Archaeologists Uncover Unprecedented Evidence of Neanderthal Woodworking Skills

10 Oct. 2026, By J. Cockerill

https://www.sciencealert.com/archaeologists-uncover-unprecedented-evidence-of-neanderthal-woodworking-skills

(Paul Hudson/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

We Homo sapiens are pretty damn proud of our tool-making prowess.

From smartphones to the humble-yet-mighty wheel, our ability to craft objects to help us attain our goals is something that we've often thought defines us as a species.

But tens of thousands of years ago, Homo sapiens were not the only humans with a wide arsenal of tools.

In a recent dig at a significant Neanderthal site in Barcelona, Abric Romaní, archaeologists have unearthed a massive cache of wood imprints, several of which appear to be tools.

The findings, recently published in Science Advances, suggest our extinct Paleolithic relatives were actually skilled and prolific woodworkers.

Of the 597 wood imprints the team discovered, 13 are clearly modified tools and other domestic objects.

One of the most exciting objects identified was a wooden club, which seems to have been deliberately shaped for whacking stuff.

It's reminiscent of the classic 'caveman' costume prop, but archaeologists have never actually seen anything like it in the prehistoric record.

Photograph of the club-shaped impression. 

(M. D. Guillén/IPHES)




"To date, only one possible example has been reported from Kalambo Falls (Zambia), dated to ∼400 kyr," writes Palmira Saladié and a team of researchers based at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES).

"Consequently, assessing the precise function, use intensity, or behavioral context of such implements, particularly in relation to Neanderthal occupations at Abric Romaní, remains challenging given the limited comparative record and the functional variability documented among recent hunter-gatherers."

The team also found structural poles that may have been used for shelter; a tripod; some pointed wood objects that may be digging sticks; and two spears.

Pointed objects identified throughout the dig. 

(M. D. Guillén/IPHES)



They believe four charred bark objects may have been used as trays or containers for food.

It's not the first evidence that Neanderthals may have made tools with wood, but it's possibly the most detailed and extensive collection of specimens.

In 1995, wooden weapons were found in Germany that dated back to 300,000 years ago, and in 2018, a paper described 171,000-year-old wooden tools found in Tuscany, Italy.

Another pair of artifacts found in Greece may also be Neanderthal – though in all these cases, it's more of an archaeologist's best guess as to who the craftsperson really was.

Wood tools are much less likely to be preserved than those made from stone, for instance, because of their organic quality: wood easily decays.

Archaeologists at Abric Romaní found traces of hundreds of wood artifacts.

 (Gerard Campeny/IPHES-CERCA)



But at Abric Romaní, the imprints of wooden artifacts are preserved across layers of limestone. Even though the wood is long gone, calcium carbonate built up around the wood before it rotted away. This mineral cast left a negative imprint of the tool that survived the millennia.

In some cases, these imprints are so clear that the researchers can see details down to the cellular level, which is how they know they're looking at traces of wood.

"Wood technology likely played a key role in human evolution, yet it remains poorly documented because organic materials rarely preserve in archaeological contexts," Saladié and team note.

"The Abric Romaní assemblage highlights the importance of wood within Neanderthal technological systems and provides previously unknown insights into the role of organic materials in Middle Paleolithic societies."

The birth of modern Man

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https://scitechdaily.com/penguin-poop-is-turning-antarctica-green-and-scientists-are-concerned

By Frontiers, Oct. 8, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-reveal-a-staggering-12-trillion-potential-hidden-in-the-worlds-oyster-reefs/

Oyster reefs are underwater ecosystems formed by dense colonies of oysters that attach to one another, creating complex structures that support marine biodiversity.

 Credit: Shutterstock

Scientists have identified vast coastal areas where oyster reefs could potentially thrive but are largely absent today.

An estimated 85% of the world’s oyster reefs have disappeared over the past century, taking with them ecosystems that protect coastlines, support marine life, and help keep coastal waters clean. A new study suggests that restoring these reefs could unlock ecological benefits worth trillions of dollars.

“Here we estimate that fully restored oyster reefs in the top ten hotspot countries worldwide would yield a GEP of $12 trillion,” said Dr Matteo Convertino, an associate professor at Tsinghua University and corresponding author of the study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science.

The researchers used gross ecosystem product (GEP) to estimate the value of benefits that nature provides to people and the environment. Unlike conventional measures of economic output, GEP accounts for ecological services such as water purification, carbon storage, and coastal protection.

The Hidden Value of Oyster Reefs

Oyster reefs do far more than supply seafood. As oysters filter water, they remove suspended particles, while the surrounding reef ecosystem helps regulate nutrients. These underwater structures also reduce wave energy along coastlines and provide feeding areas, shelter, and nursery habitat for fish and invertebrates.

The researchers calculated that reefs occupying all suitable areas identified in their analysis could filter enormous quantities of water. In the United States alone, the estimated potential reached 77.58 quadrillion liters (20.5 quadrillion gallons). Across the modeled areas, restored reefs could also sequester as much as 12.3 million metric tons (13.6 million U.S. tons) of carbon annually.

For the United States, the combined potential annual value of water purification, nitrogen removal, and carbon sequestration was estimated at $25.1 billion. These figures represent modeled ecological benefits under extensive reef restoration, not services currently being delivered.

Scientists Identify Vast Areas for Reef Restoration

To identify places where oyster reefs could thrive, the research team analyzed thousands of geographically referenced reef records from two public databases. They used machine learning to predict suitable habitats based on environmental conditions, including water temperature, salinity, light availability, nutrient concentrations, and dissolved oxygen.

The analysis identified ten countries with particularly high potential: the United States, Australia, Chile, China, Japan, South Korea, Argentina, France, Germany, and Italy. Together, these countries contain approximately 295,000 square kilometers (114,000 square miles) of suitable reef habitat, representing about 6% of their coastal zones. Yet known oyster reefs currently occupy only about 10% of that suitable area, primarily in bays, lagoons, estuaries, and river deltas.

Most Suitable Reef Habitats Remain Unprotected

Restoring oyster reefs on such a large scale would require substantial conservation efforts. Only 23% of the identified suitable habitat currently falls within marine protected areas, leaving much of the potential restoration area without formal protection.

