Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features the Cat's Paw Nebula - a massive, active star-forming region in the constellation Scorpius. Also known as NGC 6334, the nebula is located about 4,000 light-years away from Earth.



The nebula’s name comes from its appearance. When viewed in visible or infrared light, it resembles a cat’s paw with bright lobes that look like giant toe beans.



“To celebrate the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s third year of highly productive science, astronomers used the telescope to scratch beyond the surface of the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334), a massive, local star-forming region,” said <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images">ESA</a>.



“This area is of great interest to scientists, having been subject to previous study by NASA/ESA’s Hubble and retired NASA Spitzer Space telescopes, as they seek to understand the multiple steps required for a turbulent molecular cloud to transition to stars.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-activity-in-the-cat-s-paw-nebula-nbsp">Activity in the Cat’s Paw Nebula&nbsp;</h2>



The Cat’s Paw Nebula is a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/80-million-pixels-reveal-the-brilliance-of-a-star-cluster/">stellar nursery</a>, teeming with young, hot stars that are still forming from clouds of gas and dust. It spans roughly 50 light-years across and glows red, primarily due to the presence of ionized hydrogen gas illuminated by ultraviolet radiation from the newborn stars.&nbsp;



Much of the star formation remains hidden in visible light because of dense dust clouds, but observations in infrared and radio wavelengths have revealed an incredible amount of ongoing activity beneath the surface.



NGC 6334 is particularly rich in massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planet-forming-disks-surrounding-stars-often-last-much-longer-than-expected/">stars</a>, including some that are over ten times the mass of the Sun.&nbsp;



Because of this, it's often used by astronomers to study the early stages of high-mass star formation, which are less understood than the processes that form lower-mass stars.&nbsp;



The region is also home to a number of protostars and clusters still wrapped in dusty cocoons, making it a dynamic and evolving part of our galaxy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-details-in-the-cat-s-paw-nebula-nbsp">New details in the Cat’s Paw Nebula&nbsp;</h2>



“With its near-infrared capabilities and sharp resolution, the telescope 'clawed' back a portion of a singular 'toe bean,' revealing a subset of mini toe bean-reminiscent structures composed of gas, dust, and young stars,” noted ESA.



“Webb’s view reveals a chaotic scene still in development: massive young stars are carving away at nearby gas and dust, while their bright starlight is producing a bright nebulous glow represented in blue.”&nbsp;



Although only recently recognized in modern astronomy, the Cat’s Paw Nebula has become iconic - not just for its curious shape, but also for the insight it offers into how massive stars form in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/milky-ways-thin-disk-is-billions-of-years-older-than-we-thought/">Milky Way</a>.



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



Scorpius is one of the most striking constellations in the night sky, especially visible during the summer months in the Southern Hemisphere and lower latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.&nbsp;



Its shape is unusually recognizable, forming a long, curving line that resembles a scorpion with a curled tail and extended claws.&nbsp;



In mythology, Scorpius is often associated with the story of Orion, the great hunter. According to one version of the myth, Orion boasted that he could kill all the animals on Earth, which angered the goddess Artemis. To punish him, she sent a giant scorpion to defeat him.&nbsp;



After a fierce battle, both <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-solar-system-once-drifted-through-orions-star-forming-region/">Orion</a> and the scorpion were placed among the stars on opposite sides of the sky. To this day, Orion sets as Scorpius rises, as if the hunter is still fleeing from the celestial scorpion.



Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, is a red supergiant whose name means "rival of Mars" due to its reddish hue and brightness. Antares serves as the scorpion's heart and is one of the most prominent stars in the night sky.&nbsp;



Because Scorpius lies along the plane of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cosmic-map-reveals-that-the-milky-ways-dust-has-very-unusual-properties/">Milky Way</a>, it is filled with dense star fields and deep-sky objects. This part of the sky is exceptionally rich in detail, offering a glimpse into the crowded heart of our galaxy.



Image Credit: ESA



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Webb reveals the Cat's Paw Nebula in stunning detail

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

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1559, located around 35 million light-years away in the southern constellation Reticulum. The image was captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.&nbsp;



"The data featured in this portrait make use of two of Webb’s instruments: the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) and Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam)," noted <a href="https://www.esa.int/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>.



"Here MIRI captures the glow of interstellar dust grains, which trace out the interstellar medium, the fuel for future star formation. NIRCam shows the light from stars, even young stars hidden behind prodigious amounts of dust. NIRCam also captures emission from ionized nebulae around young stars."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-webb-reveals-galaxies-in-new-light">Webb reveals galaxies in new light</h2>



According to ESA, the data was collected by the <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/phangs/home">PHANGS team</a> as part of a program in which Webb will observe 55 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/james-webb-captures-galaxies-that-are-too-old-to-exist/">galaxies</a> that have also been mapped by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, and more.&nbsp;



"By combining Webb’s unprecedented view of the dust and stars with data from these other facilities, the team aims to obtain a new, highly detailed view of how stars are born, live, and die in galaxies across the Universe."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ngc-1559-a-loner-in-space">NGC 1559: A loner in space</h2>



Although NGC 1559 appears to sit close to one of our nearest neighbors in the sky - the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) - this is just a trick of perspective, noted ESA.



While it is part of the Reticulum constellation, NGC 1559 is not part of the Local Group of galaxies but instead resides in a more distant region of space.



"In reality, NGC 1559 is physically nowhere near the LMC in space; in fact it truly is a loner, lacking the company of any nearby galaxies or membership of any galaxy cluster," said ESA.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-star-formation-in-ngc-1559">Star formation in NGC 1559</h2>



NGC 1559 is notable for its active star formation and strong magnetic fields. It has also been the site of several <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supernova-explosions-could-damage-distant-planets/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">supernovae</a>, making it of particular interest to astronomers who study stellar evolution and the life cycle of stars.



The structure of NGC 1559 includes well-defined spiral arms that contain young, hot stars and regions of ionized gas, indicative of ongoing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/black-hole-is-starving-its-host-galaxy-of-star-forming-fuel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">star formation</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-extragalactic-wonder">An extragalactic wonder</h2>



Despite being relatively small compared to larger galaxies like the Milky Way, NGC 1559 is an important object for understanding how barred spiral galaxies evolve and the processes that trigger supernovae.



The galaxy’s remote location and active nature make it a fascinating subject of study in the field of extragalactic astronomy. 



The isolation of NGC 1559 allows for a clearer view of its structure without much interference from neighboring galaxies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-barred-spiral-galaxies">Barred spiral galaxies</h2>



Barred spiral galaxies are a type of spiral galaxy characterized by a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars. This bar extends out from the core and connects to the galaxy's spiral arms, which swirl outward in a graceful pattern.



Scientists believe that the bar plays a crucial role in the evolution of the galaxy, funneling gas towards the core and potentially triggering star formation or feeding a central black hole. 



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/newly-discovered-stars-milky-way-are-old-as-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milky Way</a>, our own galaxy, is an example of a barred spiral. These galaxies are quite common in the universe, making up about two-thirds of all observed spiral galaxies.



The bar itself is thought to be a temporary feature, developing as the galaxy matures and possibly disappearing over time as the dynamics of the stars change. 



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



Reticulum is a small, faint constellation in the southern sky. Its name means "the reticle" in Latin, which refers to the crosshairs in an eyepiece of a telescope.



The constellation was named in the 18th century by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille to honor the reticle he used in his scientific instruments. It is one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union.



Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA &amp; CSA, A. Leroy, J. Lee and the PHANGS Team



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Spiral galaxy glows with young stars and interstellar dust

Today's Image of the Day from the <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/">European Southern Observatory</a> (ESO) features a stunning view of the Sculptor Galaxy, one of the brightest spiral galaxies visible from Earth.



The ultra-detailed image, which was captured using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, reveals features in the Sculptor Galaxy that have never been seen before.&nbsp;



ESO researcher Enrico Congiu led a new study on the Sculptor Galaxy that is published in the journal Astronomy &amp; Astrophysics.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-galaxy-wide-view-of-sculptor-nbsp">A galaxy-wide view of Sculptor&nbsp;</h2>



The team observed the galaxy in thousands of wavelengths at once, collecting an immense amount of data from every point across its structure. This allowed them to build a comprehensive, galaxy-wide view of how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/white-dwarf-stars-may-be-billions-of-years-older-than-estimated/">stars</a> live and evolve within Sculptor.



