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Mid-Debonian Ocean Oxygenation Enables Deeper Habitat Expansion for Marine Life

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Approximately 390 million years ago during the Devonian period, marine life began to explore previously unoccupied depths. A recent study, conducted by researchers from Duke University, Washington University, NASA’s Virtual Planetary Research Institute, and Caltech, reveals that this underwater migration was spurred by a lasting increase in deep-sea oxygen levels, linked to the ground diffusion of woody plants. This rise in oxygen coincided with a time of notable diversification among jawed fish.

Artistic rendering of Brindabellaspis stensioi (foreground) alongside various other Devonian fossil fish. The white shark and human divers in the upper right corner symbolize modern jaw vertebrates. Image credits: Hongyu Yang/Qiuyang Zheng.

“While oxygen is recognized as essential for animal evolution, establishing its role in trends of animal diversification can be challenging,” remarks Dr. Michael Kipp, a researcher at Duke University.

“This study strongly supports the idea that oxygen has influenced the timing of early animal evolution, particularly concerning the emergence of jawed vertebrates in deep-sea environments.”

For years, scientists believed that deep-sea oxygenation was a singular event that occurred at the onset of the Paleozoic era, around 540 million years ago.

However, recent findings suggest that oxygenation takes place in stages, first making coastal regions more hospitable for respiratory organisms, followed by deeper waters.

Dr. Kipp and his team investigated the timing of these stages by examining sedimentary rocks formed beneath deep seawater.

They focused on selenium within the rocks, an element utilized to ascertain whether oxygen levels were high enough to support life in the ancient ocean.

In marine settings, selenium exists in various forms known as isotopes, which differ based on weight.

At oxygen levels conducive to animal life, the ratio of heavy to light selenium isotopes shows significant variation.

Conversely, at oxygen levels too low for most animals, the ratios remain relatively stable.

By analyzing selenium isotope ratios in marine sediments, researchers can deduce whether oxygen levels were adequate to sustain aquatic life.

The team collected 97 rock samples from around the globe, dating from 252 to 541 million years ago.

These samples were sourced from locations across five continents that were once situated along continental shelves millions of years ago, where the continental edge meets a steep drop-off underwater.

After processing the rocks through grinding, melting, and purifying selenium, the team examined the selenium isotope ratios in each sample.

Their findings reveal that two significant oxygenation events took place in deeper waters of the outer continental shelf, starting during the Mid Devonian, around 540 million years ago, and again between 393 and 382 million years ago during the Paleozoic’s Cambrian period.

For extended periods, oxygen levels plummeted, making survival challenging for most marine life.

“Our selenium data indicates that the second oxygenation event was permanent,” stated Kunmanee ‘Mac’ Bubphamanee, PhD candidate at the University of Washington.

“This event initiated in the mid-Devonian period and has persisted in our younger rock samples.”

This oxygenation event coincided with significant changes in ocean evolution and ecosystems, often referred to as the Paleozoic marine revolution.

Fossil evidence indicates that oxygen became a stable presence in deeper waters, allowing jawed fish known as Gnathostomes to invade and diversify in these environments.

These organisms grew larger, likely due to the supportive oxygen levels facilitating their growth.

The Devonian oxygenation event also correlated with the proliferation of woody plants.

“Our hypothesis posits that the increase in woody plants released more oxygen into the atmosphere, thereby elevating oxygen levels in deeper marine environments,” Dr. Kipp stated.

The cause behind the initial temporary oxygenation event during the Cambrian period remains more obscure.

“What is evident is that the subsequent drop in oxygen post-initial event constrained the spread and diversification of marine animals into deeper continental shelf environments,” Dr. Kipp explained.

“Today, marine oxygen levels are balanced with those in the atmosphere.”

“However, in specific zones, marine oxygen can plummet to undetectable levels.”

“Some of these areas arise from natural phenomena.”

“Still, they are frequently exacerbated by nutrient runoff from fertilizers, industrial activities that degrade plankton, and subsequent oxygen depletion as it decomposes.”

“This research clearly outlines the relationship between oxygen and marine life.”

“It’s a balance established around 400 million years ago, and it would be regrettable to disrupt it in the years to come.”