“We estimated that 90% of sites suitable for oyster reefs require restoration, while 80% need protection through conservation efforts. In other words, the current oyster situation is very suboptimal but there is a huge opportunity, considering the benefits,” said Convertino.

The study’s $12 trillion estimate also carries substantial uncertainty. Its calculations rely on global averages for ecosystem services rather than direct measurements at every location. Changes in oyster populations, local environmental conditions, and the success of restoration efforts could all affect the benefits ultimately delivered.

Climate Change Could Reshape the Future of Oyster Reefs

Rising temperatures and other climate-related changes threaten the long-term survival of oyster reefs in many coastal environments. However, the effects are unlikely to be uniform, and some regions could become more suitable for oyster growth as environmental conditions shift.

“Because global warming generally decreases the habitat quality of oyster reefs, we expect that their global GEP will go down from the current potential value of $12 trillion. But some countries may see an expansion of reefs due to more favorable conditions for the growth and dispersal of oysters: in particular, this could happen in Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, and France.”

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Penguin Poop Is Turning Antarctica Green, and Scientists Are Concerned

By American Geophysical Union, Oct. 10, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/penguin-poop-is-turning-antarctica-green-and-scientists-are-concerned/

Penguins may be transforming Antarctica’s snowy coastline in an unexpected way. A new study reveals how nutrients from their droppings fuel colorful algae blooms, potentially accelerating snowmelt and reshaping the frozen landscape. 

Credit: Shutterstock

Penguins are playing an unexpected role in Antarctica’s changing landscape.

Penguin droppings are helping turn parts of Antarctica’s snowy coastline green, and the resulting algae blooms could be accelerating the loss of coastal snow. A new study has found that nutrients deposited by penguins support dense growths of microscopic algae that absorb more sunlight, potentially contributing to the expansion of ice-free areas along the Antarctic Peninsula.

The color of these blooms makes a substantial difference in how much solar energy the snow absorbs. Red algae-covered snow absorbs about 20% more sunlight than clean, white snow, while green snow absorbs roughly 40% more. As Antarctic coastal temperatures rise and suitable habitats expand, these biological changes could intensify local snowmelt.

Why Antarctic Snow Turns Green or Red

Snow algae can produce striking red or green patches across the Antarctic landscape, depending on their growing conditions. When nutrients are plentiful, the organisms produce chlorophyll and other green pigments that support photosynthesis, allowing them to grow rapidly during the short Antarctic summer.

Under harsher conditions or when nutrients become scarce, the algae shift toward a protective state. They produce red pigments that act like sunscreen, shielding their cells from intense sunlight while slowing growth. Researchers found that phosphate, a nutrient abundant in penguin droppings, helps explain why some snow algae remain green rather than entering this protective red stage.

Investigating the Connection Between Penguins and Snow Algae

To investigate this relationship, researchers collected red and green snow samples along the West Antarctic Peninsula, covering five degrees of latitude. Their sampling locations included coastal areas both with and without penguin colonies. The team traveled across the Drake Passage by boat before gathering algae-stained snow with ceramic spoons, sometimes working close to large accumulations of penguin droppings.

“[Penguin] poop can visually look similar to the red snow algae,” said Alia Khan, a cryosphere biogeochemist at the University of Colorado Boulder and senior author of the study. “It’s very stinky working near penguins. They’re just waddling around in their poop and tracking it all over the snow.”

Back in the laboratory, lead author Elise Ryan and colleagues examined the samples under microscopes to count algae cells and analyzed their pigments and nutrient concentrations. Snow dominated by green algae contained substantially more phosphate than samples dominated by red algae, providing evidence that nutrients from bird droppings help sustain the green blooms.

How the Ocean Fertilizes Antarctic Snow

Penguins acquire nutrients through their marine diets, then transport them onto land through their droppings. Other seabirds, including skuas, contribute to the same process, depositing nutrients (including phosphate) across coastal snow. These nutrients support algae growth in an environment where essential resources can be limited.

“This finding links the marine food web to snow ecology,” Khan said. “The penguin guano acts as a fertilizer… that fuels these dense green snow algae blooms.”

By supporting larger populations of actively growing green algae, this natural fertilization process can increase the amount of sunlight absorbed by coastal snow. The darkening effect could reinforce warming and melting already occurring in parts of Antarctica.

A Missing Factor in Antarctic Melting Predictions

“The link between wildlife, nutrients, and snow algae is a critical missing component in projections of expansion of ice-free areas in Antarctica,” said Khan, who began the research while at Western Washington University. “Without accounting for these biological darkening effects, we are likely underestimating how rapidly coastal snowpacks are melting and how fast ice-free terrain will expand across Antarctica.”

Penguin populations may also shift farther south as Antarctic conditions change, potentially bringing nutrient-rich droppings to additional snow algae habitats. Such changes could extend the influence of these blooms across a larger area, although their future extent and effect on melting remain uncertain.

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DNA From a Human Brain Gene Has Turned Up In a Virus

08 Oct. 2026, By E. Öz

https://www.sciencealert.com/dna-from-a-human-brain-gene-has-turned-up-in-a-virus

Unrelated virus.

 (Heather Davies/SPL/Getty Images)



Some pieces of our DNA can copy themselves into new locations. Copies derived from one gene active in human brain cells appear to have taken that journey further: into a virus.

Researchers found two such sequences, derived from a gene called BC200, inside molluscum contagiosum virus, which infects our skin and causes small, raised lesions.

The discovery reveals an unusual genetic double life. BC200 acquired a cellular role millions of years ago, yet retained the ability to produce copies that insert themselves elsewhere.

A study published in Science suggests this movement has continued throughout primate evolution, contributed to differences among human genomes, and carried BC200-derived sequences across the boundary between humans and a virus.

But the virus didn't simply take a gene from a brain cell, and nothing suggests it gained anything resembling brain function. What these sequences actually do inside the virus is still unknown.

BC200 works differently from most genes: it skips the step of coding for a protein altogether, producing a short RNA molecule instead – one that's especially abundant in neurons.

