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Together with temperature, salinity controls the density of seawater, triggering ocean currents that redistribute heat around the planet. Observing both variables gives scientists a much more complete picture of how the coupled ocean–atmosphere system behaves during El Niño—the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

ENSO is a single climate phenomenon, but it has three phases: the two opposing phases, El Niño and La Niña, and a neutral phase in the middle of the continuum.

Freshwater pool shifts east

During the currently emerging El Niño, satellites have detected notable changes in the tropical Pacific.

During normal, or neutral, conditions, strong trade winds trap a large layer of low-salinity surface water, known as the freshwater pool, in the far western Pacific. However, during El Niño, the easterly trade winds weaken or even reverse, removing the force that normally confines this warm western Pacific freshwater pool.

Drawing on data from ESA's SMOS and NASA's SMAP missions and other data sources, the animation above illustrates the movement of the freshwater pool during the 2023 El Niño and La Niña events, and the current emerging El Niño.

Here, the eastern edge of the western Pacific freshwater pool shifts eastward, together with the associated belt of deep atmospheric convection and heavy rainfall.

One of the most striking features is the eastward displacement of the saltier waters immediately to the east of the freshwater pool, while salinity within much of the pool itself remains relatively low. This evolution reflects the combined influence of changing rainfall patterns and ocean surface currents as the trade winds weaken during El Niño.

Salinity maps the water cycle

This redistribution of warm surface waters and rainfall creates distinct regional salinity anomalies. Areas experiencing more rainfall become fresher than normal, while regions with less precipitation and greater evaporation become more saline. Together, these contrasting patterns trace the redistribution of atmospheric moisture and highlight the close coupling between the ocean and the global hydrological cycle.

Measurements of changing sea-surface temperature and salinity are helping researchers better understand the processes driving El Niño and improve predictions of the phenomenon's far-reaching impacts on weather, climate and marine ecosystems around the world.

ESA's SMOS Mission Manager Klaus Scipal said, "Salinity acts as a fingerprint of the water cycle.

"Where temperatures tell us how much heat the ocean contains, salinity gives us a first approximation of where freshwater is entering or leaving the ocean.

"Together, these measurements allow us to better understand the exchange of heat and water between the ocean and atmosphere, improving our ability to monitor and predict climate variability."

Although sea-surface temperature remains the defining characteristic of El Niño, scientists say salinity has become an indispensable companion variable—offering a clearer picture of how heat and freshwater move through the coupled ocean-atmosphere system.

Forecasts may gain an earlier signal

Researchers are developing an ENSO-specific sea-surface salinity index to complement traditional sea-surface temperature indices. The aim is to determine whether spatial patterns of sea-surface salinity can improve forecasts of the timing and intensity of ENSO events by providing an earlier signal than sea-surface temperature alone.

As the current El Niño unfolds, satellites are providing a unique, global perspective on one of Earth's most influential climate phenomena.

Launched in 2009, ESA's SMOS, which stands for Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity, mission is specifically designed to map sea-surface salinity from space while also measuring soil moisture over land.

Using an imaging microwave radiometer, SMOS can detect tiny variations in the natural microwave emissions from Earth's surface, allowing scientists to monitor subtle changes in ocean salinity.

More than 15 years after launch, the mission continues to add to the long-term record that is advancing our understanding of the global water cycle, ocean circulation and climate variability.

Who's behind this story?

Swati Mestri

Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile →

Robert Egan

Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing. Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language. Full profile →

Citation: SMOS mission could offer early indicator of El Niño (2026, July 30) retrieved 30 July 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-07-smos-mission-early-indicator-el.html

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“We interpreted this as the first direct molecular evidence of smallpox introduction into the Americas through European colonisation,” says Shigeki Nakagome at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

Smallpox was the scourge of humanity for centuries until its eradication in the 1980s, through vaccination, from all but a few high-security medical laboratories. Severe strains of the virus had a mortality rate of up to a third and left survivors with scars from the blisters and scabs that cover the skin and fill with pus.

The disease was particularly brutal in parts of the world colonised by Europeans, such as Australia and the Americas, where Indigenous populations had no natural immunity, resulting in millions of deaths.

