There may be a new dwarf planet just beyond Pluto

 

NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA Image courtesy of M. Juric (UW), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)

Joel Kontinen

Astronomers spotted what appears to be a dwarf planet in the outer solar system using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory – if confirmed, it joins a small and exclusive club.

A mosaic of images captured by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory of the newly discovered dwarf planet candidate ED138.

There might be a new dwarf planet beyond Pluto. This suggestion was presented by researchers who have looked up at the sky past Pluto.

The small club of dwarf planets in our solar system may have just grown by one. Astronomers using the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile have spotted an object beyond Pluto that seems to be big enough to qualify as a dwarf planet. In fact, it is one of the largest dwarf planet candidates we have spotted so far from the sun.

Source:

Leah Crane 2026 There may be a new dwarf planet just beyond Pluto | New Scientist 28 October 

 

Inhaling CO2 may rescue nerves’ ability to regrow

 

Image courtesy of Marcial Quiroga-Carmona

Joel Kontinen

Breathing out after birth switches off the ability of tissues to regenerate, a study in mice suggests. But the pathway seems to be reversible.

Taking our first breaths marks the beginning of a new life, yet this may be the very act that limits our ability to grow and heal as adults. Studies in mice have pinned down newborns’ exhalation of carbon dioxide, immediately after birth, as the starting gun that switches off their cells’ intrinsic ability to regenerate.

“We were very surprised and excited by the CO2 effect,” says Zhigang He at Harvard Medical School, who led the research.

Does inhaling a lot of CO2 make limb grow? This is what some researchers say. The study was done on mice, so that it might not apply to humans at all.  

Source:

Jo Marchant 2026 Inhaling CO2 may rescue nerves’ ability to regrow | New Scientist 29 October 

Turks spread lies about the Mossad and France

 

Image courtesy of wp-post-image 

Joel Kontinen

“Jewish lobbies” secretly pulling the strings behind student riots in France. No, this isn’t some neo-Nazi conspiracy site. It’s @CNN’s Turkish affiliate. Viewers were told Israel can “push the button” in France using its “Jewish lobbies,” economic power and intelligence apparatus. And apparently, “it wouldn’t be right to say that Mossad ALONE is responsible.” This is textbook antisemitic conspiracy-mongering, broadcast under the CNN brand.

The Turks are spreading lies. If would not benefit the Jews. Just  look at the pro Palestinian flags all over France.

Source:

Honest reporting. 2026,  HR on X: Our Top X Posts for October 2026 | HonestReporting  5  October.

Wind turbines have killed 19 million bats in 40 years in the US

 

Image courtesy of Michael Durham/Nature Picture Library/Alamy.

Joel Kontinen

Wind turbines kill bats at an alarming rate. Nearly 19 million bats are estimated to have been killed by wind turbines in the US between 1981 and 2024, but measures can be taken to make them less deadly.

Bats play a vital role in ecosystems, particularly by controlling insects like mosquitoes and moths that produce crop-killing caterpillars.

“We know bats are being impacted, but could we change the engineering or sites of a turbine to minimise those impacts?” she asks. “There’s been an increasing interest in this, but we just haven’t had the appropriate data yet.”

Now, Straw, Labuzzetta and their colleagues have analysed 499 reports from wind farms across the 48 adjoining US states to estimate how many bats were killed by turbines from 1981 to 2024, focusing on 10 species. They used a statistical model that considered differences in how wind farms searched for dead bats, the size and design of their turbines, and the surrounding environment.

Their results suggest that wind turbines killed an estimated 18.7 million bats between 1981 and 2024. Annual deaths seem to have exceeded 1.5 million from 2021 onwards, which may be the result of more wind turbines being installed.

The researchers aren’t sure why bats fly so close to wind turbines.

Source:

Christa Lesté-Lasserre. 2026 Wind turbines have killed 19 million bats in 40 years in the US | New Scientist 26 October

Bottlenose whales may look after each other when they’re sick

 

Image courtesy of Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures/Alamy

Joel Kontinen

Animals know when a member of their tribe has sickness and they try to help it. And bottlenose etches are nor an expecting, For instance ants know this.  We would not expect animals to care for their wounded comrades in a Darwinian world, but in a created world it is no big deal, as God has given animals the intelligence they need for coping in a post-Fall environment.

A  paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B features African Matabele ants (Megaponera analis) that are known for waging wars against other ant colonies. Now, researchers found that they care for the injured, carry them home and even clean their wounds, perhaps with an antibiotic substance to “fend off infections,” as an article in The Guardian puts it.

Northern bottlenose whales have stronger social bonds when they are starving or sick. This discovery was a surprise, because often in mammals, social connections are associated with better health. But during tough times, these whales may rally round and care for others in need.

That idea fits with early whalers’ descriptions of the animals’ behaviour. In a report from 1882, David Gray, commander of the whaling steamer Eclipse, said he had observed thousands of northern bottlenose whales, and noted they had a peculiar response to injured individuals. “The herd never leaves a wounded companion so long as it is alive,” he said. “They come from every point of the compass towards the struck one in the most mysterious manner.”

 Source:

Jo Marchant 2026 Bottlenose whales may look after each other when they’re sick | New Scientist 19 October 

 

All tropical coral reefs could collapse within 50 years

 

Image courtesy of Mathilde Maslin

Joel Kontinen

Some researchers think that the corrals will be destroyed in 50 yeas,   Some,  however feel  that corrals can withstand  rising temperatures.  

Imagine a world without tropical coral reefs, a world nearly devoid of iconic species like elkhorn and pillar corals and sea creatures like the clownfish from Finding Nemo. That world could come to pass within 50 years due to humanity’s continuing fossil fuel emissions.

At least 96 per cent of shallow-water coral reef ecosystems are at extremely high risk of collapsing by 2075, according to an assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the leading authority on endangered species. The remaining ecosystems weren’t evaluated due to lack of data, but are probably just as vulnerable, according to Marcos Valderrábano at the IUCN.

Source:

Alec Luhn 2026 All tropical coral reefs could collapse within 50 years | New Scientist 22 October 

Discovery of T. rex’s cousin upends our understanding of tyrannosaur evolution

 

An artist’s illustration of the new-to-science Tromerosaurus dinosaur hunting some juvenile Brachylophosaurus. Image courtesy of Henry Sharpe

Joel Kontinen

A new species of tyrannosaur has been discovered by scientists in Canada. Fossils of the carnivorous dinosaur, a cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex, suggest it lived 77 million years and was 8 metres long with lengthy, lean legs. This is a rare addition to an unusual branch of the tyrannosaur family tree and complicates our understanding of how these dinosaurs supposedly evolved.

The timing of the dinosaur is off by thousands of years. According to the Bible, a great dinosaur known as Behemoth lived at the time of Job.

Tyrannosauridae, a family of dinosaurs, split into two subfamilies: tyrannosaurines, made up of T. rex and other stocky, heavy species with relatively long heads, and albertosaurines, which had relatively short skulls and lighter builds.

 Source:

Jake Buehler 2026 Discovery of T. rex's cousin upends our understanding of tyrannosaur evolution | New Scientist19 October