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Whether rain or shine, weekday or weekend, my morning starts with a scroll.

It’s one of my most enduring habits. I’ll start by checking the time, before allowing myself a few texts or emails in the name of ‘productivity’, and before long, I’m lying there watching people throwing bowling balls at TVs or reading ragebait in the comments section.

I’ve long suspected that this isn’t the optimal way to start the day, but it was only after a recent moment of mid-scroll lucidity that I began to wonder why I reach for my phone first thing in the morning.

As it happens, research on early-morning phone habits suggests that it’s not just me diving into social media as soon as the alarm goes off.

The Independent reports that 81% of Brits reach for their phone as soon as they wake up, while a 2025 YouGov report found that the majority of US adults under 30 often use their phone right before sleeping and right after waking up.

These figures could suggest that most of us shared a mental tendency to pick up the phone right after waking up, but without additional context, they can’t tell the whole story.

So, to find out more about why I and so many others scroll first thing in the morning, I spoke to two psychology experts to connect the dots between ancient human behaviour and the supercomputers we keep in our pockets, and indeed our beds.

Information vs stimulation

Social media offers much more information that we evolved to handle early in the morning (Image credit: Getty Images) “To boil it down as simply as possible, it’s a combination of our natural dopamine reward system and the fact that we are communal people,” says psychotherapist and addiction specialist John Puls.

Puls tells me that long-standing psychological drivers are pushing us to use our devices in the mornings, where in the past we might’ve sought different kinds of connection

“We are pleasure-seeking people, and one of the ways we do that is through engagement with our smartphones, particularly social media,” he explains, “and we want to know what’s going on in the world.”

Puls continues: “Previously, in closer communities with less technology, it wouldn’t be uncommon to just spend some time with your neighbours or your family in the morning. In the absence of that, people are looking for immediate connection, and the easiest way to do that is through the smartphone. You have to take into account the changes that have come with the smartphone, but these are natural impulses that social media is fulfilling.”

For clinical psychologist Dr. Ari Lakritz, the smartphone and all the news it connects us to fulfil an evolutionary impulse to detect threats: “The brain is somewhat hardwired to look for pertinent information, especially the more threatening information. The part of the brain that deals with that is called the amygdala — it’s one of the most ancient parts of the brain, one that’s most responsible for the fear response.”

“News sites, with their slant towards negative news, are hacking into an inborn part of ourselves,” he adds, “and when you’re looking at your phone as the first thing you’re doing, it may not be all that different from one of our ancestors scanning the horizon for threats.”

People are looking for immediate connection, and the easiest way to do that is through the smartphone.

John Puls

“We develop very early on to be aware of possible threats to ourselves, and to scan the environment for those [threats],” Lakritz continues, adding that the availability of information that may not be relevant to phone and social platform users could be increasing stress levels: “The existence of something we feel is negative or threatening in a far off country has no direct relevance to us, but we do find ourselves psychologically pulled to that.”

“It’s really assaulting people with a great deal of information that is not directly relevant to them, and definitely doing more harm than good… there’s this whole other aspect of life, which is positive news and uplifting stories that people are either not drawn to or simply not sent as much.”

Social media algorithms are blackboxed — meaning users aren’t privy to the decisions and equations that decide the content they see. With that said, it’s generally accepted that algorithms are designed to maximize engagement of any kind, and, as The Conversation reports, anger spreads more quickly through social media networks than other emotions.

As John Puls notes, this has a physical effect as well as an emotional one: “When you immediately go into your smartphone [in the morning] and start doomscrolling, so to speak, you’re releasing cortisol, a stress hormone, and your brain is getting overstimulated.”

“We’re basically in the middle of a giant experiment,” Puls continues, “our brains were not necessarily meant to be this stimulated first thing in the morning and then consistently throughout the day. Where it becomes problematic is with the risk of overstimulation — there’s a risk of constant pleasure-seeking that dulls the senses.”

