Nostalgia is considered to be a strong sense of longing or affection for the past. Whether it’s a childhood memory, a song, or a smell, nostalgia is a part of many people’s lives. Yet most people don’t truly understand it.

Why does it happen? Is it a physical feeling, or is it all in our heads? When did it begin? These 10 astounding facts about nostalgia will answer all these questions and more.

10 It’s Not Just About Memories

Most people would consider nostalgia to be a connection with good memories of the past. However, it is clear that nostalgia has little to do with memories themselves. The feeling of nostalgia is actually related to emotional states, not memories.

Our minds connect different emotions with time periods and places from our past, leading us to miss those experiences from our past. For example, one could remember having played at the park as a child. Though a child may have felt many negative emotions during that trip to the park, the person’s mind will block that out, leaving him with only a happy memory of the experience.

The thoughts themselves are a base that the mind can use to link to emotions. But the mind is not as trustworthy a source as it may seem. It changes our memories in a way that makes us feel that the present is never as good as the past. This connection of emotions to memories is what makes a nostalgic recollection different from a regular memory.^[1]

9 It Used To Be Considered An Illness

Though nostalgia is considered a common feeling, it had a very different meaning in the past. The term was coined in 1688 by Swiss physician Johannes Hofer. In a medical report, he wrote that nostalgia was a deadly disease with no cure.

Even before this, nostalgia was associated with Swiss soldiers, who were easily affected by the disease. In fact, a particular Swiss song called “Khue-Reyen” caused such strong nostalgia that playing it was punishable by death.^[2]

After Hofer’s report, there were many ideas about how to cure nostalgia. Leeches, stomach cleansing, and other horrifying treatments were put into use. After the Civil War, US military doctor Theodore Calhoun even suggested bullying as a solution. He felt that soldiers who suffered from nostalgia were weak and that bullying would make them stronger.

These strange cures resulted in unsurprisingly low success rates.

8 It Has Many Health Benefits

Over time, the image of nostalgia improved. It is now considered to have many positive mental impacts. As scientists further developed an understanding of nostalgia, the health benefits became clear.

Psychology professor Krystine Batcho has found that feelings of nostalgia can boost positivity and creativity. The calming feeling that nostalgia brings can also reduce stress. Batcho said, “What nostalgia enables you to do both emotionally and cognitively is keep track of what has remained stable, giving you some sense of continuity that grounds you.”

Nostalgia can even help with depression as the act of recalling memories can help prevent loneliness and anxiety. Nostalgia is also known to help strengthen social skills and personal relationships.^[3]

7 It Impacts Decision-Making

Though nostalgia may appear to be no more than a strange, mood-boosting feeling, it actually affects the decision-making process heavily. When thinking about happy memories of the past, people want to replicate those memories in the present.

However, this presents some problems. As nostalgia is a glorified version of the past, any bad things about that time are dismissed in favor of a strong sense of longing. This leads to people repeating good habits because it makes them feel good. For example, nostalgia often makes people want to volunteer because it gives us happy feelings and the memory will make us want to go back.

However, it can also lead to bad habits. This is why many children who grew up with abusive parents will marry an abusive spouse. Despite being aware that these are poor traits, humans subconsciously favor things that remind us of our past, whether it is good or bad.^[4]

6 Smell Is The Driving Force Of Nostalgia

Interestingly, nostalgia can be triggered by more than common things, such as hearing an old song or seeing a place that reminds us of our childhood. In fact, smell is far more important to the development of nostalgia than any other sense.

The link between smell and emotion began in the early 1900s with well-known neurologist Sigmund Freud. The nose connects to the olfactory lobe, a part of the brain that plays a role in causing emotions. As a result, odors are able to produce a stronger impact on emotion than any other sense.

This phenomenon, known as olfactory-evoked recall, is the reason why bakeries will allow the smell of their goods to flood through the store. For example, the smell of freshly baked cookies will often trigger strong feelings of nostalgia. Of course, this makes customers more likely to purchase the cookies because they feel attached to them.^[5]

5 It Affects Different Generations In Different Ways

In 1991, researchers conducted an experiment using consenting participants selected at random in the Water Tower Place shopping mall in Chicago. The goal was to determine how people of different ages are impacted by nostalgia.

In the experiment, a total of 989 individuals were asked what scents reminded them of their childhood. It turned out that nearly 87 percent of the subjects born in 1930 or later displayed signs of olfactory-evoked recall, while only 61 percent of those born before 1930 did.

This implies that younger people tend to have more scent-induced nostalgic feelings than older people. This makes sense because a person’s sense of smell usually worsens with age.

More interesting is the difference between the responses of the older and younger people. The subjects born before 1930 generally said that smells such as pine, oak, and meadows led to feelings of nostalgia. On the other hand, those born in 1930 or later said that things such as plastic, airplane fuel, and scented markers caused the sensation for them.^[6]

These results suggest that older people are more nostalgic about natural scents, while younger people feel more nostalgic about artificial smells. Though these results may seem useless, it could lead to problems in the future. If the environment is in danger one day and the current adult population feels no sense of nostalgia for nature, they may be less likely to feel any motivation to help.

4 It Can Happen With More Than Past Memories

People can also feel nostalgia for things happening in the present. Known as anticipatory nostalgia, this occurs when one begins to feel a longing for parts of the present before they disappear in the future.

This version of nostalgia has many negative impacts on the mind. Living in the moment is commonly associated with traits such as reduced stress and positive emotional states. However, with anticipatory nostalgia, we take ourselves out of the moment, live in a fake version of the future, and long for the past. The irony is that the past in this case is the present that we are living.

