index with a stable formula </h2>



The projections <a href="https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Projections_of_climate_change_vulnerability_along_the_Shared_Socioeconomic_Pathways_2020-2100/28350935" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dataset</a> is openly available and arrives in multiple formats. Researchers and agencies can compute country scores every five years and compare them with hazard and exposure layers.



Because the index uses a stable formula, values are comparable across regions and time. That consistency helps avoid moving goalposts when tracking progress.



The tool can be paired with drought, flood, or heat wave maps to estimate risk where people live and work. It also helps identify social levers that can shift outcomes before hazards strike.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limits-of-climate-vulnerability-index">Limits of climate vulnerability index</h2>



The projections focus on human systems, not on changing hazard patterns. They are designed to complement, not replace, physical climate impact drivers.



Some indicators, like safely-managed drinking water, are not projected, and the authors tested the sensitivity of the index to such gaps. They report very strong correlations between reduced and full indicator sets, suggesting the composite remains stable.



Telephone access and electricity were modeled to saturate at different times across scenarios. That choice reflects real-world adoption curves, with uncertainty acknowledged in robustness checks.



The index is at national scale for now. Within-country differences can be large, and the team notes that a subnational extension is a priority.



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



The authors plan to extend the index to states and provinces so that planners can target investments where they matter most. That finer lens should make adaptation more practical and less blunt.



The database will live on the Global Data Lab <a href="https://globaldatalab.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">site</a>, with updates and visualizations to support wider use. As methods improve, future versions can incorporate better projections for difficult indicators.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-025-05732-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scientific Data</a>.



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Where will climate change hit hardest? Global index reveals vulnerability

Over the next few decades, climate change will test communities...

Our ability to focus, ignore distractions, and follow through on goals is not fixed. It develops, peaks, and then changes again as we grow older. Scientists call this set of skills cognitive control. It underpins planning, decision making, impulse control, and the steady attention you need to finish hard tasks.



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



Life brings different mental demands at 15, 35, and 75 years of age. Knowing how cognitive control changes by age helps set realistic expectations and smarter training goals.



The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2095927325008692?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> at the center of this article maps those changes in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/speech-pattern-wfd-that-is-a-clear-indication-a-person-is-in-cognitive-decline/">brain</a> activity, not just behavior. It asks when the underlying control systems work the hardest, and when they ease off.



<a href="https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/2845490/overview" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Zhenghan Li</a> of Hangzhou Normal University (<a href="https://english.hznu.edu.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HZNU</a>) led the work with collaborators across several institutes. The team focused on conflict tasks that are widely used to measure control in the lab.



They looked for patterns that hold across childhood, adulthood, and later life. They also examined how those patterns differ across key brain regions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-goals-of-the-study">Goals of the study</h2>



The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2095927325008692" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> pooled 139 neuroimaging reports with 3,765 participants aged 5 to 85, charting how conflict-related brain activity shifts with age. It used a standardized approach to combine many small studies into a single, age-by-activity curve.



Researchers relied on <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31840658/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seed-based d mapping</a> to summarize whole-brain activation patterns. 



They then fit age curves with a <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-statistics-112723-034249" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">generalized additive model</a> and compared them to simpler functions to see which shape best explained the data.



The aim was straightforward. Identify the shape of change for the brain’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/daydreaming-is-linked-to-improved-brain-health-memory-thinking-creativity-mental-functioning/">control system</a> across the lifespan, and estimate when the peak occurs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-findings-on-cognitive-control">Key findings on cognitive control </h2>



Across core control regions, the lifespan curve forms an inverted U. Activity rises through childhood and adolescence, reaches a maximum in adulthood, then eases in later <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/doctors-say-this-lifestyle-factor-smoking-is-biggest-contributor-to-cognitive-decline/">life</a>.



“The predominant lifespan trajectory is inverted U-shaped, rising from childhood to peak in young adulthood before declining in later adulthood,” wrote Dr. Li. 



Peak activity clustered between ages 27 and 36, and a skewed, square root curve fit the data better than a symmetric quadratic curve.



The analysis also tracked how activity is distributed across the two hemispheres. 



Adolescents and older adults showed more pronounced <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8300231/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hemispheric laterality</a> than young and middle-aged adults, pointing to shifts in how each side contributes to control.



“Prefrontal activity during cognitive performances tends to be less lateralized in older adults than in younger adults,” wrote <a href="https://psychiatry.duke.edu/profile/roberto-cabeza" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Roberto Cabeza</a>. 



A classic framework helps make sense of part of that pattern. The <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11931290/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HAROLD</a> model describes reduced prefrontal asymmetry with aging in many tasks. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-conflict-control">Testing conflict control</h2>



Conflict tasks ask you to respond to a target while ignoring conflicting cues. The standard <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/BF03203267.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Flanker</a> task does this by placing distracting symbols to the left and right of the central one.



When the flankers point the other way, reaction times slow and errors rise. That interference cost is a clean readout of control because the goal is simple and the distraction is controlled.



Using conflict tasks across many ages helps avoid apples to oranges comparisons. It keeps the core demand the same while the brain systems that meet that demand change with age.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-these-brain-networks-matter">Why these brain networks matter</h2>



Two control <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0704320104" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">networks</a> are central when people resolve conflict in the lab. The frontoparietal network updates and adjusts settings on the fly, while the cingulo-opercular network helps maintain a stable task set.



Young and middle-aged adults tend to engage these networks most strongly during conflict. Children and adolescents show rising engagement as the networks mature, while older adults show a slower draw on the same circuitry.



