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Scientists use lasers to determine the age of sharks

Phys · · 1046 words · By Brandon Mahan
Scientific Innovation Marine Conservation Environmental Protection
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Researchers from Australian and Oceania universities have developed a new method for estimating the age of sharks using geochemical analysis of vertebrae. By analyzing chemical compositions and isotopes, the team found that traditional light/dark banding methods may be unreliable for certain species like the Speartooth Shark.

Propaganda risk 10%
Claims checked 17
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center67%
Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Scientists use lasers to determine the age of sharks Lisa Lock scientific editor Andrew Zinin lead editor Not many scientific studies sound like a Bond film, but ours really does involve lasers, sharks and doctors (of research, not the evil kind).

Why it matters

Sharks are not the easiest species to study, but researching their life history and ecology is vital.

Common ground

Overfishing and a lack of understanding about sharks' ecology (and that of their evolutionary siblings, rays and chimeras) now mean more than one-third of these species are listed as threatened with extinction.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Researchers from Australian and Oceania universities have developed a new method for estimating the age of sharks using geochemical analysis of vertebrae. By analyzing chemical compositions and isotopes, the team found that traditional light/dark banding methods may be unreliable for certain species like the Speartooth Shark.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-scientists-lasers-age-sharks.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 17 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 7
info Single Source 4
help Insufficient Evidence 2
check_circle Corroborated 2
verified Verified 2
info
Claim 1: “This research is supported by the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF), with findings recently published in the Marine Ecology Progress Series.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the Save Our Seas Foundation is verified as a philanthropic organization, the specific link between this research project and the 'Marine Ecology Progress Series' publication is not explicitly corroborated by the provided search snippets, though the foundation's general support for such projects is mentioned.
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web search NEUTRAL — The Save Our Seas Foundation is a philanthropic organization founded in Geneva, Switzerland, on 23 September 2003.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Save_Our_Seas_Foundation
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web search NEUTRAL — The Save Our Seas Foundation supports some key longterm Projects that tackle ecosystem based issues or problematics that cannot be resolved within a few years.
https://saveourseas.com/a-river-runs-through-it-how-rocks-ar…
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web search NEUTRAL — Support the KPassionate channel by getting Fishing Clash on your iOS/Android device for free → https://fishingclash.link/Passionate !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYyiVlroMu4
schedule
Claim 2: “Its natural habitat includes the Adelaide River in the Northern Territory”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 3: “It is estimated that fewer than 2,500 mature individuals [of Speartooth Shark] remain in the wild.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found in the search results regarding the population count of the Speartooth Shark.
info
Claim 4: “One uses X-rays (micro-XRF), and the other uses laser beams (LA-MC-ICP-MS) to characterize the micro-scale chemistry of shark vertebrae.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence confirms that micro-XRF and LA-MC-ICP-MS are real geochemical techniques used for isotopic analysis, but the specific application to shark vertebrae in this context is not corroborated by a second independent source in the provided results.
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web search NEUTRAL — ICP–MS) and LA–multicollector (MC)–ICP–MS. They are used as samples for calibration, development of methods, quality control, quality.Possible large scale and small scale. isotopic heterogeneities wer…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/44160402_Reference_…
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web search NEUTRAL — This study introduces two new natural pyrite RMs, M332 and MK617, characterized for in situ sulfur isotope analysis using LA-MC-ICP-MS, LG-SIMS, and NanoSIMS.
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/ja/d5ja0008…
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web search NEUTRAL — Here, we apply LA-Q(quadrupole)-ICP-MS and LA-MC(multiple collector)-ICP-MS methods to analyze trace elements and S isotopes in sulfides. Spot analysis of S isotopes was conducted to evaluate the infl…
https://www.academia.edu/70150170/Studies_of_the_source_of_l…
schedule
Claim 5: “In PNG, it is caught for its meat and fins, primarily by unregulated fisheries.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 6: “visible light/dark banding in the vertebrae is not a reliable means of estimating age [for the Speartooth shark].”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 7: “we applied geochemical techniques to analyze the geochemistry of the vertebrae of the Speartooth Shark (Glyphis glyphis), a vulnerable river shark species.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results for 'geochemical techniques' returned generic laboratory services and did not mention the Speartooth Shark (Glyphis glyphis).
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web search NEUTRAL — Energy and Environmental Analysis Geochemical Testing is a NELAP accredited analytical laboratory that is certified in over 1000 parameters of chemical analysis. This broad scope allows us to test gro…
http://geo-ces.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — Geochemical Testing is located at 205 N Center Ave. Somerset, PA 15501 814-443-1671, Fax: 814-445-6729
http://geo-ces.com/contact-us.html
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web search NEUTRAL — Geochemical Teseting provides laboratory analysis of groundwater, storm water runoff, stream and pond waters, leachates, condensates and other liquids in addition to soils, solids or residual wastes a…
http://geo-ces.com/services.html
schedule
Claim 8: “Although a protected species in Australian waters, the Speartooth shark is incidentally captured in commercial fisheries and by some illegal recreational fishing.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 9: “The Speartooth shark is a medium-sized shark, around 260 cm in length, that lives in rivers and estuaries of northern Australia and southern Papua New Guinea (PNG).”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found in the search results regarding the length or habitat of the Speartooth Shark.
info
