Lost Amazon World Emerges From Bolivia's Hidden Wetlands

Gary Manners

Researchers have uncovered extensive pre-Hispanic settlements hidden beneath the waters and vegetation of Bolivia's Great Tectonic Lakes. Using advanced LiDAR technology and collaborative fieldwork with Indigenous communities, the Grupo de Trabajo para los Llanos de Moxos has revealed a sophisticated civilization that thrived between 600 and 1400 AD, transforming vast wetlands into productive agricultural landscapes through ingenious water management systems.

The discoveries, recently published in Frontiers, challenge long-held assumptions about the Amazon being a pristine, sparsely inhabited wilderness. Instead, it reveals generations of human innovation in one of the world's most challenging environments - the seasonally flooded savannas of the Llanos de Moxos, Bolivia's largest wetland system in the Amazon basin.

• LIDAR Identifies Vast Complexes Of A Lost Amazonian Civilization In Bolivia
• Lidar Scans Reveal Many Lost Cities, Thousands of Earthworks in the Amazon Rainforest

Engineering Marvels Hidden in Plain Sight

In September 2021, a team of specialists traveled to one of the least-documented areas of the Bolivian Amazon: the Great Tectonic Lakes of Exaltación in the department of Beni. The expedition, organized by the Grupo de Trabajo para los Llanos de Moxos (GTLM), brought together experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the National Museum of Natural History, the Institute of Ecology, the Biodiversity and Environment Research Center, the Aquatic Resources Research Center, and the Department of Anthropology of the Americas at the University of Bonn.

Between September 2021 and subsequent field seasons, researchers documented settlements at Paquío, Coquinal, Isla del Tesoro, and Jasschaja - each revealing different stages of habitation spanning eight centuries. What makes these findings extraordinary is the scale and sophistication of landscape engineering that allowed communities to thrive in an environment that floods dramatically with the seasons. The archaeological sites near Lakes Rogaguado and Ginebra represent one of the most significant pre-Columbian discoveries in recent years.

Panoramic view of Lake Ginebra.

(O. Torrico/WCS-Bolivia./Frontiers)

LiDAR surveys covering 8.6 square kilometers revealed complex networks of circular and rectangular ditches, some measuring up to 200 meters in diameter, alongside raised agricultural fields, drainage canals, and earthen platforms.

At the Coquinal site, researchers identified quadrangular ditches measuring 136 by 136 meters with lateral channels extending 185 to 220 meters toward the lake. These structures weren't randomly placed - they represent centuries of experimentation as communities developed increasingly sophisticated methods to control water flow and create stable areas for living and farming in a wetland that transforms dramatically throughout the year.

• Pre-Columbian Amazon Was Not So Virgin After All 
• Over 10000 Earthworks in the Amazon Revealed By LiDAR

A Balanced Diet From Water and Land

Excavations at the Paquío site, located 200 meters from Lake Rogaguado's shore, revealed shell middens and dense ceramic refuse that provide intimate glimpses into daily life. The site yielded 1,224 bone fragments representing at least 1,092 individual animals across six taxonomic groups. Fish dominated the assemblage, with 12 species identified including wolf fish, peacock bass, and the distinctive South American lungfish. Reptiles such as caimans, aquatic turtles, and snakes complemented a diet that also included mammals like capybaras, pacas, and armadillos.

Shell middens at the Paquío site.

(Credit: C. Jaimes/Frontiers)

Plant remains tell an equally compelling story. Analysis of 1,485 macroremains revealed evidence of maize cultivation alongside the harvesting of multiple palm species—moriche palm, corozo palm, cumare palm, totai palm, and peach palm. This botanical diversity, combined with the faunal evidence, points to a sophisticated subsistence strategy that balanced fishing, hunting, gathering, and agriculture. Rather than exploiting the environment unsustainably, these communities developed flexible ways of living that worked with the region's seasonal cycles, using periodic flooding as an opportunity rather than an obstacle.

Radiocarbon dating reveals two distinct occupation phases at Paquío: an early settlement around 600 AD and a more intensive occupation between 1000 and 1200 AD. The later phase coincided with the construction of extensive canal systems and raised fields connected to maize-based farming. At the nearby Jasschaja site, dating from 1300 to 1400 AD, evidence suggests intensified forest and crop management with greater botanical diversity.

Indigenous Knowledge Shapes Modern Research

The research was conducted in close collaboration with the Cayubaba and Movima Indigenous communities who continue to live in these landscapes. During the post-Covid-19 field seasons, representatives of the Cayubaba Indigenous Council, which includes 21 Cayubaba and Movima communities, assisted researchers in identifying areas for study, providing access to culturally important places, and specifying sites that should not be disturbed.

This partnership ensured the research reflected community priorities and contributed to a fuller understanding of the living heritage of the region. Through the Grupo de Trabajo para los Llanos de Moxos, Indigenous leaders and scientists are working together to link archaeological and ecological research with conservation initiatives. These efforts emphasize that the Llanos de Moxos is not only a center of biodiversity but also a landscape shaped through long human histories.

