Science news this week: Atlantic current edges closer to collapse, scientists make artificial-neuron breakthrough, and a copy of the “Iliad” is found inside an Egyptian mummy

We celebrated Earth Day this week, and the science news was filled with troubling implications for the pale blue dot we call home.

Topping the list was a new study that suggests the collapse of a vital Atlantic Ocean current is much closer than we thought. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation recycles vast quantities of carbon and keeps Western Europe and the U.S. East Coast warm. Yet many studies suggest the current’s collapse is imminent, and the new research used fresh data and a novel analysis to find that we could be underestimating just how close the threat is. One team of scientists has even suggested the extreme measure of building a giant dam across the Bering strait to fend off the current’s collapse.