This release contains only the music track from Base by Base Episode 329.

Song title: Borrowed Time, Slow Return
Original Base by Base episode: 329: Large future genetic diversity losses predicted despite habitat protection

Article metadata:
Article title: Large future genetic diversity losses are predicted from conservation indicators even with habitat protection
Journal: PNAS
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2514371123
Reference: Mualim KS, Spence JP, Weiß C, Selmoni O, Lin M, Exposito-Alonso M. Large future genetic diversity losses are predicted from conservation indicators even with habitat protection. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2026. doi:10.1073/pnas.2514371123

Lyrics:
Verse 1
We drew the lines where the green once ran
Pushed the wild to the margin again
On bright screens, the numbers look fine
But the hidden threads are losing their shine

Pre-Chorus
It doesn’t vanish all at once
It fades in steps, in aftershocks
A future written in quiet loss
When distance breaks what movement locks

Chorus
Genetic light, don’t go out
Hold the sparks, spread them around
Even if the fences stand
Time can erode what maps defend
We need the links, we need the sound
Before the borrowed time runs down

Verse 2
Edge pulls inward, a tightening ring
Power-law whispers what it will bring
Fragments scatter, a glittering plea
More mixed-up, less nearby-me
And generation after generation
Drift keeps taking its patient payment

Bridge
Restore the ground, let corridors grow
But recovery moves slow, slow, slow
Not just acres, not just counts
Listen for what the gene pool mounts
Measure the pulse beneath the skin
Or we’ll save the shape and lose within

Final Chorus
Genetic light, don’t go out
Hold the sparks, spread them around
Even if the fences stand
Time can erode what maps defend
Watch the years, watch the rundown
Build back the links—keep life unbound