Ovaries Appear to Develop an Incredible Second Role After Menopause

01 July 2026, By J. Cockerill

https://www.sciencealert.com/ovaries-appear-to-develop-an-incredible-second-role-after-menopause

Producing follicles isn’t the only task for ovaries, new research suggests. 

(Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library/Getty Images)


We've all heard of menopause: a supposedly terminal moment for the female reproductive system, in which the ovaries stop releasing eggs and presumably call it a day.

But reproductive biologist Francesca Duncan is not content with this simplified image of ovarian retirement.

She has been trying to understand what ovaries get up to once they stop pumping out eggs. It turns out it's much less like retirement, and more like a career change.

Life expectancies are generally stretching further than ever before, which means there's now far more post-menopausal people wandering around, whose bodies we still don't fully understand.

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

A new study of mice, published in Molecular Human Reproduction by Duncan at Northwestern University in Illinois and a team of researchers across the US, suggests that the post-menopausal ovary is far from inert.

This new research reflects what Duncan found in another study of post-menopausal women, which is yet to be peer-reviewed. It showed that the proteins produced by ovarian tissue in 28 post-menopausal women differed across age groups.

If ovaries were 'inert' after their reproductive years, that shouldn't be the case.

Mouse studies obviously can't tell us exactly what is going on in the human body, but because we share a similar evolutionary history, they can offer hints.

In the animal study, Duncan and team removed the ovaries of 2-month, 18-month, and 24-month mice for close study. Each of these ages was chosen to represent a different phase of the mouse reproductive cycle.

Stained ovarian sections from different-aged mouse ovaries 

(Converse et al., Mol. Hum. Reprod., 2026)



Mouse ovaries typically shut down around two years into the animal's short lifespan. Their menopause is not accompanied by the sharp estrogen drop humans experience, but it bears other similarities.

Tissue from one ovary of each mouse was closely examined under the microscope to better understand the anatomy of the ovarian tissues at each of these phases of life.

With the second ovary, the researchers conducted bulk RNA sequencing, which tells us not only what genes are present within certain tissues, but which genes are actively involved in protein production.

Unsurprisingly, these samples showed that the machinery of reproductive function slowed down with age. Older mice had fewer follicles and changes in the way cell tissue and collagen were arranged.

But that doesn't mean the entire 'factory' was shut down. In fact, ovaries seem to step into a new role.

"Transcriptomic analyses revealed a shift from reproductive functionality to an immune-dominant signature with age," the team reports.

"Correspondingly, post-reproductive ovaries exhibited increased infiltration of T cells, macrophages, and multinucleated giant cells."

Though old and post-reproductive ovaries looked and functioned very differently from those of young mice, they also had distinct transcriptome profiles, much like what Duncan saw in postmenopausal women.

It suggests that ovaries continue to undergo molecular changes, even after their reproductive role has wound down. They appear to take on the role of an immune-like inflammatory organ, the team says.

"These findings challenge the assumption that the post-reproductive ovary is inert, instead indicating that it acquires an immune identity with potential endocrine and paracrine influence on whole-body aging," Duncan and team conclude.

This could have important implications for healthcare in post-reproductive years, and especially for people who have their ovaries removed.

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This Extraordinary Desert Mouse Defies Aging – and It Could Change Human Longevity

By M. Locklear, Yale School of Medicine, July 1, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/this-extraordinary-desert-mouse-defies-aging-and-it-could-change-human-longevity/

Golden spiny mice appear to defy many of the biological changes normally associated with aging, maintaining their physical abilities, memory, and immune function while living far longer than typical wild mice.

 Credit: Shutterstock

A wild mouse with an unusually long life may reveal clues to healthy aging.

Aging is often treated as an unavoidable biological process, but evolution tells a more complicated story. Across the animal kingdom, species age at dramatically different rates, with some rapidly declining after reaching adulthood while others remain healthy and active for years or even decades. Understanding what separates these species has become one of the biggest questions in aging research, offering clues to how the body naturally resists disease and deterioration.

Researchers are now turning to an unlikely candidate: the golden spiny mouse. Native to the rocky deserts of the Middle East, this small wild rodent not only lives far longer than most mice but also appears to preserve its health throughout much of its life, avoiding the physical, cognitive, and immune decline that normally accompanies aging.

In a study published in Science Advances, scientists at Yale School of Medicine began uncovering the biological mechanisms behind this exceptional resilience. Their findings suggest the mouse has evolved natural pathways that keep age-related inflammation under control and maintain key tissues and organs well into old age, discoveries that could eventually inform new treatments to promote healthier aging in people.

“Mice in the wild typically live around nine months,” says senior author Vishwa Deep Dixit, DVM, PhD, Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Pathology at YSM. “But some of these golden spiny mice are living out in the desert for up to five years. And that’s just what we’ve been able to observe; their maximum lifespan is unknown.”

Vishwa Deep Dixit, DVM, PhD, Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Pathology and Professor of Immunobiology. 

