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India.com
5 days ago
- Science
- India.com
Scientists found mysterious black eggs 20000 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean, inside they found...
Representational Image/AI-generated In a remarkable discovery scientists discovered mysterious jet black eggs sitting on the ocean floor at a depth of more than 20000 feet, but what was discovered inside was even more stunning and jaw-dropping because it changed many preconceived notion about invertebrate marine life existing at such depths. Where were the eggs found? According to media reports, the eggs were discovered in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 6,200 meters (about 20,341 feet) by a team of researchers from Tokyo University and Hokkaido University in Japan, when they exploring the ocean floor with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The eggs, ominous-looking and pitch black in color, were found in what is known as the 'abyssopelagic zone', the deepest part of the ocean floor. Yasunori Kano, a marine researcher at the University of Tokyo decide to retrieve and study the eggs, but could only recover four of them as the rest were broken or badly damaged. What was inside the black eggs? Kano sent the eggs to invertebrate biologists at Hokkaido University, who discovered that these were actually tiny tiny cocoons hosting flatworms inside. Keiichi Kakui, a marine biologist at Hokkaido University who co-authored the research on the eggs published in the journal Biology Letters said he had 'never seen flatworm cocoons'. Kakui told IFLScience that a milky white liquid substance leaked from the eggs when they cut one open. Inside, they found discovered tiny white bodies encased in a shell, and realized that it was a cocoon with platyhelminths, commonly known as flatworms. Why the discovery is significant? As per researchers, this is the first instance when flatworms have been found at such depths. Earlier, flatworms had been discovered at depths of up to 5,200 meters. The latest discovery has pushed the limits of how deep invertebrates like flatworms could exist beneath the oceans. According to the study, DNA analysis of the eggs/cocoons revealed that these flatworms were an undiscovered species under the phylum Platyhelminth. However, despite being the 'the deepest known record of free-living platyhelminths,' the flatworms are not much different from the ones that live in shallow waters, according to the researchers.
Hindustan Times
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Will Baba Vanga's 2025 predictions come true? Experts say panic over prophecies unfounded
A wave of anxiety is sweeping across Asia as two separate prophecies, one from a late Japanese manga artist and other from framed Bulgarian mystic Baba Vanga, have sparked growing fears of disaster in 2025. Despite there being no scientific basis for these doomsday claims, it has caused fear in some. Representational image.(Unsplash) Japanese manga artist predicts July 2025 disaster At the heart of the panic is Ryo Tatsuki, a manga artist known for her 1999 book The Future I Saw, Ladbible reported. Among several eerily timed predictions, one idea has now grabbed international attention: a prophecy about a catastrophic event in southern Japan on July 5, 2025, with visions of the ocean 'boiling'. After the recent earthquake in Myanmar and a fresh government report warning of possible mega-quakes near Japan's Nankai Trough, rumor mills have been buzzing. Ladbible reported travel cancelations have surged, particularly from Hong Kong, with airlines cutting flights and Tokushima's tourism board expressing concern over what they dubbed 'unscientific rumors' impacting the region. Also read: Fourth of July: New study warns there's 'no safe amount' of hot dogs to eat Baba Vanga's prophecies for 2025 Meanwhile, legendary clairvoyant Baba Vanga, who is often called 'Nostradamus of the Balkans', is again making headlines for her alleged predictions about 2025. According to another Mirror report, Baba Vanga had predicted a 'great war' between East and West which could take place in the spring after Syria's fall, potentially triggering World War III. Her prediction came to notice after the tensions between Israel and Iran heightened recently. The Mirror report added she also predicted economic crisis, development of telepathy, and establishment of contact between humans and extraterrestrials. Scientists push back However, experts have firmly dismissed both Tatsuki and Vanga's claims. Professor Sekiya Naoya of Tokyo University was quoted in the Ladbible report as saying even with modern science, it cannot be predicted when and where a earthquake will occur. Meanwhile disaster mitigation expert Kimiro Meguro added that the doomsday prophecy is just a rumor and it has no scientific basis. Meguro noted speculations like these only stoke fear and misinformation. Reportedly, even local leaders have expressed frustration; Governor Yoshihiro Murai reportedly criticized spread of such unverified predictions and claimed it was a 'major problem' that information based on unscientific evidence was being widely circulated and impacting tourism. FAQs Q: What did Baba Vanga predict for 2025? A: She allegedly foresaw a massive war between East and West, contact with aliens, and the development of telepathy. Q: Who is Ryo Tatsuki, and what did she predict? A: Tatsuki, a Japanese manga artist, predicted the ocean near southern Japan would 'boil' on July 5, 2025, in a 1999 publication. Her predictions are gaining traction online, though experts dismiss them. Q: Can earthquakes really be predicted? A: No. Seismologists agree that current scientific developments do not allow for precise prediction of earthquakes in terms of time or location.
