New Research Reveals Clown Anemone Fish Shrink to Survive Heat Stress

Posted on May 22, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

You can identify it from its leading role in the film Finding NEMO: the Clown Anemone Fish (Amphiprion percula). This research addresses methods to minimize social conflict, as discussed in the paper published in the journal Advances in Science.

Versteeg et al. We studied the growth of individual clown anemone fish during marine heat waves. Image credit: Beatrice.

“The Clown Anemone Fish and its stunning sea anemone host, Radianthus magnificus,” expressed Melissa Verstegue, a doctoral researcher at Newcastle University, alongside her colleague Melissa Vertegue.

“Anemonefish inhabit coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific, where heat stress events are becoming increasingly frequent and severe, yet reef dwellers often approach their thermal limits.”

“These heat stress events can adversely impact both the anemones and the clownfish that reside within them.”

“The clown anemone fish exist in a social structure comprising dominant breeding pairs and several subordinate, non-breeding individuals.”

“The growth and size of clown anemone fish correlate with their environmental and social conditions, with dominant individuals growing to match the size of their anemone and the resources available. Subordinate fish maintain a specific size ratio to avoid conflict and potential eviction.”

In this research, Versteeg and co-authors measured the lengths of 134 clownfish over five months and tracked water temperatures every 4-6 days during increasingly common ocean heat waves exacerbated by climate change.

This collaboration was conducted with the Mahonia Na Dari Conservation and Research Centre in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea.

The findings reveal that clownfish can adjust their body length, potentially shrinking in response to heat stress.

This reduction increases an individual’s chances of surviving heat stress events by up to 78%.

The study also indicates that coordination among clownfish is crucial, as they are more likely to survive heat waves when paired with their breeding partners.

This marks the first documented instance of coral reef fish reducing body length in response to environmental and social factors.

“This doesn’t merely lead to weight loss under stress; these fish genuinely become shorter,” notes Versteeg.

“We are still uncertain about the exact mechanisms behind this, but it’s known that a few other species can also exhibit similar shrinkage.”

“For example, marine iguanas can reabsorb some of their bone material and decrease in size during environmental stress.”

“We were astonished to observe these fish shrink; we rigorously measured each individual across five months.”

“Ultimately, we discovered size reduction was quite common within this population.”

“During our study, 100 out of the 134 fish observed shrank.”

“It was surprising to witness how rapidly clownfish can adapt to changing environments, showcasing their ability to alter size both as individuals and breeding pairs in response to heat stress, which serves as an effective survival strategy.”

The authors also highlight that individual size reduction may help explain the declining sizes of fish in our oceans.

“Our results affirm that individual clownfish can shrink in response to heat stress, potentially affected by social dynamics and exhibiting improved survival potential.”

“If this phenomenon of individual size reduction is widespread across various fish species, many could show decreased sizes, suggesting a viable hypothesis for further research in this area.”

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Melissa A. Verstigue et al. 2025. Individual clown anemone fish shrink to survive heat stress and social conflict. Advances in Science 11 (21); doi:10.1126/sciadv.adt7079

Source: www.sci.news

New Research Reveals Asian Elephants Have Larger Brains Than Their African Relatives

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Elephants are fascinating creatures. Despite their allure, our understanding of the elephant brain remains limited, and there are notable neuroanatomical differences between the Asian (Elephas Maximus) and African elephants (Loxodonta africana), which have largely gone unexplored. In a recent study, researchers from Humboldt Universität in Berlin and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research collected numerous elephant brains to investigate the macroanatomical features that differentiate the species. Surprisingly, they found that Asian elephants possess a larger brain and greater grey matter volume than African elephants, an intriguing contrast given the smaller body size of Asian elephants.

Asian elephant in Myanmar. Image credit: John Jackson.

“The morphological distinctions among elephant species are well-documented,” stated Dr. Marav Schah from Humboldt Universität Berlin and his colleagues.

“For instance, African savanna elephants are larger and have bigger ears than their Asian counterparts.”

“It is also noted that only female African elephants grow larger tusks compared to the minimal tusks found in Asian females.”

“These disparities indicate significant genetic divergence between savanna elephants in Asia and Africa, believed to have arisen 50,000 to 8 million years ago.”

In this research, the team examined the brain weights and structures of both Asian and African elephants via dissections, existing literature, and MRI scans from wildlife and zoo animals.

The findings revealed that adult Asian elephants are significantly heavier than their African counterparts, whose brains average just over 4,400 grams.

This specific finding could not be definitively validated for male elephants, as data for the brain weights in Asian males is limited.

However, the cerebellum appears proportionately heavier in African elephants (22% of total brain body weight) compared to Asian elephants (19%).

Researchers also demonstrated that elephants undergo extensive postnatal brain growth.

By adulthood, an elephant’s brain is roughly three times heavier than at birth.

This indicates that elephants experience notably more brain growth than all primates; except for humans, where the brain weighs only about one-fifth of its final weight at birth.

A boy African elephant in Kenya. Image credit: George Wittemyer.

“The variance in brain weight is likely the most significant difference among these two elephant species,” Dr. Shah noted.

“This accounts for the behavioral variations observed between elephants in Asia and Africa.”

“For instance, the two species display markedly different interactions with humans.”

“Asian elephants have been partially domesticated for millennia and serve as working animals across various cultures and regions.”

“Conversely, only a handful of cases of partial domestication have been somewhat successful with African elephants.”

“It is considerably harder to integrate an African elephant into human society compared to an Asian elephant.”

The study was published today in the journal pnas nexus.

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Marav Shah et al. 2025. The larger and relatively small cerebellum of Asian elephants compared to the African savanna elephants. pnas nexus 4(5): PGAF141; doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf141

Source: www.sci.news

New Research Confirms: Fingers Wrinkle Consistently When Soaked in Water

Posted on May 20, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A recent investigation by researchers at Binghamton University reveals that the wrinkle patterns on terrain caused by prolonged human hand immersion in water remain consistent and repetitive over time.

Images of skin wrinkles on topography were overlaid with each other from two different time points 24 hours apart, with opacity levels (a) 0%, (b) 50%, (c) 100%. Image credit: Guy German.

Several years ago, Guy K. Germany from Binghamton University conducted research into the reasons behind the wrinkling of human skin after prolonged exposure to water.

It was commonly assumed that water causes the skin to swell and wrinkle, yet substantial research to validate this was limited.

The finding revealed that the contraction of blood vessels beneath the skin leads to the formation of these wrinkles.

Recent research indicates that the topographical patterns of these wrinkles are consistent across multiple instances of immersion.

“The blood vessels maintain a relatively static position. They may shift slightly, but in relation to each other, they remain largely unchanged,” stated Dr. Deutsche.

“This suggests that wrinkles will form in a consistent manner, and we have confirmed this through our study.”

The researchers submerged subjects’ fingers in water for 30 minutes, captured images, and repeated the process under identical conditions at least 24 hours later.

By analyzing the photographs, Dr. Deutsche and his colleague Rachel Raytin observed identical patterns of raised loops and ridges after both immersion events.

“We also uncovered some fascinating aspects during our study,” Dr. Deutsche remarked.

“I learned that individuals with median nerve damage in their fingers do not exhibit wrinkles.”

“One of my students revealed, ‘I have median nerve damage in my finger.’ We tested this hypothesis—no wrinkles!”

While it was amusing to explore these inquiries, this new research may have significant applications in forensic medicine, such as in fingerprinting at crime scenes or identifying remains found after extended exposure to water.

“My father, a retired British police officer, encountered such challenges during his career in law enforcement,” Dr. Deutsche shared.

“Biometrics and fingerprinting are ingrained in my thinking. I constantly ponder these topics due to their compelling nature.”

Survey results will be published in Journal of Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials.

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Rachel Raytin & Guy K. Germany. 2025. For reproducibility of the topographical pattern of water finger wrinkles, soak in human skin. Journal of Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 165, 106935; doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.106935

Source: www.sci.news

Research Reveals That 14,350 Years Ago, the Most Powerful Known Solar Storm Triggered Radiocarbon Spikes

Posted on May 16, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Solar particle events from the sun are infrequent but powerful, significantly influencing the creation of cosmic genic isotopes. For instance, radiocarbon (¹⁴c) in the terrestrial environment leaves a distinct mark on natural archives, such as dating artifacts. Over the last 12,000 years, eight such events have been identified, the most notable occurring in 775 AD. Recently, a candidate for a new extreme solar particle event was discovered, marked by the largest known radiocarbon peak dating back to 12350 BC. A recent study indicates this event was 18% more intense than the 775 CE event and likely transpired between January and April of that year, with early March being the most probable time frame.

Illustration of the artist of Solar Storm. Image credit: NASA.

“Solar particle storms significantly enhance the natural production of cosmic isotopes, such as radiocarbon, in the atmosphere due to cosmic rays from galaxies,” stated Kseniia Golubenko, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oulu, along with her colleagues.

“Such enhancements, preserved in annual tree rings, act as clear timestamps in the universe, enabling absolute dating of tree samples.”

“These dramatic spikes, referred to as Miyake Events, are named after the Japanese researcher who first identified them. They provide crucial data for scientists examining solar activity, ancient Earth systems, and space climate.”

“Miyake events help us pinpoint the exact calendar year of floating archaeological timelines,” added Professor Ilya Usoskin from Oulu University.

“The radiocarbon signals from such events have enabled researchers to accurately date Viking settlements in Newfoundland and Neolithic communities in Greece.”

For the reconstruction of solar particle storms under ancient glacial climate conditions, the authors developed and utilized a new chemical climate model called SOCOL:14C-EX.

This model was successfully validated using tree ring data from the 775 CE event and applied to ice age conditions to analyze the event from 12350 BC.

“The ancient events of 12350 BC are the only known extreme solar particle occurrences aside from the stable warm climate of the last 12,000 years,” Dr. Golubenko stated.

“Our estimates reveal that, compared to the largest events of the modern satellite era, the Particle Storm of 2005 was over 500 times weaker.”

“Other documented solar particle storms took place in 994 BC, 663 BC, 5259 BC, and 7176 BC, with several more candidates currently under investigation.”

“The 12350 BCE occurrence also establishes new worst-case scenarios,” she added.

“Understanding its magnitude is vital for assessing the risks posed by future solar storms.”

The team’s paper was published in the journal Earth and Planet Science Letters.

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Kseniia Golubenko et al. 2025. The new SOCOL:14C-EX model reveals that radiocarbon spikes from the late glacial age of 12350 BC were caused by record extreme solar storms. Earth and Planet Science Letters 661:119383; doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2025.119383

Source: www.sci.news

Research Reveals AI’s Ability to Voluntarily Develop Human-Like Communication Skills

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Research indicates that artificial intelligence can organically develop social practices akin to humans.

The study, conducted in collaboration between the University of London and the City of St. George at the University of Copenhagen, proposes that large-scale language modeling (LLM) AI, like ChatGPT, can begin to adopt linguistic forms and societal norms when interacting in groups without external influence.

Ariel Flint Asherry, a doctoral researcher at Citi St. George and the study’s lead author, challenged the conventional perspective in AI research, asserting that AI is often perceived as solitary entities rather than social beings.

“Unlike most research that treats LLMs in isolation, genuine AI systems are increasingly intertwined, actively interacting,” says Ashery.

“We aimed to investigate whether these models could modify behaviors by shaping practices and forming societal components. The answer is affirmative; their collaborative actions exceed what they achieve individually.”

In this study, groups of individual LLM agents ranged from 24 to 100, where two agents were randomly paired and tasked with selecting a “name” from an optional pool of characters or strings.

When the agents selected the same name, they received a reward; if they chose differently, they faced punishment and were shown each other’s selections.

Although the agents were unaware of being part of a larger group and limited their memory to recent interactions, voluntary naming conventions emerged across the population without a predetermined solution, resembling the communicative norms of human culture.

Andrea Baroncelli, a professor of complexity science at City St. George’s and the senior author of the study, likened the dissemination of behavior to the emergence of new words and terms in our society.

“The agents don’t follow a leader,” he explained. “They actively coordinate, consistently attempting to collaborate in pairs, with each interaction being a one-on-one effort over labels without a comprehensive perspective.

“Consider the term ‘spam.’ No official definition was set, but persistent adjustment efforts led to its universal recognition as a label for unwanted emails.”

Furthermore, the research team identified naturally occurring collective biases that could not be traced back to individual agents.

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In the final experiment, a small cohort of AI agents successfully guided a larger group towards a novel naming convention.

This was highlighted as evidence of critical mass dynamics, suggesting that small but pivotal minorities can catalyze rapid behavioral changes in groups once a specific threshold is achieved, akin to phenomena observed in human societies.

Baroncelli remarked that the study “opens a new horizon for AI safety research, illustrating the profound impact of this new breed of agents who will begin to engage with us and collaboratively shape our future.”

He added: “The essence of ensuring coexistence with AI, rather than becoming subservient to it, lies not only in discussions but in negotiation, coordination, and shared actions, much like how we operate.”

Peer-reviewed research on emergent social practices within LLM populations and population bias is published in the journal Science Advances.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Research on Modeling Unveils New Insights into Venus’ Crust

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Planetary scientists initially believed that Earth’s outer crust would become thicker over time, particularly due to the perceived absence of forces pushing it back into the planet’s interior. However, researchers from Open University, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and the Lunar and Planetary Institute suggest that processes involved in crustal transformation, centered around rock density and melting cycles, offer a different perspective.

An artistic interpretation of active volcanoes on Venus illustrates a subduction zone where the foreground crust of a topographical groove descends into the planet’s interior. Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Peter Rubin.

The earth’s crust is rock-like and composed of massive, slowly migrating plates that fold and create faults through a process known as plate tectonics.

For instance, when two plates collide, a lighter plate can slide over a denser plate, forcing it downward towards the underlying mantle.

This phenomenon, referred to as subduction, plays a crucial role in regulating the thickness of the Earth’s crust.

As the rocks penetrate deeper into the planet’s interior, they undergo transformations due to increased temperature and pressure, a process known as metamorphosis, which is one contributing factor to volcanic activity.

“Conversely, Venus consists of a singular skin with no signs of subduction seen in Earth’s plate tectonics,” noted Justin Filibert, PhD, associate director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center for Astromaterial Research and Exploration Sciences.

Through modeling, Dr. Filibert and his team found that Venus’s crust averages about 40 km (25 miles) thick, with some areas reaching up to 65 km (40 miles).

“This is surprisingly thin compared to Earth’s conditions,” Dr. Filibert remarked.

“Our model suggests that as the crust thickens, it becomes so dense at the bottom that it either breaks off to merge with the mantle or heats up enough to melt.”

“Thus, while Venus lacks movable plates, its crust still goes through metamorphosis.”

“This finding marks a significant advancement in understanding geological processes and planetary evolution.”

“The breaking and melting of crustal materials can reintroduce water and elements back into the planet’s interior, fueling volcanic activity.”

“We are developing a new model for how materials are recycled within the planet, providing insights into the processes that can trigger volcanic eruptions of lava and gases.”

“It reshapes our understanding of how Venus’ geology, crust, and atmosphere interact.”

“The forthcoming phase involves gathering direct data on Venus’s crust to test and refine these models.”

“The extent of volcanic activity on Venus remains uncertain.”

“While we postulate numerous volcanic phenomena, research indicates a need for extensive data to validate our assumptions.”

Relevant survey findings will be published in the journal Nature Communications.

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J. Semprich et al. 2025. The thickness of the earth’s crust and the transformation of Venus as a driver for recycling. Nat Commun 16, 2905; doi:10.1038/s41467-025-58324-1

Source: www.sci.news

Inside the Museum: Beetles Feeding on Meat for Scientific Research

Posted on May 14, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Navigating past the enormous hanging blue whales and the Alaska brown bear on the ground floor of the American Museum of Natural History, you’ll stumble upon an unassuming, concealed door. Above it are small signs.

“Bug colony.”

Behind this door, accessible solely to a select group of museum staff, thousands of carnivorous skin beetles tirelessly work around the clock, carrying out specimen preparation tasks that even the museum’s most skilled professionals cannot manage.

