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A new phenomenon dubbed "ice piracy" is unfolding in the frigid wilderness of West Antarctica, where one glacier appears to be stealing ice from its neighbor. 



This unusual behavior - once believed to take hundreds or even thousands of years - has now been recorded happening in under two decades.



Scientists from the University of Leeds, working with international collaborators, have used high-resolution satellite data to reveal that a fast-moving glacier is redirecting ice flow away from its slower neighbor.



This surprising event is changing how scientists understand the dynamics of glaciers - and how such shifts may contribute to future sea-level rise. Their findings, now published in The Cryosphere, provide rare insight into these rapid changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fast-paced-shift-in-the-ice">Fast-paced shift in the ice</h2>



Between 2005 and 2022, researchers observed that seven <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ice-streams-move-unpredictably-due-to-hidden-quakes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ice streams</a> in the Pope, Smith, and Kohler (PSK) region of West Antarctica sped up significantly. 



One glacier nearly doubled its speed - an 87% increase - at the point where it meets the ocean. 



Three other glaciers accelerated by 60% to 84%. By 2022, six of these streams were moving at more than 700 meters (0.4 miles) per year. That’s the equivalent of covering just over seven football fields in just one year.



This kind of acceleration, especially so close to the grounding line - the point where a glacier starts to float - is a warning sign. 



Grounding lines help track the stability of ice sheets. Changes in their position or speed suggest the system is out of balance and can influence how ice flows inland.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-slowing-glaciers-leads-to-ice-piracy">Slowing glaciers leads to ice piracy</h2>



But not every glacier followed the same pattern. The Kohler West glacier actually slowed down by 10% during the same time period. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Antarctica_ice-piracy_Glacier-velocity-change_2005-2022_ESA_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Antarctica_ice-piracy_Glacier-velocity-change_2005-2022_ESA_1s.webp" alt="The image depicts the average change in velocity of multiple glaciers flowing into the Crosson and Dotson Ice Shelves in West Antarctica from 2005 to 2022. Credit: ESA" class="wp-image-1969732"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The image depicts the average change in velocity of multiple glaciers flowing into the Crosson and Dotson Ice Shelves in West Antarctica from 2005 to 2022. Click image to enlarge. Credit: ESA</figcaption></figure>



This stood in stark contrast to nearby glaciers like Kohler East and Smith West, which sped up dramatically - by about 560 meters per year.



The slowdown puzzled scientists, until they looked at the ice flow patterns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kohler-west-and-kohler-east">Kohler West and Kohler East</h2>



“We think that the observed slowdown on Kohler West Glacier is due to the redirection of ice flow towards its neighbor - Kohler East," explained lead author Dr. Heather L. Selley from the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Leeds</a>.



"This is due to the large change in Kohler West’s surface slope, likely caused by the vastly different thinning rates on its neighboring <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-glaciers-flow-faster-during-the-summer-time/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">glaciers</a>.” 



She added that because Kohler East’s ice stream is flowing and thinning faster as it travels, it absorbs, or ‘steals’ ice from Kohler West. 



"This is effectively an act of ‘ice piracy’, where ice flow is redirected from one glacier to another, and the accelerating glacier is essentially ‘thieving’ ice from its slowing neighbor,” explained Selley.



“We didn’t know ice streams could ‘steal’ ice from each over such a short period, so this is a fascinating discovery. It’s unprecedented as we're seeing this from satellite data and it’s happening at a rate of under 18 years, whereas we’ve always thought it was this extremely long, slow process,” she added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-watching-ice-piracy-from-space">Watching ice piracy from space</h2>



To track this shift, the research team used satellite images and a technique that follows the movement of surface features like crevasses and rifts. 



They also incorporated data on ice thinning from the European Space Agency’s <a href="https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/CryoSat" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CryoSat mission</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Antarctica_ice-piracy_speed-direction_Crosson-Dotson-Ice-Shelves_2015-2022_ESA_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Antarctica_ice-piracy_speed-direction_Crosson-Dotson-Ice-Shelves_2015-2022_ESA_1s.webp" alt="The image depicts the average speed and direction of multiple glaciers flowing into the Crosson and Dotson Ice Shelves in West Antarctica from 2015 to 2022. The arrows show change in direction of flow. Credit: ESA" class="wp-image-1969725"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The image depicts the average speed and direction of multiple glaciers flowing into the Crosson and Dotson Ice Shelves in West Antarctica from 2015 to 2022. The arrows show change in direction of flow. Click image to enlarge. Credit: ESA</figcaption></figure>



Data was sourced from satellites operated by ESA, NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.



