The birth of Modern Man

Thursday, 12 March 2026

Scientists Find a Way To Control Heat Flow With Electricity

By Oak Ridge National Lab., March 9, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-find-a-way-to-control-heat-flow-with-electricity/

Yellow waves show propagating atomic vibrations observed at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source. In a smart, switchable ceramic, an electric field aligns charges so vibrations along white field lines travel farther with fewer disruptions — boosting heat flow nearly threefold.

Credit: Phoenix Pleasant/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Scientists have discovered that applying an electric field to certain ceramics can dramatically redirect how heat moves through them.

New research from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, carried out with collaborators at The Ohio State University and Amphenol Corporation, is challenging long-held ideas about how heat can be directed through solid materials.

The findings, reported in PRX Energy, show that an electric field can significantly change how phonons (tiny vibrations that carry heat) move inside a ceramic. When atoms vibrate in the same direction as the applied electric field (poling direction), the phonons remain active longer than vibrations that move across the field.

Because of this difference, heat travels through the material nearly three times more efficiently along the direction of the electric field than it does in other directions. The researchers say this strategy could open the door to new solid-state technologies that guide heat in practical devices.

“Being able to control both how fast and in what manner heat flows could lead to devices that manage thermal energy far more efficiently,” said Puspa Upreti, an ORNL postdoctoral research associate.
Why Controlling Heat Matters

Managing the movement of heat is essential for many advanced technologies. Examples include electronic cooling systems that operate without moving parts, devices that convert heat into electricity, chip-based circuits used in modern electronics, and cogeneration systems that capture industrial heat and reuse it.

Maintaining the correct flow of heat allows these systems to operate at their highest efficiency and performance.

The relationship between heat flow and efficiency is illustrated by the Carnot cycle, a theoretical model of a heat engine that defines the maximum efficiency possible when heat moves between hot and cold reservoirs in a controlled way. In this research, the electric field reduces obstacles that normally disrupt phonon motion.

With fewer interruptions, the vibrations can travel farther through the material, similar to how traffic moves more freely when congestion is reduced. This improved movement of phonons enhances heat conduction in the direction of the electric field and increases efficiency.

Neutron Experiments Reveal Atomic Motion

The experiments were carried out at the Spallation Neutron Source, a DOE Office of Science user facility located at ORNL.

Scientists used advanced inelastic neutron scattering techniques to observe both the arrangement of atoms in the material (structure) and their motion (dynamics). Neutrons allow researchers to determine where atoms are positioned and how they move within a crystal. This method builds on the Nobel Prize-winning work of Clifford Shull and Bertram Brockhouse.

The data collected at the facility provided detailed insight into how the electric field affects phonons. The results show that the field not only increases the speed of these vibrations but also lengthens their lifetimes. Both effects are important for improving the transport of heat.

The team focused on a specialized ceramic known as relaxor-based ferroelectrics. When exposed to an electric field, small electric charges inside these materials become aligned. This alignment reduces scattering that normally disrupts heat carrying vibrations, allowing energy to move through the crystal more efficiently.

The crystals examined in the study were carefully grown and later exposed to an electric field, a process called “poling,” by Raffi Sahul at Amphenol Corporation. The resulting materials made it possible to precisely control the movement of energy through the solid.

ORNL senior researcher Michael Manley designed and led the inelastic neutron scattering experiments with ORNL senior R&D staff member Raphaël Hermann.

“Earlier work on bulk ferroelectric materials achieved modest improvements in thermal conductivity of 5 percent to 10 percent, while the new measurements reveal an enhancement close to 300 percent — mainly because the phonons are able to travel much longer before they stop,” Manley said.

Connecting Heat Flow to Atomic Vibrations

By combining thermal conductivity measurements with neutron scattering results, the researchers were able to directly link changes in heat transport to the behavior of atomic vibrations inside the crystal.

The late Professor Joseph Heremans of Ohio State developed the thermal conductivity experiments and mentored doctoral candidate Delaram Rashadfar during the analysis of the results.

“While earlier work led us to expect only a modest effect, observing a threefold difference turned out to be a significant result,” said Rashadfar. “Professor Heremans always stressed the importance of trusting the data first and letting the theory follow.”

The Life of Earth

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Scientists Reverse Key Signs of Gut Aging With Surprising Biological Transfer

By Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, March 11, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-reverse-key-signs-of-gut-aging-with-surprising-biological-transfer/

Aging may affect the gut in unexpected ways, but the microbes living there could hold clues to reversing some of those effects. New research shows how younger microbial communities may help restore the regenerative abilities of aging intestinal tissue.

Credit: Shutterstock

Scientists are uncovering surprising links between aging and the microscopic communities living in the gut.

Gut health may depend in part on the age of the microbes that live inside us. Scientists suggest that the biological “age” of the gut could be influenced by the bacteria that populate the intestines.

A study published in Stem Cell Reports explored this idea using mice. Researchers from Cincinnati Children’s and Ulm University in Germany found that introducing microbiota from young mice into older mice stimulated intestinal stem cells responsible for producing new tissue. When these stem cells became more active, the intestines recovered more quickly after injury.

Such damage can occur for many reasons, including surgery, radiation therapy, infections, disease, or the gradual effects of aging on the body.

“As we age, the constant replacement of intestinal tissue slows down, making us more susceptible to gut-related conditions. Our findings show that younger microbiota can prompt older intestine to heal faster and function more like younger intestine,” says corresponding author Hartmut Geiger, PhD, director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Ulm University and former member of the Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology at Cincinnati Children’s.

