A specimen of Sirenobethylus charybdis preserved in amberQiong WuAn extraordinary extinct wasp found preserved in amber may have used its abdomen to grasp other insects like a Venus flytrap before laying its eggs on them.Its unlike anything Ive ever seen before. Its unlike any wasp or any other insect that is known today, says Lars Vilhelmsen at the Natural History Museum of Denmark. AdvertisementVilhelmsen and his colleagues have named the wasp Sirenobethylus charybdis after Charybdis, a sea monster in Homers epic poem The Odyssey. The insect lived almost 99 million years ago in the Cretaceous period.The researchers used micro-CT scanning, an X-ray imaging technique, to examine 16 female wasps that were encased in amber found in the Kachin region of Myanmar.All the wasps had three flaps in their abdomens, making up a clasping structure. It was preserved in different positions, sometimes open and sometimes partly closed, suggesting it was a movable, grasping device when the insects were alive.Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterIt was very exciting, but it was also a challenge, because how can you explain how this animal worked when you have nothing like it today? says Vilhelmsen.So he and his colleagues took examples of living and extinct wasps and analysed their characteristics. This revealed that the closest analogues of the wasps in amber were modern-day parasitoid species of the superfamily Chrysidoidea. These include cuckoo wasps, the larvae of which live on hosts as parasites, eventually killing them as they consume them.The grasping structure made up of three flaps on the wasps abdomenQiong WuThe key to the behaviour of S. charybdis may be the lower flap of the trap-like abdomen, which may have acted like a Venus flytrap plant, says Vilhelmsen. There are these fan-like elongate trigger hairs, probably sensory hairs, extending from this lower flap. If this had been resting on the surface and the host was walking past, then it would touch these hairs and then maybe the wasp would quickly launch backwards because there was a potential host within reach.He suggests that S. charybdis would have waited in ambush for potential victims like flying insects or jumping nymphs with its trap open and then snapped it shut to restrain the host and lay its eggs.This is a truly unique discovery, says Manuel Brazidec at the University of Rennes in France. What I find extraordinary is that the abdomen of Sirenobethylus charybdis is a brand new solution to a problem that all parasitoid insects have: how do you get your host to stop moving while you lay your eggs on or in it?Journal reference:BMC Biology DOI: 10.1186/s12915-025-02190-2Topics:

Nathan Huixiang Zhang left his office job in Canada to move back home to China. Nathan Zhang 2025-03-27T01:57:35Z SaveSaved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Nathan Huixiang Zhang, now 52, got an alarm clock as a seven-year work-anniversary gift in Canada.It prompted him to reevaluate his life, and make three major changes.He quit his job, moved back to China, and opened two popular restaurants in Beijing.A work-anniversary gift was the wake-up call that pushed Nathan Huixiang Zhang to quit his job.After seven years at a Canadian telecom company, where he worked in data entry and project management, his employer gifted him an alarm clock to mark the milestone. The gesture made him realize it was time to move back home to China."I felt like a dead person," he told Business Insider about his job, adding that he was finding no challenges in the workplace.Zhang had moved from China to Edmonton, Canada, with his then-wife in 1999. Their plan was to build a new life. But that day, sitting in his office, he realized this was not where he wanted to be.He wanted to build a new life back in China not in his hometown, but in Beijing, a city full of authors and artists who had inspired him since he was a kid.When he got home from work that day, he talked to his wife, and she agreed to the move. They arrived in China's capital with their two kids then 3 and 5 three months after he handed in his resignation.His wife went on to complete a Ph.D., and his kids attended a local elementary school in Beijing. In 2013, the couple decided to separate. She moved back to Canada with the kids the following year.Career pivotIn Beijing, Zhang finally felt at home. Over the next few years, he formed strong social connections that helped him discover and build a new career path.For the first few years, Zhang worked at a TV station and on social projects across the city.In 2015, Zhang took a leap and opened a restaurant. The first White Tiger Village opened in 2015. White TIger Village The original White Tiger Village, a barbecue restaurant, was 40 square meters and had an open kitchen, three small tables, and one long bar.Zhang kept the initial costs low, around 200,000 yuan, by exchanging favors and relying on the friends he'd met over the years.A graphic designer he knew helped him out with the logo and menus. Another friend