Researchers developed a polymer-based therapy that can be injected following a heart attack that helps heart tissue heal. After administering it to rats, they demonstrated that it works up to five weeks later, they reported in the journal Advanced Materials.Heart attacks are a major health issue in the U.S., with about 805,000 people a year experiencing them — the equivalent of one every 40 seconds. About 12 percent of people who experience a heart attack will die from it.“Preventing heart failure after a heart attack is still a major unmet clinical need,” Karen Christman, a bioengineering professor at the University of California, Davis and an author of the study, said in a press release. “The goal of this therapy is to intervene very soon after someone suffers a heart attack to keep them from ultimately going into heart failure.”Repairing and Keeping Heart Cells AliveThe therapy appears to act on two fronts. It triggers the immune system to encourage tissue repair. It also helps keep heart muscle cells alive following a heart attack.The therapy takes a molecularly clever approach. The injected polymer mimics a protein that, as part of a reaction to stress and inflammation, binds to one that normally kicks of the process that degrades tissues. The protein Nrf2 “turns on” when cells are stressed. But in some serious situations — like heart attacks — another protein called KEAP1 binds to it, and cells and tissues continue to degrade. The protein-like-polymer (PLP) the researchers injected into the rats mimic Nfr2.Read More: Repairing the Damage After a Heart AttackModelling Heart AttacksThe researchers tested the polymer on rats that were modelled to mimic the cellar conditions following a heart attack. One set of rodents received the PLP solution. Another set took a shot of saline solution. The researchers did not know what rats got which injection.Five weeks later, the researchers performed MRIs on the sedated rodents. The rats who got the PLP injection showed better cardiac function and significantly more healing in their heart muscle tissues compared to the saline-injected rats. Gene expression tests also showed that the genes involved in tissue healing were turned on at a higher level in the PLP-treated rats versus the controls.Potentially Broader ApplicationsThe researchers stress that this treatment is still in proof of concept stage. They will next try to improve the PLP’s design and determine the effects of different dosages. After that, they will test the injection on larger mammals. If that research goes well, the treatment could advance into human clinical trials — often a long, tortuous process.However, Nathan Gianneschi, who developed the PLP while at University of California San Diego and is now a professor at Northwestern University, said that, if those tests are successful, the treatment could be used to heal multiple kinds of tissues — not just ones damaged during heart attacks.“This therapeutic platform has tremendous potential for several diseases, including everything from macular degeneration to multiple sclerosis and kidney disease,” Gianneschi said in a press release. This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.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:Advanced Materials. Protein-Like Polymers Targeting Keap1/Nrf2 as Therapeutics for Myocardial InfarctionCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart Disease FactsHealthline. Heart Disease: Facts, Statistics, and YouBefore joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

Instead of targeted, aggressive attacks, sharks may bite humans out of self-defense. Within the media, sharks are often seen as bloodthirsty predators. However, shark attacks are rare and, for the most part, not fatal. Researchers explain how sharks bite for a number of reasons, including being territorial, deterring competition, and, of course, for predation. And now, researchers are looking at self-defense against humans as another possible reason, according to new research published in Frontiers in Conservation Science. “We need to consider the not very intuitive idea that sharks are very cautious towards humans and are generally afraid of them,” said study first author Eric Clua, a shark specialist and researcher at Université PSL, in a press release. “The sharks’ disproportionate reaction probably is the immediate mobilization of their survival instinct. It is highly improbable that they would integrate revenge into their behavior and remain, above all, pragmatic about their survival.”Shark Attacks are Uncommon Shark attacks are rare and often sensationalized in the media. Only about 100 people are bitten or attacked by sharks each year, and only about 10 percent of those are fatal. The new research looks at a previously undocumented rapid, non-lethal type of shark bite in French Polynesia. These bites usually occurred in response to human aggression toward the shark. “We show that defensive bites by sharks on humans – a reaction to initial human aggression – are a reality and that the animal should not be considered responsible or at fault when they occur,” said Clua in the release. “These bites are simply a manifestation of survival instinct, and the responsibility for the incident needs to be reversed.”Read More: Why Do Sharks Attack Humans?Shark Self-Defense For this study, the research team looked at shark bite data in French Polynesia between 2009 and 2023. During that time, there were 74 reported shark bites, and four of those (about 3 to 5 percent) were likely due to self-defense. According to the study, self-defense shark bites typically occur due to human interaction that is perceived as aggressive, such as spearfishing or even grabbing sharks. If a shark feels threatened, they may deliver one or a series of quick, non-lethal bites. Entering a shark's territory may also be enough for it to deliver these quick bites. “Some species of coastal shark, such as the gray reef shark, are both particularly territorial and bold enough to come [into] contact with humans,” Clua said in a press release. The study authors also point out that it’s possible that sharks could be afraid of humans and don’t want them in their territory. This could lead to the self-defense reaction being more violent than it needs to be. Don’t Provoke Attacks The research team also looked at shark bite data from around the world and compared it to that in French Polynesia. They broke the data down into "provoked" and "unprovoked" bites. Since 1863, nearly 7,000 shark bites were recorded in the Global Shark Attack Files. Of those bite incidents, 322 bites were classified as “provoked.” According to the study, this data indicates that about 5 percent of shark bites around the world are in self-defense, similar to the percentage from French Polynesia alone. These observations, the researchers say, could apply to the rest of the globe.To avoid conflicts with sharks, Clua and the research team urge people to limit any interactions with sharks. Even if you have the best intentions, this could be seen as threatening to the shark. “Do not interact physically with a shark, even if it appears harmless or is in distress. It may at any moment consider this to be an aggression and react accordingly,” Clua said in a press release. “These are potentially dangerous animals, and not touching them is not only wise, but also a sign of the respect we owe them.”If you see a marine animal in distress, there are professionals you can contact who can help. Read More: How to Respond to Stranded Marine LifeArticle 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:A graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.

Although volcanic eruptions can strike when least expected, they sometimes give off warning signs that can be captured by advanced technology. One innovative way to monitor eruptions is now being put to the test at the Reykjanes Peninsula, a hotbed of volcanic activity in Iceland. In a new study, researchers have reported the successful progress of an eruption warning system that uses distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), which can anticipate volcanic activity through magma movements beneath the surface.The study, published in Science, demonstrates how DAS sensors at the Reykjanes Peninsula can give the public warnings on lava eruptions up to 30 minutes in advance. The key to this method is in fiber-optic cables that react to disturbances underground. With a system to monitor cables, scientists are tapping into unseen volcanic data like never before.Iceland's Volcanic EruptionsIceland lies in a unique position as part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a 10,000-mile-long mountain chain that represents the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. While most of it is submerged deep underwater, portions of the ridge rise from the ocean and form islands (like Iceland itself). This setting gives the country a diversity of geologic features, from massive faults to hot springs and geysers. Being on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge also exposes parts of Iceland to volcanic eruptions. The Reykjanes Peninsula has seen a significant increase in eruptions since 2021 and has experienced eight eruptions of lava since November 2023. Although the risk of injury or death from volcanic activity is relatively low, recurring eruptions near the town of Grindavík have forced people to evacuate their homes year after year.Sensing Underground Vibrations For the past few years, an international team of researchers has been working toward a solution to catch volcanic activity before it can impact the public. This collaboration led to the development of a DAS system focused on an underground fiber-optic cable. "The deployment was extremely fast," said Jiaxuan Li, the study's first author and a geophysicist at the University of Houston, in a statement. "We were able to set up our system on a 100-kilometer-long fiber cable within 10 days after a substantial magma intrusion event on November 10, 2023. About a month later, we recorded the first eruption with our system.”The DAS system entails directing lasers into unused underground cables; when vibrations pass through the cables (during an earthquake, for example), the lasers go through what is called a “phase-change,” allowing researchers to collect data on seismic waves.A New Warning SystemThe system can be applied to underground volcanic activity as well. As magma moves upward to surge above the surface, it warps and compresses the ground. The researchers say cable sensors can measure changes in the ground much more precisely than GPS or satellite imaging.Data from the sensors set up in the Reykjanes Peninsula have allowed researchers to create an early-warning system that could inform the public of an eruption 30 minutes to several hours before it occurs.The system has already helped seismologists at Grindavik detect volcanic activity and understand how magma behaves underground. Since Iceland is expected to enter a period marked by more frequent eruptions, increasingly reliable volcano warnings are needed now more than ever. “There is a lot more work to do, and all volcanoes are different, but DAS provides us a new capability to see things we couldn't before,” said Zhongwen Zhan, a geophysicist at the California Institute of Technology whose laboratory conducted the research. “Our project is also a great example of the power of international collaboration."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:UNESCO. The Mid-Atlantic RidgeEuropean Geosciences Union. What is Distributed Acoustic Sensing?Jack Knudson is an assistant editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and previously interned at Recycling Today magazine.

During the Apollo missions, astronauts faced challenges from sharp, fine particles of lunar dust that clung to nearly everything, posing potential health risks while causing instrument malfunctions and allergy-like symptoms. As the space sector prepares for future Mars missions, astronauts and researchers are investigating how Mars dust may impact astronauts and their equipment. Mars, the Toxic Beach Justin Wang, a medical student at the University of Southern California, has a background in planetary sciences and aerospace engineering, compares a visit to Mars like one to a sandy beach. When a person leaves the beach, the sand often sticks to their skin, gets tucked into clothing crevices, and may even be deposited in food or drink items. Except that Mars, a very big and dusty planet, is more like a toxic beach.Wang is the lead author of a new study published in GeoHealth surveying the minerals and chemicals found in Martian soil. Together, his team examined rover and satellite data, Martian meteorites, and any data on the composition of Mars dust.“Mars is known as the Red Planet, and the reason for that is that a lot of iron oxides are there, and iron oxide is something that we are concerned about for the health of humans,” says Wang.In addition to iron oxide, Wang found that Mars dust is made up of many toxic components, including including silica, gypsum, chromium, and arsenic, among others. Although these chemicals and minerals are also found on Earth, people are not often exposed to them in large quantities over extended periods.But inhalation of these chemicals and minerals can cause adverse, irreversible health problems.How Particulate Matter Harms Lungs Glass, for example, is primarily made of silica, and glassblowers have been known to develop a lung disease called silicosis, for which there is no cure.Gypsum is commonly found in drywall and plaster, and construction workers have reported long-term respiratory ailments like asthma and bronchitis.Black lung disease, also known as coal workers' pneumoconiosis, occurs when coal dust is inhaled over a prolonged period. These particles lodge in the lungs, causing inflammation and scarring over time, according to the American Lung Association. Similar chemicals found in Mars dust have also been identified in coal dust, which the Interagency for Research on Cancer reports to include silica, phosphates, and arsenic, among others.Inhalation of coal or Mars dust can lead to irritation and inflammation of the lungs, creating a pathway to severe lung disease.“With astronauts, they’re working in these small confined spaces without the ability to clean and filter these chemicals out, so they’re exposing themselves — and not just to silica,” says Wang. “Dust particles, including silica, cause irritation and inflammation in the lungs, and as it oxidizes, it reacts with our tissue.”Highly oxidizing compounds called perchlorates — made of one chlorine and multiple oxygen atoms — also pose a potentially serious threat. Although rare on Earth, perchlorates interfere with the thyroid's ability to absorb iodine, which is vital to thyroid function. Perchlorates also make up a “pretty significant” part of Mars dust.Even Smaller Particles Spacesuits are self-contained and act in some ways like scuba equipment. Astronauts use oxygen in tanks in a closed system because there is very little oxygen on Mars and the Moon. Mars dust is very fine and electrostatic, meaning it can get stuck on spacesuit equipment that is carried inside.In most cases, Mars dust particles are too fine for the body to expel.“The size of dust particles on Mars is really, really small because its components have been eroded down over billions of years. So when a person inhales Mars dust, it’s too small to attach to our mucus and for the lungs to cough it out,” says Wang.“Not only is the dust harmful, but it’s going to stay inside the lungs and continue to cause damage, potentially being absorbed into the bloodstream and cause more systemic issues,” Wang adds. Preparing for MarsParticulate matter, like dust or smoke, is often measured using a scale of diameter. Fine particles, like those found in wildfires, measure 2.5 µm in diameter or smaller (PM2.5) and can affect the lungs and heart. Larger particles (PM10 and above) are generally of less concern. Mars dust averages roughly PM3, by comparison.Humans have yet to visit Mars, a transit estimated to take between six and 12 months, that will expose astronauts to other concerns, such as radiation and the effects of microgravity. Still, Wang says Martian dust is not a “game ender” for future Mars exploration.“I don’t consider this mission ending or the most dangerous part of going to Mars, nor do I consider it the most dangerous medical complications that can be seen when going to Mars,” says Wang. “This is just something we need to address — Martian dust as its own entity.”Chris Mason, a professor of physiology and biophysics at Cornell Medicine, says that this “prioritized inventory” of Martian dust helps researchers better understand the environmental impacts of Mars on humans, as well as on equipment and tools.NASA writes that the “surface of Mars is a challenging and inhospitable place,” and the Red Planet’s fine dust presented challenges to rovers. In 2020, scientists developed a specially designed tire tread that could withstand the shape-shifting materials on the Martian surfaceJust like the physical properties of Mars dust pose challenges to human-made objects, exposure to the toxic dust can also erode their structure. Exposure to the chemicals is likely okay in the short term, but long-term exposure presents logistical challenges to structural objects in addition to biomedical issues, says Mason.This means that containment methods need to be “even better than they might be in other environments,” with redundancies put in place across measures. Just like double-bagging groceries protects food if the first bag fails, redundancy helps protect structures and astronauts in the event of deterioration.“Anything in space is possible,” saysWang. “Preparation is key. Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.” 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:American Lung Association. Coal Worker’s Pneumoconiosis (Black Lung Disease)NIH. Coal DustMadison’s reporting focuses on marine and environmental issues, climate change, and novel scientific discoveries related to health and technology. Raised on an island in southeast Alaska, Madison is now based in western Montana. Her writing has been featured in Time, Snopes, Business Insider, Mountain Journal, EcoWatch, and Alaska Magazine, among others. When not writing, Madison teaches yoga, raises chickens, and fosters adoptable dogs and cats.