"Galaxies are incredibly complex systems that we are still struggling to understand," said Congiu.



“The Sculptor Galaxy is in a sweet spot. It is close enough that we can resolve its internal structure and study its building blocks with incredible detail, but at the same time, big enough that we can still see it as a whole system.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-thousands-of-distinct-colors-nbsp">Thousands of distinct colors&nbsp;</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oxygen-detected-in-the-most-distant-and-primitive-galaxy-ever-analyzed/">Galaxies</a> span hundreds of thousands of light-years, yet their evolution is shaped by processes unfolding on much smaller scales.&nbsp;



The fundamental components of a galaxy - stars, gas, and dust - each emit light in distinct colors. The more shades of color captured in an image, the deeper the insight into a galaxy’s internal structure.&nbsp;



Traditional images typically contain only a few colors, but the new map of the Sculptor Galaxy includes thousands.&nbsp;



This rich spectrum provides astronomers with detailed information about the galaxy’s stars, gas, and dust - from their ages and chemical makeup to how they’re moving through space.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-the-sculptor-galaxy-nbsp">Mapping the Sculptor Galaxy&nbsp;</h2>



The research team spent more than 50 hours observing the Sculptor Galaxy using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on the Very Large Telescope.&nbsp;



To capture the full view - spanning roughly 65,000 light-years - they combined over 100 separate exposures into a single, detailed mosaic.&nbsp;



According to study co-author Kathryn Kreckel from Heidelberg University, Germany, this makes the map a potent tool.&nbsp;



“We can zoom in to study individual regions where stars form at nearly the scale of individual stars, but we can also zoom out to study the galaxy as a whole,” said Kreckel.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hundreds-of-planetary-nebulae-nbsp">Hundreds of planetary nebulae&nbsp;</h2>



In their initial analysis of the data, the team identified around 500 planetary <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orion-nebula-destroys-an-oceans-worth-of-water-every-month/">nebulae</a> scattered throughout the Sculptor Galaxy.



Study co-author Fabian Scheuermann, a doctoral student at Heidelberg University, emphasized the significance of the discovery.&nbsp;



Scheuermann noted that when astronomers study galaxies outside of our own cosmic neighborhood, they normally detect fewer than 100 planetary nebulae in each one.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-galaxy-of-extremes">A galaxy of extremes</h2>



The Sculptor Galaxy, also known as NGC 253, is located about 11.4 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor. It’s classified as a starburst galaxy, meaning it’s undergoing an exceptionally high rate of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fluffy-molecular-clouds-may-change-our-understanding-of-star-formation/">star formation</a>.&nbsp;



This vigorous star-making activity is especially intense in its central regions, where dense clouds of gas and dust feed the birth of new stars.&nbsp;



The galaxy is tilted at a steep angle from our perspective, which gives it a striking, elongated appearance when viewed through telescopes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-notable-features-of-the-sculptor-galaxy-nbsp">Notable features of the Sculptor Galaxy&nbsp;</h2>



Discovered in 1783 by Caroline Herschel, the Sculptor Galaxy has become a popular target for both professional astronomers and amateur skywatchers due to its brightness and relative proximity.&nbsp;



It’s part of the Sculptor Group, one of the nearest groups of galaxies to our Local Group. Despite being rich in star-forming regions, much of its inner structure is veiled by thick dust lanes.&nbsp;



However, infrared and X-ray observations have helped scientists peer through the obscuring material to study the galaxy’s core, revealing a wealth of activity including supernova remnants and a possible central <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-ultramassive-black-hole-ever-seen-cosmic-horseshoe-lrg-3-757/">black hole</a>.



The Sculptor Galaxy is also notable for its extended halo of stars and gas, which suggests past interactions or mergers with smaller galaxies.&nbsp;



This halo, along with its active central region, makes NGC 253 a valuable subject for understanding how galaxies evolve, form stars, and recycle gas over time. Its combination of beauty and scientific richness continues to make it a focus of galactic studies.



Image Credit: European Southern Observatory&nbsp;



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Thousands of colors in the Sculptor Galaxy

Today's Image of the Day from the European Southern Observatory...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



“This reflection nebula is illuminated by the system of three bright stars in the center of this image, mainly the variable star V1025 Tauri in the very center.”&nbsp;



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



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



These stars are highly variable and surrounded by dense clouds of gas and dust, often exhibiting strong stellar winds and flares as they settle into equilibrium.&nbsp;



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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Young stars illuminate a reflection nebula in Taurus 

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features the spiral galaxy UGC 11397 in the constellation Lyra (The Lyre).



The light captured in this striking image traveled for 250 million years before reaching the NASA/ESA <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/35-years-of-hubble-the-telescope-that-changed-our-view-of-the-universe/">Hubble Space Telescope</a>.



“At first glance, UGC 11397 appears to be an average spiral galaxy: it sports two graceful spiral arms that are illuminated by stars and defined by dark, clumpy clouds of dust,” noted ESA.



“What sets UGC 11397 apart from a typical spiral lies at its center, where a supermassive black hole containing 174 million times the mass of the Sun is growing.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-hidden-powerhouse">A hidden powerhouse</h2>



As the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-oldest-black-hole-jet-ever-seen-is-size-of-three-milky-ways-j1601-3102/">black hole</a> consumes gas, dust, and even entire stars from its surroundings, the infalling material heats up dramatically, producing a dazzling display of energy.&nbsp;



These emissions span the electromagnetic spectrum - from gamma rays to radio waves - and can flare or fade unpredictably.&nbsp;



“But in some galaxies, including UGC 11397, thick clouds of dust hide much of this energetic activity from view in optical light,” explained ESA.



“Despite this, UGC 11397's actively growing black hole was revealed through its bright X-ray emission - high-energy light that can pierce the surrounding dust.”&nbsp;



Its distinctive signature has earned UGC 11397 the classification of a Type 2 Seyfert galaxy. This category describes active galaxies whose central regions are obscured in visible light by a doughnut-shaped cloud of dust and gas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-galaxy-and-black-hole-growth">Galaxy and black hole growth</h2>



“Using Hubble, researchers will study hundreds of galaxies that, like UGC 11397, harbor a supermassive black hole that is gaining mass,” noted ESA.&nbsp;



“The Hubble observations will help researchers weigh nearby supermassive black holes, understand how black holes grew early in the universe’s history, and even study how stars form in the extreme environment found at the very center of a galaxy.”



Studying <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hidden-galaxies-discovery-would-upend-current-understanding-of-universe/">galaxies</a> like UGC 11397 also offers insight into the mysterious relationship between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.&nbsp;



Despite residing at the heart of galaxies, these black holes influence their surroundings on a much larger scale, often regulating the formation of stars and even shaping the structure of the galaxy itself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracing-black-hole-origins">Tracing black hole origins</h2>



One of the key questions astronomers hope to answer is how these black holes grow so massive in the first place.&nbsp;



While some appear to have formed gradually over billions of years, others - especially those in the early universe - seem to have reached enormous sizes much more quickly. 



Observations of galaxies such as UGC 11397 provide crucial data to test different growth scenarios.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-clearer-picture-of-cosmic-evolution">A clearer picture of cosmic evolution</h2>



By combining Hubble’s observations with data from other telescopes, including those that detect X-rays and radio waves, researchers can build a more complete picture of how matter behaves around black holes.&nbsp;



This multi-wavelength approach is essential for studying objects obscured by dust, like Type 2 Seyfert galaxies, where optical views alone can be misleading.



Hubble’s sharp vision also allows astronomers to examine the surrounding galactic disk and spiral arms in high detail. 



These structures hold clues about recent star formation, galactic dynamics, and how gas flows toward the center - fueling both star birth and black hole growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-black-hole-energy-in-active-galaxies">Black hole energy in active galaxies</h2>



In many active <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-galaxies-revealed-in-a-single-webb-image/">galaxies</a>, the energy released by the central black hole can blast out powerful winds or jets that affect star formation. These feedback processes can either shut down or stimulate the creation of new stars, depending on the conditions.&nbsp;



Understanding when and how this feedback occurs is another major goal of Hubble’s ongoing studies.