According to the results of a study led by psychology professor Krystine Batcho, anticipatory nostalgia leads to weaker relationships and worse social skills. This means that anticipatory knowledge leads to feelings of sadness as opposed to the happy feelings of regular nostalgia.^[7]

3 Public Interest Has Increased Rapidly

In the past decade, nostalgia has become extremely important to society. This is mostly because of a psychologist named Constantine Sedikides. He felt nostalgic after moving from North Carolina to England. Sedikides found that his nostalgia made him feel happy and optimistic about his future. This inspired him to research nostalgia further, which soon inspired other universities to do the same.

Nostalgia has become a new field of study for psychologists, with hundreds of academic papers written about it all around the world. It has now been confirmed that nostalgia has been found to impact the populations of 18 countries in five continents. It is truly a universal feeling.

Sedikides said about nostalgia: “[It connects] the past to the present, pointing optimistically to the future. [It is] absolutely central to human experience.”^[8]

With research about this feeling sweeping universities around the globe, it is clear that our fascination with nostalgia as a society is at an all-time high.

2 It Can Be Used For Good . . .

All this increased research about nostalgia in the scientific community has led to proposed applications that will positively affect many people. Most prominently, researchers have been working on a way to use the positive emotions gained from nostalgia in a group therapy setting.

Illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and depression could be helped with nostalgia-based therapy. So could people in support groups. Tim Wildschut, an associate of psychologist Constantine Sedikides, believes that nostalgia can be used to direct victims of terrible events away from their trauma and toward positive memories.

Furthermore, group-based nostalgia can help to reduce stigmas about certain groups. In a test led by Wildschut, a group was asked to think of a positive memory about someone who is overweight.

At the end of the experiment, it was found that the nostalgic feelings derived from the memories led to an improved attitude toward overweight people. The same result occurred when replacing overweight people with disabled people or the elderly.^[9]

1 . . . Or Evil

Despite all the positivity that nostalgia can bring, its powers can be used for manipulation as well. Just like the smell of a bakery can lead someone to purchase its goods, nostalgia is used in everyday marketing.

For years, advertisers have struggled with how to successfully advertise to millennials. They have finally concluded that nostalgia is the most effective tactic. By using things from millennials’ childhoods to promote current products, companies try to make people feel an emotional attachment to whatever is being advertised, leading to a stronger urge to buy it.

This is why so many clothing brands have products promoting the ‘90s and why many company logos use old-fashioned designs. Though this is not inherently bad, it is certainly a way to manipulate consumers by appealing to their subconscious feelings.^[10]

However, nostalgia can be used for worse. As discussed previously, nostalgia can be used to help promote positivity toward minority groups. However, the opposite can be true as well.

Psychology professor Tim Wildschut explained, “We have to tread carefully if we use this as a group therapy. Anything that increases the bonds within the group also has the power to increase the negativity toward other groups.”

Nostalgia is a powerful tool, and only the future can tell how it will continue to be used.

J.J. Grover lives in Chicago, where he enjoys reading and writing lists.

Even after humans fought for centuries to escape the restrictions of this world and thus be able to venture into the cosmos, we finally decided to look back. So, ironically, Earth has been the primary focus of our observations from space.

Although scientists have obtained hundreds of thousands of photographs of planets, galaxies, and other places in the universe, pictures of Earth from space are counted in the millions. Thanks to space technologies, we have photographed and analyzed every corner of our planet from a celestial perspective, ultimately expanding our understanding of the world in which we live to an unprecedented level.

But among so many images of Earth, only a handful have been able to remain in the collective memory until today. The spectacular landscapes contained in these images, as well as the peculiar situations that led to their creation, can sometimes be the factors that have given them such recognition.

In the list below, we will cover 10 of the best space pictures of Earth—some iconic, others little-known, but each with an amazing story to tell.

10 A Shooting Star Seen From Above

When we try to remember what a shooting star looks like, it is almost intuitive to imagine ourselves looking up at the night sky while a bright fireball flies overhead. It is natural as we have become accustomed to seeing shooting stars only from down here on the Earth’s surface.

But this is not the case for everyone. On August 13, 2011, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) took a photograph of Earth while the station was over China. What makes this image special is that it shows a small light streak crossing the Earth’s atmosphere.^[1]

The astronaut tweeted the photograph along with a caption that said: “What a ‘Shooting Star’ looks like from space, taken yesterday during Perseid Meteor Shower.” Indeed, the light was actually a bright meteor seen from above. As the tweet indicates, the shooting star was part of the Perseid meteor shower, an event that occurs every year in August.

Due to the interest of scientists to see such a meteor shower from space, a camera installed on the ISS has been recording the event since 2016 and producing some breathtaking videos. Now that it is possible to see meteors from space without any atmospheric distortion, the scientific community has a better understanding of the composition of meteorites that hit our planet.

9 Floating With The Whole World Below

The following story not only involves an amazing image of the Earth but also a peculiar feat of the human race. In 1984, NASA conducted a mission to test a prototype space jetpack for astronauts. It was called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).

In February of that year, astronaut Bruce McCandless flew into space for the first time aboard the space shuttle Challenger to test the jetpack. After some tests inside the spacecraft, McCandless ventured into the void of space with the MMU on his back. Thus, on February 7, 1984, McCandless became the first human to make a spacewalk completely free of anchors to his ship.^[2]

The moment was immortalized in a panoramic image taken from Challenger while Bruce was floating about 98 meters (320 ft) away from the shuttle. The photo speaks for itself: It was only him and his jetpack in the middle of the blackness of outer space and with the blue vastness of the Earth under his feet.