These differences are not good or bad in themselves. They simply reflect how the system tunes itself across development and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-prepares-the-brain-for-the-future-while-protecting-memories-of-the-past/">aging</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cognitive-control-structure-link">Cognitive control structure link</h2>



Large MRI <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04554-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">charts</a> show gray matter volume peaks earlier in life, while white matter peaks within young adulthood. Those structural arcs provide a backdrop for the functional curves seen in this analysis.



Structure and function do not map one-to-one, but they are related. Myelination, synaptic pruning, and vascular changes affect both the efficiency of neural signaling and the measured Blood Oxygen Level Dependent signals (<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4147398/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BOLD</a>) during tasks.



This is why the best fitting lifespan curve for control activity was not perfectly symmetric. A square root shape captured a faster rise and an earlier peak, followed by a gentler decline.



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



Peak control activity in the late 20s to mid 30s aligns with a phase when many people juggle complex decisions at work and home. 



That does not mean control falls off a cliff after 40, it means the neural effort measured during conflict tasks tapers.



Middle adulthood becomes a practical time to reinforce healthy patterns. Consistent sleep, aerobic exercise, and cognitive challenges are simple levers that support attention and planning without overpromising results.



Later life patterns are nuanced, not uniform. Some regions may show lower activation during conflict, while others show selective increases that could reflect compensation rather than decline.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2095927325008692?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Bulletin</a>.



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Scientists identify very specific ages when human brains lose cognitive control

Our ability to focus, ignore distractions, and follow through on...

Extinction has always been part of life. Some events were enormous, like the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs. Others unfolded more quietly, reshaping ecosystems. 



Today, people are driving species toward extinction at alarming rates through habitat destruction, invasive species, and climate change. 



But does this mean Earth is in the midst of a new mass extinction? Not quite, according to a recent study led by John Wiens of the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Arizona</a> and Kristen Saban of <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harvard University</a>. 



Their findings show that while many species have disappeared, entire genera are not vanishing at the same pace. The loss of higher taxonomic groups is rare, often localized, and has slowed in recent decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-genus-extinctions-matter">Why genus extinctions matter</h2>



Species matter, but a genus carries more weight. Each genus represents unique evolutionary history, sometimes stretching back millions of years. Losing one can erase distinct genetic, ecological, and functional <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prediction-how-and-when-humans-and-mammals-will-face-next-mass-extinction/">traits</a>. 



The tuatara offers a stark example. It is the only living member of a reptile lineage that dates back more than 250 million years. If it vanished, an entire evolutionary branch would be gone forever.



Wiens and Saban reviewed more than 22,000 genera from the IUCN database. They wanted to know if higher-level losses were stacking up. 



The researchers identified 102 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-animal-species-face-extinction-from-climate-change/">extinct</a> genera in the past 500 years, less than half a percent of those assessed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genus-level-extinction-is-uncommon">Genus-level extinction is uncommon</h2>



The extinctions weren’t evenly spread. Birds have lost 37 genera and mammals 21 - together making up about 1.6% of their total. 



Other groups fared far better: amphibians lost just one genus, reptiles three, and ray-finned fishes four. Arthropods lost 11 genera, plants 12, and mollusks 14 - though most mollusk losses were limited to isolated islands.



These findings highlight a bias. Mammals and birds, both studied closely, show higher genus-level losses. Insects, though far more numerous, are under-assessed. 



Even so, the data suggest that genus-level extinction is still uncommon compared to species-level decline.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-island-effect">The island effect</h2>



Most genus-level extinctions happened on islands. About three out of four <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-chaos-the-mass-extinction-that-reshaped-life-on-earth/">extinct</a> genera were island endemics. 



Isolated ecosystems magnify vulnerability. Invasive predators, hunting, and habitat change hit harder where species have nowhere else to go.



Examples are scattered across the globe. The Mascarene Islands lost multiple bird genera. The West Indies saw mammals disappear. Saint Helena’s mollusks were especially affected. 



Even freshwater systems showed vulnerability. All four extinct genera of ray-finned fishes lived in rivers or lakes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-slowdown-in-extinction-rates">Slowdown in extinction rates </h2>



Extinction rates climbed between the 1500s and 1800s, hitting their peak in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The decades with the most losses were the 1890s, 1900s, and 1930s. 



Since then, rates have slowed. That finding directly challenges earlier claims that extinctions are speeding up.



Why the slowdown? One reason may be conservation. Efforts to protect birds and mammals in the past century appear to have worked. 



Another possible explanation for the slowdown is timing. Many of the most fragile lineages, especially on islands, disappeared over a century ago. What remains may be more resilient, at least against the threats of that time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-counting-extinctions-is-challenging">Counting extinctions is challenging</h2>



Counting extinctions isn’t simple. Insects, for example, are underrepresented in the IUCN database. They make up nearly half of all species, but few genera are assessed. 



Even with that gap, genus-level extinction remains below half a percent for insects and other groups.



Another factor is classification. Birds and mammals often have fewer species per genus. This makes them more likely to lose entire genera when species vanish. 



Reptiles and amphibians, which pack more species into each genus, appear less vulnerable in this way.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-possible-but-uncertain-patterns">Possible but uncertain patterns</h2>



The study also tracked 37 genera listed as “possibly extinct.” Most of them were monotypic, consisting of only one species. Many were island or freshwater specialists, echoing the confirmed extinction patterns. 



If all of the possible extinctions were confirmed, the total number would rise slightly. But even then, the trend of rarity and slowdown would hold.