UGC 11397 is just one of many galaxies being surveyed as part of broader efforts to trace the cosmic history of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/black-holes-turn-into-white-holes-and-blast-out-matter-and-time-runs-backwards/">black hole</a> activity.&nbsp;



Projects such as these are helping scientists map how common active galactic nuclei are, how their properties evolve over time, and how they relate to galaxy mergers and other large-scale events.



The wealth of information gathered from galaxies like UGC 11397 is not only deepening our understanding of black holes but also refining models of galaxy formation and evolution.&nbsp;



With each new observation, astronomers are piecing together the vast and complex puzzle of how galaxies and their central engines co-evolve across cosmic time.



Image Credit: ESA/Hubble &amp; NASA, M. J. Koss, A. J. Barth



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Graceful spiral galaxy hides a dark secret

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3783, which is located about 130 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. 



NGC 3783 is also the most prominent of a galaxy group (by the same name) that contains 47 galaxies.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-galaxy-groups">What are galaxy groups?</h2>



“Like galaxy clusters, galaxy groups are aggregates of gravitationally bound galaxies. Galaxy groups, however, are less massive and contain fewer members than <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/titanic-galaxy-cluster-collision-defies-all-current-understanding-of-the-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxy clusters</a> do: where galaxy clusters can contain hundreds or even thousands of constituent galaxies, galaxy groups do not typically include more than 50,” noted <a href="https://www.esa.int/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>.



“The Milky Way is actually part of a galaxy group, known as the Local Group, which contains two other large galaxies (Andromeda and the Triangulum galaxy), as well as several dozen satellite and dwarf galaxies.”



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



The bright object that appears to the right of the galaxy is the star HD 101274. “The perspective in this image makes the star and the galaxy look like close companions, but this is an illusion. HD 101274 lies only about 1,530 light-years from Earth, meaning it is about 85 thousand times closer than NGC 3783,” explained ESA.&nbsp;



The star is part of the NGC 3766 cluster, sometimes referred to as the Pearl Cluster, which is known for its richness in bright stars and its relatively young age.



Characterized by its high temperature and luminosity, HD 101274 is categorized as a blue giant star.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-blue-giants">Significance of blue giants</h2>



Blue giants are massive stars that have left the main sequence phase of stellar evolution and are burning helium or heavier elements in their cores. These stars are known for their short lifespans relative to smaller stars due to their rapid consumption of nuclear fuel.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-stars-scientists-discover-a-new-type-of-star-powered-by-dark-matter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stars</a> like HD 101274 are important for astronomers because they help in studying the properties of stellar populations in clusters and the dynamics of stellar evolution in different environments. 



Observations of blue giant stars can provide valuable insights into the characteristics of their atmospheres, internal structures, and the processes occurring within and around them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-active-galactic-nucleus-of-ngc-3783">Active galactic nucleus of NGC 3783</h2>



One of the most interesting aspects of NGC 3783 is that it harbors an active galactic nucleus. This means that its central region is exceptionally luminous, likely due to the presence of a supermassive black hole. 



The black hole is actively accreting material, which emits a substantial amount of radiation as it spirals inward and heats up.



The galaxy has been studied extensively in the ultraviolet and X-ray light spectra to understand better the properties of the accretion disk around the black hole and the complex dynamics of the material surrounding it. 



These studies are crucial for understanding the physics of active galactic nuclei and the role they play in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/galaxies-like-our-own-milky-way-are-not-unique/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxy evolution</a>.



According to ESA, NGC 3783 is a&nbsp;Type I Seyfert galaxy. “In this image it is recorded by Hubble in incredible detail, from its glowing central bar to its narrow, winding arms and the dust threaded through them, thanks to five separate images taken in different wavelengths of light," noted ESA.



“In fact, the galactic center is bright enough to Hubble that it exhibits diffraction spikes, normally only seen on stars such as HD 101274.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-massive-collection-of-galaxy-clusters">Massive collection of galaxy clusters</h2>



The NGC 3783 group is part of the larger Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster, which itself is a massive collection of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shapes-of-one-million-galaxies-hint-at-the-universes-origins/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> and galaxy clusters located primarily in the constellations of Hydra and Centaurus.



The NGC 3783 group consists of several galaxies that are gravitationally bound and interact with each other. These interactions can influence the galaxies' evolution through mechanisms like tidal forces and merger events, which can trigger star formation, fuel central black holes, and reshape the galaxies' structures.



Studying the NGC 3783 group helps astronomers understand how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ceers-2112-ancient-galaxy-looks-strikingly-similar-to-ours/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> evolve together in a common gravitational environment, offering insights into the dynamics and evolution of structures on cosmic scales.



Image Credit: ESA/Hubble &amp; NASA



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Luminous spiral galaxy and a blue giant star

Finally, in October 2016, FOUR PAWS and local officials were able to confiscate Napa from the Corona Circus grounds. But due to lack of long-term facilities, Napa had to be placed in temporary holding at the&nbsp;Palic Zoo in Serbia. Photo Credit: FOUR PAWS

Back In Isolation

Positive,Tourist,Woman,Taking,Picture,Outdoors,For,Memories,,Making,Selfie

A stray burst of joy can do more than lift a mood. New evidence shows that positive emotions can mark even the blandest picture for long‑term storage in the brain, turning forgettable squiggles into sticky memories.



The work comes from <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Xi-Jia-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Xi Jia</a> of <a href="http://sie.hznu.edu.cn/Portal/Home.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hangzhou Normal University</a> and collaborators at <a href="https://en.njnu.edu.cn/about-nnu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nanjing Normal University</a>. Their team asked 44 adults to learn meaningless squiggle shapes while viewing photos designed to spark positive, neutral, or negative feelings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-positive-emotions-better-memory-retrieval">Positive emotions, better memory retrieval</h2>



Scientists often track <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4309118/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">memory encoding</a> by measuring the <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3016705/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">event‑related potential (ERP)</a>, a voltage change over the parietal cortex that peaks 400–1200 milliseconds after a clue appears. 



In Jia’s experiment the ERP signal during positive trials grew stronger, and that uptick forecast which shapes participants would recognize, 24 hours later.



“Positive emotions enhanced the retrieval of meaningless squiggles compared to negative emotions,” wrote Jia and colleagues. 



That single sentence lines up with a broader observation called the positivity effect, where people, especially <a href="https://gero.usc.edu/labs/matherlab/files/2019/03/MatherCarstensen2005.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">older adults</a>, remember cheerful images better than grim ones.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flashing-squiggles-in-the-lab">Flashing squiggles in the lab</h2>



Each shape-photo pair appeared three times, a design that let the researchers probe how repetition cements memory. 



During learning, electrodes captured electroencephalography <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/eeg/about/pac-20393875" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(EEG)</a> patterns at over 100 scalp sites, giving millisecond‑level views of brain activity.



“Greater item‑specific spatiotemporal pattern similarity across repetitions predicted better later recall,” stated <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rong-Pan-16" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rong Pan</a>, a co‑author of the report who was from <a href="http://sie.hznu.edu.cn/Portal/Home.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hangzhou Normal University</a>. 



Greater item‑specific similarity in those EEG patterns across the three presentations predicted next‑day success, but only in the positive condition.



Neutral or negative photos, by contrast, did not boost pattern similarity, hinting that a good mood nudges the brain to replay its own activation template while the material is still fresh in the mind.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cheerful-emotions-better-memory-recall">Cheerful emotions, better memory recall</h2>



The <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6870483/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">parietal ERP “old/new” effect</a>, long linked to recollection, blossomed during positive but not during negative learning. 



This effect aligns with theories that happiness recruits frontal–parietal networks, freeing mental bandwidth for deeper encoding rather than threat monitoring.



At the right frontal electrodes, remembered shapes showed a 380-600 millisecond burst of pattern reinstatement, suggesting early executive loops help stamp data with a cheerful tag. 



