Hidden in a Guatemalan Ruin For 1,200 Years Was The Signature of a Maya Mathematical Genius

14 July 2026, By D. Nield

https://www.sciencealert.com/we-finally-know-the-name-of-a-revered-maya-astronomer-mathematician-sak-tahn-waax

The researchers had a series of hieroglyphs to decipher.

 (Rossi et al., Antiquity, 2026)

The Classic Maya period, from around 250-900 CE, is seen as something of a golden age for the civilization.

During that time, the Maya people made huge leaps forward in terms of architecture, city-building, art, writing, mathematics, and astronomy.

However, in those last two disciplines, scientists have been unable to identify individual scholars who made a difference during this time – until now.

A team of researchers from the US, writing in the journal Antiquity, has identified someone called Sak Tahn Waax, which translates as 'White-chested Fox'. The name of this Indigenous mathematician-astronomer was left alongside a rather impressive mathematical formula.

It's the first time a specific piece of work in mathematics or astronomy from the Classic Maya period has been attributed to a specific individual.

"While artists' and sculptors' signatures for painted ceramic vessels and carved monuments have been identified, the scholars behind computational timekeeping have remained anonymous," says archaeologist Franco Rossi, from MIT.

The finding comes from the Xultun archaeological site in Guatemala. In one of the small buildings there, the researchers discovered more than 50 mathematical and astronomical 'microtexts' – short inscriptions listing dates, numbers, and calculations.

A sketch of the room where the writing was recovered and a scan of part of the microtext.

 (Rossi et al., Antiquity, 2026)



When one of these texts was deciphered, using a combination of drawing, photography, and digitally enhanced images, it was discovered that it not only contained a mathematical formula but also credited the person responsible for it.

The formula itself is unique in Maya texts, the researchers say.

It rather cleverly plots the movement of Venus and other planetary bodies in a way that had no precedent at the time, though the astronomical and calendrical units used in it are familiar.

"The math involves his unique understanding of connections and patterns between several cycles of time, including the 260-day ritual day-count, the solar year, as well as the cycles of Venus and Mars," says Mayanist David Stuart, from the University of Texas at Austin.

And these calculations would have mattered: in the Classic Maya period, dates corresponding to the movement of celestial bodies would've been used to schedule royal events and plan building projects.

Some 16 years after this particular room at the Xultun site was discovered, researchers now have a special and unprecedented discovery to take away from it – based on the scribblings and inscriptions on the walls.

The name as translated by the researchers. 

(Rossi et al., Antiquity, 2026)



"These 'rough draft' calculations and tables are akin to finding an early version of a well-known manuscript, or a sketch of a great artwork," says archaeologist Heather Hurst, from Skidmore College.

"This fills out an important dimension of Classic Maya life that had typically been reconstructed through ethnohistories and Spanish accounts written centuries later."

Given the uniqueness of the formula, the academic behind it may have been keen to get recognition for it, the researchers suggest, which may be why the name was left.

Work is now continuing to analyze the dozens of other microtexts at the same site, some of which may also be the work of the newly identified Sak Tahn Waax.

Correlations can now be drawn to other writings both in terms of the style of the text used and the characteristics of the calculations.

The discovery sits alongside many other incredible Maya works in the fields of astronomy and mathematics – including maps of the Universe and charts of solar eclipses.

This was a civilization that knew its numbers well.

As well as telling us more about the people who made a difference during this fascinating period in Classic Maya history, the discovery also helps historians put the Maya civilization in context with the other nations and empires of the time.

"Contemporaries of the ancient world in India, Iraq, China, and Greece were similarly calculating solar and planetary cycles, predicting eclipses, and charting star progressions, their achievements often ascribed to individual thinkers," says Rossi.

"We can now add Sak Tahn Waax to such thinkers, highlighting the great Indigenous astronomy and calendrical traditions of the Americas."

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Atlantic Ocean Slowdown Could Supercharge California Storms

By U. of California Riverside, July 16, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/atlantic-ocean-slowdown-could-supercharge-california-storms/

Atmospheric river forming over the Pacific Northwest.

 Credit: NASA/NOAA

A new study shows how changes in ocean circulation could reshape global rainfall patterns.

A storm reaching California can begin with changes thousands of miles away in the Atlantic Ocean. Climate modeling suggests that as one of the planet’s major ocean circulation systems weakens, more moisture could be directed toward the West Coast while snowfall declines over Greenland.

The system is known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC. It moves warm tropical water northward near the ocean surface, helping keep parts of Europe relatively mild. After the water cools and becomes denser, it sinks and flows southward through the deep ocean.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, examined how a slower AMOC could influence storms and atmospheric moisture far beyond the Atlantic. Their projections indicate that the consequences could extend across North America, South America, Antarctica, Greenland, and the Arctic.

“It is well known that the AMOC is a big player in the world’s climate system, and that it is slowing down. What we didn’t know is exactly how the AMOC might impact atmospheric moisture and storms outside the Atlantic region,” said Mohima Mimi, a UCR doctoral student in climate dynamics and the paper’s lead author.

“It turns out a weakening AMOC will strengthen storms across parts of North America by the end of the century, along the California coast in particular, while reducing them over Greenland and the Arctic.”

A weaker current redirects storm moisture

The study, published in Nature Communications, traced the connection from the ocean to the atmosphere. As the AMOC weakens, it changes patterns of ocean temperature. Those temperature shifts influence how much water vapor the air can carry and alter the strong high-altitude winds that guide storms across the Northern Hemisphere.

The modeling showed that these winds could intensify, allowing storms to carry more moisture toward California. Much of that water would arrive through atmospheric rivers, which are long, narrow streams of vapor that move tropical moisture toward higher latitudes.

Atmospheric rivers are essential to California’s water supply, but their strongest forms can produce flooding, landslides, and extensive infrastructure damage. That makes any projected increase important for both water planning and disaster preparation.

