Younger Generations Are Aging Faster – and It May Be Fueling a Surge in Cancer

By Washington U. School of Medicine in St. Louis, June 25, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/younger-generations-are-aging-faster-and-it-may-be-fueling-a-surge-in-cancer/

By analyzing health data from more than 160,000 people in the U.K. and U.S., researchers found that people born more recently tend to show signs of older biological age than earlier generations at the same chronological age.

 Credit: Shutterstock

Younger generations may be aging biologically faster than those before them, and that shift could help explain rising rates of cancer at younger ages.

For decades, cancer was viewed largely as a disease of older age. Yet around the world, doctors are seeing a troubling shift: more cancers are being diagnosed in people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and early 50s. Researchers have linked this rise to factors ranging from obesity and diet to environmental exposures, but no single explanation has fully accounted for the trend.

Now, a major new study suggests that a broader process may be unfolding beneath the surface. According to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, younger generations appear to be aging biologically faster than previous generations. Their findings indicate that this accelerated aging may be increasing the risk of developing cancer decades earlier than expected.

The research adds to growing evidence that the body’s biological age, not just the number of birthdays a person has celebrated, may play an important role in determining disease risk.

A Growing Gap Between Biological and Chronological Age

Scientists distinguish between chronological age, which is how long a person has been alive, and biological age, which reflects the condition of the body’s tissues, organs, and systems. Two people of the same chronological age can have very different biological ages depending on genetics, lifestyle, environmental exposures, and other factors.

The new study found that people born more recently tend to show signs of being biologically older than previous generations at the same age. In other words, a 40-year-old today may have a biological profile that appears older than that of a 40-year-old from decades ago.

Researchers believe this widening gap could help explain why early-onset cancers, generally defined as cancers diagnosed before age 55, have become increasingly common.

Published June 22 in Nature Medicine, the study also found that faster biological aging was linked to a greater risk of developing several types of cancer, particularly lung, gastrointestinal, and uterine cancers.

“Our ultimate goal is to decode how modern environments become biologically embedded to drive cancer risk, transforming prevention from broad recommendations to personalized interventions,” said Yin Cao, ScD, a molecular epidemiologist and associate professor of surgery and medicine at WashU Medicine. “This brings us closer to identifying risk earlier and developing prevention strategies that are tailored to an individual’s biology.”

Looking Beyond Individual Risk Factors

For years, scientists have searched for specific causes behind the rise in cancer among younger adults. Obesity, poor diet, alcohol use, sedentary lifestyles, metabolic disorders, and other factors have all been implicated.

While each may contribute, their individual effects are often relatively small. Increasingly, researchers suspect that the combined impact of multiple exposures over time may be more important than any single risk factor.

That idea has led scientists to focus on biological aging itself. Rather than studying one exposure at a time, biological aging can capture the cumulative effects of many influences acting across a person’s lifetime.

Acelerated biological aging has also been associated with heart disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, and other chronic conditions, suggesting it may serve as a broad indicator of long-term health.

Tracking Aging Across the Entire Body

To investigate the connection, Cao and colleagues analyzed health data from more than 154,000 participants in the UK Biobank and more than 10,000 people enrolled in the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) All of Us Research Program.

The researchers measured aging in two ways. First, they evaluated systemic aging, which reflects the body’s overall biological condition. They also examined organ-specific aging to determine whether certain tissues or organ systems were aging faster than others.

The analysis relied on established biological age measurements, including PhenoAge, the Klemera-Doubal Method, and metabolomic age scores. These tools use blood markers and other biological data to estimate how old a person’s body appears biologically.

For organ-specific aging, the researchers analyzed proteins circulating in the blood that are linked to different organ systems. This allowed them to estimate the biological age of tissues throughout the body without invasive procedures.

Younger Generations Show Clear Signs of Accelerated Aging

The results revealed a clear generational pattern.

In the United Kingdom, people born between 1965 and 1974 showed higher levels of systemic aging than those born between 1950 and 1954 when compared at the same chronological age.

The difference was even larger in the United States. Participants born between 1990 and 1999 displayed substantially higher levels of biological aging than those born between 1965 and 1969.

These findings align with other recent research suggesting that younger generations are experiencing higher rates of obesity, metabolic dysfunction, fatty liver disease, and other conditions traditionally associated with aging.

Although the study cannot determine exactly why this is happening, researchers suspect that changes in diet, physical activity, sleep patterns, environmental exposures, stress, and other aspects of modern life may all contribute.

Faster Aging Was Linked to Higher Cancer Risk

The study found that greater systemic aging was associated with an 8% increase in the risk of early-onset solid cancers.

Participants with the highest levels of biological aging faced a 15% greater risk of developing early-onset solid cancers than those with the lowest levels.

Importantly, these associations remained even after researchers accounted for inherited genetic cancer risk and genetic factors related to accelerated aging.

The findings suggest that biological aging may provide information about cancer risk that cannot be explained by genetics alone.

Some Organs May Matter More Than Others

The study also uncovered intriguing links between specific organ systems and certain cancers.

People whose immune systems appeared biologically older than expected were more likely to develop early-onset lung cancer. Meanwhile, accelerated aging in adipose (fat) tissue was associated with a higher risk of early-onset colorectal cancer.

“If we can identify younger people with the highest cancer risk when they are still healthy, we can focus on prevention and early-detection strategies for the individuals who will benefit most from early interventions,” Cao said.

A New Way to Think About Cancer Prevention

The findings do not mean that accelerated aging directly causes cancer, nor do they prove why younger generations appear to be aging faster. However, they point toward a promising new framework for understanding one of the most puzzling trends in modern medicine.

Instead of focusing solely on individual risk factors, researchers may be able to monitor how the body responds to those factors collectively through biological aging measures.

In the future, blood tests that estimate biological age could potentially help identify people whose cancer risk is rising long before symptoms appear. Such tools might allow doctors to recommend earlier screenings, lifestyle interventions, or other preventive measures tailored to an individual’s biology.