In the Americas, historical reports record that smallpox began devastating Indigenous communities in the early 16th century, after the arrival of European colonists.

Matthew Ward at the University of Dundee in the UK, who wasn’t involved in the new research, says the waves of epidemics, including smallpox, that spread across the Americas were some of the most important events in history. “These diseases killed perhaps 95 per cent of the Indigenous population of the Americas and allowed for European colonisation,” he says.

Nakagome and his colleagues studied samples of bone from mummies found at an archaeological site known as Camarones 9 in northern Chile, discovered in 1957. Over subsequent decades, 41 mummified bodies wrapped in blankets and buried with grave goods were recovered from the site.

“While the original aim was to study the human DNA, we also searched for DNA from ancient pathogens,” says Nakagome. “That is when we discovered fragments matching the smallpox virus in two individuals.”

The first was a woman who was 30 to 35 years old at the time of death, and the second, an 18-to-20-year-old man, was revealed by carbon dating to have died between 1492 and 1631.

By reconstructing the virus’s genomes and comparing them with other ancient and modern smallpox viruses, the team found that they belonged to a lineage of smallpox that includes early medieval and early modern European strains.

The discovery adds weight to the possibility that small skin lesions on the trunks of the mummies, previously attributed to chronic arsenic exposure, may in fact have been the distinctive pustules that scar the skin of smallpox victims.

“This finding allowed us to identify a small group of people impacted by the virus for which no historical record exists,” says team member Constanza de la Fuente Castro at the University of Chile in Santiago. Before the new research, the pathogen was known only from historical accounts of large-scale outbreaks, she says.

The work was particularly sensitive because of the disturbance of the original remains and the loss of material during analysis, both considered extremely controversial subjects to Indigenous people and the scientific community. “We never forget that behind every DNA extraction is a person, not a data point,” says de la Fuente Castro.

Ward welcomed the new research. “Understanding exactly what was killing native peoples and why they were so susceptible to epidemic disease is a vitally important issue,” he says.

Historians are now trying to understand how Europeans deliberately or inadvertently fuelled the spread of epidemics like smallpox, he says. “Without these epidemics, colonisation of the Americas would have been very different.” %!s()

ForbesToday’s NYT Connections Hints And Answers: Thursday, July 30By Kris Holt

Hey there, Connectors! The weekend is almost upon us. Let’s make sure our Connections streaks keep going until then.

I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Glen Hansard this week. He was an incredible musician and has such a large body of fantastic work. I was fortunate enough to meet him a couple of times and even tag along with The Swell Season for drinks on one occasion. He was a warm, lovely person who really brought folks together. Quite literally, since he introduced my then-partner and I to a couple of people who became our friends.

I’ll miss him. And I’ll be listening to his music for a very long time to come.

Before we start, I want to highlight the rad community we have on Discord, where we chat about Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. It’s a lovely group of folks. You’re more than welcome to join us.

Also, my weekend editions of this column are available over on my newsletter, Pastimes. If you enjoy the intros and recommendations in my Connections columns, I occasionally publish longer pieces along similar lines there as well. I think you’d dig them.

Play Puzzles & Games on Forbes

Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, July 31 are coming right up. Let’s get rolling!

How To Play Connections

Connections is a free New York Times daily word game that you can play on the NYT’s website or Games app. If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the Connections archive, which includes every previous game.

Connections presents you with a grid of 16 words (sometimes phrases, symbols or numbers). The aim is to arrange them into four groups of four. You don’t know how they hit together or what the category for each group is: that’s what you have to figure out.

There’s only one correct solution and there are often red herrings. You can guess incorrectly three times. A fourth wrong guess, and it’s game over.

Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to deduce, followed by blue, green and purple. Often, the yellow and green groups have synonyms, the blues have cultural references and the purples have some kind of wordplay involved. But this is not a hard and fast rule. Be ready for curveballs – part of the fun of Connections is in how the NYT shakes things up to keep you on your toes.

As with Wordle and similar games, it’s easy to share results with your friends using an emoji-based grid. The game tracks your progress too.

