Category: 7. Science

  • How RNA helped build life’s first proteins

    How RNA helped build life’s first proteins

     

    Researchers at University College London have discovered that activated amino acids and sulfur-containing compounds called thiols—both likely present on early Earth—can react in water at neutral pH to form high-energy thioesters. These thioesters transfer the activated amino acids to RNA in a process called RNA aminoacylation, preventing them from joining with free-floating amino acids. These findings suggest that thioesters may have provided the energy needed to unite nucleic acids and amino acids for protein biosynthesis—without the need for enzymes—in Earth’s earliest life-forms.

    Proteins are essential to all life on Earth but, unlike nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA, cannot themselves pass specific sequences to their “offspring.”

    “This is why life coordinates protein synthesis with another molecule, specifically RNA,” says Matthew W. Powner, lead author of the study (Nature 2025, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09388-y).

    In modern cells, enzymes called aminoacyl–transfer RNA (tRNA) synthetases attach amino acids to tRNA, activating them and programming the translation of RNA into proteins. But these enzymes themselves are products of the same genetic code—so how were they made in the first place? “Because you need these proteins to synthesize proteins, it’s a classic chicken-and-the-egg paradox,” Powner says. At life’s origin, these enzymes didn’t exist yet, so the team tried to figure out how amino acids attached to RNA spontaneously in water—the first way life would have had to connect genetic information to functional proteins.

    Developing activated amino acids that react selectively with the 2′,3′-hydroxyl (–OH) groups of the ribose sugar of RNA—without enzymes and with other types of molecules that would be present in a cell or the early Earth at the origins of life—has proven challenging. Past attempts have led to hydrolysis or amino acids reacting with themselves. So the team considered the role that thioesters might play in this process.

    Thioesters are high-energy compounds that are important in many of life’s biochemical processes and, like RNA aminoacylation, have ancient roots in biochemistry that predate the last universal common ancestor of all life on Earth. In the 1990s, Nobel laureate and biochemist Christian de Duve came up with the “thioester world” hypothesis, which posits that, based on their central role in metabolism, life’s first reactions must have been “powered” by thioesters.

    After synthesizing and purifying nucleotides, nucleic acids, and activated amino acids, the team added thioesters to water at neutral pH at varying temperatures from ambient to freezing. They found that the thioesters were surprisingly stable in water, avoiding unwanted peptide formation between amino acids. In the presence of double-stranded RNA structures, thioesters selectively attached amino acids to the 2′,3′-diol groups of the ribose sugar at the 3′ of the double strand, even amid bulk water and excess amines.

    The team then tested whether RNA could attach a variety of amino acids in water and found that aminoacylation occurred across all four RNA nucleotides on a broad range of amino acids, including charge residues such as arginine and lysine.

    Finally the researchers investigated how these amino acids that were attached to RNA could be used for peptide synthesis under the same plausible prebiotic conditions. They found that when thioesters react with hydrogen sulfide, they form highly reactive thioacids. Those compounds could then be activated to bond with amino acids, even those attached to RNA—switching on peptide synthesis. Ultimately they found that thioesters were selective for aminoacylating RNA, while thioacids enable peptide bond formation, which allows for the stepwise, controlled synthesis of peptides attached to RNA.“A key step missing from prebiotic studies until now has been the use of chemical free energy transfer reactions to overcome the uphill chemistry of assembling polymers in water,” says Charlie Carter, a biochemist and biophysicist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine who was not involved in this study. “The simplicity of the chemistry used here strongly suggests that it played a significant role in helping to create conditions for life to emerge,” he adds.

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  • Astronomers discover a ‘forbidden’ pulsar fleeing a supernova in a seemingly empty region of the Milky Way

    Astronomers discover a ‘forbidden’ pulsar fleeing a supernova in a seemingly empty region of the Milky Way

    Astronomers have discovered an extraordinary celestial system containing a runaway pulsar fleeing the scene of a massive stellar supernova explosion. What makes this system even more spectacular is the fact that it should be “forbidden” in the empty region of the Milky Way in which it was found.

