The Probiotic Breakthrough for Natural Anxiety Relief and Better Mental Health

By Duke-NUS Medical School, June 7, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/the-probiotic-breakthrough-for-natural-anxiety-relief-and-better-mental-health/

Scientists found that gut microbes may play a major role in keeping anxiety in check by producing indoles, compounds that help calm anxiety-related brain activity. The research raises the possibility that future probiotics could help treat anxiety naturally through the gut-brain connection. 

Credit: Stock



A surprising gut-brain discovery suggests that anxiety could one day be treated with specially designed probiotics.

Could anxiety be shaped, at least in part, by tiny organisms living in the gut? 

Research from Duke-NUS Medical School and the National Neuroscience Institute of Singapore points to a striking connection between gut microbes and anxiety-related behavior. The findings suggest that certain compounds made by gut bacteria, especially molecules called indoles, can influence brain activity involved in fear, stress, and emotional balance.

The study, published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, adds to a growing body of research showing that mental health is not controlled by the brain alone. Instead, the gut and brain appear to be in constant communication, with microbes helping to shape some of the chemical signals that affect mood and stress responses.

Anxiety and the Gut-Brain Connection

Mental health disorders have become increasingly common. In Singapore, the latest nationwide study found that 1 in 7 people has experienced a mental health disorder, including depressive and anxiety disorders.[1] In 2019, mental health disorders ranked among the top four causes of disease burden in Singapore.[2]

Against this backdrop, the research team investigated whether gut microbes could affect anxious behavior. In preclinical experiments, they studied mice raised in a germ-free environment, meaning the animals had not been exposed to live microbes. These mice showed significantly more anxiety-related behavior than mice with a typical community of resident gut microbes.

The difference was not only behavioral. The germ-free mice also showed heightened activity in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), a brain region involved in processing fear and anxiety.

Gut microbes produce compounds that can influence brain activity, highlighting the powerful connection between the gut and mental health. Credit: Shutterstock



How Missing Microbes Changed the Brain

Further analysis revealed that the anxiety-like behavior was linked to changes in specialized proteins in brain cells called calcium-dependent SK2 channels. These channels help regulate how easily neurons become excited and how often they fire.

When the body and brain are exposed to metabolites produced by live microbes, the SK2 channels appear to act like a clutch. They help keep neurons from becoming overly active. Without those microbial signals, neurons in the BLA became more excitable, a pattern associated with increased anxiety-related behavior.

Associate Professor Shawn Je from Duke-NUS’ Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders Programme and one of the lead authors, explained:

“Our findings reveal the specific and intricate neural process that links microbes to mental health. Those without any live microbes showed higher levels of anxious behavior than those with live bacteria. Essentially, the lack of these microbes disrupted the way their brains functioned, particularly in areas that control fear and anxiety, leading to anxious behavior.”

Gut Microbes Helped Calm Anxiety Signals

To test whether microbes could reverse these effects, the researchers introduced live microbes into germ-free mice.[3] After the microbes were restored, activity in the basolateral amygdala fell, SK2 channel activity improved, and the animals showed much less anxiety-related behavior. Their emotional responses became more similar to those of mice that had been exposed to microbes all along.

The team then tested indoles, which are metabolites produced by certain gut microbes. When germ-free mice received indoles, their basolateral amygdala activity decreased, and their anxiety-related behavior was reduced. This finding suggests that compounds made by native gut microbes may directly help maintain emotional balance.

Professor Sven Pettersson from the Department of Research, National Neuroscience Institute of Singapore, who is also a lead author of the study, said:

“Establishing hunger signals and controlling hunger is an evolutionarily conserved defense mechanism. The physiological switch at birth can therefore be viewed as a first major wave of anxiety exposure for the newborn, which simply says, “If you don’t eat, you will die.” Additionally, birth is associated with exposure to breast milk, known to contain microbes that can produce molecules known as indoles. Indoles are known to be secreted in plants when they are exposed to stress or malnutrition (draught) and in this paper we report a similar mechanism in which indoles can regulate anxiety levels in mammals. That is, different levels of circulating microbial plasma indoles in the blood may reflect different sensitivity and vulnerability to stressful situations and therefore variable risk of experiencing anxiety-related situations.”

A Possible Path Toward Probiotic Therapies

The findings point to a possible way to target the gut-brain axis in anxiety-related disorders. One approach could involve restoring a healthier microbial balance through dietary strategies, indole-based supplements, or probiotics that contain indole-producing microbes.