When it comes to bonobo hierarchy, the ladies stick together. New research out of the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior finds that female bonobos team up to keep male bonobos in line, even though the males are larger and stronger than the females. This type of social structure is uncommon among social mammals in the animal kingdom, and researchers now have a better understanding of why, according to a new study published in Communications Biology. Bonobos: Queens of the JungleAccording to the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior (MPI-AB), male and female bonobos have a strange relationship, at least on a biological level. Among social mammal societies, larger, stronger males are typically the dominant force, controlling mating and food resources. However, the opposite is true among bonobos. The female bonobos dictate who gets to mate and when. Females also get first dibs on any food sources, while males wait patiently in the treetops above until the females are finished. Apparently, this behavior, according to Harvard University’s Martin Surbeck, is “totally bizarre for an animal like a bonobo.” Researchers have debated several theories as to why female bonobos dominate their societies, but to no avail. “There were competing ideas for how,” said Barbara Fruth from MPI-AB, who has led the LuiKotale bonobo research station for 30 years, in a press release. “None of which had ever been tested in wild bonobos living in the jungles in which they evolved.”Forming the Bonobos Female CoalitionThrough the new study, an international research team, including Fruth and Surbeck, analyzed 30 years of data from six wild bonobo communities across the Democratic Republic of Congo. From it, they found some of the first concrete evidence of female bonobos teaming up to outrank males. In about 85 percent of the observations, these female-led teams, known as coalitions, would target male bonobos and force them to submit, structuring the hierarchy towards female dominance.The team noted that there were 1,786 observed conflicts between male and female bonobos in the data. The female bonobos were victorious in 1,099 of those conflicts. “To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that female solidarity can invert the male-biased power structure that is typical of many mammal societies,” said Surbeck, in a press release. “It’s exciting to find that females can actively elevate their social status by supporting each other.”According to the research team, when a coalition forms, you’ll know. They start out by screaming unbearably loudly. They then target the male and chase him through the trees, sometimes leaving him with fatal wounds. For researchers, it’s challenging to know exactly what triggers a coalition, as it can happen within seconds. In some cases, it’s happened after a male has injured one of their young.“It’s a ferocious way to assert power,” said Fruth in a press release. “You know why these males don’t try to overstep boundaries.”The Dominance Spectrum Even though female dominance is prevalent in most of the observed groups, according to Fruth, this is “by no means the rule.” Instead, the research team looked at female dominance as being on a spectrum. “It’s more accurate to say that in bonobo societies, females enjoy high status rather than unchallenged dominance,” Fruth said in a press release.According to the study, female coalitions are just one of the ways female bonobos can stay on top; another includes the ability to hide their ovulation, so males don’t try to monopolize females when they’re in heat. Instead, calmer and less aggressive males who patiently wait seem to be granted access more often than more aggressive males, although more research is needed to confirm this. “I’m still puzzled why, of all animals, bonobos were the ones to form female alliances. We might never know, but it gives me a glimmer of hope that females of our closest living relatives, in our evolutionary line, teamed up to take the reins of power alongside males,” said Fruth.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:Communications Biology. Drivers of female power in bonobosA graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.

Meteorites carry clues that are pivotal in exploring the history of our Solar System, yet they don’t all look the same after impact. Colliding with a planetary surface sends shockwaves through meteorites, changing their configuration in various ways. Scientists noticed, though, that meteorites containing carbon often appear as if they experienced less intense impacts and look less “shocked” than meteorites without carbon. A new study has discovered that this is because evidence from these meteorites blasts back into space after impact. The study, published in Nature Communications, solves a long-standing mystery that changes how meteorites are viewed. This improved understanding could even prove useful for future space missions to obtain samples from other planetary bodies like Ceres, a dwarf planet that may have supported life in the past.Evaluating Meteorite Shock Effects Stony meteorites called chondrites, formed over 4 billion years ago, have given scientists a glimpse of the early Solar System. They are separated into multiple classes based on their chemical composition and mineral makeup; Carbonaceous chondrites (C chondrites), for example, tend to contain carbon compounds and water.The appearance of chondrites that crash into a larger planetary body like Earth is measured through a shock classification system, with stages ranging from S1 (unshocked) to S6 (very strongly shocked). The shock effects become increasingly glaring with each successive stage, seen in the condition of minerals within the chondrites: lower stages usually have minor fracturing, while higher stages start to display more evidence of melting.Blasting Meteorites into SpaceThe researchers involved with the new study aimed to find out why carbonaceous chondrites don’t show significant shock effects, making it seem like they collided at lower speeds. A previous theory suggested that an impact would create degassed vapor from water-containing minerals in the meteorite, sending evidence of shock flying into space. However, this process was never tested to see if it could produce enough water vapor to trigger such an effect. In addition, there are some chondrites without water-containing minerals that still appear less shocked.The researchers suspected there was a different explanation behind this meteorite mystery. To find answers, they used a two-stage light gas gun connected to a sample chamber. This allowed them to launch small pellets that would hit samples modeled after meteorites with and without carbon. The gases produced by the impact were then collected and analyzed. This experiment revealed that impacts on carbon-containing meteorites cause chemical reactions that “produce extremely hot carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gases,” according to a statement on the study. This chemical reaction would be able to expel a meteorite's shock evidence into space.“We found that the momentum of the ensuing explosion is enough to eject the surrounding highly-shocked rock material into space. Such explosions occur on carbon-rich meteorites, but not on carbon-poor ones,” said author Kosuke Kurosawa, an astrophysicist at Kobe University in Japan, in a press release. Chondrites Beyond EarthCarbonaceous chondrites are rare on Earth (only making up 4 percent of all meteorite finds), but they reach other planetary bodies in the inner Solar System as well. One such location is Ceres, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The researchers say that Ceres’ gravity may be strong enough to pull material ejected from chondrite impacts back to its surface. As a result, the dwarf planet likely has an abundance of highly shocked material, which could be an important target for future sampling missions there. Since carbonaceous chondrites represent remnants of the early Solar System and possess various organic compounds, they may provide key information about life in space.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:Nature Communications. Impact-driven oxidation of organics explains chondrite shock metamorphism dichotomyMeteoritics & Planetary Science. Revising the shock classification of meteoritesScience Direct. Carbonaceous ChondriteJack Knudson is an assistant editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and previously interned at Recycling Today magazine.

There’s a lot that goes on inside our brains. But there are times that our minds go… well… what’s the word? Blank? Reviewing available research on mind blanking, a new article in Trends in Cognitive Sciences says that the moments in which we are “thinking about nothing” are actually a lot more complex than we might think, as they tend to correspond with physiological, neural, and cognitive changes in our brains and bodies. Taken as a whole, the new article suggests that the blanking mind represents a distinct and phenomenally diverse mental state — a state that scientists are only starting to understand. What Is Mind Blanking?When we’re awake, our minds move from one mental state to another, with the majority of these mental states being characterized by “contents.” These contents are the topics that are on our minds — the things and ideas that our mental states are “about.” Though our minds typically transition seamlessly from one mental state to another, and thus from one content to another, there are some instances in which our minds happen to arrive at a mental state without any recognizable or reportable content at all. That’s the definition of mind blanking, which is also sometimes defined as an absence of thoughts or an absence of awareness. Indeed, though we’ve all experienced these blips in our own thinking, mind blanking is surprisingly difficult to define, with some scientists even describing it as a form of drowsiness.As difficult as mind blanking is to define, it’s also difficult to study. Setting out to review what researchers have revealed about mind blanking so far, the authors of the new Trends in Cognitive Sciences article examined the changes in our physiology, neurology, and cognition that occur as our minds blank out. “We sought to better understand mind blanking by parsing through 80 relevant research articles — including some of our own in which we recorded participants’ brain activity when they were reporting that they were ‘thinking of nothing,’” said Athena Demertzi, an author of the article and a neuroscientist at the University of Liège, Belgium, according to a press release. Mind Blanking on the Body and Brain Revealing the frequency of the occurrence, the authors found that mind blanking occurs with around 5 to 20 percent frequency in the available research. They also found that mind blanking typically takes place toward the end of sustained attention tasks or after, and also after periods of sleep deprivation and physical activity. Not only that, the team also suggested that sustained-attention-task mind blanking is associated with physiological and neural changes in people’s heart rate, pupil size, and brain activity. Tied to the latter are declines in the speed and the complexity of brain waves that are a lot like the declines seen in sleeping or unconscious brains. The researchers added that different types of mind blanking were associated with different types of brain activity, with mind blanking during sustained attention tasks appearing differently in the brain than mind blanking during rest. And, in addition to the physiological and neural changes, the researchers found a variety of cognitive changes associated with mind blanking, too, including slips in attention, memory, and inner speech. Read More: Scientists Aren't Sure How the Inner Voice WorksMind Wandering vs. Mind BlankingPrevious research has regarded mind blanking alongside mind wandering. But while similar, mind wandering and mind blanking are two distinct experiences. Mind wandering occurs when the mind moves from an external task to an internal task or thought, whereas mind blanking occurs when the mind goes “nowhere” instead of “elsewhere.”According to the authors of the new Trends in Cognitive Sciences article, mind blanking is its own experience, which leaves people slower, sleepier, and more mistake-prone than mind wandering does. And not only is it a distinct experience; it is also a diverse experience, since its physiological, neural, and cognitive impacts vary so much. As Jennifer Windt, another author and a philosopher at Monash University in Australia, said, according to the release, “The experience of a ‘blank mind’ is as intimate and direct as that of bearing thoughts.” The article suggests that arousal levels shape the various types and impacts of mind blanking. But regardless of its specific findings, the article contributes to our current understanding of mind blanking and could contribute to our future understanding of mind blanking, too."We believe that the investigation of mind blanking is insightful, important, and timely,” said Thomas Andrillon, the lead author of the article and a neuroscientist at the Paris Brain Institute, according to the release. “Insightful because it challenges the common conception that wakefulness involves a constant stream of thoughts. Important because mind blanking highlights the interindividual differences in subjective experience. Collectively, we stress that ongoing experiences come in shades with varying degrees of awareness and richness of content.”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:Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Where Is My Mind? A Neurocognitive Investigation of Mind BlankingSam 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.

It can be difficult to understand quantum mechanics. That’s okay, because, in the early days of the Internet, few could understand how that worked. Now, new developments in quantum communication may turbocharge just how quickly and securely information is delivered among us. Scientists demonstrated that such a system could work on our existing telecommunications infrastructure, they report in the journal Nature Communication.This is kind of a big deal, because many physicists had thought that transmitting quantum information over any distance would require cryogenically cooling whatever kinds of cables needed to transmit it. They also weren’t sure if standard fiber optic cables would even work for such a process.A Quantum TurbochargeThe scientists proved such super-cooling unnecessary by sending encryption information 158 miles between Frankfurt and Kehl, Germany. One key challenge they needed to overcome was achieving “optical coherence” — the ability to keep different parts of a light wave — or, in the case of quantum mechanics, photons — in consist relationship to one another as they travel through space. Addressing this issue was one key to the test’s success.“Our research aligns the requirements of coherence-based quantum communication with the capabilities of existing telecommunication infrastructure, which is likely to be useful to the future of high-performance quantum networks,” according to the paper.Coherence in Quantum CommunicationsCoherence is both key to quantum communications and theoretically difficult to achieve. Although the qbit — the currency of quantum information — is exponentially more powerful than the standard computational bit, qbits are considered fragile. The tiniest interaction with its environment could, in theory interrupt it — thus destroying the information it was intended to carry.The short explanation of quantum mechanics is that it uses mysterious states in physics to achieve things demonstrably impossible with conventional methods. An even shorter explanation of the implication of the experiment in Germany is that we may someday have access to an exponentially faster, more secure set of information-carrying infrastructure.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:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

