Acipenser transmontanus NatureServe Explorer Species Reports -- NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/the-fall-rhapsody-in-ottawa/">Canada</a>. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.

ITIS Reports -- ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System) is a source for authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of<a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=north+america&amp;cvid=d55013d210f7439f8ca981b3b73576f2&amp;aqs=edge.0.69i59l2j69i60j69i57j69i60l2j69i59.492j0j4&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS"> North America</a> and the world.

FWS Digital Media Library -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video.White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) is a species of sturgeon in the family Acipenseridae of the order Acipenseriformes. They are an anadromous fish species ranging in the Eastern Pacific; from the Gulf of Alaska to Monterey, California. However, some are landlocked in the Columbia River Drainage, Montana, and Lake Shasta in California, with reported sightings in northern Baja California, Mexico.Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) &gt; Acipenseriformes (Sturgeons and paddlefishes) &gt; Acipenseridae (Sturgeons) &gt; Acipenserinae Etymology: : Latin, = sturgeon, 1853 (Ref. 45335); transmontanus: The specific name is derived from the Latin acipenser (sturgeon), trans (beyond), and montanus (mountain) (Ref. 27436).More on author: Richardson.

Acipenser transmontanus

Acipenser transmontanus NatureServe Explorer Species Reports -- NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation...

Farm chemicals often go everywhere except where farmers want them. A solution from Massachusetts involving silk microneedles could keep those nutrients right where the plants need them.



Associate professor Benedetto Marelli at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (<a href="https://web.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIT</a>) leads a team that built <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3627464/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microneedle arrays</a> from silk to inject crops with various substances, including vitamins and minerals.



Their study, co‑authored with colleagues at the <a href="https://web.mit.edu/sma/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Singapore‑MIT</a> Alliance for Research and Technology, was recently published.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-silk-makes-sense">Why silk makes sense</h2>



Silk fibroin is tough yet biodegradable, so it can pierce a tomato stalk without lingering in the field. When the fibers dissolve, they leave no shards to clog harvesters.



They pour a salty silk mix into cone‑shaped molds, let the water evaporate, then wash the salt away to reveal hollow microneedles. The cavity holds liquid nutrients that are ready for slow release.



“Graduate students can make thousands of tips in an afternoon, with no clean room. It can be done outside of a clean room, you could do it in your kitchen if you wanted,” ,” said Doyoon Kim, a former MIT postdoc.



Unlike metal or plastic, silk proteins are gentle on living tissue, an idea that first drew medical engineers to microneedles for painless vaccine delivery two decades ago. That gentleness matters for living stems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-silk-microneedles-don-t-prick-the-planet">Silk microneedles don't prick the planet</h2>



Pesticide sprays and dusts drift on the wind or seep into groundwater. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7908628/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reviews</a> show that most of the active chemicals never reach their target leaves, instead soaking the soil and surrounding air.



In contrast, the microneedles anchor inside the plant’s vascular tissue and every milligram of pesticide stays put. That precision means farmers could use far less chemical per acre.



Kim injected iron into chlorotic tomatoes and found the yellowing reversed without any visible damage to the stems. The treatment ran for days because the hollow cores meter out the dose slowly.



“There's a big need to make agriculture more efficient,” said Benedetto Marelli. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.631529/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Iron deficiency</a> chlorosis can trim tomato yields by as much as thirty percent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-boosting-nutrition-at-the-source">Boosting nutrition at the source</h2>



Silk needles are not limited to farm inputs; they carry human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vitamin-c-promotes-skin-renewal-and-anti-aging-at-the-genetic-level-dna-demethylation/">vitamins</a> too. The team loaded vitamin B12, a nutrient absent from most plants, into the stalks of greenhouse tomatoes.



Lab tests confirmed that the vitamin traveled from stem to fruit before harvest, opening a path to <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9501456/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">on‑vine biofortification</a>. That could help plant‑based eaters who struggle to meet B12 needs because the vitamin comes mainly from animal foods .



“This new delivery mechanism opens up a lot of potential applications, so we wanted to do something nobody had done before,” Marelli explained. The professor’s lab focuses on using sustainable materials.



The same approach could ferry zinc, iodine, or folate, reducing the cost of fortified staples that are now sprayed or blended after harvest. Researchers see similar potential for chili peppers and strawberries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-silk-microneedles-for-sample-collection">Silk microneedles for sample collection</h2>



The hollow silk microneedles also work in reverse, sipping sap for analysis. In hydroponic trials the needles detected cadmium in tomato stalks fifteen minutes after exposure.



Current spectral cameras spot stress only after leaves go pale, but sap sampling flags trouble while the crop still looks normal. Early warnings mean early fixes.



Researchers monitored cadmium levels over an 18‑hour window without removing the probes. Continuous readings beat labor‑intensive stem punctures that growers rarely perform.



With the right sensor package a robot could patrol rows, plug in a microneedle, and upload chemistry to a phone in real time. Such automation is already common in high‑tech greenhouses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-lab-bench-to-field-rows">From lab bench to field rows</h2>



At present, a graduate student presses each patch onto a petiole by hand. Marelli imagines repurposing existing auto‑grafting arms or drone sprayers to stamp whole orchards.



“There shouldn't be a trade‑off between the agriculture industry and the environment,” said Marelli. He argues for tools that boost yields without harming biodiversity.



Farmers, meanwhile, will want proof that the extra step pays for itself and that devices do not clog or snap during harvest. Field economics will depend on automating placement and refilling nutrient reservoirs without slowing crews.



Pilot tests on open‑air <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tomato-plants-talk-to-one-another-to-signal-danger/">tomato</a> plots are scheduled for the coming season, with attention to labor costs, residue testing, and yield bumps. Results will guide scale‑up strategies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-are-silk-microneedles-cost-effective">Are silk microneedles cost effective?</h2>



Silk cocoons are already spun at scale for surgical sutures, so the supply chain exists. Commodity prices fluctuate, but current estimates put the raw protein at a few cents per needle.



The molds can be reused hundreds of times, and the salt reagent is recovered and recycled. That circular chemistry keeps manufacturing overhead low.