“This study provides an interesting demonstration of ice piracy, where flow into one glacier gradually switches to flow into another glacier, as the ocean melts the grounding zone and re-configures ice flow,” said Pierre Dutrieux, climate researcher at the <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">British Antarctic Survey</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-does-any-of-this-matter">Why does any of this matter?</h2>



The research team looked into several factors that influence ice flow, including <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-temperatures-are-rising-faster-than-expected-and-likely-to-accelerate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ocean temperatures</a>, circulation changes, air temperature, and snowfall. 



They discovered that ice redirection is affecting the amount of ice reaching the floating ice shelves fed by these glaciers.



Two major ice shelves - the Crosson and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctica-ice-shapes-never-seen-by-humans-dotson-ice-shelf-ran-submersible/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dotson</a> - are already among the fastest-changing outlets in West Antarctica. 



Crosson spans roughly 40 miles (60 kilometers), and Dotson stretches about 30 miles (48 kilometers). Both are thinning and retreating at their grounding lines.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Antarctica_ice-piracy_Crosson-Dotson-Ice-Shelves_map_ESA_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Antarctica_ice-piracy_Crosson-Dotson-Ice-Shelves_map_ESA_1s.webp" alt="The Crosson and Dotson Ice Shelves are situated in West Antarctica. These huge ice shelves are fed by numerous glaciers flowing towards the Amundsen Sea. Credit: ESA" class="wp-image-1969723"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Crosson and Dotson Ice Shelves are situated in West Antarctica. These huge ice shelves are fed by numerous glaciers flowing towards the Amundsen Sea. Click image to enlarge. Credit: ESA</figcaption></figure>



“The changes in flow direction have substantially altered the ice mass flux into Dotson and Crosson Ice Shelves, likely playing an important role in maintaining Dotson and accelerating the deterioration of Crosson," explained Professor Anna Hogg, co-author and Professor of Earth Observation at the University of Leeds.



“This suggests that ice flow redirection is an important new process in contemporary <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ice-sheet-fracture-sets-a-speed-record-in-antarctica/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ice sheet dynamics</a>, which is required to understand present-day structural change in glaciers and the future evolution of these systems.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ice-piracy-rising-seas-global-impacts">Ice piracy, rising seas, global impacts</h2>



The stakes are high. Sea levels are already rising due to climate change, and over 410 million people could be affected by coastal flooding by the year 2100. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-sea-levels-spiked-dramatically-in-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global sea levels</a> have increased by more than 10 centimeters over the past decade.



“This new study highlights the unique ability of satellites to provide both the temporal and spatial coverage required to assess change in the polar regions,” remarked Dr. Martin Wearing, ESA Digital Twin Earth Scientist and Polar Science Cluster Coordinator.



Using data from Copernicus Sentinel-1 and ESA's Earth Explorer CryoSat, the team has revealed the complex evolution of ice flow in part of West Antarctica over the past few decades. 



Understanding these changing dynamics and what drives them is crucial for improved projections of future ice-sheet change and contributions to sea-level rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-does-it-all-mean">What does it all mean?</h2>



To sum it all up, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-ice-sheet-past-present-and-future/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Antarctic ice sheet</a> - once thought to be sluggish and stable over millennia - is changing much faster than we realized, and in unexpected ways. 



This discovery of "ice piracy" shows that glaciers can dynamically interact, competing for ice and rerouting flow like rivers shifting course, which completely reshapes how we model future sea-level rise.



If one glacier can weaken another by stealing its ice, entire ice systems may destabilize quicker than predicted, feeding more ice into the ocean and raising sea levels. 



In plain terms: Antarctica isn’t just melting - it’s reorganizing itself in ways that could have big consequences for coastal cities around the world.



-----



The study brought together experts from the University of Leeds, the <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">British Antarctic Survey</a>, and the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (<a href="https://cpom.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CPOM</a>), which is led from <a href="https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Northumbria University</a>. 



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/1725/2025/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Cryosphere</a>.



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Ice piracy: Antarctic glacier discovered "stealing" ice from a neighbor, and that's not good for sea level rise

A new phenomenon dubbed "ice piracy" is unfolding in the...

