A groundbreaking study conducted by researchers at McGill University indicates that human sleep patterns, or chronotypes, exist on a broader biological spectrum. Each subtype is linked to distinct health and behavioral traits, challenging the conventional ‘early riser vs. night owl’ classification.
Zhou et al. The study identifies five distinct biological subtypes, each related to various behavioral patterns and health conditions. Image credit: Wok & Apix.
Chronotype refers to the specific time during the 24-hour cycle when an individual naturally feels the most alert or is prepared for sleep.
Previous research has often associated late-onset chronotypes with health issues, yet the findings have frequently been inconsistent.
“Instead of asking if night owls face greater risks, it may be more insightful to explore which specific night owls are at risk and why,” explains Dr. Yue Zhou, a researcher at McGill University.
Utilizing AI technology, Zhou and colleagues analyzed brain scans, questionnaires, and medical records from over 27,000 adults in the UK Biobank.
Their findings uncovered three night owl subtypes and two early riser groups.
One early riser subtype exhibited the fewest health issues, while the other was more closely linked to depression.
Night owls performed better on cognitive assessments but faced difficulties in emotional regulation.
One night owl group was prone to risk-taking behaviors and cardiovascular challenges, while another group showed higher tendencies for depression, smoking, and heart disease.
“These subtypes are not merely characterized by their sleep times,” stated Dr. Danilo Buzdok from McGill University.
“They represent a complex interaction of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors.”
Instead of categorizing sleep types as good or bad, the researchers emphasize how risks and strengths are distributed differently among the five profiles.
A nuanced comprehension of sleep profiles can clarify why identical sleep schedules impact individuals differently, promoting research and sleep support that transcends a one-size-fits-all methodology.
“In today’s digital age and post-pandemic world, sleep patterns are more diverse than ever,” remarks Zhou.
“Recognizing this biological diversity may ultimately lead to more personalized strategies for sleep, work schedules, and mental health support.”
For further details, refer to the published findings in the Journal on December 22, 2025, Nature Communications.
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L. Joe et al. (2025). Potential brain subtypes of chronotypes reveal unique behavioral and health profiles across population cohorts. Nat Commune 16, 11550; doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-66784-8
Exploring Bella Junior’s Supernova, also referred to as RX J0852.0-4622 or G266.2-1.2, scientists have revealed the mysteries surrounding its explosive past. This ancient nebula, once a brilliant supernova, has perplexed researchers regarding its distance and the magnitude of its explosion. Recently, however, groundbreaking discoveries linked a newly formed star, Ve 7-27, with the remnants of Bella Junior. By utilizing the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on the ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have captured unprecedented detailed images of Ve 7-27.
VLT/MUSE image of Ve 7-27. Image credit: ESO / Suherli et al.
“This is the first evidence ever connecting a newborn star to the remnants of a supernova,” stated Dr. Samar Safi Harb, an astrophysicist from the University of Manitoba.
“This discovery resolves a decades-long debate, enabling us to calculate the distance of Bella Junior, its size, and the true power of the explosion.”
By examining the gas emissions from Ve 7-27, Dr. Safi Harb and his team confirmed that it shares the same chemical signature as materials from the Vela Junior supernova.
This correlation established a physical connection between the two celestial bodies, allowing astronomers to accurately determine Bella Junior’s distance.
Both Ve 7-27 and Vela Junior are approximately 4,500 light-years away.
“The gas present in this young star mirrors the chemical composition of stars that exploded in the past,” remarked Dr. Safi Harb.
“Isn’t it poetic? Those same elements eventually contributed to Earth and now play a role in forming new stars.”
Recent findings indicate that Bella Junior is larger, more energetic, and expanding at a rate quicker than previously thought, marking it as one of the most potent supernova remnants in our galaxy.
“Stars are constructed in layers, much like onions,” Dr. Safi Harb explained. “When they explode, these layers are propelled into space.”
“Our research indicates that these layers are now becoming visible in the jets of nearby young stars.”
“This study not only solves an enduring astronomical enigma but also sheds light on stellar evolution, the enrichment of galaxies with elements, and how extreme cosmic events continue to shape our universe.”
This research was published today in a study featured in the Astrophysics Journal Letters.
Credit: Dr. Gavin Leroy/Professor Richard Massey/COSMOS-Webb Collaboration
In a groundbreaking study, scientists leveraged subtle distortions in the shapes of over 250,000 galaxies to construct the most detailed dark matter map to date, paving the way for insights into some of the universe’s greatest enigmas.
Dark matter, elusive by nature, does not emit any detectable light. Its existence can only be inferred through its gravitational interactions with normal matter. Researchers, including Jacqueline McCreary from Northeastern University, utilized the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to map a region of the sky larger than the full moon.
“This high-resolution image depicts the scaffold of a small segment of the universe,” noted McCreary. The new map boasts double the resolution of previous ones created by the Hubble Space Telescope, encompassing structures much farther away.
The researchers studied approximately 250,000 galaxies, noting that their shapes, while interesting, serve primarily as a backdrop for understanding gravitational distortions. As Liliya Williams from the University of Minnesota explained, “These galaxies merely act as the universe’s wallpaper.” The critical component is the way dark matter’s gravitational pull warps the light from these distant galaxies—a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. The more distorted the shape of these galaxies is from a perfect circle, the greater the amount of dark matter situated between us and them.
By analyzing these optical distortions, the team was able to derive a map illustrating massive galaxy clusters and the cosmic web filaments linking them. Many of these newly identified structures deviate from prior observations of luminous matter, suggesting they are predominantly composed of dark matter. “Gravitational lensing is one of the few and most effective techniques for detecting these structures across vast regions,” Williams stated.
This research is significant, considering that dark matter constitutes about 85% of the universe’s total matter, crucial for the formation and evolution of galaxies and clusters. Understanding its distribution could shed light on its behavior and composition, according to Williams.
“This achievement is not just observational but also paves the way for various analyses, including constraints on cosmological parameters, the relationship between galaxies and their dark matter halos, and their growth and evolution over time,” McCreary highlighted. These parameters include the strength of dark energy, the enigmatic force driving the universe’s accelerating expansion.
While initial findings from the JWST map align with the Lambda CDM model of the universe, McCreary emphasizes that a thorough analysis of the data is still required to unearth new insights. “At first glance, it appears consistent with Lambda CDM, but I remain cautious. A final assessment will depend on complete results.”
For over 165 years, the enigmatic prototaxite has stood as one of the earliest giants to rise from Earth’s barren landscapes, defying simple classification. These towering, columnar organisms dominated the terrestrial environment over 400 million years ago, reaching impressive heights of 8 meters (26 ft), long before the advent of trees. A recent study conducted by paleontologists from the University of Edinburgh and the National Museums of Scotland posits that this mysterious entity was not merely a giant fungus, as often presumed, but rather belonged to an entirely extinct lineage of complex life.
Prototaxites dominated terrestrial ecosystems 410 million years ago as the largest living organisms. Image credit: Matt Humpage.
The prototaxite marks the first giant life form on Earth’s surface, emerging during the late Silurian to late Devonian periods, approximately 420 to 370 million years ago.
Recognized for their pillar-like fossils that can reach up to 8 meters, they played a crucial role in early terrestrial ecosystems well before the emergence of trees.
These organisms were widely distributed across ancient terrestrial environments and were likely consumed by arthropods, marking a pivotal stage in land colonization and holding significant ecological importance.
Despite over 165 years of inquiry, the biological identity of prototaxite remains a topic of heated debate among paleontologists, who contest whether it is a fungus or belonged to a distinct, entirely extinct lineage of complex eukaryotes.
In a groundbreaking study, Dr. Corentin Rollon and colleagues examined Prototaxites Taichi, found preserved in remarkable three-dimensional detail within the 407-million-year-old Rhynie Chert in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
“The Rhynie Chert is a remarkable treasure trove,” noted Dr. Rollon, the lead author of the study published in this week’s edition of Scientific Progress.
“This site represents one of the oldest fossilized terrestrial ecosystems, and its well-preserved biodiversity enables innovative approaches like machine learning applied to fossil molecular data.”
“Numerous other specimens from the Rhynie Chert are preserved in museum collections, contributing vital context to our findings.”
The research team investigated new specimens of Prototaxites Taichi, identifying the largest known example of this species at the site, facilitating detailed anatomical and molecular comparisons with fossil fungi found in the same deposits.
Microscopic imaging revealed a complex internal structure that diverges significantly from any known fungi.
The fossil comprises three distinct types of tubes, including large, thick-walled tubes featuring annular stripes and dense spherical regions known as medullary points.
These intriguing features form a complex 3D network of interconnected tubes, suggesting a branching pattern unheard of in fungal biology.
Researchers employed infrared spectroscopy and machine learning techniques to classify molecular fingerprints from prototaxite alongside those of fossil fungi, arthropods, plants, and bacteria found in Rhynie Chert.
Fossilized fungi from this location maintain characteristic chemical signatures linked to chitin-rich cell walls, which were intriguingly absent in ancient prototaxite.
The team also searched for perylene, a biomarker associated with pigment compounds produced by specific fungi, previously detected in other Rhynie Chert fossils. However, no such compounds were found in the prototaxite sample.
Collectively, the structural, chemical, and biomarker findings imply that prototaxite does not align with any known fungal group, including the earliest forms of modern fungi.
“This research marks a significant advancement in a 165-year-long discussion,” stated Dr. Sandy Hetherington, the senior author of the paper.
“These organisms represent life forms distinct from those we currently recognize, displaying different anatomical and chemical characteristics from fungi and plants, thereby belonging to a unique, now-extinct lineage of complex life.”
“Our study combines chemical analysis and anatomical insights into prototaxite, revealing that it cannot be classified within any known fungal group,” explained co-author Laura Cooper.
“As earlier researchers have discounted classifications to other large and complex life forms, we conclude that prototaxite belonged to an entirely distinct lineage of extinct complex life.”
“Thus, prototaxite symbolizes independent evolutionary experiments in constructing large and complex organisms, known to us only through exceptionally preserved fossils.”
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Corentin C. Rollon et al. 2026. Prototaxites fossils are structurally and chemically distinct from both extinct and extant fungi. Scientific Progress 12(4); doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aec6277
Illustration of Paranthropus: Early Hominins from 2.7 to 1.4 Million Years Ago
Credit: John Bavaro Fine Art/Science Photo Library
For the first time, remains of ancient humans, specifically Paranthropus, have been discovered in the Afar region of Ethiopia. This groundbreaking discovery indicates that Paranthropus lived across diverse ecosystems.
The remains of Paranthropus, dated between 2.7 and 1.4 million years ago, suggest a close relation to Homo, the genus that includes modern humans and Neanderthals. They are believed to have evolved from the early hominin known as Australopithecus.
Zeresenai Alemseged, a prominent researcher from the University of Chicago, has been excavating the Mille Logya site in the Afar Depression since 2012. This area is rich in human fossils, including remains of Homo and Australopithecus. Alemseged states, “Paranthropus was thought not to have reached this far north.”
On January 19, 2019, Alemseged’s local assistant discovered a piece of a toothless lower jawbone. “The size was the first feature that caught my attention,” Alemseged recalls. On the same day, the research team also found the crown of a lower left molar.
CT scans revealed distinctive Paranthropus characteristics, including the jawbone’s dimensions and the intricate structure of the tooth roots within. While the team couldn’t definitively classify the species, it is likely to be Paranthropusethiopicus or Paranthropusboisei based on the location of the find.
Dating analyses indicate the jawbone to be approximately 2.6 million years old, making it one of the oldest known specimens of Paranthropus.
“There is no doubt that it belongs to Paranthropus,” asserts Carrie Mongul from Stony Brook University, who was not involved in the research. “The dating is unquestionable.”
Assembled Fragment of Paranthropus Mandible
Credit: Alemseged Research Group/University of Chicago
Previously, the northernmost Paranthropus specimen was a skull excavated from Konso in southern Ethiopia. This new specimen extends the range over 1,000 kilometers northward.
Paranthropus,” states Mongul.
Alemseged believes this specimen also illustrates the species’ adaptability. The large jaws and teeth of Paranthropus have been interpreted as indicators of a tough diet. Although the specifics of Mille Logya’s environment are unclear, it appears that Paranthropus thrived in more open habitats compared to the wooded areas frequented by earlier specimens.
