One of the World’s Most Popular Weedkillers May Be Fueling Deadly Superbugs

By M. Dijkstra, Frontiers, May 14, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/one-of-the-worlds-most-popular-weedkillers-may-be-fueling-deadly-superbugs/

Glyphosate weedkillers may help drive the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria across hospitals and agricultural environments, according to new research. 

Credit: Shutterstock

Scientists have uncovered evidence that one of the world’s most widely used weedkillers may also help dangerous bacteria survive antibiotic treatments.

Each year, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) contributes to an estimated 1.1 million to 1.4 million deaths worldwide. Researchers now say the rise of drug-resistant bacteria may not be driven only by antibiotics. Common weedkillers could also be helping bacteria survive and spread.

“Here we show that the most common species of multidrug-resistant bacteria from hospitals are not only resistant to multiple antibiotic classes but also to high concentrations of the weedkiller glyphosate,” said Dr. Daniela Centrón, a researcher at the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology in Buenos Aires and the senior author of the study in Frontiers in Microbiology.

“These results suggest that weedkillers—which, unlike antibiotics, are widely applied in agricultural environments—may have the unintended side effect of selecting for AMR among bacterial communities within the soil.”

Scientists Test Environmental and Hospital Bacteria

In 2018 and 2020, Centrón and her team collected 68 bacterial strains from sediment in a protected wetland area in the Paraná Delta north of Buenos Aires. Nearby agricultural land is regularly treated with glyphosate.

Researchers tested how resistant the strains were to 16 commonly used antibiotics, including ampicillin with sulbactam, meropenem, tetracycline, and vancomycin. They also examined resistance to pure glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, which are among the world’s most widely used weedkillers.

The results were compared with 19 bacterial strains taken from local hospitals, including multidrug-resistant species. Another 15 strains came from feedlots and agricultural soils exposed to herbicides.

Hospital Superbugs Show Strong Glyphosate Resistance

The hospital strains showed resistance to between one and 16 antibiotics, confirming widespread antimicrobial resistance. About 74% were resistant to carbapenems, a powerful class of broad-spectrum antibiotics often used as a last-resort treatment. Every hospital strain also showed strong resistance to glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides.

“This means that if these bacteria enter the environment through untreated wastewater from hospitals, they could go on to thrive in agricultural areas where glyphosate is used,” said first author Dr Camila Knecht from Dr Centrón’s group.

The Paraná Delta samples included 15 bacterial genera, such as Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Exiguobacterium, and Chryseobacterium. All showed at least some resistance to glyphosate and related herbicides, even though those chemicals have never been applied inside the reserve. Enterobacter strains tolerated the highest glyphosate levels, reaching up to 80 milligrams per milliliter (about 2.7 ounces per gallon).

By contrast, Bacillus strains commonly found in soil were highly sensitive. Their growth was inhibited at glyphosate concentrations of just 2.5 milligrams per milliliter (about 0.08 ounces per gallon). Strong glyphosate resistance was also observed in bacteria linked to highly drug-resistant hospital infections.

Glyphosate Resistance Crosses Environmental Boundaries

When researchers created a genetic “family tree” of all 102 bacterial strains, the most glyphosate-resistant strains were often closely related, regardless of where they were found. The same bacterial genera showed resistance in hospitals, agricultural areas, and the Paraná Delta.

“In the environment, the use of glyphosate leads to the evolution of resistant bacteria in impacted soils, whereas the use of antibiotics favors their evolution in hospitals. Bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance genes can spread and breed between those two niches in both directions and in multiple ways, with the water cycle playing a key role in transmission,” concluded coauthor Dr Jochen A. Müller, a group leader at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

Glyphosate remains highly controversial. Studies have linked it to harm in arthropods, especially bees, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies it as a probable human carcinogen. France, Belgium, and the Netherlands have banned glyphosate for household use, while Germany prohibits its use in public spaces.

“Policies for the use of any pesticide, as well as its metabolites, should stipulate the requirement for co-selection testing with antibiotics before marketing. Labels should include a warning that genes for antibiotic resistance can spread from glyphosate-contaminated soils to hospitals through untreated water,” counseled Centrón.

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Vast, Untapped Source of Lithium Found in The US Could Last 300 Years

15 May 2026, By Ivan Farkas

https://www.sciencealert.com/vast-untapped-source-of-lithium-found-in-the-us-could-last-300-years

(BJP7images/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

There could be nearly 330 years' worth of lithium hiding beneath the Appalachian Mountains, which stretch like a stony spine across the eastern United States.

New research from the US Geological Survey suggests that the Appalachians may contain around 2.3 million metric tons (2.5 million US tons) of recoverable lithium oxide locked away in pegmatites, the grainy, granite-like rocks that form as water-rich magma cools and crystallizes deep within the Earth.

"This research shows that the Appalachians contain enough lithium to help meet the nation's growing needs – a major contribution to US mineral security, at a time when global lithium demand is rising rapidly," says Ned Mamula, Director of the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Therefore, mapping US mineral resources may help reverse the country's recent reliance on lithium imports.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are part of the Appalachian region. 

(Jonathan Guthrie/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0)



"The United States was the dominant world producer of lithium three decades ago, and this research highlights the abundant potential to reclaim our mineral independence," Mamula adds.

The soft, silvery lithium is the lightest of the metals and the least dense of the solid elements. It's also one of the oldest elements in existence, as trace amounts were produced during the Big Bang.