Before his death in December 2017, McCandless confessed to National Geographic that he did not stop to look down at Earth during his untethered flight. Nevertheless, he did notice that he was flying over the state of Florida at one point.

But McCandless also said that being able to observe the entire Earth from space definitely changes an astronaut’s perception of the world and our ephemeral divisions as a species.

8 Light And Darkness

After the Korean War ended in 1953, both South Korea and North Korea had similar economic levels. But while South Korea’s economy continued to grow in the following decades, North Korea sank into poverty.

In the 1990s, the Soviet Union collapsed and stopped supplying fuel to North Korea, one of its “spoiled” countries. Added to a devastating famine in North Korea around the same time, this fuel stoppage caused the energy supply in the country to be drastically reduced.

There is no better way to see the precarious energy infrastructure of North Korea than through images taken from space. In January 2014, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) photographed the Korean peninsula during nighttime.

In the upper section of the picture, we can see China, while the brilliant South Korea stands out in the lower right corner. Between both countries, there is an almost completely dark hole which blends in perfectly with the blackness of the surrounding seas. But that is actually North Korea.

The most remarkable spot of light in North Korea comes from its capital, Pyongyang, which a decade ago had more than three million inhabitants. However, the light from Pyongyang is barely comparable to the glow of the smaller towns in South Korea.

When the image from the ISS was publicly released, North Korea promptly made some statements, claiming that “the essence of [its] society is not on flashy lights.” Despite that, North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, told his citizens to work hard to restore electricity in the country.^[3]

7 The First Space Selfie

Almost everyone sees taking selfies as a common practice. In fact, it is estimated that people around the world take a total of more than one million selfies per day. Usually, many of these pictures are taken in some special, nice-looking place around Earth.

But taking a selfie in outer space and having the entire Earth in the background is a privilege granted only to a few. This type of photograph, by the way, is known as a “space selfie.”

In November 1966, NASA carried out a space mission called Gemini 12 to test the ability of astronauts to dock with another orbiting spacecraft. One of the crew members was Buzz Aldrin, who would later become the second man to step on the Moon.

Gemini 12 was the first space flight for Aldrin, and he spent a record-breaking five and a half hours outside his ship. The astronauts had a camera to record facts related to the mission. But Buzz had the idea to test the camera on himself.^[4]

To do so, the astronauts had to change the direction of the spacecraft. As the camera was mounted on the ship itself, the crew rotated it to the right angle and shut off the thrusters so that they did not flash in the photo.

With the hatch of the spaceship open, Buzz stood in his seat and clicked the camera in front of him. In that way, one of the first humans to step on the Moon also ended up being the first person to take a space selfie. As an interesting fact, the picture was sold for $9,200 at an auction in 2015.

6 Blue Marbles

In what would end up being the last manned mission to the Moon until this day, the crew of Apollo 17 took off from Earth on the night of December 7, 1972. Throughout the journey, the astronauts Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, and Ron Evans had to stick to a complex routine to maneuver the huge Saturn V rocket that took them to our natural satellite. For that reason, they could not take pictures or get distracted by looking out the window.

But when they were about 45,000 kilometers (28,000 mi) away from Earth, one of the astronauts could not help looking back at our world. With the only camera he had within reach at that moment, he decided to photograph such a unique view of Earth. Indeed, it turned out to be the first color image in which the entire planet can be seen.

The image was an international sensation, appearing on the front page of countless newspapers around the world. In fact, as the picture—now known as “The Blue Marble Shot”—is in the public domain, it is even believed to be the most reproduced image in history. The astronauts of Apollo 17 never agreed on which one of them took the photograph.

During the following decades, NASA published other images of Earth similar to the one from 1972. But all those were composite images made with multiple pictures taken at different times. It was not until 43 years later that we were once again able to get a genuine Blue Marble shot, thanks to an observation satellite known as DSCOVR.

The satellite was launched in 2015 as a joint effort between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As its orbit gives us a continuous view of the sunlit face of the Earth, a new full-view picture of our world was possible.^[5]

5 Eclipses As Seen From Space

As total solar eclipses occur about once every 18 months at some given place on Earth, humans have recorded such phenomena from space several times. For example, astronauts on the now-destroyed Mir space station took a spectacular photograph of a total solar eclipse darkening the Earth in August 1999. But if we must highlight a recent solar eclipse, let’s look at the one that occurred on August 21, 2017, over North America.

The eclipse was partial in the entire United States and total in 14 states. Besides having been greatly anticipated by scientists because of the opportunity to study such a phenomenon, the eclipse was also one of the most watched events in US history.

Making good use of its technology, NASA recorded this eclipse in great detail. From about 1.6 million kilometers (1 million mi) away from us and through the DSCOVR satellite previously mentioned, the agency obtained 12 images of the path of the Moon’s shadow on the surface of the Earth.

The result is a video sequence of a few seconds that shows the eclipse as seen from space crossing the entire visible hemisphere of our planet. DSCOVR usually takes about 20 pictures of Earth per day. But in view of the occasion—and for research purposes—the scientists decided to configure the instruments to take more images that day. Even so, the video shows the movement of the eclipse at a faster speed than what actually occurred.^[6]

4 A Pale Blue Dot

In 1977, NASA launched two spacecraft called Voyager to explore the planets beyond Earth. Thirteen years later, the probe called Voyager 1 was already approaching the confines of our solar system.

It was then—on February 14, 1990—that the engineers decided to turn the spacecraft’s camera to take a last look back at our planetary neighborhood. From about 6.4 billion kilometers (4 billion mi) away from us, farther than any other human machine had flown before, Voyager 1 took 60 photographs to create the first “portrait” of the solar system.