Although prebiotic and probiotic supplements have become increasingly popular, the researchers note that their study used carefully controlled bacterial communities that are not available in consumer products. They also emphasize that these microbes must be introduced through fecal microbiota transfer rather than through over-the-counter supplements.

The power of young bacteria

Experiments using mouse models revealed that aging alters the balance of commensal (or helpful) microbes in the gut. These age-related shifts reduced important biological signals that regulate intestinal stem cells located in the lining of the intestine.

“This reduced signaling causes a decline in the regenerative potential of aged ISCs,” says co-author Yi Zheng, PhD, director, Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology at Cincinnati Children’s. “However, when older microbiota were replaced with younger microbiota, the stem cells resumed producing new intestine tissue as if the cells were younger. This further demonstrates how human health can be affected by the other life forms living inside us.”

Zheng and Geiger have previously worked together on research aimed at rejuvenating blood stem cells. They are also co-founders of a related start-up company called Mogling Bio. According to Zheng, the new findings build on aspects of their earlier work by examining similar regenerative processes in intestinal stem cells.

The team cautions that more research is necessary before these results can be applied to people. Future studies will need to confirm whether the same benefits occur in humans, determine safe dosing levels, and identify the most effective combinations of microbial species for fecal microbiota transfer.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

We Finally Know How Bumblebee Queens Can Survive Underwater For Days

11 March 2026, By M. Starr

https://www.sciencealert.com/we-finally-know-how-bumblebee-queens-can-survive-underwater-for-days

The common eastern bumblebee, Bombus impatiens.

(a6475/iNaturalist, CC BY-SA 4.0)

The discovery that bumblebee queens could shake it off and emerge unscathed after more than a week submerged in water stunned scientists back in 2024.

Now, a new paper reveals how they do it. Included in the bumblebee survival toolkit is the remarkable ability to extract oxygen from the water around them – literally allowing them to breathe underwater temporarily.

It's a skill set that can help the heart of a colony weather a crisis such as a flooded burrow, allowing her to survive and rebuild when conditions are more stable. And its discovery suggests that some species may have hidden reserves of resilience against environmental extremes.

"Our findings," writes a team led by evolutionary physiologist Charles Darveau of the University of Ottawa in Canada, "reveal a remarkable flooding-tolerance strategy and provide a foundation for exploring the limits, mechanisms, and ecological significance of underwater survival in terrestrial insects."

Bee floof.

(Pascal Gaudette/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC 4.0)

Every winter, some insect species hibernate in a period of suspended development and metabolism known as a diapause. For some bumblebee queens, that means finding a safe, snug burrow, nestling in, and hitting the snooze button.

Burrows do not always remain safe and snug, though. Underground resting places can be vulnerable to flooding, and a bumblebee in diapause is too sluggish to respond with the alacrity that such an emergency would demand.

Weather events such as heavy rain, snowmelt, and rising water tables can all inundate a bee burrow, not necessarily regularly, but unpredictably, and with enough risk that at least one North American species, Bombus impatiens, appears to have adapted.

In 2024, scientists revealed that B. impatiens queens have a high rate of survival after up to a week submerged in water – around 90 percent.

Now, we finally get to find out how they did it: through a combination of underwater respiration, anaerobic metabolism, and "profound metabolic depression" – a state of extremely minimal metabolic function.

In laboratory experiments on dozens of queens in winter diapause, the researchers submerged the bumblebees in cold water and monitored their metabolism and gas exchange.

Gas exchange was measured in the water in which the bees were submerged, and in the air in the chamber above the water. The researchers tracked carbon dioxide and oxygen levels, and found that the former rose minutely, while the latter fell. This is consistent with respiration – the bees were taking in oxygen from the water and expelling carbon dioxide.

Meanwhile, submerged bees displayed a buildup of lactate. When the body can't get enough oxygen, cells switch to a metabolic process that generates energy without oxygen. Lactate is a byproduct of this anaerobic metabolism.

Finally, that metabolism is pushed to the bare minimum required for survival. Diapause already slashes a queen's metabolism by more than 95 percent. Submersion slashes it even further. Using carbon dioxide as a proxy for metabolism, we can see the drop.

Before submersion, diapausing bees were producing around 15.42 microliters of carbon dioxide per hour per gram of body mass. After eight days underwater, this production rate had dropped to 2.35 microliters, or about one-sixth of its original value.

Together, these processes allow the queens to take in oxygen from the water around them while keeping their energy needs extremely low.

It's a very tidy trick, although some things still aren't clear. The researchers did not ascertain how B. impatiens extracts oxygen from the water; they believe the queens make use of a physical gill, a thin layer of trapped air that exchanges gases with the water, but have yet to confirm this.

They also want to know the limitations of this extraordinary survival power.

"Future studies manipulating water conditions and the likely physical gill, alongside detailed recovery analyses, will further clarify the adaptations enabling queens to withstand extended submersion," they write.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, 11 March 2026

This New Mental Health Treatment Could Save Billions in Sick Leave Costs

By Norwegian U. of Sci. and Tech., March 8, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/this-new-mental-health-treatment-could-save-billions-in-sick-leave-costs/

A growing number of people are taking sick leave due to mental health conditions, creating both personal hardship and major economic costs. Researchers in Norway have tested a treatment approach that combines metacognitive therapy with a strong focus on returning to work.

Credit: Shutterstock

A therapy approach that changes how people relate to their thoughts may help address one of the fastest-growing drivers of sick leave.

A treatment approach that combines metacognitive therapy with a focus on employment may allow people with mental health conditions to return to work sooner. Researchers say the strategy could save society up to three times what it costs by shortening periods of sick leave.

