Scientists put a salt marsh in a giant wave-machine: here's what they learned Experiment shows how these ecosystems could protect coastlines from huge storms — plus, new evidence hints at what Denisovans might have looked like. By Benjamin Thompson

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-03376-6?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=8cc2b96d1b-nature-briefing-daily-20261023&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-33f35e09ea-50432164 Podcast: why we put a marsh in a wave pool Scientists in the Netherlands dug up 3–6-tonne blocks of a real salt marsh and put them into one of the world's largest wave generators to show how these coastal ecosystems will fare in extreme storms. “We brought the marsh to a facility where we were able to create this kind of superstorm,” coastal engineer Pim Willemsen told the Nature Podcast. They found that salt-marsh plants can protect inland areas against huge waves — but seemingly only up to a point, and big storms cause progressive damage to the vegetation.