In 2018, a study made headlines when it found that a captive orca, or killer whale, was able to imitate human speech. The whale, called Wikie, lived at the Marineland Aquarium in Antibes, France. Wikie was trained to produce the words "Ah ah," "hello," "Amy," and "one two three." (Wikie could also make a sound like a creaky door and imitate the call of an elephant.)It really shouldn’t be surprising that whales have a knack for imitating speech. They’re very auditory animals, explains Deborah Giles, a killer whale scientist with the SeaDoc Society, an organization that conducts and sponsors scientific research in the Salish Sea. “Killer whales make their living by being able to communicate over vast distances in order to know what the surrounding environment is like, where to find each other, and where to find food,” she says.Communicating is just a part of who they are. Giles tells the story of Luna, a young Southern Resident killer whale who was separated from his pod and trapped in the Nootka Sound off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Isolated from others of his species, with whom he would have communicated, Luna began mimicking the sound of boats and other sea life in the area, apparently in an attempt to communicate.It’s Part of Orca Culture Communicating with one another is important because orcas are not just social animals, they’re cultural, says Lori Marino, a neuroscientist who studies animal intelligence and behavior, and is known particularly for her work with whales on the evolution of the brain and intelligence.Marino describes culture as a group of habits and behaviors that are learned and passed from one animal to another, and from older animals to younger ones. The culture varies from one group or community of orcas to another. “Orcas off the coast of New Zealand, for example, will have a different culture than ones off the Pacific Northwest,” she says. “Those cultural differences are learned, and really define who they are as a community.”Most cultural behaviors are pretty serious and involve hunting, feeding, and raising young. Others are just fun — or weird. In the summer of 1987, young orcas from several pods of Southern Resident orcas began swimming around with dead salmon on their heads. A few whales started doing it, and pretty soon, the salmon hat was the backward baseball cap of the orca pod. By the next summer, salmon hats were so last year. Then the fad popped up again in 2024.In recent years, orcas that live off the Iberian Peninsula have occasionally destroyed the rudders of boats. No one knows why, but it’s definitely a cultural behavior that spreads from one whale to another.Killer Whales Have Huge BrainsAll this cultural communication requires big, complex brains. When we hear that an orca can imitate human speech, we might be inclined to think: Wow, whales are so smart. They’re almost like us. But when it comes to brain structure and brain potential, it might make more sense to wonder if there are things we could do that make humans seem as intelligent as an orca, says Marino. The orca brain weighs about 11 pounds. That’s three-and-a-half times larger than the human brain. It’s also large compared with the orca’s body size, about two-and-a-half times as big as you would expect for an animal of that size, explains Marino.But it’s not just size. The orca brain is very complex. The orca neocortex, which contains regions involved with, among other things, cognition, emotion, memory, and yes, communication, is the most wrinkled neocortex of any animal brain on the planet, even more wrinkled than human brains, says Marino.All those wrinkles allow more surface area of the brain to fit in the cranium. Think of it like a piece of paper that has been scrunched up to make it fit in a given space. “There’s a lot that has to be packed into that cranium,” says Marino. The orca also has more neocortex relative to the rest of the brain than do humans. “What I’m saying,” she says, “is that this is an extremely elaborated brain in terms of neural tissues used in cognition, thinking, problem solving, and higher-order processing.”Why Orcas Imitate Humans Orcas communicate with whistles and clicks, and that communication has a structure, a simple — or not so simple — grammar, says Marino. Scientists have not yet “cracked that code,” she adds, but she notes that orcas’ ability to imitate tells you two things. One, orcas are vocal learners. And two, they have some level of awareness. “In order to imitate, you have to compare what you’re doing with someone else,” she says.Marino says she thinks the reason for the imitation is that the whales are trying to communicate. “If you’re in a situation where you have this other species keeping you in a tank, feeding you, asking you to do things, I think you'd want to try to communicate, try to make contact with that other being.”What the Whales are Saying Of course, we don’t know what whales are saying to each other with their clicks and whistles. But we may have a better idea soon. Monika Wieland Shields, co-founder and director of the Orca Behavior Institute, is one of a team of researchers who are using a hydrophone array to localize vocalizations to a specific group of whales or even an individual whale. The team will pair those sounds with drone observations of whale behavior to learn more about how these animals are communicating. This research may not solve the mystery of the salmon hats, but it should offer insight into orca communication.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:Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Imitation of novel conspecific and human speech sounds in the killer whale (Orcinus orca)Orca Conservancy. Meet the Southern Resident killer whalesScience Direct. NeocortexAvery Hurt is a freelance science journalist. In addition to writing for Discover, she writes regularly for a variety of outlets, both print and online, including National Geographic, Science News Explores, Medscape, and WebMD. She’s the author of Bullet With Your Name on It: What You Will Probably Die From and What You Can Do About It, Clerisy Press 2007, as well as several books for young readers. Avery got her start in journalism while attending university, writing for the school newspaper and editing the student non-fiction magazine. Though she writes about all areas of science, she is particularly interested in neuroscience, the science of consciousness, and AI–interests she developed while earning a degree in philosophy.

Angel Island Rattlesnake (Crotalus angelensis) from Isla Ángel de la Guarda, Baja California, Mexico. (Image Credit: Jacob Loyacano)NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsEncountering rattlesnake venom is something many of us would prefer to avoid. But for a research team from the University of South Florida, this venom may hold the key to species evolution and protection.A new study, published in Evolution, has revealed that island rattlesnakes in the Gulf of California adapt their venom depending on their environment and its biodiversity. This discovery comes as a surprise and helps provide new insights into how animals evolve in changing environments.“This isn’t just about rattlesnakes,” says Mark Margres, assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida, in a press release. “It’s about understanding the fundamental ways life evolves when isolation and biodiversity start to shift.”Read More: 10 of the World’s Deadliest SnakesThe Evolution of VenomFor this study, researchers camped along the beaches of 11 uninhabited islands in the Gulf of California. Once the sun set and temperatures cooled down, they combed the islands and collected venom from 83 different rattlesnakes.After analyzing the venom, they discovered some surprising results. “The Baja California islands are pristine and largely untouched by human activity, making them an extraordinary place to study evolutionary processes in isolation,” says doctoral student Samuel Hirst in the press release. “We initially hypothesized that larger islands, which support greater biodiversity and prey diversity, would be associated with more complex venoms, which are better suited for more diverse prey. However, we found the opposite pattern.”As it turns out, rattlesnakes that lived on the islands with the most space and the most competition had evolved a more specialized type of venom. This simpler venom contained fewer and more focused toxin families, suggesting that these rattlesnakes had evolved to effectively target extremely specific prey.The result surprised researchers and challenged long-standing beliefs about how the presence of other species can influence evolution. It was expected that rattlesnakes living alongside more species would have developed a venom that enables them to hunt a wider range of prey. However, the rattlesnakes studied did the opposite and adapted to competition by honing their venom and becoming the best hunters for their chosen type of prey.This evolutionary change offers a new understanding of how resilient and adaptable traits can be in an ever-changing environment.Changing EnvironmentsIn a world plagued by climate change, environments are constantly changing. Many of these changes are caused by humans, and not only affect species’ environments but can also alter them on the biological and molecular level. This type of research provides a rare glimpse into some of the evolutionary effects of rapid shifts in biodiversity. It also highlights the resilience of certain species and how they can evolve to survive even when their environments change quickly and drastically. Venom, in particular, is vitally important for many aspects of a rattlesnake’s livelihood, including survival, hunting, and reproduction. Due to its importance, it is incredibly valuable to help scientists understand broader evolutionary trends across different species.The team collected a large amount of data thanks to their rattlesnake venom, and hopes to continue exploring shifts in island biodiversity and the subsequent evolutionary changes in the animals that live there.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:As the marketing coordinator at Discover Magazine, Stephanie Edwards interacts with readers across Discover's social media channels and writes digital content. Offline, she is a contract lecturer in English & Cultural Studies at Lakehead University, teaching courses on everything from professional communication to Taylor Swift, and received her graduate degrees in the same department from McMaster University. You can find more of her science writing in Lab Manager and her short fiction in anthologies and literary magazine across the horror genre.1 free article leftWant More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/monthSubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In1 free articleSubscribeWant more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99!SubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In

This tardigrade is sporting a new “tattoo” — represented in this magnified image by the highlighted dots, and visible in the inset image. (Image Credit: Adapted from Nano Letters 2025, DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c00378)NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsTardigrades take extreme living to another level, thriving in the toughest conditions. These animals (nicknamed “water bears” for their rotund figure) live practically everywhere and can endure any ordeal thrown their way, from subzero temperatures to cosmic radiation. This unparalleled durability is what makes them the perfect candidate for microscopic tattoos, as shown in a new study published in the American Chemical Society’s Nano Letters.In this study, researchers have revealed a way for tardigrades to be tattooed, but not just for style points. The tiny tattoos given to the creatures were meant to test a procedure that could create micro- and nanoscale devices for living matter, a crucial advancement for biomedical fields.Read More: Can the Cute Tardigrade Survive in Space?Creating Micro-Tattoos on TardigradesThe researchers involved with the study depended on tardigrades’ top-notch survivability to see how a living creature would react to a manufacturing process at the microscopic level, called microfabrication.  Microfabrication has been used to build miniature structures, like microchips, solar cells, and even biosensors that can detect cancerous cells, according to a statement on the study. It could also play a crucial role in medical technology, aiding drug delivery and tissue engineering. However, efforts to make this technology biocompatible are still underway — and that’s where the tardigrade tattoos come in.To test microfabrication on tardigrades, the researchers turned to ice lithography, a process that uses an electron beam to carve a pattern into a thin layer of ice coating the living tissue. Once the ice sublimates (changes into a gaseous state), the tissue is left bearing the freshly engraved design. “Through this technology, we’re not just creating micro-tattoos on tardigrades — we’re extending this capability to various living organisms, including bacteria,” said co-author Ding Zhao, a researcher at Westlake University in China, in a press release. Tardigrades in CryptobiosisThe researchers started the tattooing process by first dehydrating tardigrades so that they would enter cryptobiosis, a state in which all metabolic processes stop and the organism is rendered entirely inactive. They then put an individual tardigrade on a sheet of carbon-composite paper, which they cooled below negative 226 degrees Fahrenheit before blanketing the dormant water bear with a layer of anisole (an organic compound that smells like anise). As an electron beam hit the anisole and drew a pattern, it created another chemical compound that adhered to the tardigrade at higher temperatures. The tardigrade subsequently warmed to room temperature and was rehydrated, coming back to life with a brand new tattoo. An Exciting Era for MicrofabricationThe resulting tattoos came in several shapes, such as squares, dots, and lines. The ice lithography procedure left around 40 percent of the tardigrades alive, leading the researchers to state that it could improve with more testing. However, it seems the surviving tardigrades weren’t bothered at all by their tattoos, since they displayed no changes in behavior. The success of this technique brings encouraging results for microfabrication on living tissue, even beyond tardigrades. “It is challenging to pattern living matter, and this advance portends a new generation of biomaterial devices and biophysical sensors that were previously only present in science fiction,” said Gavin King, a University of Missouri physicist credited with inventing the ice lithography technique, who was not involved in this study, in the press release.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:American Chemical Society’s Nano Letters. Patterning on Living TardigradesJack Knudson is an assistant editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and previously interned at Recycling Today magazine.1 free article leftWant More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/monthSubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In1 free articleSubscribeWant more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99!SubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In

Both lung cancer diagnoses and deaths in men and women have declined over the past 20 years. That trend has helped improve the overall cancer mortality picture. Twenty years of cancer data indicate a slow, gradual, but significant change, with overall deaths declining 2.1 percent a year from 2001 to 2018 and 1.5 percent a year from 2018 to 2022.“Progress has been made in reducing overall cancer mortality, largely driven by sustained declines in lung cancer,” according to the report “The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer (ARN).”To decrease the odds of dying from cancer, 20 years of data reported by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) suggests to stop any kind of tobacco use, and focus on weight loss.Improvement in Cancer MortalityThere may be room for even more improvement if tobacco use continues to decline and innovation in lung cancer treatment continues. More screening (only about 18 percent of eligible adults are tested for lung cancer) for that form of the disease could also help catch it earlier, thus leading to more effective treatment.“Despite remarkable progress, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death,” according to the report.However, the incidence of cancers associated with obesity grew during the 20-year study period. Those forms of cancer include female breast, uterus, colon and rectum, pancreas, kidney, and liver cancers.“Contrary to the rapid declines in incidence rates in smoking-associated cancers, incidence rates are increasing for multiple cancers, particularly those associated with excess body weight,” according to the report.Signs of Successful Cancer TreatmentsAlthough the report doesn’t explicitly state it, one positive picture the data paints is that cancer treatment seems to show slow, steady improvement. That’s because, broadly speaking, cancer incidence isn’t dropping as steadily as cancer deaths. In men, diagnoses decreased from 2001 through 2013 and then plateaued through 2021. In women, overall cancer incidence actually rose slightly every year from 2003 through 2021, except for 2020.There are also some disease-specific indicators that point to improved cancer treatment. For example, although new diagnoses of breast cancer slowly rose over the study period, the death rate from it decreased in the same time frame.Gender DifferencesThe data also points out many gender differences in terms of both cancer incidence and mortality. For instance, even though rates have declined, then steadied in men, while they are slowly ticking up in women, men still have both an overall higher incident rate and death rate than women.Different forms of the disease are prominent in each gender. Prostate cancer is the most common form in men, while stomach cancer leads in prevalence in women.Although not universal, the data also shows some variations by race and ethnicity. For example, Black women with breast cancer have a 40 percent higher death rate than White women with the disease, “[…] a disparity that has persisted for decades,” according to the report.More Cancer Battles AheadIn general, the report summarizes gradual progress in the war against cancer, but could benefit from more attention and progress in specific battles.“Overall, cancer incidence and death rates continue to decline, representing changes in risk factors, increases in screening utilization, and advances in treatment. However, sustained disparities by race and ethnicity emphasize the need to fully understand the factors that create these differences so that they can be mitigated,” the report concluded.This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.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: U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI). Annual Report to the Nation: Cancer deaths continue to declineBefore joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

