Paleontologists have unearthed a 2.9-centimeter fossil foot bone believed to belong to a bowerbird at the Miocene site of St Bassans in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Recreating the life of the St. Bassin’s bowerbird (Aeviperditus gracilis). Image credit: Sasha Votyakova / Te Papa / CC BY 4.0.
The newly identified species existed in New Zealand during the Miocene epoch, approximately 19 to 14 million years ago, well away from its close relatives in Australia and New Guinea.
“This finding offers significant and unique insight into the biological history of Aotearoa’s avian life,” stated Dr. Nick Lawrence, director of the Otago Institute of Paleogenetics.
“For many around the globe, bowerbirds gained fame from Sir David Attenborough’s documentaries featuring their intricate courtship rituals. Males construct arched structures called bowers, adorned with colorful items such as sticks and occasionally fruit, leaves, or even plastic, to attract a mate.”
Known as Aeviperditus gracilis or St. Bassin’s bowerbird, this new bird species was considerably smaller than its modern counterparts.
“It weighs only 33g, much lighter than both existing and extinct bowerbird species, which typically range from 96 to 265g,” Dr. Lawrence explained.
“Its leg bones closely resemble those of Avenue Bower builders, including the brightly colored Flame Bowerbird and Satin Bowerbird.”
“If this bird is indeed a relative of bowerbirds, it could represent an entirely new lineage of songbirds for Aotearoa,” suggested Dr. Elizabeth Steele, a researcher at the University of Cambridge.
“This is particularly crucial given our limited understanding of the region’s ancient songbird fossil record.”
“St Bathan’s Bowerbird signifies the latest lineage of songbirds with a long evolutionary history in Aotearoa, with the earliest representatives of groups like the Uia, Koukako, Tieke, Piopio, and Mohua found here.”
“All these species likely evolved rapidly and dispersed from Australia to New Zealand.”
“Like many of St. Bathans’ unique species, this bird has no surviving descendants in Aotearoa.”
“The bowerbird seems to have been particularly vulnerable to the cooling temperatures preceding the Ice Age and the resulting shifts in forest composition and distribution, contributing to its extinction,” Dr. Lawrence noted.
An article detailing the discovery of Aeviperditus gracilis was published on October 7, 2025, in Historical Biology, International Journal of Paleontology.
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Elizabeth M. Steele et al. Possible early Miocene bowerbirds of New Zealand. Historical Biology, published online October 7, 2025. doi: 10.1080/08912963.2025.2568099
A thin crystalline film of table sugar, or sucrose, captured using a polarized light microscope.
Carl Gough/Science Photo Library
Researchers have developed a novel method to probe dark matter utilizing expansive crystals of sucrose, or table sugar, yet their findings thus far yield nothing more than a bittersweet outcome.
Dark matter is believed to exist due to its elusive gravitational pull on galaxies; however, despite decades of exploration for potential dark matter particles, little evidence has surfaced. Historically, many searches focused on weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), considered leading candidates for dark matter. Yet, even the most meticulous searches have proven fruitless.
Conventional WIMP detectors aim to identify light flashes produced by interactions between dark matter particles and regular matter, assuming that these particles are relatively sizable, around 2 to 10,000 times the mass of a proton. Although this explanation is the most straightforward, the possibility exists that WIMPs are lighter, albeit creating challenges with the theory.
Recently, Federica Petricca and her team at the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich, Germany, have sought these lighter WIMPs utilizing a detector constructed from sugar crystals chilled to extremely low temperatures.
Very light WIMPs are expected to predominantly interact with extremely light atoms like hydrogen; however, utilizing pure hydrogen as a detector is challenging due to its low density, which diminishes interaction probabilities. On the other hand, sucrose comprises 22 hydrogen atoms in each molecule, leading to a significantly higher density than pure hydrogen.
Petricca and her colleagues initially cultivated sucrose crystals from a concentrated sugar solution over the span of a week before reducing the temperature of the crystals to 7 thousandths of a degree above absolute zero. They monitored potential dark matter interactions by employing highly sensitive thermometers to detect minimal heat increases and photon sensors to register flashes of light.
Following 19 hours of experimentation, the sugar crystals did emit light at levels comparable to interactions with larger particles; however, they did not capture the weaker signals that might indicate the presence of WIMPs.
Scientists assert that sugar crystals offer surprising sensitivity for detecting potential dark matter interactions. Carlos Blanco of Penn State notes that researchers may be able to identify subtle recoils from lightweight WIMPs. However, it remains uncertain if this experiment can effectively exclude other potential sources of crystal formation, like radioactive carbon-14, commonly present in various sugars.
CERN and Mont Blanc: Dark Matter and Frozen Matter in Switzerland and France
Get ready to be inspired by CERN, the heart of particle physics in Europe, situated near the lovely Swiss city of Geneva, where researchers manage the well-known Large Hadron Collider.
Paleontologists have discovered a new collection of Triassic fossils at the Quebrada Santo Domingo site in the northern Pre-Cordillera Basin of northwestern Argentina. Among their findings are nearly complete skeletons of a previously unknown sauropod dinosaur species, along with several cynodonts, rhinocosaurs, and aetosaurs.
The newly identified species existed in what is now Argentina during the Carnian period of the late Triassic, approximately 230 million years ago.
Known as Huayracursor jaguensis, this dinosaur was an early and primitive member of the clade sauropodomorpha.
The ancient creature featured a relatively long neck and was larger than many of its contemporaries.
“The Carnian period (237 to 227 million years ago) is significant in the evolution of tetrapods, holding the earliest records of several major clades, including dinosaurs,” stated paleontologist Dr. Martin Hechenleitner of the La Rioja Regional Research Center and CONICET, along with colleagues.
“Following the Carnian pluvial period, dinosaurs faced unprecedented radiation levels and quickly established dominance for the remainder of the Mesozoic era.”
“Most of the earliest records originate from a few well-researched regions in South America, specifically the Izquiguarasto-Villa Union Basin in western Argentina and the Paraná Basin in southern Brazil.”
“These locales have produced a variety of early dinosaurs, encompassing ornithischians, herrerasaurs, theropods, and sauropods.”
“While sauropods are the most taxonomically diverse, the majority (with a few fragmentary exceptions) were small, bipedal, and short-necked.”
“Despite the advances in our understanding of the quadrupedal fauna from the Carnian, no dinosaur-containing groups have arisen outside of traditional classifications.”
Selected bone of the Huayracursor jaguensis holotype. Image credit: Hechenleitner et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09634-3.
Dr. Hechenleitner and his co-authors uncovered fossilized remains of Huayracursor jaguensis and other Triassic animals in the Santo Domingo formation at Quebrada Santo Domingo, a remote region of the Andes Mountains in La Rioja, northwestern Argentina.
“This newly discovered fauna is the first from the newly characterized northern Pre-Cordillera Basin,” the paleontologists remarked.
“Current findings encompass ceratopsians of the hyperodapedontid family, cynodonts from the traversodontid and probynognathic families, a eurysaurian, and at least two sauropod dinosaurs, indicating a Carnian age.”
“Among the sauropods, Huayracursor jaguensis provides the earliest evidence of concurrent weight gain and neck elongation in sauropods, suggesting that these crucial traits emerged at the dawn of dinosaurs.”
“This discovery enhances our understanding of the diversity and geographic distribution of early dinosaur faunas and illuminates the evolution of sauropods during the Carnian period.”
The findings regarding Huayracursor jaguensis are detailed in a paper published in the journal Nature.
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EM Hechenleitner et al. A newly discovered long-necked early dinosaur from the Upper Triassic basin of the Andes. Nature, published online October 15, 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09634-3
Picture a spinning top coming to a halt. Is it possible to make it spin again and return to its original position, as if no movement had occurred? Surprisingly, mathematicians affirm that there is a universal method to revert the rotation of nearly any object.
It seems that the sole method to reverse a complicated rotation sequence is to meticulously execute the exact reverse motion, one step at a time. However, Jean Pierre Eckmann from the University of Geneva, alongside Tzvi Trusty and a research team from South Korea’s Ulsan Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), discovered a concealed reset mechanism that modifies the initial rotation by a common scaling factor and applies this process twice.
For a spinning top, if it makes three-quarters of a turn during its first spin, you can apply an eighth scaling to retrace your steps back to the start and repeat that sequence again to achieve another quarter turn. Yet, Eckmann and Trusty have shown that this principle applies to much more intricate scenarios.
“Essentially, this property extends to nearly any rotating object, including spins, qubits, gyroscopes, and robotic arms,” Trusty explains. “You merely need to scale all rotation angles by the same factor and replicate this complex pathway twice, navigating through an intricate trajectory in space before returning to the origin.”
Their mathematical proof stems from a comprehensive catalog of all potential rotations in three-dimensional space, known as SO(3), which follows specific rules. This can be visualized as an abstract mathematical space resembling a ball. Transporting an object through various rotations in physical space translates to moving from one point to another within this ball, akin to a bug tunneling through an apple.
When a piece undergoes a complicated rotation, its corresponding trajectory in SO(3) may initiate at the center of the ball and terminate at different points within, depending on the intricacies of the rotation. The objective of reversing this rotation is akin to discovering a route back to the center, yet given that there is only one center within the ball, randomly accomplishing this is improbable.
Some of the many paths that can be taken through the mathematical space SO(3). Corresponds to rotation sequences in real space.
Tzvi Trusty
Eckmann and Trusty realized that due to the structure of SO(3), halting a rotation midway is analogous to finding a path that ends on any point on the ball’s surface. Because the surface comprises numerous points, Trusty notes that this approach is significantly more straightforward than directly targeting the center. This insight led to a new proof.
Eckmann mentioned that they invested considerable time unraveling mathematical tensions that yielded no results. The breakthrough came from a 19th-century formula that merged the two successive rotations, known as Rodriguez’s formula, along with an 1889 theorem in number theory. Ultimately, the researchers concluded that a scaling factor is nearly always necessary for resetting.
For Eckmann, this latest research exemplifies the richness of mathematics, even in seemingly familiar domains like rotation studies. Trusty pointed out potential practical outcomes, such as in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which underpins magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Researchers assess material and tissue properties by examining the behavior of internal quantum spins under the influence of external magnetic fields. The new proof could pave the way for strategies to negate unwanted spin rotations that disrupt the imaging process.
The findings could also spur advancements in robotics, says Josie Hughes at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. For instance, a rolling robot may be developed to navigate a path comprising repetitive segments, featuring a reliable roll-reset-roll motion that could theoretically continue indefinitely. “Visualize a robot that could transition between any solid form and subsequently follow any desired trajectory through shape transformation,” she envisions.
The recently identified mineral, Phalic Hydroxysullate, sheds light on the environmental conditions and history of Mars, hinting at potential past volcanic, ash, or hydrothermal activities.
A distinct spectral unit on the Juventue Plateau on Mars. Image credit: Bishop et al, doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-61801-2.
The compact reconnaissance imaging spectrometer (CRISM) on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has gathered hyperspectral data, enabling the mapping of numerous minerals that enhance our understanding of Mars’ ancient geochemical history.
Various sulfate minerals have been identified both from orbit and during landing missions, utilizing spectral parameters, X-ray diffraction, and elemental composition to compare with minerals found on Earth.
In 2010, a unique spectral band was detected in the CRISM data from Mars, specifically on the plateau near Juvento Chasma and within the eroded impact crater Arum Chaos.
This spectral band did not match any known minerals, presenting challenges in mineral identification for over 15 years.
Initial laboratory studies suggested that dehydrated iron sulfate could be the source of this unidentified material.
“The data obtained from spectrometers can’t be utilized in that manner,” explains Dr. Mario Parent, a researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
“Data adjustments are necessary to account for atmospheric effects.”
“The sunlight reflecting off the minerals and CRISM passes through the Martian atmosphere twice,” he continues. “There are scattering molecules and gases that absorb light.” For instance, Mars has a high concentration of carbon dioxide, which can distort the data.
By employing a deep learning artificial intelligence method, researchers can map both known and unknown minerals, automatically identifying anomalies in individual image pixels.
This technique has revealed additional locations with similar spectral bands and clarified other spectral features.
With refined properties, researchers were able to replicate the minerals in the lab and identify the enigmatic compound as hydroxysulfate.
“Materials formed in laboratory conditions may represent new minerals due to their unique crystal structure and thermal durability,” states Dr. Janice Bishop, a researcher at the SETI Institute and NASA’s Ames Research Center.
“However, it is imperative to find them on Earth to officially classify them as new minerals.”
Hydroxyacids are formed at elevated temperatures (50-100 degrees Celsius) in the presence of oxygen and water under acidic conditions.
“When will we observe this material once we develop a mineral attribution and obtain the necessary indicators of a specific material?” Dr. Parente questions.
Scientists deduced that it formed in Arum Chaos due to geothermal heat, while the same minerals likely originated in Juvento from volcanic activity involving ash or lava.
They speculate this may have occurred during the Amazonian era, which is estimated to be under 3 billion years ago.
“Factors such as temperature, pressure, and pH are critical indicators of what the paleoclimate was like,” states Dr. Parente.
“The existence of this mineral adds depth to our understanding of Martian processes.”
“Some regions of Mars have been chemically and thermally altered more recently than previously thought, providing new insights into the planet’s dynamic surface and its potential to support life.”
Study published in the journal Nature Communications.
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Jl Bishop et al. 2025. The properties of iron hydroxythrusa acid on Mars and the implications of the geochemical environment that supports its formation. Nat commun 16, 7020; doi:10.1038/s41467-025-61801-2
The newly identified species, scientifically named Garga Draco Zephilius, marks a significant similarity between species from the Hayeg Basin in Romania and the well-known Brazilian Azdaltid pterosaur.
Reconstruction of the life of Garga Draco Zephilius in the late Maastrichtian environment, highlighting the nostalgia of the Serada Gargaziosite. Image credit: Matheus Gadelha.
Garga Draco Zephilius thrived in what is now Brazil approximately 70-67 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period.
These flying reptiles belong to the Azdaltid family, renowned for hosting some of the largest flying creatures known to date.
“The Azdalcidae family represents the most diverse and widespread clade of pterosaurs during the Turonian Maastrichtian interval (94-67 million years ago),” they noted.
“This context underscores the anticipation surrounding the discovery of Azdaltid in the fossil-rich Baul group of Brazil.”
“Prior to our research, it was widely believed that no pterosaurs existed within the Baul group, despite its extensive tetrapod fauna richness and diversity.”
“Moreover, the discovery of Garga Draco Zephilius bridges a significant temporal gap in the regional pterosaur records, tracing its lineage back to the Lower Cretaceous Kaia group.”
Paleontologists found fragmentary jaws of Garga Draco Zephilius within the Serada Garga layer.
“The specimen originated from the Serada Gargaziosite in Serada Garga (Garga Hill), located 25 km north of Uberaba County,” they reported.
“This site is home to regions typical of the sauropod Titanosaur uberabatitan ribeiroi and is also recognized as the BR-050 site.”
Garga Draco Zephilius was a medium to large pterosaur with a wingspan ranging from 4-5 m (13-16 feet).
