Just because Homo sapiens hadn’t yet developed the SPF rating system 41,000 years ago didn’t mean that they were unaware that solar radiation could prove hazardous.H. sapiens applied some form of sunscreen, shielded themselves from UV rays with clothes, and avoided the ravages of the sun by hiding in caves, according to an article in the journal Science Advances. In fact, those strategies may have helped their populations expand throughout Europe and Asia during a time when Neanderthals, who didn’t appear to make these adaptations, were declining."What some of the differences are between these species, between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans, that might account for that disappearance has been a major anthropological question for decades," Raven Garvey, a University of Michigan anthropologist and an author of the study, said in a press release.Homo sapiens Sun-Fighting StrategiesResearchers found that these sun-fighting strategies roughly coincided with a period when the North Pole moved closer to Europe as the Earth’s magnetic field’s poles started to move — a process that has happened an estimated 180 times during the Earth’s existence. That process weakened the magnetic field, caused auroras to occur throughout most of the globe, and allowed more UV light through the atmosphere. Meanwhile, archaeological evidence shows that, during this time period, H. sapiens started sewing clothing and rubbing ochre, a sun-blocking mineral, on their skin. Living in caves then also provided some protection."In the study, we combined all of the regions where the magnetic field would not have been connected, allowing cosmic radiation, or any kind of energetic particles from the sun, to seep all the way in to the ground," Agnit Mukhopadhyayan, an author of the paper, and a University of Michigan researcher, said in a press release. "We found that many of those regions actually match pretty closely with early human activity from 41,000 years ago, specifically an increase in the use of caves and an increase in the use of prehistoric sunscreen."Earth's Magnetic FieldMukhopadhyay tapped into existing models and constructed his own to reach this conclusion. He first built a simulation of how the Earth's magnetic field, created by its rotation, extends a protective halo around the globe. That halo shields Earth from cosmic radiation — which thins the planet’s ozone layer, thereby allowing more UV light in. Next, he examined how the hot gases and charged particles the sun throws at the Earth, act as a plasma system. Mukhopadhyay then developed a model that predicts how this system interacts with Earth's magnetic field.This magnetic field drives aurora formation, which is why we typically only see auroras near the North and South poles, because that’s where the magnetic pull is strongest. However, sometimes the poles wander — with the most recent such event occurring about 41,000 years ago.Atmospheric Impact on H. sapiensMukhopadhyay, working with Sanja Panovska, a researcher at Germany's GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences essentially folded three models from that time period into one: Earth’s geomagnetic field, the space plasma field surrounding it, and aurora activity. This combination produced a 3D picture that illustrated where charged particles could most easily sneak through the planet’s geomagnetic field.The model showed that, when the poles were shifting 41,000 years ago, Earth’s magnetic field shrunk to about 10 percent of its current strength. The poles sagged toward the equator, the magnetic field expanded, and auroras would have been visible throughout Europe and Northern Africa.The researchers then superimposed this combination 3D map of Earth's atmospheric and electromagnetic systems upon the globe and noted where both H. sapiens and Neanderthals had lived. The two groups of early and modern humans co-existed in Europe starting about 56,000 years ago. About 16,000 years later, Neanderthals were no longer dominant in Europe.Prehistoric Sunscreen and ClothingTailored clothing may have helped. Archaeologists have found needles and awls — tools associated with sewing — at H. sapiens sites, but not among Neanderthal digs. Tailored clothing not only kept people warm when they ventured from their caves, which allowed them to hunt for longer times and greater distances from their homes. It also protected them from UV rays. Whether or not this was intentional may be a moot point, because "tailored clothing could have also provided another unintended benefit — protection from sun damage," said Garvey in the release. "Having protection against solar radiation would also have conferred significant advantage to anyone who possessed it." There is also evidence that H. sapiens used ochre, a pigment made up of iron oxide, clay, not just to paint objects, but to protect their bodies from UV radiation."There have been some experimental tests that show it has sunscreen-like properties. It's a pretty effective sunscreen, and there are also ethnographic populations that have used it primarily for that purpose," Garvey said.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Science Advances. Wandering of the Auroral Oval 41,000 Years AgoBefore 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.

Archeopark Pavlov. Famous landmark on South Moravia. Czech Republic, and the likely site where the Dolní Věstonice portrait head was found in the 1920s. (Image Credit: Photo Nature Travel/Shutterstock) NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsThe Dolní Vestonice Portrait Head is just 2 inches tall and 1 inch wide. It’s a tiny face carved into an ivory mammoth tusk, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in significance. Uncovered in the 1920s in the South Moravian region of the Czech Republic, the figure, which dates back 26,000 years, is thought to be the oldest known personal portrait.During the late Paleolithic Period, a group of mammoth-hunting ancient humans set up camp in the Dolní Věstonice region of what is now the Czech Republic, and this specimen is a representation of the culture that took place there. The portrait head seems to show a woman with engraved eyes and other individualized features and a face that tells us a story.What Is the Dolní Věstonice Portrait Head?It’s generally rare to find portraits from this time period, says Jill Cook, curator at the British Museum. It’s a slightly more abstract form of a portrait, but it’s interesting because the subject isn’t meant to be portrayed as beautiful. Her hair was either drawn up in a bun on the top of her head or covered with a piece of cloth.The oval face, shapely turned-up nose, full lips, and eyes are portrayed as uneven, a detail which leaves us to wonder why. The right eye is beautifully carved with an eyelid and an open eye and pupil, but the left eye is slightly larger, and instead of a similar eyelid, it appears to be drooping on one side.“As you look more closely, it looks like there’s a faint irregularity on the left side of the face,” says Cook. “It would appear that the left eye is closed, which may be a sign of a congenital abnormality or perhaps an accident that damaged the eye, or a sort of palsy or stroke.”Representing Ancient SocietyThere was a clear choice to present someone who had some sort of abnormality, which could mean a number of things, says Cook. It could show this society’s humanity and an element of a uniquely human relationship or that of kindness. This was a group that cared for its people, which included those with injuries, those who needed to be cared for to get better, or those who had a lifelong disability. “This was a person who needed help in life,” says Cook.It could also be the opposite, that this person was an outcast as was sometimes how those with disabilities would have been portrayed in certain societies. “They could be feared [not revered] for their differences,” says Cook. It’s hard to know. But what is clear is that this was a person that this civilization wanted to represent through art.The portrait could also be showing us how hard this world might have been so long ago. When the Dolní Věstonice Portrait Head was made, the average lifespan of an ancient human was just 30 years to 40 years. Living in the elements without healthcare meant that infant mortality was common and, if there was an injury, one might never recover from it.There’s also a lot that we don’t know because this was excavated over a century ago. It wasn’t found in a burial, though it was found near the location of a burial that held the bones of a woman of similar age. But it also wasn’t excavated as carefully as it would have been today, so it’s possible that some clues about what was found were missed.The portrait leaves us with as many questions as it provides answers, but one thing is clear: even all those years ago, humans dealt with issues and hardships; you can see it in her face.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:Bradshaw Foundation. The Art of the Ice AgeArchaeological and Anthropological Sciences. The woman from the Dolní Věstonice 3 burial: a new view of the face using modern technologiesSara 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).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

Did the chemical components necessary to create water on Earth come from space or already exist here? One prevailing notion holds that asteroids containing either water of its building blocks bombarded the planet. But now, a team of researchers have produced evidence that those building blocks were here since early in the planet’s history, according to a study published in the journal Icarus.Pinpointing when and where Earth’s hydrogen is an essential key to understanding how life arose on the planet. Without hydrogen, there’s no water, and without water, life can’t exist here.Water Origins on EarthIronically, researchers turned to a meteorite containing hydrogen to prove that such former bodies did not provide the H2 ingredient of water’s H2O recipe. They examined a rare type of meteorite — known as an enstatite chondrite — that was built similarly to early Earth 4.5 billion years ago and the team discovered hydrogen present in the chemical. The logic is that if this material resembling early Earth’s composition can contain hydrogen, so too could the young planet.Perhaps the most important aspect of the University of Oxford team’s investigation was determining that the hydrogen present in the meteorite was there all along, not from contamination. This suggests that the material from which our planet was built was far richer in hydrogen than previously thought. Read More: Where Did Earth’s Water Come From?Hydrogen on the MeteoriteA previous study led by a French team had identified traces of hydrogen within both organic and inorganic components of a different meteorite. However, the remainder was unaccounted for — meaning it was unclear whether the hydrogen was native or due to terrestrial contamination. To pinpoint hydrogen on this meteorite (named LAR 12252, originally collected from Antarctica), they blasted it with powerful X-rays from a massive machine called a synchrotron. This technique is often used to probe the chemical structure of both living and nonliving samples.The team initially thought any hydrogen in the meteorite would be linked to sulfur molecules and aimed the beam accordingly. Much to their surprise, they found areas rich in hydrogen sulfide just outside areas they suspected would hold the most hydrogen, with the highest concentration “locked” inside a crystalline structure. In comparison, areas of the meteorite that had cracks or rust (a sign of Earthly contamination) had little to no hydrogen present. Those two findings together create a strong argument for the hydrogen being present in the material all along — not from recent contamination.“We were incredibly excited when the analysis told us the sample contained hydrogen sulfide — just not where we expected!” Tom Barrett, an Oxford graduate student and an author of the paper, said in a press release. “Because the likelihood of this hydrogen sulfide originating from terrestrial contamination is very low, this research provides vital evidence to support the theory that water on Earth is native — that it is a natural outcome of what our planet is made of.”Rich in HydrogenSince the proto-Earth was made of material similar to enstatite chondrites, by the time the immature planet had grown large enough to be struck by asteroids, it would have already stashed enough hydrogen to explain Earth’s present-day water supply.Although this study likely won’t resolve the debate over Earth’s original water source, it tilts the table toward an internal, not external one.“We now think that the material that built our planet — which we can study using these rare meteorites — was far richer in hydrogen than we thought previously,” James Bryson, an Oxford professor and an author of the paper, said in a press release. “This finding supports the idea that the formation of water on Earth was a natural process, rather than a fluke of hydrated asteroids bombarding our planet after it formed.”Read More: Earth's Water Is Older Than the SunArticle 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:Icarus. The source of hydrogen in earth's building blocksBefore 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.