“While they were specialized, we may have overemphasized their dietary limits,” concurs Alemseged. “Different Paranthropus populations appear to have adapted to various habitats, much like Homo and Australopithecus.”
Mongul noted existing evidence that Paranthropus thrived in its new environment by adapting to the expansion of grasslands across East Africa and even selecting gramineous food. The new Mille Logya specimen reinforces this observation of versatility.
Recent findings suggest that Paranthropus may have utilized and even crafted simple stone tools. In 2023, stone tools were found in Kenya, associated with Paranthropus ancestors. By 2025, newfound dexterity in the hands of Paranthropus was documented.
Alemseged concludes that since Australopithecus was capable of creating and using tools, and given the timeline, Paranthropus must have shared this capability stemming from their common ancestry with early chimpanzees.
Discovery Tour: Archeology and Paleontology
New Scientist frequently covers remarkable archaeological sites globally that reshape our understanding of species and the origins of civilization. Why not explore them too?
This excerpt is from *Our Human Story*, a monthly newsletter focused on revolutionary archaeology discoveries. Subscribe to receive insights directly in your inbox.
In early January, the chill in south-west England can be quite biting. Though my Canadian and Scandinavian friends might chuckle at my discomfort, it’s cold enough for me to feel it in my bones without proper attire.
This stark cold evokes thoughts of our long-extinct relatives, the Neanderthals. Common portrayals often cast them in freezing landscapes reminiscent of Siberia — with icy winds and woolly mammoths roaming the snow. They’re typically seen as hominins well-adapted to frigid conditions.
<p>Yet, if you’ve been following the *New Scientist*, you might recall hints suggesting otherwise. November brought an intriguing article titled "Neanderthals' Big Noses Weren't Adapted for Cold Climates."</p>
<p>Chris Sims discussed the first analysis of Altamura Man, a well-preserved Neanderthal from Italy. Despite prior beliefs, this specimen lacked specialized nasal structures previously thought essential for warming inhaled air, leading researcher Todd Ray to assert that the notion of Neanderthals thriving in icy climates is "absolute nonsense." He emphasized, "They likely suffered from the cold just like we do."</p>
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<p>Similarly, in December, we uncovered evidence that ancient humans began mastering fire by striking flint against pyrite, dating back 400,000 years in southern England. This predates Neanderthals and hints at their probable innovation in fire-starting, particularly as their bodies were not tailored to endure Britain's chill.</p>
<p>If Neanderthals were not primarily adapted for cold climates, what environments did they actually inhabit? Emerging research published in the <em>Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports</em> unveils a fascinating narrative of Neanderthal existence.</p>
<h2>Southern Refuge: The Neanderthal's Habitat</h2>
<p>Among all extinct human species, Neanderthals are our closest relatives. They thrived across Europe and western Asia for countless millennia until their disappearance around 40,000 years ago, coinciding with the significant expansion of our species into Europe.</p>
<p>The long history endured by Neanderthals saw them through several ice ages, characterized by fluctuating climates and shifting ice sheets. They lived during periods when the Earth's magnetic field changes potentially increased their exposure to harmful UV radiation. Compelling evidence indicates that Neanderthals engaged in artistic expression and had cultural practices surrounding death, such as structured burials.</p>
<p>Over time, however, Neanderthal habitats diminished. Fascinatingly, they withdrew from Asia and northern Europe, ultimately being confined to southern Europe, especially the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal). Recent studies focus on this southern region, where Neanderthals exhibited remarkable longevity.</p>
<p>Let’s examine a significant study by Loic Lebreton and his team at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in Spain. They analyzed small mammals (nicknamed "micromammals") as climate indicators. Warm, humid environments support a greater diversity of wildlife compared to cold, arid areas. Their research indicated that northeastern Spain maintained a stable, warm climate from 215,000 to 10,000 years ago, heavily influenced by the Mediterranean, unlike the more variable conditions in southern France and northern Italy, plausibly contributing to the prolonged survival of Neanderthals in Spain.</p>
<p>Research led by Sarah Barakat from the University of Aberdeen suggests that vast forested areas likely covered much of the Neanderthal habitat. At <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105456">Lazaretto Cave</a>, home to Neanderthals between 190,000 and 130,000 years ago, remains of aurochs, red deer, ibex, and gray wolves have been found. Examination of their teeth indicates herbivores primarily consumed woody plants, suggesting a richly forested environment with some grassland.</p>
<p>Coba del Geganto, a cave near Barcelona, offers additional insight into the Neanderthal ecosystem. Dating from 145,000 to 24,700 years ago, the site contains evidence of numerous bird species typical of woodlands and scrublands, alongside some that currently inhabit only northern regions, indicating migration patterns during colder periods.</p>
<p>Although direct evidence of Neanderthals hunting these birds is lacking, analysis of the bones found may point to their dietary habits. Research into animal remains would clarify whether Neanderthals utilized specific species within this cave ecosystem.</p>
<h2>The Final Days of Neanderthals</h2>
<p>As the Neanderthal epoch approached conclusion, they displayed remarkable adaptability. Rosa Albert and her colleagues studied the Liparo Los Curciuto site in southern Italy's Ginosa Valley, which recorded Neanderthal activity from 55,000 to 42,800 years ago. Geological formations reveal shifting conditions from forest coverage to more open grasslands, driving Neanderthal adaptations in foraging and fire use.</p>
<p>Even by 41,000 years ago, certain Neanderthal groups thrived, despite their relatives disappearing from large portions of Eurasia. Research at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105149">Cova Eiros in northwestern Spain</a> documented diverse animal remains, including significant numbers of red deer and cave bears, shedding light on their dietary patterns.</p>
<p>Findings indicated that 5.5 percent of the bones exhibited Neanderthal marks, suggesting their consistent interaction with the environment, including instances of consuming cave bear remains.</p>
<p>Fellow researchers discovered similar patterns at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105457">Covallejos</a>, another northern Spanish cave, indicating Neanderthals exploited a variety of food sources, including red deer and large herbivores.</p>
<p>What ultimately led to their extinction? Research by Liz Charton and team at France's Institute of Human Paleontology indicates various environmental stressors. Analyzing marine sediment core samples from the western Mediterranean, they traced dramatic climatic shifts between 41,000 and 34,000 years ago. The increase of grassland and semi-arid vegetation aligns with previous findings of substantially drier conditions.</p>
<p>This research mapping known hominin sites during this period shows a decline in Neanderthal tool usage as modern human artifacts became more prevalent. Although Neanderthals likely retreated to southern regions, they faced increased competition from modern humans.</p>
<p>This doesn’t imply that desiccation singularly led to their extinction; Neanderthals had previously navigated similar environmental challenges and survived. However, this factor, among others, likely contributed to their decline.</p>
<p>In investigating Neanderthal culture, Nohemi Sala and colleagues at Spain's National Center for Human Evolution Research analyzed burial practices at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105316">46 sites on the Iberian Peninsula</a>. Evidence for deliberate burials can be found in various locations, yet none have been documented in Spain or Portugal.</p>
<p>This does not exclude the possibility that Iberian Neanderthals had unique mourning practices or ideas about honoring the deceased. At Sima de las Palomas, multiple Neanderthals were discovered within a vertical cave; one individual, lying in a specific position, suggests intentional placement. Such sites may have served as natural burial grounds.</p>
<p>Moreover, evidence indicates that Iberian Neanderthals might have engaged in ritualistic cannibalism, reflecting the varying cultural significance of death across societies.</p>
<p>Interestingly, Neanderthal funerary customs appear to have diversified over the last 10,000 years, potentially as a result of migrant waves introducing new practices.</p>
<p>While it’s disheartening that despite their innovation and adaptability, Neanderthals faced extinction, their genetic legacy persists in many of us today, highlighting a genetic and cultural exchange with modern humans.</p>
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<li class="ArticleTopics__ListItem">Ancient Humans</li>
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Using high-resolution images, NIRCam, a near-infrared camera aboard the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, has led astronomers to discover COSMOS-74706, one of the earliest known barred spiral galaxies. This discovery is pivotal in shaping our understanding of cosmic evolution.
COSMOS-74706: Unsharp mask overlaid on F200W, F277W, and F356W filter configurations. The white lines represent logarithmic spirals along the galaxy’s arm structure while the lines indicate the north-south bar structure. Image credit: Daniel Ivanov.
The barred spiral galaxy COSMOS-74706 existed approximately 11.5 billion years ago.
“This galaxy developed its bar just two billion years after the universe’s inception,” stated Daniel Ivanov, a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh.
“Stellar bars are linear features found at the centers of galaxies, confirming their namesakes.”
COSMOS-74706’s bar comprises a dense collection of stars and gas, appearing as a bright line bisecting the galaxy when viewed perpendicularly to its plane.
Stellar bars significantly influence a galaxy’s evolution, funneling gas from the outskirts into the center, which feeds the supermassive black hole and can inhibit star formation within the galactic disk.
While previous reports identified barred spiral galaxies, their analyses were inconclusive due to the less reliable optical redshift methods compared to the spectroscopy used for COSMOS-74706 verification.
In some instances, a galaxy’s light was distorted by a massive object, leading to a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing.
“Essentially, COSMOS-74706 is the most redshifted spectroscopically confirmed lensless barred spiral galaxy,” Ivanov noted.
“We were not surprised to find barred spiral galaxies so early in the universe’s timeline.”
“In fact, some simulations suggest the bar formed at redshift 5, or roughly 12.5 billion years ago.”
“However, I believe we shouldn’t expect to find many of these galaxies just yet.”
This discovery helps refine the timeline for bar formation, making it a significant finding.
Newly discovered planets orbiting V1298 Tau are unusually lightweight, possessing a density comparable to polystyrene. This discovery may bridge critical gaps in our understanding of planetary system formation.
Unlike most planets in our Milky Way galaxy, which are often larger than Earth and smaller than Neptune, this solar system showcases an uncommon configuration. Astronomers have cataloged numerous planetary systems that formed billions of years ago, complicating our understanding of their genesis.
The research team, led by John Livingstone from the Astrobiology Center in Tokyo and Eric Pettigura from UCLA, has identified four dense planets that likely formed recently around a young star, V1298 Tau, which is around 20 million years old.
“We are examining younger models of the types of planetary systems commonly found across our galaxy,” Pettigura remarked.
Initially discovered in 2017, V1298 Tau and its accompanying planets remained largely unstudied until now. Over five years, researchers utilized both terrestrial and space telescopes to observe tiny variances in orbital durations, revealing intricate gravitational interactions among the four planets. These measurements enable more precise calculations of each planet’s radius and mass.
To effectively employ this observational method, researchers required initial estimates of each planet’s orbital duration without gravitational interference. Lacking that data for the outermost planet, they relied on educated conjectures, risking inaccuracies in their calculations.
“I initially had my doubts,” Petitgras admitted. “There were numerous potential pitfalls… When we first acquired data from the outermost planet, it felt as exhilarating as making a hole-in-one in golf.”
By accurately measuring the orbital durations and subsequently estimating the radii and masses, the team determined the densities of the planets. They discovered these are the lowest-density exoplanets known, with radii spanning five to ten times that of Earth, yet only a few times its mass.
“These planets exhibit a density akin to Styrofoam, which is remarkably low,” Pettigura explained.
This low density can be attributed to the planets’ ongoing gravitational contraction, potentially classifying them as super-Earths or sub-Neptunes—types of planets typically formed during the evolutionary stages.
The planets of V1298 Tau operate in a so-called orbital resonance, indicating their orbital periods are harmonically related. This observation aligns with astronomers’ theories on the formation of most planetary systems, including our own solar system, which initially have tightly packed configurations that eventually evolve into less stable arrangements, according to Sean Raymond from the University of Bordeaux in France.
“This newly identified system of close, low-mass planets revolving around a relatively young star could provide insights into typical sub-Neptunian systems,” Raymond pointed out. “This discovery is remarkable due to the inherent challenges in characterizing such youthful systems.”
Astronomers utilizing the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have verified the presence of a starless, hydrogen-rich object primarily composed of dark matter. These intriguing entities, referred to as reionization-limited HI clouds (RELHICs), are remnants of the early Universe. They pose challenges to traditional theories of galaxy formation and may indicate undiscovered populations of similar cosmic structures.