This species signifies the first Brazilian azdaltide and shows notable similarities to Albadraco Tharmisensis from Romania.
“Despite being fragmentary, the specimen exhibits distinct morphological characteristics that set it apart from other azdaltids,” the researchers concluded.
“It showcases a unique set of traits that allow it to be categorized as a relative of the European azhdarchids, particularly Albadraco Tharmisensis, which include features like the V-shaped cross-section, low/rounded tomial edges, symmetrically paired rows of occlusal holes, and a high-hole index.”
“The phylogenetic analysis provides support for the relationship between this new form and its sister taxon, Albadraco Tharmisensis.
“Ultimately, the discovery of these rare small specimens with potential hatching remains holds significant importance.”
The findings are detailed in a study published this month in Paleontology Papers.
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Ariovaldo A. Giaretta et al. 2025. The first pterosaur from the Baul group: Azdalcid from the upper Cretaceous period of Brazil. Paleontology Papers 11(5): E70039; doi: 10.1002/spp2.70039
For millennia, individuals have harnessed the transformative power of plants and fungi, using substances like ayahuasca, cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms, and tobacco in spiritual ceremonies to reshape their perceptions of reality.
Justiceia Pecteris
Jill Pflugheber and Steven F. White
Recently, a new book sheds light on these psychoactive and medicinal plants and fungi, revealing their intricacies through advanced microscopy techniques.
Virola theiodora
Jill Pflugheber and Steven F. White
Utilizing confocal microscopy, which employs laser scans at varying depths to produce sharply focused images of intricate specimens, this advanced technique is primarily used in academic research.
Neltuma pallida
Jill Pflugheber and Steven F. White
Jill Pfluber from the University of Kentucky applied confocal microscopy to explore 50 revered plants and fungi across the United States. Her findings contribute to Microcosm: Sacred Plants of the Americas, a publication co-authored with independent historian Stephen F. White.
Cannabis
Jill Pflugheber and Steven F. White
The outcome is a captivating exploration into the hidden complexities of some of the world’s most esteemed plant species, as explained by White. He emphasizes their goal of creating “plant art” that challenges and enriches people’s understandings of sacred plants. “We aspire for those who encounter Microcosm to develop a newfound respect for these plants,” he states.
Theobroma cacao
Jill Pflugheber and Steven F. White
From their primary photography, the images present some results of their exploration: Brugmansia Suaveolens; Justicia Pecteris; Virola theiodora; Neltuma pallida; Cannabis; and Theobroma cacao.
A newly identified supermassive black hole resides in the center of the “Little Red Dot” galaxy, known as Capers-LRD-Z9, existing merely 500 million years after the Big Bang.
Artistic impressions of Capers-Lrd-Z9. Image credit: Erik Zumalt, University of Texas, Austin.
“Finding a black hole like this pushes the limits of what we can currently detect,” remarked Dr. Anthony Taylor, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas at Austin.
“We’re truly expanding the boundaries of technological capability today.”
“While astronomers have identified more distant candidates, clear spectroscopic signatures for black holes have yet to be found,” noted Dr. Stephen Finkelstein from the University of Texas at Austin.
The astronomers conducted their research using data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, as part of the CAPERS (Candels-Area Prism Epoch of Reionization Survey) program.
Initially regarded as a mere speck in the program images, Capers-LRD-Z9 is now recognized as part of a newly classified category of galaxies called Little Red Dots.
“The find of the Little Red Dot was a surprising revelation from initial Webb data. It did not resemble the galaxies captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,” Dr. Finkelstein explained.
“We are currently working to understand what they are and how they formed.”
Capers-Lrd-Z9 contributes to the growing evidence that the ultra-large black hole plays a critical role in the unusual luminosity of small red dots.
Typically, such brightness signifies a galaxy teeming with stars. However, in the absence of substantial stellar mass, these small red dots cease to exist.
These galaxies may also help clarify what causes the distinct red hue observed in small red dots, which is altered to a red wavelength as it passes through surrounding gas clouds encircling the black hole.
“I’ve observed these clouds in other galaxies,” Dr. Taylor stated.
“When I compared this object to others, it was unmistakable.”
Capers-LRD-Z9 merits attention due to the immense size of its black hole.
It’s estimated to be as massive as 300 million solar masses, equating to half the total star mass within the galaxy. This size is notably large, even among supermassive black holes.
By discovering such massive black holes early on, astronomers provide a unique opportunity to investigate the growth and evolution of these entities.
Black holes existing in later epochs had diverse opportunities for growth over their lifetimes, yet this was not the case during the initial hundreds of millions of years.
“This reinforces the increasing evidence that early black holes grew much faster than previously believed,” Dr. Finkelstein mentioned.
“Or they might have originated much larger than our models suggested.”
These findings are detailed in a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal.
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Anthony J. Taylor et al. 2025. Capers-Lrd-Z9: Gasensing Little Dot hosts Broadline’s active galactic nucleus at z = 9.288. apjl 989, L7; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ade789
A collaborative team of paleontologists from Portugal, Italy, the United States, and Belgium has enriched their paleontological records with the identification of a new herbivorous dinosaur species: Cariocecus bocagei.
Cariocecus bocagei. Image credit: Victor Feijó de Carvalho.
Cariocecus bocagei inhabited what is now known as Portugal during the Valemia period of the Cretaceous, approximately 125 million years ago.
This newly identified species belonged to the medium-sized Iguanodon group, which includes robust herbivorous dinosaurs with intricate teeth structures.
“The Iguanodon faction plays a significant role in the herbivorous dinosaur fauna across various ecosystems of the Cretaceous period,” stated Dr. Filippo Bertozzo, a paleontologist at the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences and ci2paleo (Centro de Perebierosia de Nature Ecology, Paleontology of Rehabilitation Therapy).
“At the conclusion of the Jurassic, the Iguanodon factions exhibited limited diversity and body size, with the largest being Camptosaurus.
“These dinosaurs were primarily restricted to the central part of the northern landmass of the Jurassic, which now includes modern-day Wyoming, Tanzania, and Portugal.”
“By the mid-Cretaceous, these clades had achieved a worldwide distribution,” they further commented.
“The selective pressures and environmental factors that drove this diversification during the Jurassic to Cretaceous transition remain poorly understood, largely due to the scarcity of iguanodontian fossils in various regions, such as South Africa.
“The Iguanodon faction was among the first dinosaurs to be discovered and researched, with ongoing studies aimed at exploring the anatomical features and their functions,” they remarked.
“Nonetheless, various aspects of the skull, from the function of the supraorbital bone to paleoneurology and sensory systems, continue to be elusive.”
Digital reconstruction of the skull of Cariocecus bocagei. Image credit: Bertozzo et al., doi: 10.1080/14772019.2025.2536347.
The partial skull of Cariocecus bocagei was uncovered in 2016 along the cliffs of West Portugal from the Paposeco Formation.
This specimen, measuring approximately 37 cm long, is the first Iguanodontian skull recorded in the country.
“The specimen was excavated from the Seco Formation of Papo along the southern coast of the Setubal Peninsula, roughly 200 meters north of Praia de Areia do Mastro,” noted the paleontologist.
“A comprehensive sequence analysis indicates that the early Cretaceous layers found along this coastline were deposited during the fourth and final uplift episodes related to the formation of the Lusitania Basin.”
Upon examining the fossils, researchers identified anatomical characteristics not observed in other Iguanodon species.
“The upper jaw and Jugal bones are flawlessly fused. I have never encountered this in any other iguanodon,” Dr. Bertozzo expressed.
“This isn’t a random anomaly; it’s a genuinely unique feature, confirming it as a new species.”
MicroCT scans enabled scientists to explore the cranial nerves and inner ear with remarkable detail.
“A skull discovery is always significant. It reveals much more than isolated bones,” Dr. Bertozzo commented.
“In this instance, you can observe the impressions of the brain and nerves and even reconstruct parts of the inner ear.”
“The structure of the balance organs and auditory nerves offers insights into how this animal lived and oriented itself.”
“Another notable feature is the unusually low ‘brow’ bones, lower than those of other known Iguanodon factions.”
“This likely supported a heavy brow ridge akin to that of modern eagles.”
“Such structures may have implications for functionality or visibility.”
“The teeth of Cariocecus bocagei also provided remarkable insights,” he added.
“MicroCT scans uncovered not only visible teeth but also replacement teeth embedded within the jaw, designed to replace those that have worn down.”
“This tooth replacement mechanism is characteristic of iguanodons but is rarely observed in earlier species.”
The research team speculates that Cariocecus bocagei may have possessed a stronger bite relative to its kin.
“The discovery of Cariocecus bocagei enhances our understanding of the ecological dynamics within the Lusitania Basin’s early Cretaceous environment, indicating the presence of multiple Iguanodon species, reflecting trends seen in other symbiotic habitats in the UK, Belgium, Spain, and Central Africa,” the authors stated.
“The Valemian diversity in Iguanodon taxa resulted from island endemic events that emerged following the dispersal of dry morphs in North America during the Late Jurassic and Late Cretaceous periods.”
“In conclusion, the discovery of Cariocecus bocagei emphasizes the significance of the Balemian Psien of Hauteribia in the diversification and speciation of Iguanodonians, ultimately leading to the evolution of the more advanced Hadrosaurus in the Turonian period.”
Survey results were published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
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Filippo Bertozzo et al. 2025. Cariocecus bocagei, a new basal hadrosauroid from the Lower Cretaceous period of Portugal. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 23(1); doi:10.1080/14772019.2025.2536347
A single blood test can unveil the biological ages of 11 distinct organs and systems in the body, potentially indicating disease risks in those areas.
“Our objective is to enhance care using one test that reflects not just the overall biological age, but identifies which system is primarily influencing it,” explains Raghav Sehgal from Yale University. “This way, individuals can receive tailored lifestyle or treatment recommendations based on their profiles.”
To evaluate an individual’s lifespan and health risks, biological age serves as an indicator of the rate at which their body ages, contrasting this with chronological age, according to Morgan Levine at Altos Labs in California. Researchers have designed an epigenetic watch to assess DNA methylation, which involves the addition or removal of chemical tags that toggle genes on and off.
While it’s convenient, its accuracy is questioned by Levine. Different organs and systems age at varied rates, heavily influenced by genetics and medical history, she highlights.
“There is a common belief that within an individual, organs and systems can be distinct.” Vadim Gladyshev from Harvard University, who did not partake in the research, notes. “Some brains may exhibit older characteristics, while kidneys may age differently compared to other organs.”
Thus, Sehgal, Levine, and their colleagues embarked on creating methylation tests that target aging states in various body parts. Initially, they assessed physical measurements, including blood tests, medical histories, and grip strength from around 7,500 individuals involved in two major research programs, namely the Health and Retirement Study—a database of U.S. residents over 50 and some U.S. families contributing DNA for genomic research.
Researchers searched for clear connections between age-related conditions, encompassing immune, inflammatory, hematological, musculoskeletal, hormonal, and metabolic systems along with five key organs linked to the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and brain. They then correlated these findings with DNA methylation patterns, trained computer models to recognize those patterns, calculated the biological age of each system, and generated an overall biological age.
After training their models, the team tested it on blood samples from another 8,125 individuals whose data originated from four other studies. They discovered, for instance, that the model’s heart score could predict heart disease, brain scores were associated with cognitive decline, and musculoskeletal scores indicated whether individuals were likely to have arthritis-like conditions.
Comparing their findings with established epigenetic clocks, the researchers noted that organ-specific scores demonstrated strong accuracy, with many yielding excellent results. “It’s quite remarkable that a single factor measured through a blood test can effectively estimate aging across multiple systems,” remarks Levine.
Daniel Belsky from Columbia University in New York describes the epigenetic clock as representing “significant” advancements in aging research. “This marks the initial foray into developing interpretable measures of biological aging that allow for simultaneous analysis of multiple systems, guiding back to specific tissues or organs,” he explains. “It provides a pathway for reverse-engineering from aggregate measurements to pinpoint where health issues may emerge.”
Nonetheless, he cautions that this method might deviate from the overarching objectives of the field. “The essence of genetic science and the potential of aging biology resides in perceiving humans as coherent systems where we seek to identify the weakest links to bolster and avert failures,” Belsky asserts. “Maintaining this integrated perspective is crucial.”
Crucially, Levine clarifies that this test is not intended for diagnostic purposes but for risk assessment. “All assessments, including those in our studies, aim to provide estimates and insights into the inner workings of our bodies,” she emphasizes. “Future research should yield stronger and more precise estimates of aging by integrating various approaches, capturing the complexity and diversity of the aging process.”
Gladyshev envisions that this research could lead to personalized disease prevention strategies. “This represents the core implication of this series of studies,” Belsky adds, while emphasizing the need for further investigation. “We’re not quite there yet.”
The wave functions of atoms can expand without altering their shape
ShutterStock / Bolbik
Extremely cold atoms show a unique ability to self-integrate their quantum states, allowing for imaging with remarkable clarity. This capability aids researchers in exploring the behaviors of quantum particles within unusual materials like superconductors and superfluids.
Mapping the quantum states of atoms, particularly the shape of their wavefunction, poses significant challenges—especially when atoms are densely packed in solids and interact closely. To delve into the quantum behaviors of such materials, scientists convert quantum properties into extremely cold atoms, which they can manipulate with lasers and electromagnetic fields, arranging them into closely packed patterns that mimic atomic structures in solid materials.
Sandra Brantetter from the University of Heidelberg, along with her team, has developed methods to expand the wave functions of hyperpolar atoms by a factor of 50, enhancing their detectability.
Starting with around 30 lithium atoms cooled to just a few millionths above absolute zero, researchers trapped these atoms in a flat configuration using lasers, allowing for precise control of their quantum states. The team then manipulated the properties of the light used, effectively enlarging the atoms’ wave functions while carefully managing the trapping conditions to maintain stability, akin to fine-tuning a microscope’s lens, according to Brandstetter.
Following these adjustments, the researchers employed a reliable atomic detection technique to visualize wave functions in detail that were previously unattainable. “When imaging a system without prior magnification, the result is merely a singular blob, obscuring any structural insights,” Brandstetter explains.
Utilizing this innovative technique, the team examined various atomic configurations. For instance, they successfully imaged a pair of atoms interacting and forming molecules; the magnification permitted them to distinguish between each individual atom. The most complex setup involved 12 interacting atoms, each exhibiting different quantum spins that dictate the material’s magnetic properties.
Jonathan Mortlock notes that although similar magnification methods have been explored at Durham University, this experiment is the first to utilize such an approach for identifying the quantum characteristics of individual atoms in an array—details once deemed inaccessible.
The team aims to apply this method to study the phenomena when two quantum particles known as fermions coalesce into liquids that exhibit zero viscosity or conduct electricity with complete efficiency. Understanding these states could pave the way for the development of superior electronic devices. However, researchers must first achieve a deeper comprehension of how fermions assemble and the implications of pairing within the quantum state. Brandstetter states that new techniques now allow for the creation of ultra-cold fermionic atoms and the imaging of their enlarged wave functions.