Graphic showing the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Ridge (red line) and how melting ice from Greenland caused changes in the motion of Earth's crust (purple arrows). (Image Credit: Tao Yuan and Shijie Zhong) NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsMelting glaciers in North America 10,000 years ago may have given continental drift a bit of a push. Similar activity in Greenland now could eventually trigger volcanic eruptions in Iceland.Geoscientists modeled a chain of events that demonstrate how sea level rise impacts plate tectonics, they report in the journal Nature.“As ice volume was greatly reduced, it caused a huge motion in Earth’s crust,” Tao Yuan, a graduate student at Colorado University, Boulder, and an author of the paper, said in a press release. “Scientists knew that the ice melting caused the plates to uplift. But we show that they also moved a lot horizontally due to the ice melting.”Ice Melting and Plate TectonicsThe geoscientists based their simulation’s start at 26,000 years ago, when the Laurentide Ice Sheet, which covered much of North America, started receding. Melting ice raised sea levels just under half an inch a year, they calculated.This global thaw may have sped up the tectonic plate on which much of North America sits by up to 25 percent between 12,000 years and 6,000 years ago. The melt may have also increased the rate at which the North American and Eurasian plates spread apart by as much as 40 percent.Read More: 5 of the Most Explosive Volcanic EruptionsRethinking Continental Drift's SpeedThe study may cause us to rethink the speed at which plate tectonics occurs. The process has long been considered a slow, leisurely (dare we say glacial?) one. Shorter bursts of activity — at least on a geological timescale — may also have important impacts on how the planet reshapes itself in the future.“That story that we’ve been telling for a long, long time — that processes like seafloor spreading and continental drift operate at timescales of millions of years driven by Earth’s internal engine, thermal convection,” Shijie Zhong, a CU, Boulder physics and co-author of the paper, said in a press release. “That’s still true, but we show that glacial forcing can also cause significant motion on relatively short timescales of 10,000 years.”The simulation especially focused on the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Ridge — the area where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. That feature runs through the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and cuts through Iceland. Movement from the two plates allows magma from deep within the planet to bubble up. As the molten rock cools into a solid, the pressure slowly forces the plates that hold North America and Europe farther apart.Implications for IcelandThe textbook rate that many scientists have held as a consensus was just under an inch a year over the past two million years. The new simulation shows there might be some fluctuations in that speed, depending on how fast glaciers melt, sea levels rise, and perhaps other factors.For now, the speed at which Greenland’s ice sheet is melting doesn’t appear to be increasing the rate of the planet’s continental drift. However, if the melt accelerates — a distinct possibility if the planet’s rate of warming continues to increase — it could still impact Iceland within the next several hundred years.“Ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica are still melting,” Yuan said in the release. “We think the ice melting could enhance seafloor spreading and volcanism at nearby mid-ocean ridges in the future.”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:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.1 free article leftWant More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/monthSubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In1 free articleSubscribeWant more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99!SubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In

Tales of gladiators going head-to-head with ferocious lions in ancient Rome’s coliseum are legendary. Scenes of such deadly combat have been portrayed in stories, paintings, and mosaics (a Man versus Big Cat conflict was even suggested in the movie “Gladiator,” but never actually depicted). But until now, there has never been any direct physical evidence that such contests took place.A discovery showing tooth marks on a human bone suggests that these artistic accounts are more journalistic than fictional. It represents the first piece of archeological forensic evidence that man versus lion matches did, indeed happen during the Roman Empire, according to an article in PLOS One.“For years, our understanding of Roman gladiatorial combat and animal spectacles has relied heavily on historical texts and artistic depictions,” Tim Thompson, an archeologist from Maynooth University, Ireland and lead author of the study, said in a press release. “This discovery provides the first direct, physical evidence that such events took place in this period, reshaping our perception of Roman entertainment culture.”Roman Gladiator Evidence in EnglandLesions on the left iliac spine of 6DT19. (Image Credit: From the research paper: Unique osteological evidence for human-animal gladiatorial combat in Roman Britain)The evidence comes not from Italy, but, rather a Roman cemetery in York, England. It turns out that the city, famous for its massive gothic Minster cathedral, is also home to a gladiator graveyard.An 1800-year-old cemetery lies on the Roman road leading out of York. Excavation began there in 2004. Archaeologists since then have examined 82 male skeletons. But there was no conclusive evidence that the remains of what appeared to be robust young men were anyone other than soldiers or slaves — until now.“The bite marks were likely made by a lion, which confirms that the skeletons buried at the cemetery were gladiators, rather than soldiers or slaves, as initially thought and represent the first osteological confirmation of human interaction with large carnivores in a combat or entertainment setting in the Roman world,” Malin Holst, a lecturer at University of York’s Department of Archaeology and an author of the paper, said in the press release.Lion Attack Wounds Discovered on the SkeletonMarble relief with lion and gladiator. (Image Credit: © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.)Researchers compared bite marks on the skeleton to sample bites from a lion at a zoo and determined they matched. The wound did not appear to have healed and was likely the man’s cause of death. The man, who archaeologists estimated was between 26 years and 35 years old, also appears to have been decapitated following his demise, which may have been part of a Roman burial ritual then.The burial location also indicates that gladiator competitions during the Roman Empire weren’t just limited to Rome.“We often have a mental image of these combats occurring at the grand surroundings of the Colosseum in Rome, but these latest findings show that these sporting events had a far reach, well beyond the center of core Roman territories," Holst said. “An amphitheater probably existed in Roman York, but this has not yet been discovered.”Read More: The Hierarchy of the 1,200-Year-Long Roman EmpireArticle 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:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

Australia’s giant kangaroos of yesteryear were likely homebodies — and that inclination ultimately did them in.The massive marsupial megaherbivores, which, at an estimated 375 pounds, weighed more than twice as much as contemporary kangaroos, really had no reason to wander. Until about 280,000 years ago, they lived in a plant-eater’s Eden — a lush rainforest that, to them, probably seemed like the ultimate salad bar.But their inability — or unwillingness — likely led to their extinction when the climate started changing, according to a new study in the journal PLOS ONE. Extinction of Giant KangaroosEarlier studies proposed that Protemnodon didn’t have the physical ability to hop very far. Their unwieldy size and ungainly body shape rendered them unsuitable for long-distance foraging. This runs contrary to large mammalian herbivores, in which the bigger the body size, the wider the foraging range. Consider the buffalo. Studies of other ancient kangaroo species suggest they were hunted to extinction, although that view remains controversial.A new study gives the theory of marsupial stasis more credence. Researchers analyzed Strontium isotopes from Protemnodon teeth found in Mt. Etna Caves in central Queensland. The dental isotopes only matched the local limestone, rather than any rocks or minerals from more distant areas. The researchers concluded the animals had a smaller foraging area than expected.As the climate turned drier, the increasing aridity dried out Protemnodon’s grazing zone. Their inability to locate greener pastures ultimately led to their extinction. The researchers were surprised at just how geographically limited the giant kangaroo’s dining zones appeared.“Using data from modern kangaroos, we predicted these giant extinct kangaroos would have much larger home ranges,” Christopher Laurikainen Gaete, a researcher at the University of Wollongong, Australia, and an author of the paper, said in a press release. “We were astounded to find that they didn’t move far at all, with ranges mirroring smaller modern kangaroo species.”Researching Giant MarsupialsThe researchers still don’t know if this relatively limited grazing range was true for all Australian giant marsupials of the same time period. They are unsure if Protemnodon's extinction due to its inability to roam was an isolated incident. More research will be required to determine that those giant marsupials, unlike massive foraging mammals, have home ranges tied more to their habitat than their body size.The relatively new method of tracking dental strontium remnants may help resolve that question sooner, rather than later.“These new isotopic techniques have blown our field wide open. Imagine ancient GPS trackers — we can use the fossils to track individuals and know where they moved, what they ate, who they lived with and how they died,” Scott Hocknull, a paleontologist at the Queensland Museum and an author of the study, said in the news release. “It’s Paleo Big Brother.”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:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

One small dose of a psychedelic compound could help brains better adapt to changing circumstances, potentially improving treatments for those struggling with depression, PTSD, and neurodegenerative diseases, according to experiments conducted in mice. The results of the study were reported in the journal Psychedelics. "What makes this discovery particularly significant is the sustained duration of cognitive benefits following just one psychedelic dose," Omar J. Ahmed, a psychology researcher at the University of Michigan and a co-author of the study, said in a press release. "We observed enhanced learning adaptability that persisted for weeks, suggesting these compounds may induce lasting and behaviorally meaningful neuroplasticity changes in the prefrontal cortex."Measuring Cognitive FlexibilityFigure 1. Experimental timeline and overview. (A) Experimental timeline. (B) Schematic of the SEQFR2-forward protocol. Mice have to sequentially poke left and then right within 30 s to earn a reward pellet. (C) Schematic of the SEQFR2-reversal protocol. Mice now are required to poke right and then left within 30 s to get a reward pellet. (Image Credit: Omar J Ahmed)In the experiments, researchers treated mice with a single dose of a potent hallucinogen called 25CN-NBOH. That chemical binds very specifically to a serotonin receptor, then activates it. Serotonin receptors are often associated with depression.Mice treated with the compound performed better than the mice that were not. The improvements lasted two to three weeks following administration. The results were similar in both male and female mice.The researchers essentially tested how well they could adapt to changes in rules required to perform a particular task. Such tests are considered standard ways to measure what scientists call “cognitive flexibility” — the ability to try new approaches to accomplish the same job. The mice treated with the psychedelic showed a better ability to adapt than ones who received a saline solution instead. The psychedelic mice also performed their tasks both more efficiently and more accurately.Microdosing Psychedelics as TreatmentBoth interest in and research of psychedelics as treatment have increased in recent years. Microdosing — providing tiny amounts of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin or LSD to treat some mental health conditions have shown small, but promising results. However, larger trials involving a variety of doses to more people over more time will likely be necessary before such treatments become commonly prescribed to humans by psychiatrists. Some researchers are also calling for more rigorous standards to evaluate such drugs. More to Research for PsychedelicsAuthors of the new mouse study agree there needs to be more research — especially in exactly how these compounds essentially rewire the brain. But they are encouraged that a single dose seems to have relatively long-lasting effects in mice.“A key question is what happens with two, three, or even twenty doses taken over several months,” Ahmed said. “Is every additional dose increasingly beneficial for flexible learning or is there a plateau effect or even a negative effect of too many doses? These are important questions to answer next in the quest to make psychedelic medicine more rational and mechanistic.”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:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

Dogs aren’t just our pets. We also see them as our friends and family members. But do we get the same things out of our interactions with our dogs that we get out of our interactions with our human friends and family? Having set out to answer this question in a study in Scientific Reports, a team of researchers from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Hungary has revealed that our relationships with our dogs are a lot like our relationships with our children and our closest friends, albeit with much more control. “The results highlight that dogs occupy a unique place in our social world — offering the emotional closeness of a child, the ease of a best friend, and the predictability of a relationship shaped by human control — revealing why our bonds with them are often so deeply fulfilling,” said Enikő Kubinyi, a study author and an ethologist (an animal behavior biologist) at ELTE, according to a press release.A Combination of Child and Close FriendWhile dogs are certainly our close companions, whether we relate to them in exactly the same way that we relate to our friends or family members isn’t entirely clear. Seeking to add clarity, Kubinyi and her colleagues compared the relationships between humans and dogs with those between humans and humans, asking more than 700 participants to rate the characteristics of their bonds with their dog, child, romantic partner, closest relative, and closest friend.Taken together, the participants’ responses indicate that their interactions with their dogs provided more satisfaction than their interactions with their relatives and their friends, and about as much satisfaction as their interactions with their children and romantic partners. The participants also reported that their relationships with their dogs yielded more companionship and nurturance than their relationships with their romantic partners, relatives, and friends, and about the same amount of affection, reassurance, and reliability as their relationships with their children.Not only that, the participants also relayed that they felt their interactions with their dogs caused fewer conflicts and less antagonism than their interactions with their romantic partners, relatives, and children.Overall, the results show that our connections with our dogs resemble our connections with our children and close friends, combining the higher levels of support in child relationships and the lower levels of negative interaction in close friend relationships, with an added plus of relative power. In fact, relative power is one of the biggest distinctions between our interactions with our dogs and our human friends and family, the research seems to suggest.“The power asymmetry, having control over a living being, is a fundamental aspect of dog ownership for many,” Kubinyi said in the release. “Unlike in human relationships, dog owners maintain full control over their dogs as they make most of the decisions, contributing to the high satisfaction owners report.”Read More: Why Do Dogs Tilt Their Heads to One Side?A Satisfying, Supportive ConnectionWhile the research was mostly concerned with comparing human-dog and human-human relationships, the ELTE researchers also considered how our ties with dogs and humans connect to each other. Assessing their participants’ responses, they found that stronger human-dog relationships corresponded with stronger human-human relationships, indicating that these two types of bonds are complementary rather than compensatory. “We expected that people with weak human relationships would rely more on their dogs for support, but our results contradict this,” said Dorottya Ujfalussy, another study author and ethologist at ELTE, according to the release. “In our sample, people did not seem to use dogs to compensate for the insufficient support in their human relationships.” According to the researchers, the participants of the study were self-selected, meaning that they were probably happier with their dogs than the typical dog owners are. That said, the study still contributes to our understanding of our relationships with dogs, which provide us with satisfaction and support in various important ways. “Dogs offer different kinds of emotional and social support depending on the needs of their owners,” said Borbála Turcsán, another study author and ethologist at ELTE, according to the release. “Some people seek companionship and fun, others need trust and stability, and some simply enjoy having someone to care for.”Read More: How Does Your Dog Understand You?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:Sam 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.

