Home Blog

Climate Change vs Sports: Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities

Saadeqa Khan
-
0
Climate Change vs Sports: Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities

When the FIFA World Cup 2026 final was less than 24 hours away, an unlikely factor grabbed the attention of organizers and also caused panic among players and fans. It was the lingering smoke from Canadian wildfires sparked on July 13, 2026. Soon it engulfed the northern region of the US. The situation raised questions about the fate of the final on July 20, between Spain and Argentina.

Within a few hours, climate experts issued statements clarifying that air quality was likely to improve on Sunday around the New Jersey stadium. On Saturday afternoon, as predicted, a widespread thunderstorm cleared the heavy smoke, increasing the air quality index and visibility; and the final of the biggest event was played in good weather. 

Simon Stiell, the Executive Secretary for the United Nations Climate Body, said in an email statement to The Guardian that “the climate crisis is hitting the things we all need, like a stable climate, clean air and affordable food, as well as the things we love, like football and other sports”. 

Climate experts worldwide are raising concerns over the increasing temperature and other unexpected weather events, disrupting outdoor activities, global events, and forcing us to stay indoors with our digital devices. Joshua Devincezo serves as the assistant director at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University. According to Joshua, “the climate crisis is making extreme heat waves more frequent and intense, raising new questions about whether the conditions in which major tournaments are played can remain safe for the players and fans or supporters. FIFA World Cup matches have introduced a true stress of heat and preparedness”, he added. 

Professional Sports and Climate Change

Federation Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels (FIFPRO), a global representative organization for professional footballers, recommended 26 °C as a safe temperature for players and fans in the stadium. However, the recorded temperature at the New Jersey stadium on July 20 was 28 °C, 2 degrees above the recommended threshold. Still, it was a relief as the temperature in the early matches of the tournament was even higher. There were voices to shift the remaining matches of the tournament to cities with cooler environments.  

Professional sports, specifically outdoor sports, face major threats including disrupted seasons, endangered venues, and financial pressure due to substantial changes in stadium infrastructure. Evidently, professional sports are never immune to these climate disruptions, which reached their peak in 2026, so much so that seasonal sports calendars and events are scheduled according to monthly/ seasonal weather predictions, no longer the reliable fixtures they once were. Major tournaments worldwide now face higher risks of cancellation, delays, schedule adjustments, or infrastructure issues that extremely unpredictable weather brings about.

However, this is only one side of the coin; professional sports are not only experiencing threats due to rising temperatures, but they are also imposing threats to our environment and playing an active role in climate change. Let’s look at the situation with this twisting angle. 

sports
Sebastian Vettel, a 34-year-old, who is four-time world champion, admits climate change makes him question Formula 1’s role. Photo Sky News

Formula One, NASCAR, and other major motor sports 

Formula One (F1), drag racing, NASCAR, and other major motor sports are often criticized for their extensive fuel use and carbon emissions. Arguably, F1 is the pinnacle of all motor sports; categorically, it is the most competitive and technologically advanced motor racing championship worldwide. An academic study conducted by Taylor and Frances in May 2026 revealed that out of twenty-five F1 circuits, 19 are at risk of extreme heat, 18 face flooding, 10 suffer poor air quality, and 7 venues face heavy rainfall. The study further shows Singapore and Qatar as the most vulnerable locations, while Austria shows a lower climate risk profile.

In 2023, the high temperatures at the Qatar Grand Prix evoked strong criticism from drivers.  French driver Esteban Ocon vomited in his helmet on the 15th and 16th laps as the ambient temperatures on the track exceeded 36°C with higher humidity, leading to cockpit temperatures approaching 50°C. George Russel, who competed for Mercedes and served as the director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, said in a post-race interview that “ the race conditions were absolutely brutal’ and were beyond the limits of what was acceptable for the drivers

Let’s look into the other side: According to the latest available statistics, Formula 1 accelerates climate change primarily through its massive global logistics footprint and fan travel, which push the sport’s total footprint over 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Several experts assume the high-speed racing cars are the main culprit; twenty cars on the track actually account for less than 1% of F1’s carbon footprint. 

The Constant Disruption in Winter Sports

The rising global temperature poses an existential threat to winter sports. It results in shorter seasons, retreating glaciers, and dwindling snow availability. As winter sports events heavily rely on stable environmental conditions, the worsening climate and ecological changes are causing hazards and severe disruptions. 

According to the same study by Taylor and Francis, led by Madeleine Orr, associated with the faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, Canada, it is estimated that by 2080, only eight of the 21 cities that previously hosted winter Olympic Games will continue staging the events. The remaining venues will lose this once-in-a-year opportunity due to relatively warmer winters and a substantial decrease in snow. 

In Innsbruck, Australia, during the 2023-2024 Ski Jumping World Cup, athletes faced frequent weather-related interruptions driven by shifting winter patterns in the Alps. A significant number of races across all disciplines were scrapped or relocated due to the lack of snow and volatile mountain conditions.

Kamil Stoch, a Poland-based legendary three-time Olympic champion, expressed his sadness during unseasonably warm stretches. He pointed out how unnatural the environment has become. “It is a strange feeling when you look around, and everything is green, and there is a narrow strip of snow for us. Climate change has taken away a bit of winter magic”, he added.  

sports
“It is a strange feeling when you look around, and everything is green, and there is a narrow strip of snow for us. Climate change has taken away a bit of winter magic”. Photo, Reuters

New Normal: Major Event Rescheduling or Cancellation

The Cortina d’Ampezzo World Cup is another major event for winter sports lovers and athletes worldwide. However, Italy’s iconic Alpine venues have been increasingly affected by an unreliable snow season. These unexpected weather patterns forced the organizers to intensify snow-making operations. Additionally, rain and fluctuating temperatures also made race surfaces hard and difficult to run.

Resorts in Switzerland, Australia, France, and Italy have shortened seasons due to glacier melting. Some glacier ski races have been canceled or relocated due to a lack of snow. Experts show concerns over the growing situation as the Alps are warming at roughly twice the global average, accelerating glacier loss and reducing snow reliability. 

Numerous winter sports World Cups during 2023-2025, including Alpine Skiing, Ski jumping, and cross-country skiing events, were postponed or canceled. The situation highlighted that climate change is no longer an environmental issue; rather, it is a growing challenge for athletic safety, event rescheduling, and the future of winter sports.

However, the financial escalation is equally concerning — sports facilities and infrastructure also face soaring costs from climate-related damage, while industries that depend on reliable and stable weather conditions are struggling to adapt. 

Climate Change and Professional Games — Growing Opportunities

FIFA World Cup 2026 has triggered multiple calls to relocate the event due to extremely hot weather. Football fans are demanding a change in match timings to evenings or nights when the environment usually cools down. 

“Now, when the event just ended with Spain being the winner, FIFA and host organizations will surely be looking at scheduling and stadium selection through a climate change lens, says Mark Saiti, CEO of environmental consultancy firm SaveMoneyCutCarbon. The statement came after the event, when the World Cup matches were organized in back-to-back heatwaves. It cast light on how our stadiums have failed to cope with warming temperatures. 

Redesigning our Stadiums 

According to Reuters analysis, this year, the tournament has faced back-to-back heatwaves; even the US is not exempt from those hot spells. The situation highlighted several challenges, including infrastructural concerns, as our stadiums are not designed to cope with the rising temperatures. Today, players need more protection, and fans demand a more comfortable environment to enjoy their favorite games.

Several studies are in progress to introduce the latest techniques on how football stadiums can better cope with rising heat. A similar study conducted by ULC and the University of  Exeter in 2024 showed that stadiums can be cooled down with much cheaper and environmentally friendly techniques such as cool roofs. The stadium building owners could invest in building fabric measures. In this technique, white or reflective paints are coated on the roofs to make them less absorbent of heat. 

Another study published by Harvard Cannedy in June 2026 discusses some other low-cost solutions. Dr DeGroot, the director of the Army Heat Center at the Martin Army Community Hospital in Fort Benning, Georgia, spoke to Harvard Cannedy in April 2026 about low-tech, budget-friendly strategies for cooling body temperatures based on his research expertise and work with the Warrior Heat-and Exertion-Related Events Collaborative. 

One such technique is Arm immersion cooling developed in 2010 by Dr DeGroot and his team. Through mining existing data, Dr DeGroot proved that arm immersion cooling reduces the frequency and severity of heat illness. Executing arm immersion cooling requires no standard equipment, as it is essentially a bucket or container of cold water large enough to submerge one’s forearms. 

Scaling Drop-in Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF)

There is no second opinion that F1’s biggest climate offense is air freight and global logistics. But it also provides several opportunities to achieve global sustainable goals. To meet its Net Zero 2030 target, F1 has invested a substantial amount in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). By acting as a high-profile, high-paying corporate buyer, F1 helps subsidize the early-stage scaling, testing, and commercial viability of synthetic aviation fuels, which the broader commercial airline industry desperately needs.

References: 

  • https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/7/18/all-to-know-about-canadian-wildfire-smoke-air-quality-and-world-cup-final 
  • https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1101&context=sjteil 
  • https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16184742.2025.2503163 
  • https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16184742.2025.2503163#abstract 
  • https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/10/sport/formula-one-conditions-qatar-grand-prix-spt-intl/index.html 
  • https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16184742.2025.2503163# 
  • https://theconversation.com/as-the-climate-changes-what-does-the-future-hold-for-the-winter-olympic-and-paralympic-games-274921 
  • https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/explained-what-is-the-f1-impact-report-and-why-does-it-matter.4c5wcOQrypfLR6yHaZhB9I 
  • https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/formula-1-reveals-calendar-for-2026-season.YctbMZWqBvrgyddrnauo8 
  • https://datasmart.hks.harvard.edu/low-tech-cooling

More from the author: Betelgeuse Supernova Can Outshine an Entire Galaxy

The Science Beneath a Footballer’s Skin During 90 Minutes of Play

Anam Ilyas
-
0
The Science Beneath a Footballer’s Skin During 90 Minutes of Play

The referee blows the whistle. Twenty-two players burst into motion. Inside each of those bodies, the same invisible drama begins: hearts pounding, oxygen rushing through blood vessels, hormones flooding the bloodstream, and muscles slowly running out of fuel.

We watch football for the goals, the tackles, the drama on the scoreboard. But there’s another game happening underneath the skin, and it’s just as intense. The FIFA World Cup 2026 brings the world’s eyes back to the pitch. But what really goes on inside a player’s body, minute by minute, from kickoff to final whistle?

Minute One: The Heart Kicks into Gear

Before kickoff, a resting heart rate is somewhere between 60 and 80 times a minute. The Player’s heart is calm, steady, and unremarkable. The moment the whistle sounds, that changes fast.