Horseshoe-shaped crabs are ancient creatures with an evolutionary history that stretches back 450 million years (during the Ordovician period) and are often regarded as “living fossils.” Paleontologists from West Virginia University have identified a new genus and species of true horseshoe-shaped crabs from Silurian specimens found in Indiana, USA. This species fills an 80 million-year gap in the fossil record of horseshoe-shaped crabs and exhibits a morphology reminiscent of those from the Ordovician period.
Ciurcalimulus discobolus holotype. Scale bar – 5 mm. Image credit: James C. Lamsdell, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0874.
“Horseshoe-shaped crabs (order Xiphosura) are aquatic arthropods characterized by the fusion of their body segments in the thoracic area,” stated Dr. James Ramsdell from West Virginia University in his recent publication.
“Currently, there are four known living species, each exhibiting isolated geographical distributions: one inhabiting the Western Atlantic (from the East Coast of Canada to the Gulf of Mexico) and three found in the Western Pacific and Northeast Indian Oceans (from southern Japan to the East Coast of India).”
“This group is widely recognized as a classic example of an evolutionarily conservative lineage, often referred to as ‘living fossils.’ However, recent studies indicate that they undergo ecological transitions tied to significant morphological changes within the group.”
“The evolutionary history of horseshoe-shaped crabs dates back to two species from North America (450 million years ago) and one slightly older species (early Ordovician, 480 million years ago) from Morocco, which is pending formal description.”
“The origins and early evolution of horseshoe-shaped crabs remain largely unknown, with an 80 million-year gap between these Ordovician species and the first record of Xiphosurida (horseshoe-shaped crabs with a reduced retroabdomen, dating back 370 million years).”
“The absence of Silurian horseshoe-shaped crab fossils occurs during a period of rapid diversification of other aquatic groups, complicating efforts to pinpoint the timing of the origins of Xiphosurids.”
The new species of horseshoe-shaped crab thrived during the Silurian period, approximately 424 million years ago.
It has been designated as Ciurcalimulus discobolus, known from a single specimen discovered in 1975 by JR Samuel J. Sieuca, found in the Kokomo member of the Wabash Formation in Indiana.
“Kokomo members consist of finely stacked dark drostons reaching up to 30 meters, and their age is considered Silurian based on Conodont data,” the paleontologist noted.
“The Kokomo region is primarily recognized for its endemic Euripterid fauna, which exists on a single horizon and is linked to significant extinction events. In this area, various algae of Euripterid and Brachiopod coexist, sometimes alongside corals, above the corals at the upper levels of the sub-arm phyla.”
“Ciurcalimulus discobolus is derived from Euripterid-rich horizons and is preserved similarly to Euripterids, featuring a compressed fossil with well-defined cuticles.”
Ciurcalimulus discobolus differentiates itself from other early horseshoe-shaped crabs by a distinctive combination of traits that are not found in other species.
“Ciurcalimulus bears resemblance to the Ordovician Lunataspis, characterized by a distinctly rounded prosomal shell and a semicircular thorax that lacks lateral segment boundaries or prominent projections, along with a multisphere retroabdominal region,” the researchers explained.
“Nonetheless, the new genus Ciurcalimulus is set apart from Lunataspis due to the absence of axial nodes on the chest and the marginal edge of the thorax being defined dorsally by fur.”
“The Silurian era Ciurcalimulus maintains the common morphology observed in Ordovician species, suggesting its survival beyond the Ordovician mass extinction had a limited impact on the evolution of horseshoe-shaped crabs.”
“Throughout their evolutionary journey, horseshoe-shaped crabs have achieved a global distribution,” he continued.
“However, the first known horseshoe-shaped crabs hail from ancient Roursia and Siberia while the oldest can be traced back to Laurentia.”
“The discovery of Ciurcalimulus in Laurentia indicates it may be a crucial area for the evolution of early horseshoe crabs, but it is essential to acknowledge the strong historical bias in paleontological studies focused on European and former colonial regions.”
“This suggests that Laurentia may have been sampled more intensively than other ancient continents, such as Gondwana. This is a vital consideration given that the oldest horseshoe-shaped crabs currently identified are undescribed species from Morocco.”
The paper was published on June 18 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
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James C. Ramsdell. 2025. The first Silurian horseshoe-shaped crab reveals insights into the ground plans of Xiphosurans. Proc. R. Soc. B 292 (2049): 20250874; doi: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0874
During the Mesozoic era, from 252 to 66 million years ago, analyses of the oxygen isotope composition in dinosaur teeth revealed that the atmosphere contained significantly more carbon dioxide than it does today, with global plant photosynthesis levels roughly double those of the present.
Fossil teeth of Camarasaurus from the Morrison Formation in the US. Image credit: sauriermuseum aathal.
A study conducted by Göttingen University and researcher Dr. Dingsu Feng examined the dental enamel of dinosaurs that roamed North America, Africa, and Europe during the Late Jurassic and Late Cretaceous periods.
“Enamel is one of the most stable biological materials,” they explained.
“It captures different oxygen isotopes based on the air dinosaurs inhaled with each breath.”
“The isotope ratios of oxygen reflect fluctuations in atmospheric carbon dioxide and plant photosynthesis.”
“This connection allows us to infer insights about the climate and vegetation of the dinosaur era.”
“During the late Jurassic, about 150 million years ago, the air contained four times more carbon dioxide than before industrialization, prior to significant human emissions of greenhouse gases.”
“In the late Cretaceous, around 730 to 66 million years ago, carbon dioxide levels were three times higher than today.”
Teeth from two dinosaur species, the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Kaatedocus siberi, showed an exceptionally unique oxygen isotope composition.
This phenomenon is indicative of carbon dioxide spikes linked to major geological events like volcanic eruptions—such as the massive eruption of the Deccan Traps in India at the close of the Cretaceous period.
The heightened photosynthetic activity of plants at that time on both land and water is likely associated with elevated carbon dioxide levels and higher average annual temperatures.
This research marks a milestone in paleoclimatology. Historically, soil and marine proxy carbonates have served as the primary tools for reconstructing past climates.
Marine proxies, which are indicators of sediment fossils and chemical signatures, help scientists comprehend ancient marine environmental conditions, yet these methods often involve uncertainties.
“Our approach offers a fresh perspective on the planet’s history,” Dr. Fenn remarked.
“It paves the way to use fossilized tooth enamel for probing the composition of Earth’s atmosphere and plant productivity during that era.”
“Understanding these factors is crucial for grasping long-term climate dynamics.”
“Dinosaurs may well become new climate scientists, as their teeth have recorded climate data for over 150 million years. At last, we have received their message.”
Study published on August 4, 2025, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Dingsu Feng et al. 2025. Mesozoic Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations reconstructed from the enamel of dinosaur teeth. PNAS 122 (33): E2504324122; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2504324122
Paleontologists at the National Museum d’Historel in Tel Aviv University and Delige University, France, have reported a fascinating discovery involving a combination of Neanderthal and Homo sapiens skeletal features in a 5-year-old child found in 1931 at Skhūl Cave, located on Mount Carmel, Israel.
A group of Neanderthals in a cave. Image credit: Tyler B. Tretsven.
Mugarat Es Skhūl (Skhūl Cave) was uncovered in 1928 by Theodore McConne and Dorothy Garrod on Mount Carmel, Israel.
The excavation revealed skeletal remains of seven adults and three children, alongside isolated bones linked to 16 additional individuals associated with the Fauna and Musteria tool industry.
The fossils belong to Homo sapiens, or “anatomically modern humans,” dating back approximately 140,000 years to the end of the Mid Pleistocene.
The initial discoveries in the cave were of children aged three to five years.
A recent study led by Professor Israel Hirschkowitz of Tel Aviv University indicates that the child’s skull resembles the overall shape of Homo sapiens, particularly in the skull vault, with inner ear structures characteristic of the intracranial blood supply system and features of the mandible akin to Neanderthals.
“This finding highlights the earliest known human fossils exhibiting morphological traits from both of these groups,” he stated.
“This study indicates that the skeleton of the five-year-old child is a result of ongoing genetic intermingling with the local Neanderthal and Homo sapiens populations,” he added.
“Genetic research over the last decade has demonstrated that these two groups exchanged genes,” remarked Professor Hirschkowitz.
“Even today, 40,000 years after the last Neanderthals vanished, 2-6% of our genomes can be traced back to Neanderthals,” he continued.
“However, these gene exchanges occurred much later, between 60,000-40,000 years ago. In this case, we are addressing human fossils from 140,000 years ago.”
Traditionally, Neanderthals were thought to have evolved in Europe and migrated to Israeli territories approximately 70,000 years ago due to advancing glaciers.
A 2021 study revealed that early Neanderthals inhabited Israeli lands around 400,000 years ago.
This type of human is referred to as “Nescher Ramra.” Homo might have interbred with Homo sapiens, a group that began migrating out of Africa around 200,000 years ago – and according to findings from the current study, they did breed.
The children from Skhūl Cave represent the earliest fossil evidence of the social and biological bonds formed between these two groups over thousands of years.
Ultimately, local Neanderthals dwindled as they were absorbed into the Homo sapiens population, similar to Neanderthals in later Europe.
“The fossils we researched are the earliest known tangible proof of mating between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens,” Professor Hirschkowitz commented.
“In 1998, child skeletons were unearthed in Portugal, displaying features from both human groups.”
“However, that skeleton, known as the ‘Lapedo Valley Child,’ dates back just 28,000 years.”
Historically, anthropologists have attributed the fossils found in Skhūl Cave, alongside those from the Caffze cave near Nazareth, to early groups of Homo sapiens.
“Current research reveals that some fossils from the Skhūl cave are indeed the product of continuous genetic intermingling with local and ancient Neanderthal populations of Homo sapiens,” he concluded.
Survey results were published in the journal on June 14th, l’anthropologie.
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Bastien Bouvier et al. 2025. New analysis of Skhūl child’s neurological and mandible: taxonomic conclusions and cultural implications. l’anthropologie 129(3): 103385; doi: 10.1016/j.anthro.2025.103385
Designated FRB 20250316A, this event, referred to as rbfloat (the brightest radio flash recorded to date), took place in the outer region of the nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 4141.
Infrared image of Galaxy NGC 4141 featuring the rapid wireless burst FRB 20250316A. Image credits: NASA/ESA/CSA/CFA/Blanchard et al. / P. Edmonds.
The Fast Radio Burst (FRB) is a brief yet intense explosion of radio waves, primarily originating from distances beyond our galaxy.
The first FRB was detected in 2007, but an earlier observation was made six years ago in archival data from the Magellan Cloud Pulsar Survey.
These bursts last only a millisecond, hinting at the peculiar distributed pattern of radio pulsars.
They emit as much energy in a millisecond as the Sun releases over 10,000 years, yet the underlying cause remains a mystery.
Some theories propose that the characteristics of these bursts align with technologies of advanced civilizations, potentially arising from magnetized neutron stars or black holes interacting with surrounding gas.
The FRB 20250316A event was discovered on March 16, 2025. Located in the constellation Major Ursa, NGC 4141 is about 130 million light-years away.
Detection was accomplished using the Chime Outgar Array, where Canadian radio telescopes saw upgrades enabling precise FRB localization.
“With the Chime Outrigger, we’ve finally managed to capture these fleeting cosmic signals in real-time. We can narrow them down to specific stellar environments and individual galaxies,” noted one researcher.
Subsequently, Dr. Cook and her team employed the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to seek infrared signals from the same location.
“This was a unique opportunity to direct Webb’s powerful infrared capabilities toward the FRB’s position,” said Dr. Peter Blanchard, an astronomer at Harvard’s Center for Astrophysics.
“We were rewarded with remarkable results, revealing a faint source of infrared light very close to where the radio burst took place.”
“This could be the first object linked to an FRB found in another galaxy,” he added.
The infrared data from Webb indicated an object named NIR-1, likely a giant red star or possibly a giant middle-aged star.
A red giant is a sun-like star nearing the end of its life, expanding and becoming brighter, while the other possibilities are larger than the Sun.
Although these stars may not directly generate the FRB, they could possess invisible companions, such as neutron stars, that strip material from the red giants and massive stars. This mass transfer process might have triggered the FRB.
The advantages of a relatively close and precise location, coupled with sharp Webb images, permit the clearest observation of individual stars located near the FRB.
“Numerous theories have been proposed to explain FRBs, but up until now, there has been no data to test most of these ideas,” stated Professor Ed Berger from the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
“Isolating individual stars near the FRB is a significant improvement over previous searches, and we’re beginning to understand the stellar systems that could produce these powerful bursts.”
However, the red giant or massive star might not be connected to the FRB, prompting researchers to explore a larger area for further clues.
They discovered that the FRB was situated near a small cluster of young massive stars.
Given this positioning, they theorized that the giant stars in the cluster may collapse and form magnetars, leading to the FRB.
Magnetars are too dim to be directly seen in Webb’s observations.
The team examined various other potential explanations for the FRB, including objects from dense clusters of older stars and more giant stars.
These alternatives were deemed unlikely as they were brighter than the faint stars they observed.
“Regardless of whether the connection to the stars is real or not, we’ve learned a great deal about the origins of these bursts,” said Dr. Blanchard.
“If the double star system isn’t the solution, our findings imply that isolated magnetars could be responsible for the FRB.”
Another possible explanation for the infrared signals is that they may be reflected light from flares associated with the objects that triggered the radio bursts, potentially from magnetars. If this is the case, the infrared rays might diminish over time.
The team suggests more observations with Webb to search for such variations.
“We have taken a novel approach to unraveling the mystery of FRBs using Webb’s precise imaging, focusing on the exact position of the emitted FRBs,” Professor Berger remarked.
“We cannot predict when and where the next FRB will emerge, so we must be prepared to deploy Webb promptly when the moment arises.”
The team’s research paper was published in Astrophysics Journal Letters.
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Peter K. Blanchard et al. 2025. apjl 989, L49; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ADF29F
A newly identified quadruple star system, referred to as UPM J1040-3551 AABBAB, comprises a pair of cold brown dwarfs along with young red dwarfs.
An artistic depiction of the UPM J1040-3551 system amidst the Milky Way, as seen by the ESA Gaia satellite. On the left, the UPM J1040-3551 AA&AB is portrayed as a distant bright orange dot, showcasing the two M-shaped stars in orbit. Conversely, in the foreground on the right, a pair of cold brown dwarfs – UPM J1040-3551 BA & BB – have been on a long trajectory from each other for decades, collectively orbiting the UPM J1040-3551 AAB in a vast orbit taking over 100,000 years to complete. Image credits: Jiaxin Zhong / Zenghua Zhang.
The UPM J1040-3551 AABBAB system is situated in the constellation Antlia, approximately 82 light-years from Earth.
In this system, AAB denotes the brighter pairs AA and AB, while BAB refers to the more distant sub-components BA and BB.
“The hierarchical structure of this system makes the findings particularly intriguing, as it is essential for maintaining stable orbits over extended periods,” explains Professor Zenghua Zhang from Nanjing University.
“These two objects have orbited individually for decades, but collectively they have circled a common center of mass for more than 100,000 years.”