    The system, given the name “Calvera” after the villain in the 1960 Western “The Magnificent Seven,” exists around 6,500 light-years above the densely populated plane of the Milky Way. In this region, stellar populations are sparse, and stars with the necessary mass needed to go supernova and to birth a neutron star at the heart of a pulsar should be vanishingly rare.

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  • A robot walks on water thanks to evolution’s solution

    A robot walks on water thanks to evolution’s solution

    Robots can serve pizza, crawl over alien planets, swim like octopuses and jellyfish, cosplay as humans, and even perform surgery. But can they walk on water?

    Rhagobot isn’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of a robot. Inspired by Rhagovelia water striders, semiaquatic insects also known as ripple bugs, these tiny bots can glide across rushing streams because of the robotization of an evolutionary adaptation.

    Rhagovelia (as opposed to other species of water striders) have fan-like appendages toward the ends of their middle legs that passively open and close depending on how the water beneath them is moving. This is why they appear to glide effortlessly across the water’s surface. Biologist Victor Ortega-Jimenez of the University of California, Berkeley, was intrigued by how such tiny insects can accelerate and pull off rapid turns and other maneuvers, almost as if they are flying across a liquid surface.

    “Rhagovelia’s fan serves as an inspiring template for developing self-morphing artificial propellers, providing insights into their biological form and function,” he said in a study recently published in Science. “Such configurations are largely unexplored in semi-aquatic robots.”

    Mighty morphin’

    It took Ortega-Jimenez five years to figure out how the bugs get around. While Rhagovelia leg fans were thought to morph because they were powered by muscle, he found that the appendages automatically adjusted to the surface tension and elastic forces beneath them, passively opening and closing ten times faster than it takes to blink. They expand immediately when making contact with water and change shape depending on the flow.

    By covering an extensive surface area for their size and maintaining their shape when the insects move their legs, Rhagovelia fans generate a tremendous amount of propulsion. They also do double duty. Despite being rigid enough to resist deformation when extended, the fans are still flexible enough to easily collapse, adhering to the claw above to keep from getting in the animal’s way when it’s out of water. It also helps that the insects have hydrophobic legs that repel water that could otherwise weigh them down.

    Ortega-Jimenez and his research team observed the leg fans using a scanning electron microscope. If they were going to create a robot based on ripple bugs, they needed to know the exact structure they were going for. After experimenting with cylindrical fans, the researchers found that Rhagovellia fans are actually structures made of many flat barbs with barbules, something which was previously unknown.

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  • Seeking a carbon-capture breakthrough— Harvard Gazette

    Seeking a carbon-capture breakthrough— Harvard Gazette

    What tricks can organic molecules be taught to help solve our planet’s biggest problems?

    That’s the question driving Assistant Professor Richard Y. Liu ’15 as he pushes the frontiers of organic chemistry in pursuit of cleaner synthesis, smarter materials, and new ways to combat climate change.

    Liu’s latest advance, detailed in a new paper in Nature Chemistry, harnesses the power of sunshine to trigger a particular variety of organic molecule. As described in the paper, these “photobases” then rapidly generate hydroxide ions that efficiently and reversibly trap CO₂.

    This innovation in direct air capture marks a significant step toward scalable, low-energy solutions for removing greenhouse gases, Liu said. “What distinguishes this current work is the way we developed molecular switches to capture and release CO₂ with light. The general strategy of using light directly as the energy source is a new approach.”

    Liu’s drive to understand the inner workings of organic chemistry date to his years at Harvard College. “I started out thinking I’d be a physicist,” he said. “But in my first semester, I realized I was much more captivated by the creative act of building molecules in the chemistry lab.”

    Richard Y. Liu.