Many players take pride in having long win streaks or getting a reverse rainbow – correctly guessing the purple, blue, green and yellow groups in that order with no mistakes. That adds an extra little challenge.

Today’s NYT Connections Word List

Scroll slowly!

After today’s Connections word list, I’ll give you a hint for each category. After that, I’ll reveal one word that goes into each group. Then I’ll reveal the categories, followed by the full answers.

Got it? Cool.

Today’s 16 words are...

A Hint For Today’s Connections Groups

The hints for today’s Connections categories are:

• 🟨 Yellow group — form or build
• 🟩 Green group — one might help the rest grow up or get a life in a particular World
• 🟦 Blue group — extra juicy
• 🟪 Purple group — [YouTube link]

One Answer For Each Connections Group

Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory.

Let’s take a look at one answer for each group.

Here we go…

• 🟨 Yellow group — MODEL
• 🟩 Green group — DINOSAUR
• 🟦 Blue group — SLIME
• 🟪 Purple group — JOYSTICK

Today’s Connections Categories

Today’s Connections groups are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — construct
• 🟩 Green group — Super Mario figures
• 🟦 Blue group — fruits plus starting letter
• 🟪 Purple group — starting with merriments

What Is Today’s Connections Answer?

Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.

This is your last chance to look away.

This is your final warning!

Today’s Connections answers are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — construct (FASHION, MODEL, MOLD, SHAPE)
• 🟩 Green group — Super Mario figures (DINOSAUR, MUSHROOM, PLUMBER, PRINCESS)
• 🟦 Blue group — fruits plus starting letter (DAPPLE, JDATE, SLIME, SPEAR)
• 🟪 Purple group — starting with merriments (CHEERIOS, FUNGUS, GLEEK, JOYSTICK)

My first idea was that MOLD, MUSHROOM, SLIME and FUNGUS fit together, but I realized that having MUSHROOM and FUNGUS in the same group like that didn't quite make sense. As soon as I saw DINOSAUR, I had to go for the Mario-related words. That got me the greens.

CHEERIOS didn’t seem to line up with anything else. After I looked at the beginning of the word as well as GLEEK directly below it, the purples jumped out. (The green hint was a little out there, so I figured I’d balance that out with the purple clue. Plus, it's a great song.)

From there, the yellows melded together in my brain, but of course I had to submit the blues first. JDATE helped make that category clear. The yellows then brought me to win number 516 in a row.

How did you get on this time? Here's my grid:

🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨

Want to know more about how everything fits together? Let’s explore today’s game in more depth in my NYT Connections Answers Explained column right here:

That’s all there is to it for my current weekday run of Connections hints and answers. I’ll be back with you here on Monday. In the meantime, you can read my weekend editions of this column and more of my writing at my newsletter, Pastimes.

P.S. Of course, I have to go with a Glen Hansard song today. The first time I ever flew to another country for a show, it was to see The Swell Season in Paris.

They opened the show with Hansard playing the wonderful “Say It To Me Now” solo, without a microphone or guitar amplification. His powerful voice, honed through decades of busking, spread through every nook of a room filled with 1,700 people. Here’s a video (not one I took) of that performance:

And here’s Hansard (well, his character) performing that song in the brilliant film, Once:

Rest in peace, Glen.

Call someone you love today, folks. I hope you have a great weekend.

Please follow my blog for more NYT Connections hints and help with other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. I’d really appreciate that as it helps me out. If you share this column with others who play Connections, that would be lovely too. %!s()

The study argues that flexible digital working can help women take a greater role in strategic decision-making and leadership while maintaining family responsibilities. The paper is published in the journal Strategy & Leadership.

Although family businesses are often seen as family-friendly employers, the researchers argue they can face particular challenges in promoting women into leadership. In many family firms, leadership is passed from one generation to the next through informal family decisions rather than formal recruitment.

Traditional expectations about gender roles, together with the belief that leaders should always be physically present, can make it harder for women with caregiving responsibilities to be recognized as future successors.

The paper says digital workplace tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Workspace and cloud-based business systems can help change that by shifting the focus from physical presence to measurable performance. These technologies can help women contribute more visibly to leadership while balancing work and family life.