The big picture is clear: the crisis is real, but it looks different when measured at higher levels of classification.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-extinctions-must-be-stopped">Why extinctions must be stopped</h2>



“A recent study suggested that extinctions of animal genera are rapidly accelerating and that these extinctions endanger human survival," said Wiens.



"We found instead that extinctions of genera are very rare across plants and animals, that they were mostly of genera found only on islands, and that these extinctions actually slowed down over the last 100 years instead of rapidly accelerating."



According to Wiens, there was never any evidence that these extinctions, which peaked ~100 years ago and occurred mostly on isolated islands, endanger human survival. 



"We argue that the reason why future extinctions must be stopped is not because they threaten humans, but because it is morally wrong for humans to drive other species to extinction.”



Saban highlighted another important issue - how science is communicated. “Now more than ever, given the widespread mistrust in science, it is important that we conduct <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-was-thriving-before-earths-greatest-mass-extinction/">conservation</a> research carefully and present it accurately,” she said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-irreplaceable-value-of-species">Irreplaceable value of species</h2>



So, what does this mean? We are not in a mass extinction at the genus level. But that does not soften the blow of losing hundreds of species. 



Threats are changing. In the past, invasive species and overhunting drove island losses. Now, climate change and habitat destruction loom large.



The study urges caution. Scientists should avoid exaggerating extinction trends but must still stress urgency. Every extinction matters, not just for ecosystems but as a moral responsibility. 



Humanity has the choice to act, not because its survival depends on every genus, but because each species adds irreplaceable value to Earth’s living fabric.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003356" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS Biology</a>.



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Species are vanishing at an unprecedented rate, but we're not yet at "mass extinction" levels

Extinction has always been part of life. Some events were...

Archaeologists working on Sir Bani Yas Island have uncovered a complete plaster cross from about 1,400 years ago - a find that ties a cluster of small houses to a Christian monastic community. 



The island sits about 110 miles southwest of Abu Dhabi, and the evidence connects domestic life to worship in a way that had not previously been certain.



The cross, molded in plaster and nearly 1 foot long, turned up in the courtyard of one of the houses first excavated in the early 1990s. Those houses sit near a church and monastery dated to the seventh and eighth centuries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cross-reshapes-settlement-history">Cross reshapes settlement history</h2>



Lead archaeologist Maria Gajewska works with the <a href="https://dct.gov.ae/en/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Department of Culture and Tourism</a> in Abu Dhabi. Her team has been returning to the site to answer questions left unresolved for three decades.



In a video report shared by regional outlets, the team explained how the plaster cross shifts the interpretation of those houses from a loose settlement to a monastic one. 



They added that senior monks likely lived in seclusion nearby before joining communal prayer.



“This is a very exciting time for us, because in the past, we have always assumed that these houses were part of a dispersed monastic settlement," said Gajewska. 



"We never had concrete proof that they were inhabited by Christians. With this cross, we have now proved these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wealth-inequality-began-shaping-human-societies-10000-years-ago/">houses</a> were part of a Christian settlement."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cross-shows-cultural-openness">Cross shows cultural openness</h2>



The cross is a molded plaque made of stucco, a form of plaster commonly used for sculpture and architectural detail. 



Its size and intact condition make it especially useful for interpretation because it can be studied without heavy reconstruction.



Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak is the chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi.



“The discovery of this ancient Christian cross on Sir Bani Yas Island is a powerful testament to the UAE’s profound and enduring values of coexistence and cultural openness,” he said. 



Local leaders like Al Mubarak emphasized the broader message they see in the discovery. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-courtyard-homes-housed-monks">Courtyard homes housed monks</h2>



Archaeologists think senior <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-meditation-transforms-gut-microbes-for-optimal-health/">monks</a> lived in the houses, practiced prayer and discipline, and then gathered at the church for worship. 



That pattern matches what historians expect of monastic life in the region for that era. The arrangement also fits the physical layout on the ground. 



Courtyard houses sit north of the church and monastery, and their contents point to small, stable households rather than busy trade spaces.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-this-fits-in-gulf-history">Where this fits in Gulf history</h2>



Christian communities flourished around the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/low-oxygen-zone-is-expanding-in-the-arabian-gulf/">Arabian Gulf</a> during Late Antiquity, and archaeology has confirmed that narrative across multiple sites.



A recent study documented a monastery and settlement on Siniyah Island in Umm al-Quwain, active during the seventh and eighth centuries. The findings show how faith communities connected across sea routes and shorelines.



These data points align with written sources that track the Church of the East and its bishops, traders, and monks moving along the Gulf. Together, they show faith and daily life woven into coastal towns as Islam emerged and expanded.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-from-the-cross-itself">Clues from the cross itself</h2>



Stylistic details hint at how far ideas traveled. Officials have said the design shows close ties to crosses found in Iraq and Kuwait. 



This clue matches the Church of the East network described in historical records and recent surveys of regional finds, including monasteries and churches spread across the Gulf.



Those links make sense in a maritime world where boats carried people, pottery, glass, and beliefs. A plaque that could be mounted on a wall would have served both as a focus for prayer and a mark of identity inside a private space.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-site-looks-like-today">What the site looks like today</h2>



Archaeologists discovered the church and monastery on Sir Bani Yas in 1992, then stabilized and prepared them for visitors in recent years.



The site is open to the public and presented with protective shelters, walkways, and signs that put the remains in context for nonspecialists, as listed by the Emirate’s visitor platform page.