Credit: Yale School of Medicine



“In order to live that long, they have to forage, they have to avoid predators,” says Dixit, who is also a professor of comparative medicine and of immunobiology at YSM and director of the Yale Center for Research on Aging (Y-Age). “So it’s not like they’re living this long in a way that we would think of as ‘aged.’”

Lead author Hee Hoon Kim, PhD, a postdoctoral associate in Dixit’s lab, says the central question is why certain species, including the golden spiny mouse, can age with so little apparent decline while others cannot.

Reduced physical and cognitive aging

Working with collaborators at Tel Aviv University, Dixit, Kim, and colleagues studied both young and old golden spiny mice and compared them with closely related species.

The analysis revealed several traits that set the golden spiny mouse apart. Three were especially notable and may help explain how the species ages so well.

One ability was already known: golden spiny mice can heal skin injuries without visible scarring. The new work showed that this regenerative capacity does not disappear with age. Older golden spiny mice kept the same ability.

A second striking feature involved the thymus. In humans, this gland sits above the heart and makes a type of white blood cell that is essential for immune function. Across vertebrates, the thymus usually shrinks and deteriorates quickly as animals get older.

“Aging of the thymus actually precedes aging of all the other organs,” says Dixit. “But even in very old golden spiny mice, the thymus is structurally and functionally intact. And perhaps this gives the mice a much stronger immune system into old age.”

Dixit, Kim, and colleagues also found that older golden spiny mice did not show the expected loss of learning and memory that is commonly seen in aging animals.

“These are all of the major pathways that decline with age,” says Dixit. “Understanding how they’re maintained through age in this species could be of extreme importance.”

Keeping inflammation in check

As the body ages, chronic low-grade inflammation tends to increase, a process known as “inflammaging.” Much of that inflammation develops in fat tissue. To look for clues, Dixit, Kim, and colleagues examined gene activity in golden spiny mouse fat tissue and identified a protein called clusterin.

Clusterin helps clear misfolded proteins from the body, which can reduce their harmful effects. The protein has been associated with lower neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease and longer lifespan in many mammals, including humans (people 100 years or older tend to have higher concentrations of clusterin, for instance). In older golden spiny mice, immune cells in fat tissue showed high activity in the gene that produces clusterin.

To test whether clusterin itself could produce some of these effects, Dixit, Kim, and colleagues gave the protein to standard lab mice. The treated mice showed some of the same healthy aging traits observed in golden spiny mice. They had less decline in movement and healthier organs than mice that did not receive clusterin. They also showed signs of reduced inflammaging. Similar benefits were seen when human white blood cells were exposed to clusterin.

“We think that clusterin is one of the key operators of how golden spiny mice resist age-related decline,” says Kim. “This is a small start to a big narrative.”

Evolutionary advantages

Wild animals usually do not die simply because they are old. Predators, food shortages, and infections often kill them first. For that reason, healthy aging is not usually a trait that natural selection can strongly favor, since many animals do not live long enough for those traits to improve survival across generations.

Golden spiny mice, however, have several adaptations that may help them survive long enough for healthy aging traits to matter. Unlike many mice, they are active during the day. This helps them avoid competing with other mouse species for food and reduces contact with predators that hunt at night when other mice are active.

They also tolerate toxins and can survive long periods without food by lowering their energy use. This allows them to conserve energy while still remaining active enough to search for food. Their offspring also begin life at a more advanced developmental stage than other mice, and several females help care for pups, improving their chances of survival.

“So they have many ways of avoiding death,” says Dixit. “And we think that natural selection is then able to endow those healthy aging traits, which are then passed on from generation to generation.”

Dixit, Kim, and colleagues say the evidence points to metabolic pathways in golden spiny mice that help control resistance to aging. Similar pathways may also exist in other mice and in humans, but may have become inactive for reasons that are not yet clear. Proteins such as clusterin may be able to turn some of those pathways back on.

Dixit says these pathways could eventually point toward ways to improve aging and longevity in people. “We think that these are going to be stepping stones for new drugs in the future.”

The Life of Earth

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New Fossils Show the Arctic Was an Evolutionary Powerhouse During the Age of Dinosaurs

By Y. Ye, U. of Colorado at Boulder, July 1, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/new-fossils-show-the-arctic-was-an-evolutionary-powerhouse-during-the-age-of-dinosaurs/

A reconstruction of the Late Cretaceous paleoenvironment of Alaska. 

Credit: James Havens

Tiny fossil teeth from Alaska are changing how scientists view mammal life and migration in the ancient Arctic.

Today’s Arctic is one of the harshest and least biodiverse places on Earth, but during the age of dinosaurs it was home to a surprisingly rich community of mammals. A new fossil discovery suggests this ancient polar ecosystem was not an isolated evolutionary outpost but an important crossroads where species adapted, diversified, and even migrated between continents.

In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder and collaborating institutions describe three previously unknown species of rodent-like mammals that lived in what is now northern Alaska more than 70 million years ago.

Their analysis indicates that the ancestors of some of these mammals traveled from what is now Mongolia in East Asia, challenging the long-held assumption that the polar regions played only a minor role in mammal evolution.