Effects of the morning scroll

(Image credit: Getty Images / Cristina Quicler) According to Dr. Ari Lakritz, beginning the day with an intake of highly charged, negative information can have major effects on one’s mood and focus. He describes social media as “unlimited scrolling” of “dramatic news that can get our fight or flight response very worked up.”

“It’s really not good,” he explains, “and it very much sets the tone of one’s cognitive framing. It’s very fast, intense stimulation, whether that’s YouTube Shorts, TikTok style videos, or even just Reddit-style scrolling through very short, snappy comments or news stories.”

Lakritz continues: “If my baseline is very fast, short, intense bursts of entertainment, when confronted with something that takes more focus or deeper thinking it’ll be hard to move on from that set point.”

When asked whether early morning phone use is always problematic, Dr. Lakritz makes few exceptions: “Aside from more extreme circumstances, it’s hard to think of a good advantage one is getting with the phone right there that couldn’t be gotten in a non-technological way.”

John Puls tells me that he’s noticed that several of his clients experience discomfort when away from their phones for even short periods of time: “It almost becomes an emotional support phone — if anything happens in our life, an interpersonal problem, a problem with our relationship, we could experience that discomfort until we scroll on Instagram.”

And for young people, even higher stakes could influence phone use from dawn till dusk.

‘If they don’t exist online, they don’t exist socially’

For those born in the digital era, connection to social media can feel absolutely essential (Image credit: Getty Images) It’s worth noting at this point that I interviewed John Puls and Dr. Ari Lakritz separately, and without either knowing of the other’s involvement in this article. With that said, both professionals agreed that early morning phone use has a tighter hold — and greater impact — on young people.

“The teens that I’m working with that struggle with this, I have them check their screen time, and on average it’s between 14 and 15 hours,” says Puls, “that’s the majority of time that they’re awake.”

“Naturally, what comes with that is being pretty disconnected from people in real life [...] so there’s this pressure to constantly be online. Teens want to psychologically individuate from their families and feel part of a community, particularly with their friends. So they often feel the pressure that they can’t be part of that unless they’re on their phones.”

“For younger people, they feel that if they don’t exist online, they don’t exist socially.”

Dr. Ari Lakritz says that phone use in general has a huge impact on young people’s psychological growth: “It touches child development in a profound way. It’s a huge compound for something like ADHD, and makes assessment of ADHD very complicated — you have to piece apart how much of this is inattention issues, or developmental, and how much is very, very high exposure to electronic entertainment.”

Taking back time

Apple's Screen Time feature helps you keep track of your device usage. (Image credit: Future / Thomas Deehan) Olivia Yokubonis, known online as Olivia Unplugged, is a digital wellness strategist for Opal, one of the best-known screen time limiter apps. She tells me that she “meets people where they are” with a message of digital balance and wellbeing, sharing tips and tricks to a combined social media audience of 600,000 followers.

"I was an Opal user before I even started working here,” Yokubonis explains, “the goal is to help people stop feeling like they’re the victim of their phones, and actually feel like they’re in control again.”

“I’m not anti-technology, I’m pro agency,” she adds, “you have to focus on awareness. I’m a big advocate of the idea that we can’t change what we don’t notice. And the morning scroll is very often unconscious.”

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At the time of writing, Opal boasts more than a million daily users, and in 2026 announced that the app had saved its user base a total of 500 million hours — but Yokubonis’ strategies go further than just using the app: “Something I’ve implemented with my family is no-phone zones. The bedroom is one of those places — we put our phones in the other room, our alarms go off, and we have to get up and go get it.”

She adds: “Digital wellness means your attention is not constantly being fragmented, that you can think in complete thoughts and sentences, and that you don’t lose hours of your day, especially the first few hours of the day, without realising it [...] We need the ability to choose to go on a social media app rather than have it be a habit, or something that’s just automatically happening because my nervous system is reaching for something.”