Researchers calculate that a single <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenhouse-gases-can-help-detect-alien-life-on-distant-planets/">greenhouse</a> could recoup microneedle hardware costs within one harvest cycle if even a five‑percent yield gain holds true. Independent trials will verify those numbers under field stress.



Investors are interested because the technology fits within existing smart‑farm systems, pairing well with sensors and autonomous vehicles already roaming high‑value crops. Early venture funding talks are under way.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-comes-next">What comes next</h2>



The Massachusetts team is already talking with seed companies about combining the needles with seedling clips. That marriage could roll nutrition and monitoring into a single transplant step.



Beyond food, similar silk <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-first-gene-edited-spiders-spin-red-silk/">structures</a> could deliver growth factors to tree seedlings in reforestation projects or vaccines to cash crops threatened by viral blights. Microneedles began in clinics and now stand to branch into orchards and vineyards.



Researchers in Singapore are evaluating whether the same platform can log <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-finally-learn-what-makes-plants-roots-grow-faster-and-stronger-autophagy/">plant</a> hormones in rice paddies that are battered by heat waves. Their results will shape the next generation of silk microneedle sensors for climate‑ready farming.



Their journey shows how ideas migrate when materials meet imagination. If the field trials match the lab promise, tomorrow’s tomatoes might quietly get their vitamins straight from a silk straw.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-025-01923-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Nanotechnology</a>.



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MIT scientists invent new technology that grows much healthier fruits and vegetables

Farm chemicals often go everywhere except where farmers want them....

An electric current can clear vineyard weeds as effectively as herbicides and mowing, scientists have shown. It offers growers a chemical‑free option that performs well in real‑world conditions while posing only a minor seasonal fire risk.



The discovery comes from research led by  Catherine Borger and Miranda Slaven from <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-primary-industries-and-regional-development">Western Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development</a>. 



Working with the <a href="https://zasso.com/">Zasso XPower</a> system, the team compared electric weeding with glyphosate spraying and mowing during two consecutive spring seasons.



The findings give fresh momentum to electric <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/boosting-crop-colors-with-gene-editing-can-improve-weed-control/">weed control</a> at a time when herbicide resistance and consumer concern over chemical residues are on the rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-high-voltage-weeding">Testing high-voltage weeding</h2>



The trials took place in 2022 and 2023 at four commercial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wine-production-in-a-warming-world-the-winners-and-losers/">vineyards</a> near Yallingup, a cool‑climate wine region south of Perth. 



Each site carried dense spring growth. It was dominated by annual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fairy-circles-kill-all-newly-planted-grasses-deepening-their-mystery/">grasses</a> such as rigid ryegrass and long‑flowered veldtgrass, as well as sprawling legumes and hardy kikuyu.



Researchers mounted a 36 kW power unit on a tractor and fitted retractable electrode arrays to reach beneath vine canopies.



Traveling at a cautious 0.7 to 0.9 mph, they applied either the full 48-horsepower or a reduced 32-horsepower setting to each vine row.



Parallel plots received a standard tank mix of glyphosate plus amitrole or were mown at a height of 2 inches.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-effective-alternative-to-herbicides">Effective alternative to herbicides</h2>



The researchers harvested the biomass five weeks later, and the numbers were clear.



Electric weeding at either power level removed 84 to 87 percent of weed mass. This matched the 88 percent weed removal rate that glyphosate achieved. Mowing lagged behind at 65 percent.



“We show electric weed control in viticulture has comparable efficiency to that achieved by herbicides,” Borger said.



Just as important for growers, repeated NDVI scans confirmed that neither voltage setting injured the grapevines themselves; canopy greenness and shoot growth were identical across all treatments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-good-fit-for-organics">Good fit for organics</h2>



Electric pulses kill by puncturing plant tissues and burning roots, and they bring several advantages that chemicals cannot match.



“These advantages include no chemical residues in the environment or food, no rain‑fast period after application, no restrictions on use in windy conditions, no chemical resistance and no impacts on neighboring vegetation or waterways," noted Borger.



The benefits carry particular weight in Australian viticulture. More than six percent of production is now certified organic, and herbicide‑resistant ryegrass threatens many conventional blocks.



“Electric weed control will be of particular importance for organic growers,” Borger added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limits-of-electric-weeding">Limits of electric weeding</h2>



The technology is not without drawbacks. The disadvantages include slow application speed and high fuel usage.



Fire was the other concern. To quantify the danger, the researchers applied electricity to plots covered with dry barley straw and oat hay. 



Sparks ignited debris only when plant residues were bone‑dry and the tractor moved slowly. Doubling ground speed cut sparks by 90 percent. Real vineyard passes in damp spring conditions produced no ignition at all.



“In every field experiment we conducted during spring, there were zero fires, and this is the most common time of year for weed management in Western Australia,” Borger said.



“Electric weed control is suitable for use in winter/spring weed management within the Mediterranean climate but not for control of summer or autumn weeds.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-integrating-electric-weeding">Integrating electric weeding</h2>



Taken together, the findings suggest a practical pathway for growers. Electric treatment can substitute for one or two spring herbicide applications, reducing chemical load and slowing resistance. Conventional spraying or mowing can still tidy escapes later in the season.



Adoption may accelerate as autonomous tractors become common in vineyards. Slow operating speeds are far less costly when machines can run unattended.



Further work will test performance at higher speeds, different soil moistures, and against perennial weeds with deeper reserves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sustainable-weed-control">Sustainable weed control</h2>



By proving that electric weeders can match chemicals under commercial conditions, Borger’s team has electrified the weed‑control debate. They have also supplied rare quantitative data on fire risk, giving growers concrete guidance on when and how to use the tools safely.



If follow‑up trials confirm similar benefits in orchards and row‑crop systems, voltage could become a central pillar of integrated weed management. 



Electric weed control would help farmers meet market demands for cleaner produce while protecting the efficacy of precious herbicides.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/weed-science/article/electric-weed-controlhow-does-it-compare-to-conventional-weed-control-methods/488C45B191B97E84E34257E80EB9CFC6">Weed Science</a>.



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Killing weeds without chemicals - the future may be electric

An electric current can clear vineyard weeds as effectively as...

In the dense greenery of Brazil’s Atlantic coast, botanists have long walked past a drab shrub called Trema micrantha Blume. Until recently, no one suspected its berries and blossoms contained an active ingredient already worth billions of dollars worldwide. 