Because the shapes carried no meaning, their fate depended almost entirely on the emotional flavor of the surrounding picture, underscoring how context shapes memory traces.



The findings narrow the gap between laboratory studies that use words or faces and real‑world scenes that are crowded with mixed feelings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-dopamine-boost-behind-the-scenes">A dopamine boost behind the scenes</h2>



Animal and human work shows that bursts of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dopamine-enhances-brain-function-during-exercise/">dopamine</a> in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-has-a-meal-memory-that-controls-hunger/">hippocampus</a> help lock in new experiences. 



Positive images, which are rich in motivational value, may trigger that neuromodulatory spray from the ventral tegmental area, sharpening plasticity in circuits that store the incoming squiggle.



Such chemistry could explain why the same EEG pattern pops up on every repetition: dopamine may cue the hippocampus to replay the just‑formed code, strengthening synapses with each pass. 



In everyday life the positive trigger might be a laugh, a compliment, or an upbeat soundtrack, any cue that nudges <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dopamine-fuels-learning-in-young-songbirds/">dopamine</a> levels high enough to prime memory networks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-positivity-lessons-for-everyday-memory">Positivity lessons for everyday memory</h2>



Students cramming dull material just before exam time might benefit from pairing it with upbeat music, humorous examples, or brief videos that create authentic positive emotions rather than forced cheer. 



Teachers could also space repetitions, as reinstated patterns appear to grow with each encounter, suggesting a compounding return on emotional context. 



Workplace trainers might alternate challenging content with short clips chosen to evoke pride or amusement, planting stronger recall traces for otherwise dry procedures. 



The data also carry implications for mental health, because <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-adult-depression-linked-to-worse-memory-skills/">depressed mood</a> and negative emotions could curb the very neural reinstatement needed for durable memory formation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-remains-unknown">What remains unknown</h2>



The study focused on young adults, leaving open whether the same positivity leverage works in children or older people whose emotion circuits differ. 



Photographs, while evocative, offer only a slice of real‑life complexity, so future work should use videos or virtual reality to capture richer moods.



The team also measured memory after one day; tracking recall across weeks would show if the benefit endures or fades with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-can-boost-memory-in-a-surprising-way/">sleep</a> and daily interference. 



Lastly, pinpointing the neural source of the reinstatement burst, perhaps with magnetoencephalography or intracranial recordings, could tie the EEG signature to specific cortical hubs.



For now, the squiggle experiment reminds us that a smile, even a fleeting one, can leave a literal trace in the mind. That trace, it turns out, may help decide what stays with us long after the moment has passed.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2025/06/24/JNEUROSCI.0009-25.2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Neuroscience</a>.



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Brainwaves reveal that positive emotions enhance memory

A stray burst of joy can do more than lift...

Finding motivation to exercise can be the greatest challenge in working out. This might be part of the reason why less than a quarter of people achieve the activity goals recommended by the World Health Organization.



 Yet new evidence shows that if we choose routines tailored to who we are, moving our bodies can feel less like a chore and more like fun.



A research team at <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> (UCL), working with the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health and the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, has now examined this connection in detail.



Their study followed adults through an eight-week home program of cycling and strength <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/studies-learn-the-exact-amount-of-time-you-should-spend-training-to-build-muscle/">training</a> and compared them with a control group who stuck to stretching.



The scientists combined laboratory fitness tests with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/personality-has-a-profound-influence-on-gene-expression/">personality</a> surveys and weekly enjoyment ratings to see how the Big Five traits - extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness - shape experience.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-joy-depends-on-personality">Joy depends on personality</h2>



But what if exercise could be more enjoyable? One way of achieving this could be opting for types of exercise that fit our personalities. That suggestion proved correct.



“We found that our personality can influence how we engage with exercise, and particularly which forms of exercise we enjoy the most,” said study lead author Flaminia Ronca from UCL’s Institute of Sport, Exercise, and Health.



“Understanding personality factors in designing and recommending physical activity programs is likely to be very important in determining how successful a program is,” added senior author Paul Burgess, a scientist at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.



The team recruited 132 volunteers aged between their twenties and late fifties. Half received a structured plan with four sessions per week that blended easy long rides, threshold training, high-intensity intervals, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/obesity-impairs-the-brains-response-to-nutrient-intake/">bodyweight</a> strength work. 



Each session was guided by heart-rate measurements taken in the lab. Everyone logged how much they enjoyed each session on a seven-point scale.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-personality-guides-workout-choices">Personality guides workout choices</h2>



“Our brains are wired in different ways, which drives our behaviors and how we interact with our environment,” said Ronca. “So it’s not surprising that personality would also influence how we respond to different intensities of exercise.”



The data confirmed that everyday intuition. Participants high in extraversion flocked to the hardest rides and reported the greatest pleasure during maximal lab tests, mirroring earlier findings that sensation seekers chase bigger stimulation.



Contrary, people scoring high on neuroticism preferred private workouts. While they are fine with high intensity, they need short breaks in between.



Others who scored high on conscientiousness and openness exercised consistently, either out of discipline or curiosity, regardless of enjoyment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-personality-links-to-performance">Personality links to performance</h2>



The numbers behind those preferences were striking. Extraversion predicted a higher baseline aerobic capacity and peak cycling power. This suggests that outgoing personalities may already gravitate to vigorous activities and build fitness through them.



Conscientiousness predicted more weekly activity and leaner body composition, echoing the idea that disciplined people keep health promises even when motivation dips.



Neuroticism, often linked with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fear-and-anxiety-the-mental-health-impacts-of-wildfires/">anxiety</a>, showed a different pattern: these participants liked gentle sessions conducted at home and were less consistent in uploading heart-rate data, but they still completed the program.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exercise-soothes-anxious-minds">Exercise soothes anxious minds</h2>



What was particularly interesting was the relationship between personality, changes in fitness, and stress, the researchers said.



Before the intervention, the stress levels of both groups were similar. After the intervention, however, especially people who scored high in neuroticism showed a strong reduction in stress.



“It’s fantastic news, as it highlights that those who benefit the most from a reduction in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-stress-makes-us-take-more-risks-in-financial-decisions/">stress</a> respond very well to exercise,” Ronca said.



The drop did not depend on how much their aerobic capacity improved, hinting that simply sticking with an activity they could manage was enough to calm the mind.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-follow-your-fitness-instinct">Follow your fitness instinct</h2>



The authors stress that enjoyment, not willpower alone, keeps people moving. The most important part of exercising is choosing something we enjoy and staying motivated even if we don’t find it right away.



“It’s okay if we don’t enjoy a particular session,” Ronca said. “We can try something else.”



“We hope that if people can find <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/physical-activity-instantly-boosts-your-brain-speed-by-years/">physical activities</a> that they enjoy they will more readily choose to do them,” Burgess added. “After all, we don’t have to nag dogs to go for a walk: being so physically inactive that we start to feel miserable might be a peculiarly human thing to do."



"In effect, our body punishes us by making us miserable," he said. "But for some reason, many of us humans seem poor at picking up on these messages it is sending to our brain.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tailored-exercise-plans-stick-better">Tailored exercise plans stick better</h2>



Taken together, the findings argue for personalized coaching. Intense workouts may suit gregarious gym lovers, while introverted or anxious individuals could thrive on solo sessions that build intensity in short bursts.



Coaches might offer conscientious clients clear long-term goals, and give open types novel routines to satisfy curiosity. By aligning activity with personality, programs may boost adherence and health in populations where finding motivation to exercise is challenging.



The study isn’t the final word - its sample skewed toward educated Londoners and relied on self-reported enjoyment. But it still shows how psychological insight can turn exercise from an obligation into a reward.



Whether you relish the roar of a spin class or the quiet rhythm of a living-room workout, the lesson is the same: when the workout fits the person, the mind as well as the body stands to gain. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1587472/full">Frontiers in Psychology</a>



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Exercise feels better when it's matched to your personality

Finding motivation to exercise can be the greatest challenge in...

People have always been curious about what the Moon is made of. Scientists have studied its surface for decades, but many questions remain. In 2023, something unexpected happened. A meteorite from the moon landed in Africa, and it had a story to tell.



