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Unreachable Nobel Winner Hiking ‘Off the Grid’ 

Fred Ramsdell of Sonoma Biotherapeutics, who won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, poses in an undated photograph. (Sonoma Biotherapeutics/Handout via Reuters)
Fred Ramsdell of Sonoma Biotherapeutics, who won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, poses in an undated photograph. (Sonoma Biotherapeutics/Handout via Reuters)
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Unreachable Nobel Winner Hiking ‘Off the Grid’ 

Fred Ramsdell of Sonoma Biotherapeutics, who won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, poses in an undated photograph. (Sonoma Biotherapeutics/Handout via Reuters)
Fred Ramsdell of Sonoma Biotherapeutics, who won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, poses in an undated photograph. (Sonoma Biotherapeutics/Handout via Reuters)

One of this year's Nobel winners is a leading medical researcher who also offers a shining example of work-life balance -- so much so that he might not know he won.

Fred Ramsdell was among those honored Monday with a 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine, but he's currently "living his best life" on an "off the grid" hiking foray, a spokesperson from his San Francisco-based lab, Sonoma Biotherapeutics, told AFP.

Ramsdell shared the prestigious prize with Mary Brunkow of Seattle, Washington and Shimon Sakaguchi of Osaka University in Japan for their discoveries related to the functioning of the immune system.

But the laureate's digital detox means the Nobel committee has been unable to reach him and break the news.

Jeffrey Bluestone, a friend of Ramsdell's and co-founder of the lab, said the researcher deserves credit but he can't reach him, either.

"I have been trying to get a hold of him myself. I think he may be backpacking in the backcountry in Idaho," Bluestone told AFP.

The Nobel committee also hit a roadblock trying to reach Brunkow -- both researchers are based on the US West Coast, which is nine hours behind Stockholm -- but eventually got ahold of her.

"I asked them to, if they have a chance, call me back," said Thomas Perlmann, secretary-general of the Nobel committee, at the press conference announcing the winners.

The three won the prize for research that identified the immune system's "security guards", called regulatory T-cells.

Their work concerns "peripheral immune tolerance" that prevents the immune system from harming the body, and has led to a new field of research and the development of potential medical treatments now being evaluated in clinical trials.

Sakaguchi, 74, made the first key find in 1995, discovering a previously unknown class of immune cells that protect the body from autoimmune diseases.

Brunkow, born in 1961 and now a senior project manager at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Ramsdell, a 64-year-old senior advisor at Sonoma Biotherapeutics, made the other key discovery in 2001.

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Varieties

Huge Rotating Structure of Galaxies and Dark Matter Is Detected

A figure depicting the rotation of neutral hydrogen in galaxies residing in an extended filament, where the galaxies exhibit a coherent bulk rotational motion tracing the large-scale cosmic web, is seen in this undated illustration obtained by Reuters on December 4, 2025. (Lyla Jung/Handout via Reuters)
A figure depicting the rotation of neutral hydrogen in galaxies residing in an extended filament, where the galaxies exhibit a coherent bulk rotational motion tracing the large-scale cosmic web, is seen in this undated illustration obtained by Reuters on December 4, 2025. (Lyla Jung/Handout via Reuters)
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Huge Rotating Structure of Galaxies and Dark Matter Is Detected

A figure depicting the rotation of neutral hydrogen in galaxies residing in an extended filament, where the galaxies exhibit a coherent bulk rotational motion tracing the large-scale cosmic web, is seen in this undated illustration obtained by Reuters on December 4, 2025. (Lyla Jung/Handout via Reuters)
A figure depicting the rotation of neutral hydrogen in galaxies residing in an extended filament, where the galaxies exhibit a coherent bulk rotational motion tracing the large-scale cosmic web, is seen in this undated illustration obtained by Reuters on December 4, 2025. (Lyla Jung/Handout via Reuters)

Scientists have observed the largest-known rotating structure in the cosmos - a gargantuan thread-like assemblage of hundreds of galaxies, gas and dark matter that makes up a filament in the macrostructure of the universe called the cosmic web.

The filament, located about 140 million light-years from Earth, was observed by scientists primarily using the MeerKAT radio telescope located in South Africa, an array of 64 interlinked satellite dishes.

The rotating filament is astonishingly large, measuring about 50 million light-years long and 117,000 light-years wide. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). By way of comparison, our Milky Way galaxy, which itself is part of a filament in the cosmic web, measures roughly 100,000 light-years in diameter.

"We believe that the universe on very large scales is made of a network-like distribution of galaxies, gas and dark matter," said University of Cambridge astrophysicist Madalina Tudorache, co-lead author of the study published this month in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

"This network is called the cosmic web, and it is formed of clusters, which are very dense clumps of matter, often formed of many groups of galaxies; voids - which are empty or almost empty regions of space; and filaments, which are strand-like structures which connect the very dense regions and border the voids," Tudorache said.

The rotating filament described in the new study is populated by nearly 300 galaxies of various sizes as well as gas and dark matter, the mysterious invisible stuff estimated to make up 27% of the cosmos.

Everything visible in the universe is made of ordinary matter - stars, planets, moons and all the stuff on Earth. It can be seen in wavelengths from infrared to visible light and gamma rays, but comprises only about 5% of the universe. Dark matter, on the other hand, does not absorb or reflect or emit light, but its presence is known through its gravitational effects on large scales.

The researchers determined that the filament is spinning by observing that the galaxies on either side of its central axis are moving through space in opposite directions, with the whole thing having a rotational velocity of about 246,000 miles (396,000 km) per hour.

