The ocean is changing colour – why it's a threat to marine life
A recent study reveals that over a fifth of the world's ocean has darkened in the last two decades, reducing the surface layers of the sea that receive light, known as photic zones, and where most marine life exists.
The darkening is attributed to factors like increased rainfall, agricultural runoff, harmful algal blooms, and climate change, with significant changes observed near the poles, the Gulf Stream, and the Baltic Sea.
Reduced photic zones may force marine animals closer to the surface, increasing competition for resources and potentially altering the entire marine ecosystem, according to Tim Smyth of Plymouth Marine Laboratory.
Changes in the ocean's photic zones could impact human activities such as recreation, transport, and food supply, potentially affecting the availability of prey and driving predators closer to shore.
Researchers used data from NASA's Ocean Color Web satellite and developed an algorithm to measure light in seawater, finding that over 9% of the ocean saw its lit zones reduced by more than 50 meters.
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Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Longevity expert builds world's healthiest home to 'live to 120 years old'
Home is where the health is when it comes to this fitness-focused abode. Dr Paul Saladino, 47, a holistic medicine doctor originally from California, recently opened the doors of his Costa Rican getaway. He claims he has 'built the healthiest house to live to 120' with a range of design features focused on driving away chronic disease and promoting mental wellbeing. The influencer and fitness fanatic purposely went about choosing a location to help foster a positive mindset. He told his nearly 1million subscribers during a YouTube tour of his home: 'As you can see here I've got a pretty amazing view. So we'll look out here, there's an amazing river below my house. This is where I wanted to live in Costa Rica. 'I wanted to be able to see the ocean but I want to be in the jungle. So, I basically have a treehouse.' Jungle environments and sea air have been found to offer numerous health benefits, including cleaner air, climate regulation, and reduced pollutants, as well as potential relief from respiratory conditions. At the heart of Dr Saladino's 'treehouse' is an outdoor gym. He says he hates working out indoors with LED lights, and outdoors, he gets his fix of infrared light from the sun. He tells viewers: 'Infrared light is essential for human health. I think so many of us are deficient in infrared light because we're living in buildings with glass and we're not getting outside. I love working out outdoors in Costa Rica.' While infrared light is not essential for human health in the same way that other life-sustaining necessities like water, air, or food are, experts say it offers numerous health benefits. Some of the healing abilities of infrared light - which works by stimulating cells at a cellular level - include promoting wound healing, stimulating tissue repair, improving circulation and potentially mitigating some side effects of cancer treatments. Meanwhile, while LED and fluorescent lights offer energy efficiency and other benefits, concerns have been raised about potential health impacts, including eye strain, sleep disruption, and even more serious issues like eye damage. From the gym, Dr Saladino takes the viewers into his laundry room. He says he avoids all synthetic laundry products as chemicals such as phosphates, bleach, formaldehyde, and synthetic fragrances can cause problems like skin rashes, breathing issues, and even more serious health concerns. The fitness experts explains: 'I don't use any detergents. I hate dyes and fragrances. 'I've got a washing machine and I put in vinegar and sometimes baking soda and then I dry my clothes. They don't smell it and works great.' Moving upstairs to his kitchen, Dr Saladino says he tries as much as possible to avoid plastics and all of his countertops are wood, as are his cutting boards. He also has a stainless steel Vitamix, a good knife set and stainless steel pans. Dr Saladino's dislike of plastic products is due to the fact that microplastics have been linked to various health concerns, including heart disease, lung disorders, and issues related to inflammation and hormone disruption. Offering viewers a glimpse inside his fridge, the doctor explains that he 'doesn't eat much' and avoids processed foods. Inside the cooling unit, some of the items include chicken for his dog, along with pots of honey, some beef tallow, a bottle of raw cow's milk, some ground beef, bone broth and some fruit for his own consumption. Summing up his daily diet, he says: 'It's basically meat, a little bit of organs, raw dairy, raw milk, honey and fruit.' Despite Dr Saladino's appetite for raw dairy, it has consistently been proven to be unsafe and hold no additional nutritional benefit over pasteurized products. Off the kitchen is Dr Saladino's living room, which boasts spectacular views over the lush jungle surroundings. He highlights to viewers that the rugs in the space are 'all wool,' along with his couch, to keep things as naturally made as possible. 