Importantly, it is the primary active chemical in lithium-ion batteries, which account for 87 percent of global lithium demand.

These rechargeable batteries power our most essential devices, including smartphones, laptops, electric vehicles, and grid-scale energy storage systems, making lithium indispensable for emerging clean energy initiatives.

Batteries account for 87 percent of global lithium demand.

 (kynny/Canva)

Accordingly, lithium demand is projected to grow over 40 times by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

As a result, the USGS has been tasked with assessing critical mineral deposits throughout the US.

So, as described in the recent study, USGS scientists combined various methods to assess the extent and availability of undiscovered lithium-containing pegmatite deposits in the Appalachian region of the US.

First, the researchers compiled publicly available geological and geochemical data, such as mineral maps, to pinpoint a set of "permissive tracts," or areas that are more or less likely to hold lithium deposits.

They then estimated the quantity of lithium in these potentially undiscovered reserves using the Delphi Method, a structured communication technique involving a panel of more than 20 USGS geoscientists, over a two-day period in July 2024.

The researchers also extrapolated the quality and quantity of the lithium-containing ore by drawing on data from known global lithium deposits, previously determined through methods such as mineral inventory reports.

Finally, the researchers ran 20,000 probabilistic simulations based on the above data to determine the most realistic lithium distribution scenarios, applying an economic filter to gauge how much of this lithium could be feasibly extracted.

The research suggests that 900,000 metric tons of lithium oxide may be economically extractable in the northern Appalachian region, with Maine, New Hampshire, and parts of Vermont deemed the most prospective areas.

Another 1.43 million metric tons could be extractable in the southern Appalachian region, chiefly concentrated in the Carolinas.

Together, the researchers say this huge deposit could meet the lithium needs of the US for 328 years, based on consumption and import rates in 2025.

For perspective, this could furnish every person in the world with 60 smartphones. It's also equivalent to supplying the world with laptops for 1,000 years – though by that point, computers may be more brain than machine, or embedded within our biological tissues.

A USGS graphic showing use cases for the 2.3 metric tons of recoverable lithium oxide discovered throughout the Appalachians (left), as well as the extrapolated concentration of lithium oxide in the northern Appalachian region (right). 

(USGS/Public Domain)

These as-yet untapped reserves are not the only potentially profitable lithium reserves in the US.

An unrelated report recently described a sizable lithium concentration swirling in the salty waters of an ancient limestone aquifer beneath Arkansas, a structure known as the Smackover Formation.

However, actually extracting these reserves may prove more difficult.

Should this lithium eventually make its way from beneath the northern Appalachians to beneath the cover of our smartphones, it will have completed a journey that began more than 300 million years ago with the formation of the supercontinent Pangea.

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Scientists Revive Ancient Chemistry Trick To Engineer Next-Generation Glass

By U. of Birmingham, May 13, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-revive-ancient-chemistry-trick-to-engineer-next-generation-glass/

New research shows that carefully chosen chemical additives can dramatically change the behavior of MOF glasses, helping scientists better control how the materials are processed and engineered. 

Credit: Shutterstock

A centuries-old glassmaking strategy has helped researchers unlock new ways to engineer futuristic MOF glasses with promising applications in gas storage and advanced materials.

Scientists have applied a centuries-old chemistry concept to improve a new class of glass made from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), materials built from metal atoms linked by organic molecules. These glasses can trap gases such as CO₂ and hydrogen and can also absorb water.

The international research team, which included scientists from TU Dortmund University and the University of Birmingham, published its findings in Nature Chemistry. The study shows that MOF glasses can be adjusted and engineered using methods similar to those used for conventional glass.

The researchers found that adding small sodium- or lithium-containing compounds changes both the structure and properties of the material. These additives reduce the temperature at which the glass softens and improve how easily it flows when heated, potentially simplifying manufacturing.

The results establish a new strategy for designing customized MOF glasses for advanced technologies. Possible uses include gas separation, chemical storage, and specialized coatings.
Lowering Processing Temperatures

Dr. Dominik Kubicki from the University of Birmingham said: “Glass has been part of human civilization for millennia. From ancient Mesopotamia to modern fiber-optic cables, small amounts of chemical modifiers make it easier to process glass and change its functional properties.

“However, MOF glasses soften only at high temperatures – above 300 °C (572 °F) – close to their degradation temperature, making manufacturing challenging and limiting broader use. This discovery unlocks new possibilities for future high-performance materials.”

One of the most well-known MOF glasses is ZIF-62, a porous material that can be melted and cooled into glass while preserving some of its internal porosity. That characteristic makes it promising for gas separation, membranes, and catalysis.

Professor Sebastian Henke from TU Dortmund University said: “Our approach is inspired by how conventional silicate glasses have been modified: disrupting the network structure to tune melting behavior and mechanical properties.

“Our study shows the same principle can be transferred to hybrid metal-organic glasses. This advance brings MOF glasses a step closer to real-world manufacturing and applications in gas separation, storage, catalysis, and beyond.”

Revealing the Glass Structure

To understand how sodium additives change the internal structure of the glass, the researchers used advanced characterization methods.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham, led by Drs. Dominik Kubicki and Benjamin Gallant, carried out atomic-level studies of the modified material. The team also performed high-temperature solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy experiments at the UK High-Field Solid-State NMR Facility.