This study is set to be published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Kunmanee Bubphamanee et al. 2025. Marine oxygenation in Mid Devonian allowed the expansion of animals into deeper water habitats. PNAS 122 (35): E2501342122; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2501342122

Source: www.sci.news

Research Reveals That Lowering Pollution Might Not Compromise Deeper Climate Stability

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Improving the quality of the air we breathe is a significant achievement for public health, but paradoxically, it also accelerates global warming. This is highlighted in a recent study published in Communication Earth and the Environment, which connects the recent efforts to clean up air pollution in East Asia to the intensified climate crisis.

In the last 15 years, global warming has surged dramatically, and until now, the reasons behind this surge were unclear to scientists.

Co-author Dr. Robert Allen, a professor of climate studies at the University of California, Riverside, stated:

To address this, a large team of international scientists examined simulations from eight major climate models.

The majority of the accelerated warming seen since 2010 is believed to stem from efforts to reduce air pollution in East Asia.

During this same period, China was implementing a significant air quality policy that led to a reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions by approximately 75%.

Dr. Bjørn Samset, the lead author of the research and a senior researcher at Norway’s International Climate Environmental Studies Centre, explained to BBC Science Focus that pollution has historically been effective in cooling the planet.

“Think back to a day when the air was polluted or hazy,” he mentioned. “Particles in the air block some sunlight from reaching the ground, effectively providing a cooling shade.

“For decades, air pollution has been helping to mitigate some of the warming caused by greenhouse gases.”

Samset elaborated that by eliminating air pollution, as China has done, some of that cooling effect has been lost.

However, simply allowing pollution to persist is not the answer. Allen noted that 2 and methane must both be addressed together.

Before China’s 2010 air quality policy, pollution was a leading cause of premature deaths in the country – Credit: Jack-Enjo Photography via Getty

In addition to cutting greenhouse gases, some scientists have proposed unconventional measures to slow the climate crisis, such as reintroducing artificial pollution into the atmosphere.

Samset explained that this approach “involves releasing particles into the stratosphere or clouds, which can mirror the cooling effects of air pollution without the harmful health impacts.”

To do this, planes could disperse gas from altitudes of 20 km—significantly higher than typical passenger flights.

However, co-author Professor Laura Wilcox, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, advised in BBC Science Focus that such solutions do not resolve the core issues.

“Similar to air pollution, these methods merely mask atmospheric problems without addressing the root causes,” she stated.

“Another viable strategy is to actively remove CO.2,” she added. “This process, known as carbon capture, is already underway but on a limited scale.”

Possible solutions include planting trees and seaweed, developing mechanical trees, and directly capturing CO2 from the air for storage in rock formations.

Nevertheless, the key solution remains to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions primarily by transitioning away from fossil fuels,” said Samset.

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About our experts

Dr. Bjørn Samset is a senior researcher at the Norwegian Centre for International Climate Research. A physicist and science communicator, he possesses extensive expertise in atmospheric science and global climate modeling, focusing on the impacts of air pollution on climate change through climate modeling.

Professor Laura Wilcox is a professor specializing in aerosol climate interactions at the University of Reading, UK. Her research interests encompass the effects of air pollution on climate and the impacts of aviation on the climate.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Latest Genomic Research Provides Deeper Insight into the Evolutionary Past of Mammoths

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Scientists extracted and analyzed 34 new mammoths (Mamutus spp. ) mitochondrial genomes containing two early Pleistocene and nine mid Pleistocene giant specimens in Siberia and North America. They identified the oldest known mammoth DNA in North America from 200,000-year-old specimens found on the Old Crow River in the Yukon Territory of Canada. The results support previous research and show that mammoths from around 1 million years ago do not resemble the later mammoths.

Reconstruction of the life of the grassland mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii). Image credit: Beth Zaiken/Center for Palaeogenetics.

Ancient DNA was recovered from specimens dated in the early Pleistocene (2.6 million to 780,000 years ago), and the stages in the Middle Pleistocene (780,000 to 126,000 years ago) could allow for the direct study of deep temporal evolutionary events that are key to understanding species formation.

