Giant Mysterious Circles In Saudi Desert Baffle Internet – What's Going On Beneath The Sand?
The images came from space. The European Space Agency's Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite caught them while scanning the desolate terrain earlier this year. To the untrained eye, the pictures are puzzling. Dozens of glowing and geometric rings scattered across the otherwise barren expanse. The kind of images that light up online speculation and ignite wild theories.
But behind the visual mystery lies an engineered ambition. These circles are a glimpse into Saudi Arabia's agricultural experiment, one where desert becomes farmland.
The satellite captured them from nearly 700 kilometres above the earth. Taken in October 2024, January 2025 and again in May, the photos document subtle changes over time. Each of these circular fields spans nearly a kilometre in diameter. At the center of each circle lies a deep well, tapping into aquifers far below. Long arms, fitted with rotating sprinklers, spiral around the central point, showering the soil evenly.
This is precision farming, adapted to one of the world's most extreme climates. In a country where rain is rare and summer temperatures often soar beyond 50 degree Celsius, these green rings offer a rare sight. Wheat, vegetables and alfalfa pushing through dry ground.
The location is near the city of Tabarjal, inside the Wadi as-Sirhan basin. It is a place once defined only by its dust and rock. Now, it is part of an ambitious transformation. From above, it looks like a surreal and psychedelic art installation. On the ground, it is the outcome of carefully managed irrigation systems, relentless sunlight and underground water reserves being pumped upward to sustain life.
But scientists are raising a warning. The underground aquifers feeding these fields are not being replenished. With every rotation of the sprinklers, the water table drops a little lower. Over time, without new sources of water or more sustainable techniques, these green miracles could fade.
In the satellite images, the contrast is clear. The glowing circles stand surrounded by dark patches – bare earth, dry sand and land without vegetation. Among them, Tabarjal shines as a modest yet vital hub. It keeps the region alive, supplying food, supporting rural communities and now, drawing the world's gaze.
From orbit to oasis, this patch of Saudi Arabia is telling a story of human determination, natural limits and a desert slowly reimagined.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
12 hours ago
- The Hindu
Lenacapavir: After FDA approval, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis injectable moving closer to EU approval
On July 25, The European Medicines Agency (EMA)'s advisory committee recommended Gilead Sciences' Lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injection, for preventing HIV infection in adults and adolescents. Any recommendation by EMA's advisory committee has to be formally approved by the European Commission, which is expected later this year. The recommendation by the EMA's advisory committee comes about a month after the U.S. FDA on June 18, 2025 approved the injectable HIV-1 capsid inhibitor as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The World Health Organization welcomed the approval by FDA on June 19 and issued guidelines for use of Lenacapavir for HIV prevention on July 14. 'Offering additional pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) choices has the potential to increase uptake and effective use of PrEP, and of HIV prevention overall, as it allows people to choose a method that they prefer,' the guidelines say. Studies have also shown that Lenacapavir can achieve significant viral suppression, even in cases where other drugs have failed. The FDA approved Lenacapavir is based on the 2024 results from the PURPOSE 1 and PURPOSE 2 trials, which demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the pre-exposure prophylaxis injectable across diverse populations and settings. The PURPOSE 1 was a Phase 3, double-blind, randomised trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of twice-yearly, subcutaneous Lenacapavir for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and was tested on 5,338 cisgender women and adolescent girls aged 16-25 across 25 sites in South Africa and three sites in Uganda. The injectable was compared with an active control arm that received once-daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis drug Truvada (emtricitabine-tenofovir disoproxil fumarate; F/TDF). There were zero HIV infections among 2,134 participants in the Lenacapavir group, while the active control group had 39 infections among 2,136 participants. In the PURPOSE 2 Phase-3 trial involving 3,265 participants in the