Nuclear weapons are among the most devastating weapons ever created, with the potential to wipe out human civilization in a single strike. According to the UN, the risk of nuclear conflict is now higher than it has been in decades. Experts are increasingly asking: What would happen if nuclear war broke out today? The Future of Life Institute (@futureoflifeinstitute) recently shared a chilling 3D-simulated YouTube video illustrating the catastrophic aftermath of such a scenario, and it’s leaving viewers deeply unsettled.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Asim Razan
According to their YouTube description, The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a nonprofit focused on reducing catastrophic risks posed by advanced technologies like AI, biotechnology, and nuclear weapons. In this video, they depict a terrifying scenario: a nuclear war between Russia and the U.S. The simulation uses computer models to illustrate the devastating, post-apocalyptic consequences of such a conflict.
“When one side fires a nuclear missile and the other side detects them and fires back before impact,” the narrator explains in the video. He then goes on to describe an example in case the US submarine would launch ballistic missiles from the west of Norway. These missiles would start striking Russia after about 10 minutes. Then the Russians from the north of Canada would start hitting the US a few minutes later. The video continues to demonstrate that the very first strikes would be high-altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attacks, frying electronics and power grids, creating an electromagnetic pulse of tens of thousands of volts per meter. “Each impact creates a fireball about as hot as the core of the Sun,” the narrator reveals, and adds that it is “followed by a radioactive storm cloud.”
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Pixabay
These intense explosions would vaporize people nearby. Fires would erupt. The fire would prompt the formation of a blastwave that would spread and damage buildings. Glass skyscrapers would melt and everything made of asphalt would turn into flammable hot liquid. But this isn’t the worst part. According to the video, the worst part is “nuclear winter,” which is caused by the black carbon smoke from nuclear firestorms. The firestorms usually spew plumes of black smoke up into the stratosphere far above any rain clouds that could wash out the smoke. High-altitude jet streams are so fast that it would take only a few days for the smoke to spread across much of the northern hemisphere.
As a result, the Earth would become freezing-cold, and the smoke would block out the Sun, causing a total collapse of life on the planet. “It [nuclear war] has no winners, only losers,” the narrator says, concluding the video.
Pran Nath, a professor from Northeastern University told Northeastern News that the aftermath of a nuclear war has three stages. “When the nuclear blast occurs, because of the chain reaction, in a very short period, a lot of energy and radiation is emitted,” Nath says. “In the first instance, a huge flash occurs, which is the nuclear reaction producing gamma rays. If you are exposed to it, people, for example, in Hiroshima were essentially evaporated, leaving shadows.” The second phase is a shockwave and heat blast or a fireball that would travel around the speed of sound, around 760 miles per hour. The third phase is the fallout in which the mushroom cloud is created, as also explained by the video above.
Representative Image Source: 7th August 1945: Aerial view of Hiroshima the day after the United States dropped the atomic bomb on it during World War II, Japan. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
“We can and must, however, do everything we can to avoid nuclear war. The effects are too likely to be globally catastrophic,” proclaimed Assistant Professor Cheryl Harrison from LSU Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences in a 2022 study about the effects of nuclear war. She described that not just the buildings or the people, a nuclear war would put an end to the life in oceans as well, eating up algae and hence, destroying marine life forever. It would be the next “Nuclear Little Ice Age,” as per the LSU study.
Bottlenose dolphins are social creatures that use whistles and clicks to communicate with each other. – Photo credit: Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, taken under NMFS MMPA Scientific Research Permit
But it wasn’t until the 1960s that methodical research into dolphin communication began. Scientists like John Lilly and the husband-and-wife team of Melba and David Caldwell tried various experiments to decipher the sounds dolphins can make.
The Caldwells figured out a way to record isolated animals in human care. They discovered that each individual dolphin communicated mostly with one unique whistle, which they called the “signature whistle.” Researchers now know that these whistles convey identities much like human names do. Dolphins use them to stay in touch with each other in their murky habitat, where vision is limited. It’s like announcing “I’m over here!” when someone can’t see you.
This collaborative study, led by Randall Wells of Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, involves numerous researchers from a variety of institutions, who study different aspects of dolphin biology, health, ecology and behavior. Begun in 1970, this is the longest-running research project on a population of wild cetaceans – whales, dolphins and porpoises – in the world.
Each dolphin has distinctive markings on its dorsal fin. Experienced researchers can sometimes identify them by sight in the field, and they photograph them to confirm their identity in the lab. – Photo credit: Photo by Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, taken under NMFS MMPA Scientific Research Permit
Recording and observing
Researchers know the age, sex and maternal relatedness of almost all of the approximately 170 dolphins in the Sarasota community. This depth of knowledge provides an unprecedented opportunity to study communication in a wild cetacean species.
