Category: The Conversation – UK

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew Gawthorpe, Lecturer in History and International Studies, Leiden University

As the US continues to assemble military assets in the Middle East and Europe ahead of a possible strike against Iran, Donald Trump is running up against two problems that have plagued American presidents before him.

The first is civilian misunderstanding of war. Fresh from what he sees as quick and easy victories against Iran last June and Venezuela this January, Trump wants military options which allow him to damage Iran at little risk or cost. But unfortunately for the president, no such option exists. And there are reports – which Trump denies – that his top general has warned him about the risks involved.

Despite the damage it has sustained in recent conflicts with the US and Israel, Iran maintains formidable capabilities. It has the ability to harass and perhaps close key shipping lanes, launch missile strikes against US forces and allies across the region, and perhaps carry out terrorist attacks throughout the world.

Trump’s repeated threats to overthrow the Iranian government make it much more likely Tehran will use these capabilities rather than exercising restraint as it did when the US attacked it last year.

According to several media outlets, Trump’s military advisors have informed him of these risks. The president is reportedly not taking the news well. CBS News reports that Trump is “frustrated with what aides describe as the limits of military leverage against Iran” and is pushing for options that will give him a painless victory.

These exchanges between the military and its civilian masters are reminiscent of the interventions of the 1990s. During the Clinton administration, the White House repeatedly pushed the Pentagon to come up with low-risk plans for engagement in Somalia and the Balkans. The president and his staff wanted to be seen as doing something about urgent humanitarian tragedies, but they also didn’t want to risk a political upset by getting American soldiers killed.

Top military officers, particularly the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Colin Powell, pushed back against the civilians. War entails risk, they told the White House, and American soldiers could die if risks were not weighed appropriately.

In his memoirs, Powell recalled his response to a question from Clinton’s secretary of state, Madeleine Albright: “‘What’s the point of having this superb military that you’re always talking about if we can’t use it?’ I thought I would have an aneurysm.”

As so often with Trump, he is pushing this dynamic of civilian ignorance meeting military expertise to extremes. The current build-up against Iran started not with a clear strategy or objective, but a presidential social media message promising Iranian protesters that “help is on the way”. His current frustration stems from the difficulty of translating that vague promise into an actionable military plan.

Pushing at the limits of action

The second theme that is shaping and limiting Trump’s options is imperial overstretch. However powerful the US military is, it has limits – and in recent years, it has been pushing against them.

In particular, the US has a critical shortage of key missile defence munitions such as Thaad interceptors and Patriots. These platforms would be vital in defending against Iranian retaliation, but the US has been burning through them in recent years by providing them to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. The navy has also run down its own stocks of SM-2, SM-3 and SM-6 missiles, which are vital for defending the fleet and other American forces.

The result is that the US lacks the munitions to sustain a long, high-intensity conflict with Iran. If it gets into one, it will have to draw missiles from elsewhere, leaving its forces in Europe and the Indo-Pacific even more understocked than they already are. And because the country has a limited production capacity of these missiles, it could be literally years until the US can replenish its stocks and be ready for contingencies in places like Taiwan.

For a president who promised to avoid unnecessary overseas entanglements and put “America First”, this risk of overstretch is particularly ironic. But it is a function of Trump’s lack of serious strategic vision.

‘Strategic incontinence’

One name for it might be “strategic incontinence”. Rather than focusing on a few vital national interests and assigning capabilities accordingly, Trump seems to pinball between different regions of the globe without regard for whether the US has the capabilities to achieve his goals. He seems to tweet his way into commitments – too many of them – without asking basic questions about military capabilities or missile stocks.

Trump may still attack Iran. He has already put himself in a difficult position, engaging in a massive military build-up and threats of action before he knew whether he could follow through, or at what risk. For a president who is particularly concerned with avoiding looking weak, backing down now might be out of the question.

If Trump does attack Iran despite the warnings of his military advisers, it will be one of the riskiest military decisions that a US president has taken in a very long time. The geopolitical consequences and political price will be his to bear, but could affect us all.

Andrew Gawthorpe is affiliated with the Foreign Policy Centre in London as a senior fellow.

– ref. Trump’s plan for strikes on Iran carries major risks – and the US military knows it – https://theconversation.com/trumps-plan-for-strikes-on-iran-carries-major-risks-and-the-us-military-knows-it-276775

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Bethan Davies, Professor of Glaciology, Newcastle University

Rain is rare in Antarctica. Scientists doing fieldwork there dress for cold and glare, not wet weather – duvet jackets, snow trousers, goggles and sunscreen. Planes land on gravel runways which are rarely icy, since there is no precipitation to freeze. Historic huts remain well preserved in the dry air.

But this is beginning to change.

Rain is already falling more frequently on the narrow and mountainous Antarctic Peninsula, the northernmost finger of the continent pointing towards South America. Already the warmest part of Antarctica, the Peninsula is warming faster than the rest of the continent, and far faster than the global average. It provides an advanced sign of what coastal Antarctica – especially the fragile West Antarctic Ice Sheet – may experience in the coming decades.

I recently led a team of scientists looking at how the Antarctic Peninsula will change this century under three scenarios: high, medium and low greenhouse gas emissions. We found that, as the peninsula warms, precipitation will rise slightly – and will increasingly fall as rain rather than snow. As days above 0°C become more common, this rainfall will fundamentally change the peninsula.

When heat and rain arrive together

Extreme weather is already causing disruption. A heatwave in February 2020 brought temperatures of 18.6°C to the northern peninsula – T-shirt weather, for almost the first time in recorded Antarctic history – while the “ice shelf” surface alongside melted at a record pace.

Atmospheric rivers – long, thin corridors of warm, moist air that start at warmer latitudes – are playing a growing role. In February 2022, one resulted in record surface melt. Another, in July 2023, brought rainfall and temperatures of +2.7°C to the peninsula in the depths of winter. These events are happening more often, delivering rain and melt to regions where neither had been observed before.

What rain does to snow and ice

Snow does not like rain. We’ve all sadly watched snowfall melt away particularly rapidly when it rains.