designed the restaurant's interiors.The restaurant closed in 2017 due to building restrictions, but Zhang went on to open a second iteration of White Tiger Village in 2021.It was sleeker and located in a cosmopolitan area of east Beijing. When White Tiger Village reopened in 2021 it was sleeker. White Tiger Village Chinese flavors with a Western vibeThe time Zhang spent in Canada influenced his restaurants."White Tiger Village was the first restaurant in Beijing to serve Chinese food in a Western way," Fiona Wu, a sales professional working in Beijing's lifestyle industry, told BI. "It popularized the bistro-style style of dining, pairing small plates with wine," Wu said.The space has also served as a creative hub, hosting events such as film screenings, art talks, and musical performances. Zhang's vision was for it to serve as a platform for artistic exploration. White Tiger Village hosts events such as film screenings, art talks, and musical performances. White Tiger Village When BI visited the restaurant on a Friday evening in March, it was busy. Couples out on dates and small groups of fashionably dressed 30-somethings were seated at the wooden tables.Popular dishes included two twists on Yunnan classics. The first was fermented tofu mashed with a local herb, shaped into balls, and then fried. The other was rushan, cow's milk curds stretched into thin sheets, stuffed and rolled into cigars, then fried.Zhang attributes their popularity to the affordable price, between 42 and 78 yuan. Fermented tofu mashed with a local herb is a twist on Yunnan classics and a popular dish at White Tiger Village. White Tiger Villag Still, Zhang, like others in the restaurant business, has felt the winds of China's economic downturn.He said that fewer people were ordering alcohol, which restaurant profits rely on. Zhang said the latest White Tiger Village cost 2 million yuan to launch, all funded by an investor. He said the restaurant has not yet made back the initial investment. Zhang opened his second restaurant In-Between, in the winter of 2022. In-Between In Beijing, he has a purposeIn winter 2022, Zhang opened a second restaurant. Called In-Between, it's located in a small alley near Beijing's shopping district of Sanlitun.In-Between is a more casual dining spot than White Tiger Village, the kind where you can pop in for some comfort food, like a bowl of noodles, or for some skewers and a glass of wine.In March, when BI met Zhang at In-Between, he was dressed in a floral button-down, a smartly cut navy blue coat with white trimmings, and a white Ami Paris beanie. He said that since an employee had taken leave that day, he had been waiting tables.As he brewed coffee and served guests bowls of rice noodles topped with chicken, mushrooms, and pea sprouts, the tattoos on his hands his children's names were clearly visible.Zhang said that despite the amount of responsibility that comes with running restaurants, he now has the opportunity to be creative. "When working in an office, I felt useless," he said."In Beijing, I feel useful."

Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has attracted some fans online. Curtis Means - Pool/Getty Images; Agnifilo Intrater 2025-03-27T00:56:14Z SaveSaved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Someone tried to smuggle Luigi Mangione notes in argyle socks before his latest court appearance."Know there are thousands of people wishing you luck," one read, prosecutors said in a new court filing.Mangione's defense attorneys said Mangione did not see the notes hidden in the socks.Accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione has a legion of supporters and at least one managed to sneak two heart-shaped notes inside a fresh pair of argyle socks that the 26-year-old considered wearing during his latest New York court appearance, state prosecutors say.The prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office outlined details of the socks smuggling scandal in a Wednesday court filing.One of the notes was addressed to a person named "Joan," while the other was written to Mangione and read in part, "know there are thousands of people wishing you luck," prosecutors said.The notes were "secreted" in the cardboard that the new pair of argyle socks were wrapped around, the filing says.Mangione's defense attorneys said in a response that contained photos of the two notes that their client "inadvertently did not see that there were two heart-shaped notes contained within the socks." Two pink, heart-shaped notes found within Luigi Mangione's socks contained messages of support. Agnifilo Intrater "Luigi, We are all rooting for you! Keep your head held high & know there are thousands of people wishing you luck," one of the notes said. The signature reads "r/FreeLuigi." r/FreeLuigi refers to a Reddit community that supports Mangione. It's unclear if the online community is responsible for the note. Prosecutors said that ahead of Manigone's February 21 appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court, a