bones Archives - usatoday24

We have been fighting with fish bones for centuries. China just won the war with molecular scissors

January 6, 2026 by usatoday24

For fish lovers, carpin (gibel carp) has historically been a culinary paradox: a meat appreciated for its tender texture and its rich protein profile, but a real challenge for the diner due to its more than 80 “Y”-shaped intermuscular spines (IBs). This inconvenience has caused countless incidents in cafeterias and visits to the emergency room, but now China has made a radical decision: rewrite the DNA of the species to adapt it to our needs. The “Zhongke No. 6”. The research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), led by academician Gui Jianfang, has announced success of the creation of a new variety called “Zhongke No. 6”. Unlike other scientific advances that remain in the laboratory, this specimen is a variety specifically designed to reach consumers’ tables and transform the aquaculture industry. Molecular surgery at the embryonic level. The key to success lies in a “surgical attack” on the fish’s genome. Scientists identified the gene runx2b as the “architect” responsible for giving the order to the fish’s body to develop those 80 pesky spines. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, described by researchers Like “molecular scissors,” they cut this specific genetic code during the embryonic stage. The process has proven to be of unprecedented precision. The main skeleton of the crucian carp – spine and ribs – develops completely normally, allowing the fish to grow, swim and stay healthy. However, the biological pathway that activates intramuscular spines, the ones that really get in the way of eating, do not develop. A six-year challenge: From the laboratory to production. Although the announcement of “Zhongke No. 6” is recent, the journey began years ago. According to the scientific journal Aquaculturethe seminal study that demonstrated the viability of these spineless mutants was originally published in early 2023. That initial work was the result of a six-year systematic effort under the CAS strategic program called “Design and Creation of Precision Seeds.” This project is especially complex because the crucian carp is hexaploid (it has six sets of chromosomes), which forced Gui Jianfang’s team to simultaneously edit all copies of the genes involved to ensure that not a single spine appeared in the new generations. More than an easy-to-eat fish. “Zhongke No. 6” has not only been emptied of thorns; has been optimized for industrial efficiency. According to published technical data, this variety presents accelerated growth since it reaches “commercial size” in less time than wild varieties. Additionally, it is designed to survive in dense, intensive aquaculture environments, where diseases often decimate production. Finally, it requires significantly less feed to produce the same amount of protein, reducing costs and the environmental impact of feed. The limit of the natural. However, this scientific advance places us before an uncomfortable mirror. As official sources conclude from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, this milestone represents a triumph of applied science that solves an ancient problem, transforming a difficult-to-eat fish into an efficient and safe source of protein. But, from a more critical perspective, an inevitable question arises: by optimizing every stroke of life for our comfort, what are we losing along the way? If we keep editing species so that they grow faster, are more resilient, and have no natural “defects,” we will reach a point where we won’t really know what we are eating. “Zhongke No. 6” is undoubtedly an engineering miracle, but it is also a reminder that the line between nature and the factory is increasingly thin. Image | Needpix Xataka | All the fish we eat are contaminated by methylmercury. But there are only four specific ones to avoid

125,000 years ago the Neanderthals ate bones to survive. Today we discovered that they were right