This image illustrates the location of RELHIC object Cloud-9. Image credits: NASA / ESA / VLA / Gagandeep Anand, STScI / Alejandro Benitez-Llambay, University of Milan-Bicocca / Joseph DePasquale, STScI.
The RELHIC object, known as Cloud-9, was detected using the 500-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) and its existence was independently verified by the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Green Bank Telescope (GBT).
“This is the narrative of a failed galaxy,” states astronomer Alejandro Benítez Lambay from the University of Milano-Bicocca.
“Scientific advancements often arise from failures rather than successes. In this case, the absence of stars confirms our theoretical framework,” he adds.
“This discovery reveals primordial components of galaxies yet to form within our local universe.”
The core of Cloud-9 consists of neutral hydrogen and spans approximately 4,900 light-years in diameter.
This object is positioned in proximity to the spiral galaxy Messier 94, shares its recession velocity, and is approximately 14.3 million light-years away from Earth.
“Cloud-9 represents a crucial glimpse into the enigmatic dark universe,” remarked Dr. Andrew Fox, an astronomer at ESA’s Association of Universities for Astronomical Research/Space Telescope Science Institute (AURA/STScI).
“Theoretical models suggest that a majority of the universe’s mass is composed of dark matter, which does not emit light, thus making it challenging to detect.”
“Cloud-9 offers a rare opportunity to study clouds dominated by dark matter.”
The findings discount the presence of dwarf galaxies with detectable stellar masses.
“The lack of observable stars reinforces the interpretation of this system as a RELHIC—a starless dark matter halo filled with hydrostatic gas in thermal equilibrium with the cosmic ultraviolet background,” stated the researchers.
Cloud-9 stands as a prime candidate for a compact HI cloud and offers robust empirical support for the ΛCDM (lambda cold dark matter) model, a leading cosmological framework.
This model predicts the existence of a starless dark matter halo filled with gas on subgalactic mass scales that have yet to form stars.
“The discovery of Cloud-9 also refines the current thresholds for halo mass required for galaxy formation, bringing us closer to understanding why some dark matter halos host galaxies while others remain barren,” concluded the researchers.
For detailed findings, look for the upcoming publication in the Astrophysics Journal Letter.
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Gagandeep S. Anand et al. 2025. The first RELHIC? Cloud-9 is a starless gas cloud. APJL 993, L55; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae1584
Is Psychopathy Inherited or Acquired? This question is more complex than it seems. For years, psychopathy was deemed a mysterious condition, and to some extent, it continues to mystify.
Many mental, neurological, and personality disorders instill fear in people. This fear often stems from ignorance and misconceptions.
While only about 1% of the general population shows signs of psychopathy, this figure jumps to 25% within the prison community.
What exactly triggers psychopathy? Are individuals born psychopaths, or are they shaped by adverse experiences? This touches on the age-old debate of nature versus nurture.
Despite advancements in science, the concept of personality remains challenging to define, making discussions around individual differences equally complex.
This complexity extends to psychopathy, as illustrated in Jon Ronson’s book The Psychopath Test, which highlights the challenges in reliably diagnosing psychopathy.
Despite these challenges, most would agree that psychopathy is a genuine psychological condition, albeit difficult to identify accurately. Recent research has shed light on this intricate issue.
Utilizing brain imaging methods like fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), scientists have discovered that psychopathy correlates with distinct brain structure differences.
If psychopathy is innate, it raises profound questions about the evolutionary purpose of such traits. – Image credit: Getty
These brain regions have diverse functions, but their specific combination significantly impacts emotional processing. The structural differences may impair the brain’s ability to recognize, encode, and interpret emotional information.
As emotions play a crucial role in human cognition, a deficiency in emotional understanding might contribute to hallmark traits of psychopathy, including a pronounced lack of empathy and an overreliance on rational thought.
Determining why certain individuals possess specific brain features remains a challenge. Genetic factors appear to be involved, as indicated by research studies.
While a person’s environment and experiences may exacerbate psychopathic traits, it is uncertain if such factors can consistently alter both brain structure and genetics.
Overall, evidence leans toward the idea that psychopathy is more likely innate than acquired.
However, whether such a mental disorder manifests is a different question altogether.
This article answers the query by Elliott Owens of St. Albans: “Is psychopathy innate or acquired?”
For inquiries, please reach out via:questions@sciencefocus.com or message us onFacebook,Twitter, or Instagram(please include your name and location).
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A rare triple-merger galaxy, known as J121/1219+1035, hosts three actively feeding radio-bright supermassive black holes, as revealed by a team of American astronomers.
Artist’s impression of J121/1219+1035, a rare trio of merging galaxies, featuring three radioactively bright supermassive black holes actively feeding, with jets illuminating the surrounding gas. Image credit: NSF/AUI/NRAO/P. Vosteen.
The J1218/1219+1035 system is located approximately 1.2 billion light-years from Earth.
This unique galaxy system contains three interacting galaxies, each harboring supermassive black holes at their centers that are actively accreting material and shining brightly in radio frequencies.
Dr. Emma Schwartzman, a research scientist at the US Naval Research Laboratory, states: “Triple active galaxies like J1218/1219+1035 are incredibly rare, and observing them during a merger allows us a front-row seat to the growth of supermassive galaxies and their black holes.”
“Our observations confirmed that all three black holes in J1218/1219+1035 are emitting bright radiation and actively firing jets. This supports the theory of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and provides insight into the life cycle of supermassive black holes.”
Schwartzman and colleagues utilized NSF’s Very Large Array (VLA) and Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to study J1218/1219+1035.
The findings confirmed that each galaxy hosts a compact synchrotron-emitting radio core, indicating that all three harbor AGNs powered by growing black holes.
This discovery makes J1218/1219+1035 the first confirmed triple radio AGN and only the third known triple AGN system in nearby space.
“The three galaxies within J1218/1219+1035, located about 22,000 to 97,000 light-years apart, are in the process of merging, resulting in a dynamically connected group with tidal signatures indicative of their interactions,” the astronomers noted.
“Such triple systems are crucial in the context of hierarchical galactic evolution, wherein large galaxies like the Milky Way grow through successive collisions and mergers with smaller galaxies, yet they are seldom observed.”
“By capturing three actively feeding black holes within the same merging group, our new observations create an excellent laboratory for testing how galactic encounters funnel gas into centers and stimulate black hole growth.”
J1218/1219+1035 was initially flagged as an anomalous system through mid-infrared data from NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Surveyor (WISE), which suggested the presence of at least two obscured AGNs within the interacting galaxies.
Optical spectroscopy confirmed one AGN in a core while revealing complex signatures in another, although the nature of the third galaxy remained uncertain due to the possibility of emissions from star formation.
“Only through new ultra-sharp radio imaging with VLA at frequencies of 3, 10, and 15 GHz did we uncover compact radio cores aligned with all three optical galaxies, confirming that each hosts an AGN bright in radio emissions and likely fueling small-scale jets and outflows,” the researchers explained.
“The radio spectra of the three cores exhibited traits consistent with non-thermal synchrotron radiation from the AGNs, featuring two sources with typical steep spectra and a third with an even steeper spectrum potentially indicative of unresolved jet activity.”
For numerous young individuals in schools and universities, a solid understanding of digital skills is essential for future learning and employment prospects. Nonetheless, teachers face a considerable challenge in ensuring these skills are utilized effectively.
As reported by The Hacking Games, an organization focused on helping youth with hacking skills secure jobs in the cybersecurity sector, criminal groups are increasingly targeting talented teenagers within popular online gaming spaces.
This is a route that educators hope to steer their students away from, which is why Co-op, a sponsor of the Co-op Academies Trust, has collaborated with The Hacking Games. The Co-op Academies Trust serves over 20,000 students across 38 primary, secondary, and special needs schools, as well as one college in Northern England. The partnership aims to direct students with coding skills toward careers in ‘ethical hacking.’
Joe Sykes, Careers Director at the Co-op Academies Trust, comments: “In recent years, there has been a growing interest among students in technology, particularly gaming, and they are investigating how this passion might lead to future careers.
“Through our engagement with The Hacking Games, we discovered the transferable skills that exist between gaming and ethical hacking, particularly within cybersecurity. Our students found this link to be both exciting and motivating.”
“Students will find it engaging to learn about the transferable skills between gaming and ethical hacking in the technology sector, especially in cybersecurity.”
Adam Woodley, Head of Curriculum at Connell Cope College, agrees, noting that many young individuals view careers in the digital sector as a “very popular option.”
“Students have acquired highly sought-after skills through hobbies such as gaming, and they naturally desire to apply these skills in exciting career paths,” he states.
“Thus, it is crucial that they have the chance to explore the stimulating realm of ethical hacking and cybersecurity and utilize those skills to benefit society.”
Rob Elsey, Chief Digital Information Officer at Co-op, concurs. “There are numerous unfilled positions in cybersecurity,” he points out. “The more we can transform the bright, skilled young individuals we have in the UK into defenders instead of attackers, and educate them about the available opportunities, the better. This will help us confront ongoing threats as a nation.”
Driving apprenticeships and internships
Fergus Hay, co-founder of The Hacking Games, emphasizes, “It takes a community to motivate, appreciate, and empower this generation to choose the right path.” The Hacking Games’ framework assesses young people’s digital aptitudes and skills against specific criteria to identify suitable careers for them in the tech industry.
The Hacking Games is actively working on creating formal pathways (apprenticeships and internships) to digital jobs within the government or private sectors in the future. Many experts believe this route is also accessible for neurodiverse youth. However, for both neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals, gaming serves as a common training ground for hacking, remarks John Madelin, a cybersecurity veteran and Chief Product Officer at The Hacking Games.
“Many hackers I’ve encountered are gamers,” he states, adding that most young gamers do not harbor criminal intentions, “but the distinction is significant.” For many young gamers, hacking revolves around discovering new and hidden aspects of gameplay, while for some, it involves creating and selling cheat codes to other players.
Hacking Games’ assessment framework aligns a student’s aptitudes with appropriate technical jobs. Composite: Getty Images/Guardian Design
These advanced technological skills are precisely what criminal organizations seek to exploit, particularly among students less focused on academic achievement. However, Madeline asserts she can guide young hackers toward more positive paths. “It’s essential to continuously challenge and engage them,” he states. “Instead of allowing them to remain inactive, we should utilize their talents.”
The Co-op Academies Trust has already identified careers in the digital sector as crucial components of its post-primary career program. Mr. Sykes believes it is vital for all children to discern their strengths as early as possible. “Our duty as educators is to optimize outcomes in these areas.
“Individuals with strong digital skills often possess a natural inclination to think logically and solve problems creatively,” she adds.
“Blessed with a talent for technology and gaming.”
The collaboration between Co-op and The Hacking Games comes after Co-op became the target of a cyberattack earlier this year. Focused on creating social value, Co-op (an organization owned by its members rather than shareholders) sought to address the underlying causes of hacking.
“We recognize that children possess talents in technology and gaming, and that these skills can lead to hacking,” Sykes states. “Initiatives like this allow us to discuss the ramifications and legalities surrounding hacking and help students recognize the opportunities these skills can present through their ethical application.”
Potential roles in cybersecurity for major firms and organizations may involve identifying weaknesses that malicious hackers could exploit. There are also opportunities within government departments working against hacking attempts directed at critical national infrastructure.
This is one of the primary reasons The Hacking Games recently launched its HAPTAI platform. The platform aids in developing hacking aptitude profiles for young individuals by analyzing their performances in popular games and matching them with corresponding psychometric profiles. Subsequently, candidates are paired with roles and teams suited to their strengths.
Our collaboration with The Hacking Games aims to encourage children to actively harness their abilities. Composite: Getty Images/Guardian Design
Protection today, career path tomorrow
“Children can be particularly susceptible to online dangers, thus we ensure they are educated about these risks, including the legal boundaries surrounding online safety and hacking,” Sykes explains. “I believe all schools need to stay updated with current issues. This presents a real opportunity for professionals to enhance their understanding of the risks and communicate them effectively to parents.”
In the future, she envisions a national computer science curriculum that incorporates lessons on ethical hacking and PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic), helping all students recognize the potential harm at all levels of the economy.
Until that vision is realized, the partnership between Co-op and The Hacking Games will persist. The Co-op Academy Walkden will be piloted in the upcoming months to raise awareness of the issue and identify talented young individuals who can contribute to the solution before scaling it into a nationwide program.
