Chuck's photo corner to May 24, 2026

It's been a cooler week again with one or two hot days finally. Some nights have still been a little frosty. One thing that hit me this week was how my world closed in as shrubs and trees leafed out and flowered. Wide open winter spaces are now contained with vegetation.

out my office window

Walking in Rachelle's back lot

The snowmound spirea this morning out the front door, flowers almost ready to open

these red ground squirrels are small, but this guy was even smaller, a new addition to the yard

The sand cherry has opened up

Sunset earlier this week taken from the veggy garden space.

Lilacs opened this week

The apple tree getting pollinated, mostly bumble bees about this year so far.

the apple tree, the other tree are still a little too small to bloom, maybe next year.

the oregano is looking healthy

Oregano: the most powerful natural antibiotic hiding in your kitchen

sunset over the duck pond, I'm pretty sure the duck have a nest in the back yard once again this year.

a closer look

The pear is blooming well

barberry flowers,  a primary source of berberine

Now, you might be wondering, what foods can you eat to naturally increase your intake of berberine? Well, several plant-based foods contain this beneficial compound. Barberry, which is one of the plants from which berberine is derived, is an obvious choice. But there are other options too.

The last day for the tulips

Finally a warm enough day to change the winter tires, I do a bunch of oiling, and check the brakes at the same time. Made an appointment at the garage for brake work this year.

last years catalpa beans, the seeds are not actually beans at all

forget me nots 

elderberry flowers, I just found out this shrub as great rat repelling properties.

pear flowers.

Enjoy the day

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Scientists Warn: America’s Most Popular Cooking Oil May Be Harming Your Intestines

By SciTechDaily.comMay 23, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-warn-americas-most-popular-cooking-oil-may-be-harming-your-intestines/

Soybean oil is one of the most widely used oils in the American diet, though many people may know it simply as “vegetable oil” on labels and ingredient lists. Because it is inexpensive, neutral-tasting, and common in processed foods, restaurant meals, dressings, and snacks, it can be easy to consume regularly without realizing it. 

Credit: Shutterstock

New research suggests that heavy soybean oil intake may disrupt the gut in ways scientists are only beginning to understand.

Soybean oil or “vegetable oil” is everywhere in the American diet. It is used in salad dressings, sauces, fried foods, packaged snacks, frozen meals, and many restaurant meals. Most people may consume it regularly without realizing how much they are getting.

New research from the University of California, Riverside suggests that high soybean oil intake may affect more than body weight. In mouse studies, it has been linked to changes in gut bacteria, a weaker intestinal barrier, greater susceptibility to ulcerative colitis, and metabolic problems.

The findings do not prove that soybean oil causes these diseases in people. But they do raise concerns about how often this inexpensive, widely used oil appears in processed and restaurant foods.

A diet high in soybean oil is found to encourage the growth of harmful bacteria such as adherent invasive E. coli in the gut. 

Credit: Sladek lab, UC Riverside



Soybean Oil and Colitis

A study published in Gut Microbes, examined mice fed a diet high in soybean oil for up to 24 weeks. Researchers found that the diet disrupted the gut microbiome. Beneficial bacteria declined, while harmful bacteria increased, including adherent invasive Escherichia coli, a type of E. coli linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in humans.

The researchers focused on linoleic acid, the main fatty acid in soybean oil. Linoleic acid is essential, meaning the body needs some of it. But the team found that too much may create problems in the gut.

“While our bodies need 1-2% of linoleic acid daily, based on the paleodiet, Americans today are getting 8-10% of their energy from linoleic acid daily, most of it from soybean oil,” said Poonamjot Deol, an assistant professional researcher at UC Riverside. “Excessive linoleic acid negatively affects the gut microbiome.”

Photo shows, from L to R, Frances Sladek, James Borneman, and Poonamjot Deol.

 Credit: Stan Lim, UC Riverside



In the study, harmful E. coli used linoleic acid as a food source, while some helpful bacteria could not tolerate high levels and died off. The researchers also found that linoleic acid made the intestinal barrier more porous, which can allow toxins and microbes to leak into the bloodstream and fuel inflammation.

“It’s the combination of good bacteria dying off and harmful bacteria growing out that makes the gut more susceptible to inflammation and its downstream effects,” Deol said. “Further, linoleic acid causes the intestinal epithelial barrier to become porous.”

