A successful game of fetch I helped a lost dog’s AirTag ping its owner: An ode to replaceable batteries The most repair-friendly device Apple makes needs to stick with coin batteries. Kevin Purdy – May 21, 2025 5:31 pm | 24 This is Serene, a 7-year-old pitbull mix available for adoption at the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, DC. Credit: Humane Rescue Alliance This is Serene, a 7-year-old pitbull mix available for adoption at the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, DC. Credit: Humane Rescue Alliance Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Out of all the books I read for my formal education, one bit, from one slim paperback, has lodged the deepest into my brain. William Blundell's The Art and Craft of Feature Writing offers a "selective list of what readers like." It starts with a definitive No. 1: "Dogs, followed by other cute animals and well-behaved small children." People, Blundell writes, are your second-best option, providing they are doing or saying something interesting. I have failed to provide Ars Technica readers with a dog story during nearly three years here. Today, I intend to fix that. This is a story about a dog, but also a rare optimistic take on a ubiquitous "smart" product, one that helped out a very good girl. Note: The images in this post are not of the aforementioned dog, so as to protect their owner's privacy. The Humane Rescue Alliance of Washington, DC, provided photos of adoptable dogs with some resemblance to that dog. Hello, stranger My wife and I were sitting with our dog on our front porch on a recent weekend morning. We were drinking coffee, reading, and enjoying DC's tiny window for temperate spring weather. I went inside for a moment; when I came back, my dog was inside, but my wife was not. Confused, I cracked open the door to look out. A dog, not my own, stuck its nose into the door gap, eager to sniff me out. "There's a dog here?" my wife said, partly to herself. "She just ran up on the porch. I have no idea where she came from." Rexi, a nearly 3-year-old mixed breed, is being fostered and ready for adoption at the Humane Rescue Alliance. The author's wife thinks Rexi looks the most like their unexpected dog visitor. Credit: Humane Rescue Alliance Rexi, a nearly 3-year-old mixed breed, is being fostered and ready for adoption at the Humane Rescue Alliance. The author's wife thinks Rexi looks the most like their unexpected dog visitor. Credit: Humane Rescue Alliance I secured my dog inside, then headed out to meet this fast-moving but friendly interloper. She had a collar, but no leash, and looked well-groomed, healthy, and lightly frantic. The collar had a silicone band on it, holding one of Apple's AirTags underneath. I pulled out the AirTag, tapped it against my phone, and nothing happened. While my wife posted on our neighborhood's various social outlets (Facebook, Nextdoor, and a WhatsApp group for immediate neighbors), I went into the garage and grabbed a CR2032 battery. That's not something everyone has, but I have a few AirTags, along with a bit of a home automation habit. After some pressing, twisting, and replacing, the AirTag beeped and returned to service. I tapped the AirTag against my phone, this time receiving a link to a webpage with the tag's serial number and the last four digits of its owner's phone number. I had not yet needed to actually find something truly lost with an AirTag, so I looked up how it worked. Once you set an AirTag in your Apple account to "Lost" status, you can then choose to have a full phone number and message appear to anybody who taps it with their device (iOS or Android). If you don't know that your AirTag or Find-My-compatible item is missing and mark it that way, you can't preemptively have it offer up details. Maybe Apple should change that, for certain kinds of tracking. Noma, a 1-year-old pit bull mix, at the Humane Rescue Alliance. Credit: Humane Rescue Alliance Noma, a 1-year-old pit bull mix, at the Humane Rescue Alliance. Credit: Humane Rescue Alliance I had to leave the house, leaving my wife to negotiate space and sight lines between our concerned, confused dog and this excited newcomer. The local animal control encouraged my wife to monitor social channels before dropping the dog off at their facility. After two hours of unexpected fostering, we were anxiously texting one another. We were glad to have gotten this dog off the street and into a home with leashes and a crate available, but we had to make a decision before the animal shelter closed for the day. Then the doorbell rang. The dog's owner, led by the AirTag, asked if we had her dog. She explained how the dog got loose and pledged to keep a fresh battery in there from now on. My wife said goodbye to her temporary charge, and I came home to find both her and my dog far more relaxed. Maybe the dog's owner would have seen postings on Facebook or Nextdoor, though I cannot blame anybody who doesn't want those networks in their life. Perhaps a neighborhood phone chain would have come through, or the shelter could have connected us. But Apple's coin battery-powered nub came through in the nick of time, and I'm grateful. That’s a good AirTag—now, stay Cresha, a 3-year-old mixed-breed dog, is available for adoption. Credit: Humane Rescue Alliance Cresha, a 3-year-old mixed-breed dog, is available for adoption. Credit: Humane Rescue Alliance I was working at iFixit when rumors circulated about Apple developing a "Tile-like" item tracker in early 2019. The teardown and communications teams at iFixit were largely expecting Apple to