They consume the flesh from animal skeletons, leaving only pristine bones behind.

Many skeletons are too intricate for human cleaning, so the museum’s osteologic preparation team turns to these six-legged workers to ready specimens for research and display.

The operation takes place in three gray wooden boxes, about the size of a foot locker, which house the colony. These boxes are lined with stainless steel, and their flexible tops unveil a range of small creatures, including beetles, feasting on the remnants of primarily birds. They devour morsels of flesh still attached to the carcasses.

The room resonates with soft, crackling noises. “Adding milk makes it sound like frying food or cooking rice,” mentioned Rob Pascocello, a colony caretaker.

The beetles are tiny—only a few millimeters long—capable of entering the narrowest crevices in animals and nibble away without damaging fragile skeletal structures, according to Scott Schaefer, the overseer of the museum’s vast collection of specimens and artifacts, which comprises over 30 million items.

“They do an exceptional, meticulous job that human hands cannot replicate due to delicacy,” Schaefer explained. “It’s gentler than boiling the specimens or subjecting them to chemicals or acids.”

Museum representatives state that this industrious colony has processed countless carcasses, including a significant portion of the over 30,000 bird skeleton specimens housed for decades. “They slip into tiny spaces and go unnoticed, continuing to feed until there’s nothing left,” Schaefer noted.

On a recent weekday, Paul Sweet, the collection manager for ornithology, stood in the bug room, pointing out that the name is misleading from a scientific standpoint.

True bugs, known scientifically as Hemiptera, have mouthparts designed for piercing and sucking. In contrast, beetles—known as Coleoptera—typically have a cylindrical shape with chewing mouthparts.

The colony has effectively reduced the once vibrant pink flamingos into mere bundles of bones. The majestic snowy owl was similarly transformed. Among the remnants was a tiny skeleton in a canister, with bones smaller than a toothpick.

“That’s a songbird,” Pascocello remarked.

Skin beetles are scavengers commonly found in the wild, nests, and animal burrows, feasting on deceased animals.

Museum officials mentioned that this dermatological colony, introduced from Africa in the 1930s, has remained self-sufficient. Sweet noted that the current beetle population has been at the museum for 35 years, though it remains uncertain whether they are descendants of the original colony.

Regardless, beetles only live for six months, leading Pascocello to humorously state, “they’re all related.” He also mentioned having a backup colony in his bedroom during the museum’s closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On this particular day, Sweet was preparing to feed the colony a Northern Gannet, a seabird recovered from Midland Beach on Staten Island. It had already been stripped, dried, and had most of its meat removed by researchers before being handed over to the beetles for final preparation.

Within minutes, the bodies were swarming with beetles. While smaller birds can be entirely cleaned in just a couple of days, a larger skeleton, like that of a gannet, may take up to two weeks.

Pascocello once provided beetles to feed orangutans, while Sweet had given them the remains of an emu. However, the size of the specimens presented determines how they are handled; larger ones must be provided in pieces, such as the remains of a Cuban crocodile named Fidel, sourced from the Bronx Zoo in 2005.

Before pristine skeletons are boxed and cataloged, they are soaked in water and frozen for several days to eliminate any residual beetles and eggs.

Beetles pose no threat to humans, but an infestation within the museum’s specimen collection is undesirable. A sufficient quantity of beetles means strips of petrolatum jelly at the top of the box and sticky patches on the room’s doorway.

If the supply of specimens falls short, Pascocello will resort to chicken as an emergency food source. Sweet mentioned providing the colony with pig feet during the pandemic, as it was the least expensive meat available at the supermarket.

The beetle’s voracious appetite serves as a reminder that significant scientific work doesn’t always happen in spotless laboratories. Above the door, beneath the “Bug Colony” sign, a handwritten note reads:

“The unpleasant odor emanating from behind this door is perfectly normal.”

Source: www.nytimes.com

Research Reveals: Africa’s Stunning Starry Skies Foster Bonds of Friendship

Posted on May 10, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Superb Starling (Lamprotornis superbus) Recent studies reveal their behavior of “reciprocity,” where they assist each other with the expectation of future favors.

Lamprotornis superbus) at Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany. The lighter-colored bird is flanked by two adults. Image credit: Dennis Irrgang / CC by 2.0.” width=”580″ height=”387″ srcset=”https://cdn.sci.news/images/2025/05/image_13887-Lamprotornis-superbus.jpg 580w, https://cdn.sci.news/images/2025/05/image_13887-Lamprotornis-superbus-300×200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.sci.news/images/2025/05/image_13887-Lamprotornis-superbus-84×55.jpg 84w” sizes=”(max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px”/>

Superb Starling family (Lamprotornis superbus) at Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany. The lighter-colored bird is between two adults. Image credit: Dennis Irrgang / CC by 2.0.

The Superb Starling is a passerine bird belonging to the Sturnidae family.

This species is widespread, inhabiting various regions in East Africa, including Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, and beyond.

These birds form large mixed groups consisting of 7 to 60 individuals, with an average size ranging from 13 to 41 members.

“The social structure of Starlings is complex, comprising not only family units but also a mix of both related and unrelated individuals, much like humans.”

“It’s well-known that animals tend to assist their relatives to enhance genetic fitness and propagate their genes.”

“While Starlings prioritize helping relatives, they also lend support to unrelated individuals.”

Professor Rubenstein and his team discovered that this support arises through the establishment of mutual relationships.

However, proving that such behaviors are present in non-relatives remains challenging.

The study is rooted in two decades of research by the authors on these birds in Africa, thriving in the harsh savannah climate.

From 2002 to 2021, thousands of interactions among hundreds of birds were documented, alongside DNA samples to analyse genetic links.

By merging behavioral data with genetic information during 40 breeding seasons, they posed pivotal questions: Did birds prioritize aiding relatives? Did they assist non-relatives when related individuals were available? Did they reciprocate support over time?

Ultimately, the findings revealed that while helpers prioritized their relatives, they often supported specific unrelated individuals consistently, even when relatives could assist.

“Many of these birds forge friendships that develop over time,” Professor Rubenstein stated.

“Our next goal is to investigate how these relationships are formed, their longevity, and why some bonds remain strong while others diminish.”

The study was published today in the journal Nature.

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Advertising et al. The enigmatic role of mutual assistance among birds in cooperative breeding. Nature Published online on May 7, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08958-4

Source: www.sci.news

Research Indicates Long-range Gene Regulation Evolved Over 650 Million Years Ago

Posted on May 10, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Distal regulation—the capacity to control genes across vast distances, spanning tens of thousands of DNA letters—emerged during the early stages of animal evolution, approximately 650-700 million years ago (the Kleigenian era).

Diagram of DNA molecules. Image credits: Christophe Bock, Max Planck Informatics Institute/CC BY-SA 3.0.

Distal adjustment relies on the physical folding of DNA and proteins, along with intricate loops.

This mechanism enables regions distant from a gene’s starting point to activate their functions.

This additional regulatory layer may have assisted the first multicellular organisms in developing specialized cell types and tissues without necessarily inventing new genes.

Key innovations likely originated from marine creatures or common ancestors shared by all existing animals.

Ancient organisms developed the ability to fold DNA in a controlled manner, forming 3D loops that facilitated direct contact between different segments of DNA.

“These organisms can utilize their genetic toolkit in various ways, akin to a Swiss Army knife, which allows them to fine-tune and explore innovative survival strategies,” explains Dr. Nacional Accidental Accidental Genmica, a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Genome Regulation.

“I was surprised to find that this level of complexity dates back so far.”

Dr. Kim and his team discovered these insights by examining some of the oldest branches of the animal family tree, including species such as walnut-shaped comb jellies (Mnemiopsis leidyi), placozoans, cnidarians, and sponges.

They also investigated single-celled relatives that share a common ancestor with animals more recently.

“Studying unique sea creatures enables us to uncover much new biology,” states Professor Arnau Sebe-Pedrós, a researcher at the Center for Genome Regulation.

“Previously, we focused on comparing genomic sequences, but thanks to new techniques, we can now analyze the gene regulatory mechanisms that influence genomic function across species.”

A large individual of Mnemiopsis leidyi with two aboral ends and two apical organs. Image credit: Jokura et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.07.084.

Researchers applied a method known as Micro-C to map the physical folding patterns in each of the 11 types of DNA analyzed. To provide context, each human cell nucleus contains approximately 2 meters of DNA.

Scientists sifted through 10 billion sequencing data points to create detailed various 3D genome maps.

Although no evidence of distal regulation was found in single-celled relatives of animals, early branches such as comb jellies, placozoans, and cnidarians exhibited numerous loops.

Over 4,000 loops were identified across the genome, particularly in the sea walnut.

This discovery is remarkable considering its genome consists of roughly 20 million DNA characters.

In contrast, the human genome contains 3.1 billion characters, with our cells housing tens of thousands of loops.

Previously, distal regulation was believed to have first emerged in the last bilateral ancestors, which appeared on Earth around 500 million years ago.

However, the comb jelly’s lineage branched off early from other animal lineages roughly 650-700 million years ago.

“The debate over whether the comb jelly predates the sponge in the tree of life has persisted in evolutionary biology, but this study suggests that distal regulation occurred at least 150 million years earlier than previously thought,” the authors concluded.

A paper detailing these findings was published today in the journal Nature.

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IV Kim et al. Chromatin loops are characteristic of the ancestors of animal regulatory genomes. Nature Published online on May 7, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08960-W

Source: www.sci.news

Genetic Research Uncovers the Origins of Bats

Posted on May 7, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In the early 2000s, bats infected with coronavirus transmitted the virus to raccoon dogs and other wild mammals in southwestern China. Many of these animals were sold in markets where the coronavirus resurfaced. Consequently, the SARS pandemic spread to 33 countries, resulting in 774 fatalities. Months later, researchers identified a mammalian coronavirus known as Palmcoten, found in markets central to the outbreak.

In a study published Wednesday, a team of researchers drew comparisons between the evolutionary paths of SARS and COVID-19, 17 years apart. They examined the genomes of the two coronaviruses responsible for the pandemics, alongside 248 related coronaviruses in bats and other mammals.

Jonathan Pechal, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Edinburgh and author of the study, noted that the histories of the two coronaviruses mirrored each other. “In my opinion, they are very similar,” he stated.

In both instances, Dr. Pekal and his team assert that coronavirus transmission originated from bats in southwestern China to wild mammals. Soon after, wildlife traders transported infected animals hundreds of miles to urban markets, leading to widespread human outbreaks.

“When wildlife is sold in urban centers, pandemics often follow,” stated Michael Warby, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona and co-author of the research.

This research appears at a politically charged moment. Last month, the White House launched a web page titled “Laborek: The True Origins of COVID-19,” asserting the pandemic stemmed from a lab accident in Wuhan, rather than market interactions.

In a budget proposal issued on Friday, the White House indicated that it was “confirming” the lab leak theory, which justified an $18 billion cut to the National Institutes of Health.

The Chinese government responded with a flat denial of claims that COVID was caused by a lab leak in Wuhan, suggesting instead the virus may have originated from a laboratory in the U.S.

“A thorough and detailed investigation into the origin of the virus should be conducted in the United States,” the statement read.

Sergei Pond, a virologist at Temple University, expressed skepticism regarding the resolution of COVID’s origins. He voiced concerns that political rhetoric from both governments could hinder scientific inquiries into the virus’s origins.

“If it weren’t tragic, you’d have to laugh at how things have unfolded,” Dr. Pond commented.

In the initial weeks of the early 2020 pandemic, the virus responsible, SARS-CoV-2, emerged alongside notions of biological weapons created by the Chinese military. A cohort of scientists analyzing available data at that time dismissed this claim, indicating that while they could not dismiss accidental lab leaks, they leaned towards the natural origins of COVID.

Over the ensuing months, Dr. Warby, who was not part of that group, grew dissatisfied with the lack of compelling evidence favoring one theory over another. He co-signed an open letter with 17 other scientists advocating for further investigation to ascertain the most likely explanation.

“We felt there was much yet to be learned, so let’s not dismiss the lab leak theory,” Dr. Warby asserted. “Let’s investigate.”

As Dr. Warby and other researchers scrutinized COVID’s origins, the American intelligence agencies conducted their assessments. Their conclusions were varied. The FBI and CIA support the lab escape theory from the Wuhan Institute, albeit with little certainty. The Department of Energy expresses low confidence in the possibility of a virus escape from another lab in Wuhan, while other institutions favor a natural origin.

Scientists have struggled to evaluate the evidence behind these conclusions as the relevant institutions have not published supporting data or analyses. However, Dr. Warby and his colleagues have released several papers in scientific journals. Along this journey, Dr. Warby became convinced that the COVID pandemic originated at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan.

“Scientifically, that’s evident,” Dr. Warby remarked, referencing both HIV and the Spanish flu, two diseases with origins that have been thoroughly studied.

In their recent study, Dr. Warby, Dr. Pekal, and their colleagues examined 250 genomes of coronaviruses, leveraging genetic similarities and differences to establish relationships. They successfully reconstructed the evolutionary timeline of the coronaviruses responsible for both SARS and COVID-19, known as SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2.

The ancestors of both coronaviruses have been circulating in bats across China and its neighboring regions for hundreds of thousands of years, specifically inhabiting southwestern China and northern Laos for the last 50 years.

When coronaviruses infect bats, they sometimes cohabitate with another coronavirus. This can lead to the accidental creation of a hybrid virus carrying genetic material from both original coronaviruses, a process referred to as recombination.

“These are not ancient events,” noted David Rasmussen, a virologist at North Carolina State University involved in the new research. “These occurrences happen frequently; these viruses are truly mosaic in nature.”

In 2001, shortly before the SARS pandemic emerged, researchers found that SARS-CoV had undergone significant genetic mixing among bats. This led to the virus’s potential evolution into a human pathogen. However, given that Guangzhou is hundreds of miles from the ancestral area of SARS-CoV, it’s improbable that the virus gradually reached the city through bats.

Researchers generally concur that ancestors of SARS-CoV infected wild mammals, which were subsequently sold in markets around Guangzhou. Shortly after the onset of the SARS pandemic, the presence of SARS-CoV was confirmed in palm civets and other wild mammals traded in the market.

A similar trend was observed with SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. The final recombination event in bats occurred between 2012 and 2014, just five to seven years prior to the COVID outbreak, hundreds of miles away from northeastern Wuhan.

Moreover, this signifies a considerable distance from the area where the virus’s ancestors circulated, paralleling the journey that SARS-CoV undertook via the wildlife trade.

Proponents of the lab leak theory emphasize the significant distance between Wuhan and the habitats of the closest relatives of SARS-CoV-2. They argue that if bats traveled to the area around Wuhan without infecting local mammals, scientists must have been collecting coronaviruses from bats in southwestern China and experimenting on them in the lab.

American scientists have critiqued the Wuhan Institute of Virology for lax safety measures in their coronavirus experiments. Nevertheless, no evidence has confirmed that the ancestors of SARS-CoV-2 were present at the institute prior to the pandemic. Recent research by Dr. Warby and his colleagues illustrates that bat coronaviruses can traverse considerable distances via wildlife trade without any scientific intervention.

The researchers argue that these findings align with a study published in 2022, identifying the Huanan Wet Market in Wuhan as the site of the initial COVID outbreak. Wild mammals were sold at this venue, and early cases of COVID were documented there. Moreover, Chinese researchers collected various strains of SARS-CoV-2, exhibiting different mutations at this location. Dr. Warby and his team posited that the virus likely spilled over from wild mammals at the market on two separate occasions.

Dr. Pond stated that while the new study supports the wildlife spillover theory, he does not believe the issue has been definitively settled. He highlighted two statisticians’ critiques from last year, regarding the modeling behind the 2022 study. Dr. Warby and his colleagues have provided a rebuttal to those criticisms. “That debate is still ongoing,” Dr. Pond remarked.

Mark Eloit, former director of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, emphasized the importance of the new research in clarifying the origins of SARS-CoV-2.

However, he also noted that the coronavirus exhibits significant differences from closely related bat viruses. Following its divergence from those viruses, it would have undergone mutations or recombination to effectively spread among humans.