Mental health-related sick leave has become increasingly common in Norway. The personal impact can be severe for those affected. At the same time, the financial consequences for society are significant. Each year, about 9 million person days of work are lost because of mental illness.

Finding responsible ways to reduce time away from work could benefit both individuals with mental disorders and the broader economy. Researchers believe this treatment model may offer a promising solution.

“Metacognitive therapy as a treatment, along with a focus on the job, can help get people back to work faster,” says Odin Hjemdal.

Hjemdal is a professor and specialist in psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Department of Psychology.

New findings on the treatment and its outcomes were published in eClinicalMedicine, a journal within the Lancet family.

Already a lot saved

“If this treatment becomes more common, society can save a lot of money,” Hjemdal said.

He is not exaggerating. The study included 236 individuals who were on sick leave because of mental health problems. About half of them, 121 patients, began treatment soon after enrolling in the study, while the remaining participants were placed on a waiting list.

“We compared this with a waiting list group. That group had to wait 10 weeks before starting the same treatment. For the 121 patients who did not have to wait, the savings were approximately NOK 9.5 million in reduced costs for reduced sick leave,” says Hjemdal.

The timing of treatment made a clear difference. After 12 weeks, 42 percent of participants who started therapy right away had returned to work. In comparison, only 18 percent of those who waited for treatment had returned to work during that same period.

However, once people in the waiting group completed the therapy, their results were just as positive as those who started earlier.

Huge savings possible

The economic and personal benefits observed in the study involve a relatively small group of participants. The potential impact becomes much larger when considering the broader population.

In 2017, about 223,000 people in Norway were on sick leave due to mental disorders. By 2024, that number had climbed to 327,000. This represents an increase of nearly 47 percent.

Given the scale of the problem, effective treatments that help people return to work sooner could produce substantial benefits.

But what exactly are metacognitive therapy and job-focused treatment?

Metacognitive therapy?

“Metacognitive therapy does not work that much with the content of your thoughts. Instead, it works on how you relate to your thoughts,” Hjemdal said.

In short, job focus is about the fact that work is important for mental health.

According to this method, thoughts themselves are not what cause problems. Instead, ruminating, worrying, and focusing your attention strategically to identify possible danger, while trying to control your thoughts and coping that backfires, is what maintains mental disorders rather than solving them.

“Thoughts and feelings are spontaneous events that come and go without us having to regulate them. The goal is for you to learn to stop regulating your thoughts and feelings. You should rather let them come and go without getting involved,” Hjemdal said.

The therapy was developed by Professor Adrian Wells. It follows a structured and relatively short treatment format. Studies show that it is effective for anxiety and depression.

About 70 percent of patients recover after completing the treatment, and relapse is uncommon. In contrast, many other treatments lead to recovery in about 50 percent of patients, and up to half of those individuals may experience a relapse.

Job focus?

The therapists in the project used job focus as an integral part of metacognitive therapy, and others have used it with short-term cognitive behavioral therapy.

“In short, job focus is about the fact that work is important for mental health. We examine the job situation, and any need for facilitation, and investigate obstacles to returning to work, such as bullying in the workplace,” Hjemdal said.

Therapy that has a job focus is aimed at helping the person return to normal life as quickly as possible. Therapists might ask questions such as:What prevents you from returning to your job?
How do thought and worry patterns affect you in relation to work?
Are there alternative strategies to work better in the workplace?
Especially promising against anxiety and depression

It appears that the treatment provides particularly good results in treating anxiety and depression.

“In Norway, this is one of the subgroups where we see major challenges in terms of sick leave,” Hjemdal said.

That makes it possible to both help patients quickly and efficiently, while at the same time, saving money.

“Sick leave related to anxiety and depression costs approximately NOK 71 billion annually in Norway alone,” says Hjemdal.

The birth of modern Man

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This 'Hyperarid' Desert Is Transforming Into a Carbon Sink. Here's Why.

08 March 2026, By D. Nield

https://www.sciencealert.com/this-hyperarid-desert-is-transforming-into-a-carbon-sink-heres-why

Part of the transformed Taklamakan Desert.

(Le Yu/Tsinghua University)

One of the driest regions in the world is being transformed into a carbon sink through a long-term, large-scale tree planting program, absorbing more greenhouse gases than it emits.

It's the result of almost five decades of work around the edges of the Taklamakan Desert in northwestern China, and evidence that with the right levels of funding and stability, these afforestation projects can – by some measures – be successful.

The changes at the desert's borders were evaluated by a team of scientists from the United States and China, who used several years of satellite sensor data modeling to analyze CO2 levels, vegetation cover, and weather patterns.

Green areas show the increase in vegetation around the desert since 2000.

(Xun Jiang/King-Fai Li)

Where large tropical forests like the Amazon readily attract attention as carbon sinks, findings such as this reinforce the contributions smaller bands of trees and shrubs can make. The researchers suggest other deserts could be transformed in the same way.

"This is not like a rainforest in the Amazon or Congo," says King-Fai Li, an atmospheric scientist from the University of California, Riverside. "Some afforested regions are only shrublands like Southern California's chaparral."

"But the fact that they are drawing down CO2 at all, and doing it consistently, is something positive we can measure and verify from space."

The researchers describe the Taklamakan Desert as a "biological void" and a "hyperarid environment", emphasising the harshness of the climate that covers some 337,000 square kilometers or 130,116 square miles (about three-quarters the size of California).

Taklamakan Desert in China.