On the Antarctic Peninsula, rain brings heat and melts and washes away snow, stripping glaciers of their nourishment. Meltwater can also reach the bed of the glacier, lubricating its base and making glaciers slide faster. This increases iceberg calving and the rate of glacier mass loss into the ocean.

On floating ice shelves, rain compacts the snow that has fallen on the surface, meaning water starts forming ponds. This ponded meltwater then warms, as it is less reflective than the surrounding snow and ice, and can melt downwards through the ice shelf to the ocean below, weakening the ice and causing more icebergs to break off.

This can destabilise the ice shelf. Meltwater ponding has been implicated in the collapse of the Larsen A and B ice shelves in the early 2000s.

Sea ice is vulnerable too. Rain reduces snow cover and surface reflectivity, making the ice melt faster. Loss of sea ice also weakens the natural buffers that dampen ocean waves and help prevent the ends of glaciers snapping off and becoming icebergs. It also means less habitat for algae and krill, and reduces breeding platforms for penguins and seals.

Ecosystems under stress

A rainier climate will have a series of ecological impacts.

Water can flood penguin nest sites. Penguins evolved in a polar desert and aren’t adapted for rain. Their chicks’ fluffy feathers are not waterproof, so heavy rain drenches them, sometimes leading to hypothermia and death.

Together with a warming ocean, decreased sea ice and decreased krill, this pressure will affect penguins across the continent. Iconic Antarctic species such as ice-dependent Adélie and chinstrap penguins are at risk of being replaced as more adaptable gentoo penguins expand southwards.

Rainfall also alters life on smaller scales. When it strips away snow cover, it disrupts snow algae – microscopic plants that contribute to Antarctic land ecosystems. These algae feed microbes and tiny invertebrates and can darken the snow surface, increasing solar absorption and accelerating melt.

Snow normally insulates the ground, buffering temperature swings and protecting the organisms underneath. Exposed surfaces face harsher, more variable conditions.

At the same time, warming seas may make it easier for invasive marine species such as certain mussels or crabs to colonise the area.

Challenges for scientists

Humans are also not immune to the challenges posed by a rainier Antarctic Peninsula.

With increasing geopolitical interest, it is likely that human infrastructure will increase, with potential new settlements and bases to serve emerging industries such as tourism or krill fishing.

Research infrastructure was designed for snow, not sustained rainfall. Rain freezing on airstrips renders them unusable until the ice is melted. Slush and meltwater can damage buildings, tents, instruments and vehicles. Clothing and equipment may need to be redesigned.

Some entire research sites may have to move. On nearby Alexander Island, increased surface melt has already disrupted access to long-running ecological research at Mars Oasis – continuously studied since the late 1990s – resulting in gaps in the scientific record.

Heritage at risk

Historic sites are especially vulnerable.

Antarctica contains 92 designated historic sites and monuments, the result of two centuries of exploration and research. Many of these timber huts, equipment stores and early scientific installations are clustered on the peninsula.

In a warmer and wetter climate, thawing permafrost and heavier rainfall threaten the structural integrity of these sites. Timber will deteriorate faster. Foundations will sink. These sites will need more frequent maintenance, in a part of the world where conservation work is already logistically difficult.

The Antarctic Peninsula is already undergoing rapid change. If global warming moves towards 2°C or 3°C this century, extreme weather, rainfall and surface melt will intensify. Damage to ecosystems, infrastructure, glaciers and heritage sites could be severe and potentially irreversible.

Rain, once a rarity in Antarctica, is becoming a force capable of reshaping life on the peninsula. Limiting warming to below 1.5°C won’t prevent these changes entirely. But it could slow how quickly rainfall transforms the frozen continent.

Bethan Davies receives funding from the FCDO Polar Regions Department.

– ref. Rain is coming to Antarctica – here’s how it will change the frozen continent – https://theconversation.com/rain-is-coming-to-antarctica-heres-how-it-will-change-the-frozen-continent-276140

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michel Dugon, Head of the Venom System Lab, University of Galway

For people living in temperate regions of Europe, the Americas and much of Asia, scorpion stings are rarely a concern. But for millions of children growing up across the subtropical belt, a scorpion sting can have devastating consequences.

While snakebites are receiving increasing international attention and funding under the leadership of the World Health Organization, scorpionism (the medical term for illness caused by scorpion venom) remains under-reported, under-funded and under-researched. Worse still, this silent epidemic appears to be growing, fuelled by a combination of climate change, urbanisation, global trade and human encroachment into natural habitats.

In Brazil, scorpion stings have tripled over the past decade, as scorpions settle in major cities around the country. In Sudan, the construction of the Merowe Dam in 2009 and the rapid development of gold mining complexes displaced scorpion populations into nearby settlements, triggering localised epidemics.

In November 2021, torrential rains in Aswan, southern Egypt, drove thousands of deathstalker scorpions into homes and in the streets, injuring more than 450 residents and overwhelming local hospitals.

Globally, at least 1.2 million scorpion stings are recorded each year. While most victims recover fully, an estimated 3,000 people die annually as a direct result of scorpion stings, mostly children under the age of 13, typically from poor rural communities.

Global hotspots for scorpion deaths:

Scorpionism is not evenly distributed across the tropics. Most fatal cases occur in a dozen geographic hotspots including parts of Latin America, north Africa, the Levant, Iran and western India. All these areas have warm climates with seasonal extremes that favour scorpion activity, as well as poor housing, rapid urbanisation and limited access to healthcare that also contribute to the problem.

Scorpions thrive where people live and work – in cracks in walls, beneath rubble, among stored goods, in outdoor latrines and across agricultural land. But they are not aggressive animals. Most stings occur defensively when a scorpion is accidentally trapped or pressed against the skin.

Lethal scorpions

Of the roughly 2,500 known scorpion species worldwide, only 50 to 100 are considered lethal to humans. Severe envenoming – cases that requiring extensive medical attention and a hospital stay – usually involves intense local pain rapidly followed by profuse sweating, excessive salivation, vomiting and irregular heartbeat. In severe cases, fluid accumulates in the lungs, leading to respiratory failure.