“I contend that the potential for recombination events—either incidental or deliberate—remains as plausible as the hypothesis of zoonotic transfer via intermediate hosts at the market,” Dr. Eloit argued.

Dr. Eloit and other scientists concurred that discovering intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2 among wild mammals would significantly bolster the argument for natural spillover. However, Chinese officials examined various animals at the onset of the pandemic but found no traces of the virus.

Before scientists could conduct studies, wildlife vendors at the Huanan Market removed animals from the stalls, and when China ceased wildlife trade, farmers culled their animals.

“There are large gaps in our knowledge, and we can’t overlook that,” Dr. Pond remarked.

Stephen Goldstein, a geneticist at the University of Utah, remarked that while he was not involved in the new study, the findings serve as a cautionary reminder of future pandemic risks. Wild mammals traded in markets within regions where SARS and COVID-19 emerged can wreak havoc in urban centers hundreds of miles away. “These viral fragments are present in numerous places,” Dr. Goldstein concluded.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Research Reveals Fenugreek and Okra Extracts Can Eliminate Up to 90% of Microplastics from Water Sources

Posted on May 7, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Researchers at Talton State University have discovered that extracts from okra and/or fenugreek can attract and eliminate as much as 90% of microplastics from sea, freshwater, and groundwater.

Srinivasan et al. We demonstrated that plant-based polysaccharides exhibited better microplastic removal efficiency than polyacrylamides commercially used in water treatment. Image credit: Srinivasan et al., doi: 10.1021/acsomega.4C07476.

Microplastics are emerging as significant pollutants that pose a threat to aquatic environments globally.

These solid polymers, measuring less than 5 mm, originate from larger plastic debris and the fragmentation of environmental emissions.

These contaminants not only inflict physical damage but also act as carriers for other harmful pollutants that cling to microplastics.

When consumed by organisms, these microparticles can lead to bioaccumulation and bioproliferation.

Conventional wastewater treatment methods using inorganic and organic polymer flocculants are not eco-friendly and can introduce toxicity.

Dr. Rajani Srinivasan and her team at Talton State University have been investigating a safe, plant-based strategy for attracting and eliminating contaminants from water sources.

In laboratory experiments, they found that okra, fenugreek, and tamarind polymers effectively adhered to microplastics, allowing them to aggregate and sink for easy separation from water.

To prepare the sticky plant polymer, sliced okra pods were soaked in separate containers of water overnight.

The resulting extracts were collected, dried, and ground into a powder.

Analysis revealed that the powdered extracts contained polysaccharides, which are natural polymers.

Initial tests on pure water contaminated with microplastics indicated: (i) One gram of any of the quart (1 liter) powders was highly effective in trapping microplastics. (ii) Dried okra and fenugreek extracts removed 67% and 93% of the plastic in one hour, respectively. (iii) A combination of equal parts okra and fenugreek powder reached a maximum removal efficiency of 70% within 30 minutes. (iv) Natural polymers proved significantly more effective than synthetic commercial polyacrylamide polymers typically used in wastewater treatment.

The researchers conducted tests using real water samples contaminated with microplastics.

They collected samples from various water sources around Texas and analyzed them in the lab.

The removal efficiency of plant extracts varied based on the original water source: okra was most effective in seawater (80%), fenugreek showed 80-90% efficiency in groundwater, and a 1:1 mixture of okra and fenugreek achieved 77% efficiency in freshwater.

The scientists suggest that natural polymers display different efficiencies due to the diversity of microplastic types, sizes, and shapes across water samples.

“While polyacrylamide is commonly used for contaminant removal in wastewater treatment, extracts from okra and fenugreek provide biodegradable and non-toxic alternatives,” they stated.

“Using these plant-based extracts for water treatment can eliminate microplastics and other pollutants without introducing additional toxins into the treated water, thereby reducing long-term health risks for the public,” Dr. Srinivasan added.

The team’s work has been published in the journal ACS Omega.

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Rajani Srinivasan et al. 2025. Fenugreek and okra polymers as therapeutic agents for removing microplastics from water sources. ACS Omega 10(15):14640-14656; doi:10.1021/acsomega.4C07476

Source: www.sci.news

Trump Administration Plans Major Cutbacks to LGBTQ Health Research

Posted on May 4, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The Trump administration has terminated over $800 million in research related to the health of LGBTQ individuals, halting studies on cancers and viruses that predominantly impact sexual minority groups, and has intensified efforts to combat the resurgence of sexually transmitted infections, as highlighted by a New York Times analysis of federal data.

Reflecting its strong opposition to diversity initiatives and adolescent gender care, the administration has actively sought to eliminate standard measures and research affecting transgender health.

This crackdown reaches beyond specific issues, curtailing essential medical research on diseases disproportionately affecting LGBTQ populations, which constitute nearly 10% of American adults.

An examination of grant-related reviews revealed that out of 669 grants, 323—almost half—were fully or partially canceled in early May regarding LGBTQ health.

Federal authorities had earmarked $806 million for projects that were canceled, many of which were anticipated to generate additional funding in the coming years.

Numerous research institutions faced funding losses. This includes not just high-profile targets like Johns Hopkins and Columbia but also public universities in the South and Midwest like Ohio State University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Florida State University has canceled a research initiative worth $41 million, which included significant efforts to prevent HIV among adolescents and young adults, who account for the majority of new infections in the U.S. each year.

In a cancellation letter issued in recent months, the NIH justified the reductions by stating that LGBTQ projects “no longer align with agency priorities.” In some cases, the agency claimed that the canceled research was “based on gender identity,” resulting in “unscientific” outcomes that disregarded “biological reality.”

Other termination letters indicated that researchers erred by focusing on “artificial and unscientific categories” primarily driven by vague equity objectives.

These funding cuts come after a decade of increased federal support for LGBTQ research, encouraged by the NIH during the Obama administration, which welcomed grant proposals that focused on sexual and gender minorities.

Supporters of President Trump contend that much of this research is tainted by ideological bias.

“There was a trend of scientific malpractice to align conclusions with preconceived notions,” stated Roger Severino from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank influential in shaping Trump administration policies.

“It was founded on the erroneous belief that biology is almost irrelevant, alongside the political agenda that sought to normalize the idea of changing one’s sex.”

Researchers stated that canceling research on a broad range of diseases affecting sexual and gender minorities has effectively created a perception of a hierarchy among patients, deeming some as less valuable.

“Certain segments of the U.S. population should not be considered inferior as subjects of research,” remarked Simon Rosser, a professor at the University of Minnesota, whose lab focused on cancer in LGBTQ individuals before significant funding was withdrawn.

“This is a clear example of bias,” he emphasized. “It’s a form of prejudice in scientific research.”

The cancellation of these projects is a striking indication of the widespread dismantling of the research framework that has supported medical study in the United States for the past 80 years.

In addition to halting studies, federal officials have delayed grant payments, postponed review meetings, and expanded new grant awards.

Recently, Trump proposed slashing the NIH budget from approximately $48 billion to $27 billion, citing part of a broader agenda perceived as aimed at combating “radical gender ideology.”

The legality of these terminations remains uncertain. Two separate lawsuits challenge the broad cancellation of grants, with a group of researchers and others arguing that the Trump administration lacked a lawful basis for these cuts in 16 states.

The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services have not provided comments upon request.

Health department spokesperson Andrew Nixon stated to the Daily Signal, a conservative outlet, last month that the shifts which “alleviate politicized gender and identity studies” were “in line with the president’s executive order.”

In a statement, the NIH commented: “NIH is taking steps to terminate research funding that does not align with NIH and HHS priorities. We are committed to reinstating traditions that support evidence-based science.”

Lost funding has hindered critical studies on antibiotic resistance, undiagnosed autism among sexual minorities, and specific cancers that disproportionately affect these groups. The funding cuts have resulted in layoffs at several LGBTQ-focused laboratories that were poised for expansion.

Historically, the NIH has reserved grant cancellations for rare instances of research misconduct or potential participant harm. Scientists now argue that the recent cuts are doing more harm than protection for research participants.

They indicated the cessation of clinical trials where federal funding is short, affecting the care of volunteer participants.

“We are halting initiatives that prevent suicide and sexual violence,” remarked Katie Edwards, a professor at the University of Michigan, whose funding for various clinical trials involving LGBTQ individuals has been canceled.

The HIV studies have been particularly severely impacted.

The NIH has terminated major grants to the Adolescent Medical Exam Network for HIV/AIDS interventions, a program that established precursors for using medication therapy in adolescents to prevent infections.

The regimen known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is recognized as a promising strategy to reduce HIV transmission in youth.

The funding reductions threaten to amplify HIV transmission among young sexual minority men using stimulants as they aim to monitor a continuous trial of products that prevent both HIV and unplanned pregnancies, alongside sexual health counseling and behavioral therapy.

With the termination of numerous other HIV studies, these cuts are undermining Trump’s aims established during his prior term to eradicate the national HIV epidemic within a decade, according to scientists.

The NIH has also halted efforts relating to other sexually transmitted infections.

Dr. Matthew Spinelli, an infectious disease researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, was in the midst of clinical trials on common antibiotics for post-exposure prophylaxis aimed at preventing syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia infections.

The trial involved a randomized study assigning participants to different antibiotic regimens to assess metabolism.

He hoped that the findings would provide valuable insights into the efficacy of treatments for women. He previously advocated for this research.

However, health officials ceased funding for the March study, objecting to research based on “gender identity.” Consequently, Dr. Spinelli could not apply federal funds to monitor participants already on antibiotics.

Moreover, he risked wasting thousands of doses of antibiotics acquired using taxpayer money. Dr. Spinelli warned that discontinuing efforts against infections like syphilis and HIV will allow new outbreaks to arise.

“The HIV epidemic is poised to surge again as a direct result of these actions,” Dr. Spinelli stated. “This is catastrophic for the communities affected.”

Despite a recent focus on the negative consequences of medical transition, federal officials have canceled several studies examining the potential risks of hormone therapies. These projects aimed to understand whether such treatments could elevate the chances of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, brain development issues, or HIV.

Other canceled grants sought to address mental health challenges in transgender individuals. Transgender youth, who currently represent around 3% of high school students, report significantly higher instances of persistent grief and suicide attempts.

For Dr. Edwards at the University of Michigan, funding has been halted for one of her six canceled studies examining how depression and self-harm among transgender teens can be mitigated.

Another study aimed at promoting supportive care for LGBTQ youth and reducing dating violence and alcohol consumption among these individuals.

The NIH categorizes studies strictly by specific illnesses, complicating efforts for agencies to estimate budgets for LGBTQ health research. Nonetheless, a report from March suggested that such studies accounted for less than 1% of the NIH’s portfolio over a decade.

The Times sought to quantify the scale of funding cuts in LGBTQ medical research by assessing grant titles. Research summaries were available for each of the 669 grants the Trump administration identified as fully or partially canceled in early May.

The review included studies designed to recruit participants from sexual and gender minorities, extending beyond grants strictly tied to LGBTQ issues and highlighting significant health disparities.

Grants related to diseases outside of the LGBTQ scope were excluded from this assessment.

The Times focused solely on NIH research grants but acknowledged that the Trump administration also discontinued LGBTQ programs elsewhere in the federal health system, including proposals to eliminate specialized suicide hotlines for LGBTQ youth.

The reduction in funding has hollowed out fields that not only flourished over the past decade but also encompassed a variety of health threats beyond HIV.

Researchers claim young academics have lost their positions in LGBTQ-related research and are erasing traces of their work from online profiles.

Brittany Charlton, a professor at Harvard School of Public Health, had five grants canceled, including one examining the notable uptick in stillbirth rates among LGBTQ women.

Discontinuing research into health threats impacting gender and sexual minorities ultimately affects the broader population, she stated. “When those around you become ill, it impacts you too, even if you believe it doesn’t,” she concluded.

Irena Fan contributed reporting.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Seven Years of Research Uncover Fresh Perspectives on Consciousness

Posted on May 4, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A diverse group of neuroscientists evaluated two rival theories of consciousness: Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Global Neuron Workspace Theory (GNWT). IIT posits that consciousness arises when information within a system is intricately connected and unified, provided it is consciously recognized and functions as a cohesive entity. In contrast, GNWT proposes that a network of brain regions emphasizes significant information, bringing it to the forefront of our awareness and broadly sharing it as it enters consciousness, thereby forming a conscious experience.

Various theories elucidate how subjective experiences emerge from neural activity. While these theories have independent support, they have not been directly compared. Ferrante et al. We present an open science adversarial collaboration that juxtaposes Integrated Information Theory (IIT) with Global Neuron Workspace Theory (GNWT) through a theoretical Chinese consortium. Image credit: NASA/ESA/JPL-CALTECH/STSCI/SCI.NEWS.

Both philosophers and scientists have engaged in the pursuit of understanding the subjective aspects of consciousness (like experiencing pain or seeing vivid rainbows) and their connection to brain’s physical processes.

This endeavor has led to the simultaneous development of various consciousness theories, offering conflicting interpretations of the neural foundations of consciousness.

Moreover, empirical support for any given theory often hinges on methodological choices, pointing to potential confirmation bias in testing these theories.

A convergence of consciousness theories into a broadly accepted neuroscience framework could have profound medical, social, and ethical repercussions.

To facilitate this aim, the authors examined both IIT and GNWT through expansive open science adversarial collaborations designed to foster progress in consciousness research based on constructive disagreements.

“IIT proposes that consciousness results from the cooperation of various brain regions, integrating information much like a cohesive team effort,” the researchers noted.

“It arises from how these regions are interconnected and how they communicate, extending beyond just individual brain parts.”

“However, this research did not uncover sufficient sustained connections in the brain’s posterior areas to substantiate this notion.”

“The GNWT posits that consciousness is localized in the brain’s frontal regions, but this study also found inadequate evidence to support this idea,” they added.

This study included 256 participants, marking a significant milestone for this kind of experimentation.

Researchers displayed various visual stimuli and monitored the brain’s activity while participants viewed these stimuli using three common neuroimaging methods that track blood flow and electrical/magnetic activity.

“Our findings indicate a functional link between neurons in the early visual areas and those in the frontal regions, helping illuminate how perceptions are intertwined with thoughts,” they remarked.

“These results underscore the prefrontal cortex’s significance in consciousness, suggesting that while it plays a vital role in reasoning and planning, consciousness itself may be tied to sensory processing and perception.”

“In essence, intelligence pertains to actions taken, while consciousness refers to mere existence.”

“This discovery could reshape our understanding of consciousness and inform issues related to loss of consciousness, such as in comas and nutrition.”

Understanding the origins of consciousness could aid in identifying “secret awareness” in patients who are severely injured yet unresponsive.

“It became evident that no theory could definitively refute the other,” commented Professor Anil Seth from the University of Sussex.

“The theories pursue fundamentally different objectives in their assumptions and explanations, and the available experimental methods are too coarse to allow one theory to conclusively prevail over the other.”

“Regardless, the findings from this collaboration remain invaluable. There’s a wealth of insights to gain about both theories, along with new understandings of when and where visual experiences can be discerned in the brain.”

Survey results this week will be featured in the journal Nature.

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O. Ferrante et al. (Cogged the consortium). An antagonistic examination of global neuronal workspace and integrated information theory. Nature Released on April 30th, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-0888-1

Source: www.sci.news

Research: Multiple Pterosaur Groups Became Global 160 Million Years Ago

Posted on May 3, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Pterosaurs often glide above dinosaurs, but recent analysis of fossilized footprints indicates that some of these flying reptiles were equally adept at traversing the ground.

Terrestrial migration and tracking morphology of vegetative eye type skeletal morphology: (a) Reconstruction of the ctenochasmatoid orbit Ctenochasma elegans walking with ipsilateral gait, where the fore and hind legs on the same side of the body move together. (b) Manual and pedal morphology of Ctenochasma elegans; PES is plant and pentadactyl, while Manus is digital grade, functionally triductyl as the large fourth digit supporting the outer wing is folded during terrestrial movement. (c) Height map of pterosaur manus and PES footprints in the holotype of Ichnotaxon Pteraichnus stokesi that matches Ctenochasma elegans; (d) height maps from the Pterosaur trackway; Pteraichnus ISP. From the Upper Jurassic Casal Formation of Claysac, France. An outline drawing of (e) interpretation Pteraichnus ISP. Scale bar – 20 mm in (c), 200 mm in (d) and (e). Image credit: Smith et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.017.