These rivers are long, narrow corridors of water vapor carrying moisture from the tropics to higher latitudes. “In California, atmospheric rivers are a double-edged sword,” Mimi said. “They supply much of the state’s water supply, but as they become stronger, they’re likely to also bring widespread destruction.”

Storm shifts extend across continents

The projected changes were not limited to California. The models also indicated that atmospheric rivers could become more common along the eastern coast of South America and around Antarctica.

Greenland showed the opposite pattern. With fewer storms reaching the region, snowfall would decline, reducing the amount of new ice added to the surface.

These projections were based on a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario in which the AMOC continues weakening through the end of the century. Scientists have already detected signs that the circulation is slowing as human-caused climate change warms the planet, and models suggest that continued high emissions would reinforce that trend.

Greenhouse gases come largely from burning coal, oil, and natural gas. Other major sources include methane from livestock, deforestation, industrial activity, and waste in landfills.

Wei Liu, an associate professor of climate change and the paper’s senior author, said reducing emissions could limit further disruption to the AMOC and lessen its effects on future rainfall patterns.

Better planning could limit damage

Stronger atmospheric rivers would create greater risks for flooding and infrastructure, but they could also deliver more water during individual storms. Communities may be able to make better use of that moisture by improving forecasts and expanding reservoirs or other storage systems.

The projections show why changes in ocean circulation cannot be viewed as a problem confined to the Atlantic. By altering ocean temperatures, atmospheric moisture, and storm-guiding winds, a weakening current could reshape weather patterns across distant regions.

Those shifts could affect drinking water, agriculture, ecosystems, flood control, and ice accumulation across several continents. Understanding the chain of effects gives communities more time to prepare for changes that may otherwise appear unrelated to the Atlantic Ocean.

“This research shows that the effects of the AMOC extend far beyond the Atlantic Ocean,” Mimi said. “Understanding these connections will help us better prepare for future changes in water resources and extreme weather.”

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

A Lost Human Lineage May Have Left a Genetic Legacy in People Today

By S. C.Reynolds, Bournemouth U., July 15, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/a-lost-human-lineage-may-have-left-a-genetic-legacy-in-people-today/

A new analysis of ancient tooth enamel is reshaping the story of human evolution in East Asia. Molecular evidence suggests that long-separated human lineages may have exchanged genes far more often than once believed, leaving traces that persist in people today. 

Credit: Shutterstock

Homo erectus may have left a detectable genetic trace in living humans through ancient interbreeding with Denisovans.

For much of the 20th century, human evolution was often pictured as a branching tree. One trunk split into separate limbs, and each ancient human relative, or hominin, occupied its own tidy branch.

That was the version many students learned for decades. Homo sapiens emerged in Africa, spread across the globe, and replaced every archaic human group it encountered. Neanderthals, Homo erectus, and other ancient relatives were treated as evolutionary side paths that eventually disappeared without leaving descendants.

Over the past 30 years, that simple story has fallen apart. Human origins now look less like a clean tree and more like a tangled history of movement, contact, survival, and genetic exchange.

A new study published in Nature by Qiaomei Fu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and colleagues adds another important piece to that revised picture. The team achieved something that would have seemed unreachable only a decade ago: recovering meaningful biological information from Homo erectus fossils that are far too old to preserve DNA.

Instead of genetic sequences, the team extracted ancient proteins from the enamel of six teeth from three Chinese sites – Zhoukoudian (which, in the early 20th century, produced fossil remains known as “Peking Man”), Hexian and Sunjiadong – all dating to around 400,000 years ago.

Homo erectus is widely regarded as the first hominin to leave Africa; the evidence suggests this species had moved into Eurasia nearly two million years ago. It remains the most geographically widespread human ancestor that ever lived. The new study indicates that Homo erectus exchanged genes (probably through interbreeding) with Denisovans in East Asia roughly 400,000 years ago.

The study suggests that some of that genetic legacy, it now appears, was passed on to living people in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and across south-east Asia.

Proteins reveal ancient mixing

Tooth enamel is the hardest tissue in the body, and its proteins survive long after DNA has degraded beyond recovery. What the team found in those proteins is striking. All six specimens share a previously unknown amino acid variant – a tiny molecular signature, a single letter changed in the protein sequence, never seen in any other hominin alive or dead.

This variant clusters these east Asian H. erectus into a distinct group, confirming their identity and settling a long-running debate about whether the unusual Hexian fossils were H. erectus at all. A second variant they share, however, is not unique to H. erectus.

It also appears in Denisovans – a mysterious archaic (non-Homo sapiens) human group known mainly from a cave in Siberia. The corresponding genetic variant turns up in living people at frequencies of 21% in the Philippines and about 1% in India, distributed in a pattern that matches what we’d expect if it entered modern humans via Denisovan ancestry.

The Harbin skull, discovered in north-east China, was recently identified as a probable Denisovan. 

Credit: Fu et al. Cell



The most reasonable interpretation is that H. erectus populations in east Asia passed this variant to Denisovans through interbreeding, and Denisovans later passed it on to the ancestors of modern south-east Asians and Oceanians. This transfer of genetic material from one species to another is known as introgression.

The lineage we once thought was a dead end has, it turns out, left a small but detectable trace in living human genomes – a molecular thread connecting a Peking Man tooth to living people in Asia.

Interbreeding was not rare

But the significance of today’s paper extends well beyond the specific variant or the specific populations involved. What it really shows is that interbreeding between archaic human lineages was not exceptional. It was routine.

Every major hominin lineage we have been able to examine genomically shows admixture. Modern humans outside Africa carry roughly 2% Neanderthal DNA. Papuans and Aboriginal Australians carry an additional 2–5% Denisovan ancestry.

West African populations carry genetic signatures from an unidentified archaic lineage. Even Denisovans themselves, as today’s study adds further weight to, received gene flow from something older and more diverged — likely H. erectus.

A 2019 review in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology documents at least three distinct introgression events from Denisovan-like populations into south-east Asian and Oceanic ancestors alone, some occurring as recently as 20,000 years ago. The picture is not one of clean lineages but of a tangled web of contact and exchange extending across millions of years.

