<p>Today's <strong>Image of the Day</strong> from the European Space Agency features NGC 1792, a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Columba about 43 million light-years away from Earth.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This galaxy, discovered by British astronomer James Dunlop in 1826, is part of the larger NGC 1808 group of galaxies.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-intimate-view-of-ngc-1792">Intimate view of NGC 1792</h2>



<p>“An orange glow radiates from the center of NGC 1792, the heart of this stellar forge. Captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, this intimate view of NGC 1792 gives us some insight into this galactic powerhouse,” noted <a href="https://www.esa.int/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>.</p>



<p>“The vast swathes of tell-tale blue seen throughout the galaxy indicate areas that are full of young, hot stars, and it is in the shades of orange, seen nearer the center, that the older, cooler stars reside.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vigorous-star-formation-nbsp">Vigorous star formation&nbsp;</h2>



<p>NGC 1792 is notable for its vigorous star formation, classifying it as a starburst galaxy. The high rate of star birth is thought to be triggered by gravitational interactions with neighboring galaxies, though the exact cause is still under study.</p>



<p>“Nestled in the constellation of Columba (The Dove), NGC 1792 is both a spiral galaxy, and a starburst galaxy,” said ESA. </p>



<p>“Within starburst galaxies, stars are forming at comparatively exorbitant rates. The rate of star formation can be more than 10 times faster in a starburst galaxy than in the Milky Way.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fierce-bursts-of-star-formation">Fierce bursts of star formation</h2>



<p>ESA noted that when galaxies have a large reservoir of gas, like NGC 1792, these short-lived starburst phases can be sparked by galactic events such as mergers and tidal interactions.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“One might think that these starburst galaxies would easily consume all of their gas in a large forming event. However, supernova explosions and intense stellar winds produced in these powerful starbursts can inject energy into the gas and disperse it.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>“This halts the star formation before it can completely deplete the galaxy of all its fuel. Scientists are actively working to understand this complex interplay between the dynamics that drive and quench these fierce bursts of star formation.”</p>



<p>Due to its distance and brightness, NGC 1792 can be observed with medium-sized telescopes under favorable conditions.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-evolution-of-galaxies">The evolution of galaxies </h2>



<p>Galaxy evolution refers to the process by which galaxies form and change over time. It begins in the early universe, shortly after the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-observations-disprove-big-bang-theory-universe-began-tired-light-theory/">Big Bang</a>, when small density fluctuations in the primordial gas led to the collapse of matter into the first galaxies. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-galaxy-mergers">Galaxy mergers</h3>



<p>Early galaxies were small and irregular, and were composed mostly of gas and dark matter. Over billions of years, galaxies grew larger by merging with one another and by accreting gas from the surrounding space.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These interactions often triggered bursts of star formation, and collisions between galaxies sometimes led to the creation of new, more massive galaxies.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-structural-changes">Structural changes</h3>



<p>As galaxies evolve, their morphology - shape and structure - can change. Early galaxies were often irregular or disk-shaped, but over time, many galaxies formed into the elliptical or spiral shapes we see today.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-star-formation">Star formation</h3>



<p>Star formation is a key driver of galaxy evolution, but it gradually slows down as galaxies age. </p>



<p>The gas that fuels <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/black-hole-is-starving-its-host-galaxy-of-star-forming-fuel/">star formation</a> can be used up, or it can be heated and pushed out of galaxies by supernovae or black holes, reducing the galaxy's ability to form new stars.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-galaxy-environment-nbsp">Galaxy environment&nbsp;</h3>



<p>The environment in which a galaxy resides also plays a role in its evolution. Galaxies in dense clusters are more likely to interact with their neighbors, which can alter their shape or trigger bursts of star formation.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In contrast, galaxies in more isolated regions of space evolve more slowly and without as many dramatic interactions.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dark-matter">Dark matter</h3>



<p>Dark matter also plays a crucial role in galaxy evolution. It provides the gravitational framework that holds galaxies together and influences their interactions with one another.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Supermassive <a href="https://www.earth.com/search-results/?search=Galaxies%20merge&amp;start=0">black holes</a>, found at the centers of most large galaxies, can also affect their evolution by releasing energy that impacts star formation and the movement of gas within the galaxy.</p>



<p>Overall, galaxy evolution is a complex and ongoing process driven by interactions between stars, gas, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-dark-matter-does-not-exist-and-the-universe-is-27-billion-years-old/">dark matter</a>, and black holes, and shaped by both internal processes and external influences.</p>



<p>Image Credit<strong>:</strong> ESA/Hubble &amp; NASA, J. Lee</p>



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Starburst galaxy in the constellation Columba

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

<p>Today's <strong>Image of the Day</strong> from the European Space Agency features NGC 5335 - a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. </p>



<p>The photo was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. According to <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/04/Barred_Spiral_Galaxy_NGC_5335" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>, thousands of distant galaxies are speckled throughout the image in a variety of colors.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Hubble is revealing how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hidden-galaxies-discovery-would-upend-current-understanding-of-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> form, grow, and evolve over cosmic time by capturing detailed images of galaxies at various stages of development, from the nearby universe to billions of light-years away. </p>



<p>Hubble images have shown us that galaxies collide and merge, that star formation varies across different types of galaxies, and that supermassive black holes often lie at their centers.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-ngc-5335">Studying NGC 5335</h2>



<p>The galaxy NGC 5335 lies approximately 160 million light-years from Earth. It is classified as an SB(s)bc type galaxy, indicating a well-defined bar structure across its center. </p>



<p>Like many galaxies of its type, NGC 5335 features active <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/star-formation-reignited-in-the-galaxy-leo-p-after-billions-of-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">star formation</a>, especially in its spiral arms, where interstellar gas and dust provide the raw material for new stars.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Observations in different wavelengths, including infrared and ultraviolet, help astronomers study the galaxy’s stellar population and the dynamics of its central bar.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hubble-s-view-of-the-spiral-galaxy-nbsp">Hubble’s view of the spiral galaxy&nbsp;</h2>



<p>“NGC 5335 is categorized as a flocculent spiral galaxy with patchy streamers of star formation across its disk. There is a striking lack of well-defined spiral arms that are commonly found among galaxies, including our Milky Way,” noted ESA.</p>



<p>“A notable bar structure slices across the center of the galaxy. The bar channels gas inwards toward the galactic center, fueling star formation.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>“Such bars are dynamic in galaxies and may come and go over two-billion-year intervals. They appear in about 30 percent of observed galaxies, including our Milky Way.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-galactic-bar-in-the-milky-way-nbsp">Galactic bar in the Milky Way&nbsp;</h2>



<p>The bar in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-found-something-strange-at-core-of-milky-way-galaxy-webb-meerkat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milky Way</a> is a vast, elongated structure composed mostly of stars, stretching across the galaxy’s central region. It is a key feature of our galaxy’s architecture, spanning about 27,000 light-years and oriented at an angle relative to the galaxy’s spiral arms.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Astronomers believe the bar plays a crucial role in the dynamics and evolution of the Milky Way by funneling gas inward toward the galactic center. This can feed star formation and fuel the supermassive black hole at the core.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The bar is thought to have formed from instabilities in the galactic disk and continues to influence the motion of stars and the overall gravitational balance of the galaxy.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Observations in infrared and radio wavelengths, which can pierce through the dust in the galactic plane, have helped scientists map the bar’s size, shape, and orientation.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-constellation-virgo-nbsp">The constellation Virgo&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Virgo is one of the most prominent and well-known constellations in the night sky, both astronomically and mythologically. It is the second-largest constellation by area and lies along the zodiac, making it one of the twelve constellations through which the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/team-creates-video-showing-the-sun-in-gamma-rays-over-a-14-year-period/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sun</a> appears to move during the year.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Virgo is most visible in the evening sky in the Northern Hemisphere during spring, particularly in April and May. Its name means “virgin” in Latin.</p>



<p>Virgo is traditionally associated with various fertility and agriculture goddesses across different cultures, including the Greek goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone, as well as the Roman goddess Ceres.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In some myths, Virgo represents Astraea, the virgin goddess of justice who fled to the heavens during the corruption of mankind.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-astronomical-significance-of-virgo">Astronomical significance of Virgo</h2>



<p>Astronomically, Virgo is situated between Leo to the west and Libra to the east. One of its most notable stars is Spica, the brightest star in Virgo and one of the brightest in the night sky.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Spica is a blue-white giant, located approximately 250 light-years from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/was-early-earth-a-purple-planet-scientists-say-its-possible/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth</a>. It has been important for navigation and agriculture for centuries, marking planting and harvest times in ancient calendars.</p>



<p>Virgo is also of great interest to astronomers because it hosts the Virgo Cluster, a massive cluster of galaxies about 65 million light-years away.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This cluster contains more than 1,000 galaxies, and it's part of the larger Virgo Supercluster, which also includes our own Local Group of galaxies. This makes Virgo a key area for studying large-scale structures in the universe.</p>



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Spiral galaxy glows in the constellation Virgo

<p>Today's <strong>Image of the Day</strong> from NASA Earth Observatory features a stunning transformation across the western Barents Sea on August 5, 2025. </p>



<p>Tiny, plant-like organisms known as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-phytoplankton-that-feed-ocean-life-are-rapidly-disappearing/">phytoplankton</a> surged near the ocean’s surface, forming a colorful bloom visible from space.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Captured by NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite, the bloom swirled around Bear Island, part of Norway’s Svalbard archipelago. </p>



<p>Bear Island lies roughly halfway between Spitsbergen, the archipelago’s largest island, and mainland Norway.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-phytoplankton-s-seasonal-rhythm">Phytoplankton’s seasonal rhythm</h2>



<p>Phytoplankton, though microscopic, play a major role in the marine ecosystem. Their seasonal blooms support countless species of fish and zooplankton.</p>



<p>Phytoplankton also contribute to the global carbon cycle and produce a significant portion of the oxygen we breathe. These tiny organisms are vital for both local and planetary health.</p>



<p>The Barents Sea experiences two main phytoplankton bloom seasons each year. Diatoms, which are a type of single-celled algae with silica shells, appear first in May and June.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Later, in August, coccolithophores emerge. These organisms thrive as nutrients are depleted and the surface waters warm and stratify.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forces-behind-phytoplankton-blooms">Forces behind phytoplankton blooms</h2>



<p>The striking turquoise color of the recent bloom likely comes from coccolithophores, specifically <em>Gephyrocapsa huxleyi</em>. These organisms are encased in calcium carbonate plates, which reflect sunlight and give the water its distinctive color. </p>



<p>Other shades visible in the bloom may come from floating sediment and different phytoplankton <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invisible-forest-of-phytoplankton-thrives-in-a-warming-climate/">species</a>. Diatoms, for example, often tint the water green.</p>



<p>Researchers have long studied how environmental factors influence phytoplankton blooms. Water flowing in from North Atlantic currents plays a major role in shaping the location and extent of G. huxleyi blooms in this area. </p>



<p>According to <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/154651/bloom-time-in-the-barents-sea" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>, scientists are particularly interested in how “Atlantification” - the warming and changing circulation of Arctic waters - could alter the marine food web and biogeochemical cycles of the region.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-base-of-the-food-web-nbsp">The base of the food web&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Coccolithophores and other phytoplankton form the base of the marine food web, supporting small zooplankton that are themselves a key food source for fish, seabirds, and marine mammals.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In the Barents Sea, this web is the lifeline for commercial fisheries and species such as cod, capelin, and herring. Any change in phytoplankton abundance or composition can ripple through the ecosystem, affecting species from the tiniest shrimp to large predatory fish.</p>