“We have been diligently working to enhance our understanding of their lives,” stated Robert Smith, a doctoral researcher at the University of Leicester.

“These footprints offer insights into their habitat, movement, behaviors, and activities in ecosystems long gone.”

In this study, Smith and colleagues uncovered three distinct types of pterosaur footprints, each elucidating various lifestyles and behaviors.

Tying these footprints to specific groups presents a valuable new avenue for exploring how these flying reptiles lived, migrated, and adapted over time across different ecosystems.

“At last, 88 years after the initial discovery of Pterosaur tracks, we understand precisely who made them and the methods employed,” remarked Dr. David Unwin, Ph.D., from Leicester.

The most striking finding emerged from a group of pterosaurs known as Neoazdalci. Quetzalcoatlus, one of the largest flying creatures, boasts a wingspan of 10 meters.

Their footprints have been found in both coastal and inland regions worldwide, supporting the notion that these tall creatures not only ruled the skies but also cohabited the same environments as many dinosaur species.

Some of these tracks date back to an asteroid impact event 66 million years ago, alongside the extinction of both pterosaurs and dinosaurs.

Ctenochasmatoids, recognized for their elongated jaws and needle-like teeth, predominantly left tracks in coastal sediments.

These animals likely traversed muddy shores or shallow lagoons, employing specialized feeding techniques to capture small fish and floating prey.

The prevalence of these tracks indicates that these coastal pterosaurs were far more common in these habitats than the infrequent fossil remains suggest.

Another type of footprint was unearthed in rock formations, alongside the fossilized skeleton of the same pterosaur.

The close correlation between footprints and skeletons provides compelling evidence for identifying the print makers.

Known as Dsungaripterids, these pterosaurs featured robust limbs and jaws; the tips of their curved, toothless beaks were designed for grasping prey, while the large, rounded teeth at the rear of the jaw were ideal for crushing shellfish and other resilient foods.

“Footprints are frequently overlooked in Pterosaur studies, yet they yield a wealth of information regarding their behavior, interactions, and environmental relationships,” stated Smyth.

“A comprehensive analysis of the footprints enables us to uncover biological and ecological insights that cannot be obtained elsewhere.”

The team’s paper is published in the journal Current Biology.

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Robert S. Smith et al. Identifying Pterosaur track makers provides important insights into Mesozoic ground invasions. Current Biology Published online May 1, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.017

Source: www.sci.news

Research: Multiple Groups of Pterosaurs Became Global 160 Million Years Ago

Posted on May 2, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Pterosaurs often glide above dinosaurs, but recent examinations of fossilized footprints reveal that some of these flying reptiles were equally adept at terrestrial movement.

Terrestrial migration and tracking morphology of vegetative eye type skeletal morphology: (a) Reconstruction of the ctenochasmatoid orbit Ctenochasma elegans walking with an ipsilateral gait, where the fore and hind legs on the same side move together as a pair. (b) Manual and pedal morphology of Ctenochasma elegans; PES is plant and pentadactyl, while Manus is digital grade, functionally triductyl as the large fourth digit supporting the outer wing is folded during terrestrial movement. (c) Height map of pterosaur manus and PES footprints in the holotype of Ichnotaxon Pteraichnus stokesi, showing a form that matches Ctenochasma elegans; (d) height maps from part of the Pterosaur trackway; Pteraichnus ISP. From the Upper Jurassic Casal Formation of Claysac, France. An outline drawing of (e) interpretation of Pteraichnus ISP. Scale bar – 20 mm in (c), 200 mm in (d) and (e). Image credit: Smith et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.017.

“We have been diligently working to enhance our understanding of these creatures,” stated Robert Smith, a doctoral researcher at the University of Leicester.

“These findings provide insights into their habitats, movement patterns, and daily activities in ecosystems long since vanished.”

In this research, Smith and his team identified three distinct types of pterosaur footprints, each offering insights into various lifestyles and behaviors.

By correlating footprints with specific groups, a robust new method emerges to study how these flying reptiles thrived, migrated, and adapted to diverse ecosystems over time.

“Finally, 88 years after the initial discovery of Pterosaur tracks, we have pinpointed precisely who created them and how,” remarked Dr. David Unwin, Ph.D., from Leicester.

Perhaps the most striking revelation comes from a group of pterosaurs known as Neoazdalci. Quetzalcoatlus, one of the largest flying creatures, boasts a wingspan of 10 meters.

Their footprints have been found in both coastal and inland areas worldwide, supporting the theory that these long-legged animals not only soared through the skies, but also inhabited the same environments as numerous dinosaur species.

Some of these tracks date back to an asteroid impact event 66 million years ago, coinciding with the extinction of both pterosaurs and dinosaurs.

Ctenochasmatoids, recognized for their elongated jaws and needle-like teeth, left footprints primarily found in coastal sediments.

These animals likely walked along muddy shores or shallow lagoons, employing unique feeding strategies to capture small fish and floating prey.

The prevalence of these tracks suggests that these coastal pterosaurs were far more common in these habitats than than the rare fossilized remains.

Another type of footprint was located in rock formations, where fossilized remains of the same pterosaur were also found.

The close association between footprints and skeletons offers compelling evidence for identifying the track makers.

These pterosaurs, known as Dsungaripterids, possessed robust limbs and jaws; their toothless, curved beaks were adept at securing prey, while their large, rounded teeth were ideal for crushing shellfish and other resilient foods.

“Footprints are often overlooked in Pterosaur studies, yet they yield a wealth of information about the behaviors and interactions of these creatures with their environment,” emphasized Smyth.

“A detailed analysis of these footprints allows us to uncover biological and ecological insights that other methods may not provide.”

The team’s paper was published in the journal Current Biology.

____

Robert S. Smith et al. Identifying Pterosaur track makers provides crucial insights into Mesozoic terrestrial invasions. Current Biology, published online on May 1, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.017

Source: www.sci.news

How Nearly a Century of Happiness Research Unveiled a Key Finding

Posted on May 1, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

When Lyubomirsky joined Stanford’s Graduate School of Social Psychology in 1989, the study of happiness was just beginning to earn respectability in academia. Ed Diener, a psychologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, would later gain recognition for his contributions to the field. Despite his long-standing interest in happiness, he chose to wait until he achieved tenure before diving into the subject. Similarly, Lyubomirsky was hesitant to specialize in happiness; as a serious scientist, she felt that topics related to “emotion” were often regarded as less rigorous. However, after an engaging discussion with her advisor on her first day at Stanford, she resolved to make happiness her primary focus.

Lyubomirsky began by exploring the fundamental question of why some individuals experience greater happiness than others. A few years prior, Diener had published a survey that examined existing research, highlighting the types of behaviors often associated with happy individuals. However, the studies often yielded conflicting results, leading to a lack of definitive answers. Lyubomirsky’s own findings indicated that mindset plays a significant role; happy individuals tended to avoid comparing themselves to others, held positive views of those around them, made fulfilling choices, and did not dwell on negativity.

Yet, Lyubomirsky recognized the complexity of cause and effect. Did a happy disposition foster a healthy mindset, or did adopting a positive outlook lead to increased happiness? Were people inherently predisposed to a certain level of happiness, much like mothers clustering together? She pondered whether it was possible to shift one’s mindset, noting that such changes often required extensive time—many people spend years in therapy attempting to achieve this, often without success. This prompted her to investigate whether simpler, quicker actions could enhance well-being.

To this end, Lyubomirsky researched various habits and practices thought to uplift mood, such as random acts of kindness and expressions of gratitude. Over six weeks, she instructed students to perform five acts of kindness each week—like donating blood or assisting peers with assignments. By the end of the study, these students reported higher levels of happiness compared to a control group. Another group reflected weekly on things they were grateful for, such as “My Mother” and “AOL Instant Messenger,” and similarly experienced an increase in happiness. Although the changes were modest, Lyubomirsky found it intriguing that small, low-cost interventions could enhance students’ quality of life. In 2005, she published a paper asserting that individuals possess significant control over their happiness.

Lyubomirsky’s research emerged during a time when psychology was reevaluating its objectives and focus. When Martin Seligman, a psychologist from the University of Pennsylvania, took leadership of the American Psychological Association in 1998, he and his colleagues noted that the field had overly concentrated on dysfunction, neglecting the promotion of life satisfaction. He urged his peers to explore themes such as “optimism, courage, work ethic, resilience, interpersonal skills, pleasure, insight, and social responsibility,” advocating a return to making life more fulfilling and productive for everyone.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Kennedy Encourages New Parents to “Conduct Your Own Research” on Vaccines

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. advised new parents to “conduct their own research” prior to “conducting their own research” during a television interview regarding infant vaccinations.

In a conversation with talk show host Phil, Kennedy stated that aired on Merritt on Monday, the 100th day of the Trump administration. He reiterated his stance, saying, “To prevent the spread of measles, getting the vaccine is your best option.”

However, Kennedy maintained that the choice rests with individuals. By suggesting that the vaccine poses risks, he undermines decades of guidance from public health professionals, including officials from the CDC.

“We live in a democracy, and part of being a responsible parent is to do your own research,” he replied to questions from women in the audience regarding vaccine safety advice for new parents. “You should investigate strollers, the food they consume, and the medications they receive.”

The phrase “I did my research” has emerged as a significant cultural and political term during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pro-vaccination advocates have criticized individuals primarily from the political left who opted out of vaccination. This expression evolved into a meme and has appeared in mock gravestones at Halloween-themed cemeteries in liberal areas.

The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond promptly to requests for comments.

Kennedy’s remarks were made amidst the largest measles outbreak in the U.S. in nearly 25 years, which has resulted in the deaths of two young children and one adult.

Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician and vaccine authority at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, remarked that while he often disagrees with Kennedy, “it’s perfectly reasonable to be skeptical about a vaccine.” However, parents who wish to research should be mindful of their information sources.

“When you talk about doing your own research, it’s important to consult individuals with expertise in the area, or at least seek information from credible online sources. This doesn’t mean relying solely on chat rooms or social media,” said Dr. Offit. He emphasized that while good information exists, “many poor sources can mislead you about your options, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. exemplifies that.”

Another vaccine specialist, Dr. Peter Hotez from Baylor School of Medicine, contended that Kennedy was being misleading. “He claims people are doing their own research—what parents often download is a flood of misinformation, steering away from expert health advice toward dubious influences.”

Kennedy further suggested that measles vaccinations could lead to various illnesses without substantiation. “Would you like to stop measles?” he inquired. “Certainly, but does it cause other issues like seizures or autoimmune diseases? We don’t know. No one can answer that.”

In reality, studies indicate that with rare exceptions, vaccinated individuals are less likely than those infected to develop autoimmune illnesses, concluding that vaccines “not only shield patients from infections but also from complications, including autoimmune symptoms.”

Kennedy’s statements in the interview were generally flawed. He proclaimed, “New medications are approved by external panels, not by the FDA or CDC.”

This is inaccurate. While external expert panels advise the FDA on controversial drug approvals, only the FDA holds the authority to sanction or reject new medications, vaccines, and treatments; the CDC does not partake in this process.

“Kennedy must understand the role of the FDA in drug development and marketing decisions,” asserted Dr. Robert Califf, the FDA’s commissioner under President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Kennedy also erroneously asserted that vaccines were not subjected to safety evaluations prior to or following approval. “There is no initial safety research, and there’s no monitoring system afterward,” he claimed. “Vaccines are the only medical products exempt from pre-licensure safety assessments.”

In fact, the FDA licenses vaccines after an extensive year-long process involving thorough lab and animal testing, followed by human trials. Rigorous research on vaccine safety and efficacy is mandated. Typically, thousands participate in large clinical trials, as emphasized by Dr. Peter Marks, head of the vaccine division, who recently announced his resignation.

“I am uncertain about the origin of this misconception,” remarked Dr. Marks, critical of Kennedy. “Vaccines undergo extensive safety evaluations. Since they are administered to healthy individuals, safety is of utmost importance.”

Upon licensing, vaccines are monitored through various databases. Vaccine Safety Data Links employ electronic health records nationwide to detect unusual side effects, including rare myocarditis cases reported in young men post-COVID-19 vaccination.

Another system, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, established in 1990 as the “National Early Warning System,” relies on reports from both patients and healthcare providers. Many vaccine skeptics, including Kennedy, have cited Vaers data to argue that vaccines are harmful, but it is not intended to ascertain causality regarding health issues; rather, it flags potential concerns for further investigation.

The FDA operates an additional safety monitoring program known as BEST, focusing on biologics effectiveness and safety initiatives.

Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Infectious Diseases Committee, stated that it is incorrect to assert that federal officials do not surveil vaccine safety. “I am uncertain about the source of this claim,” he noted.

He added, “We recognize various rare adverse events. If it becomes evident that the risks approach or surpass the benefits, the vaccine will be withdrawn from the market.”

Source: www.nytimes.com

New Research Indicates Vesta Lacks a Metal Core

Posted on April 29, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A recent analysis of data from NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft indicates that Vesta, the second-largest asteroid in our solar system, has not fully differentiated into a metallic core, silicate mantle, or basaltic crust.

NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft studied Vesta from July 2011 to September 2012. The towering mountains of Antarctica, more than twice the height of Mount Everest, can be seen at the bottom of the image. A set of three craters known as ‘snowmen’ can be found in the top left. Image credits: NASA/JPL-CALTECH/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA.

First discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers on March 29, 1807, Vesta is the only significant asteroid visible to the naked eye.

It completes a rotation in 5.34 hours, orbits the Sun in 3.63 years, and has an elongated shape with dimensions of 286 x 279 x 223 km.

Due to its substantial size, Vesta is regarded as a differentiated body with a core and mantle, similar to our own planet.

“There has been significant effort put into this research,” noted Dr. Seth Jacobson, a researcher from Michigan State University, along with his colleagues.

“One possibility is that Vesta has undergone incomplete differentiation, meaning it initiated the necessary melting process to create distinct layers such as a core, mantle, and crust, but never completed it.”

“Another theory suggests that Vesta is a fragment of a larger body that contributed to the formation of planets in the solar system.”

“The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has played a crucial role in this research,” explained Dr. Ryan Park, a senior research scientist and principal engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“After nearly ten years of advancements in calibration and processing technology, we have achieved remarkable consistency between the Dawn spacecraft’s Deep Space Network data and its onboard imaging data.”

“We were eager to see the strength of the data in revealing Vesta’s deep interior.”

“Our findings suggest that Vesta’s history is far more complex than previously thought, influenced by unique processes such as interrupted planetary differentiation and late-stage collisions.”

Celestial bodies with dense cores behave differently from those without cores.

With this newfound understanding, researchers assessed Vesta’s rotation and gravitational field.

The findings indicate that Vesta’s behavior contradicts previous notions about core formation.

“To confirm whether Vesta is an ancient remnant from a planetary formation, we need to develop more models and refine our analyses,” stated Dr. Jacobson.

“Scientists can also adapt their methodologies for studying Vesta’s materials to delve deeper into both hypotheses.”

“Further research can be conducted using innovative approaches to the Dawn mission data.”

“Our publications mark the beginning of a new research direction and could fundamentally alter how scientists perceive differentiated worlds.”

Read the paper published in the journal Natural Astronomy.

____

RS Park et al. Vesta’s small core is inferred from Dawn’s observations. Nature Astronomy published online on April 23, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41550-025-02533-7

Source: www.sci.news

Research Indicates That the Size of Small Houses Made Ancient Giant Kangaroos Susceptible to Local Extinction

Posted on April 26, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Extinct Kangaroos from the genus Protemnodon A recent study by paleontologists from the University of Adelaide, Queensland Museum, and Monash University discovered that these creatures were not adventurous wanderers traversing the plains, but rather homebodies that remained close to their habitats throughout their lives. This finding aligns with behaviors observed in modern kangaroo species, yet it was surprising to the researchers.

