Burning the oil, a technique known as an in situ burn, can prevent the slick from expanding. However, it also produces thick clouds of black smoke, releases soot into the atmosphere, and leaves behind a layer of unburned residue floating on the ocean’s surface.

Now, researchers have demonstrated a striking new approach that could make this process far more effective. In a first-of-its-kind large-scale study, scientists created giant fire whirls, spinning columns of flame that resemble fire tornadoes, and found they burn oil faster and more cleanly than conventional methods.

The rotating vortex draws in large amounts of oxygen, creating a hotter and more efficient flame. As a result, the fire whirl consumed oil more rapidly while producing significantly less pollution.

The study, supported by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), was led by Dr. Elaine Oran and Dr. Qingsheng Wang of Texas A&M University and Dr. Michael Gollner of the University of California, Berkeley.

“This the first time anyone has conceived using fire whirls for oil spill remediation, and it’s really just the beginning,” said Oran, professor of aerospace engineering in the College of Engineering. “Our goal is to harness the chaotic nature of fire whirls as a powerful, precise restoration tool, to protect coastlines, marine ecosystems and the environment as a whole.”

A Faster, Cleaner Way to Fight Oil Spills

The research introduces an unconventional strategy for dealing with one of the most damaging environmental emergencies.

The devastating Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 remains a powerful reminder of the impact offshore oil spills can have. The accident, the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, killed 11 workers, claimed the lives of thousands of marine animals, and caused widespread damage to ocean ecosystems.

“We are looking at environmental disasters like oil spills, and identifying ways to remediate them in faster, greener and more sustainable ways,” Oran said.

One of the most promising advantages of fire whirls is speed.

According to the researchers, fire whirls can burn crude oil nearly twice as fast as traditional in situ fire pools. Faster removal of oil could give response teams a critical advantage, allowing them to eliminate spills before they spread into sensitive habitats and protected coastal regions.

“Fire whirls burn through crude oil spills nearly twice as fast as in-situ fire pools, potentially giving cleanup crews faster operational and response times to eliminating the oils from spreading,” Oran said.

The technique could also reduce one of the biggest drawbacks of burning oil: smoke.

“One of the biggest challenges of burning oil spills is the sheer volume of smoke emitted,” Oran said. “Our results show that fire whirls, compared to in-situ fires, dramatically reduce overall emissions.”

Acting like a giant incinerator, the spinning flames destroy many of the particles responsible for dense smoke plumes. The process also vaporizes most of the oil before it can remain behind as a toxic tar-like residue on the water.

The findings may have applications beyond oil spill response. A better understanding of how fire whirls form and behave could help engineers develop more efficient combustion systems and improve efforts to predict and manage wildfires.

“Our study has universal applications,” Oran said. “By understanding the physical laws that govern fire whirls, we can harness their power beyond oil spill remediation.”

Building a 17-Foot-Tall Fire Whirl

Most previous studies of fire whirls have been conducted on a much smaller scale in laboratory settings.

To explore whether the phenomenon could be useful for real-world oil spill cleanup, the research team designed an experiment large enough to mimic more realistic conditions.

“The scale of our experiment is one of the reasons why our investigation is so unique, and what sets it apart as a first-of-its-kind,” Oran said.

The researchers built a 16-foot-tall triangular structure with three walls that allowed them to carefully control airflow. At the center, they placed a 1.5-meter-wide pool of crude oil floating on water.

Once ignited at the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) Brayton Fire Training Field, the setup generated a powerful fire whirl that reached nearly 17 feet in height.

The results, published in Fuel, showed major improvements over conventional oil burning techniques.

“The fire whirls burned the oil about 40 percent faster, cut soot emissions by 40 percent, and achieved up to 95 percent fuel consumption efficiency compared to in-situ fire tests,” Oran said.

Finding the Fire Whirl “Goldilocks” Zone

Despite their impressive performance, fire whirls are not easy to control.

“Fire whirls are incredibly powerful, and can be incredibly beneficial,” Oran said. “But they’re also sensitive and only reach high efficiency when the conditions are just right.”