release another tiny product that was impossible to fix or have its batteries swapped, filling the gaps in landfills alongside AirPods. Tile, one of the first in the Bluetooth tracking market, had introduced replaceable batteries a few months prior. But Apple, at that point still defending its butterfly MacBook keyboards and holding tight to Lightning ports, seemed unlikely to go the way of the common denominator. But Apple chose wisely. After addressing some of the early concerns about their potential misuses (though others remain), AirTags have become very handy devices. Some dog owners go for GPS tracker collars, which might fare better in rural areas. But it's a good bet that somebody with an iPhone will get close enough to your dog—or wallet, or keys—to update its location. Even if they don't have an iPhone to provide a location ping, they can get some information on who owns this tag. Apple is seemingly gearing up to offer a new AirTag, one with purportedly greater range and fewer avenues for privacy-invading misuse. I humbly request that the new model continue to be powered by a coin cell battery. When something important goes missing—especially something that likes ear scritches and pumpkin treats—it is best not to have to find a charging cable or magnetic charging pad, or discover the cells inside are dead. Coin cells are not perfectly recyclable, because nothing really is, but they're generally much easier to handle than lithium-ion waste. I have AirTags on my family's bikes, keys, wallets, and a couple other things. Depending on what the next AirTag looks like, I'm keen to get one on my dog's collar, too. Take the battery warnings seriously, and they can help some wayward good boys and girls. And I hope they made this human, telling a story about coin batteries, momentarily interesting. Kevin Purdy Senior Technology Reporter Kevin Purdy Senior Technology Reporter Kevin is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering open-source software, PC gaming, home automation, repairability, e-bikes, and tech history. He has previously worked at Lifehacker, Wirecutter, iFixit, and Carbon Switch. 24 Comments

Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images Nature abhors a vacuum, and so, too, does geopolitics. With the US under Donald Trump vacating the stage when it comes to tackling global warming, the climate crown is waiting to be claimed – and if China’s president, Xi Jinping, wants it, it is his for the taking. China’s climate record is mixed. Since 2006, it has been the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, as the nation has rapidly industrialised. On the other hand, that industrialisation has seen it become the world leader in solar panel manufacturing. Xi himself has also shied away from the global climate stage. He hasn’t attended a COP climate summit since Paris in 2015, when countries agreed a target of holding warming below 1.5°C. While many nations have since interpreted this as needing to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, China has only pledged to reach carbon neutrality, a weaker promise, by 2060.Advertisement But that could all be about to change. As we report on page 10, China’s emissions appear to have peaked. It also looks like Xi is planning to make an appearance at COP30 when it is held in Belém, Brazil, this November. The pieces are falling into place for a major climate intervention from China – but what will it be? The pieces are falling into place for a major climate intervention from China – but what will it be? The most likely announcement is an interim target on the way to 2060, perhaps a pledge for certain cuts by 2040. But if Xi wants to be the world’s climate leader, he should go further, with a pledge of net zero by 2050. That this would simply match existing targets by the likes of the UK is no small thing, as there is a feeling in many nations that those who were first to industrialise should also be first to cut emissions. China adopting the 2050 target would make it harder for others to wriggle out of it, and could spur on green tech. Will Xi go so far? Probably not. But with reports that COP30 may be a disappointment (see “Is the COP30 climate summit already in crisis, with six months to go?”), the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has made no secret of his desire for strong relations with China, would do well to work on convincing Xi to act. If China is to take the crown, Brazil can be the crown bearer. Topics:

Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during a Google I/O conference. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 2025-05-21T22:01:46Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Google announced over two dozen new AI updates at its I/O developer conference. It's impressive, though some of the new products seem to overlap significantly. Google's approach could lose to more focused rivals as tech races to build an "everything app." Attending Google's I/O developer conference is like being doused with a firehose of new AI announcements.At I/O's keynote event on Tuesday, Business Insider counted at least two dozen new models, features, and updates."We are shipping faster than ever," Google CEO Sundar Pichai boasted onstage.Indeed. But it's starting to get a little confusing. For one, some of the launches seem to overlap with each other. Launching so many AI products in such a short timeframe is impressive, and it can also feel scatterbrained.AI Mode allows you to chat with Google as you browse the web, creating a more conversational search experience. Don't confuse it with