Protemnodon. Image credits: Andrey Atuchin / Rochelle Lawrence / Scott Hocknull.

Among large herbivorous mammals, greater body sizes are often associated with broader foraging ranges; however, it remains uncertain if this trend applies to extinct Australian megafauna.

In this study, paleontologist Christopher Laurikainen Gaete and colleagues investigated protemnodon fossils found in the Etna Cave, located north of Rockhampton in Central Queensland, Australia.

They examined strontium isotopes from kangaroo teeth, revealing matches only with local limestone rather than distant rock formations.

“The strontium isotopes in the fossilized teeth indicate the geology of the region where food was sourced,” they noted.

The findings suggest that Protemnodon had a significantly smaller foraging range than anticipated for its size, which is estimated at up to 170 kilograms.

Prior research indicates that Protemnodon likely lacked the capacity for long-distance travel due to its large size, thereby restricting its movement.

Additionally, this new study suggests that the stable, lush rainforest habitat provided sufficient food sources, negating the need for Protemnodon to wander far.

When climate change and increasing aridity disrupted this rainforest ecosystem about 280,000 years ago, the reduced foraging area may have left Protemnodon unable to find sufficient food, ultimately leading to the local extinction of these giant kangaroos.

Further investigations are needed to ascertain whether the limited range of Australia’s gigantic marsupials is a widespread pattern attributable to habitat rather than body size.

“We utilized data from contemporary kangaroos to predict a much broader foraging range for these giant extinct kangaroos,” explained Laurikainen Gaete.

“We were astonished to find they didn’t roam at all.”

“These innovative isotopic techniques have significantly advanced our field,” remarked Dr. Scott Hocknall, a senior scientist and curator at the Queensland Museum and paleontologist at Monash University.

“Think of it as an ancient GPS tracker. Fossils allow us to monitor individual movement, dietary habits, social interactions, and causes of death.”

“The ongoing debate regarding the extinction of Australia’s megafauna has persisted for decades, and now we can analyze it from an individual and species-specific standpoint,” stated Professor Anthony Doset, a paleontologist at the University of Wollongong.

“These precise methodologies enable us to examine each site and individual, facilitating more accurate extinction models.”

Researchers are currently planning to apply these methods to reconstruct the past behaviors and diets of MT ETNA and other extinct kangaroo species in the Capricorn Cave region.

“Many of the kangaroo species on Kangaroo Island, such as those found in Capricorn Caves, include tree kangaroos, pademelons, and rock wallabies, with descendants inhabiting the wet tropics and Papua New Guinea,” noted Professor Doset.

“We will employ these same techniques to explore how these surviving kangaroo species adapted to the environmental changes that contributed to the massive extinctions.”

The study will be published in the journal PLOS 1.

____

C. Laurikainen Gaete et al. 2025. Megafauna Mobility: An assessment of the foraging range of extinct macropodids from central Queensland, Australia. PLOS 1 20(4): E0319712; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0319712

Source: www.sci.news

US Government to Reimburse Misinformation Research Efforts

Posted on April 26, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

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                <img class="Image" alt="A new scientist. Science News and Long reads from expert journalists, covering science, technology, health, and environmental developments in various publications." width="1350" height="899" src="https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg" sizes="(min-width: 1288px) 837px, (min-width: 1024px) calc(57.5vw + 55px), (min-width: 415px) calc(100vw - 40px), calc(70vw + 74px)" srcset="https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=300 300w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=400 400w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=500 500w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=600 600w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=700 700w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=800 800w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=837 837w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=900 900w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=1003 1003w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=1100 1100w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=1300 1300w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=1400 1400w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=1500 1500w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=1600 1600w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=1674 1674w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=1700 1700w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=1800 1800w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=1900 1900w, https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24195333/sei248660585.jpg?width=2006 2006w" loading="eager" fetchpriority="high" data-image-context="Article" data-image-id="2477989" data-caption="Disinformation is particularly prevalent on social media platforms." data-credit="Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images"/>
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                    <p class="ArticleImageCaption__Title">Disinformation is particularly prevalent on social media platforms.</p>
                    <p class="ArticleImageCaption__Credit">Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images</p>
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    <p>The National Science Foundation (NSF) has terminated a government research grant aimed at examining misinformation and disinformation. This decision comes amid a surge of propaganda and deceit proliferated by the latest AI technologies, coinciding with tech companies scaling back their content moderation efforts and disbanding fact-checking teams.</p>
    <p>The grant was canceled on April 18, as stated by the NSF in a <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/updates-on-priorities">public announcement</a>. The statement asserts that it no longer backs research on misinformation or disinformation, citing potential conflicts with constitutionally protected free speech rights...</p>
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Source: www.newscientist.com

Tourists in Antarctica Fund Scientific Research amid Government Cuts

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

During the warm Antarctic season, a refined Norwegian passenger ship is known as Ms Fridtjof Nansen Departing regularly from Argentina, head south along the turbulent drake passageway to the Antarctic Peninsula. The cruise is home to more and more wealthy adventurers, bucket listers, and increasingly polar scientists seeking to collect data as public funds for research in Antarctica under the Trump administration.

The National Science Foundation is one of the world’s largest funders of scientific research and has an annual budget. Approximately $9 billion This supports most of the research in the United States Antarctic. Over the past few months, the Trump administration has ordered agencies to cut deeper, making scientists wonder how they will study everything, from melting glaciers and ice sheets to the effects of pollution from power plants and wildfires.

On Thursday, National Science Foundation director Seturaman Panchanashan resigned after the White House directed him to cut the agency’s budget and staff by more than half. According to an exclusive report from Science.

Panchanathan’s resignation follows Elon Musk’s previous orders from government efficiency Freeze fund All new research grants from the National Science Foundation, and the announcement that Doge will be over last week Over $200 million “Wild” research grants given by the agency.

Some experts are concerned that the Trump administration continues its National Science Foundation It may inform you of the end For research into the United States of Antarctica.

Leopard seals along the Antarctic Peninsula.
Chase Cain / NBC News

James Burns, co-founder of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, is an international alliance for environmental and non-governmental organizations focusing on Antarctic conservation and research, and says the National Science Foundation has become “wicked language” within much of the Trump administration. “For whatever reason, there’s so much to learn in Antarctica, that’s not good on many levels for us.”

President Donald Trump’s orders specifically target Antarctic research include: Staff of several National Science Foundations We are working on Antarctica projects and essential reductions Construction funds for McMurdo Stationthe largest US research foundation on the continent.

Antarctica-based research projects have already declined for several years – disrupted decades of robust fieldwork; Never recovered from Covid-19 restrictions. Currently, research on the world’s southernmost continent has been facing several years under Trump’s slash and burning policies.

However, I’m riding on Fridjov Nansen. And its sister ship, Ms. Roald Amundsen, Polar Scientist, has reliable funds for their research. HX Expeditions, which operates two Antarctic ships, hosts researchers from institutions such as West Washington University. University of California, Santa Cruz. National Snow and Ice Data Center. Their rooms and boards are covered by the purchase of tickets from tourists sailing to Antarctica for a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

“If we can’t pay customers to allow our ship to go south, we can’t support the research we are helping out,” said Verena Meraldi, chief scientist on the HX Expedition. “It’s not easy [to get there]. There are not many flights coming down here, and fewer research vessels. ”

Gentleman penguins along the Antarctic Peninsula.
Chase Cain / NBC News

Tourists traveling on the HX expedition are part of the explosive ecotourism industry, focusing on experiencing nature while helping to preserve the local area. The number of visitors to Antarctica has increased from about 8,000 each year in the 1990s to over 120,000 per year. International Antarctic Tour Operators Association. By 2035, the ecotourism market will be like that projection It will grow to over $550 billion. Ms Fridtjof Nansen on a late March expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula It was home to over 400 ecotourists and several researchers, including Freia Aardred, a doctoral student at Durham University in the UK.

Alldred moved along with sterilized bags to collect samples of seaweed grown in Antarctica waters and snow algae. She has studied how climate change affects the carbon content of these Antarctic species, and Cruises has provided a unique opportunity to collect new samples.

“We’ve never been anywhere with a research foundation,” says Alldred. “Instead, if I went to a base in the Antarctic in England, I could only sample within my area. Here I have gone to five different sites throughout the peninsula that may not have been previously studied.”

The boat was housed nearby scientists and ecotourists, giving scientists the unusual opportunity to explain their work directly to non-scientists through interactive sessions in an onboard lab. For ten days, enthusiastic passengers attended lectures from resident researchers, ate with them at the ship’s restaurant, sharing their first steps in the vast polar deserts of Antarctica.

“It’s incredible to share these experiences with people, explain why we do research, what kind of questions we answer, and they see them firsthand,” said Chloe Lou, a researcher who works with the California Ocean Alliance to capture the impact of tourist boats on Antarctica whales. “It fires me for my passion for my work.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Research suggests that female bonobos band together to avoid male aggression

Posted on April 24, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

woman Bonobos New research is discovering that they team up to find strength in numbers and combine them to dodge wild men.

With ChimpanzeesBonobo is one of the closest relatives of humans. Scientists have been wondering why bonobos live in general Women dominate Men are physically bigger and stronger, so they are social.

30 Years of Observation in the Congo – The only place where endangered bonobos are seen in the wild is to support the idea of sisters who unite to assert their powers.

These groups of girls found women who ousted male bonobos out of the trees, secured food for themselves, and ranked them higher on the community’s social ladders, researchers found.

“It’s very clear not to step on as a male bonobo,” said Martin Sarbeck, Harvard research author.

The findings were published in the Journal Communications Biology on Thursday.

The combined number of female bonobos appears to change the tide to male fitness, Sarbeck said. This type of strategy allows women to get women to top the top in the Animal Kingdom. Find power in the group as well.

Female bonobos linked, even if they had no close relationships, supported each other against men, and solidified their social status. The observations show how female bonobos work together to protect themselves from male violence, bioanthropologist Laura Lewis said at the University of California, Berkeley.

The findings “support the idea that humans and our ancestors use coalitions to maintain and maintain power over millions of years,” Lewis, who was not involved in the study, said in an email.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Enhanced Research May Improve Climate Legislation by Holding Polluters Accountable

Posted on April 24, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In 2023, the Winooski River in Vermont overflowed and reached the Green Truss Bridge that crosses it. The river water even seeped into the marble floor of the state house due to 9 inches of rain falling within 48 hours, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

A year later, Vermont enacted the Climate Change Superfund Act, holding an oil and gas company financially responsible for the state’s climate damages. A similar law was passed in New York in 2024 and is pending in California, Maryland, and Massachusetts.

Understanding the law involves attribution science, a field that uses global temperature data to model numerous scenarios to determine if extreme weather events like floods and heatwaves are linked to emissions from burning oil, gas, and coal.

A new paper published in Nature Journal on Wednesday magnifies this work to connect emissions from specific entities to the economic impact of extreme events.

“The oil industry is astonished by the state’s climate superfund laws and their increasing popularity, as they are the first policies globally to hold a significant portion of the major losses responsible for the substantial damages incurred by their products.”

The response to the law was swift. In February, West Virginia and other Republican-led states sought to challenge New York’s laws, arguing that only the federal government has the authority to regulate emissions. President Trump signed an executive order this month criticizing the state law as a burden and ideological motivation, calling on Attorney General Pam Bondy to block enforcement.

Environmental attorneys have been exploring how harm can be attributed to greenhouse gas emissions for years, according to Martin Rockman, a climate law fellow at Columbia University’s Sabine Center.

“Attribution science is crucial because it establishes links between particular activities of businesses that profit from fossil fuels and specific harms to states and communities,” Rockman stated. “If you’re causing harm, you should be accountable for mitigating it, it’s that simple.”

The new study will enhance an approach known as “end-to-end” attribution, linking a specific emitter (e.g., a company) to a particular climate-related impact (e.g., extreme heat) and subsequent damage (impact on the global economy).

The study revealed that Chevron’s emissions caused heat-related losses totaling up to $3.6 trillion in the global economy. Christopher Callahan, a postdoctoral geoscientist at Stanford University and the study’s author, noted that such high costs still underestimate the global repercussions of fossil fuel combustion in less affluent tropical regions with minimal emissions responsibility.

“That astounding figure represents the detriment from just one of the climate impacts,” stated Delta Melner, associate director of the Science Hub for Climate Litigation at the Coalition of Concerned Scientists. “The overall harm caused by major emitters is undoubtedly much greater when considering the full range of climate risks.”

Theodore J. Bootras Jr., a Chevron Corporation lawyer, argued that the study “disregards the scientific impossibility of attributing a specific climate or weather phenomenon to a particular country, company, or energy consumer.” He labeled it as futile state litigation and a misleading advocacy campaign for energy penalties and regulations.

Overall, the paper estimated that the global economy would suffer $28 trillion in damages due to extreme heat caused by emissions from 111 major carbon producers between 1991 and 2020.

More than 100 climate-related lawsuits have been filed annually since 2017, as per a recent study. However, these cases scrutinize attribution studies that struggle to connect emissions to estimated economic losses.

This innovative framework can offer similar capabilities in other major damage and liability cases, analogous to those handled in tobacco-related lung cancer lawsuits and pharmaceutical claims for addiction.

Justin Mankin, a geography professor specializing in climate science at Dartmouth University and co-author of the Nature paper, remarked:

World Weather Attribution, a group based at Imperial College London, has regularly published attribution reports over the past decade.

“Unfortunately, we are still one of the few entities engaged in this work, and we are not an official institution. It’s essentially a project I undertake as a university professor in collaboration with a team of colleagues,” stated Friedrike Otto, a physicist aiding in attributing global weather.

Dr. Callahan and Dr. Mankin utilized open-source tools in their models, developing code and data resources they deployed to publish the global costs of climate change on their website.

“We advocate for transparent and open science, particularly since the research was funded by U.S. taxpayers,” Dr. Mankin emphasized, highlighting a significant portion of the research support originating from NOAA, the nation’s leading climate science agency facing funding cuts during the Trump administration.

Extreme weather events have disrupted communities and continue to exacerbate tensions. According to Vermont Senator Anne Watson, the 2023 flood cost Vermont hundreds of millions of dollars, prompting her to sponsor a bill quantifying state damages between 1995 and 2024.

Julie Moore, the secretary at the Vermont Natural Resources Agency, assisted states in organizing their inquiries for more information to better grasp the various approaches in attribution science and comprehend how to assign damages caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

“The charge against us is to establish guidelines on applying attribution science and ultimately send out a cost recovery notice,” Moore explained. According to state laws, oil and gas companies will receive this notice in early 2027.

“The expectation is that it will aid Vermont in securing a substantial amount to cover damages and adapt to a hotter, more humid climate resulting from carbon in the atmosphere,” Watson expressed. “We need a source to determine accountability for this.”

Source: www.nytimes.com

Research suggests that universe may rotate every 500 billion years

Posted on April 22, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

New research led by astronomers at the University of Hawaii suggests that our universe could spin.

In the formation of the universe, gravity links galaxies with clusters of galaxies to construct vast co-nes-like structures that link hundreds of millions of light years along an invisible bridge. This is known as Cosmic Web. Image credit: Springel et al. / Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.

“To paraphrase the Greek philosopher Heracritus of Ephesus, he famously said Pantarei – he thought everything would change, perhaps Panta Kaicurtai – he thought everything would change.”

According to current models, the universe expands evenly in all directions with no signs of rotation. This idea fits most of what astronomers observe.

But that doesn’t explain the so-called Hubble tension. It is a long-standing discrepancy between two ways of measuring how quickly the universe is expanding.

One method examines distant exploding stars or supernovas to measure distances to galaxies, providing the magnification of the universe over the past billions of years.

Another method uses artefact radiation from the Big Bang, providing a very early universe expansion rate, about 13 billion years ago. Each gives a different value for the expansion rate.

Dr. Szapudi and his colleagues developed a mathematical model of the universe.

First, the model followed standard rules. They then added a small amount of rotation. Those small changes made a huge difference.

“To my surprise, we found that our model solves paradoxes without conflicting with current astronomical measurements,” Dr. Szapudi said.

