Fault line on Canadian border thought dormant for years could cause major earthquake, new study shows
The Tintina fault stretches about 600 miles from northeastern British Columbia into Alaska. It was previously thought to have last been active around 40 million years ago.
But a study published in Geophysical Research Letters earlier this month found signs of more recent activity.
New topographic data collected from satellites, airplanes and drones showed about an 80-mile-long segment of the fault where 2.6 million-year-old and 132,000-year-old geological formations are laterally shifted across the fault.
'We further show that the fault has not ruptured in a major earthquake for at least 12 thousand years, and could generate an earthquake of at least magnitude 7.5 in the future,' the study read. 'The Tintina fault therefore represents an important, previously unrecognized, seismic hazard to the region.'
An earthquake with a 7 to 7.9 magnitude is considered major and can create serious damage, according to Michigan Tech. These types of earthquakes are fairly rare, with only 10 to 15 estimated to occur each year.
Michigan Tech warns earthquakes with a magnitude of 8 or greater, which typically occur only once every year or two, can destroy communities near the epicenter.
'Based on the data, we think that the fault may be at a relatively late stage of a seismic cycle, having accrued a slip deficit, or build-up of strain, of six meters in the last 12,000 years,' Theron Finley, a recent University of Victoria phD graduate and lead author of the new study, explained in SciTechDaily. 'If this were to be released, it would cause a significant earthquake.'
The Daily Mail reported, citing seismologists, there are fears the fault line could send tremors into British Columbia, Alberta and Montana.
Dr. Michael West, state seismologist at the Alaska Earthquake Center, told the Mail, 'It is one of the least studied fault systems in North America, and that needs to change.'
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Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cells: Hemostemix ACP-01 Provides the Scientific Basis for Improving the Longevity and Signal Uptake of Brain Computer Implants
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2025) - Hemostemix (TSXV: HEM) (OTCQB: HMTXF) (FSE: 2VF0) ("Hemostemix" or the "Company") is excited to highlight a groundbreaking research article published in Cells on June 29, 2025, by Fraser C. Henderson Sr. and Ms. Kelly Tuchman, exploring how a combination of the patient's own ACP-01 and NCP-01 (autologous blood-derived cell precursors) may support the long-term performance of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Key Scientific Insights The Challenge with BCIs: Inflammation, scarring, and programmed cell death undermine performance over timeImplantable electrodes within the brain have enabled remarkable achievements—e.g., paralyzed individuals playing chess and blind individuals recognizing letters. However, these devices often fail between six months and one year. The longest BCI in use lasted seven years. Even then, issues like inflammation, scarring, and programmed cell death (apoptosis) undermine performance over time. Hemostemix's Innovative Cell-Based SolutionThe article proposes using two types of autologous (patient-derived) progenitor cells: Angiogenic Cell Precursors (ACP-01, VesCell™) and Neural Cell Precursors (NCP-01), delivered into the cerebrospinal fluid, to foster a healing cellular environment around the implant. ACP-01 (VesCell™) produces signals like IL-8, VEGF, and angiogenin. They attract natural killer (NK) cells that suppress inflammation, reduce tissue scarring, and support new blood vessel growth (angiogenesis). ACP-01potentiate healing through the expression of tissue regeneration factors CXCL8, VEGF, and angiogenin. They include CD34+ (blood stem cell). CXCL8 recruit endogenous CD34+, that circulate peripherally, to the site of implant. CXCL8 (interleukin-8) activate NF-κB, resulting in gene transcription and protein synthesis necessary for learning (memory formation and consolidation). NCP- 01express receptors like CXCR4, and migrate toward the BCI site. NCP help shift immune cells into a neuroprotective (M2) state. NCP differentiate into neurons and supporting glial cells that promote new synaptic connections and neural plasticity. Figure 1. Natural Killer (NK) cells recruited by angiogenic cell precursors (ACPs) suppress inflammation through the release of anti-inflammatory cytokines, dendritic cell and monocyte maturation, and lysis of auto-aggressive T cells. Created in BioRender. Tuchman, K. (2025) view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Figure 2. Angiogenic cell precursors (ACPs) potentiate healing through expression of tissue regeneration factors such as the chemokine interleukin-8 (CXCL8), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiogenin. In addition to the robust presence of CD34+ in ACPs, the expressed CXCL8 recruits peripheral CD34+ precursor cells, further supporting angiogenesis. Created by BioRender. Tuchman, K. (2025) view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Figure 3. Interleukin-8 (CXCL8) is expressed by angiogenic cell precursors (ACPs), and activatesthe canonical NF-κB pathway, resulting in gene