That compound is cannabidiol (CBD), widely studied for easing seizures, anxiety, and chronic pain without the mind-altering high of marijuana.



The possibility of harvesting CBD from a fast-growing plant that governments do not regulate as tightly as cannabis could reshape both agriculture and medicine. 



Hemp farms in the United States, for example, need extensive licensing, testing, and security. Trema micrantha, by contrast, spreads like a roadside weed and grows from seed to flowering in a single tropical season.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-trema-micrantha-new-cbd-source">Trema micrantha - New CBD source</h2>



Brazilian molecular biologist Dr. Rodrigo Moura Neto, working at the <a href="https://ufrj.br/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Federal University</a> of Rio de Janeiro, confirmed that Trema fruits and flowers carry measurable CBD while lacking tetrahydrocannabinol (<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cbd-reduces-the-unwanted-side-effects-of-thc/">THC</a>), the chemical that produces a marijuana high. 



“It was wonderful to find a plant with CBD but without THC, because you avoid all the mess around psychotropic substances,” he says. “That means the potential is enormous.”



Using ultra-high-performance <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/liquid-chromatography" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">liquid chromatography</a> and high-resolution <a href="https://www.broadinstitute.org/technology-areas/what-mass-spectrometry" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mass spectrometry</a>, his team pinpointed the cannabinoid profile with far more sensitivity than older methods could offer. 



The work builds on research that once found similar molecules in a related Thai shrub but never led to commercial production.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-trema-micrantha-stands-out">Why Trema micrantha stands out</h2>



Early tests show the plant’s berries hold far more CBD than its leaves or stems. 



Importantly, THC remains below detection limits across samples, meeting strict rules in places where any <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-potency-why-you-shouldnt-trust-the-label/">psychoactive trace</a> would block retail sales. That feature alone could save processors the costly step of purifying extracts to strip out THC.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cbd_found_another-plant-species_Trema-micranthum-Blume_credit-SciRep_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cbd_found_another-plant-species_Trema-micranthum-Blume_credit-SciRep_1s.webp" alt="Parts of the plant Trema micranthum (L.) Blume: leaves, inflorescences, fruits, and branches. Credit: Scientific Reports" class="wp-image-1978631"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Parts of the plant Trema micranthum (L.) Blume: leaves, inflorescences, fruits, and branches. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Scientific Reports</figcaption></figure>



Size also helps. A mature shrub can top 66 feet, offering biomass well beyond what a typical hemp plant yields in regions where heat, pests, or legal hurdles keep hemp acreage low. 



“Lots of companies have been calling, looking to collaborate,” says laboratory director Rosane Silva, who refers to their new subject as the “magical plant.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-weed-to-wellness">From weed to wellness</h2>



CBD already supports one U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved drug, Epidiolex, prescribed for rare childhood epilepsies. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/medicinal-cannabis-helped-patients-feel-better-for-a-full-year/">Dozens of trials</a> are probing benefits for autism spectrum disorders, post-traumatic stress, and inflammatory diseases. 



Yet patients in many countries still import CBD oils at steep prices because medical marijuana remains illegal to cultivate.



Brazil reflects that tension. Judges there often grant individual patients permission to receive cannabis-derived CBD, but growers must keep operations abroad. 



If Trema proves a viable domestic source of CBD without <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-use-in-any-form-directly-linked-to-significant-risk-of-heart-damage/">THC</a>, supply chains could shorten, prices could fall, and courts might see fewer emergency petitions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-funding-and-next-steps">Funding and next steps</h2>



A public grant worth 500,000 BRL (104,000 USD) now fuels the next phase: perfecting extraction methods and running preclinical tests. 



Dr. Moura Neto is also navigating patents for the techniques - though not for the plant itself. “If I dreamed of being a billionaire, I wouldn’t have become a professor,” he says.



Patenting a process rather than the species allows researchers worldwide to study Trema micrantha genetics, cultivation, and pharmacology. 



Open science may accelerate breeding programs to boost <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabinoids-as-pesticides-study-reveals-potential-of-hemp-compounds/">cannabinoid content</a>, just as decades of selective crossing transformed hemp into today’s high-CBD, low-THC cultivars.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-questions-about-trema-micrantha">More questions about Trema micrantha</h2>



Even with strong CBD levels in fruit, overall yield per acre currently trails specialized hemp varieties by orders of magnitude. 



Agronomists must learn whether fertilizer regimens, pruning schedules, or controlled stress can nudge Trema’s metabolic pathways toward richer resin production. 



Meanwhile, pharmacologists will compare therapeutic potency head-to-head against cannabis-derived CBD. As Dr. Moura Neto cautions, CBD from Trema micrantha “might not work as well, or at all.”



Clinical trials will span five to ten years if early toxicology proves safe. Extraction facilities must also demonstrate that oil from Trema meets pharmacopeia purity standards and remains stable on shelves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-business-landscape">The business landscape</h2>



Market analysts valued global CBD sales at nearly $5 billion last year and project more than $47 billion by 2028. Those figures catch the eye of pharmaceutical firms, cosmetics brands, and food-and-beverage startups alike. 



THC-free sourcing could let companies bypass patchwork legislation that still treats cannabis as a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/legal-access-to-cannabis-is-proving-to-be-good-for-both-people-and-society/">controlled drug</a>.



Brazil’s vast territory offers another advantage: the climate supports year-round growth near the equator, reducing greenhouse heating costs common in northern latitudes. Fast turnover from seed to fruit may allow three harvests per year, lowering production costs further.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-trema-micrantha-and-cbd-s-future">Trema micrantha and CBD's future</h2>



A shrub once written off as a nuisance now invites plant scientists, chemists, and economists to rethink how CBD reaches medicine cabinets. 



If ongoing studies confirm effectiveness and scalable yield, hemp might share the cannabinoid spotlight with its newly famous cousin. 



For now, anyone tempted to roll the leaves should heed Dr. Moura Neto’s warning: “That definitely won’t do anything for you.”



The journey from laboratory bench to pharmacy shelf is never short, yet Trema micrantha shows that valuable molecules sometimes hide in the least glamorous corners of a forest. 



