Latest news with #ScienceAlert
The Sun
2 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
Deadly brain-eating parasite is found in ‘contaminated' salad bags sold in UK supermarkets – 7 symptoms to watch out for
HEALTH warnings have been issued over salad bags due to potentially deadly contamination fears. The popular ready-to-eat product sold across UK supermarkets has been associated with a rise in food poisoning cases. 1 Research carried out by the journal Eurosurveillance highlighted the contamination fears reported across 10 European countries, including the UK. This came after over 4% of the leaves in salad samples, tested between October 2021 and September 2022, were found to be contaminated with toxoplasma gondii oocysts. "The parasite Toxoplasma gondii can cause severe disease in humans," the research said. "People can acquire the parasite by eating raw or undercooked infected meat or unwashed fruits or vegetables contaminated with the parasite. "We wanted to investigate T. gondii in commercial ready-to eat (RTE) salads in European countries to estimate the importance of these food products as sources of T. gondii." The bacteria, which can be passed on through contact with cat faeces, has been known to contaminate food and water. This makes salad that is washed or watered with dirty water a prime place for bacteria to grow. According to research cited by Science Alert, this bacteria "can seriously disrupt the brain function of intermediate hosts, potentially including humans". The National Institute of Health previously reported that half of the UK population show signs of past infection by the age of 50. They added that once acquired, these parasites remain in human tissues for life. 'Contaminated' children's cough syrup recalled nationwide over ingredient inside that could kill – parents must act now Health risks This can cause a problem later in life for people who have a weakened immune system, often a result cancer treatments or immunosuppressant drugs. The Food Standards Agency recommended the best action to take to combat this outbreak. "[Always] wash fruit and vegetables with water before you eat them to make sure that they are clean," the experts advised. "You should wash them under a running tap, or in a bowl of fresh water, making sure to rub their skin under the water." While toxoplasmosis is not usually serious and normally gets better on its own, the NHS highlighted that it can cause serious problems in certain situations. This includes if you get it while you're pregnant or have a weakened immune system . If you have a weakened immune system toxoplasmosis may cause problems with your eyes, brain, heart, or lungs. And if you experience more severe symptoms such as confusion, blurred vision, or slurred speech, you should also seek medical help. Positive samples across Europe Samples of the leaves were collected in the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Spain as well as the UK. Majority of the positive samples were collected in winter and packaged in the UK, France, Portugal, Spain, and Denmark. Scientists have urged for better control measures to help protect prevent infection. "This is particularly relevant since ready-to-eat salads are intended to be consumed raw without any further treatment by the consumer," they pointed out. "Future work should investigate presence of [the parasite] in different steps of the ready-to-eat production to minimise infection risk for humans." Rise in food poisoning cases The warning follows alerts relating to a significant rise in serious food poisoning cases. The latest annual data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that Campylobacter infections increased by 17% between 2023 and 2014 - from 60,055 to 70,352. According to UKHSA, this represents the highest number of cases recorded in the past decade. Meanwhile, Salmonella infections also reached a decade high, according to data. They rose by with a 17% as well, from 8,872 cases in 2023 to 10,388 cases in 2024.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Orcas' Strange Beauty Routine Revealed by Scientists For The First Time
Sometimes we all need a kelping hand – or fin. For the first time, orcas have been recorded making and using tools, fashioning pieces of kelp so that they can groom each other as they swim. The new discovery in these remarkable animals (Orcinus orca) isn't just a wonderful example of reciprocal aid. It displays several aspects of cognition and culture in a format that we had never seen in orcas before. "We found that southern resident killer whales regularly use lengths of bull kelp during social interactions, apparently as a tool to groom one another," says marine zoologist Michael Weiss of the Center for Whale Research in the US. "To find that the whales were not just using but also manufacturing tools, and that these objects were being used in a way never before reported in marine mammals, was incredibly exciting." Related: Orcas Have a Killer Technique to Hunt The Biggest Fish in The Ocean The use of tools is thought to be an important marker of intelligence in non-human animals. Although cetaceans are highly intelligent, tool use among them is not widely documented. That's at least partially because their habitat – the ocean – makes them difficult to observe. Nevertheless, we have seen tool use in bottlenose dolphins, which use sea sponges to protect their beaks while foraging. Orcas have the second-largest brain found in nature, and are among the most intelligent animals known. So it's tremendously exciting to find that they are capable of creating a tool to make their lives better. Weiss and his colleagues have been studying the critically endangered southern resident population