“There are vast career opportunities in the digital arena,” states Sykes. “This ultimately aids students in understanding all the positive pathways available to them and how they can significantly contribute to creating a safer world.”
The belly button, often overlooked, is both well-researched and under-researched. A recent study may have uncovered the reason most individuals have “innie” belly buttons, potentially linked to a previously unknown structure that pulls the belly button inward.
Researchers made this discovery while investigating optimal techniques for abdominal and hernia repair surgery.
The team’s goal was to minimize occurrences of what is known as an “uncised hernia of the umbilical,” a condition where muscle weakness from prior surgeries allows abdominal tissue to push outward, causing bulging around the belly button.
Satori Muro from the Japanese Institute of Science mentions that this issue often arises, despite the fact that the anatomical details of the umbilical area have not been extensively reported. The researchers conducted a meticulous microscopic analysis of the ventral buttons from five donated human bodies and subsequently created a 3D model of the structure.
The belly button is essentially the remnant of the fetal umbilical cord, which connects to the placenta until birth. Approximately 90% of people show a concave depression where the umbilical scar has healed. However, Muro’s team identified a “fibrous tunnel-like structure” just beneath the skin of the umbilical tissue, seamlessly extending into the deeper layers of tissue. This underlying tissue, known as the abdominal fascia, plays a critical role in stabilizing the abdomen and securing the organs.
This structure is composed of densely packed collagen fibers oriented circumferentially, resembling the umbilical cord. “This sheath seems to anchor the inward curl of the belly button to the deep fascia in multiple directions,” Muro explains, helping to maintain the unique inward shape of the belly button.
However, the team was unable to include individuals with “outie” belly buttons in their study, indicating that further research is necessary to explore the variations in umbilical cord structures among individuals.
“Differences in umbilical cord development or strength may contribute to whether someone’s belly button protrudes outward,” Muro adds.
Kat Sanders from the University of Sydney emphasizes that belly buttons are indeed vital anatomical features, but more extensive research is needed, as five subjects cannot provide a comprehensive understanding for all variations of belly buttons.
“This study reveals aspects of anatomy that are infrequently examined. Given that this area is frequently accessed during laparoscopic procedures, there’s substantial surgical interest,” Sanders states.
Michelle Moscova from the University of New South Wales believes this research will enhance understanding of the structural integrity of the abdomen.
“Umbilical hernias are a common complication after abdominal surgery, where contents such as intestines protrude through a weaker area in the abdomen, leading to inflating around the belly button,” Moscova notes.
We may finally understand what caused the inner core of the Earth to freeze.
The inner core is a sphere of iron approximately 2,400 km (1,500 miles) in diameter, enveloped by a molten outer core. Its growth is responsible for generating the Earth’s magnetic field, which shields the planet from harmful solar radiation. However, the precise process by which the core first crystallized has remained unclear.
Recent research published in Nature Communications suggests a mechanism that hinges on deep Earth chemistry. By utilizing advanced computer simulations, scientists examined how various factors influence the freezing of iron under extreme pressure and temperature at the planet’s center.
They found that incorporating carbon allows iron to solidify under realistic conditions, positioning it as a key component in understanding the ingredients that contributed to the formation of the inner core billions of years ago.
“By investigating how Earth’s inner core formed, we gain insights not only into the planet’s history,” said Dr. Alfred Wilson from the University of Leeds, who led the study.
“We get rare insights into the chemistry of a region that we can never physically reach, and we can only speculate on how it might change in the future.”
The inner core lies deep within the planet, beneath layers of rock and magma – Credit: Getty Images/EPS Vector
At the extreme pressures found 5,000 km beneath our feet, iron doesn’t simply freeze when it drops below its melting point; it requires “super-cooling” of the crystals before they form. Pure iron must be cooled to as low as 1,000°C (1832°F), resulting in a significantly larger core than the one we see today.
New computer modeling indicates that the presence of carbon alters this equation. With less than 4% carbon in the mix, iron can crystallize at much lower temperatures, producing a core that aligns with seismic observations.
Scientists believe that the Earth’s center likely continues to host a mixture of elements. However, this research firmly highlights the critical role of carbon in one of geology’s greatest mysteries.
Gravitational waves result from colliding black holes
Victor de Schwanberg/Science Photography Library
Researching the universe can be enhanced by AI created by Google DeepMind. With an algorithm capable of diminishing unwanted noise by as much as 100 times, the Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), equipped with laser interferometers, can identify specific black hole types that are affecting our separation.
LIGO aims to detect gravitational waves generated when entities like black holes spiral and collide. These waves traverse the universe at light speed, yet the spacetime fluctuations are minimal—10,000 times smaller than an atomic nucleus. Since its initial detection a decade ago, LIGO has recorded signals from nearly 100 black hole collisions.
The experiment comprises two U.S. observatories, each with two perpendicular arms measuring 4 km. A laser is directed down each arm and bounced off precise mirrors, where an interferometer compares the beams. As gravitational waves pass through, the lengths of the arms fluctuate slightly, and these changes are meticulously documented to help visualize the signals’ origins.
However, achieving such precision is challenging, as even distant ocean waves or clouds can interfere with measurements. This noise can overwhelm the signal, rendering some observations unfeasible. To counterbalance this noise and accurately adjust the mirrors and other equipment, numerous critical tweaks are essential.
Lana Adhikari from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena stated that his team has collaborated with DeepMind to innovate new AI methods. He mentions that even automating these adjustments can sometimes introduce noise. “That control noise has puzzled us for decades. All aspects in this space are hindered,” Adhikari explains. “How can you stabilize a mirror without creating noise? If left uncontrolled, the mirror tends to oscillate unpredictably.”
Laura Nuttall from the University of Portsmouth, UK, was involved in manually executing these adjustments at LIGO. “Changing one element causes a cascading effect; one change leads to another,” she points out. “It feels like an endless cycle of fine-tuning.”
DeepMind’s new AI, known as Deep Loop Shaping, aims to minimize noise by making up to 100 adjustments to LIGO’s mirrors. The AI is trained via simulations before being implemented in real-world scenarios, focusing on achieving two main objectives: limiting the number of adjustments it performs. “Over time, as it repeatedly operates, it’s like conducting hundreds or thousands of trials in a simulation. The controller learns what strategies work and identifies the best approach,” says Jonas Buchli from DeepMind.
Alberto Vecchio from the University of Birmingham, UK, expressed enthusiasm for the AI’s role in LIGO but mentioned that many challenges remain. The AI currently operates effectively for only an hour under real conditions, necessitating longer-term validation. Additionally, it’s only been applied to one control aspect, while many hundreds, if not thousands, of factors could assist in stabilizing the mirrors.
“This is clearly an initial step, but it’s certainly a fascinating one. There’s considerable scope for significant advancement,” Vecchio remarked.
If similar enhancements could be replicated elsewhere, it’s possible to detect medium-sized black holes—those around 1,000 times the mass of our sun—a category that has yet to see confirmed observations. Improvements are typically seen with the low-frequency gravitational waves generated by large bodies, where noise can obscure the signals.
“We’ve observed black holes up to 100 solar masses and more than a million solar masses in galaxies. What’s out there in between?” Vecchio pondered. “There’s a perception that black holes exist across a spectrum of masses, yet clear experimental evidence remains elusive.”
Nuttall commented that this new methodology could enhance identification of known black hole types. “This appears quite promising,” she stated. “I’m thrilled about this development.”
“In 2050, the first 100m diameter telescope took shape in a crater on the moon.”
Vladimir Vasyansky/NASA
The Allsea eyes, operational since the 2070s, were the largest and most powerful optical systems ever constructed. Comprising eight telescopes dispersed across the lunar expanse, each equipped with a 100-meter mirror, the collective aperture of this composite telescope spanned the entire lunar surface, enabling exceptional imaging capabilities.
This marked the first occasion we could observe the “first light,” indicating the birth of the universe’s first star. We also captured details of distant exoplanet surfaces across great expanses of time.
In 2020, numerous proposals emerged for these ambitious, next-generation telescopes; however, the technological feasibility for large-scale space projects was limited at that time. By the 2050s, lunar transport became routine and economically viable, paving the way for lunar construction.
An earlier proposal from 2020 focused on what was termed Finally, a large telescope (ULT), with a mirror measuring 100 meters, came to fruition.
ULT utilized liquid mirrors instead of traditional glass. These liquids were more cost-effective to transport to the moon and could be molded into completely reflective surfaces. Given the moon’s gravity, constructing larger mirrors that exceed those on Earth became practical. For comparison, the James Webb Space Telescope, operational in the 2020s, features a 6.5-meter mirror.
While the lunar single telescope was powerful, it lacked the resolution to distinguish the detailed features of exoplanet bodies. Nonetheless, astronomers focused on expanding ULT’s capabilities.
A clever technique used in radio telescopes to enhance their range, Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), proved suitable for optical systems as well. In 2017, the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration employed VLBI to capture the first image of a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy by merging inputs from eight Earth-based telescopes to amplify the effective telescope size.
In 2025, scientists spearheaded by Zixin Huang at the Engineering Quantum Systems Center at Macquarie University, Australia, proposed using VLBI for optical telescopes. Although technical, political, and financial barriers prolonged development, the advent of the first 100-meter diameter telescope in lunar craters by 2050 led to serious initiatives for constructing a lunar-sized optical telescope.
“
The telescope on the moon dates back 13 billion years and photographs the first generation of high-mass stars. “
By 2075, an additional seven telescopes were established on the lunar surface, linking to form an effective aperture equivalent to a 3000 km mirror.
In the mid-2020s, the James Webb Telescope revisited the past to observe the formation of the universe’s first galaxy. Now, through the combined observations, the enigmatic Population III stars have been unveiled. Stars are categorized into different groups; Population I contains recent stars abundant in heavy elements, Population II includes older stars with lower metal content, while Population III consists of the universe’s earliest stars formed post-Big Bang, characterized by minimal metallic content. The Big Bang primarily produced hydrogen and helium, with mere traces of lithium and beryllium. All heavier elements had to be synthesized in stars. The combined observations have looked back 13 billion years and documented the high-mass first-generation stars, including one blue giant star, 100,000 times the mass of the sun, dubbed Zixin-1 in honor of the astronomer who significantly contributed to the development of optical VLBI.
The moon-sized telescope concept has been referred to by various names over the years. Initially proposed in 2008 by a team from the University of Arizona, the lunar liquid spraying telescope eventually evolved into a larger project in 2020. To escape the possibly uninspired public names like Moony McMoonface, the term “Allsea Eyes” was officially adopted. The project is now affectionately dubbed Sauron: Super-Accessible Ultra-Resolution Optical Network.
The facility has enabled unprecedented imaging of black holes, but its primary objective was to determine if humanity is alone in the universe. The observations made of the exoplanet Gliese 667cc indicated the potential for alien civilizations to have developed in our cosmic neighborhood, particularly within the Trappist-1 system, about 22 light-years away. Despite debates surrounding the costs of constructing Sauron, they never gained significant traction.
Rowan Hooper is the podcast editor for New Scientist and the author of How to Spend $1 Trillion. These are 10 global issues that can be fixed. Follow him on BlueSky @rowhoop.bsky.social
What if the secrets to discovering life on Mars lie hidden in our own environment? In the planet’s most extreme habitats, microbial life flourishes in unlikely places—from icy tundras to searing, acidic springs. These unique ecosystems not only support life but also preserve evidence of it. Among these, hot springs are particularly notable for generating distinctive silica-rich formations.Silica Center is capable of trapping remnants of ancient microbes.
Silica occurs when silica-laden water from hot springs rises, cools, and evaporates, leaving behind hardened silica that can encapsulate microorganisms, thus fossilizing them. NASA’s Spirit Rover discovered similar silica sinter in Gusev Crater on Mars, raising questions about whether these ancient Martian hot springs may also preserve signs of past life.
An international research team has revealed that fat-like molecules from cells, lipids, can endure alongside these silica sinters and might be detected using equipment akin to that on Martian rovers. These lipids can persist for millions of years and serve as chemical fossils, or biomarkers in the fossil record. They provide insights into the types of life that once existed in these environments, aiding scientists in reconstructing ancient ecosystems.
Researchers collected silica sintered samples from six hot springs in New Zealand’s Taupo volcanic region, where the waters range from 77°F to 203°F (25°C to 95°C) and vary in acidity. First, they extracted the lipids from the sintered material chemically. Next, they characterized these lipids using instruments that fragment the molecules into smaller components, identifying them by mass.Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was utilized.