For now, these possibilities remain experimental. The work was done in mice, and researchers still need clinical trials to determine whether indole-based probiotics or supplements can safely and effectively reduce anxiety in people.

“In other words, it opens [the door] for tailor-made therapies in line with 21st-century precision medicine. Studies such as this illustrate the close hereditary relationship that exists between our indigenous microbes and the higher complexity of life,” concludes Pettersson.

Professor Patrick Tan, Senior Vice-Dean for Research at Duke-NUS, said:

“Our findings underscore the deep evolutionary links between microbes, nutrition and brain function. This has huge potential for people suffering from stress-related conditions, such as sleep disorders or those unable to tolerate standard psychiatric medications. It’s a reminder that mental health is not just in the brain–it’s in the gut too.”

What Later Research Adds

Since this 2025 study, related work has continued to explore whether probiotics and other microbiome-focused strategies can influence mood, anxiety, and sleep in humans. The picture is promising, but not settled.

One later placebo-controlled study (npj Mental Health Research) in healthy adults found that a multispecies probiotic was associated with reduced negative mood in daily reports after about two weeks. However, standard mental health questionnaires did not show the same clear effect, highlighting how difficult it can be to measure subtle shifts in mood.

Broader reviews of clinical trials have also suggested that probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics may have potential for symptoms related to anxiety, depression, and sleep. At the same time, researchers continue to emphasize that effects can vary by strain, dose, study population, and baseline gut microbiome. In other words, a generic probiotic is unlikely to work the same way for everyone.

That makes the Duke-NUS and National Neuroscience Institute findings especially important. Rather than simply linking gut bacteria to anxiety, the study points to a specific biological route involving indoles, SK2 channels, and the basolateral amygdala. This gives scientists a clearer target as they investigate future microbiome-based mental health therapies.

The team hopes to explore clinical trials to determine whether indole-based probiotics or supplements can be used in humans as a natural approach to anxiety treatment. If successful, the research could help open a new era of mental health care, one in which gut microbes are not just bystanders, but active partners in keeping the mind at ease.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Animal vs. Plant Protein: Scientists Found a Surprising Nutritional Difference

By National Pork Board, June 7, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/animal-vs-plant-protein-scientists-found-a-surprising-nutritional-difference/

A Purdue study found that animal-based proteins like pork and eggs deliver more essential amino acids to the bloodstream than equal ounce-equivalent servings of beans or almonds. The findings suggest that protein quality may matter as much as portion size when it comes to supporting muscle health and healthy aging. 

Credit: Stock

Research suggests that equal servings of animal protein may pack a much bigger muscle-building punch than their plant-based counterparts.

When it comes to protein, the same serving size on paper may not mean the same nutritional payoff in the body.

A 2023 Purdue University study found that two ounce equivalents (oz-eq) of animal-based protein foods supplied more bioavailable essential amino acids (EAA) than the same two oz-eq amount of plant-based protein foods. Essential amino acids are especially important because the body cannot make them on its own. They must come from food, and they help support muscle and whole-body protein building.

The findings add a sharper edge to a familiar nutrition question: are all protein foods truly comparable when they are measured by the same serving system?

Protein Quality Matters

The protein quality of a food or meal (i.e., the EAA content of a meal) is a major factor in determining how the body can use amino acids for muscle and whole-body protein building.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) encourages people to eat a variety of protein foods and uses ounce-equivalent portions to compare them. One oz-eq equals one ounce of meat, one whole egg, 0.25 cups of beans, or 0.5 ounces of nuts.

Animal-based protein foods such as eggs can provide higher levels of essential amino acids, key nutrients involved in muscle building and maintenance. 

Credit: Stock



“The basis for the DGAs stating that these protein foods are ‘equivalent’ and have ‘similar nutritional content’ is unclear,” suggests Dr. Wayne Campbell, primary investigator on this study and professor in the Department of Nutrition Science at Purdue University.

Campbell notes that protein foods can vary widely in calories, fat, carbohydrates, total protein, and protein quality. (See table below.) In other words, two foods can count the same under the ounce equivalent system while giving the body very different amounts of usable essential amino acids.

A Closer Look at the Foods Tested

The study compared a standard test meal with two oz-eq portions of four protein foods: unprocessed lean pork loin, scrambled whole eggs, black beans, and raw sliced almonds.

Energy and macronutrient contents of the test meal and protein food sources, and essential amino acid content of the protein food sources.