The paper proposes that digital workplace innovation can support women's leadership through four linked changes:

• Building confidence
• Creating more opportunities to take part in strategic decisions
• Increasing business knowledge
• Changing perceptions of who is ready to lead

However, the authors stress that technology alone is not enough. Family businesses also need cultures that value results over physical presence and actively support women in leadership roles.

Dr. Ozlem Ozdemir, from the Royal Docks School of Business and Law, said, "Family businesses are built around close relationships, but that does not automatically make them easier places for women to become leaders. It can be tougher for women family members to be seen as ambitious professionals. Digital workplace tools can help shift the focus from who is seen most often in the office to who is making the strongest contribution."

Co-author Professor Kirk Chang said, "Technology such as Microsoft Teams and cloud-based collaboration platforms can create new opportunities for talented women to demonstrate leadership. But lasting change depends on family businesses judging leaders by their performance rather than their physical presence."

The paper draws its conclusions by bringing together existing research. It proposes a framework showing how digital workplace innovation may improve work-life balance and support more women in becoming future leaders in family businesses.

More information

Ozlem Ozdemir et al, Women entrepreneurs and their leadership in family business: insights from digital workplace innovation, Strategy & Leadership (2026). DOI: 10.1108/sl-04-2026-0200

Who's behind this story?

Gaby Clark

MA in English, copy editor since 2021 with experience in higher education and health content. Dedicated to trustworthy science news. Full profile →

Andrew Zinin

Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →

Citation: Flexible working could help more women lead family businesses, researchers say (2026, July 30) retrieved 30 July 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-07-flexible-women-family-businesses.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. %!s()

If you came out of Christopher Nolan's three-hour epic The Odyssey itching to play a video game set in Ancient Greece, you weren't alone.

Choices abound among video games influenced by Greek mythology, but Ubisoft's 2018 RPG Assassin's Creed Odyssey may mirror the movie better than most games. Not only does the game go to great pains to recreate major Grecian regions, it also includes many key locations from Homer's poem. You can, for example, visit Odysseus' palace in the early game or fight classic Odyssey monsters like the Cyclops. The 2019 DLC for the game, Lost Tales From Greece, takes this one step further by introducing more iconic creatures from the original epic. The free downloadable content also includes a mission that parodies moments from the poem.

It's only fitting, then, that Assassin's Creed Odyssey has seen a major resurgence of interest since the star-studded adaptation of the poem came to the silver screen.

On X, Alinea analyst Rhys Elliot noted that active users for Assassin's Creed Odyssey grew by 90% in July 2026, across all major platforms. Xbox, which offers the title as part of Game Pass, unsurprisingly saw the largest explosion of players. Altogether, estimates place recent player counts at around 233,000 active users. For a game that hasn't received a major update in five years, that's an impressive jump.

Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft

Beyond the success of the movie, a couple of things likely worked in Assassin's Creed Odyssey's favor here.

• The game received positive reviews when it came out, and was considered one of the best games of 2018.
• The grand action-RPG is the top result when you search for games similar to Nolan's movie.
• Ubisoft's game can be purchased for under $20 depending on the platform, and it often goes on sale.
• Subscribers to services like PlayStation Plus Extra or Premium can download the game at no additional cost.
• The game offers some fantastic value: A basic playthrough of Assassin's Creed Odyssey takes nearly 100 hours. Completionists, as well as players who dive into the DLC, can add dozens of hours of gameplay on top of that.

Elliot points out that Ubisoft has done a good job of drumming up interest for the game this year. Casual audiences can experience ACO's educational mode, which provides a combat-free museum-like experience complete with guided tours. Though most of the brand's marketing has focused on the recently released Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, Ubisoft's social media channels have occasionally featured Assassin's Creed Odyssey in July, too.

The resurgence of interest has led some to speculate whether Ubisoft might pursue a remake of the game. While some may question the need to re-release a rather recent game that is still easily accessible on modern platforms, a true port of Assassin's Creed Odyssey is not available on Nintendo platforms. The combination of Nolan's box office success, the Switch 2's continued popularity, and the positive reception for the Black Flag remake could motivate Ubisoft to make another bet on Assassin's Creed Odyssey. %!s()