“While the polar regions don’t host the same level of biodiversity as the tropics, they were still very active places for life to flourish, extending far back into deep time,” says Sarah Shelley, the paper’s first author at the University of Lincoln in the U.K. She conducted the study as a postdoctoral researcher at CU Boulder with senior author Jaelyn Eberle, a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences and curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History.

Teeth reveal Arctic mammals

Shelley, Eberle, and colleagues named the three species Camurodon borealis, which roughly translates to “Northern curved-tooth,” Qayaqgruk peregrinus, or “the little wandering hero,” and Kaniqsiqcosmodon polaris, meaning “polar frost ornamented tooth.”

The animals were identified from fossil teeth found in the Prince Creek Formation, a site inside the Arctic Circle near the top of the world. The fossils are about 73 million years old. At that time, the region still had months of winter darkness, freezing conditions, and likely seasonal food shortages. Even so, these small mammals managed to survive there.

The Colville River image shows field camp on a gravel bar in the middle of the river, while the small orange boat is pulled up along the far bank at an active fossil locality. 

Credit: Shelley et al



“These three new mammal species add to a growing body of evidence that this ancient arctic region was home to unique, polar-adapted species,” said Patrick Druckenmiller, a coauthor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Diets show survival strategies

All three species belonged to an extinct group of mammals known as multituberculates. These animals were roughly mouse-sized to rat-sized and were the longest-lived mammal group known from Earth’s history. They survived for more than 100 million years, from the Jurassic Period through the end of the Eocene Epoch about 35 million years ago. They also lived through the asteroid impact that wiped out all nonavian dinosaurs. By comparison, modern humans (Homo sapiens) have existed for only about 300,000 years.

Scientists have long asked why multituberculates endured for so long, and the newly studied teeth offered an important clue.

The three species had noticeably different tooth shapes, suggesting that they likely ate different foods. C. borealis had teeth suited to herbivores, while Q. peregrinus was an omnivore that probably ate insects as well as some plants. K. polaris also appeared to be an omnivore, though it may have relied mostly on plants.

The shape of the tooth suggests that Camurodon borealis was likely a herbivore. 

Credit: Shelley et al.



In a place where food could be scarce, the ability to specialize in different diets may have allowed several multituberculate species to live side by side. Shelley said that same flexibility may also have helped them survive the asteroid impact.

“There’s a lot of diversity in the multituberculate group. They lived for an incredibly long time, and I think they can reveal a lot about the resilience of mammals, not just to the mass extinction, but also to climatic stresses that many organisms are facing today,” she said.

Ancient migration reshapes history

The discovery also adds new detail to the history of the ancient Arctic.

The team found that Q. peregrinus, named for Qayaq, a legendary hero in Alaskan Inuit culture, is closely related to a species from what is now Mongolia. That connection suggests the ancestors of Q. peregrinus moved from Asia into North America. Shelley estimated that this migration happened about 92 million years ago, making it one of the earliest known examples of mammals moving between the two continents.

“This means there was a land corridor between Asia and North America for these little mammals to come through,” Eberle said. “And this land bridge was already pretty active as far back as 90 million years ago.”

The finding strengthens evidence that species have been moving across continents and reshaping ecosystems for hundreds of millions of years.

“It really challenges how we think about native species,” Shelley said. “Deep time reminds us that a place is not just a point on a map, but a long, layered history of landscapes and inhabitants.”

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The Secret Language Behind Animal Cooperation Across Species

By U. of Cape Town, June 24, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/the-secret-language-behind-animal-cooperation-across-species/

Banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) can cooperate with common warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) by cleaning them, removing ticks and other parasites, while the warthogs provide access to food and safety from predators through their vigilance and presence. Example footage from Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda. 

Credit: Leela Channer

Scientists are discovering that animals use surprisingly sophisticated communication to form partnerships and cooperate across species boundaries.

Animals from different species often cooperate in ways that seem surprisingly sophisticated. A new review published in Animal Behaviour shows that communication plays a crucial role in making these partnerships possible. According to the researchers, movements, visual displays, calls, and other signals help animals coordinate their behavior and maintain mutually beneficial relationships across species boundaries.

Examples of this kind of cooperation can be found throughout nature. Some birds guide humans to bees’ nests in exchange for access to beeswax, while cleaner fish remove parasites from larger reef fish and receive food in return. Drawing on examples involving birds, fish, insects, and mammals, the review explores how animals share information to organize their activities and sustain cooperative interactions.
How Different Species Coordinate Their Actions

For cooperation to succeed, animals must often synchronize their behavior to achieve a common goal, even when they experience the world through very different senses.

One example involves the greater honeyguide bird (Indicator indicator), which uses specialized calls to lead humans to bees’ nests and responds to calls made by humans. Another example comes from warthogs, which adopt distinctive body postures to request cleaning services from birds and mammals that remove parasites.

