Today's Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features a satellite view of smoke from fires burning in Manitoba, Canada on July 9, 2025.&nbsp;



Manitoba is facing its most severe <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-seasons-are-now-overlapping-worldwide/">wildfire season</a> on record - driven by extreme heat, drought, and strong winds.



By mid‑May, five fires in Manitoba were already classified as out of control, including one north of Whiteshell Provincial Park that rapidly consumed more than 100,000 hectares.



A record‑breaking heat wave around May 13, which was the hottest day Winnipeg has seen in 125 years, further accelerated the spread of the fires.



“Large fires have burned in Canada’s Manitoba province since May 2025, but the intensity of activity escalated in July,” noted <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/154531/manitoba-burning">NASA</a>. 



“The province’s wildfire service reported 98 active fires burning on July 8, including 16 that were listed as out of control across the northern, western, and eastern parts of the province.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smoke-plumes-are-shifting-directions-nbsp">Smoke plumes are shifting directions&nbsp;</h2>



The fires have blown across vast swaths of northern Manitoba, at times closing in on urban centers like Flin Flon and The Pas. 



Dense smoke rendered aerial firefighting efforts dangerous or impossible, forcing firefighting crews to focus on protecting lives and infrastructure from the ground. 



Smoke plumes drifted south into the U.S. Upper Midwest, degrading <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-are-changing-the-quality-of-our-air/">air quality</a> in states like Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin, where conditions reached unhealthy levels and outdoor activities were limited.



“At the time the image was acquired, dense smoke plumes from several of the largest fires streamed north; however, satellites have often observed plumes from Manitoba’s fires blowing east in recent weeks and months,” noted NASA.



Persistent smoke has caused air alert levels to spike across North America. A growing collection of research links <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-making-wildfire-smoke-more-deadly/">wildfire smoke exposure</a> to long‑term health risks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-escalating-fire-crisis-in-manitoba-nbsp">Escalating fire crisis in Manitoba&nbsp;</h2>



“As of July 9, fires in 2025 had charred 4.8 million hectares across Canada, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. That’s an area about twice the size of New Jersey and nearly four times the 25-year average,” said NASA.



“Manitoba accounted for about 1 million hectares of burned area, about 20 times more than at the same point in 2024 and 13 times more than the 25-year average.”



Despite brief relief from cooler weather and scattered rain, officials caution that full containment of the fires remains a long way off. The threat of flare-ups grows as temperatures continue to rise.



Authorities in Manitoba have emphasized the importance of fire‑smart behavior and compliance with restrictions in what continues to unfold as a historic wildfire emergency.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-remote-communities-face-greater-risks">Remote communities face greater risks</h2>



First Nations communities have been hit especially hard by Manitoba’s wildfire crisis. Many of these communities are located in remote areas with limited road access, which complicates evacuation efforts and delays emergency response.&nbsp;



Critical firefighting infrastructure - such as water tanks, hoses, and trained personnel - is often lacking. In some cases, airstrips are too small to accommodate large aircraft needed for evacuations or supply drops.



These challenges stem from long-standing systemic inequities. Chronic underfunding of infrastructure, healthcare, housing, and emergency services has left many Indigenous communities more vulnerable to climate-related disasters.&nbsp;



When <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fast-wildfires-are-gaining-even-more-speed/">wildfires</a> strike, the impacts on these remote communities are often more severe and long-lasting.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-rise-of-extreme-fire-seasons">The rise of extreme fire seasons</h2>



Climate change is intensifying wildfire activity across Canada and beyond. Rising global temperatures have led to longer and more severe fire seasons, as warmer air draws more moisture from vegetation and soil, leaving forests drier and more flammable.&nbsp;



In Manitoba, an early onset of heat and persistent drought created ideal conditions for ignition and rapid spread - conditions that are becoming increasingly common in a warming world.



In addition to fueling drier landscapes, climate change has altered atmospheric patterns that influence fire behavior. Shifts in jet streams and the frequency of high-pressure systems can trap <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-heat-is-pushing-parts-of-earth-beyond-human-survival/">heat</a> over regions for prolonged periods.&nbsp;



These effects compound the risks, turning what might once have been manageable fire seasons into widespread and persistent emergencies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-future-with-more-megafires">A future with more megafires </h2>



While wildfires are a natural part of many ecosystems, the scale and intensity now being observed point to a system pushed beyond historical norms.&nbsp;



Experts warn that without major cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, Canada will face more frequent megafires - especially in fire-prone provinces like Manitoba. 



These escalating fires are expected to bring greater health risks from smoke and increasing strain on emergency response systems.



The image was captured on July 9, 2025 by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Aqua satellite.



Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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From drought to disaster: Manitoba’s fire crisis escalates

Today's Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features a satellite view of smoke from fires burning in Manitoba, Canada on July 9, 2025.&nbsp; Manitoba is facing its most severe wildfire season on record - driven by extreme heat, drought, and strong winds. By mid‑May, five fires in Manitoba were already classified as out of control, including one north of Whiteshell Provincial Park that rapidly consumed more than 100,000 hectares. A record‑breaking heat wave around May 13, which was the hottest day Winnipeg...

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features a stunning reflection nebula known as GN 04.32.8 in the constellation Taurus.



Reflection nebulae are cosmic clouds of fine dust that become visible not by producing their own light, but by reflecting the light of nearby stars.&nbsp;



Unlike emission <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/six-rogue-worlds-discovered-inside-a-young-star-forming-nebula/">nebulae</a>, which glow due to ionized gases radiating light, reflection nebulae shine more subtly.&nbsp;



The light from nearby stars strikes the dust particles within the cloud and scatters in many directions - especially shorter, bluer wavelengths. This scattering effect, similar to the way Earth’s sky appears blue, often gives reflection nebulae their characteristic bluish hue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-taurus-molecular-cloud">The Taurus Molecular Cloud</h2>



“GN 04.32.8 is a small part of the stellar nursery known as the Taurus Molecular Cloud. At only roughly 480 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus, it's one of the best locations for studying newly forming stars,” noted <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images">ESA</a>.