These experiments showed how sodium ions become incorporated into the glass network and disrupt its connections.

Another Birmingham team, led by Professor Andrew Morris and Dr. Mario Ongkiko, used AI-driven computational modeling to analyze the complex NMR data. Machine-learning-assisted simulations revealed how sodium interacts with the glass structure and confirmed the experimental findings.

The combined results showed that sodium does more than occupy empty spaces inside the material. It can replace some zinc atoms, slightly loosening the structure and altering the material’s behavior.

The researchers say further work is needed to improve the stability of these glasses, better predict their properties, and evaluate how well they perform in practical technologies.

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400,000-Year-Old Proteins Reveal a Surprise Twist in The Human Family Tree

14 May 2026, By M. Starr

https://www.sciencealert.com/400000-year-old-proteins-reveal-a-surprise-twist-in-the-human-family-tree

Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains, Siberia is where the first evidence of Denisovans was found. 

(rusak/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

The hominin family tree is more like a complicated, tangled bramble.

Homo sapiens is the only member of the genus left today, but in millennia past, the world was inhabited by multiple related Homo species – including the Neanderthals, Homo erectus, and Homo habilis, and traces of a mysterious group known as the Denisovans.

In recent years, evidence has emerged that these populations did not live in isolation. Multiple overlapping human groups roamed Eurasia, occasionally fighting, trading – and even interbreeding.

Now, new evidence has emerged of this complex history. From three sites across China, archaeologists have identified proteins in six H. erectus teeth that contain a genetic variant also seen in Denisovans, hinting at genetic mixing between the groups.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZv8VyIQ7YU&t=2s

Because organic material degrades so efficiently over time, peering into our ancient past is difficult. Teeth are a particularly valuable resource. The hard enamel retains proteins that can be linked to DNA variations inherited across generations.

When scientists do succeed in decoding this information, there are often surprises waiting.

Humans mixed with Neanderthals. Neanderthals mixed with Denisovans. Denisovans mixed with humans. Human DNA even shows genetic traces of long-lost, unidentified 'ghost' hominids.

But the Denisovans remain deeply mysterious. Scientists have found only a few fragmented remains – teeth, a jawbone, and shards of other bones – that are not consistent with humans or Neanderthals, but do seem to have things in common with each other.

One of the teeth examined in the study, from Zhoukoudian near Beijing. 

(Qiaomei Fu, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences)



We don't know whether the Denisovans consisted of just one group or were a collection of related groups. We don't know how far they dispersed, or how long they were around, or when they disappeared.

They have no formal classification, description, or species name. The little evidence recovered suggests that they were closely related to the Neanderthals and shared an ancestor in common with both Neanderthals and modern humans.

The new evidence about this mysterious group comes from six H. erectus teeth from three archaeological sites across China – Zhoukoudian near Beijing, Hexian in Anhui Province, and Sunjiadong in Henan Province.

H. erectus predates modern humans, but belongs to the broader human lineage from which H. sapiens emerged.

The geographic locations of the three fossil sites and the tooth samples discovered at each one.

 (Fu et al., Nature, 2026)



The teeth the researchers studied are around 400,000 years old – far too old for DNA to have survived under most normal conditions. However, DNA encodes genes, which make proteins, and tooth enamel is tough enough to retain proteins for a very, very long time.

By carefully extracting and analyzing proteins in the enamel of these ancient teeth, a team of scientists led by paleoanthropologist Qiaomei Fu of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in China identified inherited genetic variants preserved in the proteins.

Those proteins, from all six teeth, contained two unusual inherited variants of the enamel protein ameloblastin.

One variant appears to be unique to these Chinese H. erectus individuals – it's never been seen before in any other known hominin, and may indicate a distinct lineage of East Asian H. erectus.

A tooth from Sunjiadong, included in the study. 

(Qiaomei Fu, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences)



The other had previously been identified in Denisovans – suggesting populations related to the two groups may have interacted somewhere in their history.

It's difficult to determine how widespread Denisovan populations really were because the fossil record is extremely sparse, but the evidence we have suggests they coexisted with H. erectus in East Asia for a time.

Because the variant appeared in all six H. erectus teeth studied across multiple Chinese sites, the researchers argue it most likely originated in populations related to H. erectus before later appearing in Denisovans.

"Their shared habitats create opportunities for interactions," the researchers write in their published paper.

The course of human evolution was far more complicated than a linear progression. 

(Overearth/iStock/Getty Images Plus)



These findings don't solve the mystery of the Denisovans. Instead, they add to a growing body of evidence that the course of human evolution was deeply messy in a way that Charles Darwin could never have imagined.

Rather than one neat evolutionary lineage, the picture being constructed is one of multiple groups repeatedly overlapping, interacting, and sharing genetic material over hundreds of thousands of years.

The results also add weight to the idea that the Denisovans at least roamed far enough to intermix with other groups and were more genetically diverse than once thought.

And there's one more tantalizing possibility. Scientists have never been able to isolate a full H. erectus genome; the samples are just too old and degraded.

This new study suggests that genetic information from populations related to H. erectus may have entered the Denisovan genome; from there, parts of it may have entered the human genome.

The second protein variant, the one already known from Denisovans, was also found in some modern humans.

The researchers propose that one variant, AMBN(M273V), may have originated in populations related to Homo erectus and then 'flowed' into Denisovans, ending up in the genomes of some modern humans.

