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

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

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

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

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison



Rare Rings Above the Storm

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

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

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

Gravity Waves Tracked Through Multiple Layers of the Atmosphere

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

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

Why Gravity Waves Matter

Scientists say these observations are more than just visually striking.

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

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

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

From Weather Forecasts to Space Weather

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Life of Earth

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AI Could Soon Use More Water Than Humanity Drinks, UN Report Warns

06 June 2026, By A. Turnbull-McRae, The Conversation

https://www.sciencealert.com/ai-could-soon-use-more-water-than-humanity-drinks-un-report-warns

(Matt Anderson Photography/Moment/Getty Images)

One argument often used to quell concerns about the rising energy and resource demand of data centers is that artificial intelligence (AI) models will need less in the future as they improve and become more efficient.

But this seemingly logical thinking is a trap, according to a new United Nations report that quantifies the environmental costs of AI.

The report estimates that by 2030, AI's energy use could double to consume 3% of the world's electricity, produce emissions to equal the UK and deplete more water for cooling than the annual drinking water need of the global population.

It also anticipates the use of AI will follow an economic principle known as the "Jevons paradox", which predicts that when technological improvements increase the efficiency of a resource, it leads to a rise, rather than a fall, in the total consumption of that resource.

The paradox is named after economist William Stanley Jevons, who observed this effect with the use of coal in 19th-century England. Efficiency gains did not reduce overall consumption.

Instead, the lower costs resulted in expanded use and higher overall demand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0C56yqIkbk

As AI models become cheaper and more attractive, the report expects this to encourage new uses and higher volumes of use, eroding and possibly erasing any savings from efficiency advances.

To avoid falling into this trap, it lays out a roadmap for responsible AI use based on guiding principles of transparency, efficiency by design, equity and justice, lifecycle responsibility, global cooperation and sustainable use.

The scale of the problem

Last year, data centers already consumed as much electricity as Saudi Arabia, which ranks as the world's 11th largest electricity consumer.

If electricity use doubles as projected by 2030, the associated carbon footprint would require 6.7 billion trees grown over ten years to offset this demand.

Data centers would also require 9.3 trillion liters of water and land nearly ten times the size of Mexico City.

Data centers consume not only electricity, but water to cool them down.

 (4X-image/Getty Images Signature/Canva)



Beyond resource use, the report also underscores the structural inequity at the heart of the AI boom, with only 32 nations hosting AI-specific cloud infrastructure and 90% of that capacity located in the US and China.

It warns of a widening digital divide between nations that build and control AI systems and those that consume them, with the latter often bearing a disproportionate environmental burden caused by mineral extraction and e-waste.

Responsible AI use

Two main forces shape AI's operational footprint: how much we use it and how we use it.

This involves all tasks AI models perform, from text and code generation to image and video. Each of these tasks requires different levels of computational effort.

The model choice also matters, as each AI system performs these tasks with distinct energy and environmental costs.

The report argues responsible AI requires full value-chain governance, from mineral sourcing to recycling and safe disposal.

It calls for a twinning of capability and environmental stewardship – thinking about both what AI can do for us and the protection of the natural environment.

This would mean making environmental disclosures a routine part of AI development, at both the model and task level, and incorporating projected AI demand in climate and energy planning.

Responsible AI is crucial as countries are promoting and adopting AI across government and the public sector.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, the government has launched a national AI strategy and a public service AI framework.

While the framework was informed by the OECD's values-based AI principles, including inclusive and sustainable development, there is no requirement for environmental disclosures and no regulator compiling energy use or emissions.

Likewise in Australia, improving public services is part of the national AI plan. For example, the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia has created Bowerbird, a machine learning-enabled mass audio and video transcription engine, to document material.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has developed a proof-of-concept tool to see whether AI can help speed up the processing of claims.

Both countries take a deliberate "light touch" and principles-based regulatory approach to AI. But this approach risks overlooking the growing environmental cost of AI that can't be solved by improving it.

The natural environment is foundational to the economy, culture and wellbeing. It should be at the center of our thinking.

It's time to rethink the AI innovation playbook and shift focus toward a sustainable tech future.

The Life of Earth

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Scientists Discover Gut Signal That Turns Off Sugar Cravings

By Inst. for Basic Science, June 5, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-gut-signal-that-turns-off-sugar-cravings/

Your gut may be far smarter than scientists realized. Researchers have discovered a hidden gut-brain communication system that can detect when the body is running low on protein and quickly change food cravings to help restore nutritional balance.

 Credit: Shutterstock

Scientists discovered a hidden gut-brain network that can change cravings when the body needs more protein.

The body has a remarkable ability to recognize when it is missing important nutrients and adjust behavior accordingly. New research shows that the gut plays a much larger role in this process than previously understood, actively detecting protein shortages and communicating with the brain to influence food choices.

A team led by Director SUH Seong-Bae of the Center for Microbiome–Body–Brain Physiology at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), working with researchers from Seoul National University and Ewha Womans University, has identified a previously unknown gut-brain communication system that helps animals seek out essential nutrients when protein is scarce.

Their findings reveal that the gut does far more than digest food. It continuously monitors nutritional status and can rapidly alter feeding behavior through a combination of nerve signals and hormones.