The Taurus Molecular Cloud is one of the closest and most extensively studied regions for low-mass star formation.&nbsp;



Unlike larger star-forming regions like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orion-nebula-destroys-an-oceans-worth-of-water-every-month/">Orion</a> that produce many high-mass stars, the Taurus Molecular Cloud is dominated by the formation of Sun-like and smaller stars, making it a prime analog for understanding the conditions that led to the birth of our own solar system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-energetic-stars-in-the-constellation-taurus-nbsp">Energetic stars in the constellation Taurus&nbsp;</h2>



“This reflection nebula is illuminated by the system of three bright stars in the center of this image, mainly the variable star V1025 Tauri in the very center," ESA noted. 



“One of those stars overlaps with part of the nebula: this is another variable star that is named HP Tauri, but is classified as a T Tauri star, for its similarity to yet another variable star elsewhere in the Taurus Molecular Complex.”&nbsp;



T Tauri stars are young, energetic stars in the earliest stages of stellar evolution, just beginning their journey toward becoming stable main sequence stars like our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-sun-like-stars-with-secret-companions/">Sun</a>.&nbsp;



These stars are highly variable, often exhibiting strong stellar winds and flares as they settle into equilibrium. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-dynamic-star-system">A dynamic star system</h2>



In this case, the trio of T Tauri stars - named HP Tau, HP Tau G2, and HP Tau G3 - are believed to be gravitationally bound, forming a dynamic triple star system.



“Eagle-eyed viewers might notice the small, squashed, orange spot, just left of center below the clouds of the nebula, that’s crossed by a dark line. This is a newly-formed protostar, hidden in a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planet-forming-disks-surrounding-stars-often-last-much-longer-than-expected/">protoplanetary disc</a> that obstructs some of its light,” explained ESA.



“Because the disc is edge-on to us, it’s an ideal candidate for study. Astronomers are using Hubble here to examine it closely, seeking to learn about the kinds of exoplanets that might be formed in discs like it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-light-of-hot-young-stars">The light of hot, young stars</h2>



Reflection nebulae are usually found in regions where new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/10-billion-white-dwarf-stars-in-milky-way-galaxy-might-have-habitable-planets/">stars</a> are forming, often near or within dense molecular clouds.&nbsp;



Some reflection nebulae can span light-years across and serve as markers of stellar nurseries - places where future generations of stars are taking shape.



Reflection nebulae offer astronomers a valuable glimpse into the structure and composition of the interstellar medium and help trace the life cycles of stars from birth to maturity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-examples-of-reflection-nebulae-nbsp">Examples of reflection nebulae&nbsp;</h2>



One well-known example is the reflection nebula surrounding the Pleiades star cluster, also called the Seven Sisters.&nbsp;



The Iris Nebula, located in the constellation Cepheus about 1,300 light-years from Earth, is a striking reflection nebula illuminated by the young star SAO 19158.



This nebula is a popular target for astrophotographers due to its vivid colors and intricate structure.



Found about 1,600 light-years away, M78 is the brightest reflection nebula in the Orion constellation and one of the easiest to observe with amateur telescopes. It’s illuminated by two young stars, HD 38563A and HD 38563B.&nbsp;



M78 is part of a larger complex of gas and dust that includes many other star-forming regions within the Orion Molecular Cloud.



Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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Young stars illuminate the constellation Taurus 

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency...

Everyone who worked at the refuge knew that the primates in their supervision had often been traumatized, which was why they were there.

Thus, if a giant gorilla started acting strangely, everyone's interest was served by finding out what was happening as soon as possible. There was one particular thing that bothered Elissa. Photo Credit:

Getting Answers

Everyone who worked at the refuge knew that the primates...

The smell of the fresh bananas was too much for the starving <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephant-seals-could-help-us-understand-ocean-warming/">elephant</a> – her instincts to survive ultimately overrode her efforts to save calf, even if it was just for a few minutes while she stopped and ate. Tiwari, his team, and the villagers sprung into action. They knew they didn’t have much time.

Distracted

The smell of the fresh bananas was too much for...

Quickly, they grabbed shovels and removed the ton of loose mud that had fallen into the hole, creating a slope down to the calf. With his mother waiting anxiously and aggressively in the wings, they had to act fast. When they were happy, they stepped away from the hole and moved the <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/elephant-digs-to-save-6/">banana</a> truck that stood between them and the furious elephant.

Rescue Mission

Quickly, they grabbed shovels and removed the ton of loose...

Mefou Primate Sanctuary was established by Ape Action <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/atmospheric-river-carries-african-dust-to-western-europe/">Africa</a> to counter the illegal bushmeat trade and other threats to the habitats and well-being of primates in Cameroon.

The employees had made a commitment to do whatever it took to ensure the safety of the animals in their custody, and they all took their roles extremely seriously. Photo Credit: Wikimedia

A Vow

Mefou Primate Sanctuary was established by Ape Action Africa to...

The mother elephant raced to the hole once more. Now that she was working at ground-level, she wasn’t knocking more mud back into the hole. Once she realized that something about the hole had changed, she stepped down into the pit by using the man-made slope. Finally, she managed to reach down and wrap her trunk around her baby.

Returning To Her Calf

The mother elephant raced to the hole once more. Now...