    File photo by Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer

    Under the guidance of Ted Betley, Erving Professor of Chemistry, Liu uncovered a passion for organic synthesis, or designing and assembling complex structures atom by atom. “My mentor noticed that what really excited me wasn’t the iron complexes we were supposed to be working on,” Liu said. “It was the challenge of making the organic ligands themselves.”

    Betley encouraged Liu to pursue these interests by working with a group led by Eric Jacobsen, Sheldon Emery Professor of Chemistry. There, Liu learned to think about molecules in new ways, to ask big questions, and to take big risks.

    That ethos remained central during his doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Liu worked with chemist Stephen Buchwald to invent new copper and palladium catalysts that allow complex molecules to be prepared from convenient and readily available building blocks.

    Now leading his own lab in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Liu focuses on issues spanning the fields of organic, inorganic, and materials chemistry. His group’s research centers on organic redox platforms, metal-based catalysts for synthesis, and mechanistic studies that reveal how chemical transformations unfold.

    “We’re looking at how to manipulate nonmetals — in molecules that are cheap, abundant, and tunable — to do chemistry traditionally reserved for metals,” Liu said.

    Their work isn’t just theoretical; it’s built for the real world. Liu’s group is also developing new organic materials for energy storage and catalysis, as well as molecules that can capture and activate greenhouse gases. The recent direct air capture development was the product of a collaboration with Daniel G. Nocera, Patterson Rockwood Professor of Energy, and exemplifies the Liu lab’s pursuit of applicable solutions.

    “Direct air capture is one of the most important emerging climate technologies, but existing methods require too much energy,” he said. “By designing molecules that use light to change their chemical state and trap CO₂, we’re demonstrating a path to a more efficient — and possibly solar-powered — future.”

    Also responsible for the discovery is the lab’s interdisciplinary team of chemists, materials scientists, and engineers.

    “We all speak the language of organic synthesis, but each person has an area of deeper expertise — from electrochemistry to sulfur chemistry to computational modeling,” Liu said. “This means we are able to generate new ideas at the intersections.”

    Educating the next generation of scientists is core to that mission, he added. “Ultimately, the research we do here is kind of a platform for training and education,” Liu said. “The projects we do are ultimately for students to have a compelling and complete thesis that earns them their Ph.D. and serves as a springboard for what they’re going to do in the future.”

    Yet the recent disruptions in federal funding present what Liu calls “an existential threat.” The photobase research was supported mainly by Lui’s CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. Its recent cancellation has jeopardized the project’s future while disrupting the work of trainees.

    For now, bridge funding from the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences has helped Liu and his group continue their research. Longer term, he hopes that the country will restore its investments in science.

    “Research done at universities and institutions of higher learning will ultimately reap profits for all of society,” Liu said. “Our research is not driven by profits, but meant to make our discoveries and advancements publicly available for the world’s benefit.”


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  • As the Great Salt Lake Shrinks, Something Unexpected Is Rising to the Surface

    As the Great Salt Lake Shrinks, Something Unexpected Is Rising to the Surface

    The Great Salt Lake once reached depths of up to 1,000 feet and spanned roughly 20,000 square miles, but today, it mostly resembles a parched wasteland. So, when signs of life suddenly began popping up across the drying playa, scientists were perplexed.

    In the last several years, reed-covered mounds have appeared off the lake’s southeast shore. These densely vegetated oases must receive enough freshwater to sustain plant life, but experts weren’t sure where this resource was coming from. Researchers at the University of Utah are working to get to the bottom of this mystery, gradually uncovering a subsurface plumbing system that pumps fresh groundwater into the lake and its surrounding wetlands.

    It appears to be “from a water resource that could be useful in the future, but we need to understand it and not overexploit it to the detriment of the wetlands,” co-researcher William Johnson, a professor of geology and geophysics at U of U, said in a university statement.

    A worsening environmental crisis

    Overexploitation has been one of the primary drivers of the Great Salt Lake’s decline, research shows. Humans have increasingly diverted freshwater from its feeder streams for agriculture and municipal use. As climate change has exacerbated evaporation in this Sun-baked region, the lake’s stressed tributaries have struggled to replenish rapid water loss.