The implications are far-reaching. Our genomes are not the product of a single unbroken lineage emerging from Africa. They are mosaics, assembled from contributions by multiple archaic groups, each adapted to its own regional environment.

Some of the Denisovan-derived variants in Papuan genomes, for instance, appear to influence immune function. The H. erectus-derived variant identified today has unknown functional consequences – that remains an open question – but the precedent from other gene variants that have introgressed (genes that have passed from one species into another) suggests that adaptation to new environments may have been part of the story.

Lost lineages may remain

Perhaps most intriguing is what the new paper implies about all the populations we cannot yet study. H. erectus survived in Indonesia until perhaps 100,000 years ago. Homo floresiensis, the diminutive “hobbit” species, was present on Flores when modern humans arrived. Another human lineage, Homo luzonensis, occupied the Philippines.

None of these populations have yielded DNA, and until today, none had yielded any molecular data at all. Were they also absorbed, at least partially, into the human populations that replaced them? The genomic evidence from living people has not, so far, detected their signal clearly – but the tools available until recently were blunt instruments.

The proteomic approach demonstrated in today’s paper offers a way forward. If proteins can be recovered from H. erectus enamel at 400,000 years, the same approach applied to floresiensis or luzonensis material might finally reveal whether those lineages, too, contributed something to the humans who came after them.

The old metaphor of a tree – a single trunk branching into distinct species – has been quietly replaced in the scientific literature. It might be better to consider the process as a braided river, with many channels running partly together and partly apart, exchanging water continuously.

This new study is one more confirmation that when ancient human populations disappeared, they left traces of themselves behind.

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Michael Button, 4 Jul 2026

For most of the twentieth century, scientists believed sophisticated human intelligence emerged around 50,000 years ago. Today, that timeline has been pushed back over a million years. 

From ancient sea crossings and symbolic art to the oldest wooden structure ever discovered, a series of remarkable archaeological finds has quietly transformed our understanding of what early humans were capable of. 

Yet almost nobody has stopped to consider what these discoveries mean when viewed together...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KZzTkmbTsA&t=3s

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Urban Rodents Are Evolving To Survive Common Poisons

By Rutgers U., July 14, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/urban-rodents-are-evolving-to-survive-common-poisons/

A genetic survey of urban rodents in the northeastern United States has revealed widespread mutations associated with resistance to commonly used poisons.

 Credit: Shutterstock

Urban rodents may be evolving genetic defenses against widely used control methods.

A mouse that eats poison and survives does more than escape a trap. It may pass that survival advantage to the next generation.

That possibility is becoming increasingly relevant in cities across the northeastern United States, where pest control professionals have reported that some rodent infestations are no longer responding as expected to standard treatments.

Researchers at Rutgers University have now found evidence that genetic resistance may be part of the problem. In a study of urban rodents, 84% of the house mice tested carried at least one mutation associated with resistance to rodenticides.

The findings suggest that decades of chemical control may be shaping rodent populations in ways that make some poisons less reliable. The research was published in the international journal Pest Management Science.

“Pest management professionals often told us that rodent control was becoming more difficult in some areas, even though they applied the effective rodenticides,” said Jin-Jia Yu, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Entomology at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the first author of the study. “I wanted to find out whether this was occurring in the northeastern United States, especially the metropolitan areas, and how widespread the problem might be.”

Yu works in the laboratory of Changlu Wang, an extension specialist in the Department of Entomology and a leading expert on urban pests, including rodents, cockroaches, and bed bugs.

A Genetic Clue to Failed Treatments

The team examined DNA from 147 house mice and 143 Norway rats collected in urban areas of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

The researchers focused on a gene called Vkorc1. This gene is involved in the biological pathway targeted by anticoagulant rodenticides, which interfere with blood clotting and are among the most commonly used rodent control chemicals in the U.S.

Certain changes in Vkorc1 can reduce the effects of these poisons, allowing an exposed animal to survive.

Among the house mice tested, 84% carried at least one mutation in the gene. Nearly 70% had mutations already known to help mice withstand commonly used rodenticides.

The pattern was less pronounced in Norway rats. About 35% carried mutations in the same gene, although the biological effects of many of those variants remain uncertain.

“We found that resistance appears to be much more widespread in house mice than many people realized,” Yu said. “Norway rats also carried genetic mutations, but scientists do not yet know whether most of those mutations affect Norway rats’ susceptibility to rodenticides.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeiWRBegE7s

A rat steals bait from a trap without getting caught, illustrating the kind of behavior Rutgers researchers Changlu Wang and Jin-Jia Yu are studying as they investigate why some urban rodent populations are becoming more difficult to control. 

Credit: Wang Lab/Rutgers University

Mutations Scientists Have Not Seen Before

The researchers also identified several genetic variants that had not previously been documented in house mice or Norway rats.

Whether those variants increase resistance is still unknown. Genetic screening can reveal that a mutation is present, but additional laboratory work is often needed to determine how strongly it affects survival after exposure.

The study began after years of discussions with pest control professionals who described recurring infestations despite repeated treatments. Those reports raised a broader question: Were control failures caused only by bait placement, sanitation, and rodent behavior, or were the animals themselves becoming less vulnerable?

The new results suggest that, in many mouse populations, genetics may be an important part of the answer.

How Resistance Spreads

Rodenticide resistance is an example of evolution occurring under human pressure.

When a population is repeatedly exposed to the same poison, animals with protective mutations are more likely to survive and reproduce. Over many generations, those mutations can become increasingly common.

Not every treatment failure is caused by resistance. Rodents may avoid bait, find other food, enter through unsealed gaps, or recolonize an area after treatment. Poor sanitation and easy access to shelter can also allow an infestation to persist.

Resistance, however, can make those existing problems harder to solve. A baiting program that once worked reliably may remove susceptible animals while leaving more tolerant individuals behind.

Why Mice and Rats May Respond Differently

The Rutgers researchers found that house mice appeared more likely than Norway rats to carry known resistance mutations.