Addressing the post-traumatic stress that many of the primates had suffered during the circumstances that led them to the refuge was an important element of primate care at the shelter.

As a result, Elissa trailed Bobo about the area, observing his increasingly erratic behavior. What he was carrying in his arms was the topic on everyone's minds. Photo Credit: The Independent

Following Him

Addressing the post-traumatic stress that many of the primates had...

The mother elephant was visibly exhausted after digging for more than 11 hours, but she pushed on for one final pull. With her last effort, she finally dragged her calf out the hole and to safety. With a gasp, Tiwari, his team, and the villagers burst into a round of applause. They had done it!

Rescued!

The mother elephant was visibly exhausted after digging for more...

When Bobo disappeared from sight, Elissa rushed to the grassy meadow where she first observed his strange behavior.

She searched the entire area but discovered nothing unusual. But as she watched him more closely that same day, she noticed he hadn't hidden his secret object at all; instead, he'd kept it on him. Photo Credit: Credits

Looking For The Item

When Bobo disappeared from sight, Elissa rushed to the grassy...

Young,Indian,Dreamy,Thoughtful,Student,Looking,Away,Working,On,Laptop

Many people still treat daydreaming like a brain malfunction, snapping focus and draining time. Harvard psychologists once pinged thousands of phones and found that minds drift 46.9 percent of waking hours, a rate higher than any other single activity.



Now, a fresh wave of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/key-neurons-act-as-ringleaders-to-guide-decision-making/">neuroscience</a> has determined that daydreaming is actually a great thing for the mind. They may sharpen memory, spark ideas, and solve hard problems with no conscious effort.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-daydreaming-brains-in-action">Daydreaming brains in action</h2>



<a href="https://pinphd.hms.harvard.edu/people/nghia-nguyen" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nghia D. Nguyen</a>, a doctoral researcher at<a href="https://hms.harvard.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Harvard Medical School</a>, pointed a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/two-photon-microscopy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two‑photon microscope</a> at thousands of visual‑cortex neurons in lab mice and watched them relive a flash of light after it vanished.



“Reactivations early in a session systematically differed from the pattern evoked by the previous stimulus, they were more similar to future stimulus response patterns,” wrote Nguyen, showing that mental replay predicts tomorrow rather than echoing yesterday.



Those replays often rode bursts called <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4648295/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hippocampal sharp‑wave ripples</a>, brain waves tied to learning. 



By linking these ripples with activity in the visual part of the brain, the study suggests that daydreaming helps shape how the brain sees and understands things over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-locking-in-learning">Locking in learning</h2>



Research suggests that spending time in quiet wakefulness after an experience can help improve learning and memory. 



Cognitive neuroscientist <a href="https://www.furman.edu/people/erin-j-wamsley/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Erin Wamsley</a> later confirmed the point, showing that ten minutes of quiet wakefulness outperforms equal time spent watching videos when volunteers recall word lists the next day.



During these brief rests, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/default-mode-network" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">default mode network</a>, a midline circuit that hums whenever attention drifts, lights up. Its spontaneous chatter appears to shuttle fresh experiences toward long‑term storage without the need for sleep.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ideas-instead-of-problem-solving">Ideas instead of problem solving</h2>



“Daydreaming fosters creativity because the brain’s ability to make novel connections between seemingly unrelated concepts is heightened during daydreaming episodes,” said <a href="https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/psychology/faculty/bsb57" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benjamin Baird</a>.



Baird tested that hunch by giving participants a dull task, then asking them to list new uses for a brick; idea counts jumped after the mind‑wandering break.



Functional MRI <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0900234106" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> led by <a href="https://psych.ubc.ca/profile/kalina-christoff-hadjiilieva/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kalina Christoff</a> show that during daydreaming, the brain’s planning system connects with the part that handles memory and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/silent-mind-when-the-inner-voice-fades/">imagination</a>. This brief connection helps mix past experiences with current goals, which can lead to new ideas.



Daydreaming gives the brain space to work through unresolved problems. Nguyen’s study in mice supports this, showing that early brain activity patterns helped shape how the brain responded to future stimuli.



Human work echoes the theme. People who let thoughts roam before tackling tricky anagrams solve more items than peers forced to stay on task, reinforcing the problem‑solving edge of a wandering mind.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brain-health-and-daydreaming">Brain health and daydreaming</h2>



A 2008 <a href="https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900%2808%2900254-X/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">experiment</a> asked volunteers to picture a favorite meal while one hand sat in ice water; pain tolerance rose and anxiety fell compared with controls. Mental drift seems to buffer stress by letting attention skate away from discomfort.



The same mechanism can tame everyday tension. People who pause and let <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-brains-use-storage-trick-to-keep-your-memories-in-sequential-order/">memories</a> flow report lower cortisol spikes than colleagues who ruminate on tasks, hinting at a low‑cost antidote to chronic pressure.



Employees who are allowed brief mental breaks return with sharper focus and more novel ideas. Smartphone tracking <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1192439" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shows</a> that unfocused intervals are not rare, so harnessing them beats fighting them.



Firms that schedule short “mind‑wander minutes” during meetings report quicker brainstorming sessions afterward. The practice costs nothing yet aligns with evidence that micro‑rest knits fresh information into usable patterns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-simple-ways-to-wander-well">Simple ways to wander well</h2>



Daydream‑friendly moments hide in plain sight. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.virginia.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Virginia</a> explain that a warm shower dilutes external noise just enough to let thoughts roam, a sweet spot for originality.