    If used responsibly, this potential new source of freshwater beneath the lakebed could help re-saturate lakebed crusts and reduce hazardous dust pollution blowing into nearby communities. With that goal in mind, Johnson and his colleagues have been using a suite of instruments and data—including piezometers, seepage meters, salinity profiles, and more—to locate underground freshwater deposits.

    Probing beneath the surface

    In February, he hired the Canadian firm Expert Geophysics to conduct aerial electromagnetic surveys over Farmington Bay, located on the lake’s southeastern shore. A helicopter with an airborne electromagnetic sensor hanging beneath it flew in a grid pattern over the bay, transmitting a frequency deep into the lakebed. A receiver then recorded the electromagnetic signals bounding back, gathering data that helps researchers locate freshwater deposits.

    “It’ll give you a spectrum, basically, of magnetic fields, and we’ll use that data to create a 3D image of what’s under the earth,” Jeff Sanderson, a crew leader with Expert Geophysics, said in the U of U statement.

    The wealth of data the researchers have gathered so far suggests a vast freshwater resource potentially extends thousands of feet beneath the cracked lakebed. It appears that immense pressure exerted on this aquifer allows water to rise up through the sediment, albeit very slowly. Thus, Johnson believes the mysterious mounds formed in places where this natural plumbing system delivers fresh groundwater to the surface.

    The team has yet to publish its findings but presented preliminary data in July at the Geochemical Society’s 2025 Goldschmidt conference in the Czech Republic. Next, they will work to map this freshwater resource and determine its age and where it originated from. “The last thing I want to do is get this hyped as a water resource, but it’s very clear, and it’s under pressure,” Johnson said. “And in my mind, it could help mitigate any dust generation on the exposed playa.”

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  • The Colorful Bioengineered Succulents That Actually Glow In The Dark

    The Colorful Bioengineered Succulents That Actually Glow In The Dark





    You’ve spent a ton of time in the garden this season, perfecting everything your eyes can see and your hands can touch. By daylight, your sprawling outdoor paradise is a gorgeous sight to behold, but come nightfall, all your hard work literally fades to black. So, what does one do with this night-clad, soil-and-roots situation, save for a few solar lights here or there? After all, it’s not like plants can just glow in the dark — or can they?

    Horticultural science is a wonderful thing, especially when talented minds come up with a way to make plants gleam majestically in the midnight hour. In a recent study, a research team led by Shuting Liu — a bioengineer at South China Agricultural University — dove into the nitty-gritty of turning common succulents into illumination-enhanced garden fixtures, and we’re champing at the bit to land this flora in our own botanical bastions. Let’s unpack this rather enchanting discovery.

    Phosphors have arrived to give bioluminescence a break

    Up to this point, whenever plants glowed, it was thanks to bioluminescence, a naturally occurring process where chemicals like luciferin, luciferase, and oxygen run the show. Stir this molecular melting pot enough, and you get bioluminescent lighting. Organisms like foxfire fungi and Jack-o-Lantern mushrooms are renowned for their luminescent abilities, as are some species of jellyfish, squid, and fireflies. Scientists have even found three types of glow-in-the dark sharks! 

    Contextually, genetic modification can be a hot-button topic, even as it relates to plant life. Over the years, scientists have harvested bioluminescent materials from various fungi, injecting these chemicals into non-glowing plants, and the results are pretty astonishing. But after a successful batch of succulent experiments — in which phosphors were used to make plants glow, instead of bioluminescent elements — Liu and her team achieved a breakthrough.

    Injecting plant leaves with microscopic afterglow particles has proved to be cheaper than genetic modification and less risky for overall plant health. Liu and her crew hypothesized that the phosphors would allow the succulents to deliver a powerful glow experience (sans photosynthesis), and they were right.