Intensive care beds, ventilation support and medications that stabilise heart and lung function are essential to help young patients withstand the first 24 to 36 hours following severe envenoming.

Antivenom serum developed over a century ago has significantly helped to reduce death rates in parts of Mexico, South America and Egypt. But it is not a magic bullet.

The antivenom must be administered early, requires trained personnel and appropriate facilities, and is only effective if it matches the venom of the species responsible for the sting. It can also cause severe allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. For many vulnerable communities, its cost and limited availability remain major barriers to effective treatment.

Morocco’s scorpion hotspots

Morocco illustrates the complexity of managing scorpion stings. The country hosts more than 55 scorpion species including some of the most dangerous in the world, such as members of the genus Androctonus (“man-killer” in Greek).

After years of limited success with antivenom therapy, in the early 2000s Moroccan health authorities shifted away from antivenom to focus on using respirators and other drugs to control patients’ heart rates and maintain vital organ function while in intensive care. They also began large-scale public education campaigns.

This led to a significant drop in the death rate due to scorpion stings.

Today, Morocco records around 25,000 stings annually, resulting in 50 to 100 deaths. But some areas are much more at risk than others. The rural district of Kalaat Sraghna on the northern slopes of the Atlas Mountains, for example, represents less than 2% of Morocco’s population but accounts for roughly 20% of stings nationwide. Geographic isolation, scorpion diversity and urban expansion are all likely to be contributing factors.

In most cases, the species responsible for a sting is never identified, yet this information can be critical for diagnosis and treatment. Scorpions often look similar and typically escape immediately after stinging. Neither victims nor healthcare workers can reasonably be expected to identify them accurately.

This is where zoology and ecology intersect with public health. In a new study, our team comprising Moroccan and Irish researchers conducted field surveys of 19 scorpion species and then used machine learning (a type of artificial intelligence) to understand where else they might be located throughout Morocco.

Our model identifies the environmental conditions scorpion hotspots might share, including average or extreme seasonal temperatures, annual rainfall, vegetation type and land use. It then scans the landscape for areas with similar conditions, generating probability maps of where each species is most likely to occur.

In our study, we found that soil type was the most important variable driving the distribution of high-risk scorpions across central Morocco.

We recently presented our results at the Pasteur Institute of Morocco in Casablanca, part of the country’s public health system. Our predictive maps can help prioritise intensive care capacity, ensure medications are available locally, and strengthen emergency response in rural areas by helping doctors anticipate which species have been responsible for the stings.

Importantly, this approach can be adapted to other countries facing similar challenges. Scorpionism is still overlooked on the global health agenda. But better integration of ecology, climate science and clinical sciences offers a powerful tool to prevent deaths, especially among vulnerable children.

Michel Dugon receives funding from the EU Erasmus Plus programme for staff and student mobility between the University Ibn Zohr of Agadir (Morocco) and the University of Galway (Ireland)

– ref. Scorpions can pose a deadly threat to children – we’re identifying the global hotspots – https://theconversation.com/scorpions-can-pose-a-deadly-threat-to-children-were-identifying-the-global-hotspots-276340

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Bethan Davies, Professor of Glaciology, Newcastle University

Rain is rare in Antarctica. Scientists doing fieldwork there dress for cold and glare, not wet weather – duvet jackets, snow trousers, goggles and sunscreen. Planes land on gravel runways which are rarely icy, since there is no precipitation to freeze. Historic huts remain well preserved in the dry air.

But this is beginning to change.

Rain is already falling more frequently on the narrow and mountainous Antarctic Peninsula, the northernmost finger of the continent pointing towards South America. Already the warmest part of Antarctica, the Peninsula is warming faster than the rest of the continent, and far faster than the global average. It provides an advanced sign of what coastal Antarctica – especially the fragile West Antarctic Ice Sheet – may experience in the coming decades.

I recently led a team of scientists looking at how the Antarctic Peninsula will change this century under three scenarios: high, medium and low greenhouse gas emissions. We found that, as the peninsula warms, precipitation will rise slightly – and will increasingly fall as rain rather than snow. As days above 0°C become more common, this rainfall will fundamentally change the peninsula.

When heat and rain arrive together

Extreme weather is already causing disruption. A heatwave in February 2020 brought temperatures of 18.6°C to the northern peninsula – T-shirt weather, for almost the first time in recorded Antarctic history – while the “ice shelf” surface alongside melted at a record pace.

Atmospheric rivers – long, thin corridors of warm, moist air that start at warmer latitudes – are playing a growing role. In February 2022, one resulted in record surface melt. Another, in July 2023, brought rainfall and temperatures of +2.7°C to the peninsula in the depths of winter. These events are happening more often, delivering rain and melt to regions where neither had been observed before.

What rain does to snow and ice

Snow does not like rain. We’ve all sadly watched snowfall melt away particularly rapidly when it rains.

On the Antarctic Peninsula, rain brings heat and melts and washes away snow, stripping glaciers of their nourishment. Meltwater can also reach the bed of the glacier, lubricating its base and making glaciers slide faster. This increases iceberg calving and the rate of glacier mass loss into the ocean.

On floating ice shelves, rain compacts the snow that has fallen on the surface, meaning water starts forming ponds. This ponded meltwater then warms, as it is less reflective than the surrounding snow and ice, and can melt downwards through the ice shelf to the ocean below, weakening the ice and causing more icebergs to break off.

This can destabilise the ice shelf. Meltwater ponding has been implicated in the collapse of the Larsen A and B ice shelves in the early 2000s.

Sea ice is vulnerable too. Rain reduces snow cover and surface reflectivity, making the ice melt faster. Loss of sea ice also weakens the natural buffers that dampen ocean waves and help prevent the ends of glaciers snapping off and becoming icebergs. It also means less habitat for algae and krill, and reduces breeding platforms for penguins and seals.

Ecosystems under stress

A rainier climate will have a series of ecological impacts.

Water can flood penguin nest sites. Penguins evolved in a polar desert and aren’t adapted for rain. Their chicks’ fluffy feathers are not waterproof, so heavy rain drenches them, sometimes leading to hypothermia and death.