( PeterHermesFurian/Getty Images)

There's recent evidence to suggest that deserts can be carbon sinks, but there are numerous variables at play, from weather patterns to the movement of sands.

While tree-planting has only happened around the margins of the Taklamakan Desert, it seems it has been making a significant difference to carbon levels. The data gathered by the researchers shows a strengthening uptake of carbon from the desert region as a whole, particularly during the wet season (July to September), and in the areas where trees have been growing.

There are additional benefits – the afforestation program has impeded wind erosion, reduced the frequency and the intensity of sandstorms, and protected local agricultural land.

Part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Program, the scheme around the desert is expected to continue until 2050. The ultimate goal is to increase forest cover from 5.05 percent to 14.95 percent across 13 provinces in northern China.

"Even deserts are not hopeless," says Li. "With the right planning and patience, it is possible to bring life back to the land, and, in so doing, help us breathe a little easier."

It's important to bear in mind that the borders of the Taklamakan Desert do have some special features that mean this approach won't necessarily work everywhere – specifically the surrounding mountains that provide rain run-off for the trees.

And right now, the carbon uptake isn't huge. Even if the entire Taklamakan Desert were covered in green forest, we might only be looking at an offset of some 60 million tons of carbon dioxide, compared to global emissions of around 40 billion tons a year.

Nevertheless, it's also the case that every carbon sink makes a difference, and with atmospheric carbon overload becoming increasingly worrying, this research offers some hope for measures that can be taken in the future.

Studies are finding that due to climate change, numerous carbon sinks could stop pulling in carbon and start adding to the problem in the decades ahead, while in some regions the balance has already tipped. That means countermeasures are urgently required.

"We're not going to solve the climate crisis by planting trees in deserts alone," says Li.

"But understanding where and how much CO2 can be drawn down, and under what conditions, is essential. This is one piece of the puzzle."

The Life of Earth

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Cherry Farmers Discover an Unexpected Food Safety Ally: Falcons

By R. Smith, Michigan State U., March 10, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/cherry-farmers-discover-an-unexpected-food-safety-ally-falcons/

A female kestrel in a cherry orchard in northern Michigan.

Credit: M. Shave

By keeping hungry birds away from crops and preventing their droppings from contaminating fruit, kestrels may provide farmers with more than one benefit.

The cherry harvest ended months ago, but some growers in northern Michigan are already looking ahead to next season. Their attention is focused on the expected return of a small bird of prey that may help protect future crops.

The American kestrel is the smallest falcon in the United States. As a predator, it naturally discourages smaller birds that often feed on fruit in orchards. New research now suggests that these birds of prey may provide another advantage as well. By keeping fruit-eating birds away, kestrels may also help improve food safety.

Raptors deter orchard pests

This conclusion comes from a Michigan State University study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

“They’re cool to watch in flight,” said lead author Olivia Smith. Kestrels often hover in place while scanning the ground for insects, mice, and small birds.

When kestrels chase away birds that peck at cherries, they also reduce the chances that those birds will leave droppings on the fruit. According to the researchers, this natural behavior may help limit contamination in orchards.

The findings suggest that encouraging kestrels to live near orchards could help farmers produce safer crops while also protecting yields.

A hungry bird eats a farmer’s fruit in a cherry orchard in northern Michigan.

Credit: Olivia Smith, Michigan State University

Conventional bird controls fall short

“It’s hard to keep birds out of crops,” said Smith, an assistant professor of horticulture and member of MSU’s Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program.

Farmers often rely on tools such as nets, noise makers, scarecrows, and sprays to discourage birds. However, these methods can be expensive and may not always be effective.

Even when these strategies are used, sweet cherry growers in states including Michigan, Washington, California, and Oregon still lose between 5% and 30% of their harvest to birds each year.

Birds create another challenge as well. In addition to eating fruit, they leave droppings behind. Some experts worry that these droppings may carry pathogens that can cause illness in people.
Nest boxes bring kestrels in

To explore whether predators could help address these problems, researchers tested a simple idea. They installed nest boxes to attract kestrels to orchards.

The team studied eight sweet cherry orchards in northern Michigan. Because kestrels typically raise their chicks in tree cavities or other small openings, they quickly began using the nest boxes provided.

As harvest season approached, researchers carefully recorded all birds seen or heard within the orchards.

The results were clear. Birds such as robins, grackles, and starlings were far less likely to visit orchards where kestrels were nesting. By driving away these fruit-eating birds, kestrels reduced cherry damage more than tenfold.

Fewer birds, fewer droppings

The presence of kestrels also appeared to reduce another problem. Researchers found fewer signs of bird droppings on cherry trees in orchards where kestrels were present. Overall, kestrels were linked to a threefold reduction in droppings on branches.

MSU researchers Olivia Smith (L) and Catherine Lindell (R).

Credit: Michigan State University

“Certainly, kestrels poop too,” said senior author Catherine Lindell, associate professor emerita of Integrative Biology and a member of MSU’s Center for Global Change and Earth Observations.

However, she noted that the reduction in fruit-eating birds more than compensates for the droppings produced by kestrels themselves. Trees located closer to kestrel nest boxes were less likely to show signs of contamination.

Food safety implications emerge

Researchers also examined droppings collected in the orchards using DNA analysis. About 10% contained Campylobacter, a bacterium that commonly causes foodborne illness. Typical symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.

Even so, the researchers emphasize that cherries themselves are not known to cause such outbreaks. No foodborne illness events linked to Campylobacter have been traced to cherries.

Smith also noted that the role of birds in contaminating crops remains uncertain. Only one documented outbreak has been linked to birds, a 2008 Campylobacter outbreak caused by migratory cranes in pea fields in Alaska.

