301 San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world’s oldest republic still in existence, is founded by Saint Marinus
1650Oliver Cromwell‘s English New Model Army defeats a Scottish force in a surprise attack at the Battle of Dunbar
1783 The Treaty of Paris is signed in Paris, ending the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the United States of America
1791 The new French Constitution, declaring France a constitutional monarchy, is passed by the National Assembly during the French Revolution
1900 With a proclamation by General Lord Roberts, Britain annexes the Boer Republic of South Africa
1939 World War II: Britain declares war on Germany after the invasion of Poland; France follows six hours later, quickly joined by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada
1944 Holocaust diarist Anne Frank is sent to Auschwitz concentration camp [1]
1967 Sweden begins driving on the right-hand side of the road (Dagen H)
1988 An estimated 50,000 Kurdish civilians and soldiers are killed by Iraq by this date, many using chemical weapons, in the aftermath of the Iran-Iraq War
1950 Giuseppe “Nino” Farina wins the inaugural Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship by winning the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in an Alfa Romeo, finishing three points ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio
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The flag of the United States flies in battle for the first time at Cooch’s Bridge, Delaware, during a skirmish in the American Revolutionary War
Britain and the British Empire (including the American colonies) adopt the Gregorian Calendar, losing 11 days; people riot, thinking the government has stolen 11 days of their lives
A groundbreaking discovery by Canadian researchers has identified a microRNA capable of protecting delicate kidney blood vessels after injury, opening new possibilities for early diagnosis and treatment of chronic kidney disease. Credit: Shutterstock
Millions of kidney patients could benefit from early detection and prevention as a result of the breakthrough made by scientists at the CRCHUM.
In a groundbreaking achievement, researchers at the CRCHUM, the hospital research center affiliated with Université de Montréal, have identified a type of microRNA that can safeguard small blood vessels and help maintain kidney function following severe injury.
This discovery holds significant promise for the more than four million Canadians living with chronic renal failure, as well as millions of patients worldwide, by offering new possibilities for earlier detection and prevention of the disease.
Until now, there had been no dependable biomarker to assess the condition of these delicate capillaries or to guide targeted strategies aimed at protecting kidney function.
Discovery of miR-423-5p as a biomarker
Findings published in JCI Insight reveal that the microRNA known as miR-423-5p shows strong potential as a blood-based biomarker for evaluating kidney microvascular health.
The study was co-authored by Université de Montréal medical professors Marie-Josée Hébert and Héloïse Cardinal, who hold the Shire Chair in Nephrology, Renal Transplantation and Regeneration, alongside Hébert’s research associate Francis Migneault.
Dr. Marie-Josée Hébert (left) and Dr. Héloïse Cardinal (right), CRCHUM researchers and holders of the Shire Chair in Nephrology, Renal Transplantation and Regeneration, co-authored the study with Hébert’s research associate Francis Migneault (center). Credit: CHUM
Their research focuses on the decline of peritubular capillaries, a key indicator of chronic renal failure.
These minute vessels, found in the kidneys by the millions, are responsible for removing waste from the blood while delivering oxygen and nutrients essential for kidney function.
Risks and potential applications in patients
Kidney damage that occurs when blood flow is temporarily cut off and then restored can result in the loss of small blood vessels, significantly impairing the organ’s ability to function properly.
“In people who have received a transplant, if kidney function is severely altered, the kidney’s survival is threatened,” said Hébert, a nephrology-transplant physician and UdeM’s outgoing vice-rector for research, discovery, creation, and innovation.
“Using this biomarker, a test could be developed to evaluate the status of the small blood vessels much earlier,” she said. “Doctors in hospitals could then better evaluate the microvascular health of higher-risk patients.
“These could include elderly patients or those undergoing surgeries during which blood flow is temporarily stopped, as is the case for organ transplants or cardiovascular interventions.”