“We have a finite amount of willpower, and these apps have an unlimited amount of resources. They are designed to use up that willpower.”

On a similar note, Dr Ari Lakritz explains that even a marginal reduction in screen time can make a big difference: “Check your screen time, add up how much you do per week, and try to cut it down by 10%. If it’s 60 hours a week, just cut off six, see what you can do. You don’t have to be a digital hermit to improve.”

Though high screen time correlates to higher revenues for many phone makers and mobile software developers, a rising tide of social media legislation and backlash against big tech could push some brands to recognise its problematic potential.

Indeed, some smartphone manufacturers are beginning to acknowledge the issue of excessive phone use, and are developing software-based features to help users curb their screen time.

Nothing, for instance, believes its Glyph Matrix and Essential Space features will ‘help you be more human’ , while Google's upcoming Pause Point tool will redirect you away from social media apps towards more meaningful forms of smartphone engagement. Apple, too, recently announced a slew of wellbeing-focused upgrades for its Screen Time feature in iOS 27 .

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Terminally Online

(Image credit: Future) This is Terminally Online : PC Gamer's very own MMO column. Every other week, I'll be sharing my thoughts on the genre, interviewing fellow MMO-heads like me, taking a deep-dive into mechanics we've all taken for granted, and, occasionally, bringing in guest writers to talk about their MMO of choice.

I'm somewhat prone to pessimism in this column, though that's not without cause. MMOs aren't exactly a dying breed, per se—we've got Guild Wars 3 to look forward to, and most of the old guard, while a little grey in the beard, have respectable playerbases and are thrumming with things to do.

But it's hard not to feel my blood pressure notch up a few numbers at this week's Xbox layoff news for… well, a number of reasons, really. I'm irate in particular, however, at the current state of Zenimax Online Studios (ZOS), developers of The Elder Scrolls Online, who seem to have become Microsoft's punching bag.

Left hook

I'm hard-pressed to think of a more depressing set of facts than Zenimax's past couple of years—back in July of 2025, Microsoft put thousands of people out of work, including those at ZOS and, more to the point, the cancelled Project Blackbird .

Blackbird was Zenimax's next major project, and while I can't say for certain it would've revitalised the MMO market or anything, we sure as hell need more new MMOs. It was in development for over half a decade , something the then-founder Matt Firor had described as, admittedly, a bit of a "large bet."

Still, the odds weren't bad. The then-CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer reportedly had to be torn away from it , and it was slated for a tentative 2028 release. And listen, even if you've got a cynical heart—five years of work from a development team of around 300 people getting flushed right down the toilet, along with 62 jobs (per a WARN notice ), is a damn shame.

It was something that shook Zenimax to its core—but the studio did manage to pull through. I actually spoke to some of them back in January, speaking with executive producer Susan Kath who said that "the team has very much rallied … I see a lot of enthusiasm from the team as we're going forward. Folks are excited about their work. I'm excited for them to be doing this. We're looking forward."

Game director Nick Giacomini also echoed: "We are excited by what we're doing. We're excited by this transformation, this change, this evolution. It's like a second wind, and we've definitely got our eyes on the future, because this is our home. We are determined to make it continue to be so for us, for our players, for as long as we possibly can."

Indeed, things were looking up for ESO. It had found itself in a bit of a rut, as most MMOs do from time to time—but a new commitment to a seasonal model and a whole heap of reworks seemed dedicated to addressing long-held quality-of-life complaints and shaking things up.

The air, to me, felt like a smaller-scale version of the turnaround that World of Warcraft had after the disasters of Shadowlands, commitment to roadmaps and all.

Right hook

Fast-forward less than half a year later—an unconscionable amount of time in shareholder land, I have to imagine—and Zenimax Online Studios has been all but gutted. As PC Gamer's own Ted Litchfield figured out earlier in the week , an estimated 60% of the studio has been laid off between 2025 and 2026, with 213 of those layoffs happening this week.