Still, the findings suggest that kestrels might help improve food safety in crops that have been associated with outbreaks, including leafy greens.

“They’re really good at keeping the amount of poop down,” Smith said. “That means fewer opportunities for transmission.”

“This won’t solve all the bird problems farmers face,” she added. Kestrels are more common in some regions than others, which could limit how widely this strategy works.

“But it’s a low-cost, low-maintenance tool for growers to use in their bird management toolbox,” Lindell said.

The Life of Earth

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Tuesday, 10 March 2026

1.9-Million-Year-Old Site Rewrites the Story of Humanity’s First Migration

By The Hebrew U. of Jerusalem, March 10, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/1-9-million-year-old-site-rewrites-the-story-of-humanitys-first-migration/

A hippopotamus ivory tusk discovered at the prehistoric ‘Ubeidiya site in the Jordan Valley, located south of the Sea of Galilee.

Credit: Yoli Schwartz/Israel Antiquities Authority

New research is reshaping the timeline of one of the world’s most important prehistoric sites.

Scientists have discovered that the archaeological site of ‘Ubeidiya in the Jordan Valley is at least 1.9 million years old. This pushes back the timeline for early human activity in the region by hundreds of thousands of years. The finding places ‘Ubeidiya alongside Dmanisi in Georgia as one of the earliest known locations showing human presence outside Africa.

The discovery reshapes an important chapter in human evolution. It suggests that early human groups equipped with a variety of stone tools had already settled in the Levant at the very beginning of humanity’s expansion beyond Africa.

The research was led by Prof. Ari Matmon of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Prof. Omry Barzilai from the University of Haifa, and Prof. Miriam Belmaker from the University of Tulsa. Their study provides a more precise timeline for one of the most important prehistoric locations for understanding early human evolution.

By combining three advanced dating methods, the team determined that the site of ‘Ubeidiya in the Jordan Valley likely dates to at least 1.9 million years ago.

A specialized imaging technique reveals mineral layers preserved within a fossilized Melanopsis shell (sample UB1).

Credit: Perach Nuriel

An Important Window Into Early Human Culture

This revised age places ‘Ubeidiya among the oldest sites known to contain evidence of humans outside Africa.

Researchers have long been interested in the ‘Ubeidiya Formation because it preserves early examples of the Acheulean culture. This technological tradition is recognized for its large bifacial stone tools. These artifacts are found alongside a rich collection of animal fossils that include species from both Africa and Asia, several of which are now extinct.

A bifacial stone tool from ‘Ubeidiya. Credit: Omry Barzilai

Determining the exact age of the site has been difficult for decades. For many years, scientists estimated that ‘Ubeidiya dated between 1.2 and 1.6 million years ago. However, this estimate relied mainly on relative dating rather than direct measurements.

To establish a more reliable timeframe, the research team returned to the site and collected new samples. They applied several modern dating techniques, each offering a different way to investigate ancient geological layers.

Three Methods to Probe the Deep Past

One of these approaches is called cosmogenic isotope burial dating. This technique measures rare isotopes that form when cosmic rays strike rocks at the Earth’s surface. When those rocks become buried, the isotopes begin to decay at known rates. This process acts like a natural geological clock that reveals how long the rocks have remained underground.

The researchers also studied traces of Earth’s ancient magnetic field preserved in sediments from an ancient lake at the site. As sediment accumulates, it records the direction of the planet’s magnetic field at that time.

By comparing these magnetic signatures with known reversals in Earth’s magnetic history, the scientists concluded that the layers formed during the Matuyama Chron, a period that began more than two million years ago.

The team also examined fossilized Melanopsis shells. These freshwater snails are preserved within the sediment layers. Using uranium-lead dating on the shells allowed the researchers to determine a minimum age for the layers that contained the stone tools.

Together, the results pointed to an age significantly older than earlier estimates.

The evidence shows that the ‘Ubeidiya site is at least one million nine hundred thousand years old. This finding represents a major shift in the timeline of early human history.

The updated age indicates that ‘Ubeidiya formed at roughly the same time as the well-known Dmanisi site in Georgia. This suggests that early humans were spreading into different regions at about the same time.

The results also indicate that two different stone tool traditions left Africa during this period. These include the simpler Oldowan technology and the more advanced Acheulean toolmaking tradition. Different groups of hominins likely carried these technologies as they expanded into new environments.

Solving a Geological Puzzle

The study also addressed a major scientific hurdle: the initial isotope readings suggested the rocks were 3 million years old, which contradicted paleomagnetic, paleontological, geological, and archaeological evidence. The researchers addressed this hurdle by demonstrating that the sediments containing human remains have a long history of recycling within the Dead Sea rift and along its margins.

“The exposure-burial history that emerges from the model implies recycling of sediments previously deposited and buried in the rift valley… and then redeposited along the ‘Ubeidiya paleo lake shoreline.”

The birth of modern Man

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“Unlike Anything We’ve Ever Seen” – Bizarre New Insect Discovered in South America Stuns Scientists

By L. Mederos, U. of Florida, March 10, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/unlike-anything-weve-ever-seen-bizarre-new-insect-discovered-in-south-america-stuns-scientists/

Scientists exploring the canopy of a South American rainforest have discovered an unusual new termite species with a strikingly elongated head that resembles a sperm whale.

Credit: Rudolph Scheffrahn

A newly identified termite species with a whale-like head reveals unexpected diversity within the Cryptotermes genus.

In the canopies of a South American rainforest, a tiny soldier termite has stunned a team of international scientists with its whale-like features.

