Chuck's picture corner to Many 2 2026

Happy 'Naked gardening Day'.

I won't be participating. It's currently a rainy 6c at the moment, and temps are predicted to be below average every day for the next 2 weeks here in Cardinal. Lots more rain this week. After tonight's low of 1c I'll be putting seedlings out in the barn where they will have more space and harden off.

Ps. part of my picture corner strategy is to keep a personal record of the climate as told by the plants in the yard, this year is a fair bit colder than many.

shrubs in front starting to leaf out

lots of these guys about

tulips coming along

peonies opening their first leaves

this day lily variety is often used in commercial parking lot plantings, it flowers (yellow) all season long and is very hardy.

These orange daylilies are what I call ditch lilies they like wet in spring and dry in summer.

These raspberries (gifted from friends) are going crazy, I only got a few berries last year the year I planted them. The berries are great tasting.

daffodils still waiting to open.

another day is done

another rabbit looking for a place to nest on the other side of the yard.

sedum, close to the hot pavement of the driveway

another sedum beside the driveway pavement

this guy is 3 years old and not growing all that well

this is a very old variety of forsythia, I once worked for the head of Ottawa's experimental farm where the 'Ottawa' forsythia variety was born, (under his watch) they flower much more prolifically. 

The gang

the large leaf popular is leafing out

the moon is up early today

and so another day ends.

Enjoy the Day

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Large Twin Study Reveals a Surprise About Narcissism

01 May 2026, By C. Cassella

https://www.sciencealert.com/large-twin-study-reveals-a-surprise-about-narcissism

(Karen Moskowitz/The Image Bank/Getty Images)

It's entirely normal and healthy to be a little self-involved from time to time. But for some individuals, a preoccupation with the self can become excessive, impacting daily life and relationships in pathological ways.

Narcissistic personality disorders are rare, yet their traits have long fascinated scientists.

Despite decades of research, it remains unclear what causes a grandiose view of the self and a strong sense of entitlement, whether it be family history, early childhood experiences, or a bit of both.

It's the classic nature-versus-nurture debate, and twin studies are among the best ways to untangle the complex knot of contributing factors.

Now, data from a large and extended twin family study in Germany suggests that narcissistic tendencies are impacted by genetics more than a shared family environment.

The findings challenge existing psychoanalytical explanations, which argue that 'cold', critical parenting, or praise that sets unrealistic expectations in childhood, play strong roles in driving the development of narcissistic personality traits.

"Narcissism runs in families," the researchers conclude, "but mainly due to genetics."

Their study considered the life experiences, personality traits, and genetics of more than 1,300 pairs of twins, plus their parents, partners, and any non-twin siblings in their families.

Each participant took a personality test, where they were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements.

Adult participants were asked to rank, on a scale of 1 to 9, how much they agreed with statements like "I tend to want others to admire me"; "I tend to want others to pay attention to me"; and "I tend to seek prestige and status."

Younger participants ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 how much they agreed with things like "I am really a special person" and "I am good at getting people to do things my way."

Ultimately, parents and children were similar in their narcissism scores, but the authors of the study say this association was "entirely genetically driven".

Shared environmental factors, like parenting styles or socioeconomic status, played only a "minor role".

A Narcissus painting by Caravaggio. Narcissism gets its name from the Greek hero Narcissus, who was obsessed with his own reflection.

 (Public Domain)



There are different types of narcissism, but traits often include an extreme sense of self-importance, a need for admiration and attention, and an inability to fully connect and empathize with others.

Psychologists often explain these traits by arguing that they cover up for insecurity or low self-esteem, developed during childhood. Treatment often includes 'talk therapy', aka psychotherapy. But perhaps these traits have less to do with learned behaviors than is assumed.

There needs to be a "fundamental shift in the search for the sources of narcissism – with regard to genetics, relevant environmental factors, and the interplay of genes and environments," write the authors of this new twin study, led by psychologist Mitja Back from the University of Münster.

To the team's knowledge, no genome-wide association studies have ever included measures of narcissism. This means we have little way to say how genetic variants may impact narcissistic traits.

A twin study from 1993 included just 175 pairs of twins, and it found that genetic heritability was estimated to be around 60 percent.

But this new study is much larger. It reveals that genetics and individual environmental factors (experiences not shared by both twins) each explain 50 percent of the variance in narcissistic traits.

For instance, interactions with peers at school during childhood are formative influences but often differ greatly between siblings.

In contrast, there was no evidence that shared environmental experiences, such as the home environment, were tied to narcissism. This could imply that parenting styles may not be a strong driving factor, after all – as long as they treat their kids the same way.

Further research needs to tease apart these various nuances.

"More detailed knowledge of genetic and environmental factors and their interplay that drive individual differences in narcissism will further transform our understanding of narcissism," the authors conclude.

"This will be essential for developing more effective means for dealing with narcissistic individuals in applied contexts, such as in psychotherapy, the workplace, and everyday life."

