Climate report: Earth on dangerous path but rapid action can avert the worst outcomes

Palisades Fire. Photo taken Jan. 8, 2025.
Photo Credit: Cal Fire.

2024 was the hottest year on record and likely the hottest in at least 125,000 years, according to an annual report issued by an international coalition led by Oregon State University scientists.

“Without effective strategies, we will rapidly encounter escalating risks that threaten to overwhelm systems of peace, governance, and public and ecosystem health,” said co-lead author William Ripple. “In short, we’ll be on the fast track to climate-driven chaos, a dangerous trajectory for humanity.”

Despite the sixth annual report’s ominous findings – 22 of the planet’s 34 vital signs are at record levels – Ripple stresses that “it’s not too late to limit the damage even if we miss the temperature mitigation goal set by the 2015 Paris Agreement,” an international treaty that set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

But with many vital signs, including greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, ocean acidity and ice mass, continuing to trend sharply in the wrong direction, the authors note that time is definitely of the essence.

Dopamine increases willingness to wait for rewards

L-DOPA, a precursor of the neurotransmitter dopamine, makes humans wait longer for rewards, as new research addresses gaps in earlier studies
Photo Credit: Tim Mossholder

A research team from the University of Cologne conducted one of the most comprehensive studies on dopamine and decision-making in humans so far, providing evidence for effects of the former on the latter. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in several functions, including motivation and reward. The team at the Psychology Department led by Dr Elke Smith and Professor Dr Jan Peters found that L-DOPA, a precursor of dopamine that increases dopamine levels in the brain, slightly increased the study participants’ willingness to wait for larger delayed rewards, decreasing impulsivity by about a 20 percent compared to placebo. This modest effect challenges some earlier influential findings from much smaller studies, which had found that L-DOPA increased impulsive choices. The study “Dopamine and temporal discounting: revisiting pharmacology and individual differences” has appeared in the Journal of Neuroscience.

International research collaboration finds solar gamma rays could unlock the mystery of the Sun’s hidden magnetic fields

AIA Image 193 from Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
Compiled from 97 still images.
Video Credit: Scientific Frontline

New research conducted by an international team of physicists has found that high-energy gamma rays might offer the key to unlocking the mysteries of the Sun’s magnetic fields.

The study, led by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Exeter and the University of Amsterdam, concludes that teraelectronvolt (TeV) gamma rays, observable from specialist facilities on Earth, could be the result of this magnetic field interacting with cosmic rays.

By studying these TeV rays, say the researchers, it could be possible to identify where the fields are located, with their initial findings suggesting they are just beneath the solar surface.

“Magnetic activity of the Sun is the driver behind the space weather and as a consequence the effects space weather has on our society,” says Professor Andrew Hillier, one of the authors of the paper at Exeter. “However, it is not possible to see beneath the solar surface to investigate the Sun’s magnetic field before they manifest on that surface. Our study provides a new method by using cosmic rays to peer beneath the solar surface.

Scientists uncover how the brain falls asleep

Scientists have been able to pinpoint, for the first time, the exact moment the brain transitions into sleep, and precisely map the unfolding process in real time.
Photo Credit: Zohre Nemati

In the new study, the researchers demonstrated that the human brain falls asleep abruptly, rather than gradually, with a ‘tipping point’ marking the transition from wakefulness into sleep. They were then able to predict the momentary progression into sleep with unprecedented precision. 

The findings could be used to develop new ways to diagnose and treat sleep disorders, such as insomnia, and as a marker of brain health in the context of ageing and neurodegenerative disease, and even to improve how we monitor anesthesia during surgical procedures.  

UrFU Scientists Have Identified New Beneficial Properties of Mushrooms

According to the biologist, the production of lanolin ointment with extracts of tinder mushrooms does not require high costs.
Photo Credit: UrFU press service

UrFU biologists have identified the beneficial properties of tinder mushrooms. They found that an ointment based on lanolin and extracts from tinder helps heal wounds faster after burns, even third-degree burns that form scars. The ointment also reduces inflammation. The results of tests on rats were published in Bulletin of Siberian Medicine scientific journal.

