In Pömmelte, Germany, archaeologists have made more than 200 finds that suggest the area was probably the site of a large Stone Age settlement and may have served as a religious center.
The Pömmelte Ring Shrine is located near the town of Barby, about 85 kilometers southwest of Berlin. The site was discovered in 1991 and has been nicknamed "Germany's Stonehenge" because of its similarities.
The site has a large circular wooden structure with various posts, ditches and gates. The circle is approximately 115 meters in diameter and consists of a total of seven rings inside. It has been dated to around 2300-2050 BC.
Between 2018 and 2022, archaeologists excavated the area and it is now believed that the site may have been a settlement for several peoples during the Late Stone Age and Early Bronze Age. Among other things, traces of 140 houses have been found and it is estimated that the site probably had up to 1000 inhabitants. In addition, 78 silos with grain remains have been found.
Presumed religious center
"A silo, preserved at a depth of about 1 meter, has a capacity of about 1.5 cubic meters. This corresponds to about 1,000 kilograms of grain. With a modern per capita grain consumption of about 100 kg per year, the contents of these pit silos could easily have fed 780 adults for a year", the Saxony-Anhalt state archaeological authorities wrote in a press release.
The site probably also served as some kind of religious center, but the exact purpose of the poles is unclear. However, it is thought that they may have been related to astrology.
Graves were also found at the site, as well as vessel shards, an ox head, and the remains of cups with traces of dairy products.
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A patient who lost both hands after a severe infection has undergone a unique double hand transplant in Stockholm, Sweden. The operation, which took 19 hours and involved approximately 40 staff members, was performed in collaboration between Södersjukhuset and Karolinska University Hospital.
The patient is now working on rehabilitation and has slowly begun using the new hands in daily life.
As a result of a multi-year close collaboration between Södersjukhuset and Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden has now performed its second-ever double hand transplant, announces Södersjukhuset on its website.
The procedure, exceptional in its complexity, marks a major step forward for reconstructive surgery and transplant care in the country.
– The hand transplant is the result of fantastic teamwork and collaboration within the region. The transplant demonstrates the high level of expertise we have at Södersjukhuset, in Stockholm Region, and in Sweden, says Karouk Said, hospital director at Södersjukhuset.
Extensive and demanding teamwork
The 19-hour operation required a team of approximately 40 specialists, including hand surgeons, plastic surgeons, transplant surgeons, and anesthesia and intensive care staff.
Tobias Laurell, head of operations and hand surgeon at Södersjukhuset, emphasizes that collaboration and planning were crucial.
– Losing your hands means great suffering. We have been in contact with the patient for several years before the hand transplant. Now it is fantastic to see how the patient is gradually regaining function in the new hands, which is a process that takes a long time and requires extensive rehabilitation. Such a complex and rare operation requires teamwork between many different professional groups.
Tobias Laurell, head of operations and hand surgeon at Södersjukhuset. Photo: Johan Adelgren
The background to the unique operation is extensive. The surgeons have conducted simulations, practiced scenarios, and built up a joint hand transplant program.
Matching donor hands has been particularly demanding – blood type, antibodies, skin tone, and hand size must match very precisely.
Additionally, blood circulation must be restored very quickly after the hands are connected, which places very high demands on logistics.
Early results and rehabilitation
Three months after the operation, the patient has already begun using the new hands in daily life: writing and eating with utensils are examples of early progress.
Rehabilitation started just a few days after the operation and now takes place daily.
According to transplant surgeons at Karolinska, this procedure is not just an individual success – it is a prestigious project for Swedish highly specialized care.
– For us who usually transplant internal organs, it has been fascinating and different to be able to see the transplanted hands and the patient's progress, says senior physician Helena Genberg at Karolinska Institute.
Because the body can reject the transplanted hands, the patient requires lifelong immunosuppressive treatment.
The transplant surgeons and Regional Donation Center at Karolinska University Hospital have been responsible for the immunosuppressive treatment and advanced logistics around the transplant.
– It is exciting that our experience of transplantation and immunosuppressive treatment is being used in this exciting project, says Torbjörn Lundgren, senior physician at ME Transplantation at Karolinska University Hospital.
Risks and future perspectives
Despite the successes, the risks are significant. The transplant requires lifelong medication and careful follow-up, and rehabilitation is both time-consuming and mentally demanding.
Additionally, there is the issue of access to donor organs – matching is difficult and the number of donors is limited. However, the operation demonstrates that Swedish transplant care is at the forefront even when it comes to extremely complex surgical procedures.
If rehabilitation continues to go well, this could pave the way for more similar transplants and even closer collaboration between hospitals.
At the same time, many questions remain: How do you ensure enough donors? How does healthcare manage the long-term costs and risks? And what role should advanced reconstructive surgery have in future healthcare policy?
"We feel great gratitude toward the person and the relatives who made this possible through donation after death," concludes the press release from Södersjukhuset.
Note: The first double hand transplant in Sweden took place in December 2020, when a woman became the first person in Scandinavia to undergo such an operation at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Researchers have discovered an antibiotic that is more than 100 times stronger than previously thought – by studying a process that has been known for at least fifty years. The discovery could be a breakthrough in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Antibiotics were discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming, but widespread use of the drug only began during World War II. Today, large amounts of antibiotics are used annually worldwide, which has led to higher resistance to the drug.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) means that bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites develop resistance to drugs, including antibiotics. It arises primarily through incorrect and excessive use of antibiotics, and is a problem that is increasing globally. It is therefore considered one of the most serious threats to global health.