    It took a minute to find the right balance between variables, including soil porosity, injection volume and pressure, and phosphor size, but once Liu’s team settled on the mesophyll cell wall of the succulent’s plant leaves, they struck gold (semi-literally). This is a part of the plant involved in photosynthesis, making it a natural choice for hanging onto Liu’s phosphors. Charge the plants with all-day sunlight or LED bulbs, and you’ve got yourself an armada of glowing succulents.

    What does this mean for our gardens and greenhouses?

    While Liu still plans to conduct long-form testing to ensure the phosphors are not negatively impacting the succulent leaves, the future of bioengineering looks very bright (we couldn’t wait to write that line).

    Not too long from now, we could be walking around in full bioengineered gardens, with several plant types hosting the phosphors that reacted so well to succulent leaves. For now, the plants only hold their glow for about two hours after being exposed to LED light or sunshine, and experimentation is still underway, but depending on how bright and colorful these hypothetical gardens could be, we may not need to worry about wiring up a greenhouse with expensive lighting fixtures. The same goes for on-property walking paths usually lit by light posts staked into the ground.

    Who knew that phosphor-packed plants might one day be responsible for cutting down on our utility bills? Liu’s study is very much still in its infancy, but we’re eager to see how this exciting biotechnology improves and evolves through the coming years. Should the long-term effects prove inconsequential, we could be looking at entire city blocks lit by plant light.



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  • Archaeologists Find Traces of Indigo Dye on 34,000-Year-Old Grinding Tools from Georgia

    Archaeologists Find Traces of Indigo Dye on 34,000-Year-Old Grinding Tools from Georgia

    Archaeologists from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and elsewhere have found traces of indigotin — a blue secondary compound, also known as indigo — on unknapped ground stone tools recovered from Dzudzuana Cave, located in the foothills of the Caucasus in Georgia. Indigotin forms through a reaction between atmospheric oxygen and the natural glycoside precursors in the leaves of Isatis tinctoria. This proves that the plant, despite not being edible, was intentionally processed as early as 34,000 years ago.

    Five pebbles from Dzudzuana Cave, Georgia. Image credit: Longo et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0321262.

    Modern humans first appear in the archaeological record around 300,000 years ago, in Africa.

    Most of the evidence for their cognitive and technological abilities is based on recovered assemblages of chipped stone artifacts and animal bones since these endure far longer in the archaeological record than plants.

    Accordingly, the Paleolithic narrative centers primarily on animal hunting and stone tool manufacture.

    Perishable materials, the so-called ‘missing majority,’ notably plants for which there is growing evidence for their use as food, string and cordage, weaving and medicine, are largely missing, creating a partial narrative.

    There is therefore, a need to identify and demonstrate the use of plants and the roles they played in a wide range of activities, many of which may still be unknown.

    “Rather than viewing plants solely as food resources, as is often the case, we highlight their role in complex operations, likely involving the transformation of perishable materials for use in different phases of daily life among Homo sapiens 34,000 years ago,” said Dr. Laura Longo, an archaeologist at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

    “While research continues to improve the identification of elusive plant-derived residues, typically absent from conventional studies, our multi-analytical approach opens new perspectives on the technological and cultural sophistication of Upper Paleolithic populations, who skilfully exploited the inexhaustible resource of plants, fully aware of the power of plants.”

    In their study, the researchers examined 34,000-year-old stone tools recovered from Dzudzuana Cave in Georgia.

    They found traces of mechanical processing of soft and moist materials, compatible with plant materials such as leaves.

    Using various microscopy techniques (optical and confocal), they unexpectedly revealed blue residues — sometimes fibrous — alongside starch grains.

    These residues were mainly concentrated in the areas of the tools showing visible wear.

    To determine the nature of the blue-colored residues, the scientists employed advanced microspectroscopic techniques, notably Raman and FTIR spectroscopy.

    These analyses confirmed the presence of the indigotin chromophore in several samples.