The two pairs are separated by 1,656 astronomical units (Au), where 1 Au represents the average distance from the Earth to the Sun.
The brighter pair, UPM J1040-3551 AAB, appears orange when viewed in visible wavelengths.
These stars possess a temperature of 3,200 K (approximately 2,900 degrees Celsius) and have a mass about 17% that of the Sun.
With a visual magnitude of 14.6, this pair is roughly 100,000 times dimmer than Polaris, the North Star, when viewed at visible wavelengths.
The fainter pair, UPM J1040-3551 BAB, comprises two cooler brown dwarfs that emit almost no visible light and are about 1,000 times dimmer than the AAB pair in near-infrared wavelengths.
These brown dwarfs are classified as T-type, with temperatures of 820 K (550 degrees Celsius) and 690 K (420 degrees Celsius), respectively.
“This is the first documented case of a quadruple system featuring a pair of T-type brown dwarfs orbiting two stars,” states Dr. Maricruz Gálvez-Ortiz, an astronomer at the Spanish Center for Astronomy.
“This discovery presents a unique opportunity for studying these enigmatic objects.”
“Brown dwarfs, alongside a diverse array of stellar companions, are invaluable for establishing age benchmarks,” comments Hugh Jones, a professor at the University of Hertfordshire.
“The UPM J1040-3551 system is particularly significant, as H-Alpha emissions from the bright pairs suggest that the system is relatively young, estimated to be between 200 and 300 million years old.”
The research team is optimistic that high-resolution imaging techniques could eventually resolve the brown dwarf pairs, facilitating precise measurements of their orbital dynamics and masses.
“This system offers a dual benefit for brown dwarf science,” remarks Adam Burgaster, a professor at the University of California, San Diego.
“It serves as both an age benchmark for calibrating cold atmospheric models and a mass benchmark for validating evolutionary models, provided that we can effectively resolve and track these brown dwarf binaries.”
“The discovery of the UPM J1040-3551 system marks a significant milestone in enhancing our understanding of these elusive objects and the various formation pathways of stellar systems near our Solar System.”
Findings are detailed in a study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
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Zh Zhang et al. 2025. Benchmark Brown Dwarf – I. Blue M2 + T5 Wide Binary and Possible Young People [M4 + M4] + [T7 + T8] Hierarchical rectangles. mnras 542(2): 656-668; doi: 10.1093/mnras/staf895
Hubble Space Telescope Image of Interstellar Comet 3i/Atlas. The telescope tracked the comet, causing background stars to appear as streaks.
NASA, ESA, David Jewitt (UCLA)/Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
The telescope’s observations of the Interstellar Comet 3i/Atlas have shown it resembles a comet found beyond our solar system. Intriguing aspects, like the substantial amounts of water detected even far from the sun, may shed light on the ancient stellar system from which it originated.
Objects from other solar systems that pass through ours are extremely rare. Discovered in July, 3i/Atlas is the third such interstellar visitor, following Oumuamua in 2017 and Borisov in 2019. Remarkably, its visit has only been a few months long.
Scientists speculate that its high speed may indicate that it originates from a star system billions of years older than our own. Initial estimates suggested it has a diameter of approximately 20 kilometers, but details about the extensive plume of water and gas remain limited.
Toni Santana Ross from the University of Barcelona and colleagues have utilized ground-based telescopes to observe the comet and its tail, finding it contains moderate amounts of dust. Notably, the dust appears to increase as the comet approaches the sun, mirroring patterns seen in comets from our outer solar system. “It’s a typical object; there’s nothing particularly strange about it,” states Santana Ross.
Astronomers have also monitored comets via space. Researcher collaborating found that the Hubble Space Telescope might estimate the comet’s size between 320 meters and 5.6 kilometers, and it likely started off much smaller.
Comets usually contain ice, which vaporizes as they near the sun, creating water vapor in their tails. Utilizing the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory Satellite, Zexi Xing from Auburn University has detected water in the comet’s tail located significantly farther from the sun than is typical for comets. The amount of water detected suggests that about 20% of the comet’s surface is responsible for this production, exceeding typical solar system comet proportions.
Such prolific water generation may indicate that 3i/Atlas originates from a star system much older than ours, hypothesizes Cyrielle Opitom at the University of Edinburgh. This is due to older stellar systems generally having higher water content compared to other molecules. “It might be that because it formed earlier, it retains more water than other molecules, but it’s premature to reach a conclusion,” she remarks.
Astronomers are also scouring historical data to determine if the telescope mistakenly detected a comet. Adina Feinstein and her team at Michigan State University have found that the transit exoplanet survey satellite (TESS) was operationally searching for planets around other stars and incidentally captured a comet between May 7 and June 3. “It just happened that we were observing the exact region where 3i/Atlas was at that moment,” says Feinstein.
The comet was found to be surprisingly bright at that time, suggesting it was releasing significant amounts of water or gas even at considerable distances from the sun. “We didn’t detect transits in regions of our solar system where water would typically start to react,” highlights Feinstein.
In this distant region, the likelihood of finding water is low, with gases such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide being more common, according to Opitom. “This is a pattern seen in comets from our solar system; they can exhibit activity at much greater distances due to these volatile materials.”
Yet, the fact that it was active so far from the sun could indicate that this comet has not been significantly exposed to starlight throughout its life, notes Matthew Jenge from Imperial College London.
“What this implies is that this comet was ejected from the fringes of another solar system,” Genge describes. While the exact cause of its ejection is uncertain, it’s possible that gravitational forces from a nearby star could have set it on a trajectory towards us, he explains.
Opitom mentions that the James Webb Space Telescope has recently conducted its observations and that astronomers will analyze the data in the upcoming weeks, promising more insights into 3i/Atlas soon.
As comets approach their closest point to the sun in October, astronomers will have the opportunity to measure the gases they emit. This will provide important insights not only into the characteristics of the comet itself but also into the composition of the molecules in its active tail, which may reveal details about the formation of 3i/Atlas, according to Opitom.
Similar to previous interstellar objects, speculations about potential alien technology exist, but Santana Ross has found no supporting evidence. “If you take a holiday photo and see something tall with a long neck and four legs, you might think of it as an alien, but it’s most likely a giraffe,” he quips. “There’s no reason to believe this is anything unusual or evidence of something extraordinary.”
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Astronomers have discovered and quantified the largest black hole ever found. This colossal black hole approaches the theoretical maximum size allowable in the universe and is approximately 10,000 times the mass of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole located at the center of the Milky Way.
This Hubble image features a horseshoe-shaped gravity lens (from center to right). Behind it is a blue galaxy, distorted into a horseshoe-shaped ring by the space-time distortion caused by the massive orange galaxies in the foreground. Image credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble.
The newly identified ultramassive black hole resides in the Space Horseshoe Gravity Lens System, which is among the largest known strong gravitational lenses.
This lens system, referred to as SDSS J1148+1930 and CSWA 1, lies 5 billion light years away in the Leo constellation.
“Typically, mass measurements of black holes in such distant systems can only be done when they are active,” remarks PhD Carlos Melo from Universidade Federativa do Rio Grande do Sul.
“However, these estimates based on accretion are often fraught with significant uncertainty.”
“Our method integrates strong gravitational lenses with stellar dynamics to yield more direct and reliable measurements, even in these distant systems.”
“The black holes we discovered rank among the top 10 largest black holes known, possibly even the largest,” adds Professor Thomas Collett from the University of Portsmouth.
“Most existing mass measurements for black holes are indirect and come with high uncertainties, so I can’t definitively say which one is the largest. But our new method provides much greater confidence in the mass of this black hole.”
The research team employed a synergy of gravitational lenses and stellar motions to locate the space horseshoe-shaped black holes.
This technique is considered the gold standard for black hole mass measurement, but galaxies are often too small in the sky to resolve areas containing these supermassive black holes, limiting effectiveness in distant contexts.
“The inclusion of a gravitational lens allowed us to explore further into the cosmos,” noted Professor Collett.
“We observed the influence of a black hole in two specific ways: it alters the path light takes as it navigates through the black hole, and stars in the galaxy’s core are observed moving incredibly fast (almost 400 km/s).”
“By correlating these two measurements, we can confidently establish the black hole’s authenticity.”
“This discovery pertains to a ‘dormant’ black hole, which does not actively consume material at the time of observation,” Melo explained.
“The detection relied solely on its immense gravitational pull and its effects on surrounding matter.”
“What’s particularly thrilling is that this method enables us to identify and gauge the masses of these elusive supermassive black holes across the universe, even when they lie completely dormant.”
An intriguing aspect of the Cosmic Horseshoe system is that its host galaxy is classified as a fossil group.
Fossil groups represent the final phase of the universe’s most colossal gravitationally-bound structures, formed from the collapse of a single, large galaxy devoid of bright companions.
“It is plausible that the supermassive black holes originally found in the companion galaxy contributed to the formation of the supermassive black holes we have identified,” Professor Collett noted.
“Thus, we can observe both the conclusion of galaxy formation and the cessation of black hole growth.”
The team’s paper was published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
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Carlos R Melo-Carneiro et al. 2025. We are pleased to announce the discovery of a 36 billion solar-mass black hole at the core of the Cosmic Horseshoe Gravity Lens. MNRAS 541(4): 2853-2871; doi: 10.1093/mnras/staf1036
Despite significant changes since the 1950s, women continue to shoulder more domestic responsibilities
ClassicStock/Alamy
Earn money Melissa Hogenboom (Canongate Books, August 14th, UK)
Why do individuals without jobs feel uplifted when their partners are unemployed? How do women develop empathy as they mature? Why does a disordered room appear untidy when it belongs to Jennifer, but not John? These pressing issues are explored by Melissa Hogenboom in her book Earn money: and other power imbalances that affect your life. The book uncovers the hidden power dynamics and subconscious cognitive biases that influence our behaviors and choices.
This narrative goes beyond individual actions; it serves as a well-researched examination of how stereotypes and unseen disparities shape everything from household chores to career advancement.
Fair warning: it may provoke anger—especially regarding household responsibilities. Studies indicate that in heterosexual relationships, domestic duties are typically assumed by women unless addressed directly. Women tend to take on more odd jobs, even when they log more hours at work. Hogenboom notes that some studies imply this might be an unconscious “compensation” strategy for unconventional family dynamics.
Gender biases begin early in life. Mothers engage more extensively during pregnancy, whereas fathers share more about their feelings with daughters and their achievements with sons. Studies have found that fathers react more deeply to their daughters’ emotions.
This reinforces the notion that women are inherently nurturing or empathetic—a stereotype that influences various realms, from parenting to leadership roles. In fact, while empathy can be partially genetic, there are no innate differences between genders.
When societal pressures are lifted, a new truth may surface. As highlighted in a case study of same-sex male couples, “The assumption that if parents remain at home without societal pressures, they will naturally share childcare responsibilities is quite misguided,” says one participant. “If my partner had suggested returning to work within a fortnight, I would have been furious.”
Hogenboom also points out that mothers in same-sex relationships may encounter fewer career obstacles after maternity leave compared to those in heterosexual partnerships, indicating that maternity alone does not dictate such penalties.
The myth of mutuality deludes couples that they have achieved a good balance of labor.
The book sheds light on the intangible forces predominantly managed by men: hidden inequalities often perceived as normal. At times, Hogenboom asserts, “Women, here’s the evidence you need to justify your exhaustion.”
Notably, the persistent challenges faced by men who seek to address these power disparities are highlighted. A study referenced by Hogenboom found that men requesting part-time roles often face skepticism more than women and encounter taunts like “Where’s your mom?” They often struggle to be taken seriously and may be viewed as less committed, complicating their social dynamics within parenting communities.
Couples who believe they have achieved equality might be surprised by how Hogenboom reveals these unseen dynamics of authority. She argues that systematic inequalities represent a dominant form of power in relationships, often overlooked—even by the couples who experience them.
The perception of mutuality can lead couples to falsely believe they maintain an even distribution of responsibilities. However, they may be deceiving themselves if they don’t consider whose needs are genuinely met and who does the work. For instance, your partner might “cook all the meals,” but have you handled the meal planning, grocery shopping, cleaning, and budgeting?
Fortunately, Hogenboom offers actionable advice. If you find yourself overwhelmed, she suggests handling tasks comprehensively: “It eliminates hidden burdens when ownership of the entire task is taken.”
Her recommendations provide a much-needed relief amidst the wealth of data presented. While authoritative and insightful, Hogenboom’s writing style leaves little room for reflection.
However, moments of reflection are necessary. Earn money constructs a convincing argument to recognize the influence of concealed power dynamics and informs how to address them. This leads to fairer relationships and more successful careers, potentially saving marriages.
Helen Thomson is an author based in London.
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Around 56 million years ago, during a period of significant geological warming known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), the mesonychid mammal Dissacus Praenuntius exhibited remarkable dietary changes—it began to consume more bones.
Dissacus Praenuntius. Image credit: DIBGD / CC by 4.0.
“I am a doctoral student at Rutgers University in New Brunswick,” stated Andrew Schwartz from the University of New Jersey.
“We are observing a similar trend: rising carbon dioxide levels, increasing temperatures, and the destruction of ecosystems.”
In their study, Schwartz and his team analyzed small pits and marks left on fossilized teeth using a method known as dental microwear texture analysis. The research focused on the extinct mammal Dissacus Praenuntius, part of the Mesonychidae family.
This ancient omnivore weighed between 12 and 20 kg, comparable in size to jackals and coyotes.
Common in the early Cenozoic forests, it likely had a diverse diet that included meat, fruits, and insects.
“They resembled wolves with large heads,” Schwartz remarked.
“Their teeth were similar to those of hyenas, though they lacked small hooves on their toes.”
“Before this phase of warming, Dissacus Praenuntius mainly consumed tough meat, akin to a modern cheetah’s diet.”
“However, during and after this ancient warming period, their teeth showed wear patterns consistent with crushing hard substances like bones.”
“Our findings indicate that their dental microwear is similar to that of lions and hyenas.”
“This suggests they were consuming more brittle food rather than their usual smaller prey, which became scarce.”
This shift in diet occurred alongside a slight decrease in body size, likely a result of food shortages.
“While earlier theories attributed body size reduction solely to rising temperatures, this latest research indicates that food scarcity was a significant factor,” Schwartz explained.
“The rapid global warming of this time lasted around 200,000 years, but the changes it caused were swift and dramatic.”
“Studying periods like this can offer valuable lessons for understanding current and future climatic changes.”
“Examining how animals have adapted and how ecosystems responded can reveal much about what might happen next.”
“The research underscores the importance of dietary flexibility; species that can consume a variety of foods are more likely to endure environmental pressures.”
“In the short term, excelling in a specific area can be beneficial,” Schwartz added.
“However, in the long run, generalists—animals that are adaptable across various niches—are more likely to survive environmental changes.”
This understanding can assist modern conservation biologists in identifying vulnerable species today.
Species with specialized diets, like pandas, may struggle as their habitats diminish, while more adaptable species, such as jackals and raccoons, might thrive.
“We’re already starting to see these trends,” Schwartz noted.
“Previous research has shown that African jackals have begun to consume more bones and insects over time, likely due to habitat loss and climate stress.”