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Scientists Uncover “Astonishing” Hidden Property of Light

BY U. OF EAST ANGLIA, MAY 1, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-uncover-astonishing-hidden-property-of-light/

Scientists have discovered that light can naturally develop a hidden “handedness” as it travels through empty space, without the need for special materials or lenses. 

Credit: SciTechDaily.com

A newly uncovered property of light suggests it may be far more self-sufficient than previously believed.

Researchers at the University of East Anglia have identified a previously unknown property of light that allows it to twist, spin, and behave in unusual ways – without the need for mirrors, materials, or specialized lenses.

In a finding that could reshape medical diagnostics, data transmission, and future quantum systems, scientists from the UK and South Africa demonstrated that light can be “programmed” by taking advantage of its inherent geometry.

This result challenges long-standing assumptions, showing that light can develop chiral behavior – meaning it can act like a left or right hand – while moving freely through space.

According to the team, this could eventually enable light to carry information, examine biological systems, manipulate matter, and safeguard quantum signals.

Why Chirality Matters

Chirality, or “handedness,” plays a key role in science. Many molecules, including those used in medicines, exist in left- and right-handed forms that appear nearly identical but can behave very differently in the body.

To distinguish between them, scientists typically rely on specialized light that rotates either clockwise or anticlockwise. Until now, generating and controlling this type of light required carefully designed surfaces, advanced materials, or intense focusing with powerful lenses.

The new research shows those steps may not be necessary.

“Our work shows that light can naturally develop this handed behavior all on its own,” said Dr. Kayn Forbes from UEA’s School of Chemistry, Pharmacy and Pharmacology.

“You just have to prepare it in the right way. Most people think of light as traveling in straight lines. But scientists can also create structured light – light whose brightness, shape, and direction are carefully arranged.”

Twisting, Spinning, and Emerging Effects

He continues, “One extreme example is light that twists as it travels, forming a corkscrew shape known as an optical vortex. Each twist can carry information, making this kind of light valuable for high-speed internet, secure communications, and advanced sensors.”

“Light can also spin as it travels, depending on how it is polarized. This spin can be left-handed or right-handed – another form of chirality.”

Previously, the interaction between light’s spin and its twisting motion was thought to be extremely weak and only observable under carefully controlled conditions. The UEA team found that when light is prepared in a precisely balanced state, its spin can emerge naturally as it travels through empty space.

“It starts off with no spin at all,” explained MSc student Light Mkhumbuza, who carried out key experiments. “But as the beam travels forward, spinning regions appear and separate out – almost as if the spin was hiding and then revealed itself.”

No mirrors. No special materials. Just light moving freely.

The Role of Topology

According to Dr. Isaac Nape at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, the explanation lies in topology – a branch of mathematics that studies properties that remain unchanged even when objects are stretched or reshaped.

“To explain it, imagine a mug and a doughnut,” he said. “You can morph one into the other without tearing it, because they both have one hole. That hole is a topological feature.”

A mug and a doughnut may look different, but in topology they’re identical: both have a single hole that defines their structure. 

Credit: Shutterstock



Light appears to have its own version of this “hole count” – a hidden topological signature embedded in the arrangement of its polarization. This feature persists as light travels and subtly directs how the beam evolves.

As the beam moves forward, this internal structure causes spinning behavior to emerge, giving researchers a new way to control light using geometry alone.

“This gives us a completely new tuning knob for light. By adjusting its topology, we can decide how and where chirality appears,” said Dr. Nape.

Future Technologies and Impact

“The implications are wide-ranging,” said Dr. Forbes. “This work could lead to simpler and more sensitive medical tests, especially in drug development.”

He continues, “It could also be used to pack more information into laser beams – boosting data capacity for communications, including future quantum networks. And because the effect doesn’t rely on fragile materials or precision-engineered surfaces, it could be easier and cheaper to use in real-world technologies.”

“This research could lay the foundations for a new generation of light-based technologies, by showing that light’s behavior can be controlled using its own internal geometry,” he added.

Key future applications

:Simpler medical and pharmaceutical tests, using specially structured light to distinguish left- and right-handed molecules vital for drug safety and disease detection.

Compact optical sensors capable of identifying biological and chemical substances quickly, cheaply, and without laboratory-grade equipment.

More powerful communication technologies, where information is packed into multiple twisting and spinning states of light to boost data capacity and security.

Advanced tools for biology and nanotechnology, allowing tiny particles, cells, or molecules to be moved and rotated using light alone.

More robust quantum technologies, with topology helping protect delicate quantum information from noise and disruption.

The researchers say their findings challenge long-held ideas about what light can do on its own.

“For something so familiar, light is proving to be far richer, stranger, and more powerful than anyone imagined,” said Dr. Forbes.

“And astonishingly, this new behavior has been there all along — just waiting to be seen.”

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

7,000-Year-Old DNA Rewrites the Story of the “Neolithic Revolution”

By SciTechDaily.com, April 29, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/7000-year-old-dna-rewrites-the-story-of-the-neolithic-revolution/

The Neolithic Revolution marks the major turning point in human history when societies shifted from hunting and gathering to farming and food production, beginning around 10,000 years ago. This transition led to the domestication of plants and animals, the rise of permanent settlements, and eventually the development of complex societies.