Not All Plant Oils Act the Same

Soybean oil is an unsaturated plant oil, a category often viewed as healthier than saturated fats from animal products. But the researchers say the issue is more complicated.

Soybean oil is currently the most highly consumed cooking oil in the U.S. 

Credit: Stan Lim, UC Riverside



“Our work challenges the decades-old thinking that many chronic diseases stem from the consumption of excess saturated fats from animal products, and that, conversely, unsaturated fats from plants are necessarily more healthful,” Deol said.

Frances M. Sladek, a toxicologist and professor of cell biology at UC Riverside, said the assumption that all unsaturated fats are healthy became widespread without enough direct comparison among different oils.

“Since studies showed that saturated fats can be unhealthy, it was assumed that all unsaturated fats are healthy,” she said. “But there are different types of unsaturated fats, some of which are healthful. For example, the unsaturated fat fish oil is well known to have many beneficial health effects. People, therefore, assumed that soybean oil is perfectly safe and healthier to consume than other types of oils, without actually doing a direct comparison as we have done.”

Linoleic acid is not inherently bad. It is essential, meaning the body needs it and cannot make it on its own. It helps maintain cell membranes, including in the brain. The concern is whether modern diets deliver far more than the body needs.

“Every animal has to get linoleic acid from the diet,” Sladek said. “No animal can make it. A small amount of it is needed by the body. But just because something is needed does not mean a lot of it is good for you. Several membranes in the body, in the brain, for example, require linoleic acid for the cells to function properly. If all we ate was saturated fats, our cell membranes would become too rigid and not function properly. Future studies are needed to determine the tipping point for how much daily linoleic acid consumption is safe.”

Chart depicts consumption of edible oils in the U.S. for 2017/18.

 Credit: USDA



Olive Oil Did Not Show the Same Effect

According to Deol and Sladek, olive oil may be a better choice because it contains much less linoleic acid than soybean oil. Olive oil is also a key part of the Mediterranean diet, which has been linked to many health benefits.

“Olive oil, the basis of the Mediterranean diet, is considered to be very healthy; it produces less obesity and we have now found that, unlike soybean oil, it does not increase the susceptibility of mice to colitis,” Sladek said.

The researchers also pointed to avocado oil and coconut oil as other cooking options. They cautioned that corn oil contains a similar amount of linoleic acid as soybean oil.

Follow-Up Research

A related study in Scientific Reports looked at how different high-fat diets affected gene activity throughout the mouse intestine.

The researchers compared diets based on coconut oil, conventional soybean oil, and a modified soybean oil lower in linoleic acid and higher in oleic acid, making it more similar to olive oil.

The conventional soybean oil diet caused more disruption in genes tied to metabolism, immune function, gut barrier health, inflammation, and microbiome interactions, supporting the idea that excess linoleic acid may be an important factor.

A different study published in the Journal of Lipid Research looked at soybean oil and obesity. It focused on oxylipins, compounds the body makes when it processes fats such as linoleic acid. The study suggested that soybean oil’s effects may depend partly on what the body turns linoleic acid into after digestion. Mice that were protected from soybean oil-linked obesity had lower levels of certain oxylipins, gained less weight, and were less likely to develop glucose intolerance or fatty liver.

The Practical Takeaway

Soybean oil is common because it is cheap, neutral-tasting, and useful in large-scale food production. That also makes it easy to consume in large amounts without noticing.

“Try to stay away from processed foods,” Sladek advised. “When you buy oil, make sure you read the nutrition facts label. Air fryers are a good option because they use very little oil.”

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Scientists Discover the Secret Bacteria Behind Artisan Cheeses – and They May Be Good for Your Health

By U. of Reading, May 23, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-the-secret-bacteria-behind-artisan-cheeses-and-they-may-be-good-for-your-health/

Cheese is one of the world’s most beloved foods, enjoyed by millions of people across countless cultures and cuisines.

 Credit: Shutterstock

Scientists have traced the changing microbial communities inside three artisan British cheeses, revealing how bacteria shape their flavor, texture, and potential benefits for gut health.

Cheese can seem like a simple pleasure, but every bite is the result of a microscopic transformation. As milk becomes cheese, bacteria and fungi break down sugars, proteins, and fats, creating the flavors, aromas, and textures that make each variety distinct. New research suggests that some of these tiny cheesemakers may do more than shape flavor. They could also help explain why certain traditional cheeses may interact with the gut in potentially beneficial ways.