The region also holds prominence in ethnohistorical literature through its association with the legendary Land of Paititi. Historian Vera Tyuleneva's archival research suggests this area may have been the historical core of this mythical land, long sought after by explorers and missionaries since the sixteenth century. Father Agustín Zapata's 1693 account documented contact with the Cayubaba nation, led by a chief known as "El Gran Jefe Paititi," ruling over several villages with more than 2,000 individuals.

The newly discovered settlements add to a growing body of evidence suggesting the Amazon was home to far more extensive and sophisticated pre-Columbian societies than previously imagined. Similar discoveries using LiDAR technology have revealed urban centers throughout the Amazon basin, fundamentally changing our understanding of ancient Amazonian civilizations and their capacity to transform challenging environments into thriving cultural landscapes.

• Top image: Raised cultivation platforms near Lake Ginebra.
• Source: O. Torrico/WCS-Bolivia

By Gary Manners

References

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

UFO Disclosure incoming or is it just another Psyop?

Documentary filmmaker Dan Farah made a prediction on the Joe Rogan Experience while talking about his new documentary The Age of Disclosure. Trailer (Here) 

He says President Trump could become the first world leader to publicly reveal the truth about UFOs, non-human technology, and decades of buried intelligence. But there’s a catch, some are already asking whether this could be a genuine disclosure or a carefully engineered distraction, especially with familiar Pentagon figures like Chris Mellon and Luis Elizondo appearing in the film. 

The film features 34 U.S. government insiders and alleges an 80-year global cover-up involving non-human intelligences, clandestine crash recoveries, and a silent technological arms race among world powers competing to reverse-engineer off-world craft. 

During the interview, Farah doubled down: he believes a sitting U.S. president is finally ready to “spill the truth” about the UAP phenomenon and he says that president is Donald Trump. 

Then came the real shocker: Farah claims Trump has already assigned Tulsi Gabbard to quietly investigate specific UFO related matters behind the scenes. 

Whether this is the first rumble of historic disclosure or just another layer of misdirection remains the burning question.

{ http://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.com/ }

Now that samples are safely in labs for examination, this new study, led by Angel Mojarro of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined tiny fragments of Bennu’s rocky surface. Because these samples were taken directly from the asteroid and sealed before re-entry, they preserve a pristine record of early Solar System chemistry, free from contamination by Earth’s atmosphere and biosphere.​

“Our findings expand the evidence that prebiotic organic molecules can form within primitive accreting planetary bodies and could have been delivered via impacts to early Earth and other solar system bodies, potentially contributing to the origins of life,” the researchers wrote in their study. 

The team focused on two main types of organic material within the Bennu samples. One is a tough, tar-like “insoluble” organic sample made of large, interconnected carbon-rich structures, similar in some ways to very old coals or kerogen on Earth. The other is a “soluble” sample made up of smaller, more mobile molecules that can be extracted with liquids, such as amino acids and nucleobases, the molecules life uses to build proteins and to store genetic information in DNA and RNA. 

To study both, the team used a combination of heating samples to release volatile compounds and a wet-chemistry method that chemically tags small molecules for detection with high-sensitivity mass spectrometry.

Mojarro and his co-authors identified 15 of the 20 standard amino acids used by terrestrial life to assemble proteins, along with all five nucleobases that form the “letters” of DNA and RNA: adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil. Earlier work on other Bennu fragments had already shown that the asteroid carries 14 protein-forming amino acids and the full set of nucleobases, but the new study adds one more amino acid to the list.

In a historical first, a tentative detection of the amino acid tryptophan in the aggregate Bennu sample indicates that a relatively complex amino acid exists in extraterrestrial objects. Tryptophan is one of the 20 amino acids used by life, and on Earth, it plays roles in both protein structure and cellular signaling. In the Bennu samples, it appears at trace levels across multiple subsamples and is absent from blank laboratory controls, so the team argues that it is unlikely to be a contamination artifact, while still stressing that further measurements will be needed to confirm the detection beyond doubt. 

If confirmed, its presence would suggest that some fragile organic molecules are missing from meteorites because they do not survive the heating and shock of atmospheric entry, highlighting the importance of sample-return missions for capturing the full range of prebiotic compounds in space.

• MJ Banias covers space, security, and technology with The Debrief. You can email him at mj@thedebrief.org or follow him on Twitter @mjbanias.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/space/ }

SuperCam

“These discharges represent a major discovery, with direct implications for Martian atmospheric chemistry, climate, habitability and the future of robotic and human exploration,” lead author Dr Baptiste Chide told Reuters.

Just one day after landing on Mars, SuperCam’s microphone recorded audio from the Red Planet for the first time. The SuperCam instruments, responsible for some of Perseverance’s most interesting finds, inadvertently picked up the audio and electromagnetic signatures suggesting the presence of mini lightning on Mars.