Gemini in Chrome, which allows you to ask Gemini questions while you browse.With Gemini Live, you can point your phone at whatever you want and talk to the AI assistant about it. Don't mistake it for Search Live, which allows you to chat with Search about whatever your phone sees.Project Mariner is an experimental AI agent that can take actions like booking tickets. Gemini's upcoming Agent Mode also has agentic capabilities, like helping users find just the right Zillow listing.Not all the new tools seemed that similar. Google launched an impressive new AI filmmaking tool called Flow, powered by its new model Veo 3.Google also touted updates to an entirely separate AI model family from Gemini called Gemma which, incidentally, can help decipher how dolphins talk to each other — that's DolphinGemma.Multiple Googlers that Business Insider spoke with at I/O used a single word to describe Google's current rate of shipping: "intense."Google's approach complicates its own vision of building a single, universal AI assistant. (That mission has its own name, too: Project Astra.)OpenAI is also moving fast towards this goal and appears intent on launching a dedicated device to run it, given its recent purchase of Apple designer Jony Ive's hardware startup.Google risks building so many overlapping AI products that it will be tough to compete with a single, more stand-alone solution, such as an AI-native phone.No one's counting Google out, though. The tech giant has become an undeniable AI leader, inventing much of the core research behind the current boom and successfully launching transformational technology like Waymo. Time will tell whether Google's more sprawling approach wins out.Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration moved to deport eight men to South Sudan in what a federal judge in Boston says was “unquestionably” a violation of a court order.What happened? On Tuesday, the US government put eight men — only one a South Sudanese citizen — on a deportation flight to South Sudan, an unstable country in East Africa that is on the verge of civil war, with minimal notice and no chance to speak with a lawyer. Their exact location is now unclear.What have courts ruled about deportations? A court order from April, issued by the same federal judge, Brian Murphy, blocked the Trump administration from deporting immigrants to countries not their own without due process because of the possibility they could face violence or death there.What will happen to the immigrants who were deported? Murphy has ordered the government to keep the men in US custody while considering how to ensure their due process rights, but they won’t be flown back to the US. Murphy also raised the possibility of criminal contempt sanctions for officials involved in the deportations.What’s the context? This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has attempted deportations to a dangerous third-party country. Not only has the administration sent Venezuelan immigrants to a brutal El Salvadoran megaprison, but Murphy, the federal judge in Boston, also intervened earlier in May to block deportation flights to Libya.What does this mean for Trump’s immigration plans? The Trump administration is almost certain to keep testing the limits of what it can do on immigration. In an interview published today, Vice President JD Vance alleged that “you are seeing an effort by the courts to quite literally overturn the will of the American people” on immigration enforcement, raising the specter of more clashes to come. And with that, it’s time to log off…The promise of this newsletter is to help you get the important news, then log off. So we’d be remiss in not sharing Vox deputy editor Izzie Ramirez’s attempt to do just that: For (almost) a full month, she abandoned her iPhone and switched to a “dumbphone” that could do little more than text and call. She writes that the experience encouraged deeper connections and spontaneous hangs, and helped restore her attention span. Couldn’t we all use that? You’ve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you — threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you — join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

Xbox exclusive Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 will make the jump to PlayStation 5, Microsoft has confirmed, as the company continues its plan for multiplatform releasesTech15:38, 21 May 2025Updated 16:27, 21 May 2025Ready to reunite with Senua, PlayStation fans?Microsoft has fully embraced its multiplatform future, with everything from Forza Horizon 5 to Gears of War bound for PlayStation.While Sony hasn't reciprocated just yet, making it the only console with the likes of God of War and The Last of Us, Team Green keeps putting its games on PS5, albeit with a delay from the original Xbox launch in most instances.‌So, which title is next? Why it's 2024's Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, of course, which is already available on Xbox and PC. Not only will those versions gain extra features through a patch (although we don't know what those are just yet), but Sony's expensive PS5 Pro will get additional features.