A study using zebrafish found that altered gene activity can cause minerals to accumulate within the spine. This process resembles bone forming where it should not, eventually making spinal tissue unusually hard.

Researchers say the results reveal several biological processes that could become targets for future back pain treatments. The work also indicates that zebrafish may provide a useful model for testing potential therapies.

Why Spinal Discs Break Down

Most people experience back pain at some point. A major cause is the progressive deterioration of the discs that cushion the bones of the spine, a condition called intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD).

Although IVDD is widespread and places a considerable burden on patients and health care systems, no medications can currently halt or reverse its progression. Surgery is still the only available long-term treatment.

Inherited factors are known to influence a person’s risk of developing IVDD. Previous research has repeatedly connected early disc problems to a gene associated with collagen IX, a protein that helps bind together the structural fibers inside spinal discs.

To investigate how defects in this gene might cause disc disease, researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Bristol studied zebrafish bred without a functioning copy of it.

Zebrafish Developed Human-Like Spinal Damage

As the zebrafish grew older, they developed spinal abnormalities that closely resembled disc disease in people. Their vertebrae fused, while mineral deposits caused the tissue between the bones to become abnormally hard.

The researchers discovered that this mineralization did not begin immediately. First, a supportive scaffold layer within the developing spine started to deteriorate. Mineral deposits appeared only after this early structural damage had occurred.

The team then examined patterns of gene activity in the fish to determine which genes had become more or less active.

Their analysis revealed problems with fat processing and with mTOR, a pathway that regulates growth. They also found changes involving phosphate control and vitamin A signaling. Each of these processes has been associated with abnormal mineral accumulation.

Existing Osteoporosis Drug Reduced Mineral Buildup

The researchers also identified several approaches that reduced the spinal damage.

A bisphosphonate, a type of bone-protecting medication already used to treat osteoporosis, prevented minerals from accumulating. Spinal fusion was also reduced when the fish received less food or were treated with drugs that suppressed fat metabolism.

According to the researchers, the results highlight phosphate regulation and fat metabolism as especially promising areas for the development of future medicines.

The study was funded by Arthritis UK and BBSRC and published in the journal Communications Biology.

New Possibilities Beyond Surgery

Study lead, Dr. Erika Kague, from the University of Edinburgh’s Institute of Genetics and Cancer, said: “For decades, surgery has been the only real answer for disc disease. By understanding the biology that drives the spine to harden, our zebrafish studies point to several ways of slowing it down, including a drug already used safely in patients. There’s more work to do, but for a condition that’s affected people for generations without a treatment in sight, this is super exciting.”

Dr. Caroline Aylott, Head of Research Delivery at Arthritis UK, said: “For the 9.5 million people across the UK living with back pain, this research brings fresh hope that potential new therapeutic approaches are on the horizon.

“We are proud to fund research that is unlocking the science behind the processes leading to spinal disc degeneration. Back pain is one of the UK’s most common conditions that has blighted millions over generations. Dr. Erika Kague and her team at the University of Edinburgh have uncovered important genetic evidence that could pave the way for new treatments, bringing us one step closer to a future where fewer people have to live with the daily pain and challenges that back pain can bring.”

Dr. Jef Grainger, Executive Director of Bioscience Advancing Knowledge at BBSRC, said: “This research shows how publicly funded discovery bioscience can generate the knowledge needed to address major health challenges. By revealing new knowledge of how healthy biological processes break down in aging-related spinal disc degeneration, the study opens up promising avenues for future treatment development. It’s a great example of how BBSRC-supported research helps turn scientific discovery into knowledge and innovations that have the potential to improve people’s lives.”

The international team included scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources (CNR-IGG), and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). Their findings, published in Communications Earth & Environment, could also help researchers locate geothermal reservoirs, lithium deposits, and rare earth elements connected to deep magmatic activity.

A Vast Magma System With No Obvious Warning Signs

Some of the world’s best-known volcanic regions, including Yellowstone National Park in the United States, Lake Toba in Indonesia, and Lake Taupo in New Zealand, sit above magma reservoirs containing thousands of cubic kilometers of molten material.

Scientists usually identify these systems through visible or measurable evidence at the surface. Such clues can include ancient eruption deposits, volcanic craters, rising or sinking ground, and escaping gases. When those signs are absent, however, even enormous quantities of magma can remain undetected within Earth’s crust.

That appears to have happened in Tuscany. Researchers from UNIGE, working with specialists from the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources (IGG-CNR) and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), mapped approximately 6,000 km³ of volcanic fluids within the continental crust.

The newly identified material extends across Tuscany at depths ranging from 8 to 15 km.