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have announced the discovery of a color never before seen by the human eye. Through a new study, published in Science Advances, researchers used a pulsing laser on study participants to stimulate a part of the eye. Study participants reported that after their eyes were stimulated, they saw a new shade of blue-green. Outside researchers dispute the claim, saying that more study is needed to prove that this is indeed a new color. However, researchers associated with the study say that this new information could contribute to research on color blindness. Simulating Novel Colors Our eyes process colors and images through photoreceptors — rods and cones. These photoreceptors are located in the back of the eye on the retina. From the retina, images are sent via neurological and chemical signals to the brain, where those signals are perceived as an image. The cone cells in the retina are responsible for seeing color, and they include “short (S), medium (M), and long (L) wavelength cones.” Each one is more sensitive to blue, red, or green wavelengths. According to the study authors, to see a novel color, the S and L cones need to be bypassed, and the M cone needs to be isolated. “Theoretically, novel colors are possible through bypassing the constraints set by the cone spectral sensitivities and activating M cone cells exclusively,” the authors wrote in their study. Finding the New Color: OloTo achieve the results of this study, the research team used a device called “Oz,” which is composed of mirrors, lasers, and other optical components. The research team then used Oz to shine a pulsing laser beam into one of the study participants’ eyes. There were five participants in all, four male and one female. Three of the participants were also co-authors of the study. The Oz machine works by only stimulating the M cells in the eye, allowing the study participant to see the novel color “olo” a “blue-green of unprecedented saturation,” according to the study. However, without Oz, it wouldn’t be possible to see olo with the naked eye alone. The participants could “color match” olo to the best of their ability using a set of dials to adjust the hue and saturation of the color until it was closest to olo. The Future of Oz TechnologyWhile it could be a magnificent feat to have discovered a new color, olo is still up for debate. However, Oz’s technology is still relatively new, and more research and fine-tuning will be needed before this technology can be used on a more accessible scale. “Oz represents a new class of experimental platform for vision science and neuroscience, which strives for complete control of the first neural layer to the brain, programmability of every photoreceptor’s activation at every point in time,” the authors wrote in the study. However, as this technology advances, it may help further our understanding of color blindness and give people the ability to perceive the world like those with tetrachromacy (extra-sensitive color vision) can. Read More: Our Eyes May Hold Evolutionary SecretsArticle 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:A graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.

One of the world’s greatest mysteries is how life on Earth began. Scientists have long sought to decipher where and how prebiotic molecules — those that preceded life — emerged. A new study suggests that the answers lie somewhere out in space, based on a recreation of the conditions in interstellar clouds that likely gave our planet a biological jumpstart.The study, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicates that asteroid and comet impacts possibly supplied Earth with molecules essential for life-sustaining chemical reactions. It also signals that a better understanding of outer space chemistry could even hold implications for life elsewhere in the universe. How Did Life Start on Earth?Life arose on Earth somewhere between 3.5 billion years and 3.8 billion years ago, yet the circumstances that allowed this to happen have been subject to constant speculation. Scientists are concerned with how abiogenesis — the inception of life from non-living matter — could have occurred in the first place; some theories state that certain environments on Earth, like hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean or terrestrial hot springs, drove prebiotic processes. The true catalyst for life, however, may have arrived from space. Despite the cold, icy conditions of interstellar clouds scattered between star systems, these regions contain a variety of prebiotic molecules. Simulating Interstellar SpaceResearchers involved with the new study were able to form complex carboxylic acids by simulating the conditions of interstellar space — these organic compounds are important components of metabolism, the process in living organisms that converts food into energy. They focused on molecules involved in the Krebs cycle, a series of reactions that cause cells to produce energy in nearly all living organisms. To produce the prebiotic molecules, the researchers first froze simple gases to near absolute zero. The frozen gases were then exposed to "ubiquitous galactic cosmic ray proxies” and then slowly warmed to imitate the heating that happens as new stars form, according to a statement.This method yielded organic acids associated with the Krebs cycle (including mono-, di-, and tricarboxylic acids), which have also been previously found on asteroids and meteorites. Samples from the asteroids Ryugu and Bennu, which were brought back to Earth, contained prebiotic molecules, for example. “This work shows that the basic ingredients for life’s chemistry could have been made in space, long before Earth even formed,” said Ralf I. Kaiser, a chemist at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, in a statement. The Search for Prebiotic MoleculesThe researchers say that prebiotic molecules from space dust and gas may have been carried to Earth by comets and asteroids. Around 4 billion years ago, Earth went through a tumultuous period known as the “late heavy bombardment,” when severe comet and asteroid impacts made the planet too hot to support the existence of water and carbon-based life. However, near the very end of this period, 3.8 billion years ago, life was able to form relatively quickly. This may have stemmed from less intense collisions that delivered prebiotic molecules to Earth after the late heavy bombardment subsided. The search for evidence of extraterrestrial life has accelerated in recent years, and carbon-rich asteroids, known as C-type asteroids, are high on the list of sources to explore. NASA's Lucy spacecraft has already embarked on a journey to meet multiple asteroids in space, set to fly by eight different ones over a 12-year period. The spacecraft will scan the surfaces of Trojan asteroids (which follow Jupiter's orbit around the Sun) for organic compounds, which may provide further insight into prebiotic chemistry in space. 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:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Abiotic origin of the citric acid cycle intermediates Communications Earth and Environment. Prebiotic membrane structures mimic the morphology of alleged early traces of life on EarthNASA. The Lucy SpacecraftJack Knudson is an assistant editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and previously interned at Recycling Today magazine.

(Image Credit: Mopic/Shutterstock) NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsIn March 2024, a plane carrying the UK defense minister had its GPS signal jammed as it travelled close to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on a journey between the UK and Poland. The UK government later said the plane was never in danger but that jamming incidents were not unusual in the region. Indeed, various groups have noted that GPS jamming has become common since the start of the Russian-Ukraine war. For decades, the standard backup for this kind of navigational failure has been inertial navigation, a method for tracking motion using accelerometers and gyroscopes. But these systems have an inherent weakness: tiny errors add up over time, causing position estimates to drift, potentially by many kilometers over long journeys. That makes them unacceptable in many critical applications. What navigators desperately need is a new way to work out where they are that does not rely on satellite signals that can be jammed. Ideally, this system should be entirely passive so that it does not reveal its own location, unlike radar, for example. Now Murat Muradoğlu and colleagues at Q-CTRL, a quantum technology company with offices in Sydney, Australia, have demonstrated just such a technology. Their approach is to sense anomalies in the Earth’s magnetic field and compare them with a known map of the field to work out their position. And because they use quantum sensors for this process, they can detect magnetic anomalies with much greater sensitivity than previously possible and significantly better than a high-end inertial navigation system. The Q-CTRL system has the potential to be a passive, unjammable and universally available navigation aid that could revolutionize how vehicles find their way in environments where global navigation satellite systems are unavailable.Landmark AdvanceThe concept behind MagNav isn't new. The Earth's magnetic field isn't perfectly uniform; superimposed on the main field of up to 65,000 nanotesla generated by the planet's core are small, localized variations known as magnetic anomalies. These anomalies typically range in size from 10 to 100 nanoteslas over a few kilometers. They arise from geological features in the Earth's crust and are geographically distinct and stable over time. Just as landmarks allow visual navigation, these magnetic features can serve as signposts. If a vehicle carries a sensitive magnetometer and has access to a map of these anomalies, it can determine its position by matching its real-time magnetic field measurements to the map. Global magnetic anomaly maps already exist, compiled from decades of geophysical surveys.However, translating this elegant concept into a practical system has been challenging. First, the magnetic anomalies used for navigation are tiny compared to the Earth's main field and can also be swamped by magnetic interference generated by the vehicle’s electronics and engines. Second, traditional magnetometers lack the required sensitivity, stability, or small size necessary for deployment on mobile vehicles. The entire process also needs sophisticated algorithms to filter out noise and then match the sensor data, often noisy itself, to the map. In the past, this has required aircraft to perform complex “cloverleaf” maneuvers to calibrate the sensors. Muradoğlu and co tackled these challenges with various hardware and software innovations. At the heart of their system is a proprietary quantum magnetometer, which measures the way an external field influences the spin of rubidium atoms, in a compact, lightweight package about the size of a Rubik’s cube. This hardware is paired with a set of denoising and map-matching algorithms. Unlike traditional approaches that treat noise cancellation and map matching as separate steps, the Q-CTRL software integrates them. It uses a physics-driven model to learn the vehicle's magnetic signature in real-time, as it changes with payloads, for example, and then to subtract it and the platform noise from the signal of interest. To validate their system, the Q-CTRL team conducted extensive field trials. Airborne tests involved flying a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan over 6700 km near Griffith, Australia, at altitudes ranging from near ground level up to 19,000 feet. They tested various configurations, including internally mounted sensors (a high-noise environment) and externally mounted ones, comparing the MagNav performance against a strategic-grade inertial navigation system and against ground truth data from GPS. They also evaluated the system in ground trials in a standard rental van driven over mixed terrain near Orange, NSW. This produced an even harsher noise and vibration environment. “To the best of our knowledge our successful ground-based trials themselves represent a world-first demonstration,” say the team.The results were compelling. Across numerous airborne trials, the quantum-assured MagNav system consistently outperformed the inertial navigation system. " Our MagNav solution achieves superior performance, delivering up to ∼46× better (lower) positioning error than the velocity-aided INS; the best final positioning accuracy we achieve on a flight trial is 22m or 0.006% of the flight distance," say the researchers. In the ground trials, the MagNav system achieved a final accuracy of 180 meters over an 18 km route, despite magnetic noise inside the van reaching levels 50 times greater than the anomaly signal.That’s interesting work with significant implications. Given the increasing vulnerability of GPS systems, much work has gone into alternative forms of navigation but all have limitations. Camera-based terrain navigation and star trackers can fail when the weather is poor; radar and lidar are resilient options but reveal their position and beacon-based navigation systems based on mobile phone towers work poorly over oceans or in remote areas.Q-CTRL’s quantum-assured MagNav has the potential to leapfrog these technologies. “The quantum-assured MagNav solution can outperform the inertial navigation systems across a wide range of conditions,” say Muradoğlu and co.Magnetic Mapping But it is not yet a slam dunk. One challenge will be to improve the resolution and coverage of public domain magnetic maps, which typically have a resolution of a few kilometers. That’s not good enough for many applications. These maps particularly need improving over oceans, where magnetic anomalies tend to be smaller than over land. An important question is how accurate the maps can be made. Then there is the problem of geomagnetic storms caused by solar activity. These storms can generate fields that dwarf anomalies this system depends on for navigation. So it may become necessary to integrate predictive models of geomagnetic activity for path planning.Another factor will be military capabilities developed in secret. “We acknowledge that clandestine demonstrations may exist of which we do not have knowledge,” say the team. The danger is that the military systems outperform Q-CTRL’s making it obsolete. Other “unjammable” quantum technologies could also compete, such as quantum inertial navigation, which is currently being tested by the UK technology company Infleqtion.All this work suggests a new era of quantum-enabled navigation is dawning that should protect future UK defense ministers and others from jamming attacks. Of course, a new era of hacking, jamming and other nefarious activity cannot be far behind.Ref: Quantum-assured magnetic navigation achieves positioning accuracy better than a strategic-grade INS in airborne and ground-based field trials : arxiv.org/abs/2504.08167aerospace1 free article leftWant More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/monthSubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In1 free articleSubscribeWant more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99!SubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In