Similar benefits arise during a slow walk or while washing dishes. The trick is to choose safe, repetitive activities that free attention without demanding precision.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-activating-new-brain-networks">Activating new brain networks</h2>



Brain imaging <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn3856" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shows</a> that when a person is not actively focused on a task, a specific group of regions called the default mode network becomes more active. 



This network, which includes the medial prefrontal cortex and posterior cingulate cortex, is involved in internal thought, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-has-a-meal-memory-that-controls-hunger/">memory</a> retrieval, and imagining future events.



Researchers believe this network helps the brain simulate possibilities, plan actions, and rehearse outcomes. 



Instead of wasting energy, the brain uses these quiet moments to stitch together pieces of knowledge and past experiences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-daydreaming-brains-are-a-good-thing">Daydreaming brains are a good thing</h2>



Scientists still probe whether the human visual cortex shows the same predictive drift seen in mice, yet early imaging hints at overlap. If so, the simple habit of letting thoughts wander could act as daily <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/action-observation-network-human-brain-perception-see-what-we-expect-to-see-mind-eye/">brain</a> training no app can match.



The next time focus fizzles, look away, breathe, and let the scene inside your head unfold. The wandering may be doing quiet work you will appreciate tomorrow.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06810-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Once considered useless, this habit is now linked to improved memory, thinking, and creativity

Many people still treat daydreaming like a brain malfunction, snapping...

Mars holds far more fossil rivers than anyone realized. More than 9,320 miles of sinuous, ridge-like channels lace its southern highlands, hinting at a planet once rich in stable surface water.



The discovery comes from a team led by PhD candidate Adam Losekoot at the <a href="https://www.open.ac.uk/">Open University</a>.



Working with colleagues and funded by the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-space-agency">UK Space Agency</a>, Losekoot mapped dozens of fluvial sinuous ridges - also called inverted channels - in Noachis Terra. She then pieced together a new story for the Red Planet’s climate about 3.7 billion years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-underexplored-regions-on-mars">Underexplored regions on Mars</h2>



A fluvial sinuous ridge forms when a river lays down sediment that later hardens. As wind or water erodes the softer ground beside the deposit, the old riverbed flips from a low channel to a raised spine.



Seen from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-orbiter-taught-to-roll-over-for-a-view-beneath-the-surface/">orbit</a>, it snakes across the landscape like a dried vein. Because the ridge marks a former stream, its presence is direct evidence of flowing water rather than ice runoff or chemical trickery.



“Studying Mars, particularly an underexplored region like Noachis Terra, is really exciting because it's an environment which has been largely unchanged for billions of years," Losekoot said. 



"It's a time capsule that records fundamental geological processes in a way that just isn't possible here on Earth.”



Noachis Terra lies in the planet’s ancient southern highlands, a rugged sector that has long seemed quiet compared with the famous valleys of Arabia Terra or the deltas at <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lake-sediments-found-in-jezero-crater-hint-at-past-life-on-mars/">Jezero Crater</a>. 



Its scarcity of branching valley networks led some scientists to view it as a dry, mostly frozen plateau during early Martian history.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mars-mapped-in-high-detail">Mars mapped in high detail</h2>



The team combined images and elevation data from <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/resource/context-camera-for-mars-reconnaissance-orbiter/">NASA’s Context Camera</a>, the <a href="https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/attic/mola/">Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter</a>, and the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment.



Together these instruments trace features as small as a few feet high over areas hundreds of miles wide. 



Software tools then flagged elongated ridges, measured their heights, and logged their paths. Some systems stretched across mere miles, while others stretched hundreds of miles - rising tens of feet above the surrounding plains.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-widespread-rivers-once-flowed">Widespread rivers once flowed </h2>



The map revealed ridges scattered across many kinds of terrain. They do not huddle in crater floors alone but cut across inter-crater plains, crater walls, and high ground.



The extent of ancient rivers on Mars is indicative of a hydrological cycle powered by precipitation rather than isolated bursts from melting ice sheets.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/mars_water_fluvial-sinuous-ridge_fsr_east-branches_NASA_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/mars_water_fluvial-sinuous-ridge_fsr_east-branches_NASA_1s.webp" alt="Two east-west branches of an FSR. These preserve an area where a river split and then rejoined (off image). The lower branch is heavily eroded and quite spread out, the upper branch is narrower but more clearly preserved. These may have been exposed for different amounts of time, undergone different geological processes, or represent different periods of river activity. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona" class="wp-image-1977749"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Two east-west branches of an FSR. These preserve an area where a river split and then rejoined (off image). The lower branch is heavily eroded and quite spread out, the upper branch is narrower but more clearly preserved. These may have been exposed for different amounts of time, undergone different geological processes, or represent different periods of river activity. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wave-ripples-discovered-mars-surface-indicate-liquid-water-present-4-billion-years-ago/">Water</a> must have fallen from the sky, collected in streams, and flowed long enough to build up thick beds of sand and gravel that later cemented into rock.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mars-shifted-slowly-to-cold">Mars shifted slowly to cold</h2>



All lines of evidence point to the Noachian-Hesperian boundary, roughly 3.7 billion years ago - a span when Mars shifted from its wettest known era toward a colder, thinner-air world.



The ridges suggest that, at least in Noachis Terra, warm and wet spells were not fleeting. River activity persisted long enough to carve extensive drainage and leave behind hardened deposits.



The findings undercut views that late-Noachian Mars was dry except for brief interludes triggered by volcanoes or asteroid impacts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-rivers-revealed-on-mars">Hidden rivers revealed on Mars </h2>



Traditional climate reconstructions have leaned on valley networks - branching erosional troughs that act like dried-up tributary webs. Noachis Terra hosts few of those features, so past global surveys glossed over it.