“Right now, we don’t have a definitive answer to what’s driving the rise of early-onset cancers around the world, but studies like this are helping us piece together the bigger picture, showing that cancer may be influenced not just by changes inside individual cells, but by wider changes happening across the body as a whole,” said David Scott, PhD, director of Cancer Grand Challenges.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Scientists Discover How the Gut May Trigger Multiple Sclerosis

By Keio U. Global Research Inst., June 25, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-how-the-gut-may-trigger-multiple-sclerosis/

Researchers identified gut-derived cells involved in antigen presentation as a key trigger of autoimmune inflammation in the nervous system. 

Credit: Shutterstock



Scientists have uncovered new evidence that the gut may play a far more active role in multiple sclerosis than previously recognized.

For decades, multiple sclerosis (MS) has been viewed primarily as a disease of the brain and spinal cord. But growing evidence suggests its origins may begin much farther away: in the gut.

Scientists have increasingly linked changes in the gut microbiome to MS, yet exactly how intestinal microbes influence immune cells that attack the central nervous system has remained one of the field’s biggest unanswered questions.

MS is a debilitating autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks myelin, the protective sheath surrounding nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. This damage disrupts communication between neurons, leading to symptoms ranging from numbness and muscle weakness to vision problems and cognitive impairment. While genetic and environmental factors contribute to disease risk, researchers are now uncovering a surprising role for the gut in shaping the immune responses that drive MS.

Gut link comes into focus

A study published in Science Immunology identifies gut immune responses as important early drivers of neuroinflammation. The work was led by Dr. Shohei Suzuki, Assistant Professor, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and Dr. Tomohisa Sujino, Associate Professor, School of Medicine, at Keio University, Japan.

In this study, patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mouse model of MS exhibited an accumulation of Th17 cells in the small intestine. Intestinal epithelial cells upregulate major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II) in response to neuroinflammatory signals, enabling direct antigen presentation to CD4+ T cells and generation of pathogenic Th17 cells that home to the central nervous system (CNS). 

Created in BioRender. Suzuki, S. (2026) https://BioRender.com/x6ih9pc.

 Credit: Associate Professor Tomohisa Sujino from Keio University, Japan

“Increasing evidence shows that the gut microbiota influences neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and MS. However, the mechanisms linking gut microbes, intestinal immunity, and brain inflammation remain unclear. We were keen to identify how gut immune responses contribute to neuroinflammatory diseases,” said Dr. Sujino, explaining their motivation for the study.

Intestinal cells present antigens

Dr. Suzuki, Dr. Sujino and colleagues built on earlier evidence that mild intestinal (ileal) inflammation appears in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of MS. They then examined whether similar inflammation is also found in people with MS. Using single cell RNA sequencing on intestinal biopsies, the analysis showed that inflammatory Th17 cells accumulate both in the EAE mouse model and in the intestines of patients with MS, pointing to a conserved gut CNS axis that may operate in human disease.

In EAE mice and in patients with MS, intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) showed increased activity in antigen presentation pathways. Epithelial cells in the ileum had especially high expression of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II), which presents antigens to CD4+ T cells. When MHC II was selectively deleted in IECs, pathogenic Th17 cell generation and disease severity were reduced.

IECs usually do not present antigens to immune cells. To test whether they could perform this function, Dr. Suzuki, Dr. Sujino, and colleagues carried out co-culture assays. The findings showed that IECs can directly present antigens through an MHC II-dependent process and prime CD4+ T cells in the gut. In those assays, IECs also pushed activated CD4+ T cells toward Th17 polarization. The results made clear that the gut can serve as an important site where pathogenic CD4+ T cells are activated and become pro-inflammatory Th17 cells.

Gut cells reach the spine

To find out whether these Th17 cells directly add to the autoreactive cell population in the CNS, Dr. Suzuki, Dr. Sujino, and colleagues used transgenic mice that express the Kaede protein, which undergoes photoconversion from green to red fluorescence upon exposure to violet light. This system made it possible to precisely follow pathogenic Th17 cells that were induced in the intestinal lamina propria and then moved to the spinal cord, where they drove neuroinflammation.

Together, the study shows that MHC II expressed by IECs plays a critical role in expanding pathogenic Th17 cells that later migrate to the CNS during EAE. The findings provide a cellular mechanism linking gut immune responses to autoimmune neuroinflammatory disease. The work also shows that although systemic circulation allows T cells to move among immune tissues, interactions between epithelial and immune cells in the gut mucosa can strongly influence effector T cell responses in the brain.

“While current therapies for MS often target B cells, our study highlights the gut as an important therapeutic site. Modulating intestinal microbiota or antigen-presenting activity of IECs represents new approaches to treating autoimmune neurological diseases,” explained Dr. Suzuki, emphasizing the therapeutic implications of their findings.

A deeper understanding of immune activity in the gut mucosa could support the development of better treatments for disabling neurological diseases such as MS.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Humans And Apes Have Laughed The Same Way For Millions of Years, Study Suggests

26 June 2026, ByA. RAMAKRISHNAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS

https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-and-apes-have-laughed-the-same-way-for-millions-of-years-study-suggests

(Fiona Rogers/Stone/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (AP) – Humans and great apes have been giggling in similar ways since branching off the evolutionary tree, a new study suggests.

How do we know this? Researchers tickled 13 captive apes – including gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos – and recorded the results.

The new research reexamined those decades-old recordings and compared them with the newly captured giggles of four young children while they were being tickled and playing at home.

It turns out that the chuckles of humans and great apes follow similar rhythms, with regular timing between their laughs, a uniting thread that likely reflects their ties to a common ancestor, researchers said.

"In a way, we are very similar to other great apes because we've been laughing in a similar way for 15 million years," said study author Chiara De Gregorio, a primatologist at the University of Warwick in England.