Cryptotermes mobydicki, the name given to the termite by the international research team — led by a University of Florida scientist — boasts features of an elongated head and hidden mandibles. It resembles the iconic sperm whale from Herman Melville’s classic novel — hence its name.

“This termite is unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” said Rudolf Scheffrahn, professor of entomology at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).
A whale-like termite discovered

The specimen was so distinctive that the team of international entomologists thought it was looking at specimens of an entirely new genus, said Scheffrahn, whose taxonomic research is based at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center.

These slides show views of the termite soldier’s frontal prominence and elongated head resembling the head of a sperm whale, and how in both the whale and termite, the mandibles are eclipsed by the head.

Credit: Rudolph Scheffrahn

“The lateral view of the soldier’s frontal prominence and elongated head resembles the head of a sperm whale, and in both organisms, the mandibles are eclipsed by the head,” he said. “The whale’s eye and soldier’s antennal socket are comparatively positioned. After I noticed the resemblance to a sperm whale, my coauthors thought the name to be appropriate and whimsical, much like ‘ghost orchid’ or ‘Dumbo octopus.’”

A new species expands the genus

The discovery adds a 16th species to the South American roster of Cryptotermes termites. A genetic family tree analysis shows that Cryptotermes mobydicki is closely related to other neotropical species found in Colombia, Trinidad, and the Dominican Republic, giving scientists a new clue into the evolutionary story of this globally distributed genus.

Researchers found the colony in a dead, standing tree about eight meters off the forest floor. It’s unusual anatomy highlights the diversity of termite evolution and the surprises still waiting in tropical ecosystems.

Biodiversity still largely undiscovered

“The discovery of this distinctive new termite species underscores the vast number of unnamed organisms yet to be discovered on our planet,” said Scheffrahn.

To scientists, discovery is also a win for biodiversity. Every new species discovered adds to scientific understanding of life on earth, especially in a group as small as termites, with only about 3,000 species worldwide.

Harmless species limited to the rainforest

There is also good news for Florida property owners. As a newly described drywood termite species, Cryptotermes mobydicki is no threat to homes or trade. Unlike other invasive termites that cause costly damage in parts of the southeastern United States, this species is found only in its rainforest habitat and does not spread beyond it.

The Life of Earth

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Trees Seen Emitting a Ghostly Light During a Thunderstorm For The First Time

10 March 2026, By J. Cockerill

https://www.sciencealert.com/trees-seen-emitting-a-ghostly-light-during-a-thunderstorm-for-the-first-time

Coronae glow on the tips of spruce needles, induced by charged metal plates in a laboratory.

(William Brune)

For the first time, meteorologists have glimpsed the tiny bursts of ultraviolet light emitted by trees during thunderstorms.

Scientists have long suspected the existence of this invisible phenomenon, thought to be the result of a passing storm's charge inducing an electric current within trees below.

Referred to as a corona, the glow produced by a build-up of charge in leaf tips had previously been recreated in a lab and inferred from strange changes in the electrical fields of forests during storms.

But knowing we really had to see it to believe it, a team led by Pennsylvania State University meteorologist Patrick McFarland went storm-chasing to get the hard evidence.

"These things actually happen; we've seen them; we know they exist now," says McFarland.

Thunderstorms are structures of enormous electrical turbulence. Towering cumulonimbus clouds contain frenzies of ice and dust particles that redistribute charges like a giant battery.

Once the difference between these charges grows sufficiently strong, celestial currents can crackle far above our heads or between the clouds and the ground as lightning.

But this electrical exchange between earth and sky isn't always so dramatic. Sometimes an imbalance of charge can creep up the nearest tree, whose moisture-laden trunks and branches make a nice path to follow.

Prevented from progressing by a layer of insulating air, the charge builds at the tree's leaves, where it faintly radiates a corona of ultraviolet light.

McFarland and team glimpsed the first corona by simulating the phenomenon in the lab. They placed small spruce and maple trees in plastic pots beneath charged metal plates to mimic charged storm clouds passing overhead. Then, they switched off the lights.

"In the laboratory, if you turn off all the lights, close the door, and block the windows, you can just barely see the coronae. They look like a blue glow," McFarland explains.

Then, the team tracked down these nearly-invisible sparks in the wild by mounting a 2013 Toyota Sienna with a weather station, an electric field detector, a laser rangefinder, and a roof-mounted periscope to direct light into an ultraviolet camera.

The resulting video doesn't look like much at first: sweetgum leaves (Liquidambar styraciflua) blowing in the wind of a storm raging across North Carolina.

But the team's equipment was sensitive enough to detect clusters of ultraviolet signals across the branches, with 41 distinct bursts of light, lasting from 0.1 to 3 seconds.

They behaved sporadically, "hopping from leaf to leaf and sometimes repeating on the same leaf," the researchers explain. This matches what had previously been seen in lab experiments simulating the storm's effects.

Similar effects were seen in loblolly pine trees (Pinus taeda), as well as in sweetgums, all along the US east coast.

With superhuman vision, McFarland says, "I believe you'd see this swath of glow on the top of every tree under the thunderstorm."

"It'd probably look like a pretty cool light show, as if thousands of UV-flashing fireflies descended on the treetops."

Each of these coronae emitted about 100 billion photons at a wavelength of around 260 nanometers for each frame of the video.

"Similar results across four additional storm intercepts from Florida to Pennsylvania give rise to a vision of swaths of scintillating corona glow as thunderstorms pass over forests," McFarland and team write.

"Such widespread coronae have implications for the removal of hydrocarbons emitted by trees, subtle tree leaf damage, and limited thunderstorm electrification."