Of mice and… 51 transplant recipients
“We first observed fluctuating levels of miR-423-5p microRNA in the blood of mice with acute kidney injuries,” said Migneault, the study’s first author. “These results were then confirmed in 51 transplant recipients who participated in the CHUM kidney transplant biobank.”
Thanks to this biomarker, clinical teams could confirm whether their interventions improve or diminish the health of small blood vessels.
“But what’s really incredible is that by injecting this microRNA into mice with kidney injuries, we were able to preserve the small blood vessels and limit the damage done to the kidneys,” said Migneault.
While direct injection into the kidney is a clinically feasible method during a transplant, to protect the remaining small blood vessels, the CRCHUM scientists are now focused on alternative techniques to transport the microRNA, or likely a microRNA cocktail, to the kidney.
Potentially useful for other patients
In terms of prevention, a test based on this miR-423-5p microRNA could be useful for patients with cardiac failure, pulmonary failure, or certain neurodegenerative diseases.
“For these medical conditions, the loss of small blood vessels plays a key role, because of the association with normal or accelerated aging,” said Hébert. “Our discovery could, therefore, have a significant impact on the health of all Canadians.”
For those with pulmonary failure, several research projects are in progress under Emmanuelle Brochiero, a researcher and head of the Immunopathology research theme at the CRCHUM.
It may also be possible, using the CHUM’s biological material biobank, to determine if existing medications, administered after a kidney transplant to treat another issue, impact small blood vessel health, added Hébert.
Reference: “Endothelial extracellular vesicle miR-423-5p regulates microvascular homeostasis and renal function after ischemia-reperfusion injury” by Francis Migneault, Hyunyun Kim, Alice Doreille, Shanshan Lan, Alexis Gendron, Marie-Hélène Normand, Annie Karakeussian Rimbaud, Martin Dupont, Isabelle Bourdeau, Éric Bonneil, Julie Turgeon, Sylvie Dussault, Pierre Thibault, Mélanie Dieudé, Éric Boilard, Alain Rivard, Héloïse Cardinal and Marie-Josée Hébert, 22 May 2025, JCI Insight. DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.181937
This research was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Shire Chair in Nephrology, Renal Transplantation and Regeneration at Université de Montréal, the Fondation J.-Louis Lévesque, the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program, the Fonds de recherche du Québec—Santé, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. It was supported by the molecular pathology and animal core facility teams.
Dr. Hébert, Dr. Cardinal, Francis Migneault and the members of their team would like to thank the CHUM patients for their participation in the CHUM kidney transplant biobank, as well as the clinical and research staff who ensure the continued existence of the biobank.
Beneath Mars’ dusty slopes lie glaciers that resemble frozen honey, but new research reveals they are far purer than once believed Credit: Shutterstock
Mars’ glaciers are over 80% pure ice, formed by similar processes worldwide. This discovery sheds light on past climate and future exploration resources.
On the slopes of Martian mountains and within its craters lie formations that look like streams of honey, blanketed in dust and frozen in place. These structures are, in fact, glaciers that creep forward at an almost imperceptible pace. For years, scientists believed they were largely composed of rock with only limited amounts of ice mixed in.
Research carried out over the past two decades has shown that some of these glaciers are actually made up of mostly ice, with just a thin surface layer of dust and rock. Now, a new study published in Icarus reveals that this is not limited to a few sites—glaciers across Mars contain more than 80% water ice. This discovery indicates that the planet’s glacial deposits are remarkably pure on a global scale, offering fresh insight into Mars’ climate history and pointing to a potential resource for future exploration.
The study was led by Yuval Steinberg, a recent graduate of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. His coauthors, Oded Aharonson and Isaac Smith, are senior scientists at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, with academic affiliations at the Weizmann Institute of Science and York University, respectively.
“This study highlights how NASA programs are advancing science not just within the United States, but also reaching students around the world,” Aharonson said.