Laboratory experiments suggest this RNA helps regulate protein production. Its precise physiological role, however, remains poorly understood.

A gene being especially active in one tissue does not mean its DNA exists only there. Most cells with a nucleus carry essentially the same genetic information. What differs is which genes they use, and how much.

Calling BC200 a "brain gene" describes its activity in neurons.

Its origins lie in a transposable element, one of the mobile DNA sequences often called "jumping genes". Some make copies of themselves that enter new locations while the original stays put.

A predecessor of BC200 became established in a common ancestor of monkeys and apes roughly 35 to 55 million years ago. Around 40 million years ago, it was recruited for a cellular role, apparently in regulating protein production in neurons.

Such recruitment typically accompanies a loss of mobility. BC200 appears to have retained both abilities.

"Somehow evolution hasn't been able to untangle these two things," Cedric Feschotte, in Cornell University's Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, says in a university statement.

(Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty Images)



The team, including researchers at Capital Normal University in China and the University of Texas at Arlington, screened available poxvirus genomes for sequences resembling mobile genetic elements.

Two BC200-derived sequences stood out in molluscum contagiosum virus. One covered the human gene's entire Alu-derived domain, a region inherited from its mobile ancestor. The other was shorter and incomplete at both ends.

So what turned up in the virus are fragments derived from BC200 – not a complete, intact copy of the gene itself.

Several clues pointed to a human origin. BC200 occurs in humans and related primates, while molluscum contagiosum virus is only known to infect humans in nature.

The researchers found no corresponding elements in other poxvirus genomes they examined, including a closely related virus infecting horses.

The analysis pointed to two separate transfer events, not a single insertion that later duplicated itself inside the virus.

The likely mechanism involves LINE-1, another mobile genetic element capable of producing the molecular machinery to copy RNA into DNA and insert it into a genome.

BC200 has no transport machinery of its own, so it hitches a ride on LINE-1's – borrowing another element's equipment to make the jump.

Genetic signatures surrounding the viral insertion supported this explanation. However, the team reconstructed the transfer from DNA evidence, rather than watching it happen.

Although BC200 RNA is abundant in neurons, it is also expressed at low levels in skin. The researchers found increased BC200 expression in cultured human fibroblasts infected with the virus.

That suggests infection might help create conditions for transfer, without directly establishing where the historical events occurred.

The team then examined sequencing data from 908 people, identifying eight BC200-derived insertions that varied among individuals.

Two were widespread across five continental population groups, suggesting ancient origins. Another was largely restricted to African individuals. The remaining five were rarer: one occurred in just two people, while four were each detected in a single individual.

These rare insertions suggest very recent activity. Being detected in one person, however, does not establish that an insertion arose during that person's lifetime.

Across anthropoid primates, the researchers also identified hundreds of lineage-specific insertions, placing the viral discovery within millions of years of continued movement.

Whether the virus benefits remains uncertain. The team found evidence that its BC200-derived sequences are transcribed into RNA. Such RNA might help manipulate protein production in infected cells, but that possibility still needs testing.

The study does not demonstrate that the virus has become more dangerous. Instead, it shows that acquiring a cellular function need not end a genetic element's mobility.

BC200's combination of function and movement makes the boundary between genes and jumping DNA appear more flexible than expected.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Kids Who Got a Smartphone at 12 Were 49% More Likely to Report Eating Disorder Symptoms by 14

08 Oct. 2026, By C. Cassella

https://www.sciencealert.com/one-everyday-habit-is-linked-to-49-higher-risk-of-eating-disorder-symptoms-in-teens

(Catherine Falls Commercial/Moment RF/Getty Images)

Giving a child a smartphone before age 13 could be risky for some aspects of their mental health.

In a new study of nearly 9,000 adolescents in the US, researchers found that owning a smartphone at age 12 was associated with a 36 percent higher chance of reporting any symptom of an eating disorder.

At this age, smartphone users reported a 61 percent higher prevalence of binge-eating symptoms than non-users.

Nearly 70 percent of 12-year-olds in the study owned a smartphone.

The findings were published in JAMA Network Open and support growing preliminary evidence that early and unsupervised smartphone ownership may be associated with downsides for mental health.

The research, led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), suggests that delaying smartphone access among children may be worth considering, given its links to disordered eating habits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yM7_hbpRXc

The results can't prove that smartphones are causing eating disorder symptoms, but it's possible that early and unsupervised access to social media could exacerbate body dissatisfaction in puberty.

That's something parents should be aware of, the authors argue, and clinicians may want to consider screening for smartphone ownership and social media use when assessing eating disorder risks in teens.

"Eating disorders are serious, potentially life-threatening conditions that are nonetheless often preventable and responsive to early interventions," write the authors, led by pediatrician Jason Nagata at UCSF.

"While major social media platforms enforce a minimum age of 13 years, this threshold can be easily circumvented, raising concerns about the feasibility of age-based protections."

(NIMH)

The analysis included health data from an ongoing longitudinal study of adolescents in the US.

At age 12, smartphone ownership was already linked to a variety of eating disorder symptoms.

Some of these associations were still apparent two years later.

By age 14, nearly a quarter of kids who had had a smartphone since age 12 reported at least one eating disorder symptom.

Compared to kids who didn't have a smartphone at age 12, those who did were 103 percent more likely to report tying their self-worth to their weight.

They also faced 49 percent greater risk of reporting any eating disorder symptom by age 14.

"Owning a personal smartphone during early adolescence may be particularly consequential, given its potential to increase unsupervised and individualized exposure to digital environments during a sensitive developmental period," write the study authors.

"These influences may also accumulate over time and be shaped by developmental timing."

Just because a teen reports a symptom of an eating disorder doesn't mean they necessarily have one.

This analysis only measured the self-reported symptoms of teens. It did not analyze how smartphone use impacts an actual clinical diagnosis.

An eating disorder is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as a persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behavior that significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning.

Among young people, eating disorders are relatively common, impacting between 5.5 to 18 percent of young women, and up to 2.4 percent of young men by the time they reach early adulthood.

Recent increases in prevalence have been reported mainly among females aged 15 to 19.

Social media use allows for greater peer pressure than ever before, and idealized body content on social media is associated with an increased risk of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating.