    “Once the molecule responsible for the blue colour was identified, a new challenge emerged: how and why did these residues become associated with the working surfaces of the tools?” the authors said.

    They then investigated the porosity of the stones — a key factor in their ability to trap and preserve biogenic residues.

    Both microscopic fragments of the archaeological tools and larger samples from experimental replicas were analyzed using micro-CT tomography.

    The analysis confirmed the presence of pores with volumes suitable for retaining micrometric remains.

    As a result, the team designed a series of replicative experiments.

    First, raw lithic materials similar to those used by the prehistoric inhabitants of Dzudzuana were sourced.

    Pebbles were collected by Nino Jakeli from the Nikrisi River, which runs just below the cave.

    Controlled experiments followed, mechanically processing various plants, including those used for fiber production (e.g. bast fibers) and those potentially capable of generating indigotin.

    “We used a stringent approach to contamination control and biomolecular analysis to provide evidence for a new perspective on human behavior, and the applied technical and ecological knowledge that is likely to have prevailed in the Upper Paleolithic,” the reserchers said.

    “Whether this plant was used as a colourant, as medicine, or indeed for both remains unknown, but offers a new perspective on the fascinating possibilities of non-edible plant use.”

    The findings were published online in the journal PLoS ONE.

    _____

    L. Longo et al. 2025. Direct evidence for processing Isatis tinctoria L., a non-nutritional plant, 32-34,000 years ago. PLoS One 20 (5): e0321262; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0321262

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  • Fairy circles may point to clean energy natural hydrogen reserves

    Fairy circles may point to clean energy natural hydrogen reserves

    The race to replace fossil fuels has inspired researchers to explore many unconventional potential sources. Among these, natural hydrogen, which is found deep underground, is gaining attention.

    It is seen as a possible building block for a cleaner energy future. Yet, it remains difficult to predict where this hidden hydrogen lies.


    A recent study from the University of Vienna suggests that mysterious features on Earth’s surface, called fairy circles, could reveal the presence of these underground reserves.

    The round patches, where vegetation is damaged or absent, may point the way to a sustainable energy source.

    What are fairy circles?

    Across many parts of the world, unusual circular patterns appear on the landscape, drawing attention from scientists and local communities alike.

    These formations, known as fairy circles, can be found in regions as distant and varied as Russia, Namibia, Brazil, and Australia.

    They often stand out sharply from the surrounding environment due to the presence of vast rings or depressions with sparse or no vegetation.

    Despite their size – sometimes hundreds of meters across – the depressions themselves are relatively shallow, sinking only a few meters into the ground.

    For decades, these circles remained a geological and ecological mystery. Researchers speculated about many possible explanations, ranging from termite activity to natural gas seepage.

    Questions still remain

    However, no single theory could fully account for their global presence. It wasn’t until roughly ten years ago that a significant breakthrough emerged.

    Scientists discovered that these fairy circles were not just barren patches of land but active sites where natural hydrogen escapes from reservoirs deep underground.

    This finding revealed a surprising connection to one of the cleanest potential energy sources known.

    Still, even with this discovery, questions persisted.

    The mechanisms that shaped these depressions, and the reasons their size might vary depending on the depth and pressure of hydrogen, remained largely unknown. This left both geologists and the energy sector eager for clearer answers.

    Linking hydrogen and fairy circles

    This information is critical for the energy industry. Natural hydrogen carries a negligible carbon footprint, making it an attractive sustainable option.

    “But before expensive drilling can be carried out, we need to understand how fairy circles form, how large the deposits might be and how deep we need to drill,” explained Martin Schöpfer from the University of Vienna and NiMBUC Geoscience.

    A study supported by OMV and led by Schöpfer used geomechanical computer simulations to show why hydrogen-emitting fairy circles sink.

    The simulations revealed that interactions between gas, water flow, and soil create a two-step process that leads to surface collapse.

    Soufflé effect explained

    The team compared the phenomenon to a soufflé. Loose sediments, like sand or clay, sit above solid rock.