The team employed GC-MS to identify a broad array of lipid molecules, including fatty acids, alcohols, sterols, and n-alkanes from the sinter. Most of these molecules likely originated from bacteria that either use sunlight or sulfate as an energy source, and such microorganisms are well-suited for extreme environments. Some lipids identified also stemmed from other sources, like algae and plants. The researchers interpreted this diversity of lipids as indicative of both ancient and contemporary microorganisms. They referred to the old fossilized communities preserved with newer ones in the silica, noting the mix of heat-altered and fresh compounds.
The shape and texture of sintered rocks were also found to influence the preservation of lipid biomarkers. A fine, pointed texture known as spicular sinter retained more lipids compared to knobbed or crusty types. These thorny textures form at the edges of hot spring pools where microorganisms interact with rapidly cooled silica-rich water, creating delicate silica structures that grow like small fingers. Researchers suggested that these fine textures offer protection to microorganisms against erosion and radiation. They believe these finger-like silica formations are particularly promising for detecting traces of past life on Mars, similar to those seen by the Spirit Rover.
To evaluate whether current Rover instruments could detect ancient lipids, researchers analyzed two silica sintered samples using techniques similar to those used by rovers.NASA’s Curiosity Rover employs a method called Pyrolysis-GC-MS, which does not require prior chemical extraction of lipids. The entire sample is heated until the molecules transform into gas, which is then analyzed.
In one sintered sample, the instrument successfully identified simple lipids commonly produced by organisms, such as n-alkanes, pristanes, and phytanes. In another sulfur-rich sample, it detected a sulfur-based compound known as thiophene, also found on Mars. However, the analysis did not reveal more complex biomarkers like hopane and sterols, likely because they were degraded by heat. Pyrolysis may result in quantities too small for GC-MS to detect.
Based on these findings, researchers concluded that current rover instruments can successfully detect simple and durable lipids but may overlook more delicate or complex ones. To enhance the likelihood of finding ancient biosignatures, the team recommended that future Mars missions adopt less destructive detection approaches. Despite these challenges, they suggested that silica-rich rocks, like those in the Gusev Crater, are prime targets for exploring evidence of ancient Martian life. By pinpointing the most suitable rock textures for lipid preservation that can be detected with existing rover technologies, scientists are one step closer to uncovering signs of life on Mars.
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Etsy Lerner may not view herself as a TikTok star, but the New York Times labels her as one, even calling her an influencer. To her, it signifies payment and illicit goods — all she possesses is a free pen. “I genuinely do it for myself,” she states, “and for those who follow me.”
Lerner is 64 years young. She spent over two decades as a literary agent, representing authors like Patti Smith and Temple Grandin. A non-fiction writer, she is the author of her debut novels, “The Shred Sisters” and “Love Letter to Loneliness.” However, her TikTok presence is noteworthy, boasting 1.5 million followers! There, she shares videos reading from a diary chronicling her chaotic 20s.
“I don’t know who you love, who loves you, what you do for your job, what your purpose is,” she expresses in one post. “This morning I stumbled upon a line in my journal. In my 20s, I wrote: ‘I feel like I don’t know who I am.'”
Lerner shares posts while in a dressing gown and without makeup. Initially, she ventured into BookTok to support authors, but as her new novel was approaching release, she started filming herself on camera, despite not initially gaining followers. “A friend advised me to embrace it like my own TV channel… so I thought, ‘I’ll read from an old diary.'”
She has kept journals since the age of 11, inspired by Anne Frank’s “The Diary of a Young Girl.” “I penned my first poem there, trying to understand myself…” Although her journal from ages 12 to 18 was lost when her car was stolen, she has roughly 30 volumes from her 20s safely stored away in her attic.
“My journals are incredibly melancholic. They discuss loneliness, the search for love and friendship, and the quest for identity,” she reflects.
Lerner describes herself as a “slow bloomer.” Accepted into Columbia’s MFA Poetry Program at 26, she entered the publishing world in her late 20s, a time when most editorial assistants were fresh college graduates. “I didn’t experience love until I was 30 and lacked any significant relationships… I lost much of my teens and endured depression through most of my 20s.”
“It’s all about connecting and trying to communicate,” … Betsy Lerner captured in New Haven, Connecticut.
Photo: Nicole Frapie/Guardian
At 15, her parents took her to a psychiatrist, which led to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. “I resisted accepting that I had this condition. I fought against it for a long time,” she admits. Her 2003 memoir, Food and Loathing, recounts her relationship with weight, food, and depression, detailing one instance in her late 20s when she found herself standing on a bridge over the Hudson River.
A breakthrough occurred at 30 when she connected with a psychopharmacologist who could prescribe the right dosage of lithium (they have collaborated for 35 years). She also got married.
Writing in her journal became less frequent. While she initially wrote at night in bed, “I wasn’t feeling so sad and lonely anymore,” she reflects.
Over the years, Lerner says, “I was instinctively drawn to strength.” Currently, she prioritizes stability above all else.
She had no intentions of writing a novel. Nevertheless, in 2019, she faced “the tragic loss of four” individuals: her mother, two teenagers, Ruby and Hart Campbell, who were tragically killed by a drunk driver, and her best friend, author George Hodgman, who died by suicide. “I still grapple with the idea of grieving everyone, all the time,” she shares.
Following these losses, she began writing “Shred Sisters.” The novel serves as a means for her and her two sisters to care for one another while navigating their grief. She has also written another novel and continues to share insights from her diary as long as inspiration strikes. “It’s all about connecting and communicating,” she affirms.
“There’s a constant flow of comments from young adults in their 20s who resonate with my struggles. That connection motivates me immensely. I feel aligned with these young individuals.”
Shred Sisters is published by Verve Books. To support the Guardian, please order a copy from the Guardian Bookshop. Shipping fees may apply.
Tell me: Did your life take a new turn after turning 60?
Kick off with Moth Genitalia. Joe Harkness originally intended to write a book centered on “The Benefits of Niche Nature.” Ecologists, naturalists, and conservationists often have a fondness for squirrels or even peculiar genitalia for identification purposes. However, a suggestion from his editor redirected him. What if the themes of these niche interests overlap with feelings of anxiety?
Harkness, diagnosed with ADHD, reflects that upon returning to interviewees, it’s not surprising to find that many have also been diagnosed with autism, ADHD, or other “DYS” conditions (like dyslexia, dyspraxia, or dyscalculia).
The book, Neurodivergent, essentially: Why Neurodiversity Needs Biodiversity, presents a crucial and engaging exploration of the significance of “nature” for the neurodivergent community, thoroughly examining how neurodiversity interacts with the conservation sector in the UK.
Readers are introduced to striking and unexpected contrasts. Harkness and his interviewees often describe the wild outdoors as “safe spaces” and “non-judgmental” environments where sensory stimulation can occur without overwhelming the senses. Yet, it becomes clear that many of Harkness’s subjects work in highly competitive fields characterized by high demands and low earnings. “We cannot overlook the evident exploitation that happens in this field,” he states, especially when taking into account neurological conditions.
Defining neurodivergent experiences can be a tricky and potentially foolish endeavor. Harkness opts for a more open-ended approach, stressing that the “unique neural skillset” possessed by many in conservation work often goes unrecognized and unutilized.
He highlights an intense focus, heightened sensory awareness, and a moral compass directed solely towards nature. Conversely, he also addresses the drawbacks—hyperfocus might lead to excessive literal thinking.
Harkness acknowledges the ongoing tension many neurodivergent conservationists face. “We prefer to invest our energy in safety rather than dealing with chaos. However, we need to attract these individuals for them to drive positive change.”
While the book occasionally shifts focus, particularly when addressing the challenges faced by women, youth, and individuals from ethnic minorities, it serves as a helpful reminder of how neurodiversity intertwines with a myriad of social, economic, political, and environmental issues. There are no easy resolutions here.
Harkness is a charismatic and passionate guide in familiar territories, engaging with a wide array of voices. His conversations are often exhilarating, sometimes distressing, and frequently humorous, yet there’s a desire for more personal narratives from those he interviews.
Though Harkness critiques the employment practices and workplace culture of certain conservation organizations from a neurodivergent perspective—some aspects may feel diluted later on—the work remains captivating and essential. Addressing our climate and ecological crises requires perspectives from all sides.
Richard Smith is a writer and crossword compiler for New Scientist
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Astronomers are focused on discovering planets that closely resemble Earth in size, composition, and temperature.Earth-like planets face numerous challenges in this quest. These planets are small and rocky, making them hard to detect. The current methods of planet hunting tend to favor gas giants, complicating matters. For a planet to have temperatures similar to Earth, it must orbit its host star at a similar distance, similar to Earth’s orbit around the Sun. This means it takes about a year to complete its orbit around the star. This raises an additional challenge for astronomers: locating Earth-like planets around a star requires telescopes to be dedicated to monitoring them for more than a year.
To maximize efficiency and reduce time spent on monitoring, scientists are seeking alternative methods to identify promising stars for in-depth searches before committing resources. A team of astronomers explored whether observable characteristics of planetary systems could indicate the presence of Earth-like planets. They found that the arrangement of known planets, along with their mass, radius, and proximity to their nearest star, could help predict the likelihood of Earth-like planets existing in those systems.
How effectively did the team test their approach using Machine Learning? They initiated their study by compiling a sample of planetary systems, some with Earth-like planets and some without. Since astronomers have only discovered about 5,000 stars that host orbiting planets, this sample size was too small for training machine learning models effectively. Consequently, the team generated three sets of planetary systems using a computational framework that simulates how planets form, based on the Bern model.
The Bern model initiates with 20 dust clumps, measuring around 600 meters, which is approximately 2,000 feet. These clumps help kickstart the accumulation of gas and dust into full-sized planets over a timespan of 20 million years. The planetary system evolves to a stable state over more than 10 billion years, leading to a Synthetic Planetary System that astronomers can utilize in their datasets. Using this model, they created 24,365 systems with sun-sized stars, 14,559 systems with similar stars, and 14,958 systems with different types of stars. Each group was further subdivided into those containing Earth-like planets and those without.
With these larger datasets in hand, the team utilized machine learning techniques known as Random Forest Models to categorize planetary systems based on their potential to host Earth-like planets. In a random forest setup, outputs are determined as either true or false through various components called trees that outline subsections of the entire training dataset. The team concluded that if a planetary system could host one or more Earth-like planets, the Random Forest algorithm should categorize it as “true.” They evaluated the algorithm’s accuracy using a metric known as the Precision Score.
The random forests made decisions based on specific characteristics within each synthetic planetary system. These factors included the number of planets, the presence of similar systems observed by astronomers, the system’s total planet count, and the mass and distance of planets over 100 times that of Earth, as well as the characteristics of the stars involved. The team allocated 80% of the synthetic planetary systems for training data, reserving the remaining 20% for initial testing of the completed algorithm.
The findings revealed that the random forest models accurately predicted where Earth-like planets are likely to exist with an impressive precision score of 0.99. Building on this success, they tested the model against data from 1,567 stars of similar sizes, each with at least one known orbiting planet. Out of these, 44 met the algorithm’s threshold for having Earth-like planets, suggesting that the majority of systems in this subset are stable enough to host such planets.
The team concluded that their models can effectively identify candidate stars for hosting Earth-like planets; however, they issued a caution. One concern is that the synthesis of planetary systems is time-consuming and resource-intensive, limiting the availability of training data. A more significant caution is rooted in the assumption that the Bern model accurately simulates the layered structure of planets. They urged researchers to rigorously validate their models for future theoretical work.
The journey of animal life, encompassing humans, began approximately 540 million years ago during the Cambrian Period. Since most Cambrian organisms lacked skeletons, paleontologists investigating this era heavily depend on fossils preserving soft tissues and other internal organs. Soft tissue is crucial for understanding these ancient beings. Recently, a research team from Yunnan University and Oxford University uncovered preserved animal fossils in a set of previously neglected rocks in China, unveiling new insights into Cambrian life.
The fossils discovered belong to the Chengjiang Biota found in a distinct section of Chinese rocks known as the Yu’anshan Formation. This formation typically comprises rocks formed at the ocean’s depths. Madstone is particularly effective at preserving the remains of deceased animals and plants.
