Clownfish Shrink Down Their Bodies to Survive Ocean Heat Waves, New Study Suggests The adaptation appears to help the fish cope with high temperatures, since individuals and breeding pairs that shrank improved their survival odds Clownfish seem to become shorter during heat waves, according to the new study. Morgan Bennett-Smith A new study reveals that clownfish use a surprising strategy to adapt their bodies to ocean heat waves: They shrink. “[Clownfish] have these amazing abilities that we still don’t know all that much about,” says study co-author Theresa Rueger, a tropical marine ecologist at Newcastle University in England, to the Washington Post’s Dino Grandoni. The findings offer some hope for fish in the face of climate change, she adds. “There’s potential that maybe some other species will adapt in a way that will allow them to hang on longer than we think.” Rueger and her team didn’t initially plan to study a heat wave. They were monitoring how freshwater runoff might affect breeding clownfish in Papua New Guinea’s Kimbe Bay, when temperatures dramatically rose and warmed the water to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit above average. But these conditions, they realized, offered a key opportunity for research. The scientists measured 134 clownfish in Kimbe Bay every month during the ocean heat wave, which spanned from February to August 2023. Astoundingly, 100 of those fish shrank. The researchers found that 71 percent of the dominant females and 79 percent of the breeding males reduced in size at least once over the study period. Their findings were published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday. At first, lead author Melissa Versteeg, a PhD researcher at England’s Newcastle University, thought she was making a mistake in her measurements. She kept trying again. And again. “She had several people measuring them at the same time to really make sure that we’re confident with the numbers,” Rueger says to Melissa Hobson at National Geographic. But after these repeated attempts, she concluded the measurements were correct. The fish that shrank increased their chances of surviving the heat wave by 78 percent, according to the study. Some of the clownfish even shrank in pairs, reducing their size alongside their breeding partner—a move that also boosted their chance of survival. The study marks the first time a coral reef-dwelling fish has been documented to shrink in response to environmental and social cues, according to a statement from Newcastle University. A pair of clownfish swims near an anemone. When the studied fish became smaller, females maintained a larger size than males. Morgan Bennett-Smith Clownfish aren’t the only animals shifting their size because of heat. Fish around the world are adapting to warmer temperatures by downsizing their bodies. “This is another tool in the toolbox that fish are going to use to deal with a changing world,” says Simon Thorrold, an ocean ecologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who was not involved in the new work, to Adithi Ramakrishnan at the Associated Press. But these clownfish stand out from the rest. “Until now, when talking about shrinking fish, nearly all studies do not mean that fish literally shrink but that they grow to smaller sizes,” explains Asta Audzijonyte, a senior lecturer at the University of Tasmania in Australia who was not involved in the work, to the Washington Post. “This study, in contrast, reports observations of [clownfish] actually shrinking by a few percent of their total length over the course of a month.” Previous research has found that other animals, like birds and rodents, appear to have gotten smaller because of climate change. And marine iguanas will shrink in response to warmer water temperatures during El Niño years. The researchers don’t yet know how the clownfish are pulling off their shrinking act. One hypothesis is that the fish are reabsorbing their own bone matter, reports the Associated Press. They’re also not sure why, exactly, changing size is so advantageous to the clownfish. But it could be that a smaller size makes it easier to maintain oxygen levels or get by with less food available. “If you’re small, you obviously need less food, and you’re also more efficient in foraging a lot of the time,” explains Rueger to National Geographic. Still, this adaptation method can only go so far. The heat wave exacerbated coral bleaching, which decreases available reef habitat, and subsequent heat waves ultimately killed many of the fish the researchers studied. “We’ve lost many of those fish,” Rueger says to the Washington Post. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

From blazing-fast SSDs to innovative PC cases, Corsair showed some fantastic offerings at the Computex event. Corsair Unveils PCI-E 5.0 SSDs, High-Performance RAM, Refreshed PSU Lineup, Hydro X Cooling Solutions, Cases, and New Peripherals Corsair had some really creative products for the consumer PC segment at Computex. The company not only showcased newer lineups for components and peripherals but also brought some convenient stuff that we hadn't ever seen before. 2 of 9 Starting with the PC components, Corsair introduced new PCI-E 5.0 and external SSDs. These include the MP600 Elite and MP600 PRO LPX for PS5, MP700 PRO and MP700 Elite for high-performance PCs, MP600 Mini and MP600 Micro for compact systems, and EX400U and EX100U external SSDs. 2 of 9 We also saw newer DDR5 memories in the Vengeance lineup alongside WS DDR5 RDIMM and SODIMM DDR5 for laptops. The Corsair memory lineup also received a refreshed Dominator Titanium series, new CUDIMM, and some RGB DDR5 memories. Corsair also showcased its Custom LAB DDR5 editions with gorgeous skins. 