Together with a warming ocean, decreased sea ice and decreased krill, this pressure will affect penguins across the continent. Iconic Antarctic species such as ice-dependent Adélie and chinstrap penguins are at risk of being replaced as more adaptable gentoo penguins expand southwards.

Rainfall also alters life on smaller scales. When it strips away snow cover, it disrupts snow algae – microscopic plants that contribute to Antarctic land ecosystems. These algae feed microbes and tiny invertebrates and can darken the snow surface, increasing solar absorption and accelerating melt.

Snow normally insulates the ground, buffering temperature swings and protecting the organisms underneath. Exposed surfaces face harsher, more variable conditions.

At the same time, warming seas may make it easier for invasive marine species such as certain mussels or crabs to colonise the area.

Challenges for scientists

Humans are also not immune to the challenges posed by a rainier Antarctic Peninsula.

With increasing geopolitical interest, it is likely that human infrastructure will increase, with potential new settlements and bases to serve emerging industries such as tourism or krill fishing.

Research infrastructure was designed for snow, not sustained rainfall. Rain freezing on airstrips renders them unusable until the ice is melted. Slush and meltwater can damage buildings, tents, instruments and vehicles. Clothing and equipment may need to be redesigned.

Some entire research sites may have to move. On nearby Alexander Island, increased surface melt has already disrupted access to long-running ecological research at Mars Oasis – continuously studied since the late 1990s – resulting in gaps in the scientific record.

Heritage at risk

Historic sites are especially vulnerable.

Antarctica contains 92 designated historic sites and monuments, the result of two centuries of exploration and research. Many of these timber huts, equipment stores and early scientific installations are clustered on the peninsula.

In a warmer and wetter climate, thawing permafrost and heavier rainfall threaten the structural integrity of these sites. Timber will deteriorate faster. Foundations will sink. These sites will need more frequent maintenance, in a part of the world where conservation work is already logistically difficult.

The Antarctic Peninsula is already undergoing rapid change. If global warming moves towards 2°C or 3°C this century, extreme weather, rainfall and surface melt will intensify. Damage to ecosystems, infrastructure, glaciers and heritage sites could be severe and potentially irreversible.

Rain, once a rarity in Antarctica, is becoming a force capable of reshaping life on the peninsula. Limiting warming to below 1.5°C won’t prevent these changes entirely. But it could slow how quickly rainfall transforms the frozen continent.

Bethan Davies receives funding from the FCDO Polar Regions Department.

– ref. Rain is coming to Antarctica – here’s what will change – https://theconversation.com/rain-is-coming-to-antarctica-heres-what-will-change-276140

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kevin Healy, Lecturer in Macroecology, University of Galway

As you read this, the screen is probably flashing over 240 times per second, yet, as a human, you won’t notice this flickering light.

However, to a fruit fly hovering above your head, the screen would represent a strobe light fit for an Ibiza rave. This is because the way different species sample time, and the rates at which they can perceive it, varies greatly across the animal kingdom.

To us, a fast moving ball might seem like a blur but to dragonflies, pigeons and even bigclaw snapping shrimp it can be seen in great detail. But for species like snails or certain deep sea fish, like the escolar, the motion is probably too fast to register at all.

But why do animals perceive time differently?

To understand why, my colleagues and I collected published measures of time perception across the animal kingdom and analysed them. Our analysis showed this variation in time perception is largely driven by the pace of a species’s lifestyle.

Devices, such as electroretinograms, can measure time perception. The electroretinogram does this by recording the electrical activity of the retina in response to a flashing light. Gradually increasing the rate of flicker until the animal can no longer see the flashing can help scientists determine the limit of its time perception (scientists call this an organism’s maximum critical flicker fusion rate).

Our analysis showed that temporal perception has even greater variation than scientists may have realised. Our perceptual limit as humans is approximately 65 flashes per second. However, birds, such as the collared flycatcher, can see up to 138 flashes per second while tsetse flies and dragonflies can distinguish up to 300 flashes per second.

At 65 flashes per second (or Hz), humans display respectable temporal perception abilities compared to other animals. It is higher compared to many mammals, such as rats at 47 Hz, but slightly lower than dogs (84 Hz).

Our eyes seem even more respectable when compared to the slowest eyes in the animal kingdom, such as the deep sea fish, the escolar, which can only perceive 12 flashes per second or the most extreme cases of the crown-of-thorns starfish and giant African snail, both of which can only perceive 0.7 flashes per second.

But why does a dragonfly have such fast eyes while starfish are confined to a world of vision blur? One idea, called Autrum’s hypothesis, is that time perception costs a lot of energy and the evolution of such fast visual systems will only emerge in species with fast paced lifestyles.

Our analysis showed strong support for this idea, with the highest rates of temporal perception found in species which had behaviour that required fast reaction times. For example, animals that fly and predators which pursue their prey, like yellowfin tuna which can swim at over 70 kmph earning them the nickname of cheetah of the sea.

In contrast, the slowest rates of temporal perception were found in slower-moving species, such as the crown-of-thorns starfish which clock a top speed of 22 meters per hour.

We also found that in aquatic environments smaller species had faster vision. For example, while a one gram threespined stickleback fish can see at 67 Hz, a 350kg Leatherback can only see at 15 Hz. This finding supports previous studies which tested the idea that smaller, more manoeuvrable animals would also have faster temporal perceptions.

Although it is still unknown why this relationship is particularly strong in aquatic environments, it may be because water allows for more instantaneous movement.

Not all environments or lifestyles encourage the evolution of faster eyes. Our analysis also found that species in dimmer environments had much lower temporal perception abilities. For example, the giant deep sea isopod (which looks a bit like a giant woodlouse) can only see at 4Hz and the nocturnal tokay gecko can only see at 21 Hz.

This lower temporal perception is due to the need to capture every photon, light particle, available in darker environments. Similar to using slower shutter speeds with a camera, eyes with retinal cells that fire more slowly are better adapted at capturing the faintest objects. However, such adaptations to the dark come at the expense of temporal perception, and like a wobbly night time photo, are susceptible to motion blur.

