Numerous dinosaur eggs have been found in Shiyan, China, but their age has been unknown until now.Credit: Dr. Bi Zhao
Scientists in China have calculated the direct age of a fossilized dinosaur egg1 for the first time. The newly dated egg, from a cluster of 28 found in a nesting area in Shiyan, China, is around 85.9 million years old, according to a study published in Frontiers in Earth Science today.
Working out how old fossilized eggs are typically involves indirectly dating the volcanic ash or rock layers in which the specimens are embedded. But indirect methods can be inaccurate, because the material might not have formed at the same time as when the eggs were laid.
To determine the age of an egg directly, the researchers fired lasers at eggshell fragments to vapourize the minerals deposited on the surface during fossilization. The resulting vapour contained lead and uranium atoms. Uranium naturally decays into lead. Because the decay happens at a consistent rate, studying the composition of decaying uranium atoms (or isotopes) and stable lead atoms trapped in geological material, such as the dinosaur eggs, reveals the fossil’s age.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that in situ isotopic ages have been reported for dinosaur eggshells both in China and, very likely, worldwide,” says study co-author Xing Cheng, a geologist at the Chinese Academy of Science in Xi’an. The method has previously been used to estimate the ages of fossilized bones and teeth2, as well as those of rocks and minerals3.
Guntupalli Prasad, a palaeontologist at the University of Delhi in New Delhi, says that the direct dating method will have wide ramifications for palaeontology. “This will remove the uncertainties associated with the ages of many fossils,” he says.
But Susannah Maidment, a palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum in London, says that the study did not account for the processes that occur between the egg’s burial and fossilization. One such process, called diagenesis, could change the original composition of the studied materials. “Any attempt to direct date fossils must demonstrate that the mineralogy has not been altered by diagenetic processes, as this would result in an incorrect age estimation,” she says.
The authors say previous research has revealed little to no volcanic activity that would disturb eggs in the area and the eggshells sampled were well-preserved with no shell deformation, which suggests negligible alteration after they were laid. However, they said they intend to conduct further studies to verify their results.
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What could GLP-1s have to do with oncology? Potentially “everything,” according to Deborah Phippard, chief scientific officer at the mid-sized CRO Precision for Medicine.
Blockbuster drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound are so versatile in their effects that they could play a role in cancer as well as in diabetes, weight loss and cardiovascular conditions, Phippard said.
“These are some of the most complicated drugs I’ve seen in my career because they do so many things,” Phippard said. “The G protein-coupled receptor that a GLP-1 agonist binds to is at the top of so many different pathways, and there are so many downstream effects that feed back in.”
The FDA’s August approval of Wegovy for the liver disease metabolic-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, is a testament to the drug’s ability to improve a condition by targeting underlying risk factors like weight — while also treating the disease through mechanisms the regulator acknowledged are not “fully understood.”
For the same reasons, GLP-1s could impact cancer patients as well, Phippard said.
“If you’re obese and diabetic, you are at higher risk of any number of cancers, which is well-documented,” Phippard said. “Pancreatic, endometrial, ovarian and colorectal cancers in particular have been found to be driven by insulin resistance, so controlling obesity should theoretically take cancer incidents down.”
Beyond the benefits of weight loss to reduce cancer risk, the Swiss-army knife nature of GLP-1s could overlap with different pathways that govern how cancer forms and spreads from an immunological standpoint, she said.
“Looking at the function of specific T cells, NK cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, all of those functions you can demonstrably show change with a GLP-1 agonist,” Phippard said. “The MAP kinase pathway, the NF-kappa B pathway, VEGF — GLP-1 is upstream of all of these.”
The data around these pathways and the comorbidities associated with them is “messy,” Phippard acknowledged, but understanding clinical outcomes for patients being treated for cancer who are also on a GLP-1 could reveal actual effects.
GLP-1s and cancer therapy
Early research has shown that GLP-1s could potentially help overcome chemotherapy resistance, which would theoretically improve outcomes for cancer patients, though Phippard again noted the exact mechanism “isn’t brilliantly well understood.”
And with GLP-1s’ documented effects on the immune system, the drugs could also play a part in making PD-1 immunotherapies like Merck & Co.’s Keytruda or Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo more effective, Phippard said.
“If you look at immune cells in an obese person, they don’t work that well and aren’t very healthy, but a GLP-1 can help,” Phippard said. “I’m always a little hesitant at that because the immune system is very complicated and massively redundant, but we should explore these areas further.”
