Might brain damage linked to Alzheimer's be one of the reasons dolphins lose their way and end up stranded? It's a possibility explored in a new study of 20 common bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus ) stranded in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, between 2010 and 2019.

What's more, the researchers behind the study have linked the signs of dolphin neurodegeneration to climate change – via toxic blooms of algae and bacteria that are becoming more frequent and widespread in warmer waters.

An analysis of the brains of the stranded dolphins revealed changes to gene expression that are associated with Alzheimer's in humans, as well as damage typical of the disease, like clumped proteins .

There was a significant difference in the dolphins stranded during algal bloom season

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