 (Fu et al., Nature, 2026)



Other recent studies have similarly uncovered traces of Denisovan DNA in modern human genomes, adding to our own genetic diversity.

So it's exciting to think that with increasingly sophisticated tools and analysis techniques, scientists are bringing us closer to untangling some of the most twisted parts of ancient human history.

In time, with more specimens and samples, we may even work out who the 'ghosts' in our genomes are.

"Further research on H. erectus, including molecular data across different periods and regions, will help to clarify their microevolution, population diversity, and interactions with Denisovans," the team concludes.

The birth of modern Man

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The Earliest Known Dentistry Wasn't Done By Our Species

14 May 2026, By Jess Cockerill

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-earliest-known-dentistry-wasnt-done-by-our-species

The 60,000-year-old tooth, viewed from different angles. 

(Zubova et al., PLOS One, 2026, CC-BY 4.0)

A 60,000-year-old Neanderthal tooth left behind in a cave in modern-day Russia contains a deep hole that cannot be explained by decay alone.

The tooth is a molar from the lower left jaw of a Neanderthal, an extinct relative of modern humans.

This prehistoric human had a bad tooth infection, probably for a long while.

At a time when finding food was difficult enough and pain relief was in its infancy, a toothache that prevented a person from eating could become a life-or-death matter.

Eventually, it must have become such a problem for this Neanderthal that they were willing to go to extreme measures to relieve it.

According to a team of scientists from institutes across Russia, the pained individual likely did so by performing a sort of prehistoric root canal: drilling the tooth with a sharp stone tool to remove the damaged pulp (or more likely, getting a friend to do it – gulp).

If the team is right in their interpretation, it suggests Neanderthals conducted some clever dentistry. They may have known they could salvage an infected tooth if they removed the pulp and just left the rest.

What's more, the tooth "currently represents the earliest known evidence of intentional dental intervention", the team writes in their paper. Previously, that distinction had belonged to Homo sapiens.

The Neanderthal tooth, seen from five different angles. 

(Zubova et al., PLOS One, 2026, CC-BY 4.0)



"When we first saw [the tooth], our initial thought was: this is probably just a tooth root where the crown had broken off naturally," archaeologist Kseniya Kolobova of the Russian Academy of Sciences told ScienceAlert.

But Alisa Zubova, an anthropologist on the team who specializes in teeth, wasn't satisfied with that explanation for the unusually-shaped cavity.

Taking a closer look at the tooth's surface under the microscope, the team found "clear linear marks typical of a rotating, drilling motion," Kolobova explained.

"We also saw that the cavity is actually made of three overlapping depressions," she said.

"That could no longer be explained by disease or accident. This was intentional, hands‑on treatment."

A close-up of the molar crown shows the main hole and three recesses in the surface.

 (Zubova et al., PLOS One, 2026, CC-BY 4.0)



Of course, Neanderthals did not have the precise, electrified dental drills we use today, let alone modern anesthetics.

More likely, they had to use the materials they had at hand.

In this case, the team believes a very fine, pointed piece of jasperoid, a stone that was readily available in the environment.

We know the Neanderthals in this part of Russia were knapping jasperoid to make other kinds of tools at the time, and some of these have even been found inside Chagyrskaya Cave, the same site where the molar was discovered.

"They made complex, asymmetrical bifacial knives, scrapers, and these small retouched points. The fine motor skills and technical knowledge were already there," Kolobova explained.

"So, did they look at a carious, painful tooth and suddenly invent a new tool? No, I doubt it. Instead, what they likely did was repurpose an existing tool design for a novel, highly specialized task."

To prove this kind of tool was up for the task, the team attempted some Neanderthal dentistry themselves.

The researchers were able to recreate the linear traces forming concavities using a stone tool on modern human teeth. 

(Zubova et al., PLOS One, 2026, CC-BY 4.0)

While they had some success drilling into old teeth from anthropological collections, the Neanderthal-like tools were most efficient when applied to a wisdom tooth recently extracted from the mouth of their very own traceologist, Lydia Zotkina.

"Lydia's tooth… was as close as we could possibly get to the fresh, moist condition of a Neanderthal tooth still in a person's jaw," Kolobova said.

"She drilled into her own tooth using a replica of [a] Neanderthal stone tool. In our lab, we still make jokes about it: 'The most personal contribution to the project'."

While several teeth were cracked by the hard spikes of jasperoid, they were able to achieve similar results seen in the Neanderthal molar by applying a gentle, careful rotating motion with the stone.

The team also makes the case in their paper that the Neanderthal 'drilling' technique is "more advanced" than H. sapiens' method of scraping carious teeth to try and remove decay.

We're not booking in for this treatment any time soon, but it's astonishing that prehistoric humans were experimenting with such a "sophisticated" technique so long ago.

The discovery adds to mounting evidence that Neanderthals had a culture far beyond earlier stereotypes of brutish cavemen: They buried their dead, decorated caves, cared for their communities, and potentially dabbled in medicine.

And, it seems, when they had a toothache, they were willing to go through intense, short-term pain if it meant they would be better off in the long run.

"They conceptually transferred an existing technology to a completely new domain," Kolobova adds.

"That shows a remarkable level of cognitive flexibility."

The birth of modern Man

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Eating One Egg a Day Could Cut Alzheimer’s Risk by 27%

By L. Linda U. Adventist Health Sci. Center, May 14, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/eating-one-egg-a-day-could-cut-alzheimers-risk-by-27/

A long-term study of adults over 65 suggests that regularly eating eggs may be linked to a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. 