Unfortunately, while the early data is promising, SuperCam was designed to look for life, not lightning. Despite the audio evidence, there is debate about the presence of Martian lightning due to the lack of visual evidence. Although SuperCam collected some evidence of unexpected atmospheric electricity on Mars, researchers say that more specialized instruments and sensitive cameras would help confirm the initial findings.

Discovering Lightning on Mars

The work is a collaboration between the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Université de Toulouse, and the Observatoire de Paris (PSL), working alongside other international researchers.

The French researchers behind the discovery combed through 28 hours of microphone recordings Perseverance made over 1,374 Earth days. Their results indicated that the electromagnetic and acoustic signatures were similar to minor static electrical events on Earth. Researchers have previously theorized that the Martian atmosphere may host such electrical activity, but this is the first direct evidence.

Martian Dust Devils

Violent surface activity, particularly dust devils and dust storm fronts, was strongly correlated with electrical activity. Dust devils are whirlwinds of swirling dust, produced as hot air rises off the Martian surface. The swirling internal movements of these dirt twisters produce electrical discharges as friction develops between tiny dust particles charged with electrons. Electrical arcs several centimeters long, along with an audible shockwave, result from these interactions.

On Earth, dry regions, such as deserts, are most prone to producing static electricity. Mars features even more optimal conditions for producing static electricity than even Earth’s driest regions, as the thin carbon dioxide atmosphere allows sparks to form through much weaker charges than on our planet.

Understanding Mars

The team’s findings may have a substantial impact on our understanding of Martian habitability. Specifically, discovering this extent of atmospheric electrical activity alters our understanding of the Red Planet’s chemistry.

The atmospheric charge is strong enough to speed up the formation of highly oxidizing compounds, which can destroy organic compounds and strongly alter the atmosphere’s photochemical balance. One immediate implication is that this may finally explain the long-debated rapid loss of methane from the Martian atmosphere.

Mars’ climate dynamics are poorly understood at present. The team suggests that static electricity may be affecting dust movement, which would significantly affect Martian weather. Electricity could also pose a threat to electronic equipment on which current robotic and future crewed missions rely. Further supplemental research, aided by specialized instrumentation, will be required to deepen our understanding of Martian climate dynamics and support safe and reliable crewed landings in the future.

 The paper, “Detection of Triboelectric Discharges During Dust Events on Mars,” appeared in Nature on November 26, 2025.

• Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.

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Scientists may have found the first evidence of primordial black holes born during the Big Bang – 'if it's real, then it's enormous'

• READ MORE: What would happen if you walked into a primordial black hole?

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Scientists may have found the first evidence of primordial black holes, born in the very first seconds of the Big Bang.

These tiny singularities can be smaller than a single atom but contain almost as much mass as our sun.

Until now, no one has been able to prove that these bizarre, ancient objects exist.

But by looking for ripples in the fabric of spacetime, known as gravitational waves, researchers think they could have found the 'smoking gun' to prove they are real.

On November 12, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational–Wave Observatory (LIGO) and its European counterpart, Virgo, detected an unusual signal from deep space.

The gravitational wave looked like it was coming from colliding black holes, but was much smaller than any known black hole could possibly be.

If it wasn't a glitch, the only remaining possibility is that the objects producing these faint ripples are the elusive primordial black holes.

Dr Djuna Croon, an astro–particle theorist at Durham University who was not involved in the observation, told Daily Mail: 'If it's real, then it's enormous.'

Scientists may have found the first evidence of primordial black holes, born in the very first seconds of the Big Bang. These tiny singularities can be smaller than a single atom but contain almost as much mass as our sun (artist's impression) 

This gravitational wave (pictured) appeared to have been made by objects as dense as a black hole but with less mass than that of the sun. No known object in the universe has these properties

When extremely dense objects like black holes merge, they spiral in on each other with such force that it whips up ripples in the fabric of spacetime.

These gravitational waves allow scientists on Earth to 'listen' for the shockwaves produced by these collisions, even when they occur billions of light–years away.

Using two obervatories – the American LIGO and the Italian VIRGO – scientists detected a signal on November 12 from an object smaller than the mass of our sun.

Dr Croon says: 'What is special about this alert is that the masses that we've identified are smaller than anything we know could have formed astrophysically and still be so compact.

'We've observed loads of black holes, and loads of neutron stars, and loads of white dwarfs, but this detection points to something very different.

'That's really, really significant because, if this is real, you need to explain how you ended up with such a compact remnant that is this light.'

Black holes usually form when stars many times larger than our sun run out of fuel and collapse, compressing their core into a dense point.

However, some scientists believe that primordial black holes could have formed directly out of overly dense regions of the boiling sea of matter that filled the cosmos right after the Big Bang.