A child’s bedroom should be a safe haven where they can get enough sleep to develop properly, but many bedrooms contain a hidden danger that is sure to make parents weary. A recent pair of studies has revealed the prevalence of harmful chemicals that are slipping into bedrooms through the mattresses children sleep on. The studies show that babies and young children are at risk of breathing in and absorbing chemicals as they sleep. These chemicals — including plasticizers called phthalates and flame retardants — have a chance of inducing neurological and reproductive problems, asthma, hormone disruption, and cancer. Researchers are now calling for more rigorous testing to ensure mattresses are rid of chemicals that could pose a major developmental threat to children. Chemicals in Bedrooms The two studies aimed to uncover the extent of SVOCs (semivolatile organic compounds) in children’s bedrooms, with their findings published in Environmental Science & Technology and Environmental Science & Technology Letters. SVOCs are especially common around what the researchers call a child’s sleeping microenvironment (SME), which consists of bedding materials, pillows, toys, and the surrounding air. Since the chemicals are often not chemically bonded to materials like mattresses, they end up permeating the air, dust, clothing, and skin. The first study measured SVOC concentrations in 25 bedrooms of children aged 6 months to 4 years; the results showed “concerning levels of more than two dozen phthalates, flame retardants, and UV-filters in bedroom air," according to a statement. Chemical levels, the researchers noticed, were highest right around the beds. A second study followed up by examining 16 newly purchased children’s mattresses. The researchers observed significant SVOC emissions from the foam and covers of the mattresses; they also conducted simulations to confirm that a child’s body temperature and weight cause higher emissions to be released from the mattresses.The Dangers of SVOCs for Children Research suggests children may breathe and absorb plasticizers called phthalates, flame retardants, and other harmful chemicals from their mattresses while they sleep. (Image Credit: University of Toronto)Young children are particularly vulnerable to SVOCs due to having a breathing rate that is 10 times higher than adults, more than three times the skin surface area relative to their body weight compared to adults, and more hand-to-mouth contact. SVOCs pose a series of health risks for children. Phthalates and flame retardants are hormone disruptors, and some are even linked to childhood asthma and cancer. Exposure to these chemicals can also give rise to learning disorders, reduced IQ scores, behavioral problems, and impaired memory. The researchers were perplexed by the frequency of flame retardants, which they say are not necessary to pass U.S. or Canadian mattress flammability standards. According to the researchers, these flame retardants “also have no proven fire-safety benefit as used in mattresses.” How to Keep Children's Bedrooms SafeThe researchers are now urging manufacturers to conduct careful testing and cease the implementation of harmful SVOCs in mattresses. They say that there should be stronger restrictions in place for plasticizers and flame retardants, especially in Canada — where the mattresses measured in the studies were purchased — and the rest of North America.“This is a wake-up call for manufacturers and policymakers to ensure our children’s beds are safe and support healthy brain development,” said senior author Miriam Diamond, an environmental chemist at the University of Toronto, in a press release. Concerned parents can manage their children's exposure to the chemicals in a number of ways. The researchers suggest reducing the amount of bedroom materials that may harbor SVOCs, including pillows, blankets, and toys. Washing beds and covers can also provide a protective barrier to reduce exposure. The choice of color in bedding also affects exposure, as some fabrics contain UV filters and other additives to maintain a strong color. Undyed or neutral color fabrics, therefore, make for the safest option.This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Read More: Stress May Be Causing Early PubertyArticle 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:Environmental Science & Technology Letters. Young Children’s Exposure to Chemicals of Concern in Their Sleeping Environment: An In-Home StudyEnvironmental Science & Technology. Are Sleeping Children Exposed to Plasticizers, Flame Retardants, and UV-Filters from Their Mattresses? 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.

Sauerkraut packs a punch, and not just for your taste buds. Famous for its tangy, sour, and slightly salty taste, sauerkraut has long been noted for being both nutritious and healthy, having been tied to a host of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-carcinogenic activities. Now, a new study in Applied and Environmental Microbiology adds additional support to sauerkraut’s healthiness, showing that the topping may help out your gut, possibly thanks to its wealth of metabolic products, or metabolites. “A little bit of sauerkraut could go a long way,” said Maria Marco, a study author and a professor of food science at the University of California, Davis, according to a press release. “We should be thinking about including these fermented foods in our regular diets and not just as a side on our hot dogs.”The Health Benefits of SauerkrautMade of chopped cabbage that is fermented in salt, sauerkraut is full of fibers, vitamins, and minerals that support the body, according to a 2014 analysis in Integrative Medicine & Health. In fact, among these nutrients are vitamins C and K, which support the immune system and aid in healthy healing. Sauerkraut also contains compounds that are tied to anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-carcinogenic activities, according to a 2020 article in Nutrients, meaning that the topping may even assist in the prevention of cancer.Though these health benefits are well established, the new Applied and Environmental Microbiology study suggests that there may be additional advantages associated with eating sauerkraut, particularly when it comes to the gut. Potentially protecting the intestines from inflammation, sauerkraut and other fermented foods may improve your digestion and fight illness, the study finds, boosting a big part of your overall health.“A regular serving of sauerkraut,” Marco said in the release, “can help us in the long run against inflammation, for example, and make our digestive tract more resilient when we have a disturbance.” Indeed, the study suggests that incorporating more sauerkraut into your diet, alongside fresh fruits and vegetables, may be a simple — and bold-tasting way — to boost your overall health.A Tangy Gut-Health Test But before you start piling sauerkraut onto your plate — and before you start fermenting the topping on your own, a process that takes plenty of cabbage and several weeks of waiting — how did the study authors arrive at their findings? Comparing the nutrients of cabbage, sauerkraut, and sauerkraut brine, or the leftover liquid from the fermentation of the topping, the study authors found that sauerkraut’s nutrients were better at protecting intestinal cells from inflammation than those of cabbage or sauerkraut brine, at least in a laboratory setting. Including several types of sauerkraut in their tests, the study authors also found that the intestinal cells were better protected in the lab whether the topping’s nutrients came from lab-made or store-bought jars, suggesting that there are several ways to take advantage of sauerkraut’s gut-healthy effects. “It doesn’t matter, in a way, if we make sauerkraut at home or we buy it from the store,” Marco said in the release. “Both kinds of sauerkraut seemed to protect gut function.”Perhaps most intriguing were the study’s insights into how sauerkraut may fight intestinal inflammation, however. Comparing sauerkraut with cabbage, the study authors showed that sauerkraut has more metabolites — the products produced during metabolic processes like digestion, including those that are linked to a healthy gut, like lactic and amino acids — than cabbage. The digestive benefits of sauerkraut and other fermented foods may therefore stem from this metabolite discrepancy, the study authors said in the release. “Some of the metabolites we find in the sauerkraut are the same kind of metabolites we’re finding to be made by the gut microbiome, so that gives us a little more confidence that this connection we found between the metabolites in sauerkraut and good gut health makes sense,” Marco added in the release. In addition to finding out which metabolites fend off intestinal inflammation best, future studies will show whether sauerkraut’s intestinal effects extend outside of the lab. While you wait for those studies, it can’t hurt to try bottling up a container of chopped cabbage and salt or to try buying a jar at the store. It might give your taste buds a boost and maybe your gut health, as well.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:Applied and Environmental Microbiology. The Fermented Cabbage Metabolome and Its Protection Against Cytokine-Induced Intestinal Barrier Disruption of Caco-2 MonolayersIntegrative Medicine & Health. Regular Consumption of Sauerkraut and Its Effect on Human Health: A Bibliometric AnalysisSam 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 people with food allergies, even a simple dinner out can become stressful. Figuring out whether every ingredient is listed on the menu and asking the server a dozen questions are necessary steps just to avoid dishes that might seem harmless to most, but can be dangerous — even fatal — to someone with allergies.A bite of something containing peanuts, shellfish, soy, or wheat can lead to anything from mild itching to vomiting or even difficulty breathing. At the moment, managing food allergies mostly comes down to strict avoidance and carrying emergency medication like epinephrine auto-injectors (EpiPens) or antihistamines.While treatments like oral immunotherapy are gaining traction, there’s still no cure. But that may be starting to change. A new study published in Nature highlights a type of immune cell that appears to ease food allergy symptoms — raising hopes among researchers at NYU Langone Health for a new way to treat not only allergies, but potentially other autoimmune conditions, too.Understanding Food AllergiesFirst, it’s important to distinguish a food allergy from a food intolerance. Intolerances — like lactose intolerance — are usually digestive issues and generally less severe. Food allergies, on the other hand, involve the immune system mistakenly identifying certain food proteins as harmful, triggering a reaction each time the food is consumed.Being allergic to a certain food means the immune system has incorrectly tagged a specific protein in that food as dangerous. As a result, it launches an immune response to "fight off" the supposed threat, causing symptoms that can range from mild to severe. These symptoms occur every time the protein is eaten, making even small amounts risky for those affected.Our gut is constantly exposed to a wide variety of foods, and the gut microbiome helps the immune system learn what’s harmful and what’s not. A healthy balance of gut bacteria plays a key role in helping prevent allergic reactions. So, researchers have increasingly turned their attention to the immune system within the gut to better understand how allergies take root at the molecular level.New Immune Cell Shows PromiseBuilding on earlier studies, scientists examined a newly identified type of immune cell called a tolerogenic dendritic cell, known for promoting immune tolerance to beneficial gut bacteria and improving overall microbiome health. This time, they explored whether these same cells could also play a role in reducing food allergies.Through genetically modifying the tolerogenic dendritic cells in mice, researchers observed that the animals developed asthma and food allergy symptoms. Additionally, when the cells were present and exposed to proteins from either food or friendly gut microbes, they triggered a transformation in nearby T cells. These T cells took on a regulatory, anti-inflammatory role — essentially training the immune system to stay calm the next time it encountered the same substance.“This discovery adds evidence to our earlier work showing that these cells also keep the peace with the vast microbiome, the mix of microbes that inhabits our body, and may be important for preventing autoimmune conditions like Crohn’s disease,” said Dan Littman, co-author of the study in a press release.Potential for Broader TreatmentsThe team also identified similar cells in various human tissue samples, suggesting that this mechanism might apply beyond mice. More research is needed to determine the exact role these cells play in the human body, but the implications are exciting.“If further experiments prove successful, our findings could lead to innovative ways to treat food allergies,” said Littman in the release. “For example, if someone has a peanut allergy, perhaps we can use tolerogenic dendritic cells to help create more regulatory T cells to suppress an allergic response to peanut molecules.”Beyond food allergies, this breakthrough could pave the way for treating other autoimmune and allergic conditions — and even help improve tolerance in organ transplant recipients.This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Read More: Everything to Know About AllergiesArticle 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 Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology: The Current State of Oral ImmunotherapyHaving 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.

Dean Cliver, an expert in food microbiology at the University of California Davis, was the OG of cutting-board research. In the early 1990s, Cliver, who died in 2011, and his colleagues set out to discover how home cooks could clean their wooden cutting boards so that wooden boards would be as safe to use as the plastic variety. But the results of their experiments showed that the plastic boards weren’t necessarily safer than the wooden ones. Or to be more precise, under the same experimental conditions, the wooden boards harbored fewer bacteria than the plastic ones. (Science is like that. You don’t always find what you’re expecting. And if you do always find what you’re expecting, you might want to re-think your approach.)Cutting Boards are Bacteria TrapsPlastic boards are easier to sanitize. But wood has some properties that plastic doesn’t. For one thing, the woods commonly used in cutting boards are harder than plastic, so they’re less likely to end up with lots of grooves and gouges that can provide cozy homes for colonies of bacteria.But, perhaps the most intriguing finding concerns a feature of wood you might think was a downside: Wood is porous. In a study published in 1994, Cliver and colleagues found that when the researchers inoculated the wooden boards with bacteria, it was difficult to recover the bacteria. That’s because it was no longer on the surface of the wood. The bacteria had been drawn into the interior of the wood. The authors of a 2023 study explain how this happens: When cutting boards are washed, the wood soaks up the water, along with any remaining bacteria, leaving the surface of the wood clean. The bacteria, trapped inside the board, eventually die.Though all types of wood tested had some antibacterial effect, some woods (red oak and white oak) were better at removing Listeria, while others (European beech) were better at removing Salmonella, according to the 2023 study. That research also found that the finish on the wood matters. Cutting boards treated with linseed oil or mineral oil did not absorb the bacteria as well as untreated boards, at least for 24 hours, leaving more bacteria on the surface. The authors recommend passing on those wood treatment products often sold alongside wooden cutting boards and chopping blocks.Microplastics and Plastic Cutting Boards One concern about plastic boards is that tiny bits of plastic — microplastics — can chip off the board when you’re chopping your chops or slicing your carrots and get into your food. Although there hasn’t been a lot of research in this area, several studies have raised concerns. For example, one recent study found that plastic cutting boards can be a substantial source of microplastics in food. Until more research is done, however, we won’t know if this could impact health.Wood vs Plastic: Which Is Cleaner? So, which is best, plastic or wood? Barring more research on microplastic contamination, either is fine, say most experts. The issue is not so much which type of cutting board you use but how you use and care for it, explains Janet Buffer, food-safety expert at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health. No matter what your cutting board is made of, you need to be scrupulous about cleaning it, she says. That means washing the board in hot soapy water after every use. (For plastic boards, this can be done in the dishwasher, but the high heat of dishwashers warps and cracks wooden boards.) Once the board has been thoroughly scrubbed, give it a sanitizing rinse. Buffer recommends a mild solution of one teaspoon of bleach to two cups of water.Another best practice, according to Buffer, is to use separate boards for veggies and meats. And vegetarians take note: You need to be just as careful as carnivores when it comes to cleanliness. Buffer points out that produce, especially leafy greens, has been implicated in outbreaks of food-borne illness. “So even after you've handled produce, wash, rinse, and sanitize your cutting board after use,” she says. 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:Journal of Food Protection. Cutting Boards of Plastic and Wood Contaminated Experimentally with BacteriaDean O. Cliver, Ph.D. Plastic And Wooden Cutting Boards Food Additives and Contaminants. Plastic cutting boards as a source of microplastics in meat Environmental Science & Technology. Cutting Boards: An Overlooked Source of Microplastics in Human Food?Avery 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.