    When hydrogen enters the sediment, it pushes water upward, uplifting the surface. Plants suffer from the altered gas mixture and die, leaving bare patches.

    “You could say that the sediment rises like a soufflé, but here geomechanical processes are at work, whereas with a soufflé it is chemical processes,” explained Schöpfer. When the hydrogen flow stops, pressure drops and the sediment compacts.

    “The soil compresses and subsides, similar to a collapsing soufflé,” he added.

    Matching nature and models

    Simulations aligned closely with real fairy circles found in Russia, Brazil, and Australia. The research showed a clear pattern: larger circles indicate deeper and higher-pressure hydrogen sources underground.

    “These findings are a real breakthrough,” emphasizes Bernhard Grasemann, deputy head of the Department of Geology.

    “Fairy circles could thus serve as natural signposts in the future for finding underground hydrogen sources – a potentially inexhaustible and environmentally friendly energy source.”

    Hydrogen from fairy circles matters

    The energy sector is closely watching these developments.

    “The energy sector’s interest in natural hydrogen as a potential new energy source with a negligible carbon footprint is growing, especially in comparison to all other types of artificially produced hydrogen,” noted Gabor Tari, chief geologist at OMV.

    He pointed out that natural, or white and golden hydrogen, along with orange hydrogen, may become cheaper and more profitable than traditional forms, such as black, gray, blue, pink, or green hydrogen.

    This is why OMV supports basic research that explores hydrogen’s future role in energy transitions.

    Next steps in research

    Although promising, many questions remain. Schöpfer stresses the need for additional studies.

    These may include testing different soil types, simulating pulsing gas emissions, and conducting field research to examine chemical reactions that could further influence subsidence.

    If fairy circles do serve as natural guides to underground hydrogen, they could reshape global energy strategies. Unlocking this hidden source may bring the world one step closer to a truly sustainable energy system.

    This could drive innovation across industries, reduce global reliance on carbon-heavy fuels, and open opportunities for affordable, clean energy.

    The study is published in the journal Geology.

    Featured image: A new study by the University of Vienna explains why “fairy circles” – circular areas where vegetation is damaged, as seen here in the São Francisco Basin in Brazil – subside and how their diameter is related to the depth of the hydrogen source. Credit: Alain Prinzhofer/University of Vienna

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  • Antarctic algae that once cooled Earth are now disappearing

    Antarctic algae that once cooled Earth are now disappearing

    For something you can’t see with the naked eye, algae sure know how to shake things up. Around 14,000 years ago, microscopic Antarctic algae helped slow down global warming by pulling huge amounts of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

    Scientists just figured out how they did it – and why the same process that once helped cool the planet could play a critical role in shaping the future of our climate.

    Antarctic Algae changed the climate


    Back then, Earth was gradually warming after the last ice age. However, something unusual occurred in the Southern Hemisphere: the warming paused.

    This period, referred to as the Antarctic Cold Reversal, was a time when sea ice expanded quickly in winter and melted quickly in spring. That spring melt converted the Southern Ocean into a super buffet for a particular type of algae, Phaeocystis.

    These tiny ocean plants went wild. They multiplied, and in doing so, they pulled vast quantities of carbon dioxide – one of the primary drivers of global warming – out of the atmosphere and stored it away in the sea.

    Here’s the twist: until now, we had no idea Phaeocystis even played a role. Scientists couldn’t find any trace of them in the usual fossil records.

    Now, thanks to a new method that recovers ancient DNA from the ocean floor, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany have filled in this crucial missing piece of the climate puzzle.

    Unlocking Antarctica’s hidden record

    The team studied a sediment core taken from nearly 2,000 feet deep in the Bransfield Strait, just off the Antarctic Peninsula. Layer by layer, this core preserves snapshots of ocean history going back 14,000 years.