Scientists believe that the signal might have been caused by the merger of two primordial black holes, which would explain why the gravitational wave comes from such small yet dense objects. Pictured: A NASA simulation of merging black holes

Scientists may have just spotted the first sign of ancient primordial black holes by capturing the faint ripples in spacetime produced by their collision (illustrated)

What are primordial black holes?

Primordial black holes are microscopic pieces of ultra-dense matter, just like normal black holes but smaller.

Scientists think they may have been formed at the very beginning of the universe rather than out of collapsing stars. 

Their initial masses could have range between 100,000 times less than a paperclip to 100,000 times greater than the sun. 

We haven't found proof that they exist, but they might form part of the 'dark matter' which makes up a large part of the mass of the universe. 

To form a black hole, all you need to do is concentrate a lot of energy in a really small volume,' Dr Croon explains.

'This could happen because a star collapses, or it could happen in the early universe just from a fluctuation in energy.'

On its own, a primordial black hole would go undetected. 

However, if two collided, they could produce a gravitational wave signal that looks a lot like the one VIRGO and LIGO found on November 12.

This prospect has scientists very excited, as it could be the first real proof of primordial black holes.

That is a big deal because primordial black holes are often put forward as one of the best candidates for the mysterious substance known as dark matter, which makes up around a quarter of the universe.

Since these black holes don't interact with light and contain a lot of mass, they are a perfect explanation for why the universe seems to have mass we can't see.

Dr Christopher Berry, a LIGO member at the University of Glasgow, wrote on BlueSky: 'If this merger is verified it could amount to smoking gun evidence of a population of primordial black holes.'

If true, this would be the first definitive evidence that primordial black holes (artist's impression) really exist 

However, scientists are still urging caution and say that we can't yet say for certain whether this really is a primordial black hole.

Researchers from the LIGO and VIRGO collaborations have assigned a 'false alarm rate' for this detection of about one in four years.

Read More

• Dark matter seen for the first time: Eerie image shows first direct evidence of elusive substance 

That wouldn't be terrible for a normal black hole merger, but for an extremely rare event like this, it's too high for researchers to be overly confident.

The best possible evidence that this is real would be for the detectors to find another signal in the future.

With big upgrades planned for the LIGO and VIRGO detectors, the hope is that this could soon become a reality.

Dr Croon says: 'If this is real, we'll just see many, many more of such events that we can study, so we'll learn more and more about it.'

What would happen if you fell into a black hole?

A black hole is a point of matter so dense that not even light can escape its gravitational pull.

If a human fell into one of these cosmic monsters, the forces of gravity would be so strong that they would undergo 'spagettification'.

Since a black hole's gravity is so strong, there is an extremely steep 'gravitational gradient'.

This means the forces affecting your feet nearer the black hole would be much more powerful than those affecting your head.

That means your body would be yanked into a long line like a piece of spaghetti being sucked up by a black hole.

At the same time, the intense radiation from orbiting material in the 'accretion disk' would blast you with incredibly powerful X–rays.

Strangely, as your elongated body approaches the black hole, your perception of time would start to radically diverge from anyone observing from outside.

Due to a process called time dilation, your passage through time would halt to a crawl. 

While you experience time passing normally, you would slow down from the perspective of anyone outside. 

Once you hit the event horizon, the point of no return, you would slip past the point where conventional physics can make sense of your situation.

From your view, all directions would lead towards the centre of the black hole as you are compressed to an infinitely dense point.

However, from the perspective of anyone watching from afar, you would essentially cease to exist.  

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

In a promising update, scientists have revealed that the ozone hole is healing – and it could soon close up for good. 

The Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) found that the hole – which appears yearly over Antarctica – closed on Monday (December 1).

This is not only earlier than expected, but also marks the earliest closure since 2019.

What's more, the 2025 ozone hole at its maximum extent was the smallest in five years, at 8.13 million sq miles (21.08 million km2). 

It marks the second consecutive year of relatively small holes compared to the series of large and long-lasting ozone holes from 2020-2023.

And it fuels hopes for the ozone layer's complete recovery – potentially within the next couple of decades. 

Dr Laurence Rouil, director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), called the earlier closure and relatively small size 'a reassuring sign'. 

'It reflects the steady year-on-year progress we are now observing in the recovery of the ozone layer,' he said. 

 

Scientists confirm the 2025 ozone hole at its maximum extent was the smallest in five years, at 8.13 million sq miles (21.08 million km2)

The ozone hole is not technically a ‘hole’ where no ozone is present, but is actually a region of exceptionally depleted ozone over the Antarctic.

Generally, it opens every August, reaches its maximum size in September or October and closes in late November or early December.

In 2025, the ozone hole developed relatively early through mid-August, following a similar trajectory to the large ozone hole of 2023.

Towards the end of August 2025, its size reduced slightly before growing to a maximum area of 8.13 million sq miles/21.08 million km2 in early September. 