Unfortunately, access to such deep-time DNA is limited, and so far only a handful of studies have been able to obtain either genome-wide data or the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) from deep specimens.

“Our analysis offers an unprecedented glimpse into how major deep-time demographic events have shaped mammoth genetic diversity over time.”

By analyzing 34 new mammothmite genomes along with more than 200 previously published mammothmite genomes, the researchers found that diversification events across the mammoth lineage appeared to be consistent with well-explained demographic changes during the early and mid-Pleistocene.

Their findings support the ancient Siberian origins of the major mammoth lineage and reveal how changes in individual dynamics contributed to the expansion and contraction of different genetic clades.

“The constant cost of sequencing technology has left mitogenomes somewhat forgotten. However, our study shows that they are more abundant than nuclear DNA and are therefore important for evolutionary biology.

The current research not only advances understanding of mammoth evolution, but also contributes to a wider field of ancient DNA research.

Scientists have developed and applied an improved molecular clock dating framework and improved methods of estimating sample age beyond radiocarbon dating limits using genetic data.

This methodological advancement provides a powerful tool for future research into extinct and endangered species.

Professor Love Darren, a researcher at Stockholm University, said:

“We are extremely excited to see genetic data from more mammoth specimens sampled over the past million years.

Team’s result Published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.

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J. Camilo Chacón-Duque et al. 2025. The evolution of the mammoth genome for a million years. Molecular Biology and Evolution 42(4): MSAF065; doi: 10.1093/molbev/msaf065

Source: www.sci.news

Reid Hoffman believes that deeper use of AI is a huge boost to intelligence amplification

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rEid Hoffman is a prominent Silicon Valley billionaire entrepreneur and investor known for co-founding LinkedIn, a professional social networking site currently owned by Microsoft. He is also solidly anti-Trump. Longtime Democrat donors threw his support behind Kamala Harris at the White House race. Hoffman spoke observer His new book on our future with new political environment technology and artificial intelligence; Super Agency. The book doesn’t ignore any issues that AI can cause, but, This technology claims to be poised to provide a cognitive superpower that will increase our personal, collective human institutions and create a broad state of empowerment in society.

You have a vested interest in being positive about AI, including companies focused on conversational AI for business, Inflection AI. Why should we listen to you?
First, economic benefits don’t necessarily make what someone is saying wrong, I am transparent and I try not to hide mine. Secondly, I tend to start with my beliefs and follow my own money. And sometimes it means doing something against my financial interests. Don’t kiss [Trump’s] The ring is probably an economic limiter, as many others have, but in principle it’s better to do it. I could have put the time and energy I spent writing Super Agency I made more money for my company, but I would like to share my intellectual discourse.

What are your hopes for books?
I want to at least make people ai-curious, so they start exploring these superpowers that we all may be getting. There is a flood of debate about AI, which tends to be negative and has to do with a decline in human institutions. And it’s a general response to new technology, but in previous cases it didn’t go through – the human institutions have increased – and I predict that the AI ​​revolution will land in the same place. However, there is a turbulent transition. I call it the “Cognitive Industrial Revolution.” Not only because of the expected superpowers and superinstitutions, but as with the Industrial Revolution, the transition will be difficult. When we use techno and humanist compasses that point us towards building technology that increases human institutions, we can overcome it with less pain and more bounty.

It claims like an AI chatbot chatgpt Because of the comparison, it was a turning point when increasing the number of human agents. With AI technologies like facial recognition, predictive policing, and algorithmic surveillance, they work for With us and Not us Above We must choose to use them positively. But they still lead us towards a specific perspective, paralyze critical thinking, and of course, could overturn our work – It seems to undermine human agents.
They are transformed to do their job Information experts need to use AI tools to do some of the work. Otherwise you’re short on tools and not competitive. And you may feel it as a loss of the agency. You don’t want to change, but you can’t choose not to do so. But then you start to see the benefits. Iterative tasks can be automated and accelerate creative processes. You get more agents, so do other people.

So, isn’t we all going out of date?
I believe that AI will mostly still be copilots, but obviously some job types will disappear. We need to build technology that can help people whose jobs change their adaptation. Or, if the job is completely gone, you can find other jobs that they can learn and do with AI.

