Science Stories: El Niño Fears, Nuclear Glass Mysteries and Neanderthal Dentistry

A potentially powerful El Niño weather pattern, a strange new crystal born from the world’s first atomic bomb test and evidence that Neanderthals may have performed primitive dental procedures were among the Science Stories from our resident science guy Joe Johnson.

Scientists warn of possible “super El Niño”

Meteorologists with the World Meteorological Organization and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are warning that a strong El Niño pattern could develop later this summer and continue into the fall, potentially reshaping weather conditions around the world.

Johnson explained that El Niño and La Niña are naturally occurring climate patterns tied to changes in trade winds and ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

Under normal conditions, easterly trade winds push warm surface water westward toward Asia and Australia, allowing cooler water to rise near South America.

During La Niña, those winds strengthen, making the western Pacific warmer and wetter while cooling the eastern Pacific. Johnson said the United States often experiences colder, stormier winters in the Northeast during La Niña years.

“El Niño is basically the reversal of that pattern,” Johnson said.

When El Niño develops, weakened trade winds allow warm water to spread eastward across the Pacific. That warmer water increases evaporation and storm activity in some regions while drying others.

For the United States, Johnson said El Niño often brings wetter conditions to the Gulf Coast and Southeast while making the Northeast warmer and drier during winter months.

Researchers are now predicting what some scientists are calling a “super El Niño,” with Pacific Ocean surface temperatures potentially reaching 2.5 to 3 degrees Celsius above average.

Red trinitite reveals new crystal structure

Another major science story focused on newly analyzed samples of red trinitite — a rare glassy material formed during the first atomic bomb test in 1945.

The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined unusual red-colored fragments recovered from the Trinity test site in New Mexico.

The Trinity test, conducted July 16, 1945, detonated the world’s first nuclear weapon atop a 100-foot steel tower in the desert.

The explosion vaporized the tower, copper cables and surrounding equipment while fusing desert sand into a green glass-like substance known as trinitite.

Johnson said scientists recently discovered a rare red variety containing a crystal structure never before seen in nature or laboratory production.

The newly identified material belongs to a class of substances called clathrates, which contain cage-like atomic structures capable of trapping other atoms or molecules.

Researchers believe vaporized copper from electrical cables mixed into molten material during the explosion, producing the red coloration.

The material is also classified as a quasicrystal, meaning its atomic structure is highly ordered but does not repeat in the regular pattern typical of conventional crystals.

Evidence suggests Neanderthals performed dental procedures

Johnson also highlighted new research suggesting Neanderthals may have used primitive tools to drill infected teeth tens of thousands of years ago.

The findings, published in the journal PLOS One, center on a molar tooth discovered in Chagyrskaya Cave in southern Siberia.

Researchers initially suspected the tooth contained a natural cavity. However, further analysis using CT scans and electron microscopes revealed microscopic circular grooves inside the hole.

Scientists concluded the marks were likely produced intentionally using a thin stone tool rotated repeatedly between the fingers.

Johnson said researchers recreated the process experimentally using extracted modern human teeth and achieved nearly identical results.

The drilling likely relieved pressure from infected dental pulp, reducing severe tooth pain.

“This tells us a lot about Neanderthal intelligence and planning,” Johnson said. “We used to picture them as brutish and primitive, but evidence increasingly shows they were far more sophisticated than we once believed.”

Image: A 60,000-year-old Neanderthal tooth–viewed from different angles— left behind in a cave in modern-day Russia contains a deep hole that cannot be explained by decay alone. (Zubova et al., PLOS One, 2026, CC-BY 4.0)