Free Malaysia Today
16-06-2025
- Science
- Free Malaysia Today
Why does your cat ignore you?
With cats, total indifference is the highest form of flattery. (Envato Elements pic) PARIS : It is often believed that cats deliberately ignore us. But in reality, this apparent coldness hides a sophisticated form of olfactory recognition. Indeed, a Japanese study published in the journal PLOS One reports that domestic cats identify their owners mainly by their scent. As such, they know they these familiar humans are part of their inner circle. As part of this study, Yutaro Miyairi and colleagues at Tokyo University of Agriculture conducted a revealing smell test with 30 domestic cats – 11 males and 19 females, with an average age of seven – in their owners' homes. Each animal had to identify three samples: the scent of its owner, that of a stranger, and a control tube with no scent. The samples were collected from behind the ears, under the armpits, and between the toes, after asking participants to avoid alcohol, tobacco, spices and perfumes. The researchers found that the cats spent significantly less time sniffing their owner's scent than that of a stranger. This difference suggests immediate recognition: familiar scents require only a brief check. According to the researchers, this shorter sniffing time suggests that cats quickly recognise their owners' scent before moving on to something else. When faced with an unfamiliar person, they investigate longer to gather information. The study also reveals that cats prefer to use their right nostril to analyse unfamiliar smells, then switch to the left once the information has been processed. This mechanism suggests that the right hemisphere of their brain processes new information, while the left hemisphere handles routine information. Smell as social compass Another intriguing discovery was that many cats did not simply sniff the odours presented to them by the researchers. They frequently rubbed their faces against the sample tubes, favouring the side that had just been used for exploration. This behaviour indicates a direct link between olfactory exploration and territorial marking. If your cat spends time sniffing a visitor, it simply means his or her scent is new to them. (Envato Elements pic) Personality also influences these olfactory behaviours: more anxious cats first examine the odourless tubes, while the more sociable ones head for their owner's sample. In males, this correlation is particularly marked: the most anxious cats make multiple trips back and forth, while the more serene creatures explore calmly. All these discoveries teach us a little more about our feline friends. When your cat sulks when you return from vacation, it may be because you smell unusual. Try taking a shower with your usual products and putting your old clothes back on to make it easier for your cat to warm to you again. Similarly, if your cat spends all its time sniffing a visitor, don't be jealous. This sign of attention simply means that the scent is new to them. Indeed, smell is king of the feline senses: only 54% of cats recognize human faces, as Julia Henning, a PhD student in feline behaviour at the University of Adelaide, points out in an article in The Conversation. But a smell, they never forget. So 'cat parents' can rest assured: your scent has earned you entry into the very exclusive club of 'trusted smells' – those that can be safely ignored.