You label people who harm AI’s short-term risks and harms as “dark,” but isn’t it important to criticize new technology?
yes. But if it makes sense, you need to stop or slow down significantly. It’s not helpful. This is especially true because countries that are adopting the cognitive industrial revolution early and firmly will gain a large amount of economic strength, and their values ​​will shape the world. I want them to acquire Western democracy before others like China who are trying to embrace it through dictatorships.

You will reach a good future by piloting towards it. It’s not that we’re not paying attention to a bad future, but we do so because we’re thinking about how to navigate the right way. It adopts a repetitive unfolding stance – tests deliberately progressive versions in the real world at once to see where criticism plays and adjusts (this is how Openai unfolds ChatGpt).

Where is wealthy leadership? Democrats against Trump? Or people are lying low for fear of political retaliation You said Are you worried?
Personally, I am reorganizing. For me, the point is not fighting Trump. It helps to improve humanity and society, including American society. And you may be thinking that this administration is not going to listen to my thoughts on what the government should do with AI, so I should focus on contributing elsewhere. I recently launched Manas AI, focusing on the discovery of drugs to cure cancer. He also recently became a fellow at the London School of Economics, helping AI think about how to reinvent the university.

That being said, obviously I was disappointed and deeply concerned about the various things that have happened since Trump took office, as if he had formed a seemingly alliance with Russia and Putin and resigned from an offensive cyber operation.

You’re in it Few high-tech moguls are not jointlyHeaded towards President Trump. What should we conclude about the morality of this industry? Roll back the Dei (Diversity) initiative and drop FactCheckinglike Meta did?
I have a quiet friend! The tech industry should talk and take some of the clues from governments elected by Democratic votes. The fact that you happen to not like this government does not deny it. But on the other hand, frankly, there are times when something bad is happening for society. It can be easily argued that some Dei initiatives are going too far and it’s good to adjust them, but part of Dei is civil rights.

I clearly disagree with some of the moves made to remove fact checks. There are anti-Vax claims on various social networking platforms, very easily false and have a double-digit percentage of Americans who believe in various vaccine-related conspiracy theories. Such a level of disinformation within society makes it difficult for democracies to operate. LinkedIn is criticized for being boring, but it illustrates many of the things you think should be happening on social networks around fact checking.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are outside the White House. Photo: Shutterstock

How worried was it to see the “fast move, break things” technical approach applied to the US federal government by DOGE? [Elon Musk’s department of government effeciency]in some cases, do you use AI software to identify budget cuts?
I think most businessmen, including myself, would think that coming up with ways to make government more efficient is a good goal. But you can do it in a more legitimate way than you do it. They are trying to fire all these professionals and rehire them. It’s a hot mess of incompetent behavior. Even if you’re doing it vigorously and quickly, there are ways to do it. They may have asked for notes about the program they were considering cutting off. “Just cancel everything and see what happens” is a path with large external costs.

You and Elon Musk were once friends. However, he condemns you and continues to repeatedly accus you of being one of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients. What you said “demons and lies” and your only involvement with Epstein, which you apologise, is to help raise funds for MIT Media Lab. Do you have any plans to take legal action?
I have not filed a personal lawsuit yet. I tend to be a builder, and this kind of manufacturer and legal action is very difficult in the US. I also thought of calling for the release of the Epstein Files to unravel the truth. But do I really want to get into that tar pit? I question Yellon’s motivation for saying these things that he is given to him now in government. I think he’s trying to smear my voice down to reduce its connection with Americans.

How do you equip yourself? What advice do you have for young adults thinking about their career path?
I don’t think it would prevent myself. It’s about amplifying yourself. The key is to engage with AI and learn the tools. And young people have real benefits. They tend to easily adopt new technologies, which can bring skill sets and mindsets to the workplace that can help transform the workplace.

