A first-of-its-kind experiment tracing evolution across 25 generations shows that tiny crustaceans at the heart of the ocean food web rely on a largely unknown biological toolkit to survive the stresses of climate change. The study reveals that it’s not only genetic changes that help these animals adapt to warming and acidifying ocean conditions. In addition, little-known epigenetic changes play a crucial role too. Remarkably, the researchers led by Melissa Pespeni at the University of Vermont discovered that the two mechanisms operate independently offering a two-pronged strategy for resilience. Until now, few studies have tracked genetic and epigenetic changes in tandem over many generations. This experiment is one of the first to do so in a long-term, replicated evolution study—offering some of the strongest evidence yet that epigenetic change can help populations survive and perhaps allow future genetic adaptation. Which means that copepods may be tougher under the stresses of a warming ocean than scientists previously would have predicted. And that could be good news for the fish species who eat copepods as primary prey—and many other creatures.

Remarkable fossils found in North Greenland have helped researchers solve a 500-million-year-old puzzle surrounding squid-like ancestors.

Researchers at The University of Osaka developed a deep learning model for rapid building damage assessment after floods using satellite imagery. This research establishes the first systematic benchmark for this task and introduces a novel semi-supervised learning method achieving 74% of fully supervised performance with just 10% of the labeled data. A new, lightweight deep learning model named Simple Prior Attention Disaster Assessment Net or SPADANet significantly reduces missed damaged buildings, improving recall by over 9% compared to existing models. This work provides crucial design principles for future AI disaster response, enabling faster and more efficient life-saving operations.

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin analyzed the calcium isotopes in the teeth enamel of four different dinosaur species to discover what they ate. They found that some dinosaurs were discerning eaters, with different species preferring different plant parts. This helps explain how these dinosaurs, which all roamed the western U.S. during the Late Jurassic, were all able to coexist in the same ecosystem.

A treasure trove of exceptionally preserved early animals from more than half a billion years ago has been discovered in the Grand Canyon, one of the natural world’s most iconic sites. The rich fossil discovery – the first such find in the Grand Canyon – includes tiny rock-scraping molluscs, filter-feeding crustaceans, spiky-toothed worms, and even fragments of the food they likely ate.

A study led by Associate Professor Kelton McMahon at University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography has found that food webs on tropical reefs are more fragile than we once thought. Instead of being part of a highly connected system where species can easily switch food sources, many reef creatures in these incredibly biodiverse ecosystems rely on surprisingly narrow, specialized energy pathways that link specific species to distinct sources of primary production.

Inspired by a hitchhiking fish that uses a specialized suction organ to latch onto other marine animals, MIT engineers designed a mechanical adhesive device that attaches to soft, slippery surfaces and remains there for days or weeks. The device could be used to deliver drugs in the GI tract or monitor aquatic environments.