	Energy (kcal)	Fat (g)	Carbohydrate (g)	Protein (g)	EAA (g)
Test meal	218	11.5	25.8	6	2.09
Lean pork loin (2 oz-eq)	73	1	0	14	7.36
Whole eggs (2 oz-eq)	145	10	0	12.5	5.38
Black beans (2 oz-eq)	113	0.5	20	7.5	3.02
Almonds (2 oz-eq)	161	14	6	6	1.85

Adapted from Connolly et al. (2023); The quantity of protein for each trial includes the protein from the test meal: lean pork (20 g); whole eggs (18.5 g); black beans (13.5 g); and almonds (12 g). The total quantity of EAA for each trial includes the EAA from the test meal: lean pork loin (9.45 g); whole eggs (7.47 g); black beans (5.11 g); and almonds (3.94 g). EAA—essential amino acids.

Why the Question Matters

The researchers were especially interested in whether the ounce equivalent system gives people a clear picture of protein quality. That question may matter for groups that need reliable protein intake but may not always get a wide range of high-quality protein foods.

This can include younger adults who have limited variety in their protein choices. It may also be important for older adults, who often have higher needs for nutrient-dense protein to help support muscle maintenance, physical function, and healthy aging.

To investigate the issue, scientists tested whether two oz-eq portions of animal-based protein foods and plant-based protein foods, eaten as part of a mixed whole foods meal, produced different levels of essential amino acids in the bloodstream.

Almonds were one of the plant based protein sources examined in the study, which found lower essential amino acid bioavailability compared with animal based protein foods. 

Credit: Stock



How the Study Was Conducted

The research included two crossover randomized controlled trials. One involved 30 otherwise healthy young adults. The other involved 25 otherwise healthy older adults.

Each participant completed four separate 300-minute testing sessions, with at least three days between sessions. In each session, participants ate a standardized meal that included two oz-eq of one protein food: unprocessed lean pork loin, scrambled whole eggs, black beans, or raw sliced almonds.

The study investigators were blinded to the order of the protein food assignments until all participants had completed testing and the results had been analyzed.

Blood samples were collected before the meal and again 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 minutes after eating. Researchers used those samples to measure essential amino acid bioavailability, as well as blood sugar and insulin levels.

Animal Protein Delivered More Essential Amino Acids

“In line with our hypothesis before starting this study, consuming meals with two oz-eq of animal-based protein foods resulted in more EAAs in the bloodstream compared to meals with two oz-eq of plant-based protein foods in both young and older adults, separately and combined,” explains Dr. Gavin Connolly, clinical trials project manager and research associate in the Department of Nutrition Science at Purdue University. Also, there were no differences in EAA bioavailability between young and older adults, he adds.

The findings suggest that the animal-based proteins tested in the study, unprocessed lean pork loin and scrambled eggs, more effectively supplied essential amino acids linked to the body’s ability to build body protein or muscle.

“This is an important consideration for muscle and whole-body health and physical function across the life course,” he suggests.

The researchers also reported several additional findings. Lean pork led to greater EAA bioavailability than eggs in young adults, older adults, and the combined study population. Black beans and almonds did not differ from each other in EAA bioavailability. Young and older adults also showed no difference in EAA bioavailability across the protein foods tested.

What Newer Research Adds

Since the Purdue study was published in 2023, additional research has continued to refine the animal-versus-plant protein debate. A 2025 systematic review of randomized controlled trials found that animal protein had a small beneficial effect on muscle mass compared with plant protein overall, especially in younger adults and when compared with non-soy plant proteins. However, the review found no clear difference between soy protein and animal protein for muscle mass, and no overall difference between plant and animal protein sources for muscle strength or physical performance.

That newer evidence supports a more nuanced message. Some animal proteins may deliver essential amino acids more efficiently, especially when compared with certain whole plant foods or non-soy plant sources. At the same time, not all plant proteins behave the same way. Soy protein, especially in more concentrated forms, appears more comparable to animal protein in several longer-term studies.

Other recent work is also exploring whether carefully designed blends of animal and plant proteins can improve digestibility, amino acid availability, and muscle protein synthesis in older adults. These studies reflect a growing interest in finding practical dietary strategies that support muscle health while also accounting for sustainability, food preferences, and the broader nutrient benefits of plant-based foods.

Limits of the Findings

The Purdue study had important limitations.

“Portion sizes of the protein foods in the study likely do not truly reflect the amounts consumed on a meal-to-meal or weekly basis by young or older adults,” according to Dr. Connolly. Additionally, there were no direct measures of changes in muscle protein synthesis or whole-body protein balance in response to the meals containing the different protein foods, he explains.