2 of 9 Corsair has also upgraded its PSU lineup by introducing the popular RM series, budget CX series, and high-performance HX series. These include 650W to 1500W power supply units for PC builds, and some of them are equipped with dual 12V-2x6 connectors for the latest high-end GPUs. 2 of 9 Coming to the PC cases, there are some really innovative options, like the FRAME 4500X, which comes with a panoramic front and side glass panel, high customizations, and dual 360mm radiator support; the AIR 5400 mid-tower chassis, which focuses on high airflow and has a triple chamber design, and the FRAME 50000 chassis that boasts a minimalistic design with spacious interior and huge vents for airflow. However, the Open Frame Concept was an excellent solution for building a quick test bench, which offers vertical and horizontal orientations, a removable PSU shroud, and a small footprint that does everything well without needing too much space. 2 of 9 The FRAME 40000 Prototype was one of the most notable innovations by Corsair, which brought swappable frame parts. The case introduces the "Powerboard" concept that replaces the regular motherboard plate inside the case and helps power the whole PC through multiple available connectors for all kinds of components. It's like an alternative to motherboards with connectors at the back, but you will have a lot of connectors to power fans and stuff, which can come in handy. 2 of 9 Corsair also introduced its new Hydro X lineup, featuring the XC7 RGB Elite and Elite LCD CPU blocks, XD6 RGB Elite and Elite LCD water reservoirs/pumps, and XG5 RGB SO-series GPU water block. It also introduced new 360mm Nautilus and 420mm Titan AIOs for high-performance cooling. 2 of 9 Coming to the peripherals section, Corsair unveiled the Web Hub and highly customizable MAKR 75 DIY keyboard for gamers. The headset lineup received several new Virtuoso series, VOID series, and HS series headsets for high-fidelity sound quality. Deal of the Day

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New Research Nimble-Minded Neanderthals May Have Used These Wooden Spears to Hunt 200,000 Years Ago New research shows that the weapons found in Germany are much younger than previously thought, suggesting they were made by skilled Neanderthal craftspeople The Schöningen spears on display in Germany Julian Stratenschulte / Picture Alliance via Getty Images In the 1990s, archaeologists working near the German town of Schöningen made a remarkable find: a set of well-preserved wooden spears crafted from spruce and pine, along with stone tools and the butchered remains of more than 50 horses. Researchers initially thought the Schöningen spears were around 400,000 years old and later revised that estimate to roughly 300,000 years old. They suspected the spears—which are among the oldest known complete hunting weapons—belonged to an early human ancestor called Homo heidelbergensis. Now, however, they’re revising the timeline once again: According to a new paper published in the journal Science Advances, the spears are around 200,000 years old—much younger than previously thought. The new date suggests the weapons may have belonged to Neanderthals, instead of H. heidelbergensis. This theory makes sense to some researchers because, around the same time, Neanderthals were starting to exhibit more complex behaviors, like making stone tools and deploying sophisticated hunting tactics. During this period, known as the Middle Paleolithic, Neanderthals also began living longer, which suggests that they benefited from these lifestyle and behavior advancements. Based on the horse remains found at the site, it appears that hunters cleverly trapped them near the edge of a prehistoric lake. Researchers think the spears were carefully hand-made by skilled craftspeople. “They offer compelling evidence of sophisticated hunting strategies which would have required better cognitive abilities and the development of more complex communication, planning and social structures,” says lead author Jarod Hutson, an archaeologist at Germany’s Leibniz Zentrum für Archäologie, in a statement. “The updated timeline for Schöningen now aligns it with a growing number of sites which together indicate a significant leap in early human hunting capabilities during this period.” If the spears were created and used by humans’ closest prehistoric relatives, this revelation would add to the growing body of evidence that “Neanderthal brain development and social structure were more advanced than previously believed,” writes Austin Harvey of All That’s Interesting. However, not everyone is confident of the new date—or the theory that the spears belonged to Neanderthals. “For the moment, I find the arguments interesting, but not absolutely convincing,” says Thomas Terberger, an archaeologist at the University of Göttingen in Germany who wasn’t involved with the research, to the Associated Press’ Adithi Ramakrishnan. To determine the new timeline, researchers analyzed fossilized freshwater snail shells found in the same layer of dirt as the spears. They honed in on amino acids that were locked in the shells by tiny “trapdoors” called opercula. Because amino acids break down at predictable rates, researchers could use them to estimate the age of the fossils. This method is known as amino acid geochronology. It’s one of the tools researchers have at their disposal for dating artifacts, along with radiocarbon dating, which measures the amount of radioactive carbon-14 present in organic materials, and luminescence dating, which measures the last time sediments were exposed to sunlight. Even with such techniques, however, precisely estimating the age of artifacts can be challenging. Anything scientists can do to narrow down the timeframe helps make historic sites “more useful for answering archaeological questions about human evolution and cultural development,” says study co-author Kirsty Penkman, a geochemist at the University of York in England, to Science’s Andrew Curry. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.