“What’s even better is that it’s compatible with other models that assume rotation.”

“So perhaps everything really changes.

The team’s models suggest that the universe could turn once every 500 billion years.

“This idea does not break known laws of physics,” the astronomer said.

“And maybe it explains why measurements of space growth are completely disagreeable.”

“The next step is to turn the theory into a complete computer model and find ways to find signs of this slow, universe spin.”

Survey results It will be displayed in Monthly Notices from the Royal Astronomical Society.

____

Balázs Endre Szigeti et al. 2025. Can rotation solve the Hubble puzzle? mnras 538(4): 3038-3041; doi: 10.1093/mnras/staf446

Source: www.sci.news

New research shows that several Titan rivers do not flow into a delta

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The Earth’s coastline is an attractive place where liquids are mixed and materials are shaped into clear terrain, such as the River Delta. Similar active coastlines exist in Titan, the moon of Saturn, where liquid hydrocarbons (methane and ethane) replace water. However, studies of Titan’s coastline, particularly the River Delta, are challenging due to the limited imaging data and the unknown nature of its materials. To overcome these challenges, Brown University planetary scientists, MIT, the MIT-Whoi joint program of oceanography, Woods Hole Marine Facilities, Cornell University, have developed a new model that simulates the Earth’s coastline as if it were found in NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. They discovered that they could detect large terrain in Titan with the correct contrast. They then returned to Titan and remap the coastline. Surprisingly, they discovered that unlike on Earth, where many large rivers house the delta of rivers, many of the Titan rivers do not end in the delta. They also discovered submerged features of Titan on the seabed, suggesting changes in sea level and active currents below sea level.

This composite image shows an infrared view of Titan. In this image, blue represents the wavelength centered at 1.3 microns, green represents 2.0 microns, and red represents 5.0 microns. Views at visible wavelengths show only the hazy atmosphere of Titan. The near-infrared wavelength of this image allows Cassini’s vision to penetrate the haze and reveal the surface of the moon. The view focuses primarily on the terrain in the hemisphere facing Saturn in Titan. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute.

“We’ve seen a lot of effort into this world,” said Dr. Sam Burch, a researcher at Brown University.

“But the absence of delta raises many new questions.”

“We take it for granted that we get a delta if we have rivers and sediments.”

“But Titan is odd. It’s a playground for studying the processes we thought we understood.”

Titan is the largest of Saturn’s 274 confirmed moons. Its thick nitrogen and methane atmosphere creates many earth-like climate and weather features.

Titan has clouds, wind, rain, rivers, lakes and oceans. However, instead of water, Titan’s liquids contain methane and ethane. Methane is a liquid at Titan’s chilly surface temperatures.

Scientists learned about Titan’s liquid body when Cassini’s spaceship flew in 2006. Peering into the thick atmosphere of Titan with Cassini’s synthetic aperture radar (SAR), the spacecraft revealed a large body of liquid and a large flat area with a large flat area.

However, what is largely missing from Cassini’s SAR images was the delta, even at the mouth of the large river.

However, it was not clear whether Delta was really absent or not shown in Cassini’s SAR data.

That is a question Dr. Burch and his colleagues tried to answer in their new research.

The problem with Cassini’s SAR data is that shallow liquid methane is largely transparent in every image.

Therefore, while images of the SAR allowed us to see wide ocean and river channels, it is difficult to create coastal features with confidence, as it is difficult to see where the coast ends and where the seabed begins.

For this study, the authors developed a numerical model to simulate what Cassini’s SAR sees whether they are viewing a landscape that scientists understand well: Earth.

In the model, Earth’s rivers and ocean waters were replaced by Titan methane liquids with different radar absorption properties compared to water.

“We basically created a synthetic SAR image of the Earth that assumes the properties of Titan’s liquids instead of the Earth,” Dr. Burch said.

“If you see the SAR images of the landscape, we know so well that we can go back to Titan and get a little better at what we’re looking at.”

Researchers have found that synthetic SAR images of the Earth clearly solved large deltas and many other large coastal landscapes.

“If you have the size of a delta at the mouth of the Mississippi River, you should be able to see it,” Dr. Burch said.

“If we have a big barrier island or similar coastal landscape that we see along the US Gulf Coast, we should be able to see them.”

But as scientists shook the Titan images in light of new analysis, they were almost empty.

The rest of the moon’s river was completely delta free, except for two possible deltas near Titan’s Antarctic.

They found that only about 1.3% of the large rivers of Titan that end on the coastline have the delta. In contrast, on Earth, almost every river of similar size has a delta.

“It’s not entirely clear why Titans generally lack delta,” Dr. Burch said.

“The fluid properties of the Titan river should allow sediment to be carried and deposited.”

“Because the sea level in Titan is rising so rapidly, the delta can crush the landscape faster than it accumulates in a single location.”

“The winds and currents along the Titan coast can also play a similarly large role in preventing delta formation.”

And the only delta of mystery posed by new research is not missing.

A new analysis of Cassini SAR data on the Titan coast reveals holes of unknown origin deep within the lake and ocean.

Researchers also found deep waterways on the ocean floor, which appear to have been carved by the river flow, but it is not clear how they got there.

“All of these surprises require more research to fully understand,” Dr. Burch said.

“This is not really what we expected. But Titan does this well for us, and I think it’s an attractive place to study.”

study It was published in Journal of Journal Geophysics: Planets.

____

SPD Birch et al. 2025. Detectability of coastal topography on Titan using Cassini radar. jgr planet 130 (3): e2024je008737; doi: 10.1029/2024je008737

Source: www.sci.news

Research shows that elderly individuals are seeking care for cannabis use due to increased risk of dementia.

Posted on April 15, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Hospital or emergency room care for cannabis use among middle-aged and elderly individuals may lead to an increased risk of developing dementia, according to a large Canadian study published in Jama Neurology. Over a five-year period, individuals seeking care for cannabis use were almost twice as likely to develop dementia compared to the general population.

The study, which analyzed medical records of six million Ontario residents from 2008 to 2021, highlighted a 23% higher risk of dementia among cannabis users compared to those seeking care for other reasons.

While the study did not specify the amount of cannabis used by participants, it did not establish a causal relationship between regular or heavy cannabis use and dementia.

Dr. Daniel T. Myran, the study’s lead author, emphasized the need for further research to explore the potential link between cannabis use and dementia. He acknowledged the complexity of determining whether cannabis use could lead to dementia and highlighted the importance of addressing these concerns.

Previous research by Dr. Myran indicated a higher mortality rate among individuals with cannabis use disorder and noted an increase in cases of schizophrenia and psychosis related to cannabis use in Canada.

Recent studies focusing on the impact of cannabis use on cognition have provided valuable insights, highlighting potential risks associated with regular or heavy cannabis consumption.

While previous research on cannabis and dementia has been limited, the strength of the new study lies in its large sample size and long-term follow-up of patients. Dr. Madeline Meyer, an expert not involved in the study, commended the study for its ability to rule out dementia at the outset and track the temporal relationship between cannabis use and dementia.

Dr. Meyer’s own research has linked cannabis use with neuropsychological decline, challenging the perception of cannabis as a harmless substance with potential medical benefits.

She emphasized the importance of taking the association between cannabis use and dementia seriously and considering the potential risks it may pose.

The increasing use of cannabis among older adults has raised concerns about potential health risks, including the development of dementia. A new study found a significant rise in cannabis-related medical visits among adults aged 45 and older, prompting further investigation into the potential impact of cannabis on cognitive health.

Comparing individuals with cannabis-related medical visits to the general population, the study highlighted a higher incidence of dementia among cannabis users, emphasizing the need for comprehensive evaluation of the risks associated with cannabis use.

While some factors contributing to the increased risk of dementia among cannabis users can be explained, others remain unclear, requiring further research to fully understand the potential relationship between cannabis use and cognitive decline.

Dr. Mylan and his colleagues found that individuals seeking care for alcohol use are more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than those using cannabis, highlighting the complex nature of substance use and its impact on cognitive health.

Despite efforts to control for various factors, there are still uncertainties surrounding the potential link between cannabis use and dementia. It is essential to consider all possible variables that may contribute to the development of dementia in cannabis users.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Research claims that Facebook is continuing to experiment with users in a bizarre manner

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Understanding the true nature of social media reveals that platforms like Facebook and Instagram are primarily profit-driven businesses that rely on advertising revenue. While we benefit from staying connected and entertained, we must also acknowledge the underlying business model.

Most users accept targeted ads as a trade-off for accessing online content. However, the issue arises when algorithms, rather than human decision-makers, dictate the ads we see. These automated systems are designed to prioritize clicks and sales, raising concerns about transparency and ethics.

A recent study highlighted the use of A/B tests by Facebook and Google to analyze user responses to different ad versions. Such experiments play a crucial role in marketing strategies, but the way they are conducted matters.

The problem lies in the lack of random assignment in these tests, as algorithms actively select users based on predicted engagement levels. This approach hinders advertisers from gaining genuine insights into effective ad strategies, relying instead on algorithmic optimization.

As of April 2025, Facebook has approximately 3.065 billion active users each month worldwide. Photo Credit: Getty

Advertisers may inadvertently target specific demographics, leading to unintended consequences like gender bias and political polarization. The complexity and accuracy of algorithms enable microtargeting at an individual level, shaping online experiences and influencing user behavior.

Implications for Users

Being online means being subject to constant experimentation by algorithms that determine content exposure. Users are unknowingly part of these experiments, where personalized messages influence thoughts, purchases, and beliefs.

It is crucial to recognize the impact of algorithmic decision-making on online experiences and be aware of the curated messages we receive. Transparency and accountability in digital platforms remain essential for fostering an informed online environment.

Expert Insights

Jan Cornil is an associate professor at the UBC Sauder School of Business in Canada, specializing in consumer behavior and marketing research. His work has been featured in top academic journals, emphasizing the importance of ethical marketing practices.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Research: Seafaring hunter-gatherers reached a remote island well before the arrival of farmers

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The discovery of stone tools, hearths and cooked food waste at a cave site in Latniya on the Mediterranean island of Malta indicates that hunter-gatherers had crossed at least 100 km of open water to arrive on the island 8,500 years ago.

Hunters and Gatherers had crossed at least 100 km of open water to arrive in Malta 8,500 years ago. Image credits: Daniel Clark/MPI GEA.

Maltese archipelago is a chain of smallest islands in the Mediterranean.

Humans were not thought to have reached and lived such a small, isolated island, about 7,500 years ago, until the Neolithic regional shift to life.

In the standard view, the limited resources and ecological vulnerability of the small island, combined with the technical challenges of long-distance sailors, meant that hunter-gatherers were unable or unfulfilled to take these journeys.

“Relying on the use of sea-level currents and wind breezes, as well as the practice of exploring landmarks, stars and other paths, there is a crossing of about 100 km per hour at a speed of about 4 km per hour.

“Even on the longest day of the year, these sailors would have been open water in the darkness of hours.”

At the site of a cave in Latniya in the northern Merry area of Malta, researchers discovered human traces in the form of stone tools, hearths and cooked food waste.

“At this location, we recovered a variety of animals, including hundreds of bodies of deer, birds, turtles and foxes,” said Dr. Matthew Stewart, a researcher at Griffith University.

“Some of these wildlife were long thought to have been extinct by this point,” added Professor Eleanor Scerri, a geographer at the Max Planck Institute and a researcher at the University of Malta.

“They were hunting and cooking red deer with turtles and birds.

In addition to this, scientists have found clear evidence regarding the exploitation of marine resources.

“We found that seals, groupers, thousands of edible marine gastropods, crabs and sea urchin debris all cooked undoubtedly,” said Dr. James Brinkhorn, a geography researcher at the University of Liverpool and the Max Planck Institute.

“The diverse range of terrestrial areas, particularly the incorporation of the ocean fauna into their diet, have enabled these hunter-gatherers to maintain themselves on an island as small as Malta,” Dr. Stewart said.

These findings raised questions about the extinction of endemic animals in Malta and other small Mediterranean islands, and whether distant Messium Age communities are linked through seafarers.

“The results add a millennium to Maltese prehistoric times and enforce a reassessment of the capabilities of Europe’s last hunter-gatherer sailors, and its connections and ecological impacts,” Professor Scerri said.

Team’s paper It was published in the journal today Nature.

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EML Scerri et al. The marine voyage of hunter-gatherers has been extended to remote Mediterranean islands. NaturePublished online on April 9, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08780-y

Source: www.sci.news

The White House’s Plan to Dismantle NOAA’s Research Program

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Internal documents obtained by the New York Times and several people with knowledge of the situation show Trump administration officials recommend elimination of the scientific research department in the National Maritime and Atmospheric Administration.

The proposal from the Office of Management and Budget would abolish NOAA’s Marine and Atmospheric Research Institute, one of the world’s premiere geoscience research centres.

The budget allocations of more than $170 million to about $485 million in 2024 have increased nearly four times faster than the rest of the planet over the past 40 years, as science is as diverse as the early warning systems for natural disasters, science education for kindergarten students, science education in high schools, and research in the Arctic.

“At this funding level, OARs will be eliminated as line offices,” the proposal states.

The funded program, which includes tornado warnings and marine acidification research, will be relocated to the National Weather Service and the National Marine Services Office.

An overview of the 2026 budget passback that needs to be approved by Congress suggests “significant reductions in education, grants, research and climate-related programs within NOAA,” following the removal of the demolition of other institutions, such as the Institute of International Health and the US Agency for International Development, and the removal of climate change from federal government websites.

Under the proposal, the Department of Commerce’s total budget will be nearly $7.7 billion, down more than $2.5 billion from the 2025 level. The budget will focus on activities that are in line with the Trump administration’s agenda, including implementing trade laws and collecting scientific observations such as ocean and weather data to support forecasts.

“This administration’s hostility to climate science research and rejection will result in contenting the weather forecasting capabilities that the plan claims to preserve,” Zoe Lofgren, a senior Democrat with the House Science Committee, said in an emailed statement.

NOAA, which accounts for more than half of the Department of Commerce budget, will receive a small $4.4 billion cut from 2025, cutting $1.6 billion.

“It’s not surprising, but it’s very disturbing,” said Rick Spinrad, who led NOAA under President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

This includes reducing the National Marine Fisheries Services budget by a third. The office will be split from NOAA and will be moved to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior. Funding for species recovery and habitat conservation is eliminated.

Funds for NOAA’s branch of National Ocean Service will be cut in half. Programs like the Coastal Marine Science Center, offices within marine services that study the effects of climate change and sea level rise on coral, pollution, and coastal communities will not be funded.

Environmental Information Centres, which archive climate data, will lose a quarter of their funds.

The proposal also changes NOAA’s satellite and space programs.

It will destroy the Department of Space and Commerce office and relocate the Space Weather Prediction Center to the Department of Homeland Security. A program called the Space Traffic Coordination System, set up to take over satellite traffic surveillance from the Department of Defense, a type of traffic police for space, will also lose funds. Passback suggests that such work will be carried out by the private sector.

The satellite programme that provides weather and modeling data will also be reduced. The long-standing relationship that will help NOAA acquire satellites through NASA will also end.

Dr. Spinlad said the budget proposed by the White House is unlikely to pass Congress. “I don’t think I’ll endure the scrutiny of Congress.”

According to the document, passbacks are part of balancing federal budgets, including “eliminating support for the federal awakening ideology.”

Project 2025 is a document that has been used as a blueprint for federal overhauls under the Trump administration, and included the goal of disbanding NOAA and reducing its research division.

“That raises doubts. Is the Trump administration intentionally breaking our weather capabilities as an excuse to implement the dangerous project 2025 proposal to privatize weather services?” Lofglen said in a statement.

Published by the conservative policy research institute, The Heritage Foundation, Project 2025, called NOAA research “many sources of NOAA climate warnings,” and said “the dominance of climate change research needs to be dissolved.”

“This will bring the United States back to the 1950s with technical and scientific skills,” said Craig McLean, NOAA’s chief scientist under both the first President Trump and Biden in the budget proposal.

