Prehistoric killer superbug discovered in 5,000–year–old ice is resistant to 10 modern antibiotics, study warns

• READ MORE: Microbes trapped in permafrost AWAKEN after 40,000 years

By SHIVALI BEST, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR 

The next pandemic could come from an ancient underground ice cave, scientists have warned. 

Researchers from the Romanian Academy have discovered a bacterial strain that has been frozen in Romania's Scarisoara Ice Cave for 5,000 years. 

Carefully extracting a sample, the researchers tested it against 10 common antibiotics, including those used to treat tuberculosis, colitis, and UTIs.

Their results showed that, despite dating back five millenia, the strain is already resistant to all 10 antibiotics. 

Worryingly, the researchers predict the bacteria will wreak havoc if it manages to escape the ice. 

And as global temperatures continue to rise, this terrifying prospect becomes more realistic by the day.  

'The Psychrobacter SC65A.3 bacterial strain isolated from Scarisoara Ice Cave, despite its ancient origin, shows resistance to multiple modern antibiotics and carries over 100 resistance–related genes,' said study author Dr Cristina Purcarea.

'If melting ice releases these microbes, these genes could spread to modern bacteria, adding to the global challenge of antibiotic resistance.'

Researchers from the Romanian Academy have discovered a bacterial strain that has been frozen in Romania's Scarisoara Ice Cave for 5,000 years

The researchers sequenced the bacteria's genome, and found 11 genes that are potentially able to kill or stop the growth of other bacteria, fungi, and viruses. In addition, they uncovered almost 600 genes with unknown functions

From the International Space Station to the acidic soil around volcanoes, bacteria have evolved to surive just about anywhere. 

Worryingly, the bacteria was found to be resistant to all 10 – including trimethoprim, clindamycin, and metronidazole. 

These antibiotics are routinely given to patients to treat UTIs, infections of lungs, skin, blood or the reproductive system.  

'The 10 antibiotics we found resistance to are widely used in oral and injectable therapies used to treat a range of serious bacterial infections in clinical practice,' Dr Purcarea said. 

The researchers then sequenced the bacteria's genome, and found 11 genes that are potentially able to kill or stop the growth of other bacteria, fungi, and viruses.

In addition, they uncovered almost 600 genes with unknown functions. 

According to the experts, this suggests the superbug uses a 'yet untapped source for discovering novel biological mechanisms'. 

While most pandemics have been caused by viruses, scientists have previously warned that the next one could be sparked by an antibiotic-resistant bacteria like this one.  

'These ancient bacteria are essential for science and medicine, but careful handling and safety measures in the lab are essential to mitigate the risk of uncontrolled spread,' Dr Purcarea concluded. 

KILLER VIRUSES COULD BE RELEASED FROM MELTING ICE IN THE ARCTIC, STUDY WARNS 

Glaciers that are melting amid rising global temperatures could be the cause of the next deathly pandemic, a study said. 

Scientists investigated how climate change may affect the risk of 'spillover' – a virus jumping to another species – by examining samples from Lake Hazen in the Arctic. 

Lake Hazen, seen from above in this NASA image, is the largest High Arctic freshwater lake in the world

They found that the chance of a spillover event increases with the melting of glaciers, as the meltwater can transport pathogens to new hosts. 

A warming climate could bring viruses in the Arctic into contact with new environments and hosts, increasing the risk of this 'viral spillover', the experts warn. 

'Spillover risk increases with runoff from glacier melt, a proxy for climate change,' say the researchers in their paper, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 

'Should climate change also shift species range of potential viral vectors and reservoirs northwards, the High Arctic could become fertile ground for emerging pandemics.' 

Psychrobacter SC65A.3 is a 5,000-year-old cold-adapted bacte ..

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

17-02-2026 om 20:50 geschreven door peter  

Second B-21 Raider bomber takes flight and arrives at Edwards AFB for testing

By Clement Charpentreau

The US Air Force has received its second B-21 Raider test aircraft, which arrived at Edwards Air Force Base on September 11, 2025. This addition marks a major step in the bomber’s development, enabling more advanced mission systems testing, weapons integration and sustainment planning. 

The second aircraft was delivered from Northrop Grumman’s facility in Palmdale, California, to join the first B-21, which is already undergoing flight trials at Edwards.  

Testing momentum increases 

With two test aircraft available, the program can now expand beyond basic flight performance checks into more advanced phases of evaluation. 

“With the arrival of the second B-21 Raider, our flight test campaign gains substantial momentum,” US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said. “We can now expedite critical evaluations of mission systems and weapons capabilities, directly supporting the strategic deterrence and combat effectiveness envisioned for this aircraft.” 

Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin added: “By having more assets in the test environment, we bring this capability to our warfighters faster, demonstrating the urgency with which we’re tackling modernization.”  

In parallel with flight trials, preparations are underway at the bomber’s future operating bases. During fiscal year 2026, major construction projects will advance at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, the first base slated to receive operational B-21s, as well as at Dyess AFB in Texas and Whiteman AFB in Missouri. 

Having more than one aircraft in the test program also allows maintainers to trial technical data, tools and logistics processes, ensuring that sustainment can support operational readiness once the Raider enters service. 

Strategic role of the B-21 Raider

Developed by Northrop Grumman under the oversight of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, the B-21 Raider is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear payloads. It is intended to replace the B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit, serving as a cornerstone of the United States’ long-range strike and nuclear deterrence capabilities. 

The program is progressing through low-rate initial production while testing continues. The addition of a second test aircraft signals growing momentum toward eventual operational capability before the end of the decade. 

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{  https://www.aerotime.aero/ }

17-02-2026 om 20:24 geschreven door peter  

Antarctica has a mysterious 'gravity hole' where sea levels are 420ft lower – and scientists finally think they know what caused it

• READ MORE: The $80 billion mission to save the Doomsday Glacier

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Antarctica is home to many mysteries, but one of the strangest is an enormous 'gravity hole' deep beneath the ice.

Gravity might feel stable and constant wherever we go, but its strength actually varies over the Earth's surface.

Getty

Where the gravity is weaker, the ocean's surface can actually dip well below the average as water rushes towards regions with higher gravity.

Scientists have known for years that gravity is at its weakest in an area of Antarctica's Ross Sea, where sea levels dip 420 feet (130 m) below the surrounding water.

Now, a pair of researchers claim they finally know why.

The vast gravity hole, known as the Antarctic Geoid Low (AGL), is the product of incredibly slow rock movements, according to the experts. 

Starting 70 million years ago – a time while dinosaurs still roamed the Earth – less–dense rock built up beneath the frozen continent and weakened the pull of gravity.

The gravity hole started small before rapidly growing in strength between 50 and 30 million years ago – creating the strange ocean dip that we see today.

Scientists have known for years that there is a mysterious 'gravity hole' in Antarctica where the sea level is 420 feet (130 m) below the surrounding water. Now, scientists think they know why 

When astronauts on the International Space Station look down on Earth, it might look like a smooth blue marble.

However, in reality, our planet is shaped a bit more like a 'bumpy potato'.

This lumpy surface is due to areas of non–uniform gravity, caused by the uneven distribution of material beneath the surface.

In regions where hot rock from within the Earth's mantle rises towards the surface, the lower density of rock means that gravity is weaker.

Since the 1940s, scientists have known that these gravitational anomalies cause deep depressions across large areas of the ocean.

However, figuring out how and why these gravitational anomalies form hundreds of miles beneath the surface is much harder.

To map how the Antarctic gravity hole formed, the researchers combined earthquake recordings from around the world with a computer model of the planet.

Co–author Dr Alessandro Forte, of the University of Florida, says: 'Imagine doing a CT scan of the whole Earth, but we don't have X–rays like we do in a medical office. We have earthquakes.

Using a computer model, researchers found that the gravity hole was weak around 70 million years ago (left) but started to go stronger between 50 and 30 million years ago (right) 

The strengthening of the gravity hole over under the Ross Sea coincided with the rapid advancement of Antarctica's ice sheets, including the Ross Ice Shelf (pictured). Researchers believe these events may be connected 

'Earthquake waves provide the "light" that illuminates the interior of the planet.'

By looking at how earthquakes travelled through different densities of rock, Dr Forte and his co–author constructed a map of the planet's inner workings.

Using a computer model, they then worked out where the gravity would be stronger and weaker based on the different types of rock.

Once their predictions matched the best current data from gravity–sensing satellites, they wound back the clock and watched as the gravity hole formed over aeons.

They discovered that the gravity formed slowly at first, before gaining strength in a period known as the Eocene Epoch – beginning 50 million years ago.

Interestingly, this coincided with enormous changes in Antarctica's climate, including the rapid advance of the continent's ice sheets.

Although it is not yet proven, the researchers suspect that there could be a connection between the formation of the gravity hole and the formation of Antarctica's glaciers.

Dr Forte says: 'If we can better understand how Earth's interior shapes gravity and sea levels, we gain insight into factors that may matter for the growth and stability of large ice sheets.'

Scientists have previously found other gravity holes, including the Indian Ocean geoid low (IOGL), which is one of the deepest geoids on Earth

Dr Forte says that this could answer one key question: 'How does our climate connect to what's going on inside our planet?'

The Antarctic Geoid Low is not the only massive gravity hole on Earth. 

Located in the Indian Ocean, the 'Indian Ocean Geoid Low' has such weak gravity that water levels dip 340 feet (103 m) below their surroundings.

In a recent study, a team of researchers in India claim the gravity hole was formed by plumes of low–density magma that rose up from Earth's mantle.

These plumes were generated by the remains of a sunken tectonic plate called Tethys, lost when India became part of Asia 50 million years ago.

The Earth is moving under our feet: Tectonic plates move through the mantle and produce Earthquakes as they scrape against each other

Tectonic plates are composed of Earth's crust and the uppermost portion of the mantle. 

Below is the asthenosphere: the warm, viscous conveyor belt of rock on which tectonic plates ride.

The Earth has fifteen tectonic plates (pictured) that together have moulded the shape of the landscape we see around us today 

Earthquakes typically occur at the boundaries of tectonic plates, where one plate dips below another, thrusts another upward, or where plate edges scrape alongside each other. 