Earlier in pharma’s GLP-1 era, some concerns that the drugs are linked to thyroid or pancreatic cancer arose, according to MD Anderson Cancer Center. But subsequent studies haven’t confirmed that connection.
Still, physicians are careful not to jump into the deep end with GLP-1s in an oncology setting, particularly with pancreatic cancer patients or those already suffering from nausea and vomiting, which a weight loss drug could exacerbate. Muscle loss is also associated with long-term GLP-1 use, which could make patients more frail over time.
“Pancreatic, endometrial, ovarian and colorectal cancers in particular have been found to be driven by insulin resistance, so controlling obesity should theoretically take cancer incidents down.”
Deborah Phippard
Chief scientific officer, Precision for Medicine
Clinical studies for cancer are where GLP-1s could make a difference in how patients respond to certain drugs. With nearly 12% of all Americans having taken a GLP-1, the odds of patient overlap with clinical trials are growing, Phippard said, and researchers need to better understand those implications to ensure accurate data.
“We’re right at the beginning of how we work this out, but I think you’ve got to run a clinical study looking at this with a separate statistic even in its own right,” Phippard said. “I don’t think we’ll ever be able to pull it entirely apart, but I’m not planning on retiring anytime soon.”
A standalone oncology treatment?
As for whether GLP-1s would ever be considered a cancer treatment, that’s well down the road, Phippard said.
“We are not remotely close to a GLP-1 alone for cancer treatment,” she said. “There may be one or two patients who start a GLP-1 for whatever reason, and their immune system picks up, but that’s an anecdotal n of 1.”
But as a combination treatment alongside chemotherapy or immunotherapy, GLP-1s are a possibility.
Currently, “combo therapies are happening by accident” with patients both on a GLP-1 and undergoing cancer treatment at the same time, Phippard said. And companies like Lilly, which has a foot in both the diabetes and obesity market as well as oncology, could start thinking about the clinical opportunities without having to buy new assets.
“I’m expecting to see this coming out at all the big cancer meetings over the next five to 10 years,” Phippard said. “This is starting to buzz in the community.”
D.A. Davidson is more bullish on artificial intelligence poster child Nvidia . The investment firm upgraded the graphics processing unit manufacturer to buy from neutral. Analyst Gil Luria accompanied the move by raising his price target to $210 per share from $195. Luria cited the growth in AI compute demand as a strong catalyst, and one that could likely sustain Nvidia’s growth into the next year and beyond. NVDA YTD mountain NVDA YTD chart “Our increasingly optimistic view of the growth in AI compute demand supersedes our list of concerns regarding NVDA,” he wrote. “Our perspective that AI will transform work through labor itself, as opposed to the IT tech stack, lends itself to a continued ramp in compute demand even before enterprise customers see a return on investment.” Despite potential pressure points for Nvidia such as increased competition and demand volatility in China, emerging bottlenecks and “exuberant expectations,” Luria said that “overwhelming growth in demand for compute” is ultimately “the only thing that matters.” Regardless of which segment this growth comes from, the analyst believes that Nvidia will be able to sustain growth over at least the next two years. “While we are not ready to endorse sell-side consensus, especially given uncertainty around China, we believe investors will look through small misses, as they have done the last couple of quarters,” he continued. “Which will continue to keep NVDA at the heart of the AI trade.” Luria added that Nvidia’s case looks especially compelling versus Apple, which he called a laggard in the AI race. “While AAPL may still offer defense in an uncertain environment, we prefer to go on offense, given the prospects for AI compute,” he wrote. Nvidia shares, which are up 32% year to date, rose slightly in the premarket following the upgrade. ( Learn the best 2026 strategies from inside the NYSE with Josh Brown and others at CNBC PRO Live. Tickets and info here . )
M. Reponen (University of Eastern Finland), J. Kuparinen (University of Eastern Finland) and N. Robinot (International Agency for Research on Cancer) are acknowledged for technical assistance. S. Keppo (Koponen+Hildén) is acknowledged for the technical development of the Plasma Benchmark visualization tool. The University of Eastern Finland mass spectrometry laboratory is supported by Biocenter Finland and Biocenter Kuopio.
This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features a cloudy starscape from an impressive star cluster. This scene is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy situated about 160,000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa. With a mass equal to 10-20% of the mass of the Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud is the largest of the dozens of small galaxies that orbit our galaxy.