It's possible that influencers and online 'fitspiration' content are exacerbating feelings of body dissatisfaction in young people and teaching them unhealthy eating habits.

One study, for instance, has shown that among adolescents, each additional hour of total screen time and social media use is associated with higher odds of behaviors to prevent weight gain and binge-eating symptoms.

"Our findings are notable given that early adolescence, when self-regulation is still maturing and sensitivity to social evaluation is heightened, coincides with puberty, which is a time of increased eating disorder risk," explain the authors of the recent study.

Of course, the use of social media and smartphones doesn't have to be harmful. Some research suggests it could even have mental health benefits for some teens, l such as lower levels of depression among those who text more.

How teens use digital devices may matter more for their mental health than how much time they spend on them.

The digital world we live in isn't likely to go away any time soon, and it's important to know at what age it is safe to give a child a smartphone and how to regulate their usage.

Studies like these get us closer to understanding the risks behind smartphone use. Only then can we figure out how to best protect the next generation.

The birth of modern Man

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

A 178-Year-Old Space Weather Mystery Has Finally Been Solved

By RMIT U., Oct. 8, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/a-178-year-old-space-weather-mystery-has-finally-been-solved/

Geomagnetic disturbances occur when bursts of solar activity, including solar flares and coronal mass ejections, disrupt Earth’s magnetic field. These events can induce electrical currents in long conductors, sometimes affecting power grids, communication systems, satellites, and other technology. 

Credit: Shutterstock

A historical mystery about one of the earliest encounters between space weather and electrical technology has been resolved nearly two centuries later.

A train that left Exeter 16 minutes late in the mid-1800s has helped scientists correct a nearly two-century-old mistake in the history of space weather. Researchers tracing the incident through railway records, newspapers, solar observations, auroral reports, and geomagnetic measurements found that the disruption almost certainly occurred in 1848, not 1841 as long believed.

The correction changes the chronology of the earliest known cases in which activity from the Sun interfered with electrical technology. Although the Exeter incident remains among the first documented examples, the researchers found that an earlier credible case occurred in March 1847, when space weather disrupted telegraph systems on Britain’s Midland Railway.

A Railway Clue Exposed a 19th Century Error

The Exeter story originated with an anonymous report published in Nature in the 1870s. It described a “very intense magnetic disturbance” on October 18, 1841, that interfered with railway signals and delayed the 10:05 p.m. departure from Exeter by 16 minutes. Because of that date, the episode was widely treated as the earliest known instance of space weather affecting human technology.

But there was a big problem with the account. The railway line involved, running from Exeter to Starcross, did not open until 1846.

“In this study, we effectively investigated what had to be a typo in a Nature paper from 1871. We know it was a typo because the Exeter-to-Starcross train line mentioned in that paper didn’t exist until 1846, which is 5 years afterward,” said RMIT University space weather expert Associate Professor Brett Carter, who helped investigate the historical records.

The Evidence Points to 1848

An international team led by Lancaster University, with researchers from RMIT University, the British Geological Survey, Natural Resources Canada, Baylor University, and the UK’s national space laboratory, RAL Space, reconstructed the event using independent historical and scientific sources.

Railway timetables and contemporary newspapers were compared with records of solar activity, auroras, and disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field. The combined evidence indicates that the train delay most likely occurred on October 18, 1848.

By 1848, telegraph networks were spreading rapidly, giving geomagnetic disturbances more opportunities to interfere with electrical systems. Solar activity can disturb Earth’s magnetic field, inducing currents in long conductive wires such as telegraph lines and, in some cases, disrupting the equipment connected to them.

“Understanding this historical event is important because the 1840s mark the intersection between the rise of our technological age and space weather, which has always been around,” Carter said. “Since this line was crossed, humans have not looked back.”

Solar Storms Were Disrupting Technology Before the Carrington Event

The Exeter incident predates the much better-known Carrington Event of 1859, when an intense solar eruption triggered extraordinary auroras and widespread disruption to telegraph systems. Northern lights were reported as far south as Hawaii and Central America, while some observers said the glow was bright enough to read by. Gold miners reportedly mistook the illumination for dawn and began preparing breakfast shortly after midnight.

Telegraph equipment failed in multiple locations, operators received electrical shocks, and sparks sometimes ignited fires. In some cases, telegraph circuits continued working after their batteries were disconnected because geomagnetically induced currents supplied enough electricity to transmit messages.

The new research shows that such technological effects were already being documented more than a decade earlier. The earliest credible example currently identified by the researchers is the March 1847 disruption on the Midland Railway, placing the Exeter episode among the earliest cases rather than at the beginning of the record.

Space Weather Has Been a Technological Hazard for Generations

Study lead author Professor Jim Wild of Lancaster University said the findings show that technological vulnerability to solar activity began almost as soon as electrical infrastructure became widespread.

“What this research highlights is that space weather is not a new threat but a long-standing natural hazard. Society has been experiencing the effects of space weather on technology for almost as long as electrical technologies have existed,” Wild said.

“The Exeter train delay is a fascinating story because it sits right at the point where emerging technologies first began to encounter the realities of the space environment. By combining historical archives with scientific observations, we’ve been able to show that the event almost certainly happened in 1848 rather than 1841.

“Although this means it is not the earliest recorded space weather impact, it remains one of the first clear examples of solar activity disrupting critical infrastructure,” he said.

“It also demonstrates the value of combining scientific records with contemporary newspaper reports and archival documents when reconstructing historic space weather events.”

Old Records Can Help Explain Future Solar Storms

Dr. Mike Hapgood, a visiting scientist and space weather expert at RAL Space, described the investigation as a historical detective story and emphasized the value of preserving scientific observations from earlier centuries.

“It highlights the importance of preserving these older records, which give us the evidence base we need to interpret past events and strengthen future predictions,” he said.

Modern infrastructure is far more sophisticated than Victorian telegraph networks, but many systems remain vulnerable to geomagnetic disturbances. Solar storms can affect power grids, railway signaling equipment, satellite navigation, satellites, and communications networks. The technologies have changed, but the physical process connecting activity on the Sun to electrical systems on Earth remains.