The dolphins in the Sarasota project are periodically subject to brief catch-and-release health assessments, during which researchers, including me, briefly handle individual dolphins.
Our team attaches suction-cup hydrophones directly onto each dolphin’s melon – that is, its forehead. We then record the dolphins continuously throughout the health assessments, taking notes on who is being recorded when, and what is happening at the time.
This is how my colleagues and I were able to confirm that wild dolphins, like captive animals, produced large numbers of individually distinctive signature whistles when briefly isolated from other dolphins. Through observations and recordings of known free-swimming dolphins, we were further able to confirm that they produced these same signature whistles in undisturbed contexts.
We have organized these recordings into the Sarasota Dolphin Whistle Database, which now contains nearly 1,000 recording sessions of 324 individual dolphins. More than half of the dolphins in the database have been recorded more than once.
We identify each dolphin’s signature whistle based on its prevalence: In the catch-and-release context, about 85% of the whistles that dolphins produced are signature whistles. We can identify these visually, by viewing plots of frequency vs. time called spectrograms.
Spectrograms of signature whistles of 269 individual bottlenose dolphins recorded in Sarasota. Figure created by Frants Jensen, with sound files from Laela Sayigh
Signature whistles and ‘motherese’
The Sarasota Dolphin Whistle Database has proved to be a rich resource for understanding dolphin communication. For instance, we have discovered that some calves develop signature whistles similar to those of their mothers, but many do not, raising questions about what factors influence signature whistle development.
Dolphin mothers modify their signature whistles when communicating with their calves by increasing the maximum frequency, or pitch. This is similar to human caregivers using a higher-pitched voice when communicating with young children – a phenomenon known as “motherese.”
Also similar to humans is how dolphins will initiate contact with another dolphin by imitating their signature whistle – what we call a signature whistle copy. This is similar to how you would use someone’s name to call out to them.
Our team is interested in finding out if dolphins also copy whistles of others who aren’t present, potentially talking about them. We have seen evidence of this in our recordings of dolphins during health assessments, which provide a rare context to document this phenomenon convincingly. But we still have more work to do to confirm that these are more than chance similarities in whistles.
Shared whistle types
Another exciting development has been our recent discovery of shared whistle types — ones that are used by multiple animals and that are not signature whistles. We call these non-signature whistles.
I could hardly believe my ears when I first discovered a repeated, shared non-signature whistle type being produced by multiple dolphins in response to sounds we play back to them through an underwater speaker. We had previously believed that these non-signature whistles were somewhat random, but now I was hearing many different dolphins making a similar whistle type.
Our team originally had been using the playbacks to try to determine whether dolphins use “voice cues” to recognize each other – similar to how you can recognize the voice of someone you know. Although we found that dolphins did not use voice cues, our discovery of shared non-signature whistle types has led to an entirely new research direction.
The author listens to dolphin whistles on a boat in Sarasota. Jonathan Bird from the film ‘Call of the Dolphins’/Oceanic Research Group, Inc.
So far, I’ve identified at least 20 different shared non-signature whistle types, and I am continuing to build our catalog. We are hoping that artificial intelligence methods may help us categorize these whistle types in the future.
To understand how these shared non-signature whistle types function, we are carrying out more playback experiments, filming the dolphins’ responses with drones. We’ve found that one such whistle often leads the dolphins to swim away, suggesting a possible alarm-type function. We have also found that another type might be an expression of surprise, as we have seen animals produce it when they hear unexpected stimuli.
More difficult, more interesting
So far, the main takeaway from our experiments has been that dolphin communication is complex and that there are not going to be one-size-fits-all responses to any non-signature whistle type. This isn’t surprising, given that, like us, these animals have complicated social relationships that could affect how they respond to different sound types.
For instance, when you hear someone call your name, you may respond differently if you are with a group of people or alone, or if you recently had an argument with someone, or if you’re hungry and on your way to eat.
Our team has a lot more work ahead to sample as many dolphins in as many contexts as possible, such as different ages, sexes, group compositions and activities.
This makes my job more difficult – and far more interesting. I feel lucky every day I am able to spend working on the seemingly infinite number of fascinating research questions about dolphin communication that await answers.
Gavin, with help from aquarium staff, had secretly planned to propose right in front of the beluga whale tank. As he got down on one knee, a whale named Qinu swam into view.
The 16-year-old marine mammal paused right at the glass and appeared to drop her jaw in shock.