Scientists at the University of Reading studied three artisan cheeses made by Nettlebed Creamery in Oxfordshire to see how their microbial life changed as they matured. The team tracked both the bacterial communities and the chemical makeup of the cheeses during aging, revealing how fermentation helps build a cheese’s character from the inside out.

Published in ACS Food Science & Technology, the study examined a soft white-rind cheese aged for just over a week, a washed-rind semi-soft cheese matured over several weeks, and a semi-hard cheese aged in hay for about nine months.

Lead author Sabrina Longley, a PhD researcher in the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, said: “”Good cheese is delicious, and the artisan varieties we studied are full of microbial life that could have benefits to your gut health.

“The aging process creates more complex aromas and textures through the work of an army of helpful bacteria. The matrix of fats and proteins in the cheese may also help protect the bacteria as they travel along the digestive tract, making cheese an excellent vehicle for delivery of probiotics to the gut.”

Beneficial Bacteria in Every Cheese

Researchers collected samples at several points during cheese maturation and analyzed their bacterial communities and chemical makeup.

Each cheese contained bacteria with recognized probiotic potential, which may help support beneficial bacteria in the gut. Streptococcus thermophilus, also used as a yogurt starter, remained dominant in the semi-soft and harder cheeses through maturity. Lactococcus lactis was found in all three cheeses throughout the process.

The washed-rind and hay-aged cheeses also contained Propionibacterium freudenreichii, which produces propionic acid, a compound linked to anti-inflammatory effects, reduced cholesterol synthesis, and appetite regulation.

People who eat cheese rind may have another reason to enjoy it. The white mold Penicillium candidum, used to create the rind of the soft cheese in the study, produces chitin, a dietary fiber that may act as a prebiotic. Prebiotics feed beneficial gut bacteria and can help encourage positive changes in the gut microbiota.

Hay Aging and Microbial Diversity

Aging the harder cheese in hay appeared to increase its microbial diversity as it matured. By the end of the process, the mature cheese contained nearly four times as many bacterial species as it had earlier in maturation.

The researchers also found that lactose, the sugar in cow’s milk that some people have difficulty digesting, was almost entirely gone from all three cheeses by the time they reached maturity. Lactic acid bacteria had broken it down during fermentation.

Longley is also a cheesemaker at the independent Nettlebed Creamery in Oxfordshire, which partly funded the study. She is completing her PhD part-time with support from a University of Reading regional bursary, a program that helps people from the local area pursue research studies.

The authors say more research (dietary intervention trials) is needed to determine how these bacteria behave in the gut after the cheese is eaten, how they affect the gut microbiota, and what their broader effects may be on the human body.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Scientists Are Turning Ocean Trash Into Roads – and It’s Actually Working

By American Chemical Society, May 22, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-are-turning-ocean-trash-into-roads-and-its-actually-working/

Researchers in Hawaii are exploring an innovative way to turn discarded fishing nets and household plastic waste into asphalt for roads, potentially addressing the islands’ growing landfill and marine debris challenges.

 Credit: Shutterstock

Hawaii researchers are testing whether plastic waste and abandoned fishing nets can be safely reused in asphalt roads.

Hawaii is struggling with plastic waste. Recycling is difficult and expensive for the island state, especially when the waste includes marine debris that remains in the surrounding ocean waters. Researchers in Hawaii are testing a way to turn discarded fishing nets and household plastic trash into asphalt roads. Early trials suggest these materials could give some of the islands’ waste a practical local use at the end of its life.

Jeremy Axworthy, a researcher at the Center for Marine Debris Research (CMDR) at Hawaiʻi Pacific University, presented the team’s results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

“This work investigates whether it’s responsible to use recycled plastics in Hawaii’s roads,” shares Axworthy. “By reusing plastic waste that is already in Hawaii, we can reduce the environmental and economic impacts of transporting waste plastics from the islands, incinerating it or dumping it in Hawaii’s overflowing landfills.”
Road asphalt offers a local outlet

Since 2020, most roads in Hawaii have been paved with polymer-modified asphalt (PMA) to make pavement stronger and longer-lasting. Compared with regular asphalt, PMA is more flexible and better able to resist cracking, rutting, and water damage.