October 4, 2025 by usatoday24

In the police comedy Brooklyn 99during a party the detective Charles Boyle meets the gastronomic writer Vivian Ludley, with whom he talks about the last meal on earth. The policeman, in a clamor for his love of French food, chooses El Hortelano: a tiny French bird that eats a single bite, with skin, viscera and bones. “A challenge to God”, They call it. Vivian replies that the practice is illegal, But he confesses that he had academic permission to try one: “The peak was very crispy,” he recalls with fascination. The scene may seem eccentric, but opens a question that is not less: what is in the bones that makes them so valuable – at the same time so controversial – in the history of food? Western oblivion. For centuries, the bones were a natural part of the human diet. The neardentals They came to ride “Fats of fat” in places like Neumark-Nord (Germany), where 125,000 years ago they broke bones of deer, horses and cattle to extract marrow and heat fragments with water until obtainable lipids. It was not a whim: it was survival, a way to avoid the so -called starvation of the rabbit, caused by eating too much lean protein without sufficient fat. Later, many cultures continued with practice. In sub -Saharan Africa, for example, rural communities even chew long bones as part of the daily diet. In Asia it is common to eat flags and fins of fried fish until they are crispy. And in Europe, popular cuisine always turned to the thorns of canned sardines and anchovies, softened by sterilization. However, speaking today of what bones are as such, this practice of consuming them disappeared. Most meat reaches the clean, boneless plate, ready to avoid discomforts. The bone has been relegated to the secondary paper of the broth. As Chef Jennifer McLAGAN explains: “We no longer see bones as useful. People consider them a discomfort, something to get rid of.” But that perception begins to crack through The search for “superfood”and the bones are on the table again. What is inside the bones? The short response would be essential nutrients. But I will not be so simplistic, the bones are mainly formed by calcium and phosphorusin addition to containing iron, magnesium and potassium. In protein terms, up to a 25 and 33% of the content of an animal It corresponds to collagen, a key structural protein for bones, skin and joints. In my case, I discovered it by accident. After an injury doing crossfitthe traumatologist told me about the importance of collagen To recover fabrics. Beyond prescribing supplements – which also opened the door to the veal bone broths, rich in natural collagen. It was my first conscious contact with this part of the animal we usually throw without thinking. Science behind. In a National Geographic report describe how bones They are one of the denser tissues in nutrients: they provide collagen, fat marrow and minerals. But science clarifies. An article, Posted in Frontiers in Nutritionpoints out that the benefits are modest: some trials show minor improvements in skin and joints, although with methodological limitations. A meta -analysis in Orthopec Reviews It points positive effects on bone and articulating health, but insists on the need for broader and standardized studies. In addition, we are not designed to bite hard bones: they can splinter, damage teeth or pierce the digestive tract. And large animals bones tend to accumulate heavy metals such as lead or cadmium, which advise against consuming them in excess or un controlled dust, According to Healthline. The heat and pressure of the long broths allow to extract collagen and minerals safely, and some studies They suggest a certain benefit when ingesting collagen peptides. However, the reviews of the studies consulted coincide: Quality trials are missing, with standardized protocols and clear clinical markers. A new trend? The interest in bones does not happen in a vacuum. A couple of months ago, the “Carnivorous Diet” for Babies: families that offer ribs or cord to their children as part of the Baby-Led Weaning. Health and expert authorities They coincide in which to introduce meat from six months is recommended by its iron and zinc. But they warn that a strictly carnivorous diet in babies lacks fiber and vitamin C, essential nutrients for development. At the same time, startups in Europe and Asia experiment with powdered bone -based products: breads, sausages, patches or nuggets that incorporate calcium and collagen without bothering the consumer. According to National Geographicthe initial results are positive: when the bone appears as an invisible ingredient, acceptance is high. Collagen is more present. Korean cosmetics and social networks They have converted To the collagen in a global phenomenon, associated not only to joint or bone health, but above all to beauty and anti -aging. From facial creams to soluble coffee powders, the promise is to erase wrinkles, combat sagging and rejuvenate the skin. However, skeptical voices such as that of the surgeon Afshin mosahebi Remember that scientific evidence It is limited and that, by ingesting it, the collagen does not reach the dermis: it decomposes in amino acids like any other protein. The bone broth is a nutritious and comforting classic, but Not a guaranteed age. The real secret to aging well is still in basic habits: do not smoke, protect from the sun, maintain a balanced diet and sleep enough. An unexpected return. Of the “fat factories” Neanderthals to Korean cosmetics, bones have accompanied humanity in multiple forms. Today they return to the scene between broths and collagen powders. The difference is that, this time, they do not arrive as a resource of survival, but as a market as a product: what was previously thrown, is now sold as a trend. Image | Freepik Xataka | Boomers trust pills and supplement, generation Z in “functional snacks”: two ways to look for the same