Strong winds can destabilize the spinning column or cause it to collapse altogether. Insufficient airflow control can prevent the vortex from forming, causing the fire to behave more like a conventional burn.

Researchers also discovered that the thickness of the oil layer plays an important role. When the slick became too deep, the fire whirls went out before consuming all of the fuel.

This narrow range of ideal conditions, described by the researchers as a “Goldilocks” zone, highlights both the promise and the challenge of bringing the technology into practical use.

Fire Tornadoes as Future Cleanup Tools

The team envisions a future in which portable systems could be deployed directly over burning oil spills to intentionally generate fire whirls on demand.

If successful, such systems could transform emergency oil spill response by converting ordinary fires into highly efficient cleanup tools.

“This study is more than just an experiment, it’s a glimpse into a future where fire isn’t a force of destruction, but a tool to protect our oceans and planet,” Oran said.

For now, the research stands as an impressive demonstration of what can happen when scientists rethink a familiar natural phenomenon.

It suggests that even one of nature’s most intimidating forces can potentially be redirected to address some of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges.

Although much of the salt people consume comes from processed and prepared foods, adding salt at the table still contributes between 6% and 20% of total intake. Researchers know that this habit varies among different groups of people, but it has not always been clear who is most likely to reach for the saltshaker in different cultural settings.

A new study published in Frontiers in Public Health sought to answer that question among older adults in Brazil.

“Adding salt to food at the table remains a relatively common habit among Brazilian older adults and occurs more frequently among men than among women,” said first author Dr. Flávia Brito, an associate professor at Rio de Janeiro State University.

“Women’s salt-adding behavior, however, was associated with a wider range of social and dietary characteristics than men’s,” added co-author Dr. Débora Santos, a titular professor at Rio de Janeiro State University.

Who Is Most Likely To Add Extra Salt?

The researchers analyzed survey data collected between 2016 and 2017 from more than 8,300 Brazilians aged 60 and older. Participants reported everything they had eaten and drunk during the previous 24 hours and answered whether they routinely added salt to food at the table.

The team also examined several factors that could influence this behavior, including sex, age, education level, household income, living arrangements, urban or rural residence, and whether participants regularly consumed fruits, vegetables, or ultra-processed foods.

The results showed that 12.7% of men reported adding extra salt to their meals, compared with 9.4% of women. However, the factors linked to this habit differed significantly between the sexes.

“Among men, few variables were associated with the habit of adding salt, suggesting that their behavior may be less directly related to specific dietary patterns,” Brito pointed out.

“On the other hand, women’s salt-adding behavior appeared to be more closely linked to broader dietary patterns and contextual characteristics,” added Santos.

Lifestyle and Diet Influence Salt Habits

Among men, only two factors were significantly connected to adding extra salt. Men following a special diet to manage high blood pressure were less than half as likely to add salt compared with those who were not following such a diet. Men who lived alone were 62% more likely to add salt than those living with other people.

Women showed a more complex pattern. Those who were not following a diet for high blood pressure had 68% higher odds of adding extra salt. Women living in urban areas were twice as likely to do so, and the same increase was observed among women who frequently consumed ultra-processed foods.

By contrast, women who regularly ate fruits were 81% less likely to add salt, while those who commonly consumed vegetables were 40% less likely to do so. According to the researchers, these findings may reflect greater attention to overall diet quality, including efforts to limit salt intake.

Why Do People Reach for the Saltshaker?

The researchers emphasized that the study does not establish cause-and-effect relationships. Because participants self-reported their habits, some responses may have been inaccurate. The authors also noted that salt-use patterns may have changed since the surveys were conducted.

According to the team, both taste preferences and long-standing habits may drive the urge to add salt. Regular consumption of high-sodium foods can reduce sensitivity to salty flavors, leading some people to prefer stronger levels of saltiness. In many cases, however, adding salt may simply be a routine behavior rather than a response to taste.

Reducing overall salt consumption will likely require efforts beyond individual choices. The researchers pointed to the need for lower sodium levels in industrialized and ultra-processed foods, which are major contributors to excessive salt intake.

At the same time, individuals can take practical steps to reduce their own salt use. Because the factors associated with salt-adding behavior differed between men and women, the researchers suggest that public health campaigns should be tailored to specific groups based on gender and lifestyle characteristics.