By shifting the focus to inverted channels, the new study opens a fresh window on terrain that satellites have photographed but researchers seldom mined for climate clues.



The cumulative ridge length spans more than 9,000 miles - comparable to the present-day length of the Amazon River system.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/mars_water_fluvial-sinuous-ridge_fsr_intersecting-rivers_NASA_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/mars_water_fluvial-sinuous-ridge_fsr_intersecting-rivers_NASA_1s.webp" alt="Oblique view of part of a system of FSRs, recording multiple river tributaries, likely all active at the same or similar times. This shows rivers meandering, areas where river banks have burst and fine layers of sediment have been deposited around the river, and branching. At the top of the image is a really clear example of an area where two FSRs intersect with an infilled crater. This is likely where the river flowed into the crater, filling it up and then breaching the other side to continue through the crater and down to the bottom of the image. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona" class="wp-image-1977753"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Oblique view of part of a system of FSRs, recording multiple river tributaries, likely all active at the same or similar times. This shows rivers meandering, areas where river banks have burst and fine layers of sediment have been deposited around the river, and branching. At the top of the image is a really clear example of an area where two FSRs intersect with an infilled crater. This is likely where the river flowed into the crater, filling it up and then breaching the other side to continue through the crater and down to the bottom of the image. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona</figcaption></figure>



While the original streams were narrower than the ridges that mark them, the sheer distance suggests abundant runoff. 



To deposit and cement such volumes of sediment, water must have flowed season after season rather than in single catastrophic floods.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-thicker-air-stable-flow">Thicker air, stable flow</h2>



Long-lived rivers need pressure and warmth to keep liquid from flashing into vapor under <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-gravity-pulls-earth-closer-to-the-sun-warming-our-climate-scientists-say/">Martian gravity</a>. 



The evidence supports models in which early Mars carried a thicker carbon-rich atmosphere or received extra greenhouse boost from water-ice clouds.



Either way, conditions would have been friendlier for life, raising the odds that Noachis Terra once nursed habitable niches.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mars-may-have-stayed-warm">Mars may have stayed warm</h2>



Current rival models picture a frigid ancient Mars, warmed only in rare spurts when volcanoes released steam or impacts melted buried ice. Those scenarios struggle to explain ridge networks that record sustained flow.



The new map suggests the climate pendulum did not swing from deep freeze to brief thaw but instead lingered for geologically meaningful intervals in a temperate state.



“Our work is a new piece of evidence that suggests that Mars was once a much more complex and active planet than it is now, which is such an exciting thing to be involved in,” Losekoot said.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/mars_water_fluvial-sinuous-ridge_fsr_river-sediment_sand-dunes_NASA_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/mars_water_fluvial-sinuous-ridge_fsr_river-sediment_sand-dunes_NASA_1s.webp" alt="Color image of a flat top, heavily eroded fluvial sinuous ridge (FSR) on Mars. Sand dunes can be seen migrating over the top of the FSR. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona" class="wp-image-1977755"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Color image of a flat top, heavily eroded fluvial sinuous ridge (FSR) on Mars. Sand dunes can be seen migrating over the top of the FSR. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona</figcaption></figure>



Future high-resolution topographic missions could hunt for smaller or heavily eroded ridges, refining the timeline of river activity. 



Rovers or landers might someday target Noachis Terra to sample ridge-crested rocks, probing their minerals for signs of slow water deposition or even ancient biosignatures.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-beyond-mars"><a></a>Implications beyond Mars</h2>



Understanding inverted channels also helps planetary geologists read other worlds. Similar features appear in satellite images of Earth’s deserts and may lurk on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/venus-was-never-capable-of-supporting-life-as-we-know-it/">Venus</a> beneath its clouds. 



The work highlights how subtle landforms can rewrite climate history long after rivers dry up.



Noachis Terra, once overlooked, now emerges as a vast fossil watershed. Its ridges sketch a wetter Mars, where rain fell, rivers wandered, and sediments lit up under a thicker sky. 



Each kilometer of braided stone revives a chapter of hydrologic complexity that scientists are only beginning to decode.



The research was presented at the <a href="https://conference.astro.dur.ac.uk/event/7/contributions/607/">Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting 2025</a> in Durham.



Image Credit: ESA



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Ancient river systems suggest that Mars was much wetter than previously believed

Mars holds far more fossil rivers than anyone realized. More...

Cancer cells are notorious for their ability to break the usual biological speed limits. They divide quickly, migrate toward blood vessels, and survive bouts of low oxygen that would stall most healthy tissue. 



The question that has nagged researchers for a century is how these unruly cells keep their energy meters running so high so often.



New work from <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/">Johns Hopkins Medicine</a> offers an unusual answer: energy doesn’t just churn inside the cell. It ripples across the membrane in rhythmic bands of glycolysis proteins that whip up fresh <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553175/">adenosine triphosphate (ATP)</a> right where the cell needs it most.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-textbooks-miss-enzyme-waves">Textbooks miss enzyme waves</h2>



“This finding may challenge the canonical textbook knowledge that we all learn from the biochemistry course,” noted Dr. David Zhan, a postdoctoral researcher at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.



Zhan and his colleagues tagged each key enzyme in glycolysis with a fluorescent marker, then filmed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-scientist-discovers-that-common-non-cancer-drugs-when-combined-can-kill-cancer-cells/">breast cancer</a> cells under a confocal microscope. 



Every nine minutes, a colored wave rolled across the outer membrane, showing the enzymes moving in lockstep. Normal breast duct cells, in contrast, displayed little more than a flat baseline.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-waves-more-aggressive-tumors">More waves, more aggressive tumors</h2>



The team connected those shimmering rings to a long‑standing puzzle called the Warburg effect - the habit of tumors to favor sugar fermentation even when oxygen is plentiful. 



