How heat damages the DNA of endangered purple-crowned fairy wrens
by Graham Readfearn from Science | The Guardian on (#60AY6)
Shortening of telomeres accelerates ageing process, research shows - a pernicious silent threat'
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Endangered purple-crowned fairy wrens - tiny but striking Australian songbirds - could be at even greater risk from global heating after a study found that exposure to hot and dry conditions damages nestlings' DNA.
Unlike the more tangible effects of global heating on species - such as a rising risk of bushfires, loss of habitat or lethal heatwaves - the scientists said the effect they had discovered was silent, pernicious and lifelong.
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