Scientists identified two mudstone types in the Yu’anshan Formation: the Event Mudstone Bed and the darker Background Mudstone Bed. While past paleontologists primarily collected fossils from event mudstone beds, the fossil finds were notably scarce from the background mudstone beds.
However, the researchers discovered that background mudstone beds preserve soft tissue more effectively than event mudstone beds. They found fossilized muscles, eyes, nervous systems, and gastrointestinal tracts of deceased animals within the background mudstone beds. The team noted that such soft structures are delicate and seldom preserved.
Additionally, the researchers identified a new subset of fossils of deep-sea creatures entombed in the background mudstones. Previously, these animals went undiscovered as event mudstone beds mainly preserved shallow-water species. Between 2008 and 2018, the team gathered 1,328 fossil species from 25 varieties from the background mudstone beds, primarily comprising bottom feeders like sponges and anemones, referred to as Benthos. The most prevalent group found, dubbed euarthropods, included relatives of spiders, crabs, and similar creatures.
For fossil analysis, the team utilized a Scanning Electron Microscope, measuring fossil chemistry by focusing high-energy atomic particles on small areas and analyzing the resulting X-ray energy emissions through Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy. They found that fossils from background mudstone beds contained significantly more carbon than those from event mudstone beds and that the former were richer in iron as well.
The researchers interpreted these chemical discrepancies to indicate different fossilization processes occurring in background versus event mudstone beds. They proposed that fossils in the background mudstone were formed when soft animal tissues were supplanted by iron minerals known as Pyrite through a process termed Pyritization. This process extracts iron from adjacent rocks, explaining why event mudstone beds and their fossils are iron-rich.
Conversely, they suggested that in background mudstone formations, soft tissues were transformed into a thin carbon layer, resulting in a fossil that left an outline of the organism in the stone. This occurrence, referred to as Carbonization, does not involve iron absorption, leading to iron-depleted rocks.
The researchers proposed the preservation variances between the two mudstone formations could provide insights about the environments in which the organisms perished. Pyritization suggests that the animals from event beds died in shallow, oxygen-rich waters before being washed into deeper areas. In contrast, the organisms in the background mudstone beds lived and died in deeper waters, reflecting their lifestyle in their preservation. Some were scavenged while others were swiftly buried and fully preserved.
In summary, the researchers concluded that their novel fossil discoveries have advanced the understanding of the Shangxi creature significantly. Furthermore, the fossils have offered new knowledge about ancient life forms and their habitats, suggesting that these findings will aid paleontologists in unraveling the lifestyles of Cambrian animals and their evolutionary progression to modern species.
Researchers contend that with the rapid development of machine learning, new materials can be engineered for various applications, from electric motors to carbon capture technologies. AI-generated paints could help mitigate the effects of urban heat islands and lower air conditioning costs.
Experts in materials science are harnessing artificial intelligence to create innovative coatings that can maintain building temperatures 5°C to 20°C cooler than conventional paint after exposure to direct sunlight. This technology is also applicable to vehicles, trains, electrical devices, and other entities that need enhanced cooling in a warming world.
Through machine learning, interdisciplinary teams from institutions in the US, China, Singapore, and Sweden have developed a new paint formulation optimized for reflecting sunlight and radiating heat, as evidenced by peer-reviewed research. Published in Science Journal Nature.
This represents the latest instance of AI circumventing traditional trial-and-error methods in the pursuit of scientific innovation. Last year, UK-based Matnex employed AI to design a new type of permanent magnet for electric vehicle motors, aiming to reduce reliance on carbon-heavy rare earth elements.
Microsoft has also released AI tools tailored for researchers to swiftly create novel inorganic materials—such as crystal structures commonly utilized in solar panels and medical implants. There’s optimism surrounding the potential for new materials to enhance carbon capture capabilities and improve battery efficiency.
Investigations into paint were conducted by scholars at the University of Texas at Austin, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, National University of Singapore, and Umeå University in Sweden. In scorching locations like Rio de Janeiro and Bangkok, researchers determined that applying one of the newly developed AI-enhanced paints to the roof of a four-story apartment building could conserve 15,800 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. When this paint is used on 1,000 buildings, it saves enough energy to power over 10,000 air conditioning units each year.
“As a scientist at the University of Texas and a co-leader of this research,” said Yuebbing Zeng, “our machine learning framework signifies a significant advancement in thermal meta-emitter design. By automating processes and broadening the design landscape, we can generate materials with exceptional properties that were previously unfeasible.”
He mentioned that what previously took a month can now be achieved in days using AI to innovate new materials, including those that might not have been uncovered through traditional exploration methods.
“Now we follow the machine learning outputs; its directives can be executed without numerous design and manufacturing test cycles,” he added.
Dr. Alex Ganoce, a lecturer at Imperial College London, emphasized: “We are also leveraging machine learning to innovate new materials. Developments in this field are occurring rapidly. Over the last year, numerous startups have emerged aiming to utilize generative AI for materials creation.”
He noted that the journey to design new materials can involve assessing millions of potential combinations. AI empowers material scientists to overcome limitations associated with computing resources and allows them to specify desired characteristics to the AI upfront, thereby reversing the conventional method of material creation and trait testing.
NASA astronomers have utilized data from multiple universes and ground-based telescopes to produce breathtaking new images of the Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way.
This new composite image of the Andromeda Galaxy features X-ray data from Chandra and XMM-Newton (depicted in red, green, and blue), ultraviolet data from Galex (blue), optical data from ground astrophotographers (Jakob Sahner and Tarun Kottary), as well as infrared data from Spitzer, Cobe, Planck, and Herschel (in red, orange, purple). Wireless data sourced from the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (red-orange). Image credit: NASA.
Also referred to as NGC 224, Messier 31, or M31, the Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy located approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth.
With over 100 billion stars, it is comparable in size to our own Milky Way galaxy.
Visible as cigar-shaped patches of light high in the autumn sky, the Andromeda Galaxy’s enormous bubbles of high-temperature diffuse plasma make it appear 100 times the angular diameter of the full moon.
The galaxy is surrounded by a dark, invisible halo extending about a million light-years and is believed to contain half of its star mass.
Andromeda has significantly contributed to various fields of astrophysics, especially in the study and identification of dark matter.
In the 1960s, astronomer Dr. Vera Rubin and her team investigated Andromeda and identified invisible forces influencing the galaxy’s spiral arm rotations.
“This new image of the Andromeda Galaxy is released to honor Vera Rubin’s pioneering contributions that transformed our comprehension of the cosmos,” stated a NASA astronomer.
“Rubin’s meticulous measurements of Andromeda’s rotational curves provided some of the earliest and most convincing evidence that galaxies exist within vast halos of unseen material.”
“Her research reshaped long-standing assumptions and sparked a new era of inquiry into the structure and dynamics of the universe.”
“To celebrate her scientific achievements, the US Mint recently issued a quarter featuring Rubin as part of the American Women Quarters program in 2025.”
To create a new image of the Andromeda Galaxy, astronomers analyzed data from NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory, XMM-Newton, Planck, and Herschel Telescopes from ESA, in addition to data from retired Galex and Spitzer telescopes. Information was also gathered from astrophotographers using ground-based telescopes and wireless data from the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope.
“Each type of light provides unique insights into this neighboring galaxy as compared to the Milky Way,” the researchers noted.
“For instance, Chandra’s X-rays unveil high-energy radiation around the ultra-massive black holes at Andromeda’s core, alongside numerous small, dense objects scattered throughout the galaxy.”
“A recent publication on Chandra observations of the Andromeda Galaxy details the amount of X-rays emitted by the ultra-massive black holes at the galaxy’s center over the past 15 years.”
“One flare was detected in 2013, showcasing the typical X-ray amplification seen from a black hole.”
Remarkably, they survived for days without air, water, or any protection from intense solar radiation, showcasing their resilience. Researchers believe these little animals possess extraordinary survival capabilities.
In extreme situations, tardigrades enter a state known as cryptobiosis, essentially drying out and halting their metabolism.
Once conditions improve and water is reintroduced, they can rehydrate and start functioning again as if nothing ever happened.
Recent research has revealed new insights into these remarkable organisms. For instance, scientists have identified a protein called “DSUP” that shields their DNA from radiation, acting like molecular armor.
Researchers from the University of Stuttgart have provided evidence supporting the “sleeping beauty” hypothesis.
This theory posits that in their dormant state, tardigrades may not only pause their metabolism but also their biological clocks.
They survived for days without air, water, or protection from intense solar radiation. – Image credits: Scientific Photo Library via Sebastian Kauritzki/Getty Images
Interestingly, water bears that undergo freezing thrive for twice as long while awake compared to a control group that never sleeps.
In their natural habitats, tardigrades might only be active for a few months, yet they can enter a state of suspended animation and survive for decades.
A 2024 study focused on the recently discovered tardigrade, Hypsibius henanensis, which provided further insights.
The research revealed a gene responsible for producing betalain, which counteracts the damaging effects of ultraviolet rays.
Additionally, they uncovered proteins that enhance DNA repair mechanisms. The next step is to determine whether these proteins offer protection across any of the 1,300 known tardigrade species.
This article answers the question posed by Madison Halladay: “Why are tardigrades so indestructible?”
Please email us to submit your questionsQuestion @sciencefocus.com or MessageFacebook,Twitter or InstagramPage (don’t forget to include your name and location).
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Eta Aquarius Meteor Shower as seen in Sri Lanka in 2024
Thilina Kaluthotage/ Nurphoto/ Getty Images
The Lyrids and ETA Aquarids Meteor showers will soon appear in the night sky. This year, bright lyrids peaked on the nights of April 21st to April 22nd, during the night of May 5th and dawn, and they begin to be visible within a few days of each other in April.
What is Lyrids Meteor Shower?
Lilid is attributed to the fact that fragments from Thatcher’s comet interact with the Earth’s atmosphere, eventually collapse, becoming bright stripes of light found in the night sky. The meteor shower radiation – the place in the night sky where meteors appear to emit – is located in the northern hemisphere constellation Lila, which includes the bright star Vega. People have been finding Lyrid for at least 2700 years. “Lilid is probably the smallest of the major showers.” Margaret Campbell Brown At Western University in Canada. “The rate isn’t as high as most other meteor showers, but sometimes there are a lot of bright meteors.”
When is the Lyrids Meteor Shower?
This year, Lilid will be active from April 17th to April 26th. Their peak activity occurs on the night of April 21st, and is the most visible just before dawn on April 22nd.
How can you increase your chances of seeing Lilid?
Lilids are best seen from the Northern Hemisphere of Earth in the dark moment just before dawn. Meteors usually look like fast stripes of light, and can sometimes create bright flashes. On a typical night, you can see around 5-6 meteors every hour, up to 10-20 meteors at peak times. The constellation Lyra is below the horizon for most viewers in the Southern Hemisphere, but Lilids may still be seen in a more limited number. “We have a little moon this year, but if there are a lot of bright meteors that aren’t that important,” Campbell-Brown says.
What is the ETA Aquarido meteor shower?
The ETA aquarid meteor is a icy rock fragment originally submerged by Halley’s comet, which eventually reaches Earth’s atmosphere and collapses in a fiery nighttime display. The shower radiation is located near Eta Aquarii, one of the brightest stars in the constellation Aquarius. “They are very interesting showers and have produced strong explosions for several years,” Campbell-Brown said. But she says she will probably do more moderate activities this year.
When is the ETA Aquarido meteor shower?
This year, ETA Aquaridos can be seen between April 20th and May 28th. The best viewing times are during the peak period from midnight to dawn on May 5th.
How can you increase your chances of seeing ETA aquarido?
The Southern Hemisphere offers the perfect viewing opportunity for ETA Aquarido. It is also visible in the Northern Hemisphere, but is much lower in the night sky, so the sky watchers there must look towards the horizon to see the meteor. “Shower radiation only rises a few hours before dawn in the Northern Hemisphere. By the time the sky is high, there are only small windows for observers to see the meteors,” says Campbell-Brown. ETA aquaridos can sometimes leave behind a sparkling dust train that appears to be visible for seconds or minutes, she says. It is expected that approximately 10-30 meteors per hour can be seen from the Northern Hemisphere and approximately 30 meteors per hour from the Southern Hemisphere.