Credit: Shutterstock

Scientists tracking more than 40,000 people for over 15 years found an intriguing connection between egg consumption and reduced Alzheimer’s risk.

Could something as simple as eating eggs help protect the aging brain? A new long-term study from researchers at Loma Linda University Health suggests that older adults who regularly consume eggs may be significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

The researchers found that people age 65 and older who ate at least one egg a day, five times per week, had up to a 27% lower risk of Alzheimer’s compared to those who rarely or never ate eggs.

“Compared to never eating eggs, eating at least five eggs per week can decrease risk of Alzheimer’s,” said Joan Sabaté, MD, DrPH, a professor at Loma Linda University School of Public Health and the study’s principal investigator.

Moderate Egg Intake Also Shows Protective Benefits

Researchers also observed benefits among people who ate eggs less often. Eating eggs 1 to 3 times per month was associated with a 17% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, while eating eggs 2 to 4 times weekly was linked to a 20% reduction in risk, Sabaté said.

The findings were published in the Journal of Nutrition.

The researchers said the study was designed to address a major gap in understanding how diet and other lifestyle factors may influence Alzheimer’s disease risk.

Eggs are rich in several nutrients linked to brain health, including choline, omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, and zeaxanthin. 

Credit: Shutterstock



Brain-Boosting Nutrients Found in Eggs

According to the researchers, eggs contain several nutrients tied to brain function. Sabaté said eggs are a source of choline, which helps the body produce acetylcholine and phosphatidylcholine, compounds important for memory and communication between brain cells.

Eggs also contain lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids that build up in brain tissue and have been linked to better cognitive performance and lower oxidative stress. In addition, eggs provide omega-3 fatty acids. Egg yolks are especially rich in phospholipids, which make up nearly 30% of total egg lipids and play an important role in neurotransmitter receptor function.

The study evaluated egg intake from both direct and indirect sources. Researchers examined visible consumption, including scrambled, fried, and boiled eggs, as well as hidden sources found in baked goods and packaged foods.

Long-Term Study Tracks Alzheimer’s Diagnoses

Alzheimer’s disease cases in the Adventist Health Study 2 cohort were identified through physician diagnoses recorded in Medicare data among roughly 40,000 participants. Researchers used Medicare Master Beneficiary Summary Files to determine eligibility. Participants were followed for an average of 15.3 years.

The researchers stressed that moderate egg consumption should be part of a balanced overall diet.

“Research supports eggs as part of a healthy diet,” said Jisoo Oh, DrPH, MPH, an associate professor of epidemiology at Loma Linda University School of Public Health and the study’s lead author. “Seventh-day Adventists do eat a healthier diet than the general public, and we want people to focus on overall health along with this knowledge about the benefit of eggs.”

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Scientists Uncover Hidden Property of Light That Twists Matter Sideways

By Hokkaido U., May 6, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-uncover-hidden-property-of-light-that-twists-matter-sideways/

Light is known to exert tiny forces, but measuring them at the nanoscale has remained a major challenge. Researchers have now developed a new platform that reveals an unexpected way light can twist matter sideways, pointing to previously hidden properties of light–matter interactions. 

Credit: Shutterstock

A new measurement method reveals that light can twist nanoscale objects in unexpected ways.

Light is not just something we see. It can also exert physical forces that push and twist matter. In the 1870s, James Clerk Maxwell proposed that light carries momentum and can apply pressure to objects. Nearly 100 years later, in the 1970s, Arthur Ashkin turned that idea into a practical tool. He created optical tweezers, which use tightly focused laser beams to trap and move extremely small particles.

Even though researchers have long understood that light can apply tiny forces, measuring them has been a major challenge. At the nanoscale, objects are constantly buffeted by thermal motion, which makes these weak forces difficult to detect.
A New Way to Measure Tiny Forces

Scientists at Hokkaido University have now introduced a method that can measure these forces with high precision. Using this approach, they uncovered an unexpected effect: light can cause tiny objects to rotate sideways, perpendicular to the direction the light is traveling.

“We developed a novel measurement platform called the ‘micro-drone,’ which enables, for the first time, full three-dimensional characterization of optical forces and torques acting on nanostructures,” says Professor Yoshito Y. Tanaka of Hokkaido University.

A “micro-drone” holds a nanostructure at its center, while four laser beams trap and control the platform. 

Credit: Ryoma Fukuhara et al., Nature Physics. April 20, 2026



The setup places a nanostructure at the center of a small, cross-shaped device known as a micro-drone. Four laser beams hold the platform steady, similar to optical tweezers gripping its edges. By tracking how the platform shifts and rotates, researchers can determine the forces acting on the object inside.
Overcoming Limitations of Optical Tweezers

“Optical tweezers have been a powerful tool since Arthur Ashkin’s pioneering work, recognized with the Nobel Prize in 2018,” says Tanaka. “Using them, conventional methods could only measure rotation of an object along a single axis. Our approach overcomes this limitation by measuring not the nanostructure itself but the platform containing the nanostructure.”

This technique captures motion and rotation in all directions, providing a full three-dimensional view. It effectively amplifies nanoscale forces by translating them into larger, more measurable movements of the platform.