How the Gut Detects Protein Deficiency

Protein is a vital nutrient because it contains essential amino acids, which animals cannot produce on their own and must obtain through food. Scientists have long known that animals tend to crave protein-rich foods when protein is lacking, but the biological mechanism behind this behavior has remained unclear.

The researchers discovered that the gut responds to protein deficiency using two interconnected signaling pathways. One is a fast neural pathway that quickly alerts the brain when essential amino acids are in short supply. The other is a slower hormonal pathway that helps maintain protein-seeking behavior over a longer period.

Protein deprivation triggers gut enterocytes to release the peptide CNMa, initiating gut–brain communication in Drosophila. This gut-brain signaling establishes a positive feedback loop that sustains neuronal activity and CNMa production. In addition, circulating CNMa modulates distinct brain neurons to promote essential amino acid intake while suppressing carbohydrate consumption.

 Credit: Institute for Basic Science

To investigate how this system works, the team turned to fruit flies, which are widely used to study the neural circuits involved in feeding behavior. Combining neural imaging, behavioral testing, and genetic techniques, the researchers mapped the circuitry responsible for detecting and responding to protein shortages.

When flies were deprived of dietary protein, specialized cells in the intestine released a peptide hormone called CNMa. This molecule served two functions. First, it activated enteric neurons associated with the gut, rapidly transmitting information about amino acid deficiency directly to the brain through a gut-brain neural circuit. Second, CNMa entered the bloodstream and reached the brain more slowly, where it reinforced and prolonged the drive to seek essential amino acids.

“Our study shows that the gut is not simply a digestive organ, but an active sensory system that continuously monitors nutritional state and directly guides behavioral decisions,” said Director Seong-Bae Suh.

How Protein Shortages Change Food Preferences

The researchers found that the response was highly targeted rather than a simple increase in hunger.

Instead of causing animals to eat more of everything, the gut-brain system altered dietary priorities. Protein-related nutrients became more appealing, while interest in sugar declined.

Further investigation showed that CNMa signaling suppressed the activity of sugar-sensing brain cells known as DH44 neurons. By reducing responses to carbohydrates, the system effectively shifted feeding preferences toward foods that could provide the essential amino acids the body lacked.

Gut Bacteria Also Influence Cravings

The study also highlighted a role for the gut microbiome.

Fruit flies that lacked their normal gut bacteria displayed stronger activation of brain neurons involved in amino acid seeking. This finding suggests that gut microbes can influence feeding behavior by affecting nutrient availability and the signaling pathways that monitor nutritional status.

Evidence Found in Mammals

The researchers then examined whether similar mechanisms exist in mammals.

Experiments in mice showed that animals deprived of protein also developed a strong preference for essential amino acids, indicating that this nutrient-sensing system has been conserved through evolution.

One unexpected finding involved FGF21, a hormone widely believed to play a major role in regulating protein appetite. Even mice that lacked FGF21 continued to show the same protein-seeking behavior.

The result suggests that additional nutrient-sensing systems exist beyond those already known to science.

Implications for Obesity and Metabolic Health

The findings demonstrate that animals do not simply increase food intake when nutrients are missing. Instead, the brain can selectively adjust feeding priorities to target the specific nutrients that are lacking.

According to the researchers, understanding how the gut and brain work together to maintain nutritional balance could provide new insights into obesity, metabolic diseases, and eating disorders.

“Most current obesity and appetite-control drugs rely on gut hormone signaling, yet we still know relatively little about how naturally produced gut signals influence the brain and behavior,” said Director Seong-Bae Suh. “This study reveals fundamental principles of nutrient selection by the gut-brain axis and provides a foundation for future therapeutic strategies targeting metabolic and feeding disorders.”

The findings were published in the journal Science on May 21.

The Life of Earth

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A Surprising Discovery Inside Fish Could Change What We Know About the Ocean

By U. of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, June 4, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/a-surprising-discovery-inside-fish-could-change-what-we-know-about-the-ocean/

Gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta). 

Credit: Diana Udel, University of Miami Rosenstiel School

Scientists have uncovered evidence that tiny microbes living inside fish may be helping shape the chemistry of the world’s oceans.

The new study, led by former graduate student Anthony Bonacolta at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, suggests that bacteria in fish intestines may work together with their hosts to produce a form of calcium carbonate. This mineral plays an important role in ocean chemistry and serves as a significant carbon sink. The findings challenge the long-held assumption that fish alone are responsible for this process.

Fish, Microbes, and Ocean Chemistry

Bony fish, known as teleosts, constantly drink seawater to maintain proper hydration. As part of this process, their intestines remove excess calcium and carbonate ions. These compounds are then expelled as solid calcium carbonate pellets called ichthyocarbonates.

Until now, scientists believed ichthyocarbonate production was driven entirely by fish physiology. The new research points to a possible microbial contribution.

“This work suggests that the gut microbiome may play a broader role in both fish biology and global marine nutrient cycles,” said one of the study’s senior authors, Martin Grosell, Maytag Professor of Ichthyology and chair of the Department of Marine Biology and Ecology. “What was previously thought to be a process driven solely by the fish may actually reflect a close symbiosis between the fish and its gut microbial community.”

Testing Fish in Different Salinity Conditions

To investigate the process, researchers studied Gulf toadfish under varying salinity conditions. The fish were exposed to brackish water (9 ppt), seawater (35 ppt), and hypersaline water (60 ppt). Previous research has shown that ichthyocarbonate production increases as fish adapt to saltier environments through normal osmoregulation.