Those qualities are especially useful in Hawaii’s tropical climate. PMA is produced by melting styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS; a type of copolymer) pellets into a sticky asphalt binder made from petroleum. The binder is then mixed with hot aggregates (rocks and sand) inside a rotating drum so it fully coats the material.

The question was whether waste plastic could replace or supplement some of that material in road pavement as a more useful disposal route. The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) wanted to know how asphalt made with recycled plastics would perform, and whether it might release microplastics or related chemicals into the environment. To investigate, HDOT contacted environmental chemist Jennifer Lynch, director of CMDR and lead of the research team.
Fishing nets became test material

HDOT made two requests of Lynch’s team. First, the department needed derelict fishing nets collected from Hawaii’s marine environment to use in recycled plastic modified asphalt. “Foreign plastic derelict fishing gear is the largest contributor of Hawaii’s marine debris problem,” shares Lynch. “To date, CMDR’s Bounty Project, which pays a financial reward to licensed commercial fishers for marine debris removal, has removed 84 tons of large, derelict fishing gear from the Pacific Ocean.”

Researchers collect road dust samples from a section of road paved with recycled plastic-reinforced asphalt. Pictured left to right: Rachel Nakamoto, Simon Williams, Cara Megill and Cate Wardinski.

 Credit: Marquesa Calderon



Second, HDOT asked the researchers to test whether pavement made with plastic waste shed more microplastics than standard pavement modified with SBS. “CMDR’s laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art chemical instrumentation for quantifying and characterizing microplastics in environmental samples,” explains Lynch. “This capability is incredibly unique and impactful, especially when coupled to our marine debris-removal project and our mission to recycle the debris into long-term, locally necessary infrastructure products.”
Road dust tested the risk

After a company based in the United States converted the waste into materials suitable for asphalt, HDOT moved the experimental mixes onto real streets. A local paving company installed sections of a residential road on Oahu using asphalt that contained standard SBS, repurposed polyethylene from Honolulu recycling bins, and polyethylene from fishing nets. After roughly 11 months of normal traffic, Lynch’s team collected road dust from each pavement section to look for microplastic shedding that could affect nearby soil.

The researchers used a process that separates polymers from other road dust materials, including microplastics, larger plastic fragments, and tire rubber. With pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS), they traced the polymers back to their sources: styrene and butadiene from standard PMA, polyethylene from pavement made with plastic waste and fishing nets, and isoprene and butadiene rubber from tires.

Early results showed that pavement made with recycled polyethylene did not shed more polymers than the control pavement made with SBS. Lynch’s team found the same pattern in mechanical performance tests using pavement samples and in simulated stormwater collected from the experimental road sections.

Microplastic-sized particles were found, but very few were identified as polyethylene, regardless of which pavement type was tested. The likely reason is that the polymers are melted into the asphalt binder, so fragments that break away are not pure plastic. They contain a mixture of rock, binder, and melted polymer chains.

The CMDR team is also comparing polymer shedding from pavement with polymer shedding from tires found in road dust. “In our initial Py-GC-MS data,” continues Lynch, “we saw tire wear swamps the signal of polyethylene by orders of magnitude, like gigantic peaks! We had to search the weeds of the chromatogram to find signs of polyethylene.”
Recycling remains an open test

More work is still needed to determine how durable the pavement will be over time. Even so, the researchers hope that turning used plastics into pavement could eventually help Hawaii reduce landfill pressure and marine debris.

“Some people think plastic recycling is a hoax — that it doesn’t work; it’s too challenging,” Lynch shares. “But this work demonstrates that recycling can work when society prioritizes sustainability.”

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

146,000-Year-Old Discovery Rewrites the Story of Human Creativity

By Field Museum, May 22, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/146000-year-old-discovery-rewrites-the-story-of-human-creativity/

Crystals growing inside a bone found at the Lingjing archaeological site; these crystals were used to date the site, and the tools found there, to an ice age 146,000 years ago. 

Credit: Zhanyang Li

Crystals preserved inside a prehistoric bone led scientists to revise the estimated age of the archaeological site, suggesting that its stone tools were crafted during a severe ice age.

In central China, scientists have spent more than a decade excavating and studying an archaeological site where ancient humans processed animal remains. Among the bones, archaeologists uncovered complex stone tools that point to notable intelligence, planning, and creativity.

A new analysis of crystals that formed inside one of the bones shows that the site dates back to an ice age 146,000 years ago, challenging the long-held idea that creativity at the site emerged during warmer, more abundant times.