Pinpointing when animals became our companions is harder than it sounds. Every fossil find and genetic study tweaks what we think we know about the timeline or the circumstances under which domestication occurred. When it comes to cats, the story is still evolving. Scientists continue to debate where and how our feline friends first went from wild hunters to household companions.For a long time, ancient Egypt was thought to be the starting point — home of cat worship, divine felines, and famous mummified remains. But that idea was shaken by the discovery of a more-than 9,000-year-old grave on the island of Cyprus, where a cat was buried alongside a human. The age of the burial predates any known Egyptian records, hinting that cat domestication could have begun somewhere else.In a pair of preprint studies posted in March 2025 to bioRxiv, European researchers recently revisited this question — and introduced a gruesome theory: maybe cats were first tamed not to be pets, but to be sacrificed.European Wildcats and the Cyprus FindThe 9,500-year-old cat buried in Cyprus sparked theories that European wildcats could be the original ancestors of domestic cats. Some researchers thought these animals may have followed early farmers, gradually becoming tamer as they adapted to life around humans.To explore that possibility, one study led by Sean Doherty from the University of Exeter compared bone measurements of the Cyprus cat with bones from known wild and domestic cats across Europe. The results showed that the Cyprus cat was a European wildcat — no more closely related to modern domestic cats than the African wildcat is.To double-check, the other study led by Claudio Ottoni, a paleogeneticist at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, analyzed the cat’s nuclear DNA. His team confirmed the same result: the remains belonged to a wildcat. That meant the Cyprus find likely wasn’t an early domestic cat after all.Read More: Cats Ruled These 4 Ancient CivilizationsAncient Egypt and Cat MummiesGenetic analysis still points to the North African wildcat as the closest living relative to today’s domestic cat. Egyptian cat mummies dating from 500 to 0 B.C.E. remain the oldest confirmed examples of domesticated cats, reinforcing Egypt’s claim as the domestication hub.The usual explanation is that cats were drawn to human settlements by rodents, then gradually grew friendlier and stuck around. But it could be that cats were tamed incidentally as part of a large-scale religious industry. In ancient Egypt, people worshipped Bastet, a goddess often depicted with feline features. Mummified cats were common ritual offerings, and to meet demand, breeding centers were created to raise cats for sacrifice.Raising large numbers of cats in close quarters would have favored individuals that were more tolerant of people and other animals. Over time, this could have created a population of cats that were more docile and social than their wild ancestors.Egyptian Sacrifice? Not all experts are sold on the sacrifice theory, with some arguing that the Cyprus cat might still have been in the early stages of domestication. That leaves open the possibility that Europe played a role after all. What's more, other feline finds in Egypt have suggested that domestication had occurred or was at least in progress centuries before mass mummification practices began.So, did cats become our companions through cozy coexistence — or through cultish mass breeding and ritual death? The answer is still unfolding. What’s clear is that once domesticated, cats spread quickly — likely aided by Roman expansion — and now enjoy global popularity, with nearly a billion living among us.Read More: We've Relied on These 5 Animals Throughout HistoryArticle 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: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.

From the food we eat to the air we breathe, microplastics and their even smaller equivalent — nanoplastics — are just about everywhere. And while the body may expel some of the plastics we’ve consumed, there are still plenty that linger in our blood and organs, leading to other health issues. Recent research, as part of the FFG bridge project Nano-VISION, uses a new sensor platform that allows for a laser to be shone at clear, bodily fluids. Through this process, researchers can now determine the size of nanoplastics in bodily fluids along with their chemical makeup. With this new technology, the team hopes to one day determine if intraocular lenses — surgically implanted permanent lenses that replace the natural eye lens after cataract surgery — may contribute to nanoplastics in the body. Laser vs. Microplastics Harald Fitzek from the Institute of Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), along with an ophthalmologist from Graz, launched the start-up company BRAVE Analytics and the FFG bridge project Nano-VISION about two years ago. One of their goals was to determine what role nanoplastics played in ophthalmology (treatment of eye disorders).More specifically, they wanted to see if intraocular lenses released nanoplastics into the eye. To test for nanoplastics, the research team used a two-step method. The first step was to draw the bodily fluid through a glass tube that’s part of a sensor platform created by BRAVE analytics. The second step was to shine a weak laser through the fluid or against the fluid’s flow through the glass tubes. When the laser contacts a nanoplastic particle, it begins to pulse, causing the particle to speed up or slow down, depending on its size. From the velocity, the research team could determine the particles' sizes and their concentration in the liquid.  Optofluidic Force InductionAccording to the study, this method is known as optofluidic force induction and was developed by Christian Hill from BRAVE Analytics at the Medical University of Graz. Part of the process involved combining optofluidic force induction with Raman spectroscopy — a technique used to determine the mode of vibrations within molecules. In this case, Raman spectroscopy uses Raman scattering, a process that sees how light interacts with molecular vibration. This happens at a different frequency than the laser. Through this, the research team can draw conclusions on the composition of the nanoplastic particles. “Depending on the material of the focused particles, the frequency values are slightly different in each case and thus reveal the exact chemical composition,” said Fitzek, a Raman spectroscopy expert, in a press release. “This works particularly well with organic materials and plastics.”What the Future Holds More research is still needed to determine if intraocular lenses could release nanoplastics into the body, either through general wear or exposure to laser energy. Either way, these findings will be crucial to ophthalmic surgeons and their future patients.Besides using the laser on bodily fluids to test for plastic compounds, this technology can also help determine the amount of microplastics in drinking water, leading to healthier bodies and water sources. “Our method for detecting micro- and nanoplastics can be applied to clear body fluids such as urine, tear fluid or blood plasma,” said Fitzek in a press release. “However, it is also suitable for the continuous monitoring of liquid flows in industry as well as drinking and waste water.”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: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.

About 100 million years ago, a previously unknown armored dinosaur wielding a clubbed tail lumbered through the Canadian Rockies. The species resembled the well-known ankylosaurus (Nodosaurid ankylosaurs) — but with two major differences. The first-ever identified footprints of this species sported only three toes (putting it into the ankylosaurid ankylosaurs category), instead of four (belonging to Tetrapodosaurus borealis). Also, the more known ankylosaurus swung its flexible tail to wield its club. The three-toes version’s tail was rigid and brandished more like a sledgehammer.The tracks, found in both Alberta and British Columbia (BC), represent the first known example of ankylosaurid ankylosaur footprints anywhere in the world, the paleontologists who located them reported in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. A New Dinosaur DiscoveryVictoria Arbour, the curator of paleontology at the Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM) estimated that the new species maxed out at about 20 feet long, was protected by an armored spiky shell, and protected itself with a stiff, rather than flexible tail club.“Ankylosaurs are my favorite group of dinosaurs to work on, so being able to identify new examples of these dinosaurs in British Columbia is really exciting for me,” Arbour said in a press release.The team dubbed the new species of this ankylosaurid ankylosaur Ruopodosaurus clava — meaning “the tumbled-down lizard with a club/mace.” The first part of the name refers to the mountainous region where it was found, while the second half describes its distinctive tail.Co-existing AnkylosaursCharles Helm, scientific advisor at the Tumbler Ridge Museum, had noted the three-toed ankylosaur trackways around Tumbler Ridge, BC, for several years and invited Arbour to help identify and interpret them in 2023. A team of other scientists contributed to the analysis.They date the tracks to the middle of the Cretaceous period, about 100 million years to 94 million years ago. Some paleontologists had speculated that, since no ankylosaurids bones had been found from that period in North America, the species had disappeared by then. The footprints contradict that narrative. The newly identified footprints also show that both types of ankylosaurs co-existed — and are giving this mountainous part of Canada a paleontological claim to fame.“Ever since two young boys discovered an ankylosaur trackway close to Tumbler Ridge in the year 2000, ankylosaurs and Tumbler Ridge have been synonymous,” Helm said in a press release. “It is really exciting to now know through this research that there are two types of ankylosaurs that called this region home, and that Ruopodosaurus has only been identified in this part of Canada.”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:Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. A new thyreophoran ichnotaxon from British Columbia, Canada confirms the presence of ankylosaurid dinosaurs in the mid Cretaceous of North AmericaBefore 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.

If one were to eat substances from blandest to nastiest, the bracket fungus, Amaropostia stiptica, would sit at the farthest end of the unpleasant spectrum.A team of scientists determined just what makes that particular fungus so aggressively distasteful, a group of researchers report in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry. They identified a compound called oligoporin D in the bracket fungus that activates the human bitter taste receptor TAS2R46. The substance is so strong that even barely detectable amounts would probably cause humans to spit it out and desperately search for something to rinse the rancid taste out of their mouths.The authors report that no human subjects were nauseated by this study. Instead, they grew cells that harbored an assortment of human bitter taste receptors. Think of them as a tongue in a petri dish.What Causes Bitterness?The researchers were driven to explore this topic because of what is essentially a bitterness knowledge gap. We have a fairly broad and simplistic understanding of what causes bitterness and why certain substances might exhibit it.“Bitter taste perception cautions humans against the ingestion of potentially toxic compounds,” according to the paper. “However, current knowledge about natural bitter substances and their activation of human bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) is biased toward substances from flowering plants, whereas other sources are underrepresented. Although numerous mushrooms taste bitter, the corresponding substances and receptors are unexplored.”Bitterness Doesn't Always Mean PoisonousThe researchers hypothesize that some fungi evolved bitterness to avoid being eaten by humans and animals, both of which devour mushroom. “Therefore, it is not surprising that some mushrooms synthesize powerful bitter substances to prevent their consumption,” the paper continued.Somewhat surprisingly, though, bitterness level doesn’t necessarily mean something is poisonous. “In fact, some of the most bitter mushrooms such as the bitter bolete (Tylopilus felleus) are not poisonous, whereas the taste of the deadly death cap (Amanita phalloides) is described as pleasant and nutty,” the paper concluded, making the relationship between taste and toxicity “tenuous at best.”After the scientists determined which substances they tested were the most bitter, they determined their molecular structure — presumably so food scientists will know what flavors not to emulate.Read More: How Our Sense of Taste Evolves and AdaptsArticle 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.