Scientists have identified a previously overlooked set of stem cells inside our hair follicles, and it could be a game-changer for people who feel anxious about thinning hair. 



Their work highlights an area higher up in each follicle that appears to control the biological switch between silent and active hair growth phases.



<a href="https://med.virginia.edu/dermatology/faculty/lu-q-le-md-phd/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lu Q. Le</a>, MD, PhD, from UVA’s <a href="https://med.virginia.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">School of Medicine</a> and his colleagues conducted this investigation to learn how these forgotten cells might prompt new follicles to become active once again.



They believe this finding opens the door for new techniques to address hair loss, but they emphasize that ongoing analysis is needed before final treatments reach the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stem-cell-hair-growth-triggers">Stem cell hair growth triggers</h2>



This newly recognized cell group sits in the upper and middle <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-a-hidden-way-that-humans-feel-and-sense-touch/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sections of the follicle</a>. Researchers say these cells can renew themselves and produce various specialized offspring that participate in building new hairs.



Some were skeptical about whether follicle activity hinged on lesser-known compartments, but the team reported strong evidence that this region holds untapped power to spark hair regrowth. 



They found that, in lab settings, depleting these cells disrupted the natural cycle of replacing older <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/daily-dose-finasteride-magic-pill-regrows-hair-heals-prostate-boosts-heart-health/">hairs</a> with fresh strands.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-this-matters-for-everyone">Why this matters for everyone</h2>



Some people view <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-natural-cure-male-baldness-highly-effective-sugar-2-deoxy-d-ribose/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hair thinning</a> as an inevitable rite of passage. Researchers suggest the presence of unique cells, which may be more responsive to therapy, gives fresh reason to think differently.



“It is our hope that these stem cells could one day provide a novel therapy for treating hair loss in people,” said Le. 



That goal remains on the horizon, but the concept has stirred excitement among scientists who study the biology of skin.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenges-with-existing-therapies">Challenges with existing therapies</h2>



Typical solutions, such as over-the-counter <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482378/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">creams</a> or prescription <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513329/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">medications</a>, may improve only certain types of hair shedding. Many users also struggle with results that come slowly or plateau.



These new insights, however, add another target for investigation. Experts think that directing medical treatments toward lesser-studied follicle zones could bring more consistent or sustainable outcomes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-this-means-for-bald-scalp">What this means for bald scalp</h2>



The most compelling twist is that these cells are still present in bald areas, even after hair shafts are long gone. That means the problem might not be total cell loss - it could be a matter of reactivating what’s already there.



Le’s team found that the upper follicle stem cells were still intact in human scalp samples taken from bald patients. 



This raises the possibility that with the right signals or drugs, these dormant cells might be coaxed into restarting the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/beethovens-dna-reveals-unanswered-questions-about-his-death/">hair</a> cycle from scratch.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-few-surprising-details">A few surprising details</h2>



Some of the earliest <a href="https://www.jci.org/articles/view/46307" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tests</a> on mice, documented in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, showed that once these high-placed cells were taken away, hair shafts were lost in parts of the skin.



The animals also displayed disorganized follicles, hinting at a broader role these cells may have in preserving a healthy hair structure.



An earlier <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2203463/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">paper</a> on skin growth patterns pointed out that multiple factors interact to dictate why certain patches produce hair vigorously while others stay dormant. 



With this new clue, researchers can look more carefully at what signals these newly identified cells send to the surrounding layers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hair-stem-cells-and-the-future">Hair, stem cells, and the future</h2>



Scientists believe that maintaining or boosting the activity of these mid-follicle populations might guard against baldness. 



They are especially intrigued by how these cells might react if transplanted into areas that have gone quiet.



“We plan to fully investigate the potential of these stem cells in human hair follicles,” Le said. 



To get there, the team is examining human samples to see how often these cells remain in bald regions and whether they can be awakened.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-next-steps-in-the-lab">Next steps in the lab</h2>



To understand how these cells behave over time, researchers are experimenting with different ways to trace their movements inside hair follicles. 



They’ve used genetically marked cells in mice to watch how the upper follicle stem cells migrate and change during the hair cycle.



This tracking helped confirm that these cells not only exist but also actively repopulate lower regions of the follicle, especially the bulge. 