Scientists named it Northwest Africa 16286. It’s not just another Moon rock. It’s about 2.35 billion years old. That makes it a rare discovery.



Researchers revealed their findings at the <a href="https://conf.goldschmidt.info/goldschmidt/2025/meetingapp.cgi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Goldschmidt Conference</a> in Prague. This meteorite is helping to fill a missing piece of the Moon’s volcanic history.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-this-moon-rock-matters">Why this Moon rock matters</h2>



Over time, lunar missions have brought back many samples from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dry-side-of-the-moon-reveals-new-details-about-its-evolution/">the Moon</a>, but those come from small, isolated areas on the Moon's surface. This rock, in contrast, came to Earth on its own.



It got knocked off the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asteroid-that-once-threatened-earth-may-target-the-moon/">Moon</a> by an impact. After floating through space, it landed on Earth. That makes it different from any mission sample.



"Lunar rocks from sample return missions are fantastic in the insights they provide us, but they are limited to the immediate areas surrounding those mission landing sites," said Dr. Joshua Snape, a research fellow at the <a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/">University of Manchester</a> who presented the research at the <a href="https://conf.goldschmidt.info/goldschmidt/2025/meetingapp.cgi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Goldschmidt Conference</a>.



"By contrast, <a href="https://sites.wustl.edu/meteoritesite/items/lunar-meteorites/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lunar meteorites</a> can potentially be ejected by impact cratering occurring anywhere on the Moon’s surface. As such, there’s some serendipity surrounding this sample; it just happened to fall to Earth and reveals secrets about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-did-earth-get-its-moon-a-new-theory-has-emerged/">lunar</a> geology without the massive expense of a space mission."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moon-rock-s-chemical-clues">Moon rock’s chemical clues</h2>



Scientists started studying the rock’s features right away. They dated it back to 2.35 billion years ago. That makes it the youngest basaltic <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/explore/stories/lunar-rocks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lunar meteorite</a> ever found here on Earth.



This rock didn’t form near the Moon’s surface. Instead, it came from deep inside. It likely formed after lava flowed out and hardened.



Its chemical makeup stood out right away. It had high levels of potassium and moderate titanium. It also contained large crystals of olivine, a mineral found in volcanic rocks.



The researchers also studied its lead isotopes. They found something unusual. The rock came from a part of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/surprise-arrival-a-fragment-of-the-moon-just-circled-earth/">Moon</a> with a high uranium-to-lead ratio. That suggests the Moon’s interior stayed hot for longer than expected.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-this-rock-solved-a-moon-mystery">How this rock solved a Moon mystery</h2>



This discovery matters because it fills a huge gap in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-moon-had-active-volcanoes-just-120-million-years-ago/">Moon’s volcanic timeline</a>. Before this, there was little information about this period in lunar history.



“The age of the sample is especially interesting because it fills an almost billion-year gap in lunar volcanic history. It’s younger than the basalts collected by the Apollo, Luna and Chang’e 6 missions, but older than the much younger rocks brought back by China’s <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2020-087A">Chang’e 5</a> mission," explained Dr. Snape. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/moon_rock_basaltic_youngest_UManchester_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/moon_rock_basaltic_youngest_UManchester_1s.webp" alt="Images of the sample obtained using a scanning electron microscope. These are backscattered electron images, and the different shades of grey highlight different chemical compositions of the minerals making up the rock. Credit: University of Manchester" class="wp-image-1977269"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Images of the sample obtained using a scanning electron microscope. These are backscattered electron images, and the different shades of grey highlight different chemical compositions of the minerals making up the rock. Click image to enlarge. Credit: University of Manchester</figcaption></figure>



He added that the rock's age and composition show that volcanic activity continued on the Moon throughout this timespan, suggesting the existence of a heat generation process within the Moon. 



This process could potentially have involved radiogenic elements that decayed and released heat over a long period of time.



In simpler terms, the Moon stayed active for longer than many scientists thought. This rock proves it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-journey-of-the-rock">Journey of the rock</h2>



The rock’s journey wasn’t smooth. It got hit by an asteroid or meteorite while it was still on the Moon. That impact created glassy pockets and veins inside the rock. These features show how violent its history was.



Dating rocks like this is tricky. But the scientists still got a good estimate. They calculated its age within about 80 million years. That’s accurate enough for this kind of research.



"Moon rocks are rare, so it’s always interesting when we get something that stands out and looks different to everything else," Dr. Snape continued.



This particular rock provides new constraints about when and how volcanic activity occurred on the Moon.



"There is much more yet to learn about the Moon’s geological past, and with further analysis to pinpoint its origin on the surface, this rock will guide where to land future sample return missions," added Dr. Snape.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-this-small-rock-holds-big-clues">This small rock holds big clues</h2>



This meteorite weighs just 311 grams. It is one of only 31 lunar basalts found on Earth. Despite its small size, it offers a huge amount of new information.



The Royal Society funded this research. Scientists plan to publish a full study in a peer-reviewed journal later this year.



The Goldschmidt Conference is the biggest geochemistry conference in the world. Held in Prague from July 6 to 11, the event drew over 4,000 scientists from around the world.



Among many studies at the conference, this Moon rock stood out. It shows how much we still have to learn about the Moon’s long history.



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Meteorite from the moon tells a detailed story about lunar volcanoes

People have always been curious about what the Moon is...

People don’t need training to pick up on biodiversity - just eyes and ears. A new study finds their snap judgments about forest richness match the numbers ecologists collect in the field.



Thus, our everyday senses give a surprisingly accurate readout of nature’s true diversity, a talent that may help explain why greener, livelier places lift our mood.



The research was led by experts at the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (<a href="https://www.idiv.de/">iDiv</a>).



The team asked volunteers with no ecology background to sort forest photos and sound clips by how “diverse” they felt. Researchers then compared those gut rankings with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-are-declining-fastest-where-they-were-once-common/">bird</a> counts and detailed vegetation surveys from the same sites.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-our-senses-detect-biodiversity-well">Our senses detect biodiversity well</h2>



Forty-eight adults completed a visual session using fifty-seven photographs taken in mixed-species woodlands across Germany, Belgium, and Poland. Another 48 adults listened to sixteen 10-second audio recordings from the same patches.



The participants first grouped the images or sounds any way they liked, revealing the features that stood out to them, and then rearranged the material from low to high biodiversity.



The researchers measured the real complexity of each forest in two ways. For pictures they combined tree-species richness, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-cities-lack-sufficient-canopy-cover-despite-visible-trees/">canopy</a> structure, understory structure, and ground-layer cover into a single “actual diversity” score.



For sound they simply counted the different bird species singing in each clip. When the numbers were compared, perceived and measured diversity moved together: a strong correlation of 0.76 for sight and an even stronger 0.87 for sound.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lushness-hints-at-species-count">Lushness hints at species count</h2>



When volunteers explained their choices, they kept coming back to elements any hiker would notice. Dense foliage, dappled light, bright greens, and a mix of trunks signaled a thriving community.



Using simple image analysis, the team confirmed that a higher “greenness index” matched both the on-the-ground surveys and the ratings people gave. 



In other words, the greener the shot, the richer the habitat and the higher the score. By contrast, photos that looked washed-out or evenly lit tended to come from simpler, species-poor areas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hearing-biodiversity-s-quiet-signals">Hearing biodiversity’s quiet signals</h2>



Sound told the same story through a different sense. Listeners paid closest attention to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-songs-human-speech-common-vocal-genetic-origin-syrinx/">birdsong</a> - its complexity, pitch range, volume, and rhythmic patterns.



Four standard acoustic indices, including the well-known <a href="https://www.authorea.com/users/813436/articles/1214821-the-acoustic-complexity-indices-acis-theoretical-and-applied-perspectives">Acoustic Complexity Index</a>, rose in lockstep with both perceived richness and the tally of bird species. 



Even without technical tools, participants homed in on the same signals: lively, layered choruses meant lots of birds, while sparse or repetitive calls hinted at poorer sites.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-perception-and-wellness-connect">Perception and wellness connect</h2>



Earlier studies show that how biodiverse a place feels has a stronger link to mental health than the species list on a clipboard. That connection motivated the new work.