'There's no polyester in here. Polyester puts microplastics into the atmosphere, so I tried not to get any polyester.' As he goes on to tour his master bedroom and ensuite, he explains that his ideal design aesthetic in a home is 'simple' and 'clean' with no plastics anywhere. In his bedroom, his mattress is made from natural materials with no polyester and it is topped with organic cotton sheets. His bed is fitted with a grounding system, also called an earthing system, which pushes the bed closer to the ground to 'connect the body to the Earth.' Some holistic health experts believe grounding systems allow for a flow of electrons that can help reduce inflammation, pain, and stress, and potentially improve sleep. However, the data is scarce. Grounding sheets or mats are commonly used, containing conductive materials like carbon or silver that are then connected to a grounding port in a wall outlet or directly to the earth. While the weather in Costa Rica is hot - ranging from the low 70s to high 80s Fahrenheit - Dr Saladino says he does not use air conditioning as the units are prone to getting moldy in the humidity, which can breed harmful bacteria, and he uses a ceiling fan instead. Continuing on his drive for simplicity, Dr Saladino says he doesn't really use many toiletries as he enters his bathroom. Detailing some of the bathroom products he uses, he explains: 'I have a silk floss because Oral-B Glide Floss had very high levels of PFAs or forever chemicals so I use a silk floss. 'I use a boar's hair toothbrush because I don't want microplastics from toothbrush bristles going into my mouth [and] I don't use toothpaste, I just brush my teeth with water... toothpaste is a scam. I definitely don't want extra fluoride.' Fluoride is a mineral in toothpaste and much of America's drinking water meant to strengthen teeth. While emerging research has linked the mineral to bone loss, IQ loss and autism, research on the potential health effects is mixed, and many experts have claimed the evidence is unclear and the dental benefits of fluoride outweigh potential risks. Skipping toothpaste entirely can lead to dental decay and foul breath. Moving over to his shower, Dr Saladino says his water comes from a fresh spring. However, he instructs people who have a main water supply to use a filter to avoid absorbing commonly used chemicals such as fluoride and chlorine. His pool, for example, does not have any chlorine and he uses an alternative sanitizing system instead. To date, Dr Saladino's home tour has been viewed more than 1 million times with many viewers applauding his design. One fan wrote: 'Man you can only hear nature sounds, no traffic, no people screaming drunk on the streets and breaking beers, this is the dream...'
BBC News
20 hours ago
- BBC News
Almost lost in space: Astronauts recall tension of troubled Starliner flight
When astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore approached the International Space Station (ISS) last year with failing thrusters on their Boeing Starliner capsule, they were unable to fly forward to dock. And if they couldn't dock, they didn't know if they could make it back home again."Docking was imperative," Mr Wilmore told BBC News, two months after he and Ms Williams finally made a successful return to Earth. "If we weren't able to dock, would we be able to make it back? We didn't know."The astronauts had been travelling on a test flight that was meant to last eight days. Instead, they ended up staying in space for nearly 10 months. The first challenge was to dock safely and successfully at the ISS, which they managed to do within several minutes after Mission Control on the ground helped them restart the craft's Wilmore said that the possibility they might never see Earth again "definitely went through our minds".But both astronauts said they didn't communicate the worst-case scenarios out loud in those moments, because they were trained to move on with solving problems. "You sort of read each other's mind and know where we're going with all the failures," Ms Williams told the BBC. "These were not expected," she admitted. But thoughts quickly turned to solutions: "At the same time, you know, we're like, what do we have? What can we do?" Astronauts Butch and Suni finally back on EarthHow did the Nasa pair fill nine months in space? The pair's saga began in June 2024. They were taking part in the first crewed test flight of the Starliner spacecraft, which was developed by aerospace company after a number of technical problems during their flight, the option of Starliner carrying the astronauts home as planned was deemed to be a risk not worth taking - given that the pair could instead be brought back by another company, that reason, they stayed in space until they hitched a ride back on a SpaceX capsule. For its part, Boeing maintained that its own capsule was safe to use - and was proven right when the craft returned, uncrewed, in September months of experiments aboard the space station, Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore eventually returned to Earth on 18 this phase of their mission, the pair were repeatedly described as stranded, implying