That means the results show clear differences in essential amino acid bioavailability after the meals, but they do not prove that one eating pattern directly leads to better muscle growth, strength, or long-term health outcomes.

More research is needed to understand how animal-based and plant-based protein foods affect muscle, whole-body protein balance, and healthy aging across the lifespan.

Rethinking Protein Equivalency

The study authors suggest that these findings could help inform future public health nutrition guidance. In particular, they say the results may be useful as future DGAs consider whether different protein sources should continue to be treated as equivalent on an oz-eq basis across the lifespan.

“These results are also pertinent to the DGA’s recommendation to consume more plant-based foods,” adds Dr. Campbell.

Plant-based foods can offer important health benefits, including fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial compounds. However, Campbell says dietary advice should also recognize the role of nutrient-dense animal-based protein foods that provide high-quality protein.

The takeaway is not simply that one protein category is good and the other is bad. Instead, the research points to a more practical idea: protein source, protein quality, and total diet pattern all matter. For people trying to support muscle health, especially during aging, the body may respond very differently to protein foods that appear equivalent on a dietary chart.

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Huge Psilocybin Dose Has Incredible Effect on Elderly Dementia Patient

08 June 2026, By C. CASSELLA

https://www.sciencealert.com/huge-psilocybin-dose-has-incredible-effect-on-elderly-dementia-patient

(James MacDonald/Bloomberg Creative/Getty Images)

Dementia is a degenerative disease that no known drug can completely stop or reverse, despite decades of tests.

Now, a historically vilified psychedelic is emerging as a possible new avenue for controlling Alzheimer's symptoms.

Neuroscientists around the world are starting to investigate if psilocybin – the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms – can help protect the aging brain.

A recent case study in Brazil hints at that tantalizing possibility.

It reports that after a patient in her 80s with advanced Alzheimer's disease took a high dose of psilocybin-containing mushrooms, she temporarily regained bladder control and the ability to speak beyond monosyllables.

The paper, written by neuroscientists in Brazil, is unfortunately light on some of the details.

But it suggests there were meaningful improvements in the patient's cognitive and physical functions, lasting for several weeks after her doses.

"The findings should not be interpreted as a reversal of Alzheimer's pathology," warn the authors, led by neuroscientist Marcos Lago from the University of Sao Paolo.

"Rather, they raise the possibility that latent functional capacities may persist in advanced neurodegeneration and become temporarily accessible under specific neuromodulatory conditions."

In other words, psilocybin may help tap into brain regions impacted by dementia, temporarily alleviating symptoms, although that idea remains speculative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVG08uzbTnI

The experimental psilocybin treatment was conducted under clinical supervision in Brazil, with written informed consent from the patient's legal guardian.

The elderly woman with dementia was first treated with an incredibly high dose of 5 grams of psilocybin-containing mushrooms, which caused her to enter a prolonged, deep sleep-like state.

Before the experimental treatment, the patient could only speak in monosyllables, rarely initiated communication with others, and was very dependent on assistance for basic activities of daily living.

Roughly 19 hours after the oral dose, the woman suddenly began to talk to herself. She kept doing so for several hours.

Over the next few days, the elderly patient was reportedly able to control her bladder, dress and walk by herself, and engage in conversation, holding eye contact and smiling back.

"The persistence of urinary continence after more than 5 years of chronic incontinence is particularly notable, given that continence depends on integrated interoceptive awareness, executive inhibition, and fronto-insular network function," write the researchers behind her case report, including neurologists Mariana Cerveira and Joe Xavier Simonet.

The elderly patient received an incredibly high dose of 5 grams of psilocybin-containing mushrooms. 

(James MacDonald/Bloomberg Creative/Getty Images)



Because of the woman's promising and lingering response to psilocybin, she was administered another 3 grams of mushrooms a month after the first session. This dose was also closely supervised.

During the second session, the patient did not fall asleep but remained verbally expressive throughout. She described emotional scenes, like surfing with her son on a peaceful island.

"Facial expressivity, emotional reciprocity, spontaneous humor, and gait agility appeared markedly improved," reads her case report.

During this second session, the woman said, unprompted, "It is pleasant to come here."

It is important to note that researchers in Brazil did not monitor the woman's sleep state or brain activity during her trip, nor did they use standardized cognitive scales to assess her cognitive state.

"The present report should be understood primarily as a detailed observational description intended to generate hypotheses for future controlled investigation," the authors write.

"Systematic investigation is warranted," they add.