A visitor center adds short exhibits that help explain how archaeologists identify rooms, date layers, and handle fragile materials. That kind of setup makes the science visible without putting the remains at risk.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evidence-builds-settlement-case">Evidence builds settlement case</h2>



Small clues add up. The position of the plaque, its measurements, the plaster recipe, and the setting in a courtyard all help build a case for quiet domestic devotion linked to a larger worship space.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/archaeologists-find-2300-year-old-celtic-swords-adorned-with-gems-and-ancient-symbols/">Archaeologists</a> test these ideas by comparing finds from one site to others that are securely dated. 



Patterns across ceramics, glass, and wall plasters can reveal which communities traded with one another. They also show how religious life settled into local routines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cross-shows-cultural-exchange">Cross shows cultural exchange</h2>



The Sir Bani Yas cross supports a picture of a region where Christians and Muslims interacted and sometimes lived side by side. 



That is consistent with evidence from other Gulf sites and with the timing of Islamic expansion into the area.



It also shows how faith practices traveled with people who worked along the coast. 



Monks, sailors, and craftspeople carried styles and habits that took root in local soil. They preserved recognizable features that allow scholars to connect them across wide distances.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-connected-gulf-community-takes-shape">A connected Gulf community takes shape</h2>



The houses north of the church and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/remarkable-viking-silver-hoard-discovery-reveals-far-reaching-global-trade-links/">monastery</a> still have open questions. Researchers will focus on how the households were organized and how long they remained occupied.



Archaeologists will also test how the cross relates to other artifacts that point to prayer and communal life. Each additional excavation season brings more context for the layout, diet, trade, and daily routines in a small but well-connected community.



Sir Bani Yas represents one node in a broader regional network that includes sites in Kuwait, eastern Saudi Arabia, and Iran. 



All of these were tied to the Church of the East - a Christian tradition rooted in ancient Mesopotamia that spread widely along trade routes.



This larger picture draws on both texts and artifacts. As researchers record and publish more Gulf sites, the details of dates and daily life in this period become sharper and more concrete.



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Archaeologists find a 1,400-year-old Christian cross found in Abu Dhabi

Archaeologists working on Sir Bani Yas Island have uncovered a...

Anxiety seeps into daily life. It disrupts focus at work, strains relationships, and turns even small tasks into stress triggers. Standard treatments are available, but they do not work for everyone. 



Many people cannot tolerate antidepressants in the long term, while others see no real relief. This gap has researchers asking a bold question: can psychedelics like LSD help?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lsd-tested-for-anxiety">LSD tested for anxiety</h2>



A research team at <a href="https://mindmed.co/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindMed</a> in New York recently carried out the first modern trial of LSD for generalised anxiety <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-microbes-have-an-unexpected-link-to-anxiety/">disorder</a>. The goal was to test whether a single dose could reduce symptoms when standard care fails.



LSD is famous for its hallucinogenic effects, but scientists believe it does more. It boosts serotonin, a chemical that influences mood, and may help the brain form new thought patterns that break cycles of fear and worry.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-current-anxiety-care-fails">Why current anxiety care fails</h2>



Generalized anxiety disorder goes far beyond occasional stress. It causes constant, broad worry about money, relationships, health, and even everyday routines. 



Current treatment usually combines therapy with drugs such as SSRIs. These options help some people, but many experience only modest improvement or none at all. Others cannot handle side effects like emotional numbness.



The fact that antidepressants only work while taken daily adds another layer of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/practicing-mindfulness-can-quiet-the-noise-of-anxiety/">frustration</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lsd-reduces-anxiety-symptoms">LSD reduces anxiety symptoms</h2>



The study included 198 adults diagnosed with severe anxiety. Participants gradually stopped their medications before entering the trial, though those already in therapy continued.



The individuals rated their symptoms - such as worry, tension, and poor focus - on a standard scale. Average scores were 30 out of 56, well above the threshold that defines severe anxiety.



Participants were randomly split into five groups. Four groups received LSD in doses from 25 to 200 micrograms. One group received <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513296/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">placebo</a> pills. 



The results were striking. Those who took 100 or 200 micrograms felt noticeable relief within a day.



A month later, their anxiety scores had dropped by about 20 points, and nearly half reached remission. In contrast, the lower doses offered no more benefit than the placebo.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-placebo-effect">The placebo effect</h2>



Even the placebo group improved somewhat. Their scores dropped by 14 to 17 points, and one in five achieved remission. 



This outcome is common in anxiety studies, where the attention, care, and expectation built into a trial provide comfort.



Still, the higher-dose LSD groups clearly outperformed placebo group, showing that the drug itself delivered an additional benefit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-side-effects-and-complications">Side effects and complications</h2>



The trial also revealed side effects. Some participants reported nausea or headaches within hours of taking the drug. Hallucinations and changes in visual perception were more common at higher doses. 



Many participants guessed correctly whether they had received LSD, making it harder to fully separate the psychological impact of knowing from the direct biological effects. 



Yet the size of the improvement left researchers confident that LSD was responsible for more than expectation alone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lsd-for-anxiety-relief">LSD for anxiety relief</h2>



Independent reviewers described the results as a major step forward. They considered the reductions in anxiety both statistically solid and clinically meaningful. 



In plain terms, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mdma-lsd-psychedelics-enhance-feelings-of-connection-even-between-strangers/">drug</a> offered relief big enough to make daily life easier, not just a small change on paper.