The team observed that fish kept in low salinity conditions did not produce ichthyocarbonates. Production occurred in seawater and increased even further in hypersaline conditions.

Researchers collected samples from several locations, including different sections of the intestine, the ichthyocarbonates themselves, and the surrounding water. DNA and RNA were extracted to examine both microbial communities and patterns of gene activity in the fish and associated microbes. Genetic sequencing was used to identify the microbes present, while gene expression analyses helped reveal their potential functions.

Evidence of a Fish Microbe Partnership

The researchers found large numbers of vibrios, especially Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae, in both the fish intestines and the ichthyocarbonates. Genetic analyses indicated that these bacteria possess traits associated with processes involved in ichthyocarbonate formation.

The findings suggest the microbes may actively participate in mineral production alongside the fish rather than simply existing in the gut environment.

“Most life on Earth is microbial, driving nutrient cycles and ecosystem function while revealing new dimensions of biological diversity through symbiosis,” said Grosell. “The ocean is especially rich in these partnerships, and the toadfish–vibrio symbiosis potentially linked to calcium carbonate production is a striking new example.”

Implications for Ocean Health and Carbon Storage

The discovery provides a new perspective on how marine ecosystems influence ocean chemistry and the marine carbon cycle. If confirmed by future research, the results suggest that microscopic organisms living inside fish could contribute to processes that affect carbon storage and overall ocean health on a much larger scale than previously recognized.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Our Sun's 'Heartbeat' Has Been Mysteriously Changing For 40 Years

05 June 2026, By I. Farkas

https://www.sciencealert.com/our-suns-heartbeat-has-been-mysteriously-changing-for-40-years

A solar flare imaged by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in 2024. 

(NASA SDO)

Scientists have just realized that surface measurements of the Sun's radiant activity haven't captured its full story.

Probing deeper than before, astronomers have 'listened' to our closest star's internal rumblings and found sizeable shifts over the past 40 years.

They say their findings suggest the Sun may be entering a "different mode of behavior".

"We have uncovered evidence of systematic changes in the solar activity cycle," explains University of Birmingham astrophysicist Bill Chaplin, the new study's lead author.

"Crucially, magnetic activity is becoming more tightly confined near the surface with each cycle."

The Sun's activity increases and decreases throughout an 11-year solar cycle. During the solar minimum, our star is relatively quiescent and Earth-friendly.

But during the solar maximum, it's especially tempestuous, and liable to launch violently energetic flares and coronal mass ejections. These outbursts can disrupt satellites, GPS, communications, and power grids.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0uIcLZ5rh8&t=1s

Like a basic bar magnet, the Sun has a magnetic field with two poles, generated by the constant churning of hot, electrically charged plasma that, well, makes up the Sun.

The turbulent stellar interior and the Sun's uneven rotation (it rotates faster at its equator) twist and drag this field in a messy magnetic dance.

Eventually, it causes the north and south magnetic poles to flip, which occurs approximately every 11 years, constituting one solar cycle.

The past few cycles have displayed significant changes in overall activity and the evolution of magnetic fields across the Sun.

The preceding Cycle 24, for example, was significantly weaker in solar activities, including sunspots and radiation emissions at various wavelengths.

The current Cycle 25 was expected to continue this overall trend, but it seems to exhibit some intriguing changes occurring below the solar surface.

To probe our star's interior activity, Chaplin and colleagues assessed nearly four decades' worth of Doppler velocity data from the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON). Going back to 1987, the data captured Cycles 22 through 25.

Oscillations caused by sound waves in the Sun's interior vary in frequency based on solar activity, across the 11-year solar cycle.

 (W.J. Chaplin/CC BY 4.0)



The BiSON observatory is a network of six spectrometers located around the world to keep a constant watch on the Sun.


It has been operating since 1976, tracking solar activity through a technique called helioseismology, which detects the tiny changes in the Sun's light caused by vibrations within its interior.


The researchers analyzed such vibrations, called "p-mode oscillations," formed as sound waves ripple throughout the Sun, causing it to 'ring' like a massive thermonuclear bell.


To gauge activity at different depths through the Sun's interior, the team analyzed three oscillation frequency ranges: low, mid, and high.



They then compared these data with a couple of commonly used "global activity proxies", which measure activity across the Sun's surface.


These proxies include the number and size of sunspots as well as a measure of the Sun's radio emissions, to compare inner activities with what's happening in the outer atmosphere, including the oft-confusing corona.

A comparison of the Sun's activity during solar maximum (left, imaged in 2014) and its much tamer solar minimum (right, imaged in 2019). 

(NASA/SDO/CC BY 4.0)



A remarkable pattern emerged: The Sun's outer activity appears weaker, as recently expected, but its inner high-frequency oscillations appear stronger, more in line with older Cycles.

As a result, the researchers say that solar-cycle-driven magnetic activity and structural changes in the Sun are becoming more confined to shallow regions, around 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) below the surface.

"This is the first such discovery and would have been impossible without the long BiSON observations," Chaplin adds.

Long-term tracking is essential for teasing out trends and changes in the Sun's activity.

Understanding how magnetic fields affect outbursts, and vice versa, will improve space weather forecasts, helping us better predict the onslaught of charged particles and geomagnetic storms that impact Earth's electrical infrastructure.

