Tuesday, 10 November 2026

Theory predicting an older Universe without dark matter or dark energy passes key cosmological tests, warranting further investigation

By B. Rizk, Media Relations Advisor, uOttawa, Nov. 6, 2026

Andromeda Galaxy captured in the vast deep space
 - Photo: Jason Pittman - pexels.com

An alternative model in which the Universe is 26.7 billion years old and needs neither dark matter nor dark energy has held up against several major cosmology tests, according to a new University of Ottawa study.

One model, many observations

During 2025 and 2026, Rajendra Gupta, Adjunct Professor in uOttawa’s Department of Physics, and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Nikolaos Samarasnorth_eastexternal link tested the CCC+TL model against a range of important astronomical observations.

CCC+TL stands for “covarying coupling constants plus tired light.” The model suggests that what is usually attributed to dark matter and dark energy could instead come from evolving fundamental constants that govern how forces and particles interact.

Scientists have searched for dark matter and dark energy for decades, but neither has been directly detected. The standard cosmological model, known as ΛCDM, also faces questions raised by observations of surprisingly mature galaxies in the early Universe.

“Most emerging models explain only a limited set of observations,” Professor Gupta says. “A new model must not conflict with the pillars of cosmology and astrophysics, and our findings meet that challenge, including the yet-to-be-published Cosmic Microwave Background challenge”

CCC+TL changes the Einstein and Friedmann equations, which describe gravity and the expansion of the Universe. That meant the researchers couldn’t just modify the standard model and existing computer codes. For each test, they developed CCC+TL compliant equations and code.

Age comparison against redshift in CCC+TL and ΛCDM models

What the tests found

The model’s results agreed with several major observations. Its predictions for the amounts of hydrogen, helium and other light elements formed shortly after the Big Bang matched those of the standard model. It also agreed with cosmic-chronometer measurementsnorth_eastexternal link, which use the ages of galaxies to estimate how fast the Universe has expanded over time.

In a recent paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, a prestigious astronomy journal, the researchers also applied the model to all 175 galaxies in the SPARC databasenorth_eastexternal link and found it could reproduce their rotation curves without dark matter. A separate study of time dilation in supernova observationsnorth_eastexternal link also supports the model, although that paper is still under review.

The team looked at the Bullet Clusternorth_eastexternal link too. There, the extra gravitational effect the model predicts rather than the dark matter tracks the galaxies, not the hot, X-ray-emitting gas. The researchers call this an early proof of concept that needs more study.

“Observations attributed to dark matter and dark energy likely originate from covarying coupling constants,” adds Professor Gupta, whose paper on the origin of dark matter and dark energynorth_eastexternal link explores the idea.

PHYSICS
“We predict that galaxies exist well beyond the distances the James Webb Space Telescope has reached”


Rajendra Gupta
— Adjunct Professor in uOttawa’s
 Department of Physics


More time for early galaxies to form

The model could also help explain why astronomers keep finding large, mature galaxies so early in cosmic history.

In the standard model, the Universe was about 300 million years old during cosmic dawn. Under CCC+TL, it would have been about 4.6 billion years old at the same observed redshift. That extra time gives galaxies longer to grow and develop. In the researchers’ calculations, early galaxies come out about 12 times larger in size and mass than the standard model predicts, as reported in Galaxies 13, 115north_eastexternal link.

“Impossible early galaxies become predictable galaxies,” Professor Gupta explains. “We predict that galaxies exist well beyond the distances the James Webb Space Telescope has reached.”

That prediction may soon be tested. The James Webb Space Telescope’s GLIMPSE programnorth_eastexternal link plans to search for galaxies at redshifts that may exceed 50. In the standard model, there may not be enough time for massive galaxies to form that early. CCC+TL has no such limit.

A model worth further study

“The success should encourage astronomers to take the new model seriously. It is challenging to understand and apply, but we believe it extends the physics of the Universe beyond ΛCDM limits,” concludes Professor Gupta.


The birth of modern Man
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A Monster Solar Storm Turned a Protected Region Around Earth Into a Particle Accelerator

By Nagoya U., Nov. 9, 2026

Ultrarelativistic electrons in an impenetrable barrier following a solar superstorm. 
Credit: Miyoshi et al., Geophysical Research Letters 2026

A solar superstorm appears to have turned a normally sheltered region near Earth into a natural particle accelerator, boosting electrons to energies capable of penetrating some satellite shielding.

Protecting spacecraft from radiation means understanding where hazardous particles can appear, especially during severe solar storms. Near Earth, an invisible boundary was thought to keep exceptionally energetic electrons out of a relatively protected region. During and after the geomagnetic superstorm of May 2024, Japan’s Arase space probe, operated by JAXA, detected large numbers of them well inside it. Some had energies exceeding three megaelectronvolts, enough to pass through some satellite shielding.

Researchers led by Nagoya University analyzed Arase’s observations to determine how these electrons appeared in a region that normally excludes them. Their evidence suggests the particles gained energy there, rather than entering it already highly energized. The distinction matters because it means a radiation hazard can develop within the supposedly protected region itself. 