Lead author Kevin Rozario, a scientist at iDiv, emphasized the value of understanding how people sense biodiversity. 



“It’s important to identify what people perceive with regards to biodiversity, what the contribution of the different senses could be, and under which circumstances people’s perception of biodiversity best aligns with what ecologists measure.” 



Rozario noted that perceived biodiversity is thought to play a role in supporting mental health. The new data reveal that alignment is often tight, at least when people can compare several settings side by side.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-biodiversity-loss-hits-the-senses">Biodiversity loss hits the senses</h2>



The study also underscores a cultural loss that runs alongside species decline. “Not only are we experiencing an extinction of species, but also an extinction of biodiverse experiences,” Rozario explained.



City living, indoor jobs, and digital leisure mean fewer chances to stand among varied trees or wake to a dawn chorus. Preserving those encounters may matter for public health as much as for conservation biology.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forest-planning-with-people-in-mind">Forest planning with people in mind</h2>



One clear takeaway is that mixed forests with layered canopies and active birdlife satisfy both ecological targets and human senses.



“We recommend to conserve and restore <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forests-rich-tree-diversity-adapt-better-changing-climate/">diverse forests</a> characterized by a variety of tree species and structures to also provide habitats for different vocalizing bird species,” Rozario said.



“These conservation measures will have the dual benefit of meeting conservation goals while also increasing people’s experience of biodiversity and therefore likely increasing mental wellbeing.”



Planners can even use quick proxies. A handheld camera that registers shades of green, or a portable recorder that crunches acoustic indices, offers a cheap way to flag sites that feel and are alive. 



Urban designers might favor plantings that stay green through the year or host birds with distinctive songs, boosting the sensory richness visitors notice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-a-multisensory-picture">Building a multisensory picture</h2>



The study relied mainly on young, university-educated women and on brief comparisons rather than lone encounters. 



Future work will test broader groups and real-time walks to learn how age, culture, and context shape perception. 



Researchers also hope to add smell, touch, and even temperature to build a full, multi-sensory picture of how humans read living landscapes.



For now, the message is clear. Ordinary observers, armed with nothing more than eyes and ears, can still spot the difference between a sparse wood and a thriving one - and that instinct lines up with hard science. 



Protect the layered greenery and the singing birds, and you protect both biodiversity and the quiet joy people draw from it.



The study is published in the British Ecological Society journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.70087">People and Nature</a>.



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Humans can accurately perceive biodiversity through the senses

People don’t need training to pick up on biodiversity -...

For nearly a decade, cosmologists have wrestled with a nagging mismatch called the Hubble tension. When astronomers measure the expansion of space in the nearby universe, they find a noticeably faster rate than calculations based on the early cosmos predict.



A new analysis presented this week at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting (<a href="https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/physics/about-us/events/national-astronomy-meeting/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NAM 2025</a>) proposes an eye-catching fix. 



Earth, the Sun, and the entire <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/milky-ways-black-hole-unleashes-mysterious-flares/">Milky Way</a> may sit inside an enormous under-dense region - a local void roughly a billion light-years wide.



If true, that cosmic cavity could make galaxies in our neighborhood race away more quickly than observers elsewhere would record. This could resolve the tension without overhauling the laws of physics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hubble-tension-still-an-issue">Hubble tension still an issue</h2>



Edwin Hubble’s 1929 discovery that galaxies flee from each other led to the Hubble constant, a single number that encapsulates how fast the universe is expanding today. Two principal routes exist for pinning that figure down.



One approach works outward from the present - gauging distances to nearby <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supernovae-explosions-seem-to-have-altered-earths-climate-in-the-past-and-could-do-so-again-at-any-time/">supernovae</a>, Cepheid stars, and other “standard candles” and clocking their recessional speeds.



The other works inward from the past - using the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the standard “Lambda-CDM” model to extrapolate forward from 13.8 billion years ago.



The problem is that the first method yields a value around 73 kilometers per second per megaparsec (km/s/Mpc), while the second lands closer to 67 km/s/Mpc. 



The statistical gulf is now large enough that random error looks unlikely; something about the universe or our measurements must be off.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-giant-void-surrounding-our-galaxy">Giant void surrounding our galaxy</h2>



“A potential solution to this inconsistency is that our galaxy is close to the center of a large, local void,” explained Dr. Indranil Banik of the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a>.



If the Milky Way occupies a region where matter density is roughly 20 percent below the cosmic average, gravity would tug material outward toward denser surroundings. 



That evacuation would give the appearance of a faster local expansion rate.



To account for the observed Hubble tension, the void - sometimes dubbed the “KBC Void” after earlier proponents - must be vast: on the order of one gigaparsec (about three billion light-years) in diameter. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/earth_milky-way_inside-a-void_hubble-tension_expansion-universe_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/earth_milky-way_inside-a-void_hubble-tension_expansion-universe_1s.webp" alt="If we are located in a region with below-average density such as the green dot, then matter would flow away from us due to stronger gravity from the surrounding denser regions, as shown by the red arrows. Credit: Moritz Haslbauer and Zarija Lukic" class="wp-image-1977280"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">If we are located in a region with below-average density such as the green dot, then matter would flow away from us due to stronger gravity from the surrounding denser regions, as shown by the red arrows. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Moritz Haslbauer and Zarija Lukic</figcaption></figure>



Less extreme models, however, consider scales nearer to one billion light-years.



Galaxy counts in local surveys do show a relative deficit, lending initial support to the idea. Yet critics argue that such a low-density patch sits uneasily with the prevailing cosmological framework. 



This framework predicts that matter should be more evenly distributed on large scales.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-echoes-of-the-universe">Ancient echoes of the universe </h2>



The new analysis wades into that debate by examining baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs) - ripples frozen into the distribution of galaxies and intergalactic gas shortly after the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-observations-disprove-big-bang-theory-universe-began-tired-light-theory/">Big Bang</a>. 



These ripples act as a “standard ruler,” letting astronomers check how distances scale with redshift at different epochs.



“These sound waves traveled for only a short while before becoming frozen in place once the universe cooled enough for neutral atoms to form,” Banik said.



Because a local void slightly warps the relationship between BAO angular size and redshift, precise measurements across multiple surveys can reveal whether we live in such a bubble. The team compiled two decades of BAO data. 



“By considering all available BAO measurements over the last 20 years, we showed that a void model is about one hundred million times more likely than a void-free model with parameters designed to fit the CMB observations taken by the Planck satellite, the so-called homogeneous Planck cosmology,” Banik explained.



In other words, when BAO observations of galaxy distributions are added to the equation, the giant-void scenario far outperforms a homogeneous Lambda-CDM fit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clocking-the-universe-s-history">Clocking the universe’s history</h2>



While the BAO evidence is striking, it is not the final word. The researchers next plan to pit their void prediction against cosmic chronometers. 



These are galaxies that have ceased <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fluffy-molecular-clouds-may-change-our-understanding-of-star-formation/">star formation</a> and whose stellar populations act as reliable clocks.



By comparing a chronometer’s age to its redshift, scientists can reconstruct the expansion history of the universe without invoking standard candles or early-universe extrapolations.



Combining chronometer data with BAO, supernova, and CMB results should clarify whether the local-void explanation stands or whether something more radical - such as new physics beyond standard <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-might-be-fading-so-what-does-that-mean/">dark energy</a> - must be invoked.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cosmic-expansion_hubble-tension_illustration_credit-Indranil-Banik_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cosmic-expansion_hubble-tension_illustration_credit-Indranil-Banik_1s.webp" alt="The main techniques for charting the cosmic expansion history, such as supernovae – or standard candles – and cosmic chronometers. Credit: Dr. Indranil Banik" class="wp-image-1977278"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The main techniques for charting the cosmic expansion history, such as supernovae - or standard candles - and cosmic chronometers. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Dr. Indranil Banik</figcaption></figure>



Skepticism remains. Many cosmologists contend that a void large enough to surround our galaxy - stretching hundreds of millions of light-years - runs afoul of simulations showing that large-scale density fluctuations should average out. 



Other experts note that while local galaxy counts appear low, improved surveys might yet fill in the gap.