modified intention-to-treat analysis, two participants were infected with HIV in the arm that received the injectable, while nine participants who received the active control PrEP oral drug Truvada (emtricitabine-tenofovir disoproxil fumarate; F/TDF) were infected. The background HIV incidence in the screened population (4,634 participants) was 2.37 per 100 person-years. The trial was carried out in of cisgender men, transgender, and nonbinary individuals across 88 sites in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Thailand and the U.S. Compared with the generic PrEP oral drug Truvada, which is extremely inexpensive and widely available, Lenacapavir costs $28,000 for two injections. Why would people ever prefer to use Lenacapavir considering the cost? 'Oral PrEP will be effective only if there is 100% adherence. The oral drug won't work even if it is missed for a day because the drug level will be only 24 hours,' says Dr. N. Kumarasamy, Chief and Director, VHS-Infectious Diseases Medical Centre, Voluntary Health Services, Chennai. 'People who have the highest risk such as sex workers and gay men have to take the drug every day. Taking a tablet every day, even for a deceased patient, is so difficult. They tend to miss a dose, which is why adherence is never 100%,' he says. 'Even in the case of on-demand PrEP, where people who want to indulge in unprotected sex have to take the oral drug two days before, then throughout the period of risky behaviour and continue for two more days after risky behaviour ends, adherence never goes beyond 85-90%. PrEP will work only if the adherence is 100%.' According to Dr. Kumarasamy, despite the oral tablet being inexpensive and easy to take, the adherence is less than ideal, the reason why people are moving towards long-acting injectables that prevent HIV infection for months after an injection. Cabotegravir, which was developed as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), underwent trials in many countries and was approved for use. Cabotegravir, which is administered intramuscularly every two months, was found superior compared with every day oral PrEP tablet, and started getting implemented in certain parts of the world, Dr. Kumarasamy says. 'Since Cabotegravir has to be administered every two months, people tend to forget. The new drug Lanacapivir has been found to be effective for six months in the trials. The injectable was developed in 2021 as treatment in people who no longer respond to other drugs as they have developed resistance,' he says. Because Lenacapavir was found to be long-acting, it was repurposed as a pre-exposure prophylaxis administered subcutaneously. 'Lenacapavir is a robust molecule and is the best solution in the absence of vaccines. Even if there is going to be an HIV vaccine one day, I'm sure people will have to take the vaccine every year or something. Like a flu shot, you know if at all they are going to develop a vaccine, people may have to take it every year or every six months as a booster dose. It may not be like a one dose that is effective for years,' Dr. Kumarasamy says. 'In the absence of a HIV vaccine, I think the pre-exposure prophylaxis every six months can be considered like a vaccine.' Gilead is developing the same molecule to be administered once a year instead of every six months. They are already working on that. But it will not be a subcutaneous form but as an intramuscular injection, he says. Licensing agreements On October 2, 2024, Gilead Sciences signed non-exclusive, royalty-free voluntary licensing agreements with six pharmaceutical manufacturers to make and sell generic Lenacapavir. Of the six generic manufacturers, four are in India. Besides signing agreement to license generic manufacturers to make the injectable, Gilead Sciences also said that it would 'support low-cost access to the drug in high-incidence, resource-limited countries at no profit until generic manufacturers are able to fully support demand'. These countries are: Botswana, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The company has licensed Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited, Emcure, Hetero and Mylan, a subsidiary of Viatris, to manufacture Lenacapavir in India. The companies will be permitted to supply to 120 countries. According to the press release, the agreements cover not only Lenacapavir for HIV prevention but also for HIV treatment in heavily treatment-experienced (HTE) adults with multi-drug resistant HIV. According to Dr. Kumarasamy one company has already started developing the drug and Lenacapavir may become available next year once the Indian drug regulator approves it based on the results of a safety study carried out in India. As per his estimate, the generic form of Lenacapavir will cost about $100 per dose.