Peering under the dust-covered veil
This is an example of a debris-covered glacier on Mars. New research into these features suggest that they are purer than once thought, with implications for understanding Mars’ overall water budget and resource utilization on future manned missions. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
As the researchers reviewed earlier studies, they realized that the analysis of debris-covered glaciers had been inconsistent and difficult to compare.
“Different techniques had been applied by researchers to various sites, and the results could not be easily compared,” explained Smith. “One of the sites in our study had never been studied, and at two of the five sites we used, only partial analysis had been completed previously.”
To address this, the team developed a standardized approach for examining debris-covered glaciers. They focused on two key measurements: the dielectric property (which reflects how quickly radar waves travel through a material) and the loss tangent (which indicates how much of that energy is absorbed by the material). These values make it possible to estimate the ratio of ice to rock within a glacier—something that cannot be determined through surface observation alone, since dust and rock often obscure what lies beneath.
Global comparison of Martian glaciers
They also identified another area on Mars where SHARAD, short for the SHAllow RADar instrument onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, could also do these analyses. This gave them a total of five sites spread across the red planet, enabling global comparison.
The five sites that the team investigated for glacier purity. The fact that these disparate sites contained a similarly high ice-to-rock ratio implies that Mars experienced either one widespread glaciation or multiple glaciations that had similar properties, according to the team. Credit: Steinberg et. al.
They were surprised to find that all glaciers, even in opposite hemispheres, have nearly the same properties.
“This is important because it tells us that the formation and preservation mechanisms are probably the same everywhere,” Smith said. “From that, we can conclude that Mars experienced either one widespread glaciation or multiple glaciations that had similar properties. And, by bringing together these sites and techniques for the first time, we were able to unify our understanding of these types of glaciers.”
Knowing the minimum purity of these glaciers benefits scientific understanding of the processes that form and preserve them. Additionally, it helps when planning for future human exploration of Mars, when using local resources, such as water, becomes mission-critical.
Next, the team will seek out additional glaciers to add their global comparison and solidify their understanding of these dust-covered mysteries.
Reference: “Physical properties of subsurface water ice deposits in Mars’s Mid-Latitudes from the shallow radar” by Yuval Steinberg, Isaac B. Smith and Oded Aharonson, 7 July 2025, Icarus. DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116716
A composite image showing the five dwarf planets recognized by the International Astronomical Union, plus the newly discovered trans-Neptunian object 2017 OF201. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech; image of 2017 OF201: Sihao Cheng et al.
A new trans-Neptunian object, 2017 OF201, has been found with a vast orbit and potential dwarf planet size. The finding hints at more hidden bodies beyond Neptune.
A research team led by Sihao Cheng at the Institute for Advanced Study’s School of Natural Sciences has identified a remarkable trans-Neptunian object (TNO) at the far reaches of the solar system. The object has been designated 2017 OF201.
Based on its estimated size, 2017 OF201 could meet the criteria for classification as a dwarf planet, placing it in the same category as Pluto. It is among the most distant objects ever observed in the solar system and indicates that the region beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt, long assumed to be nearly empty, may in fact harbor more bodies than expected.
Cheng, working with Princeton University collaborators Jiaxuan Li and Eritas Yang, detected the object using advanced computational techniques designed to reveal distinctive orbital patterns across the sky. The discovery was confirmed by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center on May 21, 2025, and was also described in a preprint released on arXiv.
Images of 2017 OF201 from the telescope database and its trajectory in the sky. Credit: Jiaxuan Li and Sihao Cheng
Trans-Neptunian objects are minor planets whose orbits lie, on average, farther from the Sun than Neptune’s. What makes 2017 OF201 particularly noteworthy is both its extreme orbital characteristics and its unusually large size.
“The object’s aphelion—the farthest point on the orbit from the Sun—is more than 1600 times that of the Earth’s orbit,” explains Cheng. “Meanwhile, its perihelion—the closest point on its orbit to the Sun—is 44.5 times that of the Earth’s orbit, similar to Pluto’s orbit.”