Meteor spawning tips from astronomers
Your best bet is to get out of town and find the darkest sky possible, Campbell Brown says. She recommends bringing a star map to help you find the constellations where each meteor shower will occur. You don’t move around much, so wearing warm clothes is also a good idea.
“It’s not important to see where in the sky. If you look at the radiation, you may get a little higher rate. Both of these showers rise in the east, but the sky is dark and clear,” she says.
Keep in mind that some of the meteors you see are not necessarily from the shower of these specific meteors. But for both meteor showers, the best viewing opportunities happen well after the hours of sunset before dawn, says Campbell-Brown.
The Mystery of the Universe: Cheshire, England
Spend a weekend with some of the brightest minds of science. Explore the mystery of the universe in an exciting program that includes an excursion to see the iconic Lovell telescope.
National Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowed on Thursday to assemble experts from around the world to investigate the reasons behind the increasing rate of autism in the United States.
“We have initiated an extensive testing and research initiative involving hundreds of scientists globally,” Kennedy declared during a cabinet meeting hosted by President Trump. “By September, we will have identified the causes of the autism epidemic and will be able to eliminate those exposures.”
“This will be a significant press conference,” Trump responded.
However, scientists who have dedicated years to uncovering the cause of autism expressed doubts about Kennedy’s proposed timeline.
They noted the complexities involved in identifying a singular cause in potential contributors like pesticides, air pollution, and maternal diabetes.
Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician and expert in environmental toxins, cited the current extensive layoffs and reductions in Kennedy’s research at the Department of Health and Human Services as a reason to question such swift progress.
“It is hard to envision a significant scientific breakthrough by September, especially with the current pause of various other pediatric illness research at hospitals and medical schools due to funding cuts from HHS,” Landrigan remarked.
Kennedy’s office did not provide many specifics about the plan initially. Later that day, Kennedy offered more insights, indicating that the National Institutes of Health would lead the initiative.
He mentioned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be central to the effort. I’ll release the data soon, showing an increase in autism diagnoses in one in every 31 children. Many experts believe the rise in autism rates is due to heightened awareness of the spectrum of disorders and expanded diagnostics.
“We are receiving inquiries from scientists nationwide and globally,” Kennedy stated. In an interview with Fox News. “All factors are being considered—from our food system to water, air quality, child-rearing practices, and other changes that may have contributed to this epidemic.”
In an interview, Kennedy also mentioned the intention to compare autism rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated children. Many scientists dismiss this approach, pointing out that parents who vaccinate their children are more likely to seek diagnoses due to increased interactions with healthcare providers.
Numerous researchers and scientists have long worked to find the cause of autism. They have started to identify factors like pesticide exposure, solvents in the workplace, maternal infections during pregnancy, maternal diabetes, and exposure to chemicals like phthalates and PFA, known for their persistent nature in the environment.
Studies have indicated that environmental exposures may interact with human genes in varying ways, underscoring the complexity of autism. Dr. Hertz-Picciotto added that obtaining funding for clinical studies into autism causes is challenging, but new research could propel the field forward, although it may take years.
Describing all the research to be completed by September as “silly,” Dr. Alice Kuo, chief of pediatric medicine for autism at the University of California, Los Angeles, mentioned her involvement in a longstanding NIH project that investigated children’s health nationwide.
The study, which followed thousands of children and parents to uncover potential autism causes, was costly and prematurely terminated, according to Dr. Kuo.
She emphasized that planning and designing a study would take months, and unraveling the answers would require years of research.
In a social media post, Kennedy thanked the president and the Make America Healthy Commission for their support. The commission was established by executive order in February to assess threats to children from various exposures and propose a strategy to address the findings.
The Northern and Southern Lights Vermillion, Amethyst, and Jade Ribbons are some of the most distinctive features of the Earth. However, our planet has no monopoly of the Aurora. Scientists spy on them throughout the solar system, weaving the Martian sky into Saturn, Jupiter and even some of Jupiter’s fiery softening.
The light shines in the sky Uranus too. However, the aurora around Neptune, the farthest planet of our Sun, has long escaped astronomers.
That was changed by the powerful infrared equipment installed in the James Webb Space Telescope. In a study published in the journal on Wednesday Natural Astronomy scientists reveal unique auroras spilling on either side of Neptune’s equator. This contrasts with the sparkling Gossamers, arcing at Poles in other worlds.
Astronomers are excited that the Aurora Hunting Quest has been completed over decades. “Everyone is very excited to prove it’s there, as we thought,” he said. Rosie Johnson an astrophysics researcher at Aberystwyth University in Wales who was not involved in new research.
The discovery allows scientists to study previously out-of-reach aspects of Neptune. “They use the aurora to understand the shape of the magnetic field on planets looking at the invisible,” he said. Karl Schmidt Boston University planetary astronomers were not involved in new research.
Each world produces aurora differently, but it is basically the same. Energy particles (often from the sun, but sometimes from the eruption of a lunar volcano) hit the atmosphere and bounce back the gas. The collision of the particles causes a temporary flash of light. And if there is a magnetic field in the world, it will guide the position…
Luckily, the Webb Telescope, released in 2021, came to rescue.
Heidi Hammel Another astronomer of the University Association for Astronomical Studies and the author of the research, has been studying Neptune since the 1980s. She said that if Webb “is powerful enough to see the early galaxies of the universe, it would be strong enough to see something like Neptune’s Aurorae.” “And by Golly, that was the case.”
Using the telescope’s near-infrared spectrometer, astronomers captured Neptune’s infrared aurora in June 2023. This is because Neptune has an unstable magnetic field tilted to 47 degrees from the planet’s spin axis.
New Webb observations also reveal why Neptune’s Auroras has never been visible until now. Almost 40 years ago, Voyager 2 recorded a temperature of about 900 degrees Fahrenheit in the Neptune’s upper atmosphere. However, the Webb telescope shows that the temperature has dropped nearly 200 degrees. This low temperature means that the aurora is a dimmer.
In fact, Neptune’s Aurora said, “It’s less than 1% of the expected brightness and explains why I’ve never seen it before.” James O’Donohew a planetary astronomer at the UK’s Reading University and one of the authors of the study. “But that means we have a new mystery in our hands now. How did Neptune get so cold?”
Neptune’s Strange Light Show detection may bring your answers closer.
“The Aurora is like a TV screen,” he said. Lee Fletcher a planetary scientist at the University of Leicester in the UK and one of the authors of the study. They said, “We are able to see the delicate dance of the magnetosphere processes.
Triple J played continuously for 8 hours. The DJ remixed it, the dancers grooved to it, and many of us listened, sat down, and felt frustrated.
Slowly, Centrelink Hold Music has become a part of the cultural landscape, serving as the backdrop for art and going viral on TikTok.
Influencer and comedian Lyanna Kea’s TikTok dance in 2024 garnered 91,000 likes and 2,297 comments, echoing the frustration of a caller on hold.
“Everyone recognizes the tune on Centrelink,” Kea remarked. “Everyone knows the feeling of being stuck on hold for hours before being abruptly disconnected.”
“It’s ingrained in everyone’s minds.”
In 1989, Tim Carlton, a 16-year-old American at the time, created a song that was later used by Cisco, a major supplier of corporate mobile phones, and has since gained global recognition.
The tune is now known worldwide for its presence on Cisco’s hold music playlist. It was even featured in a 2023 Bud Light commercial and has garnered millions of plays on Spotify.
In 2018, Centrelink swapped its classic hold music for Opus No. 1 synth melodies, even reaching audiences in countries like Switzerland and Poland.
Both Australians and global citizens have been impacted. Artist Jonathan Hobbsey created a performance piece for the Fringe Festival in 2023, inspired by lockdown experiences.
“I wanted to evoke a communal experience that resonated with people,” Hobbsey explained. “Music is the sound of limbo.”
Music On Hold Australia’s manager Jenny Crosby emphasized the importance of a good hold song having consistent beats, volume, and minimal emotional content.
“Hold music may seem dull in the music world, but it serves a purpose,” she noted.
Twenty years ago, Crosby curated a collection of songs for the ATO, with some still playing today, proving their lasting appeal.
Lauren Roseworn, a social sciences professor, suggested that Centrelink embrace its hold music legacy to connect with people’s shared experiences.
“Instead of dwelling on the negative, we can find humor and solidarity in these familiar tunes,” she concluded.
Recent research has uncovered the reason behind the evolution of our brains, pointing to the influence of gut microbes. Specifically, the study suggests that the intestines may have played a key role in boosting energy production over time, leading to the growth of crucial organs.
The study reveals that organisms with larger brains relative to body size, like humans and squirrel monkeys, have higher energy levels compared to those with smaller brains, thanks to their digestive microbes. These microbes help in breaking down food and producing energy efficiently.
This groundbreaking research is the first to demonstrate how the gut microbiome can drive biological differences between animal species.
“The connection between the gut and brain has always been acknowledged on some level. We often refer to ‘gut feelings,’ and it’s known that stress and anxiety can manifest as gut symptoms,” said lead author of the study, Katherine Amato, Associate Professor at Northwestern University, in an interview with BBC Science Focus.
Amato further elaborated, stating, “This study goes beyond that and proposes that the activities in the gut may have laid the groundwork for the evolution of our brains.”
The intestines harbor over 100 trillion microorganisms, a count that surpasses the number of cells in the body. These intestinal microbes collectively weigh around 2 kg (4.4 pounds) – equivalent to the weight of a large pineapple.
Researchers were particularly intrigued by how these tiny gut microbes influence brain size in relation to body size. While humans may not have the largest brains in the animal kingdom, they have a significantly higher brain-to-body ratio compared to other species.
The experiment, detailed in the journal microbial genomics, involved transferring gut microbes from three primate species to mice – two with large brains (humans and squirrel monkeys) and one with a small brain (macaque). The results showed that mice receiving gut bacteria from larger-brained species produced more energy to support brain function, while those with gut flora from smaller-brained primates stored more energy as fat.
Amato explained, “Our findings suggest that as humans and squirrel monkeys independently evolved larger brains, their microbial communities also adapted in similar ways to meet the energy demands.” The study also found that the outcomes of feeding human microbes to mice were more akin to other large-brained species than previously thought.
Researchers are now extending their studies to other primate species to further explore the impact of gut microbes on brain evolution.
About our experts:
Dr. Katherine Amato is an Associate Professor of Biological Anthropology at Northwestern University in Illinois, USA. Her research interests include the gut microbiome, human evolution, and primate ecology.
Netflix shows love is blind Rather, I ignored the feedback. This is a romance show where participants cannot meet each other in person and only communicate through audio. You will only be allowed to meet in person if you are engaged.
Like many reality shows, it is “Social experiment”which is an interesting way to explain putting something so personal on television as entertainment, but I’m sure Netflix’s consent form is perfect.
I bring this up because a quantum physicist was introduced in Season 7, which was released in October. Garrett Josemans is a technical program manager at IonQ, which is developing “next generation” quantum computing systems.
According to the company’s blog post He touted his experience, saying, “The opportunity to focus on love in a structured environment was interesting.” That’s one way to say it. Josemans added: “My intellectual curiosity grew and I felt like fate was knocking at my door.”
Obviously he was right. Josemans is currently married to co-star Taylor Krauss. As one of my colleagues in the news department pointed out, being used to having two confusing and contradictory realities existing at the same time is probably a boon in some relationships.
the biggest odor
Speaking of dating, Mrs. Feedback draws attention to pheromone maximization (sometimes spelled maxxing). This is apparently what alpha males do.
Actually, let me stop you there. Alpha males are not the problem. The concept stems from research on captive wolves in the 1940s, which found that a single male often dominated the pack. From there, the concept spread into popular culture. But it turns out that wild wolves don’t behave like that. Their herd is like an extended family. Wolf researcher L. David Meck has spent much of his career correcting the record, including trying to get his early books out of print.
where were we? Well, a human alpha male (which doesn’t exist) has come up with a novel strategy to attract women as sexual partners. They maximize their “musk” by refraining from showering and wearing the same clothes for several days, producing an attractive cocktail of pheromones that sends women into a sexual frenzy.
The idea gained some fame on the internet after a teenage TikTok user posted a video about an experiment that begins like this: First It doesn’t smell. It’s pheromone MAX. ” follow-up video, from His mother asked other parents for advice on how to get him to shower.