“People often imagine creativity as something that flourishes in good times,” says Yuchao Zhao, the assistant curator of East Asian archaeology at the Field Museum in Chicago and the lead author of a paper describing the findings in the Journal of Human Evolution. “Finding out that these stone tools were made during a harsh ice age tells a different story. Hard times can force us to adapt.”
Ancient tools challenge old assumptions

Zhao and his colleagues, working under senior author Zhangyang Li, a professor at Shandong University in China, have been studying stone tools recovered from the Lingjing archaeological site in central China. The site was occupied by early humans known as Homo juluensis. These ancient people were relatives of modern humans (Homo sapiens), and they may have encountered our ancestors. Homo juluensis had an unusual combination of traits, including very large brains and features seen in both eastern Asian archaic humans and European Neanderthals.

Until recently, many archaeologists believed that ancient humans in East Asia during the late Middle Pleistocene (300,000-120,000 years ago) showed fewer major technological developments than early humans in Europe and Africa. The tools from Lingjing are now complicating that view.

One of the 146,000-year-old stone cores used to make butcher’s tools, found in Lingjing, China. 

Credit: Yuchao Zhao


Stone cores reveal careful planning

At first, the disc-shaped stone cores from Lingjing may not seem remarkable. However, Zhao and his colleagues found that they were produced through a deliberate and organized tool-making process. Homo juluensis made them by striking small stones against larger stone cores.

Some cores were shaped in a fairly balanced way on both sides. Others show a more advanced design. One side was mainly used as the striking surface, while the other was shaped to produce sharp flakes. These uneven cores matter because they indicate that ancient humans were not simply breaking stone pieces at random. They treated the core as a three-dimensional object, assigned different functions to different surfaces, and controlled the angles needed to keep making useful flakes.

“This was not casual flake production, but a technology that required planning, precision, and a deep understanding of stone properties and fracture mechanics,” says Zhao. “The underlying logic of this system— and the cognitive abilities it reflects— shows important similarities to Middle Paleolithic technologies often associated with Neanderthals in Europe and with human ancestors in Africa, suggesting that advanced technological thinking was not limited to western Eurasia.”

The stone artifacts left by Homo juluensis at Lingjing therefore suggest that these early humans were capable of sophisticated thinking and creative problem solving. New dating work has added another layer to the story by changing estimates of when the tools were made.

Bone crystals reset the timeline

Lingjing served as a place where Homo juluensis butchered animals such as deer, and those animal bones were found alongside the stone tools. One rib from a deer-like animal held sparkling calcite crystals. Calcite crystals contain tiny amounts of uranium, which slowly breaks down into thorium. By comparing the amounts of uranium and thorium in a calcite crystal, scientists can estimate the crystal’s age.

“The calcite crystals inside the bone acted like a natural clock, allowing us to refine the age of the site,” says Zhao.

Earlier work suggested that the Lingjing tools were no more than about 126,000 years old. The crystals now indicate that they are roughly 20,000 years older, a relatively small shift in time that changes the interpretation of the site.

“Even though these tools are just a little bit older than we’d previously thought, the entire story is changed,” says Zhao. “During the Pleistocene, Earth repeatedly shifted between colder ice-age periods and warmer intervals between them. We used to think these tools were made 126,000 years ago, during a warm interglacial period, but based on the new dates suggested by the crystals, some of these tools were actually produced 146,000 years ago, during a harsh, cold glacial period.”

The revised age of these stone artifacts challenges the idea that creativity is mainly a product of favorable conditions. At Lingjing, it may instead have been an adaptation to difficult conditions. “Altogether, this research reveals a much richer story of innovation, intelligence, and human evolution in East Asia,” says Zhao.

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Canada’s Billion-Year-Old Rocks Could Hold the Future of Clean Energy

By U. of Toronto, May 21, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/canadas-billion-year-old-rocks-could-hold-the-future-of-clean-energy/

Continuous long-term measurement underground at a mine in northern Ontario provided evidence of sustained accumulation and discharge of natural hydrogen generated within Earth’s crust. 

Credit: Barbara Sherwood Lollar

Researchers found that ancient rocks beneath Canada are naturally generating and releasing hydrogen gas over long periods of time. The discovery could open the door to a major new source of clean energy hidden within Earth’s crust.