We have found strange prehistoric spheres in the middle of the Amazon. Inside, human bones and animals

June 23, 2025 by usatoday24

Sometimes only coincidences can open the way to certain findings. A tree that falls and the eyes attentive to a place can be the spark that gives rise to an unexpected discovery. Spherical urns. A group of archaeologists assisted by local communities has been responsible for finding curious ceramic spheres buried in an alluvial plain in the middle of Amazonas. These are seven funeral urns, two of them of important size, which were found between the roots of a fallen tree. Within these polls, fragments of human bones were found, as well as remains of Fish and turtles that suggest funeral rites linked to food. These polls can reveal important data on the indigenous cultures that inhabited this region of the Amazon basin. “They are large, without visible ceramic tapas, which could indicate the use of organic materials to seal them, which would have already broken down. They were buried at 40 cm deep, probably under old houses,” explained in a press release Geórgea Layla Holland, member of the team responsible for the finding. Lake Do Cochila. The discovery of these unique polls was made in the surroundings of Lago do Cochila, in the municipality of Fonte Boa, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Located in the alluvial plains of the basin, this archaeological site was once part of a group of artificial islands built centuries ago (Maybe millennia) by the ancient inhabitants of the area. Archaeological remains found in this environment suggest that these elevations in flooded field would have allowed the construction of households and the development of social activities even in the flood time, explains the team. The artificial islands would have been created taking material from other places and transporting it to the plain. “It is a very sophisticated and ingenious engineering technique, which demonstrates land management and a significant population density in the past,” The archaeologist points out Márcio Amaral. A fundamental cooperation. The collaboration between archaeologists of the research group in Archeology and Cultural Heritage of the Amazon of the Mamirauá Institute and the local communities was instrumental in the development of archaeological prospecting, explains the team. The detection of these artifacts would not even have been possible without this collaboration: according to the team, it was the locals who initially detected ceramics Among the roots of a fallen tree. While initially they did not give importance to the finding, their photos caught the attention of archaeologists who got to work in the extraction and analysis of objects. Height excavation. The excavation of these polls was a technical challenge. The horizontal position of the tree that buried them left them suspended at height, which implied that their excavation had to be done in a not very conventional way. These local communities attended the team with the construction of a high structure that as a scaffold allowed access to these artifacts as well as their manipulation safely. Rumbo to Tefé. Among the challenges that the team had to face was also transport, which had to be done river. Depending on the river and transportation conditions used, traveling the 190 kilometers in a straight line that separate the deposit of the headquarters of the Mamirauá Institute may require between 10 and 12 hours of travel. We will have to wait for the polls to be studied at the facilities of the Mamirauá Institute to learn about new details about the finding. For now, the initial analyzes reveal the greenish color of the clay with which these urn were created, a clay that would have been identified in other contexts. A type of ceramic of great rarity that adds to the mystery of these strange funeral urns. In Xataka | The finding of a lot of garbage in a cave in Mexico has been something else: a fertility ritual 500 years ago Image | Marcio Amaral / Georgea Holland

The ‘Napier bones’ seem a dominoes, but they are the link between the abacus and the modern calculator