An electron barrier with uncertain origins

Earth’s magnetic field traps charged particles, including protons and electrons, in two doughnut-shaped regions called the Van Allen radiation belts. These particles can damage the hardware and electronics of spacecraft passing through the belts. At the inner edge of the outer belt, roughly three times Earth’s radius from the planet’s center, the most energetic electrons usually seem to encounter an invisible wall. Under typical conditions, the region inside this boundary is devoid of these extremely fast-moving electrons.

Detailed schematic outlining the process of electron acceleration inside the impenetrable barrier. 
Credit: Miyoshi et al, Geophysical Research Letters, 2026

Scientists first identified the apparent barrier in 2014, but its origin remains incompletely understood. One possible explanation involves “plasmaspheric hiss,” low-frequency radio waves that sound like static when played through a speaker. These waves occur in Earth’s magnetosphere, the region of space dominated by its magnetic field. Human-made very-low-frequency radio transmissions used to communicate with submarines underwater may also help shape the boundary by scattering radiation-belt electrons into Earth’s atmosphere.

“One of the key questions was how these highly energetic electrons appeared inside the barrier,” said Yoshizumi Miyoshi, a professor at the Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE) at Nagoya University and the study’s lead author. “Were they transported inward from the outer radiation belt, or were they accelerated locally within this region?”

Chirping waves may accelerate electrons for days

The intense solar activity behind the May 2024 superstorm brought northern lights to Hokkaido and as far south as Japan’s Hyogo prefecture. In space, the storm dramatically eroded Earth’s plasmasphere, a region filled with relatively cool charged particles. Its outer boundary retreated unusually close to the planet, leaving the area around the usual electron barrier much less densely populated with plasma. Hotter electrons could then reach farther inward and generate natural, low-frequency electromagnetic waves known as chorus waves.

Arase detected intense chorus waves repeatedly sweeping upward in frequency. “When converted into audio, it sounds like a bird song,” Miyoshi said. These waves ripple through Earth’s magnetic field and can transfer energy to electrons when their oscillations match the electrons’ spiraling motion around magnetic field lines.

“Typically, the plasmasphere recovers on a timescale of about two days,” Miyoshi said. “During the May 2024 superstorm, however, it took approximately 4.3 to 4.7 days for the plasma density to recover to more than half of its pre-storm level in the observed region.”

The resulting low-density conditions persisted for several days, potentially allowing chorus-wave activity and the continued acceleration of electrons inside the previously impenetrable barrier.


Chorus waves rising in frequency recorded by Arase in March 2018 converted into audio. 
Credit: Erg Science Center



Evidence of acceleration within the barrier

To distinguish local acceleration from the inward movement of already energetic electrons, the researchers analyzed electron phase space density, or PSD. This quantity describes how electrons are distributed according to their energies and motion. Using measurements from multiple Arase orbits, the team examined how PSD varied with distance from Earth while accounting for changes in the electrons’ motion.

A distinct local peak developed near the usual barrier boundary and grew stronger over time. That growing peak provided evidence that electrons were gaining energy within the region, rather than simply being transported inward from the outer radiation belt.

Miyoshi said the findings, published in Geophysical Research Letters, show that even parts of near-Earth space considered relatively protected from extremely energetic electrons can experience substantial increases in radiation during severe space weather. The observations also offer insight into how Earth’s magnetosphere responds to extreme solar activity and underscore the value of continuously monitoring the space environment around the planet.

“This discovery highlights the need to understand and predict how energetic electrons behave under extreme space weather conditions,” Miyoshi said. “Such knowledge is important for assessing radiation risks to spacecraft and improving future space weather predictions.”


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A New Iron Age? Scientists Uncover a Potential Game Changer for Clean Energy

By Karlsruhe Inst. of Tech., Nov. 9, 2026

Iron dust flame at lab scale. For presentation purposes, the photo has been rotated by 90 degrees. 
Credit: Janik Hebel

Scientists are exploring how iron powder could transform renewable energy storage and transportation while giving aging coal power plants a new purpose.

Iron powder could help transform old coal power plants into a source of climate-neutral electricity, according to a new study from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Researchers found that this recyclable fuel could help keep Europe’s power supply stable during extended periods of weak wind and sunlight, particularly in regions where other forms of energy storage are limited.

The process relies on a cycle in which iron powder is burned to generate heat, producing iron oxide, commonly known as rust. Hydrogen produced using renewable energy can then remove the oxygen from the iron oxide, restoring the metal so it can be used again. “This works in a cycle that emits no carbon dioxide or environmentally harmful substances,” said Julia Schuler from KIT’s Institute for Industrial Production (IIP).

Turning Coal Power Plants Into Iron-Fueled Facilities

One potential advantage is that iron powder could be used in existing coal power plants without replacing all their equipment. “When burned, iron powder behaves very much like coal. We wanted to find out whether it was possible to repurpose existing coal power plants to iron-firing,” said Schuler.