Agents must appeal the proposal until noon on April 15th. And until April 24th, many plans for the overhaul suggested by Passback will need to be submitted, even before the proposal is addressed by Congress.

On Thursday, probation officials who were fired in February and later resurrected by judges received an email from the Department of Commerce, who fired them again after the decision was overturned by a superior court. The so-called Force Plan cuts could further reduce 20% of the workforce in the coming weeks.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Latest Genomic Research Provides Deeper Insight into the Evolutionary Past of Mammoths

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists extracted and analyzed 34 new mammoths (Mamutus spp. ) mitochondrial genomes containing two early Pleistocene and nine mid Pleistocene giant specimens in Siberia and North America. They identified the oldest known mammoth DNA in North America from 200,000-year-old specimens found on the Old Crow River in the Yukon Territory of Canada. The results support previous research and show that mammoths from around 1 million years ago do not resemble the later mammoths.

Reconstruction of the life of the grassland mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii). Image credit: Beth Zaiken/Center for Palaeogenetics.

Ancient DNA was recovered from specimens dated in the early Pleistocene (2.6 million to 780,000 years ago), and the stages in the Middle Pleistocene (780,000 to 126,000 years ago) could allow for the direct study of deep temporal evolutionary events that are key to understanding species formation.

Unfortunately, access to such deep-time DNA is limited, and so far only a handful of studies have been able to obtain either genome-wide data or the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) from deep specimens.

“Our analysis offers an unprecedented glimpse into how major deep-time demographic events have shaped mammoth genetic diversity over time.”

By analyzing 34 new mammothmite genomes along with more than 200 previously published mammothmite genomes, the researchers found that diversification events across the mammoth lineage appeared to be consistent with well-explained demographic changes during the early and mid-Pleistocene.

Their findings support the ancient Siberian origins of the major mammoth lineage and reveal how changes in individual dynamics contributed to the expansion and contraction of different genetic clades.

“The constant cost of sequencing technology has left mitogenomes somewhat forgotten. However, our study shows that they are more abundant than nuclear DNA and are therefore important for evolutionary biology.

The current research not only advances understanding of mammoth evolution, but also contributes to a wider field of ancient DNA research.

Scientists have developed and applied an improved molecular clock dating framework and improved methods of estimating sample age beyond radiocarbon dating limits using genetic data.

This methodological advancement provides a powerful tool for future research into extinct and endangered species.

Professor Love Darren, a researcher at Stockholm University, said:

“We are extremely excited to see genetic data from more mammoth specimens sampled over the past million years.

Team’s result Published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.

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J. Camilo Chacón-Duque et al. 2025. The evolution of the mammoth genome for a million years. Molecular Biology and Evolution 42(4): MSAF065; doi: 10.1093/molbev/msaf065

Source: www.sci.news

New research on cholesterol levels and dementia risk

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Having low levels of “bad” cholesterol in your blood can decrease the risk of developing dementia, according to recent Korean studies published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. While the connection between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and heart health is well-known, its impact on brain health and dementia is still being studied.

Scientists analyzed data from 11 university hospitals in Korea, studying 571,000 adults without dementia. Participants were divided into two groups based on their cholesterol levels, with one group having high LDL-C levels above 3.4 mmol/L or 130 mg/dL, and the other group having low LDL-C levels below 1.8 mmol/L or 70 mg/dL.

The study found that individuals with low LDL-C were at a lower risk of developing dementia, with a 26% lower likelihood of being diagnosed with any type of dementia and a 28% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease compared to the high LDL-C group. However, extremely low LDL-C levels below 1.4 mmol/L or 55 mg/dL did not show a significant decrease in dementia risk.

Additionally, the study observed that individuals in the low LDL-C group who took statins to lower their cholesterol levels had a 13% lower risk of dementia and a 12% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease compared to those not taking statins.

While the study found a significant association between low LDL-C levels and reduced dementia risk, it had some limitations, such as being a retrospective study that did not consider other influencing factors like age, gender, genetic risk, and lifestyle. The study did not establish a causal link between LDL-C and dementia risk, emphasizing the need for further research.

Dr. Petra Proitsi, a genetic epidemiologist at Queen Mary University, London, acknowledged the complexity of the relationship between cholesterol and dementia, calling for more comprehensive studies involving diverse ethnic groups to explore this association further.

read more:

About our experts:

Dr. Petra Proitsi is a genetic epidemiology specialist at the Preventive Neurology Centre at Queen Mary University, London. She leads themes of digital and health data science at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health and holds a PhD in Neuroscience from King’s College London.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Research shows that New World Monkeys are superior yodelers

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Apes and monkeys have special anatomy in their throats Voice membraneit disappeared from humans through evolution, allowing for more stable speech. However, the exact benefits these offer to non-human primates were previously unknown. New research provides important new insights Various vocal sounds It reveals for the first time how nonhuman primates and certain calls are generated.

The range from Mexico to Argentina has been found to have evolved the largest vocal membranes of all primates, suggesting that these thin tissue ribbons play a particularly important role in the repertoire of vocal production and calling. This image shows the black and gold Howler monkeys (Alouatta Caraya). Image credit: Jacob Dunn of Anglia Ruskin University.

Humans have evolved their ability to speak, but apes and monkeys, closest relatives in the animal kingdom, lack this skill.

However, they have a special anatomy in the larynx that humans have lost during their evolution: a thin, lightweight tissue membrane at the top of the crease of the voice.

Previous studies have suggested that these structures contribute to the complexity of animal vocalization, but their precise roles remain largely unclear to date.

The new study, led by researchers at Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Vienna, shows that these membranes promote rapid frequency transitions and significantly expand the range and complexity of monkey vocalization.

Scientists documented and studied the appeals of various primate species at the La Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary in Bolivia.Alouatta Caraya), tufted cappuchin (Sapaju Appella), black capped squirrel monkey (Saimiri boliviensis), and Peruvian spider monkeys (Atheres Chamek).

A combination of methods was used to identify two different modes of vocal fold vibration.

The first mode, which involves only the folding of the voice, produces a low-frequency sound similar to human ponation.

The second mode, which also involves the vocal membrane, results in much higher frequency oscillations, and, like human yodel, produces dramatic “mutation.”

In some cases, these shifts span octaves over 3 octaves. This goes far beyond the human ability of voice breaks, usually limited to a single octave.

“This is an attractive example of how nature offers a means to enrich animal vocalization despite the lack of language,” says Dr. Christian Herbst, a researcher at the University of Vienna.

“The production of these complex vocal patterns is almost possible by the way the animal’s larynx is anatomically shaped, and does not require the complex neural control produced by the brain.”

“These results show how monkeys can exploit new evolutionary features that can generate a wider range of calls, including these ultra-yodel,” says Jacob Dunn, a researcher at Anglia Ruskin University.

“This may be especially important for primates who have complex social lives and need to communicate in a variety of ways.”

This study further suggests that the vocal membrane also introduces vocal instability while enhancing the pitch range.

“Our research shows that the vocal membrane extends the pitch range of monkeys, but it also makes the voice unstable,” says Dr. Tecumse Fitch, a researcher at the University of Vienna.

“They may have been lost during human evolution to promote stability in the pitch of songs and speech.”

study Published in the journal Philosophical trade of the Royal Society b.

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Christian T. Herbst et al. 2025. “Monkey Yodel” – The new world’s frequency jumps far outweigh the human vocal register transition. fill. transformer. R. Soc. b 380 (1923): 20240005; doi: 10.1098/rstb.2024.0005

Source: www.sci.news

Research shows that the shingles vaccine can lower the chances of developing dementia

Posted on April 2, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Getting vaccinated from shingles reduces the risk of developing dementia. Large-scale new research I’ll find it.

This result provides some of the most powerful evidence that several viral infections can affect brain function in a few years and can interfere with them.

The study, published in Nature on Wednesday, found that those who received the shingles vaccine were 20% less likely to develop dementia seven years later than those who were not vaccinated.

“If you are reducing your risk of dementia by 20%, that’s very important in the public health context. Given that there aren’t too many at this point in slowing the onset of dementia,” Dr. Harrison was not involved in the new study. Other studies The shingles vaccine indicates a lower risk of dementia.

Whether protection can exceed seven years can only be determined by further research. However, with few effective treatments or prevention currently available, Dr. Harrison said the shingles vaccine appears to have “some of the most potent potential protective effects against dementia that we know are actually potentially potentially available.”

The case of shingles comes from a virus that causes water cell-zoster, a childhood chicken pox. As the age and the immune system weakens, the virus can reactivate and cause shingles, with symptoms such as burning, tingling, painful blisters and numbness. Nerve pain can be chronic and ineffective.

In the US, 1 in 3 Develop a lifetime centre for disease control and prevention of at least one case of shingles, also known as Herpes Zoster. Approximately one-third of eligible adults have received the vaccine in recent years. According to the CDC

While several previous studies suggest that shingles vaccinations may reduce the risk of dementia, most people were unable to rule out the possibility that vaccinated individuals may have other dementia protective properties, such as a healthier lifestyle, better diet, or more education.

New research ruled out many of these factors.

“That’s very strong evidence,” said Dr. Anupam Jena, a health economist and physician at Harvard Medical School.

This study emerged from an unusual aspect of the development of the shingles vaccine in Wales on September 1, 2013. Welsh officials have established strict age requirements. That date, 79 people were eligible for the vaccine for a year, but those over 80 were ineligible. When the young people turned 79, they qualified for the vaccine for a year.

Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer, an assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University and senior author of the study, said the age cutoff was imposed because of limited supply and the vaccine was deemed ineffective to people over 80 years of age.

Scientists were able to compare relatively equal groups. I’m with people who qualify for the vaccine and people who couldn’t get it. “If you hire 1,000 people born a week and 1,000 people born a week later, there shouldn’t be any difference between them, except for the big differences in vaccinations,” Dr. Geldsetzer said.

Researchers tracked health records of around 280,000 people, ages 71-88, without dementia when the development began. Over seven years, almost half of those eligible for the vaccine received it, but only a small number of ineligible groups received it, providing a clear front-and-after distinction.

To limit the likelihood of differences between groups, researchers used statistical analysis to measure data from people who only had one week on either side of the cutoff.

They also looked at medical records for possible differences between vaccinated and non-vaccinated. They evaluated whether unvaccinated people received more dementia diagnoses and took more medications that could increase their risk of dementia simply because they visited their doctors more frequently.

“They do a pretty good job with that,” Dr. Jena said. I wrote an explanation about nature research. “They are seeing nearly 200 drugs that have been shown to be linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease at least.”

He said, “They are making a lot of effort to understand whether there may be other things to suit that age cutoff, other health policy changes, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

The study included Zostavax, an older form of shingles vaccine. This includes a fixed version of the live virus. It was then discontinued in the US and several other countries as protection against shingles declined over time. Singlix, a new vaccine containing the inactive portion of the virus, is more effective and permanent, research shows.

Last year’s research Dr. Harrison and his colleagues suggested that Singlix may be more protective against dementia than the older vaccine. Based on another “natural experiment,” the shift from Zostavax to Shingrix in the US in 2017 found that people who received the new vaccine for more than six years had fewer dementia diagnoses than those who received the old vaccine. Of those diagnosed with dementia, those who received the new vaccine were nearly six months longer than those who received the old vaccine, and nearly six months before they developed the condition.

There are various theories as to why the shingles vaccine protects against dementia. One possibility is that by preventing shingles, the vaccine reduces neuroinflammation caused by virus reactivation, Dr. Geldsetzer said. “Inflammation is a bad thing for many chronic diseases, including dementia,” he said.

Both new and Singlics research support that theory.

Another possibility is that vaccines will make the immune system more broad. New research also provides some evidence of that theory. Dr. Geldsetzer found that women with a more reactive immune system and greater antibody response to vaccination than men experience greater protection against dementia than men. The vaccine also provided a greater protective effect against dementia among people with autoimmune conditions and allergies.

Dr. Maria Nagel, a professor of neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, was not involved in the study, but said both theories were true. “There is evidence of direct and indirect effects,” said Dr. Nagel, who consulted the manufacturer of GSK’s Shingrix.

She said that while other vaccines, including those against the flu, produce common neuroprotective effects, there are several studies that have found that it makes sense that the shingles vaccine is especially protected against cognitive impairment, as the shingles virus is hidden in the nerves.

Although this study did not distinguish between types of dementia, other studies suggest that “the effect of the shingles vaccine against Alzheimer’s disease is much more pronounced than that of another dementia.” Recent research Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia and vaccines. She said that some cases of Alzheimer’s are linked to immunity compromise.

The Welsh population in the study was mostly white, Dr. Geldsetzer said, but the report suggested similar protective effects by analyzing UK death certificates for deaths caused by dementia. His team also replicated the results in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Dr. Jena said there is a need to further study the connection, noting that reducing the risk of dementia is not the same as preventing all cases. Still, he suggests that the evidence “something about exposure or access to the vaccine will have this effect on the risk of dementia in a few years.”

Source: www.nytimes.com

Research reveals that a multitude of plants, fungi, protists, bacteria, and viruses possess toxin delivery mechanisms.

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

These toxin delivery systems are completely similar and often rival the complexity of the venom delivery systems found in animals such as venom snakes, scorpions, and spiders.

Four representative plant species introducing the poison delivery system: (a) Many ant plants share ants that provide homes and food. (b) Horstria, a parasitic plant that attacks other plants. (c) Stingy trichomes of stinging plants. (d) Raffide penetrates the oral membrane of an animal browsing a plant. Image credit: Hayes et al. , doi: 10.3390/toxin 17030099.

Toxologists and other biologists have studied toxic organisms and their secretions for centuries.

Their interest is largely due to the frequently and severe consequences of human exposure.

Humans also take advantage of the potential of toxins to explore the treatment of human illnesses and illnesses.

In doing so, scientists have leveraged countless natural experiments involving interactions between toxins and target cells and tissues.

The classification of biological toxins, in particular the distinction between venom and venom, is characterized by a colorful and sometimes controversial history.

Nevertheless, with the views of consensus and the introduction of the third phase, toxic biological secretions can be divided into three groups based on their mode of delivery to other organisms.

These include poisons that are transmitted passively without a delivery mechanism (intake, inhalation, or absorption of the entire surface). Toxicity was fed to the body surface without any associated wounds (e.g., spitting, spraying, or smearing). Poison (e.g., sting, biting) carried to internal tissues through the formation of wounds.

The organisms that possess these toxins are called toxic, toxins, and/or toxic, respectively.

These distinctions provide a meaningful framework for studying the evolution of these toxins, including biochemical structures. Related structures for synthesis, storage and application. And their functional role.

Discourses on poison and poisonous animals focus exclusively on animals.

The use of venom has evolved independently in at least 104 strains within at least eight animal phylums, which emphasizes the pronounced adaptability of the trait.

But do poison distribution systems exist in other entities?

“Our findings show that we rely on poisons to solve problems such as predation, defense, and competition.

“The venomous animals have long been trying to understand the fatal secretions and the properties associated with their use, but have long fascinated biologists who have also contributed to many life-saving treatments.”

“To date, our understanding of venoms, poison delivery systems, and poisonous organisms is entirely based on animals. This represents only a small fraction of organisms that can search for meaningful tools and treatments.”

According to the study, plants inject toxins into animals through spines, thorns and stinging hairs, some of which exist with stinging ants by providing living space and food in exchange for protection.

Even bacteria and viruses have evolved mechanisms such as secretory and contractile injection systems to introduce toxins to the target through host cells and wounds.

“I have a long history of studying venom in rattlesnakes, and I began exploring the broader definition of venom over a decade ago, teaching special courses on the biology of venom,” Professor Hayes said.

“My team and I were working on a paper to define what Venom really is, so we came across non-animal examples and decided to dig deeper to identify many of the possible overlooked examples.”

This research paves the way for new discoveries, and the authors hope that experts and scientists will encourage collaboration across disciplines and explore further how Venom has evolved across diverse organisms.

“We only hurt the surface in understanding evolutionary pathways of venom dissemination, including gene duplication, co-configuration of existing genes, and natural selection,” concluded Professor Hayes.

study Published in the journal toxin.

