The human body is a marvel of science and researchers have discovered a strange reoccurring mathematical pattern within its cells. Our bodies are made up of a massive variety of individual cells with countless different functions, from neurons in our nervous system to the oxygen carriers that all work in harmony to keep us alive. Experts from scientific research institutions in Germany, Canada, Spain, and the US have worked together on a study to determine just how many cells of each type there are in the human body and the results are staggering. They found that most adult males possess around 36 trillion cells, while adult females have in the region of 28 trillion cells. For a 10-year-old child, they have around 17 trillion. Interestingly though, scientists discovered that, regardless of the total number of cells, if they are grouped according to their function, the proportions for each individual remain the same. The researchers explained in their findings: “These patterns are suggestive of a whole-organism trade-off between cell size and count and imply the existence of cell-size homeostasis across cell types.” Scientists believe there is a natural balancing act at play between different cell types with new cells being produced to maintain the balance. The body produces fewer larger cells (such as muscle fibres) and more smaller cells (like blood cells). It is hoped that future studies will be able to uncover exactly how this happens and how bodies seem to naturally regulate cells. They explained that all cells are perfectly sized for their roles and any deviation from their scale can indicate the presence of disease. Experts have made their data, analysis and results public in the hopes that future studies into biology will be able to utilise their research. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Scientists have discovered a new virus in the Pacific that is thought to be the deepest ever found in Earth’s oceans. The so-called bacteriophage virus infects and replicates inside bacteria, and was found in the Mariana Trench, which is the Pacific’s deepest point. Bacteriophages are among the world’s most abundant life forms, and are important for regulating population sizes in the oceans and releasing nutrients. This one, the catchily named vB_HmeY_H4907, was picked up at 8,900 metres below sea level. That is still some way off the 11,000 metre floor of the trench. Min Wang, a marine virologist from the Ocean University of China, said: “To our best knowledge, this is the deepest known isolated phage in the global ocean.” “Wherever there’s life, you can bet there are regulators at work. Viruses, in this case.” Scientists think this virus is likely to be distributed widely in the world’s oceans, despite the fact it has only been discovered. It has a similar structure to its host bacteria group halomonas. These are usually found in sediments and geyser-like openings on the seafloor. They also think the virus is lysogenic, which means it infects the host but does not kill it. Dr Wang said the discovery could inform further research about how viruses survive in the world’s harshest environments. “Extreme environments offer optimal prospects for unearthing novel viruses,” he added. The virus was found in the so-called hadal zone, which the study’s authors said is “the planet’s least explored and most mysterious environment, and it is the deepest habitat for life on Earth’s surface”. The area is named after Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. Researchers wrote in the study: “These findings expand our understanding of the phylogenetic diversity and genomic features of hadal lysogenic phages, provide essential information for further studies of phage-host interactions and evolution, and may reveal new insights into the lysogenic lifestyles of viruses inhabiting the hadal ocean.” The findings were published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Scientists are on alert after NASA confirmed there is a chance an asteroid the size of the Empire State Building could come smashing into Earth. The asteroid is named Bennu after the ancient Egyptian bird god and has been on the space agency’s radar for a long time as they try to prevent it from coming crashing into our planet. Bennu has been categorised as one of the two “most hazardous known asteroids” and, despite the chance of impact standing at 1-in-2,700, it could strike the Earth with the force of 24 times that of the largest nuclear bomb – 1,200 megatons of energy. The carbon-based asteroid is approximately 510 metres wide and experts predict that it will come closest to hitting Earth on September 24, 2182. While the asteroid is quite sizeable, it is not quite as sizeable as the six-mile-wide asteroid which almost completely wiped out the dinosaurs. But, NASA warns that Bennu “could cause continental devastation if it became an Earth impactor”. A space mission launched using NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has successfully taken a sample from Bennu in order for scientists to better understand the potentially dangerous asteroid. On Sunday (24 September) a capsule of the material will be dropped by OSIRIS-REx and returned to Earth where it will be retrieved and the matter inside studied. Davide Farnocchia of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory told the Science Journal: “We improved our knowledge of Bennu's trajectory by a factor of 20.” As scientists work to investigate how much of a risk it could cause, Farnocchia added: “In 2135, we'll know for sure.