For roughly six months, NASA’s Curiosity rover has been studying an area covered with geological features known as boxwork. These formations appear as narrow ridges about 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) tall separated by sandy depressions. Stretching across the terrain for miles, the crisscrossing ridges hint that groundwater once flowed through this region of Mars later than scientists previously believed. If that is true, it raises new questions about how long microscopic life might have survived on the planet billions of years ago, before its rivers and lakes disappeared and Mars became the cold desert we see today.

From orbit, the boxwork ridges create patterns that look like massive spiderwebs spread across the landscape. Researchers believe the shapes formed when groundwater moved through fractures in the bedrock, depositing minerals along those cracks. Over time, the mineral deposits hardened the fractured zones into ridges. Surrounding rock that lacked this reinforcement gradually eroded away, leaving behind the web-like network visible today.

Before Curiosity reached this region, scientists could only study the formations from orbital images, leaving many questions about their true structure and origin.

Exploring Martian Boxwork Up Close

Boxwork formations also exist on Earth, but they are usually only a few centimeters tall and often appear in caves or dry sandy environments. The Martian versions are far larger. To understand them better, the Curiosity team aimed to investigate the ridges directly and collect detailed measurements.

Navigating the terrain has not been easy. Engineers must carefully guide Curiosity, an SUV-size rover weighing nearly a ton (899 kilograms), along ridge tops that are sometimes only slightly wider than the rover itself.

“It almost feels like a highway we can drive on. But then we have to go down into the hollows, where you need to be mindful of Curiosity’s wheels slipping or having trouble turning in the sand,” said operations systems engineer Ashley Stroupe of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which built Curiosity and leads the mission. “There’s always a solution. It just takes trying different paths.”

Scientists are also working to understand how such an extensive network of ridges formed on Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain that Curiosity has been climbing. Each layer of the mountain represents a different chapter in Mars’ ancient climate history. As the rover ascends, the landscape increasingly shows signs that water gradually disappeared over time, although occasional wetter periods allowed rivers and lakes to return.

“Seeing boxwork this far up the mountain suggests the groundwater table had to be pretty high,” said Tina Seeger of Rice University in Houston, one of the mission scientists leading the boxwork investigation. “And that means the water needed for sustaining life could have lasted much longer than we thought looking from orbit.”

Evidence of Ancient Groundwater

Earlier satellite images revealed another intriguing feature: dark lines running through the spiderweb-like ridges. In 2014, researchers suggested these streaks might represent central fractures where groundwater once seeped through cracks in the rock and concentrated minerals.

Curiosity’s close examination has confirmed that these dark lines are indeed fractures, supporting the idea that groundwater shaped the formation of the ridges.

The rover also spotted small, bumpy structures called nodules. These textures are commonly linked to ancient groundwater activity and have been observed by Curiosity and other Mars missions in the past. Surprisingly, the nodules were not located near the central fractures. Instead, they appeared along the sides of the ridges and within the sandy hollows between them.

“We can’t quite explain yet why the nodules appear where they do,” Seeger said. “Maybe the ridges were cemented by minerals first, and later episodes of groundwater left nodules around them.”

Curiosity Acts as a Mobile Chemistry Lab

A key part of Curiosity’s mission involves collecting rock samples with a drill attached to the end of its robotic arm. The drill grinds rock into powder, which is then delivered to sophisticated instruments inside the rover for analysis.

Last year, scientists analyzed three samples taken from the boxwork region. One came from the top of a ridge, another from bedrock inside a hollow, and a third from an area Curiosity passed through before reaching the ridges. Using X-ray analysis and a high-temperature oven, the rover detected clay minerals within the ridge and carbonate minerals in the hollow. These discoveries provide additional hints about the processes that formed the unusual terrain.

More recently, the rover collected a fourth sample for a specialized analysis reserved for particularly interesting targets. After the powdered rock was heated in the rover’s oven, chemical reagents were introduced to perform what scientists call wet chemistry. This method helps reveal certain organic compounds, carbon-based molecules that play an important role in the chemistry of life.

Continuing the Search for Mars’ Climate History

Curiosity is expected to move on from the boxwork region sometime in March. The area lies within a layer of Mount Sharp rich in salty minerals known as sulfates. These minerals formed as water on Mars gradually disappeared.

Over the coming year, the rover will continue traveling through this sulfate-rich layer, gathering new clues about how the climate of the ancient Red Planet changed billions of years ago.

About the Curiosity Rover

Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL operates the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.