The study also indicated that rapid climate change, reminiscent of historical events, could lead to significant shifts in ecosystems, influencing prey availability and predator behaviors.
This suggests that contemporary climate change could similarly disrupt food webs, pushing species to adapt and face extinction risks.
“Nonetheless, Dissacus Praenuntius was a robust and adaptable species that thrived for about 15 million years before eventually going extinct,” Schwartz said.
Scientists believe this extinction was driven by environmental changes and competition with other species.
The study was published in June 2025 in the journal Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology.
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Andrew Schwartz et al. 2025. Dietary Changes in Mesonychids During the Eocene Heat Maximum: The Case of Dissacus Praenuntius. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology 675:113089; doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113089
The newly identified Stephenson 2 DFK 52, an extraordinary red supergiant, is situated within the expansive stellar cluster RSGC2.
This image showcases the red supergiant star Stephenson 2 DFK 52 and its surroundings. Image credits: Alma / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / Siebert et al.
RSGC2 is a cluster containing at least 26 red supergiants located at the base of the Milky Way’s diagonal crux spiral arm, approximately 5,800 parsecs (18,917 light-years) away.
Also referred to as Stephenson 2, this cluster is an active site for recent star formation where the arms intersect with galaxy bulges.
A team of astronomers led by Mark Siebert from Chalmers University of Technology observed the RSGC2 star using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
“What we catch in this image of Stephenson 2 DFK 52 is indeed a supermassive red star that is shedding clouds of gas and dust as it approaches the end of its lifecycle,” they explained.
“Such nebulae are typically found around supermassive stars; however, this particular cloud presents an intriguing mystery for astronomers.”
“This cloud of ejected material is the most expansive discovered around a giant star, spanning an impressive 1.4 light-years.”
“Stephenson 2 DFK 52 is quite similar to Betelgeuse, another renowned red supergiant, so we anticipated observing a comparable cloud surrounding it.”
“If Stephenson 2 DFK 52 is as close to us as Betelgeuse, the surrounding cloud would appear about one-third the size of the full moon.”
Recent observations from ALMA have enabled astronomers to quantify the mass of material enveloping the star and analyze its velocity.
“Regions moving towards us appear in blue, while those receding are represented in red,” they stated.
“The data suggests that the star experienced a significant mass loss event about 4,000 years ago, followed by a slow-down in its current mass loss rate.”
The team estimates that Stephenson 2 DFK 52 has a mass between 10-15 solar masses and has already lost 5-10% of its mass.
“The rapid expulsion of such materials within a brief time frame poses a mystery,” the researchers commented.
“Could an unusual interaction with a companion star be responsible? Why does the cloud exhibit such a complex shape?”
“Understanding why Stephenson 2 DFK 52 has expelled so much material can illuminate insights into its eventual fate.
Mark A. Sheebert et al. 2025. Discovery of the extraordinary red supergiant Stephenson 2 DFK 52 within the expansive stellar cluster RSGC2. A&A in press; Arxiv: 2507.11609
The inhabitants of the ocean’s depths are more extraordinary than ever.
Utilizing an advanced submarine that dives deeper than Mount Everest, researchers have unearthed a vibrant ecosystem approximately 30,000 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean’s surface.
A research team led by Chinese scientists found it racing through fields of vivid crimson tubes and interacting with a unique type of worm that resembles a flower sprouting from the Earth’s crust.
Each organism thrived in dense beds of up to nine inches in length, with snow-like microbial mats creating ethereal underwater dust that spanned tens of feet.
Dominique Papineau, a senior research scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, shared insights with NBC News.
Hadal chemical synthesis-based community, CAS’s Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering
Papineau, one of the study’s authors, announced the findings in a Wednesday publication in Nature. “Many Hadal organisms from these trenches exhibit remarkable shapes and colors,” he noted, explaining that they survive by hosting microorganisms that metabolize methane instead of relying on photosynthesis.
The depth of 19,000 to 30,000 feet is the deepest zone in the ocean, occurring where one tectonic plate collides with another. “Existing theories suggest that chemical bond-based communities are becoming increasingly common in the Hadal Trench, yet few have been discovered,” Papineau stated.
Karien Schnabel, a marine ecologist from New Zealand’s Earth Sciences, commented that the discovery was “truly remarkable” even though she was not part of the study.
“In these extraordinarily deep regions, there were an abundance of signs of life and wildlife,” she remarked.
A winter valley recorded by the crew’s dive fendou at 30,000 feet. CAS’s Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering Polycharts inhabit the tube dominate at the deepest 22,500 meters of the Aleutian, with spots of white microbial mats. CAS’s Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering
“We don’t generally expect life to flourish in these extreme conditions due to the immense pressure,” she commented regarding the organisms.
The researchers highlighted, “The depths explored here, alongside the robust communities found, significantly broaden the known habitats, depths, and biogeographic distributions of numerous species.”
With sunlight unable to penetrate, these organisms depend on chemical synthesis for nourishment, rather than photosynthesis.
“These ecosystems are abundant in hydrogen sulfide, methane-rich fluids flowing through faults amid deep sediment layers in the trench,” the researchers explained.
They also endure crushing pressures of up to 98 megapascals (MPA), exceeding six times the force of a crocodile’s bite.
The diving for this recent study took place in July and August of the previous year, conducted by an international group of scientists from the Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
A small porthole of three submarines. Karien Schnabel
They examined the trenches of Krill Kamchatka, which stretch from Hokkaido in Japan to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, spanning approximately 1,300 miles and integrating with the Aleutian trench that measures around 1,800 miles from Alaska to the Kenai Peninsula.
Schnabel had previously undertaken deep-sea studies aboard the same three submarines, known as Fendouzhe, utilized in this research.
She recounted her deep-sea experiences, one of which gained notoriety when a submarine malfunctioned during a 2023 mission to the Titanic wreck.
“Naturally, there’s a bit of anxiety when hanging over a 10-kilometer chasm on Earth,” she recalled, having explored New Zealand’s northern trenches in 2022, plunging over 32,000 feet below the Pacific Ocean’s surface.
“The window is merely 12 centimeters in diameter. It’s impossible to stretch your legs while seated on a tiny bench within a compact titanium sphere measuring only 1.8 meters in width,” she detailed.
Free-Moving Polychaete navigates dense colonies of Frenor Siboglinide. CAS’s Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering
She expressed her amazement at the sights encountered at the trench’s bottom, viewed through the submarine’s 4.7-inch window.
“As I began my descent and eventually came to rest on the seabed, I was astonished by the multitude of life forms I witnessed,” she reflected.
While it was expected that life could persist at these depths, the sheer abundance of ecosystems was a pleasant surprise for the researchers.
The results “challenge existing models of life in extreme conditions” and indicate that such ecosystems may be more prevalent than previously recognized.
Paleontologists have uncovered footprints that are 76 million years old, belonging to a dominant group of Ceratopsian dinosaurs, in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. This remarkable finding is the first indication of herd behavior among mixed dinosaur species, reminiscent of how modern wildebeests and zebras flock together on the African savannas.
Salatopsian herd (Styracosaurus albertensis) accompanied by ankylosaurus (Euplocephalus tutus) walking through old river channels under the watchful eyes of two Tyrannosaurus (Golgosaurus libratus). Image credit: Julius Csotonyi.
Dinosaur Provincial Park, located in southern Alberta, Canada, is one of the premier regions in the world for studying late Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems.
The park yields hundreds of dinosaur skeletal remains and a vast array of bones and teeth, making it a prime location for exploring dinosaur evolution, behavior, biological introduction, and paleoecology.
Despite the wealth of skeletal remains, dinosaur footprints and trackways are surprisingly uncommon.
“In 2024, we discovered a new track site, a skyline track site containing ‘typical’ natural mold tracks that had not been identified in the park before,” stated Dr. Phil Bell and his colleagues at the University of New England.
At this site, paleontologists uncovered 13 Seratopsia (horned dinosaurs) tracks, showing at least five animals walking side by side, along with an ankylosaurus (armored dinosaur) that might have been walking among them.
They were also intrigued to find two large Tyrannosaurus tracks alongside the group. Additionally, a footprint from a smaller meat-eating dinosaur was also discovered.
View of the Skyline Track Site immediately after its discovery (a) and during excavation (b). Image credits: Bell et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0324913.
“I have been collecting dinosaur bones in Dinosaur Provincial Park for nearly two decades, but I had never given much thought to footprints,” remarked Dr. Bell.
“The edge of this rock had a mud-like appearance that caught between my toes, which immediately intrigued me.”
“The Tyrannosaurus tracks give the impression that they are truly observing the herd.”
“It was thrilling to see them walking in the footprints of dinosaurs 76 million years after they went extinct,” said Dr. Brian Pickles from Reading College.
“Using innovative search techniques, we were able to locate several additional track sites throughout the park’s diverse terrain. We will provide further details on how these captivating creatures interacted and behaved in their ecosystems.”
“This discovery highlights the vast amount left to uncover in dinosaur paleontology,” noted Dr. Caleb Brown, PhD, from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology.
“Dinosaur Park boasts one of the world’s most comprehensive dinosaur collections and studies, with over a century of dedicated research. Only now are we beginning to fully explore the potential of dinosaur trackways.”
The findings are published in a paper in the journal PLOS 1.
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PR Bell et al. 2025. A track site controlled by Ceratopsids from the Campanian in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. PLOS 1 20(7): E0324913; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0324913
Researchers from Ames National Laboratory and Iowa State University have unveiled the emergence of Higgs echoes in niobium superconductors. These findings shed light on quantum behavior that could influence the development of next-generation quantum sensing and computing technologies.
Using Higgs Echo Spectroscopy, Huang et al reveal unconventional echo formation due to non-uniform expansion and soft quasiparticle bands, dynamically evolving under THZ drive. Image credit: Ames National Laboratory.
Superconductors are materials known for conducting electricity without resistance.
These superconducting materials exhibit collective oscillations referred to as the Higgs mode.
The Higgs mode represents a quantum phenomenon that occurs when the electronic potential fluctuates similarly to a Higgs boson.
Such modes manifest when the material experiences a superconducting phase transition.
Monitoring these vibrations has posed challenges for scientists for many years.
Additionally, they interact complexly with quasiparticles, which are electron-like excitations arising from superconducting dynamics.
By utilizing advanced terahertz (THZ) spectroscopy, the researchers identified a new type of quantum echo known as Higgs echo in superconductive niobium materials utilized in quantum computing circuits.
“Unlike traditional echoes seen in atoms and semiconductors, Higgs echoes result from intricate interactions between Higgs modes and quasiparticles, generating anomalous signals with unique properties.”
“Higgs echoes can uncover and reveal hidden quantum pathways within a material.”
By employing precisely-timed THZ radiation pulses, the authors were able to detect these echoes.
These THZ radiation pulses can also facilitate the encoding, storage, and retrieval of quantum information embedded in the superconducting material via echoes.
This study illustrates the ability to manipulate and observe the quantum coherence of superconductors, paving the way for innovative methods of storing and processing quantum information.
“Grasping and controlling these distinctive quantum echoes brings us closer to practical quantum computing and advanced quantum sensing technologies,” stated Dr. Wang.
a paper detailing these findings was published in the journal on June 25th in Advances in Science.
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Chuankun Huang et al. 2025. Discovery of unconventional quantum echoes due to Higgs coherence interference. Advances in Science 11 (26); doi:10.1126/sciadv.ads8740
A research team from Durham University, the University of Hawaii, and the University of Liverpool suggests that dark dwarfs are theoretical objects driven by dark matter, created from the cooling process of brown dwarfs.
An AI representation of a dark dwarf. Image credit: Gemini AI.
Currently, we understand that dark matter exists and how it behaves, but we are still unsure of its true nature.
In the last half-century, various theories have emerged, but gathering sufficient experimental evidence remains a challenge.
Some of the most well-known candidates for dark matter include weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPS), which are substantial particles that interact very slightly with ordinary matter. They pass through unnoticed, do not emit light, and reveal themselves only through gravitational effects.
This form of dark matter is essential for the existence of dark dwarfs.
“Dark matter interacts with gravity, allowing it to be captured by stars and accumulate within them,” explained Professor Jeremy Sachstein from the University of Hawaii.
“If this occurs, it may also interact internally, leading to annihilation and energy release that heats the star.”
A nuclear fusion process occurs at the star’s core, generating significant heat and energy, which allows a typical star to shine.
Fusion happens when a star’s mass is sufficient for gravity to compress matter toward the center intensely enough to initiate reactions between the nuclei.
This process releases a tremendous amount of energy, which is perceived as light. Although dark dwarfs also emit light, they do not do so through nuclear fusion.
“Dark dwarfs are low-mass objects, roughly 8% of the solar mass,” noted Professor Sachstein.
“Such small masses are insufficient to trigger a fusion reaction.”
“Consequently, these objects are prevalent in the universe but typically emit only dim light, being classified as brown dwarfs by scientists.
However, if brown dwarfs reside in regions with a high concentration of dark matter (such as the center of the Milky Way), they can evolve into different entities.
“These objects gather dark matter that enables them to transform into dark stars,” Professor Sachstein stated.
“The greater the surrounding dark matter, the more can be captured.”
“And as the dark material accumulates within the star, more energy is generated through its annihilation.”
“For a dark dwarf to exist, dark matter must consist of heavy particles that engage strongly with one another to produce visible matter.”
“Alternative candidates proposed to explain dark matter, such as axions, ambiguous ultralight particles, or sterile neutrinos, are too light to yield the expected effects on these objects.”
“Only massive particles capable of interacting with each other and annihilating to produce visible energy can facilitate the emergence of dark dwarfs.”
However, this hypothesis lacks substantial value without a definitive method of identifying dark dwarfs.
Therefore, Professor Sachstein and his team have suggested distinctive markers.
“There were a few indicators, but lithium-7 presents a unique scenario,” Professor Sachstein mentioned.
“Lithium-7 combusts readily and is rapidly depleted in regular stars.”
“Thus, if you identify an object resembling a dark dwarf, you should search for the presence of lithium, as it would be absent if it were a brown dwarf or something similar.”
The team’s study will be published in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.
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DJUNA CROON et al. 2025. Dark Dwarf: A theoretical dark matter-driven star-like object awaiting discovery at the Galactic Center. jcap 07:019; doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2025/07/019
Recent studies have uncovered new insights regarding the timing and locations of cat domestication. Contrary to the belief that these early felines were simply pampered companions or helpful pest eliminators, it appears they may have primarily been bred for mass sacrificial purposes.
Historically, it was thought that the domestication of cats began over 9,000 years ago as Wildcats started to adapt to the first agricultural settlements.
As grain storage attracted rodents, North African Wildcats (Ferris Livica) began hunting these pests, fostering mutually beneficial relationships that ultimately led to domestication.
However, this model is now being rigorously examined. “North African wildcats, the wild ancestors of domestic cats, were believed to have been tamed during the Neolithic era,” states Dr. Shawn Doherty, an archaeological scientist at the University of Exeter and lead author of a study featured in BBC Science Focus.