Laughter communicates a playful, happy feeling without using words. Many animals can laugh too, but the giggles don't follow human patterns as closely. When researchers tickle rats, for example, they respond with ultrasonic squeaks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtAlb8Loc1c

Scientists trying to uncover how laughter evolved have picked apart animals' facial expressions, but less work has been done on how laughs sound. And compared with apes, human laughter has become faster and more complex.

For one, our laughs sound different based on context – from a polite chuckle among colleagues to a full-bodied guffaw with close friends.

"We are like the masters of laughter, I would say," said De Gregorio, whose findings were published Thursday in the journal Communications Biology.

These giggles evolved to best suit animals' different social lives, said Brittany Florkiewicz, who studies animal communication at Lyon College and had no role in the new research. She said the study's findings make sense, and point to a need for more investigation.

Florkiewicz said she'd like to hear comparable recordings of other animals with playful facial expressions, like dogs, horses and cats. That could tell us more about how laughter evolved, so we can "understand what makes us uniquely human, but also what is similar between humans and other animals."

Studying the origins of laughter may seem corny, but it's one aspect of human communication that can help us understand others – including how we learned to speak. Because sounds don't fossilize, scientists are using the evidence we do have to trace things back, one chuckle at a time.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Ancient DNA Reveals a Genetic Surprise in The Last Neanderthals

25 June 2026, By J. Cockerill

https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-dna-reveals-a-genetic-surprise-in-the-last-neanderthals

A Neanderthal skull from Forbes' Quarry, Gibraltar. 

(AquilaGib/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Genetic deterioration may not have been the major cause of Neanderthal extinction, new evidence suggests.

In fact, new genetic analysis shows that some of the last Neanderthals to have lived before the extinction of their lineage were not particularly inbred.

This flies in the face of prevailing theories that suggest genetic deterioration from inbreeding is the main reason our closest relatives disappeared roughly 40,000 years ago.

Evolutionary anthropologist Alba Bossoms Mesa and team have re-examined the genetic remains of 27 Neanderthal individuals, in unprecedented detail.

These Neanderthals were found in seven different locations across the Meuse Basin in Belgium, and two other locations in France.

Map of the studied archaeological sites. For all sites, each cross represents a sample, colored according to the type of genetic data generated. 

(Bossoms Mesa et al., Nature, 2026)

They represent some of the last surviving Neanderthal populations in northwestern Europe, living less than 52,500 years ago.

"The genetic data is new, but the specimens are not," Bossoms Mesa, who is based at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, told ScienceAlert.

Some of the specimens were discovered as early as the 19th century. One of the individuals, named Engis 2, was actually the first Neanderthal specimen discovered (although it wasn't recognised as such until more than a century later).

The most recently discovered specimen, a tooth known as the Walou molar, was excavated in 1997.

"Some specimens were even 'rediscovered' in museum collections after having been misattributed to other species, as was the case for the Trou Magrite femur, identified as Neanderthal in 2015," Bossoms Mesa explained.

Their remains have been in the hands of scientists for decades (if not centuries), but only now has it been possible to retrieve their genetic data at such a high resolution.

And the results don't agree with that major theory of Neanderthal extinction.

"The genomes show no evidence of increasing genetic load or reduced diversity over time, providing little support for the hypothesis that genetic deterioration was the main cause of Neanderthal extinction," Bossoms Mesa told ScienceAlert.

The population genetic model proposed for Neanderthals shows a number of genetically interconnected populations with low rates of inbreeding, late in the Neanderthal timeline. 

(Bossoms Mesa et al., Nature, 2026)



"Our results do not rule out the possibility of demographic vulnerability… but they challenge the idea that Neanderthals disappeared mainly because their genomes steadily deteriorated," she added.

"Instead, late Neanderthals in Belgium and France appear to have been part of a connected, genetically diverse regional population during a period of profound ecological and demographic change."

The study paints a picture of several Neanderthal populations spread across a large geographic area, from Belgium to Croatia, if not further.

Within these populations, the level of inbreeding is low, the new analysis showed, but there was plenty of healthy 'cross-pollination' between groups.

It seems previous interpretations might have been too narrow – the product of the Neanderthal specimens analyzed at the time.

The skull of Engis 2, the first Neanderthal specimen discovered. It was recognized as Neanderthal in 1936, more than a century after its discovery in 1829. 

(Thilo Parg/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0)



"Until now, most high-coverage Neanderthal genomes came from older individuals in eastern Eurasia, particularly from Chagyrskaya and Denisova Caves," Bossoms Mesa explained.

"These genomes showed relatively high levels of inbreeding. However, those populations lived somewhat earlier and at the easternmost known edge of Neanderthal distribution, which may have contributed to their relative isolation."

Previous studies have suggested that geographic isolation might have made Neanderthals more vulnerable to sudden changes, contributing to their demise.

It's also possible that the reasons Neanderthals disappeared might not be exactly the same in every place, but rather a mix of factors stemming from their environment and connections.

This new analysis finds similarly:

"Overall, the study suggests that late Neanderthals in north-western Eurasia were more interconnected and experienced less inbreeding than some of their earlier eastern counterparts," Bossoms Mesa said.

However, an alternate theory to the Neanderthal population crash suggests Neanderthals may never have truly disappeared – and this new study adds another dimension to that line of thinking, too.

Instead, Neanderthals may have 'folded in' to modern human populations, a theory supported by extensive evidence of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals hooking up right across Eurasia for tens of thousands of years.

Neanderthal populations in northwestern Europe are thought to have inhabited the region alongside modern humans for up to 500 generations, giving them ample time to entwine their genetic branches.

Interestingly, the new analysis suggests the flow of genetic material only went one way: Humans 'absorbed' some Neanderthal DNA into their genomes, but maybe not the other way around.

However, the genetic traces that remain may be a reflection of the timing of those interactions – or where they took place.