Behavior may help explain the difference. Mice tend to investigate unfamiliar foods quickly, which can increase their exposure to poison baits. That repeated exposure may create stronger evolutionary pressure on mouse populations.

Rats are often more cautious around unfamiliar food and objects. This behavior, known as neophobia, can make them difficult to trap or bait even without genetic resistance.

“Rats are very clever,” Yu said. “They will approach the novel food many times before they really take the food or the bait.”

That hesitation can protect rats from immediate exposure, while mice may encounter rodenticides more often and therefore face stronger selection for resistance.

A Public Health Challenge

Rodents are not simply an inconvenience. They can contaminate food, damage wiring and buildings, and carry pathogens and parasites.

In densely populated cities, even a modest decline in control effectiveness can have wider consequences. Infestations may last longer, require more labor to eliminate, and lead to greater use of chemical treatments.

“This research provides some of the first information on rodenticide resistance in the northeastern United States,” Yu said. “By understanding how prevalent the mutations are and where resistance exists, pest management professionals and public health agencies can make better decisions about how to control rodents.”

The findings may also help explain why a treatment that works in one neighborhood performs poorly in another. Urban rodent populations are often highly localized, and resistance may vary from block to block depending on previous exposure and breeding patterns.

Rethinking Rodent Control

Wang said the results reinforce the need to move beyond strategies that depend too heavily on poison.

“Rodents are more than a nuisance,” Wang said. “As resistance becomes more common, it becomes even more important to use science-based management strategies that protect both public health and the environment.”

A broader approach, often called integrated pest management, combines several methods instead of relying on a single chemical. These may include closing gaps around pipes and doors, removing food and water sources, improving waste storage, reducing clutter, monitoring activity, and using traps where appropriate.

The goal is not only to kill rodents already present, but also to make buildings and surrounding areas less suitable for them.

“Studies like this help us understand how rodent populations are changing and how our management strategies need to evolve with them,” he added.

The researchers hope genetic information will eventually help pest control professionals choose more effective strategies for specific locations while reducing unnecessary pesticide use.

“Ultimately, we want to help communities maintain effective rodent control, reduce unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health,” Yu said.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Gummies Packed With Beneficial Bacteria Can Reduce Gum Bleeding in Just 6 Weeks, Trial Finds

15 July 2026, By D. Nield

https://www.sciencealert.com/gummies-packed-with-beneficial-bacteria-can-reduce-gum-bleeding-in-just-6-weeks-trial-finds

(Kaisphoto/E+/Getty Images)



There's a heap of compelling evidence that keeping your pearly whites squeaky clean benefits the rest of your body, as well as your mouth.

But sweet, sugary gummies are probably not what comes to mind if you're thinking about ways to better your oral health; quite the opposite, in fact.

However, a new formulation loaded with bacteria has just been tested in a Japanese study and might offer an innovative way to maintain good gum health.

Researchers led by a team from the Institute of Science Tokyo in Japan wanted to see if there was a way to ward off damaging gum disease (or periodontitis) beyond the basics of daily brushing and flossing.

They discovered that snacking on gummy chews loaded with beneficial bacteria could reduce gum bleeding and improve health markers in people with mild gingivitis (where the gums bleed and swell, often leading to periodontitis).

Heat-killed bacteria were fed to some participants, while others got a placebo.

 (Institute of Science Tokyo)

The findings are reported in The Journal of Periodontology and are based on results from 116 participants over six weeks – roughly half of whom ate bacteria-boosted gummies twice daily, while the other half unknowingly ate placebos.

"By evaluating the gummies under normal daily living conditions, we were able to better understand their practical potential for supporting gum health," says periodontologist Takanori Iwata, from the Institute of Science Tokyo.

Over time, it's become increasingly apparent that conditions like gum disease can be brought on and exacerbated by a bad mix of microbes in the mouth.

There have been several studies looking at how flooding the mouth with beneficial bacteria – that boost the immune system and crowd out the bad bacteria – might help improve oral health, but there's still a lack of consensus over the best approach.

"Rather than solely focusing on bacterial eradication, management efforts of periodontal disease have shifted toward restoring and maintaining a symbiotic microbiota, known as eubiosis," write the researchers in their published paper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VJtFTn43wc

In this study, rather than using live bacteria (probiotics), the researchers opted for dead bacteria (postbiotics), specifically the Lactiplantibacillus pentosus species.

The thinking is that "postbiotic" bacteria are more stable and therefore successfully packaged into treats than live ones, and live or not, the presence of the bacteria may change the mouth ecosystem or have anti-inflammatory effects.

Eating gummies is also quick and easy, so participants were likely to stick to their assigned treatment.

The bacteria-loaded gummies (and the placebo gummies, to a lesser but non-significant degree) effectively reduced Bleeding On Probing (BOP) – a standard measure of inflamed gums, given as a percentage area of the mouth showing signs of bleeding.

"Delivering treatment in a gummy formulation offers practical advantages: chewing increases salivary flow and prolongs the contact of the active agents with oral tissues, which may partially explain the mild reduction in BOP in both groups," write the researchers.

"Notably, these outcomes were achieved in the absence of oral hygiene instructions, supporting the external validity of the intervention."

That's one of the key strengths of the study: The participants weren't given any instructions about regular tooth brushing. It seems that the gummy treatment works in the real world, where we might not remember to look after our teeth every day.

There are some caveats to bear in mind too. The difference between the bacteria gummy group and the placebo group in terms of bleeding reduction wasn't huge: BOP in the real gummy group dropped from 17.6 to 12.3 percent on average during the study, compared with 18.9 to 16.6 percent among the placebo participants.

Overall, its a win for postbiotics, even if it's a modest win. These bacteria, inactivated by heat, are easier to manufacture and store – and can still have benefits for oral hygiene even in their postbiotic state, according to this research.

Next, the team wants to investigate how the bacteria actually reduce bleeding at a fundamental level, and how these gummies might work over a longer period.