“In order for the wound to heal, it is necessary not only to repair the cells but also the intercellular substance – the skin framework. This long process occurs in several stages. If this process is delayed, negative consequences may occur, such as severe inflammation or scarring. Lanolin-based ointments with tinder mushroom extracts promote the formation of new cells and reduce inflammation, which in turn accelerates the healing process,” said Alexander Ermoshin, Head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology.

Six-million-year-old ice discovered in Antarctica offers unprecedented window into a warmer Earth

Raising the Foro Drill, Allan Hills, Antarctica. 2022-2023.
Photo Credit: Julia Marks Peterson, COLDEX.

A team of U.S. scientists has discovered the oldest directly dated ice and air on the planet in the Allan Hills region of East Antarctica.

The 6-million-year-old ice and the tiny air bubbles trapped inside it provide an unprecedented window into Earth’s past climate, according to a new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The oldest ice sample from Allan Hills dated by researchers clocks in at 6 million years, from a period in Earth’s history where abundant geological evidence indicates much warmer temperatures and higher sea levels compared to today.

Polar bears act as crucial providers for Arctic species

Photo Credit: Credit: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

A new study published in the scientific journal Oikos reveals for the first time the critical role polar bears play as carrion providers for Arctic species. Researchers from University of Manitoba and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, alongside researchers from Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the University of Alberta, have estimated that polar bears leave behind approximately 7.6 million kilograms of their prey annually, creating a massive and vital food source for a wide network of arctic scavenger species.

This research demonstrates that these apex predators are a crucial link between the marine and terrestrial ecosystems. By hunting seals on the sea ice and abandoning the remains, polar bears transfer a substantial amount of energy from the ocean to the ice surface, making it accessible to other animals. The study identifies at least 11 vertebrate species known to benefit from this carrion, including Arctic foxes and ravens, with an additional eight potential scavenger species.

X-59 Soars: A New Era in Supersonic Flight Begins

Lockheed Martin X59 First Flight
Photo Credit: Lockheed Martin Corporation

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® in partnership with NASA, successfully completed the first flight of the X-59, a revolutionary, quiet supersonic aircraft designed to pave the way for faster commercial air travel. 

The X-59 took off from Skunk Works' facility at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, before landing near NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The X-59 performed exactly as planned, verifying initial flying qualities and air data performance on the way to a safe landing at its new home.

"We are thrilled to achieve the first flight of the X-59," said OJ Sanchez, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. "This aircraft is a testament to the innovation and expertise of our joint team, and we are proud to be at the forefront of quiet supersonic technology development." 

Missing nutrient in breast milk may explain health challenges in children of women with HIV

UCLA study finds tryptophan is depleted in breast milk of mothers living with HIV
Photo Credit: Julia Koblitz

A new UCLA study reveals that breast milk from women living with HIV contains significantly lower levels of tryptophan, an essential amino acid likely important for infant immune function, growth, and brain development. This discovery may help explain why children born to women living with HIV experience higher rates of illness and developmental challenges, even when the children themselves are not infected with the virus. 

Approximately 1.3 million children are born to women living with HIV annually worldwide. Even with effective antiretroviral therapy that prevents HIV transmission, these children who are exposed to HIV but not infected continue to face a 50% increase in mortality in low-income settings along with increased risks of infections, growth problems, and cognitive challenges. Prior to antiretroviral therapy, these children had mortality rates that were two to three times higher than infants not exposed to HIV. Understanding why these children remain vulnerable despite not being infected has been a critical gap in maternal and child health research. This study provides the first metabolic explanation for these persistent health disparities and points toward potential nutritional interventions that could protect vulnerable infants.

Gluten sensitivity: It’s not actually about gluten

Photo Credit: Melissa Askew

A landmark study has revealed that gluten sensitivity, which affects approximately 10 percent of the global population, is not actually about gluten but part of the way the gut and brain interact.

The findings are expected to set a new benchmark for how gluten sensitivity is defined, diagnosed and treated.

The research review, published in The Lancet, examined current published evidence for non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) to better understand this highly prevalent condition.

People with NCGS experience symptoms after consuming gluten but do not have coeliac disease, an autoimmune disease triggered by gluten. Common symptoms include bloating, gut pain and fatigue.