I’ve been interning with the beluga training team for the last 3 months so this was the most thoughtful way he could’ve done it 🥺 #georgiaaquarium#belugawhale#proposal
The moment was caught on video, and when Olivia shared it on TikTok, the comment section exploded. It looked exactly like the whale was gasping at the size of the ring.
“The most perfect proposal I could’ve asked for,” Olivia wrote.
Viewers immediately anthropomorphized the whale’s hilarious expression.
“The beluga NEEDS to officiate the wedding now,” one user joked.
Another simply commented: “The beluga: :O”
Even the official Play-Doh account chimed in to insist that the whale deserved a wedding invite.
According to People, Qinu’s involvement wasn’t a planned stunt. Katie Lorenz, the associate curator of mammals and birds at the Georgia Aquarium, confirmed that the reaction was entirely natural.
“Qinu’s behavior at the window was her own,” Lorenz said. “She was not intentionally trained to have any type of reaction.”
Unlike many other whales, belugas have unique physical characteristics that allow for this kind of “human” expression. They have a flexible neck and unfused cervical vertebrae, which allows them to nod and turn their heads.
Furthermore, their “melon” (the rounded forehead) is flexible and capable of changing shape, which often makes them appear to be smiling or making faces.
The moment was even more poignant because Olivia wasn’t just a random visitor. She had actually been a beluga whale training intern at the aquarium for the past three months.
“My fiancé is the most thoughtful person,” she wrote in a reply. “He knows how much I’ve loved working with the whales and truly made it the most special moment.”
The Conversation
Of course, viral videos involving captive animals often spark debate. Some commenters questioned the ethics of keeping an animal like Qinu in a tank.
“Nothing cute or adorable about these sentient creatures being kept confined in glass houses for human amusement,” one user wrote.
A beluga whale pops up from the water. Photo credit: Canva
However, for the vast majority of viewers, the video was a moment of pure joy. The clip has racked up over 7 million views on TikTok alone, and Qinu has officially become the internet’s favorite wedding crasher.
For those who want to see more of the star, the Georgia Aquarium maintains a live beluga cam where fans can check in on Qinu. As for the happy couple, they now have a proposal story that is going to be very hard to top.
This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.
During mating season, male gentoo penguins are tasked to find pretty and smooth rocks to present to prospective mates. This is meant as a gesture to woo them and to be used to build a nest with them, too. Well, this season, the penguins at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland got some help.
Kids being supported by the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity gathered together to paint pebbles with vibrant colors for the penguins. The hospitalized children do this every year with the first stone traditionally placed in the penguin enclosure. The children often watch a livestream of the gentoo penguin enclosure to see the penguin pick their favorite rocks that they’ve painted.
The Edinburgh Zoo posted this year’s pebbling pickings on Instagram, delighting the commenters:
“I would cry if a penguin picked MY pebble 😭 It’s a life goal lol.”
“This is just brilliant! How wonderful to see a creative health initiative that actively connects the children with a purpose like this!”
“This is heartwarming ❤️❤️❤️”
“This is brilliant for the penguins and the children! Can’t wait to see the beautiful nests.”
“My grandson painted a pebble he’s hoping it gets picked.🤞🤞🤞”
“Penguin pebble pilfering season is upon us! So pleased it makes so many people (and penguins) happy.”
“Oh no, now I’m questioning if penguins have favourite colours.”
“Any that aren’t picked would make an awesome rock garden that kids visiting the zoo could pick from!!”
“This is the cutest thing I have seen probably ever.”
Pebbling practices for human relationships
As mentioned, this mating ritual called “pebbling” is a gesture made by male penguins to their mate to not just build a nest. It’s their version of saying, “I saw this and I thought of you.” In fact, psychologists and couples therapists recommend adopting a version of pebbling for human relationships.
Now to “pebble” in dating or married relationships doesn’t literally mean giving your partner rocks (unless they’re a geologist that would love that sort of thing). For humans, pebbling your partner means to share or give a small gift like a flower, toy, or object that has some meaning to one or both of you. It doesn’t always have to be a gift either, but it could be a photo, social media post, or a meme you can text them. It’s essentially anything that conveys “I saw this and thought of you” in order to showcase affection to them and initiate closer conversations.
Pebbling isn’t just for romantic couples either. Many autistic people find it more difficult to navigate socially due to high anxiety, sensory sensitivities, or having trouble interpreting social cues. By texting a GIF to a friend, giving a small flower to their parent during a walk, or other such pebbling, it allows some autistic people the ability to communicate their affection and connection without the pressure of using words.
Whether it’s a colorful rock or something else, pebbling can be a valid form of communication between friends, partners, or potential mates. It all depends on who you choose to build a nest with.