    By analyzing the ancient DNA trapped in that sediment, the scientists found genetic fingerprints of Phaeocystis during the cold reversal period. No one had ever identified these algae in the past using standard geochemical methods.

    “Our study shows that these algal blooms contributed to a significant reduction in global atmospheric CO2 levels during a climatically important transition phase characterized by high sea ice extent,” said Josefine Friederike Weiß from the Alfred Wegener Institute, lead author of the study.

    They also measured something else: a high ratio of barium to iron in the sediment. That ratio is tied to how much organic material – like dead algae – sinks to the seafloor. In this case, the data pointed to intense algal growth during times of heavy spring melt.

    “The further the sea ice expands in winter, the larger the area in spring where nutrient-rich meltwater enters the surface sea – and therefore the zone where Phaeocystis algae find ideal growth conditions. As a result, greater sea ice extent leads directly to a larger region with high algal productivity.”

    Why today’s melting ice is a warning

    The same Phaeocystis algae that once helped cool the world are now struggling to survive. With Antarctic sea ice declining at a record rate, the conditions that previously drove these algae blooms are vanishing.

    That’s not just bad news for the algae. These blooms power entire food webs. They feed tiny animals, which feed fish, which in turn feed everything from squid to seals. If Phaeocystis disappears, the whole system could unravel.

    Even worse, these algae are really good at one specific job: getting carbon to sink deep into the ocean. Losing them could mean more carbon sticks around in the atmosphere, heating the planet faster.

    And there’s another concern. Phaeocystis releases a gas called dimethyl sulfide (DMS), which helps form clouds. More clouds mean more sunlight bounces back into space. Fewer algae mean fewer clouds. That’s one more way climate change could end up feeding on itself.

    Antarctic algae holds future lessons

    The study shows why scientists must look beyond conventional methods. By combining geological tools with DNA analysis, researchers are creating a more accurate picture of how the ocean shapes our climate – and how it might respond in the future.

    The research also highlights a larger trend in climate science. For years, scientists focused mainly on ice cores and chemical markers.

    Now, by analyzing the genetic material of ancient microbes, we can see what species were doing during pivotal climate events – and what those behaviors could mean for us today.

    This is important because forecasting future climate change isn’t only about tracking temperature or carbon levels. It’s about understanding the living systems that help regulate them – such as the algae and the seas they inhabit.

    The full study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

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  • NSF NRAO Hosts SpectrumX Field Experiment at the Very Large Array

    NSF NRAO Hosts SpectrumX Field Experiment at the Very Large Array

    The U. S. National Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) recently collaborated with NSF SpectrumX, the Spectrum Innovation Center, to host a large-scale spectrum research experiment at the U.S. National Science Foundation Very Large Array (NSF VLA) in New Mexico.

    This week-long effort, conducted in July 2025, brought together researchers, students, and experts from across academia, government, and industry to study spectrum usage in the 7.125 to 7.4 GHz band—frequencies of increasing importance to both science and emerging sixth-generation (6G) communications. Because of the unique sensitivity of the NSF VLA, the experiment provided a vital opportunity to explore how future spectrum allocations may affect radio astronomy and other passive scientific applications. Read the full release HERE. 

    About NRAO
    The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the U.S. National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

    Contact:

    Corrina C. Jaramillo Feldman, Senior Public Information Officer
    National Radio Astronomy Observatory
    cfeldman@nrao.edu
    (505) 366-7267
    public.nrao.edu

    About SpectrumX

    SpectrumX is funded by the NSF as part of its Spectrum Innovation Initiative, under grant number AST 21-32700. SpectrumX is the world’s largest academic hub where all radio spectrum stakeholders can innovate, collaborate, and contribute to maximizing social welfare of this precious resource.

    To learn more about SpectrumX, please visit spectrumx.org.

    Contact:

    Stephanie Loney, Research Communications Specialist
    NSF SpectrumX / Notre Dame Research / University of Notre Dame
    sloney@nd.edu / 574.631.7804
    spectrumx.org

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