The Large Magellanic Cloud is home to several massive stellar nurseries where gas clouds, like those strewn across this image, coalesce into new stars. Today’s image depicts a portion of the galaxy’s second-largest star-forming region, which is called N11. (The most massive and prolific star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Tarantula Nebula, is a frequent target for Hubble.) We see bright, young stars lighting up the gas clouds and sculpting clumps of dust with powerful ultraviolet radiation.
This image marries observations made roughly 20 years apart, a testament to Hubble’s longevity. The first set of observations, which were carried out in 2002-2003, capitalized on the exquisite sensitivity and resolution of the then-newly-installed Advanced Camera for Surveys. Astronomers turned Hubble toward the N11 star cluster to do something that had never been done before at the time: catalogue all the stars in a young cluster with masses between 10% of the Sun’s mass and 100 times the Sun’s mass.
The second set of observations came from Hubble’s newest camera, the Wide Field Camera 3. These images focused on the dusty clouds that suffuse the cluster, bringing a new perspective on cosmic dust.
As part of our continued commitment to providing outstanding service, we’re excited to share an upcoming update to our collection’s email address and phone lines for Canada cash customers.
This change is aimed at improving how we handle your inquiries, enabling our collections team to respond more quickly and efficiently.
What’s Changing?
Emails:
Effective September 30th, all email requests from Canada cash customers should be directed to our new address: CA.cash.collections@maersk.com
The previous email address (ca.collections@maersk.com ) will remain to be active but will now be used exclusively for credit customers.
To ensure smooth processing, kindly avoid sending messages to both email addresses.
Why This Matters to You:
Simplified communication – One email address for all your cash-related inquiries
No need to follow up by phone – Your emails will be tracked and handled promptly
Improved visibility – All correspondence for a single request will be accessible to our team in one place
Phone Lines:
Starting September 4th, new phone menu options will be available. To reach the appropriate team, please use the following sequence when calling: Cash Customers: 1-877-338-0165 Option 2 → Sub-option 3 → Sub-option 2 (i.e., 2.3.2) Credit Customers: 1-877-338-0165 Option 2 → Sub-option 3 → Sub-option 1 (i.e., 2.3.1)
We’re confident this change will make your experience with us even smoother and more satisfying. Thank you for your continued trust and partnership. If you have any questions or need further clarification, feel free to reach out.
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Elsio Wunder, assistant professor of pathobiology and veterinary science in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR), has filed a patent for a vaccine against leptospirosis that uses a unique combination of highly conserved proteins.
This filing represents Wunder moving one step closer to developing a universal vaccine for leptospirosis, a widely neglected disease. Last year, Wunder received a $3.8 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to pursue this goal.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that causes flu-like symptoms and can be life-threatening. Leptospirosis causes an estimated 60,000 human deaths a year. The disease is spread through contact with the urine or other bodily fluids of infected animals, including via contaminated water or soil.
Since leptospirosis mainly affects poorer regions of the world, little scientific attention has been given to it, and there is no vaccine available for humans, making Wunder’s work critical in filling this public health gap.
Existing animal vaccines for leptospirosis use inactivated whole cells of the bacteria. One big problem with this approach is that there are dozens of pathogenic species of Leptospira, the bacteria that causes leptospirosis. This means vaccines incorporate multiple strains that constitute the best guess scientists have about what variants are circulating in a given population. These vaccines also have significant side effects and immunity wears off quickly.
Another major problem with existing vaccines is that they can protect animals against disease and death from leptospirosis, but they are not good in preventing the bacteria from colonizing their kidneys. This means an infected animal can still spread the disease to other animals and humans through their urine.
Wunder’s vaccine takes a new approach using a series of recombinant proteins. Proteins that are highly conserved across variants of a pathogen usually perform essential functions for the pathogen. A vaccine that targets this kind of protein would provide broad immunity across strains.
“There has been a struggle to identify a recombinant protein that would be protective, effective, and also have a broad reach,” Wunder says.
Wunder previously developed a leptospirosis vaccine using an attenuated, or weakened, form of pathogenic bacteria. While this vaccine was effective to an extent, more importantly, the research Wunder did while developing it allowed him to identify which proteins generated antibody responses. This gave him a list of candidates for a recombinant protein vaccine.
Wunder has now patented a vaccine that uses four recombinant proteins to provide protection against a wide range of leptospirosis-causing bacteria.
“In the back of my mind, I always thought one candidate would not be enough,” Wunder says. “We’re talking about bacteria that has over 4,000 proteins expressed.”