(Image credit: ZeniMax) That's a reduction of 275 developers at the studio in a year and a half, and, look—I don't want to cry that the sky is falling for ESO. Quite the opposite, I am hoping against hope that it'll manage to find a second wind somewhere down the line—but you simply cannot lose the contributions of 275 people without a massive dip in quality.

It's a response echoed by employees at the studio itself. Andrew Young, who left it in 2024 , wrote: "There’s really no one left and no changing it now". Other employees were sent reeling , stunned at the absence of teams they'd been working with for years and forced to pick up the pieces.

I want to point out that Xbox saw fit to lay these people off literally as its first season launched—with layoffs occurring on Monday July 6, and the season launching on July 8 .

To believe that a game that historically brings you in $166 million annually somehow isn't profitable seems absolutely absurd to me."

Just imagine it—you work on ESO, the layoffs from last year hit you hard, but you're determined to turn things around. You're using words like "rallied" in interviews, you're finally getting to sort out complaints players have been having for years, you're trying new things. And after a year of work, your first season of the new era of your game is coming out. Two days before it arrives, Microsoft lays off 213 of your team. That, or you're shown the door yourself.

This is despite the fact that your game has brought in over $2 billion in revenue over its lifetime . That figure, posited in 2024, was touted 10 years after the game's launch. That means that ESO was raking in an average of $166 million a year.

Now obviously, that figure's going to have dips and peaks, that's just the nature of doing business—but the sheer boneheaded, next-quarter blinders you have to have on to believe that a game that historically brings you in $166 million annually somehow isn't profitable seems absolutely absurd to me.

And sure, maybe this reaction holds water if the fanbase wasn't liking your new changes—except they did! Here's just a few quotes from the Elder Scrolls Online subreddit :

"What the fuck man. ESO was really getting a second wind," says u/ PompeiiSketches .

"The game seemed to be on the up and up, what happened?" says u/ Crimsonmaddog44 .

"Absolute insane behavior to make cuts to the team that has gotten tons of players (myself included!) back into engaging with the game" says u/Ion_bound .

In a post on the game's forums , understandably stating that Zenimax'll have to be shifting its schedule around a bit, support is present, too:

"I just came back because of your roadmap for the future, and knowing now the people working on it are getting cut by a company that's billions in the green is really heartbreaking," writes one user, "know we haven’t always been happy with you all but those affected, whether they remain or not, did not deserve this. Especially in an era where things were finally looking up again. I am horrified," writes another.

This really does paint a picture of an MMO that was finally getting its sea legs back, just for Xbox to sweep in and knock it right off its feet again.

Holding shares

I will state it plainly: I think the way that Zenimax Online Studios has been treated is cruel, senseless, and short-sighted. There's no capitalist argument to be made about shareholders or prices or changing industries that's going to reach my ears on this one—it's downright unconscionable.

This is a studio that was making a profitable MMO with big dreams for the future, one that had somehow, miraculously, recovered from having a massive project that'd been in development for half a decade shuttered overnight. One that was just about to release the first proper season of its new imagined identity for the game that earned Microsoft over $160 million a year for the past decade.

It has been sacrificed almost wholesale on the altar of growth, by a company that spent over $68 billion on Blizzard, with Microsoft itself spending over $80 billion in 2025 on AI pipedreams. Its developers have been laid off to support a fantasy of getting 1 billion daily players, somehow, in a portfolio that's down 1,600 working roles and will be down 1,600 more by 2027.

More than that, this is an MMO we're talking about. If ESO takes a nosedive from here on out (and god, I am hoping it doesn't), that'll be one less game in an already-dwindling genre that's struggling to put up a fight amongst the unhealthy ambitions of the current industry's gluttony. ZOS deserved better.