“Deepening our understanding of these events is essential for preparing for, and mitigating, the impacts of space weather, especially as we look forward to a decade of exciting space developments that will face the challenge of a new solar cycle in the 2030s,” Hapgood said.

The Life of Earth

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/

Pomegranate Compound Improves Heart Function Up to 80% in Mice With Heart Failure

04 Oct. 2026, By C. Cassella

https://www.sciencealert.com/pomegranate-compound-improves-heart-function-up-to-80-in-mice-with-heart-failure

(Anna Blazhuk/Moment RF/Getty Images)

Each time you eat a juicy pomegranate, your gut bacteria can produce a natural metabolite called urolithin A.

This little-known compound is making a big splash.

In recent years, scientists have paid close attention to urolithin A because it seems to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, and anti-aging properties.

Initial evidence in humans even suggests that urolithin A can help the body remove aged or damaged parts of our cells, thereby improving their overall health.

Now, for the first time, researchers at King's College London (KCL) have found evidence that urolithin A can activate a protein that plays a key role in heart health.

In mouse models with stiff and failing hearts, urolithin A improved measures of heart function by as much as 80 percent compared to untreated animals, according to a press release from KCL.

The findings are published in Science Advances, with financial support from the British Heart Foundation.

The results have scientists hopeful that urolithin A could be a previously unidentified treatment option for a common form of heart failure.

It's called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a cardiovascular condition that occurs when the heart still squeezes normally but is too stiff to relax properly during the refilling stage.

It is very difficult to treat. Perhaps urolithin A could help fill that gap.

"This raises the exciting possibility of developing new treatments that improve clinical outcomes and quality of life for people living with the condition," says cardiovascular scientist Joseph Burgoyne, senior author of the study.

"While there isn't enough evidence to suggest that people should eat pomegranates to treat heart failure, these findings raise the possibility that dietary approaches that enhance urolithin A production may help alleviate this condition."

The study was based on research conducted in mice and also in human heart tissue made from stem cells in the lab.

Engineered heart tissues.

 (King's College London)



In mice with stiff and failing hearts, urolithin A reduced scarring in the heart and helped the organ to relax properly between beats.

That ultimately eased the pressure inside the heart, which can otherwise lead to fluid buildup and harmful enlargement.

To see if these hopeful results might extend to our own species, Burgoyne and colleagues tested urolithin A on lab-grown human heart tissue.

Sure enough, the metabolite helped this heart tissue contract and relax faster, likely by activating a protein called PKGIα.

This protein is involved in lowering blood pressure and helping the heart relax again after a beat.

"Our findings identify a completely new therapeutic target and show that urolithin A can activate this pathway to improve heart relaxation and reduce disease severity," explains Burgoyne.

Urolithin A boosted PKGIα activity in lab tests. 

(Su et al., Science Advances, 2026)



Today, there are very few available treatments for those living with HFpEF.

Many established therapies for heart failure are focused on helping a weakened organ keep pumping. But that is not a problem in those with HFpEF.

In this condition, the heart continues to pump properly, but it struggles to relax between each beat.

"This type of heart failure is becoming increasingly common as populations age and rates of obesity and diabetes rise," explains Burgoyne.

"Despite its growing burden, treatment options remain limited because the disease is complex and varies considerably between patients."

Whether or not urolithin A actually helps treat heart failure in actual patients with HFpEF will require a randomized controlled trial involving a large and diverse cohort of participants.

The current study only focused on male mice, although women tend to suffer from HFpEF more than men.

But preclinical studies suggest that there are sex-dependent differences in how the hearts of rodents respond to metabolic and hypertensive stress.

So it's unclear if these results will extend to females.

"While these findings are promising, the benefits have so far been seen in animals and engineered human tissue, so clinical trials involving people are needed to test if this approach is effective for patients," says James Leiper, Director of Research at the British Heart Foundation.

"In the meantime, a healthy, balanced diet remains one of the best ways to look after your heart.

"Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables is linked to better heart health, but it's important to remember that no single food can prevent or treat heart disease on its own."

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Sexually Transmitted Diarrhea Is Exploding in The US. And It's Growing Resistant to Medicine

08 Oct. 2026, By C. Cassella

https://www.sciencealert.com/sexually-transmitted-diarrhea-is-exploding-in-the-us-and-its-growing-resistant-to-medicine

(koto_feja/E+/Getty Images)



A gut pathogen that causes diarrhea and vomiting is morphing into a dangerous and difficult-to-treat sexually transmitted infection (STI).

In the United States, roughly 450,000 people acquire shigellosis each year, which can lead to dysentery.

Historically, this highly contagious bug has mostly been spread through contaminated food or water during travel, and among young children in day care.

But since the turn of the century or so, Shigella bacteria have emerged as a sexually transmitted infection as well.

Shigella infections can make anyone sick, but they are now considered 'endemic' in some communities of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM).

Several of the strains transmitted in these communities have grown resistant to multiple antibiotics.

Some are now superbugs, on the brink of becoming untreatable.

A recent analysis from the US CDC found that among nearly 17,000 Shigella isolates, versions that were extensively drug-resistant (XDR) rose from 2011 to 2023.

In 2011, isolates that were resistant to five commonly used antibiotics made up 0 percent of the samples. By 2023, they made up 8.5 percent.

The vast majority of these drug-resistant versions had infected adult men, many of whom had not traveled internationally in recent months.

Molecular biologist Shangxin Yang says hospital workers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) are now seeing roughly one case of extensively drug-resistant Shigella a month.

In 2022, by comparison, they saw just one case all year.

"It's almost like an explosion of this pathogen in the community," Yang told CIDRAP News at the University of Minnesota.

Percentage of Shigella isolates that showed an extensively drug-resistant (XDR) phenotype or genotype in the US, by year, 2015–2022. 

(CDC)



Sexually transmissible shigellosis was first reported in 1974, but it represented a minority of cases at the time.

Now, emerging evidence suggests that sexual contact is a major route of transmission.

It's difficult to verify this information, however, as patients and clinicians may not realize that Shigella can be sexually transmitted, and sexual history may not be recorded.