To test the method, the researchers used tiny gold structures shaped like the letter “V.” When exposed to light inside the micro-drone, these structures displayed a behavior known as transverse optical torque. Instead of rotating along the light’s path, they turned sideways.

“We were able to observe, using the new method, a phenomenon that had not been experimentally observed before: transverse optical torque acting at the nanoscale,” says Tanaka.
Rethinking How Light Interacts With Matter

The origin of this effect was unexpected. Previous theories suggested that such motion would depend on the light’s angular momentum. However, the team found that a different property, called optical helicity, is responsible. This property describes the “handedness” or twist of the light’s electromagnetic field.

The researchers confirmed this by designing experiments that removed angular momentum while preserving helicity. The sideways rotation still occurred, showing that helicity plays the key role.

This finding offers a deeper understanding of how light interacts with matter at extremely small scales. It also points to new ways of controlling nanoscale systems, with possible applications in light-driven nanomachines and advanced sensing technologies.

“This work represents a new measurement paradigm for nanoscale optomechanics,” says Tanaka. “Just as optical tweezers opened a new field in single-molecule biophysics, we hope this platform will unlock access to nanoscale mechanical phenomena that have so far remained beyond reach.”

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Archaeologists Discover Hundreds of Strange, Ancient Mass Graves in The Desert

13 May 2026, By J. Cooper et al., The Conversation

https://www.sciencealert.com/archaeologists-discover-hundreds-of-strange-ancient-mass-graves-in-the-desert

An example of an enclosure burial site in the Sahara Desert. 

(Google Earth)

We have been on a years-long campaign of satellite remote sensing of the vast desert landscapes in Eastern Sudan.

This involved using satellite aerial imagery to systematically and painstakingly search for archaeological features in Atbai Desert of Eastern Sudan, a small part of the much larger Sahara.

Our team – which includes archaeologists from Macquarie University, France's HiSoMA research unit, and the Polish Academy of Sciences – wanted to tell the story of this desert region between the Nile and the Red Sea, without having to excavate.

One mysterious archaeological feature stood out. We kept finding large, circular mass graves filled with the bones of people and animals, often carefully arranged around a key person at the centre.

Likely built around the fourth and third millennia BCE, all these "enclosure burial" monuments have a large round enclosure wall, some up to 80 metres in diameter, with humans and their cattle, sheep and goats buried inside.

Our new research, published in the journal African Archaeological Review, reveals how we found 260 previously unknown enclosure burials east of the Nile River, across almost 1,000km of desert.

We found hundreds of enclosure burial sites found across Eastern Sudan.

 (Google Earth, map compiled in QGIS)
Who built them?



Already known from a few excavated examples in the Egyptian and Sudanese deserts, these large circular burial monuments have long puzzled scholars.

What seemed once isolated examples emerge now as a consistent pattern. It is suggestive of a common nomadic culture stretching across a vast stretch of desert.

Most are within the borders of modern Sudan on the slopes of the Red Sea Hills. Unfortunately, satellite imagery alone cannot communicate the whole story of these enclosure burial builders.

The carbon dates and pottery from the few excavated monuments tell us these people lived roughly 4000–3000 BCE, just before Egyptians formed a territorial kingdom we know of as Pharaonic Egypt.

But these "enclosure burial" nomads had little to do with urbane and farming Egyptians.

Living in the desert and raising herds, these were Saharan desert nomads through and through.

Examples of different enclosure burial traditions. 

(Cooper et al., Afr. Archaeol. Rev., 2026)

A new elite?

Some enclosures show "secondary" burials arranged around a "primary" burial of a person at the centre – perhaps a chief or other important member of the community.

For archaeologists, this is important data for discerning class and hierarchy in prehistoric societies.

The question of when Saharan nomads became less egalitarian has plagued archaeologists for decades, but most agree it was around this time of the fourth millennium BCE that a distinctive "elite" class emerged.

This is still a far cry from the sort of huge divisions between ruler and ruled as seen in societies such as Egypt, with its pharaohs and farmers. However, it ushers in the first traces of inequality.

Animals held in high esteem

Cattle seem very important to these prehistoric nomads (a theory also supported by ancient local rock art in the area).

Burying themselves alongside their herd, these nomads show they held their animals in esteem.

Thousands of years later, local nomads chose to reuse these now "ancient" enclosures for their burial plots – sometimes almost 4,000 years after they were first built.

In other words, the prehistoric nomads created cemetery spaces that lasted for millennia.

What happened to these people?

No one can say for sure.

The few dates we have for these monuments cluster between 4000–3000 BCE, nearing the end of a period when the once-greener Sahara was drying, a phase scientists call the "African Humid Period".

From north to south, the summer monsoon gradually retreated, reducing rainfall and shrinking pastures. This led nomads to abandon thirsty cattle, increase the mobility of their herds, migrate to the south or flee to the Nile.

The monuments are overwhelmingly located near what were then favourable watering spots; near rocky pools in valley floors, lakebeds and ephemeral rivers.

This tells us that when the monuments were being built, the desert was already quite challenging and dry.

At some point, as grass and bush made way for sand and rocks, keeping their prized cattle became unsustainable.

Having large herds of cattle in this desert, at this period, may have been a way of showing off an expensive and rare possession – a prehistoric nomad's equivalent to having a Ferrari. This may help explain why cattle were frequently buried alongside their owners in enclosure burial monuments.

Enclosure burials cluster near precious water sources like this small pool in a ravine.