Within minutes, a player’s heart rate climbs into the 150-180 beats-per-minute range, and here’s the part that surprises most people: it doesn’t come back down much for the rest of the match. Research compiled by sports scientist Berni Guerrero shows that an average player’s heart rate is around 165 to 175 beats per minute across a full 90 minutes, which works out to roughly 80 to 90 percent of their maximum heart rate. And this isn’t a quick spurt. Research shows that players spend about 65 percent of the match in the intense 70-90 percent zone.

Think about that for a second. Imagine running at 85 percent of your max effort for a ninety-minute session straight, with only brief pauses for water breaks and stoppages. That’s essentially what a professional footballer’s cardiovascular system is doing every single match.

Why does the heart work this hard? During exercise, its one job is to keep the blood and the oxygen it carries moving to the muscles that need it. On a football pitch, that demand never really goes away.

The Oxygen Question: One Body, Two Engines

Here is where things get interesting. Football isn’t like running a marathon, where the body settles into one steady rhythm. It’s stop-start, sprint-jog-stop-sprint, over and over again, which means the body is constantly switching between two energy systems.

The vast majority of the match relies on the aerobic system, which means the oxygen-powered engine that fuels jogging, positioning, and recovery between bursts. Studies show that players operate at around 70-80% of their VO2 max (a measure of how efficiently the body uses oxygen) throughout a match. But then comes a sprint, a tackle, a sudden change of direction, and the body switches to the anaerobic system, which works without oxygen and produces energy fast, but only for short periods before it needs to “reset.”

Footballer's
Footballers’ health: That constant switching is part of what makes football so physiologically demanding. It’s not just stamina. It’s not just speed. It’s both, repeated dozens of times over, unpredictably, for 90 minutes. Photo, AI-generated by the author

 

The Adrenaline Rush: Human Body’s Emergency Room

Now picture a 50-50 tackle, a shot on goal, or a last-minute penalty. In those moments, something else kicks in: adrenaline.

Within seconds of a high-pressure moment, the adrenal glands release adrenaline and noradrenaline into the bloodstream, part of what’s often called the “fight or flight” response. The effect is almost immediate: reaction times sharpen, focus narrows, and the body releases extra sugar into the blood for quick energy.

This is genuinely useful, to some extent. Researchers studying arousal in sport describe an “inverted-U” relationship. That is, a bit of adrenaline sharpens performance, but too much can actually work against a player, hindering the ability to execute delicate skills like a calm pass or a precise shot. That’s part of why players who look composed under pressure often perform better than those who look visibly flustered. Their arousal levels stay in that sweet spot instead of tipping over into overload.

Meanwhile, a slower-acting stress hormone called cortisol also rises during matches, and interestingly, it doesn’t simply disappear once the final whistle blows. Studies on elite soccer players have found that cortisol can remain elevated for 24 to 75 hours after a match, one of the reasons recovery has become just as important to sports science as the game itself.

Tired vs. Slowing Down: Two Different Stories

Here’s where we get to the heart of the matter, literally. We tend to group “feeling tired” and “physically slowing down” together, but they are not the same thing.

Feeling tired is largely a brain phenomenon. Researchers call this central fatigue. Essentially, the central nervous system gradually pulls back the intensity of its signals to the muscles, partly as a protective mechanism, even before the muscles themselves have reached their physical limit. Add in 90 minutes of constant decision-making, rising cortisol, heat, and dehydration, and it’s no wonder players describe feeling mentally drained by full time. One study on field hockey players even found that working memory, the ability to hold and use information in the moment, was measurably declined by the end of a competitive match.

Slowing down, on the other hand, is a different and more physical story. This is peripheral fatigue, real, measurable changes taking place inside the muscle fibers themselves. As a match goes on, muscle glycogen (the stored carbohydrate that fuels high-intensity effort) is steadily depleted. At the same time, intense bursts of effort cause a build-up of hydrogen ions inside the muscle, a process that interferes with how muscle fibers use calcium to contract, which directly reduces the force a muscle can produce. That familiar “heavy legs” feeling late in a match isn’t just in a player’s head; it’s happening at a cellular level.

The evidence for this is clear in the data. The percentage of heart rate in the second half is often much lower than in the first, even though players often say that the effort feels just as hard, or harder. It’s a strange paradox: the mind pushes just as hard, but the body has less left to give.

This is also exactly why substitutions late in a match aren’t just a tactical choice. They’re a physiological necessity. A coach bringing on fresh legs in the final 20 minutes isn’t simply reacting to the scoreline. They’re responding to a well-documented biological timeline that’s been unfolding in every player on the pitch since kickoff.

The Final Whistle

Over a 90-minute match, an athlete’s heart might beat a total of roughly 10,000 to 12,000 times in total throughout the entire game than at rest; their oxygen systems have switched between aerobic and anaerobic modes more times than anyone could ever count; adrenaline and cortisol have surged and lingered, and their muscles have quietly burned through much of their available fuel.

None of this shows up on the scoreboard. But it is exactly why sports science has become such a central part of the modern game, influencing everything from half-time nutrition to substitution timing to recovery protocols in the days after a game. The next time you watch a player collapse to the turf in exhaustion after the final whistle, you’ll know: that’s not just drama. That’s biology, working exactly as it is supposed to work.

References:

  1. Guerrero, B. The Heart Rate Analysis in Soccer: Establishing Reference Values.
  2. Nikolaidis, P. et al. Maximal Heart Rate in Soccer Players: Measured versus Age-Predicted. PubMed.
  3. Heart Rate Responses during Small Sided Games and Official Match-Play in Soccer. PMC.
  4. The Influence of a Competitive Field Hockey Match on Cognitive Function. PMC.
  5. Adrenaline, Arousal and Sport. PubMed.
  6. The Immunological and Hormonal Responses to Competitive Match-Play in Elite Soccer Players. PMC.
  7. Muscle Glycogen in Elite Soccer – A Perspective on the Implication for Performance, Fatigue, and Recovery. Frontiers/PMC.
  8. Etiology and Recovery of Neuromuscular Fatigue following Competitive Soccer Match-Play. PMC.
  9. Hamstring Muscle Fatigue and Central Motor Output during a Simulated Soccer Match. PMC.

More from the Author: Growing Suicide Rate in Students: When a Bad Semester Starts to Feel Like a Ruined Life

Smart Machines, Stronger Teams: AI at the FIFA World Cup

Mohammad Sufyan Hashmi
-
0
Smart Machines, Stronger Teams: AI at the FIFA World Cup

From Cape Verde’s fairy-tale run to Morocco’s historic semi-final, football’s underdogs had their moment. Behind the scenes, artificial intelligence was quietly reshaping how the game was played, coached and understood — though not always in the ways the headlines suggested.

On June 15, 2026, a 40-year-old goalkeeper named Vozinha stood between the posts in Atlanta and did something extraordinary. He shut out Spain, the reigning European champions, for the full ninety minutes. His team, Cabo Verde, ten small islands off the coast of West Africa, home to barely half a million people, was playing in its first-ever World Cup match.

The final score: 0-0. Three weeks and two more draws later, the “Blue Sharks” had pulled off the impossible, becoming the smallest nation ever to reach a World Cup knockout round and setting up a last-32 date with defending champions Argentina. As Vozinha put it after the final group game, “We are small, but we have big hearts, and we are fighters.”

It was a story about heart, nerve, and a goalkeeper having the game of his life. But it was also playing out inside a tournament FIFA itself called the most heavily instrumented in the sport’s history. For the first time, every one of the 48 teams competing across the United States, Mexico and Canada, World Cup debutants and five-time champions alike, had access to the same AI-powered scouting and analytics platform, a tool FIFA built specifically because it worried smaller federations were being left behind.

Whether or not it played any part in Cape Verde’s run, it said something about where football was heading: a sport once decided almost entirely by instinct and shoe leather was generating more data, in real time, than any coaching staff had the hours to read alone.

What the Machines are actually Watching

So what does “AI-driven performance analysis” mean, once you get past the buzzwords? At its simplest, it’s pattern recognition at a scale no human analyst could manage by hand. Optical tracking cameras installed in every football World Cup stadium record the position of all 22 players and the ball several times a second, generating a continuous, moving map of the match.

Add event data- every pass, tackle, shot, and foul, tagged and time-stamped, plus video and, increasingly, wearable sensors- and a single ninety-minute match produces a dataset that would take a human analyst days to work through by hand. Machine-learning models are simply the tool used to find the signal in that noise, i.e., which patterns of play tend to produce shots, which formations tend to concede them, which players are covering the most ground when their team is winning.

This isn’t new, exactly. Researchers were building neural networks to study World Cup performance as early as the 2018 tournament in Russia, when a team of sports scientists fed match statistics into a neural network and identified nineteen indicators, shots on target and successful tackles among them, that reliably separated winning teams from losing ones.

By the 2022 tournament in Qatar, the models had sharpened as one widely cited study built a neural network on fourteen performance indicators and correctly predicted match outcomes 75.4 percent of the time, flagging on-target shots, clear scoring chances and forward ball progression as the features that mattered most. What’s changed since then is less the underlying idea than the richness of the data feeding it, and how candidly researchers have started reporting where their models fall short.

Where the “CRYSTAL BALL” BREAKS

That honesty has produced one of the more interesting findings to come out of the field. Ask an AI model to guess whether a team will win or lose, and it does reasonably well. Ask it to predict a draw, or a goal, and its accuracy collapses.

A 2025 study built on technical statistics from FIFA’s own World Cup reports trained a neural network that hit 86.7 percent overall accuracy, which is impressive, until you learn the errors clustered heavily around draws, which the model struggled to tell apart from decisive results. The same pattern shows up just as clearly in the women’s game when researchers studied the Women’s World Cup 2023. When they built a model that called wins and losses correctly about two-thirds of the time, but its accuracy on draws fell to roughly one in three, dragging the overall score down to 0.58.

Push the models further, toward something as specific as whether a passage of play will end in a shot or a goal, and the picture gets starker. One team of researchers trained a model that looked outstanding in testing, correctly flagging more than 93 percent of goal-scoring sequences, but that figure came from an artificially balanced practice dataset. Run against real match data, where goals are rare and irregular by nature, the same model’s success rate for spotting a shot-or-goal sequence fell to 13 percent. For goals alone, it caught zero.

The reason isn’t that the AI is badly built but that goals are rare almost by definition. In that study, an actual goal occurred in only about one of every seventy-eight ball possessions analyzed. Ask a model to spot something that happens once in roughly eighty tries, using only the patterns that preceded it, and you’re asking it to do something closer to predicting exactly where one raindrop will land than to forecasting whether it will rain this afternoon. Football’s biggest, most exciting moments are, statistically speaking, its least predictable ones, which is a large part of why they’re so thrilling to watch in the first place.