So what does a second feel like to a dragonfly or to a snail? As Thomas Nagel outlined in his 1974 philosophical essay, What Is It Like to Be a Bat, we can never subjectively understand what the temporal perception of a dragonfly or snail feels like. However, by measuring the limitations of their sensory system we can grasp some sense of it.

A cup falling to the floor, a car speeding past on the street or a series of lightning strikes – for us humans, an event on the scale of a second is typically a blur, something we can just about register but not in much detail. But animals all process a different amount of visual information in a second. To us, a dragonfly may seem like Neo in the Matrix experiencing bullet time, seeing the world in slow motion.

And the extremely slow temporal perception of starfish of snails means their experience or the world is probably limited to a series of blurs.

Hence while a second may be physically the same for every organism on Earth, how you perceive it depends on how fast you live.

Kevin Healy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Animals’ perception of time is linked to the pace of their life – new study – https://theconversation.com/animals-perception-of-time-is-linked-to-the-pace-of-their-life-new-study-275124

Source: The Conversation – UK – By John Noone, Assistant Professor & Course Director BSc Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Limerick

During hibernation, brown bears spend up to six months lying almost completely still, without eating, drinking or exercising. When spring arrives, they leave their dens with their muscles largely intact.

For humans, the same period of inactivity would usually mean severe muscle loss, weakness and long-term health problems. Even a few weeks in bed after surgery can reduce strength and mobility. For older adults, hospital patients and people with chronic illness, long-term immobility can permanently change quality of life. How do bears manage what humans cannot?

To explore this question, my colleagues and I studied how bears protect their muscles during hibernation. Our findings, published in Acta Physiologica, suggest that the answer lies deep inside their muscle cells, in the way they manage energy over long periods of inactivity.

Muscle cells rely on structures called mitochondria to supply the energy needed for movement and basic function. These structures convert nutrients into fuel, allowing muscles to contract, repair themselves and adapt to stress. In people who stop moving for long periods, mitochondria usually decline in both number and performance. Energy production drops. Muscles weaken. Recovery becomes harder.

Bears take a different approach. During hibernation, their muscles contain fewer mitochondria, but the ones that remain work more efficiently. Rather than allowing their energy systems to deteriorate, bears streamline them. They reduce what is unnecessary and preserve what is essential. It is similar to shutting down some power stations during low demand, while upgrading the remaining ones to run more smoothly.

Inside mitochondria, energy is generated through a series of linked chemical reactions. These reactions normally rely on several entry points and fuel sources. During hibernation, bears reorganise this system.

Our research shows that they shift towards alternative energy pathways that function well at low body temperatures. Some parts of the usual machinery are reduced, while others become more important.

At the same time, bears maintain the ability to use both fat and carbohydrates. Fat provides most of the energy during winter, but flexibility remains essential. If conditions change, their muscles can adapt quickly. This reorganisation allows bears to produce enough energy to preserve muscle tissue, even while their overall metabolism slows dramatically.

Temperature plays a central role. As bears cool during hibernation, chemical reactions slow. Instead of fighting this, their muscles adjust. The structure and function of mitochondria change in ways that suit colder conditions.

This temperature-driven control acts like a natural protective system. It limits damage, reduces waste and helps prevent the breakdown that usually follows long periods of inactivity.

To understand these changes, we studied wild brown bears in Sweden during both winter and summer.

In winter, locating hibernating bears meant tracking them to hidden dens beneath deep snow. Teams worked with wildlife experts and veterinarians to safely monitor the animals and collect small muscle samples.

In summer, the challenge was different. Active bears roam huge areas and are difficult to approach. Helicopters were used to locate them, and professionals carefully sedated the animals so that biopsies could be taken safely.

Once collected, the samples were swiftly analysed. The main technique we used measures how well mitochondria produce energy in real time and only works on fresh tissue.

Comparing winter and summer samples revealed a consistent pattern. Bears reduce the number of mitochondria during hibernation but preserve their function. Energy pathways are reorganised, fuel use remains flexible and cellular damage is limited. Together, these changes allow bears to remain strong despite months of immobility.

Connecting wildlife biology with human health

The findings help explain one of nature’s most impressive examples of physical resilience. But their importance goes far beyond wildlife biology.

In humans, muscle loss is a major problem in ageing, long hospital stays, injury recovery and chronic disease. Once muscle is lost, it is difficult to rebuild. Weakness increases the risk of falls, disability and loss of independence.

Treatments rely mainly on exercise and nutrition, which are often hard to apply when people are very ill or immobile. Bears show that another approach is possible.

By making mitochondria more efficient, reorganising energy systems, and responding to temperature, their muscles remain protected even in extreme conditions. Understanding how this happens could guide future treatments that help preserve muscle in vulnerable people.

This research also has relevance beyond medicine. Astronauts lose muscle rapidly in space, and long space missions require better ways to protect physical health in low-gravity environments.

From frozen dens in Scandinavian forests to high-tech laboratories, this work connects wildlife biology with human health and space science.

Bears do not simply sleep through winter. Their muscles follow a carefully controlled programme of energy management, conservation and protection. In doing so, they leave a clear pawprint for human biology: resilience is not about maintaining everything, but about protecting the systems that matter most.

The long-term funding of Scandinavian Brown Bear Research Project (SBBRP) has come primarily from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Norwegian Environment Agency. This research was funded by the French National Space Agency (CNES, BEAR2MAN project), the French National Research Agency (ANR; B-STRONG project), the University of Strasbourg (H2E project) and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) MITI.

– ref. Hibernating bears reveal clues to fighting muscle loss – new study – https://theconversation.com/hibernating-bears-reveal-clues-to-fighting-muscle-loss-new-study-275984

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Cate Carroll, Professor of Education and Pedagogy and Executive Dean of Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, Liverpool Hope University

The government has published its proposals for education reform in England, which have been delayed since autumn 2025 and include significant changes to how the special educational needs and disabilities (Send) system operates. Further measures are aimed at improving teacher recruitment, student achievement and belonging at school. Our panel of education experts are scrutinising the plans, which have been anxiously anticipated by many teachers and parents.

