Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday, 5/2/26 – Daily Kos

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Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck, JeremyBloom, FarWestGirl and doomandgloom. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man (RIP), wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.
OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team now is targeting as soon as early September 2026 for launch, ahead of the agency’s commitment to flight no later than May 2027.By the end of its five-year primary mission, Roman is expected to amass a 20,000-terabyte data archive. #NASARoman
The Silent Frequency That Makes Old Buildings Feel Haunted
Researchers say infrasound — low-frequency vibrations from things like pipes, HVAC systems, and traffic that humans can’t consciously hear — may help explain why some old buildings feel unsettling or “haunted.” Rodney Schmaltz, senior author and professor at MacEwan, says: “Consider visiting a supposedly haunted building. Your mood shifts, you feel agitated, but you can’t see or hear anything unusual. In an old building, there is a good chance that infrasound is present, particularly in basements where aging pipes and ventilation systems produce low-frequency vibrations. If you were told the building was haunted, you might attribute that agitation to something supernatural. In reality, you may simply have been exposed to infrasound.” ScienceBlog.com reports:
Infrasound sits below roughly 20 Hz, the lower limit of what the human ear can ordinarily detect. It’s generated by storms, by volcanic activity, by tectonic rumblings deep in the Earth’s crust, and (this is the part that matters) by the mundane mechanical heartbeat of cities: ageing pipes, HVAC systems, traffic, industrial machinery. “Infrasound is pervasive in everyday environments, appearing near ventilation systems, traffic, and industrial machinery,” says Schmaltz. Most of the time, we walk through it without a second thought. The question the team wanted to answer was whether walking through it was actually doing something to us, whether the frequency was registered somewhere below consciousness, somewhere we couldn’t readily name.
The Invisible Force Making Food Less Nutritious
fjo3 shares a report from the Washington Post: Surging concentrations of carbon in the atmosphere, caused largely by burning fossil fuels, have produced potent changes in the way plants grow — from increasing their sugar content to depleting essential nutrients like zinc. Experts fear the degradation of Earth’s food supply will cause an epidemic of hidden hunger, in which even people who consume enough calories won’t get the nutrients they need to thrive. “The diets we eat today have less nutritional density than what our grandparents ate, even if we eat exactly the same thing,” said Kristie Ebi, a professor at the University of Washington’s Center for Health and the Global Environment.
People in wealthy countries with strong health care systems will have many tools to cope with the change, experts said. But for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable, the consequences could be devastating. One study concluded that by the middle of the century the phenomenon could put more than a billion additional women and children at risk of iron-deficiency anemia — a condition that can cause pregnancy complications, developmental problems and even death. Meanwhile, some 2 billion people across the globe who already suffer from some form of nutrient shortage could see their health problems grow even worse. “The scale of the problem is huge,” Ebi said.
Plants depend on carbon dioxide to perform photosynthesis — but that doesn’t mean they grow better when there’s more carbon in the air, scientists say. A sweeping survey of changes among 32 compounds in 43 crops found that nearly every plant that humans eat is harmed by rising CO2 levels. […] For the past several years, [Sterre F. ter Haar, an environmental scientist at Leiden University in the Netherlands and lead author of the survey] and her colleagues have worked to compile a database of all existing research on nutrient changes linked to rising CO2. They tracked down hundreds of studies, ranging from tightly controlled lab experiments to sprawling global analyses of real-world crops.
Next the team used their dataset to calculate the nutritional densities of each crop under different carbon dioxide levels — and to predict how their composition could continue to shift in the future. On average, they found, nutrients have already decreased by an average 3.2 percent across all plants since the late 1980s, when the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was about 350 parts per million. That figure may seem small, ter Haar said, but with so much of the world already living on the brink of nutrient insufficiency, a drop of just a few percentage points has the potential to push millions of additional people into a health crisis.
Researchers are still trying to understand the exact causes of this change. Extra CO2 can make plants grow faster and produce more carbohydrates, but without a matching increase in mineral uptake, nutrients like zinc, iron, and protein become diluted. Higher CO2 also causes plants to open their leaf pores less often, reducing the amount of water — and dissolved minerals — they absorb through their roots. At the same time, higher temperatures can further disrupt soil chemistry, affecting how plants take up nutrients and, in some cases, increasing their absorption of harmful substances like arsenic.
