An international study revealed a previously unknown extinct breed of cows that lived in southern Siberia during the Ice Age, and continued to exist in the region until about 27,000 years ago.
The discovery came after ancient DNA analysis of small bone remains found in Denisova Cave and other sites in southern Siberia, and the results were published on Monday in the journal Current Biology.
Researchers from the Center for Ancient Genomics at Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural History, in cooperation with researchers from the University of California at Santa Cruz and the University of Vienna, were able to extract 20 ancient genomes covering a time period extending about 200,000 years.
Although many of the bone fragments did not bear clear characteristics that would allow identifying the type of animal, comparison of the genomes with the genomes of other bovine species showed that they belonged to a previously unknown breed, and were evolutionarily close to the modern yak, an animal of the bovine family characterized by a strong body and thick fur that helps it withstand extreme cold. Wild yaks currently live in the high altitudes of the Tibetan Plateau and Central Asia, while domesticated yaks have been used for thousands of years in many mountainous regions for milk, meat and transportation.
The researchers estimated that this discovered breed began to separate from the ancestors of the yak about 400,000 years ago, and became almost completely separated from it about 250,000 years ago. Scientists believe that a noticeably warm period in the region at that time may have led to the isolation of groups of animals from each other, allowing them to evolve independently.
Genetic data also revealed a change in the numbers of these animals during a warm period about 120,000 years ago, which was represented by the replacement of one population group by another and a decrease in genetic diversity. Researchers believe that rising temperatures may have affected this species adapted to the cold climate.
The team found little evidence of mating between this extinct breed and other types of cattle that lived in the region, such as steppe bison and wild bison, the extinct wild ancestor of domesticated cows.
The most recent sample analyzed by the researchers dates back to about 27 thousand years ago, which indicates that the breed continued to exist until that time at least, before it became extinct at a later stage. The timing and causes of its extinction are still not precisely known.
According to the researchers, the discovery adds new evidence that the Altai region and southern Siberia were home to great biodiversity during the ice ages, and may have formed a “biodiversity hotspot and a haven” for species during periods of climate change, similar to what was shown by the discovery of the “Denisovans,” a group of ancient humans, after a single fossil was found in the region in 2010 that led to the identification of this ancient human group.
However, the researchers stress that DNA analysis alone is not enough to officially classify the breed as a new species and give it a scientific name, as they intend to compare their results with yak-like remains previously found in the region, to determine whether they belong to the same breed.
Belgian scientist Francis Halzen, winner of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics, founded a new kind of astronomy after proposing the idea of using Antarctic ice to detect highly elusive particles known as neutrinos. His idea, which he first proposed in 1988, led to the establishment of the “Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory,” which became capable of detecting high-energy neutrinos coming from the depths of the universe.
Halzen, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, was interested from the beginning of his career in particle physics, but he realized that particles coming from space could reveal secrets that laboratories on Earth could not reach. He said after winning the award that he was surprised by the success of his idea, adding: “I must emphasize how lucky I am.” “When we started this project, everyone knew that the idea might be good, but very few thought it would work, including me.”
Neutrinos... messages from the universe
Neutrinos are subatomic particles widely distributed in the universe. They do not carry an electrical charge, have almost no mass, and interact with matter very weakly. That's why billions of them can pass through the Earth and our bodies without us even noticing them. The sun produces huge numbers of them, as every second about 65 billion neutrinos pass through an area equivalent to the size of a human fingernail.
But some of these particles come from very far away in space, and carry information about the most extreme cosmic environments and the highest energy processes in the universe. When scientists can detect them, they can trace the direction of their arrival, infer their sources, and study the violent conditions that produced them.
An idea that started in the eighties
In the 1980s, Halzen realized that Antarctic ice could be an ideal material for building a massive neutrino observatory. When a neutrino collides with an atomic nucleus inside the ice, it may produce a fast-moving charged particle that emits a flash of light that special sensors can pick up.
In 1988, Halzen presented his vision for establishing an observatory inside the Antarctic ice, taking advantage of its enormous size and transparency at depth, as well as low levels of radioactive materials and the absence of living organisms that could cause interference in observations. Despite the harsh environment in which the researchers had to work, the location far from sources of interference and vibrations, including earthquakes, provided suitable conditions for the project.
Years later, the idea began to be tested through an initial observatory called “Amanda.” Experiments showed that ice becomes very clear and transparent at depths exceeding 1,400 metres, allowing light resulting from neutrino interactions to travel a distance of up to about 300 metres. But “Amanda” was not large enough to detect the required number of high-energy neutrinos, so the development of the “Ice Cube” observatory began, which covers a cubic kilometer of ice and includes 5,160 optical sensors distributed over 86 cables, and was completed in its full size in 2011.
How does Ice Cube capture neutrinos?
Ice Cube searches for very high-energy neutrinos that result from violent processes taking place at huge distances outside our solar system, such as those associated with exploding stars and the environments surrounding giant black holes.
Most neutrinos pass directly through the ice, but some occasionally interact with an atomic nucleus, producing fast-moving charged particles. As these particles pass through the ice, they emit a flash of light that sensitive sensors can pick up. By the pattern of light and the timing of its appearance, scientists can estimate the direction of the neutrino's arrival and trace its source in the universe.