"We have several examples of early modern humans who had Neanderthal ancestors only a few generations back (effectively Neanderthal great-great-great-grandparents)," Bossoms Mesa pointed out.

"However, we do not yet have a single example of a Neanderthal individual with a recent modern human ancestor in their immediate family tree."

That's something they're going to keep looking for, because understanding this asymmetry could be important to deciphering our shared history.

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Mushroom Behind 'Tiny Human' Visions Lacks Genes For Known Psychedelics

23 June 2026, By D. Nield

https://www.sciencealert.com/mushroom-behind-tiny-human-visions-lacks-genes-for-known-psychedelics

(Luda311/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

If you consumed a wild mushroom and suddenly started seeing tiny people around you, you might reasonably assume it contained a familiar psychedelic.

But that does not appear to be the case with Lanmaoa asiatica, known locally as jian shou qing, a mushroom species sold in markets in Yunnan, southwestern China.

When eaten undercooked, the mushroom can produce vivid visions of miniature people – not unlike Gulliver on his travels to Lilliput.

Yunnan hospitals get dozens of these cases each year.

To try and find out the root cause, University of Utah mycologists Colin Domnauer and Bryn Dentinger sequenced the genomes of 53 mushroom samples from across the wider Lanmaoa genus.

Lanmaoa asiatica mushrooms. (University of Utah)



And despite the reported hallucinations, they found no close matches to genes associated with psilocybin or ibotenic acid, two well-known mushroom hallucinogens whose biosynthetic pathways were specifically examined in the study.

"Biosynthetic gene mining of the L. asiatica genome found no close hits with any genes known in the production of mushroom psychoactive compounds," write the researchers in their published paper.

"This supports our hypothesis of the presence of a novel unidentified metabolite responsible for the unique hallucinogenic properties of L. asiatica."

There's an official name for seeing tiny people: Lilliputian hallucinations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deVIo8oGAGw

Lilliputian hallucinations are not the only side effect of eating undercooked L. asiatica, but they're the most common. Dizziness, auditory hallucinations, and physical sickness have also been reported.

Whatever chemical pathways are causing these effects in the brain, the responsible compound appears to be something scientists have not yet identified.

"This finding corroborates observational and clinical data, which report drastically different psychological and physiological symptoms following L. asiatica intoxication compared with psilocybin or ibotenic acid," write the researchers.

"The phylogeny and genomic data provided in this study may support future drug discovery efforts, as well as research into the evolution and phylogenetic distribution of the potentially important bioactive secondary chemistry within the genus Lanmaoa."

Two new species were identified, including Lanmaoa carbonilivor. (Domnauer & Dentinger, Mycologia, 2026)



The findings from the genome sequencing conducted in this study go beyond merely ruling out the effects of psilocybin or ibotenic acid.

By identifying 1,515 corresponding genes across the selected specimens, the researchers obtained a clearer answer to the question of what defines a mushroom species as part of the genus Lanmaoa.

There are now 17 recognized species in the genus, including four that haven't been identified before, two of which the researchers specifically named here: Lanmaoa fallax and Lanmaoa carbonilivor.

The researchers say the Lanmaoa family and evolutionary tree can now be more fully mapped out, and some existing specimens may need to be reclassified.

Part of the problem in categorizing them before now is that they share many of the same physical characteristics, even if their biological signatures differ.

"As Lanmaoa species are popular globally traded commercial products, frequent misidentification of wild edible mushrooms with potentially poisonous lookalikes is a both well-documented and serious concern for public food safety and medical practitioners," write the researchers.

"That highlights the need for greater taxonomic understanding."

That these mushrooms can produce such a specific psychedelic hallucination is fascinating.

The next question is how it's triggered, and the researchers suggest that once we get that answer, it could tell us much more about the workings of the human psyche.

If you've been following the science, you might be aware of just how much has been discovered about the humble mushroom: its links to disease prevention, its evolutionary innovations, and its role in the planet's ecosystem.

When it comes to the Lanmaoa genus in particular, there's still much more to find.

"This study establishes a comprehensive genomic foundation for Lanmaoa systematics, enabling future research to more robustly explore the evolutionary history and secondary chemistry of the genus," write the researchers.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Scientists Discover Troubling Link Between Processed Foods and Preschool Behavior

By U. of Toronto, June 23, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-troubling-link-between-processed-foods-and-preschool-behavior/

A large Canadian study has uncovered a link between preschoolers’ consumption of ultra-processed foods and later behavioral and emotional challenges.

 Credit: Shutterstock

Early childhood diets higher in ultra-processed foods were associated with more behavioral and emotional challenges two years later.

The preschool years are a critical period for both brain development and the formation of lifelong eating habits. New research led by the University of Toronto suggests that what children eat during this window may be associated with how they feel and behave later in early childhood.

The study found that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was linked to greater behavioral and emotional difficulties, including anxiety, fearfulness, aggression, and hyperactivity.

“The preschool years are critical for child development, and it’s also when children begin to establish dietary habits,” said Kozeta Miliku, principal investigator on the study and an assistant professor of nutritional sciences in U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

“Our findings underscore the need for early-life interventions such as professional advice for parents and caregivers, as well as public health campaigns, nutrition standards for child-care providers and reformulation of some packaged foods,” Miliku said.

Professor Kozeta Miliku. 

Credit: University of Toronto

Early diets shape behavior

Published in JAMA Network Open, the study is the first to use detailed, prospective data to examine ultra-processed food consumption alongside standardized behavioral assessments in young children. It is also among the largest studies to investigate behavior and mental health during early childhood.

Ultra-processed foods are industrial products made mostly from refined ingredients and additives that are not usually found in home kitchens. In Canada, these foods account for almost half of the calories consumed by preschoolers.

The researchers used data from the CHILD Cohort Study, a long-term, population-based study that enrolled pregnant women between 2009 and 2012 and has followed their children from before birth into adolescence at four sites across Canada.