<p>Beyond their role as a food source, coccolithophores contribute to carbon cycling. When they die, their calcium carbonate shells sink to the ocean floor, sequestering carbon in deep waters.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This natural process helps regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide, linking Arctic phytoplankton <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dust-from-africa-sparked-a-massive-phytoplankton-bloom/">blooms</a> to broader climate systems. They also produce oxygen through photosynthesis, reinforcing the ocean’s role as a life-support system for Earth.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-blooms-from-space">Tracking blooms from space</h2>



<p>The August 2025 bloom highlights how modern technology allows scientists to monitor marine ecosystems in near real-time.&nbsp;</p>



<p>MODIS, the sensor aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite, detects the color and extent of phytoplankton blooms from orbit, providing crucial data for understanding seasonal patterns and ecological shifts.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Satellite observations, combined with in-water measurements, provide a comprehensive picture of how phytoplankton respond to environmental changes.</p>



<p>Experts emphasize that phytoplankton are not just passive indicators of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-marine-heatwaves-impact-ocean-health/">ocean health</a>. Their blooms reflect the underlying dynamics of water movement, temperature, and nutrient availability. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-impacts-of-atlantification">Impacts of Atlantification</h2>



<p>As Arctic waters continue to warm and Atlantic currents penetrate further north, the region’s marine ecosystems may experience significant shifts.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Coccolithophore blooms, for example, could become more frequent or widespread, altering food web dynamics and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-weaker-ocean-will-release-more-carbon-into-the-atmosphere/">carbon cycling</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Scientists are closely monitoring these trends to predict how fisheries, nutrient distribution, and ecosystem health might change in coming decades.</p>



<p>For now, the August 2025 bloom serves as a vivid reminder of the Arctic Ocean’s intricate web of life.&nbsp;</p>



<p>From microscopic algae to commercial fish stocks, these seasonal blooms shape the rhythms of life in one of Earth’s most extreme environments. They are both a signal of ecological change and a testament to the delicate balance of life in Arctic waters.</p>



<p>Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;</p>



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Phytoplankton bloom transforms the Barents Sea 

Today's Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features...

<p>Today's <strong>Image of the Day</strong> from the European Space Agency features Abell S1063, a massive galaxy cluster located about 4.5 billion light-years from Earth. The galaxy cluster was captured by the Webb telescope in stunning detail.</p>



<p>According to <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/05/Webb_glimpses_the_distant_past" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>, the image is what’s known as a deep field - a long exposure of a single area of the sky, collecting as much light as possible to draw out the most faint and distant galaxies that don’t appear in ordinary images.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-galaxies-of-the-early-universe">Galaxies of the early universe </h2>



<p>Composed of nine separate snapshots taken at different near-infrared wavelengths over roughly 120 hours, this image represents Webb’s most detailed and deepest view of a single target so far.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Thanks to the gravitational lensing effect of Abell S1063, astronomers can peer deeper into the past than ever before - possibly viewing some of the universe’s very <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-galaxies-formed-from-the-earliest-elements-in-the-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first galaxies</a>.</p>



<p>“The eye is first drawn, in this new NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month, to the central mega-monster that is galaxy cluster Abell S1063. This behemoth collection of galaxies, lying 4.5 billion light-years from Earth in the constellation Grus (the Crane), dominates the scene,” noted ESA.</p>



<p>“Looking more closely, this dense collection of heavy galaxies is surrounded by glowing streaks of light, and these warped arcs are the true object of scientists’ interest: faint galaxies from the universe’s distant past.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-a-galaxy-cluster">What is a galaxy cluster?</h2>



<p>Galaxy clusters are the largest known gravitationally bound systems and include not just galaxies, but also vast amounts of hot, X-ray-emitting gas and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-true-nature-of-dark-matter-may-be-revealed-in-a-supernova/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dark matter</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The galaxies within a cluster move through this hot intracluster medium, and their interactions can lead to phenomena like galaxy mergers or the stripping of gas from galaxies.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Galaxy clusters are important for studying the large-scale structure of the universe, the behavior of dark matter, and the evolution of galaxies over cosmic time.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hundreds-of-galaxies-bound-together-nbsp">Hundreds of galaxies bound together&nbsp;</h2>



<p>As one of the most densely populated clusters known, Abell S1063 contains hundreds of galaxies bound together by gravity.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Its immense mass makes it an excellent example of a gravitational lens - a cosmic phenomenon where the cluster’s gravity bends and magnifies the light from galaxies far behind it.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This effect allows astronomers to observe incredibly faint and distant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/milky-way-like-galaxies-were-present-in-the-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> that would otherwise be beyond our detection limits.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-galaxy-evolution">Studying galaxy evolution</h2>



<p>The cluster has been the focus of several major observational campaigns. It was prominently featured in the Hubble Space Telescope’s Frontier Fields program, which used its gravitational lensing power to study the early universe.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“The new imagery from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) takes this quest even further back in time,” said ESA.</p>



<p>“This image showcases an incredible forest of lensing arcs around Abell S1063, which reveal distorted background galaxies at a range of cosmic distances, along with a multitude of faint galaxies and previously unseen features.”</p>



<p>These observations are helping scientists probe the Cosmic Dawn era - the period shortly after the Big Bang.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploring-the-cosmic-dawn-nbsp">Exploring the Cosmic Dawn&nbsp;</h2>



<p>The Cosmic Dawn refers to a time in the history of the universe when the first stars and galaxies began to form and shine. This pivotal era occurred roughly between 100 million and 1 billion years after the Big Bang.&nbsp;</p>



<p>During the Dark Ages, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fastest-feeding-black-hole-found-in-the-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">universe</a> had cooled enough for neutral hydrogen to form, but no luminous objects yet existed to light it up.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The birth of the first stars - often massive and short-lived - marked the beginning of the Cosmic Dawn. These stars emitted intense ultraviolet radiation, which gradually ionized the surrounding hydrogen gas in a process known as reionization.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This transformed the universe from a cold, opaque environment into one that was transparent to light, enabling the large-scale structure of the cosmos to take shape.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-constellation-grus">The constellation Grus</h2>



<p>Grus is a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/super-jupiter-discovered-in-the-great-bear-constellation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">constellation</a> in the southern sky, its name derived from the Latin word for "crane," a type of large, graceful bird.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It was introduced in the late 16th century by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, during an era of celestial charting tied to European exploration of the southern hemisphere.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Grus is part of a group of constellations known as the "Southern Birds," which also includes Phoenix, Tucana, and Pavo.</p>



<p>This constellation lies near the celestial south pole and is best seen from the Southern Hemisphere during the months of August through October.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA &amp; CSA, H. Atek, M. Zamani</p>



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Hundreds of galaxies illuminate the early universe 

<p>Today's Image of the Day from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope features the most detailed view to date of the planetary nebula NGC 1514.</p>



<p>The nebula sits about 1,500 light-years away in the Taurus constellation. Webb’s latest <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2025/news-2025-118#section-id-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">observation</a> reveals two dusty rings wrapped around a fading star system, surrounded by orange arcs and glowing gas. </p>



<p>This scene isn’t new - it’s been evolving for at least 4,000 years. Until now, much of its structure remained hidden. Thanks to Webb’s powerful mid-infrared camera, scientists can finally see the full extent of the nebula’s complexity.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dust-rings-and-broken-shells">Dust rings and broken shells</h2>



<p>At the center of NGC 1514, two stars locked in a tight nine-year orbit are driving this dramatic display. One of them - formerly several times the mass of our Sun - has shed its outer layers as it reached the end of its life.&nbsp;</p>



<p>What’s left is a hot, compact white dwarf star blasting out faster, weaker winds that may have swept earlier material into thin, fragile shells.</p>



<p>What Webb has <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-telescope-may-have-just-found-its-first-planet/">uncovered</a> is a tangled mess of dust, much of which was invisible to previous telescopes. The rings now appear fuzzy and uneven, like clumps floating through space.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-material-ejected-from-a-dying-star">Material ejected from a dying star</h2>



<p>Some areas show distinct holes near the center, marking where faster material appears to have punched through the older gas. The telescope also picked up signs of oxygen in the nebula’s pink core, especially around the edges of the holes.</p>



<p>“Before Webb, we weren’t able to detect most of this material, let alone observe it so clearly,” said Mike Ressler, a project scientist for Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Ressler first spotted the rings in 2010 using an earlier infrared mission, but they were faint and hard to analyze. “With MIRI’s data, we can now comprehensively examine the turbulent nature of this nebula,” he said.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-nebula-s-unusual-shape">The nebula’s unusual shape</h2>



<p>Unlike the perfectly round shapes many might expect, NGC 1514 isn’t a sphere. Webb’s observations show that the whole formation is tilted at about 60 degrees - like a can being tipped over - but its true shape is more like an hourglass with the ends sliced off.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Subtle pinches of dust in shallow V-shapes give clues to this structure, particularly near the top left and bottom right of the image.</p>



<p>The bizarre shape may be due to the interaction between the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-map-twin-stars-to-discover-hidden-planets-with-unprecedented-accuracy/">two stars</a>. During the period when the larger star was losing its outer layers, its companion may have drifted extremely close.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“That interaction can lead to shapes that you wouldn’t expect,” said David Jones, a senior scientist who confirmed the central binary system in 2017. “Instead of producing a sphere, this interaction might have formed these rings.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-patchy-rings-with-a-fuzzy-appearance-nbsp">Patchy rings with a fuzzy appearance&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Between the rings, dim and semi-transparent clouds stretch through the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/six-rogue-worlds-discovered-inside-a-young-star-forming-nebula/">nebula</a>, adding body and giving hints at the object’s full three-dimensional shape.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The rings themselves aren’t evenly lit - they fade out toward the top right and bottom left. This patchiness, along with their fuzzy appearance, points to their makeup: very small dust grains.</p>



<p>“We think the rings are primarily made up of very small dust grains,” Ressler explained. “When those grains are hit by ultraviolet light from the white dwarf star, they heat up ever so slightly, which we think makes them just warm enough to be detected by Webb in mid-infrared light.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-simple-mix-of-ingredients">A simple mix of ingredients</h2>



<p>Notably, the nebula lacks something usually seen in similar objects: carbon and its more complex molecules.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Most planetary nebulae contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - carbon-rich compounds that resemble soot. But <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Webb</a> didn’t find any trace of them in NGC 1514.</p>



<p>The absence of the molecules could be due to the swirling motion of the two central stars, which may have prevented more complex molecules from forming. This also allows more light from the stars to escape, helping to illuminate the faint, outer rings.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-glowing-shells-of-dying-stars">Glowing shells of dying stars</h2>



<p>Astronomers have been studying NGC 1514 for centuries. Back in 1790, William Herschel described it as the first deep-sky object he saw that looked truly cloudy - not just a collection of stars. He couldn’t resolve it into individual points of light the way he could with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trio-of-star-clusters-may-be-the-same-system-at-different-ages/">star clusters</a>. </p>



<p>That cloudy impression was one of the earliest clues pointing toward the existence of planetary nebulae - the glowing shells of gas that dying stars leave behind.</p>



<p>Now, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-telescope-uncovers-secrets-of-dark-matter-in-cosmic-collision-zone/">Webb</a> has revealed the full extent of the cloud Herschel saw. NGC 1514 has turned out to be a complex, dynamic structure still shifting over time.</p>



<p>Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Michael Ressler (NASA-JPL), Dave Jones (IAC)</p>



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Stellar farewell: The fading legacy of a dying star

Today's Image of the Day from NASA’s James Webb Space...