In one of the images, several bands of color can be seen. They are light rays because the Sun was close to the shot. Near the center of the picture in the middle zone of one of the stripes, we can see Earth. Our planet, shown there as a small dot 0.12 pixels in size, has no visible features beyond its brightness and is almost indistinguishable from the darkness of space.

In 1994, the famous astronomer Carl Sagan published a book in which he commented on this image of our world, which he called a “Pale Blue Dot.” About it, Sagan said: “[E]veryone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of . . . lived there—on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”^[7]

3 When A Satellite Discovered A Deadly Island

As part of NASA’s Landsat program, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1) was launched into space in 1972 to photograph the Earth’s features and landmasses for the first time. In 1973, researcher Elizabeth Fleming was analyzing the new images transmitted by ERTS-1 to find uncharted islands off the coasts of Canada. Among the less explored regions were the northern coasts of the province of Labrador, which had been charted for the last time in 1911.

When Fleming studied the images, she noticed some white spots scattered in the ocean which she thought were icebergs. But she soon realized that they were small portions of dry land. One land patch, located about 20 kilometers (12.4 mi) away from the Labrador coast, caught her attention.

It was larger than the rest, measuring 25 meters (82 ft) by 45 meters (148 ft). So it was legally an island—a newly discovered one. In 1976, Dr. Frank Hall from the Canadian Hydrographic Service was given the task of confirming the existence of the small island.

Using a harness, Hall was lowered from a helicopter to the island, which was covered in ice. Suddenly, when Hall was about to touch the ground, a polar bear tried to bring him down and have him for lunch. The bear was in the highest part of the island and unnoticeable due to its white fur.

Immediately, Hall pulled the cable and got back into the helicopter by himself. According to his words, he almost became the first person to die on that island. After the experience, Hall suggested that the site be called Polar Island.

But it was finally called Landsat Island in 1979 when its discoverer satellite, ERTS-1, was renamed Landsat 1. Satellite images are inherently amazing, but the story behind this one makes it even more impressive.^[8]

2 The First Photo Taken From Space

During the first half of the 20th century, people did not really know what the Earth looked like from space. Until then, the highest we had been to take pictures of our own world was about 22 kilometers (13.7 mi) high in giant balloons. But that changed in 1946 when we acquired a way to travel higher.

After the end of World War II, the Americans had captured V-2 rockets originally developed by the Nazis. The destructive weapons that were once responsible for thousands of deaths were now in the hands of scientists in the United States, who replaced the explosives of the missiles with observation instruments.

One V-2 rocket was equipped with cameras designed to take pictures every second and a half. On October 24, 1946, the former missile flew to a height of 105 kilometers (65 mi). From there, it took what would be the first photograph of Earth from space.

In the image, we can see the southwest of North America under some cloud formations as well as the detail of the curvature of the Earth. Once its mission was completed, the rocket fell back to Earth. What was left of it, including the camera, crashed to the ground at about 550 kilometers per hour (342 mph).

But the recording tape survived intact because it was protected in a steel can. So the researchers retrieved the images and analyzed them. The enthusiasm of the scientists for this achievement was remarkable. In 1950, an article from National Geographic stated that the images showed “how our Earth would look to visitors from another planet coming in on a space ship.”^[9]

1 Earthrise

The first manned mission to the Moon, Apollo 8, took place on December 21, 1968. Its crew of three astronauts—Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and James Lovell—became the first humans to leave Earth’s orbit and reach another planetary body. Apollo 8’s goal was to orbit the Moon and search for potential landing sites for future lunar missions.

As the astronauts emerged from the far side of the Moon during their fourth orbit on December 24, they noticed a blue sphere rising over the lunar horizon. It was Earth, shining through one of the spaceship’s windows.

As it was a reconnaissance mission, the crew was not supposed to take pictures of Earth. Moreover, at that time, they were preparing to recite passages from the Bible’s Book of Genesis during a live broadcast. But the astronauts were so amazed at such a view of the little crescent Earth that they felt compelled to photograph it.

For a moment, they believed that they had lost sight of Earth. But as soon as Lovell saw it again in another window, Anders managed to take a color photograph of it. After that, the astronauts continued with their routine and read from Genesis to end the broadcast as planned.

The photo, which we now know as “Earthrise,” became one of the most famous images in history and served as inspiration for the creation of environmental movements such as Earth Day. After the flight, Anders said, “We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.”^[10]

Brian Molinari is an economy student who is passionate about graphic design as well as an avid enthusiast of the art of writing.

Genetic technology is changing the world as we know it. As you read this, scientists are working on fascinating ways to modify DNA. Recently, a form of advanced gene-editing technology known as CRISPR has opened up new avenues of genetic experimentation. CRISPR is held in such high regard that, in 2020, its creators were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Their new tool allows researchers to alter DNA with unique precision. Already, it is helping produce new forms of cancer therapy. Experts reckon it could one day be used to cure genetic conditions.

Of course, gene editing is a controversial practice that raises many ethical concerns. Bioscientists have been accused of “playing god” with the genome. But genetic technology has also inspired all manner of mind-boggling scientific innovation. Here are just ten of its most astounding uses.

10 Foods That Have Been Genetically Modified Beyond Recognition

10 Modified goats produce cancer drugs in their milk

Scientists in New Zealand have created genetically modified goats that produce cancer drugs in their milk. The goats have been specifically altered to create cetuximab medication, which is used to treat cancer in the colon and lungs. Currently, the drug can cost as much as $13,000 a month without insurance. Scientists hope their new method of production will help lower the price, thereby making it more accessible.