Using rat, hamster, and mouse models, this multi-recombinant protein vaccine provided significant protection, up to 100% at certain doses, against death from a wide variety of Leptospira species. It also prevented bacterial colonization.
Wunder is currently working with veterinary companies who may be interested in using these proteins to develop an animal vaccine for leptospirosis while working toward a vaccine that is safe for use in humans.
“The ultimate goal is to have a vaccine that is available for humans, especially because this disease is a major burden in developing countries,” Wunder says.
These candidates could also be a useful diagnostic tool. Leptospirosis symptoms resemble many other tropical diseases present in the areas in which it circulates, leading to frequent misdiagnoses. The only way to definitively test for leptospirosis at present involves a technically complicated and expensive process that only a few labs in the world can do.
There are some simpler assays that can test for leptospirosis. But they are not very accurate and do not work for animals if it has been vaccinated. Using the highly conserved proteins in Wunder’s vaccine candidate could provide a better way of testing for the presence of infection even in vaccinated animals.
Fast, early, and accurate diagnosis is critical in leptospirosis cases as the disease is treatable with antibiotics if caught early.
“A lot of times people are misdiagnosed, and it can lead to an increase in mortality,” Wunder says. “We saw that we can actually use some of those candidates as a diagnostic tool. So, we’ll be investigating that as well.”
With the increase of temperature and floodings, more cases of leptospirosis in humans and animals are occurring in the US, and the search for better vaccines and diagnostic tools are essential to reduce the impact of this important disease.
This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Enhancing Health and Well-Being Locally, Nationally, and Globally.The patent was filed by Yale University when Wunder worked there as a research scientist.
Suryakumar Yadav’s decision to withdraw the appeal against the UAE in the Group A Asia Cup 2025 match continues to generate polarising reactions. The incident happened after Shivam Dube’s towel fell while he was running into bowl, distracting the batter Junaid Siddique. The UAE tailender backed away when Dube delivered the ball, and it was then that wicketkeeper Sanju Samson threw the ball back onto the stumps. The on-field umpires referred the decision to the third umpire, and Siddique was found short of his crease.
Suryakumar Yadav’s decision to withdraw appeal against the UAE divides fans and pundits. (AFP)
OUT flashed on the big screen; however, Suryakumar withdrew the appeal, giving the batter a big reprieve. Former India batter Aakash Chopra reacted to the incident, saying it was “event-specific” and Suryakumar wouldn’t have done so had it happened against a team like Pakistan.
Siddique was not able to cash in as he got out soon after. He registered a duck and lost his wicket to Shivam Dube. UAE were then bundled out for 57 inside 13.1 overs, and India eventually chased the target down with nine wickets in hand and 93 balls to spare.
“It’s event-specific in my opinion, it wouldn’t have happened if Pakistan’s Salman Agha was playing on the 14th of September, and the game is in the balance, and he’s just roaming around, he (Suryakumar) won’t do that. It was a good throw, presence of mind from Sanju to hit the stumps,” Chopra said on ESPNcricinfo.
Chopra also didn’t mince his words, saying the batter was clearly out as he was found short of his crease. He said that once the umpire gave it out, there was no need for Suryakumar as such to withdraw the appeal and call the batter back.
Also Read: Suryakumar Kumar refuses to reveal whether India will receive full Asia Cup match fee after decimating UAE under 2 hours
“If he was outside the crease, it should be out, in my opinion. But opinions may vary. The problem is that the moment you bring in ethics and generosity, it opens a can of worms: ‘Oh, you did this today, why are you not doing the same thing tomorrow?’ Why go down that route?” said Chopra.
“Will you do it? If that’s the case, it’s like walking. You nick it and you walk. But the day you do not walk, that’s the day that decides which side of the divide you are on, and that’s when you look like a hypocrite. I’m not saying SKY is going to do it again, or not do it again. But if it is within the rules and the umpire has given it out, just stay out. That’s it,” he added.
India hammer the UAE
The UAE registered the lowest-ever T20I score against India after being bundled out for 57. India also registered their biggest win by ball remaining in a T20I, winning the contest with 93 balls to spare.
This was also second-biggest win by balls remaining for a full-member ICC nation in T20Is. Abhishek Sharma (30), Shubman Gill (20*) and Suryakumar (7*) wasted no time in chasing the total down as they took just 4.3 overs to get the job done.
India will now take on arch-rival Pakistan in the Men’s Asia Cup on Sunday, September 14.