Claim 10: “Conventional methods for aging sharks, like transmitted light optical microscopy, rely on shining a bright light through thin slices of the vertebrae.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results about 'single life' Instagram bios. However, claim 6 and other results mention vertebrae band counts and sectioning, but the specific description of 'transmitted light optical microscopy' as the conventional method is not independently corroborated in the provided snippets.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 6, 2025 · Being single doesn’t mean your Instagram bio has to be boring – in fact, it’s your chance to show the world your real vibe. That’s exactly why we’ve handpicked and sorted the perfect sin…
https://instatexthub.com/single-life-bio-for-instagram/
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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 27, 2026 · Single life may actually be good for your health. Being single is associated with a decreased risk of adverse health effects from dysfunctional marriages and toxic relationships.
https://www.wikihow.com/Be-Single-and-Happy
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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 17, 2025 · Explore 40+ best life Shayari in Hindi, including emotional, sad, and inspirational 2-line verses that beautifully express life's journey.
https://moodinlines.com/40-best-single-life-shayari-in-hindi…
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Claim 11: “Our results provide the first confirmation that shark vertebrae strongly record the geochemical fingerprints of their environment, based on combined X-ray- and isotope-based analyses.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 12: “more than one-third of these species [sharks, rays and chimeras] are listed as threatened with extinction”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including the IUCN Species Survival Commission and WWF, confirm that more than one-third of sharks, rays, and chimaeras are threatened with extinction.
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web search NEUTRAL — The IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Shark Specialist Group (SSG) has published a status report on sharks, rays and chimaeras, nearly 20 years after its first report warned that sharks were thre…
https://iucn.org/press-release/202412/third-sharks-rays-and-…
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web search NEUTRAL — A third of the world's sharks, rays and chimaeras are threatened with extinction, and their numbers have dwindled since 1970, finds a new IUCN report and a study. Overfishing is the biggest ...
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/new-evidence-spells-massiv…
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web search NEUTRAL — More than one-third of all sharks, rays, and chimaeras (fish related to sharks and rays) are now at risk of extinction because of overfishing, according to a new study re-assessing their IUCN Red List…
https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/stories/overfishing-puts-…
schedule
Claim 13: “these geochemical fingerprints—tied to absolute time by modern precipitation records—were not always found to match up with light/dark "bands" used by conventional aging methods.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 14: “Hilary M. K. Lewis et al, Challenging traditional methods of age estimation: elemental and isotopic characterisation of speartooth shark Glyphis glyphis vertebrae, Marine Ecology Progress Series (2025). DOI: 10.3354/meps14986”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 15: “Our research team has recently combined geochemistry and marine ecology to develop a new technique for estimating shark age and life history.”
VERIFIED
A specific source ('Pursuit by the...') explicitly confirms that a new technique combining geochemistry and marine ecology was developed with the University of Melbourne to determine shark age and life history.
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web search NEUTRAL — Sharks are caught by humans for shark meat or shark fins. Many shark populations are threatened by human activities.Shark teeth are embedded in the gums rather than directly affixed to the jaw, and ar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark
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web search NEUTRAL — A new technique, developed with the University of Melbourne, is combining geochemistry and marine ecology to more accurately determine the age of sharks and reconstruct their life history.
https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/Were-using-lasers-to…
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web search NEUTRAL — Forever young: new ways to age sharks. Brandon is applying novel and state-of-the-art techniques to assess the age of sharks, and determine their migratory patterns.
https://saveourseas.com/a-river-runs-through-it-how-rocks-ar…
verified
Claim 16: “shark vertebrae grow concentrically as the shark ages, all the while incorporating the chemistry (elements and their isotopes) of their environment.”
VERIFIED
The evidence explicitly states that shark vertebrae grow concentrically like tree rings and incorporate the chemistry of their environment.
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web search NEUTRAL — This study explores the link between microstructure, chemical composition, and biological mechanical function of shark vertebral cartilage at the micro- and nanometer scale in typical Carcharhiniform …
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S174270612…
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web search NEUTRAL — Like tree rings, shark vertebrae grow concentrically as the shark ages, all the while incorporating the chemistry (elements and their isotopes) of their environment.
https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/Were-using-lasers-to…
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web search NEUTRAL — This study explores chemical patterns in age-validated shark vertebrae with known capture-recapture locations, employing a natural based experiment to directly relate elemental variation to band pair …
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6235039/
check_circle
Claim 17: “This method assumes that each light/dark corresponds to one year of growth.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that researchers previously assumed each stripe/band in shark vertebrae corresponded to one year of growth, and that this method is widely used for age estimation.
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web search NEUTRAL — Previously, researchers assumed that each stripe corresponded to annual growth, which isn't necessarily true throughout a shark's life. And because these bands can vary in width and coloration, it can…
https://www.livescience.com/42423-great-white-sharks-live-lo…
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web search NEUTRAL — In the first successful radiocarbon age validation study for adult white sharks, researchers analyzed vertebrae from four females and four males from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Age estimates wer…
https://www.whoi.edu/press-room/news-release/LongevityWhiteS…
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web search NEUTRAL — 2.2 Vertebrae Band counts on vertebrae are widely used for age estimation in elasmobranchs, with vertebrae viewed either whole or following sectioning to about 0.5 mm thickness, and sometimes stained …
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/27585/direct/
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.