Deep beneath Canada’s ancient geological formations, scientists have identified naturally occurring hydrogen gas accumulating inside some of Earth’s oldest rocks. The discovery provides the clearest evidence yet that these underground formations could become an important source of clean energy.

Researchers from the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa directly measured hydrogen emerging from billion-year-old rocks in the Canadian Shield. Their work also tracked how the gas builds up over time and mapped where concentrations are highest. The findings may help determine whether natural, or “white,” hydrogen can be commercially developed as a low-carbon energy source.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, introduces a new way to explore for hydrogen resources and could support efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions while expanding clean energy production.

Long-term measurement provided evidence of sustained accumulation and discharge of natural hydrogen generated within Earth’s crust.

 Credit: Barbara Sherwood Lollar




Hydrogen Flow Measured in Ontario Mine

The research team collected data from an active mine near Timmins, Ontario. Measurements showed that individual boreholes drilled into the rock release an average of 0.008 tonnes of hydrogen annually, about 8 kilograms, roughly equal to the weight of a standard car battery. According to the researchers, these hydrogen releases can continue for at least 10 years.

Across the mine’s nearly 15,000 boreholes, the estimated total hydrogen output exceeds 140 tonnes each year. The scientists calculate that this could provide roughly 4.7 million kilowatts of energy annually from a single site, enough to meet the yearly energy needs of more than 400 homes.

“The data from this study suggests there are critical untapped opportunities to access a domestic source of cost-effective energy produced from the rocks beneath our feet,” says University Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar in the Department of Earth Sciences in the Faculty of Arts & Science at University of Toronto, the lead author of the study. “What’s more, this provides a ‘made in Canada’ resource that might be able to support local and regional industry hubs and reduce their dependence on importing hydrocarbon-based fuels.”

Natural hydrogen visible as gas bubbles separating from groundwater discharging from rocks of the Canadian Shield.

 Credit: Barbara Sherwood Lollar

Why White Hydrogen Matters

Hydrogen already supports a global industry worth approximately $135 billion. It plays a major role in fertilizer manufacturing, making it essential for agriculture and global food supplies. Hydrogen is also widely used in steel production and methanol manufacturing.

Most hydrogen currently used around the world is produced through industrial processes that rely on fossil fuels such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal. These methods consume large amounts of energy and release carbon monoxide and CO2. Even hydrogen produced using renewable electricity, often called green hydrogen, remains expensive and energy intensive while requiring transportation and storage infrastructure.

By comparison, natural hydrogen has received relatively little attention. Previous research largely focused on underground microbes and astrobiology rather than energy production. Until now, most estimates of underground hydrogen resources were based on models and theoretical calculations rather than direct measurements from active sites.

The new research is the first to document large volumes of hydrogen being continuously released over many years.

Ancient Rocks Naturally Generate Hydrogen

“Natural hydrogen is produced over time through underground chemical reactions between rocks and the groundwaters in those rocks,” says Sherwood Lollar. “Canada is blessed that vast amounts of its territories, especially on the Canadian Shield, contain the right rocks and minerals to create this natural hydrogen.”

The researchers say Canada could potentially supply cleaner and lower-cost hydrogen without depending on hydrocarbons. They also note that similar hydrogen-producing geological formations exist in many other countries, meaning this approach could eventually expand worldwide.

Large concentrations of natural hydrogen appear in many of the same regions long associated with Canadian mining activity, including Northern Ontario, Quebec, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories.

“The common link is the rock,” says study co-author Oliver Warr, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Ottawa. “Natural hydrogen is produced in the same rocks where Canada’s nickel, copper and diamond deposits are found, and that are currently under exploration for critical minerals such as lithium, helium, chromium and cobalt. The co-location of mining resources and hydrogen production and use mitigates the need for long transportation routes to market, for hydrogen storage and major hydrogen infrastructure development.”

Potential Benefits for Mining and Northern Communities

According to the researchers, natural hydrogen could help lower both emissions and operating costs for mining operations across Canada. Producing hydrogen close to mines may reduce the need for major transportation systems and large-scale storage infrastructure.

The scientists also suggest the resource could benefit northern communities, many of which face high fuel transportation costs. Locally sourced hydrogen could provide cleaner energy while reducing reliance on imported fuels.

“There is a global race to increase hydrogen availability in order to decarbonize and reduce the costs of the existing hydrogen economy,” says Sherwood Lollar. “We now have a better understanding of the economic viability of this resource that can be mapped to hydrogen deposits around the world that are both already known and yet to be discovered.”