court officer assisting in his transport from a federal jail in Brooklyn was given a bag of clothing for Manigone by members of his defense team.An investigator searched the clothing before it was handed over to Mangione and discovered the hidden notes, the court filing says.Despite the discovery of the notes, prosecutors say Mangione was allowed to wear the argyle socks, but he was too fashion-conscious to actually sport them in the courtroom. Luigi Mangione opted to not wear the argyle socks to his February 21 court appearance. Curtis Means - Pool/Getty Images Prosecutors said Mangione put the socks on and then changed out of them because he felt "they did not look good.""Fortunately, the items smuggled were handwritten notes and not contraband capable of harming the transporting officers," prosecutors wrote in the court filing.A spokesperson for Mangione's defense team declined to comment to Business Insider.It's unclear from Wednesday's filing who the notes were from, who hid them inside the socks, and whether any member of the defense team was aware the notes were there.Prosecutors said the socks incident is one reason Mangione can't have a laptop in jail before a strict evidence protective order is in place.Mangione's defense attorneys said in their response that the incident was "obviously inadvertent as one of the two heart-shaped notes was not even addressed to Mr. Mangione.""The District Attorney's Office ostensibly realized the innocent nature of this event, and that it was not a genuine danger or concern, as they did not bother to alert the Court at the time," the attorneys wrote.Mangione is awaiting trial on parallel state and federal indictments in the December shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.March 26, 2025 This story has been updated to include additional details and a photo from a new filing.Recommended video

Will we see more of Metroid Prime 4 today? (Nintendo)The Thursday letters page is convinced a new Donkey Kong game is coming to Nintendo Switch 2, as one reader worries when the new The Witcher trilogy will be completed.To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.ukFarewell giftWell, I wouldnt have betted on that. All the rumours were true and there really is going to be a Switch 1 Direct this week. The dangers of casual gamers mistaking it for next weeks Direct seem obvious, but I guess Nintendo, in their wisdom, dont think its an issue.Who knows what theyre going to talk about, but I really, really hope its going to be that fan service game because I love the idea of Nintendo saying goodbye to the Switch with a game they know probably wont sell well but is a chance to bring back a forgotten franchise.Thats the dream anyway. More likely though itll just be some remasters and a bunch of third party and indie games, but they must have something in mind to bother doing this, so Im guessing it can only be Metroid Prime 4. But Im not sure.I love that I dont know though. People were saying its neat that we dont know what to expect next week but now weve got a Switch 1 event and weve no idea whats going on there either, even before we get to the new console!BanfreeStrange timingI am shocked that the rumours about a Switch 1 Direct this week turned out to be true. I have no idea what its about or why Nintendo has done it. But its such a weird thing to do, given next week, that I can only assume that it must be for a very specific reason.They say they wont be talking about the Switch 2, but this must have something to do with it, whether its Metroid Prime 4 being cross-gen or backwards compatibly or something else. Maybe they wont make the connection obvious this week, but its got to be related.You dont have two Directs less than a week apart and there not be connection between them. Because if there isnt, why do it now? There are no Switch 1 games coming out soon, so they couldve done this weeks Direct at any time, if there wasnt a special reason for it being now.OnibeeLong storyIm not sure anyone expected The Witcher 4 to be released next year but 2027 is earlier than I thought so Ill take it, even if I doubt it will be out by then. Lets say there is a new trilogy though, when is it going to be completed? Assume each game takes a minimum of five years to make, it wont be done until 2037. Ill be retired by then!I dont think some gamers have quite caught on to how long games take to make now. We probably wont get the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy finished until around 2028 and it started in 2015! And thats for a remake, where a lot of the groundwork is already done for you.Im not saying this is anyones fault in particular but I think we should probably lay off trilogies until things catch up and maybe AI can help. I dont want to literally die of old age before a story is finished.The BishopEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukWork and playJust found out that the CEO and co-owner of the makers of Atomfall (as well as the Sniper Elite series and owners of 2000AD) is the