This research also draws out associations between the Sun's interior and exterior forces.

"We discovered that the relationship between internal solar oscillations and surface activity has evolved over the past few cycles," says astronomer Sarbani Basu of Yale University.

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Surprising New Study Challenges a Century-Old Theory of Habit Formation

By Johns Hopkins U., June 4, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/surprising-new-study-challenges-a-century-old-theory-of-habit-formation/

Many daily actions begin as deliberate choices but eventually feel automatic. New research suggests that this shift may happen far more abruptly than scientists once believed. 

Credit: Shutterstock

A new study challenges the long-held idea that habits form only through slow, gradual repetition.

What if your habits don’t form through countless repetitions over months or years? What if the brain can decide, almost instantly, that a behavior is no longer worth thinking about?

That possibility is at the center of a new Johns Hopkins University study published in Nature Communications. The research challenges one of the most enduring ideas in psychology and neuroscience: that habits emerge through a slow, gradual process of reinforcement. Instead, the findings suggest that the brain may sometimes switch surprisingly quickly from deliberate decision-making to automatic behavior.

The discovery could help explain why some routines suddenly seem effortless after feeling intentional for so long. It may also offer new clues about how deeply ingrained behaviors, including unhealthy ones, might eventually be changed.

A Century of Assumptions About Habit Formation

Habits are essential to daily life. They allow the brain to automate routine actions, reducing the mental effort needed to navigate the world. From tying your shoes to driving a familiar route, habits free up cognitive resources for other tasks.

“For over 100 years, the theory of how habits form has been one of gradual strengthening and repetition: You do enough repetitions, and slowly over time the brain starts to realize, ‘I don’t need to be thinking about this anymore,’” said Kishore V. Kuchibhotla, senior author of the study and a neuroscientist who studies learning in humans and animals. “But the reason scientists tend to think of it as a gradual process is because of how we have studied it.”

Kuchibhotla and his colleagues suspected that the apparent gradual nature of habit formation might be influenced by the way researchers traditionally measure it.

A New Way to Study Habits

To investigate the process differently, Kuchibhotla and his colleagues developed an experiment designed to better reflect everyday decision making.

People do not choose drinks only because they are thirsty. They may select sparkling water or another favorite beverage simply because they enjoy it more than plain water.

“We essentially motivated them by something else – a taste preference,” Kuchibhotla said.

In the study, mice always had access to acidic water in their home cages, allowing them to stay hydrated even if they disliked the taste. When they responded to a specific sound, they received water they preferred.

Because the mice were not especially thirsty, they sometimes responded to the sound and sometimes ignored it. The researchers confirmed that this behavior was goal-directed because the animals only acted when they wanted the preferred water.

Then the behavior changed. At a specific point, the mice began responding to the sound every time, even when they no longer wanted the water. Rather than developing gradually, the shift appeared to happen suddenly, as if a switch had been turned on.

“What surprised us most is that nothing changed on our end. The animals simply switched strategies from one trial to the next. Capturing that kind of rapid behavioral reorganization is rare,” said lead author Sharlen Moore, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.

Brain recordings collected during the experiments pointed to a possible source of that switch: a specific brain region that may help control the transition between goal-directed and habitual behavior.

“The fact that it is so sudden implies that something is controlling it,” Kuchibhotla said.

Implications for Breaking Bad Habits

The researchers also observed that some mice returned to goal-directed behavior after spending long periods acting out of habit.

“It really shows how much our methods shape what we see: when we stop over-motivating the animals, we start to uncover aspects of behavior that were basically hidden before,” Moore said.

The findings were significant enough that the National Institutes of Health awarded the team a new grant to further investigate the potential mechanism behind this behavioral switch.

“Many habits are helpful for freeing up your mind for other things. But that’s not always the case. The fact that there may be a controller means maybe we can reverse maladaptive habits back to goal-directed behavior,” Kuchibhotla said. “Rather than thinking of habits as always being there no matter what, it’s possible that bad habits need not be there forever.”

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Scientists Find Signs of Active Life in Ötzi The Iceman

03 June 2026, By M. Starr

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-find-signs-of-active-life-in-tzi-the-iceman

Ötzi the Iceman is one of the most studied individuals in the world.

 (South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Eurac Research/Marion Lafogler)

Ötzi the Iceman is about as deceased as an organism can be.

He died 5,300 years ago, his body exquisitely mummified in Italy's glacial Ötztal Alps – one of the oldest and best-preserved human mummies ever discovered.

In the extreme cold of the alpine environment in which he died, microbial activity was suppressed – and, since microbes are the main driver of decomposition, Ötzi did not succumb to its ravages.

But the Iceman's corpse may not have been completely devoid of life.

A new study of the microbes all over his body suggests that some potentially active species may be nearly as old as the mummy himself – while others may have adapted to the conditions of the cold storage where he lies today.

"A mummy's microbiome is unique because we are dealing with microbes that are over 5,000 years old and, at the same time, with modern microbes that have been introduced since the discovery," says first author Mohamed Sarhan, a microbiologist at Eurac Research in Italy.

How Ötzi was discovered, protruding from the ice.

 (Helmut Simon/Wikimedia Commons)



Ötzi (pronounced like 'curtsy' without the 'c') was discovered in 1991, when two hikers spotted what they thought was a recently deceased mountaineer protruding from the melting ice of a glacier, at an elevation of 3,210 meters (10,530 feet).