What effect this relatively large electrical current could be having on trees all around the world is unclear.

For instance, repeated exposure to these electrical surges could kill a tree's upper branches, similar to when a tree forms an upward lightning leader in a cloud-to-ground 'strike'.

"The impacts these coronae have on atmospheric chemistry, forest ecology, health, and evolution, and thunderstorm electrification must be re-evaluated and understood, especially as thunderstorms, and therefore coronae, increase in a warming climate," the team concludes.

The Life of Earth

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Monday, 9 March 2026

New Archaeological Study Challenges the Paleo Diet

By U. of Toronto Mississauga, March 8, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/new-archaeological-study-challenges-the-paleo-diet/

The paleo diet is a modern eating plan inspired by what people imagine humans ate during the Paleolithic era, before farming became common. It typically emphasizes whole foods such as meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds, while avoiding or limiting foods tied to agriculture and industrial processing, including grains, legumes, dairy, refined sugar, and many packaged products.

Credit: Shutterstock

New archaeological evidence challenges the popular image of Paleolithic humans as predominantly meat-eaters.

If you imagine early humans living on big game alone, new research says that picture is missing a huge part of the menu.

A study in the Journal of Archaeological Research by scientists at the Australian National University and the University of Toronto Mississauga argues that Paleolithic people were not the meat-focused hunters they are sometimes made out to be. Instead, they regularly drew calories from many different plant and animal foods.

One reason the “mostly meat” story has stuck is that bones preserve well, while plant foods often vanish from the archaeological record. But as researchers recover more microscopic traces, such as starch residues and plant fragments on tools, a pattern keeps resurfacing: ancient people were doing serious work to make plants edible, digestible, and worth the effort.

Deep Roots of Plant Processing

“We often discuss plant use as if it only became important with the advent of agriculture,” said Dr. Anna Florin, co-author of the study. “However, new archaeological discoveries from around the world are telling us our ancestors were grinding wild seeds, pounding and cooking starchy tubers, and detoxifying bitter nuts many thousands of years before this.”

In other words, the “how” may be just as important as the “what.” Grinding, heating, and other preparation steps can unlock calories, reduce toxins, and make tough plant tissues easier to digest. Those are advantages that would have helped people stay flexible when seasons changed, game grew scarce, or groups moved into unfamiliar landscapes.

Humans as a Broad-Spectrum Species

The study frames humans as a “broad-spectrum species,” meaning our evolutionary success is tied to using many types of resources rather than specializing in just one. This flexibility helped our ancestors handle seasonal shortages, move into unfamiliar habitats, and keep finding fuel even when conditions shifted.

“This ability to process plant foods allowed us to unlock key calories and nutrients, and to move into, and thrive in, a range of environments globally,” added Dr. Monica Ramsey, the other co-author of this study, emphasizing the importance of “processed plant foods” to early human diets.

“Our species evolved as plant-loving, tool-using foodies who could turn almost anything into dinner,” said Ramsey.

The birth of modern Man

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The Surprising Truth About Aging: New Study Challenges the Idea of Inevitable Decline

By Yale U., March 9, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/the-surprising-truth-about-aging-new-study-challenges-the-idea-of-inevitable-decline/

A long-running national study of older Americans suggests that aging may be far more dynamic than commonly assumed. Rather than following a uniform path of decline, many individuals experience measurable improvements in physical or cognitive abilities over time.

Credit: Stock

A large longitudinal study challenges the idea that aging inevitably brings decline, revealing that many older adults improve in key measures of physical and cognitive health.

Aging later in life is often described as a gradual decline in both body and mind. However, new research from scientists at Yale University suggests a different possibility. The study indicates that many older adults actually improve over time, and that their attitudes about aging may strongly influence those outcomes.

The research analyzed more than a decade of information from a large, nationally representative study of older Americans. Lead author Becca R. Levy, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH), reported that nearly half of adults age 65 and older showed measurable gains in cognitive ability, physical ability, or both during the study period.

Importantly, these improvements were not limited to a small number of unusually healthy individuals. The researchers also found that progress was closely associated with a factor that often receives little attention: how people think about the aging process itself.

“Many people equate aging with an inevitable and continuous loss of physical and cognitive abilities,” said Levy, an international expert on psychosocial determinants of aging health. “What we found is that improvement in later life is not rare, it’s common, and it should be included in our understanding of the aging process.”

The findings are published in the journal Geriatrics.

Tracking Changes Over Time

The research team followed more than 11,000 participants in the Health and Retirement Study, a federally supported long-term survey that tracks the health and lives of older Americans. Cognitive performance was evaluated using a global assessment of mental functioning. Physical ability was measured by walking speed, which geriatric specialists often describe as a “vital sign” because it is closely connected with disability risk, hospitalization rates, and mortality.

Over a follow-up period that lasted as long as 12 years, 45 percent of participants showed improvement in at least one of the two categories. About 32 percent demonstrated cognitive improvement, while 28 percent improved in physical performance. Many of these gains exceeded levels considered clinically meaningful.

When researchers also counted participants whose cognitive scores remained stable rather than declining, the results became even more striking. More than half of the group did not follow the commonly held expectation that cognitive ability inevitably worsens with age.

“What’s striking is that these gains disappear when you only look at averages,” said Levy, author of the book “Breaking the Age Code: How Your Beliefs About Aging Determine How Long & How Well You Live.” “If you average everyone together, you see decline. But when you look at individual trajectories, you uncover a very different story. A meaningful percentage of the older participants that we studied got better.”