same bloke that Ive been binge watching on YouTube recently: Jason Kingsley.He runs a channel called Modern History TV that delves into the medieval era, its really interesting (if you like your history) and he obviously has a passion for the subject. He also does medieval reenactment shows, jousting and the like.OK, not strictly gaming related but I found it interesting and shows not all CEOs sit behind a desk all day counting their money and twiddling their moustache in a malevolent way.TheTruthSoul (PSN ID)GC: Weve met him a couple of times and asked why he doesnt use his passion for the era to make a game, but he didnt really have an answer. Maybe he subconsciously wants to maintain a divide between work and his hobbies.Donkey magicSurely there has to be something Donkey Kong related during at least one of the two(!) upcoming Nintendo Directs.Nintendo have been very proactive in keeping him in the public consciousness, with rereleases and remakes, recently-unveiled Nike trainers (if youve yet to see them, theyre hideous), and probably a bunch more stuff Ive forgotten or dont know about.Considering how prominent and popular he was in the movie, and the amount of real estate he has in Nintendos theme parks, Im willing to bet well see a brand spanking new Donkey Kong in the next two weeks.ANONGC: If it was anyone other than Nintendo wed say its almost certain. Even knowing its them, wed say its very likely.No competitionIm looking forward to GTA 6 as much as the next person but I cant help thinking that a game having that much influence on the industry, to the point where every other game, and probably even the Switch 2, is rushing to get out of its way.Hard to pin the blame on anyone in particular but if theres one thing gaming needs less of its giant entities blocking out the sun for everyone else and making not just competition impossible but even basic existence.I certainly cant blame Rockstar for being popular, but I do think it shows how foolish other companies have been in not trying to create any kind of competitor. GTA clones havent been a thing for at least 10 or 15 years now, and yet I can think of plenty of them that were pretty popular, like Sleeping Dogs, Saints Row (pre-reboot), and The Simpsons: Hit & Run.They might not be the biggest games ever, but they all seemed to sell well and review well so why did they stop? As usual, it seems like the all or nothing approach has blinded publishers. Their clones werent as big as GTA, so they just gave up and now thats left the field open to Rockstar to make it almost impossible for anyone to rival them, whether they want to try or not.Competition is good and theres so little of it in the games industry now that its really beginning to worry me.BensonThe sweet blood, oh, it sings to meI was thinking a great place for Assassins Creed to go would be 17th Century Edinburgh, during the bubonic plague outbreak.The plague wiped out parts of the city which have been built over now but can still be visited underground.If not Assassins Creed, then Id love to see a game based around that in some way.ShugGC: Edinburghs architecture was one of the major influences for Bloodborne and the story in the game does deal with a mass affliction. Or theres the flawed but extremely ambitious Pathologic 2, if you want to explore just the plague side of things.More to comeOdd to think Nintendo would do a Switch Direct this week, when the Switch 2 reveal next week would immediately overshadow everything but maybe itll be announced after I hit send on this. With regards to Switch 2 its strange to be in this position with a Nintendo machine, where we not only know quite a lot about it, but also everything we dont know is fairly easy to have an educated guess at.I read a recent round up (on IGN I think) of the latest predictions and it was still what everyone has been talking about over the last six to 12 months. PlayStation 4/Steam Deck power, DLSS, Mario Kart 9, mouse functions, 400-450 price, 8 inch LCD, June launch, etc., etc. Even third party launch titles like Resident Evil 4 remake, Final Fantasy 7, and Assassins Creed Mirage are entirely predictable.Nintendo need to bring the first party goods next week to make an impact, third party support isnt why people buy their machines. So while having those at launch is nice and all I can get them for under 20 quid on PlayStation. Nintendo need something that you can only do on the Switch 2 to sell a 400 upgrade to the masses. And this time its even tougher since tens of millions of people werent sitting on their Wii Us quite happy playing Splatoon and Mario Kart 8 in 2017.We may have all talked ourselves into a consensus, but there has to be something we havent seen yet whether thats through software like the new Mario Kart or 3D Mario using ray-tracing, online functionality or just generally the extra oomph in exciting new ways. Insomniac using SSD loading for the portals in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, for example. Imagine what Mario could do with that