No Current Volcanic Threat

Over geological timescales, a magma body of this size could theoretically play a role in the development of a supervolcano. Researchers emphasize, however, that the system does not currently represent a threat.

“We knew that this region, which extends from north to south across Tuscany, is geothermally active, but we did not realize it contained such a large volume of magma, comparable to that of supervolcanic systems such as Yellowstone,” explains Matteo Lupi, associate professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at UNIGE’s Faculty of Science, who led the study.

Using Earth’s Background Noise as an Underground X-ray

The team located the magma through ambient noise tomography, a technique commonly used by seismologists to examine structures hidden below the surface. The method functions like an “X-ray” of Earth’s crust by analyzing subtle vibrations continuously produced by ocean waves, wind, and human activity.

As these vibrations move through the ground, seismic instruments at the surface record how quickly the waves travel. The researchers deployed around 60 high-resolution sensors for the study.

Seismic waves generally slow down when they pass through unusually hot or partially molten material. By identifying areas where the waves moved at lower velocities, the researchers were able to pinpoint the likely location of magma.

They then combined the measurements to create a three-dimensional reconstruction of the underground structures across the study area.

New Tool for Geothermal Energy and Critical Minerals

The discovery has implications beyond understanding Tuscany’s geology. Because ambient noise tomography can survey large underground regions relatively quickly and inexpensively, it may provide a useful way to search for geothermal energy and mineral resources.

Deep magmatic systems are often associated with deposits of lithium and rare earth elements. These materials are increasingly important for technologies such as electric vehicle batteries and other components needed for the energy transition.

“These results are important both for fundamental research and for practical applications, such as locating geothermal reservoirs or deposits rich in lithium and rare earth elements, which are used, for example, in electric vehicle batteries. In addition to their great scientific interest, these studies show that tomography, by exploring the subsoil quickly and at low cost, can be a useful tool for the energy transition,” concludes Matteo Lupi.

Spanish officials reported that the fire in Ávila burned about 50,000 hectares (124,000 acres), making it the largest wildfire ever recorded in the country. It surpassed the 2025 fire that affected Larouco, Quiroga, and Oencia.

NASA satellites first detected signs of the Ávila blaze near Burgohondo on July 22 and July 23. By July 24, the fire had joined with blazes burning in nearby provinces. Together, they had scorched 77,000 hectares, an area roughly equal in size to New York City.

A Landsat 9 image taken on July 29, 2026, shows the extensive damage around Burgohondo. In the false-color view, healthy vegetation appears light green, while burned terrain appears brown. The two reservoirs near the center of the image were among the areas hit hardest.

According to news reports, flames destroyed homes, restaurants, campgrounds, marinas, and other facilities around the reservoirs.

Major Fires Sweep Southwestern France

A similarly severe emergency developed west of Bordeaux in southwestern France. One of the country’s largest fires of the decade burned more than 42,000 hectares, forced widespread evacuations, and devastated the village of Le Porge.

By late July, wildfires had burned more than 90,000 hectares across France. Data from the European Forest Fire Information System showed that this was the greatest area lost to fire in the country in decades.

Weather Created a Dangerous Fire Setup

Conditions that developed months before the fires began left parts of Spain and France especially vulnerable, according to an analysis by researchers with The State of Wildfires Project.

An unusually wet winter encouraged dense plant growth across grasslands, shrublands, and forest understories. Later, repeated heat waves and a period of drought dried out that vegetation, turning it into abundant fuel.

Researchers found that several days of strong winds completed the dangerous sequence. At times, wind speeds reached 65 kilometers (40 miles) per hour, helping the flames spread rapidly across the landscape.

France Reports a Rare Fire Cloud

On July 25, the fires in southwestern France became intense enough for firefighters to report the formation of a pyrocumulonimbus — a towering type of “fire cloud” that draws convective energy from the heat of the fires.

An international team of atmospheric scientists and wildfire specialists monitors these unusual clouds. The group has recorded occasional pyrocumulonimbus events in Spain and Portugal during recent decades, but its members said this marked the first reported case of a wildfire producing one in France.

Firefighters Battle the Blazes

Thousands of firefighters and military personnel were deployed across both countries. Aircraft dropped water and flame retardant from above, while ground crews built firebreaks with equipment ranging from bulldozers to hand tools.

By late July, firefighters had gained enough control for authorities to begin lifting some evacuation orders. Even so, forecasters warned that the danger remained high because hot and dry conditions were expected to continue.

Satellites Track Wildfires in Real Time

Government satellite observations contribute to a global monitoring system used to follow fire activity and study long-term wildfire trends.

NASA provides several tools for tracking active fires, including FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System) and the Worldview browser.