FIFA
Football’s biggest, most exciting moments are, statistically speaking, its least predictable ones, which is a large part of why they’re so thrilling to watch in the first place. Photo, Bigo Finance

Better Coach than a “FORTUNE-TELLER”

If prediction is where AI struggles, tactical analysis is where it has quietly become genuinely useful, not as an oracle, but as an extra set of eyes. Take TacticAI, a system built by Google DeepMind with Liverpool FC and published in the journal Nature Communications. Rather than trying to guess who’ll win, it focuses on something narrower and more practical, i.e., corner kicks, which produce a disproportionate share of goals but are notoriously hard to coach systematically.

Researchers showed football experts a mix of TacticAI’s suggested player setups and the routines teams actually used, without saying which was which. The experts couldn’t reliably tell the difference, and rated the AI’s suggestions as good as, or better than, the real ones roughly nine times out of ten.

That kind of pattern-finding has also been turned on entire tournament runs, and one of the richest case studies belongs to another underdog story, i.e. Morocco’s run to the 2022 semi-finals, the first time any African or Arab nation had gone that far.

Researchers who later reconstructed Morocco’s seven matches using FIFA’s official tracking data confirmed what many fans suspected but couldn’t prove in the moment: a team built on defensive discipline rather than possession, holding the ball less than 40 percent of the time in five of its matches while unleashing intense defensive pressure at key moments, 288 pressing actions against Spain, 299 against France.

Statistical clustering split Morocco’s matches into three distinct types: cautious, low-block defending; quick transitions; and more open, technical contests, giving coaches and historians of the tournament a data-backed account of exactly how a team with a fraction of its opponents’ resources kept finding a way through.

The same tools are, for the first time, being pointed at the women’s game with comparable depth. At the 2023 Women’s World Cup, researchers used machine learning to sort more than 227,000 individual passes from all 64 matches into five distinct tactical families, exposing clear differences in how higher- and lower-performing teams built their attacks, the kind of granular, style-level analysis that used to exist only for the best-funded men’s teams.

Behind the Scenes of the Tournament

None of this was hypothetical or confined to a research lab. It ran behind the scenes of the tournament that unfolded across sixteen host cities in three countries, the biggest World Cup in history, with 48 teams and 104 matches.

FIFA’s headline tool was Football AI Pro, built with Lenovo and trained on what the organisation called its Football Language Model. It is a generative AI assistant that could process hundreds of millions of FIFA’s own match data points and answer a coach’s question in plain language, in multiple languages, producing text summaries, video clips, graphs or even 3D replays of a passage of play. Coaches couldn’t use it live, mid-match; FIFA had drawn a deliberate line there, reserving in-game decisions for human staff.

Before and after matches, though, it was available equally to all 48 federations, from the wealthiest to the newest arrivals. FIFA president Gianni Infantino had framed the entire project around a single goal: narrowing the gap between football nations that could afford large data-science departments and those that couldn’t.

Officiating had its own AI layer at the tournament. All 1,200-plus players were digitally body-scanned in roughly a second each to build precise 3D avatars, used to render offside decisions as short animations on stadium screens and broadcasts rather than the fuzzy, disputed lines fans had grown used to. The system built on semi-automated offside technology first tested at Qatar 2022, working alongside a sensor embedded in the official match ball that recorded its motion 500 times a second, precise enough to tell officials the exact instant a pass was struck. Referees wore AI-stabilised body cameras too, which Lenovo said cut out most of the shake and blur that used to make first-person referee footage almost unwatchable.

The gap between big and small federations that FIFA was trying to close with its shared tools hadn’t disappeared but just shifted shape. England’s federation reportedly used automated video analysis to compress penalty-shootout preparation from roughly five days of manual review down to five hours.

Curaçao, another of this tournament’s smallest debutants, used geospatial and ancestry data to trace footballing talent across its global diaspora, a squad on which, by one count, only a single player was actually born on the island. Different budgets, different tools, the same underlying idea: find an edge in data that a purely eye-test approach would miss.

FIFA
Different budgets, different tools, the same underlying idea: find an edge in data that a purely eye-test approach would miss. Photo, Rest of World

The FINE PRINT!

For all that momentum, the researchers who studied this field for a living tended to sound a more cautious note than the press releases did. “An increase in quantity doesn’t always come with a similar increase in quality,” Franco Impellizzeri, editor-in-chief of the journal Science and Medicine in Football, told the journal Nature, describing the flood of AI-and-football papers now landing in his inbox at the time.

That caution shows up in the technical details, too. A running theme across dozens of studies, including a systematic review that screened 190 peer-reviewed articles on AI in football, is a demand for explainable results, not just accurate ones. Coaches don’t want a system that simply announces a 72 percent chance of losing; they want to know why, in terms they can act on before Saturday’s training session. Techniques that highlight which specific stats actually drove a model’s verdict have become almost as important to researchers as raw accuracy.

Reviews of the field flag the same handful of unresolved concerns again and again: who owns players’ biometric and tracking data, how securely it’s stored, whether algorithms trained mostly on wealthy European leagues generalise fairly to other confederations and playing styles, and whether the whole enterprise risks becoming just another advantage for federations that can already afford to buy it. Tellingly, even FIFA has acknowledged that some form of regulation on tournament AI use may eventually be necessary; the technology, in other words, was outrunning the rulebook.

What No Algorithm Predicted

Which brought the story back to Atlanta, and to Vozinha diving low to his right. No dataset predicted that Cape Verde would hold Spain scoreless, just as no model foresaw Morocco’s run to the semi-finals four years earlier, as both were, statistically speaking, among the least likely outcomes of their respective tournaments.

What AI increasingly offered, to big and small federations alike, was a far richer account of how such things happened after the fact, and a genuinely useful assistant in the unglamorous week-to-week work of preparing for the next one, i.e. which zones to press, which set-piece routine to try, whose workload needs managing before it becomes an injury. It has become a serious tool for understanding football. It has not, and on the evidence so far may never, replace the nerve of a goalkeeper standing his ground against the run of play. For now, that part is still all human.

References:

Elstak, I., Salmon, P., & McLean, S. (2024). Journal of Sports Sciences, 42, 1184–1199. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2024.2383065

Hassan, A., Akl, A.-R., Hassan, I., & Sunderland, C. (2020). Sensors, 20(11), 3213. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20113213

Iván-Baragaño, I., Ardá, A., Losada, J. L., & Maneiro, R. (2025a). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1516417

Iván-Baragaño, I., Ardá, A., Losada, J. L., & Maneiro, R. (2025b). International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 25, 946–959. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2025.2468623

Kim, J.-H., Kim, J., Kang, H., & Youn, B.-Y. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101047

Luo, Y., Quan, T., & Cao, Y. (2025). Predicting football match outcomes: a multilayer perceptron neural network model based on technical statistics indicators of the FIFA World Cup. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2025.1705198

Mohammed, B., Said, E., Lotfi, Z., Nourddine, E., & Fatima-Zahra, G. (2025). Applied Sciences, 15(18), 9994. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15189994

Moustakidis, S., Plakias, S., Kokkotis, C., Tsatalas, T., & Tsaopoulos, D. (2023). Future Internet, 15(5), 174. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi15050174

Oliva-Lozano, J. M., Vidal, M., Yousefian, F., Cost, R., & Gabbett, T. J. (2025). https://doi.org/10.5114/jhk/195563

Song, Y., Sun, G., Wu, C., Pang, B., Zhao, W., & Zhou, R. (2024). Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2024.1410632

Teixeira, J., Maio, E., Afonso, P., Encarnação, S., Machado, G., Morgans, R., Barbosa, T. M., Monteiro, A. M., Forte, P., Ferraz, R., & Branquinho, L. (2025). https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2025.1569155

TacticAI: an AI assistant for football tactics. Nature Communications, 15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45965-x

Tournament reporting & organisational sources

Associated Press & Al Jazeera Staff. (2026, June 27). https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/6/27/cape-verde-break-record-as-smallest-nation-to-reach-world-cup-knockouts

FIFA & Lenovo. (2026). inside.fifa.com. https://inside.fifa.com/media-releases/lenovo-tech-world-ai-powered-innovations-world-cup-2026

Gal, I. (2026).  https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/all-news/article-899268

AI Magazine. https://aimagazine.com/news/how-ai-will-power-the-2026-fifa-world-cup

Breaking down the technology transforming the FIFA World Cup 2026. https://news.lenovo.com/breaking-down-the-technology-fifa-world-cup-2026/

This World Cup could be the most high-tech yet — the innovations to watch for. (2026). Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01866-1

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Verde_at_the_FIFA_World_Cup

More from the author: How Waste Burning in Karachi Neighborhoods Is Fueling a Toxic Pollution Crisis

Tree Planting Challenges: What the Greenfluence Survey Reveals

Aneesa Zeb Awan
-
0
Tree Planting Challenges: What the Greenfluence Survey Reveals

As I am thinking about the opening statement of this article and it comes to my mind the story of a shepherd who used to plant oak trees in a barren area comes to mind, and after a few years, he single-handedly transformed an arid land into a lush green valley. This is the power a single person holds. 

The extreme environmental atrocities and environmental degradation events that are occurring on a routine basis are not just isolated events but a pattern. Every year, Pakistan is losing 11,000 hectares of forest cover as per the statement issued by WWF-Pakistan on International Day of Forests. Deforestation is the primary reason why we rank as the most climate-vulnerable nation with forest cover of only 5%. 

To understand the public awareness regarding the importance of forests and promote conservation efforts, we conducted a digital survey named “Greenfluence Campaign” involving 51 respondents of different age groups from different cities across Pakistan. 

The survey results revealed that there is a high level of awareness regarding the relationship between deforestation and climate change. Most of the respondents rated their awareness as high, and 42 out of 51 respondents showed that forest loss contributes to environmental degradation. Every respondent agreed that forests are responsible for reducing flood severity and heatwaves. These findings are reassuring because public awareness is the most crucial step toward environmental action. It becomes easier to support conservation programs and adopt environmentally responsible behavior when citizens understand the value of forests. 

Summary of main findings of the Greenfluence survey 2025 are;
  • 21.5% of respondents never participated in any forest conservation activity
  • 37% wanted to contribute, but never got the opportunity
  • 25% had not planted a single tree in the past year
  • 45% reported lack of access to saplings or seeds as the main barrier
  • 18.8% said that planting trees was not their personal priority

These findings indicate that Pakistan has the public access problem, not the public awareness problem. 