Earthquakes rarely occur in the middle of plates, but they can happen when ancient faults or rifts far below the surface reactivate. 

These areas are relatively weak compared to the surrounding plate, and can easily slip and cause an earthquake.

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

17-02-2026 om 20:17 geschreven door peter  

China's humanoid robots have demonstrated a brand new skill – kung fu. 

Dozens of Unitree bots took to the stage at the CCTV Spring Festival gala, which is China's most–watched TV show. 

Wearing red vests, the robots performed kicks, flips, and even moves with nunchucks, swords, and poles. 

Amazingly, their daring performance took place just metres away from human children performers. 

Incredible footage from the show, released by Unitree, has been highly praised across social media. 

Taking to the comments on YouTube, one fan wrote: 'Five years ago, this would have been science fiction.'

Another added: 'If I weren't watching directly from the Unitree Robotics channel, I'd say it was AI. Incredible!'

And one joked: 'This is so cool. Maybe I was too harsh on these clankers before.'

China's humanoid robots have demonstrated a brand new skill – kung fu. Amazingly, their daring performance took place just metres away from human children performers

Wearing red vests, the robots performed kicks, flips, and even moves with nunchucks, swords, and poles

Incredible footage from the show, released by Unitree, has been highly praised across social media

Four humanoid robot startups – Unitree Robotics, Galbot, Noetix and MagicLab – demonstrated their products at the gala, which was held on Monday in Beijing.

During Unitree's segment, dozens of its G1 robots took to the stage, clad in what Unitree calls the 'Monkey King's heavy armor'.   

The fight sequences included a technically ambitious one that imitated the wobbly moves and backward falls of China's 'drunken boxing' martial arts style. 

This particular sequence allowed Unitree to show off its innovations in multi–robot coordination and fault recovery – where a robot can get up after falling down.

'Dozens of G1 robots achieved the world's first fully autonomous humanoid robot cluster Kung Fu performance (with quick movement), pushing motion limits and setting multiple world firsts!' Unitree explained in the description of its YouTube video. 

The G1 humanoid robot weighs 35 kilograms (77lbs), stands at 1.32 metres (4.33ft) tall, and boasts 23 degrees of freedom in its joints, which gives it more mobility than an average human.

Behind its blank face, the robot is hiding an advanced perception system which includes a 3D LiDAR sensor and a depth–sensing camera.

This makes it one of the most advanced commercially available humanoid robots in the world. 

The fight sequences included a technically ambitious one that imitated the wobbly moves and backward falls of China's 'drunken boxing' martial arts style

The G1 humanoid robot weighs 35 kilograms (77lbs), stands at 1.32 metres (4.33ft) tall, and boasts 23 degrees of freedom in its joints, which gives it more mobility than an average human

At last year's gala, 16 Unitree robots performed a much simpler routine, twirling handkerchiefs and dancing.

'It's been just one year – and the performance jump is striking,' said Georg Stieler, Asia managing director and head of robotics and automation at technology consultancy Stieler.

He added that the robots' impressive motion control showed Unitree's focus on developing robot 'brains' – the AI–powered software that enables them to complete fine motor tasks that can be used in real–world factory settings.

The improvement on last year was also noticed by many viewers on YouTube. 

'As a professional in robotics, I am again suprised by the advancement over last year,' one viewer commented. 

Another added: 'Insaneeee, last year the robot is just spinning plates, and now they can do Kung Fu on live TV.'

And one said: 'Wow, HUGE upgrade from last year's display. Thumbs up Unitree!'

Unitree's humanoid robots have previously gone viral for their bizarre behaviour.

Behind its blank face, the robot is hiding an advanced perception system which includes a 3D LiDAR sensor and a depth–sensing camera

Last year, the Chinese robotics firm decided to show off its technology by hosting the world's first humanoid robot boxing tournament.

READ MORE

• Watch as two lifesize robots swing punches at each other in the world's first humanoid robot boxing match

REAG MOREIn a viral clip, two life–size robots wearing gloves and protective headgear fight each other in a ring as a human officiator looks on. 

While the duelling robots were able to land some kicks and punches, they often had a hard time finding their mark and keeping their feet. 

China’s humanoid robots have been rigorously training to deliver a Kung Fu performance

Robots Practice Kung Fu with Monks at Shaolin Temple in China.

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

17-02-2026 om 19:47 geschreven door peter  

Story by Nik Papageorgiou

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

For decades, scientists have searched the skies for signs of extraterrestrial technology. A study from EPFL asks a sharp question: if alien signals have already reached Earth without us noticing, what should we realistically expect to detect today?

Since the first SETI experiment in 1960, astronomers have scanned the Milky Way for signs of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. These searches have covered radio waves, optical flashes, and infrared heat signatures.

So far, they have found nothing confirmed. That silence is often explained by saying we have only searched a tiny part of the cosmic landscape. But what if signals did reach Earth and slipped past us?

A technosignature is any measurable signal or physical trace that points to the existence of advanced technology beyond Earth, for example, artificial radio transmissions, laser flashes, or excess heat from large-scale engineering projects.

For a technosignature to be detected, two things must happen. First, the signal must physically reach Earth. Second, our instruments must be sensitive enough to detect it, pointed in the right direction, and able to distinguish it from natural signals. This means that a signal can satisfy the first condition and still fail the second. It could be too weak, too brief, sent at the wrong wavelength, or lost in background noise.

Related video: What Scientists Found While Searching 300 Light-Years Away (TED)

It is often suggested that this may have already happened: alien technosignatures may have reached Earth during the past six decades but have gone unnoticed. If that is true, it suggests that more signals could be passing by right now, just waiting to be detected as our instruments improve.

A new study challenges that assumption. EPFL theoretical physicist Claudio Grimaldi, from the Laboratory of Statistical Biophysics, has now examined what undetected past contacts would mean for today's SETI searches. Using a statistical approach, Grimaldi asked how many alien signals must have crossed Earth since 1960 for there to be a high chance of detecting one today, and how far from Earth those signals would most likely come from. The study is published in The Astronomical Journal.

Grimaldi modeled technosignatures as emissions from distant technological species or their artifacts somewhere in the Milky Way. These emissions spread at the speed of light and, in this model, can last from very short periods such as days to very long ones lasting thousands of years.

Earth is "contacted" if such a signal passes through our location in space. Detection only happens if the source lies within a range where its signal is strong enough for our telescopes to detect, a distance that stands in for both signal strength and instrument sensitivity.

Grimaldi used a Bayesian statistical approach, a method that updates estimates as new information is taken into account, to link three elements:

1. the number of past contacts with Earth,
2. the typical lifetime of technosignatures, and
3. the distance range that current or near-future instruments can probe.

He considered both omnidirectional signals, such as waste heat from large structures, and highly focused ones, such as beacons or laser flashes. The analysis treats these cases on equal footing.

Challenging the current view

The theoretical study's findings challenge a common optimistic view. If scientists want a high probability of detecting technosignatures within a few hundred or even a few thousand light-years today, this would require that a very large number of technosignals must have passed Earth unnoticed in the past. In many scenarios, this number becomes implausibly large, sometimes exceeding the number of potentially habitable planets in that region of the galaxy, which makes such scenarios highly unlikely rather than strictly impossible.

This changes only when searches extend much farther out. If technosignatures are long-lived and spread across the Milky Way, detection becomes more plausible at distances of several thousand light-years or more. Even then, only a few detectable signals at most would be expected across the entire galaxy at any given time.

A long and broader road ahead

The study suggests that the fact that signals may have remained unnoticed in the past does not mean detection is just around the corner. If extraterrestrial technologies exist and have contacted Earth, they are more likely to be rare, distant, or long-lasting rather than nearby and frequent.

This reframes the search as a patient, long-term effort rather than a waiting game for obvious signals. It also strengthens the case for deep, wide surveys that scan large parts of the Milky Way instead of focusing only on our cosmic neighborhood.

More information: 

• Claudio Grimaldi, Undetected Past Contacts with Technological Species: Implications for Technosignature Science, The Astronomical Journal (2026). DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/ae394b
• Provided by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
• This story was originally published on Phys.org.

{ https://phys.org/space-news/ }

17-02-2026 om 18:48 geschreven door peter  

Barack Obama declared that aliens are 'real' before firmly dismissing long-running conspiracy theories that extraterrestrials are being hidden at Area 51.

The candid exchange offered a rare glimpse into what presidents may know when it comes to one of America's most enduring mysteries.

The former president made the remarks when interviewer Brian Tyler Cohen asked him directly: 'Are aliens real?'

Obama's answer was direct: 'Uh, they're real, but I haven't seen them,' he said, before immediately addressing speculation surrounding Area 51, the secretive US military facility in Nevada that has long been at the center of extraterrestrial conspiracy theories.

'And they're not being kept in uh what is it? Area 51!' Obama continued. 'There's no underground facility unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.'

His comments — delivered with a mix of humor and authority — amounted to a clear rejection of claims that the U.S. government is secretly housing alien life forms at the classified base.

Area 51 has fueled decades of speculation, particularly since the Cold War, when its remote desert location and classified operations made it a natural target for rumors about UFOs and extraterrestrial cover-ups. 

The US government has acknowledged the facility's existence but has consistently said it is used for testing advanced military aircraft.

Barack Obama said aliens are 'real' but said he never personally saw any evidence of them

Obama said any alien cover-up would have required information being hidden from the president himself. Pictured, a still from a previously released unclassified U.S. government video appearing to show unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP)

Cohen then asked what question he most wanted answered upon entering the White House.

'Where are the aliens?' Obama replied with a laugh. 

The exchange came as part of a wide-ranging interview in which Obama reflected on his presidency and post-White House life. 

Later in the interview the former president admitted that any return to elected office would likely cost him his marriage, joking that his wife Michelle would leave him if he ever attempted a political comeback.

The former president made the candid admission during a wide-ranging interview in which he faced up to the fact his days in politics are firmly behind him.

'First of all, I'm not a politician anymore and I can't be, right?' Obama began. 

'I mean, I guess technically I could run for, you know, city council or something, but I'm not in elected office. I don't have levers of power. I'm term limited out. And by the way, I believe in the Constitution and also I believe in my marriage and Michelle would divorce me if I even if I could run again.'