I don’t know where to start with feedback. Perhaps the idea of human pheromones? Indeed, some animals communicate by releasing chemicals into the air called pheromones, some of which play a role in mating. However, despite decades of research, there is no conclusive evidence that human pheromones exist. Basing your dating strategy on a phenomenon that may not be real is a bold move.
Even if human sex pheromones exist, why do we get the most benefit from not showering? And why do pheromones cancel out other odors?
It’s been a long time since Feedback played the dating game, but according to our vague memories, the best way to connect with people is to talk to them, find common interests, and be nice. That was it. Still, young minds, fresh ideas.
Trouble with TED talks
I’ve never gotten feedback on a TED talk. Perhaps our invitation ended up in your spam folder. But the goal is to bring together the best and brightest to communicate their ideas to a wide audience. Jennifer Doudna, CRISPR pioneer and Nobel Prize winner, 2 TED Talks. Malcolm Gladwell turning point fame, did 4 Therefore, it is assumed that he is twice as important.
But when you need a never-ending firehose of content, you inevitably end up hunting for material – Feedback knows this feeling all too well – which brings us to a talk by Raymond Tan. he It was delivered Back in 2017, TED Conferences social media reshared Feedback first encountered that profound wisdom in October.
At the time, Mr Tan was an IT manager at a financial services company. But his talk is about “Lessons from the Philosophy of Water.” By studying the behavior of water, we can gain a sense of fulfillment in our lives. This kind of thing is a headache for feedback, so I’ll give you some examples of what was provided.
“If you think about water flowing through a river, it’s always at a low level,” Tan said. Yes, liquids under gravity tend to do that. “Water can change. Depending on the temperature, it can be a liquid, a solid, or a gas… We also constantly reskill to stay relevant. We are expected to invent and update.” Feedback appreciates the comparison between the job market situation and the simmering and frozen experience. Indeed, water embodies the hustle spirit. #grind
Let’s put the obvious facts aside. You might get similar advice from one of those internet memes that highlights an “inspirational” phrase over a photo of a waterfall. The real problem with advice like this is that it’s not as universally applicable as the speakers claim. Many people may do the easy job, but too many cooks will ruin the soup. Here we argue in our TED talk: “It depends.”
Have a story for feedback?
You can email your article to Feedback at feedback@newscientist.com. Please enter your home address. This week’s and past feedback can be found on our website.
We’ve all experienced that familiar feeling of embarrassment when we realize we’ve overlooked something important while being confident in our decisions. Maybe it’s the car in front suddenly stopping at a crosswalk, or someone mistakenly using the term “escapegoat” instead of “scapegoat.”
This phenomenon is due to a hidden bias in our brains that tricks us into believing we have all the necessary information to make decisions without considering crucial details.
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A recent study identified this bias as the “illusion of information sufficiency,” which leads us to act as if we have complete knowledge to form opinions, make decisions, and judge others. This contradiction often results in misunderstandings and conflicts in our lives.
Psychologist Dr. Sandra Wheatley explains that taking shortcuts in decision-making is a way to navigate the complexities of the world. However, this tendency can lead us to make inaccurate judgments when we assume we have all the information we need.
The study involved 1,261 participants who were tasked with deciding whether to integrate two schools or keep them separate. Interestingly, participants who only saw one side of the argument were more confident in their decision-making than those who had access to both perspectives.
This overconfidence in limited information can prevent us from considering others’ viewpoints and understanding that our subjective truth may not always align with objective reality.
Dr. Wheatley emphasizes the importance of questioning sources and remaining open to information that challenges our beliefs when making important decisions or judgments about others.
About our experts
Dr. Sandra Wheatley is a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. She specializes in psychology, parenting, social relationships, and digital media.
All life as we know it in the entire universe is tucked away on a tiny rock floating in a tiny branch of the Milky Way galaxy. There are billions of other planets that could potentially support life, but how does our location affect our chances of finding it?
So far, the search for life elsewhere has only scratched the surface. “The bubble of space we've been able to explore around the Sun is tiny compared to the size of our galaxy,” he said. Jesse Christiansen“But we've already discovered more than 5,000 planets, called exoplanets, that orbit other stars,” says John F. Kennedy, an astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology. Some of these have been found throughout our galaxy and even in other galaxies, but most are within a few hundred light years of the sun, a stone's throw in the scheme of the universe.
Our Galactic Neighborhood
Astronomers are beginning to look at different types of stars in the galactic outskirts and how they affect the habitability of planets around them. We live in an arm of the Milky Way galaxy called Orion, inside the main plane of the galaxy called the thin disk. We are surrounded by stars in the Orion arm. Further outwards, we are surrounded by the dense bulge of the galaxy's dense core on one side, and the sparser outer parts of the other arms of the galaxy on the other side.
Thin, disk-shaped stars, like our Sun and other stars in the constellation Orion, generally…
These interesting experiments Green Promotion Institute A public research center in Venice, Italy that explores new ways to restore the environment and generate energy. The lab's unusual combination of scientists, engineers, and psychologists create prototypes that harness natural organisms to do useful work, often taking on a sculptural aspect as a side effect that fascinates the resident artist.
“Despite being the object of science, it has beauty,” says photographer Luigi Avantaggiato. He spent time cataloging a device that uses bacteria called Purple-B (pictured above). Rhodopsdomonas palustris, commonly found in Venice's lagoons, converts human waste into useful hydrogen. The experiment is being funded by the European Space Agency because it could provide a way to process astronaut waste in orbit to create usable fuel, but could also be used on Earth's surface. There is a possibility that it can be done.
Main laboratory of Veritas Group's Green Promotion Institute
Luigi Avantaggiato 2024
The bright green contents of several tanks in the lab (pictured above) are known as liquid forests, which in this project are home to tiny algae such as: chlorella, to capture the carbon dioxide that is warming the planet. Each tank contains 250 liters and can accommodate approximately 1 billion algae per cubic centimeter.
A researcher working in one of GPLabs' laboratories.
Luigi Avantaggiato 2024
Another shot (pictured above) shows the geodesic dome, where environmental engineers at a startup called 9-Tech are working on a new way to recover silicon from used solar panels.
The entire lab site was created by veritashandles waste and water supplies for Venice and Treviso's approximately 1 million residents and 50 million tourists.
Ruins in the Ethiopian lowlands where ancient humans lived 74,000 years ago
John Kappelman
A campsite in what is now Ethiopia may have been used in the years before, during, and after a massive volcanic eruption 74,000 years ago that changed the Earth’s climate.
The eruption of supervolcano Toba on the Indonesian island of Sumatra was the largest eruption on Earth in the past 2 million years. Some researchers believe it may have caused a volcanic winter that lasted several years and wiped out most humans alive at the time, but the magnitude of that effect is debated .
Bones found at Ethiopian ruins suggest people living there had to adapt their diet to survive the dry year or two after the eruption, but the effects were mild It seems like it was.
“It was a pretty lucky discovery,” he says. John Kappelman A team from the University of Texas at Austin discovered the site in 2002. “There’s no question about that.”
Most of the remains of early humans are caves that were inhabited for tens of thousands of years, he says. However, this camp is an outdoor location near the Simfa River, a tributary of the Blue Nile. “Our intuition is that this place has probably been occupied for about five to 10 years,” Kappelman said.
The researchers found thousands of stone fragments from the tool’s manufacture, along with several stone tips believed to be among the oldest arrowheads ever discovered. “We have evidence of archery in the form of these small stone points,” Kappelman says.
Researchers also found ostrich eggshells and numerous animal bones, some with cuts and signs of cooking. Therefore, it is believed that people brought animals back to the site for slaughter and cooking.
The researchers also found volcanic ash in the form of tiny glass shards, known as cryptephra, in the middle of layers of sediment containing stone chips and bones. “They’re just tiny little glass shards,” Kappelman says – and their composition matches other debris from the Toba supereruption.
Isotopic analysis of ostrich shells suggests that the climate became drier after the eruption. This is consistent with a four-fold increase in the amount of fish carcasses identified and a decrease in other types of animal carcasses.
The research team explains that the Shinfa River is seasonal, and during the dry season it dries up to create a water hole. Immediately after the Toba eruption, the dry season was long, making it easier to catch fish in the narrowed water holes. The researchers suggest that this compensated for the decline in terrestrial predators.
Over the next few years, food debris returned to pre-eruption levels and there were no signs of mass mortality, Kappelman said.
Other researchers argue that early humans moved to wetter areas as conditions dried, he says. For this reason, it is also believed that the migration of people from Africa took place during times when the climate was wetter, allowing them to survive in the usually arid region between Africa and Eurasia.
“Our remains show that humans adapted to seasonally dry conditions,” Kappelmann says. He thinks this means that the migration of modern humans from Africa, which may have occurred as recently as 65,000 or 60,000 years ago, may have occurred during a dry period.
However, Kappelman agrees that early migration from Africa by less sophisticated peoples may have been limited to wet periods.
“This is an interesting paper for many reasons: the likely precise link to the Toba supereruption, environmental evidence, survival behaviors including fishing, the possible use of bows and arrows, and the possibility that it facilitated dispersal from Africa. “A certain behavioral adaptation,” says chris stringer At the Natural History Museum in London.
“While each of these proposals will certainly stimulate debate, I think the authors have presented a plausible, if not conclusive, case for each scenario they propose,” he says.
The study also adds to the evidence that the global effects of the Toba supereruption were relatively small and short-lived, Stringer said.
but stanley ambrose One researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign believes that Toba wiped out most humans, but he disagrees. He said the site may represent a much longer period of time than Kappelman’s team thinks, meaning the impact on people could have been much greater. There is.
“Material deposited by humans long before and long after the eruption, perhaps centuries to more than a thousand years ago, was deposited by well-known disturbance processes such as rodent burrowing and cracks forming during desiccation. It could have been juxtaposed with a volcanic ash layer, season,” Ambrose says.
The recent approval of a spot Ethereum ETF has sparked debate within the crypto community, raising concerns about Ethereum becoming increasingly centralised.
Mona El Isa, founder of the avant-gardeis a pioneer in the blockchain industry and sheds light on the potential risks associated with this development. In recent comments, El Issa highlighted the challenges posed by the concentration of power in the Ethereum staking ecosystem and the impact of the Spot Ethereum ETF on the decentralization of the network.
Ethereum Staking Trends: El Isa expresses concern about the current state of the Ethereum staking ecosystem, revealing a disconcerting trend where the top three staking pools control over 50% of the staking power. did. Furthermore, an astonishing 91% of this power is granted or centralized, leaving only 9% with decentralized alternatives. Lido’s dominance in holding 85% of the on-chain Liquid Staking token dynamics further highlights the concentration of power within the network.
Challenges and Urgent Need for Alternatives: With Spot Ethereum ETF approval on the horizon, El Issa says there is an urgent need for new on-chain alternatives to address growing centralization issues We emphasize that. She highlights that the current scenario calls for a break away from existing monopolies, prompting the emergence of solutions like Divastaking. El Isa revealed that Diva Saking offers her Enzyme-powered key sharing approach and secured commitments of up to 100,000 ETH through Octant for Public Goods Funding. This approach is in line with the fundamental principles of cryptocurrencies and aims to promote decentralization and community participation.
Spot Ethereum ETF: A blessing in the mix: El Isa acknowledges the positive aspects of ETFs that provide a regulated entry point for institutional investors seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies. However, she has raised concerns about the centralized nature of these funds, which contradicts the ethos in which the cryptocurrency asset class was built. El Isa said that while ETFs may attract institutional investors, she argues that they pose a risk of centralization and remove some of the key characteristics that initially drove the crypto movement. .
Maintaining the essence of cryptocurrencies: In her comments, Mona El Issa warns against losing sight of the core principles that underpin the cryptocurrency movement. The move to centralized structures, whether through staking or ETFs, challenges the decentralized nature that initially attracted many to the crypto space. El Issa urged the community to consider the potential impact of these developments on the nature of cryptocurrencies, stressing the importance of maintaining a balance between institutional adoption and decentralization. There is.
As Ethereum navigates centralization challenges, Mona El Issa’s insights provide valuable perspective on the potential risks associated with the recent approval of Spot Ethereum ETFs. The call for new on-chain alternatives reflects a collective effort to preserve the decentralized spirit of cryptocurrencies and build a more inclusive, community-driven ecosystem. As the cryptocurrency industry continues to evolve, finding a balance between institutional adoption and decentralization remains a key consideration for the future of Ethereum and the broader blockchain space.
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