With steady research funding and open collaboration, a weed could join the wellness industry - without the legal smoke clouds that follow its more notorious relative.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-80857-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scientific Reports</a>.



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Scientists discover a tropical weed that contains the same CBD compound as cannabis plants

In the dense greenery of Brazil’s Atlantic coast, botanists have...

When foresters talk about bringing a scarred hillside back to life, most of the future trees are already waiting underground, tucked inside a living soil seed bank that can lie dormant for years. 



A new nationwide Chinese survey suggests that the health of that hidden reserve depends as much on human planting choices as on climate.



“This is our most exciting find to date!” reported Xiali Guo of <a href="https://english.xju.edu.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Xinjiang Normal University</a>, who led the analysis.



The study examined 920 forest plots and found that planted stands held an average of 3.137 viable seeds per square yard of topsoil, compared with 2.876 in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soil-is-losing-nitrogen-along-with-its-climate-fighting-power/">natural</a> stands.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-buried-seeds-help-forest-recovery">Buried seeds help forest recovery</h2>



Soil seed banks work like an ecological savings account, releasing seedlings after fire, logging, or drought has wiped the slate clean. Most seeds that land on the surface either decay or are eaten, so those that are buried provide critical insurance.



Guo’s team sampled 537 natural and 383 planted stands, from moist subtropical valleys to arid northern slopes. The higher seed counts in plantations appeared even in regions where native forests boasted greater above ground <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-may-trigger-rapid-release-of-soil-carbon/">diversity</a>.



The contrast surprised some ecologists because plantations are often criticized for being species poor. Here, however, management practices such as dense spacing and periodic thinning may create micro sites that trap seeds and shield them from predators.



Seed longevity also differs by depth. Most of the buried treasure sits in the top four inches of soil where oxygen is scarce but moisture is steady.



That layer was the focus of the new survey, ensuring the counts reflected seeds capable of germinating after common disturbances like fire or plowing. The team avoided freshly fallen litter and tested only the persistent layer of the seed bank.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-and-light-affect-seed-survival">Climate and light affect seed survival</h2>



Temperature and rainfall each left a clear fingerprint on the buried seed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/agricultural-soil-is-now-the-worlds-biggest-plastic-dumping-ground/">reserve</a>, and the direction was counterintuitive. 



In both forest types, every 1°F rise in mean annual temperature and each extra inch of rain per year nudged seed density downward, a trend echoed in long term seed viability tests where warmth accelerates aging.



Laboratory work shows that seeds stored at 95°F lose viability far faster than those kept cool, supporting the field pattern. Rising heat also boosts soil dwelling insects and fungi that prey on seeds, shrinking the bank before germination can occur.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rainfall-and-seed-density">Rainfall and seed density</h2>



Rain can have similarly mixed effects. On loamy desert soils, additional summer showers boosted the number of annual herb seeds by up to <a href="https://ecologicalprocesses.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13717-021-00346-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">40 percent</a>, yet washed away or rotted others.



Guo’s data mirrored that complexity, with natural forests showing sharper swings in seed density along the rainfall gradient than plantations, a hint that mixed species stands are more climatically sensitive. Sunlight and evaporative demand told a different story.



Areas soaking up longer daylight hours tended to host richer seed banks, perhaps because parent trees in sunnier spots invest more in reproduction when moisture is not limiting. 



Soil moisture loss, measured as evapotranspiration, had a similar effect, likely tied to shifts in species composition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-soil-nutrients-control-seed-numbers">Soil nutrients control seed numbers</h2>



Soil chemistry turned out to be the heavyweight driver, explaining roughly one third of the variation in seed numbers. Nitrogen stood out in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soil-footprint-a-new-frontier-in-sustainable-farming/">plantations</a>, where each additional tenth of a percent of total N corresponded with thicker seed stores.



The connection fits greenhouse <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.5151" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">observations</a> showing that heavy nitrogen deposition can shift germination patterns by altering competitive dynamics in favor of fewer, more aggressive species. In Guo’s plots, though, the added nitrogen seemed to bolster overall seed counts rather than squeeze diversity.



Natural forests responded more strongly to soil pH, with seed density dropping as pH climbed toward neutral. Field burial experiments in English grasslands likewise recorded fewer persistent seeds in soils above pH 5.6, an effect linked partly to faster fungal decay.



These contrasting nutrient controls suggest that managers cannot use a one size fits all fertilization recipe. Instead, they need location specific targets, nitrogen for plantations, pH buffering for native stands, to keep the hidden seed reserve healthy.



<a href="https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/phosphorus-and-water" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Phosphorus</a> told a subtler story, trimming seed density in plantations when it climbed above about 0.15 percent of dry soil. The authors think luxuriant phosphorus may let young trees invest in wood growth and canopy spread rather than in producing the next generation of seeds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tree-traits-shape-underground-seed-bank">Tree traits shape underground seed bank</h2>



Beyond dirt and weather, the way a stand is built matters. Older trees with wider trunks were linked to richer seed banks, probably because mature canopies have had more seasons to contribute litter and fruit.



High planting density told the opposite tale, trimming seed density as tightly packed crowns shaded out under story species and limited seed rain. That pattern aligns with classic regeneration theory that light starved floors tend to be seed poor.



Leaf traits joined the list of subtle influences. Plantations dominated by fast growing species with flimsy, nitrogen rich leaves produced fewer buried seeds per adult tree, hinting at a trade off between rapid growth and reproductive output.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-tomorrow-s-forests">Lessons for tomorrow’s forests</h2>



For practitioners tasked with re-greening degraded land, the take home is refreshingly actionable. Boosting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soil-is-losing-nitrogen-along-with-its-climate-fighting-power/">soil nitrogen</a> in plantations and keeping pH below about 5.5 in natural stands could raise the seed cushion that smooths post disturbance recovery.



The findings also challenge the notion that plantations are ecological deserts. While they may hold fewer above ground species, their subterranean diversity vault can be surprisingly full, offering an unplanned bonus for large scale restoration.



Policy designers interested in climate smart forestry now have one more lever to pull. Matching plantation designs to local soils and expected warming trends can lock extra resilience into the ground before the first seedling is ever planted.



“Planted forests consistently harbor denser seed banks than natural forests, offering crucial regeneration potential,” Guo concluded. 