Patterns exist all around the world, creating unforgettable designs exhibited by organisms and acts of nature. Some of these designs even share surprising connections, like a spiral shape seen in both marine mollusks and a newly discovered structure of light that moves like a vortex. A recent study found that the movement of this light vortex — called an optical rotatum — occurs in a way that is very similar to the Fibonacci sequence, the mathematical concept behind many of nature’s most iconic designs. The study, published in Science Advances, shows an unprecedented perspective on how light demonstrates parallels with nature. With its unorthodox movements, the optical rotatum could open new possibilities for matter manipulation. New Behavior of LightThe shape of a vortex emerges in familiar phenomena such as tornadoes and whirlpools, and it’s even responsible for the formation of galaxies. Beams of light can be twisted to form optical vortices that take a similar shape; optical vortices are often used for wireless transmission of data, the creation of holograms, and numerous other applications. The new study describes the optical rotatum as a distinct type of optical vortex beam that not only twists as it moves, but also expresses the unique spiral shape seen so often in nature. The rotatum part of its name explains the gradual change of the light’s torque; similarly, in Newtonian physics, the term refers to the change in torque on an object over time. “This is a new behavior of light consisting of an optical vortex that propagates through space and changes in unusual ways,” said Federico Capasso, a Harvard physicist whose lab made the discovery, in a statement. “It is potentially useful for manipulating small matter.”Growing With the Golden Ratio The researchers involved with the study were surprised to find that the optical rotatum grew in a pattern that is close to the Fibonacci sequence, a series of numbers where each number is the sum of the two previous numbers (it starts as 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21). The sequence is closely associated with the golden ratio, a mathematical relationship that is closely linked with compositions across nature and art. The optical rotatum grows in a spiral shape that is also present in the shell of a nautilus (a type of mollusk), sunflower seeds, and branches of trees. “That was one of the unexpected highlights of this research,” said first author Ahmed Dorrah, a physicist at Eindhoven University of Technology who was previously a research associate at Capasso’s lab. “Hopefully we can inspire others who are specialists in applied mathematics to further study these light patterns and gain unique insights into their universal signature.”Prior to this discovery, the research team had focused on working with a metasurface (an artificial sheet that has light-bending nanostructures) to create light beams that could convert into other structures that change as they move. An Easier Way to Control LightThe optical rotatum extends the utility of light by providing another option for manipulating matter. For example, the light could give researchers access to a precise optical tweezer that could handle very small particles. The researchers also note the particular method used to create the optical rotatum, through a single liquid crystal display and a low-intensity light beam. Different than other demonstrations involving high-intensity lasers and bulkier setups, this simpler method could prove to be beneficial for future research on changing the torque of light. Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Science Advances. Rotatum of lightJournal of Applied Mathematics and Physics. The Most Irrational Number that Shows up Everywhere: The Golden Ratio 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.

Key Take-Aways on Dark Oxygen: Dark oxygen is produced on the seafloor by a process other than photosynthesis.A new study published in Nature Geoscience in July 2024 suggests it’s unclear what causes dark oxygen, but a possible source could be polymetallic nodules.This discovery could rewrite our understanding of how aerobic (oxygen-respiring) life evolved on Earth. And it could even point to new possibilities for extraterrestrial life, perhaps on Saturn’s watery moons.The traditional story of Earth’s oxygen is simple: There was none until the first photosynthesizers evolved 3.4 billion years ago. Then, bacteria started converting sunlight into sugar for their own growth, with algae and plants later following suit, and they all pumped oxygen into the atmosphere as a happy byproduct. There is no other natural source for the gas that we — and most life on this planet — need for survival.That’s what Andrew Sweetman, a seafloor ecologist and biogeochemist at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, learned in his studies. However, when he measured elevated oxygen levels at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean in 2013, he was understandably baffled. His lander had returned from 13,000 feet beneath the surface, a gloomy realm untouched by sunlight, and there were bubbles in its payload of sediment.He and his colleagues dismissed it as a fluke, but then in 2015, it happened again. “The evidence just stacked up and up and up,” Sweetman recalls. “Eventually, we had to say, there’s something going on here.” They knew the claim would be controversial, but they couldn’t ignore their own data: Oxygen was being produced on the seafloor by some process other than photosynthesis.What Is Dark Oxygen?In July 2024, the team finally published their findings in Nature Geoscience, calling the phenomenon dark oxygen. It’s unclear what’s causing it — Sweetman is preparing to investigate further next year — but the geology of the ocean bottom itself suggests one possible source: polymetallic nodules. These potato-sized lumps, composed of various metals, litter the seafloor where the researchers detected oxygen in the Clarion-Clipperton zone east of Hawaii. They contain layers of manganese, cobalt, lithium, nickel, and copper. These are all common battery components, and they may behave like underwater batteries, generating enough electric current to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms.That, at least, is Sweetman’s hypothesis. If true, it could rewrite our understanding of how aerobic (oxygen-respiring) life evolved on Earth. And it could even point to new possibilities for extraterrestrial life, perhaps on Saturn’s watery moons. “If the process is electrochemical in nature, and it happens at the bottom of our oceans,” Sweetman says, “what’s to stop it happening at the bottom of an ocean world like Titan or Enceladus?” Other Theories on Dark OxygenAlternatively, it could be the other way around, with bacteria generating oxygen and that oxygen in turn promoting the growth of polymetallic nodules. In March 2025, researchers in China posted a preprint of a study (which has not yet been peer-reviewed) in which they report that two strains of deep-sea bacteria can reduce nitrate to ammonia, a process that seems to produce dark oxygen.Still another alternative, some scientists say, is that Sweetman’s findings are simply wrong. The Nature Geoscience paper drew criticism from several groups, most notably The Metals Company, a deep-sea mining company that partly funded Sweetman’s research and hopes to mine polymetallic nodules for use in batteries.In September 2024, five scientists employed by The Metals Company posted a preprint rebuttal, which also has not yet been peer-reviewed. The paper — led by Michael Clarke, a marine biologist and environmental manager for the company — argues that the oxygen likely came from air bubbles trapped in Sweetman’s equipment. That would mean it originated in the atmosphere after all, not on the seafloor. Thus, they wrote, “the hypothesis that polymetallic nodules produce oxygen can be wholly rejected.” In response to the critiques, Sweetman says, “I don’t think people realize just how much we tried to refute the data.” Sweetman argues that his lander’s benthic chamber — a device used to measure oxygen exchange in seafloor sediment — has enough fail-safe features to ensure the experiments weren’t fouled by stowaway air bubbles. And he expects the next round of research with improved equipment, tentatively planned for early 2026, will validate his team’s original findings.Supporting Deep-Sea EcosystemsThere’s more riding on this than it may seem. If dark oxygen is, in fact, being produced, it could support deep-sea ecosystems that we know little to nothing about. Conservation groups, which had already opposed the extraction of polymetallic nodules, quickly latched onto Sweetman’s work as justification for a moratorium on mining projects. The day the study came out, Lisa Levin, a distinguished professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition that dark oxygen represents “a new ecosystem function that needs to be considered when assessing the impact of deep-sea mining.” But Sweetman remains agnostic. For now, we don’t know enough to say whether dark oxygen production is happening naturally since it's possible the polymetallic nodules only generate electric current when a lander swoops down and blows the sediment off them. And even if the process is natural, it’s unclear how ecologically important it may be (not to mention how mining might affect it). “Those questions are answered on page 942,” Sweetman says. “We’re only on page 3.”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 Geoscience. Evidence of dark oxygen production at the abyssal seafloorCold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Nitrate-driven dark oxygen production by diverse deep-sea microorganismsDeep Sea Conservation Coalition. Groundbreaking Discovery in the Deep Ocean – Oxygen Production by Polymetallic Nodules Targeted by the Deep-Sea Mining IndustryCody Cottier is a contributing writer at Discover who loves exploring big questions about the universe and our home planet, the nature of consciousness, the ethical implications of science and more. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and media production from Washington State University.

Ever wished upon a shooting star? Though beautiful, shooting stars are also signs of the cosmic shooting range through which Earth is currently whizzing. The ammunition consists of countless space rocks, microscopic to mountainous, moving impossibly fast. The few that end up scoring a direct hit are called meteorites. Organizations like NASA's CNEOS track thousands of these near-Earth objects. Occasionally, candidates like the building-sized asteroid 2024 YR4 make headlines. In April 2025, it was announced that the asteroid has a remote chance of hitting the moon in 2032. If humanity ever did come under threat from an extinction-level impact, pioneering experiments like the DART mission of 2022 have shown promise in diverting asteroids. But what has happened in the past when our planet faced much larger visitors from the cosmos? And how does asteroid 2024 YR4 stack up to some of astronomy’s biggest extraterrestrial impacts?1. Chelyabinsk MeteorCompared to ancient giant impacts, this meteor was small fry, but it still packed a devastating punch. On February 15, 2013, a 66-foot-wide hypersonic fragment called a superbolide hurtled above the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. Its Earth-shattering speed caused the atmosphere to shred it 19 miles above the ground, creating an energetic shockwave equal to dozens of Hiroshima bombs. A 2013 paper in Science confirmed the damage. After emitting a blinding flash, the blazing rock’s explosion rattled buildings, shattered windows, and hospitalized roughly 1,500 civilians with the waves of its shrapnel.Chelyabinsk’s meteor was unusually large but not alone. These so-called “fireballs” enter our skies fairly often, rarely hitting the surface but nonetheless making quite an impact.2. Sudbury Basin ImpactOur next big hit occurred far before any humans or even complex life had evolved to witness it. Nearly 2 billion years ago in what is now Ontario, Canada, a presumed comet over 6 miles wide smashed into the ground. It left in its wake the Sudbury Basin, a massive oval crater almost 40 miles long. Despite its initially violent impact, leading to ocean-churning tsunamis and globe-crossing flying wreckage, this impactor also left behind tremendous opportunity. As the layers of melted rock cooled, they formed a concentrated layer of precious metals like nickel, copper, and even gold that would otherwise be buried deep. Thanks to this extraterrestrial impact, Ontario generates billions in annual revenue from the Basin’s riches.3. Vredefort CraterThe Sudbury Comet, while massive, lost out on the scales to the Vredefort impactor. The culprit may have spanned over 15 miles, according to a 2022 study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, making it the heaviest known asteroid that has ever met our planet. The clash occurred just over two billion years ago in ancient South Africa, forming the largest impact structure on Earth: a massive crater almost 200 miles across. The energy released would make our global nuclear arsenal look like toys. The remnant of the impact, a ring of ancient crustal rocks rarely seen on the surface elsewhere, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. Predictably, Vredefort Crater is now a hub of tourism and geologic research.4. Chicxulub ImpactIn the most famous cosmic catastrophe known to popular imagination, the Chicxulub Impactor ended the reign of the reptiles 66 million years ago, generating a massive crater that now rests underneath the Gulf of Mexico. A 2019 paper published in PNAS provides chilling insights into the hours following the impact. Apocalyptic tsunamis, chart-topping earthquakes, and endless wildfires greeted the life that survived. This disaster is known in paleontology as the K-Pg mass extinction. While scientists still debate the role of longer-term climate change, the asteroid’s profound impact on ecosystems is well-supported. Soot from wildfires and silicate dust, flung high by the collisional energy, may have created a planet-cooling blanket. Researchers, whose findings were published in Nature in 2023, modeled that global temperatures could have dropped by nearly 30 degrees Fahrenheit as plants were starved of light for years on end. 5. The MoonYes, you read that right. According to the leading Giant Impact Hypothesis, a Mars-sized protoplanet called Theia delivered the one impact to rule them all. Only instead of crafting a crater, it made a moon 4.5 billion years ago.Much of Theia and the forming Earth were vaporized as the heat of impact shot out molten rock. Nonetheless, the steady hand of gravity allowed the Earth to reabsorb some of this ejecta, and a sizable portion of the rest formed the moon. Compositional analysis demonstrates that our moon is remarkably like its parent, Earth, at the chemical level. Nonetheless, the science is far from fully settled. A 2024 paper published in Space: Science and Technology suggests numerous potential revisions to this model, including multiple smaller impacts and a much bigger Theia.From triggering tidal waves to granting us a lunar cycle, chaotic impacts have shaped our world and will continue to do so for billions of years. As we remember the strange, alien scars of our distant past, we must also keep our telescopes trained on the future as it hurtles toward us. 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:Center for Near Earth Object Studies. Fireball and Bolide DataEarth Observatory. Sudbury Impact StructureJournal of Geophysical Research. A Revision of the Formation Conditions of the VredefortCraterUNESCO. Vredefort DomeSpace: Science and Technology. Research Advances in the Giant Impact Hypothesis of Moon Formation

