PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Giant ice bulldozers: How ancient glaciers helped life evolve

Giant ice bulldozers: How ancient glaciers helped life evolve
2025-02-25
(Press-News.org) New Curtin University research has revealed how massive ancient glaciers acted like giant bulldozers, reshaping Earth’s surface and paving the way for complex life to flourish.

By chemically analysing crystals in ancient rocks, the researchers discovered that as glaciers carved through the landscape, they scraped deep into the Earth’s crust, releasing key minerals that altered ocean chemistry.

This process had a profound impact on our planet’s composition, creating conditions that allowed complex life to evolve.

Lead author Professor Chris Kirkland from the Timescales of Mineral Systems Group within Curtin’s Frontier Institute for Geoscience Solutions said the study provides valuable insights into how Earth’s natural systems are deeply interconnected.

“When these giant ice sheets melted, they triggered enormous floods that flushed minerals and their chemicals, including uranium, into the oceans,” Professor Kirkland said.

“This influx of elements changed ocean chemistry, at a time when more complex life was starting to evolve.

“This study highlights how Earth’s land, oceans, atmosphere and climate are intimately connected- where even ancient glacial activity set off chemical chain reactions that reshaped the planet.”

Professor Kirkland said the study also offered a new perspective on modern climate change, showing how past shifts in Earth’s climate triggered large-scale environmental transformations.

“This research is a stark reminder that while Earth itself will endure, the conditions that make it habitable can change dramatically,” Professor Kirkland said.

“These ancient climate shifts demonstrate that environmental changes, whether natural or human-driven, have profound and lasting impacts.

“Understanding these past events can help us better predict how today’s climate changes might reshape our world.”

The research was conducted in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth and St. Francis Xavier University, Canada.

The full study, titled ‘The Neoproterozoic Glacial Broom,’ will be published in Geology (DOI: 10.1130/G52887.1).

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Giant ice bulldozers: How ancient glaciers helped life evolve

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Toward high electro-optic performance in III-V semiconductors

Toward high electro-optic performance in III-V semiconductors
2025-02-25
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — From integrated photonics to quantum information science, the ability to control light with electric fields — a phenomenon known as the electro-optic effect — supports vital applications such as light modulation and frequency transduction. These components rely on nonlinear optical materials, in which light waves can be manipulated by applying electric fields.  Conventional nonlinear optical materials such as lithium niobate have large electro-optic response but are ...

In mouse embryos, sister cells commit suicide in unison

In mouse embryos, sister cells commit suicide in unison
2025-02-25
UdeM reproductive biologist Greg FitzHarris and his team show for the first time that sister cells can communicate with each other through a bridge that allows them to die in a coordinated way. Sister cells are a pair of cells that share the same mother cell. In a new study published in Developmental Cell, researchers led by Université de Montréal (UdeM) professor Greg FitzHarris show how the early mouse embryo gets rid of the defective or unneeded cells in pairs. “Such a mechanism could serve to ensure the elimination of cells with a ...

Automatic cell analysis with the help of artificial intelligence

Automatic cell analysis with the help of artificial intelligence
2025-02-25
Identifying and delineating cell structures in microscopy images is crucial for understanding the complex processes of life. This task is called “segmentation” and it enables a range of applications, such as analysing the reaction of cells to drug treatments, or comparing cell structures in different genotypes. It was already possible to carry out automatic segmentation of those biological structures but the dedicated methods only worked in specific conditions and adapting them to new conditions was costly. An international ...

New study highlights need for better care to prevent lung problems after abdominal surgery

2025-02-25
AURORA, Colo. (Feb. 25, 2025) – A new study, published today in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, tested whether a set of interventions to keep lungs expanded before, during, and after abdominal surgery could lower the risk of serious breathing problems in patients compared to the usual care at 17 academic hospitals in the U.S. The research has determined that these interventions for open abdominal surgery do not result in less severe breathing problems as compared to the usual care in those hospitals. Adult abdominal surgery patient enrollees were either given a lung expansion set of interventions or the typical care plan to follow at each hospital. ...

Microplastics in ocean linked to disabilities for coastal residents

2025-02-25
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2025 Media Contacts: Renee Tessman, rtessman@aan.com, (612) 928-6137 Natalie Conrad, nconrad@aan.com, (612) 928-6164 Microplastics in ocean linked to disabilities for coastal residents Mobility, self-care, independent living disability higher in areas with high microplastics MINNEAPOLIS – Tiny bits of plastic found in the ocean may be tied to a higher risk of disability for people who live in coastal areas with high levels, according to a preliminary study released today, ...