transcription and protein synthesis necessary formemory formation and consolidation. Created in BioRender. Tuchman, K. (2025) view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Mechanism of Action Together, ACP and NCP support a cascade of beneficial molecular events: Activation of neurotrophic factors and NF-κB pathways that protect cells (anti-apoptosis). Promotion of synaptogenesis (formation of connections between neurons), neuritogenesis (growth of neural processes), to improve learning-related plasticity. As the patient's DNA-based engineered cellular environment, ACP and NCP home to the site of BCI, decrease inflammation, increase angiogenesis, increase neuro-protectiveness, promote new synaptic connections, and may dramatically extend both the lifespan of BCI, signal fidelity and learning. Why This Matters to Hemostemix Hemostemix's patented proprietary platform produces ACP-01 (angiogenic precursors) and NCP-01 (neural precursors) from a patient's own blood. This new research provides a scientific basis of how the combination of ACP-01+NCP-01 promises to overcome the major limitations in BCI implants. The findings align with Hemostemix's vision of licensing ACP-01 and NCP-01 to enhance BCI longevity and functionalities. Forward-Looking Perspective This research paves the way for: Licensing with BCI technology companies to combine autologous stem-cell support of BCI with cutting-edge patient-based angiogenic and neural interfaces. Rapid preclinical and clinical testing of ACP-01 + NCP-01 at BCI implant sites. "We imagine a world where the environment for BCI, the patient's brain, augmented by the patients' own stem cells, improves the longevity of the implants from months to a lifetime, improves signal fidelity to increase functional movement, and increases learning and memory retention," stated Dr. Fraser Henderson, lead author. "I want to thank Dr. Henderson and Ms. Tuchman for this very thorough exposition of the benefits of using one's own DNA structured as ACP & NCP to improve BCIs. Truly, this is incredible work. Coupled with our market analyses of the top three BCI companies, shareholders can expect more news to follow, as Mr. Lawrence, Chief Commercialization Officer and I meet with potential partners," stated Thomas Smeenk, CEO. In Summary Dr. Henderson has outlined a new cell-based approach that may allow brain implants to work reliably for years. By delivering two types of the patient's blood-derived stem cell precursors—one that fights inflammation and boosts blood flow, the other that helps build new neuronal cells—this method could protect and improve the brain at the site of BCI implant. Hemostemix's ready-to-use cell products (ACP-01 and NCP-01) are a direct fit for this approach and could potentially transform how long and well brain-computer interfaces function. ABOUT HEMOSTEMIX Founded in 2003, Hemostemix is a stem-cell therapeutics company with patented technology to generate autologous angiogenic and neural cell precursors from patient blood. Its ACP-01 and NCP-01 cell lines aim to treat cardiovascular, neurological, and implant-related conditions. A winner of the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer Award, the Company has developed, patented, is scaling and selling autologous (patient's own) blood-based stem cell therapy, VesCell™ (ACP-01). Hemostemix has completed seven clinical studies of 318 subjects and published its results in 11 peer reviewed publications. ACP-01 is safe, clinically relevant and statistically significant as a treatment for peripheral arterial disease, chronic limb threatening ischemia, non ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, ischemic cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, and angina. Hemostemix completed its Phase II clinical trial for chronic limb threatening ischemia and published its results in the Journal of Biomedical Research & Environmental Science. As compared to a five year mortality rate of 60% in the CLTI patient population, UBC and U of T reported to the 41st meeting of vascular surgeons: 0% mortality, cessation of pain, wound healing in 83% of patients followed for up to 4.5 years, as a midpoint result. For more information, please visit For further information, please contact: Thomas Smeenk, President, CEO & Co-Founder: EM: tsmeenk@ / PH: 905-580-4170 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined under the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking information. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information in relation to the publication in CELLS of the properties of ACP-01+NCP-01 and the improvement of brain computer interface (BCI) technologies. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects Hemostemix's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Hemostemix and on assumptions Hemostemix believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to: the underlying value of Hemostemix and its Common Shares; the successful resolution of any litigation that Hemostemix is pursuing or defending (the "Litigation"); the results of ACP-01 research, trials, studies and analyses, including the analysis being equivalent to or better than previous research, trials or studies; the receipt of all required regulatory approvals for research, trials or studies; the level of activity, market acceptance and market trends in the healthcare sector; the economy generally; consumer interest in Hemostemix's services and products; competition and Hemostemix's competitive advantages; and, Hemostemix obtaining satisfactory financing to fund Hemostemix's operations including any research, trials or studies, and any Litigation. Forward-looking information is Subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Hemostemix to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: the ability of Hemostemix to complete clinical trials, complete a satisfactory analyses and file the results of such analyses to gain regulatory approval of a phase II or phase III clinical trial of ACP-01; potential litigation Hemostemix may face; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; general capital market conditions and market prices for securities; delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals; the actual results of future operations including the actual results of future research, trials or studies; competition; changes in legislation affecting Hemostemix; the timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; long-term capital requirements and future developments in Hemostemix's markets and the markets in which it expects to compete; lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals; and risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic including various recommendations, orders and measures of governmental authorities to try to limit the pandemic, including travel restrictions, border closures, non-essential business closures service disruptions, quarantines, self-isolations, shelters-in-place and social distancing, disruptions to markets, disruptions to economic activity and financings, disruptions to supply chains and sales channels, and a deterioration of general economic conditions including a possible national or global recession or depression; the potential impact that the COVID-19 pandemic may have on Hemostemix which may include a decreased demand for the services that Hemostemix offers; and a deterioration of financial markets that could limit Hemostemix's ability to obtain external financing. A description of additional risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in Hemostemix's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at Although Hemostemix has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of Hemostemix as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, it is Subject to change after such date. However, Hemostemix expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit
Gizmodo
9 hours ago
- Gizmodo
This Week's ‘Strange New Worlds' Is a Little Too Cute for Its Own Good
Strange New Worlds loves being Star Trek. That's different from, say, Lower Decks, a series that loved being about Star Trek and the metatextual acknowledgement of that to the nerdiest of degrees. Strange New Worlds knows that it is Star Trek and enjoys that: its connection to the original, the warts-and-all embrace of episodic storytelling, its desire to poke and prod at itself endlessly, and its willingness to vacillate its tone from high drama to high camp on a dime. Sometimes, that can make for incredibly good fun. But sometimes, when it's just a little too much, the show can lose itself, not seeing the forest for the trees. Unfortunately, this week's episode leans a bit too much into the latter.'A Space Adventure Hour' is a Star Trek holodeck episode. Well, really, it's an extended excuse to do a Dixon Hill-esque riff and do a holodeck episode despite the fact that shipboard holodeck technology wasn't common in Star Trek until the time of The Next Generation, a century beyond when Strange New Worlds is set. 'A Space Adventure Hour' acquiesces to that—it frames La'an as its primary perspective and the person in charge of testing an experimental holodeck system aboard Enterprise because of her history with holographic battle simulators, seen in Discovery, and even Pike nods to the eventual existence of the Rec Room seen in Star Trek: The Animated Series. It ultimately concludes that the technology isn't there to be used aboard starships yet, setting the stage for its eventual refinement and arrival by the time of TNG. But that's all excuses. 'A Space Adventure Hour' exists because the Strange New World team thought, 'We're a Star Trek show, and you know what Star Trek does? Holodeck episodes.' 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And 'A Space Adventure Hour' does a mostly decent job at hitting those beats, letting the regular cast loosen up and play very different characters from their usual selves, but it doesn't really build on the holodeck stories that come before it so much as it does just point at the expected beats of those stories, going through the motions. At least, until the climax of the murder mystery fizzles out with a 'twist' reveal—more on that later. So it's perhaps better than worse, then, that 'A Space Adventure Hour' isn't really about being a holodeck murder mystery. At least, it's not interested in being a particularly good one: what 'A Space Adventure Hour' is actually about is telling you that the original Star Trek, the show this show is a prequel to, is the greatest television show of all time, one that changed the whole world, and one