Your previous book, Improvingis described as “written.”Reed Hoffman With chatgpt-4“And it documents the conversation with the chatbot. How much did you use AI to write this book?
meanwhile [my co-author and I] Feeling that we own all the words here, we use it a lot! For research, I would like to give us the advantages and disadvantages of what we discussed in the various sections, suggesting rewriting the paragraph and giving us more zing. My recommendation for all writers is to start using AI in depth. It’s a huge intelligence amp. And the way we used it was not wholesale to say “written in ai”. It’s like saying “written on a Mac.”

How should AI be regulated? Biden’s 2023 executive order, which aimed to reduce the risk of the US closest to federal AI regulations, was rescinded by Trump, who described it as a barrier to American AI innovation.
Regulations, such as deployment, must be repetitive. Certainly, regulations as we go, and now even some regulations. Biden’s executive order was right in the direction of dealing with great harm, not all the harm you could think of. But that’s not just a regulation. Feedback from customers, employees and the public is all part of steering the road here. Benchmarks and metrics are also important ways to combine non-legs of low-performance shelf algorithms.

Will it be a chatbot built on a leading partisan language model (LLM) that eschew the truth and strengthens your worldview?
Obviously, it’s not good that we’re in a perfect filter bubble. And I think you’ll get some of that with some LLM. I’m a fan of identifying the principles you are training in your LLM and clarifying rational arguments for that. So: I believe this, this, and this, so I believe that I am a “confession” LLM, because I believe that people who oppose you are LLM that let you know because it is important for you to be informed. That way people will know what they are using.

The Holy Grail of Engineers to Reach Artificial General Information – AI can carry out the intellectual tasks that humans can do in cans and what many expect will be achieved by the end of the decade. Industrial Revolution?
Although not necessarily, it will amplify even more. Today’s LLM allows us to do things that humans cannot do in terms of knowledge and can bring things together. Within three years the tools are sufficient, so if you don’t use them, you’ll be like an expert who doesn’t have a mobile phone. But are we talking about AGI or artificial super intelligence (ASI)? [greatly exceeding human cognitive abilities]And I think it’s at least decades away, but we should try to shape them in a way that’s good for us and in a way that’s good for society. Let’s make sure ASIS is essentially Buddhist in their values.

  • Superagency: What could work with the future of AI? Reid Hoffman and Greg Beat are issued by Authors Equity (£22). Supporting Guardian and observer Please order a copy at Guardianbookshop.com. Shipping charges may apply

Source: www.theguardian.com

New research reveals deeper insights into the genetic factors influencing coffee consumption

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Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages. In a new study, scientists from the University of California, San Diego and others conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of coffee intake among US-based 23andMe participants. They investigated genetic correlations and conducted a phenotype-wide association study across hundreds of biomarkers, health, and lifestyle traits, and compared their results with the largest GWAS of coffee intake from UK Biobank.

Coffee drinking is an inherited habit and carries a certain amount of genetic load. Image courtesy of Sci.News.

“To create the GWAS, we collected genetic data and self-reported coffee consumption,” said lead author Dr. Hayley Thorpe, a researcher at Western University and the University of Guelph.

“Our goal was to identify associations between genes known to be associated with coffee consumption and health-related traits and conditions.”

“We used these data to identify regions in the genome that are associated with a higher or lower likelihood of drinking coffee.”

“And then we identify the genetics and biology that underlie coffee consumption.”

“Many people are surprised that coffee consumption has genetic effects,” said co-author Abraham Palmer, PhD, a research scientist at the University of California, San Diego.

“From previous papers, we had good reason to suspect that there was a gene that influenced coffee intake.”

“So it wasn’t a surprise to us that in both cohorts we looked at, there was statistical evidence that this is a genetic trait.”

“In other words, the specific genetic variants we inherit from our parents influence how much coffee we drink.”

“The genetic influence on coffee consumption was the first of two questions we wanted to answer,” said Sandra Sanchez Loij, PhD, a research scientist at the University of California, San Diego and senior author of the paper.

“The second thing is what coffee lovers really want to know: Is drinking coffee good or bad? Does drinking coffee have positive health consequences or not?”

The group’s genome-wide association study of 130,153 US-based 23andMe study participants, compared with a similar UK Biobank database (334,649 British individuals), found consistent positive genetic associations between coffee consumption and adverse health outcomes such as obesity and drug use.