That behavior is key, because the bulge has long been viewed as the main source of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/intermittent-fasting-can-slow-hair-growth-but-it-also-has-many-positive-health-benefits/">hair</a> growth, and it now seems these newly discovered cells are its upstream supply.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hope-for-stem-cells-and-hair-loss">Hope for stem cells and hair loss</h2>



Public health data suggest millions of adults feel uneasy about hair-related changes. Stress, genetics, and medical conditions can all play a role, so there is no single fix that works across the board.



Researchers say this discovery adds another set of possibilities to that conversation. They believe a refined understanding of these mid-follicle cells will guide specialists toward a more targeted approach in the years ahead.



These findings show promise for those who want a new strategy that tackles hair loss at its roots. They also raise interesting questions about how our bodies control tissue renewal.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.jci.org/articles/view/180160" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Clinical Investigation</a>.



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Scientists discover hidden stem cells that could reactivate hair growth

Scientists have identified a previously overlooked set of stem cells...

Around six hundred million years ago, our planet almost lost the invisible shield that keeps its surface hospitable. Earth's magnetic field, generated by whirling molten iron deep below our feet, faded until it was so weak it was barely detectable.



At the same moment, oxygen flooded the oceans and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nitrogen-was-plentiful-for-early-life-on-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">atmosphere</a>, and curious soft-bodied creatures began sliding across the seafloor. The coincidence has fascinated geologists and biologists for decades.



Fresh measurements from ancient crystals now reveal just how close Earth came to a magnetic stall. They also strengthen the suspicion that a waning field set the stage for the rise of complex life. 



The new data trace a dramatic drop in magnetic intensity and help explain why the field later rebounded, saving Earth from becoming a dry, radiation-blasted rock like Mars.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-ancient-magnetic-field">Earth's ancient magnetic field</h2>



To read the planet’s magnetic diary, researchers collected grains of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-mantle-may-contain-a-wealth-of-green-metals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pyroxenite and gabbro</a> from South Africa, Brazil, and Canada.



Each mineral contains microscopic iron needles that froze in alignment with the ambient field when the rocks cooled. 



By reheating single crystals in a carefully shielded furnace, the team coaxed out tiny magnetic signals that record field strength at the time of eruption.



After analyzing hundreds of crystals, <a href="https://www.rochester.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Rochester</a> geophysicist John Tarduno and colleagues saw a clear pattern. 



“In general, the field is protective. If we had not had a field early in Earth history, water would have been stripped from the planet by the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/silent-storms-experts-identify-the-mysterious-source-of-solar-wind/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">solar wind</a> (a stream of energized particles flowing from the Sun toward Earth),” Tarduno explained.



“But in the Ediacaran, we had a fascinating period in the development of the deep Earth when processes creating the magnetic field … had become so inefficient after billions of years that the field almost completely collapsed.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-very-weak-magnetic-field">Very weak magnetic field</h2>



Crystals dated to 591 million years ago indicate a magnetic field about 30 times weaker than today - the most feeble long-term value ever measured. 



Follow-up samples show the enfeebled state persisted for at least 26 million years.



Before and after that window, rocks more than 2 billion years old and younger than 565 million years record a field as sturdy as the modern one, revealing just how exceptional the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ecosystem-behavior-earth-first-sea-creatures-stirring-water-drove-evolution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ediacaran lull</a> was.



During the low-field stretch, solar wind could punch far deeper into the atmosphere. Charged particles stripped away lightweight hydrogen, a process that left relatively heavy oxygen behind. 



The timing lines up with multiple geochemical markers that show a sharp increase in oxygen levels, supporting the idea that the weakened shield helped push Earth past a threshold needed for the development of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossils-capture-a-turning-point-in-the-evolution-of-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">large, mobile animals</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-thinner-armor-richer-air">Thinner armor, richer air</h2>



The atmospheric link also finds support from geobiologist Shuhai Xiao of <a href="https://www.vt.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Virginia Tech</a>. 



“The <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/earths-magnetic-field-origin-structure-and-impact-on-humanity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">magnetosphere shields the Earth</a> from solar wind, thus holding the atmosphere to the Earth. Thus, a weaker magnetosphere means that lighter gases such as hydrogen would be lost from the Earth’s atmosphere,” Xiao explained to CNN.



As hydrogen escaped, oxygen concentrations rose, allowing metabolism-hungry organisms to branch out.



Tarduno agrees that other processes - such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-oxygen-discovery-deep-ocean-no-photosynthesis-baffles-scientists/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">photosynthetic microbes</a> - were certainly at work.