The analysis included dietary information from more than 2,000 children at age three. When the children reached age five, the researchers evaluated their scores using the validated Child Behavior Checklist, a widely used tool for measuring emotional and behavioral well-being in children.

A cohort tracks childhood change

The research team, which included first authors Meaghan Kavanagh (a postdoctoral fellow) and Zheng Hao Chen (a PhD student in Miliku’s lab), found that every 10 percent increase in calories from ultra-processed foods was associated with higher scores for internalizing behaviors (such as anxiety and fearfulness), externalizing behaviors (such as aggression and hyperactivity), and overall behavioral difficulties.

Higher scores reflect more reported behavioral challenges.

Certain foods show stronger links

Some ultra-processed food categories had stronger associations than others. These included drinks sweetened with sugar, artificially sweetened drinks, and foods that are ready to eat or ready to heat, such as French fries or macaroni and cheese.

In statistical models that simulated dietary changes, replacing 10 percent of energy from ultra-processed foods with minimally processed foods, including fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods, was linked to lower behavioral scores.

Miliku, who is also a researcher at U of T’s Joannah & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition, said the findings suggest that even small dietary shifts may help support healthier development.

“Our findings suggest that even modest shifts toward minimally processed foods, like whole fruits and vegetables, in early childhood may support healthier behavioral and emotional development,” she said.

Small changes may matter

Miliku’s interest in the topic grew out of observations from her own life as a parent.

“As a parent of a toddler, I started noting how often convenience foods appear in children’s diets, sometimes even in places we consider healthy environments,” she said.

A growing body of research has connected ultra-processed foods with higher risks of obesity and cardiometabolic disease in both adults and children. Earlier studies have also suggested links between these foods and poorer behavior and mental health outcomes in adolescents and adults.

“Parents are doing their best and not all families have access to single-ingredient foods, or the tools and time needed to incorporate them into their families’ diets,” said Miliku.

“Ultra-processed foods are widely available, affordable, and convenient,” she added. “It is important to consider how we can gradually increase whole and minimally processed options when possible.”

Miliku said that small steps, such as offering a piece of fruit or replacing a sugary drink with water, may help support children’s emotional and behavioral development over time.

“The goal is to provide evidence that can help families make informed choices,” she said.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Scientists Have Found “The Heaven Sword” After Years of Looking

By D. Pirchner, Frontiers, June 22, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-have-found-the-heaven-sword-after-years-of-looking/

Taiwan’s giant forests are some of the most carbon-dense environments in the entire world. 

Credit: Steven Pearce

A decade-long search through Taiwan’s remote forests led to the discovery of East Asia’s tallest tree and hundreds of other towering giants.

An 84-meter-tall tree is surprisingly easy to miss.

Hidden within Taiwan’s steep mountains and dense old-growth forests are some of the tallest trees on Earth, including giant conifers that rise higher than a 25-story building. For years, these towering giants remained largely unknown, concealed in remote valleys that few people ever visit.

Since 2014, the “Taiwan Tree Seekers” have been searching for and documenting these remarkable forests. Bringing together professional tree climbers, ecologists, geologists, and remote sensing specialists, we spent nearly a decade tracking down the island’s largest trees. That effort culminated in 2023 with the discovery of an 84.1-meter-tall (276-foot) Taiwania fir (Taiwania cryptomerioides), now recognized as the tallest known tree in East Asia. The Indigenous Rukai people have long referred to these immense trees by a more poetic name: “the tree that hits the moon.”

The conditions that allow such giants to flourish are rooted in Taiwan’s extraordinary geography. Although the island covers only about 36,000 square kilometers (13,900 square miles), roughly the size of Switzerland, it contains 258 peaks above 3,000 meters (9,843 feet), creating a landscape of deep valleys, rugged slopes, and diverse climates unlike anywhere else on Earth.

Team climbing ‘The Heaven Sword’, Taiwan’s and East Asia’s tallest tree. 

Credit: Steven Pearce.

This rugged terrain supports extraordinary biodiversity. An estimated 5,000 plant species grow across ecosystems that range from tropical rainforests at sea level to alpine tundra near the highest summits.

About 60% of Taiwan remains forested, providing habitat for an estimated 950 million trees. Although industrial logging from 1912 to 1991 greatly reduced much of the island’s original forest, the steepest and most inaccessible areas protected valuable pockets of old-growth woodland from being harvested.
The Search for Taiwan’s Forest Giants Begins

The search formally started in August 2014 when researchers from the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute (TFRI) launched an expedition into the Cilan Conservation Area. Their goal was to investigate the legendary “Chilan Three Sisters,” a group of giant Taiwania firs known locally but never carefully measured or scientifically documented.

‘The Heaven Sword’, East Asia’s tallest tree, towers above others at 84.1 meters. 

Credit: Steven Pearce



The tallest of the three reached 69.3 meters (227 feet), with a trunk nearly three meters (9.8 feet) in diameter. International interest grew in 2017 when climbers from Australia’s “The Tree Projects” traveled to Taiwan to photograph the trees, helping showcase the island’s remarkable forests to a global audience.

Encouraged by those findings, the team turned its attention to a more remote area near Mt. Benya, believed to contain the largest concentration of Taiwania firs. Located near the sacred Great Ghost Lake, the site required four days of difficult hiking to reach.

That expedition changed the direction of the project. The researchers realized that accurately identifying the tallest trees from the forest floor was nearly impossible. In the dense canopy of an old-growth forest, visual estimates can be misleading. Although the team climbed a 71.7-meter (235-foot) tree during the trip, they recognized the need for a more reliable method.
LiDAR Technology and Citizen Science Transform the Hunt

Searching for a handful of giant trees among 950 million trees spread across remote valleys was like searching for a needle in a haystack. To improve the process, the team partnered with remote sensing specialists at National Cheng Kung University and adopted LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. This airborne laser scanning system creates detailed 3D maps by measuring how long laser pulses take to bounce back from the ground and vegetation, making it possible to estimate tree heights across vast areas.