That said, according to US CDC data, more than a third of patients with extensively drug-resistant shigellosis were hospitalized, and nearly half of those with known HIV status had HIV.

"Together, it's a very concerning pattern of XDR Shigella strains that are being seen among vulnerable populations," epidemiologist Naeemah Logan from the CDC told CIDRAP News.

"This is by no means unique to the US, but really part of a broader global pattern."

Geneticist Kate Baker from the University of Cambridge, senior author of a recent study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, has identified a similar surge in the United Kingdom.

"Many men who have sex with men are unaware of the serious and increasing risk posed by sexually transmitted Shigella," said Baker in a July press release.

"This disease has gone from being relatively treatable with off-the-shelf drugs to being close to untreatable over the course of the last decade or so."

In March, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned that while most cases of Shigella resolve without treatment, more severe cases do require treatment, and "the options available are becoming limited."

In 2025, 86 percent of Shigella sonnei samples and 94 percent of Shigella flexneri samples tested by UKHSA researchers showed resistance to antibiotics.

These are the two most commonly spread strains through sexual contact among GBMSM in England.

In previous research by Baker and others, up to a third of patients with sexually transmitted Shigella were hospitalized for an average of four to five days.

"This isn't just one form of sexually transmissible diarrhea," says Baker.

"This is multiple overlapping variants emerging that are all quickly becoming resistant to the drugs we use to treat them. It's highly likely that if you contracted your Shigella through sex, you require different treatment to someone who contracted it through travel."

No one knows why that is, but Baker's 2026 study points to 'bystander resistance' as one driver.

This means that an antibiotic meant for one pathogen may not be the right drug or dose for another present pathogen, thereby breeding resistance as a side effect.

In response to the recent study, Alicia Calvo-Villamañán, a researcher at the Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine in Lisbon, Portugal, pointed out an intriguing association.

"When the UK's national treatment guidelines stopped recommending the use of [azithromycin] to treat gonorrhea infections," they wrote, "the emergence of azithromycin resistance in Shigella slowed down."

That doesn't mean one is causing the other, but it suggests that treating other STIs may be a risk factor for drug-resistant Shigella infections, which aren't often screened as STIs.

The California Department of Public Health says that the best way to prevent Shigella infection from sex is to not have sex with someone who has had diarrhea in the last two weeks.

Using barriers during oral and anal sex is also advised, as is washing up before and after sex.

To minimize transmission, anyone who suspects they may have Shigella should get tested and seek treatment if necessary.

"Clinicians should be asking patients with dysentery about sexual transmission and giving advice accordingly," said Daniel Richardson, a consultant in sexual health at University Hospitals Sussex in July.

"They need to know that sexually transmitted Shigella has more antimicrobial resistance than other forms of the disease, and that patients may need checking for other sexually transmissible illnesses."

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Study Finds Exercise May Be a Surprisingly Powerful Treatment for Pain

By Adelaide U., Oct. 6, 2026

https://scitechdaily.com/study-finds-exercise-may-be-a-surprisingly-powerful-treatment-for-pain/

A major review suggests exercise can reduce pain across a remarkably broad range of conditions. 

Credit: Shutterstock

Exercise may be a more powerful tool for pain relief than many people realize, according to a large analysis spanning hundreds of thousands of participants.

Pain often makes movement feel like the wrong choice. Yet a large new analysis suggests that exercise can reduce pain across conditions ranging from osteoarthritis and migraine to neurological disorders, inflammatory diseases, and cancer-related pain.

Researchers at Adelaide University analyzed 157 systematic reviews covering 2,736 randomized controlled trials and 221,279 participants. Across that evidence, exercise was associated with reductions in both acute and chronic pain, making the study the most comprehensive synthesis to date of exercise as a pain treatment.

Less Exercise May Still Bring Meaningful Relief

The results challenge the assumption that harder or longer workouts are necessary for pain relief. Lower intensity and shorter duration programs produced greater reductions in pain, while meaningful benefits were also seen in programs totaling less than two hours of exercise per week.

On average, exercise reduced pain by about 1.1 points on a 0 to 10 scale. The researchers noted that this reduction was roughly 60% larger than the average pain relief reported for commonly used medications in separate trials involving chronic pain. Because those drug studies were separate rather than direct head-to-head comparisons, the finding does not show that exercise outperforms medication for any individual condition.

Globally, chronic pain affects about one in five adults. Despite its prevalence, exercise is still often recommended in broad terms rather than prescribed with the same level of detail used for medications.

How Movement Can Change Pain

Lead researcher Dr. Ben Singh said exercise may influence pain through several biological pathways.

“When we exercise, our body releases chemicals including endorphins and serotonin that can help reduce how strongly we feel pain and increase our pain tolerance,” Dr Singh said.

“Additionally, it helps calm inflammation and change the way our brain responds to pain, while also improving mood.

“These effects help explain why exercise can be such a powerful tool for pain management. Yet despite the evidence, it isn’t used as routinely as it could be and is rarely prescribed with the same precision as medication.

“Instead, people experiencing pain may be told to ‘stay active’, rather than being given a specific, evidence-based exercise program that considers what type of exercise to do, how hard to work and for how long.”

Benefits Appeared Across Different Types of Exercise

The researchers examined whether pain relief varied according to exercise type, intensity, and duration, and whether the effects differed between acute and chronic pain. Benefits appeared across aerobic exercise, resistance training, yoga, Pilates, and tai chi.

“Our study found that exercise was associated with substantial reductions in acute and chronic pain across all forms of exercise – whether that be via aerobic or resistance exercise, or through gentler movement such as yoga, Pilates or tai chi.

“Importantly, we found that more exercise wasn’t necessarily better. In fact, shorter-duration and lower-intensity programs showed greater reductions in pain, suggesting people may not need to exercise harder or for longer to experience meaningful benefits.”

Toward More Precise Exercise Prescriptions

Senior researcher Professor Carol Maher said the findings support a larger role for exercise within multimodal pain care, in which physical activity can be combined with other treatments according to a patient’s condition and needs.

“Health care providers need definitive guidance, not just whether exercise helps, but which exercises work for which patients, and how to prescribe them effectively,” Dr Singh said.