“From the examples we know, individuals coordinate their actions to access shared resources, like food, or to exchange resources for services, such as protection from predators,” said Dr. Katie Dunkley, lead author and researcher at the University of Oxford. “We were particularly interested in how sharing information allows such close coordination between species.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL8sXWiTQDw

Human honey-hunters (Homo sapiens) can cooperate with greater honeyguides (Indicator indicator) by following their calls and flight to locate hidden bees’ nests, then harvesting the honey while leaving behind wax and larvae that the birds feed on. Example footage from Niassa Special Reserve, northern Mozambique.

 Credit: Dominic Cram

Communication Helps Manage Risks and Rewards

Communication is not only important for finding cooperative partners. It also helps animals begin interactions, coordinate their behavior, and reduce the risk of being exploited.

Interactions between different species can be risky, making reliable signals especially valuable. Some cleaner fish (e.g., Labroides dimidiatus) and shrimp (e.g., Urocaridella sp.) use bright colors and distinctive movements to signal their role when approaching predatory fish, allowing them to clean parasites without being attacked. Meanwhile, lycaenid butterfly larvae produce chemical and vibrational signals that encourage ants to protect them rather than treat them as prey.

The review also notes that many animals rely on multiple senses when communicating. As a result, focusing only on obvious visual displays may cause researchers to overlook other important forms of information exchange between species.
Flexible Signals Across Different Environments

Not all forms of interspecies communication are equally fixed.

Some signals remain consistent across situations. Fish seeking cleaning services, for example, often use recognizable head or tail stand postures. Other signals can vary depending on local conditions. Fishermen working with dolphins may interpret specific dolphin behaviors as cues indicating the best moment to cast their nets.

“In some forms of interspecies cooperation, cues and signals vary depending on the ecological context, the species involved, and whether the signal is inherited or learned,” said senior author Dr. van der Wal, a researcher affiliated with UCT’s FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology. “This highlights just how flexible and adaptable interspecies communication can be.”

How Cross-Species Communication Evolves

The researchers also examined how communication systems between species may develop over time.

Some signals may begin as simple cues, which are features or behaviors that affect how another animal responds despite not originally evolving for communication. Over generations, these cues can become more specialized and develop into clear signals.

Other signals may start as behaviors used for entirely different purposes, such as resolving conflicts or caring for offspring, before later being adapted to support cooperation between species.

“Studying how information flows between species gives us a powerful window into how communication systems originate, change and sometimes coevolve,” said Dr. Dunkley.

A Large Collaborative Research Effort

The review emerged from an interdisciplinary workshop on interspecies cooperation held in Cambridge in July 2023. Researchers from a wide range of fields gathered to discuss different examples of cooperation across species.

In total, the paper includes 58 authors from disciplines including anthropology, biology, and linguistics. It also draws on expertise from scientists studying animal cooperation, mixed-species interactions, and systems in which humans actively train non-human animals.

New Questions for Future Research

The authors say their review highlights the ecological importance of cooperation between species and opens new opportunities for studying how communication evolves across species boundaries.

They also emphasize the need for broader research covering more groups of animals, along with additional experiments to better understand how signals emerge, persist, and influence cooperative behavior.

“We still have much to learn about how these systems function and evolve,” said Dr. van der Wal. “We look forward to future research revealing both these interactions and other forms of interspecies cooperation yet to be discovered.”

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Gut Microbiome Could Remain Disrupted For Over a Decade After Polyp Removal

30 June 2026, By M. Irving

https://www.sciencealert.com/gut-microbiome-could-remain-disrupted-for-over-a-decade-after-polyp-removal

(Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty Images)

A technique commonly used to prevent cancer might not be as effective as we thought – and a new study might have found the reason why.

It turns out that the trillions of microbes that call your gut home could be to blame.

The research suggests that the gut microbiome could remain disrupted for a decade or more after the common procedure, in ways that keep cancer risk elevated.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world, but thankfully, risk factors for this cancer can be caught early with regular screening.

Colonoscopies can reveal benign growths called adenomas in the colon. Since these can become cancerous later on, they're typically removed as a precaution.

However, a patient's risk of developing CRC often seems to remain elevated even after adenoma removal.

Exactly why this is the case has remained unclear, but a new study, led by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, may have linked it to the gut microbiome.

"Our study was the first to address whether gut microbial and metabolic alterations are still detectable many years after adenoma removal," says Mingyang Song, epidemiologist at Harvard and corresponding author of the study, which has been published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe.

"The answer is yes – suggesting that removing an adenoma doesn't return the gut to a low-risk state, and that the gut microbiome may therefore be a significant biological contributor to sustained CRC risk."

Culture of microbes shed from the human gut, seen under a scanning electron microscope. 

(Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Libary/Getty Images)



Your gut microbiome plays a key role in your health, in more ways than you might think. Some are obvious: these microscopic residents aid digestion, affect how you absorb nutrients from your food, and impact your weight.

But their influence extends far beyond your gastrointestinal system. The composition and concentration of different microbes in your gut have been linked to sleep, various neurological disorders, and even how effective exercise may be for you.

One of those diseases linked to your gut microbiome is cancer, and especially bowel cancer. Previous studies have investigated which gut microbes could be involved, by examining how the microbiome changed as adenomas advanced from benign to cancerous.