June 22, 2025 by usatoday24

The name of John Napier It may not sound to you anything, but I already tell you that, very possibly, it is a person who does not like you. Because what may sound to you is about Neperian logarithms than so many They brought us head in high school. It was Napier who first defined this function, but to “compensate”, he also gave life to what we can consider as the precursor of the Current calculator. Something called ‘Napier bones’ that looks like a dominoes, but that brought mathematical operations to more people. John Napier. This Scotsman were interested in many things. His family was more than settled and, as a good son of wealthy, he attended the University of Saint Andrews at age 13. It did not last long, but not because I would like to leave the studies, but because it went to others Universities of France, Italy or Flanders. Life living from Castillo in Castillo, where he gave free rein to several of his passions. A magician (but not of the numbers). Was a Protestant and considered A black wizard for its neighbors. He was also an ingenious guy. When the pigeons ate their grain, decided Spread wet seeds in alcohol through the field and, with ‘anesthetized’ pigeons and unable to fly, he dedicated himself to capture them. As always, and more when we talk about this type of stories with several centuries behind them, imagination and exaggeration do their job, but what is undeniable is that Napier liked solve problems. His greatest contribution is the one commented Mirifici Logarithmore Canonis Description in which he defined the current logarithms in 1614, but before and then I publish other treaties of the Mathematics field in which he explored how to simplify the calculation tasks. And not only theorized about them or impulse The comma in the decimals: created tools to solve those calculations more easily. The new abacus. Since we need to solve mathematical problems, humanity has sought ways to support tools. This is how the abacoseither The quipus with those who could do simple operations such as sums, subtraction and multiplications. With more complex mathematics, we had to go around the system, and Napier took off his new abacus, or a protocculator. Napier’s bones. In 1617, shortly before he died, the mathematician invented a manual tool focused on facilitating some more complex operations, such as multiplication and division, but also square roots. It was a set of rectangular rods in which the multiplication tables were recorded, in addition to a board with holes for the rods and with the figures of 1 to 9 arranged vertically on the left side. By placing these rods next to the others, multiplications and divisions operations were reduced to simple sums and subtraction, respectively. Originally, they were manufactured in metal or wood, especially, but these rods could also be built in ivory, and a complete game included 10 rods to represent the numbers from 0 to 9. That? Ok, as with mathematics, let’s see examples. One very simple is seen with multiplication, because we do not need to memorize the tables. If we want to know how much 2 x 6, we simply look for row 2 on the right and the rod that begins by 6 and we see what number is in the quadrant: 12. If we want to do an 8 x 8, we repeat the process and we see that we have a 64. If we do a more complex operation, such as 46785399 x 7, we place the rods corresponding to that number (the one that begins by 4, which begins by 6 and so on) next to each other from left to right and we look at the number that comes out in row 7, which is why we want to multiply. Now, from right to left, we are placing the numbers that appear together in the diagonal box: 327497793. Later mathematicians improved the system by creating a board with a 65º inclination that improved the visual identification of that formula, but the ‘Napier bones’ were a revolution when approaching that more complex mathematical calculation to people without higher studies. The only thing that had to be learned was the rule of multiplication and division with the board system. Variants were created, with circular format tablets A jewel. Dying in 1617, it is complicated that Napier saw the transcendence of his theoretical and practical work, but today his logarithmic foundations continue to be used, also the coma of the decimals, a lunar crater bears his name and that Neperian abacus is one of the jewels of the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid. It is not known who manufactured it, but it is a wooden case of a considerable size with 30 drawers in which the sheets of the two abacos designed by the mathematician are stored. One of them formed by 60 numbered rods built in bone and the second, called ‘Promptuario’, composed of 300 numbered and perforated wool chips to perform multiplications. The ‘promptuary’ of the man of Madrid And it’s like a Megachuletasince in the doors of the boxes are the first powers of the digit numbers, the coefficients of the first powers of the binomial and the numerical data of the regular polyhedra. Curious that calculators, apart from being objects with a specific purpose, have become some cases in authentic works of art. To tell the divisumma. Images | Maksim, Willy, Luis García, Kim Traynor, The Wub In Xataka | The “computer” of 2,000 years ago fascinates us for decades. A new study points out that it might have not served at all

We have been creating whale bones to tools for a long time. Before even learning to hunt them