that should've lasted forever and ever, and any plan to cancel it, or anything like it, is an act of profound hubris and misjudgment. Very funny for that message to come now, in Strange New World's third season, weeks after Paramount announced that it would conclude with a truncated fifth. But anyway! Strange New Worlds is not a particularly subtle TV show, but it's not telling you all this by literally just having characters in Star Trek turn to the camera and go, 'Star Trek is great!' Instead, it is a step removed: the titular 'Space Adventure Hour' and the key connecting conceit of La'an's murder mystery setting is a fictional 1960s sci-fi TV show called The Last Frontier, which has just been cancelled after its first season by a studio executive whose murder sets off the whole whodunnit. Anson Mount plays T.K. Bellows, the shy writer and Last Frontier creator who believes sci-fi shows are a social good and the future of the industry but longs for more, in the vein of a Gene Roddenberry. Rebecca Romijn plays Sunny Lupino, a former model and starlet turned Hollywood producer who backs The Last Frontier because she believes in its potential, our stand-in for Lucille Ball. Paul Wesley is Last Frontier's leading man, Maxwell Saint, a pompous actor playing the ship's machismo-fueled captain, pulling off the most tortured William Shatner impersonation yet committed to screen. Seriously, the pauses are interminable. All the motivations for potential suspects in the executive's murder hinge on the fact that practically everyone involved in The Last Frontier believes in the show as a force for good, even beyond being great television. As more bodies begin to drop and finger-pointing pokes and prods at individual paranoias, as far as pretty much anyone in the holoprogram's cast is concerned, Last Frontier (and through its thin veneer, the original Trek) is unimpeachable. 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And despite what the rest of the episode goes on to do to evangelize its worth, as a parody of the original Star Trek, it's oddly mean. The sets are significantly cheaper-looking than much of what classic Trek ever did, and the script feels like an extended 'Spock's Brain' gag but somehow even more convoluted. The acting (Wesley's Saint is joined by Jess Bush/Chapel and Melissa Navia/Ortegas as actresses Adelaide Shaw and Lee Woods, respectively) is intentionally clunky and ham-fisted, right down to Wesley's exaggerated Shatnerisms. The show all these characters go on to laud as a huge hit and a cultural game changer isn't even close to the original Star Trek's quality; it just kind of sucks. Strange New Worlds has done a much better job of loving homages to the look and direction of Star Trek before—the 'Balance of Terror' homages in season one's 'A Quality of Mercy' remain one of the show's finest hours—so The Last Frontier ends up feeling less like the show being in on a joke and more like the show just laughing at what came before it. It's an especially odd contrast with what the rest of the episode wants to say. But once it's got that unsubtle message out regardless, 'A Space Adventure Hour' remembers that it's technically a holodeck episode and needs to wrap fast, which is where the aforementioned 'twist' comes in. La'an's murder mystery ultimately doesn't really matter, because the mystery plot was an entire misdirect: none of the holoprograms in its setting committed the crime, but instead a holographic rendering of Spock, who was inserted into the program to act as if the real Spock had come to help La'an out with her test. A murderer she never would've expected, she gasps as she figures it out, less because of her personal relationship to Spock but more because the possibility of him being the suspect is thrown from so far out of left field that it doesn't feel set up by the episode itself and more of a gotcha once 'A Space Adventure Hour' remembered that it needed to stop telling you that Star Trek is good and finish its original plot. It's made even more thorny by the fact that this revelation climaxes back aboard Enterprise in reality with La'an going to Spock's quarters to resume dance lessons with him (a thing we're reminded of this episode that he's kept up with her since 'Wedding Bell Blues') and recount her experiences testing the holodeck out and his role in the twist… culminating in the two revealing their romantic interest in each other, sealing it with a kiss. It feels like an odd choice, wherever Strange New Worlds takes this over the course of the rest of the season. Spock's barely moved on from his romance with Nurse Chapel, narratively speaking—a plot that was given a ton of build-up and then all fell apart relatively quickly once they got together. La'an herself was already given a will-they-won't-they romantic arc with a legacy Trek character last season with Kirk, even if it ended unrequited. Especially given how 'Wedding Bell Blues' already used its three-month timeskip to justify La'an immediately compartmentalizing her traumatic history with the Gorn, it feels bizarre to just thrust her into a second romantic arc so quickly, like these are the only two options available to her as a character. It's a peculiar end to a peculiar episode, one that never quite manages to extend its charms long enough to effectively communicate what it wants. Strange New Worlds has gotten by on its charms an awful lot over its past seasons, but perhaps it's becoming increasingly visible that those charms have a limit. Want more io9 news? 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Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why some underwater earthquakes cause tsunamis – and others, just little ripples