Biophysical Society announced undergraduate poster award competition winners

2025-02-25
ROCKVILLE, MD – The 10 winners of the annual Undergraduate Poster Award Competition (UPAC) were recognized at the 69th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting Awards Ceremony on February 17, 2025. After two rounds of judging, judges from every career level selected these students for their outstanding presentations during the poster competition. Seventy-four students participated in the competition.  The 2025 UPAC winners are:  Adam Gatch, Clemson University, USA – “AΒ42 Accelerates Pathogenic Structural Transformation Within ...

Successful strategies for collaborative species conservation

Successful strategies for collaborative species conservation
2025-02-25
How can the loss of species and habitats in agricultural landscapes be stopped? Up to now, measures have mostly been implemented by individual farms. In contrast, agri-environmental measures that are planned across farms at landscape level offer greater potential for creating suitable habitats for different species as a mosaic in the landscape. However, successful landscape level approaches also require cooperation between farms and other stakeholders from local governments, politics and nature conservation. Researchers at the University of Göttingen have therefore identified ...

Immune cells may lead to more Parkinson's cases in men

2025-02-25
LA JOLLA, CA—Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have found a potential new target for treating Parkinson's disease. Their new research reveals how a protein in brain cells may drive Parkinson's onset—and offers a possible explanation for why Parkinson's is much more common in men.  In recent years, LJI scientists have found increasing evidence that autoimmunity plays a role in the onset of Parkinson's disease. Their recent study in The Journal of Clinical Investigation shows that PINK1 appears to mark ...

SCAI publishes expert consensus on alternative access for transaortic valve replacement (TAVR)

2025-02-25
WASHINGTON—The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) has published an expert consensus statement that provides interventional cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, and heart teams with practical guidance for selecting patients and performing alternative access transaortic valve replacement (TAVR). TAVR has seen substantial growth over the past decade, becoming a standard of care for many patients with asymptomatic aortic stenosis. However, some patients face challenges due to inadequate femoral vascular access. The new guidelines address this gap by recommending alternative access ...

Humans inherited their flexible joints from the earliest jawed fish

Humans inherited their flexible joints from the earliest jawed fish
2025-02-25
The efficient architecture of our joints, which allows our skeletons to be flexible and sturdy, originated among our most ancient jawed fish ancestors, according to a study published February 25th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Neelima Sharma of the University of Chicago and colleagues. Synovial joints are a key feature of most vertebrate skeletons, providing more mobility and stability compared to other joint types. A synovial joint allows bones or cartilage to slide past each other with the aid of a lubricated cavity between them. These joints are present in land vertebrates and bony fish, suggesting this feature had evolved in the common ancestors of these groups, but ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

‘Molecular shield’ placed in the nose may soon treat common hay fever trigger

Beetles under climate stress lay larger male eggs: Wolbachia infection drives adaptive reproduction strategy in response to rising temperature and CO₂

Groundbreaking quantum study puts wave-particle duality to work

Weekly injection could be life changing for Parkinson’s patients

Toxic metals linked to impaired growth in infants in Guatemala

Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period

‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths

Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care

Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system

Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement

Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated

The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought

New study reveals surprising reproductive secrets of a cricket-hunting parasitoid fly

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2025

NSF CAREER Award will power UVA engineer’s research to improve drug purification

Tiny parasitoid flies show how early-life competition shapes adult success

New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows

Green spaces boost children’s cognitive skills and strengthen family well-being

Ancient trees dying faster than expected in Eastern Oregon

Study findings help hone precision of proven CVD risk tool

Most patients with advanced melanoma who received pre-surgical immunotherapy remain alive and disease free four years later

Introducing BioEmu: A generative AI Model that enables high-speed and accurate prediction of protein structural ensembles

Replacing mutated microglia with healthy microglia halts progression of genetic neurological disease in mice and humans

New research shows how tropical plants manage rival insect tenants by giving them separate ‘flats’

Condo-style living helps keep the peace inside these ant plants

Climate change action could dramatically limit rising UK heatwave deaths

Annual heat-related deaths projected to increase significantly due to climate and population change

Researchers discover new way cells protect themselves from damage

[Press-News.org] Giant ice bulldozers: How ancient glaciers helped life evolve