With up to 1.5 billion people thought to be at risk of severe gum disease by 2050, a simple healthy snack could make a significant difference.

"Our findings suggest that postbiotic-based approaches can be adopted to support the management of gingival inflammation in individuals at an increased risk of periodontal disease, offering an additional management option," the researchers conclude.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Your Daily Orange Juice Could Have an Unexpected Health Benefit

By D. C. Gaze, U. of Westminster, July 9, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/your-daily-orange-juice-could-have-an-unexpected-health-benefit/

Scientists have found that regular orange juice consumption may alter gene activity linked to inflammation and cardiovascular health. 

Credit: Shutterstock

A modest daily glass of orange juice may influence inflammation, blood flow, and other markers tied to long-term heart health.

Orange juice is often treated as a familiar breakfast drink, not something that might alter what is happening inside immune cells. But emerging research suggests that regular intake may influence biological pathways tied to inflammation, blood pressure, and how the body handles sugar, all of which matter for long-term heart health.

In one recent study, daily orange juice consumption was linked to changes in the activity of thousands of genes in immune cells. Many of the affected genes are involved in controlling inflammation, regulating blood vessel function and shaping metabolic responses, giving researchers a possible clue as to why orange juice has been associated with cardiovascular benefits in previous trials.

Daily juice shifts gene activity

The study followed adults who drank 500ml of pure pasteurized orange juice each day for two months. By the end of 60 days, several genes connected to inflammation and elevated blood pressure were less active.

Among them were NAMPT, IL6, IL1B, and NLRP3, which are commonly involved in stress and inflammatory responses. Activity also decreased in SGK1, a gene that helps influence how the kidneys retain sodium (salt).

Those gene activity changes are consistent with earlier evidence showing that daily orange juice consumption can lower blood pressure in young adults.

The findings help explain why orange juice may affect heart health in ways that go beyond its sugar content. Rather than acting only as a source of calories, the drink appears to produce subtle changes in regulatory systems that may ease inflammation and support more relaxed blood vessels.
Citrus compounds may explain effects

Natural compounds in oranges, particularly hesperidin, a citrus flavonoid known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, seem to influence processes related to high blood pressure, cholesterol balance, and the way the body handles sugar.

The response also varies by body size. People carrying more weight tended to show greater changes in genes involved in fat metabolism, while leaner volunteers showed stronger effects on inflammation.

Heart markers show modest gains

A systematic review of controlled trials involving 639 participants from 15 studies found that regular orange juice consumption lowered insulin resistance and blood cholesterol levels. Insulin resistance is a key feature of pre-diabetes, and high cholesterol is an established risk factor for heart disease.

Another analysis focusing on overweight and obese adults found small reductions in systolic blood pressure and increases in high-density lipoprotein (HDL), often called the good cholesterol, after several weeks of daily orange juice consumption. Although these changes are modest, even slight improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol can make a meaningful difference when maintained over many years.

More clues come from studies that examine metabolites, the tiny molecules produced as the body processes food. A recent review found that orange juice influences pathways related to energy use, communication between cells, and inflammation. It may also affect the gut microbiome, which is increasingly understood to play a role in heart health.

One study showed that drinking blood orange juice for a month increased the number of gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids. These compounds help maintain healthy blood pressure and reduce inflammation. Volunteers also showed improved blood sugar control and lower levels of inflammatory markers.

People with metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that includes high blood pressure, raised blood sugar, and excess body fat, may see particular benefits.

In one study, daily orange juice consumption improved the function of the lining of blood vessels, known as endothelial function, in 68 obese participants. Endothelial function describes how well blood vessels relax and widen, and better function is associated with a lower risk of heart attacks.
Whole fruit still has advantages

Not all studies report the same outcomes. A broader analysis of blood fat concentrations found that although levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), often called the bad cholesterol, often fall, other lipid measurements such as triglycerides and HDL may not change much. Even so, people who regularly drink orange juice may still benefit.

A study of 129 workers in an orange juice factory in Brazil reported lower blood concentrations of apolipoprotein B, or apo-B, a marker that reflects the number of cholesterol-carrying particles linked to heart attack risk.

Altogether, the evidence challenges the idea that drinking citrus fruit juice is simply consuming sugar in a glass. Whole fruit remains the better choice because of its fiber, but a modest daily glass of pure orange juice appears to have effects that build up over time.

These include easing inflammation, supporting healthier blood flow, and improving several blood markers linked to long-term heart health. It is a reminder that everyday foods can have more influence on the body than we might expect.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Intermittent Fasting Benefits May Last Long After the Diet Ends

By U. of Granada, July 13, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/intermittent-fasting-benefits-may-last-long-after-the-diet-ends/

Researchers found that a 12-week intermittent-fasting program produced measurable effects that persisted one year later. 

Credit: Stock

An eight-hour eating window helped adults maintain weight loss one year after a 12-week intervention.

For many people trying to lose weight, the hardest part begins after the diet ends. The scale may move during a structured program, but keeping that weight off months later is often the real test.

Research from the University of Granada (UGR), the Granada Institute for Biomedical Research (ibs.GRANADA), the Public University of Navarra, and the Biomedical Research Networking Center (CIBER) suggests that limiting eating to an eight-hour daily window may help overweight or obese adults maintain weight loss one year after the intervention ends.

The approach is a form of intermittent fasting known as 16:8. Participants fast for 16 hours and eat during the remaining eight hours. The study found that weight maintenance benefits were still visible 12 months later, whether people ate earlier in the day (between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., known as early fasting) or later in the day (between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m., known as late fasting), compared with people who kept their usual eating schedule of 12 hours or more.

Both the early fasting and late fasting groups maintained significantly greater weight loss after one year. The early fasting group also kept off more fat mass, suggesting that when the eating window occurs may matter for body composition, even though both schedules helped with weight control.

Body Composition Assessment One Year Later

The study, published in Clinical Nutrition, the official journal of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, included 99 overweight or obese adults, half of whom were women. During the first 12 weeks, all participants received education on the Mediterranean diet, but they followed different eating schedules.