This size is 'fairly typical' at this point but well below the maximum of 10.07 million sq miles/26.1 million km2 observed in 2023.

During September, the size of the ozone hole started to gradually reduce but 'remained at a considerable size', experts found. 

Through September and October, it was between 5.7 million sq miles/15 million km2 (roughly the area of Antarctica) and 7.7 million sq miles/20 million km2. 

But the area of the ozone hole declined quickly during the first half of November, indicating the possibility of an early closure. 

The ozone hole is not technically a ‘hole’ where no ozone is present, but is actually a region of exceptionally depleted ozone in the stratosphere over the Antarctic. Pictured, November 1, 2025

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) confirms that the 2025 Antarctic ozone hole came to an end December 1, marking the earliest closure since 2019 

A persistent small area of low ozone persisted through the second half of the month, until it fully closed on December 1. 

It marks the the earliest closure since 2019 (November 12) and one of the earliest closures of the ozone hole in the past four decades. 

Located in the stratosphere (the second layer of Earth's atmosphere), the ozone layer absorbs almost all of the sun's harmful incoming ultraviolet radiation (UVB) – making it fundamental to protecting life on Earth's surface 

Without the ozone layer, there would be severe increases of solar UV radiation, which would damage our DNA and make skin cancer more common. 

Having a hole in the ozone layer therefore increases the amount of UV that reaches Earth's surface – and the bigger the hole is, the more we're exposed. 

It wasn't until the 1980s that the ozone hole was first discovered, by British meteorologist Jonathan Shanklin, making global headlines. 

As scientists explained, the hole was created by the release of human-made chemicals, particularly CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), into the atmosphere. 

It led to the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to halt the production of CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances (ODS), signed in December 1987. 

While the Montreal Agreement phased out 99 per cent of all ozone-depleting chemicals, the remaining one per cent still lingers in Earth's upper atmosphere. 

During the southern hemisphere's winter, a large pillar of extremely cold, rotating air forms above the Antarctic.

Maximum yearly extent of the ozone hole: The 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 ozone holes were particularly large and long lasting

This concentrates the remaining CFCs in an area where cold conditions and solar radiation enable them to deplete the layer of ozone gas.

Experts hope CFCs will eventually be eliminated from the atmosphere, although this process is slow due to their chemical stability. 

READ MORE

• The ozone layer is healing! Hole over Antarctica is recovering – and could soon close for good, promising study reveals

It is estimated that the ban will enable a recovery of the ozone layer by 2050 and 2066, according to experts at CAMS. 

'This progress should be celebrated as a timely reminder of what can be achieved when the international community works together to address global environmental challenges,' said Dr Rouil. 

Meanwhile, a UN report said the ozone hole could heal over by 2040. 

The Ozone layer sits in the stratosphere 25 miles above the Earth's surface and acts like a natural sunscreen

Ozone is a molecule comprised of three oxygen atoms that occurs naturally in small amounts. 

In the stratosphere, roughly seven to 25 miles above Earth's surface, the ozone layer acts like sunscreen, shielding the planet from potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer and cataracts, suppress immune systems and also damage plants. 

It is produced in tropical latitudes and distributed around the globe. 

Closer to the ground, ozone can also be created by photochemical reactions between the sun and pollution from vehicle emissions and other sources, forming harmful smog.

Although warmer-than-average stratospheric weather conditions have reduced ozone depletion during the past two years, the current ozone hole area is still large compared to the 1980s, when the depletion of the ozone layer above Antarctica was first detected. 

In the stratosphere, roughly seven to 25 miles above Earth's surface, the ozone layer acts like sunscreen, shielding the planet from potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation

This is because levels of ozone-depleting substances like chlorine and bromine remain high enough to produce significant ozone loss. 

In the 1970s, it was recognised that chemicals called CFCs, used for example in refrigeration and aerosols, were destroying ozone in the stratosphere.  

In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was agreed, which led to the phase-out of CFCs and, recently, the first signs of recovery of the Antarctic ozone layer. 

The upper stratosphere at lower latitudes is also showing clear signs of recovery, proving the Montreal Protocol is working well.

But the new study, published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, found it is likely not recovering at latitudes between 60°N and 60°S (London is at 51°N).

The cause is not certain but the researchers believe it is possible climate change is altering the pattern of atmospheric circulation - causing more ozone to be carried away from the tropics.

They say another possibility is that very short-lived substances (VSLSs), which contain chlorine and bromine, could be destroying ozone in the lower stratosphere.

VSLSs include chemicals used as solvents, paint strippers, and as degreasing agents.

One is even used in the production of an ozone-friendly replacement for CFCs.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

What would happen if the sun started to dim? 

Scientists have revealed the terrifying answer to this question, which is the subject of the upcoming science fiction blockbuster, Project Hail Mary.

The film, based on a novel of the same name by The Martian author, Andy Weir, follows a lone scientist on a mission to uncover why the sun is dimming.

In the movie, which is set to hit cinemas in March 2026, the sun's brightness is predicted to fall one per cent in a year and five per cent in 20 years.

These numbers might sound small.

But in reality, scientists say that these changes would be more than enough to wipe out humanity.

Professor David Stevenson, a planetary scientist from the California Institute of Technology, told Daily Mail: 'Extinguishing life on Earth would take a long time even if you eliminated solar energy because we know of organisms that live underground.

'But extinguishing humans could happen fast, especially since humans are not rational creatures for the most part.'

In Project Hail Mary, Ryan Gosling (pictured) plays a lone scientist sent on a mission to find out why the sun is dimming. But what would really happen if the sun did start to fade?

What happens when the sun starts to dim?

At a distance of around 93 million miles (150 million kilometres) from Earth, the sun delivers about 1,365 Watts per square metre of energy, which scientists call the solar constant. 

About 30 per cent of that energy is reflected back into space, while the remainder is absorbed, warming the Earth's atmosphere and surface.

Currently, our planet is holding on to more energy than it loses – but it wouldn't take much to tip the balance.

If the sun's brightness were to drop or if something prevented our atmosphere from absorbing the energy, then Earth could start to rapidly cool.

Professor Lucie Green, an expert on the sun from University College London, told Daily Mail: 'The Sun does naturally vary in brightness, but not by very much!

'The technical term is total solar irradiance. This is slightly variable, with the variability being a result of changes during the Sun’s 11–year sunspot cycle.'

These fluctuations are barely noticeable on Earth, but there have been much more dramatic shifts in the past.

The sun's output does naturally dip on an 11–year cycle that coincides with the number of sunspots appearing on the surface. However, these changes aren't enough to cool Earth dramatically 

Between 1645 and 1715, the sun went through a 70–year quiet period known as the Maunder Minimum.

At the same time, the Earth entered a period known as the Little Ice Age, during which temperatures in Northern Europe fell by between 0.6°C (1.1 °F) and 2°C (3.6°F).

Although the sun was only delivering 0.22 per cent less energy, some researchers think that this change was partially responsible for the deadly chill.

If Project Hail Mary's predictions came true and the sun's radiation continued to fall by one per cent, the results would soon become catastrophic.

As Earth would be losing more energy into space than it gained from the sun, global temperatures would soon fall several degrees below average.

Worryingly, Earth's history shows that even relatively small changes in the planet's average temperature can have a massively outsized impact.

During the Little Ice Age, less than a degree Celsius of cooling led to mass famine throughout Northern Europe.

Cold winters and cool summers led to crop failures, while the sea became so cold that Norse colonies in Greenland were cut off by the ice and collapsed through starvation.

In Project Hail Mary, the teacher turned astronaut Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling (pictured), learns that the sun will cool by one per cent in a year

According to a recent study, global cooling of just 1.8°C (3.25°F) would cut production of maize, wheat, soybeans and rice to fall by as much as 11 per cent.

As crop production failed due to cold weather and a lack of sunlight, mass famine would grip the world, killing 5.3 billion people in just two years.

However, if Project Hail Mary came true and the sun cooled by one to five per cent in 20 years, the effects on the climate would be even more devastating.

In Project Hail Mary, the teacher turned astronaut Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling in the upcoming film, remarks: 'That would mean an ice age. Like... right away. Instant ice age.'

That might sound dramatic, but scientists agree that it might not take much cooling for ice to reclaim the world.

According to a recent study from the University of Arizona, the average temperature during the last Ice Age, 20,000 years ago, was just 6°C (10.8°F) colder than today.

During this time, glaciers covered about half of North America, Europe and South America and many parts of Asia.

Dr Becky Smethurst, astrophysicist at the University of Oxford, told Daily Mail: 'A drop in energy of one per cent from the Sun would trigger a new Ice Age on Earth, with the polar ice caps expanding further towards the equator.

Just like the 2004 movie 'The Day After Tomorrow' (pictured), these major changes to the Earth's climate would eventually culminate in a new Ice Age that could wipe out life on Earth

According to a recent study from the University of Arizona, the average temperature during the last Ice Age, 20,000 years ago, was just 6°C (10.8°F) colder than today. This means it might not take much cooling for icy conditions to return 

'Many ecosystems would collapse as the weather changed, farming would fail, and there would be severe food shortages. As a species, humans would likely survive this change thanks to modern technology, although we'd most likely be living underground.'

What would happen if the sun completely cooled?

Although humanity might be able to survive a global ice age, the situation would be very different if the sun completely vanished.

Within a week, the Earth's surface would fall below –18°C (0°F) and within a year it would dip below –73°C (–100°F).

Eventually, after cooling for millions of years, the planet would stabilise at a frigid –240°C (–400°F).

However, humanity would be long gone well before the planet ever got to that point.

Some humans might be able to cling on in the deepest parts of the ocean, using hydrothermal vents for warmth.