As global pledges push for billions of new trees, remembering the seeds already at hand could make those promises cheaper and faster to keep.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/seedbio-0024-0020" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Seed Biology</a>.



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Buried seeds in soil help forests recover faster after damage

When foresters talk about bringing a scarred hillside back to...

Woman,Using,Phone,While,Sitting,Cozy,On,A,Porch,At

Researchers in Texas report that people living in neighborhoods surrounded by nature and greenspaces have dramatically lower rates of bipolar disorder, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/teenagers-with-anxiety-or-depression-spend-more-time-on-social-media-according-to-experts/">depression</a>, and other mental health maladies, according to an analysis of 61 million outpatient visits across 1,169 urban ZIP codes.



The work suggests that crossing a NatureScore threshold of 40 marks a turning point, with the probability of needing treatment for bipolar disorder dropping by roughly two‑thirds and depression by half.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nature-cities-and-human-health">Nature, cities, and human health</h2>



“Our study was the first to use NatureScore, which provides more complex data, to study the correlation between urban nature exposure and mental health,” explained <a href="https://public-health.tamu.edu/directory/maddock.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jay Maddock</a> of <a href="https://public-health.tamu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Texas A&amp;M University</a>.



Maddock’s team partnered with <a href="https://www.houstonmethodistcareers.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Houston Methodist</a> and <a href="https://texanbynature.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Texan by Nature</a> to match hospital records with satellite imagery, tree‑canopy maps, and pollution readings.



More than one in five American adults lives with a mental health disorder, yet many cities keep losing trees to development.



Researchers worldwide have been searching for neighborhood‑level indicators that planners can act on, and composite measures like NatureScore are starting to fill that gap.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-numbers-reveal">What the numbers reveal</h2>



The Texas data painted a steady downward slope: mental health visits fell as NatureScore climbed from the “Deficient” band below 40 to the “Utopia” band above 80.



Neighborhoods rated 60 or higher logged only half as many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-to-maximize-the-mental-health-benefits-of-exercise/">mental‑health</a> outpatient encounters as those below 60, even after adjusting for income, education, insurance, and race.



Women made up 63 percent of the sample, yet the protective effect of vegetation held for men and women alike.



Zip codes with more trees also tended to have older residents and higher employment, but the statistical models removed those factors and still found the green advantage.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-nature-boost-brain-health-by-60">How nature boost brain health by 60%</h2>



Brains appear to settle down when the eyes land on leaves instead of concrete, lowering cortisol and quieting neural circuits that loop negative thoughts.



A controlled <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259512509_The_influence_of_urban_green_environments_on_stress_relief_measures_A_field_experiment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trial</a> in Finland reported that a 15‑minute walk through an urban forest lifted mood scores more than a similar walk along a busy street.



Trees also buffer noise and filter fine particles, so cleaner, quieter streets may reduce the chronic stress that can trigger mood swings.



Green streets invite more walking, and routine physical activity is known to cut depression risk by about a quarter.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-counts-as-enough-green">What counts as enough green</h2>



<a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9kFH1fYAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Omar M. Makram</a>, the study’s lead author, pointed out that “a NatureScore above 40, considered Nature Adequate, seems to be the threshold for good mental health.”



In practice, that threshold equates to roughly one mature street tree every 50 feet, a patch of park within a quarter‑mile, and low nighttime glare, according to the <a href="https://www.naturequant.com/naturescore/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NatureQuant</a> methodology.



For planners, the 40‑point line offers a clear performance target that can be checked for any address in the United States.



Public health agencies could layer NatureScore onto routine surveillance maps and flag hot spots where the score falls short and psychiatric visits pile up.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-planning-cities-with-health-in-mind">Planning cities with health in mind</h2>



Austin’s tree‑planting master plan already aims to shade 50 percent of the city by 2050, citing heat and mental health benefits.



Chicago and <a href="https://louisvilleky.gov/government/sustainability/services/green-infrastructure-incentives" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Louisville</a> are experimenting with “green alleys,” retrofitting paved lanes with bioswales and saplings to raise neighborhood scores without buying new parkland.



These micro‑projects are cheaper than psychiatric hospital stays, which can exceed $8,000 for a single visit, and they generate co‑benefits like storm‑water capture and bird habitat.



Maddock’s group argues that hospitals and insurers should help fund urban greening because lower utilization eases pressure on crowded clinics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limitations-and-next-steps">Limitations and next steps</h2>



The study relied on ZIP‑code averages, so exposure may have been misclassified for people living on the edge of a park or a freeway.



Records stopped in mid‑2019, leaving out the COVID‑19 era, when many clinics switched to telehealth and park use spiked.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/do-humans-and-ai-work-better-together/">Future work</a> will track individual addresses and smartphone GPS trails to test whether time spent in nature matters more than leafy views from a kitchen window.



The team is also exploring whether childhood exposure to green streets guards against first‑episode bipolar disorder later in life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-growing-policy-consensus">A growing policy consensus</h2>



“Increasing green space in cities could promote well‑being and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/preserving-your-cultural-traditions-drastically-improves-mental-health/">mental health</a>,” noted Omar M. Makram, who now consults for several municipal planning departments.



His statement sums up a growing consensus: planting trees is a mental‑health intervention that can fit on a sidewalk.



As urban populations climb, quantifying how much greenery keeps minds stable could shape zoning codes as powerfully as traffic engineering ever did.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/2/168" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health</a>.



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Living near nature and greenspaces shown to reduce mental health issues by 60%

Researchers in Texas report that people living in neighborhoods surrounded...

Aspen trees, long admired for their beauty, may also be powerful allies in wildfire defense. A new study reveals that aspen forests can slow wildfires or even stop them entirely. The researchers looked at 314 wildfires across the Four Corners region between 2001 and 2020.



The team discovered that even small increases in aspen cover reduced fire spread. Daily fire growth dropped from over 1,100 hectares to just 368 hectares where aspen cover exceeded 25 percent. The research shows how aspen stands can work like natural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-seasons-are-now-overlapping-worldwide/">firebreaks</a>.