However, Taiwan’s steep terrain created challenges. Automated measurements often exaggerated tree heights, especially when trees stood next to cliffs or other dramatic landscape features. Human observers proved much better at spotting these geological illusions. In 2020, the project expanded into a citizen science effort, with hundreds of volunteers reviewing LiDAR images and helping eliminate false candidates. Their work revealed that 93% of trees had been incorrectly measured by the automated system.

Without this public assistance, the team would have spent years visiting trees that turned out to be much shorter than expected. By the end of 2022, the collaboration produced the “Taiwan Giant Tree Map,” which identified 941 trees taller than 65 meters (213 feet).
Discovering East Asia’s Tallest Tree

During the Lunar New Year holiday in January 2023, the team used the new map to investigate the leading candidate for Taiwan’s tallest tree. Reaching it required a demanding expedition that included a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) river trek and two days of steep climbing.

After climbers reached the crown and lowered a measuring tape from the top to the ground, the final height was confirmed at 84.1 meters (276 feet). The tree was named the “Heaven Sword of the Da’an River” and officially recognized as the tallest known tree in Taiwan and East Asia.

By early 2026, the project had documented and climbed ten Taiwania trees taller than 70 meters (230 feet), including two that exceeded 80 meters (262 feet).

(a) Point cloud data of the ‘Temples of Giants’ near Mt. Benya, collected using a handheld laser scanner. 

(b) Zoomed view of the point cloud showing three individuals within the giant forest; the persons serve as a scale reference to convey tree height and canopy size. 

Credit: Hsu et al., 2026



Temples of Giants and Carbon-Rich Forests

The Giant Tree Map also led researchers to extraordinary concentrations of giant trees. Near Mt. Benya, they discovered a single-hectare (2.47-acre) forest containing 11 trees taller than 65 meters (213 feet). A decade after their first visit to the Great Ghost Lake region, they returned to find a dense ancient stand containing about 30 giant Taiwania firs growing together.

These forests play an important role in the global environment. In 2024, researchers and 15 citizen scientists studied the “Tao Tree” valley, home to Taiwan’s third-tallest tree, to determine how much carbon dioxide the forest absorbs and stores.

The findings were remarkable. The forest’s carbon density, even without including its extensive root systems, measured 1,384.5 Mg/ha. This places Taiwan’s giant forests among the most carbon-dense ecosystems on Earth, comparable to some of the world’s most celebrated old-growth forests. These “trees that hit the moon” are not only natural wonders but also vital protectors of the environment.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

The 4,000-Year-Old City That Defied History’s Rules on Wealth and Power

By U. of York, June 23, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/the-4000-year-old-city-that-defied-historys-rules-on-wealth-and-power/

Researchers investigating one of the Indus Civilization’s largest cities uncovered clues that wealth and resources may have been shared more broadly over time.

 Credit: Shutterstock

A new study of the ancient Indus city of Mohenjo-daro challenges a long-held view of history by suggesting that prosperity did not lead to greater inequality.

Unlike ancient Egypt, with its pyramids and powerful pharaohs, or Mesopotamia, with its ruling elites and monumental palaces, the Indus city of Mohenjo-daro left behind few obvious signs of concentrated wealth or authority. Now, researchers think they know why.

A new University of York study suggests that the 4,000-year-old city became increasingly equal as it grew and prospered. By examining the sizes of homes throughout Mohenjo-daro, the team found evidence that wealth disparities declined over time, defying a pattern that historians have long considered a hallmark of early urban development.

Historians have long argued that when small villages developed into cities, inequality usually increased. In many early urban societies, a narrow class of rulers, kings, and priests gained control of wealth, widening the divide between rich and poor.

A new University of York study of Mohenjo-daro, the largest city of the Indus civilization, points to a very different outcome. After examining house sizes across the ancient city, researchers found that Mohenjo-daro was more equal than comparable societies in Mesopotamia and Greece and that it became increasingly egalitarian over time.

Mohenjo-daro Challenges Ancient Inequality Models

Lead author Dr. Adam Green, from the University of York’s Department of Archaeology and Department of Environment and Geography, said, “Legacy data from the ancient city shows that as the city matured, the gap between the largest and smallest homes narrowed. In fact, by its later years, the wealth gap in this massive urban center had dropped to levels typical of the first farming villages.

“While ancient Egyptians were building pyramids for god-kings, and the Greeks were constructing massive palaces at Knossos, the people of the Indus were building something entirely different.

Mohenjo-daro was the Indus civilization’s largest city. 

Credit: University of York

“Instead of gold-filled tombs and huge temples, Mohenjo-daro focused on sophisticated brick-lined drains and organized street layouts. Instead of allowing the perks of society to accumulate with a tiny elite, the city’s amenities were widely distributed amongst the everyday households.”

This pattern was especially clear in the spread of Indus seals, which were used in trade and business. These seals were usually found inside ordinary homes rather than public buildings, and the city had no palaces where such tools of authority could be concentrated.

Shared Wealth and Everyday Access to Power

The evidence suggests that resources were not controlled by one ruler. Instead, residents appear to have worked collectively to maintain broad access to a good quality of life.

The city’s investment in practical systems, including drainage and street upkeep, also points to cooperation for the public good. A standardized system of weights and measures used across the region helped keep trade fair for everyone.

Published in the journal Antiquity, the findings challenge the idea that inequality must rise as economies grow. According to the researchers, Mohenjo-daro shows that a society can be technologically advanced and highly productive while sharing prosperity widely rather than concentrating it among a few people.

Public Infrastructure and Collective Prosperity

Dr Green, said: “Mohenjo-daro is often cited as being famous for what it doesn’t have, such as the absence of palaces for kings, gold-filled tombs, and no statues of rulers. But what it does have is so important.