‌That could make it the best place to play the Xbox game, just like Forza Horizon 5's superlative port.Hellblade 2 is already a stunning game"Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II arrives optimized for PlayStation 5, and PS5 Pro Enhanced, with added features and immersive haptic feedback for new ways to experience the award-winning and critically acclaimed next chapter of Senua’s story," the PlayStation Store listing says.Article continues belowWhile we don't know what the PS5 Pro features will be at this point, the fact that the more powerful system will offer features above and beyond the Xbox version may irk some fans of Microsoft's console.The game will also include Sony's Game Help feature, according to the listing.Hellblade 2 will no longer be an Xbox exclusive(Image: Ninja Theory)‌The first Hellblade, Senua's Sacrifice, was launched on PS4 and Xbox One in 2017, with developer Ninja Theory being acquired by Xbox the following year."The sequel to the award winning Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Senua returns in a brutal journey of survival through the myth and torment of Viking Iceland," the game's product description explains."Intent on saving those who have fallen victim to the horrors of tyranny, Senua faces a battle of overcoming the darkness within and without."Article continues belowIn our review, we called Hellblade 2 a "stunning interactive movie", but acknowledged it was perhaps lacking in terms of gameplay.For more on PS5 Pro upgrades, check out our list of the best-looking games on Sony's pricier system—and yes, Forza Horizon 5 is on there.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.‌‌‌

Federal agencies are struggling to predict the weather and monitor disease 

The portal into a whole world of gods and monsters has been opened at Epic Universe, Orlando, Florida’s newest theme park. The Universal Monsters reign supreme at the Dark Universe, where you explore the world of Darkmoor that just so happens to be the place where so many of Universal Studios’ classic horror films intersect. io9 was thrilled to be among the first to ride its main attraction: Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. At the center of the action is the Frankenstein Manor, where Victoria Frankenstein resides and continues the mad work of her ancestor Victor. She’s built a new monster prototype and aims to capture the horrors of the icons of fright. Under her watch she’s got the Phantom of the Opera, the Creature From the Black Lagoon, and more with the help of her Frankenstein she aims to dominate Dracula. © io9 Gizmodo What transpires is an awesome and action-packed thrill ride into the monster mash of your dreams if you’re a horror fan. You see Victoria, a badass leather-donning scientist, and her monster attempt to harness Drac’s power—but it might be more than they can keep their grip on because: BAT! Dracula can burst into smaller creatures of the night and aims to escape domestication for some sort of Monsters Avengers team-up. Yes, really. The ride itself uses a similar mechanism to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, where you are moved around practical and video scenes to witness the story. Along the way you bear witness to exciting monster squad squabble up moments with state of the art animatronics. To me, it’s my favorite ride and I love how passionate the lore crafted around it seemed to be. If the ride were to breakdown, I’d say “Well, I guess I live here now”—that’s how amazing the showrooms are. For thrill ride fans, Epic Universe also features Curse of the Werewolf, a spinning coaster inspired by the Wolf-Man that also features incredible animatronic work. © io9 Gizmodo While you might not be able to live there, Darkmoor feels the most lived-in, in the best way. The wandering interactions with Igor, the Invisible Man, the Monster, and the Bride of Frankenstein weave a new classic story you’re a part of. The Bride even calls this new Frank her friend as the body of her Frankenstein rests in the queue of Frankenstein Manor. They’re existing in a timeline where monsters are celebrated and feared by the villagers. They even have a Burning Blade Tavern, which homages the studio’s original horror film universe and incorporates the lore into the ambiance and even the menu items. I love myself a character-shaped pretzel and you’ll find a Frankenstein one here to suit your snacking needs. And one of the most killer facts? The score of the land is composed by none other than “Dead Man’s Party” legend Danny Elfman (Beetlejuice). There’s even a part-exclusive vinyl you can buy of his work, pressed for a limited special release only in the theme park land. © io9 Gizmodo The Dark Universe also offers the chance to not only walk among the creatures of the night but be one too, thanks to the Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience. It’s the most important spooky, scary appointment you need to make if you go. Mad scientists, er, makeup artists transform you and help you look like you walk among the shadows beneath the scorching Florida sun. It’s worth it and there’s even cosplay lite fashion gear to feel like you belong. For the first time in my life, I finally found a theme park land where I felt the most at home and in my true form. Epic Universe opens this Friday at Universal Studios Orlando. Travel and accommodations as well as the monster make-up demo were provided for the purposes of this review. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Fenix Art Museum / MAD ArchitectsSave this picture!