“We do not challenge that one or more of these processes were happening concurrently. But the weak field may have allowed oxygenation to cross a threshold, aiding animal radiation (evolution),” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-magnetic-field-and-earth-s-core">Magnetic field and Earth's core</h2>



Rock records also solve a puzzle about when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-inner-core-is-not-solid-it-is-shape-shifting-time-for-textbooks-to-be-rewritten/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth’s inner core</a> began to form. Once field strength hit its nadir, it bounced back quickly.



“The observations appear to support the claim that the inner core first nucleated soon after this time, pushing the geodynamo (the mechanism that creates the magnetic field) from a weak, unstable state into a strong, stable dipolar field,” noted Peter Driscoll of the <a href="https://carnegiescience.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Carnegie Institution for Science</a>. 



A solid seed at the center released extra heat, turbocharging convection in the outer core and restoring the magnetic screen.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-strange-seafloor-pioneers">Strange seafloor pioneers</h2>



While the field flickered, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-first-animals-were-very-picky-about-where-they-lived/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ediacaran seas</a> hosted life forms unlike anything alive today.



Disk-shaped <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rewrite-the-textbooks-life-on-earth-did-not-arise-due-to-increased-oxygen-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dickinsonia</a> spread as wide as 4.6 feet (1.4 meters) across the mud; quilted fronds waved gently in the currents; and slug-like Kimberella scraped microbial mats for food.



These pioneers vanished before the Cambrian period began, around 539 million years ago, but their brief reign proved that multicellular bodies could flourish once oxygen climbed to breathable levels.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-if-it-happens-again">What if it happens again?</h2>



Not every expert is convinced the magnetic dip directly influenced the course of evolution.



“It is hard for me to evaluate the veracity of this claim because the influence that planetary magnetic fields might have on climate is not very well understood,” Driscoll cautioned. 



Untangling all the variables - solar activity, mantle chemistry, biological innovation - will take years of careful detective work.



For now, the crystal record points to a simple narrative: Earth’s shield weakened, gases escaped, oxygen levels increased, and life took a bold new turn.



By tracing that chain of events, scientists gain insight into how planets and biospheres interact, a lesson that will guide the search for living worlds far beyond our own.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01360-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Communications, Earth and Environment</a>.



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Complex life emerged on Earth 591 million years ago, now scientists think they figured out how it happened

Around six hundred million years ago, our planet almost lost...

Scientists have proposed a new explanation for dark matter and how the elusive substance that anchors galaxies might have taken shape in the newborn universe.



The scenario begins with weightless particles zipping through the cosmic furnace and ends with a chill population of massive pairs that could still be drifting through space today.



The work - carried out by physicists at <a href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dartmouth College</a> - offers predictions that astronomers can check against existing observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background, the after-glow of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/if-the-big-bang-theory-is-correct-what-exactly-happened/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Big Bang</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-particles-after-the-big-bang">Particles after the Big Bang </h2>



“Dark matter <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/existence-of-dark-matter-confirmed-by-new-study/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">started its life</a> as near-massless relativistic particles, almost like light,” said Robert Caldwell, senior author of the study. “That’s totally antithetical to what dark matter is thought to be - it is cold lumps that give galaxies their mass.”



In the model designed by Caldwell and undergraduate researcher Guanming Liang, countless high-energy quanta filled the universe just after the Big Bang. These particles, similar to the photons that carry light, hurtled about at near-light speed.



Under certain conditions, two such quanta could lock together because their spins pointed in opposite directions, rather like the attraction between the north and south poles of tiny magnets. 



The moment they bonded, the new entity’s energy plummeted and its inertia skyrocketed. Within a flash it went from a racing ray to a hefty relic.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-sudden-drop-in-energy"><a></a>A sudden drop in energy</h2>



“The most unexpected part of our mathematical model was the energy plummet that bridges the high-density energy and the lumpy low energy,” Liang explained.



The researchers liken the transformation to steam condensing into water - a hot, diffuse gas suddenly collapses into a cooler, denser phase.



“At that stage, it's like these pairs were getting ready to become dark matter,” Caldwell said. “This phase transition helps explain the abundance of dark matter we can detect today. It sprang from the high-density cluster of extremely energetic particles that was the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-planets-formed-in-the-harsh-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">early universe</a>.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cooper-pairs-as-a-clue"><a></a>Cooper pairs as a clue</h2>



The paper introduces a brand-new particle to trigger the shift, yet the authors argue that nature already provides a parallel. In certain superconducting metals, two <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massless-dirac-electrons-seen-moving-in-four-dimensions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">electrons</a> with opposite spins form so-called Cooper pairs that glide without electrical resistance.