Now researchers at the University of Warwick in the UK and Monash University in Australia have made an unexpected discovery while studying how the bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor produces the old antibiotic methylenomycin A. This bacterium has been one of the most studied in antibiotic research since the 1950s.
In simple terms, when cells produce chemical substances, they go through several intermediate stages before the final product is ready – rather like baking, where ingredients are mixed in a certain order. The researchers had the idea of testing these intermediate stages for antimicrobial activity. It turned out that one of them is significantly more powerful than the final product itself.
— Methylenomycin A was originally discovered 50 years ago and while it has been synthesized several times, no-one appears to have tested the synthetic intermediates for antimicrobial activity!, says Professor Greg Challis at the University of Warwick, in a press release.
One hundred times more powerful
This intermediate stage, called pre-methylenomycin C lactone, proved to be a very powerful antibiotic – in fact one hundred times more effective than methylenomycin A against dangerous bacteria. It worked particularly well against bacteria that cause MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus infection) and VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci) – two of healthcare's worst nightmares.
Furthermore, the bacteria appeared to have great difficulty developing resistance to the new antibiotic. The discovery opens up a completely new avenue for antibiotic research, and the researchers have already developed a new method for producing the antibiotic in larger quantities, with preclinical trials as the next step.
— This discovery suggests a new paradigm for antibiotic discovery. By identifying and testing intermediates in the pathways to diverse natural compounds, we may find potent new antibiotics, says Professor Challis.
Algae in cattle feed has been presented as a breakthrough in the fight against methane emissions from livestock. But new Swedish research shows that the real climate benefit may be minimal – or even negative. Energy-intensive production and long-distance transport risk canceling out any environmental gains achieved in the barn.
As climate alarmism has risen, cows have increasingly been accused of being real climate villains due to the methane emissions that occur when they burp and pass gas – which is why various schemes have emerged to solve this so-called problem. In 2022, for example, Prince Charles praised the British startup company Zelp for inventing a mask for cows to wear that would convert methane gas into water vapor. The cow mask is still under development but may likely become part of British cows' daily life.
However, the most talked-about solution has been the methane-reducing supplements implemented in cattle feed. The best known is Bovaer, which the Swedish-Danish dairy cooperative Arla has particularly been criticized for using, with both Danes and Swedes calling for a boycott of the company. Due to the strong criticism, the company is planning further studies to see how it affects cows' health, as well as the meat and milk.
Algae has been described as climate-smart
Another supplement being tested for cows is algae, which according to some studies has been shown to reduce methane emissions by between 30 and 90 percent. Now, however, research from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm has shown that these figures may be highly misleading.
— Adding algae to cattle feed has been overestimated as a quick solution to livestock emissions, says Jean-Baptiste Thomas, researcher at the Division of Water and Environmental Engineering at KTH, in a press release.
To measure climate impact, one must take into account how these algae are produced, processed, and how far they are transported. The algae are often dried or refined, which involves energy-intensive methods such as freeze-drying. Furthermore, there is of course an environmental impact when fossil fuels are used, Thomas argues.
Sometimes there is no climate benefit at all
The most common algae used is Asparagopsis, which has the greatest effect on methane emissions, but it is a tropical species. This means long-distance transport all the way to Sweden. Growing it locally in Sweden is not a good alternative either, as it would require artificial, energy-intensive land-based cultivation systems since the species is invasive.
— The real climate benefit is much smaller – and sometimes there is no benefit at all, or it can even be worse, says Thomas.
Thomas still believes that algae can be of some use as a supplement in cattle feed, as long as the environmental impact is low. For example, it could be interesting to use by-products instead, but he emphasizes that algae alone cannot "transform the climate footprint of livestock". This study is the first to look at the entire chain for algae feed, something that surprises the researchers.
— It's quite surprising, considering how much attention the issue has received for almost a decade. Perhaps it shows how eager we are to find quick technical solutions to the climate crisis, says Thomas.
A comprehensive South Korean study shows a correlation between covid vaccines and increased cancer incidence, particularly prostate cancer and lung cancer.
However, the researchers are cautious in their conclusions and careful to point out that the statistical correlations do not constitute proof of any causal relationship.
In the study, which has been published in Biomarker Research, researchers examined data from 8,407,849 people between 2021 and 2023, drawn from the Korean National Health Insurance Database. The participants were divided into two groups depending on whether they had received covid vaccines or not. The aim was to examine both the actual occurrence (incidence) of cancer and subsequent cancer risks one year after vaccination.
The results show that there were indications of increased risks for various cancer types one year after receiving any form of covid vaccine, compared to those who had not received it. The overall risk of cancer diagnosis increased by 27 percent compared to those who had not received covid vaccines.
Regarding specific cancer forms, the most pronounced risk increases were seen for prostate cancer, which increased by 69 percent, followed by lung cancer which increased by 53 percent. Furthermore, the risk of thyroid cancer increased by 35 percent and stomach cancer by 34 percent. Colorectal cancer showed a risk increase of 28 percent, while breast cancer increased by 20 percent.
These risk increases applied to diagnoses made within one year after vaccination, regardless of whether mRNA or non-mRNA vaccines were used. However, it is unclear which covid vaccines were included in the study.
Statistical correlations
The researchers emphasize, however, that the study's results do not provide evidence that covid vaccines cause cancer, but rather that these are "statistical correlations".
One possible explanation could be, for example, that covid-vaccinated individuals have likely undergone more medical check-ups and screenings, which increases the chance of detecting cancer early compared to those who have not received covid vaccines. However, one cannot say with certainty what causes this, only that there is a difference depending on covid vaccination status.