After a massive earthquake off the coast of Kamchatka, a peninsula in the far east of Russia, on July 30 2025, the world watched as the resultant tsunami spread from the epicentre and across the Pacific Ocean at the speed of a jet plane. In some local areas, such as in Russia's northern Kuril Islands, tsunami waves reached heights of over three metres. However, across the Pacific there was widespread relief in the hours that followed as the feared scenario of large waves striking coastal communities did not materialise. Why was this? Not all underwater earthquakes result in tsunamis. For a tsunami to be generated, the Earth's crust at the earthquake site must be pushed upwards in a movement known as vertical displacement. This typically occurs during reverse faulting, or its shallow-angled form known as thrust faulting, where one block of the Earth's crust is forced up and over another, along what is called a fault plane. It is no coincidence that this type of faulting movement occurred at a subduction zone on 'the Pacific ring of fire', where the dense oceanic Pacific plate is being forced beneath the less dense Eurasian continental plate. These zones are known for generating powerful earthquakes and tsunamis because they are sites of intense compression, which leads to thrust faulting and the sudden vertical movement of the seafloor. Indeed, it was the ring of fire that was also responsible for the two most significant tsunami-generating earthquakes of recent times: the 2004 Indonesian Boxing Day and March 2011 Tohoku earthquakes. Why did the Indonesian and Japanese earthquakes generate waves over 30 metres high, but the recent magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Kamchatka (one of the strongest ever recorded) didn't? The answer lies in the geology involved in these events. In the case of the 2004 Indonesian tsunami, the sea floor was measured to have risen by up to five metres within a rupture zone of 750,000 sq km. For the tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011, estimates indicate the seafloor was thrust upwards by nearly three metres within a rupture zone of 90,000 sq km. Preliminary data from the recent Kamchatka event has been processed into what geologists call a finite fault model. Rather than representing the earthquake as a single point, these models show where and how the crust ruptured, including the length of that rupture in Earth's crust, its depth and what direction it followed. The model results show that the two sides of the fault slipped by up to ten metres along a fault plane of 18°, resulting in about three metres of vertical uplift. Think of it like walking ten metres up an 18° slope: you don't rise ten metres into the air, you only rise about three metres, because most of your movement is forward rather than upward. However, since much of this occurred at depths greater than 20km (over an area of 70,000 sq km) the seabed displacement would probably have been reduced as the overlying rock layers absorbed and diffused the motion before it reached the surface. For comparison, the associated slippage for the Tohoku and Indonesian events was as shallow as 5km in places. An added complication So, while the size of sea floor uplift is key to determining how much energy a tsunami begins with, it is the processes that follow – as the wave travels and interacts with the coastline – that can transform an insignificant tsunami into a devastating wall of water at the shore. As a tsunami travels across the open ocean it is often barely noticeable – a long, low ripple spread over tens of kilometres. But as it nears land, the front of the wave slows down due to friction with the seabed, while the back continues at speed, causing the wave to rise in height. This effect is strongest in places where the sea floor gets shallow quickly near the coast. The shape of the coastline is also important. Bays, inlets and estuaries can act like funnels that further amplify the wave as it reaches shore. Crescent City in California is a prime example. Fortunately however, when the wave arrived in Crescent City on July 30 2025, it reached a height of just 1.22 metres – still the highest recorded in the continental US. So, not every powerful undersea earthquake leads to a devastating tsunami — it depends not just on the magnitude, but on how much the sea floor is lifted and whether that vertical movement reaches the ocean surface. In the case of the recent Russian quake, although the slip was substantial, much of it occurred at depth, meaning the energy wasn't transferred effectively to the water above. All of this shows that while earthquake size is important, it's the precise characteristics of the rupture that truly decide whether a tsunami becomes destructive or remains largely insignificant. Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Matthew Blackett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