Best MMOs : Most massive

Best strategy games : Number crunching

Best open world games : Unlimited exploration

Best survival games : Live craft love

Best horror games : Fight or flight

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On Episode 218 of This Week In Space , Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik discuss NASA's new moonbase plans with planetary scientist Dr. Pascal Lee.

Starting with Artemis V (so far), the US plans to begin preparations for a permanent base situated in the south polar regions of the moon. Details are somewhat fluid, but one thing stands out: the poles are likely to be the most challenging places to set up shop in an already hostile environment. Pascal joins us to discuss moonbase siting options and why the poles may not be the best choice at first.

Download or subscribe to this show at: https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space .

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Space news of the week

Making history! China lands rocket during an orbital launch for 1st time ever

NASA's New Horizons probe just woke up from hibernation 6 billion miles away beyond Pluto. What's it doing out there?

Wally Funk, trailblazing pilot and astronaut, passes away at 87

Moon Base - NASA

Project Horizon - Wikipedia

The Artemis Accords

NASA, Department of Energy to Develop Lunar Surface Reactor by 2030

Model Falcon 9!

TOP TELESCOPE PICK:

(Image credit: Celestron) Looking for a telescope to see planets and comets? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 as the top pick in our best beginner's telescope guide .

Finally, did you know you can launch your own SpaceX rocket? Model rocket maker Estes' stunning scale model of a Falcon 9 rocket that you can pick up now. The launchable model is a detailed recreation of the Falcon 9 and retails for $149.99. You can save 10% by using the code IN-COLLECTSPACE at checkout , courtesy of our partners collectSPACE.com.

About This Week In Space

This Week in Space covers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What's happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars?

Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from Space.com as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher.

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The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees ) is one of the best travel rewards cards for beginners and experienced travelers alike. If you're thinking about applying, you're probably wondering whether your credit score is high enough.

While Chase doesn't publish a minimum credit score requirement, applicants with a FICO score of around 700 or higher generally have the strongest approval odds. However, your credit score is only one piece of the puzzle. Chase also considers your credit history, your income, your existing relationship with the bank and your application history.

Limited-time offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred : Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Here's what you should know before applying.

What credit score do you need for the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

The Sapphire Preferred is widely considered one of the best travel rewards cards for beginners, making it a popular first travel card for many applicants.

Although Chase doesn't publish a minimum credit score requirement, we generally recommend having a FICO score of at least 700 before applying. That's in the middle of the "good" credit score range (670 to 739) and should give you solid approval odds.

MOMO PRODUCTIONS/GETTY IMAGES Applicants with good-to-excellent credit typically have the best chance of approval, though no credit score guarantees you'll be approved.

Using the FICO scoring model, credit scores fall into the following ranges:

Exceptional : 800 to 850

Very good : 740 to 799

Good : 670 to 739

Fair : 580 to 669

Poor : 579 and below

Keep in mind that it's possible to be approved with a score below 700 — or denied with a much higher one. Chase evaluates your overall credit profile, not just your credit score.

Related: How to check your credit score for free

What factors affect your approval odds?

Your credit score is only one part of your application. Chase also considers several other factors when deciding whether to approve you.

Credit history

Although the Sapphire Preferred is an excellent starter travel card, applicants with very limited credit history may have a harder time qualifying. If you're brand-new to credit or have only one credit card , consider building your credit history with a starter card before applying.

Income

Chase doesn't disclose a minimum income requirement, but your income helps determine your ability to repay borrowed money. Higher income can strengthen your application, particularly when paired with responsible credit management .

Credit utilization

Credit utilization — the percentage of your available credit you're using — is another important factor.

AZMANJAKA/GETTY IMAGES While Chase doesn't publish a target utilization ratio , keeping your balances low (generally below 20%) demonstrates responsible credit use and can improve your approval odds.

Existing relationship with Chase

Having an existing banking relationship with Chase may also help. While it's not a formal application requirement, longtime Chase customers — especially those with checking, savings or investment accounts — may have stronger approval odds than new customers.