Black holes — the supermassive gravitation forces at the center of most galaxies — actually spend much of their time dormant, or essentially asleep. Astronomers have now spotted one not only waking up but appearing to hit the celestial equivalent of a snooze button every few days. The black hole at the center of a galaxy named SDSS1335+0728, about 300 million light-years away, first showed signs of stirring when, in 2019, the galaxy started shining brightly. But since 2024, that black hole the astronomers nicknamed “Ansky” started producing X-ray bursts at regular intervals — almost as if Ansky was stretching, then going back to sleep for a bit, according to a paper in the journal Nature Astronomy. Rare Black Hole AwakeningObserving a black hole rising into action is relatively rare. Capturing the regular bursts of energy called quasiperiodic eruptions (QPEs) is rarer still. “And this is the first time we have observed such an event in a black hole that seems to be waking up,” Lorena Hernández-García, an astronomer at Valparaiso University, Chile, and an author of the paper, said in a press release.They certainly have a good view. Multiple X-ray space telescopes are checking in on Ansky, including XMM-Newton and NASA’s NICER, Chandra, and NASA’s Swift. After the first observed emission, they consulted archive data from another instrument but didn’t find any evidence of earlier emissions. Understanding Black Hole MechanicsThese observations could alter understandings of how black holes work — or, at least, what causes QPEs. Conventional wisdom is that a black hole’s powerful gravity sucks in any object that dares venture too close, then rips that matter apart. That captured matter then spreads into a hot, bright, rapidly spinning flat circular object called an accretion disc.QPEs are thought to occur when another object — say a star or a smaller black hole — interacts with that disc. But so far, there is no evidence that Ansky has destroyed a star.The astronomers who first captured and are now monitoring Ansky’s behavior are now considering other scenarios. For instance, the disc could be formed by gas captured by the flares that would be coming from shocks in the disc, caused by a small celestial object repeatedly traveling through — thus disrupting the orbiting material.Brighter, Longer BurstsThere are other clues that Ansky’s bursts aren’t produced by conventionally understood forces. Ansky’s periodic X-ray bursts last 10 times longer and shine 10 times brighter than a typical QPE.“For QPEs, we’re still at the point where we have more models than data, and we need more observations to understand what's happening,” Erwan Quintin, a European Space Agency research fellow and an author of the study, said in a press release. “We thought that QPEs were the result of small celestial objects being captured by much larger ones and spiraling down towards them. Ansky’s eruptions seem to be telling us a different story.”Astronomers will try to better understand that story by watching the rare phenomenon unfold. Future ESA missions may also help the astronomers learn more about the gravitational waves associated with the X-ray bursts.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 of the most important parts of living a healthy lifestyle is getting a good night’s sleep. Quality sleep can prevent illness, reduce stress, and enhance cognitive function, just to name a few. A research team working with the Baycrest Corporate Centre for Geriatric Care has now added a new benefit to the list: unlocking the brain’s ability to sort memories. According to a study published in Nature Human Behaviour, sustained deep sleep not only safeguards against memory decline but also increases the brain’s ability to process memory. Sleep and Long-Term MemoriesIt’s long been known that the quality of our sleep is directly related to our cognitive function. These new findings strengthen this connection and are the first to uncover that sleeping not only assists in making memories but can enhance our memories, too. The memory enhancement revealed through this study is what’s known as sequential memory. This involves remembering the events of our lives in the correct order in which they happened. Being able to reminisce about the details of your wedding day or recall a tumultuous encounter with a friend is all thanks to sequential memory. According to researchers, even a single night of deep sleep can have long-lasting effects on sequential memory.“The benefits of sleep on memory are powerful; just one night makes a difference that persists over a year,” said Brian Levine, Senior Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, part of the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, in a press release.Studying Memory and SleepTypical memory studies often involve asking participants to memorize items, like words and pictures, within a controlled lab setting. This new study, run by Levine and assisted by Rotman graduate students, differed from the norm and involved a unique approach to studying memory.Instead of memorizing cue cards of words and pictures, participants were immersed in a real-world experience. They were given a 20-minute audio-guided tour of artworks displayed around Baycrest, a research and teaching hospital located in Toronto, Canada. After completing the tour, participants had their memory of the tour tested. They were asked questions about the physical features of the artwork and the order in which the artwork was shown. These questions were asked five different times over a span of one hour to 15 months after the tour.The whole experience was then repeated on a second group of participants, with some tweaks. The new group was randomly divided into two subgroups, known as the “sleep group” and the “wake group.” The wake group completed the tour and their first memory test in the morning, then repeated that same test in the evening after a day of regular activities.For the sleep group, they completed the tour and their first test in the evening, then had their second memory test in the morning after a night of electroencephalographic (EEG) brain-monitoring sleep in a sleep lab. Both groups also participated in the same memory tests one week, one month, and 15 months after the initial tour.Long-Term Memory RecallThe researchers found that the sleep group had an evidently higher performance in sequential memory than the wake group, even after 15 months. This suggests that a single night of sleep significantly enhances long-term brain function and memory recall.The results of this study help solidify the importance of quality sleep and could help provide insight into the potential cause of memory changes in dementia patients.  “While our memory for features such as object size and color declines over time, sleep can improve our memory for event sequence,” Levine said in a press release. “This study deepens our understanding of how critical sleep is for integrating experiences into memory.”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 Human Behaviour. Sleep selectively and durably enhances memory for the sequence of real-world experiencesAs 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.

Humans love to take liberties when we talk about our heights. But Afruca tangeri fiddler crabs don’t have that luxury. Looking and listening in on the members of this species as they tried to attract mates, a team of researchers found that the males’ mating songs are shaped by their size, and are thus accurate signals of their fitness as mates, according to a press release, at least from the perspective of female fiddler crabs.Publishing their findings in a study in the Journal of Experimental Biology, the researchers say that their results reveal what information male fiddler crabs share in their songs, as well as how well they share it.Conveying Size Through SongScuttling around the noisy seashores of the Southern Iberian Peninsula, A. tangeri males court A. tangeri females through songs of seismic vibrations, by drumming or hitting the sand with their oversized claws or shells. But little is known about what, exactly, these seismic vibrations convey and how effectively they convey it next to the noisy sea. Setting out to learn more, a team of researchers from the University of Oxford’s Animal Vibration Lab recorded male fiddler crabs as they produced their seismic signals. Using GoPro cameras and geophones, which measured the percussive vibrations that the crabs produced in the sand, the team revealed that the seismic signals differed depending on whether the males drummed the sand with their claws or hit the sand with their shells. Much more intriguingly, the researchers also found that the seismic songs differed depending on the males’ morphology, allowing the females to accurately size up the males from far away.“It appears as though the males cannot, or do not, lie about their physical size,” said Tom Mulder, a study author and a biologist at the Animal Vibration Lab, according to the release. “Females can rely on the loudness of seismic signals to honestly assess a potential mate’s quality, all without needing to see him.”Read More: Understanding How Whales CommunicateThe Complicated Steps of Fiddler Crab CourtshipThroughout their study, the researchers’ GoPros and geophones allowed them to record the complicated steps of fiddler crab courtship. First, the males waved their oversized claws in the air. Second, they alternated between drumming the sand and hitting the sand with their claws and shells. Third, they performed both behaviors simultaneously. And fourth, they scrambled into their burrows and drummed the sand there, if and only if a female seemed interested. Recording vibrations for over 8,000 of these fiddler flirtations in total, the researchers found that the length, the loudness, and the rhythm of the crabs’ seismic signals differed depending on the crabs’ behavior — whether the crabs were drumming with their claws or hitting with their shells, for instance — allowing their behaviors to be differentiated based on their vibrations alone.Also shaping the males’ songs were their morphologies, with larger and smaller claws producing higher-energy and lower-energy seismic signals, respectively. “Larger claws have the advantage of overcoming seismic noise so that they can signal to females that are further away,” said Beth Mortimer, another study author and a biologist at the Animal Vibration Lab, according to the release. “However, the advantages are only observed for the percussive signals such as drumming and fortunately for smaller clawed crabs, these are only part of the courtship routine.”According to the team, the percussive signals of these crabs are advantageous for males, allowing them to attract females next to the sounds of the sea. But they’re also beneficial for females, too, making sure that the males they meet actually measure up. 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:Journal of Experimental Biology. Constraints on Percussive Seismic Signals in a Noisy Environment by European Fiddler Crabs, Afruca tangeri 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.

(Image Credit: DC Studio/Shutterstock) NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsBack in 1950, Alan Turing proposed an elegantly simple yet profoundly challenging way to determine whether machines could be said to "think." Known as the Turing Test, this measure of machine intelligence sets humans and machines in conversational competition, challenging human judges to distinguish between artificial and genuine intelligence through text-based interactions. Despite numerous attempts, no artificial system had ever convincingly passed this test. Until now.Cameron Jones and Benjamin Bergen from the University of California, San Diego, have gathered for the first time empirical evidence that OpenAI’s GPT-4.5, a sophisticated large language model (LLM), has successfully passed the Turing Test. Not only did GPT-4.5 pass, but under specific conditions, it outperformed human counterparts in convincing participants of its humanity.The work has significant implications for society, ethics and humanity’s understanding of intelligence itself.Human v MachineThe Turing Test pits an interrogator against two conversational partners — one human and one machine — engaging both simultaneously via text. The interrogator's task is simple: to decide which conversational partner is human. But despite rapid advancements in computational linguistics and machine learning, AI systems have consistently failed this seemingly straightforward challenge.To take the test, Jones and Bergen recruited 284 participants from diverse backgrounds, including undergraduate students and paid crowd-sourced workers from Prolific, a tech company that employs humans to take part in AI-related experiments. The researchers pitted several contemporary AI models against humans — including GPT-4o, LLaMa-3.1-405B, and GPT-4.5. Interestingly, GPT-4.5 emerged as the winner but only when instructed to adopt a "humanlike persona." In those conversations, GPT-4.5 was judged to be the human 73% of the time: significantly more often than interrogators selected the real human participant, say Jones and Bergen, highlighting a remarkable shift in AI’s ability to emulate human conversation.The researchers also used an older rule-based chatbot called ELIZA to generate text and this was readily identified as a machine by the judges. Similarly, GPT-4o, a previous generation model, also significantly underperformed, chosen as human in just 21% of cases. "The results constitute the first empirical evidence that any artificial system passes a standard three-party Turing test," say Jones and Bergen.Jones and Bergen attribute part of GPT4.5’s success to the careful crafting of prompts designed to guide the model into adopting a persona that humans find relatable and convincingly authentic — specifically, a persona of an introverted young person fluent in internet slang and culture. GPT4.5’s ability to do this, say the researchers, demonstrates nuanced command over language patterns and interactive subtleties previously thought uniquely human."It is arguably the ease with which LLMs can be prompted to adapt their behavior to different scenarios that makes them so flexible: and apparently so capable of passing as human," say Jones and Bergen. This adaptability, rather than being a weakness, is precisely what underscores their emerging intelligence.Of course, the work also raises the thorny question of whether the Turing Test is measuring intelligence at all or just measuring the ability to pass the test. Either way, the success of GPT-4.5 challenges the conventional wisdom that genuine intelligence must include conscious awareness or deep comprehension. It may even prompt a reevaluation of the criteria used to define cognitive abilities and intellect.Evolving IntelligenceThat’s an impressive result with significant ethical, economic and social implications. "Models with this ability to robustly deceive and masquerade as people could be used for social engineering or to spread misinformation," say the researchers, warning of the potential misuse of “counterfeit humans” in politics, marketing and cybersecurity.But there is also a clear upside, albeit with important caveats. Better conversational agents could significantly enhance human-computer interactions, improve automated services, virtual assistance, companionship and educational tools. Achieving a balance between utility and risk will probably require carefully considered regulation.The work may also force humans to change how they interact with each other. Jones and Bergen imagine a greater cultural emphasis on authentic human interaction, spurred by the ubiquity of capable AI counterparts. This blurring of the distinction between machines and humans would surely have fascinated even Turing himself.Ref: Large Language Models Pass the Turing Test : arxiv.org/abs/2503.23674artificial intelligence1 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