A fundamental shift in SEND support

Paty Paliokosta, Associate Professor of Special and Inclusive Education, Kingston University

The government is proposing a gradual but fundamental shift in how the system uses education, health and care plans (EHCPs). EHCPs will remain, but far fewer children are expected to receive them. The first children with an existing EHCP to move to the new system would be pupils at the end of primary, secondary and post-16 in the academic year 2029-2030.

Instead, most support is intended to take place through a strengthened universal offer (support available to all children) and several layers of extra provision, only one of which will include an EHCP. The aim is to reduce the pressures that have made EHCPs the perceived, default route for help and promote a universally inclusive approach. This will succeed if the new layers are credible, consistent and properly resourced.

The introduction of nationally defined specialist provision packages marks a major change. These will determine the support available to children with the most complex needs and will form the basis of future EHCPs. Alongside this, individual support plans will outline day‑to‑day provision for all children receiving extra help, co‑produced with families.

In principle, this could create a more coherent system, based on inclusive values, which is very welcome. In practice, this needs to reflect on capacity. Schools cannot deliver more without the time, training and specialist expertise that have been in chronic short supply.

The proposal to reassess children’s entitlements to support at ages 11 and 16 is especially significant. These are critical transition points already associated with anxiety, academic pressure and identity changes.

Unless reassessment is handled with sensitivity – and backed by genuine specialist involvement – it risks introducing uncertainty precisely when stability is most needed. For many families, reassessment may feel like a potential removal of support, despite this not being the intention.

The open government consultation on the proposals is therefore crucial. It must test not only the design of these reforms but their real‑world viability. If the new layers of support do not arrive before EHCP access is tightened, families will simply experience another cycle of promises unsupported by provision. The system cannot afford another misfire.

Ending the postcode lottery

Jonathan Glazzard, Rosalind Hollis Professor of Education for Social Justice, University of Hull

The government hopes to end the postcode lottery of support and restore families’ confidence in the special educational needs and disabilities system. New national inclusion standards will set out the support that should be available in every mainstream setting. Statutory individual support plans will include key information about the child’s needs and the day-to-day provision in place to address these for all pupils with Send.

All staff will benefit from national Send training, supported by record investment of over £200 million. £1.6 billion will enable schools, colleges and early years settings to deliver an improved inclusion offer. In addition, £3.7 billion will be invested to make buildings more accessible, create more special school places and develop inclusion bases in mainstream schools.

£1.8 billion will be allocated to fund an “experts at hand” service to improve access to speech and language therapists, educational psychologists and occupational therapists in mainstream schools.

In total the government plans to invest £7 billion more on Send, and core funding for schools and Send is expected to increase annually.

There is much to consider but on the surface the investment and vision look promising. There is a clear commitment to inclusive mainstream education, a determination to improve outcomes for children with Send and a desire to “call time” on a broken Send system.

More support for the youngest children

Cate Carroll, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences and Professor of Education and Pedagogy, Liverpool Hope University

Today’s policy announcements recognise the critical period of early years education. The investment of over £200 million in the Best Start Family Hub network, meaning that hubs will have dedicated expertise in Send and a staff member to act as an outreach and support person, is welcome. It begins to rebuild the local hubs formerly known as Sure Start, which made a real difference to children’s lives.

The policy focuses on families as the primary educators of children – they are placed at the centre of the child’s home and school experience. This is important because parents know their children and are the best advocates for their needs.

Sometimes, though, ensuring a fair partnership in the conversation between parents and professionals can be difficult. Parents are experts about their children, while professionals bring expertise aligned with their profession and training.

The funding targeted towards early identification of children who have special educational needs and disabilities is also vital. International research backs early intervention as key to ensuring that children’s learning and development needs are appropriately identified. More often that not, this is identified in nurseries, so it is critical that this funding captures this phase of education in addition to schools.

This comes with the challenge of training staff working with children in the early years foundation stage so they are appropriately qualified to identify additional needs. By the time children start school, sometimes the interventions are too late to enable them to achieve and thrive.

Closing the attainment gap

Stephen Gorard, Professor of Education and Public Policy, Durham University

The government is pledging to halve the poverty attainment gap during its term. The attainment gap is the difference in scores between disadvantaged pupils and the rest, at key stage two (age 11) or key stage four (age 16).

This is both commendable and feasible. However, the government also plans to change the current definition of temporary disadvantage (ever eligible for free school meals in the past six years) to one based on low income over a sustained period of time.

Using the depth and duration and poverty is an improvement to the current situation that I have been advocating for many years. Using household income could also be an improvement on the binary threshold indicator of free school meals.

However, it is not then clear what the halving of the gap refers to. The gap as it stands does not use income but free school meals, so the pledge has not been meaningfully defined.

It is also not clear that the data available on household income is yet good enough quality to sustain real-life policy. The data is better for those families currently claiming benefits, but inaccurate for many others. Using the current data might simply disguise that the binary threshold is still being used.

More reactions to follow.

Cate Carroll is affiliated with OMEP World Organisation for Early Childhood, Vice President for OMEP World, European Region.

Paty Paliokosta co-leads the National SENCO Advocacy Network and sits on the National Executive Committee of SEA.

Stephen Gorard has received funding from the ESRC and DfE for research that might be relevant to this article.

Jonathan Glazzard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Will the latest reforms to England’s schools and special educational needs support deliver? Experts react – https://theconversation.com/will-the-latest-reforms-to-englands-schools-and-special-educational-needs-support-deliver-experts-react-276660

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Katie Edwards, Commissioning Editor, Health + Medicine and Host of Strange Health podcast, The Conversation

Body odour has a reputation problem. It is often treated as a hygiene failure or a social offence. In reality, it is biology at work, plus a big helping of culture.

Most body odour is not produced by sweat itself. Sweat is largely odourless. Smell develops when bacteria (and sometimes fungi) on the skin break down compounds in sweat and skin oils, producing pungent byproducts. That is why odour is often strongest in warm, moist areas with lots of sweat glands, such as armpits, feet and the groin. It is also why two people can smell very different after the same workout. Their skin chemistry and microbiomes differ.