The remark, delivered with Obama's trademark humor, offered a rare public window into the influence Michelle Obama holds over her husband's decisions.

Barack Obama said he and wife, Michelle, are focused on inspiring young people through their post-presidential work

It also highlighted the toll years at the center of American political life took on their family.

Obama has long acknowledged the sacrifices Michelle made during his ascent from Illinois state senator to back-to-back terms in the Oval Office.

Michelle has repeatedly spoken about the strain political life placed on their family, and has remained both his closest confidante throughout. Obama said that she is also a powerful force guiding over what comes next.

During the interview he emphasized that the couple's post-presidential mission is a shared one focused less on reclaiming power and more on cultivating the next generation.

'Michelle and I still have the capacity, not just here in the United States, but globally, to inspire and motivate young people and invite them in to this process,' Obama explained, describing their work through the Obama Foundation.

He framed the mission as essential at a moment when younger Americans face mounting challenges, from economic uncertainty to social isolation. 

He argued that the role of him and his wife is to help empower others rather than lead from the front.

'That's going to come from the 20, 30-year-old's who know firsthand what it means to not be able to buy a house,' he said. 'They're the ones who are going to remake our institutions so that they are consistent with the values that are, I think, timeless.'

The Obamas' new presidential center in Chicago set to open in June will serve as the physical embodiment of that vision: part museum, part civic hub, and part training ground for emerging leaders.

Obama also acknowledged what may be a particular draw for some visitors.

'There will be a museum with Michelle's dresses since that's what people want to see,' he said with a laugh, referring to the fashion that helped make his wife one of the most admired and recognizable First Ladies in modern history.

The former president said their foundation works to empower the next generation of leaders globally. The couple are pictured in August 2024 at the Democratic National Convention 

Michelle is pictured with her daughters back in 2008 when Democrats crowned Barack Obama as the first black presidential election nominee

Michelle Obama has previously spoken publicly about the personal and family sacrifices she made during Barack Obama's eight years in the White House. The family is pictured in 2015

Her wardrobe choices became cultural touchstones during their eight years in the White House, symbolizing not just her personal style but a broader sense of representation, accessibility, and cultural influence.

But Obama made clear that beyond the dresses and memorabilia, Michelle's deeper legacy lies in her continued role as a global inspiration.

He credited both of them with using their post-presidential platform to elevate others - particularly young leaders who might otherwise never have access to power.

'Our job as leaders is to lift up other leaders,' Obama said. 'To empower others to find their gifts and help them exercise those gifts.'

That philosophy has guided their foundation's work, which has trained thousands of emerging leaders from across the United States and around the world - including grassroots organizers, teachers, healthcare professionals, and activists. 

Obama joked the Obama Presidential Center, scheduled to open in June 2026, will include a section dedicated to Michelle's dresses 'since that's what people want to see'

Obama said he and Michelle continue to work together through the Obama Foundation. He described inspiring young people as a central mission of their post-White House life

Barack Obama said he and Michelle Obama are now focused on inspiring young people and shaping future leaders through their joint work after leaving the White House. The former First Couple are pictured alongside daughters Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24

Earlier in the half-hour long interview, Obama unleashed a blistering warning about America's collapsing political standards after President Donald Trump shared a video depicting him and Michelle Obama as apes.

Obama said that American political discourse had descended into a degrading 'clown show' that most Americans still find 'deeply troubling.'

The former president's remarks came after Trump earlier this month reposted a meme video on Truth Social that included a segment showing the Obamas' faces superimposed on ape bodies.

Such imagery has long held racist overtones and sparked bipartisan condemnation, forcing the White House into damage control.

Asked directly about the episode during an interview with Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama did not mention Trump by name in his response, but delivered a sweeping rebuke of the tone and tactics that now dominate modern politics.

'First of all, I think it's important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,' Obama said. 

'It is true that it gets attention. It's true that it's a distraction… you meet people… they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness, and there's this sort of clown show that's happening in social media and on television.'

His intervention marked his most direct public comments since Trump shared the incendiary video, which some critics described as one of the most racially offensive social media posts shared by the president.

The President received widespread backlash over accusations of racism after he posted a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes

But the clip ended with an AI-style segment that flashed the Obamas' faces superimposed on ape bodies, set to The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

The White House initially tried to wave the uproar away.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the outrage as performative. 

'This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King. Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.'

A White House official later gave a more serious explanation stating, 'A White House staffer erroneously made the post. It has been taken down.' 

Trump's post was later deleted.

But the condemnation, including from Republicans, was already on the record.

Trump said he 'didn't watch the whole video' before reposting it online and has refused to apologize

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially doubled down on the President's post

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina called it 'the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House,' adding that the president should remove it. 

Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi wrote: 'This is totally unacceptable. The president should take it down and apologize.' 

Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska argued that 'a reasonable person sees the racist context,' and said the White House should remove it and apologize.

California Governor Gavin Newsom's press office blasted the post as well: 'Disgusting behavior by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now.' 

A White House insider previously told the Daily Mail that the clip was posted by mistake and was accidentally included in a screen recording of a different video about election fraud. 

Senator Tim Scott called the video 'the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House'

'It's an obvious screen recording and the boomer who posted it on X didn't trim off the excess when the next reel started to auto play,' the Trump official shared. 

'The aide didn't notice that one second portion at the end of the video and it was never seen by the president.' 

Trump told reporters that he didn't watch the whole video before it was shared online and maintained that he didn't do anything wrong.  

'What I saw in the beginning was really strong. It was about fraudulent elections. Anytime I see that stuff and it's credible, you put it up. I didn't do it. This was done by someone else. It was a re-truth but that was a very strong truth,' he said. 

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

16-02-2026 om 23:19 geschreven door peter  

Consciousness exists BEYOND death, bombshell study claims - as researcher argues the idea of dying should be 'renegotiated'

• READ MORE:  What REALLY happens when you nearly die

By XANTHA LEATHAM, EXECUTIVE SCIENCE EDITOR

Consciousness exists beyond death and the process of dying should be considered a ‘negotiable condition’, a bombshell study claims.

Traditionally, death has been defined as the irreversible loss of brain and circulatory function.

But experts are beginning to challenge this view – arguing that consciousness can persist even when the brain stops working.

A researcher from Arizona State University carried out a large-scale review of dozens of studies that focused on what happens when people ‘die’.

This included publications on near-death experiences, research on the electrical brain activity of dying patients and clinical studies of conscious awareness during heart attacks.

Analysis revealed that across heart attack studies, 20 per cent of survivors recall conscious experiences during periods when the brain had stopped working.

Brain recordings in dying humans and animals document surges of activity surpassing baseline waking levels, they found.

Meanwhile some patients who have experienced ‘complete circulatory standstill’ – when the heart stops beating – later demonstrated implicit recall of what was going on around them.

Some experts argue that consciousness persists even after the heart has stopped beating. Pictured: A gamma surge following a heart attack 

Laboratory work has also demonstrated that metabolism, brain activity and blood flow can be restored in mammal brains and organs ‘well beyond accepted limits’.

This reveals that ‘biological death is not immediately irreversible’, Anna Fowler, from Arizona State University, said.

‘Emerging evidence suggests that biological and neural functions do not cease abruptly,’ she told the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference in Phoenix.

‘Instead, they decline from minutes to hours, suggesting that death unfolds as a process rather than an instantaneous event. Elements of consciousness may briefly exist beyond the measurable activity of the brain and death, long considered absolute, is instead a negotiable condition.’

She added that the findings ‘invite a redefinition of death as a gradual, interruptible process, one that science may increasingly learn not just to delay but to challenge outright.’

Ms Fowler, whose research is forming part of her thesis, said the findings could have significant implications for resuscitation windows and organ donation timings.

‘After death…they’ve got to procure those organs right away so that they can save the life of another person,’ she explained.

‘But there have been studies that have shown that up to 90 minutes after the declaration of death, that those neural firings are still going off in the brain.’

Analysis revealed that across heart attack studies, 20 per cent of survivors recall conscious experiences during periods when the brain had stopped working

She believes that death should be more ‘process driven’, with phases rather than a singular event.

‘Death, once believed to be a final and immediate boundary, reveals itself instead as a process - a shifting landscape where consciousness, biology and meaning persist longer than we once imagined,’ she concluded.

‘Consciousness may not vanish the moment the brain falls silent. Cells may not die the moment the heart stops. This research proposes that death is not the sudden extinguishing of life, but the beginning of a transformation, one that medicine, philosophy and ethics must now approach with deeper humility and renewed clarity.’

Earlier this week Dr Sam Parnia, director of critical care and resuscitation research at NYU Langone School of Medicine in New York, revealed that some people may even hear their death being announced as the brain remains active after the heart stops.

Dr Parnia has not only studied what happens to the human brain when you die but has also spoken to patients who survived near-death experiences.

That research revealed many occurrences where patients who were clinically dead, noted as when the heart stops beating, who were later revived and described conversations and events taking place in their room with remarkable accuracy.

The reason doctors only look at the heart when determining the time of death is because that's the moment when blood flow to the brain stops.

However, a study led by Dr Parnia in 2023 discovered spikes in brain waves associated with higher cognitive function up to an hour into CPR. It uncovered spikes in brain waves linked to thinking, memory and awareness showing up to 60 minutes after a person’s heart stopped.

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

16-02-2026 om 22:50 geschreven door peter  

The hunt for life beyond Earth has taken an unexpected twist as President Barack Obama claims that aliens are real, but that he doesn't know where they are.

The former president said in an interview that extraterrestrials were 'not being kept' in Area 51, a US Air Force base that has long featured in alien theories.

Obama told interviewer Brian Tyler Cohen: 'There's no underground facility unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.'

So, with conspiracy theorists' favourite choice ruled out, where might aliens really be hiding?

Scientists generally believe that the best candidates for alien life are 'Earth–like' worlds orbiting distant stars in other parts of the galaxy.

One such contender is the Earth–sized planet TRAPPIST–1e, located just 40 light–years from Earth, which is located safely within its star's habitable 'Goldilocks zone'.

But astronomers also believe we don't need to look so far from home to hunt for alien life.