“Our research challenges this narrative by reviewing existing osteological, genetic, and iconographic evidence. We propose that cat domestication actually began in Egypt around the first millennium BC.”
Dr. Doherty’s team reassessed ancient cat artifacts from archaeological sites across Europe and North Africa, from antiquity to the present, utilizing zooarchaeological analysis, genetics, and radiocarbon dating. They found that the bones from agricultural villages in Cyprus dating back 900 to 500 years ago closely resembled those of Wildcats, undermining prior assumptions of early domestication.
Some misconceptions stem from the small size of cat bones, which can migrate between soil layers over time. “We employed radiocarbon dating to verify the ages, revealing that many cat remains are significantly more recent than previously believed.”
This data implies that the domestication of cats actually occurred much later than previously thought.
Millions of cats were sacrificed and mummified in ancient Egypt, dating from the late period to the Ptolemaic period (715-30 BC). – Getty
Researchers suggest that while rodent control may have played a role in domestication, religion could have been even more significant. In ancient Egypt, cats were revered as sacred to the goddess Bastet, and millions were kept for sacrificial purposes.
“The bond between domestic cats and the Egyptian goddess Bastet peaked in the first millennium BC,” Dr. Doherty noted. “Millions of mummified cats have been discovered in temples dedicated to her. During the Victorian era, these remains were often exhumed and transported to England for use as fertilizer.”
Through the breeding of vast numbers of kittens for ritualistic sacrifice, traits that made them more manageable may have gradually been selected, leading to the emergence of the domestic cat.
A second genome-related study, co-authored by Dr. Doherty, analyzed 87 ancient and modern cat genomes, finding no evidence that domestic cats migrated to Europe with Neolithic farmers. Instead, they likely arrived within the last 2,000 years from North Africa.
“I think this illustrates that the bond between humans and cats is not necessarily a result of the length of time they have been together, unlike with dogs,” Dr. Doherty stated.
Considering the motivations behind their early domestication, it is no surprise that cats exhibit such ethereal behavior.
Both studies are preliminary and are currently awaiting formal peer review.
Read more:
About our experts
Shawn Doherty is a senior researcher at the University of Exeter. His expertise lies in exploring deep time and animal-environment interactions through the integration of fauna, biomolecules (isotope analysis, proteomics, and genetics), alongside historical and anthropological studies.
It seems that something might have struck Saturn. If so, amateur astronomers could play a crucial role in validating this potential historical event for the gas giant.
Approximately seven asteroids or comets are predicted to collide with Saturn each year, yet these instances often go unnoticed. Currently, NASA employee and amateur astronomer Mario Lana is capturing images that may reveal such an occurrence.
Lana is part of a project called Detect, which employs software to scrutinize images of Jupiter and Saturn, aiming to identify any brief flashes caused by impacts. If these flashes are detected through various telescopes, it can help eliminate the chance of a glitch and confirm the impact.
Ricardo Fuso from the University of Basque Country in Spain is also engaged in detection efforts, but Lana’s flashes are described as “a faint shock signature or just a bright pixel on the camera.” Specifically, astronomers are interested in footage of Saturn taken on July 5th UTC between 9:00 AM and 9:15 AM.
“If only one person witnessed this flash, then it might be an overstatement. Lee Fletcher at the University of Leicester, UK, commented, “If others also witnessed the flash, that’s fantastic; we confirmed an impact.”
Mark Norris, at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK, notes that the rising popularity of amateur astronomy and advances in telescope technology are beneficial. “There’s a good chance that someone has captured something they haven’t noticed yet or dismissed as a technical issue,” he notes.
That said, even if the impact is confirmed, the scientific value of the data may be limited due to insufficient information about the impacting object. Ideally, knowing its speed and mass in advance would facilitate observations, allowing us to assess the impact on known variables. This was the case in 1994 when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacted Jupiter.
Amateur mathematicians find themselves ensnared in a vast numerical puzzle.
This conundrum stems from a deceptively simple query: How can one determine if a computer program will execute indefinitely? The roots of this question trace back to mathematician Alan Turing, who in the 1930s demonstrated that computer algorithms could be represented through a hypothetical “Turing machine” that interprets and records 0s and 1s on infinitely long tapes, utilizing more intricate algorithms that necessitate additional states and adhering to a specific set of instructions.
<p>For numerous states, like 5 or 100, the corresponding Turing machines are finite; however, it remains uncertain how long these machines will operate. The longest conceivable run time for each state count is termed the busy beaver number or BB(n), and this sequence grows exceedingly rapidly. For instance, BB(1) equals 1, while BB(2) is 6, and the fifth busy beaver number reaches 47,176,870.</p>
<p>The exact value of the next busy beaver number, the sixth, has not yet been determined, but the online community known as the Busy Beaver Challenge is <a href="https://bbchallenge.org/story">on the verge of discovery</a>. They succeeded in uncovering BB(5) in 2024, concluding a 40-year search, currently attributed to a participant called "MXDYS." <a href="https://bbchallenge.org/1RB1RA_1RC---_1LD0RF_1RA0LE_0LD1RC_1RA0RE">It must be at least as vast as a significantly large value, making even its explanation a challenge.</a></p>
<p>"This number surpasses the realm of physical comprehension. It's simply not intriguing," states <a href="https://www.sligocki.com/about/">Shawn Ligokki</a>, a software engineer and contributor to the Busy Beaver Challenge, who likens the search for Turing machines to fishing in uncharted mathematical oceans filled with strange and elusive entities lurking in the darkness.</p>
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<p>The threshold for BB(6) is so immense that it necessitates a mathematical framework that goes beyond exponents, demanding the raising of one number to another x power, or n<sup>x</sup>2 days etc. For instance, 2*2*2 equals 8. The concept of a tetrol sometimes represented as <sup>x</sup>n <sup>3</sup>2 is raised to the second power and subsequently elevated to the second power again, resulting in a value of 16.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, MXDYS posits that BB(6) is at least two tetroized. The number 2 is illuminated by multiplying two tetroized, resulting in nine. In comparison, the estimated quantity of all particles in the universe seems diminutive, according to Ligokki.</p>
<p>However, the significance of the busy beaver numbers extends beyond their sheer size. Turing established that certain Turing machines must exist that cannot reliably predict behavior under the ZFC theory. This notion was influenced by the mathematician Kurt Gödel's "Incompleteness Theorem," which concluded that using the ZFC rules, it is impossible to affirm that the theory is entirely devoid of contradictions.</p>
<p>"The exploration of busy beaver numbers provides a concrete, quantitative representation of a phenomenon identified by Gödel and Turing almost a century ago," remarks <a href="https://www.cs.utexas.edu/people/faculty-researchers/scott-aaronson">Scott Aaronson</a> from the University of Texas at Austin. "I’m not merely suggesting that a Turing machine could displace ZFC capabilities and ascertain its behavior after a finite stage; rather, is this already occurring with machines possessing six states, or is it restricted to machines with 600 states?" Research has confirmed that BB(643) does eliminate ZFC theory, though numerous examples remain to be investigated.</p>
<p>"The busy beaver problem offers a comprehensive scale to navigate the forefront of mathematical understanding," states Tristan Stérin, a computer scientist who initiated the Busy Beaver Challenge in 2022.</p>
<p>In 2020, <a href="https://scottaaronson.blog/?p=4916">Aaronson wrote</a> that the busy beaver feature "encapsulates most intriguing mathematical truths within its first 100 values," and BB(6) is no exception. It seems to relate to Korizat's hypothesis, an esteemed unsolved mathematical problem that conducts simple arithmetic operations with numbers to determine if they resolve to 1. The discovery of a machine that halts might imply that the particular version of the hypothesis possesses a computational proof.</p>
<p>The numerical challenges that researchers encounter are astonishing in scale, yet the busy beaver framework serves as a tangible measurement tool that otherwise becomes a nebulous expanse of mathematics. In Stérin’s perspective, this aspect continues to captivate many contributors. He estimates that numerous individuals are presently dedicated to the discovery of BB(6).</p>
<p>Thousands of "hold-out" Turing machines remain unexamined for halting behavior, he notes. "There might exist a machine unbeknownst to you lurking just around the corner," Ligokki asserts. In essence, it exists independently of ZFC and lies beyond the boundaries of contemporary mathematics.</p>
<p>Is the precise value of BB(6) also lurking nearby? Ligokki and Stérin acknowledge their reluctance to forecast the future of busy beavers, yet recent achievements in defining boundaries give Ligokki a sense of "intuition that it’s approaching closer."</p>
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Following the interstellar asteroid 1i/Oumuamua and comet 2i/Borisov, 3i/Atlas is the third identified object and the second comet from outside the solar system.
This image was captured on July 2, 2025, with an Itemescope.net T72 telescope in Riojartad, Chile, depicting the interstellar comet 3i/Atlas. Image credit: Filipp Romanov/CC by-sa 4.0.
3i/Atlas was discovered by a NASA-funded research telescope dedicated to the Atlas (Asteroid Surface Impact Last Altar System) project on July 1, 2025, in Riojartad, Chile.
The interstellar comet approached from the direction of constellations and is currently about 670 million km (420 million miles) away.
“Since the initial report, pre-discovery observations have been gathered from archives of three different Atlas telescopes globally and from Zwicky’s transitional facility at Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California,” a NASA astronomer wrote in a statement.
“These pre-discovery observations date back to June 14th, 2025.”
Known as 3I/ATLAS, C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), and A11PL3Z, it currently measures approximately 4.5 AU (670 million km, or 416 million miles) away.
Comets pose no threat to Earth, maintaining a safe distance of at least 1.6 AU (240 million km, or 150 million miles).
It is predicted to reach its closest approach to the Sun around October 30th, 2025, at a distance of 1.4 AU (210 million km, or 130 million miles).
Its size and physical characteristics are being studied by astronomers worldwide.
This diagram illustrates the trajectory of 3i/Atlas as it traverses the solar system. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
If the brightness of 3i/Atlas is attributed to reflecting sunlight at a typical albedo of 10%, its diameter would be approximately 100-200 times greater than the estimated length of 20 km for Oumuamua and about 50-100 times larger than the estimated size of Borisov.
“If all three objects are indeed rocky, the mass of 3i/Atlas is more than 10 million times greater than that of Oumuamua and at least 100,000 times the core mass of Borisov.”
“This is remarkable because we expect high-mass objects to be exceedingly rare.”
“Based on data from the major asteroid belts of the solar system, we would expect millions of objects like Oumuamua for each object with the mass of 3i/Atlas.”
3i/Atlas should remain visible to ground telescopes until September 2025.
It is anticipated to reappear on the opposite side of the Sun by early December, enabling further observations.
“Based on its trajectory, 3i/Atlas seems to enter in a retrograde orbit, inclined at 175 degrees relative to Earth’s orbital plane from the thin disc of stars in the Milky Way,” explains Professor Roeb.
“In the upcoming months, we will gain further insights into the properties of 3i/Atlas based on data from various ground-based telescopes and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, including the NSF/DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile.”
Mars may appear spherical, yet it is actually a triaxial ellipsoid. Unlike the other rocky planets in our solar system, which resemble rugby balls, Mars varies in size along all three axes.
This is most apparent in the notable bulge of the Tharsis rise region and the contrasting region known as Sirtis Major.
Astronomer Dr. Michael Efroysky of the US Navy Observatory recently proposed that this peculiar shape may be attributed to the absence of an ancient moon on Mars.
The moon, named Nerio after the Roman goddess of war, who was associated with Mars, influenced the shape of the planet through tidal forces, similar to the oceans here on Earth.
However, once Mars cooled down, its deformed shape became permanently fixed.
Mars is roughly half the size of Earth, with a diameter of 6,790km (4,219 miles) compared to Earth’s 12,750km (7,922 miles) – Credit: Mark Garlic via Getty/Science Photo Library
Nerio’s tidal stress weakened the elevated regions of Mars, facilitating the impact of geological processes such as internal convection, structural shifts, and volcanic activity, all of which contributed to Mars’ asymmetrical shape.
Researchers propose that, in synchronous orbit around Mars, Nerio—being less than a third of Earth’s mass—could easily have formed the planet’s initial triaxial shape. The equatorial bulge would have been even more pronounced if Nerio had existed during the planet’s magma ocean phase.
Currently, Mars lacks such a moon, having only the small moons Deimos and Phobos. At some point, Nerio was either destroyed by another large body or pulled away by gravitational forces.
This article answers the question posed by Otto Sykes in an email: “Why does Mars have such a strange shape?”
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Recent observations suggest the existence of a volcanic formation at the edge of Mars’ Jezero Crater, currently under investigation by NASA’s rover. This rover might already be collecting samples from materials expelled during an ancient volcanic eruption.
Perseverance, which landed in Jezero Crater in 2021, is methodically moving toward the western edge, tracing an ancient river that is believed to have flowed between 300 million and 4 billion years ago.
The rover is gathering samples meant to be returned to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return mission planned for the 2030s. However, this endeavor faces potential cuts proposed by the Trump administration affecting NASA’s funding.
Some of the materials in the samples were thought to be volcanic, showcasing characteristics of lava flow. Recently, James Ray from Georgia Tech in Atlanta and his team have identified a possible volcanic structure at Jezero Mons—a dormant volcano situated on the southeastern edge of Jezero.
High-resolution images from Martian orbiters have revealed fine-grained materials in the vicinity, possibly indicating ash from the volcano. The dimensions and shape of Jezero Mons—21 km wide and 2 km high—parallel those of similar volcanoes on Earth.
“The evidence for igneous volcanoes is most consistent with our observations,” states Ray, noting that magma may have originated from beneath the surface. “This is the strongest case we can make without physically visiting the site.”
By analyzing the craters near the volcano, Ray and his colleagues estimate that Jezero Mons may have last erupted around a billion years ago.
This finding suggests that the rover might have collected volcanic samples. If they can be returned to Earth, scientists would be able to accurately date volcanic activity on another planet for the first time.
“Knowing when that volcano was active is incredibly exciting,” exclaimed Briony Hogan from Purdue University in Indiana, a member of the rover’s science team. This information could significantly enhance our understanding of “how the interiors of planets evolve over time,” she adds.
Ideally, Ray mentions that he hopes to direct Perseverance to the volcano itself, but acknowledges this may not be feasible. “There are really fascinating ancient rocks to the west of the crater, so they’re likely driving in the opposite direction,” he explains. “I can’t blame them.”
Analyzing breath patterns can be crucial for diagnosing and treating numerous health issues
Milan Jovic/Getty Images
Forget about facial recognition—innovative methods for identification may be on the horizon. Researchers have unveiled the concept of “respiratory fingerprints,” a distinctive breathing pattern that could transform the approach to diagnosing and managing various health conditions, including obesity and depression.
The breakthrough is credited to Timna Soroka at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Together with her team, they designed wearable devices capable of capturing the minute details of our breathing patterns.
“This research is exciting,” says Torben Noto from OSMO in New York, an AI company focused on enhancing computer sensory perception, who was not part of the study. “It tackles many persistent inquiries regarding the relationship between respiratory signals and health, as well as mental well-being.”