But what happens to the gut microbiome if you remove those adenomas at an early stage? That was the central question behind the new study.

The answer was striking.

The researchers examined the stool metagenomes of 354 women who had had adenomas removed roughly 12 years earlier, and compared them with those of 354 patients who had never had adenomas, matching both groups for age and several other factors.

The genomic profiles of the gut microbiome were then compared with 14 independent case-control studies of CRC.

And sure enough, the team identified significant changes in 31 different microbes between the two groups. And the microbiomes of patients who'd had adenomas removed partially resembled those associated with CRC cases.

The graphical abstract for the study. 

(Nogal et al., Cell Host Microbe, 2026)

The samples were collected, on average, over a decade after the patients' adenomas were removed. That suggests that the microbial differences associated with CRC cannot simply be 'cut out' along with benign polyps.

It could also offer an explanation for why patients who had adenomas removed still had a higher chance of developing CRC than those without.

We may be treating a symptom, rather than the root cause.

If that's the case, the carcinogenic conditions (which may also have contributed to the adenoma) persist even after the polyp is removed.

"The fact that CRC-associated gut microbial and metabolic features are still detectable a decade later suggests the gut microbiome may be part of sustained CRC risk," says Ana Nogal, epidemiologist at Harvard and first author of the study.

"Diet and lifestyle were closely tied to these microbes, raising the possibility that these habits could influence the gut environment in people at higher risk."

Both diet and exercise are known to affect the gut microbiome, and that in turn could be influencing colorectal cancer risk.

As with many of these kinds of studies, the new work can only suggest an association – whether the microbiome is a direct cause of cancer requires more work to determine.

But it's an intriguing look into a possible mechanism behind a long-standing biological mystery.

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Scientists Just Decoded Crow Language With Grok AI — What They Found About Humans Is Terrifying!

Forbidden Human Origins, 27 Jun 2026 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jen6kHS24o8

For centuries, crows have amazed scientists with their intelligence, problem-solving abilities, and surprisingly complex vocalizations. 

Now, a viral claim suggests that researchers used *Grok AI* to decode crow language—and that what the birds "said" about humans was deeply unsettling. But how much of this story is based on real science? 

In this video, we explore the latest research into animal communication, how artificial intelligence is being used to analyze bird calls, and what scientists have actually learned about crow behavior. We'll examine whether AI can truly "translate" animal languages or if it is simply identifying patterns in sounds and behavior. 

From recognizing human faces to using tools and passing knowledge across generations, crows possess remarkable cognitive abilities that continue to surprise researchers. While AI is helping scientists better understand animal communication, there is no verified evidence that it can translate crow language into human sentences or reveal hidden messages about humanity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jen6kHS24o8

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There's a Volcano in Antarctica Spewing Gold Crystals Into The Atmosphere

29 June 2026, By M. Starr

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-worlds-southernmost-active-volcano-is-spewing-out-gold-every-day

Mount Erebus in Antarctica. 

(Doug Allan/ Photodisc/Getty Images)

Lava. Ash. Horrifying death.

All are known and expected outputs from an active volcano.

But one volcano deep in the farthest, frozen reaches of our planet marches to the beat of a slightly different drum.

On Ross Island in the Ross Sea, a deep bay in Antarctica, Mount Erebus fumes about 1,350 kilometers (840 miles) from the Geographic South Pole. The world's southernmost active volcano, it bubbles with a permanent lake of blazing lava.

And in the gas constantly pouring forth from this gate to the underworld, scientists found microscopic particles of crystalline, elemental gold.

According to a 1991 research paper, published in Geophysical Research Letters, Erebus belches out about 80 grams (2.8 ounces) of microscopic gold dust per day, scattering it as far as 1,000 kilometers away – maybe even farther.

A satellite image of Mount Erebus showing its permanent lake of lava.

 (European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery)



To date, it's the only volcano in the world known to spew forth crystalline elemental gold particles.

The real mystery, though, is how the gold escapes the magma in the first place.

Actually, gold in volcanic emissions isn't all that unusual.

Trace gold has been detected chemically in samples from Kīlauea in Hawai'i, Etna in Italy, Augustine in Alaska, and El Chichón in Mexico.

Later theoretical work has suggested that gold can be transported in hot volcanic fluids, and likely gases too.

It makes sense. A volcano is basically a hole in Earth's crust, through which molten material from deep below the ground seethes upward.

Many elements, such as copper, silver, mercury, arsenic, selenium, and sulfur, as well as gold, are all thrown together in a glorious, literal melting pot, where they can join with other elements to form compounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vcsei-Jq6U

From there, the gold isn't evaporating like water from a kettle – the boiling point of pure gold is far hotter than volcanic temperatures. Instead, it is thought to hitch a ride in volatile chlorine- or sulfur-bearing compounds that can exist in the hot volcanic gases.

But according to a team led by geochemist Kimberly Meeker of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in the US, the Erebus gold is doing something not seen in any other volcano.