“The use of herbs and natural seasonings as alternatives to salt or culinary techniques such as using the acidity of citrus fruits may help reduce discretionary salt use while maintaining food palatability,” concluded Santos. “Practical strategies, such as avoiding the routine placement of saltshakers on the table, may also help reduce habitual salt use.”

Pancreatic cancer is so deadly in part because there are no effective screening tests, and it rarely causes noticeable symptoms in its earliest stages. By the time a patient experiences signs, such as jaundice – a yellowing of the skin – or abdominal pain, the cancer has often already spread to other organs.

As a gastrointestinal oncologist and researcher specializing in early-phase clinical trials, I have seen the critical need for more effective therapies for patients with pancreatic cancer. For decades, successfully targeting the central mechanism that causes the vast majority of pancreatic cancers was considered impossible.

However, that narrative is rapidly changing with a new drug that can shut down the key protein that drives pancreatic cancer, nearly doubling survival rates for patients with advanced stages of the disease.

‘Undruggable’ tumors

The standard treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer has historically relied on chemotherapy, potent drugs designed to kill rapidly dividing cells. While chemotherapy can slow the progression of the disease, its effectiveness is often limited by the ability of pancreatic cancer cells to develop resistance against these drugs.

Pancreatic cancer’s success lies in its genetics. More than 90% of pancreatic tumors are driven by mutations in a gene called KRAS. This gene codes for proteins that function as switches that turn cell growth on and off. When the KRAS gene is mutated, the switch becomes permanently stuck in the “on” position, commanding cancer cells to multiply endlessly.

For decades, scientists considered KRAS to be “undruggable.” The surface of the protein is exceptionally smooth, lacking the molecular pockets that standard drugs require to bind to and turn the switch off.

Because existing drugs haven’t been able to target this protein, treatment for pancreatic cancer has primarily relied on toxic drugs that act more like blunt instruments than precise tools. Chemotherapy attempts to control the disease through widespread cell destruction, causing significant collateral damage to healthy tissues that lead to side effects.

What is daraxonrasib?

A new drug called daraxonrasib offers a critical advance in treating metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Daraxonrasib is taken daily by mouth. Instead of binding to KRAS directly, it attaches to a molecule called cyclophilin A in cells that helps fold proteins into their final 3D structures. This protein complex is then able to bind to the active KRAS protein and shut down its ability to signal cancer cells to multiply.

The company developing the drug, Revolution Medicines, presented results on May 31, 2026, from its Phase 3 clinical trial of 500 patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who had received prior treatment. Compared to standard chemotherapy, daraxonrasib nearly doubled overall survival from 6.7 months to 13.2 months after diagnosis. Overall, daraxonrasib reduced the risk of death for metastatic pancreatic cancer patients by 60%.

The most common side effect is a prominent skin rash, which affected more than 86% of patients in the study. Patients also frequently dealt with stomatitis – painful swelling and sores inside the mouth – as well as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. However, patients taking daraxonrasib were far less likely to stop treatment due to severe side effects compared to chemotherapy, and they had improved quality of life with reduced pain.

Next steps for daraxonrasib

By successfully targeting the specific genetic mutation that drives the vast majority of pancreatic cancers, researchers have demonstrated that this “undruggable” disease is treatable with targeted therapy.

The immediate next step is regulatory review of the drug’s readiness for the clinic. With data now officially published, Revolution Medicines will use these findings to seek formal approval from the Food and Drug Administration and other global regulatory bodies.

Because advanced pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat, breakthrough therapies that demonstrate this kind of significant survival benefit are often granted expedited or priority review. When daroxonrasib becomes available to patients will depend on the review timeline. Should the drug obtain approval, it could be available in clinics within months.

For the broader landscape of drug development, this milestone represents a likely shift in pancreatic cancer treatment. I expect more clinical trials exploring combination therapies pairing KRAS inhibitors with other drugs to prevent tumors from developing resistance to treatment.

Should daraxonrasib succeed, it could help set the stage for more precise, personalized and effective treatments for pancreatic cancer in the years to come.