New genetic and archaeological evidence is reshaping the long-standing narrative of the Neolithic Revolution in North Africa.

For decades, archaeologists have debated how communities that once relied entirely on hunting and gathering began raising animals, cultivating crops, and producing food. This shift, known as the “Neolithic Revolution,” did not happen the same way everywhere. In North Africa, one of the main questions has been whether farming developed locally or arrived from outside.

A study published in Nature suggests that the rise of farming in the Maghreb was not the result of a single migration or a simple borrowing of ideas. Instead, it grew out of repeated contact among African hunter-gatherers, early European farmers, and East Saharan herders, whose interactions reshaped culture, daily life, and ancestry in North Africa between 5500 and 4500 BC.
Genetic Clues From Ancient Moroccan Sites

The 2023 study argues that neither explanation on its own is enough. Led by an international team that included researchers from the Universities of Cordoba, Huelva, and Burgos, along with the Moroccan Institute of Archaeology and Heritage Sciences (INSAP), the project points to a more complex process shaped by migration, cultural exchange, and local adaptation.

A major strength of the study is its analysis of ancient DNA from human remains at three Moroccan sites: Kaf Taht el-Ghar cave in Tetouan, Ifri n’Amr Ou Moussa in Khémisset province, and Skhirat-Rouazi south of Rabat.

At Kaf Taht el-Ghar, researchers identified people descended from European farmers who reached the region around 7,400 years ago. At Ifri n’Amr Ou Moussa, they found that a few centuries later, individuals with fully local ancestry were buried in a cave necropolis even though they were already using pottery and farming-related practices. This suggests that local hunter-gatherer groups did not simply disappear when new customs arrived. Some adopted them.

Researcher working. 

Credit: University of Cordoba
Migration, Mixing, and Cultural Exchange



At Skhirat-Rouazi, dating about 1,000 years later, the genomes point to ancestry linked to pastoralist groups whose roots lay in the Fertile Crescent. Archaeology had already suggested that such groups moved across North Africa, and the genetic evidence now supports that view.

The findings also show that the Maghreb was connected to surrounding regions much earlier than later historical periods might suggest. Long before Roman rule and long before the spread of Islam, people on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar were already sharing knowledge, technologies, cultural traditions, and genes.

Rafael M. Martínez of the University of Córdoba said the study marks “a turning point in our understanding” of how the Neolithic spread in the region, adding that “the unidirectionality of the process now seems quite clear, probably from Iberia.” He also said the earliest stamped Moroccan ceramics belong to a wider Western Mediterranean tradition, while the pottery from Skhirat is different, with rope-pattern decoration linked to Saharan pastoralist groups.

Juan Carlos Vera of the University of Huelva said the genomic evidence confirms what archaeology had already suggested. Earlier work had uncovered ancient cereal and legume seeds in Moroccan Neolithic contexts, pointing to a diffusion process, but this new study now shows the immigrants’ “physical” arrival and “the projection of their genes.”

Lasting Impacts on North African Populations

Cristina Valdiosera of the University of Burgos, who co-directed the project with Mattias Jakobsson, said the findings have major implications for North African history. According to the study, the ancestry of later Maghreb populations, including the ancestors of the historical Berbers (Imazighen), was shaped by three main sources: African hunter-gatherers, European Neolithic farmers, and pastoralist groups that moved westward from the Fertile Crescent through Sinai.

A separate Nature study published in 2025 suggests the Neolithic transition did not unfold the same way across North Africa. While the 2023 study found stronger evidence of migration and mixing in the western Maghreb, the later paper showed that communities in the eastern Maghreb remained far more genetically continuous even as they adopted some Neolithic practices.

Together, the studies suggest there was no single North African path to farming. In the west, migration and admixture played a larger role. In the east, local groups kept most of their ancestry while selectively adopting outside ideas, animals, and technologies. Rather than a simple story of replacement or independent invention, the spread of farming appears to have followed different regional trajectories.

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Brain Scans Reveal a Surprise About Neanderthal Intelligence

28 April 2026, ByC. Cassella

https://www.sciencealert.com/brain-scans-reveal-a-surprise-about-neanderthal-intelligence

Neanderthal skull discovered in 1908 in France. 

(Luna04/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0)

In 1857, the German anatomist Hermann Schaaffhausen analyzed a human fossil with "an extraordinary form" that he had never seen before – not in "existing European stocks", he wrote, or "even in the most barbarous races."

The curious cranium had been unearthed the year before, just east of Düsseldorf, in Germany's Neander Valley.

The remains were to become known as the world's first Neanderthal. From the very start, Schaaffhausen decided the skull was at a "low stage of development".

For more than a century, that stigma has stuck. Even today, a commonly accepted hypothesis is that humans outsurvived Neanderthals because of our better brains.