Even in our own solar system, Saturn's moons Enceladus and Titan could have the right conditions for life to emerge and thrive.

President Obama has said that aliens are 'real' but that he has not seen them, adding that they were not being kept in Area 51 

In a statement on his official Instagram account, Obama clarified his points about aliens, writing: 'Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there's life out there. 

'But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we've been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!'

Obama's argument is a variation of a principle which actually plays a key role in the search for alien life.

Professor Mark Burchell, of the University of Kent, told the Daily Mail: 'The idea is there are so many stars, so many have planets, so many planets are in the habitable zone where the solar heating is enough to permit liquid water on the surface, that something magic happens in a certain per cent of the time and life emerges.'

This is why astronomers focus on looking for solar systems that have worlds with water, since there is a small chance of life emerging on any world where it is present. 

TRAPPIST–1e 

One of the best examples is TRAPPIST–1, an extremely small and cool red dwarf star, with a diameter of just 52,300 miles (84,180 kilometres) and a surface temperature less than half that of the sun's.

Three of the solar system's closely orbiting planets fit within the star's Goldilocks zone – so called because the temperature is just right for liquid water to exist.

TRAPPIST–1e (artist's impression) is a planet located just 40 light–years from Earth that likely has liquid water and an atmosphere similar to that of Earth 

The worlds with the best chance of having alien life

1. TRAPPIST–1e

2. K2–18b

3. Kepler–62e and Kepler–62f

4. Enceladus

5. Titan 

Of those, the most promising is TRAPPIST–1e, the fourth planet from the star, which has a mass of 0.692 Earths.

TRAPPIST–1e sits extremely close to its star, but TRAPPIST–1 is so cool that liquid water could still exist on the planet's surface – making it a great candidate for life.

In a recent study, scientists used the James Webb Space Telescope to measure light filtering through the planet's atmosphere.

This revealed that TRAPPIST–1e likely has an atmosphere similar to that of Earth, making it more likely that it has managed to hold on to liquid water.

K2–18b

One of the most promising candidates for alien life is the planet K2–18b, which some studies suggest could be teeming with life.

Located 124 light–years from Earth in the constellation of Leo, K2–18b is a giant world covered entirely by oceans – making it what scientists call a 'Hycean world'.

The planet orbits its cool red dwarf star closely, completing an orbit in 33 Earth days, placing it squarely within the Goldilocks zone.

K2–18b (artist's impression) is a massive water world covered in oceans that orbits a red dwarf star 124 light–years from Earth. Scientists have found chemicals in its atmosphere that could be a sign of life 

Most importantly, scientists have used the JWST to detect huge quantities of chemicals that are made by living organisms on Earth.

The researchers picked up the chemical fingerprints of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) – chemicals usually made by microscopic life, like marine phytoplankton.

Speaking at the time of the discovery, lead researcher Professor Nikku Madhusudhan, of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy, said: 'Given everything we know about this planet, a Hycean world with an ocean that is teeming with life is the scenario that best fits the data we have.'

Unfortunately, scientists have since cast some doubt over these exciting claims.

Dr David Armstrong, an expert on exoplanet detection from the University of Warwick, told the Daily Mail: 'The evidence for life on K2–18b is weak and disputed by a lot of scientists.

'That's not to say it's impossible, but K2–18b is a 'sub–Neptune', a planet unlike the Earth, and we still have a lot to learn about even the fundamentals of planets like that before we could confidently claim a detection of life.'

Kepler–62e and Kepler–62f

The twin worlds Kepler–62e and Kepler–62f are another example of astronomers following the water to find alien life.

Kepler–62 is a seven–billion–year–old dwarf star around two–thirds the size of the sun, located 1,200 light–years from Earth. Scientists believe two planets, Kepler–62e and Kepler–62f, could be habitable

Located about 1,200 light–years from Earth, Kepler–62 is a seven–billion–year–old dwarf star around two–thirds the size of the sun.

Kepler–62f orbits the star every 267 days and is only 40 per cent larger than Earth, while Kepler–62e orbits every 122 days and is about 60 per cent larger than Earth.

Since both sit inside their stars' habitable zone, there is a good chance that they are home to liquid water and, therefore, have a chance of hosting life.

In 2015, a NASA research document called Kepler–62f one of the ''most promising planets discovered' for supporting alien life.

Enceladus

Although it might come as a surprise, scientists actually believe some of the most likely places to find alien life are in our own solar system.

Dr Armstrong says: 'On Earth, we find life almost everywhere there is liquid water, so the easiest place to look for extraterrestrial life is the same.

'The most likely place to find it would be in the subsurface oceans of some of the moons orbiting Saturn and Jupiter.'

Saturn's moon Enceladus is a particularly good candidate for the search for alien life due to'tiger stripes' (bottom right) near its south pole that allow a plume of ice to escape into space 

NASA's Cassini spacecraft found molecules in ice from Enceladus that could be part of the chain of reactions that ultimately lead to life. Pictured: Artist's impression of Enceladus' surface

Saturn's moon Enceladus is seen as a particularly promising candidate to look for extraterrestrial life because of plumes of liquid water constantly spewing from its South Pole.

With a diameter of 310 miles (500 km) – about as wide as Arizona – Enceladus is Saturn's sixth–largest moon.

On the surface, conditions are exceptionally cold with temperatures as low as –201°C (–330°F).

However, beneath the frozen surface, there is a vast ocean of liquid water that could provide a home for life.

In 2008, NASA's Cassini spacecraft flew directly through Enceladus' icy polar spray and collected samples of ice crystals.

New analysis has shown that these crystals are packed with complex molecules that could be part of the chain of reactions that ultimately lead to life.

Based on these findings, researchers have suggested that the moon now 'ticks all the boxes' to be a candidate for supporting alien life.

Titan

Scientists think that Saturn's moon Titan (pictured) has a network of 'slushy' tunnels beneath its icy surface that could be the perfect place for simple life to form 

Titan, another of Saturn's icy moons, has also been put forward as a strong candidate in the search for extraterrestrial life.

Scientists used to think that Titan had a wide, open ocean beneath its surface ice, which would mean that heat and nutrients were spread out over the whole planet.

However, recent studies have shown that this is not the entire story.

Using data collected by the Cassini spacecraft, scientists have revealed that Titan has 'slushy tunnels' beneath the surface.

Read More

•  Scientists may have spotted long-lost Soviet Union Lander - 60 YEARS after it vanished on the moon 

This 'slushy high–pressure ice layer' is similar to the melting Arctic with a network of aquifers and sea ice.

Lead author Professor Baptiste Journaux, of the University of Washington, told Daily Mail at the time: '[This] has implications for what type of life we might find, the availability of nutrients, energy and so on.'

Analyses indicate that the pockets of freshwater on Titan could reach 68°F (20°C) – which is the optimal temperature for life on Earth to thrive.

Any available nutrients would be more concentrated in a small volume of water, compared to an open ocean, which could facilitate the growth of simple organisms.

How the Drake Equation is used to hunt aliens

The Drake Equation is a seven-variable way of finding the chance of active civilizations existing beyond Earth.

It takes into account factors like the rate of star formation, the amount of stars that could form planetary systems, the number potentially habitable planets in those systems.

The equation includes recent data from Nasa's Kepler satellite on the number of exoplanets that could harbor life.

Researchers also adapted the equation from being about the number of civilizations that exist now, to being about the probability of civilization being the only one that has ever existed.

Researchers found the odds of an advanced civilization developing need to be less than one in 10 billion trillion for humans to be the only intelligent life in the universe.

Unless the odds of advanced life evolving on a habitable planet are astonishingly low, then humankind is not the only advanced civilization to have lived. 

But Kepler data places those odds much higher, which means technologically advanced aliens are likely to have existed at some point.

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

16-02-2026 om 22:30 geschreven door peter  

Loch Ness, Bermudadriehoek, Bigfoot... Wat weet jij over deze legendes?

©The Daily Digest

1. De Bermudadriehoek
De Bermudadriehoek, gelegen in het westelijke deel van de Noord-Atlantische Oceaan, is een fenomeen dat wordt beschouwd als een stedelijke legende. Het betreft een gebied waar volgens de verhalen een aantal vliegtuigen en schepen onder mysterieuze omstandigheden zijn verdwenen. Het idee van dit gebied als een plaats waar verdwijningen plaatsvinden, ontstond in het midden van de 20e eeuw.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Bermudan_kolmio / Wikimedia

Ongedefinieerd driehoekig gebied
Terwijl verschillende schrijvers de punten van de driehoek hebben geplaatst in Miami, San Juan (Puerto Rico) en Bermuda, hebben anderen andere grenzen en hoekpunten gesuggereerd, waaronder zelfs de kust van Ierland. Hierdoor is de verslaglegging van welke incidenten zich binnen de driehoek hebben voorgedaan afhankelijk van de schrijver die ze heeft gerapporteerd.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Sesha Reddy Kovvuri / Unsplash

Kompassen werkten niet meer
Volgens sommige schrijvers stopten kompassen met werken, werden schepen meegesleurd door stromingen en verslonden wolken vliegtuigen bij het passeren van de Bermudadriehoek.

©The Daily Digest

Door La Ilustracion Espanola y Americana, 30 april 1880 / Wikimedia

De verdwijning van Atalanta
Het eerste grote incident dat vaak wordt genoemd in verband met de Bermudadriehoek is de verdwijning van het schip Atalanta. Op 31 januari 1880 vertrok het schip vanaf de Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda en verdween het samen met de gehele bemanning.

©The Daily Digest

Volg ons op MSN om elke dag de beste artikelen te ontvangen

Vlucht 19
Er is ook veel aandacht besteed aan Vlucht 19, een trainingsvlucht die in 1945 vanaf de basis in Fort Lauderdale, Florida vertrok, en nooit meer terugkeerde. Bovendien verdween een van de zoek- en reddingsvliegtuigen die werden ingezet om hen te zoeken ook.

©The Daily Digest

Het boek dat de mythe populair maakte
In 1973 publiceerde Charles Berlitz een boek waarin hij de Bermudadriehoek introduceerde. Hij verzamelde mysterieuze verhalen van piloten en matrozen die het gebied als "vervloekt" beschouwden. Hij verzamelde de verhalen en bundelde ze tot een verzameling van raadselachtige gebeurtenissen die werden geassocieerd met de Bermudadriehoek.