of orcas that lives in the Salish Sea, a group with fewer than 80 members. In recent years, drone technology has dramatically upgraded our ability to observe orcas in their natural habitat, and scientists have been taking full advantage of the opportunity. "We began using a new drone to observe the whales that allowed us to see the whales and their behavior in much greater detail," Weiss explained to ScienceAlert. "We quickly started seeing whales carrying these small pieces of kelp and pressing them between each other. Once we had observed several pairs doing this behavior on multiple days, we started to think that something scientifically interesting was occurring here." On seven occasions, the orcas were seen snapping the ends off pieces of bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana), then pressing the stalk between their bodies. In an eighth case, an orca just found a suitable piece of kelp floating in a kelp mat. As they swam with their bodies pressed together, the orca pairs would roll the piece of the kelp back and forth between them for extended periods. We don't know exactly why the whales do this, but we can make a pretty good guess. Some species of cetacean, including orcas, like to frolic amid flotillas of seaweed. This is called kelping, and it helps keep their skin healthy, sloughing off dead cells and parasites. The new behavior, which Weiss and his colleagues call allokelping, is likely the next level of this form of grooming – one which confers greater benefits than just swimming through kelp. "It certainly does appear to be a social activity, and might help reinforce social bonds like other forms of grooming," Weiss explained. "Unlike swimming through a kelp mat or a kelp forest, pairs of whales can allokelp 'on the go', continuing to travel with the rest of the pod. I also suspect that they're able to target specific areas more precisely and exert greater pressure than if they were just swimming through kelp on their own." Although orcas around the world are all categorized as a single species, they don't really behave as one. Distinct populations, called ecotypes, have their own habitats, their own languages, their own hunting and dietary strategies. There are physical and genetic differences between them, and they don't intermingle or interbreed. Other orca ecotypes have been observed grooming themselves in ways that don't involve fashioning tools, such as rubbing themselves on pebble beaches. Weiss and his team believe that allokelping may be a behavior that is culturally unique to the southern resident orca population. It's a finding that highlights the importance of studying and understanding this tiny population of orcas, in order to better protect them and their habitat. "What's surprising is how much we still have to learn about this population, despite them having been studied in great detail since the 1970s!" Weiss said. "More research is very much needed to better understand the development and function of this behavior. We are very interested to see how allokelping might impact other social behaviors, as an indication of a function in social bonding. We're also keen to conduct more detailed analysis of allokelping and skin condition over time to determine what benefit the behavior is giving the whales." The research has been published in Current Biology. New Discovery of Deep Sea 'Spiders' Is Unlike Anything We've Seen Before Entire Genus of Jumping Spiders Found Hidden in New Zealand New Clues Emerge on How Life Survived 'Snowball Earth'
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
Eerie discovery at Egyptian burial site with chilling messages on coffins
�A burial site in Egypt has been uncovered by archaeologists which is believed to have been used by people from working and middle class backgrounds instead of the elite When people think about Egyptian discoveries, they often conjure images of pharaohs and high-ranking officials, their tombs lavishly decorated with precious artefacts, ornate coffins, and detailed cartouches revealing the identity of the interred. However, a recent find consisting of dozens of 2,000 year old burials near the Saqqara necropolis has shed light on the lives of ordinary folk from that era. As reported by Science Alert, it's believed this discovery represents the final resting place of individuals from working and middle-class backgrounds, rather than the societal elite. During a September 2018 excavation, Polish Egyptologist Kamil Kuraszkiewicz from the University of Warsaw and his team were working in an area situated between the world's oldest pyramid, Djoser, and a location known as the dry moat. The dry moat is essentially a regular ditch, approximately 20 metres deep and 40 metres wide, encircling the 4,600 year old structure, reports the Mirror US. "Most of the mummies we discovered last season were very modest," Kuraszkiewicz told the Polish Press Agency. "They were only subjected to basic embalming treatments, wrapped in bandages and placed directly in pits dug in the sand." This significant find follows decades of work by Polish archaeologists in Egypt, who have been instrumental in excavating the expansive "city of the dead" to uncover its hidden secrets. The Saqqara necropolis, the ancient burial ground for the capital of Memphis and various Royal families over thousands of years, offers a unique window into the funerary customs of ancient Egyptians. However, the site poses significant challenges to archaeologists, including numerous bodies not interred in tombs, deteriorating wooden coffins, and centuries of looting. Despite the site's degradation, one coffin still bore enough decoration to discern some details. A necklace was depicted on the lid of