Manufacturing cetuximab is an expensive process. Its elaborate chemical structure means producers have to rely on proteins from inside mice cells to cultivate the drug. But these genetically modified goats have offered the pharmaceutical industry a way to mass-produce cetuximab.

“It’s a lot more economic to make cetuximab in animals because their mammary glands can produce large amounts of proteins,” explained Götz Laible, the researcher in charge of the project at New Zealand’s AgResearch institute.

9 Scientists store data inside living DNA

Data storage is a difficult business. Day in day out, we rely on electronic devices like hard disks, optical drives, and memory sticks to store vast amounts of information. But perhaps other materials could be better suited to data storage. Now, scientists in New York have come up with a new method that uses gene editing to store data in the DNA of live bacteria.

In 2021, researchers at Colombia University demonstrated that live E. coli cells can store up to 72 bits of data. At its core, a data file consists of a long line of ones and zeros. The scientists were able to encode ones and zeros into the E. coli DNA by inserting specific genes into the cell. They were even able to write the simple message “Hello world!” into the DNA of an E. coli cell, then decode it by sequencing the DNA.

DNA is surprisingly well-suited to data storage. Biological proteins can store a massive wealth of information. Scientists estimate that if a strand of DNA were the size of a grain of salt, it could hold the equivalent of ten feature-length movies. What’s more, the technology needed to read and write DNA is becoming increasingly powerful with time. That said, DNA data storage is still in its infancy, which means it is unlikely to take off any time soon.

8 Increasing the lifespan of dying mice

Scientists at Harvard University have extended the lifespan of dying mice using gene editing, increasing their life expectancy by more than double.

As part of the study, led by Professor David Liu, the mice were given progeria—a rare disease that causes premature aging in children. On average, children with progeria live to the age of fourteen. The condition is caused by a rare genetic mutation and cannot be treated using regular gene therapy. Instead, the Harvard team is developing a way to change the fundamental coding of the progeria sufferer’s DNA.

This technique was trialed on the terminally ill mice, and it significantly improved the length of their lives. The rodents, which were expected to survive 215 days, went on to live for a median average of 510 days. Liu and his team hope to use these findings to develop an effective treatment for progeria and similar genetic conditions.

7 Gene therapy in one eye enhances vision in both

Scientists have discovered a form of gene therapy for sight loss that, when injected into one eye, improves vision in both. The genes travel from the injected eye into the untreated eye, although eye specialists are unsure about the implications of this discovery.

The scientists were attempting to treat a condition known as Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a form of progressive sight loss mostly found in young men. This rare type of blindness stems from a genetic mutation that attacks and destroys cells in the eye’s retina.

As part of a recent trial, 37 patients with LHON received gene therapy injections into one of their eyes. But remarkably, after two years, 29 of the patients reported improvement in vision in both eyes. At first, the scientists were taken aback by these results until they discovered that the gene therapy viruses were sneaking out of one eye and into the other.

Repeating the experiment on macaque monkeys, they found the genes were traveling down the optic nerve of one eye, crossing over to the other optic nerve, then traveling into the other eye.

6 Harmless bull with no horns

Researchers have found a way to create hornless bulls by editing the DNA of the father. This new method provides farmers with a painless alternative to current dehorning techniques. Currently, cattle need to have their horns physically removed. This is a lengthy and difficult process that can be extremely painful for the bull. But it does need to be done. Not only are the hornless bulls less likely to harm other animals, but they are also easier to transport and take up less room at the feeding trough.

In 2016, two baby bulls were born with a genetic mutation that means they will never grow horns. This was achieved by introducing a short string of DNA into the father’s cells. After analyzing DNA from all three bulls, scientists confirmed that the genetic alterations had been passed down to the young cattle without causing any accidental side effects.

“We’ve demonstrated that healthy hornless calves with only the intended edit can be produced, and we provided data to help inform the process for evaluating genome-edited animals,” explained Alison Van Eenennaam, an expert in animal science working at the University of California, Davis.

5 Cows are made more resilient to heat stress

As temperatures rise, cows begin to feel the strain. Bovines are particularly susceptible to heat stress. If left in the blazing sun for too long, cows start to lose their appetite, produce less milk, and are less likely to conceive. As you can imagine, the knock-on effects for farmers can be terrible. Each year, heat stress is said to cost the US dairy industry $900 million. In poorer countries, where farmers may only own a few livestock, it can be the ruin of many.

But now scientists in New Zealand have found a potential solution to this cattle-based conundrum. They are using gene-editing techniques to change the color of the cows’ coats. By altering their pigmentation genes, the researchers managed to lighten the dark, heat-absorbent hair of common dairy cows. Holstein-Friesian cattle are usually white with jet black patches, but the genetically altered calves were born covered in light silver-colored markings.

The researchers hope to refine their research using DNA from tropical cattle that are more resilient to high temperatures.

4 Overweight mice lose body fat

Gene editing could one day be used to treat obesity, say scientists at Harvard University. In August 2020, the researchers revealed a new method for combating weight gain in mice: transforming unhealthy white fat cells into energy-busting brown fat cells using CRISPR gene editing.

Stodgy white fat cells are full of unhealthy lipids that build up inside the body. An excess of white fat can lead to diabetes. But brown fat cells are much healthier. They break down some fat to create energy and store the rest in a smaller space.

The Harvard team was able to help the mice lose weight by altering their DNA. The scientists genetically altered the white fat, giving it the characteristics of healthy brown fat. The experiment focused on UCP1, a protein found in brown fat that turns chemical energy into heat.

Over the twelve-week study, the mice with white fat cells piled on the pounds, whereas the gene-edited mice found it much more difficult. There is even a suggestion that the gene-editing process helped the mice stave off diabetes.