An international team of anthropologists has now found evidence to the contrary.

They have compared brain scans from two populations in the US and China to show that regional volume differences in modern humans are greater than those between Neanderthals and us.

The volume differences that separate Neanderthal and modern human brains are extremely small.

"If the Neanderthal differences are held to be cognitively and evolutionarily relevant, then similar neuroanatomical differences commonly found between modern human populations would also need to be considered cognitively and evolutionarily relevant," the authors point out.

But cognitive ability is only very weakly associated with brain anatomy in modern humans, if at all, the researchers explain, after reviewing the existing literature.

"If we reject the idea that these modern human populations are cognitively different in an evolutionarily meaningful way, then it would undermine any argument that Neanderthal differences should be considered so," they conclude.

When Schaaffhausen first published his opinion on the Neanderthal cranium in the mid-1800s, there was little evidence to suggest that humanity was any older than about 6,000 years.

What's more, it would be two more years before Charles Darwin published his seminal book, On the Origin of Species, in which he shared his theory of evolution with the larger scientific community.

The initial assumptions made by Schaaffhausen and his colleagues are clearly outdated.

In recent years, scientists have found evidence that while modern humans thrived and Neanderthals went extinct, that was not necessarily due to our brains.

Archaeological evidence is stacking up to show that Neanderthals were smarter than we once assumed, even though the shape and size of their brains differed from our own.


There are compelling signs that these ancient humans were swimming for shells on the ocean bottom, using tools to make fire, brewing antibacterial medicines, glue, or water-repellent substances, tailoring their own clothes, and even creating abstract art.

Oftentimes, Neanderthals were partaking in these practices well before modern humans.

A human skull (left) and a Neanderthal skull (right).

 (hairymuseummatt/DrMikeBaxter/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0/Canva Pro)

Some evidence from their skulls even suggests that Neanderthals were capable of human-like speech, although that is very hard to garner from a few very old bones that once surrounded the ear.

"Speculation on Neanderthal cognition based on archaeological and paleoneurological research has frequently concluded they were likely cognitively challenged," write the authors of the recent brain analysis.

"Putting estimated Neanderthal differences into the context of modern human variation does not support this view."

Plus, it's worth remembering that Neanderthal skulls can only tell us so much about the intricate organ that they once housed. Even bones can be misinterpreted.

In recent years, some scientists have disputed the whole idea that Neanderthals were stooped, brutish cavemen who resembled apes more than humans.

Their posture was actually quite upright, according to recent analyses of their rib cages and hips, and at least in some cases, they seemed to have similarly sized chests.

Today, some scientists hypothesize that Neanderthals never actually went extinct, at least not in the genetic sense. Instead, they may have been close enough to modern humans to be considered the same species.

We certainly seem to have reproduced with each other for thousands of years. It's possible that our 'cousins' simply became subsumed within our own lineage. Hence why so many of us today still carry Neanderthal genes.

If we continue to assume that Neanderthals were dim-witted and slow, incapable of speech or abstract thought, we only underestimate our own ancestry.

In many ways, we are one and the same.

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

100,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Fossils in Poland Reveal Unexpected Genetic Connections

BY U. OF BOLOGNA, APRIL 28, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/100000-year-old-neanderthal-fossils-in-poland-reveal-unexpected-genetic-connections/

Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) were an extinct group of archaic humans who lived across Europe and western Asia until about 40,000 years ago, adapting to diverse and often harsh Ice Age environments. Genetic and archaeological evidence shows they were skilled toolmakers, capable of symbolic behavior, and interbred with modern humans. 

Credit: Shutterstock

A new genetic analysis of Neanderthal remains from Stajnia Cave offers an unusually detailed glimpse into a small group that lived together roughly 100,000 years ago.

An international team has analyzed ancient mitochondrial DNA from eight Neanderthal teeth recovered in Stajnia Cave in Poland. The study, published in Current Biology, offers something rarely possible in Neanderthal research: a genetic look at multiple individuals from the same place and the same broad time period.

The teeth belonged to at least seven Neanderthals who lived about 100,000 years ago, north of the Carpathian Mountains.

“This is an extraordinary result because, for the first time, we are able to observe a small group of at least seven Neanderthals from Central-Eastern Europe who lived around 100,000 years ago,” says Andrea Picin, professor at the University of Bologna and coordinator of the research. “In most cases, Neanderthal genetic data come from single fossils or from remains scattered across different sites and periods. At Stajnia, by contrast, it has been possible to reconstruct a small group of individuals, providing for the first time a coherent genetic picture of Neanderthals in this part of Europe.”

The study presents the results of the analysis of ancient mitochondrial DNA obtained from eight Neanderthal teeth discovered in Stajnia Cave, Poland. 

Credit: M. Żarski, Polish Geological Institute



A Rare and Cohesive Genetic Snapshot

“We had known for some time that Stajnia Cave preserved exceptional evidence, but these results exceeded our expectations,” say Wioletta Nowaczewska of the University of Wrocław and Adam Nadachowski of the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences, co-authors of the study. “Being able to identify such an ancient small group of Neanderthals in such a complex site is an important achievement for Polish research and for the study of Neanderthals in Europe.”