Phone data show that people start limiting time outdoors when wildfire smoke becomes noticeable—but smoke can be dangerous at concentrations lower than noticeability. Responses to wildfire smoke were mostly driven by differences in education. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/9LYW50YTl84
Scientists just found the Milky Way’s edge and it’s closer than expected
Scientists have uncovered the true boundary of the Milky Way’s star-forming region using stellar “age mapping.” They found a telltale U-shaped pattern showing that star formation drops sharply around 35,000–40,000 light-years from the center. Beyond that, stars are mostly migrants, slowly drifting outward rather than forming in place. The discovery gives a long-sought answer to where our galaxy’s stellar nursery really ends.
Scientists catch antimatter “atom” acting like a wave for the first time
Quantum physics once shocked scientists by revealing that particles can behave like waves—and now, that strange behavior has been pushed even further. For the first time, researchers have observed wave-like interference in positronium, an exotic “atom” made of an electron and its antimatter partner, a positron. This breakthrough not only strengthens the weird reality of quantum mechanics but also opens the door to new experiments involving antimatter, including the possibility of testing how gravity affects it—something never directly measured before.
Earth is splitting open beneath the Pacific Northwest, scientists say
For the first time, scientists have watched a subduction zone literally fall apart beneath the ocean floor. Using advanced seismic imaging, they found the Juan de Fuca plate splitting into fragments as it sinks beneath North America. Rather than collapsing all at once, the plate is tearing piece by piece, like a train slowly derailing. The finding helps explain ancient plate fragments and could refine how scientists understand earthquake behavior.
Maya collapse mystery deepens as scientists find no drought at key site
The mysterious collapse of the Maya civilization may not have been driven solely by drought after all. New evidence from lake sediments in Guatemala reveals that one key city, Itzan, enjoyed a stable climate even as its population abruptly vanished. Instead of environmental collapse, the findings point to something more complex: a tightly interconnected network of cities unraveling under pressure. As drought struck neighboring regions, wars, migration, and economic breakdown likely rippled outward, dragging even stable communities into decline.
Sounds familiar -ed.
Genomic analysis of early medieval cemeteries in southern Germany indicates that Central European societies formed through gradual integration of diverse groups, rather than large-scale migrations. doi.org/hbztgd
50-foot ancient snake discovered in India may be one of the largest ever
A massive prehistoric snake discovered in India may rank among the largest ever to slither across Earth. Named Vasuki indicus, this ancient giant lived around 47 million years ago and is estimated to have stretched an astonishing 11 to 15 meters long—rivaling the legendary Titanoboa. Fossilized vertebrae unearthed from a lignite mine in Gujarat reveal a thick-bodied, powerful snake likely built for slow, stealthy ambush attacks, similar to modern anacondas.
Sorry, side pocket, just too cool not to share.
Scientists think they finally know why Neanderthals vanished
A new study suggests Neanderthals didn’t go extinct simply because of climate change or competition with Homo sapiens. Instead, the key difference may have been social connectivity—Homo sapiens formed stronger, more flexible networks that helped them survive environmental shocks. Neanderthals had connections too, but they were more fragile and regionally limited. This made them less resilient as conditions became increasingly unpredictable.
The shift to farming in ancient Europe led to a population boom but a decrease in average body size, highlighting a trade-off between fertility and growth that varied by region and diet. doi.org/hbz758
Scientists just found a chilling way life may have begun
New experiments suggest that freezing and thawing on early Earth may have helped primitive cell-like structures grow and evolve. Tiny lipid bubbles behaved very differently depending on their membrane makeup—some fused into larger compartments and captured DNA more efficiently. These fusion events could have mixed key molecules, setting the stage for more complex chemistry.
Hidden ocean heat is creeping toward Antarctica’s fragile ice shelves
Deep beneath the Southern Ocean, a quiet but alarming shift is underway: warm water is creeping closer to Antarctica, and scientists are now seeing it clearly for the first time. By combining decades of ship data with robotic float measurements and machine learning, researchers uncovered that a massive pool of heat—circumpolar deep water—has expanded and edged toward the continent over the past 20 years.