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A researcher has figured out that the Earth’s first continent was formed 3bn years ago, in a new paper that sheds fresh light on the early stages of the planet’s life. Jane Greaves, an astronomy professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University in Wales, was examining continent formation on distant stars and planets. It is thought that exoplanets with continents that formed in a similar way to Earth’s are more likely to be habitable, and perhaps even contain alien life. In the process, she calculated when several distant planets’ continents were born, as well as those a little closer to home. Continents on Earth sit on top of the planet’s hot, viscous mantle. Heat from the inner core stops the mantle from solidifying. The reason the core is hot is because it contains radioactive elements that came from neutron star collisions billions of years ago such as forms of Uranium, Thorium and Potassium. By analysing how many materials like this are present on Earth and on other planets, we are also able to estimate when the continents formed. On Earth, that was about 9.5 billion years since the beginning of the universe. Meanwhile, in Greaves' sample, the first continents appeared 2bn years before Earth’s on the exoplanets of younger, so-called thin disk stars. Older, thick disk stars analysed in her work produced rocky planets with continents that appeared even earlier: about 4 to 5bn years before Earth’s. “The outlook seems very promising for finding rocky exoplanets with continents, given that nearby Sun-like stars have already produced a few candidate hosts,” she wrote. The study, “When were the First Exocontinents?” is published in Research Notes of the American Astronomical SocietySign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Scientists in Mexico have given their verdict on the supposed 'aliens' that were presented to the country's congress last week. Much controversy existed around the aliens who were presented by a man named Jaime Maussan who has previously been accused of using the mummified beings, apparently found in Peru, as part of an elaborate hoax. Despite spawning dozens of memes, the aliens are apparently being treated seriously enough that they have now been studied by scientists who have said that the figures are ‘single skeletons’ and also have 'eggs' inside of them. The two aliens have been named Clara and Mauricio and have reportedly been studied in a lab at the Noor Clinic in Mexico. Lead researcher Dr Jose de Jesus Zalce Benitez, a former navy forensics doctor, who added that as well as being "a single skeleton" the aliens are also a "complete organic being." He also denied that the aliens were part of a hoax and even said that Clara was "alive, was intact, was biological and was in gestation." However, much like the alien bodies themselves, the research has been clouded in controversy and scepticism as the research has yet to be officially verified, with Nasa scientist Dr David Spergel questioning why the findings haven't been made public, as per the BBC. Spergel said: "He said: "If you have something strange, make samples available to the world scientific community and we'll see what's there." Benitez did add in his address at the press conference: "We are facing the paradigm of describing a new species or given the opportunity to accept that there has been contact with other beings, non-humans, that were drawn and marked in the past by diverse cultures throughout the world." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A Vatican astronomer has come to the help of NASA with a historic mission to study an asteroid. Meteorite expert and Vatican astronomer, Jesuit Brother Bob Macke, came to the aid of the US space agency after building a custom device that would allow the study of material of a sample collected from an asteroid. The mission is that of the unmanned spacecraft, Osiris-Rex, which was launched in 2016 in order to collect samples on an asteroid named Bennu. Bennu is located close to Earth and Osiris-Rex successfully collected a cup of material from the asteroid in 2020. Now, the vessel is approaching Earth and is due to release the sample in a return capsule on 24 September before continuing its orbit of the sun. Macke was contacted by the lead of the mission’s sample analysis working group, Andrew Ryan, who asked him to build the device that was needed in order to analyse the sample of the Bennu asteroid. The device has been devised so that it can analyse the density and porosity of the samples to help identify the make up of the asteroid surface. It is known as a pycnometer and NASA has strict requirements for the device, though other companies contacted were not willing to custom make one. Macke, however, took up the task and was able to build it in five weeks thanks to the assistance of students at the University of Arizona who collaborate with the Vatican Observatory’s advanced technology telescope in Tucson. In March it was delivered to the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston for a test run and is hoped to be used for the real thing when the sample arrives from space. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Conspiracy theorists have been turning their attention to Antarctica more than you’d expect over recent years. First, there was the case of the “bleeding waterfalls”, which remains one of the strangest natural phenomena you're likely to see, and there’s also the mystery of a so-called “pyramid” which has been found on the continent. Only, it’s not a pyramid at all – in fact, it’s a mountain. The Ellsworth Mountains are the highest mountain range in Antarctica and stretch 400km and the mountain in question was discovered by the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1913 It was called “The Pyramid” to keep the true nature of the discovery hidden from others at the time. Over the last hundred years, however, people have been speculating about the true nature of the location (even though it’s very much a mountain, poking up out of the ice) and now a second interesting geographical feature has bee discovered and got them talking all over again. The location in question is found at the coordinates 79°58’39.25?S 81°57’32.21?W, which has been a much-searched spot on Google Earth. Speaking to IFL Science, geologist at the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Dr Mitch Darcy, said: “The pyramid-shaped structures are located in the Ellsworth Mountains, which is a range more than 400 km long, so it’s no surprise there are rocky peaks cropping out above the ice. The peaks are clearly composed of rock, and it’s a coincidence that this particular peak has that shape. “It’s not a complicated shape, so it’s not a special coincidence either. By definition, it is a nunatak, which is simply a peak of rock sticking out above a glacier or an ice sheet. This one has the shape of a pyramid, but that doesn’t make it a human construction.” So, the new location is just that – a mountain poking out the top of the ice in Antarctica, and not a mysterious pyramid at all. Antarctica has been the subject of more than its fair share of speculation recently, after conspiracy theorist Eric Hecker described the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station by the south pole as an “air traffic control” hub for aliens earlier this year. Hecker claimed that in 2010 Raytheon, the US aerospace and defence conglomerate chose him to be a contractor on the research centre operated by the United States National Science Foundation. There was “much more” to the station that first met the eye, according to Hecker. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The human body is a marvel of science and researchers have discovered a strange reoccurring mathematical pattern within its cells. Our bodies are made up of a massive variety of individual cells with countless different functions, from neurons in our nervous system to the oxygen carriers that all work in harmony to keep us alive. Experts from scientific research institutions in Germany, Canada, Spain, and the US have worked together on a study to determine just how many cells of each type there are in the human body and the results are staggering. They found that most adult males possess around 36 trillion cells, while adult females have in the region of 28 trillion cells. For a 10-year-old child, they have around 17 trillion. Interestingly though, scientists discovered that, regardless of the total number of cells, if they are grouped according to their function, the proportions for each individual remain the same. The researchers explained in their findings: “These patterns are suggestive of a whole-organism trade-off between cell size and count and imply the existence of cell-size homeostasis across cell types.” Scientists believe there is a natural balancing act at play between different cell types with new cells being produced to maintain the balance. The body produces fewer larger cells (such as muscle fibres) and more smaller cells (like blood cells). It is hoped that future studies will be able to uncover exactly how this happens and how bodies seem to naturally regulate cells. They explained that all cells are perfectly sized for their roles and any deviation from their scale can indicate the presence of disease. Experts have made their data, analysis and results public in the hopes that future studies into biology will be able to utilise their research. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Having a bad day? Mercury in retrograde. Broken your phone this morning? Mercury in retrograde. Had a sudden and unexpected breakup? Mercury in retrograde. It only takes a quick swipe through social media to see this cosmic event taking the blame for pretty much everything – and according to the age-old astrological theory, we are all influenced by its effects. Astrologers have been examining Mercury retrograde for thousands of years, but it wasn't until 2010 when Google searches started to spike. Now, with the help of Instagram and the drive towards self-care and mindfulness, interest in astrology has heightened to a whole new level. While Mercury retrograde is far too often viewed as a negative thing, it is also said to be the perfect time for self-reflection and growth. Laura Hayes, certified astrologer and founder of the online astrology community, @astrohuns, spoke with Indy100 to break down this astrological phenomenon. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter What does Mercury retrograde mean? To put it simply, Mercury retrograde occurs when the planet Mercury – which takes 88 days to orbit the Sun, as opposed to Earth's 365 – appears to go backwards in its orbit. In Astrology, Mercury – named after the Roman deity who served as a messenger to the gods – is the planet of communication and the mind. Hayes explained: "Its placement in your birth chart affects how you think and communicate. Additionally, Mercury's transits at any given time will also have an impact on our thoughts and way of communicating." How long does it last? It tends to last around three to four weeks a time. However, there is also a "shadow period" – or retroshade – before and after Mercury Retrograde. This can apparently make things "a little rocky." "This Retroshade period lasts about 2-3 weeks and is almost like a diluted form of the retrograde itself," Hayes said. "Therefore, you may begin to feel the effects of Mercury retrograde a few weeks before it begins and still feel its lingering effects for a few weeks afterwards." How can it 'impact your life'? Astrologically speaking, when Mercury is in retrograde, the areas of life associated with the planet are said to be affected. "You are said to have verbal communication difficulties at this time, causing you to mishear someone or say the wrong thing, leading to arguments and misunderstandings," Hayes explained. People can find themselves "stumbling over their words, saying the wrong thing, or struggling to think coherently altogether." "Phones can lose signal; steamy texts to bae get sent to your boss instead, or your laptop breaks down when you're in the middle of writing your memoirs," she added. "Travel is another area that gets messed up during Mercury Retrograde, so be careful on the road and make sure to double-check flight details before you book." What can people do to deal with said 'effects'? According