According to Schuler, most modifications would involve the equipment responsible for generating heat. Other major components, including steam turbines, generators, and connections to the electricity grid, could remain in service. Germany may be particularly well suited to this approach because of its large fleet of coal power plants and the possibility of retaining existing heating networks and other infrastructure.

Transporting Renewable Energy Without Hydrogen Pipelines

Iron powder could also provide a practical way to move renewable energy across long distances. Electricity generated by coastal wind farms or solar facilities in desert regions could be used to produce hydrogen, which would convert iron oxide into iron. The resulting powder could then be transported to another location and burned to recover the stored energy.

Unlike hydrogen, which requires specialized pipelines, import terminals, and underground storage facilities, iron powder is relatively straightforward to transport and store for extended periods. This could reduce the infrastructure investment needed to move renewable energy between regions. Surplus renewable electricity generated within Europe could also be used to regenerate iron locally through an intermediate hydrogen production step.

Computer Models Reveal Where Iron Could Be Most Useful

To investigate the technology’s potential, KIT scientists built on findings from the Clean Circles research project. In a study funded by Stiftung Energieforschung Baden-Württemberg (Baden-Württemberg energy-research foundation), they expanded the established PERSEUS energy model to include iron-fueled power plants, facilities for regenerating iron, and the infrastructure needed for storage and transportation.

The researchers then simulated the development of a climate-neutral European energy system through 2050, comparing iron with competing technologies such as batteries, hydrogen storage, and hydrogen power plants. Iron-fired power plants appeared in the lowest-cost energy system across every scenario examined, although the results did not suggest that iron would replace hydrogen.

The greatest benefits emerged in countries with limited hydropower resources or few suitable locations for underground hydrogen storage. In these regions, iron could help maintain electricity supplies during prolonged shortages of wind and solar generation. It could also reduce demand on hydrogen pipelines and import facilities when their capacity becomes constrained.

The Challenges That Could Determine Iron’s Future

“Iron might play a very special, but economically meaningful role for reaching climate-neutrality and in reliably making renewables available,” said Schuler.

Whether a new “iron age” emerges in electricity generation will depend largely on two unresolved technical and economic questions: how extensively existing coal power plants must be modified and how efficiently iron oxide can be converted back into reusable iron. The simulations indicate that iron could complement hydrogen in a climate-neutral energy system, but its practical competitiveness will depend on how these processes perform outside the model.


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Monday, 9 November 2026

Scientists Discover Greenland’s Ice Sheet Once Retreated 60 Miles

By U. at Buffalo, Nov. 8, 2026

Tundra vegetation is seen on the Greenland landscape in this photo from 2012. A University at Buffalo-led study found that summer temperatures at Camp Century on Greenland were 4.7 degrees Celsisus higher during an ice-free period 416,000 years ago.
 Credit: Josh Brown, University of Vermont

Sediment beneath a secret Cold War base reveals a time when warmer summers helped push Greenland’s ice more than 60 miles back from its current edge.

About 416,000 years ago, the ground beneath Greenland’s Camp Century was exposed to the sky. A new University at Buffalo-led study estimates that summers there were 4.7 degrees Celsius (8.5 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than today, offering a rare glimpse of the conditions that accompanied a major retreat of the ice sheet.

“It’s striking that a period of moderately warmer temperatures coincided with such a substantial retreat of the ice sheet,” says lead author John Michael Aguilar, a postdoctoral fellow at the UB RENEW Institute.

Published in Climate of the Past, the research also points to a crucial factor in Greenland’s future: how long higher temperatures persist.

A Climate Record Beneath A Cold War Base

Camp Century housed the U.S. Army’s failed Project Iceworm, a secret plan to hide nuclear missiles beneath Greenland’s ice. During drilling in the 1960s, researchers recovered sediment from nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) below the surface. Those samples have since become an unlikely archive of Greenland’s climate.

Earlier work showed that the sediment last saw sunlight approximately 416,000 years ago. Exposing the ground at Camp Century would have required the ice sheet’s edge in that region to retreat more than 60 miles (97 kilometers) from its present position.

The new study goes beyond establishing that the ice disappeared. By examining fatty molecules produced by bacteria and preserved in the sediment, the team reconstructed the summer temperatures that accompanied that retreat.

“The types and proportions of these molecules change depending on the temperature,” Aguilar says. “By comparing them with similar molecules found in modern Arctic lakes, we were able to estimate how warm it was at Camp Century.”


The study’s findings come from ancient sediment recovered from nearly a mile below the ice sheet at Camp Century in the 1960’s.
 Credit: Andrew Christ, University of Vermont



Why the Length of Warming Matters

The researchers believe their findings provide the first quantitative estimate of summer temperatures on land anywhere in Greenland during this ancient warm period. Such records are exceptionally difficult to recover because later advances of the ice sheet eroded most sediment from that time.

Surprisingly, Camp Century remained covered by ice even when Greenland experienced similarly warm summers roughly 5,000 to 10,000 years ago, after the last Ice Age.