Forests and their importance in Pakistan

Forests are the main natural defence system of Pakistan against climate-related disasters and provide environmental, economic, and social protection. These varied ecosystems, ranging from the northern coniferous mountains to coastal mangroves, absorb carbon dioxide, reduce rainwater runoff, and provide shade and evapotranspiration to cool communities, while also preventing devastating floods, soil erosion and record-breaking heatwaves. They are also economically important for their timber, fodder and medicinal plants, which support rural households, but are at great risk from illegal logging, urban expansion and climate change-induced droughts.

The public well understood these key benefits, but there has been a long-standing disconnect between awareness and action. The survey results show that only 41% of respondents had a history of active involvement in planting activities, with 21.5% not planting any trees in the last year, and 18% of the respondents saying that forest conservation was not a priority for them.

The study shows that there is tremendous potential for mobilization after the individual action and the realisation of their importance. It reveals that 84% of the participants are willing to participate in environmental protection. This dramatic turnaround demonstrates how the resource and awareness gap can be bridged to create active, community-led climate resilience.

As one respondent said, “One idea is to support and promote community-led reforestation programs; locals often know best how to care for their land. Also, reducing paper and meat consumption can significantly lessen deforestation pressure.”

planting
Two futures, one country: standing forest (left), vs clearing felling (right), the dilemma at the heart of Pakistan’s 5% forest cover.

Significance of planting “ONE” tree

The basic unit of an ecological revolution is a single mature tree, which is a very efficient micro-powerhouse that absorbs approximately 48 pounds (22 kilograms) of carbon dioxide per year and as much as 1 ton over its lifetime. At the same time, it cleanses the air by generating 10 to 150 gallons of stormwater to stop localized flash floods and reduces the surrounding urban surface temperatures by up to 8 degrees Celsius due to evapotranspiration.

These micro-actions can have a huge impact when they multiply across a community: 15-20 trees can cancel out an individual’s annual carbon footprint. This cumulative effect makes one citizen one decentralized urban forest, and a green revolution on a national scale doesn’t have to occur all at once around the world, but rather the exact, localized ignition of one person planting one tree.

As per the respondent: “Well, in my view, public awareness is crucial for the protection of forests and climate. If everyone plants a tree and tries to shift to environmentally friendly things, it will show a huge impact.”

planting
Greenfluence Survey, 2025: “Have you ever participated in a forest conservation or tree-planting event?”: 41.2% yes, 37.3% wanted to but never had the opportunity, 21.6% no. Graphics, Aneesa Zeb

In cities, the obstacles are structural. People lack access to the sapling source. Around 45% of non-planter respondents cited access as their main barrier rather than indifference. This means that the solution is not motivational but rather logistical. This gap can be closed by subsidized sapling distribution at grocery stores, community nurseries, union council offices, and schools. As a student in Lahore said: 

“Raise awareness not in the form of a slogan, but we should teach this at schools, apart from the course book, to make our children aware of how important it is to plant a tree. We should help them to build a habit to plant at least 1 plant per month.”

Future of Pakistan’s Forests

The future of forests in Pakistan depends on transitioning from short-term planting to long-term ecological survival. The country demonstrated its ability to mobilise on a historic scale and with ambitious goals in the 2019 Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme (TBTTP). Still, independent audits revealed significant challenges, such as inconsistent sapling survival and property disputes, which showed that a tree planted is not a tree grown. To combat this, recent efforts are using more structured, technologically sophisticated approaches.

For example, the Green Pakistan Programme has been scaled up and has been given a lot of attention to provincial integration, with more than 2.2 billion saplings distributed and regenerated. Meanwhile, provincial initiatives like the Punjab Plantation Drive have embraced large-scale restoration efforts with cutting-edge technologies, including GIS labs for tracking canopy development and AI drones for discouraging illegal logging. However, the effectiveness of these state-led initiatives relies on the ability to connect with community-led initiatives.

Decentralized approaches, including the Pakistan Forests Recovery Program and specific social forestry agreements, actively engage local landholders and school partnerships. Incorporating local nurseries and monitoring from the top can transform environmental goals into community-safeguarded ecosystems in Pakistan. As one respondent said:

“This year I saw many social media posts in 9th Muharram where people of Karachi disturbed free plants and trees as a sabeel of Imam Hussain; this is a very great initiative, and everyone should participate in such type of activities.”

Final Words

The shepherd’s story is a testament to the power of one person to make a difference, even without institutional support or resources. But Pakistan does not have to rely on such exceptional efforts exclusively. The Greenfluence survey found that 59% of the respondents were willing to plant a tree after just filling out the survey, indicating that Pakistan is not a country that lacks shepherds; it has plenty of people willing to do their part if they are given the chance.

The real challenge is not to get people to understand that forests are important, but to create opportunities for them to take action. By implementing practical measures such as community nurseries, easy access to saplings, and incorporating tree planting into school programs, Pakistan can make a significant impact on forest conservation and a lasting difference in the environment.

References:

https://biologyinsights.com/what-trees-absorb-the-most-co2-a-list-of-top-species/

Pakistan losing 11,000 hectares of forest cover every year: WWF-P – Pakistan – DAWN.COM

2.2bn trees planted in four years under green Pakistan initiative – Daily Times

Punjab Launches Historic Tree Plantation Drive Under Green Punjab Mission – Nature News

Pakistan Forests Recovery Program

More from the author: Flood Prevention Revolution: Harnessing Karez and Advanced Bio-Ecological Drainage for a Safer Future

Gut Health and Athletic Performance: How Your Microbiome Can Boost Strength, Stamina, and Recovery

Dr. Syed Hunain Riaz
-
0
Gut Health and Athletic Performance: How Your Microbiome Can Boost Strength, Stamina, and Recovery

Current medical research has established the importance of gut health in wellbeing. It has been proposed that most chronic diseases originate within the gut. Inflammation, a damaged gut blood barrier, and dysbiosis are some of the postulated mechanisms for the disease process to jump from the gut to other major organ systems. 

There has been a spotlight on the role of the gut microbiome in homeostasis, immunity, and mental health. The interplay between the microbiome and the gut nervous system can be read about here. Similarly, the microbiome’s role in athletic performance and its modulation has been an area of research recently, considering the astonishing yet intricate effects of these bacteria on our everyday health. 

There are around 40 trillion microbial cells in the human gut. They constitute the microbiome, a complete ecosystem interacting with and modulating key functions in the human body through the gut. We know that living a healthy lifestyle promotes greater diversity in the gut microbiome. Eating healthy, nutrient-rich foods such as whole fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, fermented foods, physical activity, and good-quality sleep all play vital roles in supporting a healthy microbiome.

 To understand how the microbiome and a healthy gut can influence athletic performance, we will first review information ascertained from animal and limited human studies. We will discuss how prebiotics and probiotics can modulate gut health and consequently athletic performance. And finally, rounding off with the way forward in this unraveling field of nutritional health & exercise.

Read: Love-Hate Relationship between the Gut Microbiota and the Brain

Gut microbial diversity, metabolism & athletic performance

Gut microbes share a huge metabolic maintenance burden with our own cells. They play diverse roles in the breakdown of food into macronutrients and vitamin production in the gut. The end products either way are integral to athletic performance.

 It has been shown that athletes have greater diversity of microbes as compared to non-athletes. Greater diversity means greater attention to detail in everyday homeostatic functions and also in demanding activities like athletic performance. Generally speaking, the gut microbiome diversity & athletic activity have a bidirectional relationship. However, it is not a linear relationship since it has been shown that in the case of certain high intensity/endurance exercises such as ultra-marathon competitions, the diversity takes a hit (? due to reduced blood supply to the gut)

Microbial diversity also varies according to the type of exercise involved. Dynamic and sustained exercises involve greater aerobic activity and promote greater microbial diversity (e.g., endurance running, high-intensity interval training, field sports, etc.) compared to static exercises (resistance exercises such as weightlifting). This emphasizes that exercise type and intensity influence gut microbial diversity and reciprocally, diversity influences athletic performance. Studies have shown marathon runners having an abundance of Veillonella atypica, which was further shown in mice studies to reduce blood lactate levels and increase endurance.

Gut microbe groups such as Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus & Fecalibacterium are known for producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), e.g., butyrate, from digestion of food. The SCFAs serve many functions, a few being immunomodulation, muscle metabolism, lipid & carbohydrate metabolism, and fatty acid oxidation.  SCFAs have been shown to increase VO2 max (maximum oxygen utilization capacity during exercise) in animal models. SCFAs are produced by the breakdown of complex starches such as those present in whole grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables (e.g., potatoes).

Gut microbiome & muscle metabolism

Gut microbiome influences muscle and protein metabolism through increased availability of amino acids, particularly Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs), i.e., valine, leucine & isoleucine, which contribute to muscle growth and function. Microbes influence muscle metabolism through nutrient-sensitive pathways as well. mTOR (mechanistic target Of Rapamycin) and AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) are master regulatory proteins of cell metabolism. They are influenced by numerous factors such as amino acids, stress, IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1), and oxygen levels.

At the cellular level, growth and development are determined by these regulators. mTOR is crucial in protein synthesis, especially under the influence of IGF-1. Gut microbes play an integral role in this process by providing ample amino acid availability, fatty acid utilization, and fat store generation.

microbiome
Probiotic supplementation has been shown to enhance aerobic exercise efficiency by increasing nitric oxide availability and improving vascular function. Photo, Dr Hunain Riaz

Modulation of the gut microbiome to enhance athletic performance

Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria and yeasts taken to modulate the gut microbiome. They occur in fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, kimchi, and kombucha. They are also ingested as supplement preparations (available as multi-strain bacteria + yeast). They impact the intestinal microbiome by killing off harmful bacterial strains, competing with their binding sites, and modulating immunity through the intestinal nervous system.  Key probiotic organisms are Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Saccharomyces boulardii (yeast). 

There is a paucity of research on the effects of probiotic supplementation on exercise/athletic performance. However, we do have enough to highlight their role.

A study showed that after ingestion of milk supplemented with W. Coagulans pre-training, there was significantly reduced muscle soreness and sped-up recovery in non-athletes. There was evidence of reduced TNF-α levels (pro-inflammatory marker) in athletes after supplementation with certain probiotics, lesser inflammation, faster recovery, and growth after exercise. In addition, there was increased run-to-fatigue time in athletes by supplementation with certain strains of probiotics.

The role of probiotic supplementation

Probiotic supplementation has been shown to enhance aerobic exercise efficiency by increasing nitric oxide availability and improving vascular function. The studies show evidence for increased duration to exercise failure. Some studies report increased muscle mass and strength in power exercises with probiotic supplementation.

Gut microbiome modulation suggests better recovery from intense exercises with improved sleep quality and reduced inflammation markers. A small set of studies suggest psychological benefits such as reduced anxiety/stress and increased attention. All of which can lead to improved athletic performance, especially during elite-level competitions where stakes are high.