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Rocks Kept in a Warehouse For Decades Held a Major Clue to Complex Life

21 May 2026, ByM. Lechte & L. A. Riedman, The Conversation

https://www.sciencealert.com/rocks-kept-in-a-warehouse-for-decades-held-a-major-clue-to-complex-life

Delicate microfossils were preserved in deeper rock layers. 

(UC Santa Barbara)

Stored in an open-air warehouse in tropical Darwin, Australia, are dozens of trays containing cylindrical cores of rock.

They are from drill holes bored hundreds of meters below the surface by mineral exploration companies decades ago.

Some of these cores at the Northern Territory Geological Survey are mudstone – a type of sedimentary rock formed from hardened seafloor mud.

The companies that drilled these cores were largely unaware that within these mudstones were fossils of microscopic organisms buried on the seafloor of an ancient inland sea that covered much of northern Australia over 1.5 billion years ago.

As our new study, published today in Nature, shows, these fossils are crucial for addressing a longstanding puzzle about the major evolutionary leap that led to all complex life on Earth: the origin of eukaryotes.

Layers of 1.7 billion-year-old sedimentary rocks, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory.

(Maxwell Lechte)

Small but complex

All life on Earth can be placed into one of two types, which are fundamentally different at the cellular level.

Prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) have simple cellular organization and are mostly single-celled.

Eukaryotes – including all animals, plants, algae, and fungi – are very different. They have much more complicated cells featuring a nucleus and other specialized structures such as organelles, which perform specific jobs.

The eukaryotic revolution transformed the planet. It led to the rise of animals and, eventually, to us.

Based on observations from the genes of living organisms, it is now widely agreed that the last common ancestor of all living eukaryotes resulted from the symbiotic union of (at least) two prokaryotic microbes: an archaeon and a bacterium.

The first evidence for eukaryotic life comes in the form of these fossils of single-celled organisms. They show a level of cellular complexity not seen among prokaryotes, but common in eukaryotes.

Drill cores of sedimentary rock containing microscopic fossils. 

(Maxwell Lechte)

Eukaryote fossils can be found around the world in rocks dating back at least 1.5 billion years. The fossils of the Northern Territory, the oldest of which date back to 1.75 billion years ago, are the oldest currently known eukaryote fossils globally.

But the ancient world in which early eukaryotes evolved remains shrouded in mystery. And so many fundamental aspects regarding their nature are unknown.

Oxygen – friend or foe?

Many types of bacteria can live and grow in places without oxygen. But nearly all eukaryotes alive today use oxygen for their survival.

That's because aerobic respiration – breaking down food using oxygen – provides the vast amounts of energy that complex life demands.

But the idea that oxygen has always been beneficial for all eukaryotes has come under fire in recent years. This follows the surprising discoveries of enigmatic eukaryotes that can thrive in conditions without oxygen.

Fossils of single-celled eukaryotic organisms with complex surface features, such as extensions and plates. 

(Leigh Anne Riedman)



There is also mounting evidence from the geological record that when eukaryotes were first evolving, oxygen was likely much scarcer.

This means oxygen-free marine habitats would have been the norm.

Collectively, these observations have called into question the assumption that eukaryotes have depended on oxygen since their inception.

Genetic studies of living microbes belonging to groups considered closest to the ancestors of the first eukaryote can offer key insights into eukaryote ancestry.

But only the fossil record can tell us about long-extinct lineages.

And only geology can offer a window into the kind of world these organisms lived in.

Delicate microfossils don't last when exposed to the surface. But they remain preserved in deeper rock layers.

 (UC Santa Barbara)

More than 12,000 fossils

For our new study, we crushed up samples of the mudstone cores stored in Darwin, then dissolved them. We identified more than 12,000 fossils by analyzing the organic residue left behind by this dissolution under a microscope.

We also studied the mudstones the fossils were preserved in to better understand what the environment was like when the sediments were deposited.

This offered insight about the habitats in which these eukaryotes lived. And by analyzing the chemistry of these mudstones, we could determine whether oxygen was present in the ancient seawater.

Our results show that eukaryote fossils were found in environments ranging from coastal mudflats to the open sea. But they were present only in samples deposited in oxygenated settings.

Samples from oxygen-free environments contained only simple, prokaryotic forms.