"This is the largest individual spinning structure so far detected. Statistically, we believe there are other spinning structures, some of which could be larger. However, we have not been able to detect them directly with our current data and telescopes," said University of Oxford astrophysicist and study co-lead author Lyla Jung.

The researchers likened what they see in this filament to the amusement park attraction called a teacup ride.

"The teacup ride analogy explains the two levels of spinning motion that make this object unique," Jung said.

"First, each galaxy in the filament spins on its own. The gas and stars in each galaxy orbit around the galaxy center, like each teacup on the ride spins individually. Second, the entire cosmic filament also rotates. The filament is made of many galaxies, and this study demonstrates that the entire structure is rotating, like the teacup platform spins as a whole," Jung added.

In studying the cosmos, astrophysicists examine it at the smallest and largest scales. They look at tiny fundamental particles such as neutrinos. They look at objects such as comets, asteroids, moons, planets and stars that make up solar systems. They look at galaxies comprised of billions of stars and at clusters of galaxies. And then on the largest scales they look at filaments and other components of the cosmic web.

This study looks at the large end of things.

"This is a very exciting time to work in this field, as our capacity of discovering such structures is increasing with the advent of better radio and optical surveys. It will deepen our understanding of the universe," Tudorache said.

Varieties

NCW Releases 37 Wildlife Species in Hegra Reserve in AlUla

The release included six mountain ibex, 20 sand gazelles (reem), six idmi gazelles, and five ostriches - SPA
The release included six mountain ibex, 20 sand gazelles (reem), six idmi gazelles, and five ostriches - SPA
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NCW Releases 37 Wildlife Species in Hegra Reserve in AlUla

The release included six mountain ibex, 20 sand gazelles (reem), six idmi gazelles, and five ostriches - SPA
The release included six mountain ibex, 20 sand gazelles (reem), six idmi gazelles, and five ostriches - SPA

The National Center for Wildlife (NCW), in cooperation with the Royal Commission for AlUla, has released 37 wildlife species into Hegra Reserve as part of ongoing breeding and reintroduction programs aimed at restoring natural habitats, enriching biodiversity, supporting ecological balance, and promoting environmental tourism.

The release included six mountain ibex, 20 sand gazelles (reem), six idmi gazelles, and five ostriches, SPA reported.

This effort is part of NCW's continuing work to increase the numbers of threatened native species and expand their presence across suitable natural environments.

NCW CEO Dr. Mohammed Qurban stated that releasing these species into the reserve helps protect wildlife, safeguard ecosystems, and enrich biodiversity, strengthening the sustainability of the reserve and its role as a natural and cultural destination of national significance.

Qurban noted that this release is an extension of the center’s reintroduction efforts across reserves in the Kingdom, aimed at rehabilitating ecosystems, increasing biodiversity, and ensuring long-term sustainability. It aligns with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, the Saudi Green Initiative, and the National Environment Strategy, while also adhering to global approaches to wildlife conservation.

Varieties

Australian Bushfires Raze Homes in Two States; Firefighter Dies 

Ruins of buildings and a car smolder after a wildfire destroyed houses in Koolewong, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image via AP)
Ruins of buildings and a car smolder after a wildfire destroyed houses in Koolewong, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image via AP)
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Australian Bushfires Raze Homes in Two States; Firefighter Dies 

Ruins of buildings and a car smolder after a wildfire destroyed houses in Koolewong, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image via AP)
Ruins of buildings and a car smolder after a wildfire destroyed houses in Koolewong, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image via AP)

An Australian firefighter was killed overnight after he was struck by a tree while trying to control a bushfire that had destroyed homes and burnt large swathes of bushland north of Sydney, authorities said on Monday.

Emergency crews rushed to bushland near the rural town of Bulahdelah, 200 km (124 miles) north of Sydney, after reports that a tree had fallen on a man. The 59-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest and died at the scene, officials said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the "terrible news is a somber reminder" of the dangers faced by emergency services personnel as they work to protect homes and families.

"We honor that bravery, every day," Albanese said in a statement.

A fast-moving fire over the weekend destroyed 16 homes in New South Wales state's Central Coast region, home to about 350,000 people and a commuter region just north of Sydney.

Resident Rouchelle Doust, from the hard-hit town of Koolewong, said she and her husband tried to save their home as flames advanced.

"He's up there in his bare feet trying to put it out, and he's trying and trying, and I'm screaming at him to come down," Doust told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

"Everything's in it: his grandmother's stuff, his mother's stuff, all my stuff - everything, it's all gone, the whole lot."

Conditions eased overnight, allowing officials to downgrade fire danger alerts, though the weather bureau warned some inland towns in the state could hit more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, raising fire dangers.

More than 50 bushfires were burning across New South Wales as of Monday.

On the island state of Tasmania, a 700-hectare (1,729 acres) blaze at Dolphin Sands, about 150 km (93 miles) northeast of the state capital of Hobart, destroyed 19 homes and damaged 40. The fire has been contained, but residents have been warned not to return as conditions remain dangerous, officials said.

Authorities have warned of a high-risk bushfire season during Australia's summer months from December to February, with increased chances of extreme heat across large parts of the country following several relatively quiet years.

In neighboring New Zealand, five helicopters and multiple crews were working to put out a fire near the country's oldest national park, a month after a wildfire burnt through 2,589 hectares (6,400 acres) of alpine bush there.

Police said they had closed a road near the state highway and advised motorists to avoid the area and expect delays after the blaze near Tongariro National Park, a popular hiking spot, spread to 110 hectares (272 acres) by Monday afternoon.