The findings also shed light on how a specific Neanderthal maternal lineage spread across western Eurasia. The mitochondrial DNA from the Stajnia individuals belongs to the same branch identified in Neanderthals from the Iberian Peninsula, southeastern France, and the northern Caucasus.

This pattern suggests that the lineage was once widespread before later being replaced by genetic lines seen in more recent Neanderthals.

For the first time, the research reconstructs the genetic profile of a small group of Neanderthals from the same site, north of the Carpathians, who lived during the same ancient chronological phase.

 Credit: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Clues of Family Ties

“A particularly fascinating aspect is that two teeth belonging to juvenile individuals and one belonging to an adult share the same mitochondrial DNA,” adds Mateja Hajdinjak, co-author of the article and researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. “This suggests that these individuals might be closely related to each other.”

The study also compares these remains with the Neanderthal fossil known as Thorin, discovered in Mandrin Cave in France. Thorin carries a mitochondrial genome similar to the Stajnia group and has been dated to about 50,000 years ago.

“Our study is a reminder that the oldest chronologies must be treated with great caution,” explains Sahra Talamo, professor at the University of Bologna and co-coordinator of the study. “When radiocarbon values approach the limit of calibration, it is essential not to assign more precision than the data can actually support. In such cases, the comparison between archaeology, radiocarbon dating, and genetics becomes crucial.”

From an archaeological perspective, the findings support the idea that Central Eastern Europe played an important role in Neanderthal history rather than serving as a peripheral region. Stajnia Cave and southern Poland offer a valuable setting for exploring how Neanderthals moved, interacted, and shared technologies across large parts of Europe.

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Ancient DNA Study Reveals Human Evolution Is Happening Faster Than We Thought

By Harvard Medical School, April 28, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/ancient-dna-study-reveals-human-evolution-is-happening-faster-than-we-thought/

A massive ancient-DNA dataset reveals that subtle evolutionary forces have been steadily reshaping human populations since the Ice Age.

 Credit: Stock



New research challenges long-standing assumptions about human evolution, revealing that natural selection has been more active—and more recent—than once believed.

A sweeping analysis of ancient DNA from nearly 16,000 people is reshaping how scientists understand human evolution. By tracking genetic changes across more than 10,000 years in West Eurasia, researchers found that natural selection has been far more active in recent human history than once believed.

For years, evidence for directional selection was surprisingly limited. Only about 21 clear cases had been identified. This process occurs when a specific gene variant provides a survival or reproductive advantage and becomes more common over time, such as the ability to digest milk into adulthood. Because so few examples were known, scientists assumed that this type of evolution played only a minor role after humans spread out of Africa roughly 300,000 years ago.

By analyzing a vastly expanded dataset and applying new statistical tools, researchers uncovered hundreds of gene variants that rose or fell in frequency over time. The findings suggest that human evolution did not slow down in recent millennia. In some ways, it sped up.

Links to Traits and Health

Many of the genetic variants identified in the study are tied to complex traits seen today, including risks for type 2 diabetes and schizophrenia. Exploring how these traits evolved could improve understanding of human biology and disease, and may eventually guide medical research.

At the same time, the authors caution that modern trait definitions do not always apply to ancient populations. For example, measures like household income have no direct equivalent in prehistoric societies, making it difficult to determine why certain variants were originally advantageous.

The study, led by researchers at Harvard University, was published in Nature.

“With these new techniques and large amount of ancient genomic data, we can now watch how selection shaped biology in real time,” said Ali Akbari, the study’s first author. “Instead of searching for the scars natural selection leaves in present-day genomes using simple models and assumptions, we can let the data speak for itself.”

“This work allows us to assign place and time to forces that shaped us,” said senior author David Reich.
10,000 ancient genomes, new computational methods

Since 2010, when scientists first recovered genome-wide data from ancient human remains, the field has transformed our understanding of how populations are related across time and geography.

Still, researchers have struggled to track how natural selection influenced genetic variation over the past 10,000 years, even though DNA from this period is often well preserved.

This study overcame that challenge through two major advances.

First, Reich’s team spent seven years assembling a large and detailed dataset of ancient DNA from West Eurasia, covering present-day Europe and parts of the Middle East. The effort involved more than 250 archaeologists and anthropologists and produced new genetic data from 10,016 ancient individuals. These were combined with 5,820 previously published ancient genomes and 6,438 modern samples.

“If the goal is to uncover changes in the frequency of genetic variants in the last ten millennia that are greater than can be expected by chance, then we need to detect subtle effects, which requires having thousands of genomes spanning that time period,” Reich explained.

“This single paper doubles the size of the ancient human DNA literature,” he added. “It reflects a focused effort to fill in holes that limited the power of previous studies to detect selection.”

The regions from which ancient and recent human DNA samples were studied in this work.

