Frontiers | Science news

Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae). Image credit: cyfer13 / Wikimedia Commons

Mere whiff of penguin poo pushes krill to take frantic evasive action

Scientists have shown for the first time that Antarctic krill show a stereotypical reaction in the presence of guano from Adélie penguins: they swim faster and make more turns over greater angles. It is unknown to what kind of water-borne chemical cues they respond, but the authors speculate that this behavior might be a universal escape response to the excreta of predators, irrespective of species.

Social media pressures could make friendship a full-time job

Perception of social media features and norms, especially highly visual content and availability expectations, could lead to teens experiencing digital stress that might give rise to fights with friends

Lava flows down a hill under an evening sky.

New research reveals how a 252 million year old climate crisis accompanied the ‘Great Dying’ mass extinction event, completely reorganizing the Earth’s ecosystems

By comparing climate models to fossil vegetation, scientists trace the remains of climate chaos following the Permian-Triassic mass extinction — including 10 degrees of global warming caused by CO2 emissions.

An audience at a concert records the show using smartphones.

Health

Published on 07 Mar 2025

Suicide, the music industry, and a call to action

Dr George Musgrave is both a musician and an academic, with first-hand experience of the music industry’s challenges. In this guest editorial, inspired by their moving and urgent new article in Frontiers in Public Health, he and co-author Dr Dorian Lamis, who is a clinical psychologist and suicide prevention expert, turn the spotlight on the toll of death by suicide in the music industry, and call for immediate action to support vulnerable artists.