Related: 8 ways to maximize your chances of being approved for a credit card

Should you apply for the Sapphire Preferred before the Sapphire Reserve?

If you're considering the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees ), it often makes sense to start with the Sapphire Preferred . Approval is generally easier, and you can always upgrade to the Sapphire Reserve later if you decide its premium benefits better fit your travel style.

Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Sapphire Reserve: Which is better for you?

How to check your credit score

Under no circumstances should you pay to check your credit score . Many credit cards come with a free FICO score calculator. And even if yours doesn't, there are many other ways to check your credit score for free.

Many free sites can help you keep better track of your score and its factors. You can even use these services to dispute any information on your score that isn't accurate or appears to be fraudulent. If you want even more credit services, you may also consider paying for a credit-monitoring service like myFICO.

Related: Credit cards 101: The beginners guide

Factors that affect your credit score

Before you start applying for any credit cards, it's essential to understand the factors that make up your credit score. After all, the mere act of applying for a new line of credit will change your score .

FICO While the exact formula for calculating your credit score isn't public, FICO is transparent about the factors they assess and the weightings they use:

Payment history : 35% of your FICO score is based on your payment history. So, if you get behind in making loan payments, this part of your credit score will suffer. Also, the more extended and more recent the delinquency, the more significant the negative effect.

Amounts owed (credit utilization): 30% of your FICO score consists of the relative size of your current debt . In particular, your debt-to-credit ratio is the total of your debts divided by the total available credit across all your accounts. Many people claim that having a debt-to-credit ratio below 20% is best, but it's not a magic number.

Length of credit history : 15% of your score represents the average length of all accounts on your credit history. The average length of your accounts can be a significant factor if you have a limited credit history. It can also be a factor for people who open and close accounts quickly.

New credit : Your most recent accounts determine 10% of your credit score. So, this part of your credit score will suffer if you've recently opened too many accounts. After all, obtaining a lot of new credit is one sign of financial distress.

Credit mix : 10% of your score is related to how many different credit accounts you have, such as mortgages, car loans, credit loans and store credit cards . While having a mix of loan types is better than having just one type, we don't recommend taking out unnecessary loans solely to boost your credit score .

With regard to the Sapphire Preferred , one crucial factor to consider is the average age of your accounts. While a lengthier credit history will boost your score, many issuers focus on the one-year cutoff. That means that having an average age of accounts of more than a year can go a long way toward increasing your odds of approval. However, you might have trouble getting approved with 11 months of credit history — even if your numerical credit score is excellent .

If you have any delinquencies or bankruptcies on your credit report, Chase might hesitate to approve you for a new line of credit. It's important to remember that your credit profile is more than just a number. Your credit profile is a collection of information given to the issuer to analyze your creditworthiness.

As a result, there is no hard-and-fast rule about a specific credit score that will automatically get you approved (or denied) for the Sapphire Preferred.

Related: 7 things to understand about credit before applying for a new card

Chase Sapphire Preferred application requirements

After you've checked your credit score, there is another Chase-related factor to consider before you apply for the Sapphire Preferred .

5/24 rule

As with most Chase cards , the Sapphire Preferred is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule , which states that Chase will automatically reject your application if you've opened five or more personal credit cards (with any issuer) in the last 24 months.

ZEYNEPKAYA/GETTY IMAGES The 5/24 rule is hard-coded into Chase's system, so agents generally can't manually override it. As such, if you're over 5/24 , your only option for getting the Sapphire Preferred is to wait until you're under 5/24 again.

Related: Want to open a new Chase card? Here's how to calculate your 5/24 standing

What to do if your application is rejected

If Chase rejects your credit card application, don't give up. If you receive a rejection letter, you should first examine the reasons for your rejection. By law, card issuers must send you a written or electronic communication explaining what factors prevented you from being approved.

Once you've figured out why Chase rejected you, you can call the reconsideration line.