Already, researchers elsewhere in the world are investigating what psilocybin can do for older populations who are suffering from cognitive issues or mental health disorders.

A recent survey of more than 3,000 US adults, aged between 42 and 92, found that those who reported using a hallucinogen in the past year showed fewer depressive symptoms. They also showed more favorable changes to some brain functions.

Initial clinical trials using psilocybin have found that just a single 25mg dose can induce lasting brain changes. But that is very small compared to what the older woman in Brazil took.

Her dose is known recreationally as a 'heroic dose'. These amounts of psilocybin are said to be life-changing, although they are not without risk.

"The selected mushroom dose was relatively high compared with dosing approaches commonly used in modern clinical trials and was chosen based on prior experiential observations regarding depth and duration of psychedelic-induced neurobehavioral effects," the authors explain in the case study.

Future randomized clinical trials are needed to determine if psilocybin really can rewire the brain for the better, and at what dose it is safest and most effective.

In fact, one pilot study on cognitive decline has already started. It is evaluating whether psilocybin, provided in a supervised environment, can reduce depression and improve the quality of life in people with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

"In some patient populations, psilocybin is very helpful in reducing depression, reducing anxiety, and improving quality of life," explained neuroscientist Albert Garcia-Romeu, who investigates psychedelic therapies at Johns Hopkins University, in 2023.

"Those types of benefits could be really useful in a population with Alzheimer's."

Only time will tell. Many dementia drugs have shown great promise, only to fail at clinical trials.

Perhaps psilocybin will be different.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Chuck's picture corner to June 7, 2026

Planting, planting planting. It's been a good week for it, a little hard on the body. Temps have finally warmed to average for this time of year with a few days even above average. The color of the landscape and life in the air, just wow.

a young rabbit feed in this exact same clover patch as I post pics, lol

stepping out the kitchen door onto the porch

A few houses down the street.

Walking home from the garage, I took a rest stop by the legion.

This person has done a great job with different varieties of plant with the same colour

ants just love peony flowers before they open

sunflowers, shorter ones with lots of reds, soon ready to plant.

madam red wing blackbird squawking at me just off the porch

my old house from the street.

late spring and the days are long, 15.5 hrs from sunrise to sunset today

the male red wing blackbird giving me heck as I stand on the porch.

the n. american honeysuckle beginning to bloom, a fav. for pollinators.

a great street end of driveway shrub

It will be a few weeks before this bed turns daliah red, so far it has been tulip yellow and iris blue.

Enjoy the Day

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Largest Map of The Universe's Hidden Magnetic Fields Has Been Unveiled

07 June 2026, By A. Thomson, The Conversation

https://www.sciencealert.com/largest-map-of-the-universes-hidden-magnetic-fields-has-been-unveiled

This new map, called SPICE-RACS represents the most detailed map of the Universe’s hidden magnetic fields. 

(Thomson et al., Publ. Astron. Soc. Aust., 2026)

Magnetic fields are a fundamental part of the universe. They govern how small particles – the building blocks of planets, stars, and ultimately galaxies – move through space.

We still don't know how magnetic fields came to exist in the universe, but we do know they're everywhere. Earth itself has a magnetic field that compasses and migrating birds respond to.

With radio telescopes, astronomers can use the light from distant galaxies to illuminate these otherwise invisible areas in space.

In our study, published today in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, we've used Australia's most powerful radio telescope to create the largest and most detailed map of cosmic magnetic fields ever made.

The new map with some of the visible sky features labelled.

 (Thomson et al., Publ. Astron. Soc. Aust., 2026)

Giant batteries that control galaxies

Magnetic fields greatly vary across the universe. Extremely dense objects, such as neutron stars and black holes, have magnetic fields thousands of billions times stronger than Earth's own.

In the space between stars we've also measured magnetic fields a million times weaker than Earth's. Despite their weakness, we know these fields are incredibly important for controlling how galaxies evolve. They act like giant batteries and store huge amounts of energy, slowing down or even preventing the formation of new stars.

But to us, magnetic fields are invisible. To find them in space, astronomers are limited to using light from distant stars and galaxies. That's because light is a wave of electric and magnetic fields (that's where the "electromagnetic spectrum" gets its name).

This new map works on the principle that light twists as it travels through magnetic fields. Here, the map is overlayed on an image of CSIRO's ASKAP radio telescope on Wajarri Yamaji Country in Western Australia. 

(CSIRO/Alec Thomson et al./Alex Cherney/Sam Moorfield)

As light travels across the universe, it interacts with any magnetic fields it passes through. This will twist the direction the light is waving – we call this "polarisation". So, light waving up and down has a different polarisation to light waving side to side.