<p>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.</p>



<p>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;</p>



<p>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;</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>“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>.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>“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. </p>



<p>“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 <em>another</em> variable star elsewhere in the Taurus Molecular Complex.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>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;</p>



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



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>“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.</p>



<p>“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.”</p>



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



<p>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;</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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;</p>



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



<p>Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;</p>



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Hot, young stars in the constellation Taurus 

<p>Kings Canyon National Park&nbsp;is an American&nbsp;national park&nbsp;in the southern&nbsp;Sierra Nevada, in&nbsp;Fresno&nbsp;and&nbsp;Tulare Counties,&nbsp;California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and renamed to Kings Canyon National Park on March 4, 1940. The park's namesake, Kings Canyon, is a rugged&nbsp;glacier-carved valley more than a mile (1,600&nbsp;m) deep. Other natural features include multiple 14,000-foot (4,300&nbsp;m) peaks, high mountain meadows, swift-flowing rivers, and some of the world's largest stands of&nbsp;giant sequoia&nbsp;trees. Kings Canyon is north of and contiguous with&nbsp;Sequoia National Park, and both parks are jointly administered by the&nbsp;National Park Service&nbsp;as the&nbsp;Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.</p>



<p>There are fourteen campgrounds in these parks, including three that are open year-round. Campgrounds require reservations in advance, and sites are usually full.&nbsp;</p>

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California

<p>A broken bone sets off a repair job inside the body. New blood vessels grow in, bringing oxygen and nutrients to rebuild the damage. </p>



<p>Scientists have now traced that same process in a <em>Tyrannosaurus rex</em> rib from about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/t-rex-was-about-70-percent-bigger-than-we-thought/">67 million years ago</a>, using powerful X-rays to see mineral “shadows” where blood once flowed.</p>



<p>They focused on a deep fracture near the vertebral end of the rib. The bone had started to heal before the animal died, laying down a callus - the bumpy repair tissue that forms during recovery. </p>



<p>Inside that callus, they spotted tube-like structures that matched the size and pattern of blood vessels linked with healing.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-finding-t-rex-blood-vessels">Finding T. rex blood vessels</h2>



<p>The work centers on a <em>Tyrannosaurus rex</em> specimen named "Scotty," housed at the <a href="https://royalsaskmuseum.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Saskatchewan Museum</a> in Canada, one of the largest and most complete T. rex skeletons ever found. </p>



<p>The research team scanned the rib at the <a href="https://www.lightsource.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Canadian Light Source</a> synchrotron, a facility that generates extremely bright X-rays for high-resolution imaging and chemical analysis.</p>



<p>Jerit L. Mitchell, a PhD student in the Department of Physics at the <a href="https://www.uregina.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Regina</a>, led the study after joining the project during the first scan of the rib in 2019. </p>



<p>“I remember showing my supervisors, Dr. Barbi and Dr. McKellar, a strange structure inside a scan of the rib that I originally didn’t give much thought to," Mitchell reminisced.  </p>



<p>"They were quick to point out that what I discovered could possibly be preserved blood vessels, which has since led to a much more expansive research project."</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blood-vessels-from-an-injured-t-rex">Blood vessels from an injured T. rex</h2>



<p>The vessel-like structures only showed up around the fracture and its callus, not throughout the rib. They were larger than the tiny <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haversian_canal" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Haversian canals</a> that normally carry blood in compact bone. </p>



<p>That pattern lines up with what doctors see today: during healing, the body ramps up angiogenesis - growth of new vessels - to flood the injured area with supplies.</p>



<p>The team kept the features in place, studying them “in situ” rather than grinding the fossil down. That choice protected a rare specimen and let the researchers compare 3D shapes and chemistry directly within the bone.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-high-tech-tools">High-tech tools</h2>



<p>Synchrotron micro-CT produced 3D images at micrometer-scale resolution, small enough to resolve fine tubes weaving through the callus. </p>



<p>X-ray fluorescence (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/x-ray-fluorescence-spectroscopy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">XRF</a>) mapped elements, and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/x-ray-absorption-near-edge-structure" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">XANES</a>) identified their chemical states. </p>



<p>The team also checked thin sections with light and electron microscopes to confirm textures and mineral identities.</p>



<p>Together, those methods allowed them to connect geometry with chemistry. They could tell not just that tubes were present, but also what filled them and how those fillings changed over time.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-iron-fractures-and-soft-tissue">Iron, fractures, and soft tissue</h2>



<p>The tubes were rich in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fools-gold-may-be-a-valuable-source-of-lithium/">pyrite</a>, an iron sulfide often called fool’s gold. Some of that pyrite later oxidized to iron oxides such as goethite and hematite. </p>



<p>Iron can help stabilize organic structures during fossilization, and the resulting minerals can persist long after soft tissue disappears. </p>



<p>Here, the original vessels are gone, but their mineral casts remain, recording the paths where blood once moved through healing bone.</p>



<p>“Normally, what gets preserved in the fossil record is only just the hard parts - just the bones or the teeth,” Mitchell told CBC News' Adam Hunter.</p>



<p>“But we can actually have the soft tissues preserved in rare circumstances, and these can tell us a lot more about how dinosaurs lived millions of years ago.”</p>



<p>The chemistry and the location work together. Iron sulfides transitioning to iron oxides fit a plausible path from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/archaeopteryx-fossil-soft-tissue-flight-evolution-proves-darwin-right/">soft tissue to mineral replicas</a>, especially in a confined space like a fracture callus where blood flow once surged.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-location-of-the-t-rex-blood-vessels">Location of the T. rex blood vessels</h2>



<p>The features cluster where healing was most active. Temporary vessels can grow larger than everyday bone canals as they branch from the marrow cavity and the bone surface to supply repair tissue. </p>



<p>Seeing that size and distribution in the rib strengthens the case that these were angiogenesis-related structures, not ordinary anatomy or random mineral growth.</p>



<p>“Preserved blood vessel structures, like we have found in Scotty’s rib bone, appear linked to areas where the bone was healing. This is because during the healing process, those areas had increased blood flow to them,” Barbi explained.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-06981-z/figures/4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/scotty_t-rex_preserved-blood-vessels_light-microscopy-images_Scientific-Reports_1s.webp" alt="In situ analysis of vascular structures in fractured Tyrannosaurus rex rib using cross-polarized light microscopy. Credit: Scientific Reports" class="wp-image-1981926"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>In situ analysis of vascular structures in fractured Tyrannosaurus rex rib using cross-polarized light microscopy. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Scientific Reports</em></figcaption></figure>



<p>This targeted preservation also speaks to how fossils can capture brief, intense biological episodes. A break triggers a rush of activity lasting weeks or months. </p>



<p>Under the right burial conditions, traces of that activity can harden into rock and wait for us to find them.</p>



<p>“This work also provides a new way to compare how injuries healed in extinct animals, like dinosaurs, with living species, such as birds and reptiles, which helps us better understand the biology of the past, and also how life on Earth has evolved over millions of years," Barbi concluded.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-does-any-of-this-matter">Why does any of this matter?</h2>



<p>These results connect dinosaur biology with processes we see in clinics and labs today. </p>



<p>Bone is living tissue. It remodels, it repairs, and - under certain conditions - its repair work can leave a chemical and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/183-million-year-old-plesiosaur-fossil-plesiopterys-wildi-preserved-skin-soft-tissue/">structural record that lasts</a>. </p>



<p>The study also shows how non-destructive tools can reveal fragile features without harming invaluable fossils.</p>



<p>The approach helps clarify past debates over “soft tissues” <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-fossils-reveal-cancer-clues-for-modern-medicine/">in dinosaur bones</a>. Here, the authors do not claim original vessels. </p>



<p>They present mineral casts that track vessel paths in a healing zone, supported by size, distribution, and iron-based chemistry.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-learned-for-future-studies">Lessons learned for future studies</h2>



<p>Healed injuries may be prime places to look for similar traces in other dinosaurs and in distant relatives like early birds and reptiles. </p>



<p>With broader sampling, finer imaging, and detailed chemical work, researchers could compare healing rates, test links to metabolism, and study how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-some-animals-become-fossils-while-others-just-disappear/">burial environments shape preservation</a>.</p>



<p>A single broken rib from an enormous T. rex skeleton has told a very precise story: blood rushed to a wound, vessels expanded, bone knit, and minerals later filled the spaces left behind. </p>



<p>The biology ended ages ago. The imprint stayed put.</p>



<p>The full study was published in the journal <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-06981-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scientific Reports</a></em>.</p>



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Preserved blood vessels found in bones of the world's largest T. rex

A broken bone sets off a repair job inside the...

<p>Astronomers believe they have finally confirmed the existence of a group of black holes that are too hefty to be born from normal stars, yet too slim to anchor galaxies - intermediate-mass black holes.</p>



<p>According to <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/">Vanderbilt University</a> astrophysicist Krystal Ruiz-Rocha, these bodies have masses of 100 to 300 times that of the Sun, and emerged in data from the third observing run of the <a href="https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/gravitational-waves/en/">gravitational‑wave</a> detectors LIGO and Virgo.</p>



<p>Most known black holes sit either below 50 solar masses or soar into the millions, leaving a puzzling middle zone. </p>



<p>Finding <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-oldest-black-hole-jet-ever-seen-is-size-of-three-milky-ways-j1601-3102/">occupants</a> of this zone matters because their masses preserve clues about how the first heavy stars lived and died.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mergers-of-collapsing-giants">Mergers of collapsing giants</h2>



<p>LIGO and Virgo register ripples in spacetime that last less than a half‑second, yet from that faint murmur scientists can compute the masses and spins of the colliding objects.</p>



<p>During the 2019–2020 run, the network logged eleven mergers whose combined detector‑frame masses exceeded 100 Suns, hinting at a fresh category of “lite” intermediate objects.</p>



<p>“Black holes are the ultimate cosmic fossils,” said Karan Jani, lead scientist of Vanderbilt’s Lunar Labs Initiative. </p>



<p>His team used a Bayesian code named <a href="https://arxiv.org/html/2505.11655v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RIFT</a> to test each event with three waveform families and confidently identified five mergers that left behind remnants of between 110 and 350 solar masses.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-identifying-intermediate-black-holes">Identifying intermediate black holes</h2>



<p>Intermediate-mass black holes are hard to identify because their signals fall into the low-frequency range, where ground-based detectors struggle with noise. </p>



<p>That makes it difficult to separate genuine cosmic events from background static, especially for faint or distant mergers.</p>



<p>To overcome this, the researchers used three different waveform models to compare the shape of the observed gravitational waves. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/imbh-candidate-in-omega-centauri/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/intermediate-mass-black-hole_omega-centauri-globular-cluster_NASA_1s.webp" alt="This image includes three panels. The first image at left shows the globular cluster Omega Centauri, a collection of myriad stars colored red, white, and blue on the black background of space. The second image shows the details of the central region of this cluster, with a closer view of the individual stars. The third image shows the location of the IMBH candidate in the cluster. Credit: NASA" class="wp-image-1981924"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>This image includes three panels. The first image at left shows the globular cluster Omega Centauri, a collection of myriad stars colored red, white, and blue on the black background of space. The second image shows the details of the central region of this cluster, with a closer view of the individual stars. The third image shows the location of the IMBH candidate in the cluster. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA</em></figcaption></figure>



<p>The experts also applied a <a href="https://www.stat.cmu.edu/~larry/=sml/Bayes.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bayesian inference</a> tool to estimate the black holes’ masses and spins with greater precision, even when the signals were weak or short.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-repeated-mergers-in-dense-clusters">Repeated mergers in dense clusters </h2>



<p>Stellar theory predicts that a <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.07933" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pair‑instability supernova</a> blasts apart stars whose cores grow too hot, forbidding black holes between roughly 60 and 120 solar masses. </p>