 (Authors)

A bigger story

These enclosure burials are only one part of the greater story of human adaptation to climate change across North Africa.

From the Central Sahara, to Kenya and Arabia, keeping cattle, goats and sheep transformed societies. It changed the food they ate, the way they moved around, and community hierarchies.

It's no coincidence communities changed how they buried their dead at the same time as they adopted herding lifestyles.

These burial enclosures tell us even scattered nomads were extremely well-organised people, and expert adapters.

Our discovery reshapes the story of the Sahara deserts and the prehistory of the Nile.

They provide a prologue for the monumentalism of the kingdoms of Egypt and Nubia, and an image of this region as more than pharaohs, pyramids and temples.

Sadly, many of these enclosure monuments are currently being destroyed or vandalised as a result of unregulated mining in the region. These unique burials have survived for millennia, but can disappear in less than a week.

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Archaeologists Just Found Something Impossible in Prehistory

 Michael Button, 12 May 2026

 We like to think medicine only gets better over time. But the evidence says otherwise. 

From 31,000-year-old amputations… to Neolithic brain surgery with survival rates that rival (and sometimes beat) 19th-century hospitals… 

The past reveals something uncomfortable: 

Ancient humans weren’t “primitive.” In many ways, they were highly skilled surgeons. And the real story of medicine isn’t a straight line of progress: It’s a rise… a fall… and a rediscovery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7fx66jFJj8

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Archaeologists Uncover 5,000-Year-Old Foundations of Strange Artificial Island

12 May 2026, By J. Cockerill

https://www.sciencealert.com/archaeologists-uncover-5000-year-old-foundations-of-strange-artificial-island

There's much more to this island than a bird's eye view can give.

 (University of Southampton)

Artificial islands may seem a modern invention better associated with Dubai and China, but in Scotland, humans have been building them for thousands of years.

It turns out one such 'crannog' in Loch Bhorgastail on the Isle of Lewis was first constructed more than 5,000 years ago, meaning it was built by prehistoric humans during the Late Neolithic.

Using new technology, scientists have now discovered the wooden and stone foundations that established the Loch Bhorgastail crannog many millennia ago.

"Crannogs are small artificial islands that are typically thousands of years old," explains archaeologist Stephanie Blankshein, from the University of Southampton in the UK.

"Hundreds exist in the lochs of Scotland, and many remain unexplored or undiscovered."

"While crannogs were long thought to have been built, used and re-used, mainly between the Iron Age and the post-medieval period, we now know that some were first constructed much earlier during the Neolithic between 3800 and 3300 BCE."

Cross-section illustrating above- and below-water contexts at Loch Bhorgastail, generated from photogrammetry-derived 3D models and digital elevation profiles, integrated with hand-drawn stratigraphic sections.

 (Blankshein et al., Adv. Archaeol. Pract., 2026)

Archaeologists did not have an easy time probing the foundations of the Loch Bhorgastail crannog to determine its vintage.

They've long known about the stone layer of the island, and the fragments of Neolithic pottery – bits of bowls and jars – found scattered in the surrounding waters.

But advances in technology recently made it possible for them to examine the site in more detail.

The team employed a technique called stereophotogrammetry, which helps piece together a three-dimensional model of an object, using photos taken from different positions around the object.

Most archaeologists use drones for this, since the drone's path (and therefore the camera's) can be easily mapped using global satellite navigation systems (GNSS) when it comes time to stitch together the 3D image.

But many of the important features of the crannog in Loch Bhorgastail are submerged in shallow, murky water: not ideal for the clear pictures needed for photogrammetry, or the GNSS needed to track the camera's path, since the radio signals involved do not penetrate water.

"Fine sediments, choppy conditions, floating vegetation, and distorted or reflected light all hinder shallow water imaging," says maritime archaeologist Fraser Sturt from the University of Southampton.

"Photogrammetry is very effective in deep water but runs into problems at depths of less than a meter. This problem is a well-known frustration for archaeologists."

To overcome this, a diver swam with two wide-angle, low-light cameras mounted on a single frame along a precise path underwater.


This method proved just as accurate as an aerial drone in terms of positioning, and provided a much clearer view of what was going on under the waves. You can explore the 3D model for yourself below.

Loch Bhorgastail crannog 2021 - complete model by Islands of Stone on Sketchfab

This and other models were imperative to planning more traditional methods of archaeological fieldwork at the site: Namely, excavation of the crannog's prehistoric foundations, along with radiocarbon dating the materials therein.

"As excavation advanced, it quickly became apparent that the terrestrial and underwater components formed a single continuous structure spanning both environments and could not be treated separately," Sturt, Blankshein, and the team explain in a peer-reviewed paper.

Beneath the island's stone capping, they found wooden foundations dating back thousands of years, visible in the combined photogrammetry model through a trench excavated below the water.

Submerged Neolithic timbers in the underwater trench.

 (Islands of Stone/Sketchfab)

The prehistoric humans who built this crannog first laid down a circular wooden platform, topped with brushwood (a mat of large twigs) and spanning around 23 meters (75 feet), around 5,000 years ago.

About 2,000 years later, more brushwood was added, and the crannog was further reinforced with stone. At some point, a stone causeway was added, too, connecting the crannog to the nearby loch shore.

The study is exciting proof of a new technique for imaging underwater archaeological sites with rigor on par with those above the waterline.

It's also an astonishing reminder that humans have been engineering the landscape for millennia.