the casket, positioned where the mummy's neck would have been. Further down, imitation hieroglyphs were found, but to the scientists' disappointment, they did not reveal the identity of the casket's occupant. These symbols were deemed utterly nonsensical, providing little insight. Nevertheless, this discovery provides a haunting glimpse into how someone was significant enough to warrant an attempt at replicating elements of the elite's burial process. Despite these burials being simpler and more modest compared to the opulent tombs discovered in other parts of the necropolis, the mummies reveal that common folk shared similar funerary customs with the affluent. It seems artists attempted to emulate the burial rites of the wealthy, even if they didn't fully comprehend them, in an effort to bestow dignity upon the deceased. Kuraszkiewicz shed light on the discovery, stating: "Apparently, the artisan who painted it could not read, and perhaps he tried to recreate something that he had seen before. In any case, some of the painted shapes are not hieroglyphic signs, and the whole does not form a coherent text." The Warsaw-based researcher described the coffin as "Beautifully clumsy", revealing two depictions of Anubis - the jackal-headed guardian of the Egyptian underworld - at its foot. What caught their attention was the unusual blue colour used for both figures, as typically, these mythological creatures are depicted in black. The team couldn't pinpoint why the artist chose blue, speculating that they might have been unfamiliar with artistic norms or it could be a nod to the deity's precious hair. Unfortunately, there wasn't much else to go on, as the coffin had been plundered long ago and the burial mask, which would have offered additional crucial clues, was missing.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Your Breathing Pattern Is as Unique as a Fingerprint, Study Finds
Every single human on this planet is as distinct as a snowflake; a combination of traits and genes and microbes that, as far as we can tell, is not replicated exactly in any other single human. One traits that is unique to each individual is the breath that sustains us. Each person has an idiosyncratic pattern to the constant inhale-exhale that counts out our hours, days, and years on this planet. That's what a team of scientists discovered after fitting people with a wearable device that monitored their nasal breathing. An analysis of the data revealed patterns that were detailed enough for the researchers to identify individuals with an accuracy of 96.8 percent. This 'respiratory fingerprint', says a team led by brain scientist Timna Soroka of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, could promote new ways to understand and treat physical and mental ailments. "You would think that breathing has been measured and analyzed in every way," says neuroscientist Noam Sobel of the Weizmann Institute of Science. "Yet we stumbled upon a completely new way to look at respiration. We consider this as a brain readout." We can take breathing somewhat for granted, but it's governed by a complex and extensive brain network that largely automates the process, permitting for conscious control by the individual when circumstances require – such as holding one's breath when jumping into water, for instance. Soroka, Sobel, and their colleagues at the Weizmann Olfaction Research Group have been investigating the way the brain processes scent during inhalation. During this research, they made the very small leap towards studying the concept of a breath-print. "The idea of using an individual's breathing pattern as a unique signature has been discussed for decades within the respiratory science community. You can easily see each person's uniqueness when you measure different people," Soroka told ScienceAlert. "However, there was no convenient way to measure it until now. The development of a tiny wearable device capable of recording over extended periods allowed us to measure 100 participants over 24 hours. This, in turn, enabled us to present the concept in a much more compelling way." The researchers developed a device that precisely monitors and logs the airflow through each nostril of the wearer. Then, they tasked 97 study participants with wearing the device for up to 24 hours. From just one hour of recording, the researchers achieved an accurate identification rate of 43 percent, Soroka said. This accuracy skyrocketed at 24 hours. The resulting breath log was then analyzed using a protocol known as BreathMetrics, which examines 24 parameters of the individual's nasal respiration. Since respiration is usually only measured for short periods of time – around 20 minutes or so – the resulting dataset was far more comprehensive than usually seen, giving a much more comprehensive view of each individual's respiration, from rest to exertion. "We expected to be able to identify individuals," Soroka said, "but not that it would be so strong." The researchers did not just find that an individual can be confidently identified based on their breathing pattern; the results also revealed what those breathing patterns can indicate about a person. There's the usual gamut of activities. A person at rest will have a distinct breathing pattern as opposed to someone out on a constitutional jog, for instance. The researchers also found that a person's breathing correlates with their BMI. The study participants were tasked with filling out questionnaires about their mental health. Those participants with self-reported anxiety issues generally had shorter inhales and more variability in the pauses between their breaths while sleeping. While not the purpose of the study, this indicates an avenue for further investigation. People undergoing significant stress or panic are given breathing exercises to help mitigate their symptoms. Perhaps working on conscious breathing could be more helpful than we thought. The next step, however, will be how this research might be applied to diagnostics, Soroka said. "We can learn how specific breathing patterns may predict various diseases," she explained. "But of course, in the future we will examine whether we can also treat disease by modifying respiratory patterns." The research has been published in Current Biology. Ozempic Without Nausea: Brain Cell Discovery Could Change Weight-Loss Drugs Popular 'What I Eat in a Day' Videos Could Have 5 Dangerous Downsides A Forgotten Cancer Is Surging in Young People, And Experts Are Puzzled