Complex history of gravitational encounters
This extreme orbit, which takes the object approximately 25,000 years to complete, suggests a complex history of gravitational interactions. “It must have experienced close encounters with a giant planet, causing it to be ejected to a wide orbit,” says Yang. “There may have been more than one step in its migration. It’s possible that this object was first ejected to the Oort cloud, the most distant region in our solar system, which is home to many comets, and then sent back,” Cheng adds.
“Many extreme TNOs have orbits that appear to cluster in specific orientations, but 2017 OF201 deviates from this,” says Li. This clustering has been interpreted as indirect evidence for the existence of another planet in the solar system, Planet X or Planet Nine, which could be gravitationally shepherding these objects into their observed patterns. The existence of 2017 OF201 as an outlier to such clustering could potentially challenge this hypothesis.
Image showing the current location of Pluto, Neptune, and 2017 OF201. Credit: Jiaxuan Li and Sihao Cheng
Cheng and his team estimate that 2017 OF201 is about 700 km in diameter, which would make it the second largest object discovered with such an extended orbit. For comparison, Pluto’s diameter is 2,377 km. The researchers note that further observations, possibly with radio telescopes, will be required to measure the object’s true size more precisely.
Identifying the object in telescope data
Cheng discovered the object as part of an ongoing research project to identify TNOs and possible new planets in the outer solar system. The object was identified by pinpointing bright spots in an astronomical image database from the Victor M. Blanco Telescope and Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), and trying to connect all possible groups of such spots that appeared to move across the sky in the way a single TNO might. This search was carried out using a computationally efficient algorithm produced by Cheng. Ultimately, they identified 2017 OF201 in 19 different exposures, captured over 7 years.
The discovery has significant implications for our understanding of the outer solar system. The area beyond the Kuiper Belt, where the object is located, has previously been thought to be essentially empty, but the team’s discovery suggests that this is not so.
“2017 OF201 spends only 1% of its orbital time close enough to us to be detectable. The presence of this single object suggests that there could be another hundred or so other objects with similar orbit and size; they are just too far away to be detectable now,” Cheng states. “Even though advances in telescopes have enabled us to explore distant parts of the universe, there is still a great deal to discover about our own solar system.”
The detection also demonstrates the power of open science. “All the data we used to identify and characterize this object are archival data that are available to anyone, not only professional astronomers,” says Li. “This means that groundbreaking discoveries aren’t limited to those with access to the world’s largest telescopes. Any researcher, student, or even citizen scientist with the right tools and knowledge could have made this discovery, highlighting the value of sharing scientific resources.”
Reference: “Discovery of a dwarf planet candidate in an extremely wide orbit: 2017 OF201” by Sihao Cheng, Jiaxuan Li and Eritas Yang, 21 May 2025, arXiv. DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2505.15806
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – According to intriguing old folklore, the mound is thought to be the resting place of a giantess from the Vendel period, which lasted roughly from 540 to 790 AD. This extraordinary woman was celebrated as a queen among giants, renowned for her kindness and significant contributions to her community.
The legend of this Vendel giantess includes stories of hidden treasure in the area, leading many on quests that often ended in misfortune. Her burial mound has long been shrouded in mystery, and the narrative took an unexpected twist when archaeologists conducted excavations and discovered something truly astonishing within her grave.
When ancient history, folklore, and archaeology converge, it invites us to anticipate surprises beyond our imagination.
This is a preview of our premium article available only to members of Ancient Pages.
Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – A team of researchers has uncovered the history of Hunacti, a 16th-century mission town featuring stone streets and a Spanish-style church. However, behind its appearance lies another story of this small town. It’s a story of Hunacti’s residents’ steady commitment to preserving Maya religious traditions and coping with the persistent persecution by Spanish colonial authorities.