<p>Yet at least one pre‑merger object in the new sample lands inside that gap, and two more perch above it - supporting the idea that repeated mergers in dense clusters can sidestep the supernova ceiling.</p>



<p>Hierarchical smash‑ups let smaller black holes build <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/black-holes-turn-into-white-holes-and-blast-out-matter-and-time-runs-backwards/">larger ones</a> inside young star clusters, where escape speeds are high and fresh companions are plentiful. </p>



<p>Such stacking predicts spins that sometimes point opposite the orbital motion. This is a trait seen in several of the lite candidates - strengthening the case for a dynamical origin.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-antennas-on-a-celestial-stage">Future antennas on a celestial stage</h2>



<p>Space‑based detectors will catch the same binaries years before they collide on Earth, tracing their slow inspiral and mapping their birthplace. </p>



<p>NASA and ESA’s Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (<a href="https://lisa.nasa.gov/">LISA</a>) is slated for launch in the mid‑2030s and will measure low‑frequency waves that are impossible to hear from the ground.</p>



<p>“Access to lower frequencies from the lunar surface could allow us to identify the environments these black holes live in,” noted post‑doctoral fellow <a href="https://ccrg.rit.edu/user/yelikar.anjali" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anjali Yelikar</a>, whose group studies detector concepts for the Moon. </p>



<p>Combining Earth, space, and lunar observatories would stretch the observable waveform from minutes to years, and offer a full biography of each merger.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-missing-link-among-black-holes">Missing link among black holes</h2>



<p>Across the sample, the farthest event traveled roughly 37 billion light‑years to reach us, while the nearest sat a scant 2.5 billion light‑years away. </p>



<p>Five of the mergers have over a 95 percent chance of producing a remnant above the 100‑solar‑mass threshold, making them the heaviest gravitational‑wave sources on record.</p>



<p>Lite intermediate-mass black holes could be the missing link between the well-known populations of stellar and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-ultramassive-black-hole-ever-seen-cosmic-horseshoe-lrg-3-757/">supermassive</a> black holes. </p>



<p>Understanding how these middleweights form and where they live helps astrophysicists refine models for galaxy growth, star cluster dynamics, and the history of matter in the universe.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/black-holes_intermediate-mass_discovery-diagram_Vanderbilt_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/black-holes_intermediate-mass_discovery-diagram_Vanderbilt_1s.webp" alt="Left: posterior distribution of the chirp mass of the binary in the source frame as a function of the inferred effective inspiral spin parameter. Right: posterior distributions of the mass and the dimensionless spin of the remnant black hole according to the RIFT inference using the NRSur7dq4 model. Credit: The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2025)" class="wp-image-1981922"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>Left: posterior distribution of the chirp mass of the binary in the source frame as a function of the inferred effective inspiral spin parameter. Right: posterior distributions of the mass and the dimensionless spin of the remnant black hole according to the RIFT inference using the NRSur7dq4 model. Click image to enlarge. Credit: The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2025)</em></figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-intermediate-mass-black-holes">Studying intermediate-mass black holes</h2>



<p>Some theories suggest that intermediate black holes may <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/black-holes-seen-creating-their-own-food-gases-x-rays-fascinating-discovery/">grow</a> into the supermassive black holes that sit at galactic centers. Others may be relics from the first generation of stars, and may offer a glimpse into a time before the first galaxies formed.</p>



<p>“We hope this research strengthens the case for intermediate‑mass black holes as the most exciting source across the detector network,” said Ruiz‑Rocha. </p>



<p>With every new detection, astronomers refine their census of black holes and inch closer to uncovering the first generation of stars that seeded today’s galaxies.</p>



<p>The study is published in <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adc5f8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>The Astrophysical Journal Letters</em></a>.</p>



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Strong evidence points to the existence of a new category of black holes

Astronomers believe they have finally confirmed the existence of a...

<p>If humans ever leave Earth to colonize other planets, they will need companions that are incredibly resilient and able to shrug off the lethal conditions found in outer space. Tiny animals called tardigrades, only visible under magnification, are perfect for the job.</p>



<p>At about 0.004 inches long, a tardigrade can nap through a blast of ionizing radiation strong enough to cripple spacecraft systems. </p>



<p>A new study by NASA ambassador Isadora Arantes and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=W5_qtZgAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Professor Geancarlo Zanatta</a> of the <a href="https://www.ufrgs.br/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul</a> examines the toughness of tiny tardigrades and what makes them tick.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-tardigrades-matter">Why tardigrades matter</h2>



<p>Tardigrades are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extremophiles-and-the-quest-for-alien-life/">extremophiles</a>, organisms that tolerate ranges most species never encounter, from -456 °F to 302 °F and pressures up to 1,200 atmospheres. </p>



<p>Such extremes make them a natural laboratory for the question of whether cellular life can survive the hazards of space.</p>



<p>In 2007, dehydrated specimens endured ten days in open orbit and revived when rehydrated back on Earth. This feat showed that biology, not just spores, can tolerate the vacuum, ultraviolet glare, and micrometeoroid hits outside the atmosphere.</p>



<p>The trick rests on a state called cryptobiosis, where the animal curls into a tun, suspends metabolism, and replaces water with glass-like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-type-of-flour-contains-more-protein-than-meat-and-eggs-crickets/">proteins</a>. In this form it waits out drought, freeze, or radiation that would shred ordinary DNA.</p>



<p>Scientists have logged survival at particle doses above 5,000 grays, dozens of times higher than the lethal dose for humans. The numbers hint at molecular armor rather than sheer luck.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dna-bodyguard-protein">DNA bodyguard protein</h2>



<p>A standout piece of that armor is Damage Suppressor, or <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10247392/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dsup</a>, an intrinsically disordered protein that coats chromatin in a loose mesh. </p>



<p>Simulations by Arantes and Zanatta using <a href="https://www.gromacs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gromacs</a> show Dsup scattering incoming energetic particles before they can snap DNA strands.</p>



<p>Laboratory <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms12808" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> backs the picture, as Dsup trimmed X-ray damage by about 40 percent when engineered into human cells. In those tests, irradiated cells expressing the protein kept dividing while unprotected neighbors stalled or died.</p>



<p>“The protein prevents genetic mutations by dissipating radiation and minimizing DNA disruptions,” the authors report, a conclusion drawn from nanosecond-scale molecular dynamics runs. </p>



<p>Their calculations align with crystallography that found no rigid core, only flexible loops that mold to the phosphate backbone.</p>



<p>Arantes and Zanatta also note supporting cast members: heat shock proteins that refold bent peptides and antioxidant enzymes that mop up reactive oxygen unleashed by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/3d-printed-hydrogels-developed-to-protect-astronauts-from-space-radiation/">radiation</a>. </p>



<p>Together the network acts like a mobile repair crew deployed the instant damage begins.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tardigrades-helping-astronauts">Tardigrades helping astronauts</h2>



<p>Radiation is the hardest technical limit on crewed trips to Mars because aluminum hulls cannot block high-energy cosmic ions without adding dangerous secondary showers. </p>



<p>A genetic patch borrowed from tardigrades could complement shielding by giving cells an internal line of defense.</p>



<p>In mice, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044743123000209" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">messenger-RNA injections</a> that coax tissues to make Dsup already cut radiation-induced breakage during test exposures. </p>



<p>Translating that to astronauts might reduce lifetime cancer risk and lighten the mass budget for a Mars transfer vehicle.</p>



<p>Cryogenic tolerance is another bonus, because the same proteins help tardigrades keep membranes flexible when water vitrifies. </p>



<p>That chemistry could extend the shelf life of blood products, vaccines, or even organ transplants shipped on long missions.</p>



<p>“These applications highlight the broader relevance of extremophiles in addressing challenges on Earth while contributing to the scientific foundation for future space missions,” observe Arantes and Zanatta. </p>



<p>Their statement underscores how terrestrial medicine and exploration share a need for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/slime-found-in-home-appliances-could-help-fight-climate-change/">molecular resilience</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tardigrades-and-life-beyond-earth">Tardigrades and life beyond earth</h2>



<p>Researchers also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31730377/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">link</a> the tardigrade rulebook to worlds such as Mars, Europa, and Titan where water and radiation mix in ways that mirror laboratory tests. </p>



<p>At the conference, Arantes pointed out that the stability of proteins in Titan-like ammonia-water seas reinforces that view.</p>



<p>The icy crust of Europa hides a salty sea bombarded by Jupiter’s magnetic field, while Titan mixes ammonia with water at pressures near 1,000 bars. </p>



<p>Molecular modeling shows ordinary proteins can stay folded in that chilly brine, hinting life could adapt without reinventing biochemistry.</p>



<p>On dusty Mars, episodic meltwater may give microbes only transient refuges, but a Dsup-style shield would slow the genetic erosion caused by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-source-of-cosmic-rays-found-after-a-century-long-search/">cosmic rays</a>. That makes water bears a template for what to look for in future sample-return missions.</p>



<p>Every survival strategy logged in a terrestrial animal widens the habitability map for the Solar System. The more tricks scientists catalog, the less alien life seems.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-next-steps-back-on-our-planet">Next steps back on our planet</h2>



<p>Agronomists are testing tardigrade genes in rice and wheat to see whether crops can shrug off drought and frost without sacrificing yield. </p>



<p>Early greenhouse <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37977025/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trials</a> suggested Dsup plants recover faster after gamma irradiation, an edge as climate change intensifies storms and ozone depletion events.</p>



<p>Pharmaceutical companies hope the same proteins will keep monoclonal antibodies stable without expensive cold chains. Replacing freezers with molecular antifreeze would cut costs for rural clinics and disaster zones alike.</p>



<p>Regulators will insist on careful checks for unintended side effects because <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-dna-reveals-37000-years-of-hidden-human-infections/">DNA</a>-repair pathways tie into cancer risk. Yet the broad interest signals confidence that tardigrade solutions can be ported rather than merely admired.</p>



<p>For Arantes, Zanatta, and a growing cadre of astrobiologists, the next milestone is to watch Dsup at work inside living animals during deep-space analog missions. </p>



<p>Tiny cameras and omics assays aboard Lunar Gateway could reveal whether the protein performs as advertised beyond low Earth orbit.</p>



<p>The study is published in <a href="https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2025/pdf/2477.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Lunar and Planetary Science Conference Proceedings</em></a>.</p>



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This tiny animal could help humans colonize Mars

If humans ever leave Earth to colonize other planets, they...