This “Pink Floyd” spider hunts prey 6x its size and lives in walls
Scientists have uncovered a tiny wall-dwelling spider named Pikelinia floydmuraria, inspired by Pink Floyd. Despite its size, it’s a fierce predator that hunts ants much larger than itself and helps reduce common urban pests like mosquitoes and flies. Its clever strategy of building webs near lights makes it especially effective. The discovery also raises new questions about its mysterious link to similar spiders in the Galápagos.
Buff-tip moths They look like little broken birch twigs! A perfect disguise!
Don’t toss cannabis leaves: Scientists found rare compounds with medical potential
Scientists have uncovered a surprising new layer of complexity in Cannabis, identifying dozens of previously unknown compounds—including the first-ever evidence of rare molecules called flavoalkaloids in its leaves. These compounds, prized for their potential health benefits, were hidden among a rich mix of plant chemicals that vary dramatically even between just a few strains.
Scientists reveal the best exercise for knee arthritis pain relief
A major review of 217 trials shows that aerobic exercise is the most effective option for managing knee osteoarthritis. Activities like walking, cycling, and swimming outperformed other exercise types in reducing pain and improving movement. While alternatives like strength training and mind-body exercises help, they are best used alongside aerobic workouts. The findings also confirm that exercise is a safe and essential part of treatment.
You don’t need intense workouts to build muscle, new study reveals
Building muscle doesn’t have to mean exhausting workouts or soreness. Researchers found that slow, controlled “lowering” movements can boost strength more efficiently while requiring less effort. Even five minutes a day of simple exercises like chair squats or wall push-ups can make a real difference. It’s a smarter, easier way to get stronger—no gym required.
Your gut takes a “double hit” from stress and late-night eating
Chronic stress is already tough on your gut—but new research suggests late-night eating could make things even worse. Scientists analyzing thousands of people found that those under high stress who also ate a large portion of their calories after 9 p.m. were far more likely to suffer from constipation and diarrhea. The combination appears to hit the gut twice, not only disrupting digestion but also reducing the diversity of beneficial gut bacteria.
A hidden map in your nose could explain how smell works
Scientists have finally cracked one of the biggest mysteries in the senses: how smell is organized. By mapping millions of neurons in mice, researchers discovered that smell receptors in the nose aren’t random at all—they’re arranged in neat, overlapping stripes based on receptor type, forming a hidden structure scientists never knew existed. Even more striking, this layout mirrors how smell information is mapped in the brain, revealing a coordinated system from nose to neural circuits.
Scientists restore memory by blocking a single Alzheimer’s protein
Researchers have identified a new potential weapon against Alzheimer’s: blocking a protein called PTP1B. In mice, this approach boosted memory and helped brain immune cells clear harmful plaque buildup. Since PTP1B is also linked to diabetes and obesity—both risk factors for Alzheimer’s—it could offer a broader treatment strategy.
New statistical analyses suggest dinosaurs may have originated 10 million years earlier than the oldest known fossils, with rapid diversification occurring during the Late Triassic period. doi.org/hbz72g
Finding a Permian dinosaur would make a career.
The “big one” might not come alone: Double West Coast earthquake threat
Two of the most dangerous fault systems on the U.S. West Coast may be more connected than scientists once thought. New research suggests the Cascadia subduction zone and the San Andreas fault can “sync up,” triggering earthquakes within minutes or hours of each other. This rare “synchronization” could dramatically increase the scale of a major West Coast disaster. Instead of one massive quake, multiple regions could be hit at nearly the same time.
Why do crabs walk sideways? Scientists trace it back 200 million years
Crabs’ famous sideways walk may trace back to a single evolutionary moment 200 million years ago. Researchers found that most modern crabs inherited this trait from one ancestor—and never looked back. The movement likely gave them an edge, helping them dodge predators with quick, unpredictable bursts. It’s a rare example of a behavior evolving once and then dominating an entire group.
Scientists sound alarm as dangerous amoebas spread globally
Free-living amoebae are emerging as a global health concern, fueled by warming temperatures and outdated water systems. While many are harmless, some can cause deadly infections and even protect other dangerous microbes. Their ability to survive heat and disinfectants makes them especially hard to control. Scientists say improved surveillance and water treatment are urgently needed.
Secretary of HHS and others make some big claims, social scientists say "we can test that."No, fluoride *does not* reduce your IQ. A neat bit of social science from @pamherd.bsky.social and colleagues. www.usatoday.com/story/news/h…
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