Scientists may have just found a canal the Romans built 2,100 years ago while battling the Celts. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works. Scientists in France may be hot on the trail of a long-lost canal that the Romans built over two millennia ago while battling the Celts. The waterway, known as the Marius Canal, was built around 2,100 years ago within the Rhône River delta. It was the first major Roman water hydraulic feature in what was then Gaul, preceding dams, watermills and aqueducts. According to historical accounts, it was built between 104 and 102 B.C. by the troops of Julius Caesar's uncle, the general Gaius Marius. Its construction was meant to aid efforts in the Cimbrian Wars, a series of conflicts between the Roman Republic and Celtic tribes, the Cimbri and Teutones, that were migrating south from Jutland, present-day Denmark. At that time, the Roman Republic was protecting its new province in Gaul, a region that covered what is now France, Belgium and parts of western Germany. But the encroachment of the Celts put that land, as well as the rest of the Roman Republic, at risk. "The Roman general Marius came to southern Gaul in 104 B.C. to head off the risk that the Cimbri and Teutones ravaging Gaul and Spain would reach Italy," Simon Loseby, an honorary lecturer in medieval history and an expert on southern Gaul at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. who was not involved in the study, told Live Science. "He headed a very large force, and urgently needed to supply it by sea from Rome." So, Marius ordered the canal be built so it could supply his troops. It bypassed the treacherous Rhône River mouths and connected the city of Arles to the Mediterranean, enabling the safe passage of large supply boats. Ultimately, the canal was a success, and the Romans defeated the Cimbri and Teutones in 101 B.C. The canal was subsequently gifted to Rome's ally in the region, the Greek settlement of Massalia, now Marseille, which is said to have gained significant revenue from its commercial use before the canal vanished from the historical record a few centuries later. "Despite all the research carried out in recent centuries, the Marius Canal hasn't been found," study lead author Joé Juncker, a geoarchaeologist at the University of Strasbourg in France, told Live Science in an email. It was last mentioned by the Roman author Pliny the Elder in the first century A.D., but its traces have all but disappeared. Related: 1,700-year-old Roman shipwreck was stuffed to the gills with fish sauce when it sank Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. In 2013, a geophysical survey of a delta in the Vigueirat marshes just south of Arles revealed an underwater feature that scientists hypothesized could be an ancient canal. Subsequent excavations around the site unearthed 69 pieces of Roman ceramics, two ancient wooden stakes and two extensive cobblestone platforms. Radiocarbon dating of the stakes placed them within the first to fourth century A.D., while organic materials within the platforms dated between the first century B.C. and third century A.D. when the Marius Canal would have been used. Since the site's discovery 12 years ago, researchers have been trying to gather evidence to confirm whether this area really hosts the long-lost Marius Canal. In the new study, Juncker and his team drilled sediment cores from the ancient canal and its banks and took physical measurements to compare with the geophysical surveys conducted in 2013. "The canal length, width, orientation, sediment content and the measured radiocarbon dates confirm that it was a navigable canal in Roman times, partially excavated in a former branch of the Rhône and an ancient lagoon," Juncker said. Natural tributaries in river channels are usually around 360 to 590 feet (110 to 180 meters) wide, while the new analysis shows the putative Marius Canal is much narrower at around 98 feet (30 m) wide. This aligns with other Roman canals. This width would have enabled large Roman ships to navigate the area, the authors reported in the study, published in the April issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. —Jewish ritual bath discovered near Rome is the 'oldest discovery of its kind in the world' —Hoard of silver Roman coins found in UK — and some date to reign of Marcus Aurelius —Mystery of how man's brain turned to glass after Vesuvius eruption possibly solved The new research strengthens the case that there was a canal here, Loseby said. "It's yet another indication of the Roman capacity to conceive of and undertake large infrastructural projects at speed, despite relative technological limitations." Both Loseby and Juncker hope future archaeological discoveries will further establish whether the canal is the Marius Canal. Specifically, they hope excavations could lead to the discovery of quays (landing platforms for ships) or towpaths (waterways where draft animals would tow boats), which could help confirm the use of the canal and the duration of its use. "Geoarchaeology is a science full of potential, but we must bear in mind that, without confirmation from archaeological studies, it is not possible to attribute this canal to Marius for the moment," said Juncker. Research there is ongoing. Taylor Mitchell Brown is a California-based independent science journalist who writes about archaeology, paleontology and Earth science. His work has appeared in Science, New Scientist, Live Science and elsewhere. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from UC San Diego. Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Jewish ritual bath discovered near Rome is the 'oldest discovery of its kind in the world' Hoard of silver Roman coins found in UK — and some date to reign of Marcus Aurelius How many species of insects are there on Earth? Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Scientists may have just found a canal the Romans built 2,100 years ago while battling the Celts. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works. Scientists in France may be hot on the trail of a long-lost canal that the Romans built over two millennia ago while battling the Celts. The waterway, known as the Marius Canal, was built around 2,100 years ago within the Rhône River delta. It was the first major Roman water hydraulic feature in what was then Gaul, preceding dams, watermills and aqueducts. According to historical accounts, it was built between 104 and 102 B.C. by the troops of Julius Caesar's uncle, the general Gaius Marius. Its construction was meant to aid efforts in the Cimbrian Wars, a series of conflicts between the Roman Republic and Celtic tribes, the Cimbri and Teutones, that were migrating south from Jutland, present-day Denmark. At that time, the Roman Republic was protecting its new province in Gaul, a region that covered what is now France, Belgium and parts of western Germany. But the encroachment of the Celts put that land, as well as the rest of the Roman Republic, at risk. "The Roman general Marius came to southern Gaul in 104 B.C. to head off the risk that the Cimbri and Teutones ravaging Gaul and Spain would reach Italy," Simon Loseby, an honorary lecturer in medieval history and an expert on southern Gaul at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. who was not involved in the study, told Live Science. "He headed a very large force, and urgently needed to supply it by sea from Rome." So, Marius ordered the canal be built so it could supply his troops. It bypassed the treacherous Rhône River mouths and connected the city of Arles to the Mediterranean, enabling the safe passage of large supply boats. Ultimately, the canal was a success, and the Romans defeated the Cimbri and Teutones in 101 B.C. The canal was subsequently gifted to Rome's ally in the region, the Greek settlement of Massalia, now Marseille, which is said to have gained significant revenue from its commercial use before the canal vanished from the historical record a few centuries later. "Despite all the research carried out in recent centuries, the Marius Canal hasn't been found," study lead author Joé Juncker, a geoarchaeologist at the University of Strasbourg in France, told Live Science in an email. It was last mentioned by the Roman author Pliny the Elder in the first century A.D., but its traces have all but disappeared. Related: 1,700-year-old Roman shipwreck was stuffed to the gills with fish sauce when it sank Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. In 2013, a geophysical survey of a delta in the Vigueirat marshes just south of Arles revealed an underwater feature that scientists hypothesized could be an ancient canal. Subsequent excavations around the site unearthed 69 pieces of Roman ceramics, two ancient wooden stakes and two extensive cobblestone platforms. Radiocarbon dating of the stakes placed them within the first to fourth century A.D., while organic materials within the platforms dated between the first century B.C. and third century A.D. when the Marius Canal would have been used. Since the site's discovery 12 years ago, researchers have been trying to gather evidence to confirm whether this area really hosts the long-lost Marius Canal. In the new study, Juncker and his team drilled sediment cores from the ancient canal and its banks and took physical measurements to compare with the geophysical surveys conducted in 2013. "The canal length, width, orientation, sediment content and the measured radiocarbon dates confirm that it was a navigable canal in Roman times, partially excavated in a former branch of the Rhône and an ancient lagoon," Juncker said. Natural tributaries in river channels are usually around 360 to 590 feet (110 to 180 meters) wide, while the new analysis shows the putative Marius Canal is much narrower at around 98 feet (30 m) wide. This aligns with other Roman canals. This width would have enabled large Roman ships to navigate the area, the authors reported in the study, published in the April issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. —Jewish ritual bath discovered near Rome is the 'oldest discovery of its kind in the world' —Hoard of silver Roman coins found in UK — and some date to reign of Marcus Aurelius —Mystery of how man's brain turned to glass after Vesuvius eruption possibly solved The new research strengthens the case that there was a canal here, Loseby said. "It's yet another indication of the Roman capacity to conceive of and undertake large infrastructural projects at speed, despite relative technological limitations." Both Loseby and Juncker hope future archaeological discoveries will further establish whether the canal is the Marius Canal. Specifically, they hope excavations could lead to the discovery of quays (landing platforms for ships) or towpaths (waterways where draft animals would tow boats), which could help confirm the use of the canal and the duration of its use. "Geoarchaeology is a science full of potential, but we must bear in mind that, without confirmation from archaeological studies, it is not possible to attribute this canal to Marius for the moment," said Juncker. Research there is ongoing. Taylor Mitchell Brown is a California-based independent science journalist who writes about archaeology, paleontology and Earth science. His work has appeared in Science, New Scientist, Live Science and elsewhere. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from UC San Diego. Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Jewish ritual bath discovered near Rome is the 'oldest discovery of its kind in the world' Hoard of silver Roman coins found in UK — and some date to reign of Marcus Aurelius How many species of insects are there on Earth? Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

The latest time crystal innovation may expand the known boundaries of quantum mechanics. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works. Physicists have created a new type of time crystal that may help confirm some fundamental theories about quantum interactions. A standard time crystal is a new phase of matter that features perpetual motion without expending energy. According to Chong Zu, an assistant professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis and one of the team's lead researchers, a time crystal resembles a traditional crystal. However, unlike a traditional crystal, which repeats a pattern across the physical dimension of space, a time crystal repeats a pattern of motion, rearranging its atoms in the same way over time, Zu said. This causes the time crystal to vibrate at a set frequency. A time crystal is theoretically capable of cycling through the same pattern infinitely without requiring any additional power — like a watch that never needs to be wound. The reality, however, is that time crystals are incredibly fragile and thus succumb to environmental pressures fairly easily. Although time crystals have been around since 2016, a team has achieved something unprecedented: They've created a novel type of time crystal called a time quasicrystal. A quasicrystal is a solid that, like a regular crystal, has atoms arranged in a specific, nonrandom way, but without a repeating pattern. Related: Scientists create weird 'time crystal' from atoms inflated to be hundreds of times bigger than normal This means that, unlike a standard time crystal that repeats the same pattern over and over, a time quasicrystal never repeats the way it arranges its atoms. Because there's no repetition, the crystal vibrates at different frequencies. As the researchers state in their findings, published in the journal Physical Review X, time quasicrystals "are ordered but apparently not periodic." Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. To create these new time quasicrystals, the researchers started with a millimeter-sized piece of diamond. Then, they created spaces inside the diamond's structure by bombarding it with powerful beams of nitrogen. The nitrogen displaced carbon atoms within the diamond's interior, leaving behind empty atomic chambers. Nature abhors a vacuum, so electrons quickly flowed into these empty spaces and immediately began to interact with neighboring particles on a quantum level. Each time quasicrystal represents a network of more than a million of these empty spaces inside the diamond, though each measures just one micrometer (one-millionth of a meter). "We used microwave pulses to start the rhythms in the time quasicrystals," Bingtian Ye, a researcher at MIT and a co-author of the paper, said in a statement. "The microwaves help create order in time." One of the most important outcomes of the team's research is that it confirms some basic theories of quantum mechanics, according to Zu. However, time quasicrystals may have practical applications in fields such as precision timekeeping, quantum computing, and quantum sensor technology. —Otherworldly 'time crystal' made inside Google quantum computer could change physics forever —Scientists just made the largest quasicrystal ever — because one of them bet it couldn't be done —Physicists link two time crystals in seemingly impossible experiment For sensors, the crystal's fragility and sensitivity are actually a boon; because they're so sensitive to environmental factors like magnetism, they can be used to create extremely precise sensors. For quantum computing, the material's potential perpetual motion quality is the key. "They could store quantum memory over long periods of time, essentially like a quantum analog of RAM," Zu said. "We're a long way from that sort of technology, but creating a time quasicrystal is a crucial first step." Alan is a freelance tech and entertainment journalist who specializes in computers, laptops, and video games. He's previously written for sites like PC Gamer, GamesRadar, and Rolling Stone. If you need advice on tech, or help finding the best tech deals, Alan is your man. Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. 'The universe has thrown us a curveball': Largest-ever map of space reveals we might have gotten dark energy totally wrong Why is it still so hard to make nuclear weapons? Brain aging accelerates dramatically around age 44 — could ketone supplements help? Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Only $2.99 a month The marker is an unexpected bubble that could signal cosmic reionization earlier than thought The extremely distant galaxy JADES-GS-z13-1 is the small red dot in the center of this image from the James Webb Space Telescope. New observations show the galaxy is emitting a surprising amount of ultraviolet light, indicating it is radically reshaping the cosmic landscape around it. JWST/ESA, NASA, STScI, CSA, JADES Collaboration, Brant Robertson/UC Santa Cruz, Ben Johnson/CfA, Sandro Tacchella/U. of Cambridge, Phill Cargile/CfA, J. Witstok, P. Jakobsen, A. Pagan/STScI, M. Zamani/JWST/ESA) By Lisa Grossman 1 hour ago The James Webb Space Telescope has caught a distant galaxy blowing an unexpected bubble in the gas around it, just 330 million years after the Big Bang. The galaxy, dubbed JADES-GS-z13-1, marks the earliest sign yet spotted of the era of cosmic reionization, a transformative period in the universe's history when the first stars and galaxies began to reshape their environment, astronomers report in the March 27 Nature. “It definitely puts a pin in the map of the first point where [reionization] very likely has already started,” says astrophysicist Joris Witstok at the University of Copenhagen. “No one had predicted that it would be this early” in the universe's history. For millions of years before JADES-GS-z13-1 and others like it began to shine, the universe was filled with cold, neutral gas, mostly hydrogen and helium. This gas absorbed short-wavelength light from any stars that shone before about 200 million years after the Big Bang. But as more and more stars began to burn and gather into galaxies, they produced enough ultraviolet light to knock electrons off the neutral gas atoms, ionizing them and making the gas transparent to short-wavelength light. One clear signal of this ionization comes in a particular UV wavelength of light called Lyman-α, which is produced by excited hydrogen atoms returning to their lowest energy states. Seeing Lyman-α photons emanating from a galaxy means the galaxy must have blown a bubble of ionized gas around it big enough to let the particles of light reach our telescopes today. “You can think of galaxies as little Lyman-α flashlights,” says astrophysicist Steven Finkelstein of the University of Texas at Austin, who was not involved in the new study. “If you can see the Lyman-α, it means they're sitting in an ionized part of the universe.” If you can't see Lyman-α, the galaxies are shrouded in neutral hydrogen fog. Previous observations showed that the universe was completely ionized about one billion years after the Big Bang. But it's hard to tell when the process began, or what exactly produced the light. Witstok and colleagues used JWST to observe JADES-GS-z13-1, one of the clearest of these early galaxies, for almost 19 hours, splitting its light into a spectrum of wavelengths to seek details of the galaxy's makeup. JWST was designed to seek out these brilliant, ancient galaxies. As the universe expands, the ultraviolet light that these galaxies originally emitted gets stretched to longer, infrared wavelengths. Since starting operations in 2022, JWST's sensitive infrared detectors have turned up a growing gaggle of galaxies whose light comes from as early as less than 300 million years after the Big Bang. To their surprise, the researchers found a clear, bright signal of Lyman-α photons coming from JADES-GS-z13-1. If you were standing next to the galaxy, this light alone would shine as bright as 10 billion suns. “We suddenly saw this huge, booming emission line” that makes all the other distant galaxies JWST has found “look a bit boring,” Witstock says. “Just the pure strength of it tells us whatever this source is has to be really, really powerful and unlike anything we've seen before.” The finding is “both surprising and exciting,” says cosmologist Michele Trenti of the University of Melbourne, who was not involved in the study and wrote a perspective article that accompanied the paper in Nature. “I would not have expected the ultraviolet light that is emitted from this galaxy as Lyman-α to be able to reach the JWST,” she says. “This suggests that early forming galaxies are more efficient than previously thought at reheating the universe.” It's still not clear exactly what the light's source is. The light could come from matter that was heated as it fell onto a supermassive black hole at the galaxy's center. The galaxy's compact size supports this idea — it looks like it's only about 230 light-years across, compared with 32,000 light-years for the Milky Way. Sponsor Message The light could also have come from extremely hot, massive stars, about 100 to 300 times the mass of the sun and more than 15 times hotter. More observations are required to figure out which it is, but either one has implications for the conditions in the early universe. “Both possibilities are stimulating for innovation,” Trenti says. “I expect theorists will be on the drawing board, developing new models for galaxy and black hole evolution during the dawn of the universe, while observers will certainly try to discover additional similar galaxies to solve the puzzle.” Questions or comments on this article? E-mail us at feedback@sciencenews.org | Reprints FAQ J. Witstok et al. Witnessing the onset of reionization through Lyman-α emission at redshift 13. Nature. Vol. 639, March 27, 2025, p. 897. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-08779-5. M. Trenti. A lighthouse through the fog of cosmic dawn. Nature. Vol. 639, March 27, 2025, p. 870. Lisa Grossman is the astronomy writer. She has a degree in astronomy from Cornell University and a graduate certificate in science writing from University of California, Santa Cruz. She lives near Boston. We are at a critical time and supporting climate journalism is more important than ever. Science News and our parent organization, the Society for Science, need your help to strengthen environmental literacy and ensure that our response to climate change is informed by science. Please subscribe to Science News and add $16 to expand science literacy and understanding. Science News was founded in 1921 as an independent, nonprofit source of accurate information on the latest news of science, medicine and technology. 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Advertisement Anecdotal reports suggest drugs like Ozempic may curb not just appetite but also impulsive or addictive behaviour, hinting at links between metabolic health and our brains By David Robson 26 March 2025 SPL; Eyevine SPL; Eyevine “I just cannot believe how I don't crave alcohol anymore!” writes one person. Others declare: “Took my first shot… have not had a drink or cigarette since,” and “I love coffee but I've noticed that I cannot finish a cup anymore.” These quotes were all collected in a recent study led by Davide Arillotta at the University of Florence, Italy, from Reddit's weight-loss forums. Here, you will find many people rhapsodising about the benefits of drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic. That these treatments are helping people curb their eating should be no surprise: that is exactly what they are meant to do, by mimicking the satiety hormone GLP-1 (see “How they work”, below). Among the comments, however, you will frequently find reports of other – wholly unexpected – behavioural changes. According to these accounts, when taking these drugs, the urge to drink alcohol, smoke and even shop compulsively plummets (but not libido, though anecdotal reports on this subject elsewhere online are mixed). Such tales are becoming familiar to prescribing physicians. If this anecdotal data can be supported by controlled clinical trials, it may tell us a lot about how the brain processes anticipation and reward – and could also suggest whole new ways of dealing with addiction. By targeting areas of the brain responsible for reward signals from food, GLP-1 drugs might also reduce the rewards people get from other things, such as addictive substances. But what does the current evidence show about these complex behavioural processes? First, we need to understand how drugs… Advertisement Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox! We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers. To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers Existing subscribers Advertisement Explore the latest news, articles and features Features Subscriber-only Features Subscriber-only Features Subscriber-only Features Subscriber-only Trending New Scientist articles Advertisement Download the app

Advertisement GLP-1 drugs have revolutionised the treatment of obesity, but the very reason they are effective is also why it's vital to prioritise exercise when taking them By Grace Wade 26 March 2025 Jon Krause Jon Krause For decades, conventional wisdom held that, to lose weight, you must eat less and move more. Of course, that is easier said than done, which is why drugs like Wegovy are so revolutionary. By suppressing appetite, they help tackle the first part of that equation, typically leading to dramatic weight loss. But what about the second? Do we still need to hit the gym if weight-loss drugs are causing the number on the scales to drop? And what impact do these drugs have on our ability to exercise? What is becoming clear is that exercise may be even more crucial for people who are on these medications than it is for those who aren't. The ability of semaglutide to induce rapid weight loss (see “How they work”, below) also leads to notable declines in muscle mass. For instance, a 2021 study of 95 people who were overweight or had obesity and were taking semaglutide found that lean body mass decreased by almost 10 per cent, on average, after 68 weeks. Lean body mass encompasses body tissues like muscle and bone. So, these results suggest that both deteriorate when taking weight-loss drugs, says Signe Sørensen Torekov at the University of Copenhagen. Because these drugs lead people to consume fewer calories, the body must break down fat, muscle and even bone for nutrients. “Our understanding is that up to about 40 per cent of the overall weight loss that is seen from semaglutide is thought to be potentially from the loss of muscle mass,” says … Advertisement Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox! We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers. To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers Existing subscribers Advertisement Explore the latest news, articles and features Features Subscriber-only Features Subscriber-only Features Subscriber-only Features Subscriber-only Trending New Scientist articles Advertisement Download the app