Tell the person on the phone that you recently applied for a Chase credit card, were surprised to see that Chase rejected your application and would like to speak to someone about getting that decision reconsidered.

From there, it's up to you to build a case and convince the agent why Chase should approve you for the card.

10'000 HOURS/GETTY IMAGES For example, if Chase rejected you for having a short credit history, you can point to your stellar record of on-time payments. Or, if Chase rejected you for missed payments, you could explain that those were a long time ago and your recent history has been perfect.

Chase is also known to limit a customer's total credit line across all cards. You may have success overcoming a rejection by offering to shift unused credit from an existing card to a new one.

There's no guarantee that your call will work, but it's worth spending 15 minutes on the phone if it might help you get the card you want.

Related: Your guide to calling a credit card reconsideration line

Bottom line

While Chase doesn't publish a minimum credit score for the Sapphire Preferred , a FICO score of at least 700 generally gives you the best chance of approval.

Just remember that your score is only one factor. Your credit history, your income, your credit utilization ratio and whether you're under Chase's 5/24 rule can all have a significant impact on your application.

If your credit profile is in good shape, the Sapphire Preferred remains one of the best travel rewards cards for beginners and frequent travelers.

Apply here: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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Tropical forests draw down and store large quantities of CO₂ from the atmosphere. The Amazon rainforest in South America, for example, stores approximately 123 billion tonnes of carbon — more than is stored in any other terrestrial ecosystem in the world. But these forests are facing a critical challenge.

Research from 2023 , which was carried out by me and more than 100 colleagues, found that tropical forests in South America are vulnerable to climate extremes. We determined that during an El Niño event , the warm phase of a natural fluctuation in the Earth's climate system, South American tropical forests may fail to act as a carbon sink.

This finding becomes even more alarming when we consider the increasing frequency and intensity of El Niño events. There have been twice as many "very strong" El Niños in the last 60 years as there were in the 60 years before that. And the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has recently confirmed that such an El Niño is currently underway.

Tropical forests absorb CO₂ through the process of photosynthesis and convert it into biomass. However, the balance between photosynthesis and respiration is delicate and depends on two factors: temperature and water availability.

In hotter and drier conditions, plants close the pores of their leaves to avoid water loss. But closing them effectively cuts off a plant's fuel supply because it is through these pores they absorb CO₂. This starves plants of the carbon needed for photosynthesis and to grow.

During El Niño years, which are characterized by high temperature anomalies , prolonged climate stress leads to reduced forest growth and increased tree mortality. The effects of this are felt for decades as carbon is released back into the atmosphere when the dead trees decompose.

Our findings revealed that during the 2015-2016 El Niño, when temperatures on land were at least a degree higher on average than usual conditions, some of South America's tropical forests effectively stopped absorbing carbon. This raises concerns about the possible impact of the current El Niño on the Amazon and global climate.

A map of the Amazon River drainage basin in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. (Image credit: By Kmusser from Wikimedia Commons with elements from this file , CC-BY-SA-3.0 ) In our research, we measured over half a million trees across six South American countries over a period of more than 30 years, using tape measures to track their growth. These trees belonged to over 4,000 different species. We used this data to calculate precise estimates of the amount of carbon stored as a forest's aboveground biomass.

We found that the vulnerability of these forests to El Niño conditions was closely linked to their baseline climate. While we tend to assume that rainforests are all hot, wet and biodiverse ecosystems, seasonal drought is a reality for many tropical forests. Conditions in regions at the edge of the Amazon rainforest, for example, tend to be particularly hot and dry.

Our findings revealed that drier forests at the edge of the Amazon, where trees regularly endure periods of limited water availability, were especially susceptible to extreme El Niño conditions. On average, a 0.5°C increase in temperature caused these forests to lose 0.5% of their aboveground carbon.