Scientists predict that eventually this method could be developed into a treatment for obesity, although human trials are still a long way off.

3 Scientists cure mice of hearing loss

In 2019, researchers from Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital announced a novel treatment for hearing loss in mice that could one day be used on humans.

Beethoven mice suffer from a genetic mutation that also affects humans, causing progressive hearing loss and eventual deafness. The name Beethoven mice is a reference to the German composer, who began to lose his hearing when he was in his twenties.

The hearing loss that the mice experience is caused by a minor alteration in their DNA. Using sophisticated biological technology, scientists can pinpoint the defective gene without harming any of the remaining healthy genes. This means they can cure the Beethoven mice of their deafness without causing any unwanted side effects.

The scientists do warn people not to get their hopes up too quickly. There are still years of research to be done before this therapy can be tried on humans. “We believe our work opens the door toward a hyper-targeted way to treat an array of genetic disorders that arise from one defective copy of a gene,” explained Harvard’s Jeffrey Holt. “This truly is precision medicine.”

2 Killer moths help New York with pest problem

In January 2020, New York State officials released swarms of genetically modified (GM) male moths to curb the number of pests. Young female diamondback moths are capable of inflicting a massive amount of harm to farmers’ crops. Despite their short lifespan, the larvae consume a huge amount of brassica plants, including kale, cabbage, and oilseed rape. The moths and their rapacious diets are said to cause $5 billion of damage each year.

Typically a pest like this would be dealt with using pesticides, but the diamondback moth is remarkably quick at developing resistance. So Oxitec, a biotechnology company based in the UK, has developed a fleet of killer GM moths to wipe out the young pests.

Scientists added a gene to the male moths that causes newly-hatched larvae to drop dead, but only affects the females. This means the harmful young females will perish before they can do any damage. The young males, on the other hand, will go on to mate with other wild females, passing on the killer gene to their larvae. This should continue for a few generations, after which Oxitec says the lethal gene will fade away.

1 Gene editing leads the fight against superbugs

Antibiotic-resistant superbugs are a global crisis waiting to happen. Destructive pathogens that, only a few decades ago, were easy to treat with penicillin are building up immunity to antibiotics. Unless scientists can create new antibiotics quickly, we could be facing 10 million deaths a year by 2050 due to these hostile germs.

But there is hope on the horizon. Researchers from the University of Manchester have uncovered a new way to produce antibiotics using CRISPR gene editing. By combining several cutting-edge biological techniques, the team produced an unusual type of antibiotic known as malonomycin. This novel technique could help scientists develop new forms of antibiotic medication—drugs that are better suited to fighting off highly resistant superbugs.

“We are now optimistic that our findings might lead to the discovery of new antibiotics,” explained the leader of the study Jason Micklefield, “and may also provide new ways of making antibiotics which are urgently needed to combat emerging drug-resistant pathogens.”

10 Amazing Powers From Rare Genetic Mutations

All of us love mysteries, be it a sudden disappearance, some ghostly tale, or a whodunit. Though usually, we get our share of mystery from the latest crime and thriller novels and movies there are so many strange tales in the world that are still waiting to be unearthed. Human history is full of astounding tales and mysteries that are so strange that if they were not lifted from real life directly you would never believe them to be true. If you are already excited enough then continue reading and learn about the top 10 astounding things, places, and facts, which can leave anyone baffled.

10. The Mayan Empire

The Mayan civilization in South America, during the height of its reign, was the most advanced civilizations in the world. Beautiful architectural feats, complex communication systems, and intricate ceremonies were all different and unseen. However, the civilization disappeared all of a sudden, which was very, very strange. Though there were a few clues to be found, people to date do not clearly know what happened. Watch here.

9. The Voynich Manuscript

The Voynich Manuscript is a medieval manuscript that was discovered in the early 20th century and is full of pages with strange symbols and unknown plants. Researchers have suggested many theories relating to the origin of the script over these years, and though it is said that it has its roots in the creation story or alchemy, historians are still not able to understand what the writings in it mean, and thus the script still remains an unsolved mystery. Watch here.

8. The Siberian Sinkholes

Siberia is one of the most deserted places in the world and has the most isolated landscapes. When suddenly many large sinkholes were seen in the northern part of the country, scientists were left confused with how they were created. Many theories for the existence of these holes have been suggested from secret government fracking to presence of some alien life, and though researchers are trying to solve the case, the fact is, it is yet unsolved. Watch here.

7. The Beale Ciphers

The strange Beale Ciphers, created of three large ciphertexts are said to reveal where some American treasure has been buried. Researchers, since many years, have tried very hard to crack the code found on the ciphers and though they have managed to figure out the first text they are still far away from solving the entire code. Treasure hunters are sure that the treasure is present in the Bedford County, Virginia, but it is yet to be found.

6. Rongorongo

Easter Islands, situated in the center of the Pacific Ocean, is a place known for its ancient traditions and mysterious customs. Though it is desolate for many years, many strange stone engravings have been found in this island that is covered in glyphs that are undecipherable. These symbols still remain a mystery and though theorists think the stones could say something about how the ancient civilization collapsed suddenly, it will only remain a mystery. Watch here.

5. The Georgia Guidestones

The Georgia Guidestones are somewhat different to the other similar monuments. They have messages written in eight different languages, and the messages have been clearly decoded, and are known to offer many commandments. However, there are very few people who understand the real reason why the stones were created, and this has lead to so many speculations. Calling for various controversial new laws, many a time orders have been passed to destroy this stone to avoid any global destruction that they might suggest.