As part of their investigation of Mount Erebus's emissions, the researchers collected samples from the snow around the volcanic crater, from the plume of gas coming from the lava lake, and from the Antarctic troposphere up to 1,000 kilometers from the volcano.

In all three sample sets, they found micron-scale particles of pure gold.

Under an electron microscope, the particles appeared as intricate, faceted, almost perfectly geometric crystals rather than irregular specks, some measuring up to about 60 micrometers across.

Particles of gold found in snow from Fang Glacier, 4 kilometers from the volcano (a and b),

 and in an air sample from the volcano's plume (c). 

A typical X-ray spectrum from the sampled particles is shown in the bottom right (d).

 (Meeker et al., Geophys. Res. Lett., 1991)



The estimated daily output of 80 grams was actually somewhat smaller than that reported for some other volcanoes. Based on measurements available at the time, Kīlauea emitted an estimated 500 to 800 grams of gold per day, while estimates for Etna reached as high as 2.4 kilograms.

But there's something unique about Erebus that allows the gold to separate from the compounds that held it in the volcanic emissions.

One model the researchers proposed is that gold is carried out of the lava in volatile chlorine-bearing compounds. As the gases cool, the gold crystallizes out of these compounds before eventually coming to rest on the Antarctic ice.

One difficulty with that model is that the gas contains very little gold; under those conditions, the spontaneous nucleation of beautifully formed crystals in the air is very difficult.

Another scenario later proposed by volcanologist Philip Kyle of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, a member of the research team, is that the gold forms more gradually in a crust on the surface of the lava lake before being borne aloft by rising gases.

It's been more than 30 years since the discovery, however, and we still don't have a concrete answer.

Something about Mount Erebus – whether it's the chemistry, the ambient temperature, the geology, or something else – appears to give it a unique ability to sprinkle the snow with gold dust like a mischievous pixie.

Lenticular clouds over Mount Erebus in Antarctica. 

(Cavan Images/Alasdair Turner/Cavan/Getty)

Any geochemists up for a trip?

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17-Million-Year-Old Ape Fossil in Egypt Could Change What We Know About Human Origins

By Mansoura U. Vertebrate Paleontology Center (MUVP), June 30, 2026
https://scitechdaily.com/17-million-year-old-ape-fossil-in-egypt-could-change-what-we-know-about-human-origins/

Reconstruction of Masripithecus moghraensis by Mauricio Antón. 

Credit: Professor Hesham Sallam

Researchers have identified a previously unknown fossil ape from Egypt that could alter long-held ideas about the origins of modern apes.

The evolutionary story of apes has long contained a major geographic gap. While fossil discoveries from East Africa, Europe, and Asia have helped trace the rise of modern apes, North Africa has remained conspicuously absent from the record. A newly discovered fossil from Egypt may finally help fill that void.

In a study published in Science, researchers from the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center and the University of Southern California describe Masripithecus moghraensis, a previously unknown ape species that lived roughly 17 to 18 million years ago during the Early Miocene.

Unearthed at the Wadi Moghra fossil site in northern Egypt, the remains represent the first definitive fossil ape from North Africa and provide new evidence that the region may have been a crucial crossroads in the early evolution and dispersal of apes.

Hesham Sallam, a paleontologist at Mansoura University, Egypt, and senior author of the study, said, “We spent five years searching for this kind of fossil because, when we look closely at the early ape family tree, it becomes clear that something is missing—and North Africa holds that missing piece.”
Fossils fill a northern gap

Earlier Early Miocene fossil sites in North Africa had produced monkey remains, but no confirmed ape fossils. Because of that gap, early apes and their close relatives were generally thought to have lived mainly farther south in Africa during this period.

Masripithecus moghraensis mandibular fragment with right M3 at the moment of discovery. 

Credit: Professor Hesham Sallam



Younger ape fossils have been found in Africa, Asia, and Europe, but scientists continue to debate how those fossils are related and where their geographic roots lie. The uneven fossil record may therefore have distorted our understanding of the origins of crown Hominoidea, the group that includes all living apes, from gibbons and orangutans to gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans, as well as their last common ancestor.

The discovery of Masripithecus shows that apes were living in North Africa during this period. It also indicates that the new species differed clearly from East African apes of roughly the same age. The genus name Masripithecus combines Masr (مصر), the Arabic word for Egypt, with the Greek píthēkos, meaning ape. The species name refers to Wadi Moghra, the well-known fossil locality in northern Egypt where the Sallam Lab team recovered the remains during fieldwork in 2023 and 2024.

Teeth reveal flexible feeding

The known fossils are limited to a lower jaw, but that jaw preserves a distinctive set of traits not seen in any other known ape from the same time. These include unusually large canine and premolar teeth, molars with rounded and heavily textured chewing surfaces, and a particularly robust jaw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpKpsdNm6Dg

Masripithecus sculpting video, sculpting by Mohammed Hebeish. 

Credit: Professor Hesham Sallam

“Together, they suggest that Masripithecus was adapted for versatility. The study interprets its chewing anatomy as evidence of a flexible, mainly fruit-based diet, with the ability to process harder foods such as nuts or seeds when needed. This flexibility would have helped Masripithecus to thrive at a time when climatic changes were leading to more pronounced seasonality in northern Africa and Arabia,” said Shorouq Al-Ashqar, a researcher at the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center, Egypt, who was a first author of the study.