creative potential.Or a gimmick we havent seen in the hardware itself to differentiate it. Im not sure a niche use case like mouse functionality for a Super Mario Maker 3 would qualify, it needs to span all general uses of the system. What happened with that online system test from earlier in the year? Perhaps some kind of Miiverse return will be baked into the console OS from the start.Guess well find out soon enough.MarcGC: Weve seen 17 seconds of one game and the reveal of the console explained nothing. We think its safe to say theres more we dont know.Inbox also-ransAm I missing something but why is Silent Hill f set in Japan, if Silent Hill is a town in Maine? Is that what Kojimas Silent Hills name meant all along, and we didnt realise?CoolsbaneGC: Silent Hill: The Short Message was set in Germany. Changing the setting seems to be a new thing for these games.If Indiana Jones And The Great Circle is a hit on PS5 do you think well see a sequel? Do we know what MachineGames is working on next?JoshGC: Theyve been hinting at a Quake reboot for a few years now.More TrendingEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukThe small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Readers Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.You can also leave your comments below and dont forget to follow us on Twitter.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. 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The First Berserker: Khazan all its lacking is some new ideas (Nexon)A spin-off from the Dungeon & Fighter series proves to be one of the best new action role-players of recent years, with influences from Nioh and Sekiro.If you dont know what Dungeon Fighter Online (aka Dungeon & Fighter, aka DNF) is then The First Berserker: Khazan must seem like the most generic-sounding and uninteresting game imaginable, based solely on the name. It certainly doesnt make it obvious what the game is, in terms of either its parent franchise or its gameplay, but in short it is a Soulslike and a pretty good one at that.Dungeon & Fighter is far less popular in the West than in its homeland of South Korea but 2022s DNF Duel, by the always excellent Arc System Works, was a very good fighting game spin-off. It wasnt very original though and in that sense it has a lot in common with Khazan, since it does many familiar things very well but never invents anything significant for itself.Were not very familiar with the background lore of the series but Khazan is one of the more prominent characters and naturally this standalone title busies itself with explaining his backstory. It has all the predictable tropes of the Soulslike genre, from bonfires where you can save your game to a sky high difficulty level, but once you accept this isnt going to reinvent the wheel it becomes easier to appreciate the games impressive workmanship.While there are clear influences from a number of FromSoftware titles, Khazan is actually closest to the consistently underrated Nioh duology. Instead of a tightly designed, interconnected world, as in Dark Souls et al., the game is level-based, with the way skills and loot work being very similar to Team Ninjas games.Where its also like Nioh is that the story is completely forgettable, with Khazan being betrayed and accused of being a traitor, before being tortured almost to death and left to expire on a freezing cold mountaintop. He survives thanks to a mysterious character called Blade Phantom, who grants him access to various magical abilities, before setting off on the road to revenge.Although the game is structurally similar to Nioh the combat is closer to Froms Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, when it comes to its heavy reliance on blocking and parrying. Youve got a dodge as well, but its even more difficult to avoid a flurry of attacks with that, especially as all the moves are governed by a quickly depleted stamina bar.Enemies have the same type of bar and so battles revolve around trying to tire your opponent and break their stance, so you can get in and do some real damage. Chipping away with normal attacks will rarely win the day and instead you need to block and dodge consistently and wait for your chance, ideally by performing a block at the exact right moment to trigger a Brink Guard.This makes combat very defensive but that feels more realistic despite the various fantasy monsters that youre fighting and tactical, as youre constantly probing your enemys defences and balancing your stamina to strike at the optimum moment. Its difficult, theres no question about that, but hugely rewarding when you get it right. But if its too much for you there is, unusually for a Soulslike, an easy mode.Therere only three weapons a sword and axe combo, an even bigger sword, and a spear but each has its own skill tree and they all feel very different, with their own specialities, buffs, and magical abilities many of which can be chained together into increasingly lengthy combos.The randomised nature of the loot you