Extensive endurance training (e.g., elite runners) like strength training can predispose to infections, particularly respiratory tract infections. This can happen since the human body perceives exercise/training as stress, whereby the immune system is transiently suppressed. This is relevant especially when athletes are undergoing continuous and long training and competitive sessions, especially when traveling as well. Probiotics supplementation could lower the risk of infection by bolstering immunity through gut modulation.

Several gastrointestinal effects that runners feel are not limited to nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, and diarrhea. This is suggested to be due to reduced blood supply to the gut during exercise, where most of the blood supply is diverted to the contracting muscles. Probiotics can lower perceived exertion and, as such, reduce these negative gastrointestinal effects. They have also been shown to reduce performance decrements towards the end of the race compared to placebo.

Prebiotics are compounds (pectin, inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides [FOS], galacto-oligosaccharides [GOS], polyphenols) within natural foods (fruits & veggies) which are consumed by gut bacteria to generate products which have beneficial effects on immunity, the gut-brain axis and exercise capacity. 

Research on prebiotics acting as gut modulators for athletic performance is limited. Data are mostly in combination with probiotics (symbiotic). Polyphenols (naturally present in most veggies & fruits), when supplemented, interact with the gut microbiome to produce increased muscle recovery, reduced muscle fatigue and reduced lactate production, all leading to improved exercise efficiency.

Fermented food

Fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, pickles, and kimchi have Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains of bacteria which, as previously described, have beneficial effects on the ecosystem of the gut, all the while reducing pathogenic bacterial strains, increasing SCFA, and reducing bloating. Regular consumption of fermented food imparts positive health effects in preventing chronic disease by reducing inflammation and serving as an adjunct to a good-quality diet in exercising individuals. There is less research on how fermented food affects athletes, though. 

Gut microbiome stability and the way forward

Gut microbiome changes dramatically with our diets, perceived stress, surgeries, and antibiotics. It has been observed that after antibiotics or gut surgeries, the microbiome requires up to 180 days to fully recover to the baseline. It is known now that the gut microbiome can influence exercise performance and metrics; having a stable gut microbiome would be considered gold in the future.  

Gut microbiome becomes more or less stable over time. It has been shown that athletes with stable microbiomes respond better to beneficial dietary changes. Longitudinal or periodic microbiome testing (fecal) could be something to consider for athletes in the near future. This can assess athletes’ preparedness for the steep competition of the particular sport, and any shortcomings could be addressed with diet/lifestyle changes and supplementation.

Travel-associated dietary changes (consumption of ultra-processed food) and disrupted sleep can significantly affect athletes’ microbiome. Synbiotics (pre+probiotics) could be used to address this issue.

Could it be that the gut microbiome can be tweaked according to the type & and intensity of exercise and competition? Maybe so. Interdisciplinary collaboration between fields of sports nutrition & metabolism and microbial physiology can deal with this situation effectively.

Final Words!

Our gut microbiome is a complete ecosystem which works in harmony with our bodily processes and modulates them. It affects exercise performance in more than one way and is an open area of study with new revelations now and then.

While there is not a particular way to build a healthy microbiome for health and exercise, we can help our cause by eating healthy, getting good quality sleep, and dealing better with stress. There are synergistic effects between training & pro- and pre-biotic supplementation. This can lead to better athletic performance through modulation of energy, the inflammatory response, and recovery.

An integrated approach that integrates nutrition, training, monitoring, and optimization of gut microbiome trends across different sports is key to the way forward in this emerging domain.

References:

  1. Clarke SF, Murphy EF, O’Sullivan O, et al. (2014). Exercise and associated dietary extremes impact on gut microbial diversity. Gut, 63(12), 1913–1920.
    DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2013-306541
  2. O’Brien MT, O’Sullivan O, Claesson MJ, Cotter PD. (2022). The Athlete Gut Microbiome and its Relevance to Health and Performance: A Review. Sports Medicine, 52(Suppl 1), 119–128.
    DOI: 10.1007/s40279-022-01785-x
  3. Cullen JMA, Shahzad S, Dhillon J. (2023). A systematic review on the effects of exercise on gut microbial diversity, taxonomic composition, and microbial metabolites: Identifying research gaps and future directions. Frontiers in Physiology, 14, 1292673.
  4. Scheiman J, et al. (2019).
    Meta-omics analysis of elite athletes identifies a performance-enhancing microbe that functions via lactate metabolism.
    Nature Medicine, 25(7), 1104–1109.
    DOI: 10.1038/s41591-019-0485-4
  5. Liu Y, et al. (2023).
    mTOR Signaling Pathway and Gut Microbiota in Various Disorders: Mechanisms and Potential Drugs in Pharmacotherapy.
    International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(15):12156.
    DOI: 10.3390/ijms241512156
  6. Jäger R, Purpura M, Farmer S, Cash HA, Keller D. (2016).
    Probiotic Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 reduces exercise-induced muscle damage and increases recovery.
    PeerJ, 4:e2276.
    DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2276
  7. Su H, Tsai YL, Huang WC, et al. (2022).
    Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Immune and Inflammatory Markers in Athletes: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.
    Medicina, 58(9):1188.
    DOI: 10.3390/medicina58091188
  8. West NP, Horn PL, Pyne DB, Gebski VJ, Lahtinen SJ, Fricker PA, Cripps AW. (2014).
    Probiotic supplementation for 4 weeks increases running time to fatigue in the heat in recreational runners.
    European Journal of Applied Physiology, 114(9), 1831–1841.
    DOI: 10.1007/s00421-013-2748-y
  9. Cheng LH, et al. (2023).
    Effects of heat-killed Lactiplantibacillus plantarum TWK10 on exercise performance, fatigue, and muscle growth in healthy male adults.
    Physiological Reports, 11:e15835.
  10. The effect of probiotic and synbiotic supplementation on sleep parameters in the exercised population: a systematic review and synthesis without meta-analysis (SWiM) of randomized controlled trials.
    Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2026).
  11. Polyphenols and Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
    Sports Medicine, 47(8):1589–1599.
    DOI: 10.1007/s40279-017-0675-5
More from the author: 

The Nabateans: Rock-Cut Wonders of the Ancient World

Negativity and its Biological Impact on Our Mental Health

How Scientists Measure Temperature at the Edge of Physics

Gopika Krishnan
-
0
How Scientists Measure Temperature at the Edge of Physics

What comes to your mind when you are asked about measuring temperatures? For most of us, it might be a mercury thermometer that we use to check fevers, or maybe in our physics and chemistry laboratories. The mercury thermometer, in general, can measure temperatures in the range -37 to 356 degrees Celsius. Does this cover the range of temperatures we would see in our daily lives? How about measuring the temperature of something as hot as, say, the sun or the Earth’s core? The outer surface temperature of our sun is estimated to be as hot as 5500 degrees, and the innermost parts millions of degrees. The hottest part of Earth’s core is around 6000 Celsius.

Such extreme temperatures can also be observed in the laboratory, in the context of advanced material processing, space, and aerospace materials. Materials under such extreme conditions come outside the scope of conventional condensed matter systems, and measuring their exact temperatures is notoriously challenging. 

Recent research by a team of scientists has overcome this challenge by developing a new technique to measure such high temperatures accurately. In the course of their work, they were in for a great surprise: the gold sample they were working on retained its solid structure up to temperatures approaching 19,000 degrees Celsius- nearly 14 times its melting point.

Moving atoms and temperature

To understand how this new method of temperature estimation works, first think about what temperature is. Atoms in matter are continuously in motion with certain speeds. There is a distribution of speeds for any collection of atoms. Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy atoms possess, or in simpler terms, a measure of how fast the atoms are moving on average. 

When an object is kept in contact with another, such that it minimally perturbs the system, it equilibrates with the surrounding temperature, and this is carefully calibrated to give normal thermometers. Mercury expands/contracts upon heating/cooling, respectively, and this is calibrated to measure temperatures in mercury thermometers. Obviously, such a method is not suitable for measurements of the extreme temperatures in question.

Heating a gold sheet to almost 19000 °C 

A group of scientists from Stanford University and SLAC had been working on high-temperature measurements for decades. In a recent development, they used highly monochromatic X-rays to measure high temperatures produced by heating gold using intense ultrafast laser pulses. Such intense ultrafast laser beams can deliver large amounts of energy to atoms in an extremely short time, increasing their speeds and, in turn, raising the material’s temperature. Another high-energy monochromatic X-ray probe is shone onto the sample. 

Such a technique is called a pump-probe measurement: First, a pump (ultrafast laser) is used to generate the state we would like to measure. A probe (X-ray) collects data at different time intervals to understand the changes. To better understand, we can think of an analogy to taking extremely fast photo snapshots, but now of a microscopic system. The X-rays scattered off the sample contain signatures of how fast the atoms are moving in the sample and hence, the temperature.

Faster atoms generate a broader shift in the scattered X-ray energy distribution. This width of energy distribution can be used to calculate the sample’s temperature. All this is done within several picoseconds: to get a feel for it, a picosecond is to one second what one second is to 30,000 years. The researchers were able to heat the gold samples to around 19000 degrees Celsius and measure the temperatures with minimal error. 

The experiment is carried out in an extremely sophisticated setup: producing high-energy, high-specificity X-rays to measure minute broadenings requires accelerating electrons at high speeds over several kilometers, as at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. 

Gold stayed solid at 19000K

But what is even more surprising is that the sample retained its solid structure up to temperatures approaching 19,000°C  – nearly 14 times its melting point. Conventional understanding is that above the melting point, any solid changes into a liquid. However, fast heating can prevent this transition and allow the material to remain in the solid state.

It was long considered that a superheated solid phase cannot exist beyond the point at which the entropy of the solid exceeds that of the liquid, typically estimated to occur around 3 times the melting temperature for most materials. This experiment showed that if heated fast enough, there might not be a ceiling to the existence of the solid state.

The team showed that the heating rate in the experiment is a critical factor. Under equilibrium conditions, heating a solid induces lattice thermal expansion, which contributes significantly to the increase in its entropy. In contrast, given the ultrafast heating rates achieved in this experiment, the lattice expansion is insignificant in the probed timescales, rendering its contribution to entropy negligible.

As a result, the total entropy of the solid remains lower than that of the liquid, thereby resolving the apparent paradox. These findings indicate that, if the heating rate is sufficiently rapid, there may be no upper temperature limit for the existence of a solid.

This exciting experiment shows us how the basics of thermodynamics we study in high school can still bring out wondrous results. Using unprecedented advancements in accurate temperature measurement and precision spectroscopic techniques, more questions can be answered than ever before. This approach may be potentially applied to systems at high pressure and energy density, such as planetary interiors, where precise temperature determination remains a major challenge.