One possible explanation is that the earlier warm period lasted much longer, potentially tens of thousands of years. Sustained warmth would have given the ice sheet more time to melt, suggesting that peak temperatures alone cannot explain how far it retreats.

“This work gives us a better understanding of how the ice sheet responds to sustained warming and what may be possible in the future,” says corresponding author Elizabeth Thomas, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Earth Sciences in UB’s College of Arts and Sciences.

What Ancient Melting Means for Greenland’s Future

The findings arrive as scientists anticipate substantial Arctic warming. Depending on emissions, average annual Arctic temperatures could rise by 3.3 to 10 degrees Celsius (5.9 to 18 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of this century, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

With that warming ahead, Thomas cautions against assuming that Greenland’s ice will respond as slowly as it did during the ancient warm period.

“Today’s human-caused warming is more intense than the warm period 400,000 years ago,” Thomas says. “And climate projections suggest that this warmth could persist for hundreds or thousands of years. Both the magnitude and duration of warming are important to understanding how the ice sheet will respond.”

Forgotten Sediment, Decades of Discovery

The samples nearly slipped out of scientific view. Chester Langway, who led the Camp Century ice core drilling, brought them to UB in 1975. They remained in its Central Ice Core Storage Facility and Information Exchange until his retirement in the mid-1990s, then spent more than two decades largely forgotten at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

A chance freezer cleanout in 2018 brought the sediment back to researchers’ attention. Thomas has studied it with University of Vermont collaborators ever since, and its remarkable history became the subject of an Emmy Award-winning documentary.

For Thomas, the latest study brings years of work with Aguilar together. Measuring the molecules was familiar territory; translating them into a reliable comparison with modern temperatures was much harder.

“The type of molecular analysis we did in this study is something we do all the time in my lab, but interpreting the results was unusually challenging. We had to account for how the land’s elevation changed as the ice sheet grew and melted, which affects how temperatures can be compared across time,” Thomas says. “What may look like a routine analysis actually took years to figure out. It’s been quite a journey, not unlike the journey these sediment samples took to get here.”


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Less Than 42 Minutes of Bright Light Daily Is a Stronger Predictor of Dementia Than Obesity, Study Finds

08 Nov. 2026, By C. Cassella

(recep-bg/E+/Getty Images)

Each morning, when we open our eyes to a bright new day, our brain's 'master clock' synchronizes our body and its rhythms with the Sun.

The more light that we are exposed to on a daily basis, the better it may be for our brains in the long run.

According to recent research among nearly 88,000 older adults, those who are exposed to more daily light are less likely to develop dementia over the next decade or so.

The longer the exposure to light, either natural or artificial, the stronger the association.

In fact, spending at least 42 minutes a day exposed to bright light (5,000 lux or more) was associated with a 17 percent lower relative risk of dementia.

That's a better predictor of dementia than six other traditional risk factors, including obesity, alcohol consumption, air pollution, and hearing loss.

For 'night owls', the association was even stronger. Greater daytime light exposure was linked with up to a 41 percent lower risk of dementia.

The findings, published in General Psychiatry, support the idea that light-based interventions hold promise for people at risk of cognitive decline.

"These findings position daytime light exposure as a novel, robust and measurable indicator of dementia risk," write the study authors, led by researchers at Guangzhou Medical University in China.

"They could inform future research into light-based interventions and public health guidelines that recommend increased daytime light exposure as a low-cost strategy to support brain health, particularly in high-risk populations."

An illustrated version of the study's abstract.
 (Zheng et al., General Psychiatry, 2026)

Many dementia patients suffer from sleep disorders or disruption to their sleep-wake cycles, and yet surprisingly little research has investigated light exposure and its connections to cognitive decline.

The human body's circadian clock tells us when to wake up and go to sleep, and it is naturally synchronized with sunlight.

When light enters the eyes, it activates the brain's master clock, thereby regulating the rest of the body's daily rhythms.

Sunlight on the skin, meanwhile, stimulates vitamin D production, which is also tied to dementia risk.

Previous studies have shown that brighter nights and darker days can disrupt circadian rhythms, but it remains unclear how this affects brain health in the long run.

In the recent analysis, researchers examined data from the UK Biobank, in which participants wore a light sensor continuously for seven days.

Those who were exposed to more daytime light during this week-long period had a significantly lower risk of dementia roughly eight years later.

This was particularly evident for night owls (as opposed to morning people), individuals with higher nighttime light exposure, and those who carried genetic risk factors for dementia.

For instance, those who carry the APOE ε4 allele and are exposed to more daytime light had up to a 27 percent lower risk of dementia.

"No prior study has investigated associations between average daytime and nighttime light exposures and dementia risk," the authors note.

It's not known how light exposure might impact cognitive decline, but in this observational research, participants exposed to more daytime light tended to have greater brain volume or surface area in parts of the medial temporal lobe.

This region plays an important role in memory and is often one of the first areas affected by dementia.