The notion that breath patterns can reveal health information isn’t new; clues to this relationship date back to the 1950s. Yet, previous studies were limited to data from hospital patients because no wearable devices existed that could record nasal breathing while allowing people to move freely.
To overcome this limitation, Soroka and her colleagues developed a wearable device, which was tested by 97 participants who wore it around the clock. The team trained an algorithm to detect a unique set of 24 breathing metrics, ranging from the volume of air inhaled to the speed of breathing. Remarkably, the algorithm achieved nearly 97% accuracy in identifying participants, and their unique breathing signature remained consistent over a two-year follow-up period.
However, don’t expect to use this device for banking transactions just yet, warns Norm Sobel from the Weizmann Institute. The primary aim is not biometric authentication, but to extract invaluable health insights.
For instance, a person’s body mass index (BMI) can be estimated using specific nasal cycle parameters, which involve a rhythmic pattern of airflow between nostrils. This cycle is controlled by the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems—the former prepares the body for “fight or flight,” while the latter calms the body. “By assessing nostril airflow, we effectively gauge sympathetic arousal, which seems to correlate with BMI,” explains Sobel.
This leads to intriguing inquiries, Sobel notes: Could breathing patterns influence weight rather than weight changes altering breath? “If that’s the case, we might discover a breathing pattern that promotes weight loss, at which point we’ll all retire to an island,” he quips.
The respiratory data also indicated a link between breathing characteristics and levels of anxiety and depression. For example, individuals experiencing higher depressive symptoms exhibited faster inhalation rates.
The research team is currently exploring whether these breathing patterns actively contribute to these symptoms and if they can be used to diagnose widespread mental health disorders.
“Imagine a future where each patient owns a nasal airflow monitoring device that not only tracks treatment progress but also offers feedback and predicts outcomes for various disorders,” says Noto. The device measures 24 distinct breathing metrics. It also enables users to notice deviations from their normal breathing patterns. “This could have a profound effect on public health,” adds Noto.
Paranthropus robustus is a well-documented species within the Hominin group that has yet to be associated with genetic evidence. This species thrived in what is now South Africa between 2 million and 1.2 million years ago. In a recent study, paleontologists extracted enamel protein sequences from a dental specimen, believed to be 2 million years old, discovered at the Swartkrans site in South Africa. The results indicate a greater diversity than previously recognized for Paranthropus robustus and support the potential existence of multiple species within the genus.
Advancements in ancient DNA (aDNA) sequencing have provided essential insights into the evolutionary connections among mid- to late Pleistocene hominins. However, our understanding of the earlier Pliocene-Pleistocene species, including Paranthropus robustus, remains limited.
This limitation is primarily due to the poor preservation of aDNA in African hominin fossils older than 20,000 years.
Paranthropus robustus has traditionally been regarded as a singular evolutionary line.
Yet, morphological overlaps between Paranthropus robustus and Australopithecus raise questions about their possible evolutionary links.
Moreover, variations in dental morphology suggest either an undiscovered diversity within Paranthropus robustus or the existence of multiple distinct species.
In this study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen, the University of Cape Town, and Dr. Paresa Madupe employed more durable ancient proteins to explore the variation within this ancient human species.
Four tooth enamel proteins were analyzed using high-resolution mass spectrometry and paleontological techniques, focusing on Paranthropus robustus fossils from the Swartkrans cave.
These specimens, dating from 2.2 to 1.8 million years ago, are among the earliest known hominins.
Molecular analysis of the protein sequences revealed significant variation at the molecular level among Paranthropus robustus individuals, including evidence from both male and female fossils, challenging the reliability of tooth size as a sole indicator of sexual dimorphism and suggesting that this variance cannot be attributed exclusively to sexual differences.
Notably, one individual appears to be genetically distinct from the others, highlighting considerable intraspecies variability within Paranthropus robustus.
The results align with recent morphological evidence, indicating previously unrecognized taxonomic diversity within the genus, including the proposed species Paranthropus capensis.
“Our study illustrates how paleobiological traits can assist in distinguishing sexual dimorphism from other forms of variation in the early Pleistocene human lineage in Africa,” the authors concluded.
Paresa P. Madupe et al. 2025. Enamel proteins reveal biological and genetic variation in southern Africa Paranthropus robustus. Science 388 (6750): 969-973; doi: 10.1126/science.adt953
Paleontologists have uncovered evidence of previously unrecognized soft tissue structures in the cheek areas of various dinosaur species. This discovery deepens our understanding of dinosaur anatomy and underscores the limitations of current methods for reconstructing anatomical features that are not well preserved.
Soft tissue visualization of Edmontosaurus created through photography, 3D modeling, digital painting, and histology of bones in the Alberta Dinosaur Park, Canada. Image credit: Henry Sharp.
“Such examples of soft anatomy in dinosaurs are rare due to the degradation of muscles and tissue over time,” remarked Henry Sharp, a paleontologist from the University of Alberta.
“While bones can be excavated and assembled into semi-complete skeletons, for a long time, there was no effective way to discern the muscles and tissues present in dinosaurs.”
“In the 1990s, existing systematic brackets utilized the closest living relatives of dinosaurs—alligators and birds—to gain insight into their ’tissues and muscles.’
“However, this approach has its shortcomings: the muscles reconstructed in dinosaurs are those found in alligators and birds.”
“What if dinosaurs possessed their own unique muscles that aren’t present in their modern relatives, or if birds have lost or adapted their original musculature?”
“While examining a skull of Edmontosaurus, affectionately named Gary, I noticed a distinctive flange structure atop the bone near its prominent cheek.”
“As I delved deeper, I struggled to find answers.”
“There were large, corrugated sections of the skull. In a mammalian skull, I would interpret that as cheek muscle attachment. Yet, reptiles are not supposed to exhibit such muscle structures.”
“This sparked intrigue. What if this finding contradicted existing models of dinosaur musculature?”
To gain a clearer understanding of this aspect of dinosaur anatomy, Sharp and his colleagues from the University of Alberta, the University of Toronto, the Royal Museum of Ontario, and the University of New England began investigating similar regions in the skulls of other dinosaur species, uncovering evidence of analogous structures.
“The findings were consistently located in the same area. This strongly suggests that it represents a muscle or ligament,” Sharp explained.
To validate their hypothesis regarding this bone area being a site for some type of soft tissue structure, researchers meticulously cut thin sections of dinosaur bone.
“Soft tissues, such as muscles and ligaments, are anchored to the bone via collagen fibers,” Sharp stated.
“These fibers help secure the muscle or ligament, preventing detachment and potential injury to the animal.”
Once the soft tissue deteriorates, what remains are the collagen fibers, which can be examined through thin slices of bone under polarized light.
“It appears as if someone has fractured a bone at the surface and then scraped it with an X-acto knife,” Sharp noted.
The researchers employed a technique called sleepy to analyze various angles of the zygomatic and mandibular bone slices, enabling them to investigate the 3D orientation of the collagen fibers.
“These collagen fibers don’t insert haphazardly; they align with the angles where muscles attach,” Sharp added.
In all examined dinosaur species, collagen fibers manifested connections between the cheek and lower jaw, reinforcing the idea that the soft tissue structure resembles cheek muscles and ligaments.
Variation in the size and attachment angles across different dinosaur species suggests that this newly identified soft tissue played specialized roles, such as stabilizing the jaw and influencing feeding behavior.
“While we don’t fully understand its precise functions, it is evident that these soft tissues significantly impacted how these dinosaurs chewed.”
“This discovery underscores the importance of comparing dinosaur fossils with those of modern relatives for a more nuanced and accurate comprehension of extinct anatomy.”
“Dinosaurs exhibit considerable diversity, yet we often overlook significant aspects by attempting to interpret the past solely through the lens of contemporary conditions.”
Henry S. Sharp et al. Skull morphology and histology reveal previously unexpected cheek soft tissue structures in dinosaurs. Journal of Anatomy, published on March 21, 2025. doi:10.1111/joa.14242
This article is a rendition of a press release provided by the University of Alberta.
In 2020, the Zwicky Transient Facility observed a location in the night sky that suggested the merging of two stars. This phenomenon was identified as a bright red nova, known as Submin’s Red Nova, or slrn. Two years later, astronomers revisited the same area and discovered indications that the star had engulfed nearby planets, referred to as ZTF SLRN-2020.
Earlier observations made using near-infrared telescopes revealed chemical traces such as titanium oxide and carbon monoxide. The event’s brightness was primarily in low-energy wavelengths rather than visible light, indicating a merger event involving bodies between the masses of Neptune and Jupiter.
The stars in this system are not active; the planet did not actively approach but was instead consumed by the star. This raised questions about the physical mechanisms that caused the interaction. The team examined two scenarios: one where a star expanded during its lifecycle to reach the planet’s orbit, and the other where a planet lost energy and spiraled inward toward the star, a phenomenon termed orbital attenuation.
To evaluate these scenarios, the team conducted follow-up measurements on ZTF SLRN-2020 using instruments onboard the JWST, specifically the Near-infrared Spectrometer and Mid-infrared Instrument. They also performed ground-based observations with the Gemini North Telescope Near-Infrared Imager. By combining data from these instruments, the team obtained a comprehensive understanding of the low-energy light emission patterns from ZTF SLRN-2020, revealing insights into the system’s current structure and dynamics.
Illustration of the ZTF SLRN-2020 system before and after the planet is engulfed. Left: A Sun-like star with an exoplanet akin to Neptune or Jupiter. Right: After the planet’s orbit decayed and it fell into the star, material was expelled, forming a cooler outer dust shell and a hotter inner dust disk. Created by the author using Microsoft PowerPoint.
In their analysis, astronomers identified four key characteristics. The remaining stars displayed a reddish hue, highlighting a significant presence of high-energy electrons in the star’s hydrogen, along with substantial carbon monoxide. There were also traces of phosphine, a compound typically found around gas giants and in the vicinity of young stars. Using computer modeling, the team evaluated which scenarios could realistically produce these observed patterns.
Measurements of star color indicated that ZTF SLRN-2020 is quite similar to the Sun but is roughly 70% of its size. The star is too young to have undergone the expansion associated with its later life stages. Consequently, the planet’s orbit became destabilized, leading to its gradual engulfment by the star. This collision likely released energy, igniting the star’s brightness in 2020 and stimulating the hydrogen in its outer layer.
The team theorized that during the collision, the star would have expelled material from the planet. The emissions of phosphine and carbon monoxide suggested that the ejected material originated from two different layers of dust around the star: a cold outer shell and a hot inner disk. Observations did not reveal any remnants of the planet’s core still orbiting the star, indicating that it was entirely consumed, losing even its outer layers.
The researchers deemed this event a new frontier in physics, as it marks the first observed case of planetary engulfment. The data collected from various instruments can provide future researchers with essential insights when investigating similar instances.
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Dele Zeynep Walton sensed something was off when she emerged from a caravan in New Forest at 8 am, camping with her boyfriend. Initially frustrated by the early start, she quickly realized the car was off course, and upon approaching, found her mother appeared “hysterical.” “Right away,” she recalls, “I thought, ‘That’s Amy.'”
Amy, Walton’s younger sister, was 21 and had been struggling with mental health issues for several months. She had a passion for music technology and art, with her stunning self-portraits adorning their family home in Southampton. A big fan of Pharrell Williams, she once received five calls to join him on stage at a concert. However, as her mental health declined, she became increasingly unreachable. “For two months, I had no idea where she was or what she was doing,” Walton says.
That October morning in 2022, Walton uncovered a devastating truth. Amy was found dead in a hotel room in Slough, Berkshire, presumed to have taken her own life. In the following days, Walton and her family would begin to understand Amy’s path—a journey facilitated by a complex web of online connections.
She loved music and art… some of Amy’s self-portraits in her family home. Photo: Peter Fluid/Guardian
Walton, a 25-year-old journalist, pieced together that Amy had engaged with a suicidal promotion forum that the Guardian opted not to name. This site is linked to at least 50 deaths
in the UK and is currently under investigation by Ofcom, a regulator under the online safety law. Police investigating Amy’s death revealed that at this forum, Amy learned how to obtain the substance that ended her life and met the man who flew to Heathrow to accompany her at the end. (He was initially charged with assisting suicide, but no further action was taken.)
Sitting in the garden of her parents’ house in Southampton, Walton describes how she came to write about the events that transpired. Her book, Logoff: Human costs in the digital world
is partly a tribute to her sister and partly an exploration of the implications of everyday web browsing, fate, and the digital world that can perpetuate harm.
“I thought: I need to dedicate myself to uncovering this. Why is the public unaware of these ongoing harms? Because they are constant.” She references Vlad Nikolin-Caisley from Southampton, saying that earlier this month, a woman was arrested
on suspicion of aiding his suicide.
With a review of Aimee’s death in June, Walton hopes that online factors will be included in the investigation and that “online harm” will be acknowledged as a cause or contributing factor in her sister’s death.
This phrase has become familiar to her. “Until I lost Amy, I didn’t understand what ‘online harm’ meant,” she reflects. She first heard the term from Ian Russell, Molly’s father and a campaigner for online safety. Molly Russell was 14 when she took her life after being exposed to images and videos of self-harm. Uniquely, the coroner stated that online activity “had contributed to her death in a minimal way.” Walton hopes a similar perspective will be taken in her sister’s case, believing that calling it “suicide” alone fails to account for the impact of the digital world and places unfair blame on Amy while leaving it unregulated.
“We can become vulnerable at any time in our lives”… Amy’s photo. Photo: Peter Fluid/Guardian
Initially labeling her sister’s death a “suicide,” Walton now feels this term no longer adequately reflects Amy’s situation. When suicide is seen as a voluntary action, how much choice does a person really have when influenced by an intentional online community? And if individuals are genuinely free to choose, Walton questions, how does the algorithm continuously presenting Amy with self-harm content shape her experience? “That’s where it becomes hard for me to label it a suicide,” Walton asserts. “My intuition tells me Amy was groomed and that her decision was not entirely hers.”
Her deep dive into these issues has transformed Walton into an activist. She collaborates with Bereaved Families for Online Safety
and serves as a young people’s ambassador for People vs Big Technology. “We must address these issues head-on,” she emphasizes. “If we don’t, it fosters the belief that online safety is solely a personal responsibility.”
Walton recounts how police indicated that the man who accompanied Amy at the hotel had shared the room for 11 days prior to her passing. The room contained Amy’s notes, but Walton mentioned they were so filled with pain that they were unreadable. He later told police that he was “working.” She reveals that the man called 999 after Amy ingested the toxic substance but declined to administer CPR. Amy has since been linked to 88 deaths in the UK and the toxic substances are purportedly sourced from Kenneth Law, a Canadian under investigation by the National Crime Agency.
A New York Times investigation revealed the forum was established by two men. Walton visited the forum herself, wanting to trace her sister’s final interactions. “Many posts essentially say, ‘Your family doesn’t care about you; you should do this.’ They phrase it, ‘When are you getting on the bus?'”
Walton views this forum as a form of radicalization towards extreme behaviors that individuals may never have contemplated. She is alarmed by the thought that the man with Amy may have been “living a twisted fantasy as an incel, where a vulnerable young woman seeks to end her life.”