It might be time to grant the monkeypox virus a new name. Although the virus (mpox for short) was first detected in lab monkeys in 1958, the original host or reservoir has remained unknown. Identifying the reservoir is crucial, because it gives epidemiologists targets to help control outbreaks. For the monkeypox virus, experts need to shield people from the fire-footed rope squirrel (Funisciurus pyrropus), which lives in the forests of West and Central Africa.Mystery Monkeypox SourceA team of scientists first posted a paper describing their findings on the preprint server Research Square. The researchers pinpointed the mpox source as the bushy-tailed rodent by observing a group of wild sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) in Taï National Park (Côte d’Ivoire). In early 1993, about a third of the observed group there was infected by the virus and four infants died.The scientists scoured the primates’ hunting area and eventually found an mpox-infected fire rope squirrel carcass less than 2 miles from the mangabey territory. They sequenced mpox genomes from both monkey and squirrel and found them identical. Next, they pored through old video records of the primates recorded in the park and found footage of a mangabey eating one of the squirrels. Finally, they examined fecal samples from the monkeys prior to the outbreak. Two contained DNA from the squirrel and one also tested positive for mpox.Human to Human Monkeypox TransmissionThe virus, while concerning, didn’t spread far or fast enough to create much of an uproar — probably because transmission was rare, and thought to be only animal to human. That changed when evidence emerged of human-to-human transmission.It was also largely contained until then, when, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, mpox was documented in over 80 countries outside of Africa, with U.S. cases being reported in all 50 states. In June of 2024, the World Health Organization issued a warning. Soon after, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its own travel warning to countries might be susceptible to the virus.A History of Monkeypox and SmallpoxIronically, the rise of mpox could be at least partially attributed to the success of earlier vaccination efforts. After smallpox was largely eradicated through shots, monkeypox slowly became a factor; the smallpox vaccine was at least partially effective in stopping mpox. However, mpox is far less deadly than smallpox.History shows that smallpox first arose around 1000 B.C. in Egypt and India. It was estimated to kill about 30 percent of the people it infected. Survivors were often left blind, scarred or disfigured. Even though, by the late 1940s, the U.S. had come close to wiping out the disease here, there were still 10-15 million cases globally, meaning millions a year were still dying from the disease. By the time world health officials claimed to have beat the virus it had killed more people over 3,000 years than any other known disease, including The Plague.Even though monkeypox is far less deadly than smallpox, knowing where it originates from will help scientists contain, control, and perhaps ultimately eradicate it.This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes onlyArticle 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.

We’ve all been there: You’re hanging with a group of friends (either in real time or virtual), and one casually mentions doing something with the other — but neither explicitly mentions you. You’re faced with a dilemma. Inviting yourself when you’re not wanted could come off as intrusive at best, rude at worst. And not inviting yourself will leave you left out and feeling rejected.A new study now should put such anxieties to rest. In such situations, you’re more welcome than you think, according to an article in Personal and Social Psychology Bulletin. The Psychology Behind RejectionJulian Givi, a West Virginia University professor and an author of the study, first became interested in this issue when he explored the other side of rejection. He conducted a study that explored how hosts feel when a potential guest declines an invitation. The result? A “no” was far less psychologically devastating to the host than the potential guest estimated. In both cases, Givi wanted to understand not just the responses and their ramifications but the thought processes behind them. To pursue a solid, scientifically valid result, he conducted eight studies with several thousand participants.Thought Process Behind Informal InvitationsIn the first study, 340 participants were asked to remember scenarios from the last five years where they were either directly invited or “self-invited” to join a social activity. They described how they felt in each situation. Then, researchers analyzed the text of their responses with software. Later studies constructed role-playing scenarios where participants used structured scenarios to isolate specific psychological factors. Participants were randomly assigned roles as either “potential self-inviters” or “plan-holders.” Then they were asked to imagine situations where a mutual friend mentioned a plan but didn’t explicitly invite them or a situation when another person asked them along. Researchers then measured how irritated or annoyed they thought the other participants would be if they tagged along.The findings consistently found that potential self-inviters were less likely to attend than what the plan holders across studies said they would prefer. This held true even when the plan-holders had invited the self-inviter to past events or when they made efforts to ease logistical obstacles. Making Social AssumptionsThe researchers discovered that potential self-inviters made two common assumptions. First, they overestimated how annoyed the plan holder would be if the self-inviters asked to join. Second, they wrongly believed that the plan holders had considered inviting them and then decided not to, which felt like a form of social rejection. In reality, the people making plans often hadn’t thought about inviting others at all.So, why do people hold back from asking to join? The research pointed to two major factors. First, they incorrectly worried that the plan holders had thought about inviting them but decided to actively reject them.Such assumptions are based more on psychological phenomena like egocentrism. That leads to practices where self-inviters essentially try to mind-read the planners, then “…potential self-inviters exaggerate the likelihood that plan-holders had already considered inviting them but decided against it," the study said.The authors add that there are some exceptions, like formal situations. If you are not invited to a wedding, it's generally a good idea not to crash it.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:Personal and Social Psychology Bulletin. Self-Invitation Hesitation: How and Why People Fail to Ask to Join the Plans of OthersAmerican Psychology Association. Saying no: The negative ramifications from invitation declines are less severe than we think.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.

Modern rhinos aren’t Nebraskan animals. And they aren’t North American animals, either. But millions of years ago, rhinos were. In the Middle Miocene, Teleoceras major rhinos lived across Nebraska and across much of North America, too.Analyzing an assembly of T. major remains, which were buried in volcanic ash in northeastern Nebraska around 12 million years ago, a team of researchers recently revealed that these rhinos lived relatively social and sedentary lives. In fact, as reported in a study in Scientific Reports, the team’s results suggest that these rhinos lived in huge non-migratory herds. “I am not surprised that the analyses very strongly suggest that [T. major] lived in herds given that this animal resembles [the] modern hippopotamus in form,” said John Payne, a biologist who works with rhinos and was not involved in the study, according to a press release. “Hippos live in herds of several tens of animals — with several herds in one geographical area.”Ancient Rhino Remains Found in AshfallBack in 1971, a team of researchers stumbled across a massive assemblage of bones — what appeared to be the remains of over 100 T. major rhinos. Found in Nebraska’s Ashfall Fossil Beds, the remains were discovered around a dried waterhole and were apparently buried by ash after an eruption of the Yellowstone volcano in Wyoming around 12 million years ago. But what wasn’t apparent, however, was why so many animals were found together in the same spot. Were the rhinos there because they were fleeing from the volcano? Were they there because they were seeking shelter and just so happened to meet with other members of their same species? Or were they already together — already in the area as a single herd — when the volcano began spewing its ash?Hoping to find out, a team of researchers turned to the isotopes of the rhinos’ teeth, which carry signatures of their movements across the North American landscape. “We found they didn’t move very much,” said Clark Ward, a study author and a master’s graduate from the University of Cincinnati, according to the release. “We didn’t find evidence for seasonal migration or any evidence of a response to the disaster.”Built like barrels and equipped with short, stubby legs, it makes sense that T. major showed no signs of a seasonal migration or a volcanic response. They were shaped like hippos, which tend to stick to the same water systems, and they probably lived like hippos, too, spending more time in and around the water than traversing the land. Reconstructing Ancient Rhino LivesOf course, the fact that the rhinos didn’t move in response to the volcano meant they were met with the volcano’s ash. Indeed, the dust and debris from Yellowstone traveled the hundreds of miles to Nebraska, where it fell from above and for an extended period of time, even after the eruption was finished.“That ash would have covered everything: the grass, leaves, and water,” said Ward, now a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, according to the release. “The rhinos likely weren’t killed immediately like the people of Pompeii. Instead, it was much slower. They were breathing in the ash. And they likely starved to death.”Prior to the eruption, the rhinos fed on grasses, and it was the traces of those grasses that allowed the researchers to recreate their lifestyle. Indeed, the vegetation that the rhinos ate and the soil and bedrock that supported that vegetation shared similar ratios of carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotopes, and those isotopes made their way to the rhinos’ teeth during feeding. By assessing the ratios of isotopes that ended up in the rhinos’ teeth, the researchers were able to determine where the rhinos ate and, thus, where the rhinos lived. In addition to revealing the rhinos’ range, these isotopes also revealed several factors about the climate conditions that the animals encountered in their lives. While carbon isotopes told the researchers about the environment’s plants, oxygen and strontium isotopes told them about the environment’s precipitation and soil.“I’m honored and privileged to have my name in science attached to the site,” said Ward, who worked at the Ashfall Fossil Beds as an intern and who visited the beds as a child, according to the release. “As someone who used to go to Ashfall as a kid, it’s come full circle.”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:University of Nebraska State Museum (Ashfall Fossil Beds). From Waterhole to Rhino BarnPalaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. Home on the Range: A Multi-Isotope Investigation of Ungulate Resource Partitioning at Ashfall Fossil Beds, Nebraska, USASam 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.

The first full moon of spring, called the “Pink Moon,” will soon ascend in the night sky. Curious onlookers can expect to catch a glimpse of the full moon's peak at 8:22 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on April 12, 2025, yet the lack of a rosy hue may leave many people perplexed. The Pink Moon is significant for many reasons, but its color is not one of them; despite the vibrant name, the Pink Moon is not actually pink. Find out the true reason for this full moon’s colorful moniker, as well as the aspects that make it a springtime spectacle to look forward to. Why Is It Called the Pink Moon?The Pink Moon was given its name to represent the bloom of the creeping phlox (otherwise known as moss pink), a flowering plant that blankets much of the eastern and central U.S. from April through early May. This moon, just like the full moons of other months, is rooted in Native American naming traditions. The Pink Moon sports a few alternate names as well, including the Breaking Ice Moon (from Algonquin culture) and the Egg Moon (from Anglo-Saxon culture).This year’s Pink Moon also doubles as the Paschal full moon, which is used to set the date for Easter and is defined as the first full moon after the spring equinox (which occurred on March 20, 2025 in North America). Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the Paschal full moon — since this month's full moon will appear on April 12, 2025, Easter will fall on April 20, 2025. Viewing a MicromoonThe Pink Moon may not change color, but it will exhibit another notable trait that will make it stand apart. The full moon will be a micromoon, making it somewhat smaller in appearance as it emerges in the sky. The change in size, though, is so slight that it may not be obvious at first glance. Regardless, the Pink Moon will have the distinction of being the smallest full moon of 2025.A micromoon’s reduced size is the result of the moon reaching its apogee, or its farthest point from Earth. The flip side of this phenomenon is a supermoon, which is when the moon reaches its perigee (its closest approach to Earth) and appears much larger in the sky. This year’s Pink Moon will be situated in the constellation Virgo, which can be easily found by tracking down Spica, the constellation’s brightest star and the 16th brightest star in the night sky. The star will manifest as a dot right near the full moon, but it may be difficult to spot with the naked eye, depending on the amount of light pollution around viewing locations. When to See the Pink MoonWhile the Pink Moon will peak and shine brightest on the evening of April 12, 2025 the window to catch its appearance will last longer than just one day; the moon will still appear full in the sky on Friday and Sunday. Following the Pink Moon's appearance, moon watchers will have to wait until May 12, 2025 to observe the next full moon — the Flower Moon.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. SupermoonsJack 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.