Ruins of the Hunacti church. Image credit: Carlos Peraza Lope. Source
The town, located on the Yucatán Peninsula, was initially established in 1557, and abandoned just 15 years later in 1572. This brief period of inhabitation prompts us to wonder and invites to further exploration into the reasons behind its desertion.
A team of researchers, headed by UAlbany anthropologist Marilyn A. Masson, collaborated with experts from Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Morehead State University, and the University of South Wales to conduct an excavation. Their work focused on uncovering three elite residences, the central plaza, and the church.
The results provide insights into how a short-lived Hunacti managed to navigate the challenges and disruptions brought about by the early period of Spanish colonial rule.
Researcher Masson describes Hunacti as a paradox, noting that despite its grand construction and initially cooperative leadership, it became recognized for persistent resistance of its citizens, even at significant cost.
Archaeological findings provide evidence of an organized urban layout, featuring residential areas, communal spaces, and ceremonial structures, indicative of advanced urban planning. The town’s early expansion and prominence earned both the admiration of its residents and the attention of external authorities.
It was thoughtfully designed as a satellite community, periodically visited by Franciscan friars from larger convent centers. Its layout was a reflection of Spanish ideals, with gridded streets extending from a central plaza. Here, a T-shaped church stood prominently against the backdrop of pre-Hispanic pyramids and administrative buildings. Surrounding the plaza were three large elite houses, constructed in the Spanish style with plastered walls, arched windows, and niches.
A team of archaeologists works at the site of a Colonial-era church amid the ruins of the former Maya town known as Hunacti in northern Yucatán, Mexico. Image credit: Marilyn Masson/University at Albany
The town’s founding leaders enjoyed unusual privileges for Maya elites under early colonial rule, such as access to horses, ownership of a cacao orchard, and control over significant construction labor. For the moment, the society was flourishing, importing goods, developing craftsmanship, and was capable of negotiating trade and political influence.
However, Hunacti’s citizens never entirely abandoned their traditional practices, and and they held fast to Maya traditions. Excavations in all three elite residences and various sections of the church, revealed effigy censers, which are ceramic incense burners depicting faces or figures of ancient Maya deities.
According to Masson, many of these censers were above the final colonial floors, indicating their use continued until the settlement’s end, despite Franciscan prohibitions.
in the 1560s, the town figured prominently in the infamous Franciscan ‘idolatry trials’ led by Diego de Landa. who targeted Maya leaders for continuing traditional religious rites. In 1562, Maya leader Juan Xiu was arrested with eight others and died under torture for alleged human sacrifice. In 1565 and 1570, other leaders faced public lashings for idolatry.
By 1572, famine led to the abandonment of Hunacti, with residents likely relocating to nearby Tixmehuac.
Rocket launches are soaring worldwide, fueling innovation but also stirring new concerns about Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists warn that emissions from rockets and burning space debris could delay the recovery of the ozone layer. Credit: Stock
Rocket emissions and re-entry pollutants threaten to delay ozone recovery, but coordinated action and cleaner propulsion could prevent long-term damage.
The sharp increase in global rocket launches may hinder the recovery of the ozone layer, warns Sandro Vattioni. Although the risk is being underestimated, he notes that it could be reduced through proactive and coordinated measures.
In recent years, the expansion of satellite constellations in low Earth orbit has transformed the night sky, fueled by the rapid growth of the space industry. This progress creates major opportunities but also raises environmental challenges. Pollutants released during rocket launches and from burning debris during re-entry accumulate in the middle atmosphere, where they can damage the ozone layer — Earth’s shield against harmful ultraviolet radiation. Scientists are only beginning to fully assess the scale of this threat.
Investigations into how rocket emissions affect ozone began more than three decades ago, but for many years the impact was considered minimal. As the frequency of launches continues to rise, this view is shifting. In 2019, only 97 orbital launches were recorded worldwide, but by 2024 the figure had climbed to 258, with projections pointing to continued rapid growth.