<p>Rising carbon dioxide high above Earth is expected to change how geomagnetic storms disturb the upper atmosphere. Peak densities during storms may be lower than they are today, yet the swing from calm to storm could be greater.</p>



<p>That shift matters for satellite drag, orbital lifetimes, and how operators plan for space weather.</p>



<p>A team led by the U.S. National Science Foundation’s <a href="https://ncar.ucar.edu/">National Center for Atmospheric Research</a> (NSF NCAR) modeled these changes in collaboration with <a href="https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kyushu University</a>. </p>



<p>The work links long-term atmospheric cooling and thinning to the way future geomagnetic storms will play out aloft.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-change-reaches-space">Climate change reaches space</h2>



<p>In the lower atmosphere, added carbon dioxide traps heat. Far above, where molecules are sparse, carbon dioxide sheds heat to space. The result is a colder, less dense <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-gold-mission-unexpectedly-finds-x-shaped-structures-in-earths-upper-atmosphere/">upper atmosphere</a>.</p>



<p>A lower baseline density has been expected for decades. The question now is how a powerful storm will lift that thinner air during the event itself.</p>



<p>“The way energy from the Sun affects the atmosphere will change in the future because the background density of the atmosphere is different and that creates a different response,” said NSF NCAR scientist Nicolas Pedatella, the study’s lead author.</p>



<p>“For the satellite industry, this is an especially important question because of the need to design satellites for specific atmospheric conditions.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-geomagnetic-storms-across-decades">Geomagnetic storms across decades</h2>



<p>The researchers used the May 10 to 11, 2024, geomagnetic superstorm as their test case. They asked how an identical storm would have perturbed the upper atmosphere in 2016 and how it might do so near future solar minima in 2040, 2061, and 2084.</p>



<p>They ran the Community Earth System Model-Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with a thermosphere-ionosphere extension.</p>



<p>The system spans from the surface to the upper thermosphere, roughly 310 to 435 miles above Earth. That range allows greenhouse gas-driven changes in the lower atmosphere to extend into the satellite-flying zone.</p>



<p>The simulations were executed on the Derecho supercomputer at the <a href="https://www.cisl.ucar.edu/ncar-wyoming-supercomputing-center" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NSF NCAR–Wyoming Supercomputing Center</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-storms-show-sharper-jumps">Future storms show sharper jumps</h2>



<p>Later this century, at the height of a storm comparable to May 2024, parts of the upper atmosphere are projected to be 20 to 50 percent less dense than at the peak of a similar storm today. That is the absolute picture.</p>



<p>The relative picture looks different. Because the calm-time density will be lower, the same storm will produce a larger proportional jump. </p>



<p>A storm that now more than doubles density at the peak may nearly triple it in the future. The atmosphere will not get as dense in absolute terms, but the surge from baseline to peak will be sharper.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-space-weather-alters-satellite-plans">Space weather alters satellite plans</h2>



<p>Drag depends on both density and speed. In a thinner average atmosphere, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/satellites-capture-dramatic-shifts-in-earths-forests/">satellites</a> tend to last longer before reentry. </p>



<p>But sharp, multiday spikes in drag during big storms can scramble orbits, accelerate decay, and complicate collision avoidance.</p>



<p>Designers and operators will have to plan for a world where the calm is calmer and the jolts are more abrupt. This could affect fuel margins, attitude control, and the cadence of orbit maintenance. It may also influence how constellations prepare for severe space weather events.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dependence-on-the-upper-atmosphere">Dependence on the upper atmosphere</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-magnetic-field-is-shifting-and-putting-navigation-at-risk/">Navigation</a>, communications, Earth observation, and national security all rely on satellites traversing the thermosphere. </p>



<p>As launch costs fall and constellations multiply, small changes in drag statistics can cascade into large operational impacts.</p>



<p>The findings add to prior estimates of long-term atmospheric thinning by focusing on the storm-time response. The signal is clear: background change reshapes the storm itself.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-geomagnetic-storm-modeling">Future of geomagnetic storm modeling</h2>



<p>Pedatella stressed the need to explore different storm types and timings across the 11-year solar cycle. Background density varies with solar activity, which may further modulate the effect.</p>



<p>“We now have the capability with our models to explore the very complex interconnections between the lower and upper atmosphere,” he said. “It’s critical to know how these changes will occur because they have profound ramifications for our atmosphere.”</p>



<p>Future studies will test other drivers, cross-check with satellite drag observations, and refine forecasts that tie climate trends to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/electron-activity-in-auroras-will-help-us-understand-space-weather/">space weather</a> risk. </p>



<p>For the satellite industry, the message is practical. Account for long-term cooling aloft, and expect future storms to deliver bigger relative jolts, even as the air grows thinner on average.</p>



<p>The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL116445" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Geophysical Research Letters</em></a><em>.</em></p>



<p>Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory </p>



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Climate change may amplify the impacts of geomagnetic storms

Rising carbon dioxide high above Earth is expected to change...

<p>Nature can still surprise us, even in places we think we know well. Europe’s wildlife has been studied for centuries, yet some species have managed to hide in plain sight. One of them is <em>Carcina ingridmariae</em>, a bright, colorful moth.</p>



<p>For more than 100 years, this moth species has been misidentified. Its true identity has now been revealed, thanks to a mix of sharp observation and modern genetic tools.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-carcina-ingridmariae-found-after-100-years"><em>Carcina ingridmariae</em> found after 100 years</h2>



<p>Dr. Peter Huemer from the <a href="https://www.tiroler-landesmuseen.at/en/tyrolean-state-museums/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum</a> in Innsbruck, Austria, led a team that described the new species.</p>



<p>For over a century, it was thought to be oak carcina, <em>Carcina quercana</em>, a moth that was first described in 1775. The two look almost identical, sharing vivid pink and yellow tones. That resemblance kept the new species hidden in collections and field <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-rising-co2-levels-threaten-insect-reproduction/">sightings</a> for decades.</p>



<p><em>C. quercana</em> has always been seen as easy to recognize, even making it onto the cover of an identification book. </p>



<p>Its classification history is more tangled, moving through several families before most scientists agreed to place it in the family Peleopodidae. That agreement didn’t stop surprises from turning up, as this discovery shows.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dna-confirms-the-new-moth-species">DNA confirms the new moth species</h2>



<p>The first clues came from DNA barcoding in Greek moth <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/modern-farming-is-causing-many-insect-species-to-collapse/">surveys</a>. Tests showed over 6.5% genetic difference between <em>C. ingridmariae</em> and <em>C. quercana</em> - far beyond what’s expected within a single species. </p>



<p>When the team took a closer look, the differences were clear. Male <em>C. ingridmariae</em> often have paler orange-brown wings with fewer markings. Their genital structures are distinct, with a more slender gnathos and a different cucullus shape. </p>



<p>Females show an obvious difference in having a broad, tubular antrum. These features match the genetic split and confirm the species is new.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coastal-areas-to-mountain-slopes">Coastal areas to mountain slopes</h2>



<p>Researchers think the larvae feed on several oak species, including <em>Quercus trojana</em>, <em>Q. coccifera</em>, and <em>Q. ilex</em>. Records from north Cyprus show the moth occurs in areas without oaks, suggesting its larval host may be more flexible than previously thought.</p>



<p>The caterpillars probably make flat, silvery-white silk webs on the underside of leaves, just like <em>C. quercana</em>. Pupation likely happens between two spun leaves. </p>



<p>Adults appear in many habitats, from coastal areas to mountain slopes up to 1,500 meters (4,920 feet). They fly in two main periods: early May to late June, and mid-August to early October.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-the-moth-s-range">Tracking the moth's range</h2>



<p>Confirmed populations of <em>Carcina ingridmariae</em> have been recorded in several eastern Mediterranean countries, including Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, and Türkiye. </p>



<p>In addition to these verified locations, there are strong indications that the species also occurs in Lebanon, Israel, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, based on regional records and specimen analysis.</p>



<p>The geographical range of this moth overlaps with that of <em><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/205221-Carcina-quercana" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Carcina quercana</a></em>, a species that is widely distributed throughout Europe and also found in parts of North Africa. </p>



<p>Because the two <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/urbanization-causes-massive-decline-in-insect-pollinators/">species</a> are so similar in appearance, distinguishing between them in areas where their ranges meet cannot be done by sight alone.</p>



<p>In such cases, researchers must rely on DNA analysis or a detailed examination of anatomical features, particularly the structure of the genitalia, to confirm the correct identification.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-personal-name-for-a-rare-find">A personal name for a rare find</h2>



<p>Dr. Huemer decided to honor his wife when naming the species. “It is without doubt the prettiest species I have encountered in my long scientific career, even though it is still unnamed.” For him, it was “obvious” the new moth should bear her name. </p>



<p>He announced the dedication on their 42nd wedding anniversary, giving the discovery a personal and lasting touch.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-familiar-landscapes-with-unknown-species">Familiar landscapes with unknown species</h2>



<p>Finding <em>C. ingridmariae</em> shows that even colorful, distinctive species can go unnoticed without the right tools. </p>



<p>DNA barcoding has uncovered many new moth species in Europe, but most are small and dull-colored. Discovering a vivid new species hiding among individuals of a different, but well-known species, is unusual.</p>



<p>The case proves that wide genetic surveys, paired with traditional anatomy, can change how we see biodiversity. As Dr. Huemer’s work shows, even familiar landscapes may hold species we’ve been overlooking for generations.</p>



<p>The study is published in the journal <em><a href="https://alpineentomology.pensoft.net/article/158239/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alpine Entomology</a>.</em></p>



<p>Image credit: P. Huemer/Ferdinandeum</p>



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New moth species revealed after a century of mistaken identity

Nature can still surprise us, even in places we think...

<p>At dawn in the deep waters off North Maluku, Indonesia, a team of technical divers raised their camera lights and found themselves face to face with a creature once known only from stone. </p>



<p>The brown spotted coelacanth, an ancient group of lobe-finned fish (<a href="https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/sarco/sarcopterygii.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Sarcopterygii</em></a>) in the class Actinistia, famous for vanishing before the last dinosaur fell, a survivor of a lineage stretching back more than 400 million years, hovered calmly 475 feet below the surface.</p>



<p>The encounter, recorded in October 2024, was led by underwater explorer <a href="https://www.expeditions.com/about/expedition-team/alexis-chappuis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alexis Chappuis</a> of <a href="https://unseen-expeditions.com/about-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UNSEEN</a> Expedition, whose lenses delivered the first photographs of <em>Latimeria menadoensis</em> in its natural Indonesian home.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-latimeria-menadoensis"><em>Latimeria menadoensis</em></h2>



<p>Modern science met an ancient rumor in 1938 when museum curator Marjorie Courtenay Latimer pulled the first living specimen of <a href="https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/discovery-living-fossil" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Latimeria chalumnae</em></a> from a South African net, shocking paleontologists who thought the group had died out 70 million years earlier. </p>



<p>The discovery turned a textbook extinction into a living case study and launched a global hunt for other populations.</p>



<p>A second species, the <a href="https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/coelacanth/coelacanth1.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Indonesian coelacanth</a> <em>Latimeria menadoensis</em>, surfaced in a Sulawesi fish market in 1997, yet no diver had ever photographed it alive until now. </p>



<p>Remote submersibles had glimpsed shapes in dark caves, but human eyes at depth remained unconfirmed.</p>



<p>Both species mature slowly, reach about six feet in length, and can live nearly a century according to scale ring studies of their African cousin. </p>



<p>Long lives come with late puberty, around 40 years, and pregnancies that last roughly five years, leaving populations fragile.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-maluku-moment">The Maluku moment</h2>



<p>Chappuis and teammate <a href="https://certificate.iantdbenelux.com/List/Instructors?filterNaam=leblond" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Julien Leblond</a> descended with closed circuit rebreathers and a helium rich trimix gas blend to keep their brains clear at pressures four times those at the surface. </p>



<p>They landed on a steep volcanic slope at 410 feet, where temperature dropped to 68 degrees Fahrenheit and visibility stretched beyond 100 feet.</p>



<p>A white spotted silhouette emerged, dorsal fin erect, drifting over sponge covered rock. The divers kept a respectful distance, gathering five minutes of video before beginning a decompression ascent that would last more than three hours.</p>



<p>Two days later they returned, found the same individual <em>Latimeria menadoensis</em> fish swimming 30 feet shallower, and logged eight more minutes of observation.</p>



<p>Photo analysis confirmed the match by its unique lateral spot pattern, evidence that individual recognition is possible without tags.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-coelacanths-matter">Why coelacanths matter</h2>



<p>Lobe finned fishes like <em>Latimeria</em> are closer on the tree of life to land vertebrates than to tuna or trout, so every heartbeat they take informs questions about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/500-million-year-old-fish-armor-may-be-the-reason-your-teeth-hurt/">fish evolution</a> and how fins first evolved toward limbs. </p>



<p>Genomic work has already revealed gene clusters linked to limb development that are shared with humans.</p>