© Iwan BaanMuseum, Refurbishment•Rotterdam, The Netherlands Architects: MAD Architects Area Area of this architecture project Area:  8000 m² Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2025 Photographs Photographs: Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers:  Goppion Project Contractors: Products translation missing: en-US.post.svg.material_description More SpecsLess Specs Save this picture! Text description provided by the architects. Fenix is a major new museum that explores migration through the lens of art, opening on a landmark site in Rotterdam's City Harbor, developed by internationally acclaimed architects MAD. With a rapidly expanding collection of historic and contemporary objects, Fenix tells the story of migration through a series of encounters with art, architecture, photography, food, and history. Located in what was once part of the world's largest transshipment warehouse, on a peninsula in Rotterdam's historic port district, Fenix overlooks the docks where millions of migrant journeys began and ended. The monumental 16,000 square meter warehouse has been transformed to become Fenix by MAD Architects with restoration consultation by Bureau Polderman. This is MAD Architects' first commission for a public cultural building in Europe, as well as the first museum to be built by a Chinese firm in Europe. The project was initiated by the Droom en Daad Foundation, founded in 2016. The Foundation is helping redefine Rotterdam for the 21st century - developing new kinds of arts and culture institutions and fostering new creative talent that reflects the city's diversity, its spirit, and its historySave this picture!Restoration of the 172-meter-long façade of the former shipping and storage warehouse began in 2018, led by Bureau Polderman, and took a year and a half to complete. Some architectural details date back to 1923 when the warehouse opened, while others were part of the 1948-1950 reconstruction plan. In the past 60 years, many additions were made and the building's function changed many 4mes. The façade lacked uniformity. Fronts and frames were rusty. All elements along the façade have now been restored, refurnished, or rebuilt. The characteristic windows were restored to reflect the style of 1923. The 2,200 sqm expanse of the south façade was blast-cleaned and cement stucco was reapplied. The characteristic sliding doors at street level have been restored to their original post-war state, with doors and frames repainted in their original green color. A serene rhythm of columns, windows, and fronts has emerged that emphasizes the horizontal quality of the building.Save this picture!Save this picture!A defining new feature of the building is the Tornado - a double helix staircase evocative of rising air that climbs from the ground floor and flows up and out of the rooftop onto an outdoor platform offering spectacular panoramic views across Rotterdam and the Maas River, 24 meters above ground level. The dynamic structure is cladded in 297 polished stainless-steel panels, made in Groningen, Netherlands. The canopy that sits at the top of the structure is 17m in length and was transported by boat from Groningen to Rotterdam in pieces before being assembled and lifted into place. Inside the Tornado is a 550m long double-helix wooden staircase which emerges onto the platform, which can also be accessed via a central shaft.Save this picture!Inside the building are a series of vast gallery spaces spread over two floors, housing Fenix's growing art and historical collection, as well as a series of commissions by emerging artists from across the world. The ground floor contains exhibition and programming spaces, while the upstairs galleries are dedicated to the Fenix Collection. The museum is accessed via entrances in the centre of the north façade on the riverfront and the south façade. On arrival, visitors are immediately drawn to the base of the Tornado, whose dynamic, twisting form is lit by the glass roof above the central atrium that allows natural light to filter into the lobby. The entrance atrium features a welcome desk, museum shop, and café. At 2,275 sqm, Plein is a vast, flexible space for events and performances and will host a constantly changing programme of activity curated for and with Rotterdam's communities. Located on the ground floor on the Eastern side of the building, it features doors on three sides which can be opened out to create a welcoming covered public space. Fenix offers a number of dining options located throughout the building where visitors can encounter food cultures that have travelled the world.Save this picture!The top of the warehouse features a 6,750 sqm 'green roof', featuring sedum plants arranged in a concentric pattern, in line with the shape of the Tornado. As well as supporting biodiversity, green roofs provide insulation and store rainwater in the plants and substrate, releasing it back into the atmosphere through evaporation. This significantly reduces the burden on the sewerage system, reducing the risk of flooding and the burden on water treatment. The building uses a Thermal Energy System (TES), which stores excess heat from the building in the soil. A heat pump is connected to the TES to produce the correct temperature for the building. The aquifer serves as the source for the heat pump. By using the heat pump and passive cooling, it is possible to save up to 60 percent in heating energy and 80 percent in cooling energy. The staircase of the Tornado is made from sustainable Norwegian wood called Kebony, a leading modified wood brand established in Oslo, Norway, that uses a proven, innovative, patented technology to enhance traditional 4mber. Biobased modified wood is a sustainable building material with a significantly lower environmental impact than other building materials. Fenix repurposes a 100-year-old warehouse, restored as much as possible to its original state in the 1950s, with interventions in line with the original architecture from 1923.Save this picture!Save this picture!The building