It's also possible that light is impacting the brain in a more indirect way, too.

Previous studies, for instance, have found that daytime light levels can predict lower risks of major depressive disorder, which is a risk factor for dementia.

"Therefore, ensuring brighter daytime light exposure (e.g., ≥ 1000 lux) may be a simple means of preventing psychiatric disorders and dementia," the authors of this recent study suggest.

"This is particularly relevant given that people in modern society spend nearly 90 percent of their day indoors under artificial lighting, which typically provides insufficient brightness (∼300–500 lux) during the day."

Perhaps a brighter day today could lead to a brighter brain tomorrow.


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Popular Dairy Alternatives Could Be Leaving You Short of Essential Nutrients

By U. of Surrey, Nov. 7, 2026

Plant-based dairy alternatives, including oat, almond, soy, and coconut milk products, are increasingly popular substitutes for traditional dairy. Although they offer options for people following vegan or dairy-free diets, their nutritional content varies, and many lack essential nutrients such as iodine, calcium, and vitamin B12 unless fortified. 
Credit: Shutterstock

A new study reveals that even partially replacing dairy products with plant-based alternatives could significantly reduce the intake of essential nutrients.

Replacing even a modest amount of dairy with plant-based alternatives could significantly reduce essential nutrient intake, according to a new study from the University of Surrey. Researchers found that substituting just 20% to 35% of dairy products increased the estimated prevalence of inadequate iodine intake among adolescent girls from 54% to 65%. Among women ages 19 to 49, the figure rose from 32% to 42%.

The study also identified reductions in calcium, riboflavin, and vitamin B12 intake. However, researchers found that fortifying plant-based alternatives and other foods could help prevent these nutritional shortfalls.

How Plant-Based Alternatives Affect Nutrient Intake

In the first UK study of its kind, researchers from the University of Surrey and Queen’s University Belfast analyzed dietary data from more than 3,500 people, ages 18 months to 100 years. Using the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, they modeled how replacing milk, yogurt, and cheese with commercially available plant-based alternatives would affect intake of four essential micronutrients.

Dr Katie Nicol, a research fellow at the University of Surrey and co-author of the study, explained:

“With the growing need to address environmental sustainability, many dietary recommendations are focused on plant-based diets and the reduced intake of animal products.”

“With the rise in plant-based alternative foods, we need to know whether they are like-for-like replacements for the micronutrients that are found in dairy products. This is particularly important for vulnerable groups, including young children and adolescent females, who are more likely to be deficient in certain micronutrients, which could affect their overall health.”

Why Iodine Deficiency Is a Major Concern

Iodine was the nutrient most affected by dairy replacement. When researchers modeled completely replacing dairy with plant-based alternatives under current fortification levels, the estimated prevalence of inadequate iodine intake reached 80% among adolescent girls and 72% among adolescent boys. These figures reflect modeled dietary inadequacy, not confirmed clinical deficiencies.

Iodine is essential for producing thyroid hormones, which regulate metabolism and support growth and brain development. It is particularly important before and during pregnancy, when iodine requirements increase.

Dr Sarah Bath, associate professor at the University of Surrey and lead author, said:

“The UK is particularly vulnerable to iodine insufficiency due to a lack of an iodine fortification policy such as universal salt iodization, which many other countries have.”

“People may also be unaware of the importance of iodine, which is needed to make thyroid hormones to regulate our metabolism, support healthy growth, and brain development. Iodine is particularly important during pregnancy, when the requirement increases, but it is also essential prior to pregnancy to ensure that stores are optimized. People are also unaware that dairy products are a major source of iodine, particularly in the UK, and that plant-based alternatives, unless fortified, have a very low iodine content.”

Fortified Foods Could Reduce Nutritional Risks

The researchers found that mandatory fortification of plant-based dairy alternatives could prevent declines in micronutrient intake. However, even with fortified alternatives, an estimated 59% of adolescent girls would still have inadequate iodine intake. Adding iodine to bread reduced that figure to 37%, suggesting that combining both fortification strategies could be more effective.

Dr Nicol emphasized the importance of aligning nutrition policies with environmental goals:

“Nutrition policy must evolve in tandem with environmental targets; however, it is important that shifts towards more sustainable diets do not compromise on public health. Fortification of foods is one way that this could be achieved; however, government policy is needed to make this happen.”

How Researchers Tested Dairy Replacement

Dr Anne Nugent, from Queen’s University Belfast, described how the team identified dairy-containing foods in the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey and modeled replacing them with equal amounts of plant-based alternatives. The researchers accounted for differences in the nutritional content of available products and tested whether fortification could prevent deficiencies without causing excessive nutrient intake.