(Credit: Timekeep/Shutterstock)NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsDavid Kaplan has been working with silk for decades, molding and shaping it into scaffolds, sponges, and films. His lab, the Kaplan Lab, is strewn with the substance, stacked with cases of silk cocoons and wads of silk from around the world, all awaiting their transformation into new forms. Kaplan, a biomedical engineer at Tufts University, has studied silk since the 1990s, uncovering ways to build bodily tissues from its fibers. But centuries before Kaplan was born, healers turned to silk to solve medicine’s most pressing problems.With strength that rivals steel and unique compatibility with the human body, silk is an ideal material for everything from wound closure to drug delivery. Today, scientists are still taking advantage of silk’s abilities, positioning the ancient fiber to play a role in modern medicine as a multipurpose biomedical material.The story of silk begins in China, where it was supposedly woven into the fabric of society around 2700 B.C.E. According to ancient Chinese lore, the wife of the Yellow Emperor was sipping hot tea under a mulberry tree when the cocoon of a silkworm, the larva of a silk moth, fell into her cup. The hot liquid dissolved the cocoon’s sticky coating, causing the cocoon to unravel into a strand of silk. Soon after, the woman began breeding silkworms and weaving their silk strands together, fashioning what were said to be the world’s first silk fabrics.Today, some scientists see a thread of truth in this legendary tale. Biologist Aarathi Prasad, author of Silk: A World History, says that, taken together, genetic traces and archaeological finds suggest that the domestication of silkworms likely began between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago, though artisans may have woven wild silk, sourced from wild silkworms, before then. In fact, in 2016, Chinese archaeologists announced that they’d found traces of silk in the soil beneath buried bodies in the tombs of Jiahu, in Central China, from around 8,500 years ago. Though the strands likely came from wild silkworms, they may have been woven into silk fabrics, as weaving tools were also found at the site.Many creatures make cocoons out of silk to protect themselves against predators and disease, including myriad moth and spider species from around the world. But silk has historically been sourced from the domesticated Bombyx mori silkworm, which was relatively easy to domesticate. “It’s not that it was a better silk, but it was a more usable silk,” Prasad says. While the fibers spun by spiders are stronger than those spun by silkworms, spiders tend to eat each other, posing a tremendous domestication barrier.Once laid, B. mori eggs hatch into teeny larvae that feed on huge amounts of mulberry leaves until they’re so fat they can barely move. That’s when the silkworms begin to spin cocoons to shield themselves from harm as they transform into moths. To make silk, B. mori produce a composite strand of two proteins — fibroin and sericin. Fibroin serves as the silk’s structural core, while sericin serves as the silk’s sticky coating, causing the silk to adhere to itself and allowing the cocoon to stick together. While the proteins are stored as a liquid gel inside the silkworm’s silk glands, it’s the process of being stretched and spun through a nozzle near the worm’s jaws that transform the proteins into a solid, structured fiber.B. mori silkworms spin threads that are thinner and stronger than a strand of human hair, with a single cocoon containing as many as 5,000 feet of continuous, composite thread. Silk’s remarkably repetitive molecular structure gives the material its tensile strength, while the molecules themselves grant its biocompatibility and biodegradability. In fact, by boiling the cocoons in an alkaline solution and removing the sticky sericin, sericulturists, or silk producers, untangle threads that are compatible with the body, and capable of breaking down slowly.Just as silk protects silkworms, it helps humans heal, and has done so for thousands of years. In ancient Greece and Rome, for instance, healers had already recognized a role for silk, both spider and silkworm, in covering and closing wounds. Not only did ancient Greeks and Romans bundle up bunches of spider silk to serve as bandages; they also used silkworm silk as a suture material, thanks to its strength and slow breakdown in the body.Centuries of selective breeding have created B. mori moths that are blind and bright white, so they can’t see or blend in with their surroundings. Their wings are so stubby they can’t fly. And the females are engorged with hundreds of eggs waiting to be fertilized. “They can’t go very far,” Prasad says, discussing the domestic silk moth’s suitability as a source of silk. “They have to be fed by humans and bred by humans.”Galen, in particular, used the material to stitch injured tendons in gladiators. “Let ligatures be of a material that does not rot easily,” the Greek physician and philosopher wrote in his anthology of medical treatment, De Methodo Medendi, or “Method of Medicine,” around 150 C.E. Centuries later, in the 1500s, the French surgeon Ambroise Paré used vascular ligatures made of silk to avoid cauterizing wounds with boiling oil. Even later, in the 1860s, the British surgeon Joseph Lister introduced the first sterile silk sutures, cleaned of contaminants using a solution of carbolic acid. Silk’s strength has made sterilized silk sutures popular in modern times, too. Known for their knot security and smooth passage through tissue, they’re especially useful in ophthalmic, neurological, and cardiovascular procedures, where fine quality and precision are critical. Yet, sutures aren’t the extent of silk’s modern medical utility.In much the same way that silk cocoons unravel, silk unravels, too, when rid of its sericin and transformed into an aqueous solution of pure fibroin fiber. Perfected by Kaplan in the 1990s, this process of reverse engineering, or “unspinning,” silk unlocks its potential as a versatile building block, allowing the substance to be turned into gels, sponges, sheets, and inks — all sorts of things — all for the benefit of human health.Molded into implants in Kaplan’s lab, researchers reconstitute silk into structures that mimic the human body, supporting cell growth and tissue reformation. According to Kaplan, silk’s compatibility with cells and customizable properties make it ideal for 3D scaffolds that help cells regenerate.Researchers can control the density, strength, and structure of the scaffolds by modifying the water content. “There’s no limit to size and scale, and you can use almost any processing method — extrusion, 3D printing, casting, et cetera,” Kaplan says. Once implanted, the silk stays the same size and shape until the body’s tissues reform and replace it. “There’s not a single part of the human body that hasn’t been recreated in silk [from a] research perspective,” says Chris Holland, a biomaterials scientist at the University of Sheffield, from “the covering of your eye through to your teeth, through to everything.”With the help of his colleague, Fiorenzo Omenetto, a fellow biomedical engineer at Tufts University and the director of the school’s Silklab, Kaplan has even designed a silk scaffold for healing a human cornea. Thinner than a single, composite strand of B. mori silk, the transparent film gives corneal cells sufficient space to grow, while the tiny holes poked throughout the scaffold ensure that the growing cells get enough oxygen. Other research from Kaplan turns to silk for bone and blood vessel repair, skin regeneration, and regrowth of cartilage, connective tissues, and ligaments. And similar treatments are already available to patients. SilkVoice, an injectable implant made from silk, augments damaged and deformed vocal cords, improving their production of sound. Tied to the Kaplan Lab, it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2018.Since ancient times, healers have recognized silk’s protective potential. Beyond bandages and sutures, silk was used in military uniforms, including the body armor of Mongol and Chinese soldiers in the Middle Ages, not only for its strength, but also for its ability to shield wounds, saving them from further injury. If an arrow struck, the fabric would stick to the injury, protecting it, Prasad says, while also wrapping around the arrowhead, making it easier to remove. In this way, silk serves its original purpose when transformed into a biomaterial, protecting the body without bothering the immune system. “Silk is pretty boring, and I mean that in a good way,” Kaplan says. “That’s what makes [it] so special.” Once inside the body, the silk fibroin is inoffensive. There’s no immune reaction to it, and it stays innocuous as it degrades. “It’s the inherited chemistry and structure that is very quiet in the body,” Kaplan adds. Adding to silk’s suitability as a biomedical material, scientists can also manipulate their silk solutions, modifying their shape and structure and adding substances to their mix to speed up or slow down silk’s degradation. “We can control it,” Kaplan says of the silk’s breakdown, citing silk-based screws and plates that dissolve anywhere from a week to a year after implantation, depending on the amount of water or enzymes that scientists add into their silk-fibroin solutions. Some of these silk implants are even infused with antibiotics, allowing them to fend off infection as they degrade. A natural preservative, silk even maintains the integrity of blood samples and vaccines for months at a time. Another offshoot of Kaplan’s work is a sustained-release vaccination patch called MIMIX, which features silk-based microneedles. Molded from a vaccine-infused silk fibroin solution, the microneedles penetrate the skin and slowly dissolve, releasing the vaccine over a period of days to months, resulting in fewer side effects and enhanced immune response. Silk’s unique structure can help other drugs stay stable, too, adhering to drug molecules so they can’t break down, protecting them from water and preventing their degradation until delivery.When Kaplan became interested in the medical properties of silk, the research was relatively sparse, restricted to silk sutures. “There was almost no other research on [the] medical uses of silk, which was quite puzzling,” he says. Now there are thousands of studies on silk’s medical potential, though they only scratch the surface of the material’s modern promise. Even today, Kaplan is finding new uses for silk at the Kaplan Lab, testing the success of tiny silk particles as drug delivery systems and of transportable silk sprays as treatments for burns.From ancient lands to modern operating rooms, silk’s applications have changed over time, transforming alongside advances in medical technology. But the sources of silk, the silkworm cocoons and the silkworms themselves, have remained incredibly consistent — a result of many millennia of B. mori cultivation. “This is a tried and tested biomanufacturing system,” Holland says, “optimized for 4,000 or 5,000 years through domestication.” Bridging the gap between ancient wisdom and modern science, B. mori silk is thus sewn into the tapestry of medical history. A blend of consistency, compatibility, and versatility, it reminds us that even the most modern solutions may be woven within the threads of the past.This article was published in our May-June 2025 print issue of the magazine.1 free article leftWant More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/monthSubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In1 free articleSubscribeWant more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99!SubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In

L-tyrosine, also simply known as tyrosine, is an amino acid and a building block our bodies use to produce protein. Though our bodies make tyrosine from another amino acid called phenylalanine, it has become a popular and trendy dietary supplement due to a wide range of purported health benefits.What are L-tyrosine Supplements?Tyrosine supplements are slated with a wide range of cognitive benefits, particularly in stressful situations, as a memory aid, to help with sleep, lift moods, and boost motivation. There are also claims that it can be used to treat conditions such as depression and ADHD. It’s even been dubbed an “over-the-counter Adderall.” Many of these benefits are fueled and spread via social media, such as TikTok, heightening the hype further with celebrity backers and its appearance in the trend “dopamine menus.”But experts say that caution is needed when assessing many of these claims. Research to back them up is lacking, and studies focused on the effects of supplementing L-tyrosine thus far show mixed results, says Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic Center for Human Nutrition.What L-tyrosine Supplements Are Used ForL-tyrosine is a component of important neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. It also plays an important role in the body’s production of melanin. The amino acid’s role in producing mood regulators means it could be associated with depression, for example. But studies investigating this have mostly included animals, says Zampano. “Researchers think that this could be the case in humans, but that’s not for certain,” she says.That applies to those who take it to alleviate stress as well. Studies suggest that supplementing with L-tyrosine may help improve cognition when under stress. That may be because when stressed, the body can’t make enough tyrosine. One study, published in 2013, found that taking L-tyrosine supplements helped improve participants’ memory when carrying out a mentally taxing challenge.But the use of supplements to tackle stress is not recommended, according to another paper, and more research is needed. Similarly, athletes often take L-tyrosine supplements because it is believed to boost performance and endurance, particularly in hot or cold conditions. Again, however, research has come up with mixed results, leaving its overall effectiveness unclear.Zampano adds that, in general, there isn’t yet concrete data to definitely say whether people need to supplement with tyrosine or not. “I would say, definitely, err on the side of caution,” she says, with more research needed to investigate many of L-tyrosine’s supposed benefits and also better understand the long-term effects of supplementation.Potential Side Effects of Taking L-tyrosine Supplements First and foremost, anyone concerned about any health-related symptoms or considering taking L-tyrosine supplements should consult a medical professional first, she says. That’s a recommendation that extends to other supplements as well.“We know supplements are a huge industry, and not all of them are safe, so it's very important to make sure you're taking good, high-quality supplements that are third-party tested,” she says. “I think it's important to understand what your purpose would be to take it, since we can make it on our own,” she adds.Some people with a serious health condition called phenylketonuria, which means their bodies cannot process phenylalanine, may have to take supplements, though this is not part of routine clinical practice, as its efficacy is unclear. Treatment for this condition usually involves a low phenylalanine diet and avoiding certain foods. But for most people, as our bodies make L-tyrosine, deficiencies are unlikely.A wide range of foods are a source of L-tyrosine, including cheese, sesame seeds, meat and poultry, fish, some soy products, and nuts.Though supplementing with L-tyrosine is generally considered safe, it can have side effects, particularly if someone consumes more than the recommended daily dose.  Those effects can include headaches, insomnia, stomach upset, and vomiting.“You could easily increase the tyrosine in your food sources and try to see if that helps,” Zampano says. “But I wouldn't jump to supplements, especially not without guidance from a medical professional.”This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.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:Psych Central. Does L-Tyrosine Help ADHD Symptoms?Mount Sinai. TyrosineFrontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. Working Memory Reloaded: Tyrosine Repletes Updating in the N-Back TaskNIH. PhenylketonuriaCochrane Database of Systematic reviews. Tyrosine supplementation for phenylketonuriaSean Mowbray is a freelance writer based in Scotland. He covers the environment, archaeology, and general science topics. His work has also appeared in outlets such as Mongabay, New Scientist, Hakai Magazine, Ancient History Magazine, and others.

Mental health for U.S. children has declined before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic — a substantial break in a trend that has long shown this age group generally reports feelings of happiness and well-being, according to a report in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.Children under 18 years reported a slow, steady climb in anxiety and depression from 2016 to 2022. In contrast, incidents of physical health problems, such as asthma, severe headache or migraine, and heart conditions declined or remained the same. The study was based on publicly available data from the National Survey of Children’s Health that were analyzed by researchers from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.“Our findings underscore the critical need to prioritize youth mental health, which continued to worsen even as we emerged from the pandemic,” Marie Hefferman, a researcher at Northwestern University’s medical school and an author of the paper, said in a press release. “Parents and schools need more support to be better equipped to help children suffering from anxiety or depression,” she said.Youth Happiness in DeclineThe percentage of U.S. children with anxiety jumped from 7.1 percent in 2016 to 10.6 percent in 2022 (the most recent year for which data was available), while depression increased from 3.2 percent to 4.6 percent in the same period. ADD/ADHD increased slightly, but did not meet a statistically significant threshold. Problems with behavior or conduct remained about the same.The data revealed the opposite trajectory for some physical health issues. Asthma declined from 8.4 percent to 6.5 percent, and severe headaches or migraines went down from 3.5 percent to 2.6 percent. The percentage of children with heart conditions did not change over the study period.U-Shaped Curve for HappinessAlthough this is just one study, it echoes concerns from other recent research that shows the so-called “U-shaped curve” for happiness is collapsing. That curve has long shown younger people with high happiness levels, which decline into middle age. Life satisfaction starts climbing again as people head into their retirement years.For a long time, the “U” might as well have stood for universal. It’s been replicated in over 600 studies, ranging from wealthy to developing nations; English- and non-English-speaking countries; in places with both high and low incomes and life expectancies.This trend has taken a worrisome turn. Researchers who have long monitored happiness have seen the curve transform into a steady downward line, starting in the mid 2010s. Measures of declining mental health have been showing up globally since then, including in all five Anglo nations and throughout Europe, according to a report.“The long-studied midlife crisis has now been replaced with a mental health crisis of the young… globally,” the report concluded.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:JAMA Pediatrics. Trends in Mental and Physical Health Among YouthsGlobal Interdependence Center. The Global Loss of the U-Shaped Curve of HappinessBefore joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

When you meet a stranger for the first time, how do you judge your potential to be friends? Is it their personality? Their style? Their smile? According to a new study in Scientific Reports, scent might have something to do with it, as smell preferences can predict whether people see each other as potential friends. “People take a lot in when they’re meeting face to face. But scent — which people are registering at some level, though probably not consciously — forecasts whether you end up liking this person,” said Vivian Zayas, a study author and a professor of psychology at Cornell University, according to a press release. Read More: People Are Drawn To Others With Similar Body OdorFinding Friends Through Social OlfactionMany researchers have studied what happens in our minds — and in our olfactory systems — when we meet strangers. But this work is far from finished, as there’s still a lot that we don’t know about the role of olfaction in shaping our social interactions.For instance, while many scientists have studied how olfactory cues inform our interpersonal judgements in romantic situations, few have looked at how they influence us in platonic scenarios. Moreover, while the majority of social olfactory studies have concentrated on our “natural odors,” only a few have focused on “diplomatic odors,” or the “signature scents” that are shaped by our daily choices (like our decisions to use certain fragrances and hygiene products).Hoping to address these gaps in the research, a team of Cornell University scientists set out to determine how diplomatic scents inform platonic interactions between strangers. Enlisting the help of 40 heterosexual participants, all of whom were women aged 18 to 30, the researchers revealed that the participants’ preferences for each other’s diplomatic scents predicted how much they liked each other after a series of short face-to-face interactions.Ultimately, the results improve our understanding of social olfaction, offering new insights into the impact of smell on our relationships.Social Sniff TestsTo arrive at their results, the researchers asked the participants to take part in a series of “speed-friending” interaction sessions, before and after which they evaluated the scents of the other participants by sniffing their previously worn t-shirts. After each of these steps — the first t-shirt smell test, the short face-to-face interaction sessions, and the second t-shirt smell test — the participants were asked to judge their friendship potential with the other participants, either based on the other participants’ scent or conversation.The team found that the judgements in the pre-interaction smell assessments predicted the judgements in the post-interaction conversation assessments, with participants tending to see the same people as potential friends.Adding complexity to olfaction’s impact on our friendships, the researchers also revealed that the participants’ perceptions of conversation quality predicted their perceptions of scent after the interaction, as participants’ post-interaction evaluations of each other’s conversation tended to forecast changes in their post-interaction evaluations of each other’s smells.According to the researchers, the participants’ preferences for particular people’s scents were also relatively individualistic, stable for one participant but unstable from one participant to another.“Everybody showed they had a consistent signature of what they liked,” Zayas said in the release. “And the consistency was not that, in the group, one person smelled really bad and one person smelled really good. No, it was idiosyncratic. I might like person A over B over C based on scent, and this pattern predicts who I end up liking in the chat.”Future research could add additional complexity to our understanding of social olfaction, as well as its role in our relationships. For now, though, it seems safe to say that finding friends may be more of an olfactory process than traditionally thought. 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:Scientific Reports. The Interactive Role of Odor Associations in Friendship PreferencesSam 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.