Neutrinos have another important feature: They do not carry an electrical charge, so their paths are not deflected by magnetic fields during their journey through space, unlike charged protons. They also rarely interact with matter, which allows them to penetrate dense areas that light may not easily pass through. That is why scientists view them as astronomical “messages” that carry almost direct information about the places where they originated.
First evidence of cosmic neutrinos
Finding these signals was not easy, as Ice Cube also records huge numbers of particles resulting from cosmic rays entering the Earth's atmosphere, exceeding 100 million particles per day. Amid this huge amount of data, neutrinos from the depths of the universe appear to be rare signals that are difficult to separate from the background.
In 2013, the Ice Cube team announced the first evidence of detecting high-energy cosmic neutrinos. After about two years, researchers collected enough data to confirm the discovery, beginning a new phase in neutrino astronomy. After that, scientists were able to identify the first cosmic source of neutrinos, about 3.7 billion light-years away.
Professor Mark Pierce, Chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said that Halzen led an international team of researchers and engineers that provided “a wonderful scientific tool,” adding that “his perseverance and scientific vision paved the way for a new type of astronomy.”
A new window on the universe
Since the 1960s, scientists began using neutrinos to study the Sun. Then, in 1987, they detected neutrinos associated with the explosion of a star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which proved the ability of these particles to transmit information about distant cosmic events. But “IceCube” has taken this field to a new level, by allowing the search for neutrinos with higher energies and identifying their potential sources.
Among these sources is the active galaxy “NGC 1068”, from whose direction 79 neutrinos were detected, although the evidence is still insufficient to definitively confirm it as a source of these particles. The researchers also detected high-energy neutrinos coming from the Milky Way Galaxy, and they are likely produced when cosmic rays collide with atoms in the thin interstellar gas.
Dr. Patrick Dunne, from Imperial College London, welcomed the award to Halzen, and said that monitoring neutrinos coming from astrophysical sources “opens a new window” on the universe, likening this to the moment when Galileo directed the telescope for the first time at the stars, according to the British newspaper “The Guardian”.
Thanks to Halzen's efforts, the Antarctic ice was transformed from a frozen and remote environment into a huge observatory of the universe, and the neutrino became a new tool for studying the most violent and mysterious regions of space.
The Nobel Committee said that the Ice Cube Observatory will advance the science of neutrino astronomy to a new level, by providing information about cosmic phenomena obscured by dust clouds and distant space objects such as black holes.
A study conducted by researchers from Flinders University in Australia showed that vanillin, the main compound responsible for the smell and flavor of vanilla, may represent a promising ingredient in developing new materials and formulations that help heal chronic wounds.
The researchers explained that vanillin has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, and the results were published on Monday in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics.
Vanillin is a compound extracted naturally from vanilla pods, and it can also be produced industrially from other sources, such as clove and rice oil. It is widely used in the food industry to add flavor and aroma, but its chemical properties may also make it useful in medical applications.
The team reviewed scientific evidence related to the use of vanillin as a bioactive ingredient in medical formulations intended for treating chronic wounds and tissue regeneration.
Evidence examined in the study showed that vanillin can interact with reactive oxygen species, which may help reduce oxidative stress, which is one of the factors associated with delayed healing of chronic wounds. It also has anti-inflammatory effects, and may help reduce the ongoing inflammatory response that hinders the transition of the wound to the stages of tissue repair.
The review also indicated that vanillin has antibacterial activity, including effects against types of bacteria associated with infections. Infection control is important in treating chronic wounds; Because the presence of bacteria can prolong inflammation and delay the healing process.
The importance of vanillin, according to the researchers, is not limited to its biological properties, as it can also perform the function of a binder within some biological materials. It can therefore be incorporated into materials such as hydrogels, coatings, and composites used for wound coatings or drug delivery.
The researchers reviewed the results of previous studies that used vanillin in various formulations, some of which combined it with materials such as chitosan, gelatin, alginate, and polyvinyl alcohol, with the aim of producing materials that help provide a suitable environment for wound healing and the release of therapeutic compounds in a more controlled manner.
In one of the animal models examined in the study, a vanillin-based treatment regimen led to approximately 96.4 percent closure of the wound within 14 days, along with indications of improvement in some processes associated with tissue repair and the formation of new blood vessels. However, this result came from previous research on animals, and is not the result of a clinical trial on humans.
The researchers said that vanillin is distinguished by its being one of the most widely used flavor compounds in the world, in addition to its chemical stability and long record of use, which are properties that can be used in developing medical applications.
They added that synthetic vanillin is available in large quantities and is low-cost, which may make it suitable for developing safe and multifunctional formulations for treating ulcers and wounds, as well as for targeted delivery of some drugs, especially hydrophobic compounds.
The researchers believe that the low cost, availability, and stability of vanillin may give vanillin-based formulations advantages when moving to industrial production in the future, in terms of ease of expansion in manufacturing, repeated production of formulations with the same quality, and stability of supply chains.