The experts emphasized that such outcomes matter most when improvements translate into real-world functioning, allowing people to work, connect socially, and manage daily responsibilities with far less distress and uncertainty.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-lies-ahead">What lies ahead</h2>



The findings convinced regulators as well. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted LSD therapy from MindMed a special status that speeds development of drugs with strong potential.



Larger and longer trials are now in progress, designed to track benefits beyond three months and to untangle whether improvements come mainly from brain chemistry or from the psychological weight of the psychedelic experience.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lasting-relief-from-a-single-dose">Lasting relief from a single dose</h2>



LSD is not ready to become a mainstream treatment. Outside of controlled studies, it can be unpredictable and sometimes risky. But this research adds to the growing evidence that psychedelics may hold medical value that was once dismissed.



For people with anxiety who gain little from standard care, the idea of lasting relief from a single dose represents more than hope - it signals a possible shift in how we think about treatment. 



Researchers emphasize the need for ongoing trials to confirm safety, clarify long-term effects, and establish appropriate dosing. Still, the growing evidence points to a future where psychiatry could move beyond conventional medications and embrace once-unthinkable psychedelic-based <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-health-may-be-the-key-to-anxiety-relief/">therapies</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2838505" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JAMA</a>.



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Single dose of LSD may reduce anxiety symptoms for months

Anxiety seeps into daily life. It disrupts focus at work,...

Parents pass down more than genes. Their everyday choices shape how children see the world. 



A new study from São Paulo State University (<a href="https://www.international.unesp.br" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UNESP</a>) in Brazil shows how this works with physical activity. Children copy the habits of their parents, whether active or sedentary.



The researchers tracked 182 children and teenagers, aged 6 to 17, along with their parents. They used accelerometers, devices that measure movement with precision. 



The results were clear: children with inactive parents spent more time sitting. Children with active <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parent-children-relationships-are-key-to-lifelong-well-being/">parents</a> were less sedentary.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mothers-play-a-bigger-role">Mothers play a bigger role</h2>



The study also revealed something striking. Mothers influenced their children’s activity levels more strongly than fathers. Their effect was more than double. 



The exact reason is still uncertain, but daily routines could explain part of it. Mothers often spend more time shaping schedules around meals, homework, and television.



“The results indicate that parents’ level of physical activity can directly influence their children’s habits. In other words, when parents maintain a more active routine, their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/singing-to-babies-is-a-powerful-way-to-boost-their-mood/">children</a> are less likely to remain seated for long periods,” Diego Christofaro noted. 



Christofaro is a professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology (FCT-UNESP) at the Presidente Prudente campus and the lead author of the article published in the journal Sports Medicine and Health Science.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sedentary-lifestyles-rising">Sedentary lifestyles rising</h2>



The findings matter because inactivity in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/even-before-they-crawl-babies-can-feel-their-own-heartbeat/">childhood</a> is already a public health concern. In Brazil, 11% to 38% of children and adolescents are overweight. Sedentary routines contribute directly to this problem. 



The risks go beyond weight gain. Research links too much sitting with heart problems, back pain, poor sleep, anxiety, and depression.



Once these patterns start, they are hard to change. A child who spends long hours sitting is likely to carry those habits into adult life. That makes early action vital.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kids-copy-parents-activity">Kids copy parents’ activity</h2>



The home environment explains much of this. Children often copy their parents’ screen habits. If parents watch hours of television, children usually do too. When limits on screen time are missing, the hours grow longer.



But the opposite is also true. When parents swap sitting for exercise, children follow their lead. 



In one Canadian study, every 20 minutes of vigorous parental activity added 5 to 10 minutes of moderate activity in children. Kids don’t just listen to words; they notice actions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parents-education-shapes-activity">Parents’ education shapes activity</h2>



Education changes the picture as well. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-who-use-humor-have-better-relationships-with-their-children/">Parents</a> with higher education levels tend to set more structured routines. They often balance screen time with sports or outdoor play. 



Parents with higher levels of education also recognize the harm of excessive sitting and take steps to prevent it.



Awareness is powerful. A parent who knows the risks of long sedentary hours is more likely to limit television, encourage outdoor play, or join their child in activity. Those choices add up over time.



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



Support at home makes staying active easier. Equipment, safe spaces, and shared activities all matter. Families who play sports together or go for walks often see children grow up more active. 



Shared routines also create memories, tying positive feelings to exercise and movement. 



On the other hand, when support is missing, even motivated children face obstacles. A lack of safe places to play or no encouragement from parents can keep them sitting.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-message-for-public-health">A message for public health</h2>



“Sedentary habits are the result of multiple factors, such as lack of access, time, and places where physical activity can be practiced,” noted Christofaro. 



“However, our study shows that parents’ habits can affect their children’s health. Therefore, we believe that these results can support public policies and campaigns aimed at promoting a more active lifestyle in the family environment.”



The study showed that parent-child links in sedentary behavior appeared only when parents were insufficiently active. In families where parents stayed active, those links weakened. That means active parents can protect children from inheriting sedentary patterns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parents-set-activity-goals">Parents set activity goals</h2>



Brazil’s health guidelines recommend that children and adolescents spend at least 60 minutes a day on moderate to vigorous physical activity. 



Parents should aim for 150 minutes of activity each week. These targets are not just numbers. They represent habits that can shape family health across generations.



Children copy what they see. Parents who sit less and move more give their children a model worth repeating. Small daily choices - walking instead of sitting, playing instead of watching - can ripple through a child’s life, reducing risks and building healthier futures.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666337625000691?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sports Medicine and Health Science</a>.



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Family fitness: Active parents raise active kids

Parents pass down more than genes. Their everyday choices shape...