Pinning glycolysis to the edge of the cell, they argue, shortens the distance between ATP production and the cell’s needs. This proximity supports the mechanical work of moving, stretching, and invading.



“The more aggressive the cancer, the more waves we found on the cell surface,” said Dr. Peter Devreotes, a professor of cell biology at Johns Hopkins.



High‑grade breast, liver, pancreatic, lung, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/protein-cd74-discovery-may-change-the-treatment-of-colon-cancer/">colon cancer</a> lines all pulsed with faster, brighter waves than their less aggressive cousins.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aggressive-cancer-cells-pulse-with-energy">Aggressive cancer cells pulse with energy</h2>



Quantitative imaging placed numbers on the link. Cells with intense surface ripples packed 25 percent more membrane‑proximal ATP than cells with faint ripples. 



Cells with more ripples leaned harder on glycolysis overall, producing up to one‑third of their total ATP in these membrane zones rather than in the main cytosol. The same lines showed heightened <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/types/metastatic-cancer">metastasis</a> potential in animal studies reported earlier by the group.



Higher wave counts correlated with faster macropinocytosis, the cell’s nutrient‑gulping process. They also coincided with surges in new‑protein synthesis, both classic hallmarks of metastatic readiness. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blocking-wave-formation-dulls-cell-spread">Blocking wave formation dulls cell spread</h2>



Blocking wave formation with latrunculin A, a marine‑derived molecule that locks actin monomers in place, cut local ATP by roughly 25 percent and slowed cell invasion in prior tumor models. 



In the Johns Hopkins dishes, the drug wiped out the colorful bands and dulled cell movement within minutes.



Conversely, forcing a single glycolytic enzyme - <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/phosphofructokinase">phosphofructokinase</a> - to stick to the membrane with a molecular “hook” drew the rest of the pathway along for the ride. 



The manipulated cells spread wider and crawled faster, mirroring the behavior of high‑wave cancer lines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-interrupting-the-ripple-with-drugs">Interrupting the ripple with drugs</h2>



Standard anti‑glycolytic cocktails, such as <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9998157/">2‑deoxy‑D‑glucose</a> paired with <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7290944/">3‑bromopyruvate</a>, erased most of the cell‑edge ATP, but they also came with toxicity. The team tried a lighter tactic: targeting the waves’ actin scaffold.



Low‑dose latrunculin trimmed wave activity by about 60 percent yet spared mitochondrial function, hinting at a therapeutic window.



In a side‑by‑side test across four breast cancer lines of increasing malignancy, partial wave suppression shrank nutrient uptake. 



The effect was far greater in the two most aggressive lines than in the milder pair. Protein‑synthesis rates, measured with a photoswitchable marker, fell in step with wave loss. Such selective pressure on the worst‑behaved cells could be valuable in an adjuvant setting.



Wave frequency may also become a staging tool. Because the phenomenon occurs on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shape-shifting-membrane-could-be-the-key-to-cleaner-energy/">membrane</a>, it is theoretically accessible to surface‑enhanced Raman probes or contrast agents that glow in positron emission tomography. 



Measuring wave intensity could help clinicians gauge whether a tumor is primed for spread without waiting for genomic tests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-self-reinforcing-rhythm-fuels-cancer">Self-reinforcing rhythm fuels cancer</h2>



The concept of a self‑organizing metabolic wave sets up a feedback loop. Actin dynamics drive the enzymes to the edge, concentrated enzymes spike ATP, and fresh ATP fuels more actin remodeling. Interrupt any side of the triangle and the momentum falters, at least in cultured cells.



Translation to patients will require careful mapping of wave behavior in three‑dimensional tissue and in living organisms. 



Tumor microenvironments include stiff extracellular matrices, fluctuating oxygen, and immune attacks, factors that could amplify or dampen membrane rhythms.



“Our findings suggest a correlation between higher levels of the energy‑producing waves and a greater severity of the cancer,” Devreotes said. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-waves-may-guide-cancer-treatments">Waves may guide cancer treatments</h2>



The simplicity of watching a fluorescent band circle a cell offers an intuitive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/100-year-old-people-all-share-these-crucial-blood-biomarkers-that-short-lived-people-dont-have/">biomarker</a> for metabolic state. Devreotes thinks the waves may give cancer biologists a concrete handle on the Warburg effect, long treated as an abstract flux calculation.&nbsp;



Future experiments will test whether disrupting the actin-enzyme partnership in animal models slows real tumors or merely re‑routes their energy supply.



If the former holds, oncologists could add “wave breakers” to the growing list of metabolic therapies that aim to starve tumors without starving patients.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60596-6">Nature Communications</a>.



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Cancer cells create power waves to fuel invasion

Cancer cells are notorious for their ability to break the...

Astronomers discovered a strange exoplanet, HIP 67522 b, that orbiting a star roughly 417 light‑years away. Because the planet's orbit is just seven days long, the gravitational forces from this orbital path tug at the star until plasma erupts from the surface. 



Researchers now say those eruptions pump extra heat into the planet’s bloated atmosphere, setting it on a course toward a dramatic weight‑loss plan.



<a href="https://science.astron.nl/people/ekaterina-ilin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Ekaterina Ilin</a> of ASTRON, <a href="https://www.aip.de/en/members/katja-poppenhager/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Katja Poppenhäger</a> of the Leibniz‑Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam, and <a href="https://www.astron.nl/~vedantham/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Harish Vedantham</a> of ASTRON unraveled this cosmic feedback loop by scouring five years of space‑telescope data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hip-67522-b-causes-star-eruptions">HIP 67522 b causes star eruptions</h2>



Most suns spew occasional <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-are-closer-to-predicting-the-timing-and-intensity-of-solar-flares/">flare</a> explosions when tangled magnetic fields snap, yet HIP 67522 lights up more often near the moment its innermost exoplanet crosses the stellar disk. 