But once the oceans freeze over, there would be very little hope for anyone to survive.

In the original novel of Project Hail Mary, written by The Martian author Andy Weir, scientists make the terrifying prediction that the sun's brightness will fall one per cent in a year and five per cent in 20 years. If this were true, then humanity would very likely be destroyed 

Dr Alexander James, a solar scientist from University College London, told Daily Mail: 'From a fundamental viewpoint, if the Sun completely faded, there would be no more light, meaning all our green plant life would be unable to photosynthesise.

'That means plants would not be producing oxygen, which, of course, we need to live. Temperatures would also plummet, so I don’t see how the majority of life as we know it would be able to survive without our Sun.'

Could this ever really happen?

Thankfully, scientists say there's no way that the sun could cool as fast as in Project Hail Mary.

Although the sun's activity does fluctuate, even in the most extreme events and quiet periods, the effects are not dramatic.

For example, many scientists have questioned how much the Maunder Minimum really contributed to the Little Ice Age during the 17th Century.

While most experts agree that a decline in solar activity did contribute to the cooling, other factors, such as volcanic activity, likely played a bigger role.

Additionally, most of the sun's natural variations are on a much smaller scale.

Luckily for us, the sun is so large that it cannot physically cool as quickly as Project Hail Mary suggests. Experts say the sun would only cool by one per cent in a million years if the core completely stopped producing energy

The amount of energy arriving from the sun usually only drops by 0.1 per cent during the solar cycle.

While large sunspots, cool regions on the solar surface, might cause a temporary dip as low as 0.25 per cent below average, this is nowhere near the five per cent change of Project Hail Mary.

In fact, many scientists believe that the sun cannot physically cool this fast.

Professor Michael Lockwood, a space environment physicist from the University of Reading, told Daily Mail: 'About half of the Sun's mass is in the radiative and convection zones outside the core – that is about a thousand, billion, billion, billion, billion kilograms.'

This enormous mass acts like a heat sink, storing colossal amounts of energy that would take billions of years to dissipate.

Professor Lockwood says: 'Roughly speaking, if the core ceased producing any energy, the power emitted by the Sun would only have dropped by about one per cent a million years later.

'Scientifically, anything faster than that is nonsense.'

So, even if the sun does start giving out on us, we will have plenty of time to find a better solution than sending out Ryan Gosling on a spaceship.

WHAT IS THE SOLAR CYCLE?

The Sun is a huge ball of electrically-charged hot gas that moves, generating a powerful magnetic field.

This magnetic field goes through a cycle, called the solar cycle.

Every 11 years or so, the Sun's magnetic field completely flips, meaning the sun's north and south poles switch places. 

The solar cycle affects activity on the surface of the Sun, such as sunspots which are caused by the Sun's magnetic fields. 

Every 11 years the Sun's magnetic field flips, meaning the Sun's north and south poles switch places. The solar cycle affects activity on the surface of the Sun, increasing the number of sunspots during stronger (2001) phases than weaker (1996/2006) ones

One way to track the solar cycle is by counting the number of sunspots.

The beginning of a solar cycle is a solar minimum, or when the Sun has the least sunspots. Over time, solar activity - and the number of sunspots - increases.

The middle of the solar cycle is the solar maximum, or when the Sun has the most sunspots.

As the cycle ends, it fades back to the solar minimum and then a new cycle begins.

Giant eruptions on the Sun, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, also increase during the solar cycle.

These eruptions send powerful bursts of energy and material into space that can have effects on Earth.

For example, eruptions can cause lights in the sky, called aurora, or impact radio communications and electricity grids on Earth. 

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China introduceert helikopterdrone voor extreem landschap

Key takeaways

China heeft zijn nieuwste onbemande luchtvaartuig onthuld, de Meyu Arrow helikopterdrone. De geavanceerde drone, ontwikkeld door Tengden Technology uit Sichuan, onderging onlangs zijn eerste live raketafvuurtest op meer dan 4.000 meter hoogte.

Bestrijding van extreme omgevingen

Volgens China Central Television (CCTV) is de Meyu Arrow ontworpen voor extreme omgevingen en moeilijk terrein. Na een succesvolle eerste raketlancering gaat de helikopter nu een nieuwe fase van testvluchten in. Tengden Technology wil de mogelijkheden verder uitbreiden en plant tests voor besturing buiten de zichtlijn op hoogtes boven 6.000 meter.

De Meyu Arrow heeft een aantal indrukwekkende technische kenmerken. Hij is 7,87 meter lang en heeft een rotordiameter van 6,4 meter, kan tot acht uur in de lucht blijven en heeft een bereik van 900 kilometer. Het operationele plafond is een indrukwekkende 7.000 meter.

Demonstratie

Tengden Technology heeft eerder de prestaties van de drone gedemonstreerd door het bereiken van een snelheid van 135 km/u op 6.500 meter en een werkelijke snelheid van 178 km/u tijdens een afdaling naar 4.500 meter. Deze tests tonen het vermogen van de helikopterdrone om de controle te behouden in moeilijke windomstandigheden en in ijle lucht.