©The Daily Digest

Het concept van tijd is anders binnen de driehoek
In een interview met The New York Times in 1977 legde Charles Berlitz uit hoe het weer veranderde wanneer men de Bermudadriehoek betrad. Hij merkte op dat sommige piloten dachten dat ze slechts enkele minuten hadden gevlogen, maar ontdekten dat hun brandstoftank leeg was omdat er in werkelijkheid uren waren verstreken.

©The Daily Digest

Foto: Rodrigo Rodriguez / Unsplash

Waar is de tijd gebleven?
Volgens Berlitz, "kwamen vliegtuigen soms twee uur eerder dan verwacht aan op hun bestemming, terwijl in andere gevallen schepen en vliegtuigen nooit op hun bestemming arriveerden."

©The Daily Digest

De Bermudadriehoek: de film
Deze angstaanjagende verhalen dienden als inspiratie voor de film 'The Bermuda Triangle', geregisseerd door de Mexicaanse filmmaker René Cardona Jr., met in de hoofdrol John Huston, bekend als regisseur van klassiekers zoals 'The African Queen', 'The Asphalt Jungle' en 'Annie'.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Charlie Hales / Unsplash

Verdwijningen komen niet meer voor
Deze legende, die ooit prominent aanwezig was in de mysterieuze folklore van de jaren zestig en zeventig, is echter geleidelijk aan naar de achtergrond verdwenen. Er zijn tegenwoordig geen meldingen meer van schepen en vliegtuigen die verdwijnen in de Bermuda Driehoek. Als er zich incidenten voordoen, kunnen deze worden verklaard op basis van wetenschappelijke inzichten.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Publiek domein / Wikimedia

De Golfstroom en andere verklaarbare verschijnselen
Een voorbeeld van natuurlijke magnetische variaties die in verband staan met de polen, is dat kompassen op diverse locaties plotseling van positie veranderen. Bovendien wordt de Bermudadriehoek beïnvloed door de Golfstroom, wat de navigatie kan beïnvloeden.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: NASA

2. De verloren stad Atlantis
Charles Berlitz verwees in zijn interview met The New York Times naar de mogelijkheid dat de verloren stad Atlantis zich onder de wateren van de Bermudadriehoek bevindt. Wat als deze hypothese waar zou zijn?

©The Daily Digest

Het verloren continent
De oorsprong van de Atlantis-mythe kan worden teruggevoerd op een tekst van Plato. Al jarenlang wordt er gespeculeerd over het bestaan en de mogelijke locatie van Atlantis. Sommige theorieën wijzen naar de Spaanse Canarische Eilanden als het laatste overblijfsel van Atlantis onder de wateren. Recentelijk waren er zelfs mensen die beweerden bewijs te hebben gevonden van het bestaan van Atlantis.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Google Ocean

The Sun kondigde de "ontdekking" van Atlantis aan
In 2009 beweerde The Sun, op basis van een afbeelding van Google Ocean (het mariene equivalent van Google Earth), dat bepaalde lijnen op de bodem van de oceaan de ruïnes waren van menselijke constructies, wat als bewijs diende voor het bestaan van Atlantis.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Google verduidelijkt
Het duurde niet lang voordat Google duidelijk maakte dat de groeven op de afbeelding simpelweg veroorzaakt werden door bootnavigatie en een optische illusie, wat betekende dat de theorie van Atlantis opnieuw werd afgedaan als een legende.

©The Daily Digest

3. Yeti: De verschrikkelijke sneeuwman
Vóór de opkomst van de globalisering was de yeti een veelbesproken onderwerp, een wezen dat vermeend werd aangetroffen te worden in het Himalayagebergte en aangeduid werd als een aapachtig schepsel.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Jeremy Benzager / Unsplash

Een aapachtig beest voor elke regio
Er zijn ontdekkingsreizigers die beweren de yeti te hebben waargenomen tijdens sneeuwstormen. In Tibet wordt dit legendarische wezen Jigou genoemd. Vergelijkbare wezens zijn te vinden in andere delen van de wereld, zoals de Australische Yowie, de kunk in de Zuid-Amerikaanse Andes en de Siberische chuchunga.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Pixabay

Yeti-waarnemingen zijn onbetrouwbaar
Waarnemingen van de yeti waren altijd afkomstig van individuen en vonden plaats onder extreme weersomstandigheden. Vanwege deze factoren hecht de wetenschap weinig waarde aan dergelijke waarnemingen. Volgens een artikel in The Washington Post uit 2017 werd uit een DNA-onderzoek met vermeende overblijfselen van een yeti geconcludeerd dat het om beren ging.

©The Daily Digest

Bekendheden
Sir Edmund Hillary en Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (afgebeeld) behoren tot de opmerkelijke getuigen van de yeti. Zij waren de dappere ontdekkingsreizigers die als eersten de top van de Mount Everest bereikten. Evenzo heeft Reinhold Messner, die zonder zuurstof 14 toppen in de Himalaya bedwong, gesproken over de aanwezigheid van de yeti.

©The Daily Digest

4. Big Foot: Noord-Amerikaanse folklore
De Amerikaanse tegenhanger van de yeti, bekend als Bigfoot, is een vergelijkbare legende. Het verhaal gaat dat Bigfoot een wezen is dat lijkt op een kruising tussen een beer en een gorilla, en dat hij leeft in de bossen van Noord-Amerika.

©The Daily Digest

Een echte Bigfoot foto?
In de 20e eeuw waren er nog ongerepte en onbekende gebieden in de Verenigde Staten waar volgens de legende Bigfoot zijn toevlucht zou hebben gezocht. In Eureka, Californië, werd een beeld vastgelegd dat zogenaamd grafisch bewijs zou zijn van het vermeende bestaan van dit mythische wezen.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Greg Rosenke / Unsplash

Bigfoot waarnemingen
Gedurende de 20e eeuw verspreidden waarnemingen van Bigfoot zich over heel Noord-Amerika. In de 21e eeuw zijn er echter nauwelijks of geen meldingen van waarnemingen geweest.

©The Daily Digest

5. Het monster van Loch Ness
Bij het monster van Loch Ness in Schotland is er een vergelijkbaar patroon waar te nemen. Voorheen beweerden mensen foto's van het monster te hebben gemaakt, zoals deze, maar tegenwoordig worden er geen meldingen meer gemaakt van waarnemingen.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Jabberocky / Wikimedia

6. Graancirkels
Een ander mysterie is dat van graancirkels. In de jaren zestig en zeventig waren ze bekend en werden ze vaak toegeschreven aan buitenaardse wezens. Vooral in Australië en het Verenigd Koninkrijk waren graancirkels opvallend. In 1991 gaven de Britten Doug Bower en Dave Chorley aan dat ze gedurende meer dan twee decennia ongeveer 200 graancirkels hadden gemaakt.

©The Daily Digest

7. Nazca-lijnen
De beroemde Nazca-lijnen in Peru zijn niet gemaakt door twee excentriekelingen. Het zijn zeer oude geogliefen. Deze tekeningen kunnen alleen vanuit de lucht, op aanzienlijke hoogte, worden gezien. Ze worden beschouwd als vermeende boodschappen aan de goden, gemaakt door de Nazca-cultuur (een pre-Columbiaanse cultuur), tussen 200 en 600 voor Christus.

©The Daily Digest

8. Op zoek naar de ark van Noach
Zelfs in 2010 was er bij National Geographic sprake van de vraag: "Is de Ark van Noach gevonden in Turkije?" Het idee dat er ergens een overblijfsel verborgen zou zijn van het bijbelse schip is iets waar mensen graag in willen geloven.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Daniel Born / Unsplash

De berg Ararat
In het eerder genoemde artikel uit 2010 werd verwezen naar een expeditie die beweerde overblijfselen te hebben ontdekt van de ark van Noach op de berg Ararat, gelegen in het grensgebied tussen Turkije, Armenië en Iran. Deze berg wordt doorgaans genoemd als de plek waar Noach volgens de overlevering strandde na de zondvloed.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Pixabay

De ark
De expeditie van 2010 onthulde aan The Daily Mail dat er zeven grote houten compartimenten waren ontdekt, begraven op een hoogte van 4.000 meter nabij de top van de berg Ararat. De ontdekking werd echter niet wetenschappelijk onderbouwd en, zoals vaak het geval is bij mysteries, raakte het geleidelijk in de vergetelheid.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Kevin Ecate / Unsplash

9. Geesten
Spoken hebben inmiddels een moderne transformatie ondergaan. Het iconische witte laken heeft plaatsgemaakt voor andere verschijningsvormen. Al in 1982 toonde de beroemde horrorfilm 'Poltergeist' hoe de geestenwereld zich manifesteert aan de levenden.

©The Daily Digest

Afbeelding: Greg Razoky / Unsplash

Een raadselachtige wereld
Mythen, folklore, populaire overtuigingen, fantasieën of mogelijk zelfs mysterieuze werkelijkheden. De onbekende facetten van het universum worden soms samengevat in raadsels, die soms een fabelachtige en poëtische vorm aannemen. Op andere momenten vervagen deze raadsels door de tijd, zonder dat we precies weten waarom.

{ ©The Daily Digest }

16-02-2026 om 21:54 geschreven door peter  

Scientists find a blue hole so deep that they can’t reach the bottom

  Sarah Hooper

There’s an underwater sinkhole off the coast of Belize that is so deep, scientists aren’t sure how far down it goes.

In Chetumal Bay, sinkhole Taam ja’, a ‘blue hole’, has proved to be a challenge for researchers trying to measure its depth.

Using sonar to map the hole, they found Taam ja’ is roughly 900 feet deep – but those measurements might be inaccurate, due to temperature and salinity changes in each layer of water.

Divers were sent into the hole, roughly 30 metres down, and found that the walls of the hole were squishy and uneven, before turning into firmer rock.

After anchoring a boat above the hole’s opening, a research team lowered a massive cable, measuring 1,640 feet, into the hole, but it wasn’t long enough to reach the bottom.