4. The Kryptos Code

The CIA headquarters anyway holds so many secrets and thus the fact that it also has the most mysterious sculptures in the world comes as no surprise. The Kryptos Code, created in the 90s, by an artist, has four sections with encrypted messages. Three of these messages have successfully been solved, however, the theorists are finding it very difficult to decipher the fourth and the final message. They have tried really hard, but the fourth cipher remains a mystery till date.

3. The Shugborough Inscription

The Shugborough Inscription, which was found 250 years ago, has many speculations surrounding it. This stone monument, located in the English countryside, has a lot of undecipherable letters written on it, which is believed to make no sense. However, theorists suggest that the strange sequence in this monument could have some hidden meaning that may reveal the location of the Knights Templar or the Holy Grail.

2. The Taos Hum

If you ever get to visit the small town of Taos, New Mexico, you are most likely to be met with a strange surprise. For many years, locals and visitors have complained about hearing a low-frequency strange sound which you can hear throughout the whole town. Though it has been said that this strange hum could be a result of UFOs or control signals, such theories have not been able to solve this mystery completely.

1. Birds Committing Suicide on Moonless Nights

Just imagine you are traveling in Assam (India) on a moonless night and suddenly you see many birds dropping down from the sky, and all of them are dead. Yes, this really does happen in Assam in September and October. People have seen such a scene on moonless nights between 6:30 pm and 9:00 pm. No one is able to say why exactly this is happening as the dead bodies of the birds offer no clues. Some people just say this to be ‘the haunting nights’ when spiritual creatures move from one place to another.

These are some enigmas, some astounding happenings in the world that some people are aware of but no one knows how to solve them, and until they are solved, they are going to remain mysteries and astound generations the way they do today.

In a very rudimentary way, teamwork is the foundation of civilization. People coming together for their mutual benefit is what allowed us to grow beyond simple foragers in the wild and develop cities, economies, agriculture, religion and even language. It’s worked pretty well for us as a species. And sometimes it even works beyond our species.

10. Killer Whales Hunted With Humans

It’s been speculated that dogs were originally domesticated by our hunter-gatherer ancestors to assist them in hunting. That’s just a theory, but it’s definitely a good one when you consider that it’s more than just dogs we’ve relied on to help us hunt over the years. For instance, a group of hunters in New South Wales, Australia, once teamed up with killer whales to hunt the open sea.

Between 1840 and 1930, whalers from the town of Eden were known to work with killer whales to take on baleen whales. The human whalers were after the baleens, but the orcas prized them as a food source as well. For a time, the orcas were just a nuisance whale in the way, until the humans noticed something unusual. The pod of orcas had begun to herd the baleen whales towards the hunters.

The pod was led by a large killer whale the hunters named Old Tom. He began approaching the whaling ships and slapping his tail on the surface. The humans got the message in time that they needed to follow the whale back to where the other orcas had cornered a baleen. The whalers would kill it and the pod would feast on the meat, leaving the blubber and bones for the humans, which was what they wanted.

9. Eels and Grouper Hunt Together

Fish are often maligned as being some of the least intelligent animals in the world. People will compare themselves to goldfish when they forget things and lose track of their thoughts, for instance. But the sea can surprise you and there’s a lot going on beneath the waves.

Researchers discovered that both eels and grouper will hunt together to their mutual benefit in a way that indicates these aren’t just chance encounters. Grouper typically hunt the open waters during the day while eels hunt reefs at night. This means that the prey of a grouper can avoid it by hiding in reefs and the prey of eels can avoid them by sticking to open water. You can see then how a partnership could benefit each member.  

For this to work, the grouper will actively approach a moray eel and shake its head until it has the eel’s attention. The eel then joins the grouper, hunting in and around the reef and sometimes a grouper will even lead the eel to a hidden fish. Based on observation, both fish end up more successful in their hunts than they are when they’re alone.

8. Humans and Dolphins Fish Together

We’ve seen that whales can help humans hunt other whales, but they’re not the only aquatic mammals that have learned the benefit of teaming up with humans. Dolphins have made use of us as well, with both species teaming up off the coast of Brazil.

In this case, dolphins serve as the eyes for humans in the hunt for mullet. The fishermen cannot see the schools of mullet in the water but they have nets at the ready. The dolphins pursue the mullet, leading them towards the humans. At the right moment, the dolphins will roll on the surface of the water, signalling to the humans to cast the nets. 

The majority of the mullet will be captured by the nets and those that managed to flee break their formation, allowing the dolphins to pick them off and get their share. 

7. Kenyan Honeyguide Birds Work with Humans to Find Beehives

It’s not just at sea that mankind benefits from helpful animals. In the air, the Kenyan Honeyguide is the best friend of anyone with a sweet tooth. And it’s also one of the few wild animals that actively communicates with the humans they help. In fact, the humans can communicate right back. It’s bizarre, but also well documented.

Honeyguide birds do what their name suggests. They will lead humans, often with very little prompting, to hidden bee’s nests full of honey. The Yao people of Mozambique can call the wild birds with a simple noise and they respond. They will lead the way to honey and wait for their human partners. Once there, the humans will smash the hive and take the honey. They leave bee larva and wax behind, both of which the bird can eat. 

The relationship between human and bird was documented as far back as 1588, but for many years, it was assumed by researchers who didn’t take the time to actually look into it to be an exaggeration or an outright lie.

6. Langur Monkeys and Chital Deer Look out For Tigers

If you live in a world where tigers lurk about on a regular basis and maybe try to eat you and your friends, you might be tempted to make some friends to help avoid them. That seems to be what langur monkeys and chital deer in India are doing. 