<p>Their conservation status, however, is precarious. <a href="https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Latimeria-menadoensis.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FishBase</a> lists <em>L. menadoensis</em> as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and its African cousin as “Critically Endangered.”</p>



<p>With fewer than a thousand West Indian Ocean individuals estimated and only a handful of documented Sulawesi <em>Latimeria menadoensis</em> fish, accidental capture, deep water oil development, and plastic pollution threaten to erase a lineage older than trees.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-latimeria-menadoensis-in-the-mesophotic"><em>Latimeria menadoensis</em> in the mesophotic</h2>



<p>The coelacanth’s preferred address lies within the mesophotic zone, a twilight band from roughly 200 to 500 feet where sunlight dwindles but still fuels sparse coral growth. </p>



<p>Temperatures hover around 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit, creating a cold refuge below Indonesia’s warm surface waters.</p>



<p>Steep cliffs, cracks, and overhangs offer caves for daytime rest and hunting posts at night, a pattern confirmed in African populations and now filmed in Asia. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Coelacanth-Latimeria-chalumnae_indonesia-waters_credit-Alexis-Chappuis_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Coelacanth-Latimeria-chalumnae_indonesia-waters_credit-Alexis-Chappuis_1s.webp" alt="Deep diver about a meter behind the Sulawesi Coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis) discovered at a depth of -144 m in North Maluku, Indonesia. Credit: Alexis Chappuis" class="wp-image-1981879"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>Deep diver about a meter behind the Sulawesi Coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis) discovered at a depth of -144 m in North Maluku, Indonesia. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Alexis Chappuis</em></figcaption></figure>



<p>The Maluku slope matched every habitat clue, turning prediction into proof when they encountered <em>Latimeria menadoensis</em>.</p>



<p>Researchers measured steady thermoclines that rarely exceed 72 degrees, conditions that slow metabolism so much that coelacanths burn calories at a fraction of the rate seen in shallow water predators. </p>



<p>That sluggish physiology explains why the fish can hover motionless for minutes without beating their tail.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenges-of-deep-exploration">Challenges of deep exploration</h2>



<p>Reaching such depths safely demands meticulous gas planning because a single error can cause nitrogen narcosis or oxygen toxicity. </p>



<p>After only minutes on the bottom, the team staged upwards in 10 foot increments, breathing progressively richer oxygen mixes to flush inert gases.</p>



<p>During those long stops, swell and current can sweep divers across open ocean, so support crews tracked bubble markers and maintained redundant lift bags. </p>



<p>Every successful descent expands the frontier for non-invasive research like environmental <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oldest-human-dna-ever-found-tells-story-of-lost-branch-on-human-neanderthal-family-tree/">DNA</a> sampling.</p>



<p>Decompression itself is a grueling vigil, the pair spent over two hours at 20 feet, alternating between breathing loops while oceanic swells rocked them like pendulums. </p>



<p>Every extra minute adds risk of hypothermia, yet leaving early would invite dangerous bubbles in blood and bone.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-latimeria-menadoensis">Saving <em>Latimeria menadoensis</em></h2>



<p>“This is good news for the conservation of this highly vulnerable vertebrate and supports the hypothesis that Indonesian coelacanths might present a more extensive distribution range than initially thought,” wrote Chappuis. </p>



<p>He urged authorities to shield deep reef ecosystems before tourism or mining can intrude, which would surely result in extinction for <em>Latimeria menadoensis</em>.</p>



<p>Because the fish’s slow life history limits its ability to rebound, even small increases in mortality can cascade into extinction risk. Protecting a single slope in Maluku could safeguard an entire regional population.</p>



<p>Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs is drafting protected zones for deep reef slopes, but enforcement will hinge on funding and local partnership. </p>



<p>Citizen science programs that report accidental catches could supply vital population data while building community pride in stewardship.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-next-steps-for-science">Next steps for science</h2>



<p>The team plans to return in 2026 with a slim line remotely operated sampler that can swab mucus from passing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-fish-coelacanth-presumed-extinct-for-60-million-years-before-rediscovery/">fish</a> without tethers. </p>



<p>DNA will reveal kinship among Maluku, Sulawesi, and Papua individuals, testing whether the region houses one gene pool or several.</p>



<p>Such insights could refine protected area boundaries and show whether migration corridors exist along Indonesia’s complex seafloor ridges. </p>



<p>Clear answers will help decide if tourism limits or seasonal fishing closures are the wiser guardrails to protect <em>Latimeria menadoensis</em> and other coelacanths.</p>



<p>Future missions aim to collect water samples for DNA without touching the animals, map additional habitats, and support local enforcement against destructive fishing. </p>



<p>The return of this so-called living fossil is not a curiosity, it is a reminder that deep seas still hold stories we are only beginning to read.</p>



<p>The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-90287-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Scientific Reports</em></a>.</p>



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Scientists capture photos of a prehistoric fish thought to be extinct for 70 million years

At dawn in the deep waters off North Maluku, Indonesia,...

<p>Regularly helping others - whether through formal volunteering or informal assistance - can slow age-related cognitive decline by as much as 15 to 20 percent, according to a new study of more than 30,000 U.S. adults. </p>



<p>The effect was strongest for those who spent about two to four hours each week helping outside the home.</p>



<p>The research, led by the <a href="https://www.umb.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Texas at Austin</a> (UT), tracked participants for over two decades using data from the national Health and Retirement Study.</p>



<p>The results show that helping produces cumulative and long-lasting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-benefits-of-the-mediterranean-diet-can-be-boosted-with-more-greens/">brain benefits</a>, whether through structured volunteering or casual support for neighbors, friends, or relatives.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cognitive-benefits-of-helping-others">Cognitive benefits of helping others</h2>



<p>“Everyday acts of support - whether organized or personal - can have lasting cognitive impact,” said lead author Sae Hwang Han, an assistant professor of human development and family sciences at UT.</p>



<p>“What stood out was that the cognitive benefits of helping others weren’t just short-term boosts but cumulative over time," he said. "In addition to that, moderate engagement of just two to four hours was consistently linked to robust benefits.”</p>



<p>The study examined two main types of helping. Formal volunteering includes scheduled activities with organizations. Informal helping covers tasks like giving someone a ride to a medical appointment, caring for children, doing yard work, or helping with taxes.</p>



<p>While only about one-third of older Americans take part in formal volunteering, more than half provide informal help on a regular basis.</p>



<p>“Informal helping is sometimes assumed to offer fewer health benefits due to its lack of social recognition,” Han said. “It was a pleasant surprise to find that it provides cognitive benefits comparable to formal volunteering.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-helping-slows-decline-for-years">Helping slows decline for years</h2>



<p>Using records dating back to 1998, the team controlled for variables such as wealth, education, and physical and mental health. The analysis found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/doctors-say-this-lifestyle-factor-smoking-is-biggest-contributor-to-cognitive-decline/">cognitive decline</a> slowed once participants began helping others and continued to slow with sustained engagement year after year.</p>



<p>The data also revealed a clear risk from stopping entirely. “Conversely, our data show that completely withdrawing from helping is associated with worse cognitive function,” Han said.</p>



<p>“This suggests the importance of keeping older adults engaged in some form of helping for as long as possible, with appropriate support and accommodations in place.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-helping-as-brain-medicine">Helping as brain medicine</h2>



<p>The authors argue that the findings strengthen the case for viewing volunteerism and helping through a public health lens. The prevalence of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-drug-shows-potential-to-treat-alzheimers/">Alzheimer’s</a> and other forms of dementia in later life makes this especially important.</p>



<p>Encouraging older adults to remain engaged in acts of support could be a low-cost, widely accessible way to help preserve cognitive function.</p>



<p>Another recent study led by Han found that volunteering can also protect brain health by buffering the negative effects of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chronic-stress-disrupts-gut-bacteria-and-fuels-cancer-progression/">chronic stress</a> on systemic inflammation - a biological process linked to dementia. People with higher inflammation levels showed this protective effect most strongly.</p>



<p>Together, the results from both studies suggest multiple pathways by which helping others may preserve brain function. These include reducing the physiological wear and tear caused by stress and strengthening the psychological, emotional, and cognitive benefits of meaningful social connections.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-benefits-for-all-involved">Benefits for all involved</h2>



<p>The findings come at a time when aging populations and rising rates of loneliness are pressing concerns worldwide. They also challenge the assumption that people in poor health have little to contribute to others - or that they cannot benefit from doing so.</p>



<p>“Many older adults in suboptimal health often continue to make valuable contributions to those around them, and they also may be the ones to especially benefit from being provided with opportunities to help,” Han explained.</p>



<p>Even for those already experiencing cognitive decline, the study suggests that maintaining some form of regular helping - with the right accommodations - may still yield benefits. </p>



<p>That could mean light <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/personality-traits-linked-to-willingness-to-volunteer-or-donate/">volunteer</a> tasks with flexible hours, or simply continuing to offer support to family and friends. Building helping behaviors into weekly routines can sharpen minds, strengthen communities, and foster deeper connections.</p>



<p>The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953625007968?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Social Science &amp; Medicine</em></a>.</p>



<p>-----</p>



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Helping others can slow age-related cognitive decline

Regularly helping others - whether through formal volunteering or informal...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE
</div></figure>



<p>On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop and sunlight barely penetrates through the polar winter. It was here, however, that an international team of scientists found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predatory-worms-were-terror-beasts-half-a-billion-years-ago/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence of sea monsters</a> that would change our understanding of ocean life in the past.</p>



<p>This video captures the discovery of Timorebestia fossils that had been hidden for more than 500 million years in the Sirius Passet formation. The "terror beasts," as they are called, are a hidden chapter in the evolutionary history of <a href="https://www.earth.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth</a>, showing that sophisticated predator-prey interactions occurred much earlier than previously envisioned.</p>



<p>Dr. Jakob Vinther and his research team at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>, in collaboration with researchers at the <a href="https://eng.kopri.re.kr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Polar Research Institute</a>, braved extreme weather conditions at 82.5 north latitude to locate these giant creatures. Using sophisticated electron microprobe analysis, they revealed the detailed anatomy of the animals, including their muscle and nerve tissues.</p>



<p>The find upsets the traditional timeline of sea predators.  Although we've long appreciated that Cambrian oceans were at one time ruled by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWI3-UgA3_o&amp;list=PL1QLQMW9MWDwpkFOnvgAmu7wT6rZmYqdJ&amp;index=19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arthropods</a>, these discoveries indicate that relatives of arrow worms were first to dominate the seas.  These worms were building sophisticated food webs several million years before other predator groups arose.</p>



<p>Each fossil is a story of ancient hunger, with fossil stomach contents revealing these meter-long beasts dined on heavily armored arthropods regularly, cementing their place as the ocean's first apex predators.</p>



<p>-----</p>



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New York is the site of the world's oldest forest.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-385-million-year-old-trees-discovered">385-million-year-old trees discovered</h2>



<p>Scientists have uncovered something extraordinary just two hours north of New York City. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world's oldest forest</a>, dating back 385 million years, offers a window into how Earth's first complex forests shaped our planet's atmosphere.</p>



<p>Located near <a href="https://townofcairo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cairo, New York</a>, in Greene County, these weren't merely primitive plants struggling to survive. These were sophisticated trees with root systems remarkably similar to modern forests. This ancient woodland predates dinosaurs by 140 million years.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cairo-forest-discovery">The Cairo forest discovery</h2>



<p>385 million years ago, upstate New York was a tropical paradise near the equator. Thanks to continental drift, this ancient forest has traveled thousands of miles to its current location.</p>