The researchers also explored why some individuals improved while others did not. They proposed that one possible explanation might lie in participants’ beliefs about aging at the start of the study. In other words, people who held more positive views about growing older might experience different outcomes than those who held more negative beliefs.

Their analysis supported this idea. Participants who began the study with more positive age-related beliefs were significantly more likely to improve in both cognitive performance and walking speed. This relationship remained even after accounting for factors such as age, sex, education, chronic illness, depression, and the length of the follow-up period.

The Power of Age Beliefs

The results add to a body of research connected to Levy’s stereotype embodiment theory. This theory suggests that cultural messages about aging, which people absorb through sources such as social media and advertising, can eventually influence biological processes once those beliefs become personally relevant.

Earlier work by Levy has shown that negative views about aging are linked to poorer memory, slower walking speed, increased cardiovascular risk, and biological markers associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

According to Levy, the new findings highlight the opposite effect. Individuals who internalize more positive beliefs about aging are more likely to experience improvements over time.

“Our findings suggest there is often a reserve capacity for improvement in later life,” she said. “And because age beliefs are modifiable, this opens the door to interventions at both the individual and societal level.”

The improvements observed in the study were not restricted to people who began with health problems. Even among participants who started with normal levels of cognitive or physical function, a considerable number still improved during the study period. This challenges the assumption that gains in later life occur only when people recover from illness or rebound from earlier health setbacks.

The researchers hope their results will help change the widespread belief that aging inevitably involves continuous decline. They also suggest the findings could encourage policymakers to expand support for preventive care, rehabilitation, and other programs designed to promote health and resilience among older adults.

The Life of Earth

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Scientists Discover DNA “Flips” That Supercharge Evolution

By U. of Cambridge, March 8, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-dna-flips-that-supercharge-evolution/

Hidden within the genomes of cichlid fish are unusual stretches of flipped DNA that may accelerate evolution. By locking together key genes for survival and reproduction, these genetic structures could help explain how hundreds of species emerged so quickly within a single lake.

Credit: Stock

In Lake Malawi, hundreds of species of cichlid fish have evolved with astonishing speed, offering scientists a rare opportunity to study how biodiversity arises.

Researchers have identified segments of “flipped” DNA that may allow fish to adapt rapidly to new environments and eventually form new species. These unusual genetic changes appear to function as evolutionary “superchargers,” helping populations diversify at remarkable speed.

Why does Earth contain such a vast variety of plants and animals? One of the central questions in biology is how new species originate and how the extraordinary diversity of life developed over time.

Cichlid fish in Lake Malawi in East Africa provide an important example. Within this single lake, more than 800 species have emerged from a shared ancestor. This diversification happened in far less time than it took humans and chimpanzees to split from their own common ancestor.

Even more striking is that this evolutionary explosion took place in the same body of water. Some cichlids evolved into large predators, while others specialized in grazing on algae, filtering sand for food, or feeding on plankton. Over time, each species adapted to its own ecological niche.
Searching the Genome for Answers

Scientists from the University of Cambridge and the University of Antwerp set out to understand how this rapid evolutionary change occurred. Their findings were published in the journal Science.

The research team examined the DNA of more than 1,300 cichlid fish to see whether any unusual genetic features might explain the group’s extraordinary rate of diversification. “We discovered that, in some species, large chunks of DNA on five chromosomes are flipped – a type of mutation called a chromosomal inversion,” said senior author Hennes Svardal from the University of Antwerp.

In most animals, reproduction involves a process called recombination. During this process, genetic material from each parent is shuffled and mixed together.

However, recombination is largely prevented inside a chromosomal inversion. As a result, the group of genes contained in that flipped section remains linked and is passed down together from one generation to the next. This preserves useful combinations of genes that support survival in specific environments, which can accelerate evolutionary change.

“It’s sort of like a toolbox where all the most useful tools are stuck together, preserving winning genetic combinations that help fish adapt to different environments,” said first author Moritz Blumer from Cambridge’s Department of Genetics.

The Power of “Supergenes”

Scientists sometimes refer to these tightly linked groups of genes as “supergenes.” In Lake Malawi cichlids, the study suggests that these supergenes serve several important functions.

Different cichlid species can still interbreed, but chromosomal inversions help maintain distinct species boundaries by limiting how much genetic mixing occurs. This effect is especially important in parts of the lake where multiple species live side by side, such as open sandy habitats where there are no physical barriers separating them.

Many genes within these supergenes influence traits that are essential for survival and reproduction, including vision, hearing, and behavior. Fish that live deep in the lake (down to 200 meters (about 656 feet)) face very different conditions than those near the surface. They encounter lower light levels, different food sources, and higher pressure. The supergenes help maintain the genetic traits that allow them to thrive in these environments.

“When different cichlid species interbred, entire inversions can be passed between them – bringing along key survival traits, like adaptations to specific environments, speeding up the process of evolution,” said Blumer.

The study also found that these inversions often function as sex chromosomes, which help determine whether an individual develops as male or female. Because sex chromosomes can influence how new species emerge, this finding raises additional questions about the role these genetic structures play in evolution.

“While our study focused on cichlids, chromosomal inversions aren’t unique to them,” said co-senior author Professor Richard Durbin, from Cambridge’s Department of Genetics. “They’re also found in many other animals — including humans — and are increasingly seen as a key factor in evolution and biodiversity.”

“We have been studying the process of speciation for a long time,” said Svardal. “Now, by understanding how these supergenes evolve and spread, we’re getting closer to answering one of science’s big questions: how life on Earth becomes so rich and varied.”