“We looked toward superconductivity for clues as to whether a certain interaction could cause energy to drop so suddenly,” Caldwell noted. “Cooper pairs prove that the mechanism exists.”



If the analogy holds, the relic pairs born in the cosmic dawn would have cooled into a nearly pressure-free state - a key hallmark of the unseen matter whose <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/theory-gravity-exists-without-mass-so-dark-matter-does-not-exist/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gravity</a> sculpts galaxies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-simple-model-for-dark-matter">A simple model for dark matter</h2>



Dark matter accounts for roughly eighty-five percent of all mass, yet the universe’s overall energy density has fallen dramatically since its first moments.



Liang points out that the new theory addresses both facts at once: “Structures get their mass due to the density of cold dark matter, but there also has to be a mechanism wherein energy density drops to close to what we see today.”



The abrupt condensation of massless quanta into massive pairs drains energy from the radiation budget while boosting the matter budget, squaring theory with observation.



“The mathematical model of our theory is really beautiful because it's rather simplistic - you don't need to build a lot of things into the system for it to work,” said Liang. “It builds on concepts and timelines we know exist.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-signature-written-in-ancient-light">A signature written in ancient light</h2>



Because the transition would have left the paired particles almost motionless, the team predicts a distinctive imprint on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/universe-more-complicated-less-clumpy-than-it-should-be-cosmic-microwave-background-cmb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmic microwave background</a>.



The CMB has already been mapped by satellites and ground-based projects, and more precise surveys are under way at the Simons Observatory in Chile and in planned CMB Stage-4 experiments.



“It's exciting,” Caldwell said. “We're presenting a new approach to thinking about and possibly identifying dark matter.”



The researchers emphasize that their proposal is testable: if future CMB data reveal the subtle pattern predicted by their equations, the case for heavy pairs born from light-like quanta will strengthen. If not, the idea will need revision or replacement - exactly how science should proceed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-dark-matter-research">Future of dark matter research</h2>



For now the paper stakes out a middle ground between theoretical elegance and observational reach. 



Upcoming missions will either expose the predicted CMB trace or tighten the limits on how dark matter could have formed. Either outcome will refine our view of the invisible framework that holds the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/more-than-one-big-bang-may-explain-cosmic-expansion-without-dark-matter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmos</a> together.



Should the ancient sky bear the scar of those primordial pairings, physicists might finally glimpse how ghostly matter traded light speed for lasting weight - and reshaped the universe in the process.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.191004" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Physical Review Letters</a>.



Image Credit: NASA, ESA and M. Montes (University of New South Wales)



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Where did dark matter come from? The answer may be surprisingly simple

Scientists have proposed a new explanation for dark matter and...

Nearly half a century after its launch, NASA’s Voyager 1 has pulled off another feat of longevity. 



A team of researchers has reawakened a quartet of roll thrusters that went silent in 2004, restoring a crucial backup system just months before the only Earth antenna capable of sending Voyager commands goes offline for major upgrades.



The rescue, led by the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL), required forensic electronics work, split-second timing, and a dash of nerve - but the payoff could keep humanity’s most distant spacecraft talking to Earth for years to come.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-voyager-1-s-roll-thrusters">Voyager 1's roll thrusters</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/voyager-1-resumes-sending-data-to-earth-from-interstellar-space/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Voyager 1</a>, launched in 1977 and now more than 15 billion miles away, relies on thrusters to nudge its 12-foot antenna toward our planet. Among them is a special subset that controls “roll” - the rotation you’d see if you spun the spacecraft the way a record turns on a turntable. 



Roll keeps Voyager’s star tracker locked on a guide star; without that pinpoint reference, communications falter. Each Voyager carries a set of primary roll <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/spaceship-thruster-technology-fueled-by-any-type-of-metal-could-fly-indefinitely/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">thrusters</a> and an identical backup set. 



Voyager 1’s primaries stopped firing in 2004 when two tiny heater circuits lost power, preventing the hydrazine fuel from staying warm enough to ignite. Engineers wrote them off and switched to the backups, confident they would last the few remaining years they thought the mission had left.