One group continued its usual eating window (12 hours or longer). A second group followed early fasting (an 8-hour window beginning before 10:00 a.m.). A third group followed late fasting (an 8-hour window beginning after 1:00 p.m.). A fourth group chose its own eight-hour eating window.

That design helped the researchers answer a practical question. If time-restricted eating works, does it require a strict morning schedule, or can people choose a window that fits their lives?

A picture of the researchers.

 Credit: University of Granada



To track the answer, the researchers measured body weight, fat mass, and fat-free mass before and after the 12-week intervention, then measured the same outcomes again one year later. The work is part of a larger project whose main results appeared in Nature Medicine, where participants practicing TRE lost an average of 3 to 4 kilos more than those who received only nutritional recommendations, regardless of eating schedule.

Dr. Alba Camacho Cardeñosa, a researcher at the University Joint Institute for Sport and Health (iMUDS) at the University of Granada (UGR) and a postdoctoral fellow at ibs.GRANADA in the Endocrinology and Nutrition Department at San Cecilio University Clinical Hospital, is the study’s first author.

She explains that “to date, although we knew that intermittent fasting promotes modest weight loss in the short term, it was unclear whether its effects were sustained over time. By evaluating the participants 12 months after the intervention ended, we demonstrated that the changes in body weight persist.”

In addition, the researchers highlight that “a very positive finding is that one in three people decided to continue practicing intermittent fasting on their own during that year of follow-up, suggesting that it is a relatively easy habit to integrate into daily life.”

A Flexible Strategy Against Obesity

For obesity care, the finding is important because adherence often determines whether a nutritional strategy lasts. A rigid plan may work in a trial but fail in daily life. Here, both earlier and later eating windows were associated with sustained weight benefits, giving patients more room to choose a schedule that fits work, family, and social routines.

The researchers note that a 12-week intermittent fasting intervention may offer a useful medium-term strategy for weight control in overweight or obese adults. Because both early-day and late-day schedules were effective, the results support a more flexible use of time-restricted eating as part of obesity treatment.

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Scientists Thought Royal Jelly Made Queen Bees. They Were Wrong

By U. of California - Riverside, July 7, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-thought-royal-jelly-made-queen-bees-they-were-wrong/

Royal jelly is only part of what makes a queen honeybee. Scientists found that worker bees build specialized “royal cribs” and work together to create the ideal environment for raising the colony’s future queen.

 Credit: Shutterstock

Honeybee queens are made not just by royal jelly, but by an entire colony engineering the perfect royal nursery.

For years, scientists believed the recipe for creating a honeybee queen was surprisingly simple. Feed an ordinary larva enough royal jelly, and it develops into the colony’s ruler. A new study, however, reveals that becoming a queen depends on far more than diet.

Researchers found that young worker bees build specialized nursery chambers using unique wax, maintain warmer conditions, and provide constant care, creating an environment that plays a vital role in shaping the next queen.

Specialized “Royal Cribs” Shape Future Queen Bees

Published in the journal Nature, the research shows that queen cells, sometimes called “royal cribs,” are much more than protective structures. These wax chambers are carefully engineered nurseries designed to help healthy queens develop. The team also identified a previously unknown group of young worker bees, called “queen cell builders,” that appear specially adapted for constructing and maintaining these royal chambers.

“The old idea was relatively simple: take an egg, move it into a queen cell, feed it royal jelly, and you get a queen,” said Boris Baer, entomologist and director of the Center for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER) at the University of California, Riverside, whose laboratory contributed to the work. “What we found is that there’s an entire machinery behind this process. It’s much more sophisticated than we imagined.”

Hatching queen surrounded by royal guards. 

Credit: More than Honey/Markus Imhoof



Honeybee queens and worker bees both begin life as nearly identical eggs. Despite those similar beginnings, queens grow much larger, develop more quickly, live far longer, and become the colony’s only egg-laying females responsible for producing future generations.

Scientists have long viewed royal jelly, the nutrient-rich substance fed to young larvae by worker bees, as the main factor driving those dramatic differences.

This study suggests that food alone cannot explain how a queen is made.

Custom Wax and Warm Nurseries Help Queens Develop

To better understand the process, the researchers combined thermal imaging, behavioral tracking, materials science, and chemical analysis. Their work revealed major differences between queen cells and the familiar hexagonal brood cells where worker bees develop.

Unlike ordinary cells, the peanut-shaped queen chambers are built from wax with distinct physical and chemical characteristics. The material is less dense, more flexible, and better at retaining heat and moisture, creating conditions that support developing queens. It also contains different fatty acids and chemical signals that contribute to what researchers describe as a specialized developmental environment.

To determine whether the nursery itself influenced development, the team raised queen larvae inside chambers made from either queen wax or ordinary worker wax. Even when both groups received the same diet, larvae raised in worker wax were more likely to die and developed into smaller queens. The results suggest that the surrounding environment is just as important as nutrition.

A queen cell with the royal guard attendants. 

Credit: Fang Yu/UCR



Meet the “Queen Cell Builders”

The study also uncovered the workers responsible for creating these royal nurseries. Known as queen cell builders, these bees are generally younger than other workers and maintain unusually high body temperatures while caring for future queens. Their physiology also changes as they perform this specialized task.

The additional warmth appears to help queens develop faster. A queen bee reaches adulthood in about 16 days, compared with roughly 21 days for a worker bee, allowing a colony to replace its ruler more quickly when necessary.

Rather than simply recycling wax already present in the hive, the bees actively collect, modify, and enrich materials specifically for queen chambers. They also activate different biological pathways involved in wax production, effectively changing how their own bodies function while constructing these specialized nurseries.

The researchers even tracked how wax moved throughout the hive. By adding small amounts of graphite to ordinary honeycomb, they observed the darkened wax later appearing in queen cells. The experiment showed that worker bees deliberately gather, transport, and transform wax to build these royal chambers.