“The existence of such a large and deep void is controversial, it doesn't mesh particularly well with the standard model of cosmology,” Banik said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-milky-way-galaxy-earth-and-the-void">Milky Way galaxy, Earth, and the void</h2>



Still, the hypothesis has gained renewed attention because it can be falsified. If future chronometer or BAO measurements contradict the predicted pattern, the void proposal will fade. 



If, on the other hand, they reinforce it - and independent observations map a sustained under-density spanning a gigaparsec - astronomers may have to re-think what “average” really means for the cosmos.



The idea that our galaxy sits in a vast cosmic void may help explain conflicting measurements of the universe’s expansion rate. It may also help pin down the universe’s true age.



Whether the Milky Way truly resides in a vast cosmic hollow - or the tension hides deeper physics yet undiscovered - remains uncertain. Next-generation surveys and telescopes will soon shed light on the universe’s most persistent riddle.



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Scientists believe our Milky Way galaxy may be inside a giant 'cosmic void' in the universe

For nearly a decade, cosmologists have wrestled with a nagging...

According to recent study, people who managed to fit regular exercise into their month while they were still under 50 now carry brains that look noticeably younger at 70. 



The finding comes from <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/drc/research-clinical-trials/insight-46" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Insight  46 project</a>, which has tracked almost 500 members of Britain’s 1946 birth cohort for nearly eight decades. 



<a href="https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/59397-sarah-james" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr Sarah-Naomi James</a> of University College London’s <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/drc/dementia-research-centre" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dementia Research Centre</a> led the work and calls it a reminder that, “staying active throughout your life, especially before turning 50, can help keep your brain healthy and delay early signs of Alzheimer's.”



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



Researchers looked at how often each volunteer reported leisure‑time activity between ages 36 and 69. One session a month was all it took to be classed as “active,” yet even that light commitment predicted larger volumes in the hippocampus, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-brains-use-storage-trick-to-keep-your-memories-in-sequential-order/">brain’s</a> chief memory hub.&nbsp;



The team also compared cognitive test scores with early Alzheimer markers like amyloid build‑up. 



People who kept moving scored higher even when those markers were present, suggesting exercise builds mental resilience rather than erasing the pathology.



Older adults typically lose about one to two percent of hippocampal volume every year. Aerobic training can add roughly two percent back, effectively buying an extra year or two of neurological youth.



Animal <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3072565/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> link that gain to boosts in blood flow, new neuron growth, and surges of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that primes synapses for learning. 



Human scans echo the trend, showing fitter seniors with denser hippocampal tissue and sharper spatial memory.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exercise-and-hidden-alzheimer-s">Exercise and hidden Alzheimer's</h2>



The Insight 46 scans did not find a direct link between activity and the amount of amyloid lodged in the brain’s cortex. 



That matches other population <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31312836/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> where exercise softened the cognitive hit of amyloid without always lowering the plaques themselves.



<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23079557/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Researchers</a> think movement may raise the threshold at which damage turns into symptoms, a concept known as cognitive reserve. Reserve acts like a backup network, letting healthy circuits pick up slack when disease strikes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-following-participants-for-70-years">Following participants for 70 years</h2>



The Insight 46 study is part of the world's longest-running birth cohort, the 1946 <a href="https://nshd.mrc.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">British National Survey of Health and Development</a>. 



Participants have been assessed regularly since childhood, providing researchers with a rare, detailed view of their lifelong health, lifestyle, and socioeconomic background.



At age 70, five hundred and two of these individuals underwent memory testing, PET scans to detect amyloid, and MRI scans to assess brain volume and hippocampal size. 



This combination of decades-long physical activity records and brain imaging allowed researchers to connect early-life exercise habits with structural and functional <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-brain-literally-changes-based-on-daily-activities-and-lifestyle/">brain</a> markers nearly 40 years later.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-women-show-bigger-benefits">Women show bigger benefits</h2>



Women in the study saw the strongest benefits. Inactive women with amyloid deposits showed steeper memory loss than inactive men, yet a modest exercise habit erased much of that gap.



Hormonal shifts after menopause and higher baseline Alzheimer risk may make female brains more sensitive to lifestyle. That <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/56/12/701" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sensitivity</a> means the upside of activity could be bigger too, offering a practical target for prevention campaigns.



Exercise joins education, mentally demanding work, and social connection as major reserve builders. Each factor strengthens neural networks in different ways, so combining them multiplies protection over decades.



“Nearly half of dementia cases can be prevented or delayed by addressing health and lifestyle risk factors,” notes researcher <a href="https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/research/online-public-events/for-a-cure/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Thomas</a> of <a href="https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alzheimer’s Research UK</a>. 



A separate 2020 <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7392084/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> estimated that up to forty percent of dementia cases could be delayed or avoided by tackling modifiable risks, with physical inactivity sitting near the top of the list. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exercise-for-your-brain-before-50">Exercise for your brain before 50</h2>



You do not need marathon medals to reap <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-the-speed-at-which-the-brain-processes-information/">brain</a> dividends. The study’s cutoff of one leisure session per month hints that consistency beats intensity for long‑term payoff.



Starting after 50 still helped but earlier movers enjoyed the largest hippocampi at 70, implying that earlier habits leave a structural imprint. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cardiorespiratory-fitness-cuts-early-death-risks-by-53-percent/">Cardiorespiratory</a> fitness later in life can still blunt the link between Alzheimer biomarkers and thinking decline, yet earlier routines give extra cushioning.



Public health guidelines call for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity each week, but any added movement counts. Regular walks, cycling to errands, or weekend dance classes all meet the threshold and most involve no special gear.



“It’s great to run with people because you keep each other accountable and stay connected,” said Graham Kent, a 74‑year‑old participant, while caring for his wife who lives with Alzheimer’s. 



Engaging friends or pets can double as social enrichment, another pillar of reserve.



The message lands clearly: move early, move often, and keep moving. A future cure would be welcome, but personal prevention starts with the next stroll.



The study is published in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/braincomms/article/7/1/fcae431/7933115" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brain Communications</a>.



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Very simple lifestyle change before the age of 50 dramatically improves brain health and aging

According to recent study, people who managed to fit regular...

Monumental burial mounds or structures usually bring to mind kings, slaves, and ancient riches. Yet a windswept slope in southern Peru has just rewritten that script.



Archaeologists say the low ridges of earth at Kaillachuro, perched almost 13,000 feet above sea level, were raised by hunter‑gatherer <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3z22t40b" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">families</a> who had no kings at all. 



<a href="https://anthropology.ucdavis.edu/people/luis-flores-blanco" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Luis Flores‑Blanco</a> of UC Davis, now at <a href="https://search.asu.edu/profile/5214141" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arizona State University</a>, led the research with co‑author <a href="https://ahs.ucmerced.edu/content/mark-s-aldenderfer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mark Aldenderfer</a> of UC Merced.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kaillachuro-burial-mounds">Kaillachuro burial mounds</h2>



The team used <a href="https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-is-carbon-14-dating" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">radiocarbon dating</a> to pinpoint the earliest construction at 5,300 calendar years before present, pushing the birth of monumental architecture in the Titicaca Basin back 1,500 years.



“Most researchers in the Andes argue that monumental <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/3800-year-old-hexagonal-pyramid-discovered-possibly-a-royal-tomb/">architecture</a> is a product of elites, intentionally constructed as a space of centralized power,” said Flores‑Blanco. 



At Kaillachuro, nine hump‑shaped mounds grew slowly as mourners returned to reopen graves, add fresh offerings, and top the soil with ash from ritual fires.



Each visit left only a dusting of charcoal and bone, yet over two millennia those layers stacked into ridges tall enough to catch the sun from miles away. 



Those incremental deposits thickened the landscape’s profile, transforming private grief into a visible landmark.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-people-of-kaillachuro">Ancient people of Kaillachuro</h2>



The builders camped on a terrace overlooking <a href="https://laketiticaca.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lake Titicaca</a>, a high‑altitude basin dotted with camelids and quinoa greens. 



Seasonal stays lengthened into multi‑year residencies as groups experimented with tiny garden plots, swapped obsidian for wool, and learned to manage thin‑air farming.