Both the deer and the monkeys make for a quick meal for predators like tigers and both have effective ways at detecting predators on their own, but they do come with some weaknesses in coverage. In trees, the monkeys have superior eyesight to see predators coming, something a deer can’t do on the ground. They can send out a call to alert not just other langurs but the deer as well when something does appear. 

The monkeys can’t be in the treetops all the time, and on the ground foraging or traveling they can’t see well, so what can they do?  This is where the deer help out. On the ground, the deer’s superior sense of smell alerts them to the presence of predators closing in. They can then warn the monkeys to head back to the trees as they flee for safety. It’s a “I scratch your back, you scratch mine” situation that helps keep them alive better than either species could manage alone.

The monkeys can’t be in the treetops all the time, and on the ground foraging or traveling they can’t see well, so what can they do?  This is where the deer help out. On the ground, the deer’s superior sense of smell alerts them to the presence of predators closing in. They can then warn the monkeys to head back to the trees as they flee for safety. It’s a “I scratch your back you scratch mine” situation that helps keep them alive better than either species could manage alone.

The monkeys can’t be in the treetops all the time, and on the ground foraging or traveling they can’t see well so what can they do?  This is where the deer help out. On the ground, the deer’s superior sense of smell alerts them to the presence of predators closing in. They can then warn the monkeys to head back to the trees as they flee for safety. It’s a “I scratch your back you scratch mine” situation that helps keep them alive better than either species could manage alone.

5. Barbel Fish Clean Hippos Underwater

Hippos are known to be one of the most aggressive animals in Africa, killing upwards of 500 people per year. They are very territorial and, given their size, there are few animals that would dare get in their way. That said, the barbel fish doesn’t get in a hippo’s way but it will help a hippo out.

Like anyone, a hippo is prone to dry skin. They also can get bugs and parasites infecting the various folds and pits in that skin. They have formed a mutualistic relationship with the barbel fish in rivers that sees both species getting a benefit. The barbel fish have little sucker-like mouths that they use to scrape all across the hippo’s body. This lets them clean off all the dead skin and parasites and eat them. The hippo gets a full body cleaning and everyone wins.  The fish even clean the hippo’s mouth out. A single hippo can sometimes be covered in dozens of he fish as they do their job.

4. Carrier Crabs Carry Sea Urchins Around

Sea urchins aren’t known for doing a lot in their day to day lives. They look like aquatic porcupines, and they are capable of locomotion despite the fact it’s hard to see their little feet. They can also move on their spines if need be. They don’t have eyes but they do have mouths and that, along with their spines, is why they get along so well with the aptly named carrier crab.

The crabs use two of their legs to carry objects on their backs. These legs have been adapted specifically for this task, allowing them to get a good grip on fairly large objects that they balance on the back of their shells. In this case, what they carry is a sea urchin. The many venomous spines of the urchin serve as a protection from predators for the crab as it travels across the sea floor. At the same time, when the crab finds food, the urchin is able to eat the scraps the crab leaves behind. It will also be provided with new feeding grounds when the crab finally lets it go, providing a benefit to both creatures. 

3. Yucca Moths Need Yucca Plants and Vice Versa

There are few examples of teamwork that are as profound as the relationship between Yucca moths and Yucca plants. The fact that either of these life forms is still alive at all is actually pretty remarkable when you learn the extent of what they do for one another.

Yucca plants, like any plants, need to be pollinated in order to reproduce.Insects are some of the most common pollinators in nature, and we all know the example of things like bees, going from plant to plant and spreading pollen around. But for the yucca plant, it’s a little more complicated since they have only one pollinator – the yucca moth. 

After breeding, a male yucca moth’s life is over. The female heads to a yucca plant and removes the pollen, then takes it to another yucca plant where it deposits both the pollen and its eggs. The plant has now been fertilized and produces seeds and fruit. The caterpillar of the moth will eat these when it hatches. Because of the highly specific nature of their relationship, neither plant nor moth could survive without the other.

2. Leafcutter Ants Grow Fungus 

Leafcutter ants live in Southern climates and you’ve likely seen them in videos as they put on an impressive show. Whole armies of them will travel along the forest floor carrying large pieces of leaves in their mandibles. At first glance, you might think that the ants eat the leaves they’re carrying, but that’s not the case. Instead, the leaves are more of a gift for a partnership they have with the fungus that grows in their own nests.

A leafcutter ant nest can contain thousands of chambers and cover a massive swath of land. They bring these leaves back home to fertilize their own tiny farm plots. The leaves are used to grow fungus that the ant larvae feed on. 

The ants are so good at cultivating this fungus that they clean out rotten material and garbage and protect them from predators or pests as well. 

1. Sloths, Moths and Algae all Work Together 

When it comes to complex relationships between living organisms, nothing tops our friend the sloth. They may not move quickly, but they also don’t need to because sloths are part of a three-way partnership with moths and algae that benefits everyone.

You may have seen a green tinge to the fur of some sloths. That’s algae growing in the cracks of their fur. Their thick fur is also home to an entire ecosystem of insects, like cockroaches and moths. These two things together, the algae and the bugs, provide the sloth with some remarkable natural camouflage. Hanging from a tree branch in the jungle, they’d be all but invisible to many predators. 

In addition to cover, the sloths actually eat the algae that grows on their bodies. And if you know sloths, you know they climb down to the ground to do their business. But why? They could just as easily poop from the trees. But going to the ground allows the sloths to get into contact with the places where moths lay their eggs in and around sloth poop. This allows new moths to take up residence in their fur. In doing so, the moths increase nitrogen levels in the fur, which promotes greater algae growth. And thus we’re right back where we started with sloths eating the algae.