Researchers noted that the instrument could have been pushed sideways by currents and thrown off the measurements, but the mystery remains: how deep is Taam ja’?

Despite repeated attempts to measure the hole with long cables, there’s been no definitive measure of its depth.

For years, the Sansha Yongle Blue Hole, in the South China Sea, was believed to be the deepest blue hole in the ocea

If scientists can measure the depth of Taam ja’, it could replace the Sansha Yongle hole as the deepest measured sinkhole in the ocean.

It’s believed Taam ja’ could have a network of underwater caves and tunnels, making its measurement even more difficult.

Earlier this year, scientists were able to extract a sediment core from the bottom of the marine sinkhole that provided a 5,700-year storm archive.

The layers of sediment showed that over the past six millennia, on average, between four and 16 tropical storms pass over the hole per 100 years.

The Great Blue Hole lies around 60 miles off the coast of Belize City and is part of the Belize Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was formed at the end of the last Ice Age when rising seawaters flooded a series of enormous caverns.

It’s thought the caves were formed about 153,000 years ago and completely submerged around 15,000 years ago.

The Hole is populated by several shark species, including Caribbean reef sharks, nurse sharks, hammerheads, bull sharks, and black-tip sharks.

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{ https://metro.co.uk/news/ }

16-02-2026 om 20:15 geschreven door peter  

Synopsis

Former US President Barack Obama said in a recent podcast interview that aliens are “real”, though he added that he has never seen them. Speaking to Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama dismissed long-standing conspiracy theories that extraterrestrials are being secretly held at Area 51, saying there is no underground facility unless an enormous conspiracy was hidden even from the president.

Former US President Barack Obama has stirred fresh debate around extraterrestrial life after saying that aliens are “real”, while at the same time rejecting long-running claims that they are being hidden at the secretive Nevada military base known as Area 51. Obama made the remarks during an appearance on the ‘No Lie’ podcast hosted by YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen.

When asked directly whether aliens exist, Obama replied, “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them.” He then addressed the popular conspiracy theory linked to Area 51, adding, “They’re not being kept in – what is it? There’s no underground facility, unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.”

At one point in the conversation, when Cohen asked what question he most wanted answered after taking office, Obama laughed and said, “Where are the aliens?”

Area 51, located at Groom Lake in Nevada, has for years been at the centre of speculation about UFOs and alien life. The US government officially acknowledged the base only in 2013. It is widely believed to be a testing ground for advanced military aircraft0

According to The Independent and other international reports, conspiracy theories have claimed that alien spacecraft and even extraterrestrial remains are stored at the facility. Some stories trace back to the 1947 Roswell incident in New Mexico, where debris from a crashed object led to widespread rumours about a UFO cover-up.

Other unproven theories suggest that secret projects at the base include reverse engineering alien technology, developing futuristic weapons, time travel experiments and even weather control systems. None of these claims have been backed by verified evidence.

Renewed attention on UFO sightings

Interest in Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs), the official term now used by the US government for UFOs, has increased in recent years. In 2021, the Pentagon released three declassified US Navy videos showing fast-moving aerial objects. In one clip, an object appeared to rotate while flying against strong winds.

Obama had earlier spoken about such sightings during a 2021 appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden. At that time, he said there was footage and records of objects in the sky that could not be fully explained, including their movement and trajectory. He stressed that investigations were being taken seriously.

The Department of Defense has since set up the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to examine UAP reports, and lawmakers have pushed for greater transparency around such incidents.

 
During the same recent podcast interview, Obama also criticised federal immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota, calling certain operations “rogue behavior” and expressing concern over the way agents were deployed. He said such actions resembled conduct seen in authoritarian countries rather than in America.

He further commented on the current state of political discourse, describing what he called a “sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television.” He said there appeared to be a loss of decorum and respect for public office compared to earlier times.

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{ https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ }

15-02-2026 om 23:39 geschreven door peter  

Earliest Homo Looked Nothing Like A Human, Skeleton Suggests

For decades, Homo habilis has been treated as the “starter” version of our genus - more humanlike skull and teeth, plus the stone tools often found in the same broad time range. But a newly described partial skeleton is now pushing back hard on the idea that early Homo would have looked recognizably human from the neck down.

The fossil assemblage, found at Koobi Fora on the eastern side of Lake Turkana in Kenya, includes around 100 bones from the upper body and parts of the pelvis, associated with a near-complete lower jaw and teeth. Together, they make up the most complete H. habilis skeleton yet described, known as KNM-ER 64061, reports Science.

What has emerged in the recent study report published in The Anatomical Record, is a hominin that still carried a surprisingly “primitive” build: long, powerful arms and thick bone walls that echo earlier australopiths. In other words, early Homo may have been equipped with a more modern head while keeping a body that wouldn’t pass for human at a distance. 

• Homo habilis: The Very First Species of Human (Video)
• Oldest Tools in the World Found at Lake Turkana, Predate Early Humans

The Koobi Fora skeleton: what was found, and why it matters

The Koobi Fora remains were first recovered in 2012, beginning with a tooth and then a substantial set of lower teeth; additional bones lay scattered downslope. A key hurdle was proving that the jaw and the limb bones belonged to the same individual - a recurring problem in sites where fossils can be moved and mixed over time.

Researchers report that CT scans revealed matching mineral “fingerprints” (including barite) on the jaw and arm bones, strengthening the case that the pieces belong together. That allowed the team to treat KNM-ER 64061 as a single individual and, critically, to interpret proportions rather than isolated fragments. 

In the technical description, the authors emphasize that the skeleton includes clavicle and shoulder-blade fragments, both upper arms, both forearms, plus part of the sacrum and hip bones - rare coverage for H. habilis, which has long been known mostly from cranial and dental material.

• Homo habilis: The Very First Species of Human (Video)
• When Humans Were Hunted: Early Humans Remained Prey to Leopards Far Longer Than Expected

Skeletal remains of KNM-ER 64060 and KNM-ER 64061, the most complete H. habilis skeleton yet studied.

(Grine, F. E. et al./ The Anatomical Record)

Long arms, thick bone - and a body built differently than H. erectus

The new skeleton reinforces an uncomfortable point for the classic narrative: the tall, long-legged, “human body plan” seems to arrive later than many textbook summaries suggest. The team reports that H. habilis retained relatively long forearms compared with Homo erectus, and that its upper-limb bones have strikingly thick cortices (dense outer bone walls), a trait more reminiscent of australopiths, explains the study. 

That does not automatically mean KNM-ER 64061 was swinging through trees like an ape - researchers caution against turning anatomy into simple lifestyle storytelling. Still, long arms and robust upper limbs hint that climbing or heavy upper-body loading remained important in its daily life, even while stone tools were spreading across the landscape. 

At the same time, a small but telling detail in the pelvis - an ischium fragment - suggests more efficient hip mechanics for upright walking than in australopiths. It’s a mosaic: not “human,” not “ape,” but a blend that complicates any straight-line march toward modern human anatomy. 

Homo habilis would NOT have stood and looked like this.

(Homo habilis Leakey et al 1964/Public Domain) 

Rethinking early Homo: who made the “human” body?

One reason this fossil matters is timing. H. erectus appears around 2 million years ago, while H. habilis persists much later, meaning they overlapped for a long time rather than forming a neat ancestor–descendant chain. That overlap makes it harder to argue that habilis simply “became” erectus through gradual body reshaping. 

Instead, the new skeleton supports an increasingly common view: early Homo was diverse, and different lineages may have tested different solutions - some emphasizing brain and dental changes, others moving toward the long-legged form suited to long-distance walking. The Anatomical Record paper even provides estimates that highlight the physical gap: about 160 cm tall, but only roughly 31–33 kg in body mass for this individual, noticeably lighter than typical estimates for H. erectus.

If so, the truly “human-looking” body may not have been a starting feature of our genus at all, but a later evolutionary package, one that appeared after early tool use had already begun, and after multiple hominin species shared the same East African landscapes. 

• Top image: Bangkok, Thailand, Homo habilis reconstruction at Rama9 museum.        
•  Source: Akkharat J./Adobe Stock

By Gary Manners

References

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

15-02-2026 om 23:06 geschreven door peter  

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

15-02-2026 om 22:05 geschreven door peter  

R£LATED VIDEOS

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15-02-2026 om 21:44 geschreven door peter  

Glowing Orbs Over Ault, Colorado, USA Feb 8, 2026, UFO UAP Sighting News.

Date of sighting: February 8, 2026

Location of sighting: Ault, Colorado, USA

Source: NUFORC

 

Now this raw footage just came in yesterday and its two short videos showing not one, but three to five orbs glowing over the city of Ault. The city of Ault has a population of less than 2,000 so few eyewitnesses probably recorded this event. Colorado is famous for it sightings of huge white spheres near the edges of the Rocky Mountains and Ault is just a few miles from these mountains. Compounded by the fact that they were in triangle military formation just tells me that there is an intelligence controlling them. These are alien craft, there is no denying that fact. 

Scott C. Waring - UFO Sightings Daily, Taiwan 

 

Eyewitness states: 

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

15-02-2026 om 21:20 geschreven door peter  

UFO in Google Earth Map Libya, the Sahara Desert, UAP paranormal sighting alien news. 👽

Date of discovery: Feb 14, 2026

Location of discovery: 24°08’56”N 23°25’25”E

Source: Google Earth Map

 

I found this strange craft on Google map this week. Obviously a UFO landed with a glowing doorway and a person moving towards its entrance. To see it, you must drop the person icon into the center of the crop formation and it shows a google earth 360 degree view.  Is it real or just an ai photo inserted by a Google employee? AI is running rampant out of control across the internet and clearly this has a high possibility of being AI, however I feel that this could be real, it may have been cloaked at the time of the recording and may have gone overlooked by the employee posting the photo. Cameras without an ir filter can see cloaked UFOs, due to the infrared light revealing the craft, a light the human eye cannot see, but is emitted by our sun across our planet. I also notice the shadows and sky around it show zero sign of being ai (ai makes thing 100% focused) this was not, appearing to be untouched, original lighting a fading along edges. So yes, it may be real, and yes, this shape of UFOs does exist. We are left with a mystery. One thing I guarantee, Google will delete it within the next 30 days, because Google is involved with the UFO cover-up in America. 