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
New Tyrannosaur Species Could Be a Missing Link to The Giants
Long before Tyrannosaurus rex stalked the planet, a Dragon Prince reigned supreme. Paleontologists have discovered a new 'missing link' species that cleared the way for the iconic giant carnivores. The new mid-size tyrannosaur, which lived about 86 million years ago, has been named Khankhuuluu mongoliensis – a name that translates to "Dragon Prince of Mongolia" in honor of where it was found. "We wanted to capture that Khankhuuluu was an early and smaller species, so a prince, rather than a king like its much larger tyrannosaur descendants," Darla Zelenitsky, paleontologist at the University of Calgary in Canada, tells ScienceAlert. Together with fellow UCalgary paleontologist Jared Voris, Zelenitsky co-led a study describing the new species based on two partial skeletons that had been gathering dust in a museum collection since the early 1970s. As far as famous 'tyrant lizard' predators go, Khankhuuluu was a middleweight. It stood about 2 meters (6.6 feet) tall at the hips, was twice that long nose-to-tail, and tipped the scales at around 750 kilograms (1,650 pounds). By comparison, T. rex was estimated to grow up to 13 meters long and weigh up to 8.8 tonnes. Of course, evolving to such a massive size didn't happen overnight. It was long presumed that these colossal apex predators evolved from tiny ancestors, like Suskityrannus and Moros intrepidus, which both stood around 1 meter tall. Logically, the road between those two extremes should be paved with middle-sized species. The fossil record has been patchy in that regard, unfortunately. Khankhuuluu, which lived some 20 million years earlier than Tyrannosaurus, helps plug that gap. "Khankhuuluu represents a transitional form from some even smaller 'tyrannosauroid' ancestors to those giant apex predator tyrannosaurs," Voris tells ScienceAlert. "It had long, slender legs, likely making a very agile predator, and its skull was lightly built, not capable of delivering such powerful bone crushing bite forces as its tyrannosaur descendants." Its discovery also implies a complicated history for tyrannosaurs. Khankhuuluu hailed from what is now Asia, far from where its more giant relatives would appear in North America. Over a span of a few million years the family gave rise to a range of massive species like Gorgosaurus and Thanatotheristes before returning across the Bering land bridge. Back in Asia, tyrannosaurs diversified again, this time into two distinct clades: Tyrannosaurini, which were massive apex predators with deep snouts like Tarbosaurus; and Alioramini, which were smaller and had long, narrow snouts like Qianzhousaurus. Eventually, some of the Tyrannosaurini wandered back to North America to try to make it big in Hollywood, leading to household names like Tyrannosaurus rex. Evolution probably would have continued playing this ancient game of Catan if it wasn't for that asteroid flipping the table and losing most of the pieces about 66 million years ago. Signs of this back-and-forth journey are in agreement with other recent studies on tyrannosaur family history. It also helps explain why the closest-known relative of T. rex isn't, say, Daspletosaurus — which stalked the same turf just 10 million years earlier – but is instead Tarbosaurus, a cousin that lived a whole continent away. The study also finds some interesting quirks in how tyrannosaurs in North America and Asia filled different ecological niches. "Both the North America and Asian ecosystems had mid-sized predators that were tyrannosaurs, but this was achieved in different ways," Zelenitsky tells ScienceAlert. "In Asia, there were two very different forms of tyrannosaur species in the same ecosystem. Forms like Tarbosaurus would have filled the giant apex predator role, whereas the alioramins were the smaller, fleet-footed, mid-sized predators." But it turns out that T. rex was such a spotlight-hog that it claimed both niches for itself. "In the last 2 million years of the Cretaceous Period, just before the mass extinction event, Tyrannosaurus was the only tyrannosaur in North America that we know of," says Zelenitsky. "The juveniles were smaller, fleet-footed animals with shallow snouts that would have taken down smaller prey than their adult counterparts. They would have essentially filled the mid-sized predator niche, rather than the apex predator niche of the adults." Of course, none of this would have been possible without the overlooked middle children like Khankhuuluu. We welcome the new prince to the dinosaur royal family, alongside the king (and, if you believe some controversial studies, the queen and the emperor). The research was published in the journal Nature. The World's Largest Organism Is Slowly Being Eaten First Evidence of a Sauropod's Last Meal Shows How They Ate Their Food Videos Show Chimpanzees Using The Forest as Their Drumkit