Astronomers can catch this polarisation, especially when looking at the sky in radio waves, which are part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Seeing the invisible

Australian telescopes have been at the forefront of both radio astronomy and detecting magnetic fields since their first detection.

Murriyang, CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope, was the first to detect the twisting polarisation of light from magnetic fields beyond Earth in 1962.

Ever since, astronomers have been pushing to find more and more sources that show us this twisting light. With enough measurements, we can create a map of magnetic fields in the universe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDmA4Kls0m8

Each point in the map is an object detected by our telescope, and the object's light has illuminated the magnetic fields between us and that distant source. The more sources we detect, the more detailed our map becomes.

The last large map of magnetic fields was made in 2009. It has not seen a true successor in the intervening 17 years, limiting the depth and scope of the inquiries astronomers have sought to answer.

Across different areas of the universe, including our own Milky Way galaxy, we're yet to understand the full strength and structure of cosmic magnetic fields.

Not only do we not know how they came to exist, we don't know how they've changed across time since the Big Bang.

To begin solving these problems, we need a new class of radio telescope.

A telescope built for speed

Radio astronomy is currently undergoing a revolution as the SKA Observatory is being built in South Africa and Australia.

In preparation, a generation of telescopes, known as SKA precursors and pathfinders, are already operating around the world.

The ASKAP radio telescope is one of these precursors. Located at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory on Wajarri Yamaji Country in Western Australia, it's made up of 36 12-metre dishes. These dishes can each see a huge section of the sky at once, giving astronomers an ultrawide view of the universe.

CSIRO's ASKAP radio telescope at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory on Wajarri Yamaji Country. 

(CSIRO)



The flagship project to make a map of the universe's magnetic fields is known as the Polarisation Sky Survey of the Universe's Magnetism (POSSUM).

In preparation for it, the telescope's team produced the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Surveys (RACS). It's like making an atlas of the universe.

The most recent versions of these surveys have identified nearly 4 million distant galaxies, with about 2 million having never been seen before.

The magnetic sky

Our new map, called SPICE-RACS, has come from a collaboration between the two survey teams.

Our goal was to look towards every galaxy found by RACS, and observe the signs of changing polarisation caused by magnetic fields. Using the latest release of the survey, we found 350,000 galaxies of the original 4 million we could use for this.

Our collection of sources is nearly ten times larger than the previous largest, and five times larger than all observations ever combined together.

As a result, we've obtained the largest and most detailed map to date.

This new map, called SPICE-RACS, represents the most detailed map of the Universe's hidden magnetic fields. It's five times larger than all previous efforts combined.

 (Alec Thomson et al.)

The map has red colours showing magnetic fields pointing towards us, and blue pointing away, like the North and South of a compass.

Most of the swirling and bubbly structure we can see is from our own Milky Way galaxy. In the fine details of the map are the signatures from even more distant parts of the universe.

The new map is already enabling new science around the world, and the data is publicly available to the research community online.

In the future, we plan to combine all versions of RACS to create an even larger and more detailed map.

Meanwhile, the POSSUM project is expected to finish observations by 2030. The sharper magnetic map from this survey will open up a new window on distant cosmic magnetic fields, allowing us to see further back into the history of the universe.

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Ancient Romans Were Obsessed With This Remarkable Herb – Then It Vanished Forever

By T. J. Derrick, Macquarie U., June 6, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/ancient-romans-were-obsessed-with-this-remarkable-herb-then-it-vanished-forever/

A legendary plant that played a major role in ancient medicine and daily life vanished centuries ago, leaving behind a scientific mystery. Its value was so great that Julius Caesar reportedly stored it in the Roman treasury, and Nero was said to possess the final known specimen. 

Credit: Shutterstock

Silphium was an extinct Libyan plant renowned for contraception, medicine, and trade. Its disappearance remains a historical mystery, and scientists continue searching for surviving descendants.

Roman leader Julius Caesar is said to have kept a stock of it in the treasury. Ancient writer Pliny the Elder says Rome’s Emperor Nero owned the last stalk of it.

And some have suggested rampant extramarital sex in elite Roman circles led to demand outstripping supply, and it dying out altogether.

What is it?

Silphium: an extinct plant that once grew wild in modern-day Libya.

Used for contraception and abortion, medicine, food seasoning, perfume, and as a livestock improver, its special properties made this herb one of the most precious commodities in Graeco-Roman antiquity.

Then, one day, it went extinct.