Analyses shift ape origins

The anatomy is only one part of the evidence. Masripithecus also holds an important position in the ape family tree. Using advanced Bayesian methods, the team brought together anatomical data from living and extinct apes, DNA from living apes, and the geological ages of fossil species to estimate how living and extinct forms are related and when their lineages diverged. Their analysis found that Masripithecus is more closely related to living apes than any known Early Miocene ape from East Africa.

The team’s biogeographic analyses also suggest that northern Africa and the Middle East were the most likely home of the common ancestor of all living apes, which is estimated to have lived during the Early Miocene.

At that time, the region sat in a crucial position as the African and Arabian plates moved north during the final stage of their collision with Asia. Periodic sea level shifts reduced marine barriers, making the area a natural corridor for animals moving between regions.

Sallam Lab team from Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center. 

Credit: Copyrights belong to Professor Hesham Sallam



Within that setting, Masripithecus helps bridge a major gap between African and Eurasian ape fossil records that had previously seemed disconnected. Its presence suggests that apes were already diversifying in this region and were well positioned to spread into Europe and Asia once land connections opened.

More evidence may be hidden

Erik Seiffert, a paleontologist at the University of Southern California who was a co-author of the study, said that his perspective on ape origins has changed. “For my entire career, I considered it probable that the common ancestor of all living apes lived in or around East Africa. But this new discovery, and our new and novel analyses of hominoid phylogeny and biogeography, now strongly challenge that idea. And, importantly, the likelihood of this scenario doesn’t depend on Masripithecus — but it is very much consistent with it.”

The researchers expect that more fieldwork in the region could uncover additional fossils that are essential for understanding how modern apes originated and began to diversify. As Masripithecus moghraensis demonstrates, important parts of our evolutionary story may still be waiting in places that have not yet been fully explored.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

The Surprising Therapy That Helps People Stop Fearing Failure

By SWPS U., June 29, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/the-surprising-therapy-that-helps-people-stop-fearing-failure/

A new study suggests that changing how people mentally revisit painful childhood memories can ease fear of failure and related distress. 

Credit: Shutterstock

Imagery-based therapy may help people respond differently to painful childhood memories and reduce the fear of failure they carry into adulthood.

Why do some people treat every mistake as a personal catastrophe while others brush failures aside and move on? Psychologists suggest the answer may often lie in childhood experiences, where criticism, neglect, or harsh reactions from caregivers can leave lasting emotional scars.

New research from SWPS University and the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology indicates that specialized imagery-based therapy techniques may help weaken these old patterns, reducing fear of failure and changing how people respond to painful memories years later. The findings were published in Frontiers in Psychology.

Difficult childhood experiences, including criticism, neglect, or harsh reactions from caregivers, can affect mental well-being and quality of life later in adulthood. Caregivers’ responses to a child’s mistakes may help shape emotional and thinking patterns that persist over time. One possible outcome is fear of failure, rooted in the belief that mistakes make a person seem less worthy.

A team from the Poznań-based Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychology, SWPS University, and the Laboratory of Brain Imaging at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology in Warsaw studied whether imagery-based psychotherapy could reduce the effect of these negative memories on everyday life in a lasting way.

Does working with memories offer the possibility of lasting change?

The randomized, controlled clinical trial included 180 young adults (between 18 and 35 years of age) who experienced fear of failure. During a two-week period, participants took part in four therapy sessions focused on painful childhood memories involving criticism.

One group received the Imagery Exposure (IE) technique, in which participants were asked to recall situations that brought up fear or anxiety (the active control group). A second group received Imagery Rescripting (ImRs), a method designed to change the story attached to a memory.

In this approach, a person recalls a distressing event and then imagines a “defender” (e.g., a therapist) entering the scene to challenge the critic and support the child. A third group used the same technique with a 10-minute delay procedure (ImRs-DSR), intended to interfere with the memory trace of the critical memory and strengthen the intervention’s effect.

Participants filled out questionnaires and took part in interviews. The scientists also measured their physiological responses. Follow-up observations took place three and six months later.

Rescripting memories really works

All of the imagery-based techniques tested in the study produced a significant and lasting decrease in fear of failure. Participants also reported less sadness and guilt. Their physiological reactions to memories of criticism declined as well, suggesting they no longer responded with intense stress when thinking back to distressing situations. The improvements remained stable at both the three-month and six-month follow-ups.

Study coauthor Julia Bączek, a psychologist from the Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychology, SWPS University, said the results show that emotions and arousal tied to childhood criticism can be reduced. Carefully chosen techniques can change the way these memories are experienced, making them less painful and disruptive.

Imagery rescripting worked best when participants experienced surprise. This effect came from prediction error, which occurs when there is a mismatch between what someone expects and what actually happens. That mismatch can help replace older, painful patterns.