Projectile points found in the fill link the mounds to the Terminal Archaic and Early Formative periods when the bow and arrow first appeared in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solar-eclipse-may-have-changed-the-architecture-of-ancient-egypt-forever/">region</a>. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Kaillachuro-burial-mounds_ancient-Peru_mega-structures_credit-Antiquity_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Kaillachuro-burial-mounds_ancient-Peru_mega-structures_credit-Antiquity_1s.webp" alt="The locations of Late Archaic/Terminal and Early Formative sites mentioned in the text with detail (right) of the middle Ilave Basin. Credit: Antiquity (2025)" class="wp-image-1977257"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The locations of Late Archaic/Terminal and Early Formative sites mentioned in the text with detail (right) of the middle Ilave Basin. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Antiquity (2025)</figcaption></figure>



Animal bone and burnt seeds scattered through the layers hint at feasts that mixed wild vicuña meat with roasted chenopod grains, fueling nights of singing and story‑telling beside the flames.



By 3,000 years ago the site was quiet, yet Inca mourners later slipped their own dead into the soft crowns of two mounds, underlining a tradition of reusing sacred <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stonehenges-famous-altar-stone-has-surprising-origins/">ground</a>. All this and more was able to be pierced together by the researchers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-hunters-made-gathering-sites">Why hunters made gathering sites</h2>



And Kaillachuro is not the only case where mobile people raised heavy stone. Klaus Schmidt’s <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/paleo_0153-9345_2000_num_26_1_4697" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">excavations</a> at <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285774423_Gobekli_Tepe_A_Neolithic_Site_in_Southeastern_Anatolia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Göbekli Tepe</a> in Turkey revealed T‑shaped pillars erected by pre‑agricultural bands more than 11,000 years ago, long before formal states emerged.



Closer to Lake Titicaca, the camp of <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0296420" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wilamaya Patjxa</a> preserves graves that hold both women and men buried with hunting kits, pointing to unexpectedly complex social networks among Andean nomads.&nbsp;



Such parallels suggest that the urge to honor ancestors can unite scattered families, turning burial grounds into community magnets that slowly root people to one address. 



Once gatherings became predictable, organizers could schedule food production, exchange tools, and share innovations that nudged society toward farming.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kaillachuro-mounds-grew-over-time">Kaillachuro mounds grew over time</h2>



Flores‑Blanco’s team traced five construction phases by reading subtle <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/winter-solstice-the-shortest-day-of-the-year-has-arrived/">changes</a> in soil color and texture. 



The earliest was a simple pit trimmed with river stones and filled with ochre‑dusted bone; later builders set a child in a stone box lined with purple clay and sealed it tight.



During the third phase they leveled the summit, added a burned offering zone, and heaped soil into a cone more than four feet tall, a labor doable with baskets and family effort. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Kaillachuro-burial-mounds_ancient-Peru_features_tomb-contents_credit-Antiquity_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Kaillachuro-burial-mounds_ancient-Peru_features_tomb-contents_credit-Antiquity_1s.webp" alt="Burial features and finds from M4: a) the earliest unexcavated burial pit (1, a projectile point; 2, a green bead); b) Burial 2 in the initial mound (3, a golden stone bead; 4, an obsidian point found below the tomb); c) a stone-box with a child burial; d &amp; e) a cist containing the skeleton of a child covered in red ochre (5, a stone bead; 6, a chert projectile point). Also shown, the stone platform on M6 is enclosed by thick stone walls (f). Credit: Antiquity" class="wp-image-1977255"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Burial features and finds from M4: a) the earliest unexcavated burial pit (1, a projectile point; 2, a green bead); b) Burial 2 in the initial mound (3, a golden stone bead; 4, an obsidian point found below the tomb); c) a stone-box with a child burial; d &amp; e) a cist containing the skeleton of a child covered in red ochre (5, a stone bead; 6, a chert projectile point). Also shown, the stone platform on M6 is enclosed by thick stone walls (f). Click image to enlarge. Credit: Antiquity</figcaption></figure>



A nearby mound gained a low platform ringed by granite blocks, perhaps a stage for speeches, animal sacrifice, or recitations of lineage.



Radiocarbon ages from charcoal, bone, and camelid hair line up smoothly, showing activity spanned roughly 2,000 years without a gap longer than a human lifetime.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-archaeologists-studied-the-mounds">How archaeologists studied the mounds</h2>



Researchers walked every square yard of the three‑hectare terrace, then stitched hundreds of drone photos into a high‑resolution map. 



Radiocarbon samples of bone, charcoal, and camelid hair were calibrated in <a href="https://c14.arch.ox.ac.uk/oxcal.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OxCal 4.4</a>, a free web tool that corrects for shifts in atmospheric carbon through time.



More than 76,000 flakes were counted through a one‑millimeter sieve, letting analysts plot where stone working happened and where feasting debris piled up. 



Field seasons ran with permission from <a href="http://www.rree.gob.pe/SitePages/cultural_en.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Peru’s Ministry of Culture</a> and with daily help from the <a href="https://magazine.wideoyster.com/en/aymara-indigenous-culture-puna-atacama-chile/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jachaccachi Aymara community</a>, who shared stories and guarded the trenches at night.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-graves-shaped-early-communities">How graves shaped early communities</h2>



Archaeologists debate when South American societies crossed the line from loose bands to ranked villages. Kaillachuro lands in that gray zone, displaying communal works but no palaces, storerooms, or throne rooms.



If leaders existed, they probably led by persuasion and ritual knowledge rather than force, a style sometimes called “Big Man” authority. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Kaillachuro-burial-mounds_topographic-map_ancient-Peru_credit-Antiquity_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Kaillachuro-burial-mounds_topographic-map_ancient-Peru_credit-Antiquity_1s.webp" alt="Topographic map of Kaillachuro. A 3ha scatter of Archaic and Formative materials is shown by the red polygon. Hotspot analysis highlights surface-collected artefact density. As Mound 10 is mostly an Inca-Period occupation, it is plotted outside the polygon. Credit: Antiquity" class="wp-image-1977259"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Topographic map of Kaillachuro. A 3ha scatter of Archaic and Formative materials is shown by the red polygon. Hotspot analysis highlights surface-collected artefact density. As Mound 10 is mostly an Inca-Period occupation, it is plotted outside the polygon. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Antiquity</figcaption></figure>



Repeated cooperation at the cemetery could have trained families for larger tasks, laying the mental groundwork for later temple towns like Chiripa on the same lake shore.



The finding echoes work in other continents where mortuary gatherings preceded both agriculture and social stratification, hinting that grief may have been civilization’s first architect.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-questions-remain-about-kaillachuro">Questions remain about Kaillachuro</h2>



No house floors have yet surfaced, likely erased by modern plows, so archaeologists cannot say whether families lived beside their dead or walked in from satellite camps.



The study leaves open whether women, men, or specialized ritual leaders directed the ceremonies, because skeletal DNA from the mounds remains under analysis. 



Future work may turn to microscopic plant starches and ancient DNA to track crop experiments hinted at in the charred seed fragments.



Laser surface scans planned for the next field season aim to pick out faint terrace walls that could mark gardens or corrals, tying ritual to daily economics. 



For now, Kaillachuro reminds us that memories of loved ones can move more earth than kings.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/kaillachuro-early-monumental-architecture-of-the-titicaca-basin-53003000-bp/18A411D199D63943D0DC38C65A7207AE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Antiquity</a>.



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Ancient Peruvian burial mounds flip the script on 'monumental architecture'

Monumental burial mounds or structures usually bring to mind kings,...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

Volunteers knew they needed legal help in order to relieve Napa from his inhumane life. They sought aid from local officials, but they also knew that the odds of rescuing him were slim indeed. Photo Credit: Peter Neumann/Unsplash

Slim Chance Of Rescue

Though Napa didn't know it yet, he wasn't as alone in the world as it seemed. FOUR PAWS, an international animal welfare charity that focuses on sustainable solutions for wild animals in need, heard about Napa's conditions and just had to take action. Photo Credit: @FourPaws / Facebook

Slim Chance Of Rescue

News coming your way