“During the analysis, we first identified all foods and recipes containing dairy produce (milk, cheese, and yogurt) in the national food survey for the UK, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Next, we conducted a series of replacement scenarios whereby we substituted the dairy present with an equal weight of plant-based dairy alternatives. As the nutrient composition of dairy alternatives available on our supermarket shelves can vary, we also applied a condition to make sure that every dairy alternative we had identified in our previous market survey had an equal chance of selection. The last step was to examine the impact on dietary intakes of key nutrients following either the reduction or removal of dairy from the diet, replacing it with the dairy alternatives as above, and asking whether a series of fortification options could mitigate against any shortfalls in intake while avoid situations of excess.”


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Sunday, 8 November 2026

Chuck's picture corner to Nov. 8, 2026

My part of the world has felt global warming this week, with temps in the 60's F range or high teens Celsius , a wonderful start to Nov. I picked some raspberries from some the ever-bearing raspberry canes a friend gave me a couple of years back. 

 

The christmas cactus have started to flower.


The cherry tree at the end of the week

It's about 5 pm. and the day is done.

The raspberries are just about done for the year, if you look close you can see some of the berries

weather systems meeting

dandy lions are once again flowering

The weeping willows are the last trees in the yard with leaves and will be the first to make leaves in spring.

the red leaves of this viburnum are just now turning a paler colour

waiting at the airport to pick up Rachelle from her flight from Paris



the sky of home in the back yard

The cherry out my office window a week ago.
 

 

 

Enjoy the Day 

https://chuckincardinal.blogspot.com/ 

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Scientists Find That Older Brains React Very Differently to a Night of Poor Sleep

By Simon Fraser U., Nov. 7, 2026

A new study reveals that younger and older brains respond in surprisingly different ways to a single night of sleep deprivation. 
Credit: Shutterstock

A single bad night’s sleep may be easier on a healthy older brain than a younger one, though regularly missing sleep still carries risks.

Sleep quality often declines with age, yet older adults can seem less affected by a single bad night than younger people. Understanding that apparent mismatch means looking at how the brain responds when sleep runs short.

A study from Simon Fraser University offers a possible explanation. After just three hours of sleep, certain connections in younger and older brains changed in opposite directions. The findings suggest that healthy older brains may adapt to acute sleep loss in ways that help preserve function, although the study measured brain activity rather than cognitive performance.

The research, published in Imaging Neuroscience, compared brain networks in younger adults ages 20 to 30 with those in older adults ages 65 to 75. Lead researcher Josh Neudorf, an affiliate member of SFU’s Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, says earlier research on the effects of poor sleep provided a reason to investigate the difference.

“Older adults tend to better handle the effects of poor sleep, whereas younger adults, as we know, have the common symptoms of decreased mood and cognitive ability following poor sleep,” says Neudorf.

“This study tries to get at the heart of this difference – how does the older brain react to lost sleep.”

How brain networks handle a short night

Brain connectivity describes how activity in different regions is linked. Stronger connections do not automatically mean the brain is working more efficiently. The arrangement matters, too. In a more modular network, regions are organized into groups, with relatively stronger connections within each group than between groups.

“What we found was quite striking in that older and younger brains actually responded in opposite ways to acute sleep loss.

“Certain connections in the brains of younger adults showed increased connectivity as a response to less sleep, while those same connections in the brains of older adults showed decreased connectivity.

“That decrease in connectivity promotes more efficient modular connectivity for the brain as a whole. In other words, the brain is acting in a more efficient way to maintain cognitive function. In contrast, the increased connectivity in younger brains suggests the brain is having to work harder to maintain function.”

Whether those network changes actually helped the older participants think or perform tasks better was not tested. The proposed benefit is an interpretation of the brain activity, consistent with previous research suggesting that older adults are often less impaired by a single night of poor sleep.

The reason for the opposite responses also remains open. One of several possible explanations is compensation, in which an aging brain reorganizes its networks and uses different strategies to maintain function.

“The quality of sleep starts to change and deteriorates somewhat in older adults,” says Neudorf.

“The theory of compensation is the idea that older brains adapt or compensate for those changes.”

Chronic sleep loss still harms health

Being able to adjust to an occasional short night would not make regularly missing sleep harmless. Researchers emphasize that good-quality sleep matters throughout life. Although the response to one or two nights of lost sleep may differ with age, chronic sleep loss is detrimental to brain health and cognitive ability. Its cumulative effects over a lifetime also have the potential to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, weight problems, and colorectal cancer.

Dementia presents another concern. Study co-author Brianne Kent is an assistant professor of psychology, associate director of SFU’s Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, and Canada Research Chair in Translational Neuroscience and Dementia. Her research focuses on Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia.

“A lot of sleep disruption could increase your risk of dementia,” says Kent.

“What we know is that there’s a protein called amyloid beta, which accumulates in the brain and causes these plaques in the brains of individuals who have dementia. Amyloid beta is this toxic protein, a waste product of your brain. These plaques accumulate for, on average, about 20 years before dementia starts.”

Sleep plays a role in how quickly that protein is removed, linking repeated sleep loss to a process that can unfold over decades.

She concludes, “During sleep, that protein is cleared out at a faster rate. So if you’re continuously missing sleep, then that protein and those plaques will accumulate at a faster rate. Not everyone who has poor sleep will get Alzheimer’s disease, but if you are somebody who has the predisposition for the disease, then missing sleep over time will drive the process.”