Study coauthor Stanisław Karkosz, a cognitive scientist from the Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychology, SWPS University, said the work showed that a key element of imagery-based therapy is creating a gap between the patient’s expectations and what takes place in the revised memory. That moment of surprise can open the door to lasting therapeutic change.

Past experiences do not have to rule us

The researchers show that imagery-based techniques can help people “write” safer new endings to old stories, changing how they respond to present-day challenges.

The findings suggest that difficult memories (including those related to failure) do not have to be experienced in the same fixed way forever. Past experiences are not necessarily emotionally processed in an unchanging form, Julia Bączek emphasizes.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Chuck's photo corner to June 29, 2026 😎🌕🌄

Summer has arrived. 

Temps have finally become seasonal, with highs reaching the mid 20s c. The gardens are planted , and shrub shearing begun. I spent some time in the mountains, and the black flies have scaled back big time with plenty of dragon flies about. It's dear and horse fly season there now so bites are bigger but people have a fighting chance of swatting them first.

This flower spike is almost 2 feet tall

one of the many mushroom varieties in the mountains

the violet hews on these guys are amazing, only seen at certain sun angles.

berries on the way

roadside flowers

I helped this guy out of the garage , it was 5 min. before it would stay on my hand long enough for me to carry it out. Next time I came out of the house one exactly like it was on my boots at the door. I felt like it was now following me, lol

a very populous variety around Ottawa these days.

at my pee stop on the long drive to the mountains

morning out the front door

on the north side of the house

it's no wonder this is the last variety of peony to open. The first rain and it was lying on the ground.

even more full of bloom today.

Enjoy your day

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Scientists Unlock Hidden DNA From 1,300-Year-Old Manuscripts

By M. Shipman, North Carolina State U., June 29, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-unlock-hidden-dna-from-1300-year-old-manuscripts/

Researchers have demonstrated a nondestructive way to collect cellular material from historical parchment manuscripts, allowing them to conduct genetic analyses that offer new insights into everything from trade routes to agricultural practices dating back 1,300 years – without harming the valuable manuscripts. 

Credit: Nash Dunn, NC State University

Historic parchments may hold genetic clues that can be studied without harming the manuscripts.

Scientists have shown that it is possible to collect cellular material from historic parchment manuscripts without damaging them. The method allows genetic analysis of documents as old as 1,300 years, potentially revealing new details about trade routes, farming practices, and the animals used to make the manuscripts.

Parchment is produced from animal skins and was used for thousands of years across Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Africa. It appears in many types of records, including legal texts and maps.
Parchment preserves hidden DNA

“Because they are made from animal skins, it is often possible to extract genetic information from parchments,” says Tim Stinson, corresponding author of a paper on this research and an associate professor of English at North Carolina State University. “That genetic information, in turn, offers us a window into the past, answering questions about things such as when and where a manuscript was made.”

Photo of Tim Stinson using the new, nondestructive sampling technique to conduct genetic analyses of parchment manuscripts. 

Credit: Nash Dunn, NC State University



“Because parchments have been in use for so long, and often record detailed historical information, the genetic information they contain can also shed light on the evolution of domesticated farm species, how breeds developed over time, livestock diseases and so on,” says Matthew Breen, coauthor of the paper and the Oscar J. Fletcher Distinguished Professor of Comparative Oncology Genetics in NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

“This paper is particularly important because one of the biggest challenges for this emerging field of genetic analysis has been gaining access to historic parchments, due to concerns that collecting samples would damage these culturally significant artifacts,” says Stinson. “Our work shows that we can collect samples without harming the parchments, which is a big step forward.”
Brushes protect fragile manuscripts

For the study, the scientists used the nondestructive approach to gather cellular samples from 91 manuscripts in Duke University’s Rubenstein Library. The manuscripts came from places ranging from England to Ethiopia and were written between the late eighth century and the early 20th century.

The technique involves gently rubbing the parchment with a cytology brush, the same type of brush used for Pap smears.

“Cytology brushes can be used when dry and do an excellent job of harvesting cellular material without damaging the integrity of the artifact being sampled,” says Breen.

A new nondestructive DNA sampling method lets scientists analyze ancient parchment manuscripts. 

Credit: Nash Dunn, NC State University

Genetics opens a new archive

After collecting the material from the brushes, the scientists extract the cells and use forensic-level, next-generation sequencing tools to recover and amplify genetic sequences.

“We’re essentially using state-of-the-art technologies and genetic analytical techniques to get new, empirical information regarding historical, cultural, and agricultural practices,” says Stinson.

“We’ve shown that we’re able to extract a tremendous amount of new information from these parchments without harming them,” says Breen. “This will hopefully engender trust with those organizations that are responsible for preserving these historic documents.”

“We’re excited about the potential of this field and are seeking funding that will allow us to explore that potential,” says Stinson. “We’ve demonstrated that this is a vast, untapped source of historical information, and we want to continue this pioneering work.”

“We have a remarkable opportunity here,” says Breen. “It is essentially a whole new field, bringing together a truly interdisciplinary range of expertise spanning fields from genetics to medieval history.”

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/