<p>The fossil forest sits in an abandoned quarry, roughly half the size of a football field. This represents just a slice of what was likely a massive forest system stretching from New York into Pennsylvania.</p>



<p>Charles Ver Straeten, curator of sedimentary rocks at the <a href="https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York State Museum</a>, made the discovery in 2009. While scouting the former highway department property, his trained eye spotted wandering patterns in the stone that looked like marine features.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-age-and-preservation">Revolutionary age and preservation</h2>



<p>The site contains 385-million-year-old rocks with fossilized woody roots forming horizontal patterns up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. As Christopher Berry, a paleobotanist at Cardiff University, explains: "You are walking through the roots of ancient trees."</p>



<p>This discovery pushes back advanced tree evolution by millions of years. The research, published in <em><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a></em> in December 2019, fundamentally changes our understanding of when complex forests first emerged.</p>



<p>Researchers believe a massive flood buried the forest floor, creating perfect fossilization conditions. Over millions of years, sediment hardened into rock, preserving these root patterns like nature's time capsule.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-archaeopteris-the-first-modern-tree">Meet <em>Archaeopteris</em>: the first modern tree</h2>



<p>The star of this ancient forest is <em>Archaeopteris</em> – not to be confused with the feathered dinosaur <em>Archaeopteryx</em>. This tree was far older and more revolutionary.</p>



<p>William Stein from <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binghamton University</a> describes the roots as "strikingly modern, essentially what you'd see outside in my yard right now." These weren't simple root systems you'd expect from ancient plants.</p>



<p>Some fossilized roots are six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, forming 36-foot-wide (11-meter) patterns. These giants grew up to 65 feet (20 meters) tall with five-foot-diameter (1.5-meter) trunks.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-changing-impact">Climate-changing impact</h2>



<p>These trees fundamentally changed Earth's environment. Kevin Boyce, a Stanford University geoscientist, explains how their deep roots triggered "weathering," chemical reactions that pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.</p>



<p>This process dropped atmospheric CO2 levels from 10-15 times higher than today to roughly modern concentrations. These ancient trees helped create atmospheric conditions that made complex life possible.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-forest-ecosystem">Ancient forest ecosystem</h2>



<p>The forest was remarkably diverse. Scientists identified <em>Eospermatopteris</em>, palm tree-like plants with short roots that reached 30 feet (9 meters) tall but lacked woody structure. The forest also housed cladoxylopsids and a mysterious third species still being studied.</p>



<p>All reproduced through spores rather than seeds – millions of years before seeds evolved. This tropical environment had no grass, flowers, or flying insects, just towering trees creating Earth's first complex forest canopy.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-significance">Scientific significance</h2>



<p>Before this finding, the Gilboa forest, located 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, held the "oldest forest" title. Cairo's trees are 2-3 million years older, showing that complex forest ecosystems developed much faster than scientists believed possible.</p>



<p>Patricia Gensel, a <a href="https://www.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of North Carolina</a> paleobotanist, notes: "The size of those root systems is really changing the picture. Even 20 years ago, researchers assumed trees with such complex root systems didn't evolve so early."</p>



<p>The Cairo site presents three unique root systems, suggesting Devonian period forests were diverse ecosystems with different trees occupying different environmental niches, much like today's forests.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-preservation-efforts">Modern preservation efforts</h2>



<p>In 2022, New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey secured a $170,000 grant for the town of Cairo to construct specialized fencing around the fossil forest site. The town plans to conduct a feasibility study exploring the possibility of creating an educational center and working lab on-site.</p>



<p>Joe Hasenkopf, chair of the Cairo Planning Board, hopes to partner with educational institutions to create a research facility serving scientists, students, and the public.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-today-s-climate">Lessons for today's climate</h2>



<p>Why does a 385-million-year-old forest matter today? It shows how dramatically forests can change Earth's climate. These ancient woodlands created the atmospheric conditions supporting complex life.</p>



<p>Understanding how prehistoric forests transformed the planet helps us appreciate modern forests' critical role in addressing climate change. Forests remain Earth's most effective carbon capture systems.</p>



<p>These prehistoric trees changed Earth's atmosphere by pulling massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. As we face modern climate challenges, this ancient forest reminds us of trees' incredible power to transform our planet's environment.</p>



<p>The next time you walk through a forest, remember you're experiencing an ecosystem whose blueprint was established 385 million years ago in upstate New York. These ancient pioneers didn't just survive – they thrived and changed the world forever.</p>



<p>The full study was published in the journal <em>Current Biology</em>.</p>



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ New York is the site of the world's oldest...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veg4HmmRVZY
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Our bodies hits two 'aging cliffs' at these ages.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientists-map-exact-ages-when-your-body-rapidly-ages">Scientists Map Exact Ages When Your Body Rapidly Ages</h2>



<p>Scientists have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-bodies-begin-breaking-down-two-very-precise-ages/#google_vignette">discovered that aging</a> isn't the gradual, steady process many assume it to be. Instead, researchers from Stanford Medicine have found that our bodies undergo dramatic molecular changes at two specific ages: 44 and 60. This research, published in Nature Aging, reveals that aging happens in sudden bursts rather than smooth transitions.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-waves-of-rapid-aging">Two waves of rapid aging</h2>



<p>The Stanford study tracked over 135,000 different molecules and microbes in 108 participants aged 25 to 75 over several years. Results showed that 81% of all molecules studied exhibited non-linear changes, meaning they shifted dramatically at certain ages rather than changing gradually over time.</p>



<p>Michael Snyder, chair of genetics at Stanford School of Medicine and the study's senior author, noted significant findings. "We're not just changing gradually over time; there are some really dramatic changes. It turns out the mid-40s is a time of dramatic change, as is the early 60s. And that's true no matter what class of molecules you look at."</p>



<p>The first wave of changes occurs around age 44, affecting molecules related to alcohol metabolism, caffeine processing, lipid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/age-related-changes-in-metabolism-dont-match-our-expectations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">metabolism</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-disease-remains-the-leading-cause-of-death-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cardiovascular disease</a>, and skin and muscle function. The second wave hits around age 60, involving changes in carbohydrate metabolism, immune regulation, kidney function, and again cardiovascular and muscle health.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-during-these-aging-bursts">What happens during these aging bursts</h2>



<p>During the mid-40s transformation, researchers observed significant changes in how the body processes alcohol and fats. This period often coincides with increased stress levels in many people's lives, potentially contributing to lifestyle factors that accelerate these molecular shifts.</p>



<p>"It's possible some of these changes could be tied to lifestyle or behavioral factors that cluster at these age groups, rather than being driven by biological factors," Snyder explained. For instance, alcohol metabolism dysfunction might result from increased consumption during the typically stressful mid-40s period.</p>



<p>The changes at age 60 are perhaps less surprising, as this is when many age-related diseases begin to manifest more prominently. The molecular shifts affect immune function and kidney health, both critical for maintaining overall wellness as we enter our senior years.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-latest-research-confirms-aging-patterns">Latest research confirms aging patterns</h2>



<p>Recent 2025 studies have validated these findings. Research examining tissue samples from 76 people found similar aging patterns, noting an "inflection point" between ages 45 and 55.</p>



<p>Scientists discovered that blood vessels, particularly the aorta, age fastest among all body tissues. This vascular aging may drive aging in other body parts, highlighting cardiovascular health's central role in the aging process.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cellular-changes-and-microbiome-shifts">Cellular changes and microbiome shifts</h2>



<p>The Stanford research revealed that these aging bursts affect our microbiome – the trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi living in and on our bodies. These microbial communities undergo substantial shifts during both aging periods, potentially affecting everything from digestion to immune function.</p>



<p>Additionally, researchers found that protein production and gene expression begin to fall out of sync as we age. This breakdown in cellular communication becomes especially pronounced during the two aging waves, contributing to the accumulation of damaged proteins associated with diseases such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alzheimers-may-not-be-brain-disorder-important-data-was-fabricated/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alzheimer's</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-health-implications-and-longevity-considerations">Health implications and longevity considerations</h2>



<p>Understanding these aging patterns has important implications for healthcare strategies. Research suggests that people should pay particular attention to their health during their 40s and 60s, when these dramatic molecular changes occur.</p>



<p>Snyder emphasized the importance of proactive health measures. "I'm a big believer that we should try to adjust our lifestyles while we're still healthy," he noted. This might include increasing exercise to protect heart health and maintain muscle mass, or reducing alcohol consumption in the 40s as the body's ability to metabolize it declines.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-approaches-to-anti-aging-treatment">New approaches to anti-aging treatment</h2>



<p>Aging research has seen notable advances in 2025. Harvard Medical School scientists developed chemical cocktails that reverse cellular aging without genetic modification. These six combinations restored aged cells to youthfulness in under a week, offering safer alternatives to gene therapy.</p>



<p>Researchers identified new biomarkers like "InflammAge," a saliva-based test measuring chronic inflammation associated with aging. This non-invasive approach could change how we monitor aging and intervention.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-directions-in-aging-research">Future directions in aging research</h2>



<p>Emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, cellular reprogramming, and senolytic therapies, are opening new possibilities for extending healthspan. Companies develop treatments targeting aging's fundamental mechanisms rather than just managing age-related diseases.</p>



<p>The Stanford findings provide a roadmap for implementing preventive measures. Rather than waiting for symptoms, people can prepare for and potentially mitigate these predictable aging waves.</p>



<p>As aging understanding evolves, one thing becomes clear: aging isn't inevitable decline, but specific biological events we may learn to prevent or reverse. The key is recognizing when these transitions occur and taking proactive health steps during vulnerable periods.</p>



<p>The study was published in the journal <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/nataging" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Aging</a></em>.</p>



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Scientists discover we age in bursts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veg4HmmRVZY Our bodies hits two 'aging cliffs' at these ages....

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqlF0XKzHY4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The hidden science behind tickling.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientists-discover-the-brain-s-tickling-command-center">Scientists discover the brain's 'tickling command center'</h2>



<p>Researchers have finally solved one of humanity's most enduring mysteries: why we can't <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/after-centuries-of-debate-we-still-dont-know-how-tickling-works/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tickle</a> ourselves and what makes some people incredibly ticklish while others barely react? Recent scientific discoveries are revolutionizing our understanding of this peculiar human behavior.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breakthrough-discovery-in-the-brain">Breakthrough discovery in the brain</h2>



<p>In 2023, Dr. Michael Brecht's team at <a href="https://www.hu-berlin.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humboldt University</a>-<a href="https://www.hu-berlin.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Berlin</a> made a major discovery published in the <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(22)01991-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">journal <em>Neuron</em></a>. They identified the brain's actual "tickling command center" – specific neurons in a region called the periaqueductal gray that control both tickling responses and play behavior.</p>



<p>When researchers used cutting-edge optogenetic technology to shut down these neurons in laboratory rats, something remarkable happened. The animals completely lost their ability to be tickled or engage in playful behavior.</p>



<p>"We found that global blockade of the rat periaqueductal gray with either muscimol or lidocaine interfered with ticklishness and play," the research team reported in their study.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-types-of-tickling-revealed">Two types of tickling revealed</h2>



<p>What we call "tickling" is two completely different phenomena, according to the latest research. Light tickling – that feathery sensation that makes you want to scratch – is essentially your body's sophisticated bug detection system. This alerts you to potential insects or parasites on your skin.</p>



<p>Deep tickling – the kind that makes you laugh uncontrollably – involves complex brain circuits and is fundamentally social. You literally cannot tickle yourself with this type of stimulation.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-self-tickling-is-impossible">Why self-tickling is impossible</h2>



<p>Your cerebellum acts like a prediction machine, recent findings show. When you move your own hand to touch yourself, your brain generates precise predictions about what you will feel and then cancels out the tickling sensation through neural inhibition.</p>