That timing pins the blame on the planet’s motion rather than on random stellar moods. The research team tracked this smoking gun with NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite <a href="https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/tess/">(TESS)</a>.



HIP 67522 b belongs to the family of hot <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-details-from-webb-add-to-the-mystery-of-jupiters-vibrant-auroras/">Jupiter</a> gas giants that hug their suns far tighter than Mercury does ours, soaking up fierce radiation. 



Because the planet sits inside the star’s sprawling magnetic field, its own motion drags field lines like stretched rubber bands.



When these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-magnetic-field-is-shifting-and-putting-navigation-at-risk/">magnetic field lines</a> become twisted and then released, energy is blasted back toward both bodies.



“ We’ve found the first clear evidence of flaring star‑planet interaction, where a planet triggers energetic eruptions on its host star, ” said Dr. Ilin. 



She noted that the flare‑boosting partnership has persisted for at least three years, long enough to measure its toll.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-teenager-among-planets">A teenager among planets</h2>



Astronomers estimate that the HIP 67522 system is only 17 million years old, a mere adolescent by cosmic standards. 



Youth matters because young <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/signs-of-dark-stars-discovered-in-the-early-universe/">stars</a> spin fast, drive stronger magnetism, and shower nearby worlds with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-source-of-cosmic-rays-found-after-a-century-long-search/">charged particles</a>.



HIP 67522 b inflates to roughly Jupiter’s width even though its mass is lower, suggesting that starlight and particle storms have puffed up its skies. 



James Webb Space Telescope (<a href="https://webbtelescope.org/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JWST</a>) observations already hint at an extended shroud of hydrogen escaping the planet, which matches models of photoevaporation.



“ The planet is essentially subjecting itself to an intense bombardment of radiation and particles from these induced flares,” stated Dr. Vedantham. 



He suspects that self‑inflicted space weather speeds up atmospheric escape, a process that can strip thousands of tons of gas from a planet each second.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hip-67522-b-is-rapidly-shrinking">HIP 67522 b is rapidly shrinking</h2>



Computer simulations of star‑planet electromagnetic coupling predict that the extra flare energy pours into the planet’s upper layers, raising temperatures by hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit. 



Heat causes the air to swell, increasing the cross‑section that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stellar-flares-can-rearrange-the-atmospheres-of-planets-within-days-including-earth/">stellar ultraviolet rays</a> can hit, and leading to a vicious cycle that accelerates mass loss.



If the current pace holds, HIP 67522 b could shed enough hydrogen and helium to shrink into a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mini-neptune-toi-4633c-habitable-zone-binary-star-system-puzzles-astronomers/">mini‑Neptune</a> within 100 million years. 



It may even become a bare, rocky core after that. Such transformations explain why many mature planetary systems harbor small sub‑Neptunes while very close giant planets are rarer.



Similar run‑away erosion may have sculpted planets like <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanet-catalog/corot-7-b/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CoRoT‑7 b</a>, where today only a scorched super‑Earth remains. Watching HIP 67522 b in real time offers a front‑row seat to the earlier stages of that evolution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-telltale-signals-from-space-telescopes">Telltale signals from space telescopes</h2>



TESS supplied continuous light curves that revealed minute brightness bumps whenever a flare lit up the surface. European Space Agency’s <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Cheops" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CHEOPS</a> spacecraft refined the planet’s transit clock, confirming the synergy between orbit and explosion.



Out of fifteen reliable flares tagged by the team, eleven clustered near the transit phase, a pattern with less than a 1 in 10,000 chance of happening by luck. 



An accompanying radio survey with the <a href="https://www.narrabri.atnf.csiro.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Australian Telescope Compact Array</a> saw the star crackle but missed any planet‑powered radio bursts, likely because such flashes were too faint to detect.



Magnetohydrodynamic models predict that radio signatures scale with planetary magnetic strength, and a bloated gas giant may not host the punchy field required. 



Even so, the optical confirmation alone cements HIP 67522 as the strongest laboratory yet for star‑planet interaction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-many-more-systems-like-hip-67522">Many more systems like HIP 67522</h2>



Thousands of planets race around their host stars in orbits shorter than ten days, and many of those stars are quieter and older than HIP 67522. 



If a youthful planet can already damage itself through magnetic mischief, older cousins might once have looked very different.



Flaring star‑planet pairs also complicate the hunt for life. Energetic particles break apart molecules, including water and methane, which are key ingredients that telescopes search for when sizing up habitability.



Astronomers now plan to aim the <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/observatory/design/space-telescope-imaging-spectrograph/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble Space Telescope’s</a> ultraviolet spectrograph at HIP 67522 b during future transits, hoping to catch escaping gas in the act. 



Ground arrays such as the upcoming <a href="https://www.skao.int/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Square Kilometre Array</a> could chase elusive radio sparks, testing the limits of planetary dynamos.



More reliable data will come as TESS continues its mission and CHEOPS transitions to Europe’s PLATO later this decade. 



By comparing planets of various ages and orbits around their stars, scientists expect to map how magnetic violence writes, and erases, planetary atmospheres.



This drama that is unfolding in the Centaurus constellation shows that the relationship between a planet and its star is anything but one-sided.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09236-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Strange planet discovered that causes plasma explosions on its parent star

Astronomers discovered a strange exoplanet, HIP 67522 b, that orbiting...

