Earth has surpassed its sustainable human carrying capacity, Bradshaw, Corey J.A., Judge, Melinda A., Dasgupta, Aisha N., Wackernagel, Mathis, Weeda, Lewis J.Z., Le Souëf, Peter N., Blumstein, Daniel T., Ehrlich, Paul R

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The latest research suggests fully one third of humans can no longer work safely outdoors because of rising temperatures.

This study provides insights into changes in the frequency, severity and duration of heat stress with climate change, and a comprehensive global-scale analysis of not only daytime extremes but also nocturnal heat and compound daytime–nighttime events. Our analysis is based on the UTCI; by incorporating the combined effects of temperature, humidity, wind and radiation, and how the human body responds to the thermal environment, the UTCI offers a physiologically relevant measure of thermal stress. We demonstrate a clear and accelerating climate-driven intensification of heat stress since the 1970s, with implications for the health of billions of people worldwide. Feels-like temperatures have risen markedly, with nighttime minima increasing faster (global average of 0.32 ± 0.05 °C per decade since the 1970s) than daytime maxima (0.27 ± 0.05 °C per decade). These changes translate into more frequent and severe heat stress days and, in the Northern Hemisphere, a prolonged heat stress season. Importantly, the most dramatic shifts often occur at the highest thresholds of heat stress, where health risks are greatest. The spatial footprint of hazardous heat stress has expanded, exposing previously unaffected regions and posing adaptation challenges not only in areas where heat stress is becoming more extreme, but also in...

Our study provides new insights into the factors that influence cochlear sensitivity across human populations, measured by transient-evoked oto-acoustic emissions. By challenging established concepts primarily derived from european studies, we offer fresh perspectives on the role of ecological environments in...

This week's science news included the largest spinning structure in the known universe and a population genetically isolated for millennia. This week’s biggest science news took us to a region 140 million-light-years away, where scientists have discovered the largest spinning...

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It sounds like something out of a Marvel movie, but scientists have said halving the human population over a span of about two centuries could make the planet much more sustainable by reducing excess consumption. In the 2018 Hollywood blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War, the “Mad Titan” Thanos played by Josh Brolin halves the population of the universe instantly using the mystical “Infinity Gauntlet” to stop the suffering caused by overpopulation. Now, researchers estimate that halving the Earth’s human population, more gradually over 200 years and not like the instant decimation of life brought about by Thanos, could ease our negative impacts such as decreased wildlife populations and increased carbon emissions. Scientists argue that the indiscriminate use of Earth’s resources by humans has led to environmental effects, ranging from biodiversity loss to climate change. Biodiversity loss, resource consumption rates, and pollution levels are strongly linked to human population size, they observe in the study published in the journal Sustainable Development. Over the past few hundred years, there has been a dramatic increase in human lifespan, quality of life, lowered child mortality and poverty, as well as expanding access to education and human rights. These have led to a profound growth in...

This document was prepared by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on behalf of the joint Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance (HAIRS) group. HAIRS is a multi-agency cross-government horizon scanning and risk assessment group, which acts as a forum to identify and discuss infections with potential for interspecies transfer (particularly zoonotic infections). Its work cuts across several organisations, including: UKHSA Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) Food Standards Agency (FSA) Food Standards Scotland (FSS) Public Health Wales (PHW) Public Health Scotland (PHS) Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland (DAERA) Welsh Government Scottish Government Public Health Agency of Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Republic of Ireland Health Service Executive, Republic of Ireland Infrastructure, Housing and Environment, Government of Jersey Isle of Man Government States Veterinary Officer, Bailiwick of Guernsey Information on the risk assessment processes used by the HAIRS group: HAIRS risk assessment process. Version control Date of this assessment: 13 May 2026 Version: 1.0 Reason for the assessment: This assessment was commissioned to the HAIRS group to address the possibility that an animal could become infected...

A few weeks ago we published a paper that was in the works for a long time, so long in fact that one of my co-authors died before it was published online. That co-author was none other than the legendary Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University, and of The Population Bomb fame (and infamy). More importantly, but often overlooked, Paul wrote more than 700 scientific articles and 30 books during his career. Paul Ehrlich died on 13 March 2026 at the ripe old age of 93, exactly two weeks before our article appeared online. Paul had a good innings no doubt, but I wish he had survived long enough to see what might very well be his last co-authored paper. I first met Paul back in the mid-2000s during a trip through San Francisco. I had organised to come chat with Professor Gretchen Daily at Stanford, and Paul came along for lunch. I remember vividly how we clicked almost immediately. We clicked so well in fact, that we wrote a book together, co-authored several high-impact papers (e.g., ‘ghastly future‘), spent a month in Bellagio as Rockefeller Foundation writing residents, participated in various public and parliamentary presentations, and generally just got on...

When the media misreported a human population study, and everyone panicked Headlines grossly misrepresented a groundbreaking paper In the grand scheme of environmental fears, few create more of an existential sense of sealed fate than talk of the planet running...

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Over the past 50,000 years, humans have populated nearly every corner of the globe — and due to geographic barriers, some of these populations then remained isolated for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. Other populations have become...