May 31, 2025 by usatoday24

For centuries, whale hunting was a weight sector in the coastal areas of the Gulf of Bizkaia. Everything took advantage of this animal, or almost everything: the meat served as food and fat served as oil to enliven the flames of the lamps before electricity and oil. His bones have also been A valuable resource Throughout history. Now we know that also during prehistory. Prehistoric tools. A group of researchers, including scientists from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, He has discovered Tools made of whale bone. The analysis of De Ha throws an estimated age of between 19,000 and 20,000 years. The 83 tools were found In various deposits Distributed by the coast of the Gulf of Bizkaia, including the Cantabrian coast and points in southern France. To these tools you have to add another 90 unrelated bones found in the Cave of Santa Catalina, Located in the Biscay town of Lekeitio. The bone remains would have belonged to specimens of at least five different species, including species such as the sperm whale, the common whale and the blue whale that can still be found in the waters of the Gulf and the gray whale, already disappeared from that environment with a more restricted habitat to areas of the northern Pacific and the Arctic Oceans, explains the team Investigating what and when. For the identification of the species and dating the tools, the equipment resorted to the mass spectrometry techniques and radiocarbon dating. Thus they managed to find the origin of the tools in the five species mentioned above. It was also like the team determined that it was, In words of the Jean-Marc Pétillon group “some of the oldest known evidences of human use of whale remains as tools.” “Zooms is a very powerful technique to investigate the past diversity of marine mammals, especially when there are missing diagnostic morphometric elements in bone remains and objects, something common in artifacts made of bones,” explained in a press release Krista McGrath, co -author of the study. Chemical analysis. The study also involved a chemical analysis of the sample. Thanks to this, the team was able to find out data on the eating habits of the whales, which “differed slightly from those of their modern counterparts.” This implies possible changes in the behavior of cetaceans, or in the marine ecosystem itself. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Nature Communications. 20,000 years hunting whales? The conclusion that the human being has 20 millennia hunting whales is tempting, but the team responsible for the study considers it “extremely unlikely.” The most likely hypothesis is that the Pleistocene hunters would have taken advantage of the arrival of stranded whales to the coast to obtain their bones and manufacture from them “It is extremely unlikely that these species would have been accessible to the hunters collecting European pelistocene in another way that were not through passive acquisition methods, such as the opportunistic acquisition of stranded whales or the arrival on the coast of corpses,” says the article. “There is no evidence (…) that the collection hunters of the European Pleistocene had the necessary technologies to hunt these species, such as navigation (…).” Change of sea level. Study coastal life in glacial ages since the present coastline is relatively Far from the coastline typical of the last glaciation, although the extension of the lands flooded after the end of the last glacial era differs between area and area. Within the Gulf of Bizkaia, for example, we can appreciate a greater area flooded on the French coast and therefore a greater decline of the coastal line in contrast to the Cantabrian coast. In any case, the coastal recession implies the loss of valuable coastal deposits now flooded by the Atlantic waters. Deposits that could hide countless data that could help us to know better these life modes of the millennium coastal peoples behind in time. In Xataka | The history of the last whale hunted in Spain, on October 21, 1985 Image | ICTA-UAB/Alexandre Lefebvre

The broken bones of a dog from 16,000 years ago tell an important story: it was already our pet