If you’ve ever skimmed the ingredient list of your favorite snacks or drinks, you’ve probably stumbled across a string of unfamiliar words — potassium polyphosphate, acesulfame-K, sulphite ammonia caramel, and more — that offer little insight into what you’re actually eating.These food additives are used by manufacturers to boost flavor, texture, appearance, and shelf life. While many are naturally derived and individually tested for safety, recent research suggests that mixing multiple additives — as often happens in the preparation of processed foods — could lead to health risks that aren’t visible when looking at each ingredient by itself.A new study led by scientists from institutions such as Sorbonne Paris Nord University and Paris Cité University set out to investigate just that: how mixtures of food additives commonly found in everyday products may contribute to type 2 diabetes, a ever-growing metabolic disease tied to Western diets.Why Food Additives Are Raising Red FlagsIn the U.S., nearly 60 percent of daily dietary intake comes from ultra-processed foods. These foods are increasingly being linked to negative health outcomes, especially metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes.To uncover what makes such processed foods so harmful, researchers are turning their attention to the additives tucked into long ingredient lists.Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tests the safety of each additive individually, newer experimental studies suggest that combinations of additives may impact health differently — potentially contributing to metabolic disorders, inflammation, and disruptions in gut microbiota. These “cocktail effects” can easily go unnoticed in single-substance safety tests.Using human cell models, French researchers demonstrated that mixtures of food additives can behave in unexpected and more toxic ways than individual substances alone. But to translate those findings into practical dietary advice, studies involving real people are needed.How Additives May Contribute to DiabetesTo explore potential links between additive combinations and type 2 diabetes, researchers analyzed data from nearly 100,000 adults in France who recorded their food intake and brand choices over several years. After seven years of follow-up, the team identified the most frequently consumed additive combinations and tracked who developed type 2 diabetes.Two of the five most common additive mixtures stood out. One included mostly emulsifiers, preservatives, and a dye (ingredients typically found in sauces and dairy-based desserts). The second included acidifiers, acid regulators, dyes, sweeteners, and more emulsifiers, often present in artificially sweetened beverages. Both mixtures were associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.Further analysis revealed complex interactions among these additives. Some appeared to be synergistic (amplifying each other’s effects), while others seemed to be antagonistic (counteracting one another), suggesting that their health impact changes significantly when they’re consumed together.Implications for Public HealthThis study was the first of its kind to assess long-term exposure to real-world combinations of food additives in a large population, and to link these mixtures with the risk of type 2 diabetes. The findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that the health effects of ultra-processed foods may be driven not just by individual ingredients, but by how those ingredients interact.While further studies are needed to fully understand these interactions and explore links with other health issues, the message is clear: Food additives don’t exist in a vacuum, and their combined effects may be greater than the sum of their parts.“This observational study alone is not sufficient to establish a causal link. However, our findings are in line with recent in vitro experimental work suggesting possible cocktail effects. They indicate that the evaluation of additives should take into account their interactions and support public health recommendations that advise limiting non-essential food additives,” explained study co-author Mathilde Touvier in a press release.As our diets have become increasingly reliant on processed foods, understanding the hidden effects of additive mixtures may be key to tackling the rise of diet-related diseases like type 2 diabetes.This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Read More: What are Ultra Processed Foods? 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:Food and Chemical Toxicity: Evaluation of the toxic effects of food additives, alone or in mixture, in four human cell modelsHaving 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.

A jawbone found on the ocean floor near Taiwan provides evidence that the Denisovans — a poorly understood ancestor to modern humans — occupied southeast Asia 100,000 years ago. DNA extracted and analyzed from it has evolutionary implications, because, while contemporary southeast Asians have bits of Denisovan DNA in their genomes, the nearest known Denisovan fossil find, until now, hailed from northeastern Asia, according to a report in the journal Science.“Modern human populations in eastern Asia, particularly in the southeast, have genomic elements derived from the Denisovans, and it has been suggested that the two interbred in the region,” according to a press release. “However, so far, the molecularly identified Denisovan fossils are very fragmentary and have been found only from two sites in northern Asia. This research has directly demonstrated that Denisovans were also distributed in southeastern Asia.”Finding Traces of DenisovansDenisovans are a fairly recent addition to the human genetic family tree. In 1980, a Buddhist monk discovered a curious jawbone — but it was stored and remained unanalyzed until 2010. That year, similar fossils found in Siberia’s Denisova Cave linked the two sites. Other fossils in the cave ranging from from 300,000 years to 100,000 years ago, suggested that different groups of early humans both used the cave and may have interacted. These findings changed the way paleontologists thought about human evolution. Previously, the conventional wisdom was that we are direct descendants of Neanderthals out of Africa. Adding Denisovans to our ancestors’ genetic heritage creates a more complex story.Read More: Who Were the Denisovans?Evidence of InterbreedingOther work suggests that Neanderthals and Denisovans likely interbred near the end of the Ice Age, when glaciers began their retreat and once frozen land became forested. Those conditions meant both species no longer were isolated by ice.The newest study expands on that story, showing that the Denisovans weren’t limited to Tibet and Siberia. It also expands on the notion that Denisovans were sufficiently different than Neanderthals in two ways. First, analysis of the Taiwan jawbone, which they named Penghu 1, after the strait in which it was found — revealed proteins not rare in contemporary humans, but common in known Denisovans. The Taiwanese teeth, like the Tibetan ones share a similar distinct root structure as well as large molars.“The molecular identification of Penghu 1, a Denisovan, has significant implications for human evolutionary history in eastern Asia,” the press release 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:Science. A male Denisovan mandible from Pleistocene TaiwanBefore 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.

Thousands of stone tools discovered in a South African cave reveal that Ice Age humans had developed sophisticated fabrication techniques about 20,000 years ago, according to a report in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology.Looking closely at the tools’ chipped blades as well as the larger rocks from which they were formed — what archaeologists call a core — the scientists surmised how the tools were made. That, in turn, reveals much of the makers’ know-how.“When your average person thinks about stone tools, they probably focus on the detached pieces, the blades and flakes,” Sara Watson, a postdoctoral scientist at the Field Museum in Chicago and an author of the paper, said in a press release. “But the thing that is the most interesting to me is the core because it shows us the particular methods and order of operations that people went through in order to make their tools.”Archaeologists working in the cave overlooking the ocean. (Credit: Sara Watson) Both the precision of the blade-making methods, as well as a variety of techniques used to make them, led Watson and colleagues to hypothesize that the Paleolithic people there shared tool-making knowledge with each other — and perhaps even learned from other groups.“In a lot of these technologies, the core reduction is very specific, and it’s something that you are taught and learn, and that’s where the social information is,” said Watson. “If we see specific methods of core reduction at multiple sites across the landscape, as an archaeologist, it tells me that these people were sharing ideas with one another.”For instance, Watson noticed that one particular method of breaking tiny bladelets off of a core found in the South African cave resembled a style discovered hundreds of miles away in Namibia and Lesotho, according to the release.“Same core reduction pattern, same intended product,” Watson said. “The pattern is repeated over and over and over again, which indicates that it is intentional and shared, rather than just a chance similarity."Hunting With New Tools and WeaponsWhen the blades were fabricated between 24,000 years and 12,000 years ago, Earth was a vastly different place. Since so much of Earth’s water was frozen in glaciers and ice caps, the sea level was lower, placing the caves a few miles inland rather than right on the water, where they are today.The caves then would have been a few miles inland, near vast plains with plenty of animals, such as antelope. “People hunted those animals, and to do that, they developed new tools and weapons,” said Watson.Gaining access to the caves was a treacherous task. It required a 75-foot climb, safety ropes, climbing harnesses, and stairs made of sandbags. The archaeologists made many trips up the sandbag staircase, laden with 50-pound backpacks full of excavation equipment. Removing some of the tiny, fragile items was challenging as well.Paleolithic Technology“Since these are extremely, extremely old sites, from before the end of the last Ice Age, we had to be very careful with our excavation,” Watson said. “We used little tiny dental tools and mini trowels so that we could remove each little individual layer of sediment.”Such techniques — and the ability to share how they were developed — show that Paleolithic people may have been more technologically sophisticated than previously thought. And the reach of these techniques, as evidenced by similarity-seeming tools at several sites, shows Paleolithic people likely taught skills within their own groups as well as gained knowledge from others.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:Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology. Robberg Lithic Technology from Knysna Eastern Heads Cave 1Before 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.

Hunter-gatherers were crossing at least 100 km (62 miles) of open water to reach the Mediterranean island of Malta 8,500 years ago, a thousand years before the arrival of the first farmers. (Image Credit: Daniel Clark / MPI GEA) NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsExperts have added another skillset to at least one group of hunter-gatherers: paddling. Research now shows that some stalwart seafarers stroked their way from mainland Europe to the island of Malta, about 60 miles away, about 8,500 years ago, according to an article in the journal Nature. The finding represents the longest known watery crossing of its time — all the more remarkable because it predates the invention of boats with sails.The researchers hypothesize that the canoeists tapped into sea currents and winds to propel them to their destination. They likely navigated by using landmarks and, possibly, stars since they almost certainly completed part of their journey at night. Such a distance, at an average speed of about 2.5 miles an hour, would require that part of the journey to take place after sunset.“Even on the longest day of the year, these seafarers would have had over several hours of darkness in open water,” Nicholas Vella, a University of Malta researcher and co-author of the study, said in a press release.Early Human SettlementExcavations at the cave site of Latnija by the scientific consortium led by Professor Eleanor Scerri of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology (MPI-GEA) and the University of Malta. (Image Credit: Huw Groucutt)Evidence of life on the island pegged to that time was surprising not only because of the distance required to reach them but because the arrival then predates the rise of agriculture by about 1,000 years. Historians had often assumed that, without the technological shifts agriculture produced, such voyages would have been impossible.Human signs of life linked to the time when the explorers must have reached Malta included stone tools, hearths, and cooked food waste.“We found abundant evidence for a range of wild animals, including [red deer], long thought to have gone extinct by this point in time,” Eleanor Scerri, a Max Planck Institute anthropologist and co-author, said in the press release. “They were hunting and cooking these deer alongside tortoises and birds, including some that were extremely large and extinct today.”Read More: Do We Know When Ancient Humans First Built Boats?Seafaring Abilities of Hunter-GatherersThe cave site of Latnija in northern Malta also suggests that the crossing wasn’t a one-off in terms of aquatic exploitation. The researchers also found cooked remains of seal, multiple kinds of fish, crabs, and sea urchins, among other seafood.Such discoveries raise the question of whether other small, remote Mediterranean islands were inhabited. If so, did people from those islands visit each other? The Malta find opens up another line of investigation about the possibility of such interactions, as well as the extent to which hunting and fishing there affected the ecosystem.“The results add a thousand years to Maltese prehistory and force a re-evaluation of the seafaring abilities of Europe’s last hunter-gatherers, as well as their connections and ecosystem impacts,” Scerri concluded in the 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: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