A Colony Works Together To Raise Its Queen

Baer said the process resembles a royal court far more than a simple insect nursery. Producing a queen requires an organized effort involving many members of the colony.

“You can think of it as something like Buckingham Palace,” he said. “There is a dedicated group of bees focused entirely on raising the queen, and if they don’t get it right, the colony cannot reproduce.”

The researchers observed the same behavior in both Asian and European honeybee species, suggesting this queen-making strategy evolved long ago and is deeply rooted across honeybees.

The project combined expertise in behavior, physiology, materials science, chemistry, and genomics. It was led by former UCR postdoctoral researchers Yu Fang and Yahya Al Naggar.

“In its collaborative nature, this project reflects the broader CIBER philosophy of bringing different disciplines together to tackle complex biological questions,” Baer said.

What the Discovery Could Mean Beyond Honeybees

The findings may extend beyond bees themselves. Researchers say the work could influence how scientists think about development in general by highlighting the powerful role that surroundings, social interactions, and built environments can play in shaping biology.

For decades, the story of the queen bee seemed straightforward: special food creates a special insect. This research paints a much richer picture, showing that a queen emerges through the coordinated work of an entire colony that carefully engineers the conditions needed for her development.

“This work highlights how much sophistication exists inside insect societies,” Baer said. “Honeybee colonies are not simply collections of individuals. They function as integrated biological systems capable of engineering their own environments.”

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Archaeologists Found Something Strange in India

Michael Button, Jul 12, 2026

The Barabar Caves are among the most extraordinary ancient structures ever discovered. Carved from solid granite over 2,200 years ago, their mirror-like interiors remain one of archaeology's greatest mysteries.

 How were they made, why were they built, and could we be missing something important about the ancient world?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YejpsTwf4OQ

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Bacteria Turn Toxic Uranium Into a Surprisingly Stable Compound

By Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, July 12, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/bacteria-turn-toxic-uranium-into-a-surprisingly-stable-compound/

Nanoparticles form in bacterial membranes within mine water.

 Credit: HZDR/J. Raff/E. Krawczyk-Bärsch/edited with AI

Bacteria may offer an unexpected way to immobilize uranium in contaminated water.

Uranium contamination is difficult to manage because the metal can change chemical form. When uranium remains locked inside minerals, it is relatively immobile. But when environmental conditions or mining activity convert it into a soluble form, it can move through groundwater and spread beyond the original source.

A new study suggests that naturally occurring bacteria may be able to stop some of that movement. Researchers found that microbes living in water from a flooded uranium mine removed nearly all of the dissolved uranium and converted much of it into an unexpectedly stable compound.

The work was carried out by scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Wismut GmbH, and the University of Granada in Spain. Their results were published in Nature Communications.

Turning Mobile Uranium Into a More Stable Form

The chemical form of uranium matters because it influences how easily the element moves through soil and water. Some forms dissolve readily, while others become trapped in minerals, sediments, or biological material.

In the new experiments, bacteria converted dissolved uranium into a solid compound after receiving glycerol as a food source. Glycerol is a component of plant and animal fats and can also form naturally when fungi decompose wood.

In the experiments, the uranium entered a pentavalent state, known as uranium(V), which is considered rare and typically short lived under environmental conditions.

Bacteria Already Living in Mine Water

Microorganisms are major drivers of chemical change in soil and groundwater. Some species can process metals and other pollutants as part of their metabolism, altering whether those substances remain mobile or become fixed in place.

“There are bacteria that can metabolically utilize the heavy metal, uranium, which is toxic for humans,” says Dr. Evelyn Krawczyk-Bärsch, a scientist in HZDR’s Terrestrial Microbiology research group and co-author of the study. “Our group’s investigations had already revealed that bacteria can use uranium dissolved in water for their metabolism when they have access to glycerol as a food source.”

The researchers wanted to answer two main questions: how much uranium the bacteria could remove from the water and what chemical forms would appear after the microbes had processed it.

Recreating Conditions Deep Underground

The team used water from a flooded uranium mine in the Ore Mountains operated by Wismut GmbH. The samples already contained a natural community of bacteria adapted to the mine environment.

Researchers added a measured amount of glycerol and kept the samples under oxygen-free conditions. This was intended to reproduce the environment deep inside the mine, where oxygen can be scarce or absent.

“We wanted to create natural conditions for the bacterial community already existing in the mine water because at a depth of approximately 2,000 meters there is usually little or no oxygen in the mine,” explains Dr. Antonio M. Newman-Portela, former doctoral candidate at both HZDR and the Microbiology Department at the University of Granada (Spain), and the lead author of the study.

The mine reached a depth of about 2,000 meters (6,562 feet). Under laboratory conditions favorable to bacterial growth, the microbes used glycerol as a source of carbon and energy.

Most of the Dissolved Uranium Disappeared

After 130 days, only about 5 percent of the dissolved uranium remained in the water.

“After 130 days, only around five percent of the uranium dissolved in the water remained in the samples,” says Newman-Portela. “We suspected that the bacteria had incorporated the uranium in their cell walls. We already knew about accumulation processes from the literature.”

Further analysis confirmed that uranium had accumulated in the bacterial cell walls. That finding showed where much of the metal had gone, but it did not yet reveal the exact compound that had formed.

Detecting an Unusual Oxidation State

To identify the uranium compound, the team used advanced microscopy and spectroscopy. Some of the experiments were conducted at the Rossendorf Beamline (ROBL), which HZDR operates at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. Additional analyses were carried out at the University of Granada.

The researchers examined the bacterial material to determine uranium’s oxidation state, which reflects how its electrons are arranged and how it can bond with other elements.

“Uranium usually occurs with a valency of 4 or 6. Pentavalent uranium does exist, but it is rare or only transient. Until now, it had been seen in an unstable oxidation state,” explains Newman-Portela. “So, the findings of our study were extremely surprising because in the biomass analyzed from our experimental runs, an unusually high proportion of the uranium identified was also pentavalent uranium.”

A Compound That May Persist for Decades

The pentavalent uranium had combined with iron and oxygen to form FeU(V)O4.