What Did Silphium Really Look Like?

Silphium is often described these days as an aphrodisiac, despite no ancient source confirming this.

Some of the earliest depictions of silphium are of the plant’s heart-shaped seedpod, which may be the source of this association.

Depictions on coins and figurines have led modern botanists to wonder if silphium was related to modern wild giant fennels (from the genus Ferula). (It’s not related to plants of the genus Silphium, such as compass-plant and rosinweed, in North America).

Silphium is often depicted on ancient coins. ACANS inv. 01M189 (Marr-Proud gift). 

Credit: Australian Centre for Ancient Numismatic Studies.




Depictions of silphium next to gazelles (another product of Libya) suggest typical ancient silphium stalks were around 30 cm in height.

Resin was extracted from the plant’s stems and roots and preserved in flour, which allowed it to make the journey from Libya to further shores.
How Silphium Fueled Ancient Economies

The Romans called this resin “laser” or “laserpicium.” The best laserpicium was extracted from the root, but an inferior type could also come from the stem.

And before the Romans, the Greeks also used silphium; it was so central to some regional economies that it was a frequently depicted motif on coins.

The Greeks seemingly did not harvest silphium themselves; they were given it as tribute by Libyan tribes who lived with it and knew how to harvest and prepare it.

The Greeks of those regions capitalized on and exploited this indigenous knowledge, creating and fulfilling a market for this product. This pattern of extracting and profiting from the local knowledge of indigenous peoples is still a feature of the modern globalized economy.

Silphium in Ancient Medicine and Contraception

Silphium is frequently mentioned in ancient medical treatises and was often administered through food. The modern distinction between food and medicine was not as pronounced in antiquity as it is today; curatives were frequently added to simple dishes such as lentil porridge.

In Ancient Graeco-Roman medicine, silphium was considered a “windy” food that could clear the body of obstructions causing ill health. “Windy” foods were also thought to prevent conception and ensure miscarriage (depending on when they were administered).

Soranus of Ephesus’s four-volume text on gynecology, written around the 1st-2nd century CE, suggests various strong-tasting herbs and spices (including silphium) could be mixed with wine or simple foods for oral contraception. Soranus notes oral contraceptives frequently caused upset stomachs.

Preventive suppository suggestions by Soranus include smearing the cervix with substances such as old olive oil, honey, resin, balsam, white lead, myrtle oil, moistened alum, galbanum resin (a silphium relative used in perfume), and a lock of fine wool. These were not drugs but had properties that could lessen the chance of conception by being antibiotic or spermicidal or providing a physical barrier.

Women’s Knowledge and Uncertain Effectiveness

Looking to the male-authored literature for evidence of women’s medicine is, of course, flawed. It is highly likely knowledge on pregnancy, contraceptives, and abortifacients was transferred between women, much of which did not make it into surviving ancient medical texts.

We have no proof of the efficacy of silphium as a contraceptive or abortive agent, as we don’t have any to test.

Silphium resisted human cultivation, and as such, there was a finite supply. The financial value of silphium (and state control over it) seemed to be a bone of contention among local populations, and by the Roman period, there were reports of vandalism and local farmers bringing livestock to graze on it.

Climatic changes and the desertification of the north coast of Africa may have led to the plant’s extinction. While the Romans believed silphium was extinct in the 1st century CE, it may have continued in local use and consumption until the 5th century CE.

There have been multiple attempts to identify remnant pockets of silphium in the modern world, but scholars cannot agree on a single surviving plant. Silphium may have been a hybrid plant that reproduced asexually (making it hard to cultivate and vulnerable).
The Search for Silphium’s Modern Descendants

In 2021, a new species of giant fennel (Ferula drudeana) was identified around former Greek settlements in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey).

It looks much like the ancient depictions of silphium; it may be that seeds from Libya reached Turkey and survived to the present.

However, until we find evidence of the seeds of ancient silphium in securely dated archaeological deposits, we will not be able to test this hypothesis.

Many species of giant fennel occur across the Mediterranean and surrounding regions, but due to many outlets falsely reporting its aphrodisiac qualities (particularly for treating erectile dysfunction), there are growing conservation concerns about modern over-harvesting.

The Life of Earth

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Super Typhoon Sinlaku Was So Powerful It Made the Sky Ripple With Gravity Waves

By L. Doermann, NASA Earth Observ., June 5, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/super-typhoon-sinlaku-was-so-powerful-it-made-the-sky-ripple-with-gravity-waves/

Atmospheric gravity waves generated by Super Typhoon Sinlaku are visible via mesospheric airglow in this nighttime image acquired with the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the NOAA-20 satellite on April 12, 2026, Universal Time (April 13 local time). 