It was only once his body had been transported to a laboratory that scientists understood the true significance of the find – a Copper Age hunter who had lived and died around 3300 BCE, mummified so exceptionally well that he appeared far more recent.

Since then, scientists have discovered much about Ötzi.

He was around 46 years old when he died, was adorned with at least 61 hand-poked tattoos on his dark skin, wore clothing stitched from the skins of multiple animals, and ate a last meal rich in ibex fat, wild meat, and cereals.

A reconstruction of how Ötzi may have looked in life, although recent genetic analysis suggests he may have had darker skin and male pattern baldness. 

(South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Augustin Ochsenreiter/All rights reserved)

Previous studies even examined his gut microbiome, finding it more consistent with that of ancient, non-industrialized human populations than with that of modern Western populations.

Researchers also recovered an ancient strain of Helicobacter pylori, the stomach bacterium associated today with ulcers and gastric cancer.

However, all these studies had one thing in common: They mostly treated those microbes as biological remains, rather than investigating whether any might still be active today.

And no one had undertaken the painstaking work of extricating Ötzi's native microbiome from environmental contaminants that may have moved in after he died, both on the glacier and afterward, when he was moved to cold storage to prevent decomposition.

Sarhan and his colleagues took swab samples from all over Ötzi's body, as well as meltwater inside him. They also used data on intestinal and stomach tissue from previous studies, and tested a sample of the soil from where he was found, collected at the same time as the Iceman himself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJg4w2sox0k

They ran these samples through DNA and RNA sequencing, looking for patterns in the types of microbes therein.

Broadly, the microbes fell into two main groups. The first were ancient microbes that were part of Ötzi's living microbiome.

The second were cold-loving yeasts found on Ötzi's skin and in meltwater collected from inside the mummy. These yeasts were highly specialized species adapted to cold environments, genetically related to microbes found in gelid regions such as Antarctica.

This suggests that these microbes likely originated in the glacier environment that preserved Ötzi's body.

Ötzi is kept at -6 degrees Celsius (21 degrees Fahrenheit) and regularly sprayed with water to keep him from drying out. 

(South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Eurac Research/Marion Lafogler)



But there was something else a bit strange. Some of the samples were heavily degraded, showing that the microbes were ancient – but others were relatively fresh, implying ongoing activity.

"We see continuity here," says microbiologist Frank Maixner, director of the Institute for Mummy Studies at Eurac Research.

"These yeasts have accompanied Ötzi on his long journey through the millennia."

There's another piece of the strange puzzle. Some of the microbes may have benefited from the conservation techniques used on the body.

After he was found, Ötzi's body was treated with phenol, a toxic compound that prevents fungal growth. Three of the four yeasts were species capable of metabolizing phenol.

It is, to be clear, impossible to tell whether these active microbes are the descendants of a long, unbroken line quietly making their home on Ötzi's body for millennia, even in the ice-cold, or whether they were dormant and revived after the mummy was thawed.

But the evidence strongly indicates that, in some fashion, the Iceman's body supported their survival.

Samples taken in 2010 and 2019 showed that one cold-loving species increased over the decade – suggesting that at least some of the microbes are surviving and even slowly reproducing in the subzero conditions of Ötzi's storage chamber.

"The Iceman mummy is not a static artifact but a dynamic ecosystem of living archive where ancient glacier-derived microbes and modern contaminants coexist under museum conditions," the researchers write.

The Life of Earth

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Cat Ownership Linked to Increased Risk of Schizophrenia, Study Suggests

04 June 2026, By R. Dyer

https://www.sciencealert.com/cat-ownership-linked-to-increased-risk-of-schizophrenia-study-suggests

(Олег Мороз/Unsplash)

Having a cat as a pet is linked to an increased risk of schizophrenia-related conditions, according to a 2023 analysis of 17 studies.

This idea that cat ownership could be linked to schizophrenia risk was proposed in a 1995 study, with exposure to a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii suggested as a cause.

But the research since then has delivered mixed conclusions.

The 2023 review found "a significant positive association between broadly defined cat ownership and an increased risk of schizophrenia-related disorders."

Psychiatrist John McGrath and colleagues at the Queensland Center for Mental Health Research in Australia looked at papers published over the last 44 years in 11 countries, including the US and the UK.

"There is a need for more high-quality studies in this field," the authors emphasize in their published paper.

Studies have found that being around cats during childhood might make a person more likely to develop schizophrenia; however, not all research has found an association.

Toxoplasmosis is only known to reproduce in cats (1), but can also be transmitted to humans through intermediate hosts (2, 5, 7). 

(CDC)

Some papers also link cat exposure to higher scores on scales that measure traits related to schizophrenia – which affects a person's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors – and psychotic-like experiences.

But again, other studies don't show this connection.

To get a clearer picture, McGrath and his team say there's a need for a thorough review and analysis of all the research on these topics.

T. gondii is a mostly harmless parasite that can be transmitted through undercooked meat or contaminated water. It can also be transmitted through an infected cat's feces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG146bHn4qw&t=1s

Estimates suggest that T. gondii infects about 40 million people in the US, typically without any symptoms.

Meanwhile, researchers keep finding more strange effects that infections may have.

Once inside our bodies, T. gondii can infiltrate the central nervous system and influence neurotransmitters.