Study co-author Camille Stevens-Rumann is an associate professor of forest and rangeland stewardship at <a href="https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&amp;ai=DChsSEwiA8d2KmsSOAxV7Ha0GHTydJiAYACICCAEQABoCcHY&amp;ae=2&amp;co=1&amp;ase=3&amp;agsac=WSzQGi9fupA&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwvuLDBhAOEiwAPtF0VvDkxM68atE0hzajpCpwrMe24lEHXOSwVutUvw84cPX2BysJJ2eskhoCUroQAvD_BwE&amp;ei=FxZ5aMjFFsGo0PEPs9jsuA0&amp;ohost=www.google.com&amp;cid=CAESwwHg9kzbdMEryDyc7pk-9MOgOrKHc7cMTIF0G6ZsM0D2PJUpift_Q4S3ecWuFTmhlQXjWRxCVGbRflQ_7EvzOmQUxpksK3XjbJ8LjeVG5ZQkfxcHkPJydOp6-ZJOtCCajsLxWE4SQuqxaiO_DdhAnxFMwdP0qeMH20OxzApcNao_qxEKsuKuSlNylmWnUi5AdKmueQLRNsW4u1sw_PfNXq35SEzNXBphGOCrLGOkToEzUy3z7zSchJ7Ue-Vih746BImLwVc&amp;sig=AOD64_3MAeRUmbBQqepNuOcbnIXyZ96t8Q&amp;q&amp;sqi=2&amp;adurl&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiIrdiKmsSOAxVBFDQIHTMsG9cQ0Qx6BAgTEAE&amp;ms=CoACUlSkG05Cs3Fm4sA9v7CZdXwaUYWgIPZKVjPN0oyvBswcyW9a95LuMEiM7bkdxxgRIFJMZQ66WdZKTZtycckRazNVWDdflJDr-tClbsz3m45gUR3DXKzI9uIGU6fESdVlm41lPifH5SLLv6awmDB-YdMVdJ1jc6kb4TRCdcKgOx9EzZgWgjmgVq3fpag5jQXRDyYmOUwDStf53i2OJdj0e1Ux9gME9tKaqygrPiS5co6oHzOQI-fTCbnqncM4YbzWcbYWSG74tMsS0VPMsMtn04A6jUkiH8LFLJkLNzV0Y91UBGC4zWLpcDmSadS9Ff_mB4Af7ts9re2GEKxUO-1GLwqAAiZJeyMuX0MPh0nKj6nrwQxx5XwQndxpncGphRUQw71wnhflX5pDL6w3n0aWgdIWG_xC_9DdHftnEd65ywZBxO1OWD9bXvIGgkKcslaq14M4ivLUHGaVeDEhwETD771_WromHppfg9vPrr61o5R7YFLnN49428HIHTyY9VzKGhcXKpysNy25tEtb1yKiPakXfsxg0DeXyUaHY9q7e_Oza1s9zeXirHV3GzTBY7vqZ_Z1UhoE5OCbQBPUJHnhEQ4pzdd4w-xDxxn1fjnvMlApJPQ3I5TYkrgc6UuScJvcO2CS-IgXXmN7e-Sd37nYpgQYaf_926zSNVdeNABxi08LTJ0SEG91ZYMjMf5m7jBLDg9Q41o&amp;nis=12&amp;uk=1752765978850&amp;dct=1&amp;suid=48698778863">Colorado State University</a>.



“Where managers can encourage aspen over conifers, they may represent a more desirable fuel treatment in some forest types than traditional thinning or shaded firebreaks because of the aesthetic value and wildlife habitat aspen provide,” said Stevens-Rumann.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-barriers-that-stop-wildfires">Barriers that stop wildfires</h2>



The researchers found that aspen was more abundant at <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-are-changing-the-quality-of-our-air/">fire</a> edges than in the interior. The pattern suggests aspen helped form fire boundaries. This makes them a natural shield, especially useful for land managers.



“My hope is that this research can help inform fire and fuels management focused on propagation of aspen through prescribed fire. In some settings, aspen might even be planted around communities to form green fuel breaks for fire protection,” noted study lead author Matt Harris, a recent <a href="https://western.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Western Colorado</a> graduate.



The researchers used satellite data to measure daily fire growth. Fire spread slowed as aspen coverage increased, even under extreme conditions like high winds and low humidity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-aspen-resists-wildfires">Why aspen resists wildfires</h2>



Aspen trees carry unique traits that help them resist burning. Their leaves and understory hold more moisture. Their branches stay high, making crown fires less likely. And their chemical makeup makes them less flammable than conifers.



Daily fire spread dropped from over 2000 meters to under 1350 meters when aspen cover passed 25%. That’s a sharp decline with important implications.



The researchers also found that aspen’s effectiveness did not vary much with weather. While climate factors did affect total fire spread, they didn’t change aspen’s relative performance against conifers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aspen-in-the-late-fire-season">Aspen in the late fire season</h2>



One pattern did emerge with timing. Aspen tended to be more effective wildfire stoppers later in the season. In early spring, fires could still move through before the leaves fully emerged.



During summer, when aspen foliage reaches peak moisture, the trees became more effective buffers. Still, this trend was mild and not uniform across all <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-making-wildfire-smoke-more-deadly/">fires</a>.



The study supports using aspen in green fuel breaks. These natural buffers could slow fire in forest landscapes while offering habitat and scenic value.



“This research is a direct result of long-term federal investment in understanding wildfire and forest dynamics," noted study co-author Jonathan Coop. 



"The wildfire challenges we face in the western U.S. continue to grow every year, and we require good science to inform solutions to protect communities and sustain the ecosystem functions we depend on, from water to timber."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aspen-forests-boost-wildfire-resistance">Aspen forests boost wildfire resistance</h2>



Aspen spreads quickly after disturbance. It regenerates through root suckers, seeds, and sprouts on bare ground. As fire activity increases due to climate change, aspen may expand naturally in some places.



However, that is not guaranteed. Land use, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forests-now-emit-more-carbon-than-they-store-due-to-wildfires/">fire</a> suppression, and conifer growth have reduced aspen in many areas. Interventions like prescribed fire or planting may help restore it.



Aspen forests also bring more than fire resistance. They boost soil moisture and provide habitats for birds and mammals. They offer high aesthetic and ecological value, making them ideal for landscape-scale planning.