collect can be frustrating, but you eventually unlock the ability to craft exactly what you want, if you dont find it naturally. Although even then, theres so much gear to maintain and upgrade it can feel like busywork at times. Unusually, there is an easy mode (Nexon)The level design is fine, if rather inconsistent, with some levels edging into open world territory but a lot of the others lacking any interesting exploration. That doesnt mean there arent hidden secrets though, with the most useful allowing you to increase all your stats at once. As with Nioh, there are optional side quests set in levels youve already visited but the second (and third time) is rarely the charm.More TrendingSurprisingly for a Soulslike, theres no co-op or multiplayer of any kind but you can make use of computer-controlled allies, which can be summoned to help with tougher fighters and can be upgraded by fighting evil versions of themselves.Although its not very obvious in most of the screenshots, Khazan has a very attractive cel-shaded art style. Its not trying to look like anime, as its generally too detailed for that, but manages to strike a very effective balance between looking unique and still maintaining a dark, foreboding atmosphere. At times it goes overboard with the lack of colour but in general its a very nice looking game.Apart from the visuals though, Khazan is all about the combat and the boss encounters and while that side of things is all very good its really just a mash-up of Sekiro and Nioh, with both of those being better games overall. It is the best Soulslike so far this year though and hopefully, if it does well, a sequel can be more ambitious with moving things forward instead of just echoing what already exists.The First Berserker: Khazan review summaryIn Short: A very competent Soulslike, with excellent combat and an attractive art style its just a shame it barely even tries to do anything new.Pros: The combat is top notch, with some great boss battles. Lots of customisation options (including an easy mode) and tons of content. Interesting art style, even if it can be a bit monochromatic at times.Cons: Theres very little in terms of new ideas and the level design can often be quite bland. Upgrading and maintaining your gear can become a chore. Unengaging storytelling and characters.Score: 7/10Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PCPrice: 49.99Publisher: NexonDeveloper: NeopleRelease Date: 27th March 2025Age Rating: 16 The graphics could do with a bit more colour (Nexon)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

By Ed Cara Published March 26, 2025 | Comments (8) | The headquarters of the Department of Human and Health Services in Washington D.C. Mark Van Scyoc via Shutterstock The wolves have firmly taken charge of the henhouse. The federal government has reportedly chosen David Geier, a notorious vaccine skeptic, to lead its upcoming study examining an already debunked link between vaccination and autism. The Washington Post first reported on the development Tuesday afternoon, citing anonymous current and former federal health officials. Geier has long advocated against vaccination, often releasing shoddy and swiftly discredited research. His hiring is yet another sign that the countrys public health agenda, now led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is being led astray. News of the federal governments planned study into vaccines and autism first broke in early March. At the time, the CDC was expected to lead the research and began to do so at the behest of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to The Washington Post. In recent weeks, however, HHS reportedly changed tack and instructed the National Institutes of Health to conduct the study instead. HHS has hired Geier to lead the analysis, according to the Washington Post. A listing matching his name can be seen on the agencys employee directory, where he is described as a senior data analyst. When briefly interviewed by The Washington Post, Geier declined to confirm whether he had a role in the study, directing questions to those in charge. Gizmodo reached out to HHS but has not yet received any comment regarding these latest developments. Much like HHS chief RFK Jr., Geier has a long history of supporting the anti-vaccination movement, usually alongside his father, Mark Geier. The Geiers have regularly released research purporting to show the hidden dangers of vaccination, often focusing on a link between mercury-based ingredients in vaccines and autismresearch that Kennedy himself has cited in his attacks against vaccines. In addition to his research, Mark Geier has frequently served as an expert legal witness for plaintiffs seeking compensation for alleged vaccine injuries in federal court cases, but he has been barredfrom doing so in some cases.The Geiers have also created and profited from the sale of autism treatments supposedly meant to help people damaged by mercury.Importantly, the vast majority of studies examining the issue have failed