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Scientists Identified a Biological Signature of Tinnitus, And It's in Your Blood

08 Nov 2026, By P. Dockrill

(Yurii Yarema/iStockphoto/Getty Images)

For the millions worldwide with tinnitus, silence never comes.

The condition, estimated to affect 15 percent of people globally, produces the perception of persistent ringing and other phantom sounds.

We've never known for sure what causes tinnitus, and we've also never had a reliable objective biomarker or test for it.

Until now, the only way doctors could diagnose the condition was if you told them you heard sounds that weren't there.

But that could be set to change.

In a new study published in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, scientists report what could be the strongest evidence yet of a biomarker candidate for tinnitus.

"We now have proof-of-concept that an ear protein may play a central role in the development and management of tinnitus," says otolaryngologist Kourosh Parham from the University of Connecticut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_E59L1yCYI

In an experiment with 82 adults – half of whom experienced tinnitus – blood tests revealed that a protein called prestin appears to be linked to the condition.

The research, building upon an earlier study by some of the same team, found that people with tinnitus showed blood concentrations of prestin that were about 50 percent higher than participants without the condition.

Prestin is a motor protein found in the membranes of outer hair cells that line the cochlea. It helps to amplify sounds and is crucial for sensitive hearing.

But previous research has linked prestin to hearing damage, raising the possibility that changes in this protein could affect the healthy functioning of the inner ear, potentially contributing to the phantom sounds experienced by people with tinnitus.

Studies have shown that prestin levels are influenced by noise exposure, age, and hearing loss, and experimental models of hearing damage show that prestin levels are altered by trauma, suggesting the protein could be a biomarker for cochlear injury.

For several years, it's been known that an overdose of aspirin can induce hearing problems by disrupting cochlear functions, and prestin is one of the proteins affected.

Now, we're getting more evidence of its association to tinnitus, but there's still a lot we don't know.

This was only a small observational study, and the findings for now don't prove that high prestin levels trigger tinnitus. All we know is they're somehow linked to the condition, but as the researchers acknowledge, it's likely that other factors could also contribute to tinnitus.

It's also worth noting that while the study showed that high prestin levels were linked to tinnitus, a separate diagnostic accuracy analysis suggested that the biomarker can't yet reliably be used as a tool to diagnose tinnitus, at least based on the sample of participants studied here.

As the researchers point out, it's possible that might be because some of the participants here had a form of non-cochlear tinnitus, caused by something other than prestin abnormalities.

Future research might be able to clear that up. For now, we've got a strong clue that prestin is involved in the condition, and it's a research lead that could help us get towards a diagnostic system for clinical settings, and maybe even in terms of one day treating tinnitus too.

"Our work now says there is promise in using prestin as a biomarker for tinnitus," Parham says. "This is our first step to developing drugs to help manage tinnitus."


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Saturday, 7 November 2026

Belief in Magic Is Not Disappearing in The Modern World, Study Shows

07 Nov. 2026, By E. Öz

(Yana Iskayeva/Moment RF/Getty Images)

Imagine a house where footsteps supposedly echo through the hallways at night and doors close in empty rooms.

If you had to spend a night there, would explanations involving old floorboards and drafts be enough to settle your doubts?

As it happens, trusting a scientific explanation doesn't necessarily close the door on ghosts.

A US study found that, among people who retained religious ties, an outlook combining support for science and reason with independence from religious authority was associated with stronger belief in magic, including ghosts and curses.

The researchers wanted to understand what happens to supernatural beliefs as religious institutions lose influence. When people question church teachings, do they also leave ghosts, curses, and unseen forces behind? Or do they begin choosing their beliefs for themselves?

Sociologists Paul Froese of Baylor University and Isaiah King of Carson-Newman University, together with Ruiqian Li of American University, investigated these questions by analyzing survey responses from 1,812 adults in the 2025 Baylor Religion Survey.

Gallup collected the answers online and by mail between January and March. Responses were weighted to better reflect the US adult population.

The team examined an outlook they called "secular rationalism".


Science and the supernatural aren't necessarily irreconcilable in our minds, the research suggests. 
(David Wall/Moment/Getty Images)



This measure combines the view that science is the only way to understand all aspects of the world with an emphasis on reason and human experience in moral decisions, independent interpretation of spiritual teachings, and disinterest in religious discussions.

Scoring highly didn't necessarily mean cutting all religious ties. Some participants still believed in God, identified with a religion, or attended religious services.

The researchers compared these views with three categories of supernatural belief. They assessed miracles, magic, and everyday superstitions separately, distinguishing beliefs involving divine intervention from those that require no god or shared religious doctrine.

Their magic score included belief in ghosts, curses, spirits inhabiting objects, communicating with the dead, predicting the future, and magic itself. Superstitions included habits such as avoiding words that might jinx a hoped-for outcome.