The parasite has been linked to personality changes, the emergence of psychotic symptoms, and some neurological disorders, including schizophrenia.

However, a link doesn't prove that T. gondii causes these changes or that the parasite was transmitted to a human from a cat.

"After adjusting for covariates, we found that individuals exposed to cats had approximately twice the odds of developing schizophrenia," the Australian team writes.

There are some important things to keep in mind here, like the fact that 15 of the 17 studies were case-control studies.

This kind of research can't show cause and effect, and it often doesn't account for factors that may have affected both the exposure and the outcome.

The researchers also highlight the low quality of several of the studies examined.

Results were inconsistent across studies, but those of higher quality suggested that associations in unadjusted models might have been due to factors that could have influenced the results.

One study found no significant association between owning a cat before age 13 and later developing schizophrenia.

But the same study did identify a significant link when narrowing down cat ownership to a specific period (ages 9 to 12).

This inconsistency suggests that the critical window for cat exposure is not well defined.

Cat feces could be the source of toxoplasmosis. (frosted_vulpes_ferrilata/Unsplash)



A study in the US, which involved 354 psychology students, didn't find a connection between owning a cat and schizotypy scores. However, those who had received a cat bite had higher scores when compared to those who had not.

Another study, which included people with and without mental disorders, discovered a connection between cat bites and higher scores on tests measuring particular psychological experiences.

But they suggested other pathogens, such as Pasteurella multocida, may be responsible instead.

Before we can draw any firm conclusions, the researchers reiterate that we need better, and broader, research.

"Our review provides support for an association between cat ownership and schizophrenia-related disorders," the authors conclude.

"There is a need for more high-quality studies, based on large, representative samples to better understand cat ownership as a candidate risk-modifying factor for mental disorders."

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

It Turns Out Birds Masturbate Too, And Evolution May Explain Why

04 June 2026, By M. Irving

https://www.sciencealert.com/it-turns-out-birds-masturbate-too-and-evolution-may-explain-why

(Domepitipat/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Birds do it, all right.

And they're perfectly happy to fly solo.

New research suggests that we should welcome birds to the sweaty club of animals that masturbate, which is way less exclusive than we thought.

"Avian self-pleasure is usually a rather inelegant affair, in which a bird rubs their cloaca (a shared orifice for both excretion and reproduction) against an object, like a branch, twig or toy," the team behind the study writes in The Conversation.

"This is often accompanied by a lot of flapping and self-satisfied vocalization."

But it's not, as you might assume, just a way for bored birds to pass the time in cages.

It turns out that wild birds love a solo sesh too – perhaps even more than captive ones.

The finding raises some questions, though.

It's obvious what the individual is getting out of it. But from an evolutionary perspective, why has masturbation flourished in the animal kingdom?

At risk of sounding like a puritanical preacher, masturbation 'wastes' a lot of time, energy, and in males, sperm. And why bother seeking out a partner when you can take care of things yourself?

Altogether, solo sex should, in theory, reduce reproductive success, which is the cornerstone of natural selection.

So why then does evolution seem to turn a blind eye to so many animals out there jerking, cranking, rubbing, tapping, inserting, or otherwise pleasuring themselves?

Studying the self-mating habits of birds could satisfy this scientific curiosity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-OYa4HM_bI&t=2s

For the new study, evolutionary biologists at the Universities of Lancashire, Swansea, and Oxford in the UK collected data on 120 bird species from 22 major bird groups.

That info included their age, sex, whether they were wild or captive, which other birds they shared an environment with, and whether their species was monogamous or promiscuous.

It turns out, this bawdy behavior was widespread across birds, but to different degrees.

Males were more likely than females to rub one out, with 55 percent of male records involving masturbation. But that's not to say lady birds weren't also enjoying some me time – it showed up in 36 percent of female records.

A species' breeding behaviors were linked to masturbation tendency too.

Socially monogamous birds and those that form long-term pair bonds were far less likely to engage in some self-exploration than species with multiple mates.

A bird's age, and whether it was kept alone or with other birds, didn't seem to affect whether a species masturbated.

But the most surprising finding was that wild birds were more likely to ruffle their own feathers than captive birds. That directly contradicts one of the main hypotheses for why birds might masturbate.

"Despite assumptions that masturbation among captive birds like parrots is a result of their often-solitary living, our study finds that it is natural, healthy, and widespread across diverse bird species, even in different environments," says Chloe Heys, a biologist at the University of Lancashire.

Understanding this means that pet owners don't need to worry if they catch their bird in the act. Generally, the advice from vets has been to discourage the behavior, which is seen as a marker of stress or poor health.

Instead, it seems that all the bird needs is a bit of privacy.

That's too much eye contact. 

(Muhammad Owais Khan/Moment/Getty Images)

When the researchers examined the phylogenetic relationships between bird species that engaged in a bit of solo fun, they found that it was concentrated across specific branches of the family tree.

That suggests masturbation has an evolutionary link, and isn't just something that enterprising individuals from different species figured out on their own.

So why hasn't natural selection stamped out this behavior? There are a few hypotheses.

For males, it may be that it helps clear out old sperm, leaving more viable newcomers and making future reproduction more successful.

For females trying to sneak in a quick round with a neighbor, masturbation could get things over and done faster, before their main bonded partner catches them.

Or it may be even more simple.