“Insects and arachnids are fundamental for human society,” says Laura Figueroa, assistant professor of environmental conservation at UMass Amherst and the study’s senior author. “They help with pollination and biological control of pests; they can serve as monitors of air and water quality, and they have worked their way deeply into many cultures throughout the world” — think of Aragog in the Harry Potter book series, for example. “Many people care about popular charismatic animals on the planet, like lions and pandas, which, justly, have received international conservation attention. Given that insects and arachnids don’t usually get the same attention, we wanted to know how they were doing.”

Nearly 90% of Species Lack Conservation Status

To understand the condition of these often overlooked creatures, Figueroa and her graduate student Wes Walsh, the paper’s lead author, compiled conservation assessments for the 99,312 known insect and arachnid species living in North America north of Mexico. The results were startling.

“Almost 90% — 88.5% to be precise — of insect and arachnid species have no conservation status,” says Figueroa. “We simply have no idea how they are doing. Almost nothing is known about the conservation needs of most insects and arachnids in North America.”

The limited information that does exist is uneven. Much of the available research focuses on aquatic insects that help scientists monitor water quality (mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies). Meanwhile, more visually appealing insect groups such as butterflies and dragonflies receive a disproportionate share of conservation protections.

“Arachnids, in particular, are really missing from conservation; most states don’t even protect a single species. We need more data and protection for insects, but also arachnids,” says Walsh.

Conservation Protection Varies by State

The researchers also found patterns in which states are more likely to protect these species. States that depend heavily on extractive industries such as mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction tended to offer fewer protections for insects and arachnids. In contrast, states where public attitudes are more environmentally focused were more likely to safeguard a larger number of species.

Lessons From Successful Bird Conservation

Figueroa points to bird conservation as an example of how coordinated efforts can make a difference. Programs focused on birds have achieved far greater success in protecting and recovering species.

“The research shows that you get the best conservation efforts when broad, diverse coalitions come together,” she says. “In the case of birds, it was hunters, bird watchers, nonprofit organizations and many other constituencies who banded together to reach a common goal.”

Why Insects and Arachnids Deserve Protection

“Insects and arachnids are more than objects of fear,” says Walsh, who sports a beautiful spider tattoo on his arm. “We need to appreciate them for their ecological importance, and that begins with collecting more data and considering them worthy of conservation.”

For many years, doctors have had limited tools to evaluate patients who report problems with intestinal gas. Gastroenterologist Michael Levitt, widely known in the field as the “King of Farts,” highlighted the challenge in 2000 when he wrote: “It is virtually impossible for the physician to objectively document the existence of excessive gas using currently available tests.”

A Wearable Sensor That Tracks Intestinal Gas

To tackle this issue, a research group led by Brantley Hall, an assistant professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics at UMD, created Smart Underwear, a compact wearable device that clips discreetly onto regular underwear. The device contains electrochemical sensors that continuously monitor intestinal gas production throughout the day and night.

In research published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics: X, a study led by UMD assistant research scientist Santiago Botasini used the device to measure flatulence in healthy adults. Participants produced flatus an average of 32 times per day, about twice the 14 (±6) daily events often cited in earlier medical literature. However, results varied widely among individuals, with totals ranging from just four flatus events per day to as many as 59.

Older estimates were likely lower because previous studies depended on invasive measurement techniques conducted in small groups or relied on self reporting. Both approaches can miss events, depend on imperfect memory, and cannot record gas production while someone is asleep. In addition, people differ significantly in visceral sensitivity, meaning two individuals may produce similar amounts of flatus yet perceive it very differently.

“Objective measurement gives us an opportunity to increase scientific rigor in an area that’s been difficult to study,” said Hall, the study’s senior author.

Tracking Gut Microbial Activity Through Hydrogen Gas

In most people, flatus is composed primarily of hydrogen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Some individuals also produce methane. Hydrogen is generated exclusively by microbes living in the gut, so continuously measuring hydrogen in flatus provides a direct signal of microbial fermentation activity as gut bacteria break down food components.

“Think of it like a continuous glucose monitor, but for intestinal gas,” Hall said, explaining that the device detected increased hydrogen production after participants consumed inulin, a prebiotic fiber. The sensor identified these increases with 94.7% sensitivity.

Human Flatus Atlas Aims To Define What Is Normal

Scientists have established normal ranges for many health measures such as blood glucose and cholesterol. For flatulence, however, there is no widely accepted baseline.

“We don’t actually know what normal flatus production looks like,” Hall said. “Without that baseline, it’s hard to know when someone’s gas production is truly excessive.”