 Credit: Akbari A et al., “Ancient DNA reveals pervasive directional selection across West Eurasia,” Nature (2026)

The second advance was a set of computational methods developed by Akbari to separate true signals of directional selection from other influences on gene frequency, such as migration, population mixing, and random fluctuations in small populations.

“Ali developed a powerful technique that could zoom in on the patterns that actually mattered,” said Reich.

Even with these tools, the signal was faint. The researchers estimate that directional selection explains only about 2 percent of all genetic changes observed.

What has natural selection selected for?

That small percentage still represents a significant portion of the genome. The team identified 479 gene variants, or alleles, that were strongly favored or disfavored in West Eurasian populations.

They also traced when and where some of these variants rose or declined. The results show that selection intensified after farming emerged, likely because new diets, environments, and lifestyles created different evolutionary pressures.

More than 60 percent of the selected variants are linked to traits seen in people today, including

:Light skin tone

Red hair

Risk of celiac disease and Crohn’s disease

Immunity to HIV infection and resistance to leprosy

Lower chance of male-pattern baldness

Lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis and alcoholism

Having the B version of the proteins on red blood cells that confer A, B, and O blood types and influence resistance to infection with bacteria and viruses

In some cases, groups of SNPs were under selection together to influence polygenic traits. Some changes raised the frequency of beneficial traits, including some that are interpreted today as

:“Health span” traits such as faster walking pace

Measures of behavioral and social status or cognitive functions, such as scores on intelligence tests, household income, and years of schooling

Other changes reduced the frequency of harmful traits, such as those that are interpreted today as

:Reduced risk of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia

Lower body fat percentage, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index

Less susceptibility to tobacco smoking

Some variants rose in frequency and later declined, reflecting shifting environments. For instance, genes linked to susceptibility to tuberculosis and multiple sclerosis showed changing patterns over time.

Not all results are straightforward. One example is a major genetic risk factor for gluten intolerance that became more common after wheat farming began.

Interpreting the Results

The researchers stress that these associations must be interpreted carefully.

A gene’s link to a modern trait does not mean that trait drove its spread in the past. Traits like education level or income did not exist in ancient societies, so they cannot explain why certain variants were favored.

Some variants affect multiple traits, and current databases may not capture their full effects. In other cases, a variant may have increased in frequency simply because it is located near another gene under selection.

It is also possible that some traits influenced by these variants remain unknown today.

Another key point is that these findings are not limited to West Eurasia. The same methods can be applied to other populations with sufficient ancient DNA data to determine which patterns are shared and which are unique.

Reich expects future work to reveal that some selective pressures acted on common traits across different human groups, even as populations spread and adapted to new environments.

What comes next

The researchers have made their data and methods publicly available to support further studies.

One next step is to investigate more than 7,600 additional genetic locations that may represent cases of directional selection. Akbari said these sites have better than a 50 percent chance of “being real examples of directional selection” and deserve closer examination.

Applying the methods to other regions and older time periods is another priority.

“To what extent will we see similar patterns in East Asia or East Africa or Native Americans in Mesoamerica and the central Andes?” Reich asked. “If we can’t use ancient DNA to study the most important period in human evolution 1 million to 2 million years ago, then at least we can study selective pressure on human genomes during more recent periods of change and learn broader principles.”

Further laboratory studies will also be needed to understand how these genetic changes affect health.

The findings could help identify new factors involved in disease, improving risk prediction and treatment. They may also inform gene therapy research. For example, targeting a gene that has been strongly favored by evolution could carry risks.

“You could speculate that if the variant someone wants to knock out was strongly selected for, it’s probably not the best idea,” he said.

Scientists could also use the new methods to study natural selection in other species. Such work could uncover alleles that have made cattle or chickens well-suited to domestication, Akbari suggested, or that have helped animals adapt to changes in climate.

The possibilities are enticing for deepening our appreciation of human diversity, history, and health, Reich said.

“This paper shows how complex selection can be and provides an opportunity to consider the richness of variation in human populations,” he said.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Common Food Compound Shows Surprising Power Against Superbugs

By Higher Education Press, April 28, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/common-food-compound-shows-surprising-power-against-superbugs/

A plant-based food additive was found to suppress bacterial gene exchange in lab and animal models. Its ability to act without noticeable toxicity highlights its potential for controlling resistance spread. 

Credit: Stock

A familiar compound found in everyday foods may hold unexpected potential in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

A compound found in everyday foods may offer a new way to slow one of the most urgent threats to modern medicine. Researchers report in Engineering that cinnamic acid, a natural substance present in cinnamon and widely used as a food additive, can interfere with how bacteria share antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing global crisis. The World Health Organization has warned that common infections are becoming harder to treat as bacteria evolve defenses against widely used drugs. In the United States alone, antibiotic-resistant infections cause more than 2.8 million illnesses and over 35,000 deaths each year. A major reason for this rapid spread is not just mutation, but the ability of bacteria to exchange genetic material directly.