An image of three sea lions swimming in the ocean unrelated to the toxic algae bloom. (Image Credit: David Keep/Shutterstock) NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsSea lions are typically not aggressive toward humans. However, these usually curious and playful marine animals have been making headlines recently for multiple attacks on people off the coast of California. The aggression is linked to a toxic algae bloom impacting nearly 400 miles of the Southern California coast, mostly in L.A. and Santa Barbara Counties. Aggressive and erratic behavior isn’t the only way this toxic bloom can affect these animals, and sea lions aren’t the only infected animals. Sea Lion AttacksRecently in March 2025, two people in Southern California were attacked by an aggressive sea lion. One man was on his surfboard when the sea lion charged, bit him, and dragged him off the surfboard. The Californian, Rj LaMendola, recounted his experience on a Facebook post. In it, he explained how the sea lion seemed “...feral, almost demonic, devoid of the curiosity or playfulness.” A similar incident occurred when a 15-year-old was in the water taking a swim test to be a lifeguard. The sea lion approached Phoebe Beltran while she was in the water and repeatedly bit her in the arm. Both LaMendola and Beltran are recovering from their injuries. Read More: What Is Red Tide – and Is It Getting Worse?Why are Sea Lions Attacking People? It’s likely that sea lions are becoming aggressive toward people because of a toxic algae bloom. According to researchers from NOAA and the Marine Mammal Care Center in Los Angeles, a bloom of Pseudo-nitzschia is the likely culprit. Pseudo-nitzschia produces a neurotoxin known as domoic acid. This toxin can cause animals such as sea lions to be lethargic, have seizures, act erratically, and it can lead to death. According to researchers, the 2025 bloom occurred earlier than usual.“What is unique about this event is that this bloom is very early in the season and doesn't appear to be associated with strong winds or a thick marine layer like we have seen in the past,” said Michelle Berman Kowalewski, founder and director at the Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit, in a statement with NOAA. The algae blooms feed on nutrients brought on by upwelling — when winds bring nutrient-rich deep ocean water to the surface. With these nutrients, the algae can grow and spread faster. Some experts at NOAA wonder if run-off from the L.A. fires could have also led to the earlier bloom. Other Animals That Are ImpactedAs the algae blooms, it can infect fish, which are a major food source for sea lions and dolphins — the other marine animal greatly impacted by this bloom. When the sea lions and dolphins eat the fish, they become poisoned and can experience the symptoms listed above. According to NOAA, the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network partners are receiving up to 100 calls a day about infected dolphins and sea lions. Besides the sea lion attacks, other reports indicated that dolphins have been seen swimming in erratic circles in shallow water and are being stranded on beaches. Marine experts can treat animals that have been poisoned with domoic acid, however, there are so many cases that the experts have to forgo treating all the sick and focus on who they think they can save.“We are having to do triage on the beach as we try to identify those animals where we have the greatest chance of making a difference,” said John Warner, chief executive officer of the Marine Mammal Care Center in Los Angeles, in a statement with NOAA.  NOAA and its partners are continuing to monitor the situation and are doing their best to keep both the animals and people safe. If you happen to be at the beach and see an animal looking lethargic or acting erratically, it’s suggested you stay 50 yards or more away from it. 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:Marine Mammal Care Center. What Is Domoic Acid?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.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

Our dogs love the outdoors, but the outdoors don’t love our dogs. A review of previously published studies, released in Pacific Conservation Biology, has found that pet dogs have a number of negative effects on the environment, from their disruption of wildlife to their contribution to the problems of pollution and climate change. “Many owners simply don’t [realize] the environmental damage dogs can cause, from disturbing wildlife to polluting ecosystems,” said Bill Bateman, a review author and a behavioral ecologist at Curtin University in Australia, according to a press release. “However, the sheer number of pet dogs globally, combined with uninformed or lax [behaviors] by some owners, is driving environmental issues that we can no longer ignore.”The Environmental Effects of DogsThere are around 1 billion dogs in the world today, and the benefits they bring are innumerable. From the companionship they offer to the mental and physical health improvements they provide, dogs make our lives better. But despite our love for them, they don’t typically make the lives of wild animals better — they typically make them worse — as dogs tend to disrupt wildlife both when they’re around and when they’re not.When they’re outside, dogs bark and chase after animals, and when they’re indoors, they leave their traces behind, the review revealed. “Dogs leave scents, urine and [feces], which can disrupt animal [behavior] long after the dogs have left,” Bateman said in the release.Especially affected by the behaviors and the traces of our dogs are shorebirds, but other animals are impacted, too. “Studies have found that animals like deer, foxes, and bobcats in the [U.S.] are less active or completely avoid areas where dogs are regularly walked, even in the absence of the dogs,” Bateman added in the release.In addition to their effects on wildlife, pet dogs also add to the problems of pollution and climate change, the review found. “Dog waste also contributes to pollution in waterways and inhibits plant growth, while wash-off from chemical treatments used to clean and guard dogs from parasites can add toxic compounds to aquatic environments,” Bateman said in the release. “In addition, the pet food industry, driven by a vast global dog population, has a substantial carbon, land, and water footprint.”Diminishing Your Dog’s TollThese environmental burdens aren’t enough to ditch dog ownership entirely — and what could be? “Dogs are incredibly important to people’s lives, and their roles range from providing companionship to contributing to conservation efforts as detection dogs,” Bateman said in the release. However, the burdens are enough to warrant changes in the behaviors of individual dog owners. In fact, there are things that you can do to reduce the environmental toll of your dog, and they’re relatively easy to implement. For instance, cleaning up after your dog can limit its disruption of wildlife, its pollution of waterways, and its inhibition of plant growth, while purchasing environmentally friendly dog food can curb the industry’s environmental footprint, restricting its contributions to climate change. Some people “may feel their individual actions won’t make a difference, leading to a ‘tragedy of the commons’ where shared spaces like beaches and woodlands suffer cumulative degradation,” Bateman said in the release. However, they should recognize that their individual actions do matter, mitigating the negative environmental effects of their beloved pets.Another way to reduce your dog’s toll is to follow all rules or restrictions about where dogs are and aren’t allowed. “Restrictive measures such as banning dogs from sensitive areas are necessary for protecting vulnerable species,” Bateman said in the release, “but they are not a complete solution.” Indeed, those bans aren’t enough to tackle dog ownership’s effects on the environment on their own, especially if dog owners tend to ignore them. According to Bateman, we will only lower the environmental effects of our dogs by working together. “We are calling for a collaborative effort between dog owners, conservation groups, and policymakers to develop strategies that balance pet ownership with environmental care,” he said in the release. Though the solution will take effort, it will be worth the work, limiting the damage done by our best and furriest friends.Read More: How Dogs Can Benefit Your Mental HealthArticle 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:Pacific Conservation Biology. Bad Dog? The Environmental Effects of Owned DogsIntegrative and Comparative Biology. Dogs as Pets and Pests: Global Patterns of Canine Abundance, Activity, and HealthSam 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.

The results of searching the family tree of the woolly mammoth have been surprising; it turns out the beasts we most closely associate with the Ice Age emerged not from a linear lineage, but a relatively complex web of genetic diversity.A study examining 34 mammoth mitochondrial genomes, with specimens spanning a million years, gives us a glimpse of mammoth evolution. Mitochondrial DNA is a circular strand found in each cell’s powerhouse. It helps researchers trace lineage on the maternal side and is useful to paleontologists because it resists breaking down, unlike less hardy genetic material.Researchers studied mammoth mitochondrial DNA from as far back as 1.3 million years, with the most recent based on genetic material from a relatively recent mammoth from about 125,000 years ago. The study, published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, describes mammoth evolutionary history over a million years.Genetic Diversity of the Woolly Mammoth“Our analyses provide an unprecedented glimpse into how major deep-time demographic events might have shaped the genetic diversity of mammoths through time," J. Camilo Chacón-Duque, a researcher at Stockholm University and an author of the study, said in a press release.Although biodiversity likely evolved over the past 2.5 million years, very few DNA samples older than 100,000 years have been preserved well enough to study. That gives scientists the equivalent of one short scene to watch from a long-running television series.Recovering DNA from mammoths as old as a million years, analyzing it, then comparing it to 200 previously published mammoth mitogenomes essentially gives researchers a pretty good sample of scenes over its entire run.Major Demographic ShiftsThe analysis showed that genetic changes in mammoth genomes matched well with major demographic shifts that occurred during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. The study supports an ancient Siberian origin for major mammoth lineages. And the article discusses how shifts in mammoth population in different parts of the world might have resulted in a variety of mammoth genomic subtypes.For instance, the team identified the oldest known mammoth DNA in North America, dating back 200,000 years from a specimen found in the Yukon Territory of Canada. And the research confirms previous work showing that mammoths from around a million years ago are vastly different than the most recent version of the creatures.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:Molecular Biology and Evolution. A Million Years of Mammoth Mitogenome EvolutionBefore 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.

Beyond the heavy hitters like COVID-19, bird flu, and Ebola, more common viral infections — such as the annual flu — cost the U.S. an estimated $11.2 billion each year in lost productivity alone, leaving a huge burden on our health system and the economy.Another widespread virus that transmits through oral contact is herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), which infects over two-thirds of the global population and can, in rare cases, lead to encephalitis or infectious blindness.Vaccines remain a cornerstone of prevention, but low vaccination rates, waning immunity in older adults, or the absence of available vaccines — as is the case with HSV — highlight the need for new strategies to reduce disease spread.Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Dental Medicine, in collaboration with a Finnish team, have explored an unusual but promising solution: chewing gum infused with antiviral compounds. Their study published in Molecular Therapy shows that this gum can significantly reduce the viral load in the mouth using compounds naturally found in beans.Chewing Gum vs. COVID-19Instead of focusing solely on preventing infection, the researchers looked at targeting viral transmission by lowering the number of viruses present in the mouth. While vaccines are excellent at preventing severe illness, they don’t always reduce the chances of spreading the virus — and they come with challenges like distribution, cost, storage, and the need for injection.That’s where chewing gum comes in. It’s easy, non-invasive, and directly targets the area where many viruses first replicate and spread. In one of their earlier studies, the Penn team added an antiviral protein called CTB-ACE2 to gum, which neutralized over 95 percent of SARS-CoV-2 particles in the saliva of COVID-19 patients, including major variants like beta, delta, and omicron. These encouraging results have already moved into clinical trials.Expanding the to Tackle Flu and HerpesBuilding on this success, Henry Daniell, a professor at Penn School of Dental Medicine, and his team incorporated a different antiviral protein — Flt3 Receptor Interacting Lectin (FRIL), derived from lablab beans — into gum and tested its effectiveness on multiple strains of influenza and HSV.Using a mastication simulator (a mechanical chewing device), they showed that over half of the active compound was released within 15 minutes. Just 40 milligrams of FRIL was enough to reduce more than 95 percent of the viral load present.The gum already meets FDA safety standards and is easy to store, making it a convenient product that could hit the market relatively soon.Fighting the Spread of Bird FluAccording to a recent press release, FRIL also appears effective against two strains of bird flu. While chewing gum might not be an option for birds, the researchers are now testing lablab bean powder as an additive in bird feed.“Controlling transmission of viruses continues to be a major global challenge,” said Daniell in the release. “A broad-spectrum antiviral protein (FRIL), present in a natural food product (bean powder), that neutralizes not only human flu viruses but also avian flu is a timely innovation to prevent their infection and transmission.”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:National Foundation for Infectious Diseases: Flu (Influenza)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.