In our latest episode of Strange Health, we spoke to Mats J. Olsson, a professor of experimental psychology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, who studies how humans perceive body odour.

One of his key points is easy to forget in a deodorant-saturated world: humans have the anatomy of a species built to smell. We have sweat and sebaceous glands in “strategic” places, and we have a sense of smell capable of picking up subtle cues. But in modern life, we also wash frequently and layer fragrances, which can mask those cues.

So what does body odour communicate, if anything? Olsson argues that for humans, smell often works as an “approach or avoid” signal. We might not always be able to describe odours clearly, but we register them quickly as pleasant, neutral or off-putting.

He also emphasises that much of what we label as “good” and “bad” smell is learned. Babies are not born with strong cultural disgust reactions. We acquire them, and different cultures acquire them differently.

His research also suggests smell can carry information about health. In one set of experiments, Olsson and colleagues temporarily activated participants’ immune systems using a safe method that mimics the early stages of illness (a short-lived inflammatory response).

Then they collected body odour samples from the armpits using cotton pads. When other people were asked to smell the samples, they rated the “sick” samples as slightly worse, often describing them as smelling more “sweaty”. Participants were not coughing or visibly unwell, which suggests our noses may pick up early, subtle shifts that we cannot easily put into words.

Olsson has also explored how disease cues affect us. In one study, exposure to disgusting odours was linked to a measurable immune response in the mouth, as if the body was preparing for potential pathogens. It is a reminder that smell is not just about social judgement. It can be part of a broader, protective system.

Most changes in body odour are not a sign of disease, though. Diet, stress, hormones and new products can all shift your scent. Garlic and onions can linger. Low-carb diets can change breath. Menstrual cycle changes and menopause can alter sweat and skin oils. Stress sweat can smell different from exercise sweat because its chemical mix is different.

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Read more:
Your unique smell can provide clues about how healthy you are

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If odour bothers you, the practical aim is not to “eliminate” a natural human smell. It is to reduce the conditions that let odour-producing microbes thrive. Washing after sweating helps. Antiperspirants reduce sweat using aluminium salts that block sweat ducts. Deodorants mainly mask smells or reduce bacteria. Applying them to clean, dry skin often works best, commonly at night when sweating is lower.

Body odour, then, is not simply something to be “fixed”. It is a mix of microbiology and meaning: what your skin produces, and what your culture has taught you to feel about it.

Strange Health is hosted by Katie Edwards and Dan Baumgardt. The executive producer is Gemma Ware, with video and sound editing for this episode by Anouk Millet. Artwork by Alice Mason.

In this episode, Dan and Katie talk about a social media clip via YouTube from Alexandrasgirly.

Listen to Strange Health via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here. A transcript is available via the Apple Podcasts or Spotify apps.

Katie Edwards works for The Conversation in the UK. Mats J. Olsson has received research funding from the Swedish Research Council.

Dan Baumgardt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What body odour says about you – https://theconversation.com/what-body-odour-says-about-you-276317

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alice Pember, Assistant Professor of Film and Television Studies, University of Warwick

“Want to go again?” a choreographer asks Charli XCX at the start of the mockumentary The Moment. It’s the latest entry in the pop star’s rapidly expanding cinematic empire, propelled by the stratospheric cultural impact of her 2024 album, Brat.

He is asking if she’s ready to practise a gyrating, strobe-heavy routine one more time. But this question also gestures towards the central conceit of the film: what if “Brat summer” was pushed beyond its natural expiry date? Not to explore “the tension of staying too long”, as Charli has described it, but in a cynical attempt to further monetise this fleeting moment of pop cultural hype.

Conceived by Charli, The Moment offers a semi-fictionalised mockumentary account of the post Brat summer comedown. It positions her at the centre of several cynical attempts to extend its lifespan through questionable endorsement deals, social media posts and an ill-fated concert film. The film’s events map eerily onto the real post-Brat timeline, inviting knowing audiences to question the boundary between fiction and reality.

Charli’s uncertain response to the choreographer’s question − “Err … yeah?” – from the floor of her rehearsal space (in that starriest of destinations, Dagenham) crystallises the film’s knowing subversion of dominant trends in the female-oriented pop star documentary.

As cultural theorist Annelot Prins has outlined in a paper, pop star documentaries like Lady Gaga’s Five Foot Two (2017), Kesha’s Rainbow (2020) and Taylor’s Swift’s Miss Americana (2020) tend to present “empowering narratives of talented and hardworking women who used to be constrained by different factors but overcame them with resilience […] and are now self-determined agents”.

This approach to female celebrity has continued in a recent glut of arena concert films released by stars including Swift, Beyoncé and Olivia Rodrigo. These arena spectaculars combine polished tour footage with backstage glimpses into the creative process. It’s a combination of intimacy and polish engineered to confirm their authentic talent in the face of the relentless commercial demands of the pop world.

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Read more:
A swift history of the concert film, from The Last Waltz to the Eras Tour

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The “resilient pop documentary” is part of a wider trend identified by feminist media scholars: representations of celebrity women overcoming setbacks such as sexual assault (Kesha), addiction (Demi Lovato) or illness (Lady Gaga).

Feminist sociologist Angela McRobbie’s work shows how these images of “resilient” female celebrities block collective resistance to misogyny, racism and classism, by making women believe they can overcome oppression through “self-management and care”.

This is a pattern that these documentaries repeat with their emphasis on the creative survival of the damaged female pop star. The Moment invokes and satirises these narrative templates by showing Charli’s fictionalised self’s inability to control the runaway momentum of her own stardom.

Resilience to reflexivity

While The Moment has been positioned as Charli’s pivot from pop to the silver screen, it extends the subversions of her oft-forgotten first cinematic venture: 2022’s Charli XCX: Alone Together.