Prior to Amy’s death, Walton held a neutral stance on technology. Now, she describes, “The digital world is a distorted reflection of our offline world, amplifying its dangers.” In her book, her consideration of online harm victims spans a range of experiences, from Archie Batasby, who visited TikTok on the day he suffered a life-changing brain injury, to Meareg Amare Abrha, a university professor in Ethiopia who was killed after posting provocatively on Facebook. She also contemplates Amazon workers striving for better pay and conditions, alongside “Tony,” a 90-year-old neighbor who faced digital exclusion yet taught Walton how to use smartphones.
“For too long, the facade of technology has been equated with progress and innovation, which is a notion I challenge in my book,” she asserts. She recalls infamous public figures like Zuckerberg, Cook, Pichai, Bezos, and Musk, questioning, “Where are the engineers?” and stressing the interconnectedness of these power networks.
“The campaign allows survivors to regain control”… Amy’s bedroom in her family home. Photo: Peter Fluid/Guardian
Yet, Walton sometimes describes her experience as akin to being the digital equivalent of climate scientists from the 1970s. She acknowledges that her relationship with technology is complex, much like Amy’s. Her cherished memories of playing together revolve around their family computer in their parents’ bedroom.
“Chadwick and the Despicable Egg Thief – there’s video of us playing at 3 years old. We’ve played Color Games repeatedly. I’ve been taking photos with a ‘Digicam’ since I was 8, not to mention Xbox, Nintendo, computers—all just for fun!”
In a way, Walton describes her existence as a “double life.” Her book critically examines her own habits. While writing it, she lived in tracksuits, yet none of her Instagram
posts reveal this journey. She uses the app to limit her screen time and shares TikToks about “logoff.” Video calls have also allowed her family to “grieve together” after her sister’s passing, many of whom reside in Türkiye.
Promoting her book has made it tough to detach from screens. “I feel like a hypocrite!” she admits. “My screen time this week is nine and a half hours.” A day? “I don’t like it,” she replies, “I typically average six hours.”
Ultimately, she doesn’t aim for perfection, stating, “I’m in control of it all, guys.”
In her book, Walton notes, “The campaign allows survivors to reclaim the control that was taken from them,” a sentiment that resonates with her as the process seems exhausting. “Did I say that?” she questions, surprised. “But if I hadn’t engaged in this, where would that anger go? It would consume me and make me unwell.”
She has also engaged local MPs (first Royston Smith, then Darren Puffy), and Secretary of State Peter Kyle to seek answers about what occurred with Amy. “When we discuss online safety, it’s often framed in terms of protecting children. While that’s crucial, I also represent Amy; it’s about all of us. We can become vulnerable at any stage in our lives. If we focus solely on children’s safety, we become 18 and still don’t know how to navigate a healthy digital life,” she explains.
“I feel it’s my duty to Amy since I wish I could have shielded her.” Her eyes glisten with unshed tears.
Balancing her grief with activism has proven challenging. “Some days I genuinely can’t handle it, or I just need a day in bed, as my body struggles to keep pace with all the emotional weight.”
“But this is my mission. Those in power only act if they feel the weight of this pain. If Mark Zuckerberg experienced the loss of a child due to online harm, perhaps he would finally understand, ‘Oh my God, I need to pay attention.'”
In the UK and Ireland, contact Samaritans at Freephone 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, call or text National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, chat at 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to reach a crisis counselor at 741741. Crisis Support Services in Australia can be reached at Lifeline at 13 1114. Additional international helplines are available at befrienders.org.
The Gobi Wall is a 321 km long edifice constructed from soil, stone, and wood, located in the Gobi Highlands desert of Mongolia. It represents the least understood segment of the medieval wall system that extends from China to Mongolia. In a recent study, archaeologists sought to uncover information about the builders, purpose, and timeline of this structure. Their findings indicate that the principal structure and its usage evolved during the Xi Xia dynasty (1038-1227 CE), a time notable for its sophisticated frontier defense systems and significant geopolitical transformations.
Aerial drone photograph depicting preserved stone segments of the Gobi walls traversing the hillside. Image credit: Golan et al. , doi: 10.3390/land14051087.
Stretching 321 km through Mongolia’s highland desert, the Gobi Wall forms part of a comprehensive wall system that once extended across China to Mongolia.
Previously, its origins, functions, and historical significance remained largely uncharted.
“The medieval wall system spans roughly 4,000 km across the vast territories of northern China and Mongolia, making it a distinct segment of Siberia,” remarked Professor Gideon Sheraha Ravi from Hebrew University and his collaborators.
“It stands out as one of East Asia’s most expansive yet mysterious architectural structures.”
“In recent years, numerous projects have delved into various sections of this wall line, yielding substantial research findings.”
“Such studies have established that this extensive system of earthen walls was constructed by different empires from the 10th to the 13th centuries.”
“Among the various parts of the system, the segment within the Gobi Desert in southern Mongolia is the least explored and, as of yet, unrecognized.”
“Our investigation concentrates on a 321-km segment of this wall line in the Omnogovi region of Mongolia, which we refer to as the Gobi Wall.”
In this study, Professor Shelach-Lavi and his co-authors uncovered new insights into the building and purposes of the wall.
They found that the wall and its associated garrison were primarily constructed during the Xi Xia period (1038-1227 CE), a dynasty governed by the Tangot peoples in western China and southern Mongolia.
This era is marked by the growth of frontier defense strategies amid considerable geopolitical upheaval.
Contrary to conventional perspectives that view walls solely as defensive constructions, this research emphasizes the multifaceted roles of the Gobi walls in boundary integration, resource regulation, and imperial governance.
While the main construction and habitation phases align with the Xi Xia dynasty, the research also refuted evidence for consistent habitation of this remote area from the 2nd century BC to the 19th century AD.
The fortress comprises a plunging earth foundation bolstered by stone and wooden reinforcements, showcasing the adaptive use of local materials within this arid, isolated setting.
Additionally, ecological and spatial assessments from this study indicate that the wall routes were strategically selected based on resource accessibility, particularly water and timber.
The fort’s location and garrison positioning utilized natural geographical features such as mountain paths and sand dunes to enhance the wall’s effectiveness.
“This study challenges long-held beliefs regarding the empire’s frontier systems in Asia,” stated Professor Sheraha Ravi.
“The Gobi Wall was not merely a barrier, but an adaptive mechanism for regulating movement, commerce, and territorial authority in a demanding environment.”
This finding sheds light on how environmental adaptation and state power interacted within medieval empires, offering broader insights into ancient infrastructure and its relevance to contemporary political and ecological contexts.
“This study advocates for a wider rethinking of medieval frontiers, not just as static defensive barriers, but as dynamic management frameworks,” asserted the archaeologist.
“The Gobi Wall illustrates the Xi Xia Statecraft model, which uses architectural endeavors to manage population dynamics and territorial delineations.”
“Such an understanding aligns with a theoretical framework that perceives frontiers as zones of control and interaction, rather than rigid dividers, prompting a broader comparative analysis throughout Eurasia.”
The findings were published in a paper in the journal land.
____
Dangoran et al. 2025. Exploring the Gobi Wall: Archaeology of a large medieval frontier system in the Mongol Desert. land 14(5): 1087; doi: 10.3390/land14051087
Have you ever made your food too spicy? In the future, there might be “anti-spice” seasonings, inspired by compounds in chili peppers that could help mellow the heat.
The spiciness in chili peppers is due to a compound called capsaicinoids, which activate receptors in the mouth’s nerve fibers, sending signals to the brain that create a burning sensation similar to that of actual heat or painful injuries.
Chilean enthusiasts have developed a Scoville scale to measure the heat levels in various pepper strains based on capsaicinoid concentrations. However, some peppers do not always match their Scoville ratings accurately. To explore this, Devin Peterson from Ohio State University and his team employed liquid chromatography mass spectrometry to analyze the capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin levels in 10 different chili powders, including Chile de árbol, African bird’s eye, and Scottish bonnet peppers.
They then mixed these powders with tomato juice and presented it to a panel of tasters, ensuring each sample had equal amounts of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, expected to yield a mild heat level of about 800 Scoville units.
However, the tasters perceived the heat levels differently among the 10 types of peppers. This led Peterson and his team to conduct further chemical analyses, revealing that three compounds—capsianoside I, balasoside, and ginger glycolipid A—were present in larger quantities. Interestingly, these compounds did not exhibit the expected heat intensity according to Scoville ratings. All three compounds contain glucosides and glucose.
A group of 37 tasters was then asked to evaluate two samples simultaneously. One sample contained these newly discovered compounds, while the other did not. The placement of each on different sides of the tongue was intended to counteract the burning sensation in the second taste test. The feedback indicated that these compounds reduced perceived heat strength by an average of 0.7 to 1.2 points on a 15-point scale.
“These compounds act as effective ‘anti-spicing’ agents,” Peterson notes. Although the exact mechanism remains unclear, it’s hypothesized that they could alter the nerve receptor responses in the mouth, thereby diminishing the burning sensations.
Understanding the nature of these anti-spice chemicals could enable growers to breed and genetically modify plants, nurturing varieties that produce both fiery and mild fruits.
Peterson believes that utilizing these compounds could lead to the development of consumer products that alleviate excessive heat in dishes, offering relief from intense pain by blocking nerve signals.
“When dining with kids, if the food is too spicy, it can be a deal-breaker,” Peterson says. “The idea of having a natural compound to dial down the heat could be quite intriguing.”
The research methodology, which involved half-tasting, was praised by Barry Smith from the University of London’s Advanced Research School, who added that the Scoville scale isn’t always the most accurate tool for measuring chili heat.
Smith speculates that the perceived intensity of cooling agents like menthol might similarly be diminished by such compounds, much like how capsaicinoids trigger a burning sensation.
Recent archaeological findings indicate that well-preserved mummies were air-dried using long chips, twigs, cloth, and zinc chloride inserted into the rectum.
The 280-year-old remains belong to an Austrian priest and represent the first documented case of such an unusual but effective preservation method.
“The remarkably preserved mummy found in the Church District of St. Thomas am Brassenstein is that of Franz Zaber Sidler von Rosenage, a local pastor who passed away in 1746,” said Professor Andreas Nellich, a pathologist from Ludwig Maximilians University, Germany, involved in the Frontiers of Medicine study.
“Our investigation revealed that excellent preservation was achieved by packing the abdomen with wood chips, twigs, and dough, coupled with zinc chloride for internal desiccation.”
The mummy’s body walls were entirely unharmed, though more decay was evident on the head and legs. – Credit: Andreas Nellic
The upper body of the mummy remained largely intact, while significant collapse was observed in the head and lower body.
Nerlich, along with a global team of researchers, conducted thorough analyses, including computed tomography scans (using X-rays and computers to construct detailed body images), radiocarbon dating, and chemical assessments.
These studies confirmed Sidler’s identity, indicating he died between 1734 and 1780 at the age of 35-45.
Further discoveries of unique fabric tissues from materials found in the mummy’s abdominal cavity. Left: A piece of cotton with an intricate floral pattern. Right: A silk fabric fragment. – Credit: Andreas Nellic
In their efforts, scientists removed preservatives from Sidler’s body, uncovering that the abdominal and pelvic cavities were filled through the rectum with family and spruce chips, along with linen, hemp, and flax fabrics.
These materials were readily available in the small Austrian village where Sidler lived. Additionally, silk and embroidered linen were discovered within his remains, suggesting that the stuffing absorbed much of his abdominal fluids.
Toxicological examinations indicated that zinc chloride, a potent drying agent, was used to maintain the body’s condition.
Moreover, researchers found a small glass bead, likely lost within Sidler during the preservation process.
Left: The removal of some foreign materials from the dorsal abdominal wall revealed a mix of white fabric, plant matter, and brownish amorphous tissue residues. Right: A round object found in the left pelvis had a small hole with raised lips. – Credit: Andreas Nellic
Nerlich stated that the extent of rectal preservative use among mummies remains unknown, and other well-preserved bodies may have previously gone unreported.
The reasons behind Sidler’s preservation method remain unclear, though Nellich suggested:
“It’s possible the pastor was intended for transportation to his home monastery, but for reasons unknown, that plan may have failed.”
While researching crystal formation, scientists at New York University discovered a unique rod-shaped crystal previously unrecognized.
Zangenite. Image credit: Shihao Zang/Nyu.
Crystals are solid substances composed of particles arranged in repeating patterns.
This self-organization process—often described by researchers as “regulating order from chaos”—was traditionally believed to follow a predictable, classical growth model.
However, they are discovering that crystals can grow through more intricate pathways rather than simply forming building blocks step by step.
To investigate crystal formation, some researchers utilize crystals consisting of small spherical particles known as colloidal particles. These particles are significantly larger than the atoms in other types of crystals.
“Studying colloidal particles allows us to observe the crystallization process at the level of individual particles, which is challenging for atoms due to their small size and rapid movement,” explained Stefano Sacanna, a professor at New York University.
“With colloids, we can visually analyze the shape of the crystal under a microscope.”
To gain insight into how colloidal crystals form, Professor Sacanna and his team conducted experiments observing the behavior of charged colloidal particles under various growth conditions as they transitioned from a salty suspension into a fully developed crystal.
They also conducted thousands of computer simulations to model the growth of the crystals and to explain their experimental observations.
The researchers found that colloidal crystals form through a two-stage process: the initial amorphous mass of particles condenses, followed by a transformation into an ordered crystal structure, resulting in a diverse range of crystal types and shapes.
During the experiments, New York University PhD student Shihao Zan encountered a rod-shaped crystal that he could not identify.
While it appeared similar to a previously discovered crystal, detailed examinations revealed differences in the grain combinations and the presence of a hollow channel at the tips of the crystal.
He compared the unknown structures with over 1,000 crystals found in nature but found no match.
By utilizing computer modeling, the researchers were able to simulate the exact crystals, enabling them to study the elongated, hollow shapes more closely.
“This was somewhat perplexing, as crystals are typically dense; however, this one featured empty channels running throughout its length,” remarked Dr. Glenn Hocky from New York University.
“The combined effects of this experiment and simulation led me to realize that this crystal structure had never been documented before,” added Professor Sacanna.
They named the newly identified crystal l3s4 and informally referred to it as “Zangerite” during a lab meeting, reflecting its composition as per Zang’s discovery.
“We study colloidal crystals to replicate the real-world scenarios of atomic crystals, but we never anticipated discovering crystals that wouldn’t resemble those found in nature,” stated Zan.
The discovery of Zangenite holds potential for exploring applications related to hollow low-density crystals and may lead to the identification of more new crystals.
“The channels within Zangenite resemble characteristics found in other materials and may aid in filtering or enclosing internal contents,” Dr. Hocky noted.
“We once thought it was uncommon to find new crystal structures, but we may now be on the verge of discovering additional, yet uncharacterized, structures,” Professor Sacanna added.
A paper detailing this study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
____
S. Zan et al. 2025. Direct observation and control of nonclassical crystallization pathways in binary colloid systems. Nat Commun 16, 3645; doi:10.1038/s41467-025-58959-0
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