The responses showed that people with higher secular rationalism scores were less likely to believe in miracles. Their scores for magic and superstition, however, were higher.

Looking more closely, the researchers found that the association between secular rationalism and stronger magical belief appeared among people who kept these religious ties. The same association wasn't clearly evident among nonbelievers, people without a religious affiliation, and those who never attended services.

In his account of the findings, Li described the differences among people who believed in God. Around 40 percent of those embracing secular rationalism leaned toward magical belief, compared with 19 percent of those rejecting that outlook.

The researchers' explanation centers on the distinction between personal faith and institutional authority. A religious community might accept miracles while rejecting fortune-telling or attempts to communicate with ghosts. A member who trusts their own judgment on spiritual matters might embrace those ideas anyway.

This independence could allow supernatural beliefs to persist as trust in religious authority weakens. The survey responses are consistent with this possibility, although the survey didn't directly test how people developed their beliefs.

For sociologists, the findings suggest that questioning religious authority doesn't always mean abandoning supernatural beliefs.

To understand what people believe, researchers may need to look beyond religious affiliation and consider how people combine faith, trust in science, and their own spiritual judgments. Two people attending the same church might have very different ideas about which unseen forces exist.

The results don't establish that trusting science causes magical thinking. The rationalism measure wasn't a test of scientific knowledge or reasoning ability, either.

The survey also covered only US adults and captured their views during one period. It cannot reveal whether magical beliefs are becoming more or less common. Li noted that some comparison groups were small.

Following the same people over time could show how their supernatural beliefs change alongside their relationship with religion.

The house we imagined offers no evidence for ghosts. The study explores the beliefs someone might bring through its door: confidence in scientific explanations can still leave room for the possibility of an unseen presence.


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'Good' Body Fat Is Linked to Fewer Anxiety And Depression Diagnoses

07 Nov. 2026, By E. Öz

(Love Employee/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

When we think about body fat, the number on the scale or an expanding waistline often comes to mind.

Research on brown fat is drawing attention to a different connection: patients whose scans showed this tissue had fewer recorded diagnoses of anxiety and depression.

Found in areas including the neck, near the collarbones, and the armpits, brown fat produces heat when activated by cold. It takes up the radioactive sugar tracer used in certain medical scans, making it visible in the images.

"What surprised us the most is that there are no previous studies documenting a potential connection between brown fat and mood," endocrinologist and Rockefeller University researcher Nicolás Gómez-Banoy told ScienceAlert.

The team's 2021 research linked brown fat to lower rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Following that study, covered by ScienceAlert, the researchers broadened their investigation to hundreds of diagnoses.

For the research published in Nature, they examined records from more than 100,000 patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. PET/CT scans taken for clinical reasons were assessed alongside patients' diagnoses and medication records.

The team matched patients with and without detectable brown fat on age, sex, body mass index, and outdoor temperature. In these matched groups, depressive episode diagnoses were recorded for 5.4 percent of patients with detectable brown fat and 8.2 percent of those without it. Anxiety disorder diagnoses were also less common in patients with detectable brown fat.


Brown fat cells with mitochondria labeled in magenta. 
(The Rockefeller University)



The associations persisted after the analysis accounted for smoking history, cancer type, cancer stage, treatment, and other factors.

The researchers also wanted to know whether the amount and location of active brown fat mattered, so they used artificial intelligence.

A machine learning tool helped measure brown fat volume and glucose uptake in about 8,700 patients with detectable brown fat. Together, these measurements were used to estimate brown fat activity across six body regions.

Higher brown fat activity around the armpits was particularly associated with better cardiovascular and metabolic health. The psychiatric findings came from the separate comparison of recorded diagnoses.

Patients with detectable brown fat also had lower blood sugar measurements, including a marker reflecting longer-term blood sugar levels.

"The most plausible explanation is that patients with brown fat show an improved metabolic profile, healthier fat distribution, and lower inflammatory markers," Gómez-Banoy explained. "All of these things have been linked to improved psychiatric outcomes."

Patients taking certain antidepressants in the SSRI class, used to treat depression and anxiety, were less likely to have detectable brown fat. The association remained after the researchers adjusted for relevant psychiatric diagnoses and was consistent with earlier human research showing that these medications can reduce brown fat activity.

The team also searched medication records for drugs that might activate brown fat. Patients taking certain blood pressure medications were more likely to have detectable tissue. The researchers tested one of them, losartan, in laboratory-grown brown fat cells and mice.

Losartan increased brown fat activity, and treated mice expended more energy. These experiments did not evaluate anxiety or depression.

"Given that our study is retrospective, it is important to note that these findings are associations and do not demonstrate causation," Gómez-Banoy said.

The study drew on patients at a cancer center, and more than three-quarters of those in the matched groups were women. The paper also notes that tumor types and cancer treatments differed between the groups. Their influence on the findings cannot be ruled out despite statistical adjustments.

Gómez-Banoy said trials of drugs or other methods to activate brown fat should also record whether patients' anxiety or depression changes.


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