Earth’s waters are quietly running out of oxygen, scientists warn - Science Daily

It’s unsurprising that cutting off your brain’s access to the oxygen it needs to run its routine processes can significantly affect it. That’s especially true for freedivers, people who hold their breath for minutes at a time as they try to swim as deep into the ocean as humanly possible. Normally, starving your brain leads straight to rapid neuron death, seizures, and catastrophic memory impairment, mostly because the hippocampus takes the first hit when oxygen dries up. Yet, according to a bioRxiv study led by neuroscientist Julia Micaux of the University of Paris-Saclay, free divers who hold their breath for extended stretches somehow don’t suffer the kind of major brain meltdown you’d expect.

4 min readImage of the Day for October 6, 2026Dissolved organic matter and suspended sediment mingle in the southernmost extent of James Bay. NASA Earth ObservatoryOct 06, 2026 Article The Cree word pahtaaunaakun seems particularly apt for describing the distinctive brown hues of the waters that drain into Hannah Bay and Rupert Bay in Canada. Meaning the "color of singed beaver" in Southern East Cree, the word evokes the rich brown of the humic-substance-stained waters that were flowing into the two bays in late September 2026, as well as the role that beavers have long played in the mythology and history of the region.