References:

White, T.G., Griffin, T.D., Haden, D. et al. Superheating gold beyond the predicted entropy catastrophe threshold. Nature 643, 950–954 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09253-y

More from the author: Losing Battle with the Rising Tide: The Tragic Tale of Bramble Cay Melomys

CAR-T Cell Therapy in Pakistan: A New Hope for Cancer Patients

Sadaf Sarfraz
-
0
CAR-T Cell Therapy in Pakistan: A New Hope for Cancer Patients

In 2024, while my mother was battling cancer, one sentence stayed in my mind long after the consultation had ended: “CAR-T cell therapy is the only hope, but it isn’t available in Pakistan.”

At that moment, CAR-T cell therapy was not simply the name of an advanced treatment. It represented a possibility that existed somewhere beyond our borders. Two years later, that reality began to change.

In 2026, Pakistan successfully performed its first Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy at Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalpindi, marking a historic milestone in the country’s journey toward precision medicine. Although only the beginning of a much larger journey, this achievement signals that one of the world’s most sophisticated cancer treatments is no longer an impossible dream for Pakistani patients.

According to the official statement from the Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant Centre, a dedicated team comprising military physicians, hematologists, and oncologists managed the patient’s clinical care, chemotherapy conditioning, and post-infusion monitoring.

The team carried out the procedure after years of research and innovation by specialists from the Army Medical Corps. “A 21-year-old patient with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia has made a full recovery following the treatment, while the patient and family demonstrated exemplary resilience throughout the process.”

For many, it was another medical headline. For families confronting aggressive blood cancers, it represented something far greater: a reason to believe that the future of cancer care in Pakistan is changing. “Hope in medicine is not only about discovering new treatments, but it is also about making them accessible to those who need them most.”

CAR-T Cell
Medical professionals, military officials, and the patient pose for a group photograph at the Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant Centre (AFBMTC) in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Photo, Radio Pakistan

More Than a Medical Milestone

“Scientific discoveries become meaningful only when they reach the patients who need them.”

Pakistan’s successful introduction of CAR-T cell therapy represents far more than the addition of another treatment to its healthcare system. It reflects years of progress in molecular medicine, immunology, clinical oncology, and biotechnology. It demonstrates that highly specialized cellular therapies, once available only in a handful of countries, can now be developed and delivered closer to home.

Although widespread availability will require continued investment in infrastructure, training, regulation, and affordability, this achievement marks an important beginning. It also has the potential to encourage further advances in regenerative medicine, gene therapy, precision oncology, and translational biomedical research within Pakistan.

The sentence I heard in 2024 has never left me.“CAR-T cell therapy is the only hope, but it isn’t available in Pakistan.” Today, that sentence no longer tells the whole story.

Science cannot undo every loss, nor can it promise a cure for every patient. But it can transform impossibility into possibility. Pakistan’s first successful CAR-T procedure is not the end of the journey; it is the beginning of one. Sometimes, the brightest light at the end of the tunnel is not a miracle. It is decades of scientific curiosity, relentless research, and the determination to turn hope into reality.

A Revolutionary Idea

“What if the immune system could be taught to recognize what cancer had been hiding?”

That question transformed the future of oncology.

For decades, cancer treatment relied largely on surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Each has saved countless lives, yet all possess important limitations. Chemotherapy attacks rapidly dividing cells regardless of whether they are healthy or malignant. Radiotherapy precisely targets tumors but can also affect surrounding tissues. Scientists began asking a different question. Instead of developing stronger drugs, could they strengthen the body’s own immune system? This idea became the foundation of cancer immunotherapy, one of the most rapidly advancing fields in modern medicine.

What is CAR-T Cell Therapy?

“The most powerful weapon against cancer may already be flowing through your veins.”

CAR-T stands for Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy, a personalized form of adoptive cellular immunotherapy. Unlike conventional medicines manufactured in pharmaceutical factories, CAR-T therapy begins with the patient. (1)  

Doctors first collect T cells from the patient’s blood by using a procedure called leukapheresis. The blood is passed through an apheresis machine that separates immune cells while returning the remaining blood components to the patient. (2) Then, by using advanced genetic engineering techniques, scientists introduce DNA that instructs the T cells to produce an artificial receptor known as a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR). This synthetic receptor functions like an advanced navigation system.

CAR-T Cell
The engineered T cells are expanded in carefully controlled laboratory conditions until millions of identical cancer-fighting cells have been produced. Photo, Anthony Nolan

Normally, T cells rely on complex biological signals to recognize diseased cells, allowing many cancers to escape detection. The CAR bypasses these limitations by enabling T cells to recognize specific proteins known as antigens displayed on the surface of cancer cells. Suddenly, the invisible becomes visible. The immune cells that once overlooked cancer are now capable of recognizing it with extraordinary accuracy. Following successful genetic modification, these engineered T cells are expanded in carefully controlled laboratory conditions until millions of identical cancer-fighting cells have been produced. They are then returned to the patient through intravenous infusion (3).

Unlike chemotherapy, whose effects gradually fade as drugs leave the bloodstream, CAR-T cells remain alive. They circulate throughout the body, searching continuously for cancer cells carrying their target antigen to attack and remarkably multiply as well. Each encounter with a cancer cell activates the CAR-T cells, allowing them to expand into an even larger army capable of eliminating additional malignant cells. This ability to persist and self-renew has earned CAR-T therapy a unique description among oncologists:

It is not simply a medicine; it is a living drug.

The brilliance of CAR-T cell therapy lies in a simple idea: if cancer can outsmart the immune system, perhaps science can make the immune system smarter.

CAR-T Cell Therapy: Who can Benefit?

“For some patients, CAR-T therapy is not the first treatment. It is the treatment that remains when everything else has failed.”

CAR-T cell therapy is primarily used for patients with relapsed or refractory blood cancers, those whose disease has returned after treatment or failed to respond to standard therapies. To date, the world has approved CAR-T therapies for several hematological malignancies (B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL), Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), Primary Mediastinal Large B-cell Lymphoma, Mantle Cell Lymphoma, Follicular Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma)

For many of these patients, conventional chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, or even stem cell transplantation had already failed. Clinical trials have demonstrated complete remission in a substantial proportion of patients who previously had very limited therapeutic options (5).

While the most dramatic successes have been observed in blood cancers, researchers are now investigating CAR-T therapy for solid tumors, including breast cancer, glioblastoma, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, and liver cancer. Treating solid tumors remains considerably more challenging. Unlike blood cancers, solid tumors create an immunosuppressive microenvironment, possess greater genetic diversity, and physically restrict immune-cell infiltration. Nevertheless, advances in synthetic biology, gene editing, and next-generation CAR designs continue to improve therapeutic outcomes (6).

Every Breakthrough Comes with Challenges

Despite its remarkable success, CAR-T therapy is not without complications. One of the most significant adverse effects is Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS). As CAR-T cells rapidly destroy cancer cells, they release large quantities of inflammatory cytokines into the bloodstream. Patients may develop high fever, low blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, and, in severe cases, multi-organ dysfunction (7). Another important complication is Immune Effector Cell-Associated Neurotoxicity Syndrome (ICANS). Patients may experience confusion, difficulty speaking, tremors, seizures, or, rarely, cerebral edema (8). 

Beyond medical risks, practical challenges remain. Manufacturing CAR-T cells is a highly individualized process requiring sophisticated laboratory infrastructure, strict quality control, highly trained personnel, and considerable financial investment. The interval between cell collection and infusion may take several weeks, a time that some patients with rapidly progressing disease cannot afford.

References:

  1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468294226000365
  2. Piñeyroa, J. A., Cid, J., & Lozano, M. (2022). Get Off on the Right Foot: How to Plan an Efficient Leukocytapheresis to Collect T Cells for CAR T-Cell Manufacturing. Transfusion Medicine and Hemotherapy : offizielles Organ der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Transfusionsmedizin und Immunhämatologie, 50(2), 98–104. https://doi.org/10.1159/000528331
  3. Choudhery, M. S., Arif, T., Mahmood, R., & Harris, D. T. (2024). CAR-T-Cell-Based Cancer Immunotherapies: Potentials, Limitations, and Future Prospects. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(11), 3202. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13113202
  4. Epperly, R., & Shah, N. N. (2023). Long-term follow-up of CD19-CAR T-cell therapy in children and young adults with B-ALL. Hematology. American Society of Hematology. Education Program, 2023(1), 77–83. https://doi.org/10.1182/hematology.2023000422
  5. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/research/car-t-cells
  6. Rafii S, Mukherji D, Komaranchath AS, Khalil C, Iqbal F, Abdelwahab SI, Abyad A, Abuhelwa AY, Gandikota L, Al-Shamsi HO. Advancing CAR T-Cell Therapy in Solid Tumors: Current Landscape and Future Directions. Cancers. 2025; 17(17):2898. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17172898
  7. https://www.gpoh.de/kinderkrebsinfo/content/patients/therapy/methods_of_treatment/car_t_cell_therapy/side_effects/index_eng.html
  8. Buciuc, A. G., Tran, S., Weber, M., Padilla, V., Rueda-Lara, M., & Espinel, Z. (2025). Immune Effector Cell-Associated Neurotoxicity Syndrome After CAR T-Cell Therapy and Other Psychiatric Manifestations: A Review and Case Series. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(5), 1451. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14051451

More from the Author:

Stopping Cancer Before It Starts: A Cellular and Preventive Perspective

J. Craig Venter’s Death: How Far Has Synthetic Biology Come in Rewriting Life?

Scientists Discover How Giant Trees Outsmart Drought

Scientia
-
0
Scientists Discover How Giant Trees Outsmart Drought

Towering dipterocarp trees dominate the lush rainforest of Malaysia’s Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, with some giants rising more than 65 meters above the forest floor. Climate change now brings more intense and longer drought periods. Scientists are uncovering the remarkable survival strategies these giant trees use to withstand water scarcity and adapt to an increasingly harsh environment.

A new study published on July 2 in Science reveals that the giant dipterocarp trees dominating the rainforests of Borneo are no more vulnerable to drought than the shorter trees around them. Researchers found that the trees’ internal water transport systems continue to function effectively even during dry conditions. It challenges the long-held belief that gravity makes towering trees more susceptible to dehydration by limiting water flow to their upper branches and crowns.

Trees
In the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve in Malaysia, massive trees called dipterocarps dominate the rainforest. The tallest dipterocarps seen from this hilltop are more than 65 meters tall. Scientists are beginning to understand how giant trees like these adapt to drought conditions in an increasingly harsh climate. Photo, ScienceNews

While these findings may not apply to every tree family, they provide valuable insights that could help scientists and conservationists better protect tropical forests. Climate change has intensified drought worldwide, and El Niño can cause more intense droughts in the coming months.

How do giant rainforest trees cope with drought?