The Independent
29-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Your cat may not show it – but it definitely knows your scent
Cats can tell their owners apart from strangers from the scent of their human companions, a new study reveals. Researchers from the Tokyo University of Agriculture say cats tend to spend a longer time sniffing the odour of a stranger than that of their owner, suggesting they can recognise familiar humans quickly based on smell. Previous studies have shown that cats use their sense of smell to identify other felines and communicate with each other. Whether they can also use scent to distinguish between humans has been unclear, however. The latest study, published on Wednesday in the journal PLoS, sought to find out if cats could tell familiar and unfamiliar humans apart based on smell alone. Researchers tested 30 domestic cats by presenting them with plastic tubes containing swabs rubbed under the armpit, behind the ear, and between the toes of either their owner or a human they had never met. They asked the cat owners to complete an online questionnaire to assess their pet's personality and their relationship. They observed that the study cats spent significantly longer sniffing an unknown odour than that of their owner or an empty tube. The felines tended to sniff unknown odours with their right nostril initially before switching to the left nostril as they became more familiar with the smell. Researchers found that male cats with seemingly neurotic personalities tended to sniff each tube repetitively. To the contrary, males with more agreeable personalities sniffed the tubes more calmly. No such effect of personality was seen on the behaviour of female cats during the experiment, according to the study. The findings suggest domestic cats can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar humans based on their odour. It is still unclear, however, whether they identify specific humans based on smell alone. The research also reveals that cats have a right nostril preference for investigating new smells, indicating they may favour different hemispheres of their brain for different tasks. This phenomenon has previously been seen in other animals such as dogs, fish and birds. 'We suggest that cats use their olfaction for the recognition of humans. Also, we record characteristic rubbing behaviour occurring after sniffing, indicating that sniffing may be an exploratory behaviour preceding the rubbing of odour in cats,' the study notes. 'This relationship warrants further investigation along with the theory of whether cats are able to recognize a specific person from olfactory cues.'
BBC News
28-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Cats distinguish their owner's scent from stranger's, study finds
Domestic cats can tell the difference between the smell of their owner and that of a stranger, a new study study by Tokyo University of Agriculture found cats spent significantly longer sniffing tubes containing the odours of unknown people compared to tubes containing their owner's suggests cats can discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar humans based on their odour, the researchers say, but that it is unclear whether they can identify specific are known to use their strong sense of smell to identify and communicate with other cats, but researchers had not yet studied whether they can also use it to distinguish between people. Previous studies of human recognition by cats have shown they are able to distinguish between voices, interpret someone's gaze to find food, and change their behaviour according to a person's emotional state that is recognised via their the study published on Wednesday, researchers presented 30 cats with plastic tubes containing either a swab containing the odour of their owner, a swab containing the odour of a person of the same sex as their owner who they had never met, or a clean swabs containing odours had been rubbed under the armpit, behind the ear, and between the toes of the owner or spent significantly more time sniffing the odours of unknown people compared to those of their owner or the empty tube, suggesting they can discriminate between the smells of familiar and unfamiliar people, the researchers idea of sniffing an unknown stimulus for longer has been shown before in cats - weaned kittens sniff unknown female cats for longer compared to their the researchers cautioned that it cannot be concluded the cats can identify specific people such as their owner."The odour stimuli used in this study were only those of known and unknown persons," said one of the study's authors, Hidehiko Uchiyama."Behavioural experiments in which cats are presented with multiple known-person odour stimuli would be needed, and we would need to find specific behavioural patterns in cats that appear only in response to the owner's odour." Serenella d'Ingeo, a researcher at the University of Bari who was not involved in this study but who has studied cat responses to human odours, also said the results demonstrated cats react differently to familiar and unfamiliar smells, but that conclusions couldn't be drawn over their motivations."We don't know how the animal felt during the sniffing... We don't know for instance whether the animal was relaxed or tense," she d'Ingeo added that the presentation of samples to cats by their own owners, who naturally added their own odour to the environment, could have increased the cats' interest in the unfamiliar ones."In that situation, owners present not only their visual presence but also their odour," she said."So of course if they present other odours that are different from their personal one, in a way they engage more the cat."The study's authors concluded that "cats use their olfaction [smell] for the recognition of humans".They also noted cats rubbed their faces against the tubes after sniffing - which cats do to mark their scent on something - indicating that sniffing may be an exploratory behaviour that precedes odour researchers cautioned that this relationship needs further investigation, along with the theory of whether cats can recognise a specific person from their smell.