to find any connection between autism and vaccines or their ingredients. The Geiers research has also been routinely criticized by scientists over the years for misinterpreting data to support their agenda, and their studies have occasionally been retracted. Mark Geier does have scientific training as a physician and geneticist, but David Geier only has a bachelors degree in biology. In 2011, the Maryland State Board of Physicians suspended and later revoked Mark Geiers license to practice medicine in the state over allegations that he mistreated several autistic patients in his care; that same year, the state charged David Geier with practicing medicine without a license, alleging that he misrepresented himself as a doctor to his fathers patients (Geier claimed that his only role in the practice was administrative). In securing his nomination to lead HHS, RFK Jr. assured his critics that he would have no issue acknowledging that vaccines dont cause autism once presented with the scientific evidence showing as much. But Kennedy has a long track record of ignoring this evidence, even dismissing examples of it during a Senate hearing prior to his confirmation. Geiers hiring is another strong indicator that any such discovery process will be rigged in favor of the anti-vaccination movement.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Thomas Maxwell Published March 24, 2025 By Ed Cara Published March 13, 2025 By Ed Cara Published March 12, 2025 By Ed Cara Published March 11, 2025 By Ed Cara Published March 10, 2025 By Matt Novak Published March 7, 2025

Mosquitoes are more than pests. Theyre also a mortal threat, contributing to millions of cases of malaria a year. Fortunately for humans, however, a team of researchers has recently identified a medication that could curb mosquito populations, controlling their spread of malaria. Revealing their results in a paper published in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers report that the medication nitisinone makes human blood deadly to mosquitoes. One way to stop the spread of diseases transmitted by [mosquitoes] is to make the blood of animals and humans toxic to these blood-feeding insects, said Lee R. Haines, a paper author and an associate research professor of biology at the University of Notre Dame, according to a press release. Our findings suggest that using nitisinone could be a promising new complementary tool for controlling insect-borne diseases like malaria.Read More: Malaria Vaccines Could Be Game-ChangersFighting Malaria-Infected MosquitoesIn 2023 alone, the world saw some 263 million cases of malaria, a deadly disease that causes fever, fatigue, and sometimes seizures (in the most severe cases). Caused by one of five malaria parasites, this disease is mostly spread by bites from malaria-infected mosquitoes.Scientists say that the trick to controlling the spread of malaria is to curb mosquito populations. Over the years, theyve identified several medications that could serve such a purpose, including ivermectin. This medication shortens the lifespan of mosquitoes when it is ingested through human or animal blood, limiting the insects ability to spread malaria. But ivermectin is toxic to the environment and is likely to lose its efficacy if it is overused as a treatment for parasitic infections. Setting out to find a complementary method for curbing mosquitoes, researchers turned to nitisinone, a medication that blocks the enzyme 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) in the body. In humans, this medication treats rare inherited diseases like alkaptonuria and tyrosinemia type 1. But in mosquitoes, its deadly. We thought that if we wanted to go down this route, nitisinone had to perform better than ivermectin, said lvaro Acosta Serrano, another paper author and a professor of biology, also at the University of Notre Dame, according to the press release. Indeed, nitisinone performance was fantastic.When mosquitoes consumed blood containing nitisinone, they died quickly. And when compared to ivermectin, nitisinone lasted a lot longer in human blood, improving its mosquitocidal ability to curb mosquitos and, thus, malaria. This is critical when applied in the field for safety and economical reasons, Acosta Serrano said in the release. Read More: What If Your Blood Could Kill Mosquitoes?The Ivermectin-Nitisinone CombinationTo arrive at their results, the researchers tested the effects of nitisinone blood on the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, a common carrier of malaria parasites in Africa. Taken from patients who were already using nitisinone as a treatment for alkaptonuria, the blood had a hidden superpower, Haines said in the release. Deadly to mosquitoes both young and old, the blood was also fatal to insecticide-resistant insects.In the future, it could be advantageous to alternate both nitisinone and ivermectin for mosquito control, Haines said in the release. For example, nitisinone could be employed in areas where ivermectin resistance persists or where ivermectin is already heavily used.While fatal for mosquitoes, nitisinone is safe for the environment and could serve as an insecticide. Whats particularly interesting is that it specifically targets blood-sucking insects, making it an environmentally friendly option, Acosta Serrano said in the release. Even a small amount of the drug is deadly to mosquitoes in the lab, but additional tests are needed to determine what dosages would be best for managing mosquitoes in the outside world. With wider use, the combination of ivermectin and nitisinone could mitigate malaria while also increasing the availability of drugs for people with alkaptonuria and tyrosinemia type I a dual benefit for fighting diseases with parasites and without. Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Science Translational Medicine. Anopheles Mosquito Survival and Pharmacokinetic Modeling Show the Mosquitocidal Activity of NitisinoneWorld Health Organization. MalariaMedlinePlus. AlkaptonuriaMedlinePlus. TyrosinemiaSam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Prehistoric insects encased in amber reveal a terrifying evolutionary road that dead-ended sometime after the mid-Cretaceous period. After examining multiple roughly 99-million-year-old specimens, researchers believe the extinct wasp species featured Venus flytrap-like abdomen appendages for capturing other insects. Once pinned down, the wasp then laid its eggs inside its prey. The findings are detailed in a study published March 26 in the journal BMC Biology.An estimated 10 percent of all known insects are parasitoidsspecies whose larvae gestate inside hosts before eventually killing them. But none alive today resemble the Cretaceous eras Sirenobethylus charybdis, according to this new research. After recently analyzing 16 amber-preserved female specimens uncovered in northern Myanmars Kachin region, an international team of researchers from Chinas Capital Normal University and the Natural History Museum of Denmark believe S. charybdis may represent an entirely new insect family. They reached their conclusion after observing the parasitoids distinct hind wing vein patterns, which differ greatly from todays Chrysidoidea superfamily that includes cuckoo and bethylid wasps.Abdominal terminal of the specimen displaying the grasping apparatus. Credit: Qiong Wu However, the hind wings arent its only striking features. S. charybdis appears to have evolved a unique, three-flapped abdominal setup similar to the leaves of a Venus flytrap. The paddle-like lower flap is particularly distinctive due to its hair-like bristles.The abdominal apparatus of Sirenobethylus is unlike anything previously reported from any extant wasp or indeed any insect known to us, the team wrote in their study.Researchers posited two theories to explain the anatomy. The first hypothesis is that the females used their jawlike flaps to grip males during mating. While the team doesnt have any male specimens to study (yet), they still think this behavior was unlikely.Indeed, it would be unique for insect females to restrain the males during mating, rather than the other way around, they added.Reconstruction of Sirenobethylus charbybdis. Credit: Xiaoran Zuo They then offered another, far creepier explanation. S. charybdis may have used its appendages to trap potential victims, but instead of devouring its prey, the wasp likely held it down in order to deposit its eggs inside. This possibly allowed S. charybdis to wait for a more mobile winged or jumping bug to appear. If the target triggered the hairlike bristles, then the appendage flaps closed around it until the deed was done. Given that its stinger was located on the middle flaps dorsal side, experts also believe S. charybdis may have even stung the trapped larvae host in the process.Its currently unclear when the horrifying wasp died out, or why later insects didnt have this appendage. Still, the discovery indicates that at least some early Chrysidoidea species started developing parasitoid strategies by the mid-Cretaceous. For however long it lived on Earth, S. charybdis seems to have lived up to its namesake: Charybdis, the mythical Greek sea monster from The Odyssey that lurked underwater waiting to devour unsuspecting sailors.The post This ancient Venus fly-trap wasp used its butt to kill appeared first on Popular Science.

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08701-zAs the early Earth solidified, gravitational segregation of dense, iron-rich melts drove mantle evolution, injecting geochemical signatures of shallow silicate fractionation into the deep mantle and inevitably forming a basal magma ocean.

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08698-5This study highlights a protocol that converts various perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), including fluoroplastics, into valuable fluorochemicals through a solvent-free mechanochemical process, thereby enabling fluorine recovery and contributing to a sustainable circular fluorine economy.