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

A rapidly intensifying super typhoon sent giant atmospheric ripples skyward, revealing a hidden connection between extreme weather and near-space.

In April 2026, Super Typhoon Sinlaku swept across the North Pacific, bringing torrential rain and flooding to parts of the Mariana Islands. The storm intensified into a “violent typhoon,” the highest category used by the Japan Meteorological Agency and roughly equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

What made Sinlaku especially remarkable was its timing. Meteorologists noted that only a small number of storms in the region have reached such extreme strength so early in the year.

As Sinlaku rapidly strengthened over open water, its influence extended far beyond the ocean surface. Satellites detected signs that the storm was also affecting the upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere.
Satellites Capture Giant Atmospheric Ripples

A nighttime image collected by the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument aboard the NOAA-20 satellite revealed atmospheric gravity waves spreading outward from the storm. The pattern resembled ripples expanding across a pond after a stone is dropped into the water.

These waves became visible through a phenomenon known as airglow in the mesosphere. Airglow occurs when atoms and molecules that absorbed energy from sunlight during the day release that energy as faint light during the night.

Scientists have long known that tropical cyclones generate tremendous amounts of heat near their eyewalls. This heat fuels powerful thunderstorms and towering cumulonimbus clouds. Some of these towering storm clouds, often called “hot towers,” can rise beyond the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere, and send waves upward into the stratosphere and mesosphere.

Previous studies have found that gravity waves frequently appear when tropical cyclones are intensifying. Sinlaku fit that pattern. During the 24 hours before the satellite image was captured, the storm strengthened dramatically from a Category 2 system to the equivalent of a Category 5 storm.

Thermal energy from gravity waves produced by Super Typhoon Sinlaku was detected in the stratosphere by the AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite on April 13, 2026. 

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison



Rare Rings Above the Storm

“We’re seeing waves propagating radially and upward, in a cone-like shape,” said Joan Alexander, senior research scientist at NorthWest Research Associates.

Alexander said she was surprised to observe nearly complete rings in the mesospheric airglow above the typhoon. Normally, winds in the upper atmosphere can weaken or disperse gravity waves before they reach such high altitudes. However, relatively weak stratospheric winds at the storm’s latitude during April 2026 may have allowed the waves to remain intact.

The viewing conditions also helped. The VIIRS day-night band can detect airglow, but it also records reflected moonlight. On April 12, the Moon was only about 25 percent illuminated. Some reflected light from clouds below was visible, but not enough to overwhelm the much fainter airglow signal.

Gravity Waves Tracked Through Multiple Layers of the Atmosphere

The effects of Sinlaku’s gravity waves were observed at lower altitudes as well. NASA’s Aqua satellite, using the AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) instrument, detected thermal emissions associated with gravity waves in the stratosphere on April 13.

Additional observations on April 14 showed the same rippling structures, indicating that the storm continued influencing the atmosphere even after the initial observations.

Why Gravity Waves Matter

Scientists say these observations are more than just visually striking.

According to Alexander, gravity waves could eventually help researchers better monitor storm intensification, especially over remote ocean regions where direct observations are limited.

“We’d like to use gravity waves to tell us if a storm is intensifying,” Alexander said, “which can be difficult to know, especially over the open ocean.”

She and her colleagues have suggested that future geostationary satellites equipped with suitable infrared instruments could continuously observe gravity waves and provide additional information about how tropical cyclones evolve.

From Weather Forecasts to Space Weather

The importance of gravity waves extends beyond hurricane monitoring. Laura Holt, also a senior research scientist at NorthWest Research Associates, said atmospheric processes in the stratosphere play an important role in weather prediction.

For example, wind patterns in the stratosphere can influence long-range forecasts for the Northern Hemisphere’s winter. Tropical cyclones can have an outsized impact because their intense and persistent convection generates gravity waves that continuously affect the stratosphere.

The influence of these waves can extend even farther, reaching the realm of space weather.

“For a while, people have seen signatures of hurricanes in ionospheric weather,” Holt said.

Gravity waves can trigger traveling ionospheric disturbances, which are large-scale fluctuations in plasma density. In some cases, they can also contribute to the formation of plasma bubbles. Both phenomena have the potential to interfere with satellite signals and radio communications.

“With space weather in particular,” Holt added, “a single event such as a tropical cyclone can be very important.”

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