“In the period when inequality appears to be lowest, productivity appears to rise. It challenges the idea that prosperity requires us to concentrate decision-making powers in the hands of the few.

“It is quite an interesting lesson for modern societies, as the Indus civilization demonstrates clearly that an urban society can be highly productive and inventive at scale, whilst also ensuring that resources and power are shared equitably. In fact, doing so may even have been essential to sustaining prosperity over the centuries.”

The Birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Human Ancestors May Have Used Fire Far Earlier Than We Thought, Study Reveals

23 June 2026, By M. Starr

https://www.sciencealert.com/human-ancestors-may-have-used-fire-far-earlier-than-we-thought-study-reveals

(Kamila Kozioł/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

When it comes to phenomena that may have changed the course of human history, fire has to be near the top of the list.

Unchecked, it's devastating – but when harnessed by humans, fire became a tool like no other.

It provides warmth in the cold, cooks our food, powers engines, and transforms raw materials into everything from pottery and glass to metal.

Yet exactly when our ancestors first began using fire remains one of archaeology's biggest questions.

Now, an investigation into the detritus left behind in a cave by our ancient human ancestors has pushed the timeline back by hundreds of thousands of years.

Early humans living in South Africa's Wonderwerk Cave – likely Homo erectus – left behind signs of repeated fire use in deposits dated to between 1.07 and 1.79 million years ago, according to a team led by paleobiologist María Dolores Marín-Monfort of the National University of the South in Argentina.

The researchers found evidence of fire alongside other signs of occupation tens of meters inside the cave – far deeper than a natural wildfire would be expected to penetrate.

The entrance to Wonderwerk Cave. 

(Wonderwerk Cave Project)



"These discoveries show that early humans were not simply passive observers of natural fires," says archaeologist Liora Kolska Horwitz of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

"They were actively engaging with fire and incorporating it into their lives."

Wonderwerk Cave, located deep in the Kalahari Desert, is an invaluable time capsule of early human history.

Previous research had already identified it as one of the oldest archaeological sites in the world, with habitation dated to around 1.8 million years ago – the earliest known evidence of indoor living.

Those investigations had also identified evidence of fire use in sediments dating back to around 1 million years ago.

The excavation site in Wonderwerk Cave.

 (MNCN)



Now, a clever, non-invasive technique has revealed much more.

Amid the finds excavated from the cave is quite a large collection of animal bones. And, just as heating can alter sand and stone, so too does it change the chemical structure of bone.

This, in turn, changes how the bone interacts with light.

Imagine you have two bones in front of you. One was heated by fire, the other was not, but after 1.5 million years buried in a cave, they don't look much different from each other.

However, when you shine a blue light onto both bones and use a filter to block reflected blue light, one of the bones emits a red glow.

A comparison of two bones under blue light (left), 

showing the way fire-altered bone re-emits a red glow (right). 

(Marín-Monfort et al, PLOS One, 2026)

That's because heating changed the bone's structure. It absorbs the blue light and re-emits it as red – a phenomenon known as fluorescence – while unheated bone remains dark.

"The methodology we have developed allows us to distinguish burnt fossils from those that have undergone chemical alterations during fossilization, such as fluoridation or manganese deposition, which can visually mimic the effects of fire," explains geologist Yolanda Fernández-Jalvo of the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Spain (MNCN).

"We have improved the resolution with which we can identify burned fossils in very ancient contexts."

The bones themselves were not necessarily brought in by the H. erectus occupants – many of them were microfossils that were probably transported in by owls that puked them up as pellets.

The researchers also had to show that early humans were likely involved, rather than the burning being the result of natural processes.

The locations of the burnt remains in the cave provided the major clue. They were found close to other evidence of early human presence, far from the entrance. The evidence was also not widespread enough to indicate a wildfire.

This does not mean that the cave's inhabitants knew how to create fire – but it does suggest they knew how to make use of it.

"Fire was not a one-time occurrence because it appears in different stratigraphic layers, separated by tens of thousands of years, which reinforces the idea that they already knew how to transport and maintain fire in protected spaces," Fernández-Jalvo says.

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Scientists Rediscover Rare Island Fox Not Seen for More Than 20 Years

By Pensoft Publishers, June 22, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-rediscover-rare-island-fox-not-seen-for-more-than-20-years/

Close-up of the Cozumel dwarf fox. Credit: Rafael Chacón

A confirmed sighting of the critically endangered Cozumel dwarf fox has renewed calls for urgent research and conservation to prevent the disappearance of this unique island species.

For more than two decades, the Cozumel dwarf fox existed almost as a biological ghost. Known primarily from ancient subfossil remains and a handful of unconfirmed reports, the tiny island canid had largely vanished from scientific view, leaving researchers uncertain whether it still survived in the wild.

Now, a recently published short communication in Neotropical Biology and Conservation has provided rare evidence that the species persists. Researchers Travis D. Bayer, Maggie A. McGreal, and A. Rafael Chacón D. describe the rescue of an adult male Cozumel dwarf fox after residents reported a disoriented animal near kilometer 29 (18 miles) along Cozumel’s coastal highway on September 14, 2023. Staff from the Fundación de Parques y Museos de Cozumel located the fox and safely captured it.

The fox underwent several days of observation and a complete health evaluation before being released on September 17, 2023. It was returned to the wild in the Laguna Colombia State Reserve, a protected area selected because it provides suitable habitat and is far from major roadway dangers.

The Cozumel dwarf fox (Urocyon sp.) is among the rarest members of the dog family worldwide. This unique population has lived on the Caribbean island of Cozumel for thousands of years, and subfossil evidence suggests it may have been present even before the arrival of the early Maya. Long-term isolation on the island drove rapid evolutionary changes, resulting in a phenomenon known as “insular dwarfism.”

Full-body photograph of adult male Cozumel fox following release in Laguna Colombia State Reserve. The photograph was taken at approximately 0530h on 17 September 2023 following a health assessment and release within the Reserve.