NDTV
17 hours ago
- NDTV
What Happens To Your Body When You Stop Taking Drugs Like Ozempic? Study Explains
A new study has shown that patients who stop taking anti-obesity medications (AOMs) like Ozempic tend to regain the weight they lost, Science Alert reported. A study by Peking University researchers analysed 11 previous trials involving 2,466 participants to evaluate the effectiveness of anti-obesity medications (AOMs). The study included glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 drugs) like Ozempic and Wegovy, which work by mimicking a natural hormone that regulates appetite and blood sugar. The researchers found that while AOMs were effective in helping participants lose weight during treatment, the weight tended to come back once the course of the drugs was stopped. "Significant weight regain occurred eight weeks after discontinuation of AOMs and was sustained through 20 weeks. Different weight regain was observed in subjects with different characteristics," author Han Wu said. The study found that GLP-1 medications, in particular, showed significant weight regain after treatment discontinuation. Participants who used these medications regained an average of 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) approximately 20 weeks after stopping treatment. Notably, the research also revealed a pattern where individuals who lost more weight during treatment tended to regain more weight afterwards, suggesting that the amount of weight lost is a predictor of subsequent weight regain. To isolate the effects of stopping anti-obesity medications, researchers controlled for factors like exercise levels and diabetes status. However, the underlying reasons for weight regain after treatment stoppage remain unclear. Future studies may investigate these mechanisms further, but weight loss may alter the body's physiology in ways that make maintaining a healthy weight more challenging. This potential "rewiring" of the body could contribute to the difficulty in sustaining weight loss after stopping treatment. Weight regain after treatment isn't just unique to weight-loss medications. It's also been observed with surgical treatments like gastric bypasses and vertical banded gastroplasty. Rise Of Ozempic Ozempic, a drug developed by Novo Nordisk, was approved in 2017 for type 2 diabetes management but has surged in popularity for its weight-loss side effects. Its active ingredient, semaglutide, enhances insulin production, slows digestion, and suppresses appetite, leading to significant weight loss. Its off-label use for obesity, amplified by social media and celebrity endorsements like Elon Musk and Oprah, transformed it into a cultural phenomenon, generating $21 billion in 2023 sales. The demand for Ozempic has surged, leading to shortages and increased costs. Side effects like nausea, muscle loss, and severe gastrointestinal issues affect some users, with weight often returning post-treatment.
New Indian Express
a day ago
- New Indian Express
HIV prevention: Gilead's vaccine breakthrough nears EU approval
CHENNAI: Gilead Sciences has achieved another milestone in its efforts to bring in a preventive drug to curb the still rapidly spreading HIV epidemic, in the world with the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) advisory committee issuing a positive opinion for its twice-yearly injectable, lenacapavir. EMA the decision on Thursday (July 24) clears the way for approval by the European Commission later this year, following similar regulatory clearance in the United States in June 2025. Lenacapavir, a HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), is to be marketed in Europe under the brand name Yeytuo, is a long-acting injectable designed to prevent HIV infection with just two subcutaneous doses annually, following an initial oral lead-in. This innovative therapy is part of a new class of HIV-1 capsid inhibitors that disrupt multiple stages of the viral replication cycle. It represents the first and only twice-yearly PrEP option for individuals at risk of HIV, offering a significant alternative to the currently available daily oral pills like Truvada (TDF/FTC). Clinical trials have demonstrated strong efficacy. In the PURPOSE 1 trial, conducted among over 5,000 cisgender women and adolescent girls in South Africa and Uganda, lenacapavir achieved 100% efficacy—zero new HIV infections were reported in the treatment group. A second trial, PURPOSE 2, involving a broader group of cisgender men, transgender, and non-binary adults, showed a 96% reduction in HIV risk compared to those on daily PrEP. These results prompted early unblinding of both trials due to overwhelming benefit. Participants also reported high satisfaction with the twice-yearly regimen, citing ease of adherence, reduced stigma, and fewer missed doses compared to daily pills. Gilead's chief medical officer, Dr. Dietmar Berger, was on Friday quoted in reports saying that lenacapavir 'has the potential to become a critical tool for public health,' especially for individuals who face barriers to consistent healthcare access. The product is expected to play a vital role in addressing rising HIV infections in Europe, where more than 24,700 new diagnoses were reported in 2023—an 11.8% increase from the previous year across the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Beyond Europe, Gilead is pursuing a global access strategy for lenacapavir. The company has licensed the drug for generic production in 120 low-and lower-middle-income countries and is working toward WHO prequalification and inclusion in international HIV prevention guidelines. It is also eligible for EU-M4all procedures, which would streamline regulatory pathways for resource-limited settings.