This exchange often happens through plasmid conjugation, a process in which bacteria pass small DNA molecules, known as plasmids, to one another. These plasmids can carry powerful resistance genes such as mcr‑1, blaNDM‑1, and tet(X4), allowing even unrelated bacterial species to quickly acquire drug resistance. Efforts to block this process have been limited, as many candidate compounds are either toxic or fail to work effectively in living systems.

To address this gap, researchers investigated cinnamic acid. This plant-derived compound is part of the human diet and is produced naturally as a defense molecule in many species. The team tested its effects in controlled lab settings, simulated gut environments, and live animals, focusing on several plasmids commonly linked to clinical infections.

Blocking Gene Transfer Without Harming Growth

Rather than killing bacteria outright, cinnamic acid appears to disrupt their ability to share genetic information. The results showed that CA lowered the transfer rate of multiple resistance plasmids in a concentration-dependent manner. Importantly, it did not significantly affect bacterial growth within the tested range.

A fluorescence-labeled plasmid tracking system confirmed that CA reduces plasmid transfer within gut microbial communities ex vivo. In mouse experiments, oral doses of CA also decreased conjugation frequency in vivo in a dose-dependent pattern, indicating that the compound remains active under real biological conditions.

Further analysis revealed how CA produces these effects. Transcriptomic data showed that it disrupts the tricarboxylic acid cycle, which weakens the electron transport chain and reduces proton motive force. As a result, intracellular ATP levels drop, limiting the energy needed for conjugation. CA also suppresses genes involved in mating pair formation, DNA transfer, and replication, while slightly increasing the permeability of the donor cell outer membrane.

Safety and Biological Compatibility

Safety testing in mice showed no clear harmful effects after CA treatment. Body weight remained stable, and there were no noticeable changes in the structure of major organs.

The composition and diversity of gut microbiota also remained unchanged, supporting the compound’s strong safety profile for in vivo use.

Overall, the findings identify cinnamic acid as a broad-spectrum inhibitor of plasmid conjugation that works by disrupting bacterial energy metabolism. Because it is already widely consumed and considered safe, CA could serve as a practical addition to current strategies aimed at slowing the spread of antibiotic resistance. The results also encourage further research into natural compounds that target metabolism to control gene transfer in medical, agricultural, and environmental settings.

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Scientists Just Discovered Light Can Actually Slow Plant Growth

By Osaka Metropolitan U., April 29, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-just-discovered-light-can-actually-slow-plant-growth/

Cells exposed to light showed a different fluorescence pattern, consistent with the accumulation of large amounts of p-coumaric acid, a compound that strengthens cell walls. 

Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University

Light doesn’t just help plants grow, it also strengthens their internal structure by tightening the connection between tissues. This added rigidity can actually slow growth, revealing a hidden balance between strength and expansion.

Light is widely recognized as a key factor in plant growth, but scientists are still uncovering the details of how it works. Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have now identified a previously unknown process that helps explain how light influences plant development.

Light Increases Adhesion Between Plant Tissues

The study, led by Professor Kouichi Soga from the Graduate School of Science, focused on young pea stems. The team developed a specialized technique to measure how strongly the epidermal (the outermost layer) is connected to the inner tissues. Their experiments showed a clear difference depending on whether the plants were grown in light or darkness.

Plants exposed to light had significantly stronger adhesion between these layers compared to those grown in the dark.

“Compared with plants grown in the dark, the epidermal and inner tissues of plants grown in the light are more tightly bound together,” Professor Soga said. “This phenomenon has never been reported before, making it a particularly interesting finding.”

p-Coumaric Acid Strengthens Plant Cell Walls

To investigate the cause of this effect, the researchers examined the plant cells using a fluorescence microscope. They observed that stems grown in light produced signals indicating higher levels of a phenolic acid known as p-coumaric acid.

This compound plays a role in reinforcing plant cell walls, which helps increase the strength of the connection between tissues.

“This provided strong evidence that the accumulation of p-coumaric acid was a key factor in strengthening the adhesion between the epidermal and the inner tissues,” said Yuma Shimizu, a graduate student and first author of the study.

Stronger Adhesion Can Limit Plant Growth

The findings reveal that this increased adhesion has a direct impact on growth. While stronger connections improve structural integrity, they also make it harder for the inner tissues to expand.

As a result, overall stem growth is reduced. This suggests that light not only supports plant development but can also restrict it by tightening internal structures.

Implications for Plant Growth and Crop Resilience

The researchers believe this mechanism could be part of a broader pattern in how plants regulate growth. By continuing to measure adhesion under different conditions, they aim to determine whether this process applies widely across plant species.

“By measuring the adhesion between the epidermal and the inner tissues as stem growth changes in response to various factors, we expect to determine whether growth regulation mediated by changes in adhesion is a universal mechanism,” Professor Soga concluded. “These findings could be highly significant for plant cultivation. If we can control adhesion, it may be possible to breed plants with improved tolerance to environmental stress.”