Scott C. Waring - Taiwan 

 

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

15-02-2026 om 21:14 geschreven door peter  

UFO Report Spurs US military to disrupt cell phones, almost close airport for two weeks in Texas, Feb 2026, UAP Sighting News.

Date of sighting: February 10, 2026

Location of sighting: El Paso, Texas, USA

News source: 

https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/eyewitness-video-of-mysterious-craft-hovering-over-el-paso-upends-trump-administration-balloon-claim/ar-AA1WeOSP?apiversion=v2&domshim=1&noservercache=1&noservertelemetry=1&batchservertelemetry=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1

A UFO was seen in a recent video from Feb 2 in El Paso that is stirring up US gov investigations into UFOs over El Paso this week. Texas tried to shut down the El Paso airport for several weeks, but in its first hour of announcement, it was taken back due to the large amounts of travelers protesting. This UFO was caught on video in the distance and I took a screenshot of it and tried to focus it. I didn't use AI but instead did it myself. I show the steps of me adding contrast and sharpness to it. It's clear in the 4th screenshot that this object in the sky is disk with an upper and lower hump. From the distance and shape, I can estimate its size to be that of two city buses.  When the US gov reacts so drastically...its a 100% guarantee its an a real UFO. 

Scott C. Waring - UFO Sightings Daily, Taiwan

Eyewitness states: 

According to the witness recording the hovering craft, it appeared on video 'like a dot' after moving off far into the distance, but the object was allegedly incredibly large and looked somewhat like 'a blob.'

 

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

15-02-2026 om 21:09 geschreven door peter  

Global analysis tracks 3,100 glacier surges as climate change rewrites the rules

by University of Portsmouth

15-02-2026 om 20:41 geschreven door peter  

Scientists are baffled to discover 3,100 glaciers SURGING – as they warn it could be even more 'troublesome' than glacial retreat

• READ MORE: Map reveals what REALLY sits below Antarctica's ice sheet

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

While many of the world's glaciers are in rapid retreat, scientists have been baffled to find 3,100 that are 'surging'. 

While this might sound like a good thing, the experts warn that it could be even more 'troublesome' than glacial retreat.

During a surge, a glacier sends large amounts of ice built up over decades racing downhill, where it rapidly melts in the warm lower-altitude weather.

Surge–prone glaciers make up a large proportion of lost ice in some regions, and experts warn that some are even 'surging themselves to death'.

While this is bad news for the glaciers themselves, the outlook is even worse for the people who live beside them. 

Unlike most glaciers, which move gradually forward, surging glaciers shift in short bursts of rapid movement lasting a few years, followed by decades-long periods of quiet. 

Lead author Dr Harold Lovell, a glaciologist from the University of Portsmouth, says: 'They save up ice like a savings account and then spend it all very quickly like a Black Friday event.

'But while they only represent one per cent of all glaciers worldwide, they affect just under one–fifth of global glacier area, and their behaviour can result in serious and sometimes catastrophic natural disasters that affect thousands of people.'

Scientists have discovered 3,100 glaciers that are not retreating but surging (illustrated), as they warn that this could be even more 'troubling' 

Scientists aren't entirely sure what triggers surges, but research suggests they are probably related to conditions in the glacier's underside, where ice meets the ground

These glaciers store massive reserves of ice until heavy rainfall or hot weather trigger a buildup of water beneath the ice, reducing friction and allowing the glacier to slide downhill.

Although it might temporarily look like the glacier is advancing, the results are often catastrophic for the glacier.

Dr Lovell told the Daily Mail: 'When glaciers surge, they very quickly spend all the ice they have built up over a long period of time. This ice then melts away in warmer temperatures at lower elevations, leaving the glacier very vulnerable. 

'There are examples of glaciers "surging themselves to death" - losing so much ice during a surge that they cannot recover in the current warmer climate.'

Surging glaciers are also highly concentrated in just a few dense clusters in the Arctic, High Mountain Asia, and the Andes, where there is the right balance of temperature and precipitation.

The problem is that these surges result in huge changes to the environment around the glacier, which can be devastating for nearby settlements.

Glacier surging creates serious hazards for people living near the ice, as the advance threatens to swallow homes, trigger flooding, create landslides, and fill waterways with dangerous icerbergs

The threat posed by the world's surge–prone glaciers (illustrated) is made worse by the fact that these events are so unpredictable 

Why are surging glaciers dangerous?

1. Glacier advance: Ice overruns buildings, roads and farmland.
2. River blockages: Surging glaciers dam rivers, creating dangerous lakes that can release devastating floods.
3. Meltwater outbursts from beneath the glacier: These also release potentially devastating floods.
4. Sudden detachments of glaciers: Cause large ice and rock avalanches.
5. Widespread crevassing: High ice velocities fracture glacier surfaces, making travel extremely hazardous in regions where glaciers serve as highways between settlements and are used for tourism activities, and affecting climbing routes where glaciers provide access to mountain peaks.
6. Iceberg hazards: When glaciers surge into the sea, they release numerous icebergs in a short time, creating risks for shipping and marine tourism

Glacier advances can overrun roads, farmland, and even buildings, as well as blocking rivers, creating lakes that can release dangerous floods.

During a surge, meltwater that has built up beneath the glacier can suddenly be released in the form of a devastating flash flood.

The rapid movement forward also makes the glacier less stable, creating a network of widespread crevasses that can be perilous for anyone travelling over the ice.

In extreme cases, the glacier may begin to break up, releasing hazardous icebergs or suddenly detaching in a large ice and rock avalanche.

In their paper, published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, the researchers identified the 81 glaciers that pose the greatest danger when they surge.

Most of these are in the Karakoram Mountains, which span China, India, and Pakistan, where populated valleys and critical infrastructure sit directly below surging glaciers such as the Shisper and Kyagar.

However, they can also be found all over the world, with serious threats posed by the Tweedsmuir Glacier in Alaska-Yukon and the Kolka Glacier in the Caucasus.

This risk is made worse by the fact that surges are very hard to predict, and climate change is only making them less reliable.

Of the 81 most dangerous glaciers in the world, most are in the Karakoram mountain range, where inhabited valleys sit directly below surging glaciers such as the Shisper glacier (pictured)

In some areas, glaciers are now so thin that they don't have the ice to surge, but others are now surging more than ever.

Dr Lovell says: 'We have been able to piece together the growing body of evidence that shows how climate change is affecting glacier surges, including where and how often they happen.

'This includes instances of extreme weather such as heavy rainfall events or very warm summers, triggering earlier than expected surges, suggesting an increasing unpredictability in their behaviour.'

Surges might stop altogether in places like Iceland, where glaciers are shrinking rapidly and struggling to build up ice.

Read More

•  The $80 billion mission to save the Doomsday Glacier: Scientists reveal plan to build a 50-mile WALL 

But they could become more frequent in parts of High Mountain Asia and in the Canadian and Russian Arctic due to warmer temperatures and increased meltwater.

The researchers even suggest that surges could be seen in the Antarctic Peninsula, where surging glaciers have never been seen before.

Co–author Professor Gwenn Glowers, of Simon Fraser University in Canada, says: 'Just as we're starting to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms behind glacier surges, climate change is rewriting the rules.

'Extreme weather events that might have been rare even 50 years ago could become triggers for unexpected surges. Given that surges cause hazards in some settings, this makes protecting vulnerable communities much more difficult.'

The 81 most dangerous surging glaciers on Earth

1. Ghiacciaio del Belvedere, European Alps
2. Vernagtferner, European Alps
3. Tweedsmuir Glacier, Alaska-Yukon
4. Sít' Tlein (Malaspina) Glacier, Alaska-Yukon
5. Hubbard/Valerie Glacier, Alaska-Yukon
6. Bering Glacier, Alaska-Yukon
7. Náłúdäy (Lowell) Glacier, Alaska-Yukon
8. Dań Zhùr (Donjek) Glacier, Alaska-Yukon
9. Steele Glacier, Alaska-Yukon
10. Flat Creek Glacier, Alaska-Yukon
11. Henteel No’ Loo’ (Muldrow) Glacier, Alaska-Yukon
12. Black Rapids Glacier, Alaska-Yukon
13. Glaciar Grande del Nevado del Plomo, Andes
14. Horcones Inferior Glacier, Andes
15. Juncal Sur Glaciar, Andes
16. Cachapoal Glaciar, Andes
17. Tinguiririca 3, Andes
18. Mittie Glacier, Canadian Arctic
19. Kolka Glacier, Caucasus
20. Devdorak Glacier, Caucasus
21. Davidov Glacier, Central Tien Shan
22. Lysii Glacier, Central Tien Shan
23. Northern Inylchek Glacier, Central Tien Shan
24. Sortebræ, Greenland
25. Zelunglung Glacier, Eastern Himalaya
26. Karayaylak/Kelayayilake Glacier, Eastern Pamir
27. Xiaoma Glacier, Eastern Tibetan Mountains (Tibetan Plateau)
28. Breiðamerkurjökull east (Norðlingalægðarjökull), Iceland
29. Skeiðarárjökull, Iceland
30. Eystri-Hagafellsjökull, Iceland
31. Shisper (Shishper, Shispare) Glacier, Karakoram
32. Chong Kumden Glacier, Karakoram
33. Aktash Glacier, Karakoram
34. Kichik Kumden Glacier, Karakoram
35. Kyagar (Keyajir) Glacier, Karakoram
36. Shinghi (Singkhu, Telamukanli) Glacier, Karakoram
37. North Gasherbrum Glacier, Karakoram
38. Urdok Glacier, Karakoram
39. Khurdopin Glacier, Karakoram
40. Malangutti Glacier, Karakoram
41. Yazdghil Glacier, Karakoram
42. Ghulkin Glacier, Karakoram
43. Aling Glacier, Karakoram
44. Yengutz Har Glacier, Karakoram
45. Yukshin Gardan Glacier, Karakoram
46. Batura Glacier, Karakoram
47. Bualtar (Hopar) Glacier, Karakoram
48. Sultan Chussku Glacier, Karakoram
49. Balt Bare Glacier, Karakoram
50. Balthar Glacier, Karakoram
51. Karamber Glacier, Karakoram
52. Chillinji Glacier, Karakoram
53. Chhatteboi Glacier, Karakoram
54. Warghut Glacier, Karakoram
55. Sotkher Rabot Glacier, Karakoram
56. Saklei Shuyinj Glacier, Karakoram
57. Biafo Glacier, Karakoram
58. Tashing (Toshain) Glacier, Karakoram
59. Kutiah Glacier, Karakoram
60. North Terong Glacier, Karakoram
61. Chiring Glacier, Karakoram
62. Sedongpu Glacier, Nyainqentanglha (Tibetan Plateau)
63. Midui Glacier, Nyainqentanglha (Tibetan Plateau)
64. Zawadzkibreen, Svalbard
65. Penckbreen, Svalbard
66. Moršnevbreen, Svalbard
67. Scheelebreen, Svalbard
68. Sefströmbreen, Svalbard
69. Hinlopenbreen, Svalbard
70. Fjortende Julibreen, Svalbard
71. Bråsvellbreen, Svalbard
72. Austfonna Basin-3, Svalbard
73. Etonbreen, Svalbard
74. Aru-1 Glacier, Tibetan Interior (Tibetan Plateau)
75. Aru-2 Glacier, Tibetan Interior (Tibetan Plateau)
76. Unnamed Glacier, Petra Pervogo Range, Western Pamir
77. Unnamed Glacier, Petra Pervogo Range, Western Pamir
78. Didal Glacier, Western Pamir
79. Ravak Glacier, Western Pamir
80. Medvezhiy Glacier, Western Pamir
81. Geographical Society Glacier, Western Pamir