has been designed in consultation with VGR, an association specializing in making buildings as accessible and welcoming as possible. Plein and the Atrium will be publicly accessible spaces that are free to enter.Save this picture! Project gallerySee allShow less Project locationAddress:Rotterdam, The NetherlandsLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeMAD ArchitectsOffice••• MaterialsSteelConcreteMaterials and TagsPublished on May 21, 2025Cite: "Fenix Art Museum / MAD Architects" 21 May 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1030328/fenix-art-museum-mad-architects&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Learn how to attach effects to your character's hand in Unreal Engine 5.4! In this quick tutorial, we demonstrate the process of using the sequencer and making adjustments for a seamless integration. Perfect for game developers looking to enhance their VFX skills!#UnrealEngine #VFX #GameDevelopment #Niagara #Tutorial

A human can’t shrink away from the threats of climate change. A clownfish, however, can. In a new paper published today in Science Advances, a team of researchers revealed that these tiny “Finding Nemo” fish can actually shrink to survive heat stress, allowing them to overcome the threat of heatwaves.“We were so surprised to see shrinking in these fish,” said Melissa Versteeg, a study author and a Ph.D. student at Newcastle University in the U.K., according to a press release. “In the end, we discovered it was very common in this population.”Clownfish Shrink in SizeA clown anemonefish. (Image Credit: Morgan Bennett-Smith)Climate change has transformed terrestrial and marine habitats and continues to transform them, with heatwaves — or periods of abnormal warmth — having one of the most significant impacts on animals. Studies show, for example, that increasing temperatures have a strong influence on the dimensions of terrestrial and marine species, shaping their size and size variability and contributing to their overall reduction in size over time.But what, exactly, is the effect of marine heatwaves on the clownfish, also known as the clown anemonefish (Amphiprion percula)?Setting out to study how heatwaves transform these fish over time, Versteeg and a team of researchers turned to the wild clownfish population in Kimbe Bay in Papua New Guinea, where heatwaves caused temperatures to sit around 4 degrees Celcius above average over the course of the study. Measuring the water temperatures and the size of the clownfish there from February 2023 to August 2023, the team found that individual clownfish shrank over time.“We measured each fish individual repeatedly over a period of five months,” Versteeg said in the release. “During our study, 100 fish shrank out of the 134 fish that we studied.” Rather than getting slimmer, these clownfish shrank by getting shorter, with the degree of their reduction depending on the individual’s initial size and social rank. According to the researchers, the results reveal that clownfish reduce their size in response to heat stress, which, in turn, increases their chances of surviving a heatwave by 78 percent.Read More: How Volunteers Are Helping Keep Coral Reefs AliveClownfish Survival ImprovesAccording to the researchers, some clownfish shrank one time, and some clownfish shrank multiple times, with all of the fish that shrank multiple times surviving throughout the course of the study. Intriguingly, the chances of clownfish survival were also improved if a clownfish shrank alongside its breeding partner. “We witnessed how flexibly they regulated their size, as individuals and as breeding pairs, in response to heat stress as a successful technique to help them survive.” Versteeg said in the release. “It was a surprise to see how rapidly clownfish can adapt to a changing environment.”Similar shrinking abilities are seen in other animals, including marine iguanas. And while clownfish are the first coral reef fish that researchers have shown to shorten in response to heat stress, they may not be the last. In fact, the results could have implications for other coral reef fish, and for other fish overall. According to the researchers, fish on the whole are much smaller today than they once were. A 2023 study in Science found, for instance, that fish, in particular, are driving a decrease in size in the world’s animal populations. One possible explanation for this is that smaller species of fish are surviving over larger species of fish. Another is that fish species of all sizes are shrinking over time, with the smaller individuals of each species surviving (and thus procreating) more than the larger individuals of each species. It is possible, however, that there are other factors contributing to the smaller size of fish today, too, including the ability to shrink in size in times of stress. “If individual shrinking were widespread and happening among different species of fish, it could provide a plausible alternative hypothesis for why the size many fish species is declining,” said Theresa Rueger, the senior study author and a lecturer at Newcastle University, according to the press release. “Further studies are needed in this area.”Though the fish themselves are small and becoming smaller, the researchers say that their results raise big questions about animal size and about animal shrinking, more specifically. “We don’t know yet exactly how they do it,” Versteeg said. “But we do know that a few other animals can do this too.”Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Sam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.