At first glance, corals appear as immobile, silent structures beneath the ocean surface. Yet these organisms hold sensory abilities that scientists are only beginning to appreciate. Though they lack eyes, corals can sense light in surprising ways, adapting to their environment with delicate precision.



Researchers at <a href="https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Osaka Metropolitan University</a>’s Graduate School of Science have recently revealed a unique mechanism that allows corals to detect different types of light.



The research shows that light-sensitive proteins called opsins rely on chloride ions to shift between ultraviolet (UV) and visible light sensitivity depending on pH. This finding broadens our understanding of vision beyond creatures with eyes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-corals-sense-light">How corals sense light</h2>



Opsins are proteins central to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/super-corals-could-help-reefs-survive-a-warming-world/">animal</a> vision. They bind with retinal, a molecule that naturally absorbs only UV light. To detect visible light, retinal forms a bond called a Schiff base with an opsin.



This bond is positively charged and usually stabilized by a negatively charged amino acid. Without that stabilizer, most opsins would not function. 



The absence of stability would prevent the pigment from maintaining its configuration, disrupting the conversion of light into biochemical signals, and ultimately halting the process animals rely on to sense and respond to their visual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-coral-collapse-may-help-save-the-great-barrier-reef/">environment</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-special-opsins-found-in-corals">Special opsins found in corals</h2>



Anthozoans, a group that includes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-corals-are-quietly-storing-massive-amounts-of-carbon/">corals</a> and sea anemones, have their own special opsins known as ASO-II. Unlike mammalian opsins, some ASO-II proteins lack the stabilizing amino acids. 



“Some ASO-II opsins of reef-building corals lack the usual counterion amino acids found in other animal opsins,” explained Akihisa Terakita, professor at Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Science.



The absence of counterion amino acids posed a major question. How could these coral opsins maintain sensitivity to visible light without them?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-molecular-switch-for-light-sensing">A molecular switch for light sensing</h2>



The research team studied ASO-II opsins in the reef-building coral Acropora tenuis. Using spectroscopy, mutational analysis, and simulations, they discovered a novel process. 



Instead of amino acids, the opsins employ chloride ions from their surroundings as counterions. This marks the first known case of an opsin using inorganic ions for stabilization.



“We found that chloride ions stabilize the Schiff base more weakly than amino acids do, so the opsin can reversibly switch between visible-light sensitivity and UV sensitivity depending on the pH," said Yusuke Sakai, first author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-light-sensing-and-ph-levels">Light sensing and pH levels</h2>



The mechanism hinges on pH conditions. At low pH, protons increase, causing the Schiff base to remain positively charged and absorb longer wavelengths, including visible light.



Chloride ions then provide stability. In higher pH conditions, fewer protons lead to deprotonation, and the opsin shifts back to UV sensitivity. This reversible system allows corals to adapt light detection based on cellular chemistry. 



By shifting sensitivity depending on proton balance, corals essentially carry a molecular switch that tunes vision-like processes.



This adaptability ensures they respond effectively to microenvironmental changes, such as metabolic activity, photosynthesis, or stress events, enabling a dynamic balance between UV and visible light sensing crucial for survival and growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-symbiosis-affects-coral-light-sensing">Symbiosis affects coral light sensing</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-impacts-will-overwhelm-our-oceans-by-the-mid-century/">Corals</a> live closely with algae that generate energy through photosynthesis. The process of photosynthesis changes the internal pH within coral cells, potentially influencing opsin sensitivity. 



This suggests corals might tune their light detection to align with the algae’s activity. Such dynamic sensing adds new depth to our knowledge of coral symbiosis.



The study adds further perspective. It highlights how light perception can shape coral responses to both internal and external signals. Opsins do not act in isolation; they interact with cellular pathways involving calcium signaling, gene expression, and metabolic control.



By linking light detection with biochemical responses, corals may adjust processes such as skeletal growth and symbiont regulation. This suggests that vision-like mechanisms contribute to how corals balance energy demands with environmental conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pushing-the-boundaries-of-technology">Pushing the boundaries of technology </h2>



Professor Mitsumasa Koyanagi suggests that beyond ecology, this discovery opens technological doors.



"The ASO-II opsin of Acropora tenuis was shown to regulate calcium ions in a light-dependent way, hinting at potential applications as an optogenetic tool whose wavelength sensitivity changes with pH,” said Professor Koyanagi.



The broader theory of opsin diversity presented in the paper supports this potential. By revealing how proteins can rely on unconventional counterions, the researchers have opened the door to designing light-sensitive tools that adapt to shifting chemical environments. 



Such advances could one day enable precise regulation of cellular activity, pushing the boundaries of optogenetics in medicine and biotechnology.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/105451" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eLife</a>.



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Corals reveal a surprising new way to see light

At first glance, corals appear as immobile, silent structures beneath...

Most of us dread brushing and flossing. But what if your mouth could clean itself? Scientists are working on ways to hack the bacteria in your mouth so they do the dirty work for you - literally.



The idea is simple: help the good bacteria grow strong and push the bad ones out. If it works, it could mean fewer cavities, less scraping at the dentist and, maybe one day, no more brushing or flossing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bacteria-battle-inside-your-mouth">Bacteria battle inside your mouth</h2>



Your mouth is home to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-in-your-mouth-multiply-in-a-very-unique-way/">hundreds of kinds</a> of bacteria. Some help you, and others hurt you. Right now, they’re all battling it out for space on your teeth.