It's unclear exactly what purpose this crannog was built for, but the detritus of human life that surrounds it suggests it served people well across the ages.

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Giant Squid Detected off Western Australia in Stunning Deep-Sea Discovery

By Curtin U., May 11, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/giant-squid-detected-off-western-australia-in-stunning-deep-sea-discovery/

A deep-sea expedition off the Ningaloo coast has revealed hidden biodiversity in submarine canyons, including evidence of giant squid and many potentially undiscovered species. AI-rendered image of Architeuthis dux.

 Credit: Curtin University

Scientists exploring deep underwater canyons off Western Australia have uncovered an unexpectedly rich world of marine life using environmental DNA collected from seawater thousands of meters below the surface.

A new study led by Curtin University has uncovered remarkable biodiversity inside deep underwater canyons off Western Australia’s Nyinggulu (Ningaloo) coast. The discoveries include elusive giant squid and several species that may be previously unknown to science.

The expedition, led by the Western Australian Museum aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor, explored the Cape Range and Cloates submarine canyons about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) north of Perth. Researchers collected more than 1,000 samples from depths reaching 4,510 meters (14,797 feet).

Scientists used environmental DNA (eDNA), which is genetic material naturally released by animals into seawater, to identify species living in these deep-ocean environments without directly observing or capturing them.

Giant Squid and Rare Deep-Sea Species Detected

One of the most notable discoveries was evidence of the giant squid (Architeuthis dux) in both the Cape Range and Cloates Canyons. Researchers identified traces of the species in six separate samples. The team also detected deep-diving whales, including the pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) and Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris).

Giant squid can grow longer than a school bus, reaching lengths of 10 to 13 meters (33 to 43 feet) and weights between 150 and 275 kilograms (330 to 606 pounds). They also have the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, measuring up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) across, about the size of a large pizza.

In total, the study identified 226 species across 11 major animal groups, including rare deep-sea fish, squid, marine mammals, cnidarians, and echinoderms.

Researchers also found dozens of species never before recorded in Western Australian waters, including the sleeper shark (Somniosus sp.), faceless cusk eel (Typhlonus nasus), and slender snaggletooth (Rhadinesthes decimus).

A Vastly Undiscovered Ecosystem

Lead author Dr. Georgia Nester conducted the research during her PhD studies at Curtin University and now works at the Minderoo OceanOmics Centre at The University of Western Australia. She said the findings demonstrate how little scientists still know about deep-sea ecosystems around Australia.

“Finding evidence of a giant squid really captures people’s imagination, but it’s just one part of a much bigger picture,” Dr. Nester said.

“We found a large number of species that don’t neatly match anything currently recorded, which doesn’t automatically mean they’re new to science, but it strongly suggests there is a vast amount of deep-sea biodiversity we’re only just beginning to uncover.”

Dr. Lisa Kirkendale, Head of Aquatic Zoology and Curator of Molluscs at the WA Museum, said there had previously been only two records of giant squid in Western Australia, with no sightings or collected specimens for more than 25 years.

“This is the first record of a giant squid detected off Western Australia’s coast using eDNA protocols and the northernmost record of A. dux in the eastern Indian Ocean,” Dr. Kirkendale said.

How Environmental DNA Revealed Hidden Marine Life

Dr. Nester collected water samples from the ocean surface to depths greater than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). Researchers combined the eDNA results with genetic reference sequences from physical specimens collected by the remotely operated vehicle SuBastian.

Taxonomists identified the collected specimens, which are now stored in the WA Museum’s Collection and Research Facility to support future research.

“The WA Museum contributed expert identification of specimens from the expedition, supporting the development of a local curated genetic reference that strengthened the eDNA analyses,” Dr. Kirkendale said.

According to Dr. Nester, eDNA allows scientists to detect fragile, rare, and fast-moving species that traditional cameras and nets often fail to capture.

“These canyons are incredibly rich ecosystems and, until now, they’ve been largely unexplored because of the difficulty of working at such extreme depths,” Dr. Nester said.

“With eDNA, a single water sample can tell us about hundreds of species at once. That means we can dramatically expand our understanding of deep-water environments in a way that simply hasn’t been possible before.”

The research also showed that marine communities vary significantly by depth, and even neighboring canyons can support very different ecosystems.

Implications for Ocean Conservation

Senior author Associate Professor Zoe Richards from Curtin’s School of Molecular and Life Sciences said eDNA could significantly improve how scientists study and protect the deep ocean.

“Deep-sea ecosystems are vast, remote and expensive to study, yet they face growing pressure from climate change, fishing and resource extraction,” Associate Professor Richards said.

“Environmental DNA gives us a scalable, non-invasive way to build baseline knowledge of what lives there, which is essential for informed management and conservation. You can’t protect what you don’t know exists. The sheer number of discoveries, including megafauna, makes it clear that we still have so much to learn about what marine life lives in the Indian Ocean.”

Dr. Nester said better knowledge of deep-sea biodiversity could help guide marine park planning, evaluate environmental impacts, and monitor ecosystem changes over time.

“By combining eDNA with conventional deep-sea survey techniques, we can build a far more complete picture of biodiversity, revealing species, ecosystems and ecological patterns that would otherwise remain hidden,” she said.

“This kind of information is critical for marine park planning and management, because it gives us a much clearer picture of what species are present and how communities are structured across depth.”

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/