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2.8 Days to Disaster: Scientists Warn Low Earth Orbit Could Suddenly Collapse

BY SCITECHDAILY.COM, APRIL 28, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/2-8-days-to-disaster-scientists-warn-low-earth-orbit-could-suddenly-collapse/

A new study suggests that modern satellite networks may be far more fragile than they appear, with the risk of orbital collisions rising sharply if control systems are disrupted. 

Credit: Shutterstock

A new study warns that if satellite operators suddenly lose control during a major disruption, a catastrophic collision in orbit could happen in as little as 2.8 days.

A major solar storm does not need to smash satellites apart directly to create a crisis in orbit. It may only need to interrupt the tracking, commands, and avoidance maneuvers that keep today’s crowded satellite environment under control.

That risk is growing as low Earth orbit fills with mega constellations, large networks of satellites launched and replaced in rapid cycles. These spacecraft support internet access, communications, weather monitoring, navigation, and other services. However, they also add congestion to an orbital region where objects travel at roughly 17,000 miles per hour (27,000 kilometers per hour).

A new paper led by Sarah Thiele, who began the work as a PhD student at the University of British Columbia and is now at Princeton, attempts to measure how fragile this system has become. The study introduces a metric called the Collision Realization And Significant Harm (CRASH) Clock, which estimates how long it could take for a serious collision to occur if satellites could no longer maneuver or if operators lost reliable awareness of where objects were.

The result is alarming. Using satellite catalog data from June 2025, the researchers calculated that if operators lost the ability to send commands for avoidance maneuvers, a catastrophic collision could occur in around 2.8 days. A broader version of the CRASH Clock, based on all resident space object interactions, was 5.5 days. Back in 2018, before the rapid expansion of mega constellations, that value was 164 days.

Solar storms as a systemic threat

Satellites in low Earth orbit do not simply coast along fixed paths. They depend on station keeping, tracking updates, and collision avoidance maneuvers. According to SpaceX’s most recent biannual report cited in the study, Starlink satellites performed 144,404 collision avoidance maneuvers between December 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025. That averages 41 maneuvers per satellite per year, or one avoidance maneuver every 1.8 minutes across the Starlink network.

Paths of Starlink satellites as of Feb 2024. 

Credit: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio

During a major solar storm, this carefully managed system can become harder to control. Solar storms heat Earth’s upper atmosphere, causing it to expand. That increases drag on satellites, pulls spacecraft away from predicted paths, forces operators to use fuel to maintain altitude, and makes orbit forecasts less reliable.

The May 2024 “Gannon Storm” showed how disruptive this can be. Nearly half of all active satellites in low Earth orbit maneuvered because of increased atmospheric drag. The study notes that widespread repositioning, combined with unpredictable drag, made collision assessment during and after the storm much harder.

The danger grows if a storm also disrupts navigation, communications, or ground control. In that case, satellites may be harder to track just as they become less able to respond.

Why one collision matters

Kessler syndrome is the most well-known version of this kind of catastrophe, where cascading collisions fill orbit with debris and eventually make it extremely difficult to safely launch or operate spacecraft. But that runaway scenario would take years or decades to fully unfold.

To highlight the much more immediate danger, the researchers introduced a new metric called the Collision Realization and Significant Harm (CRASH) Clock, which estimates how quickly a major, debris-generating collision could become possible if active satellite control and coordination were disrupted.

Even one high-speed impact can have lasting consequences. A collision between large objects can create thousands of fragments, each becoming another hazard. Today’s debris environment is still shaped by China’s 2007 anti-satellite test involving Fengyun 1C and the 2009 collision between Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251.

The new study finds that the densest parts of today’s satellite networks are now especially concerning. Starlink’s main shell, around 550 kilometers (342 miles) above Earth, reaches densities more than an order of magnitude higher than the peak in tracked debris near 800 kilometers (497 miles).

A shrinking margin for error

The researchers estimate that across all of low Earth orbit, close approaches within 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) occur every 36 seconds. Encounters involving at least one satellite occur about every 41 seconds, while those involving Starlink and another resident space object occur about every 47 seconds.

A close approach is not the same as a collision. Operators weigh distance, uncertainty, object size, and collision probability before deciding whether to move a satellite. Still, the frequency of these encounters shows how dependent orbit has become on fast, accurate, coordinated control.

Major solar storms are rare, but they are not hypothetical. The May 2024 Gannon Storm was the strongest geomagnetic storm in decades. The Carrington Event of September 1859 was at least twice as intense, according to the paper, and included two strong storms within a few days.

If a Carrington-scale storm occurred today, it would hit a world that relies heavily on satellites for communications, timing, Earth observation, weather forecasting, military operations, disaster response, finance, and navigation. It would also strike an orbital environment far more crowded than it was even a decade ago.

Beyond collision risk, mega constellations also contribute to debris, reentry hazards, interference with astronomy, and atmospheric pollution.

The study does not call for eliminating satellites, but it highlights a critical vulnerability. Low Earth orbit now relies on constant, precise control, and if that control is disrupted, the window to prevent a major collision could be just days.

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