Larger trees suffered the most . While tree mortality rates increased from 1.8% to 3% per year during the El Niño in South American tropical forests as a whole, mortality rates effectively doubled for medium (classified as over 20cm in diameter) and large trees.

The fact that larger trees with less dense wood died at much higher rates compared to small trees and those with high wood density points strongly to hydraulic failure, when intense atmospheric moisture demand snaps the tension in the tree's internal water column rather than slow carbon starvation.

These results suggest that adaption to seasonal drought may not be sufficient to protect tropical forests from extreme events. Climate extremes are possibly already pushing forests at the edges of the Amazon beyond their capacity to adapt, causing catastrophic carbon losses.

A looming threat

Scientists have warned that 2026 may again be the warmest year on record. Heightening the alarm further is the severity of the current El Niño. Never before has an an El Niño begun when oceans are already so warm and air temperatures so high.

On top of this is the fact that, over the past three decades, the edges of the Amazon have experienced some of the highest temperatures and most rapid warming the tropics have ever seen. The structural integrity of a forest is compromised when a major climate anomaly occurs before it has recovered from recent, multi-year stress.

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Imagine you're on a hike in a remote mountain range. Your hyperactive dog catches the scent of a deer and, powered by his hunter's instinct, disappears in the forest. He has a GPS tracker in his collar that can send his coordinates via the cellular network. But where you are, there is no mobile coverage. You keep whistling and calling but to no avail: your dog is nowhere to be seen.

That exact scenario prompted technologist Jonathan Bensamoun to develop what he describes as the world's first satellite -connected wearable device for dogs. Bensamoun is the founder and CEO of Fi , which has been manufacturing dog trackers since 2017. He first conceived the idea to make GPS devices for dogs when he adopted a young German shepherd named Thor and wanted to make sure that his hired dog walker wasn't cutting corners when taking him out for walks.

But even though the company had quickly grown into a market leader, Bensamoun kept hearing customers complain about the device's usefulness. That's where SpaceX's Starlink satellites came in.

"The number one complaint from customers is either 'I live in an area where the cellular network is not really good' or 'I get really worried about my dog when it's away from the typical suburban area. I am worried when it escapes the yard and runs into the woods," Bensamoun told Space.com.

When Starlink began delivering connectivity directly to smartphones in 2024, Bensamoun knew a solution to the problem was on its way. And on July 8, the world's first satellite dog tracking service came online.

The device combines a GPS receiver, which determines the dog's position in real time, and a simple battery-powered modem that connects to T-Mobile's cellular network, which partners with Space's Starlink system. When the dog's position registers outside a pre-defined zone, the owner receives a message via a smartphone app.

When no cell tower is within reach, the device links with an overflying Starlink satellite to complete the task. The dog owner can also set a geo fence around the dog, an area within which the dog is allowed to move without triggering an alert. When the dog crosses that virtual boundary, for example, escapes from the backyard, the tracker sends a message to the owner.

The Fi Ultra GPS tracking collar, powered by SpaceX's Starlink direct-to-mobile network. (Image credit: Fi) The device's battery lasts "multiple days", according to Fi, giving the desperate pet owner plenty of time to locate the refugee. To speed up the search, Fi enables the owner to send the dog signals — short bursts of vibrations or sounds — to entice it to come home voluntarily.

"You can train your dog with those vibrations and reward it with food every time they receive the vibration," said Bensamoun. "That way, they will start associating the vibration with their food being ready at home."

GPS tracking has been around for decades. In the animal realm, wild, endangered animals became the first to wear them in the 1990s. But those early devices were clunky and expensive, good for large mammals such as moose and caribou, but not fit for commercial use on pets. The technology finally shrunk to small enough dimensions in the early 2010s when first GPS dog trackers entered the market.

Today, some 11 million dogs worldwide are tracked or monitored by GPS in some form. Fi's new tracker — the Fi Ultra Direct-to-Cell tracker — takes the technology another step further by providing "nearly omnipresent connectivity," said Bensamoun.