“This uranium compound doesn’t have a name yet as it is comparatively new. It was first demonstrated in a study in 2020 in which soil samples from parts of Croatia contaminated by uranium ammunition were analyzed,” explains Krawczyk-Bärsch. “It was found that even under the influence of atmospheric oxygen this uranium compound had remained stable for more than 25 years. But until now, we didn’t know how this compound is formed in nature or that bacteria play a role in its formation.”

The earlier Croatian finding showed that the compound could remain intact for decades in contaminated soil. The new study offers a possible explanation for how it forms, pointing to bacterial activity as a key part of the process.

The researchers also found that the amount of FeU(V)O4 increased after dried bacterial biomass was exposed to oxygen. This suggests that oxygen did not simply destroy the compound and may instead have supported further formation under those conditions.

A Possible Tool for Uranium Cleanup

The findings could help scientists better understand how uranium behaves in contaminated groundwater, mine water, and waste sites. They may also support research into bioremediation, which uses living organisms to reduce the movement, toxicity, or availability of pollutants.

“Our study has revealed for the first time that bacteria supplied with glycerol as a carbon source can convert toxic uranium dissolved in water into a stable chemical compound,” says Krawczyk-Bärsch. “We still have to investigate to what extent bacteria might help to render uranium harmless for remediation purposes.”

The approach is not yet ready for practical cleanup projects. Researchers still need to determine how reliably the process works outside the laboratory, how long the uranium remains stable, and how environmental changes might affect the compound over time.

Future HZDR studies will focus on uranium-binding bacteria and the biochemical and geochemical reactions that allow the microbes to immobilize the metal.

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Coffee May Protect the Liver in More Ways Than Scientists Realized

By Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, July 12, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/coffee-may-protect-the-liver-in-more-ways-than-scientists-realized/

Investigators at Cedars Sinai analyzed long-term health outcomes, liver MRI scans, and blood proteins, finding new evidence that coffee is associated with lower risks of cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death from liver disease.

 Credit: Shutterstock

Coffee’s apparent liver benefits may extend beyond caffeine.

Liver disease often develops quietly, with fat buildup, inflammation, and scarring progressing for years before symptoms appear. A new Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University study suggests that one of the world’s most common beverages may be linked to a lower risk of that damage: people who drank more coffee had fewer cases of cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver-related death.

Published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the research went beyond tracking coffee intake and diagnoses. Investigators combined more than a decade of health records with liver MRI scans and blood protein analyses, uncovering biological clues that may help explain how coffee is associated with healthier liver tissue and reduced disease risk.

Hyunseok Kim, MD, MPH, PhD. 

Credit: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center



“Previous studies suggested that coffee might benefit the liver, but most were smaller or looked at only one piece of the puzzle,” said hepatologist Hyunseok Kim, MD, MPH, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai and corresponding author of the study. “We followed hundreds of thousands of people for more than a decade and looked at their health outcomes along with liver MRI scans and blood protein analyses. Together, those findings help explain the biological mechanisms behind coffee’s association with better liver health.”

Large cohort strengthens the link

The researchers analyzed 354,957 adults in the UK Biobank who did not have cirrhosis or liver cancer when the study began. They then followed participants for a median of 13 years, using linked health records to track new cases of cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver-related death.

That long follow-up mattered because serious liver disease often develops gradually. Cirrhosis is advanced scarring that makes it harder for the liver to work, while liver cancer and liver-related death represent later and more severe outcomes. By following hundreds of thousands of people over more than a decade, the investigators could compare coffee habits with those major endpoints.

Compared with non-coffee drinkers, participants who reported drinking five or more cups a day had a 32% lower risk of cirrhosis, a 47% lower risk of liver cancer, and a 42% lower risk of liver-related death. The imaging results added another layer to the pattern. People who drank more coffee tended to have lower levels of liver fat, liver iron, fibrosis, and liver inflammation on MRI scans.

Ju Dong Yang, MD. 

Credit: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Blood protein data pointed in the same direction. Coffee drinkers had higher levels of proteins associated with healthy liver function and lower levels of proteins connected to scarring and inflammation. Those molecular clues helped move the findings from a population pattern toward a possible biological explanation.

Moderate intake remains the message

Although the lowest liver health risks appeared among people who drank more coffee, Cedars-Sinai investigators did not frame the results as a reason to push intake to five or more cups per day. Benefits were seen even at one to two cups daily and appeared strongest around three to four cups.

The results were similar for caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. That detail is important because it suggests caffeine is probably not acting alone. Coffee contains many naturally occurring compounds, and some of them may influence pathways tied to inflammation, scarring, and liver metabolism.

The study was observational, meaning it can show an association but cannot prove that coffee directly prevents liver disease. Coffee also cannot replace the habits and medical care already known to reduce liver risk.

“Our findings support moderate coffee consumption for people who already enjoy and tolerate it well,” said study senior author Ju Dong Yang, MD, medical director of the Liver Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai.

“However, we would not recommend that someone begin drinking coffee solely for liver protection based on this study alone. Prevention should continue to focus on maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol, exercising regularly, and managing blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol.”

Shelly Lu, MD. 

Credit: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center


Caffeine can also be risky or uncomfortable for some people. Those with uncontrolled high blood pressure, certain heart rhythm disorders, severe anxiety, insomnia, or medical conditions that require limiting caffeine should talk with a healthcare provider before increasing their coffee intake.

Molecular clues guide next steps

The next challenge is to identify which parts of coffee may be linked to the liver benefits seen in the study. That requires moving from broad dietary patterns to specific compounds and pathways.

“The next step in our research is to identify the specific compounds in coffee that are responsible for these liver-protective associations,” said study author Shelly Lu, MD, the Women’s Guild Chair in Gastroenterology and director of the Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Cedars-Sinai. “Our findings point to biological pathways involving inflammation and scarring and highlight molecular targets that future research can explore to better understand how coffee may influence liver health and who stands to benefit the most.”

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