To better understand how giant rainforest trees cope with drought, the researchers conducted an extensive field study that required the expertise of professional tree climbers. Beginning before sunrise each day, the team collected leaf, trunk, and branch samples from multiple heights within each tree to track changes in water movement throughout the day.

They examined 38 trees representing five dipterocarp species, with heights ranging from 7.7 meters to an impressive 71 meters, more than three-quarters the height of the Statue of Liberty. These scientists then analyzed 25 physiological traits linked to water transport. They provided one of the most comprehensive assessments yet of how these towering rainforest giants maintain hydration in drought seasons.

The researchers found that taller trees have naturally wider xylem vessels at the base of their trunks, allowing them to transport water more efficiently over greater heights. This structural adaptation helps offset the increased resistance caused by gravity as water travels from the roots to the canopy. In addition, leaves growing high in the crown can tolerate greater dehydration. This enables them to function even when less water reaches the upper branches.

These remarkable adaptations proved effective during the severe 2023–2024 drought. Despite a prolonged dry season, the scientists observed no significant decline in growth rates among taller trees compared with shorter ones. The findings suggest that a tree’s ability to withstand drought depends more on its physiological adaptations than on its height. This offers encouraging insights into the resilience of tropical rainforests in a warming climate.

Refererences: 

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea9013

https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae054

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea9013

Similar Articles:

Is cloud seeding effective in combatting drought?

When Water Turns to Conflict: A Global Story of Scarcity, Security, and Violence

How Does Airplane Fly? The Science Behind Flight Explained

Zain ul Abdin
-
6
How Does Airplane Fly? The Science Behind Flight Explained

Observing an aircraft in mid-flight naturally raises a simple yet perplexing question: how can an aluminum structure weighing hundreds of tons glide effortlessly for hours at a time? This question has riddled my mind since the first time I looked out of an airplane window as a child, leading to a lifelong fascination with the science behind flight.

Human fascination with flight has existed for centuries, driven by our envious observation of natural fliers like birds. However, it was only through generations of innovation and the precise application of physics and mathematics that controlled, sustained human flight finally became a reality.

To understand how modern aircraft conquer gravity, we must look beyond the simplified diagrams found in standard school textbooks. By examining the fundamental forces of lift, motion, and fluid dynamics, we can begin to decode the elegant mathematical framework that keeps these metal giants in the sky, turning an ancient human dream into an everyday reality of aerospace engineering.

airplane
Lift, Weight, Thrust and Drag are the four fundamental forces that govern an airplane’s flight.

Lift, Weight, Thrust and Drag are the four fundamental forces that govern flight. Lift is the upward force that enables an aircraft to take off, remain airborne, and maneuver against the force of gravity. The aircraft’s wings primarily generate it as air flows around them during motion. Aircraft wings are designed with a specific shape known as an airfoil. This shape causes air to move faster over the upper surface of the wing and slower beneath it.      

According to Bernoulli’s principle, faster-moving air has lower pressure while slower-moving air has higher pressure. As a result, a pressure difference is created between the upper and lower surfaces of the wing, producing an upward force known as lift.

Another key factor influencing lift is the angle of attack, defined as the angle between the wing and the oncoming airflow. As the angle of attack increases, lift also increases because more air is deflected downward by the wing. However, this relationship only holds up to a critical point. Beyond a certain angle, the airflow over the wing becomes disrupted, leading to a sudden reduction in lift known as a stall.

Lift can also be explained using Newton’s third law of motion. As the wing moves through the air, it pushes air downward. In response, the air exerts an equal and opposite force upward on the wing. This reaction force contributes significantly to generating lift and works alongside pressure differences to keep the aircraft airborne.

The lift force can be expressed mathematically by the lift equation:

  L= ½ ρ V² SC

The lift equation was developed by the aerodynamicists of the early 20th century. It has been derived from earlier fluid dynamics and drag formulas developed by Isaac Newton and Daniel Bernoulli and was adapted into its modern form by figures like Lord Rayleigh. Within this mathematical framework,(L) represents the total lift force generated, which is determined by the fluid density of the surrounding air (ρ), the square of the aircraft’s velocity (V), the total surface area of the wings (S), and the lift coefficient (C), which is determined by the specific shape of the airfoil and its angle of attack.

From this equation, lift is affected by several factors.  Understanding the mathematics behind this equilibrium reveals why flight behavior changes so drastically with altitude. In the fundamental lift equation mentioned before, lift is directly tied to air density (ρ) and the square of the aircraft’s velocity (V²).      

As an airplane climbs higher into the atmosphere, the air becomes thinner and less dense. With fewer air molecules available to flow over the airfoil, the aircraft must fly exponentially faster to generate the same amount of lift. This elegant physics equation explains why commercial airliners must travel at blistering speeds when cruising in the thin air of the upper stratosphere.

The Breaking Point: Understanding the Stall

An aircraft stalls when the wings are no longer able to produce sufficient lift. This usually happens when the angle of attack becomes too large. At high angles of attack, the smooth airflow over the wing breaks away, reducing the pressure difference and causing a sudden loss of lift. Stalls commonly occur at low speeds because pilots increase the angle of attack to maintain lift, which can exceed the critical angle. Although stalls are often associated with low speed, the real cause is excessive angle of attack, not speed alone.        

The Dynamic Balance: Weight, Thrust, and Drag     

The Newtonian pair of lift is weight, the force exerted on the aircraft due to gravity acting on its mass. It acts vertically downward through the aircraft’s center of gravity. The weight of an aircraft depends on its total mass, including the structure, fuel, passengers, and cargo. As fuel is consumed during flight, the aircraft’s mass and therefore its weight gradually decreases. For an aircraft to climb, the lift force must be greater than its weight. In level flight, lift and weight are balanced, while during descent, weight exceeds lift.   

Thrust is the force that propels an aircraft forward through the air. It is generated by the aircraft’s engines, such as jet engines or propellers, which accelerate air or exhaust gases backwards. According to Newton’s Third Law, this backward acceleration produces an equal and opposite forward force on the aircraft.    

Thrust is required to overcome drag, the resistive force caused by air resistance, and to provide the forward speed necessary for the wings to generate sufficient lift. During takeoff, a large amount of thrust is needed to accelerate the aircraft along the runway until it reaches takeoff speed. In steady, level flight, thrust balances drag, allowing the aircraft to maintain a constant velocity.   

Drag is the resistive force that opposes the motion of an aircraft as it moves through the air. It acts in the direction opposite to thrust and is caused by the interaction between the aircraft and the surrounding air. It is the air resistance of an aircraft. As an aircraft flies, it must continuously overcome drag to maintain its speed.   

Drag arises because air is not frictionless. When an aircraft moves forward, air particles collide with its surface and are displaced, creating resistance to motion. The faster the aircraft travels, the more air it encounters each second, and therefore the greater the drag force becomes. This is why higher speeds require greater thrust. The magnitude of drag depends on several factors, including the aircraft’s speed, shape, surface area, and the density of the air.       

Aircraft are designed with smooth, streamlined shapes to reduce drag as much as possible, improving fuel efficiency and performance. Even small increases in drag can significantly increase fuel consumption, especially at high speeds. At equilibrium-level flight, drag is balanced by thrust while lift is balanced by weight. If drag increases while thrust remains constant, the aircraft will slow down. Similarly, to fly faster, the engines must produce enough thrust to overcome the increased drag. Managing drag is therefore a key consideration in aircraft design and flight performance.  

The Great Aerodynamic Tug-of-War

Lift is commonly explained using either Bernoulli’s principle or Newton’s Third Law, yet neither explanation alone fully accounts for how lift is generated. As stated by NASA in the article “Bernoulli and Newton” by Tom Benson, the explanations of lift are often divided into two perspectives: the Bernoulli approach, which attributes lift to a pressure difference across the wing, and the Newtonian approach, which explains lift as a reaction force resulting from the downward deflection of air.

airplane
Airplane flight: Newton’s Third Law, although it correctly identifies that lift arises from the downward momentum transmitted to the air, also has limitations when used alone. Photo, Medium

 

Bernoulli’s principle on its own is insufficient because it oversimplifies the cause of lift. It does not explain why air accelerates over the wing in the first place and fails to fully account for cases such as inverted flight or lift generated by flat plates. While pressure differences are essential, they are not the root cause.      

The Equal Transit Time Theory is a popular but incorrect explanation for how airplane wings generate lift. It claims that air traveling over the longer top curve of a wing must move faster to meet the air going underneath at the exact same time. In simple words, Bernoulli answers the question “How,” but he fails to answer the question Why.”

Newton’s Third Law, although it correctly identifies that lift arises from the downward momentum transmitted to the air, also has limitations when used alone. It does not fully explain how the shape and orientation of the wing enable it to deflect a sufficiently large mass of air downward to sustain flight.

Pressure (Bernoulli) and momentum (Newton) are not two separate forces fighting each other; they are just two separate ways of looking at the same physical fluid system. The pressure drop above the wing is what pulls the air downward; the downward deflection of the air creates the pressure drop. They are two sides of the same coin.

To decipher the science behind lift, integrating both principles is crucial. The wing’s shape and angle of attack cause air to accelerate and change direction, leading to pressure differences described by Bernoulli’s principle and momentum changes explained by Newton’s Third Law. Together, these ideas provide a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of lift.

The lift equation incorporates both Bernoulli’s principle, through pressure differences represented by the lift coefficient, and Newton’s third law, through the momentum change of air caused by the wing.

How to Direct a Giant: Roll, Pitch, and Yaw

An aircraft is controlled using its ailerons controlling roll, elevator controlling pitch, and rudder responsible for yaw.

airplane
To maneuver through the sky, an airplane relies on a brilliant system of hinged surfaces that manipulate the airflow across three imaginary axes. Photo, Aviation Knowledge and Wikiversity

To maneuver through the sky, an aircraft relies on a brilliant system of hinged surfaces that manipulate the airflow across three imaginary axes. The first of these are the ailerons, located on the trailing edge of each wing. When a pilot wishes to bank the aircraft, turning the control wheel forces these surfaces to move in opposite directions—one deflecting up and the other down. This creates an intentional imbalance of lift between the two wings, causing the massive structure to roll smoothly into a turn.

Meanwhile, movement along the horizontal axis is governed by the elevator, located on the tail’s horizontal stabilizer. When a pilot pulls back on the controls to climb, the elevator deflects upward. The rushing air smashes against this raised surface, forcing the tail downward and pivoting the nose up toward the clouds.    

Finally, the rudder, positioned vertically on the tail fin, swings left or right to manage yaw. Operating much like the rudder of a ship, it controls the sideways movement of the nose, ensuring the aircraft maintains a perfectly stable and smooth flight path.