May 24, 2025 by usatoday24

Although sometimes we forget it when We look at certain dogsthese animals were wild one day. It is not clear to what exact time Dog domestication beganbut what is evident is that, for humans, it was A ‘technological’ revolution. There are hypotheses that point to a domestication that would have occurred 40,000 or 20,000 years ago, but the most consistent tests point to Some point 14,000 or 17,000 years ago. There are several deposits in which evidence of the existence of the dog has already been found as a domestic animal, being the specimen found in Guipúzcoa the oldest known to date. In 2021, however, we found more than archaeological remains of a domestic dog: we find the proof that, in the stone age, Humans already worried about these animals. Maybe Not as much as nowbut there are those who think it was when we started to be ‘Pet Friendly’ as a species. The Paleolithic dog and the two sides of our early coexistence with them The discovery occurred when a group of speleologists was exploring the Cave of Baume Traucade to the south of France. In a cavity about 160 meters underground, they found something unique: a practically complete skeleton of an adult bitch. And the analysis Recently published It allows us to know all the details of the copy. The researchers consider that it is the remains of a dog of about 26 kilos of weight and a height to the cross of about 62 centimeterssimilar to that of a current Husky. With about 16,000 years old, it is in the category of “Paleolithic dog.” This represents the transition stage between the Wild and domesticated specimens. Even so, as impressive as their conservation, taking into account their age, they are the brands they found. Mietje Germonpréfrom the Institute of Natural Sciences of Belgium, led the analysis and Comment That the humans of the Paleolithic began to collect wolf puppies from their burrows and to raise them at home as ‘pets’. The good condition of its bones allowed a comparative analysis with Lobosmodern dogs and other prehistoric fossils, but above all something caught attention: trauma marks. The team of researchers found evidence of several broken vertebrae that had healed, indicating that those humans of the past were already worried about caring for dogs when they were injured. However, the story of this specimen has a traumatic end. Literally. In addition to the bones that managed to heal, the researchers also found two sharp wounds in the scapulae that did not heal. This suggests that they occurred shortly before the animal’s death and, above all, that those wounds were produced by human weapons. It is impossible to know if he died at the hands of the tribe that took care of it or a rival faction, but it seems clear to infer that, in those early years of domestication, The relationship between dogs and humans was tensewith interest on the one hand, but fear and violence on the other. And, although finding that moment in which the dog ceased to be a wild animal and became our best friend is fascinating, it is also to verify how that company during millennia is causing that Dogs continue to evolve. The key? Our relationship is now not so based on work, but in closeness. Image | Paul Bill In Xataka | There is someone whose brain is synchronized when you look into his eyes. And that someone is your dog

There are 100 bones and none is where

May 19, 2025 by usatoday24

In archeology, bones and bone fragments are usually time capsules capable of revealing a specific moment in history hundreds, or even thousands of years. Without going far, last summer there were two findings that revealed us dark scenes of the past. In one of them, 64 bones clarified that the Maya did not walk around the time to sacrifice children. Shortly after, the DNA of another area said that Mayan prisoners of war passed through a species of ritual violence. An inaccessible cave for much of the year has thrown another dark secret. The underground altar. In the heart of the Guatemalan jungle, under the old archaeological site of Two batteriesthe so -called Cave of Blood, rediscovered in the 1990s, has revealed A macabre landscape and deeply enigmatic: hundreds of fragmented human remains, scattered without anatomical order and marked by signs of ritual violence. This cavity, inaccessible for a good part of the year due to seasonal floods, can only be explored at the dry season (from March to May), which suggests a ceremonial use linked to the replicas by rain, key to an agricultural civilization such as the Mayan. The findings, presented In Society For American Archaeologyhave baffled archaeologists not because of their brutality, but for their symbolic complexity: what is offered to the rain God are not bodies, but parts, carefully dismembered and arranged, as if the fragmentation itself was the essence of the sacrifice. Ritual and violence in the gloom. The bioarcheologist Michele Bleuzetogether with the forensic anthropologist Ellen Fricano, has analyzed the bones found in the cave and suggests that the observed does not correspond to traditional funeral practices, but to a ritual of deeply sacrificial character. The evidences are multiple and forceful: unpublished bones, trauma inflicted around the moment of death, brands of beveled edge tools (probably axes), and even symbolic elements such as red ocher and obsidian blades. In a corner of the cave they found themselves four cranial calo stacked, an image that evokes a ritual act than a practical need. Among the remains were identified both adults and children, which opens disturbing questions about the role of these victims within the social and religious structures of the Mayan world. On the right a fragment of cranial bone extracted with a beveling instrument, and the left, a linear drawing of a human skull that shows the area of origin of the fragment. The bone was found in the Cueva de Bleed The sacrifice time. Plus: The seasonality of the blood cave is not a minor detail. Your limited access at the end of the dry season It coincides with dates of still in force religious celebrations, such as Santa Cruz Dayon May 3, when contemporary Mayan communities go to caves to ask for rain. This temporal coincidence reinforces the hypothesis that the place served as Scenario of invocation rituals and offering to the god of rain. In a culture where the relationship with climatic cycles was vital, the delivery of human lives (or, in this case, of their fragments) could have been conceived as A sacred transactionnecessary to ensure the continuity of the crops and, therefore, of the community. Mystery open to science. Despite the forcefulness of the material evidence found, archaeologists face Many questions. Namely: who were these people? What was their origin? Were they chosen, captured, offered by their own families? In that sense, research has just begun. The team led by Bleuze plans to perform ancient DNA analysis and stable isotope studies to try to rebuild not only the identity of sacrificed individuals, but also His vital trajectoriesits food, its genetic ties and its place within society. What has become clear is that, be the ones who were, the individuals were treated in a wayAdarally different To the rest of the Mayan population, which implies a complex conception of the human body as a vehicle of meaning, power or connection with the divine. Ritual will. Beyond your name evocativethis cave of blood is A ritual capsule Cattered over time, a kind of underground altar where, according to the findings, violence was merged with devotion, and where the act of dismembering was transformed into a kind of supply gesture to natural forces. Seen that, and According to expertswhat for the modern observer may seem a brutal scene, was, for the ancient Maya, an act loaded with meaning, a dialogue with the gods forged in bone and blood. Now the other mystery through science remains to be known: decipher the story of its victims. Image | Mike RoweMichele M. Bleuze In Xataka | Mayan bones that tell a terrifying story: that of ritual violence against prisoners of war In Xataka | 64 bones DNA under an underground chamber clarifies who the Maya sacrificed: children and adolescents