"Our findings indicate that the proximate mechanism of masturbation may be to serve as a sexual outlet in response to a high sex drive," the researchers write in the study.

It's not just birds, of course. Autoeroticism is all over the animal kingdom.

Monkeys in Indonesia have been caught using rocks to get their rocks off. Dolphins do it with dead fish. Elephants enjoy a spot of self-care. Walruses wank with their flippers, and are surprisingly flexible enough to self-fellate.

There's no shame in it – more and more research suggests getting down to business by oneself is good for you.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Feeling Tired After Vivid Dreams? Science Says Something Else Is to Blame

03 June 2026, ByY. Fatima et al., The Conversation

https://www.sciencealert.com/feeling-tired-after-vivid-dreams-science-says-something-else-is-to-blame

(Sunan Wongsa-nga/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Some mornings when you wake up, your head is fuzzy, your body is heavy, and you don't feel rested.

It feels like you were dreaming all night.

But did all that dreaming actually wear you out? Let's look at what the science says.

We all dream, but not everyone remembers it. Most dreaming occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which makes up 20–25% of our total sleep time.

We have four to six rounds of REM throughout the night, with each round growing longer as morning approaches.

Most dreaming occurs during REM sleep.

 (Ron Lach/Pexels)



We all dream, and most of us dream multiple times a night, whether we remember it or not.

If you wake up during or just after a REM period, you are more likely to remember what you were dreaming.

Whether you remember a dream can also depend on the emotional intensity of the dream and whether you briefly wake up in the night, as well as differences in how individual brains store memories overnight.

People who regularly remember vivid, emotionally intense dreams tend to have lighter, more broken sleep.

What happens in your brain when you dream?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK4yjmApcHo

During REM sleep, your brain is running almost as hard as it does when you are awake, firing away, while your body lies completely still. Your muscles are essentially paralyzed, which stops you acting out what's happening in the dream.

At the same time, the parts of the brain that handle emotion – the amygdala, hippocampus and thalamus – are highly active. The prefrontal cortex, which normally keeps things rational and logical, is much less engaged.

So you get vivid, emotionally charged experiences that feel completely real but make no logical sense. That part is normal.

How long do dreams last? And are we any good at judging? Most people assume dreams are brief, fragmented flashes.

In fact, the evidence suggests otherwise. REM sleep dreams appear to unfold roughly in real time.

When researchers have woken people from REM sleep and asked them to describe their dream, the length of their account closely matches the duration spent in the dreaming stage of sleep (REM episode).

A dream that feels like 20 minutes was probably about that long in real life.

Where people go wrong is estimating how much of the whole night they spent dreaming. A stressful or vivid dream feels longer and stays with you. A dull one vanishes before you even open your eyes.

On top of that, we mostly remember dreams we actually woke up during.

Someone who was sure they dreamed all night probably had a completely normal night of REM sleep. They just happened to wake during the emotionally charged parts, and those are the ones that stuck.

So does dreaming itself actually tire you out?

During REM sleep, your brain isn't resting in the way deep sleep allows. Even so, brain imaging studies suggest this energy use alone doesn't account for the fatigue people feel after a heavy night of dreaming.

Dreaming on its own does not seem to impact your sleep quality unless it tips into nightmares.

A stressful or vivid dream feels longer. (Kirk Marsh/Getty Images)



The more straightforward explanation is this: if you remember a dream, you almost certainly woke up during it. Those wake-ups, even the ones you barely register, take time away from deep sleep.

These wake-ups also give the brain less opportunity to clear a waste product called adenosine. During the day, adenosine builds up in the brain. As it accumulates, the pressure to sleep grows.

One of sleep's main jobs is to flush this out, and it does that most effectively during deep sleep.

Wake up before it's done, and you might find yourself more tired the next day.

Waking from REM sleep is also harder on the body than waking from lighter stages. It can produce sleep inertia, that thick, foggy state in which your brain refuses to come online.

The tiredness is not a consequence of dreaming: It's a consequence of when you woke up and what stage you were pulled from.A stressful or vivid dream feels longer. (Kirk Marsh/Getty Images)

Waking from REM sleep is harder on the body than waking from lighter stages. (microgen/iStock/Getty Images Plus)



Consider the quality of your sleep: When sleep is cut short or is repeatedly broken, the brain makes up for lost REM time on subsequent nights, spending a higher proportion of sleep in that stage. This is called REM rebound.

REM rebound is a compensatory response rather than a problem in itself. The actual problem is whatever is causing the sleep disruption.

If you regularly remember most of your dreams, feel like the number of dreams you have has increased, or find yourself waking up tired most mornings, your fragmented sleep may mean the brain isn't getting the deep, restorative stages it needs.

If this describes you, and it affects how you feel and function through the day, it's worth having a conversation with your doctor.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

How Pigeons Find Their Way Home May Finally Be Solved

By Max Planck Inst. of Animal Behavior, June 2, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/how-pigeons-find-their-way-home-may-finally-be-solved/

Homing pigeon being released by scientist at Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany. 

Credit: Christian Ziegler/ Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

A study suggests pigeons navigate using iron-rich immune cells in their livers that can respond to Earth’s magnetic field. The findings may solve a decades-old mystery about bird navigation and reveal a surprising new sensory role for the immune system.