A positive genetic association is a link between a particular gene variant (genotype) and a particular condition (phenotype).

Conversely, a negative genetic association would be a clear protective trait that would thwart the onset of the disease.

When it comes to mental illness, the findings are more mixed.

“For example, if you look at the genetics of anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder and depression, in the 23andMe data, they tend to be positively correlated with the genetics of coffee consumption,” Dr. Thorpe said.

“However, in UK Biobank we see the opposite pattern of negative genetic correlation, which is not what we expected.”

“There were other instances where the 23andMe sets did not match the UK Biobank, but the biggest discrepancies were for psychiatric disorders.”

“It’s common in this field to combine similar datasets to increase research power. This information tells us pretty clearly that combining these two datasets was not a smart idea. And we ended up not doing so.”

“Mixing databases can mask effects, leading researchers to erroneous conclusions, or even cancel each other out.”

“There are a few ideas as to how the differences in results could have arisen. First, the studies were comparing apples with oranges,” Dr. Sánchez Loisi said.

“For example, the 23andMe survey asks, ‘How many 5-ounce (cup-sized) cups of caffeinated coffee do you drink per day?’ Compare this to UK Biobank’s, ‘How many cups of coffee do you drink per day (including decaffeinated coffee)?'”

“The study did not take into account the variety of ways coffee is presented, beyond serving size and whether it’s caffeinated or decaffeinated.”

“We know that in the UK instant coffee is generally preferred, whereas in the US ground coffee is more commonly preferred,” Dr Thorpe said.

“And then there’s the Frappuccino, the American fad of drinking coffee loaded with added sugar,” Dr. Sánchez Loij added.

“There are other caffeinated drinks out there and, particularly in the UK Biobank context, tea was not included in the GWAS that looked solely at coffee,” Dr Palmer said.

“GWAS shows that the genotype-phenotype relationship is more different than that between coffee and tea.”

“Genetics influences a lot of things. For example, it influences your height.”

“And these things would probably play out in the same way whether you lived in the US or the UK. But coffee is a decision people make.”

“Coffee comes in many forms, from instant to Frappuccino, and is consumed within different cultural norms in different places,” Dr Sánchez Loij said.

“Someone with one genotype may end up with a completely different phenotype if they live in the UK and the US.”

“And that’s exactly what the data tells us, because in the case of height, behavior doesn’t really matter, but behavior and selection in the environment affect it in different ways. So genotype-environment interactions complicate the picture.”

Team paper Published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

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HHA Soap othersGenome-wide association study of coffee consumption in UK/US participants of European descent revealed cohort-specific genetic associations. NeuropsychopharmacologyPublished online April 17, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41386-024-01870-x

Source: www.sci.news

Interview with Jim Peebles: Renowned cosmologist discusses the search for deeper theories of the universe

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Jim Peebles is widely known as the architect of modern cosmology and its nice-guy chief executive.give half a share of 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics, the committee said he “took up the universe” and helped create the framework known as the Standard Model of Cosmology, which is now considered “the basis of modern understanding of the history of the universe.” Others described him as an “extraordinary physicist” and “extraordinarily thoughtful, polite and kind.”

Now the Albert Einstein Professor Emeritus of Science at Princeton University, Peebles' career began there in the 1960s, focusing on Einstein's theory of general relativity, in which gravity occurs as a result of distortions of mass in spacetime. . He later characterized the cosmic microwave background (CMB), an “echo” of the Big Bang, a discovery that made cosmology an experimental science. He also showed that halos of dark matter around galaxies create a mass distribution consistent with astronomers' observations, and that the description of our universe requires reinstatement of Einstein's much-derided cosmological constant. I convinced the field that there was. Initially incorporated into the equations of general relativity as an unwieldy trick, it is now thought of as dark energy, the repulsive force driving the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Despite the success of the standard cosmological model, Peebles has always sought to undermine it. In recent years, he has focused his musings on observing astronomical anomalies – strange galaxies and other interesting phenomena – that may expose flaws in our thinking.

he says new scientist On his vision for cosmology and why it's important to deviate from the mainstream…

Source: www.newscientist.com