to KJ Atlas, consulting astrologer, writer, and artist of the human aura, you shouldn't put your life on hold purely because Mercury is retrograde. Instead, she says it is a time to significantly slow down. "You're more likely to make mistakes during this period, but if you listen to the call to take it easy, spend more time in self-care, go out less, and prioritize your mental and physical health, you'll be just fine," she explained. "If you need to sign contracts, purchase something significant, or have a deep talk, just do so mindfully and do your due diligence." Atlas acknowledged one positive rule of thumb: People are encouraged to do anything with the prefix 're'. "If you’re in a situation that you don’t enjoy, you can use this period for reevaluation or rekindling, but wait to take action until the cycle has ended. This includes the pre and post shadow periods. "People often jump right back into things that might be warnings during Mercury retrograde on the day that it’s technically over, but it’s good practice to wait a few days." When does Mercury retrograde occur? Mercury retrograde occurs three to four times per year. It tends to occur roughly around the same time each year. The dates* for this year are: January 14th - February 4th May 10th - June 3rd September 10th - October 2nd December 29th - January 18th (2023) *dates based on GMT, so they may vary slightly in other time zones. It's worth noting that astrology is not the same thing as astronomy. Astrology is a belief system that the stars and planets allow us to 'read a person', predict the future or have the ability to alter our daily lives, as above. Astrology can be important to some cultures, but it is not based on scientific evidence. Astronomy, however, is backed by data. David J. Helfand, Professor of Astronomy and Columbia University Chair, slammed the astrological theory as "arrant nonsense." Helfand explained that the retrograde motion of Mercury is a "simple consequence of the fact that we observe the sky from a moving platform we call Earth as it orbits the Sun. The other planets also orbit the Sun, all in the same direction." "The apparent motion of any planet as observed from Earth is a combination of the orbit of the planet and the orbit of Earth," he added. "Simple geometry shows that roughly three times a year (for Mercury – less often for other planets on longer orbits), these combined motions give the Earth-bound observer the illusion that the other planet has reversed its direction of motion compared to the background stars." He stated that the orbit of Mercury is governed by laws of gravity and is completely unchanged, which has "been well-understood for over 400 years – it's hardly a new idea." "But apparently, some people prefer 2000-year-old views of the world in which the planets govern their lives – no need to take any personal responsibility then, is there?" "In fact, the gravitational force of Mercury on an Earth-bound you is less than the force of your dog on you when you pat him or her on the head," Helfand explained. "Indeed, patting your dog on its head is likely to have a positive influence on your mood. Maybe people should try that instead of contemplating arrant nonsense about the planets." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

NASA lifted the lid on its unidentified anomalous phenomena study on Thursday (14 September) which aimed to identify "how data gathered by civilian government entities, commercial data, and data from other sources can potentially be analysed to shed light on UAPs." While the report was "not a review or assessment of previous unidentifiable observations," the briefing prompted a video of 'GoFast UFO' to resurface. The clip from 2014 was released by the pilots "to clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real or whether or not there is more to the videos." The statement on the Department of Defense further went on to say at the time: "After a thorough review, the department has determined that the authorized release of these unclassified videos does not reveal any sensitive capabilities or systems, and does not impinge on any subsequent investigations of military air space incursions by unidentified aerial phenomena." The clip also got a mention in the recent 36-page report, published on the NASA website. "A well-known UAP event is the “GoFast” video, recorded by navy aviators from the USS Theodore Roosevelt," it read. @uapbrand GOFAST UAP - better known as the 'Tic Tac' UFO. 🛸 #UAP #UnidentifiedAerialPhenomena #UAPs #OVNI #OVNIs #UFO #UFOs #UFOvideo #UFOvideos "A still frame from this video is shown in the Figure below, where the infrared camera has locked onto a small object in the center. The video gives an impression of an object skimming above the ocean at a great velocity. But analysis of the numerical information on the display reveals a less extraordinary interpretation." Elsewhere, while the report disclaimed the galaxy "does not stop at the outskirts of the solar system," it stressed there is "no reason to conclude" that UFO sightings are alien. "Many of NASA's science missions are, at least in part, focused on answering the question of whether life exists beyond Earth," it read. "Those investigations include missions looking for biosignatures, perhaps on Mars or the icy moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn - as well as farther afield, in the ratios of molecules present in exoplanet atmospheres. "Searching for signs of alien technology is a natural extension of those investigations." It added: "If we recognise the plausibility of any of these, then we should recognise that all are at least plausible." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