Pigeons are famous for their ability to travel long distances and still find their way home. For decades, scientists have tried to understand how they do it. A new study suggests that part of the answer may be found in an unexpected place: the liver.

Research published in Science indicates that specialized immune cells in pigeons’ livers may help them detect Earth’s magnetic field, providing an internal compass that assists with navigation.

The cells, called macrophages, normally help break down aging red blood cells. As they perform this task, they accumulate iron. According to the researchers, that iron may give the cells unique quantum properties that allow them to respond to magnetic fields. When these cells were removed, the birds struggled to find their way home.

Electron microscopy image of pigeon liver tissue shows hepatic macrophage (blue) in contact to nerve fiber (yellow), which enables them to transmit (“magnetic”) information to the pigeon brain. 

Credit: Lisowski et al. (2026) Science



“We didn’t expect immune cells to act like sensors for magnetic fields at all. Our results reveal a previously unknown mechanism for magnetic perception in animals,” says Prof. Christian Kurts, Director at the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Experimental Immunology at the University Hospital Bonn, and one of the study’s co-senior authors.

“What looks like a ‘gut feeling’ in bird navigation may actually have a physical basis,” adds Prof. Martin Wikelski, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the other co-senior author of the study.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cB2tPH54-4&t=1s

Tracks of homing pigeons that were trained to navigate over 20km back to their aviaries in Southern Germany. Some pigeons were treated with clodronate to deplete macrophages. Untreated pigeons (white) navigated successfully home on sunny and overcast days. Clodronate-treated pigeons also navigated successfully home on sunny days (orange), but could not navigate home on overcast days (blue). Credit: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

A Longstanding Mystery of Bird Navigation

Scientists have long known that migratory birds and homing pigeons use Earth’s magnetic field as one of several tools for navigation. Exactly how they detect that field, however, has remained unclear.

Previous ideas suggested that birds might perceive magnetic fields through light-sensitive molecules in their eyes or through tiny magnetic particles in their beaks. Despite years of investigation, convincing evidence for either explanation has been difficult to obtain.

The new study offers a different possibility. The international research team brought together immunologists from the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn, physicists from the University of Duisburg-Essen, and ornithologists from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB).

Histology of pigeon liver tissue, depicting iron-containing macrophages (blue). 

Credit: Lisowski et al. (2026) Science



Searching for Magnetic Cells

To determine where magnetic sensing might occur, researchers examined several parts of the body that had been considered likely candidates, including the eyes, beak, and brain. They also investigated the liver and spleen.

Using techniques known as “vibrating sample magnetometry” and “magnetic cell separation,” the team measured magnetic properties in different tissues.

“We had some clues that the liver and spleen have magnetic properties, because they break down red blood cells and so store much iron in the body,” says first author Dr. Clivia Lisowski, from the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn, who led the immunological work.

The liver stood out from all other tissues tested, showing the highest concentration of iron.

“Iron is crystallized in oxide nanoparticles making the cells superparamagnetic and reactive to magnetic fields. We found by far the strongest magnetic response in liver tissue,” adds Prof. Ulf Wiedwald, from the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Further investigation identified liver macrophages as the source of this magnetic response.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOnAZHFdhEE&t=2s

Miriam Widmann, a staff member at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, releases a homing pigeon as part of an experiment investigating navigation under overcast conditions.

 Credit: Christian Ziegler/ Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

Testing the Pigeons’ Magnetic Compass

To find out whether these cells actually influence navigation, researchers carried out homing experiments with pigeons trained to return to their aviary at the MPI-AB in Konstanz, Germany, from distances of more than twenty kilometers away.

When the liver macrophages were removed, the birds lost their sense of direction on overcast days, when the sun was not visible. Under sunny conditions, however, they were still able to return home successfully, likely by relying on solar cues instead of magnetic ones.

The results suggest that pigeons use multiple navigation systems and that magnetic sensing becomes particularly important when visual guidance from the sun is unavailable.

Electron microscopy image of pigeon liver tissue, with full colorization of cells:
blue = hepatic macrophage
yellow = nerve fiber
bright green=connective tissue
dark red=endothelia
orange=capillary with blood fat and proteins
beige/dark pink=nuclei
dark green=fibroblas
Credit: Lisowski et al. (2026) Science



How Magnetic Information May Reach the Brain

After demonstrating that the cells affected navigation, the researchers investigated how information from the liver might be transmitted to the brain.

Using electron microscopy, they found that the iron-rich macrophages are located close to nerve fibers. This arrangement could provide a pathway through which magnetic information is relayed to the nervous system.

Lisowski says: “These findings provide the first concrete evidence of how the Earth’s magnetic field can be perceived within the body and passed on to the brain to guide movement.”

The researchers say the discovery brings together several known biological processes, including iron metabolism and communication between the immune and nervous systems, into a possible explanation for how animals navigate using Earth’s magnetic field.

“Animal navigation is one of the most fascinating phenomena in nature,” says Wikelski. “If immune cells are part of how birds sense direction, it would fundamentally change how we understand navigation.”

Implications Beyond Birds

Many questions remain, especially regarding how the brain processes signals originating from these liver cells.

The findings could also extend beyond pigeons. Animals such as sharks are able to navigate without relying on light, raising the possibility that similar mechanisms may exist in other species.

Researchers say the work opens the door to exploring whether animals, and perhaps even humans, respond to magnetic fields in ways that have not yet been fully understood.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/