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William K. Hayes et al. 2025. After all, it’s a small world. It is a prominent yet overlooked diversity of poisonous organisms with candidates for plants, fungi, protists, bacteria and viruses. toxin 17(3):99; doi:10.3390/toxin 17030099

Source: www.sci.news

New research suggests large lakes played crucial role in origin of life

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The origin of life on Earth required the supply of phosphorus for the synthesis of universal biomolecules. The closed lake may have accumulated high concentrations of this element on the early Earth. However, it is not clear whether prebiotic sink in such settings was sustainable. New research by scientists from Eth Zurich, Cambridge University and the University of Science and Technology in China shows that high concentrations of phosphorus can be combined in steady states in large closed basin lakes.

Aerial view of Lake Mono. Image credit: Dick Lyon / CC by 4.0.

Phosphorus is an important component of all known forms of biochemistry and plays an important role in such polymers that encode metabolism, cell structure, and information.

However, the environmental conditions that provided sufficient phosphorus available in aqueous solutions to promote the chemical origin of life are uncertain.

“Large soda lakes with no natural runoff can maintain phosphorus concentrations for a long enough long, even if life begins to exist at some point, and could continually consume phosphorus.”

“Such lakes lose water only by evaporation. This means that phosphorus is left in the water, not washed away through rivers or streams.”

“As a result, very high concentrations of phosphorus can accumulate in these soda lakes.”

Not all soda lakes are suitable. Researchers rule out small ones.

“As soon as life develops within them, the supply of phosphorus will deplete faster than it is replenished. This will snag both chemical reactions and developing life,” Dr. Walton said.

“On the other hand, in large soda lakes, phosphorus concentrations are high enough to maintain both basic chemical reactions and life over the long term.”

“These high concentrations are achieved by the large amounts of influential river water, including phosphorus, but the water only leaves the lake by evaporation.”

“Phosphorus doesn’t evaporate easily, so it accumulates in the lake and accumulates.”

In their study, Dr. Walton and colleagues focus on Lake Mono in California, with high phosphorus concentrations at steady state despite extremely high biological productivity.

“This is important because in small lakes, phosphorus is exhausted before new quantities form,” they said.

They consider the large soda lake, which had a constant high phosphorus supply in the early history of the Earth, to be an ideal environment for the origin of life.

They assume that life is more likely to have been born in such a larger body of water than in a small pool, as Charles Darwin suspected.

Therefore, the origin of life may be closely related to the special environment of large soda lakes, which provide ideal conditions for prebiotic chemistry due to the balance of geological environment and phosphorus.

“This new theory will help us solve another part of the puzzle of the origins of life on Earth,” Dr. Walton said.

a paper A description of the findings was published in the journal Advances in science.

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Craig R. Walton et al. 2025. Large, closed basin lakes provided sustained phosphates during the origin of life. Advances in science 11(8); doi:10.1126/sciadv.adq0027

Source: www.sci.news

HHS discontinues research on vaccines and treatments for potential pandemics

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The Trump administration has cancelled funds for dozens of research seeking new vaccines and treatments for Covid-19 and other pathogens that could cause a future pandemic.

The government’s rationale is that, according to internal NIH documents viewed by the New York Times, the community’s pandemic has ended and “provides a cause for the end of COVID-related grants.”

However, the research was not merely about Covid. 9 finished Award-funded center We will conduct research on antiviral drugs to combat so-called priority pathogens that could create an entirely new pandemic.

“This includes anti-viral projects designed to cover a wide range of families that could cause outbreaks or pandemics,” said a senior NIH official who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Vaccine research also didn’t focus on Covid, but on other coronaviruses that would one day jump from animals to humans.

Describing all studies as COVID-related is “completely inaccurate and merely a way to reduce infectious disease research,” officials said. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the NIH is focusing too much on infections, officials noted.

The funding suspension was first reported Science and Nature. The cancellation surprised scientists who relied on government support.

“The idea that there’s no need for further research to learn how to treat health issues caused by the coronavirus and prevent future pandemics is because “Covid-19 is over” is ridiculous,” says Pamela Bjorkman, a structural biologist at Caltech, who was studying the new vaccine.

The goal of the project was to prepare vaccines and drugs if a new pandemic hits it, rather than developing valuable months from scratch.

“In the last pandemic, we were really knocking down our pants,” said Paul Vienias, a virologist at Rockefeller University, working with Dr. Bjorkman.

“And unless you learn that lesson and prepare better for the next pandemic, you’ll rarely do better than last time.”

Dr. Beanius, Dr. Bjorkman and his colleagues were developing a vaccine that could protect them from a wide range of coronavirus species.

Researchers have discovered new strategies for caxing the immune system and learned how to recognize molecular features common to one or more viruses. The results of animal experiments were promising.

But now, their funds have been cut suddenly, and scientists say they doubted they could build on those outcomes. Dr. Vienias said the fire made him “angry, disappointed and frustrated.”

Other scientists were working on antiviral therapy, part of a program launched in 2021.

$577 million With support from the NIH, the lab’s nationwide network was studying how the virus was replicated and searching for drugs that could block them.

The researchers focused on the Viridae family, which contains the most worrying known pathogens, such as Ebola and Nipah virus. Scientists discovered many promising molecules and were moving forward towards clinical trials.

Reuben Harris, a molecular virologist at UT Health San Antonio, said the promising compounds revealed by the program include antiviral drugs that stop Ebola-related viruses from entering cells.

“We can deploy to help a lot of people quickly,” Dr. Harris said.

Several compounds appeared to work against many viral families. “We’ve seen a lot of experience in the world,” said Nevan Krogan, a systems biologist at the University of California, San Francisco.

On Wednesday morning, Dr. Krogan and dozens of colleagues gathered in the campus meeting room to confirm their results. And they also discussed what they could now, if any.

“One student asked me, ‘Well, I booked an experiment with this microscope tomorrow – can I do that?” “And I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t know.’ ”

Dr. Harris said that without ongoing support, the promising drugs he and others have discovered will not move into clinical trials. “It’s tragic – I don’t have too many words to explain it now,” he said.

In 2023, Kennedy said he wanted to take it. “break” From infectious disease research, instead focuses on chronic diseases.

Jason McClellan, a virologist at the University of Texas at Austin, was working on an antiviral drug program, but saw cancellations of pandemic research follow that promise.

Dr. McClellan, whose previous research was based on the creation of the 2020 Covid vaccine, said this week’s cuts made him wonder whether he could continue to study the pandemic in the United States.

“We’re starting to have conversations and plan to gather more information,” he said, noting the possibility of moving abroad.

“My lab is a structural virology lab focused on structural-based vaccine design,” he added. “If the focus is on chronic diseases, it doesn’t leave us much of a funding.”

Source: www.nytimes.com

New research reveals ancient evolutionary origins of appetite-controlled neurohormones

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

New research shows that satiety-inducing molecules called bombesins are present not only in humans and other vertebrates, but also invertebrates such as starfish and their marine relatives.

Common starfish (Rubens of Asteria) Brofjorden is located in Govik, the Lysekil municipality in Sweden. Image credit: W. Carter.

Bombesin, a small peptide, plays an important role in regulating hunger by signaling when it is sufficient for us to eat.

That name is from Toad lit (Bombina Bombina) from its skin, the peptide was first isolated in 1971.

When injected into mammals, bombesin was found to reduce the size of the meal and increase the time between meals.

This has led scientists to believe that bombesin-like neurohormones produced in the brain and intestines are part of the body’s natural system to control food intake.

Furthermore, along with weight loss inducers such as Ozempic, compounds that mimic the action of bombesin are occurring for the treatment of obesity.

In a new study, Professor Maurice Elphick and colleagues at Queen Mary University in London explored the evolutionary history of bombesin.

By analyzing the genome of invertebrates, they discovered a gene encoding a bombesin-like neurohormone. Common starfish (Rubens of Asteria) other cerebral dermatosis, such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers.

“It was like searching for needles in a haystack, but eventually we discovered a gene encoding a bombesin-like neurohormones in the genome of a starfish and its parent,” Professor Elphick said.

Researchers then turned their attention to the function of the bombesin in this starfish, named Arbn.

Mass spectrometry was used to determine the molecular structure of ARBNs and to be chemically synthesized and tested.

They investigated how ARBN affects starfish feeding behavior. Starfish have a unique way of eating. The stomach is stretched out from the mouth to digest prey such as mussels and oysters.

“When I tested Arbn, I found that it caused a starfish stomach contraction,” said Dr. Weiling Huang, a researcher at Queen Mary University in London.

“This suggested that ARBN may be involved in stimulating stomach contractions when starfish stop feeding.”

“And this is exactly what I found. When I injected Albun into the starfish while pounding my stomach, it caused my stomach and returned it to my mouth.”

“In addition, it took longer to surround the mussels compared to those injected with ARBN, which also delayed the onset of feeding.”

The discovery of the ancient role of bombesin in appetite regulation sheds light on the evolutionary origins of animal feeding behavior.

“We can estimate that this function dates back 5 billion years to the common ancestors of starfish, humans and other vertebrates,” Professor Elphick said.

a paper Regarding the survey results, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Heiling Han et al. 2025. Discovery and functional characterization of bombesin-type neuropeptide signaling systems in invertebrates. pnasin press; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2420966122

Source: www.sci.news

The Best Foods for a Longer, Healthier Life: Anti-Aging Diet Research Unveiled

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Studies spanning three decades on eight popular diets have pinpointed the ones most likely to promote long-term health since the 1970s.

The Alternative Healthy Diet Index (AHEI) diets have shown slightly superior health benefits compared to the planetary health food index, Mediterranean diet, and healthy plant-based diets.

The AHEI diet focuses on increased consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts while limiting other foods like sugary drinks, red and processed meat, salt, and trans fats. Some meat, fish, and dairy products are allowed in moderation.

Other diets studied had similar characteristics but varied in terms of the amount of permissible meat intake for foods like olive oil, fish, and berries.

“This diet provides all the essential nutrients and food varieties necessary for maintaining a healthy life,” stated corresponding author Dr. Marta Guash Fere, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen in an interview with BBC Science Focus. “It is a widely recognized dietary pattern focused on disease prevention.”

The study’s healthy diet emphasizes plant foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts – Credit: Marcos Elif Castillo Ramirez via Getty

The study conducted by Harvard University’s Chan School of Public Health, Copenhagen University, and the University of Montreal analyzed data from over 105,000 middle-aged nurses and healthcare professionals.

Participants completed meal surveys over 30 years which were scored based on their adherence to eight different dietary patterns.

While only 9.3% of participants were categorized as healthy agers, those closest to the AHEI diet were found to be 86% more likely to reach 70 years of age in good health.

These individuals were also over twice as likely to reach 75 years of age in good health compared to those following diets less similar to the AHEI diet.

Healthy aging was defined as reaching 70 years of age with good cognitive, physical, and mental health without major chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

“This research focuses on healthy aging, aiming not just for longevity but for quality of life as well,” explained Guash Ferre. “We are concerned with maintaining overall health in various aspects – physical, cognitive, emotional, and mental.”

The second most effective diet was the Planetary Health Diet Index, promoting both human and environmental health by favoring plant-based diets.

Adherence to any of the eight diets was associated with improved aging, all emphasizing high plant food intake over meat, including vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes.

Though they shared similarities, some diets were variations of the Mediterranean diet focused on longevity, while others were more plant-based or designed for specific purposes like reducing inflammation or safeguarding against cognitive decline.

Guash Ferre noted the intriguing aspect that the diet most conducive to healthy aging includes moderate incorporation of healthy animal-based foods.

She suggested that these proteins might benefit middle-aged and older populations by protecting against conditions like osteoporosis but may not be ideal for younger adults not addressed in the study.

Reduced consumption of ultra-processed foods was linked to improved aging, a finding detailed in Natural Medicine.

Read more:

About our experts:

Dr. Marta Guash Fere is an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and at the Department of Nutrition in Harvard Chan School of Public Health. She holds a PhD in nutritional epidemiology.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Big mistake found in large-scale insect research

Posted on March 23, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

French scientist Lawrence Gorm and Marion Deskill bet initially expressed concerns about the new international insect decline database. The database indicated an increase in some insect species, contrary to previous research findings that showed a decrease in insect biodiversity.

Upon further investigation, they discovered errors in the database that highlighted the challenges in measuring biodiversity accurately. This led to discussions on the validity of scientific discoveries and the importance of ongoing debate in the scientific community.

Over 1 million insects discovered by scientists – Photo credit: Getty

The database, called Insects, merged various datasets and was analyzed by scientists from Germany, Russia, and America. The analysis revealed that while land insects were declining, freshwater insects were thriving, indicating a more nuanced understanding of insect population trends compared to prior research.

However, some scholars raised concerns about the accuracy of the database, with more than 60 scientists publishing a letter expressing their reservations about the findings.

The team behind the database acknowledged the issues and began working on corrections to improve the accuracy of the data. Although Gaume and Desquilbet were invited to collaborate on the project, they declined, emphasizing the importance of addressing methodological and statistical errors in scientific research.

Hopping to conclusions

One of the main concerns raised by Gaume and Desquilbet was the inclusion of different types of data units and the manipulation of natural habitats in the dataset. These factors contributed to inaccuracies in measuring insect population trends.

The Insectchange team, led by Roel Van Klink, recognized the need for improvements and committed to releasing an updated version of the database with the necessary corrections.

While controversies around the database continue, scientists like Manu Sanders emphasize the importance of ongoing debate and scrutiny in scientific research. Science is a process of continuous refinement and correction, where discussion and collaboration are essential for producing reliable results.

About our experts

Lawrence Gorm: Insect ecologist at the University of Montpellier, focusing on insect-plant interactions and biodiversity conservation.

Marion Deskill bet: Environmental economist at the Toulouse School of Economics, specializing in ecological economics and biodiversity policies.

Roel Van Klink: Ecologist at the German Center for Integrated Biodiversity Research, with expertise in insect population trends and biodiversity datasets.

Manu Sanders: Ecologist at the University of New England in Australia, researching insect conservation, ecosystem services, and scientific communication.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Research suggests that Australian government agencies may consider using Israeli spyware technology

Posted on March 20, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

According to a new report, Australian government agencies could potentially be customers of military-grade spyware from Israeli company Paragon Solutions.

Earlier this year, Meta disclosed that over 90 individuals, including journalists, were targeted on WhatsApp using this software, although it remains uncertain if Australians were among the targets.

In reports released by Citizen Lab on Wednesday, two Australian IP addresses were identified as potential users of Paragon’s spyware tools. Citizen Lab managed to map out Paragon’s server infrastructure based on tips they received.

The spyware allows access to messaging apps on users’ devices and is exclusively sold to governments worldwide, not to private entities.

The Australian domains mentioned in the report do not have a history of previous ownership according to WHOIS domain searches. These domains could potentially be utilized by federal or state agencies, although sources indicate that Paragon Solutions is not linked to the Ministry of Interior or Australia’s Signals Bureau.

When questioned about Australian customers or the targeting of Australians, Paragon did not provide direct answers to these queries.

John Fleming, the executive chairman of the company, stated, “Paragon’s ultimate goal is to aid national security and law enforcement in combating serious crimes and terrorism within the boundaries of the law, while also considering privacy implications. They ensure that customers operate within legal frameworks and enforce strict rules against misuse.”

A recent report from Citizen Lab followed Meta’s announcement in January that journalists and civil society members were targeted on WhatsApp using spyware owned by Paragon Solutions.

Meta sent a cease and desist letter to Paragon and explored legal actions against them after the incident.

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Meta declined to comment further when asked if Australians were among the targets.

Italian investigative journalist Francesco Cancerato uncovered a young fascist within the far-right party of Italian Prime Minister Giogia Meloni after receiving alerts from WhatsApp regarding the attack.

Following this revelation, Paragon Solutions terminated its contract with Italy. Meloni’s office denied any involvement by the national intelligence agency or government in alleged violations against journalists and activists.

Citizen Lab, headquartered at the University of Toronto, specializes in research on cyber and surveillance technologies.

Source: www.theguardian.com