The sticky film you feel after a long day? That’s a biofilm - a mix of bacteria all building a home together on your enamel. Some of them eat sugar and make acid, which wears away your teeth and causes cavities.



For years, researchers focused on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mouth-microbes-reflect-your-lifestyle-choices/">identifying</a> the bad bacteria - like Streptococcus mutans - and targeting those. But there’s a catch. Even within a single species of bacteria, there are hundreds of strains. That makes things complicated.



So, instead of trying to classify every strain, a research team led by scientists at <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UC Berkeley</a> is zooming in on the bacteria’s DNA - specifically, the parts of it that drive how bacteria act in your <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-says-mouth-bacteria-play-key-role-in-heart-attacks-upending-conventional-wisdom/">mouth</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-molecules-that-help-bacteria-stick">Molecules that help bacteria stick</h2>



By digging into a huge database of bacterial DNA from saliva samples, the researchers found something interesting. 



A group of genes - called a gene cluster - showed up in strains that were more often linked to the presence of cavities. This cluster produces two molecules that help bacteria stick to each other and to your teeth.



One molecule makes bacteria clump up like glue. The other enables bacteria to make molecules that join and form chains, like a string. Together, these sticky molecules help bacteria form a strong biofilm - that gunky layer you feel on your teeth when you haven’t brushed.



Not all strains have this cluster. But some of the worst <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bronze-age-teeth-discovery-highlight-the-evolution-of-the-human-diet/">cavity-causing</a> strains do, including the infamous S. mutans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smarter-bacteria-for-teeth-cleaning">Smarter bacteria for teeth cleaning</h2>



The scientists believe they can take these sticky-making genes and move them into bacteria that are actually good for your mouth.



<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/streptococcus-salivarius" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Streptococcus salivarius</a> already supports a healthy mouth but struggles to stick to your teeth, which makes it a weak probiotic.



By boosting it with the sticky genes, researchers think they can help S. salivarius form a stronger biofilm. That way, the helpful bacteria can push out the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/poor-dental-hygiene-is-directly-linked-to-decrease-in-brain-volume-and-mental-decline/">harmful</a> ones and take over the neighborhood - possibly reducing the need for constant brushing.



"Particular strains belonging to the same species can be a pathogen or a commensal or even probiotic," explained Wenjun Zhang, a chemical and biomolecular engineering professor at UC Berkeley who led the research.



"After we better understand these molecules' activity and how they can promote strong biofilm formation, we can introduce them to the good bacteria so that the good bacteria can now form strong biofilms and outcompete all the bad ones."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-these-molecules-special">What makes these molecules special</h2>



The gene cluster includes about 15 pieces of DNA. These don’t keep the bacteria alive - they’re part of what’s called a "specialized" metabolic pathway. In simple terms, they let bacteria make extra tools to help them compete.



Some bacteria use these extra genes to produce antibiotics. Others use them to grab more nutrients. In this case, the genes make sticky molecules that help bacteria hold on to your teeth better.



These specialized metabolites enhance survival in certain ways, noted McKenna Yao a Berkeley graduate student and co-first author of the study. 



"Many, for example, are antibiotics, so they can kill other bugs, or others are involved in metal acquisition - they help the bacteria monopolize the resources in their environmental niche," said Yao.



"Being able to produce these, especially in a microbial community, helps the bacteria boot out the other guy and guard their resources.”



The researchers named the sticky molecules mutanoclumpins. They think that if they can fully understand how these work, they could either stop bad bacteria from making them or help good bacteria use them better.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brushing-teeth-still-matters-for-now">Brushing teeth still matters - for now</h2>



This isn’t the team’s first discovery. A couple of years ago, they found a different gene cluster that produces an unknown antibiotic in oral bacteria. Another one made a different type of sticky molecule. 



This new discovery adds a further piece to the puzzle of how bacteria in your mouth work together - or against each other.



"We are looking for something which is correlated with cavities, with disease. If one day we can prove that, under certain conditions, this is really a bad molecule you want to prevent, we might develop genetic or chemical inhibitors to inhibit their production, so hopefully the bacteria will not make them, and you have fewer cavities," Zhang said. 



"Meanwhile, we also look at other molecules correlated with health, allowing a simple strategy to directly engineer the microbes to make more of them."



The future goal is to build a full map of all these special molecules - to see what exactly your oral bacteria are up to. That could lead to smarter ways of managing oral health, with engineered probiotics doing most of the work. But for now, brushing still matters.



"The best way you can remove the <a href="https://clinmedjournals.org/articles/ijodh/international-journal-of-oral-and-dental-health-ijodh-7-127.php?jid=ijodh" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biofilm</a> on your teeth is to brush," Yao said. "We believe that there's actually a better way of disrupting that biofilm, but we're just beginning to understand what the complexity is within the mouth."



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2504492122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Beyond brushing teeth: Can our mouth clean itself?

Most of us dread brushing and flossing. But what if...

Most of what we learn about ancient animals comes from hard parts - shells, bones, and sometimes soft tissues that have been transformed into fossils over eons. How does this happen? The key lies in the chemistry around a carcass. 



As microbes move in, they use up oxygen and flip the local conditions from oxidizing to reducing within minutes to days. Those shifts decide whether tissues vanish or get copied by minerals and locked into rock.



A recent experiment asked a clear question with big consequences: if different animals decay in the same water, will they create the same chemistry above their bodies, or does each one build its own microenvironment? 