De Meyu Arrow is ontworpen voor verkennings- en aanvalsmissies, gewapende escorte en precisiedoelen. Hij blinkt uit in bergachtige gebieden waar traditionele UAV’s met vaste vleugels beperkt zijn. Dankzij de mogelijkheden voor verticaal opstijgen en landen kan het toestel opereren vanuit krappe ruimtes. Die zijn ontoegankelijk voor bemande vliegtuigen, zoals smalle valleien of hooggelegen posities.

Nieuw schakelpunt in China’s dronecapaciteit

Deze helikopter vult een cruciaal gat in China’s onbemande arsenaal door de wendbaarheid van roterende vleugels te combineren met een bewapende precisieslag over extreem terrein. De mogelijkheid om op 6.000 meter hoogte te opereren met behulp van satellietcommunicatie zou het operationele bereik vergroten tot buiten de gezichtslijn, een eigenschap die meestal geassocieerd wordt met grotere UAV’s met vaste vleugels.

Dergelijke drones op grote hoogte zijn bijzonder nuttig voor het beveiligen van betwiste grenszones, hoogvlakten en bergcorridors. Ze krijgen daardoor een strategische rol binnen China’s defensiebeleid, vooral langs de grens met India.

{ Business AM Dutch }

Over the past few decades, scientists have conducted numerous searches for extraterrestrial life and are now summarizing some of the results of this work. The conditions for the emergence of organic beings similar to those on Earth are more than favorable. However, no reliable traces of intelligent beings have been found.

A layer of ice beneath the surface of Mars, which may harbor extraterrestrial life.
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA/USGS

New analysis of the search for extraterrestrial life

Since the 1950s, humanity has been searching for extraterrestrial life with increasingly sophisticated tools. But after decades of space probes, meteorite analysis, radio telescopes, and UFO investigations, what have we actually found?

A new piece of analysis by a team led by Seyed Sina Seyedpour Layalestani from the Islamic Azad University in Iran has looked at the most compelling evidence to date, from ancient space rocks that fell to Earth carrying the building blocks of life itself. The paper is published in the International Journal of Astrobiology.

Organic molecules in ancient meteorites

The Murchison meteorite, which crashed into Australia in 1969, is older than our solar system at 7 billion years. Recent analysis revealed something extraordinary: that all five nucleobases that form DNA and RNA (adenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine, and uracil) were present in this ancient stone. These molecules, confirmed as extraterrestrial in origin, fundamentally challenge the assumption that life’s ingredients formed exclusively on Earth.

The Orgueil meteorite that exploded over France in 1864 tells a similar story. This carbonaceous rock contains not just amino acids like glycine and alanine, but structures resembling microfossils, tiny forms that look similar to magnetotactic bacteria found in Earth’s oceans. While scientists initially dismissed these as contamination or mineral formations, recent studies have confirmed their extraterrestrial origin.

Conditions for the emergence of life beyond Earth

Space probes have expanded the search beyond meteorites. Rovers on Mars discovered liquid water streams and ice. The Cassini spacecraft found massive glaciers on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The Phoenix lander confirmed water ice just three centimeters below the Martian surface. These discoveries reveal that the basic requirements for life, water, organic compounds, and energy sources, seem to exist throughout our solar system.

Radio telescopes have detected more than 100 organic molecules in interstellar dust clouds, including amino acids and nucleic acid components. These findings strengthen the panspermia hypothesis, the idea that life’s building blocks are distributed throughout space, potentially seeding planets across the galaxy.

But what about intelligent alien civilizations? Despite decades of UFO reports and SETI programs broadcasting messages into space, no confirmed evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence exists. Most UFO sightings have conventional explanations, from ball lightning in the atmosphere to plasma phenomena in the thermosphere. The supposed alien bodies presented to Mexico’s Congress in 2023 were quickly dismissed as artificial constructs.

The search for extraterrestrial life and the help of artificial intelligence

The challenge isn’t a lack of evidence for life’s ingredients; instead, it’s proving that these ingredients actually formed living organisms elsewhere. The presence of DNA building blocks in billion-year-old meteorites doesn’t confirm that alien bacteria existed, only that the chemistry for life occurs naturally in space.

Enter artificial intelligence. New AI algorithms can analyze meteorite chemistry to distinguish biological from non-biological origins of organic compounds. Machine learning helps filter noise from radio signals and identify atmospheric biosignatures on distant exoplanets. Where human analysis might overlook subtle patterns in vast datasets, AI excels.

We’ve found the pieces. The building blocks of life exist throughout space. Whether those pieces assembled into living organisms, microbial or intelligent, remains the universe’s most tantalizing unanswered question.

• Provided by: phys.org

• Posted in News, Science

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