there was no means for them to get off the that was not the case, as the space station always has spacecraft attached to it - which could have acted in an emergency as a lifeboat to carry the astronauts back to the pair's stay was longer than expected - though the Nasa pair embraced this."We knew nobody was going to just let us down... we knew everybody had our back and was looking out for us," Ms Williams in limbo, the pair even found themselves in the middle of a political row, after US President Donald Trump blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for abandoning them in space. But the astronauts said they ignored the politics and didn't feel abandoned. "We can't speak to that at all," said Mr Wilmore. "We understand space flight is hard, human space flight is even harder." After two months back on the ground, both astronauts say they are feeling fit and well, because the workouts that they undertook while in their zero-gravity environment paid in zero gravity means your body doesn't need much time to recover from the daily squats and deadlifts, Mr Wilmore said he performed squats and deadlifts "every single day for almost 10 months", meaning that he returned to Earth "literally stronger than I've ever been in my life".Ms Williams agreed - she went running days after landing back on Earth and once ran a full marathon in space strapped to a treadmill - but said it's not always easy to readjust to the weight of the world. "Just getting gravity back on your head and your back and all that kind of stuff is a little bit painful," she their return, the pair have been working with Nasa and Boeing to fix problems with the malfunctioning spacecraft that took them into space last summer."We are very positively hopeful that there will be opportunities to fly the Boeing Starliner in the future," Mr Wilmore both astronauts said they would personally fly in the craft again - once those technical issues were resolved."It's a very capable spacecraft," Ms Williams said. "It has unique capabilities compared to other spacecraft that are out there that are really great for future astronauts to fly."
Metro
a day ago
- Metro
Major health update on astronauts who were stranded in space for nine months
A pair of NASA astronauts who were stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) last year have completed a gruelling 45-day rehab course to readapt to Earth's atmosphere. Butch Wilmore, 62, and Sunita Williams, 59, lost significants amoutn of muscle mass and bone density after spending nine months on the ISS. This left them suffering extreme fatigue, with Ms Williams struggling to get out of bed for weeks after their return in March. Mr Wilmore, who suffered neck and back issues before the flight, said he immediately started suffering problems after landing back on Earth. 'We're still floating in the capsule in the ocean, and my neck starts hurting, while we still hadn't even been extracted yet,' he told the Reuters news agency. Ms Williams added: 'Gravity stinks for a period, and that period varies for different people, but eventually you get over those neurovestibular balance type of issues. 'It's been a little bit of a whirlwind. Because we also have obligations to all of the folks that we worked with.' The pair spent at least two hours a day working with NASA's strength and reconditioning experts on top of their regular workload. They set off last June for what was supposed to be an eight-day test flight for the Boeing Starliner transport craft. It turned into a nine-month stay on the ISS after their space capsule suffered technical issues and had to return to Earth crewless. The pair did not comment on the ins and outs of their problems, but previous comments by astronauts shed some insight onto what they may have experienced. 'After six months to a year, you gradually lose the thick, calloused skin on your feet,' retired Nasa astronaut, Leroy Chiao, told NewsNation Prime in March. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Once the harder skin peels off, the feet are usually left soft and tender he said, adding: 'You kind of have baby feet when you come back.' Until the feet build up hard skin again, which can take from weeks to months, walking can be uncomfortable and even agonising. Another Nasa veteran, Terry Virtz, said he felt 'really dizzy' on landing and struggled with his sense of balance for some time. An astronaut's heart can shrink slightly because the body needs to make less effort to pump blood around. More Trending Their vision can be affected due to fluid shifting around differently and putting pressure on the optic nerve. Psychological effects such as anxiety and depression can also persist. Mr Wilmore said he backed calls for Nasa to fly the Starliner crewless again before its next manned flight. Nasa officials said results from testing planned over the summer will determine the decision. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Six asteroids 'dangerous to Earth' discovered – but could they really hit us? MORE: Twist in search for mysterious 'Planet Nine' in the dark depths of our solar system MORE: The Milky Way will be most visible until this date in the US – here's how to see it