Using ancient DNA recovered from prehistoric bones and teeth, scientists have built a 37,000‑year timeline of human infections, stretching from the icy mammoth camps of Siberia to medieval graveyards in Denmark. 



The new <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09192-8">genetic map</a> shows how early microbes began shaping human history. The scientists sequenced remains from 1,313 individuals and found genetic traces of 214 different pathogens. These range from hepatitis B viruses to the bacterium that causes plague.



The scale of the study provides an opportunity for researchers to test ideas about how culture, climate, and migration changed disease pressure over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-skeletons-hold-disease-secrets">Skeletons hold disease secrets</h2>



The study was led by evolutionary geneticist Eske Willerslev of the <a href="https://globe.ku.dk/">University of Copenhagen</a> and the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>.



“We’ve long suspected the transition to farming and animal husbandry opened the door to a new era of disease," Willerslev said. "Now DNA shows us it happened at least 6,500 years ago.” 



His team sifted through more than 400 billion sequencing reads and used chemical damage patterns to confirm which fragments truly came from ancient microbes. 



The analysis uncovered infections in roughly three‑quarters of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-decipher-the-genetic-history-of-400-medieval-skeletons/">skeletons</a>, indicating that illness was a constant companion rather than a rare ordeal. The oldest sample, dating back about 37,000 years, contained mostly oral bacteria still common today. 



The results revealed that blood-borne infections didn’t show up until people began settling down, storing grain, and living closely with sheep, goats, and cattle.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-farming-sparked-new-infections">Farming sparked new infections</h2>



Livestock pens and crowded villages arrived in Eurasia around 8,000 years ago, and the genomic record registers an immediate uptick in disease. 



A clear inflection point appears at 6,500 years ago, the moment when <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7563794/">zoonotic pathogens</a>, the kind that jump from animals to humans, first show up consistently.



One notorious example is <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(15)01322-7">Yersinia pestis</a>, the plague bacterium, whose oldest genetic trace dates back to about 5,500 years ago in western Russia. 



This pushes the timeline of plague back two millennia and shows the microbe shadowing early farmers long before recorded pandemics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-waves-of-new-infections">Waves of new infections</h2>



A second surge of infection follows the migration of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature14507">steppe pastoralist</a> groups roughly 5,000 years ago, when horse‑drawn wagons carried people, livestock, and microbes across the continent.



Skeletons from that period revealed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stone-age-farming-population-decimated-by-plague-dna-skull/">plague</a>, relapsing‑fever spirochetes, and the parasites that cause vivax malaria.



Such waves of infection probably devastated local communities, clearing ecological space for newcomers and turning pathogens into unlikely allies of conquest.



Ancient immune‑gene data hint at strong selection beginning in the Bronze Age - a genetic fingerprint of relentless pressure from emerging pathogens.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-infections-from-animals">Human infections from animals</h2>



The catalog reveals that cowpox relatives, leptospirosis bacteria, and meat-borne yersiniosis showed up soon after pigs, sheep, and goats were domesticated. 



This finding aligns with estimates that around 60 percent of emerging infections come from animals. Close contact clearly reshaped the disease landscape.



The researchers also found skeletons that harbored two or more bugs at once, and these co-infections can worsen outcomes. An ancient Viking‑Age skull carried both hepatitis B and plague DNA, demonstrating how mixed infections may have driven sudden mortality spikes.



Curiously, no clear evidence of tuberculosis surfaced, probably because its bacteria rarely circulate in high numbers in healthy blood. But as the team notes, absence of proof doesn’t mean ancient lungs were safe - only that some microbes leave fewer traces in the molecular record.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-ancient-infections-teach-doctors">What ancient infections teach doctors</h2>



“Mutations that were successful in the past are likely to reappear,” said lead author Martin Sikora. She noted that the ancient genomes can help scientists anticipate future mutations.&nbsp;



Vaccine makers already test candidate antigens against panels of modern strains - a practice encouraged by the <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/health-product-policy-and-standards/standards-and-specifications/norms-and-standards/vaccine-standardization/regulation-and-quality-control-of-vaccines">World Health Organization</a> - and prehistoric DNA provides a deeper benchmark. Comparing lineages over millennia highlights which protein targets stay stable and which drift.



Old plague sequences, for instance, are missing the <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8547695/">ymt gene</a> that helps modern strains survive in fleas. This points to the key step that turned a local infection into a global pandemic threat. 



Similar evolutionary tipping points could lurk in viruses still endemic in bats or rodents. Public‑health planners can combine the new database with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-tipping-points-how-close-are-we-to-irreversible-change/">climate</a> and land‑use models to gauge spillover risk. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pathogens-rewrote-human-genes">Pathogens rewrote human genes</h2>



The skeletal archive captures natural selection in action. It shows that human alleles linked to inflammatory responses became more common after farming took hold. 



The same alleles, still common today, now raise the risk of autoimmune disorders in industrialized nations.



Immunologists argue that this trade‑off is the cost of survival: genes that helped ancestors fight livestock‑borne bugs can misfire in cleaner modern environments. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oldest-human-dna-ever-found-tells-story-of-lost-branch-on-human-neanderthal-family-tree/">Ancient DNA</a> provides the infection history that scientists need to test that idea.



"Infectious diseases have left lasting impressions on human genomes, as selective pressures from pathogens have continuously shaped human genetic variation," wrote the researchers.



"Where and when different human pathogens first emerged, how and why they spread, and how they affected human populations are important but largely unresolved questions."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09192-8">Nature</a>.



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Ancient DNA reveals 37,000 years of hidden human infections

Using ancient DNA recovered from prehistoric bones and teeth, scientists...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

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A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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