“These findings should provide clinicians with considerable flexibility and increased confidence to prescribe exercise as a core, scalable component of pain management across diverse conditions.

“At a time when we’re looking for safe and effective ways to manage pain beyond medication, these findings provide strong evidence for making exercise a more routine part of pain care.”

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It Turns Out, Sharks Can Hear Way Better Than We Thought

07 Oct. 2026, By D. Nield

https://www.sciencealert.com/sharks-can-hear-sounds-nearly-250-feet-away-and-know-where-theyre-coming-from

(Reinhard Dirscherl/The Image Bank RF/Getty Images)

It's helpful to know how well the senses of underwater predators are working – both to better understand the ecology and biology of marine life, and to get out of their way should you come into contact with them.

How well sharks can hear has been something of a mystery until now, mainly because it's difficult to measure in a controlled way.

Hearing is crucial though, especially underwater, for locating prey, avoiding predators, and finding potential mates.

In a new study published in Integrative Organismal Biology, researchers from Florida Atlantic University have demonstrated that blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) can hear sounds from as far away as 74 meters (243 feet).

That's well beyond the limit of what's known as near-field sound, which has a more direct impact on water particles. At that range, we're talking about far-field sound, where pressure creates more subtle particle movement.

"What makes this finding particularly interesting is that the sharks were responding to sounds beyond the acoustic near field, where the sound behaves differently than it does close to the source," says zoologist Stephen Kajiura.

"This suggests that they are detecting the particle motion associated with sound even at considerable distances from the source – something we have not previously been able to demonstrate in free-swimming sharks."

The researchers used a drone and a boat off the coast of southeast Florida for their experiments: Pulsing, low-frequency sounds were played from near the team's boat, with two underwater mics used to measure how they traveled through the water.

How the experiment was set up, as seen from the drone overhead. (Sullivan et al., Integr. Org. Biol., 2026)



A drone flying 40–50 meters above the scene recorded how the sharks moved in relation to the sounds. Three test sounds were used at three different pitches, with a control sound beyond the hearing range of the sharks.

This species was chosen in part because it's known for congregating regularly every winter at a specific spot along the coast, in waters shallow and clear enough for drones to capture their activities.

"Their abundance and accessibility made it possible for us to observe them from above without disturbing their natural behavior, while also presenting controlled underwater sounds," says Kajiura.

The sharks ignored the control sounds as expected but responded to the test sounds between 71.1 and 87 percent of the time, depending on frequency. The farthest response from a single shark was 74 meters, while 118 of the 165 total responses came from what would be considered the far field.

The sharks could hear far-field sounds, where pressure waves dominate. 

(Sullivan et al., Integr. Org. Biol., 2026)



For all three frequencies, sharks responded to sounds from as far as 62 meters away.

Each response also involved a sharp turn away from the source of the sound, suggesting the sharks knew where it was coming from.

"The ocean is an acoustic environment, and sharks are clearly tuned into it in ways we are only beginning to understand," says Kajiura.

"Being able to detect and respond to sounds from hundreds of feet away gives these predators an important source of information about their surroundings. The next question is how their sensory system allows them to pick up and interpret these distant sounds."

Sharks lack the gas-filled swim bladder that many bony fish use to hear, which translates pressure into vibration, so something else must be going on here. The researchers suggest that C. limbatus are instead somehow detecting water particle movements.

That can be investigated in future studies. For now, scientists have a much better idea of the hearing capabilities of sharks, observed out in a real setting.

"Trying to do hearing experiments in a tank results in the sound bouncing off the walls, which causes complex and confusing signals – it is like being in a house of mirrors," says biologist Caroline Sullivan.

"This is why it is so important to do these types of experiments in the ocean with wild sharks to get a natural response."

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A Hot Bath May Lower Your Blood Pressure More Than a 30-Minute Workout Can, Study Reveals

07 Oct. 2026, By P. Dockrill

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-hot-bath-may-lower-your-blood-pressure-more-than-a-30-minute-workout-can-study-reveals

(mihailomilovanovic/E+/Getty Images)

Taking a nice hot bath at the end of a long day is a wonderful way to unwind, but the end results can go way beyond simple relaxation.

In fact, the health benefits of sustained immersion in hot water can be truly surprising, and new research has just uncovered another remarkable effect of a good hot soak.

In a study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers found soaking in hot water for 30 minutes can trigger dramatic changes in the blood vessels beneath your skin, in some respects exceeding the effects produced by moderate exercise.

The hot water immersion even lowered people's blood pressure more than 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling.

It's worth noting this was only a small experiment, and nobody's suggesting people should give up exercise to instead take more hot baths.

But for people who may be unable to exercise, hot water immersion, or other forms of what's known as passive heat therapy, may be an important way of getting some of the same health benefits that exercise can provide.

The health benefits of sustained immersion in hot water can be truly surprising. (MyImages_Micha/iStock)



"Exercise training is a well-established stimulus for improving vascular health, in part by enhancing endothelial function, arterial compliance, and microvascular responsiveness," researchers explain in a new paper, led by first author and exercise physiologist Kristanti Wigati from the University of Western Australia.

"However, recent global estimates indicate that approximately 31 percent of adults worldwide do not meet physical activity guidelines, supporting the need to explore adjunct or alternative interventions for individuals who may struggle with regular exercise participation."

Hot water immersion, like exercise itself, provides an increase in blood flow and shear stress along the inside walls of blood vessels, which triggers adaptations that improve vascular function.

Previous research in young healthy adults has shown that repeated hot water immersion can improve blood vessel function, reduce arterial stiffness, and help blood vessels widen through nitric oxide.

"These findings suggest that hot water immersion may act as an 'exercise-like' vascular stimulus, but evidence in older individuals with risk factors for cardiovascular disease who are unable to engage in conventional exercise is lacking," the researchers note.

To plug the gap, the researchers recruited 25 adults aged 45–70 with overweight or obesity, with an average age of 59.

OCT images of blood vessels in the forearm skin of two participants before and after 30 minutes of moderate cycling (EXE) or hot water immersion (HWI). Colors indicate blood flow speed, ranging from black (no flow) to yellow (250 micrometers per second).