We have studied the bones of some mice that passed 37 days in space. The results are not optimistic

April 5, 2025 by usatoday24

In November of this year, if there are no unforeseen events, in November of this year humanity will celebrate an anniversary. They will be fulfilled 25 years of human presence continued in space. The exploration of the last border has advanced significantly and humans spend more time in space and aspire to get further. But that has a price. The cost of microgravity. A team of researchers has analyzed The effects of a spatial mission on mice and the results do not invite optimism. They observed that the stay severely affected the bones of these rodents, who lost bone density in parts of their body. The femur, great victim. This loss of bone mass was not given in all areas equally. The team observed, for example, that the femur was one of the bones where the most extended bone cavities. In contrast, the lumbar zone of mammalian spine were the least affected. This makes the study responsible for the study suspect that the main trigger for this loss of bone density is in the microgravity. For example, the team indicates an alternative hypothesis, radiation. As they explain, the mice in the ISS were not exposed to large doses of radiation from space, but if this had been the loss of bone mass would have occurred from outside, that is, that the bones closest to the surface would have been more damaged, while the most surrounded by muscle bones would have been more protected. 37 days in orbit. The experiment used mice to explore how long rooms in space affect. They were used Two groups of micesome that were sent to the space station for a mission of 37 days and others that remained on Earth as a control group. The team responsible for the study simulated flight conditions in the control group to be able to make the conditions similar in everything except in the space stay. Similar, not identical. Those responsible for the study explain in a video how mice and humans keep important biological similarities that imply the changes we see in some are probably also giving in others. There are also differences to consider. For example, the fact that humans are bipeds implies that the bones of our lumbar zone have a more important role in supporting the weight of the upper part of our body. This implies that these bones are probably more affected in humans than in mice. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Plos One. If you don’t use it, you lose it. The body often tries to optimize resources. That is why a possible explanation to this phenomenon is there, in the idea that, since the bones in microgravity do not need to endure the weight of our body, they lose mass and density. Other risks. The study points to microgravity as the main suspect of the loss of bone density but this is not the only risk to take into account when we devise long -term space trips. Radiation is perhaps the most important in this sense, to the point that it was considered as a candidate to cause bone mass loss in mice. Radiation implies an additional problem and that, although in places like the moon and Mars the seriousness of the bodies could reduce the deterioration of the bones associated with the microgravity conditions, the same cannot be said of radiation. Moreover, the radiation in these environments is greater since the International Space Station even protected by the Earth’s magnetic shield. In Xataka | The 24 most spectacular videos and photos from the International Space Station Image | POT / Rukmani Cahill, et al. (2025)

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