This suggests that even the oldest known eukaryotes that lived on Earth 1.7 to 1.4 billion years ago were dependent on oxygen. These data lend support to a long-held hypothesis that oxygen played a key role in driving the evolution of early eukaryotes.

Resolving the drivers and context of the major evolutionary leap represented by early eukaryotes is one of the major outstanding questions in the life sciences.

Ongoing studies of these enigmatic, ancient microfossils will no doubt tell us more about our own origins – and our place in the cosmos.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Study Shows Meat Eaters Are More Likely to Live to 100, But There's a Catch

21 May 2026, By Carly Cassella

https://www.sciencealert.com/study-shows-meat-eaters-are-more-likely-to-live-to-100-but-theres-a-catch

(punhha/Canva)

Humans are living longer than ever before. By 2050, scientists predict that nearly half a billion people could be older than 80.

The rise in human life expectancy is partly due to improvements in nutrition, but which food choices lead to the longest and healthiest outcomes in older age?

Scientists are still trying to figure that out.

In younger cohorts, some particular diets are associated with years of added life, especially those focused on whole, plant-based foods and healthy fats.

But meat choices are more controversial, and they typically come with a catch.

A study from China has now added another wrinkle to the research. Among more than 5,000 people aged 80 and over, researchers found that female meat eaters were more likely to reach age 100 than female vegetarians.

There was no significant association between longevity and vegetarianism among males, when the researchers analyzed the data by sex.

Before you go sending this article to every female vegetarian you know, you should stay for the nuance.

It was only vegetarian participants deemed underweight who were less likely to live to 100 than meat eaters.

"Daily consumption of meat was associated with a 44 percent higher likelihood of reaching 100 years old [compared to a vegetarian diet] in the underweight group, whereas this association did not present in the normal weight or overweight group," the study authors conclude.

(Ella Olsson/Pexels)



What's more, vegetarians who ate fish, dairy, or eggs had a similar chance of reaching 100 as meat eaters.

This suggests that older female adults who eat enough calories and essential nutrients may increase their odds of becoming a centenarian.

The findings support recent research that suggests protecting muscle mass by eating protein is vital to healthy aging.

The new data come from one of the largest studies on older adults anywhere in the world: the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS).

Researchers at Fudan University, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University compared the outcomes of 1,459 centenarians with those of 3,744 non-centenarians in their 80s and 90s.

The team found that body mass index (BMI) partly explained the association between vegetarianism and shorter life expectancy.

Given that older populations are more likely to be underweight, the authors suggest that the role of BMI in longevity is "worth exploring" further.

The "obesity paradox", for instance, is a term that describes how more body weight seems to be associated with better health outcomes in older populations. This is the opposite of what is found in younger populations.

The centenarian study in China can only reveal associations, which means it's possible that other factors are impacting the results.

The study, for instance, doesn't account for how eating habits might change over time; the surveys only assessed what participants ate in their later years, and that may be influenced by how easy the foods are to chew.

Previous research, however, supports the idea that lifestyle choices, such as diet, could be major reasons why some people live to 100.

In fact, by some estimates, reaching age 90 can be explained by 70 percent healthy behaviors, such as sleep, physical activity, or diet.

Diet is not the only factor that has been linked to longer lifespans.

(Ruben Bonilla Gonzalo/Getty Images)



It's possible that older adults may have different nutritional needs, yet many studies on vegetarianism focus on younger cohorts.

One study of more than 65,000 people, young and old, found that those who eat a vegetarian diet may face a higher risk of fractures, possibly due to lower calcium and protein intake.

In fact, some evidence shows that older people require more dietary protein than current guidelines suggest.

Nutrition, however, is an extremely complex area of research, and health outcomes can be influenced by a plethora of societal, environmental, and individual factors.

In all probability, the best food choices for extending life require diversity and balance, differing from person to person.

Vegetarian diets, plant-based diets, and low-meat diets have been linked to lower risks of certain health issues, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

Still, not all meat is equally associated with negative health outcomes, and the amount can matter. Processed meats and red meat, for instance, are often linked to poorer health and shorter longevity, which is why they are generally recommended to be eaten in moderation.

"Our findings emphasized the importance of a balanced diet from both animal- and plant-derived food for healthy longevity," write the team.

"Future studies focusing on older adults of advanced age are needed for the formulation of dietary guidance."

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/