“I think at that time, the team was OK with accepting that the primary roll thrusters didn’t work, because they had a perfectly good backup,” noted Kareem Badaruddin, Voyager mission manager at JPL. “And, frankly, they probably didn’t think the Voyagers were going to keep going for another 20 years.”



But time crawled on, and a new threat appeared: residual deposits in the hydrazine feed lines began clogging the backup thrusters. Left unchecked, the buildup could choke them as early as autumn 2025. The mission needed another option, and that meant revisiting the “dead” thrusters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-diagnosing-a-20-year-old-malfunction"><a></a>Diagnosing a 20-year-old malfunction</h2>



Over months, JPL engineers dug into telemetry archives and wiring diagrams. They now suspect the heaters themselves never failed; instead, a glitch in the power-distribution circuitry may have flipped an internal switch, cutting electricity to the units.



If the team could send a carefully crafted command sequence to reset that switch, the heaters - and the thrusters - might live again.



The maneuver carried risk: as soon as heaters came back, the onboard software could interpret the roll attitude as out of tolerance and trigger an immediate thruster pulse. If that happened before fuel lines warmed, a small explosion was possible.



Flight controllers therefore had to point the star tracker with razor-sharp precision, minimizing any need for instant firing during the warm-up.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-communication-capacity-in-deep-space">Communication capacity in deep space </h2>



An additional deadline loomed. On May 4, 2025, NASA began a ten-month overhaul of Deep Space Station 43 (DSS-43), the 70-meter dish in Canberra, Australia. 



DSS-43 is the only antenna with enough transmitting power to communicate with the Voyagers; when it is mostly offline, mission ops must make do with short command windows in August and December.



Suzanne Dodd is the Voyager project manager and head of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/communicating-with-missions/dsn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA’s Interplanetary Network</a>.



“These antenna upgrades are important for future crewed lunar landings, and they also increase communications capacity for our science missions in deep space, some of which are building on the discoveries Voyager made," said Dodd.



Still, the downtime meant Voyager 1 had to regain its lost thrusters before May or risk flying blind until 2026.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-twenty-three-hours-of-suspense"><a></a>Twenty-three hours of suspense</h2>



Commands left Earth on 19 March. They would need 23 hours to cross <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/threads-of-the-universe-cosmic-web-revealed-in-unprecedented-detail/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interstellar space</a> at light speed; Voyager’s response would require another 23 hours to get back. 



On 20 March, the operations room lit up as telemetry lines revived. Within minutes, engineers saw a temperature spike in the heater sensors - exactly what they had hoped for.



“It was such a glorious moment. Team morale was very high that day,” said Todd Barber, propulsion lead at JPL.



“These thrusters were considered dead. And that was a legitimate conclusion. It’s just that one of our engineers had this insight that maybe there was this other possible cause and it was fixable. It was yet another miracle save for Voyager.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-revival-means"><a></a>What the revival means</h2>



The restored primaries will not replace the partially clogged backups immediately; instead, they provide redundancy should the backups fail during the Canberra outage.



If both sets eventually succumb to clogging, Voyager can still use a third group - trajectory-correction thrusters last employed during its planetary flybys - but those cannot perform roll control. By reviving the original roll pair, the team retains every possible option.



Voyager 1 and its twin, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-lost-contact-with-voyager-2-spacecraft-12-billion-miles-away/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Voyager 2</a>, continue to return data on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-space-cosmic-rays-from-supernova-sparked-rapid-earth-evolution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmic rays</a>, magnetic fields, and plasma density at the frontier of interstellar space. 



Each byte depends on precise antenna pointing, itself dependent on thrusters designed a long time ago. That they still answer the call reflects not only durable engineering but also the determination of the people tending them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-perseverance-of-voyager-1-thrusters">Perseverance of Voyager 1 thrusters</h2>



With power dwindling and instruments shutting down one by one, both Voyagers are on borrowed time. Yet each time a new hurdle emerges - whether frozen hydrazine or a communications blackout - engineers find a workaround. 



Their latest triumph keeps an aging explorer alive and embodies the mission’s ethos: never assume a component is beyond saving until every possibility has been exhausted. 



As Voyager 1 presses onward, its revived thrusters stand as a reminder that in space exploration, small victories can yield vast horizons - sometimes 15 billion miles wide.



The research was published by <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-voyager-1-revives-backup-thrusters-before-command-pause/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>.



Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech



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Voyager 1's thrusters brought back to life after 21 years

Nearly half a century after its launch, NASA’s Voyager 1...

News coming your way