The science behind flight is a unique combination of a plethora of physical laws supported by mathematical equations. By untangling the complex interplay of forces like thrust and drag and moving past simplified textbook myths to appreciate how Newton and Bernoulli coexist, the mechanics of aviation become accessible to everyone.      

In the end, understanding these concepts is what finally answers that timeless question asked by every curious child peeking out of a cabin window: how a metal giant weighing hundreds of tons can effortlessly slice through the clouds, transforming the ancient human dream of flight into an everyday reality.

References: 

Similar Articles:

The Secrets of Guitar: How Physics Creates the Perfect Chord

The Modern Alchemy at CERN: Turning Lead into Gold is Possible Now!

How Four Earthquakes in One Day Exposed the Need for Seismic-Resilient Infrastructure

Saim Usmani
-
0
How Four Earthquakes in One Day Exposed the Need for Seismic-Resilient Infrastructure

A series of powerful earthquakes erupted around the globe in the last 24 hours. On Wednesday, a sequence of powerful earthquakes rattled three continents within a mere eight-hour window, sparking global concern. In Northern California, a 5.6-magnitude tremor struck Mendocino County, knocking out power for thousands and leaving residents shaken but largely unharmed. Hours later, a massive 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Iwate Prefecture, Japan; fortunately, the nation’s highly resilient infrastructure and the lack of a tsunami threat prevented significant damage.

While California and Japan escaped relatively unscathed, Venezuela suffered a profound tragedy. The country experienced a rare earthquake doublet—a rapid succession of 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude quakes that collapsed buildings in Caracas and along the northern coast, claiming at least 164 lives.

According to Associated Press, four powerful earthquakes rocked different parts of the world in less than eight hours on June 25, 2026. Despite public fears that these global events might be physically linked, experts from the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that the earthquakes occurred on entirely separate fault lines and were simply a dramatic geological coincidence.

earthquake
According to Associated Press, four powerful earthquakes rocked different parts of the world in less than eight hours on June 25, 2026. Photo, Fox News

The History of Earthquakes in Pakistan

Two earthquakes occurred just over a minute apart in two different parts of Karachi on July 16, raising the total number of low-intensity earthquakes in the city since June 1 to sixty, and making earthquake preparedness a critical concern.

According to data from the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the first earthquake of magnitude 3.4 originated at a depth of 20 km at 5:52 pm. Its epicenter – the point on the ground located directly above the earthquake’s origin – was located 14 km northwest of Malir. This earthquake was followed by a 2.7-magnitude tremor that originated at a depth of 10 km at 5.53 pm. Its epicenter was 10 km east of DHA City on the Super Highway.

Local geologists report that fault lines passing through the areas of Korangi and Malir have become active after several decades and are causing minor earthquakes in the surrounding areas.

Earlier, on March 31, an earthquake of magnitude 4.7 had also rattled Karachi. Although the tremors lasted only a few seconds, they caused widespread panic and disruption in the metropolitan area, revealing the lack of preparedness for natural disasters. This event not only shook the ground but also served as a wake-up call for residents. Also, it highlighted the critical need for disaster management in a vulnerable country like Pakistan.

What Causes Earthquakes in Karachi?

Researchers explain that Karachi lies on a passive margin, a zone where the continent meets the ocean, so the chances of a massive earthquake happening there are low. Small earthquakes do happen with intensities of 3 and 4 on the Richter scale, but they are not dangerous.

Dr. Sarosh Hashmat Lodi, the former Vice Chancellor of NED University of Engineering and Technology, spoke to Dawn about Karachi’s vulnerability to earthquakes. He stated that the city has no significant history of major earthquakes. However, if an earthquake with a magnitude of 5 or 6 were to occur, it could cause substantial destruction due to the inability of the city’s infrastructure to withstand such an event.

Natural disasters like this are, in a sense, natural. We can’t avoid them, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be better prepared when they do come. Before we explore how to prepare for an earthquake, we need to understand why this is even more important for a country like Pakistan!

Why Earthquake Preparedness in Pakistan Cannot Wait

The Earth is made up of huge chunks of rock called tectonic plates – think of these plates as ice cubes floating on the surface of your soda, except that the tectonic plates move extremely slowly: around 2 to 10 centimeters per year. It is when these plates move and collide with each other that an earthquake is born.

Pakistan is situated on the boundary between two major tectonic plates: the Eurasian and the Indian Subcontinent plates. Additionally, it lies on minor plates, such as the Iranian, Arabian, and Tibetan plates, which further increases the risk of experiencing an earthquake. That makes earthquake preparedness in Pakistan not just a precaution, but a necessity embedded in the country’s geography.

 

earthquake
The tectonic plates near Pakistan. Credit: Smithsonian

Moreover, Pakistan’s landscape is scattered with several fault lines, which are essentially fractures in the Earth’s crust and form when two pieces of land grind against each other, building up huge amounts of pressure. Karachi, in particular, contains the following faults: Karachi-Jhimpir Fault Zone, Allah Bund Fault, Kirthar Fold and Thrust Belt, and Makran Subduction Zone.

Additionally, much of Pakistan’s infrastructure has been developed without accounting for the potential impact of earthquakes. The absence of this consideration in building designs drastically increases the risk of damage associated with seismic events.

Hence, it is safe (or rather, unsafe) to say that Pakistan is not only located in a highly seismically active region in the world, but also lacks the preparations required to minimize damage caused by earthquakes, making it all the more important for us to improve our disaster management system.

Dust, Debris, and Destruction – The Kashmir 2005 Earthquake!

Let’s take the Kashmir 2005 earthquake as an example, and explore the devastating effects of the earthquake, what steps were taken to reduce damage, and evaluate the groundbreaking lessons learned from this tragic event.

The Extent of Devastation!

On October 8, 2005, one of the most devastating earthquakes hit Pakistan with a magnitude of 7.6, resulting in terrible consequences for human life and infrastructure. For comparison, this earthquake was around 800 times stronger than the one experienced in Karachi on March 31.

Shahzeb Jillani, a Karachi-based journalist, then reported to the BBC, “When he reached Balakot, one of the areas greatly affected by the 2005 earthquake, it was a terrible sight: around 90% of the buildings had been reduced to nothing but rock and rubble. Parents screamed their children’s names outside what was once Shaheen School, and the atmosphere was encompassed by a prevalent feeling of helplessness.”

earthquakes
A devastating earthquake in Pakistan in 2005. Damaged buildings show the need for earthquake preparedness in Pakistan. Credit: AFP

The Aftermath

According to data in a report published by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), between 3.2 million and 3.5 million people were affected by the earthquake, either directly or indirectly. The nation faced 73,000 casualties, while 79,000 people remained injured.

In terms of infrastructural damage, a staggering 400,153 homes were destroyed, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without a roof over their heads. Roads and communication lines were severely damaged, which further delayed a response from emergency teams.

The Response

The government established a Federal Relief Commission (FRC) to initiate and manage large-scale rescue and relief operations. Simultaneously, the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) was also formed to support medium- and long-term reconstruction projects. It was through these entities that aid and assistance from international organizations and agencies also poured in. Emergency camps and mobile hospitals were also set up.

The Faults led to more Human Toll and Infrastructure Damage

Several factors led to increased damage to human life and infrastructure as a result of the Kashmir earthquake:

Lack of Planning and Earthquake Preparedness

The absence of an early warning system meant the residents were not prepared to expect an earthquake. In countries like China, where a national early warning system has been set in place, residents can be alerted a few seconds before an earthquake strikes, prepare them before the disaster strikes.

Now you may ask: how does an early warning system exactly work? We all have one friend who stays at the entrance and tells us when the teacher is on their way to the classroom, so that we can stop our mischief! Consider this early warning system to be that friend – it alerts everyone seconds before the earthquake strikes!

Additionally, it is important for organizations like the NDMA to devise a detailed plan to put into action immediately when an earthquake strikes – even the seconds matter in crucial times like these! Survivors of the Kashmir earthquake faced many issues with mismanagement, such as uneven aid distribution and temporary shelters unable to support harsh weather conditions.

Lack of Proper Infrastructure

The Kashmir earthquake brought damage to around 780,000 buildings – but the question is why. This is because buildings in Pakistan are not designed with earthquakes in mind. Following the Kashmir earthquake, several steps were taken to change this: by revising the Building Code of Pakistan (2007) to incorporate ‘seismic provisions’; however, that being said, efforts remain limited in the implementation of this code, highlighting a major gap in earthquake preparedness in Pakistan.

Additionally, many roads and communication lines were damaged due to the earthquake, causing delays in the provision of emergency and rescue services. Remote regions like the Neelum Valley did not receive aid for several days. This issue can be avoided by establishing emergency options for which careful planning is crucial.

Lack of Earthquake Knowledge and Awareness

It has been noticed that several people in the regions affected by the Kashmir earthquake did not have adequate awareness about how to react to an earthquake. Hence, it is important for the relevant government agencies to ensure focus is placed upon earthquake drills and public awareness campaigns, specifically in schools. Community training programs can play a huge role in improving earthquake preparedness in Pakistan, especially in schools and rural areas

Lack of following the Building Code in Pakistan

Earthquakes are a prevalent issue for Pakistan primarily due to its location, as earthquake-prone regions tend to be highly populated, resulting in even greater damage.

In his interview with Dawn, a geologist explained that many buildings in Karachi are constructed with low-quality materials, have no earthquake preparedness, and the safety standards for most of these structures are questionable. Oftentimes, very inexpensive materials are used in their construction.

This makes it imperative for everyone to play their role in reducing damage from earthquakes: government organizations by investing in carefully planned initiatives and programs, schools by educating their students about earthquake management, and communities by being prepared and helping each other when the quakes strike. Strengthening earthquake preparedness in Pakistan at every level is essential to reducing future disaster impacts.

Let’s invest in rock-solid plans for shaky times!

References:

  • https://ead.gov.pk/SiteImage/Misc/files/MAIN-REPORT.pdf
  • https://www.britannica.com/science/earthquake-geology
  • https://www.pmd.gov.pk/SeismicReport_PMD.pdf
  • https://www.undrr.org/quick/9045
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is6gok2TRLk
  • https://ndma.gov.pk/storage/guidelines/March2025/1AnQbXaJH0B5zL8p9Q3i.pdf
  • https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202409/1320031.shtml
  •  Newshttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34464815
  • https://www.pec.org.pk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Building-Code-of-Pakistan-Seismic-Provisions-2007.zip
  • https://www.dawn.com/news/1924651/two-more-quakes-jolt-parts-of-karachi
  • https://www.dawn.com/news/1915067

Read also: The Bizarre Lights Over Islamabad Before the Earthquake – Here’s What Experts Say!

123...84Page 1 of 84