Inverting The Moment’s narrative structure, Alone Together opens with Charli’s preparations for her first arena tour, charting the effects of its abrupt cancellation in the wake of COVID. The remainder of the film depicts Charli’s production of her fourth studio album over the course of a whirlwind six-weeks of the first lockdown.

This ambitious undertaking could have provided the perfect opportunity to emphasise Charli’s resilience, but Alone Together takes a difference tack. It focuses on the emotional toll the album’s production took on Charli and emphasises the digital spaces of care and community that enabled her and her fans to survive the pandemic.

While The Moment and Alone Together approach subversion differently, both knowingly undermine the resilience typically celebrated in pop star documentaries, exposing the endless performance of “overcoming” on which female pop stardom relies. The ending of Alone Together positions Charli as the unmoved consumer of the final album. A post-credit sequence shows her immediately at another loose end. “I just feel a bit, like, bored … What am I going to do now?” she says to camera, laughing.

The Moment’s closing scenes echo Alone Together’s feeling of anti-climax by ending with the trailer for the Brat concert film and its invitation to “be a 365 Party Girl from the comfort of your own home”. Hilariously, this is soundtracked by the Verve’s Bitter Sweet Symphony – an overplayed Britpop anthem that confirms the fictional XCX’s fall from cool in pursuit of mass appeal.

The film’s quasi-documentary style compounds its challenge to the forms of authenticity upon which resilient pop stardom relies. In a voice note to her team, Charli explains that she is completing the film to “kill Brat” and free herself to pursue other creative endeavours. Here, the film uses the intimate framing used to convey authentic agency in the conventional pop documentary. This serves to blur the paper-thin line between the “real” post-Brat hype engineered by Charli and the trite, opportunistic spectacle she embraces in The Moment.

That we are left with no clear sense of what the difference truly is signals that, far from being a “shallow” take on pop celebrity, The Moment turns the conventions of the pop star documentary against themselves. In doing so, the film cleverly exposes the artificiality inherent in even the most seemingly authentic of pop performances.

Taken together, these two films cement Charli XCX’s status as our best chronicler of contemporary female pop stardom and the role of her film texts in exposing the artifice at play in supposedly “authentic” resilient pop cultural performance.

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Alice Pember does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The Moment: Charli XCX is the ultimate chronicler of contemporary pop stardom – https://theconversation.com/the-moment-charli-xcx-is-the-ultimate-chronicler-of-contemporary-pop-stardom-276681

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kevin O’Gallagher, MRC Clinician Scientist and Consultant Cardiologist, King’s College London

Half of people in the UK use a wearable device, such as a fitness tracker or smartwatch. These devices collect data relating to health and physical activity levels – including heart rate, step count and sleep quality. With the emergence of AI, such devices will probably become even more sophisticated – potentially able to diagnose our health problems before our GP.

But while wearables can be really useful when it comes to understanding many aspects of your heart health, they still have many shortcomings – so it’s important not to rely on them for everything.

A key strength of modern wearables is the fact that they record such a wide range of useful data, and track trends over time. This makes them perfect for measuring whether any lifestyle changes you’ve made are working for you, and what effects they might be having. For instance, your wearable can tell you if your health kick has had a measurable affect on your sleep quality or blood pressure.

In addition to measuring step count and physical activity, many of the most commonly worn wearables collect cardiovascular data via photoplethysmography (PPG). This is where a light located at the back of the wearable interacts with tiny blood vessels in the skin to give an estimate of changes in blood volume. These changes can be used to accurately measure heart rate, rhythm and blood oxygen levels.

Many currently available devices are also able to record electrocardiographic (ECG) data. This also records your heart’s electric activity, including heart rate and rhythm.

This is why some wearables, particularly those with ECG technology, could be useful in cardiology consultations.

There are currently limitations to the ECGs a cardiologist would normally use to diagnose heart rhythm issues. These ECG monitors only record heart rhythm data for a limited period, such as 24 or 72 hours. This could mean doctors don’t get a full picture of heart health.

But since many people who own a smartwatch or fitness tracker wear them for many hours of the day and over many weeks, this means their wearable may be recording at the time when cardiac symptoms – such as palpitations – occur. This means wearables may overcome the inherent limitations with clinical ECG recordings.

For instance, a recent study demonstrated that smartwatches can reliably detect atrial fibrillation (a heart rhythm disorder that increases risk of stroke) in patients at risk of the condition. And wearables can also be useful for regularly and accurately monitoring daytime blood pressure.

So, wearables have the ability to provide data that is highly useful to a cardiologist in helping determine a probable diagnosis. But just how much can we rely on this data?

Wearable limitations

Most wearables that detect blood pressure do so via PPG data, which measures blood pressure differently to an inflatable blood pressure cuff. Wearables may also only provide a blood pressure range rather than absolute results. This means a patient may not know whether their “true” blood pressure is normal or not.

The British and Irish Hypertension Society, which formally validates and endorses cuff-based blood pressure monitors, currently doesn’t have a framework to validate wearables. This means no wearables on the market which provide blood pressure monitoring have been officially validated.

There’s also a lack of standardisation across the market for how different wearables produce data for particular metrics. This means it’s possible different devices could give different readouts – even if they’re looking at the same person. If wearables are to be integrated into the healthcare system in future, then standardised, validated methods would be needed.

There are also potential issues in how wearables are positioned within the market with regard their medical capabilities.

Some are advertised as having medical-grade measuring capabilities. However, the majority of devices on the market have not been approved as medical devices by regulatory bodies. This distinction is important for the average consumer to understand, so they don’t trust the device’s data more than they should.

While wearables can be extremely useful for understanding many aspects of your day-to-day heart health, there’s still much about them that will need to be improved before they become a standard part of cardiac care.

Quality assurance and compatibility across different brands will be key, as will ensuring a patient’s data is both reliable and accessible to healthcare staff on their electronic health records.

These are important issues that must be addressed soon if wearable technology is to become a standard part of NHS treatment by 2035, as outlined in the NHS’s ten-year plan for England.

Kevin O’Gallagher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What wearables can (and can’t) tell you about your heart health – https://theconversation.com/what-wearables-can-and-cant-tell-you-about-your-heart-health-273075