To address this gap, Hall’s laboratory is launching a large project called the Human Flatus Atlas. The study will use Smart Underwear to measure flatulence patterns continuously in hundreds of participants while also analyzing their diets and gut microbiome composition. Devices will be shipped directly to volunteers, allowing adults across the United States to participate from home. The goal is to determine the normal range of flatus production among people in the United States over the age of 18.

Studying Different Types of Gut Gas Producers

To capture the full spectrum of variation, researchers are recruiting volunteers who fit several categories identified during early research.

Zen Digesters are people who eat high fiber diets (25-38 grams of fiber daily) but produce very little flatus. Studying them may help researchers understand how the microbiome adapts to diets rich in fiber.

Hydrogen Hyperproducers are individuals who pass gas frequently. Examining this group may reveal biological factors that drive high gas production.

Normal People represent those who fall between these two extremes.

To better understand the microbes responsible for these differences, the team will collect stool samples from Zen Digesters and Hydrogen Hyperproducers for microbiome analysis.

“We’ve learned a tremendous amount about which microbes live in the gut, but less about what they’re actually doing at any given moment,” Hall said. “The Human Flatus Atlas will establish objective baselines for gut microbial fermentation, which is essential groundwork for evaluating how dietary, probiotic or prebiotic interventions change microbiome activity.”

How To Join the Human Flatus Atlas Study

People interested in participating can learn more at flatus.info. Enrollment is open to adults ages 18 years or older in the U.S. Participants will receive a Smart Underwear device and will wear it both day and night during the study period. Enrollment is limited.

Patent applications have been filed for the technology, listing Brantley Hall and Santiago Botasini as inventors. Both are also co founders of Ventoscity LLC, which has licensed the device.

This research received support from the University of Maryland, the Maryland Innovation Initiative Phase I and the UM Ventures Medical Device Development Fund.

On Earth, archaeology reconstructs the past by studying ancient artifacts and remains. In space, scientists use a similar approach called galactic archaeology to piece together the history of stars and galaxies.

Astronomers know that the Sun formed about 4.6 billion years ago at a location more than 10,000 light years closer to the Milky Way’s center than where it sits today. Evidence from stellar chemical compositions supports this idea, yet the explanation has long puzzled researchers. Observations of our galaxy show a massive bar-like structure in the central region that produces what scientists call a “corotation barrier.” This gravitational effect makes it difficult for stars to travel far outward from the galactic center.

Studying Solar Twins With Gaia

To investigate how the Sun might have reached its current orbit, a research team led by Assistant Professors Daisuke Taniguchi from Tokyo Metropolitan University and Takuji Tsujimoto from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan carried out a large study of solar “twins.” These stars share nearly the same temperature, surface gravity, and chemical composition as our Sun.

The researchers relied on the Gaia satellite mission, which has collected detailed measurements for about two billion stars and other celestial objects. Using this enormous dataset, they assembled a catalog containing 6,594 solar twins. This sample is roughly 30 times larger than those used in earlier surveys.

Age Distribution Reveals a Shared Migration

With this expanded dataset, the team was able to determine the ages of these stars with unprecedented accuracy. They also corrected for selection bias that favors brighter stars that are easier for telescopes to detect.

When the researchers examined the ages of the solar twins, they found a clear concentration of stars between 4 and 6 billion years old. The Sun falls within this same age range. Many of these stars also appear to occupy similar distances from the galactic center. Together, these clues suggest that the Sun’s present location is not simply coincidental. Instead, it likely arrived here as part of a much larger outward movement of stars.

Clues to the Formation of the Milky Way’s Central Bar

The findings provide new information about the Milky Way’s structure and history. Under normal circumstances, the corotation barrier produced by the galaxy’s central bar would prevent such a large number of stars from moving away from the inner region. However, the situation could have been different if the bar structure was still forming during that period.

The ages of the solar twins not only point to when this large migration may have happened, but also suggest the time span during which the galactic bar developed.

Why the Sun’s Journey Matters for Life

The inner parts of the Milky Way are far more hostile than its outer regions. Conditions near the galactic center include stronger radiation and more frequent interactions between stars. According to the researchers, the Sun’s movement away from this crowded environment may have helped place our solar system in a calmer part of the galaxy.

This quieter region provided conditions that allowed life on Earth to eventually emerge and evolve.

This work made use of data products from the European Space Agency (ESA) space mission Gaia and the Two Micron All Sky Survey. It was supported by the Tokyo Center For Excellence Project, Tokyo Metropolitan University, JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers 23KJ2149 and 23H00132, the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under SPACE-H2020 Grant Agreement Number 101004214 (EXPLORE project).