For years, tales of giant squids roaming the ocean depths lived mostly in folklore and maritime legends — dismissed as mythological creatures without solid scientific backing. These elusive beings were long considered cryptids due to the lack of confirmed evidence.That started to change with mounting clues: squid beaks and body parts discovered in the stomachs of sperm whales, and occasional dead specimens snagged by deep-sea fishing vessels. These rare finds confirmed the creature’s existence and earned the colossal squid the title of largest living invertebrate on Earth, even though no human had ever seen one alive (and lived to tell the tale).Now, right on time for the 100-year anniversary of the colossal squid’s official classification, researchers aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) have captured footage of a juvenile colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) alive in its natural habitat for the very first time.“These unforgettable moments continue to remind us that the ocean is brimming with mysteries yet to be solved,” said Jyotika Virmani, the institute’s executive director in a press statement.Deep-Sea Colossal Squid GiantsWhile a few dead adult specimens have been retrieved in the past, verified sightings of live colossal squids are virtually unheard of. Based on available evidence, these deep-sea giants have been said to reach lengths of up to 23 feet from the mantle to the tip of their tentacles and weigh nearly half a ton — around 1,000 pounds.Their massive size isn’t their only claim to fame. Colossal squids also have the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, about the size of basketballs. These enormous eyes help them navigate the pitch-black waters of the deep sea and spot their main known predator: the sperm whale.In addition to their eight powerful arms, colossal squids have a longer pair of tentacles tipped with hooks — likely used to secure struggling prey or fend off attackers. Beyond these features, much of the squid’s biology and behavior remains a mystery.When the species was first described a century ago, scientists mostly had to rely on remnants like beaks and scars left on whales to piece together what they could. Decades later, our understanding of their life cycle and habits is still in its early stages.Spotting the Colossal SquidAt a depth of about 2,000 feet near the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic, a remotely operated vehicle named SuBastian recorded the groundbreaking footage: a 12-inch-long transparent juvenile squid calmly gliding through the inky ocean.The research team sent the footage to independent experts Kat Bolstad and Aaron Evans, who identified the species based on its tentacle structure and fin shape — confirming the team's hopes that they had, indeed, spotted a living colossal squid.“It’s incredible that we can leverage the power of the taxonomic community through R/V Falkor (too)’s telepresence while we are out at sea,” said expedition leader Michelle Taylor from the University of Essex in the press release.“For 100 years, we have mainly encountered them as prey remains in whale and seabird stomachs and as predators of harvested toothfish,” added Bolstad. “It’s exciting to see the first in situ footage of a juvenile colossal and humbling to think that they have no idea that humans exist.”Peeking Into the UnknownThis isn't the only squid-related breakthrough this year. On a previous Falkor (too) expedition, scientists also recorded a live glacial glass squid (Galiteuthis glacialis) in its natural environment for the first time.That expedition was investigating a newly exposed seafloor ecosystem — revealed when a Chicago-sized iceberg broke away from the ice sheet, revealing a thriving ecosystem underneath.“The first sighting of two different squids on back-to-back expeditions is remarkable,” said Virmani. “It really shows how little we have seen of the magnificent inhabitants of the Southern Ocean.”Discoveries like this fuel excitement for what lies ahead. They remind us that the ocean still holds so many secrets — and we can’t wait to hear about the next one.Read More: Chicago-Sized Iceberg Breaks Away from Ice SheetArticle 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:Marine Bio: Colossal SquidSchmidt Ocean Institute: First Confirmed Footage of a Colossal Squid—and it’s a Baby!Having worked as a biomedical research assistant in labs across three countries, Jenny excels at translating complex scientific concepts – ranging from medical breakthroughs and pharmacological discoveries to the latest in nutrition – into engaging, accessible content. Her interests extend to topics such as human evolution, psychology, and quirky animal stories. When she’s not immersed in a popular science book, you’ll find her catching waves or cruising around Vancouver Island on her longboard.

In February 2025, police found actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, dead in their California home. Authorities now believe that Arakawa died from an infection. Hackman, who had dementia, appeared to have died a week later from an inability to care for himself. Hackman was one of many Americans living with memory loss. Currently, almost 7 million Americans ages 65 and older are living with dementia. The number is predicted to almost double by 2060 while the amount of available caregivers is expected to decrease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.  Can any of these potential dementia cases be prevented? Researchers have been examining which lifestyle factors could help reduce a person’s risk of developing memory loss.How Can One Prevent Dementia?The brain is a complex organ, and although scientists understand how memory loss diseases impact cognition, there is still a lot they would like to learn about prevention and what people can do to reduce their risk.“We don’t have that exact recipe today as to what might be the combination of behaviors that will be most healthy to us as we age. But we’re working on it,” says Heather M. Snyder, a molecular biologist and senior vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer’s Association.Sleep, for example, is poorly understood by scientists, although they know it is crucial for memory processing and cognitive functioning. In recent years, scientists have learned it’s also crucial for preventing dementia. Research indicates that sleep disturbances like sleep apnea, insomnia, and circadian rhythm disorders may put a person at greater risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.Younger people can prioritize sleep as a preventative measure against dementia, but older people may not be able to do the same. Changes to sleep quality are considered a part of the aging process. Being aroused more easily during sleep stages, for example, is a normal experience for many aging people. Researchers are trying to better differentiate when sleep issues among older people should be considered pathological or par for the course.Can Exercise Prevent Dementia?Although sleep is still being studied as a preventative measure against memory loss, scientists have found more firm evidence that exercise can help temper the disease’s progression. In a March 2025 review in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, researchers reported how studies have shown that exercise can stave off dementia by interrupting inflammatory cell death from necroptosis.In one study reviewed in the article, mice were put through a four-month exercise regimen in which moderate to intense exercises were added to their daily mice agendas. The mice were a special type of mouse (SAMP8) that isn’t genetically modified but has an accelerated aging process compared to other mice. They resemble older humans in both the physical sense (hair loss, limited physical abilities) and in how SAMP8 mice can have “spontaneous” cognitive impairment.The study found that the mice who did the four-month exercise regimen had less inflammation and cognitive decline than the control group. The authors concluded that exercise can prevent age-related cognitive decline during the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.Mitigating Memory LossIn addition to physical exercise, researchers are seeing promising studies supporting how cognitive workouts can reduce the risk of memory loss. Practicing a foreign language, learning new information, or taking on a challenging puzzle can protect a person’s neuroplasticity (AKA the ability for neurons to connect, reorganize, and rewire).“Building an increased connectivity in your brain may insulate you from Alzheimer’s or other memory loss diseases,” Snyder says.Listening to a lecture online or attending a class at the library can help a person maintain their neuroplasticity while also helping them socialize and avoid becoming isolated, which researchers associate with an increased risk of memory loss.“There has been a number of studies that find isolation may increase someone’s risk of dementia. Exactly why is unclear,” Snyder says.A person might self-isolate because they are aware they are experiencing memory loss. It’s also possible that a lack of socialization means a person isn’t receiving the cognitive stimulation needed to maintain a strong neuroplasticity.  Promising Science As researchers learn more about which behaviors a person can adopt to reduce their risk of memory loss diseases, they are also testing if pharmaceuticals can help. Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1) that work by simulating hormones that slow a person’s digestion and their drive to eat. Scientists are currently studying whether GLP-1 drugs could be used to treat dementia.Researchers are also looking at data from people taking GLP-1s to see how they compare to the larger population. In one study, data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs examined patients who had taken GLP-1s in a six-year period from 2017 to 2023. The people in the study appeared to have reduced cognitive decline, which may be from the drug’s ability to curb inflammation.Other long-term studies are in the works. Snyder says the Alzheimer’s Association has funded a long-term study that examined interventions such as nutrition, diet, and overall medical monitoring. The study’s first report will be released later this summer.As science works on the answer, Snyder says it’s important that people take their brain health seriously with proper sleep and exercise (both physically and mentally).“It’s never too late to start. It’s those little things that we do in our day-to-day life that may have benefit,” Snyder says.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:Frontiers in Neuroscience. The role of sleep in Alzheimer’s disease: a mini review Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. Targeting necroptosis in Alzheimer’s disease: can exercise modulate neuronal death? Emilie Lucchesi has written for some of the country's largest newspapers, including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and an MA from DePaul University. She also holds a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Illinois-Chicago with an emphasis on media framing, message construction and stigma communication. Emilie has authored three nonfiction books. Her third, A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy, releases October 3, 2023, from Chicago Review Press and is co-authored with survivor Kathy Kleiner Rubin.

Live reconstruction of a Bonapartenykus specimen by Abel G. Montes. (Image Credit: Meso et al. 2025, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/))NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsPaleontologists in Argentina recently found the first unambiguous evidence that a group of theropod dinosaurs had hollow bones capable of holding air sacs – an ability that helps birds fly, according to a study published in PLOS One.The discovery adds to a growing body of research that has revealed that all theropods and sauropods may have had bones with air sacs.“This is one feature that they inherited [from a common ancestor],” says Guillermo Windholz, a paleontologist at Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and the National University of Rio Negro. “This is the reason why actual birds fly — it’s a really crazy feature.”Dinosaurs with Hollow BonesAlvarezsaurids were a group of theropod dinosaurs that lived mostly in Argentina in the Late Cretaceous roughly 83 million years to 86 million years ago. They weren’t huge — the smallest of them were roughly chicken-sized while the largest ones found were about 10 feet to 13 feet long from snout to tail.It's unclear what these creatures ate, though based on their teeth, they were carnivorous, Windholz says.Birds today have hollow bones, which give space for soft tissue air sacs that are connected to the lungs. These features help lighten the bodies of birds — important especially for flight.Pterosaurs and some dinosaurs also have hollow bones, though it’s not entirely clear that these features allowed space for air sacs. One study published in 2022 found that some of the oldest known avemetatarsalians — the ancestors of birds, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs — did not have traces of air sacs. Neither did ornithischians, one of the three major groups of dinosaurs alongside theropods and sauropods. But all saurischians so far examined did have these features.Examining Hollow Bones with CT ScansMost dinosaur bones are merely examined on the outside — determining whether they are hollow would require cracking them open. As such, while some are believed to be hollow, many dinosaur bones haven’t been examined thoroughly enough to prove for sure that the cavities inside vertebrae are somehow connected to the lungs. This means it’s difficult to determine whether these cavities contain air sacs similar to birds today.But technology like CT scans have allowed for a more thorough examination of the insides of fossils.In the recent study, Windholz and his colleagues did just that, and scanned 11 vertebrae from various Bonapartenykus ultimus specimens.The CT scans revealed that the B. ultimus vertebrae were indeed hollow — not exactly a surprise since most other theropods and sauropods examined had hollow bones. But not all vertebrae are pneumatic — some theropods have tail vertebrae that didn’t fill with air, Windholz says.But the scans allowed Windholz and his colleagues to see that these hollow cavities inside the vertebrate were connected to the outside through cortical openings called foramina. Essentially, these are passages in which air might have traveled from the dinosaur’s lungs to the inside of vertebrae and back.Why Did Dinosaurs Have Hollow Bones?Windholz’ recent study has helped improve paleontologists’ knowledge of the use of these hollow cavities in theropods — it has confirmed that at least in alvarezsaurids, the cavities were used for air sacs.It’s more difficult to determine why these creatures needed hollow bones and air sacs in their vertebrae. For fast-moving theropods, hollow bones may have helped to increase their speed by lightening their load.But if this is true, then why do large sauropods also have hollow bones? These large creatures, which presumably walked around on four solid legs, wouldn’t have been trying to take flight, after all. Some scientists have speculated that the hollow bones may have helped them lighten their superlative mass as they moved around, but there isn’t necessarily a consensus about this, Windholz says.The 2022 study suggested that sauropods, pterosaurs, and theropods may have all evolved air sacs in their bones independently from one another. But this may be because the vertebrae from a more recent common ancestor from the avemetatarsalians, that does have evidence of air sacs, has yet to be examined or discovered.If there is a common ancestor, it’s also possible that hollow bones were a relic from the ancestors of these dinosaurs, Windholz says. What may have been useful in saurischians, for example, may have been essentially useless — a Mesozoic appendix — in sauropods and theropods.At least until birds and their direct ancestors came along and used these air-filled bones to take flight.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:Joshua Rapp Learn is an award-winning D.C.-based science writer. An expat Albertan, he contributes to a number of science publications like National Geographic, The New York Times, The Guardian, New Scientist, Hakai, and others.1 free article leftWant More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/monthSubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In1 free articleSubscribeWant more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99!SubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In