<p>When someone else tickles you, your brain can't predict their movements, so the full tickling response activates. It's like your brain's way of distinguishing between self and others.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-individual-differences-explained">Individual differences explained</h2>



<p>Individual differences in ticklishness depend on genetics, psychology, and even trust. Dr. Xinzhong Dong at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Johns Hopkins University</a> notes that people with denser nerve endings tend to be more sensitive.</p>



<p>Psychological factors matter just as much. You respond more strongly when tickled by people you trust, and anxiety completely shuts down tickling responses. This explains why the same physical stimulus can produce completely different reactions depending on who's doing the tickling.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-controlling-your-ticklishness">Controlling your ticklishness</h2>



<p>Science offers answers for controlling your ticklishness. You can reduce tickling sensitivity through systematic desensitization – gradual exposure in controlled settings.</p>



<p>Dr. Konstantina Kilteni's 2025 research, published in <em><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt0350" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a></em>, reveals another technique: place your hand on the tickler's hand. This allows your brain to partially predict the sensations, reducing the tickling response by up to 90 percent.</p>



<p>"Your brain is essentially learning to override its own reflexes," Kilteni explained in her review of tickling research.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-purpose-discovered">Evolutionary purpose discovered</h2>



<p>From an evolutionary perspective, tickling serves vital functions according to <a href="https://www.umd.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Maryland</a> researcher Dr. Robert Provine's extensive studies. It trains our defense reflexes for vulnerable body areas and facilitates social bonding between family members.</p>



<p>Tickling-induced laughter is actually one of the first forms of communication between infants and caregivers. "Tickle involves a neurological self/nonself discrimination, providing the most primitive social scenario," Provine noted in his research.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clinical-applications-emerge">Clinical applications emerge</h2>



<p>Research shows people with autism spectrum disorder perceive touches as more ticklish than people without the condition. Investigating this difference could provide insight into brain differences and help advance autism research.</p>



<p>People with schizophrenia tend to experience self-touches similarly to external tickles, allowing them to essentially tickle themselves. This suggests altered sensory prediction mechanisms in the condition.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animal-research-reveals-universal-nature">Animal research reveals universal nature</h2>



<p>Scientists have discovered that many species beyond humans are ticklish. Rats emit ultrasonic "laughs" when tickled, while chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans all respond to tickling stimulation.</p>



<p>This widespread occurrence across species suggests that tickling serves fundamental biological and social functions that evolved long before humans developed complex language and culture.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions</h2>



<p>Dr. Kilteni argues that tickling research deserves more scientific attention. "It is a complex interplay of motor, social, neurological, developmental, and evolutionary aspects," she stated in her recent review.</p>



<p>New haptic technologies and advanced research methodologies now permit scientists to investigate tickle sensation with unprecedented precision. Standardized experimental methods using mechanical tickling devices ensure consistent results across studies.</p>



<p>Recent findings published in <em>Science Advances</em> show that tickling research is opening new doors in neuroscience, potentially leading to a better understanding of social behavior, sensory processing, and neurological conditions.</p>



<p>-----</p>



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<p>-----</p>

Scientists solve the mystery of tickling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqlF0XKzHY4 The hidden science behind tickling. Scientists discover the brain's...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elr4948_uOU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dr. Ronald Mallett from the University of Connecticut reveals secret mission to create working time travel device.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-could-an-equation-truly-bend-time-a-physicist-s-decades-long-quest-to-rewrite-reality">Could an equation truly bend time? A physicist's decades-long quest to rewrite reality</h2>



<p>Imagine the impossible: stepping back through time in a time machine, not in fantasy, but through a scientific endeavor driven by profound personal loss. For <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astrophysicist-says-hes-cracked-the-equation-for-time-travel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Ronald Mallett</a>, a distinguished astrophysicist and professor emeritus at the <a href="https://uconn.edu/">University of Connecticut</a>, this deeply human longing has fueled a lifelong mission. He claims to have discovered the equation that could unlock temporal displacement, pushing boundaries once deemed purely science fiction.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-profound-grief-that-forged-a-vision">A profound grief that forged a vision</h2>



<p>Mallett's extraordinary pursuit began with devastating tragedy in 1955. At merely 10 years old, he endured his father Boyd's sudden death—a television repairman whose passion for science had ignited a similar spark in his young son. Boyd Mallett, only 33, succumbed to a heart attack, leaving behind a grief-stricken child searching for solace.</p>



<p>That solace came through H.G. Wells' <em>The Time Machine</em>. Within its pages, Mallett found a captivating concept: "Time is only a kind of Space." These words transformed from a literary phrase into a guiding principle, becoming the driving force behind his unwavering commitment to unraveling time's fundamental mysteries.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-humble-beginnings-to-academic-heights">From humble beginnings to academic heights</h2>



<p>Mallett's journey was far from straightforward. After serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War era, he utilized the GI Bill for higher education, earning his Ph.D. in physics from Pennsylvania State University in 1973 at the age of 28.</p>



<p>In 1975, he made history as the first African American professor in the University of Connecticut's physics department, achieving full professorship in 1987 before retiring in 2024 as professor emeritus.</p>



<p>Throughout these successful academic years, Mallett harbored his radical ambition as a closely guarded secret. "I kept my time travel goal a secret," he confessed. "I worried people would think I was nuts." His public research centered on black holes, serving as a "cover story" while he quietly developed his revolutionary time travel theory.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-breakthrough-moment">The breakthrough moment</h2>



<p>His pivotal insight arrived while hospitalized for a heart condition—a profound irony given his father's heart attack started this journey. The breakthrough was elegantly simple yet revolutionary: "If gravity can bend time, and light can create gravity, then light can bend time."</p>



<p>"It turns out that black holes can create a gravitational field that could lead to the creation of time loops that could allow us to go back in time," he explained.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-blueprint-for-a-temporal-vortex">The blueprint for a temporal vortex</h2>



<p>Mallett's vision for a functioning time machine replicates spacetime-warping phenomena around black holes. He offers a compelling analogy: "Picture a cup of coffee. Stir it with a spoon, and the coffee swirls. A spinning black hole does the same to spacetime."</p>



<p>In Einstein's general relativity, the universe is a dynamic fabric woven from space and time. Massive objects like black holes warp this fabric—an effect we perceive as gravity. Mallett theorizes that an intense, continuous, circulating beam of light from a ring of powerful lasers could replicate this gravitational torsion, effectively twisting time into a loop.</p>



<p>This "time loop" would theoretically allow information—or perhaps matter—to travel backward in time. He detailed this mathematical concept in his 2006 autobiography, <em>Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality</em>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-published-research-and-recognition">Published research and recognition</h2>



<p>His work, published in respected journals including <em><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/physics-letters-a" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Physics Letters A</a></em> and <em><a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/10701" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Foundations of Physics</a></em>, suggests circulating laser light could generate gravitational fields potent enough to create closed timelike curves, enabling time travel for data.</p>



<p>Mallett's research has gained worldwide media attention, featured on <a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Public Radio's <em>This American Life</em></a>, the <a href="https://www.history.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">History Channel</a>, and <a href="https://www.today.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NBC's <em>Today Show</em></a>. The widespread interest reflects both his compelling personal story and rigorous scientific approach.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-galactic-hurdles-and-persistent-skepticism">The galactic hurdles and persistent skepticism</h2>



<p>While Mallett's equations captivate imagination, the path to reality faces immense obstacles. The energy requirement is staggering—Mallett acknowledges needing "galactic amounts of energy," far beyond current technological capabilities.</p>



<p>There's also a poignant limitation: even if realized, his machine could only send information back to when it was first activated, meaning it couldn't transport him to 1955 to prevent his father's death.</p>



<p>The scientific community remains skeptical. Physicists Ken Olum and Allen Everett argue that Mallett's proposed laser ring would need to be larger than the observable universe to achieve the necessary spacetime distortion. They invoke Stephen Hawking's chronology protection conjecture, suggesting physics may prevent macroscopic time travel.</p>



<p>Astrophysicist Paul Sutter has voiced doubts about Mallett's underlying mathematics, while science writer Brian Clegg finds the concept intriguing enough to warrant experimental investigation.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-legacy-that-transcends-time">A legacy that transcends time</h2>



<p>Now approaching 80, Dr. Mallett remains steadfast. "I believe my work will show time travel is possible," he asserts. "Future generations will build on it in ways we can't yet imagine."</p>



<p>His equations, though yet to physically bend time, have bent our collective imagination. Ongoing public interest, evidenced by his continued media appearances and Spike Lee's film adaptation of his memoir, underscores his ideas' profound impact.</p>



<p>More than a scientific pursuit, Mallett's story testifies to human resilience, intellectual courage, and hope's enduring power. Whether his theoretical time machine ever materializes, his legacy is immeasurable—inspiring countless individuals to challenge conventional limits and perceive time not as an unyielding barrier, but as a boundless frontier awaiting exploration.</p>



<p></p>



<p>-----</p>



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<p>-----</p>

Retired professor claims he solved time travel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elr4948_uOU Dr. Ronald Mallett from the University of Connecticut reveals...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



<p>Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?</p>



<p>The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What was acid rain?</strong></h2>



<p>Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The science behind it</strong></h2>



<p>Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.</p>



<p>While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The crisis at its peak</strong></h2>



<p>During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Environmental devastation</strong></h2>



<p>The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.</p>



<p>By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.</p>



<p>Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Economic impact</strong></h2>



<p>Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The solution: government action and technology</strong></h2>



<p>Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The Clean Air Act of 1990</strong></h2>



<p>The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Cap-and-trade success</strong></h2>



<p>Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.</p>



<p>The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Technology advances</strong></h2>



<p>Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.</p>



<p>The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today"><strong>Why we don't hear about it today</strong></h2>



<p>Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Success doesn't make news</strong></h2>



<p>There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Mission accomplished</strong></h2>



<p>The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone"><strong>Is it really gone?</strong></h2>



<p>The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.</p>



<p>EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What this teaches us</strong></h2>



<p>The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.</p>



<p>Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Conclusion</strong></h2>



<p>Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.</p>



<p>Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.</p>



<p>This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.</p>



<p>Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<p><strong>Sources:</strong> <em>This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.</em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Frequently Asked Questions</strong></h2>



<p><strong>1. Is acid rain completely gone?</strong> No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.</p>



<p><strong>2. How long did solving take?</strong> Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.</p>



<p><strong>3. What made the solution successful?</strong> Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.</p>



<p><strong>4. Do other countries have acid rain problems?</strong> Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.</p>



<p><strong>5. Could acid rain return?</strong> Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.</p>



<p><strong>6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"?</strong> The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a></p>



<p>-----</p>



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<p>-----</p>

The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

<p>Sawtooth National Forest&nbsp;is a&nbsp;National Forest&nbsp;that covers 2,110,408 acres (854,052 ha) in the&nbsp;U.S. states&nbsp;of&nbsp;Idaho&nbsp;(~96 percent) and&nbsp;Utah&nbsp;(~4 percent). Managed by the&nbsp;U.S. Forest Service&nbsp;in the&nbsp;U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sawtooth National Forest offers facilities for recreation, with four ski areas,&nbsp;whitewater&nbsp;and&nbsp;flatwater&nbsp;boating, hunting, 81 campgrounds, and over 1,000&nbsp;mi (1,600&nbsp;km) of trails and roads for&nbsp;hiking,&nbsp;mountain biking, and&nbsp;all-terrain vehicle&nbsp;use, including two&nbsp;National Recreation Trails.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Sawtooth offers cabins, campgrounds, and dispersed camping. See the US Forest Service for more information.&nbsp;</p>

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California

News coming your way