NASA has released details from its unidentified anomalous phenomena (a term to describe UFOs that can't be identified) study. When the study started a year ago, NASA set out to identify "how data gathered by civilian government entities, commercial data, and data from other sources can potentially be analysed to shed light on UAPs." They went on to highlight that Thursday's report (14 September) "is not a review or assessment of previous unidentifiable observations." Here are five major things we learned from the 36-page report: NASA should be more proactive when it comes to UFOs The report suggests that the space agency should use better techniques and vices when searching for UAPs. They said the current UAP detection is "often serendipitous," and captured by sensors "that were not designed or calibrated for this purpose, and which lack comprehensive metadata." This means the origin of several UAPs "remain uncertain". "The importance of detecting UAP with multiple, well-calibrated sensors is thus paramount, and accordingly we recommend that Nasa leverage its considerable expertise in this domain to potentially utilize multispectral or hyperspectral data as part of a rigorous data acquisition campaign," they wrote. Many 'credible witnesses' have reported UFOs The report revealed that many "credible" reports of "objects they did not recognise over US airspace" have come through from witnesses, "often military aviators". "Most of these events have since been explained, but a small handful cannot be immediately identified as known human-made or natural phenomena," it read. It noted that one of the problems when it comes to such sightings is that "the data needed to explain these anomalous sightings often do not exist." They added: "This includes eyewitness reports, which on their own can be interesting and compelling, but are not reproducible and usually lack the information needed to make any definitive conclusions." 'No reason to conclude' UFOs are alien While the report disclaimed the galaxy "does not stop at the outskirts of the solar system," it stressed there is "no reason to conclude" that UFO sightings are alien. "Many of NASA's science missions are, at least in part, focused on answering the question of whether life exists beyond Earth," it read. "Those investigations include missions looking for biosignatures, perhaps on Mars or the icy moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn - as well as farther afield, in the ratios of molecules present in exoplanet atmospheres. "Searching for signs of alien technology is a natural extension of those investigations." It adds: "If we recognise the plausibility of any of these, then we should recognise that all are at least plausible." Satellites could potentially be used in the search for aliens "NASA is in an excellent position to contribute to UAP studies within the broader whole-of-government framework," they wrote, going on to explore the potential role of the "US commercial remote-sensing industry" which they say "offers a potent mix of Earth-observing satellites that offer imagery at sub- to several-meter spatial resolution, which is well-matched to the typical spatial scales of known UAP [UFOs]". They continued: "Such commercial constellations could offer a powerful complement to the detection and study of UAP when coincident collection occurs." Artificial intelligence could also help the hunt for aliens "The panel finds that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are essential tools for identifying rare occurrences, potentially including UAP, within vast datasets," they wrote. "However, these powerful techniques will only work on well-characterized data gathered with respect to strong standards." They went on to note that the public "is also a critical aspect of understanding UAP". There's a lot more to learn "The top takeaway from the study is that there is a lot more to learn," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said while releasing the report. "The NASA independent study team did not find any evidence that UAP have an extraterrestrial origin, but we don't know what these UAP are." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

It feels like this year, more than any other, we’re seeing a stream of science stories that continue to blow our minds. Every day is a school day online in 2023, and a host of studies, research papers and headline-making breakthroughs have completely changed our understanding of the world around us at every turn. There have been missions to the moon and findings about our planet which could turn everything we thought we knew on its head – not to mention baffling hearings on UFOs taking place in the US congress. These are the biggest science stories so far this year that have caught our attention in a big way. https://www.indy100.com/science-tech/ocean-beneath-earth-crust-ringwoodite-2665333030 Test Test Scientists discover continent that had been missing for 375 years Geoscientists discovered a continent that had been hiding in plain sight for almost 375 years. Historically, there's been speculation about whether a continent known as Zealandia or Te Riu-a-Māui in the Māori language exists. Read more here. 'Alien corpses' unveiled in Mexico divide conspiracy theorists Christmas has come early for UFO watchers, with the alleged corpses of real-life aliens displayed for the world to see. The startling revelation came during a congress hearing in Mexico City on Tuesday, titled the Public Assembly for the Regulation of Unidentified Anomalous Aerial Phenomena (UAP). During the session, which was streamed online, Mexican ufologist Jaime Maussan presented what he claimed were two perfectly preserved “non-human entities”. Read more here. Buy now , Massive ocean discovered beneath the Earth's crust containing more water than on the surface People are only just realising that there’s a massive ocean hidden under the Earth’s crust. It turns out there’s a huge supply of water 400 miles underground stored in rock known as 'ringwoodite'. Scientists previously discovered that water is stored inside mantle rock in a sponge-like state, which isn’t a liquid, solid or a gas, but instead a fourth state. Read more here. Buy now , Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings