In the unlit depths of the ocean, where food is scarce, and chance encounters are rarer still, anglerfish have evolved one of natures most bizarre mating approaches. When a male anglerfish finds a partner, he doesnt just court her he attaches to her body, sometimes fusing with her for life. This extreme adaptation, known as sexual parasitism, helps ensure reproductive success in a world where mates are few and far between. And recent research published in Current Biology has taken another step toward unraveling the secrets behind this strange mating strategy. It turns out that the evolutionary innovations that allow anglerfish to thrive in the deep ocean go beyond their peculiar courtship habits. We found that a cascade of traits, including those required for sexual parasitism, allowed anglerfishes to invade the deep sea during a period of extreme global warming when the planets oceans were in ecological upheaval, Chase Brownstein, lead author of the study and a graduate student at Yale, said in a Yale news release. Finding Love in the Deep SeaThe deep sea, also known as the bathypelagic or midnight zone, is Earths largest habitat. With no sunlight, frigid temperatures (39 degrees Fahrenheit), extreme pressures, little food, and vast distances between individuals, its also one of the most challenging places to live. For most creatures, finding a mate here is a near-impossible task.Deep-sea anglerfish (Ceratioidei), however, have adapted to this problem in extraordinary ways. Male anglerfish are tiny sometimes less than one-tenth the size of the females. And when a male encounters a female, he bites her skin and either temporarily or permanently fuses with her, forming an unmatched physical bond. Over time, his circulatory system can even merge with hers, allowing him to provide sperm on demand while receiving nutrients from her body.In some species, such as Haplophryne mollis (which Brownstein calls a particularly gnarly example), multiple males can attach to the same female at once, like living reproductive appendages. This ensures that whenever the female is ready to spawn, she has access to sperm, even in the vast emptiness of the deep sea.The Role of the Immune SystemOne of the most puzzling aspects of this mating strategy is the fusion itself. In most animals, the immune system would reject foreign tissue, making such a permanent connection impossible. But anglerfish have evolved a remarkable solution: Theyve ditched key components of their adaptive immune system. Several genes involved in vertebrate adaptive immunity, the study authors said, were lost prior to the most recent common ancestor of Certioidea. These genetic losses help prevent the females body from rejecting the male as a foreign invader, allowing the two to seamlessly merge. And while the loss of immune function might seem like it should be an overall disadvantage, anglerfish appear to compensate in ways researchers dont yet fully understand which has raised intriguing questions related to human immunology and organ transplantation.How Sexual Parasitism EvolvedSexual parasitism didnt evolve overnight. The ancestors of anglerfish dwelled on the seafloor, where they likely mated in more conventional ways. But from about 50 million years to 35 million years ago, during a period of intense global warming called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), anglerfish began moving into the vast open waters of the deep sea. And although researchers dont know for certain the reasons why anglerfish made this move, Brownstein says he suspects it could have been the species attempt to seek out optimal temperatures for survival. Nonetheless, this transition to the enormous midnight zone brought new challenges, including introducing vast distances between potential mates. Traits like extreme sexual dimorphism (with males shrinking and specializing in finding mates) and the loss of immune system genes allowed anglerfish to adapt to this new environment. These changes worked in synergy to enable sexual parasitism, giving them a distinct reproductive advantage in the sparse and dark waters of the deep ocean.We can't say what the cause was that pushed the anglerfishes into the deep open ocean, says Brownstein. However, we can say that their distinctive adaptation to life in the midnight zone, sexual parasitism, assembled rapidly during this ecological transition. This was possible thanks to features already present in the common ancestor of anglerfish, he said, including an extreme size difference between males and females and an easily changed adaptive immunity. What Anglerfish Can Teach UsToday, there are more than 200 species of anglerfish, a testament to their evolutionary achievement. And anglerfish also illustrate a broader principle in evolutionary biology: Major ecological transitions often drive diversification. By moving from the seafloor to the open waters of the deep sea, anglerfish opened new opportunities for adaptation and evolutionary innovation.The unique approach anglerfish also take to mating is more than just an intriguing oddity; it could offer valuable medical insights. Understanding how anglerfish achieve tissue fusion without immune rejection could lead to breakthroughs in organ transplantation. And their ability to thrive despite significant immune system losses also challenges our understanding of how vertebrates defend against disease, potentially opening new avenues for biomedical research.Having comparative models to understand the evolution and lability of adaptive immunity is always helpful, Brownstein says, not only because it expands our view of the system, but also because it can reveal how the system has been 'broken' in evolutionary time.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:Britannica. Sexual parasitismBritannica. Paleocene-Eocene Thermal MaximumMonterey Bay Aquarium. Deep-sea anglerfishNational Library of Medicine. Ecological opportunity and the adaptive diversification of lineages

Among the changes ushered in with iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS 15.1 Sequoia is a new Type to Siri option. This means you can carry on a conversation with Apples digital assistant without having to talk out loud, which is helpful when youre in a quiet library, busy subway car, or anywhere else you cant really use voice control.The ability to type to Siri has actually been available on Apple devices for several years now, but previously it was hidden away in the Accessibility settings and not all that easy to find. Now Apple has given it much more prominence in its operating systems, so typing is just as straightforward as talking. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.Everything works the same when youre typing to Siri as when youre talking to Siri, including the new ChatGPT extension, which you can enable from the Apple Intelligence & Siri screen in Settings (iOS and iPadOS) or System Settings (macOS). You can also switch between typing and talking as needed.The new Type to Siri optionsType to Siri enabled on an iPhone. Screenshot: Apple To get the new Type to Siri options on your Apple devices, you first need to enable Apple Intelligence, if you havent done so already: Choose Apple Intelligence & Siri from Settings (iPhones and iPads) or System Settings (Macs), then turn on the Apple Intelligence toggle switch at the top.Youll see a variety of Siri settings on the same screen, letting you set your preferences for how you communicate with the digital assistant. With Apple Intelligence enabled, you can use a combination of typing and talking (even within the same conversation) without having to reconfigure these options each time.On iOS or iPadOS, open Settings, head to Apple Intelligence & Siri, then tap Talk & Type to Siri: Turn on the Type to Siri toggle switch, and you can then double tap at the very bottom of the screen to launch the typing interface, no matter which app youre in. Siri will respond with text too.On macOS, its a little different: Type to Siri is automatically enabled when Apple Intelligence is turned on, so you wont find a separate toggle switch for it. To type to Siri, simply click on the Siri icon on the menu bar, or use the shortcut specified under Keyboard shortcut on the Apple Intelligence & Siri page (by default, you need to press either Cmd button twice).Whether youre using a mobile device or a computer, youll see you can switch back to voice commands with a tap or a click on the microphone icon inside the Siri interface. Enabling Type to Siri wont require you to use the text interface every time you want to interact with the digital assistant.The old Type to Siri optionsThe previous Type to Siri option is still available. Screenshot: Apple As mentioned above, you could already enable Type to Siri as an Accessibility option in iOS, iPadOS, and macOSthough the setting wasnt as easy to get to, and it didnt work quite as fluidly as it does in its updated form. This option remains available if you dont have Apple Intelligence enabled on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Or if you dont want the ChatGPT extension.On iOS or iPadOS, open Settings and choose Accessibility > Siri, then enable Type to Sirithe typing input can then be launched with a double-tap on the side button. On the same settings screen, you can set Siri to always respond with text, with voice, or with whichever method youve initiated the conversation with.Voice interactions are still available with Type to Siri turned on. If you head to Apple Intelligence & Siri in iOS or iPadOS Settings, you can still set your device to respond to hey Siri commands even if Apple Intelligence is disabled. You get the older version of Siri, without extras like the aforementioned ChatGPT integration.If youre using macOS, open System Settings from the Apple menu, then choose Accessibility > Siri and enable Type to Siri. Once that option is enabled, to start typing to the digital assistant, click the Siri button on the menu bar or hold down the mic button (F5) on your Mac keyboard (Siri automatically responds with text too).To change the shortcut button, from System Settings choose Apple Intelligence & Siri. As on iPhones and iPads, from the same screen you can enable or disable voice control for Siri too, via the Listen for settingso it is possible to use voice activation for Siri as well as typing out your commands.

Stack CommerceShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more Unless you like shivering your buns off and having a runny nose, its pretty much the worst time of year. Heck, you should consider buying a lottery ticket if you make it through flu season without coming down with somethingif only you could be so lucky!If you want to increase your odds of staying healthy beyond washing your hands or wearing a mask, you might pick up this personal air purifier. Its made by VentiFresh, and they claim it breaks down germs and removes bacteria from the air. You can get a little more peace of mind this flu season for only $43.99 while supplies last (reg. $88).The technology behind the thingThis mini air purifier uses NASA-inspired technology to clean the air around you, no matter where you are. Its only two by two inches wide and powered by a USB cable, so you might take it to the office, coffee shops, or on an airplane and feel a little more secure that you arent breathing in a ton of nasty germs.But how? A photocatalyst later breaks down germs and VOCs, and then UV-C and UV-A lights sterilize and remove them. If youve ever heard of a little thing called photosynthesis, this is a similar cleaning process. And its why this air filter doesnt need any maintenance or cleaning.Will it stop you from getting sick? No. But it could make you feel a little more at ease when you have to enter germy places this time of year. And at least you can say you tried if you catch something, right?Grab one of these personal space air purifiers for $43.99 before theyre sold outtheyre a pretty hot commodity right now (reg. $88).StackSocial prices subject to change.VentiFresh ECO PLUS: Next-Gen Odor Eliminator (Oakwood) $43.99See Deal

NewsClimateUnearthed ice may be the Arctics oldest buried glacier remnantA landslide in thawing permafrost has revealed 770,000-year-old buried ice In the headwall scarp of a landslide on Bylot Island in northeastern Canada, researchers uncovered the remnant ice of an ancient glacier that could be over a million years old.Stphanie CoulombeBy Nikk Ogasa1 minute agoOn a remote island in the Canadian Arctic, researchers have discovered the remains of an ancient glacier that could be over a million years old. The discovery represents what may be the oldest glacier ice ever found buried in permafrost ground that has been frozen for at least 2 years straight in the Arctic, researchers report in the January 1 Geology. For researchers keen on studying the glacier, the clock is ticking, as human-caused climate change has exposed the long-preserved ice to melting.Like notes in the pages of a logbook, the gas bubbles, compounds and particulates trapped in a glaciers icy layers can yield information about the atmospheres and climates of bygone millennia. But there are precious few reports of such ice older than the last great expansion of the ice sheets, 26,000 to 20,000 years ago. The newfound ice could thus provide researchers with a rare chance to study the climate of the early Pleistocene epoch, during which the Earth underwent episodic ice ages separated by warm periods known as interglacial periods. These [Pleistocene climate shifts] are analogs for what we can see in the future, says geomorphologist Daniel Fortier of the University of Montreal.In 2009, Fortier and colleagues were studying a buried fossilized forest on Bylot Island, in Canadas Nunavut Territory, when they stumbled across the sites of some recent landslides that had been triggered by the thawing of permafrost. The slides had exposed translucent, layered bodies of ice that had been buried a few meters underground, just above the fossil forest. Much to Fortiers surprise, radiocarbon dating of organic matter in the ice revealed it was over 60,000 years old. I was not expecting that at all, he says.Researchers are shown digging into the remnant glacier ice, which became exposed by the thawing and slumping of previously frozen ground.Stphanie CoulombeWhats more, in the sediment layers overlying the ice, the researchers discovered a flip in the alignment of magnetic minerals that corresponded with a reversal of Earths magnetic field roughly 770,000 years old, indicating the ice was at least that old. And previous research had dated the fossil forest upon which the glacier rested to around 2.8 to 2.4 million years ago, providing a maximum possible age for the ice.The discovery is a testament to the resilience of permafrost, Fortier says. While climate projections suggest permafrost will completely thaw in many regions by the end of the century, this preserved glacier has persisted through interglacial periods that were warmer than today, he notes. I dont think permafrost will disappear so fast. The system is more resilient than we think.

Nature, Published online: 21 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00080-9Colour change in animals can occur over different timescales and aids communication and camouflage. Direct evidence of the associated energetic costs has been lacking, but now an experimental study of octopuses fills this gap.

Nature, Published online: 21 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00149-5Persistent exposure to heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and more will take a toll on peoples bodies. We must learn how this will manifest.

The world's fastest supercomputer 'El Capitan' can reach a peak performance of 2.746 exaFLOPS, making it the planet's third exascale computer.

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Learn how to recreate Dragon Ball Z's famous teleportation effect in @UnrealEngine 5.5 with Enrique Ventura's step-by-step YouTube tutorial.Watch here: https://80.lv/articles/tutorial-dragon-ball-z-s-instant-transmission-effect-in-unreal-engine-5-5/#ue5 #unrealengine5 #vfx #DragonBall