 Credit: Rafael Chacón

Researchers estimate the fox is only 60-80% the size of its mainland relative, the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). Before this recent documentation, the only physical evidence of the animal came from subfossil remains, while the most recent unconfirmed sighting dated back to 2001.

Why the Cozumel Fox Faces Extinction Risk

Although it has inhabited the island for centuries, the Cozumel fox has never been formally described as a distinct taxonomic entity. Scientists consider the population critically endangered because the remaining habitat in southern Cozumel is increasingly threatened by land-use changes, development, invasive species, and natural disasters. As a result, researchers warn that the fox could be nearing extinction.

Travis Bayer of Pathos Wildlife highlighted how easily rare species can disappear without attracting attention. “One of the most important takeaways from this research is that species can quietly disappear without the world even realizing they are gone. We often think extinction is something dramatic and obvious, but in reality, it can happen gradually and silently, especially for rare species living in remote or understudied habitats.”

“The rediscovery of the fox is not a conservation success story yet, but it represents a second chance,” Bayer added.

Conservation Priorities for Saving the Cozumel Fox

The researchers say the newly documented photographic evidence underscores the need for immediate conservation efforts. “The biggest challenge facing the Cozumel fox is that we still know almost nothing about it, including its remaining population size, distribution, or ecology,” noted Bayer. “That uncertainty alone is dangerous, because it makes effective conservation extremely difficult.”

Image of a dwarf gray fox (Urocyon sp.) captured on the island of Cozumel, Mexico. An adult male Cozumel fox (Urocyon sp.) is shown partially concealed behind foliage before capture by the Fundación de Parques y Museos de Cozumel (FPMC) on 14 September 2023. This represents the first photograph ever taken of the species on the island and the first reported sighting since 2001. 

(Photo Credit: Rafael Chacón). Credit: Rafael Chacón

The team outlined several priority actions, including targeted field surveys to estimate the fox’s population size and range, genetic research to better understand its evolutionary history, and measures to protect the remaining suitable habitat while reducing conflicts between people and wildlife.

“Ultimately, we hope this work helps move the Cozumel fox from a little-known, uncertain presence on the island to a better-understood key part of Cozumel’s ecosystems. We also hope it demonstrates that conservation is often most urgent when certainty is lowest and that uncertainty itself can be a call to action,” concluded Bayer.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

The Amazon’s Mysterious “Ghost Dog” Has Been Hiding a Big Secret

By Pensoft Publishers, June 22, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/the-amazons-mysterious-ghost-dog-has-been-hiding-a-big-secret/

Photo of the short-eared dog caught on a camera trap from Bolivia. 

Credit: G. Ayala & M.E Viscarra

Camera traps are revealing that the Amazon’s “ghost dog” is less rare than feared but still depends on protected forests.

For decades, the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis) has ranked among the least understood carnivores in Latin America, and perhaps among the least understood canids anywhere. Its secretive behavior, sharp hearing, and powerful sense of smell have helped it avoid people, leaving biologists with only rare direct observations in the wild.

Now, a new study published in the open-access journal Neotropical Biology and Conservation is offering a clearer look at this elusive Amazon predator.
The Power of Remote Sensing

According to the study’s lead author, Robert Wallace, remote sensing changed what scientists could learn about the ghost dog. Researchers began capturing images of the species with camera traps in 2001, and those first photos made it clear that a broader study could reveal something important.

Across nearly 25 years, scientists organized 500 distribution records from Bolivia and carried out 34 intensive camera trap surveys. The surveys covered lowland areas of Bolivia and Peru, with a focus on the Greater Madidi Tambopata and Llanos de Moxos Biocultural Landscapes.

Photo of the short-eared dog caught on a camera trap from Bolivia. 

Credit: G. Ayala & M.E Viscarra



The work produced 594 independent photographic events, creating the largest set of confirmed short-eared dog records anywhere in the species’ known range. The lead author highlighted that this research is a “wonderful example of how conservation technology and remote sensing – in this case, the intensive use of camera traps – can provide substantial data on one of the least known species of the Amazonian rainforests”.

Unveiling the Ghost

So what does the ghost dog actually look like? Camera traps documented a distinctive animal with a dense dark coat that ranges from blackish gray to reddish brown, a large head, very small, rounded ears, short legs, and a long bushy tail. The species also has partially webbed paws, a feature not found in other Amazonian canids.

Its appearance, however, was not the most unexpected result.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyaEP99JkOc

Short-eared dog on a video. 

Credit: Wallace et al., 2026

“The most surprising aspect of the results was that despite being an almost mythical beast, short-eared dogs are much more abundant than we had imagined,” noted the researchers.

The species is still not common, but the camera trap capture rates and an estimated density of 15 individuals per 100 square kilometers suggest it is less rare than scientists once thought. The results indicate that short-eared dogs are more abundant than larger carnivores such as jaguars, though less abundant than medium-sized carnivores such as ocelots. The study also revealed part of their behavioral ecology: they are mainly diurnal, meaning they are most active during daylight hours, with activity peaking between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.

A Forest Specialist in Need of Protection

The data show that ghost dogs are closely tied to intact forests. The short-eared dog is a forest specialist with a strong preference for terra firme, the upland forests found away from rivers. This reliance on dense, specialized habitat helps explain why people so rarely see the species.

Because the animal depends on continuous intact forest, its conservation relies heavily on protected areas that are created and managed effectively. The study found that short-eared dogs were relatively more abundant in national protected areas and in Indigenous territories that overlap with those protected zones than in unprotected areas.

“The most important management strategy is the protection of Amazonian forest canopy for which the creation and effective management of protected areas is the most important element, in combination with the sustainable management of Indigenous territories”, the researchers explained.

The study shows that this elusive canid is quietly persisting in the deep forests of Bolivia and Peru, but its future depends on keeping those forests intact.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/