Source: Harold Lovell, et al., (2026)

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15-02-2026 om 20:23 geschreven door peter  

30 misvattingen die moderne ‘feiten’ zijn geworden

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30 misvattingen die moderne ‘feiten’ zijn geworden
Koffie wordt gemaakt van bonen, pinguïns paren voor het leven en kameleons veranderen van kleur om bij hun omgeving te passen... Dit zijn allemaal 'feiten' waarvan je waarschijnlijk denkt dat ze waar zijn. De meeste mensen geloven tenslotte dat dit zo is. Deskundigen hebben er echter op gewezen dat veel zogenaamde 'feiten' eenvoudige misvattingen zijn. Dan zijn er enkele die gewoon regelrechte mythen zijn!Wat zijn enkele veelvoorkomende ‘feiten’ die eigenlijk misvattingen zijn? Lees verder om erachter te komen.

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Mount Everest is de ‘hoogste’ berg ter wereld
Hoewel de Mount Everest wordt beschouwd als de hoogste berg ter wereld, beweren experts dat dit technisch gezien niet waar is. De top van de Mount Everest ligt officieel hoger boven zeeniveau dan de top van welke andere berg dan ook. Mauna Kea is echter de hoogste, gemeten van basis tot top.

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Via je hoofd verlies je je lichaamswarmte het snelst
Hoewel algemeen wordt aangenomen dat dit waar is, zeggen sommige experts dat het slechts een mythe is, en dat mensen het net zo koud zouden hebben als ze zonder hoed zouden gaan, als wanneer ze zonder broek zouden gaan.

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Eén mensenjaar komt overeen met zeven hondenjaren
Hoewel het voor sommige honden waar kan zijn, is het geen vuistregel. Het hangt allemaal af van de grootte en het ras van de hond.

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De aarde draait om de zon
Technisch gezien draaien de zon, de aarde en alle andere planeten rond het centrum van het zonnestelsel.

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Sushi betekent ‘rauwe vis’
Hoewel een van de meest voorkomende ingrediënten rauwe vis kan zijn, vertaalt sushi zich eigenlijk van het Japans naar 'zure smaak'.

©Getty Images

Vikingen droegen gehoornde helmen
Hoewel dit misschien wel waar is, zeggen historici dat er feitelijk geen bewijs is dat Vikingen ooit gehoornde helmen droegen.

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Vitamine C is een effectieve behandeling tegen verkoudheid
Grieppatiënten worden vaak aangemoedigd om hun vitamine C-dosering te verhogen, maar de meeste deskundigen hebben verklaard dat er weinig tot geen bewijs is dat de vitamine kan helpen bij de behandeling van verkoudheid. In plaats daarvan wordt aangenomen dat het helpt bij het opbouwen van het immuunsysteem om potentiële griepvirussen af ​​te weren.

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Mensen gebruiken slechts 10% van hun hersenen
Neurologen zeggen dat dit volkomen onwaar is. Mensen gebruiken bijna elk deel van hun hersenen, en het grootste deel van de hersenen is altijd actief.

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Koffie wordt gemaakt van bonen
Hoewel velen aannemen dat koffie uit koffiebonen komt, zeggen experts dat ze eigenlijk zijn gemaakt van zaden die boon worden genoemd.

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Gelukskoekjes zijn een Chinese traditie
Gelukskoekjes waren oorspronkelijk een Japans-Amerikaanse uitvinding voordat ze op grote schaal werden overgenomen door de Chinese cultuur.

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Verschillende delen van je tong detecteren verschillende smaken
Dit werd wetenschappelijk weerlegd, omdat onderzoekers ontdekten dat alle smaaksensaties uit alle delen van de tong komen. Verschillende delen zijn echter gevoeliger voor bepaalde smaken, en dit is wellicht de reden waarom dit populaire geloof ontstaat.

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Als je een babyvogeltje vastpakt, zal de moeder het afwijzen
De meeste vogels hebben een zeer slecht reukvermogen, dus in de meeste gevallen kunnen ze de menselijke geur op een babyvogel niet eens opmerken.

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Kameleons veranderen van kleur om bij hun omgeving te passen
De waarheid is dat kameleons feitelijk van kleur veranderen als reactie op stemming, temperatuur, communicatie en licht, in plaats van op het object dat ze aanraken.

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Er is een donkere kant van de maan
Omdat de maan voortdurend om zijn eigen as draait, is er geen enkel deel van de planeet dat in permanente duisternis verkeert.

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Bloed is blauw voordat het zuurstof krijgt
Hoewel velen geloven dat zuurstofarm bloed blauw is, is dit feitelijk een mythe, omdat menselijk bloed altijd rood is. De mate van roodheid verschilt echter afhankelijk van hoe zuurstofrijk het is.

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Wakkere slaapwandelaars zijn schadelijk voor hen
Het wakker maken van een slaapwandelaar zal geen lichamelijk letsel veroorzaken, maar het kan ervoor zorgen dat hij schrikt of gedesoriënteerd raakt.

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Pinguïns paren voor het leven
Pinguïns zijn meestal monogaam, maar er zijn enkele soorten, zoals de keizerspinguïn, die alleen serieel monogaam zijn. Ze paren een seizoen lang met één pinguïn en gaan het volgende seizoen over op een andere pinguïn.

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Als je je beenhaar scheert, groeit het sneller terug
Velen geloven dat het scheren van lichaamshaar ervoor zorgt dat het sneller teruggroeit, maar het scheren van haar verandert niets aan de dikte, kleur of groeisnelheid. Het kan een tijdje grof aanvoelen als het uitgroeit.

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De Chinese Muur is vanuit de ruimte te zien
De Apollo-astronauten bevestigden dat je de Chinese Muur vanaf de maan niet kunt zien. In feite is het enige wat je vanaf de maan kunt zien het witte en blauwe marmer van de aarde.

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Cafeïne droogt je uit
Hoewel cafeïnehoudende dranken een mild diuretisch effect hebben, zeggen experts dat ze het risico op uitdroging niet lijken te vergroten.

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Stieren zijn woedend over de kleur rood
Het is een bewezen feit dat stieren alleen blauw en geel zien. Alleen tijdens stierengevechten reageren ze vanwege de bewegingen op de rode cape.

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Vingernagels blijven groeien nadat je sterft
De uitdroging van het lichaam na de dood kan ervoor zorgen dat de huid rond haar en nagels terugtrekt, waardoor de illusie ontstaat dat ze zijn gegroeid. Alle weefsels hebben echter energie nodig om hun functies te behouden, wat niet mogelijk is als ze dood zijn.

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Pinda's zijn een soort noot
Eigenlijk behoren pinda's, samen met bonen en erwten, tot de leguminosae-familie.

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Een goudvis heeft een geheugenspanne van drie seconden
Dit is niet waar, aangezien goudvissen zeer goede herinneringen aan vissen hebben. Ze kunnen worden getraind om op verschillende manieren te reageren op bepaalde kleuren licht en verschillende soorten muziek.

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Als je veel chocolade eet, krijg je vlekken
Er is geen concreet bewijs dat suggereert dat het eten van meer chocolade vlekken kan veroorzaken.

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Microgolfstraling kan kanker veroorzaken
De meeste deskundigen zijn van mening dat magnetrons niet genoeg energie afgeven om het genetisch materiaal in de cellen te beschadigen en dus geen kanker kunnen veroorzaken.

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Kaas eten voor het slapengaan zal je nachtmerries bezorgen
Er wordt aangenomen dat kaas je meer emotioneel geladen dromen bezorgt, maar niet noodzakelijkerwijs nachtmerries.

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Struisvogels steken hun kop in het zand als ze bang zijn
Struisvogels slikken zand en kiezelstenen in om het voedsel in hun maag te vermalen. Dit betekent dat ze moeten bukken en hun hoofd kort in de aarde moeten steken om de steentjes op te vangen. Het heeft niets te maken met hun angst.

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Alcohol houdt je warm
Alcohol zorgt ervoor dat je bloedvaten verwijden, waardoor warm bloed dichter bij het huidoppervlak komt. Hierdoor kun je je tijdelijk warmer voelen. Diezelfde aderen die het bloed dichter naar het huidoppervlak pompen, zorgen er echter ook voor dat je lichaamswarmte verliest.

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Huisvliegen leven slechts ongeveer 24 uur
De volwassen huisvlieg kan in het wild maximaal een maand leven.

Bronnen:

• (Dagelijkse post)

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15-02-2026 om 18:26 geschreven door peter