Key Takeaways on Suni Williams: Sunita, “Suni,” Williams was born in Ohio in 1965 and has an extensive career in space. During her first outing on the International Space Station (ISS), she set many new records for women in space. With her recent over-extended stay on the ISS, Suni Williams has spent a total of 608 days in space, the second-longest stay amongst American astronauts.After nine-months stranded on the International Space Station (ISS), Sunita, “Suni,” Williams touched down with fellow NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore on March 16, 2025. A series of failures on Boeing’s Starliner capsule greatly extended a trip that was supposed to last only eight days. Not that this phased the two veteran astronauts. Williams described her unplanned and prolonged stay on the ISS as getting tunnel vision as she and Wilmore got on with the job. “You aren’t aware of what’s going on down here, [on Earth],” Williams said at a press conference after the crew’s arrival back onto the surface. “We were really focused on doing our part,” she added, as the two astronauts played their part as crew members on the ISS, carrying out maintenance and conducting experiments. She was appointed the station’s commander in September 2024. “We were just part of the team,” she said. Who Is Suni Williams?This highly professional and grounded attitude is hardly surprising given Williams' extensive experience in the U.S. military and many, many hours logged in space. Born in Ohio in 1965, she grew up and attended school in Needham, Massachusetts. Initially, she wanted to pursue a career as a veterinarian caring for animals. But eventually joined the U.S. Navy and underwent naval aviation training, becoming a naval aviator in 1989. That career saw her deployed in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and in the U.S. during the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. In 1993, Williams was selected to become a naval test pilot and graduated from the course that same year. During her time as a test pilot, she flew over 30 different aircraft, putting in over 3,000 flight hours.Setting New Records for Women in SpaceIn 1998, Williams was selected for the astronaut program, training in robotics and ISS operational technologies. Eight years later, she was part of the crew that flew on the Discovery shuttle as flight engineer for NASA Expeditions 14 and 15. During that first outing at the ISS – lasting 195 days – she logged 29 hours outside of the space station on four space walks, setting new records for women in space. Adding to that impressive trip, she also became the first astronaut to complete a marathon. Williams took part in the Boston Marathon on the station’s treadmill, finishing in four hours and 24 minutes, all while orbiting the Earth at over 17,000 miles per hour. In July 2012, Williams returned to the ISS on board the Soyuz TMA-O5M with Expedition 32. On this trip, she ventured out on three more space walks lasting a total of 21 hours. Building on her marathon exploits during the previous stay on the ISS, Williams became the first person to complete a triathlon while in space. She ran, biked, and even swam – using strength-training equipment to simulate the movements – alongside participants in an event in Southern California. Future Space ExplorationThat recent unscheduled stay on the ISS means Williams has spent a total of 608 days in space, the second-longest amongst American astronauts. It’s just one of several records she has set during her impressive career. Williams also holds the record for total spacewalking time by a female astronaut, with 62 hours and 6 minutes spent outside of the space station; she’s fourth on the all-time spacewalk duration list, according to NASA. With a distinguished career and multiple space records in the books, Williams is also enthusiastic about the future of space exploration.“I was pretty excited to see all the stuff that’s going on,” she said at the conference, referencing multiple ongoing experiments and research on the ISS that’s intended to support future missions. “What the space station is doing to help with exploration is amazing.” Learning from the failures that resulted in Williams and Wilmore’s unexpectedly long stay on the ISS is vital, but that experience also gave an important life lesson that everyone can learn from, speaking to her own resilience.“When something doesn’t go your way, you just have to take the blinders off and see what else is in front of you,” she said at the conference.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:The official YouTube channel of WFAA-TV and WFAA.com. NASA astronauts who were stuck in space speak in full press conferenceTriathlete. Astronaut Finishes Triathlon In SpaceSean Mowbray is a freelance writer based in Scotland. He covers the environment, archaeology, and general science topics. His work has also appeared in outlets such as Mongabay, New Scientist, Hakai Magazine, Ancient History Magazine, and others.

When NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams inadvertently spent nearly nine months in space, their bodies likely underwent a series of physiological changes due to the pressures of living in space.The duo left Earth on June 5, 2024, in what was supposed to be a roughly weeklong test mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Instead, they spent 286 days waiting to hitch a ride back to their home planet after their spacecraft experienced multiple issues.Upon their arrival on Earth, the two astronauts were assisted out of the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Freedom” as their bodies acclimate to gravity on March 18, 2025.Astronauts, Genetics, and Space EffectsSusan Baily, professor of radiation cancer biology at Colorado State University, says that the longer an astronaut spends in space, the more complex their transition to Earth will be.“It’s all very disorienting when you first get up into space, and that disorientation can last anywhere from days to sometimes weeks,” adds Chris Mason, a professor of genomics at Cornell University.Because each body has a different genetic makeup and unique lifestyle, how a person responds to space can vary between individuals.Bailey and Mason, among others, authored the NASA Twins Study, which followed identical twin astronauts, one of whom spent a year on the ISS and the other on Earth. The research examined “molecular and physiological traits that may be affected by time in space” to establish a basis for assessing the hazards of long-term space travel.From genetic changes and an increased cancer risk to bone and muscle loss, astronauts are affected mentally and physically both in the long and short term, depending on their experience in space.Short-term EffectsComing back to Earth’s gravity serves as the “universal cellular surprise or, in a nutshell, the ‘holy crap’ moment,” says Mason.On Earth, gravity’s force is constant, forcing the body to bear weight and maintain muscle and bone strength through consistent use. ISS, however, is a microgravity environment, meaning that it experiences about 90 percent of Earth’s gravity, causing objects and fluids to float through space.“In microgravity, there is no resistance or weight bearing, so muscles and bones don’t get the exercise and use that they require,” says Bailey. “Even with exercise, there is still a period of adjustment that astronauts have to go through to get the body and the brain used to supporting itself again after returning to Earth.“Astronauts often gain one or two inches of height because of a lack of compression on the spinal column. There is also increased pressure in the brain because gravity is no longer pulling the body’s fluids down to the feet. This can impact the eyes and heart and, in some cases, lead to cognitive decline. However, most of these eventually return to normal once they are back on Earth.“The good news is that the body does adjust again; it adjusts to space and then it adjusts back to the Earth environment and gravity. It just takes a little while,” says Bailey.Astronauts may also experience skin irritation upon their return, as clothing hasn’t been rubbing on their skin as usual. It’s also possible that these stressors can result in autoimmune issues.“In many astronauts, the immune system is very activated; we like to say that it’s perturbed,” says Mason. “More than half of astronauts are observed to have oral herpes reactivations of cold sores, indicating the immune system is under stress.” Long-term effectsAccording to the twin study, long-term space travel has been shown to “prompt mitochondrial dysfunction, immunological stress, vascular changes and fluid shifts, and cognitive performance decline, as well as alterations in telomere length, gene regulation, and genome integrity.”Radiation exposure during space flight can also affect health, aging, and disease trajectories as it damages the DNA in cells, leading to short-term effects like skin changes or fatigue and long-term consequences like an increased cancer risk.“We’re very protected on Earth from a lot of the more damaging types of radiations from the Sun and our atmosphere, as well as the magnetosphere around the Earth,” says Bailey. “As a person goes further and further away from the Earth, and even in low Earth orbit like the space station – about 250 miles or so above the surface of Earth – they get much higher doses of more damaging radiation.”Cancer develops over long periods of time, so it’s not immediately clear how space radiation may influence astronauts’ risk of cancer. However, Bailey notes some radiation-induced forms of leukemia can appear within three to five years.Space as a Living Laboratory to Model Accelerated AgingRadiation can also accelerate aging and certain age-related health conditions, like cardiovascular disease and dementia. Telomeres at the ends of chromosomes, threadlike structures of DNA found in each cell’s nucleus, serve as a biomarker of aging.“Telomeres are very important because they protect the end of the chromosome from degradation and help prevent DNA damage,” says Bailey, adding that telomeres help maintain genomic stability.Telomeres shorten as a person ages through cell division and psychological and physical stress. In other words, the length of telomeres indicates how quickly someone may be aging.Stressors associated with microgravity, radiation, diet, exercise, and even loneliness have all been shown to induce aging in astronauts. Many of these factors cannot be altered while people are in space.“On Earth, for example, a person can manage their lifestyle better or make healthier choices; all the things that we associate with a healthy lifestyle can help maintain telomere length,” says Bailey.In a very controlled environment like space, astronauts can’t make these changes to alter the level of radiation or oxidative, psychological, or emotional stress they’re exposed to. Even diet and exercise are limited in space.To better understand how aging may be accelerated in space, NASA launched CIPHER, a project to “pinpoint how the human body reacts to long-duration missions in space” to prepare astronauts for future missions to the Moon and Mars. The CIPHER database includes many investigations to better understand the health effects of long-duration space flight.An Astronaut’s Work Isn’t Finished when Back on EarthMuch of coming back to Earth is coming back to the human experience and relishing in small things, like seeing family or taking a bath (there are no showers in space).“Just the simple pleasure of taking a hot shower is almost universally deeply loved upon return,” says Mason.Because the long-term effects of humans in space aren’t completely known, astronauts should be monitored for “the rest of their lives” because their work doesn’t end when they get back to Earth or when they retire from NASA.“The body really is amazingly adaptive; it adapts to the space flight environment fairly rapidly, and then on the return, even though it may take a little longer, the body adapts back to gravity as well,” says Bailey.But humanity’s experience with space is “fairly limited,” and scientists don’t fully understand what the long-term implications of space travel mean for human health.As commercial spaceflight becomes more common, Bailey adds that people who haven’t been trained their whole lives to fly in space will also require new considerations: How do they perform in space, and how are they monitored upon their return to Earth?The varying effects recorded in astronauts are logged in the Space Omics and Medical Atlas, or SOMA, a collection of known research on the effects of space on the human body. 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:NASA. CIPHER Nature Portfolio. Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) across orbitsMadison’s reporting focuses on marine and environmental issues, climate change, and novel scientific discoveries related to health and technology. Raised on an island in southeast Alaska, Madison is now based in western Montana. Her writing has been featured in Time, Snopes, Business Insider, Mountain Journal, EcoWatch, and Alaska Magazine, among others. When not writing, Madison teaches yoga, raises chickens, and fosters adoptable dogs and cats.

Thorin was the name given to a Neanderthal specimen found amongst a small group of Neanderthals that lived between 42,000 years and 52,000 years ago in the Grotte Mandrin, a cave located in southern France. According to a 2024 study in Cell Genomics, Thorin was a Neanderthal found in Eurasia, and he’s genetically similar to the Gibraltar Neanderthals, who lived across the continent. Thorin was an adult male, identified through 30 fossilized teeth and bones, and buried at the mouth of the cave. Life for Thorin the Neanderthal“It was very cold in Europe at the time, a very arctic ambiance,” says archaeologist Ludovic Slimak, lead study author and author of The Naked Neanderthal. And Europe would have been filled with ice age beasts that included woolly rhinoceros, as well as bison, Irish elk, and woolly mammoths.Four archeological layers that came from four distinct periods of time are found inside the Grotte Mandrin. Thorin was buried in the very last layer, which tells us that he’s from the most recent layer and is among the last remaining populations of Neanderthals, says Slimak.This group of Neanderthals probably numbered around 40 to 200 and had been genetically isolated from other Neanderthals for nearly 50,000 years. It was one of the last remaining groups of Neanderthals to survive. It’s also worth noting that archaeologists found Thorin buried at the entrance of the cave, so it’s unclear whether the population buried its dead or not, based on the findings.Neanderthals Were an Isolated PopulationThis last culture of Neanderthals would have lived alongside a large group of Homo sapiens who arrived in Europe from Africa and began spreading throughout Europe to Spain, Italy, and France. This group is known as the “third wave” of early humans coming onto the continent in droves and growing numbers. Interestingly, says Slimak, Thorin and his ancestors within this group of Neanderthals were isolated and did not show any traces of ancient humans in their DNA. This is a surprising feat considering that research has shown Neanderthals and humans regularly interbred. Even today, they contribute 1 percent to 4 percent of their DNA to humans across the globe.Judging by the flints that this Neanderthal population would have used, as well as by studying isotopes that show the water they would have drunk, researchers can also tell that they lived within a particular area and did not venture beyond it. They didn’t cross the Rhone River even though at the time it would have been frozen over for much of the year and easy to traverse.Thorin Was One of the Last NeanderthalsAccording to Slimak, this seems to run counter to how H. sapiens existed. They moved about constantly and had relations with all sorts of different populations along the way. They established social connections and therefore a sort of uniformity that Neanderthals didn’t seem to have. This might have contributed to why humans lived and Neanderthals went extinct.“This is something that is deeply rooted in Homo sapiens,” says Slimak. “This new way that Homo sapiens behaved was super efficient and allowed them to spread their culture where ever they went.”It’s through the establishment of these social structures that they were able to pass on knowledge and rules across large swaths of territory and over multiple generations. Thorin was among the last of a dying breed of Neanderthals, whose culture may have been similar, but on a deeper level, their view of the world was much more isolated.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:Cell Genomics. Long genetic and social isolation in Neanderthals before their extinctionSmithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Ancient DNA and Neanderthals Sara Novak is a science journalist based in South Carolina. In addition to writing for Discover, her work appears in Scientific American, Popular Science, New Scientist, Sierra Magazine, Astronomy Magazine, and many more. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia. She's also a candidate for a master’s degree in science writing from Johns Hopkins University, (expected graduation 2023).