 (Wigati et al., European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2026)

During the experiment, each of the participants completed two different interventions, in a random order, and separated by at least 72 hours.

In one intervention, participants sat chest-deep for 30 minutes in hot water, which was maintained at a temperature of 40 °C (104 °F).

In the other intervention, participants performed a moderate-intensity exercise session, cycling for 30 minutes on a stationary exercise bicycle, with the intensity corresponding to 60–70 percent of their maximum heart rate.

The participants had their heart rate, mean arterial pressure, and core body temperature monitored during the tests, and researchers also assessed tiny blood vessels in the participants' skin, using a non-invasive technique called optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Results showed that, compared to the exercise intervention, the hot water immersion produced significantly larger increases in blood vessel diameter, blood flow, and blood velocity, as well as the density of microvessels with detectable blood flow.

An indication of this can be seen in an OCT-derived image from participants' forearms, which visibly shows increased blood flow activity in the microvascular network after hot water immersion.

"These pronounced microvascular responses were accompanied by a larger elevation in core body temperature and greater reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure following hot water immersion, whereas moderate-intensity exercise elicited a higher heart rate response," the researchers write.

"Collectively, these findings suggest that the larger microvascular responses observed after hot water immersion likely reflect the combined effects of direct local skin heating and greater systemic thermal strain imposed by passive heating."

The researchers say that hot water immersion promotes the widening of blood vessels, a process called vasodilation, which facilitates heat dissipation by redistributing blood flow to the skin.

While the findings suggest hot water immersion could potentially hold promise as a complementary way of providing a vascular stimulus, the researchers are careful to point out there's much we still don't know.

That's especially so since the experiment here was matched for time (30 minutes for each intervention), but not for the levels of thermal strain experienced by the body.

"Accordingly, the present findings should not be interpreted as indicating that hot water immersion is intrinsically superior to moderate-intensity exercise per se; rather, they reflect the greater thermal strain achieved during hot water immersion, which elicited substantial shear-mediated vascular stimuli in the absence of active muscle contraction," the authors explain.

"This may be particularly relevant for clinical populations who are unable to engage in regular exercise, suggesting that hot water immersion could serve as a complementary or alternative strategy to induce beneficial vascular stimuli."

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Almost All The Viruses Found in a Vast Deep-Sea Mining Zone Were New to Science⁠

03 Oct. 2026, By J. Cockerill

https://www.sciencealert.com/almost-all-the-viruses-found-in-a-vast-deep-sea-mining-zone-were-new-to-science

(sakchai vongsasiripat/Moment RF/Getty Images)



Deep in the abyss of the Pacific Ocean, the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone is home to the world's largest accumulation of polymetallic nodules.

Several countries are exploring it intensively because of the potential of its mineral wealth, but it's also an incredibly unique habitat, with many recent scientific expeditions bringing back reports of never-before-seen lifeforms.

A new study adds a huge array of viruses to the biodiversity of this contested region, 99 percent of which have never been documented before.

The researchers – Bowen Hou and Lilan Zhang, of Chongqing University, and Dong Sung, of China's Second Institute of Oceanography – investigated the 'virome' of the Clarion-Clipperton to establish what they call a "vital pre-mining baseline of microbial ecosystem for future environmental impact assessments."

They've published their results in Nature Communications.

Polymetallic nodules are at the center of a race to mine the deep sea, because they're full of metals that can be used to make electronics.

The International Seaboard Authority has granted 31 deep-sea mineral mining exploration contracts. Seventeen of these are in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone; five are held by China, which is probably why this study was funded by several of the country's scientific agencies.

Manganese nodules on the seafloor in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. 

(ROV KIEL 6000, GEOMAR/Wikimedia Commons)



But polymetallic nodules also form the foundation of many deep-sea ecosystems, including those in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Where much of the deep-sea floor is a thick, fine mud, these solid nodules are literally the ground upon which many creatures build their lives.

They form gradually, with manganese and other metals like cobalt, nickel, lithium, and zinc precipitating from the seawater to build layers around a central nucleus (a microscopic bit of shell, tooth, or rock, for example).

For some speedy nodules, the layers of metal accumulate at a rate of about 250 millimeters per million years, while other kinds grow by one to five millimeters per million years.

The new study suggests viruses may play an important role in the biogeochemical processes in the sediments of polymetallic nodule fields.

Almost all of the 11,742 distinct viruses Hou and team discovered are entirely new to science, having very little overlap with other deep-sea habitats.

The sediment core samples for this study were collected in 2023 and 2024, and then the researchers extracted DNA and RNA for sequencing.

Then, they compared the data with samples collected from other parts of the deep ocean, and looked more closely at what the viruses might actually be doing with all these genes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf1GvrUqeIA

Viruses are an underappreciated component of ecosystems. The jury is still out on whether they even qualify as 'alive', but there are no doubts about their ability to influence life on Earth.

Every virus needs a host, and in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, many of the viruses the scientists found seemed specialized for infecting prokaryotic creatures: bacteria and archaea.

These simple, single-celled microbes are involved in cycling carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and even metals. And the viruses they carry may have a big influence on those ecosystem-shaping processes.

Viruses are known for being able to tweak the genetic machinery of their hosts, and have entirely re-routed the course of many species in this way.

"By infecting key functional microbes and encoding auxiliary metabolic genes,
viruses may modulate host metabolism and survival during infection, with
potential implications for biogeochemical processes in polymetallic nodule
field sediments," the authors write.

It appears the deep-sea viruses found in the Clarion-Clipperton have also left their mark on their hosts, potentially providing the blueprint for coping with metal stress.

How all of this will be affected by mining activities, if they proceed, is unclear.

"Mining activities will induce physical disturbance, resuspension, and redeposition of surface sediments, and long-term disturbance experiments have shown that
the effects of such disturbance on nodule-field sediments can persist
for decades," the authors write.

"Under this scenario, viral populations and functional modules shared between deeper and surface sediments could provide a potential source for partial reassembly of surface viral communities after disturbance."

But, they caution, much more research is needed to how these viruses, the hosts they infect, and the ecological functions they may serve would be affected by mining if it were to go ahead.

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