The answers derived from a study led by the University of Lausanne (<a href="https://www.unil.ch/unil/en/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UNIL</a>) points straight to why some animals transform into fossils when they die, but most simply return to dust.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-animals-become-fossils">How animals become fossils</h2>



Researchers placed four aquatic animals - a shrimp, a snail, a starfish, and a planarian flatworm - into sealed jars of gently oxygenated water. For seven days, they measured <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/oxidation-reduction-potential" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oxidation-reduction potential</a> (ORP) just above each carcass. 



ORP, recorded in millivolts, indicates whether conditions favor oxidation (positive values) or reduction (negative values). 



As microbes burn oxygen and switch to other electron acceptors, ORP drops. Each animal drove a different chemical path. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shrimp-crisis-alarming-virus-threatens-global-seafood-supplies/">Shrimp</a> pulled ORP down the fastest and deepest, sometimes reaching values linked to methanogenesis. Snails also pushed conditions into strongly reducing ranges, but not as rapidly or as far. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-thats-melting-starfish-alive-has-finally-been-identified/">Starfish</a> moved more slowly and ended near the snails after a week. Planarians barely shifted from the starting conditions, much like control jars without an animal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-minerals-in-the-ground">Minerals in the ground</h2>



Different redox windows favor different preservation routes. In oxygen-rich water, soft tissues usually break down quickly. 



Under reducing conditions, minerals can grow on or within tissues and capture detail before it’s lost. When sulfate reduces to sulfide and iron is present, iron sulfide (<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fools-gold-may-be-a-valuable-source-of-lithium/">pyrite</a>) can form, producing pyritization. 



In other reducing ranges, phosphorus released during decay can bind into calcium phosphate, producing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphatization" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">phosphatization</a>.



Because shrimp and snails spent time in reducing “sweet spots,” their remains would be more likely to acquire pyrite or calcium phosphate coatings. Planarians, which stayed closer to oxygenated conditions, were less likely to mineralize that way. 



A single sediment bed can therefore hold different preservation styles side by side, driven by the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microbes-found-alive-sealed-inside-rock-after-2-billion-years/">microenvironments</a> that different carcasses create.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-and-animal-size">Fossils and animal size</h2>



Size helps. Larger bodies feed microbes more and draw down oxygen faster, so they reach reducing conditions sooner. But size wasn’t the whole story. 



The team normalized results by body mass and subtracted the weight of mineralized parts, such as shells, that don’t decay. Even after those corrections, the taxa did not line up the same way.



Composition mattered. Bodies richer in protein relative to lipid produced stronger ORP drops on a per-mass basis. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/apple-snails-regrow-their-eyes-and-may-help-humans-do-the-same/">Planarians</a> are small and protein-heavy with little fat, giving them a larger per-mass chemical impact than size alone would predict. 



Shrimp carry more lipid, which degrades more slowly and blunts the per-mass effect, even though a whole shrimp still drove ORP very negative due to overall size, surface area, and varied tissues.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-the-lab-into-the-real-world">From the lab into the real world</h2>



Several jars showed an ORP rebound after about five days. Conditions became less reducing. That pattern likely reflects microbial succession. 



Early colonizers use easy fuels and drain oxygen quickly. Later arrivals run different reactions that tilt the chemistry back toward less extreme values. The decay path bends as the microbial roster changes.



These trials used freshwater at room temperature in sealed, gently oxygenated jars. Natural settings vary. Salty seawater alters protein behavior while cold mud slows reactions. 



Flowing pore water can deliver new oxidants. Starfish are marine animals, and in seawater their decay chemistry can shift. 



Sediments also matter. Many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-video-footage-of-an-elusive-deep-sea-predator-pacific-sleeper-shark/">carcasses land in mud</a> that limits oxygen flow and sets up reducing pockets faster than open water.



The specific numbers will change with the setting, but the pattern holds: taxon identity and tissue chemistry steer decay chemistry under the same starting conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-it-all-means">What it all means</h2>



“This means that, in nature, two animals buried side by side could have vastly different fates as fossils, simply because of differences in size or body chemistry,” affirms Nora Corthésy, Ph.D. student at the University of Lausanne and lead author of the study. 



“One might vanish entirely, while the other could be immortalized in stone,” adds Farid Saleh, Swiss National Science Foundation (<a href="https://www.snf.ch/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SNSF)</a> Ambizione Fellow at UNIL, and senior author of the paper.



According to this study, animals such as large arthropods are more likely to be preserved than small planarians or other aquatic worms. 



“This could explain why fossil communities dating from the <a href="https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/cambrian/cambrian.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cambrian</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/ordovician-period" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ordovician</a> periods (around 500 million years ago) are dominated by arthropods,” states Corthésy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preservation-of-animal-fossils">Preservation of animal fossils</h2>



Geologists often picture redox conditions stacked vertically in sediment - from oxygenated at the top to more reducing with depth. That vertical model explains shifts in preservation with burial depth. This study adds a lateral view. 



Two carcasses lying inches apart can generate different chemical zones and end up preserved by different mineral pathways, even when the surrounding mud looks uniform. 



That helps explain mixed beds where pyritized and phosphatized fossils sit together and why some groups appear repeatedly while others fade.



The chemistry above a carcass is not one-size-fits-all. It changes with body size and, crucially, with what the body is made of. Those differences decide which minerals, if any, have time to copy soft parts before they disappear. 



That is why a shrimp and a snail, decaying close together, can leave very different signatures in stone - and why the fossil record, with all its gaps and surprises, makes more sense when you follow the chemistry.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59372-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communication</a>.



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Some animals survive millions of years in stone, but most simply vanish, now we know why

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