A long-underestimated concern
Unlike ground-level pollutants, emissions from rockets and re-entering satellites can persist in the middle and upper atmosphere up to 100 times longer, since removal processes such as precipitation do not occur at those altitudes. While most launches take place in the Northern Hemisphere, atmospheric circulation eventually distributes the pollutants globally.
To investigate long-term effects, researchers from ETH Zurich and the Physical Meteorological Observatory in Davos (PMOD/WRC), in collaboration with Laura Revell’s international team at the University of Canterbury, used a chemistry–climate model to simulate how future emissions might impact the ozone layer by 2030.
Falcon Heavy, a reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle from SpaceX, in flight for the first time on 6th February 2018. Credit: SpaceX / Keystone
In a high-growth scenario with 2,040 annual launches by 2030 — roughly eight times the 2024 total — the model predicts that global average ozone thickness would decrease by nearly 0.3%. Seasonal losses could reach as much as 4% over Antarctica, where the ozone hole continues to reappear each spring.
While these reductions may appear small, the context is critical. The ozone layer is still recovering from earlier depletion caused by long-lived chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were banned under the 1989 Montreal Protocol. Even today, global ozone thickness remains about 2% below pre-industrial levels, and full recovery is not expected until around 2066. The study suggests that unchecked rocket emissions — which currently remain unregulated — could push this timeline back by several years or even decades, depending on how quickly the space industry expands.
With rockets, too, the choice of fuel matters
The main contributors to ozone depletion from rocket emissions are gaseous chlorine and soot particles. Chlorine catalytically destroys ozone molecules, while soot particles warm the middle atmosphere, accelerating ozone-depleting chemical reactions.
While most rocket propellants emit soot, chlorine emissions primarily come from solid rocket motors. Currently, the only propulsion systems that have a negligible effect on the ozone layer are those which use cryogenic fuels such as liquid oxygen and hydrogen. However, due to the technological complexity of handling cryogenic fuels, only about 6% of rocket launches currently use this technology.
Re-entry effects are still uncertain
We would like to mention that our study only considered emissions released from rockets during ascent into space. But this is only part of the picture. Most satellites in low Earth orbit re-enter the atmosphere at the end of their operational life, burning up in the process.
This process generates additional pollutants, including various metal particles and nitrogen oxides, due to the intense heat generated upon re-entry. While nitrogen oxides are known to deplete ozone catalytically, metal particles may contribute to forming polar stratospheric clouds or serve as reaction surfaces themselves, both of which can intensify ozone loss.
These re-entry effects are still poorly understood and not yet incorporated into most atmospheric models. From our point of view, it is clear that with increasing satellite constellations, re-entry emissions will become more frequent, and the total impact on the ozone layer is likely to be even higher than current estimates. Science is called upon to fill these gaps in our understanding.
Needed: Foresight and coordinated action
But that alone will not be enough. The good news: We believe a launch industry that avoids ozone-damaging effects is entirely possible: Monitoring rocket emissions, minimizing the usage of chlorine and soot-producing fuels, promoting alternative propulsion systems, and implementing the necessary and appropriate regulations are all key to ensuring that the ozone layer continues its recovery. This will take coordinated efforts between scientists, policymakers, and industry.
The Montreal Protocol successfully demonstrated that even planetary-scale environmental threats can be addressed through global cooperation. As we enter a new era of space activity, the same kind of foresight and international coordination will be needed to avoid harmful effects on the ozone layer – one of the Earth’s most vital natural shields.
Reference: “Near-future rocket launches could slow ozone recovery” by Laura E. Revell, Michele T. Bannister, Tyler F. M. Brown, Timofei Sukhodolov, Sandro Vattioni, John Dykema, David J. Frame, John Cater, Gabriel Chiodo and Eugene Rozanov, 9 June 2025, npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. DOI: 10.1038/s41612-025-01098-6
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