Fire managers might now see aspen as more than just a background species. In fire-prone areas, these trees can help slow or stop wildfires. While more research is needed to investigate the costs and effectiveness, this study makes a clear case.



Aspen forests may not replace traditional fire treatments, but they offer a natural option that blends beauty, biodiversity, and fire resistance. In a drier, hotter future, that combination could become invaluable.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.70061" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ecological Applications</a>.



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How aspen forests can help stop wildfires in their tracks

Aspen trees, long admired for their beauty, may also be...

Wild tomatoes rooted on the raw lava of Fernandina and Isabela Islands have done something biologists once filed under “nearly impossible,” reviving a molecular defense that disappeared from their relatives millions of years ago during species evolution.



The phenomenon has been traced to a tiny tweak in the plants’ chemistry, and it now stands as the clearest plant example of reverse evolution, the re‑emergence of an ancestral trait after a long dormancy. 



Lead author <a href="https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/adamj" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Adam Jozwiak</a> at the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California, Riverside</a>, working with colleagues from the Weizmann Institute, mapped the unexpected comeback.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-of-wild-tomatoes">Evolution of wild tomatoes</h2>



Wild tomatoes on the islands produce a mix of bitter chemicals that help protect them from insects and animals that might try to eat them.



On the youngest islands, the mix has shifted toward an older type of toxin usually found in eggplants, not <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ripening-tomatoes-may-hold-clues-to-delay-human-aging/">modern tomatoes</a>, showing that this ancient version can still work better under harsh conditions like lava soil and intense heat.



The change comes down to a single enzyme in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tomato-plants-talk-to-one-another-to-signal-danger/">plant</a> that decides how its natural defense chemicals are made. 



By slightly altering this enzyme, the plant switches back to an older version of its toxin that had been lost for millions of years.



“Just four amino acids changed everything,” reported the study team, noting that the modified enzyme brought back the older, more aggressive version of the toxin. It wasn’t a random mutation, but a precise shift that reactivated a long-dormant chemical pathway.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-on-lava-and-sand">Life on lava and sand</h2>



The western Galápagos islands are among the youngest in the chain, with rugged volcanic ground and almost no soil. Plants growing there face intense heat, limited nutrients, and constant threats from insects and animals.



In those conditions, bringing back a stronger chemical defense gives the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-tomatoes-are-ready-for-an-unprecedented-mission/">tomatoes</a> a better chance of surviving, and evolution seems to have reached into the plant’s genetic history instead of creating something entirely new.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-tomato-evolution-hits-reverse">When tomato evolution hits reverse</h2>



Although it was once assumed that lost traits almost never return, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2009.0154" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> shows that evolution can sometimes retrace its steps.&nbsp;



In some cases, structures that disappeared for millions of years have reappeared, such as larval stages in salamanders or wings in certain insects. 



These reversals challenge the old idea that evolution always moves in one direction and suggest that dormant genetic pathways can be reactivated when conditions shift. 



The tomato work tightens the evidence because stereochemistry can be measured atom by atom, making accidental convergence unlikely.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-crop-science">Lessons for crop science</h2>



Changing four amino acids in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/GAME8-is-a-source-of-SGA-stereodiversity-in-Solanum-species-a-Phylogenetic-analysis-of_fig2_392798532" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GAME8</a> inside greenhouse tobacco forced the host to synthesize the ancestral toxin, showing that minimal editing is enough to remodel an entire metabolic branch.



Researchers now wonder whether carefully steering stereochemistry could dial pest resistance up or down in other crops while avoiding off‑flavors that plague tomato breeders. 



Island survey data hint at an evolutionary gradient: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reverse-evolution-these-wild-tomatoes-are-turning-back-time/">tomatoes</a> on older eastern islands keep the modern toxin, central islands sit in the middle, and the youngest lava fields host plants in nearly full chemical retreat.



That pattern suggests evolution’s arrow is flexible, and under shifting climates crops might again reach backward for solutions thought obsolete.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-four-amino-acids-changed-the-story">How four amino acids changed the story</h2>



Most enzymes are highly specific, and even minor alterations can break them. But in this case, the GAME8 enzyme was surprisingly flexible.



By replacing just four amino acids in its active site, scientists restored the enzyme’s older behavior, allowing the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tomatoes-acylsugars-parallel-universe-plant-kingdom-evolution/">plant</a> to make the ancient version of its chemical defense again.&nbsp;



This kind of precise control over a plant's internal chemistry is unusual and suggests that nature sometimes keeps old instructions ready to use when needed.&nbsp;



The researchers used molecular docking and structural models to predict which amino acids made the difference. 



Lab tests confirmed their predictions, highlighting how small tweaks in sequence can flip a tomato plant's entire <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tomato-plants-talk-to-one-another-to-signal-danger/">chemical output</a>.



This work also demonstrates how directed enzyme evolution, a common tool in biotechnology, occurs naturally under harsh selection pressures like those on the Galápagos lava fields.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-impacts-beyond-tomatoes">Impacts beyond tomatoes</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gene-modification-can-create-better-tomatoes-eggplants-but-should-we-do-it/">Tomatoes</a> belong to the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/solanaceae" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Solanaceae family</a>, which includes peppers, potatoes, and tobacco. All of them produce related alkaloids, and this study suggests they might also hold buried chemical routes.



Understanding how GAME8 evolved can help scientists modify alkaloid profiles in related plants, potentially unlocking medicinal or agricultural uses with more precision.



Some glycoalkaloids are mildly toxic to humans, and breeders often try to reduce them. But with the ability to dial in the stereochemistry, it might be possible to keep the benefits while avoiding the downsides.



This also raises fresh questions for evolutionary theory, particularly around how often so-called “lost” traits are truly gone, or just waiting for the right trigger to come back.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59290-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Scientists find a surprising case of 'reverse evolution' in wild tomatoes

Wild tomatoes rooted on the raw lava of Fernandina and...

Greenland’s ice-covered landscape looks like an immovable block on satellite maps. Yet the story locked beneath its center suggests a very different past, one that places future coastal cities in a tight spot. 



During the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/pleistocene">Pleistocene</a> - the geologic chapter that began about 2.7 million years ago and ran through innumerable swings between cold and mild - the island’s ice waxed and waned in tune with global climate.



New evidence hints that those swings were more dramatic than scientists once believed.



In&nbsp;1993, drillers hauled a two‑mile‑deep ice core up from the island’s highest point and stowed the entire column in a Colorado freezer. 



The surprise awaited in the bottom three inches of sediment: perfectly preserved traces of a tundra ecosystem. 



That sliver of soil, shielded for ages by roughly 1.9 miles (3 km) of ice, now refocuses the conversation about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-much-did-sea-levels-rise-after-the-last-ice-age-alarming-new-clues-revealed/">future sea level</a> and the stability of polar ice in a warming world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tundra-hidden-beneath-greenland-s-ice">Tundra hidden beneath Greenland's ice</h2>



Once the drill broke through that 1.9‑mile roof of ice, the researchers retrieved those three inches of till. 



“These fossils are beautiful,” says Paul&nbsp;Bierman, a scientist at the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a> who co‑led the new study with UVM graduate student Halley&nbsp;Mastro and nine other researchers.



“But, yes, we go from bad to worse,” Bierman added, referring to what this finding implies about the impact of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/indisputable-evidence-of-human-caused-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">human‑caused climate change</a> on melting of the Greenland ice sheet.



The till holds poppy, spike‑moss, woody willow tissue, fungal sclerotia, insect parts, and a band of soil capped by about&nbsp;16&nbsp;inches of erratic boulders. 



This is clear evidence that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drones-reveal-hidden-details-about-greenlands-melting-ice/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">central Greenland</a> once lay ice‑free under a cold, dry sky where late‑lying snow lingered through early summer.



Because the material sits undisturbed, the team is confident it was not swept in from elsewhere as ice advanced.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inside-a-deep-greenland-ice-core">Inside a deep Greenland ice core</h2>



“Once we made the discovery at Camp&nbsp;Century, we thought, ‘Hey, what's at the bottom of&nbsp;GISP2?’” Bierman recalled.



High‑energy isotope ratios show that the summit last saw open air within the past 1.1 million years, while argon trapped in overlying clear ice indicates at least 250,000 years of continuous cover since then. 



<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47351-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Basal ice</a> at another drilling site about 19 miles away is roughly 1 million years old.



A separate core from Camp&nbsp;Century <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/city-under-the-ice-secret-base-camp-found-in-greenland/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">near the coast</a> yielded plant remains no older than&nbsp;416,000&nbsp;years, underscoring the ice sheet’s flickering presence across the Pleistocene. 



These findings draw on material that had been stored at the National Science Foundation <a href="https://icecores.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ice Core Facility</a> in Lakewood, Colorado, for three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-divulge-a-warmer-greenland">Fossils divulge a warmer Greenland</h2>



Under the microscope, what had looked like no more than specks floating on the surface of the melted core sample was, in fact, a window into a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-transformation-ice-melt-plant-growth-vegetation-cascading-effects/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tundra landscape</a>. 



“It was amazing,” Mastro exclaimed. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/greenland-ice-core_soil-sample_fossils_recently-melted-ice_credit-UVermont_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/greenland-ice-core_soil-sample_fossils_recently-melted-ice_credit-UVermont_1s.webp" alt="Willow bud scale, arctic poppy seed, fungal bodies, and rock spikemoss megaspores found in the GISP2 soil sample viewed under a microscope at the University of Vermont. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Halley Mastro/University of Vermont" class="wp-image-1977508"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Willow bud scale, arctic poppy seed, fungal bodies, and rock spikemoss megaspores found in the GISP2 soil sample viewed under a microscope at the University of Vermont. Click image to enlarge. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Halley Mastro/University of Vermont</figcaption></figure>



Mastro and colleagues picked out spores of spike‑moss, the bud scale of a young willow, and the compound eye of an insect - life‑forms adapted to chilly air and long summer daylight.



“And then we found Arctic poppy - just one seed of it. That is a tiny flower that's really good at adapting to the cold. It lets us know that Greenland's ice melted and there was soil, because poppies don't grow on top of miles of ice,”&nbsp;Mastro continued.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sea-level-risks-for-global-coasts">Sea‑level risks for global coasts</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-corals-reveal-that-sea-level-rise-occurs-in-rapid-bursts/">Sea level today</a> is rising more than an inch each decade. “And it's getting faster and faster,” said Bierman. The extra water comes from a warming ocean that expands as well as from melting glaciers worldwide.



Near‑complete melting of Greenland’s ice over the next centuries to a few millennia would lead to some&nbsp;23&nbsp;feet of sea‑level rise. 



“Look at Boston, New&nbsp;York, Miami, Mumbai, or any other coastal city around the world, and add&nbsp;20‑plus feet of sea level. It goes underwater. Don't buy a beach house," Bierman advised.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-much-did-sea-levels-rise-after-the-last-ice-age-alarming-new-clues-revealed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sea level</a> is likely to be several feet higher by the end of this century, when today’s children are grandparents.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-greenland-s-fragile-ice-fortress">Greenland's fragile ice fortress</h2>



Richard Alley, a leading climate scientist at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Penn State University</a>, reviewed the new research.



“This new study confirms, and expands upon earlier evidence, that significant sea‑level rise occurred at a time when the causes of warming were not especially extreme, providing a warning of the damage we might cause if we continue to warm the climate," Alley noted.



“We now have direct evidence that not only was the ice gone, but that plants and insects were living there,” Bierman concluded. “And that's unassailable. You don't have to rely on calculations or models.” 



The fossil soil at Greenland’s summit, locked beneath nearly two miles of ice, speaks plainly: polar ice sheets can retreat far and fast when the climate tips, and the coastlines of the future will trace that story in real time. 



Whether that warning is heeded remains a decision for policy makers and citizens alike.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2407465121#supplementary-materials" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Greenland ice discovery stuns and worries scientists: "Don't buy a beach house"

Greenland’s ice-covered landscape looks like an immovable block on satellite...

Seeds provide most of the calories humanity eats, yet the cells that decide how big each seed becomes have remained a mystery. Now, however, a new study from <a href="https://en.nagoya-u.ac.jp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nagoya University</a> has revealed a hidden gateway inside those cells that can push seed size up by 16 percent. 



The <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2825%2900345-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a>, led by <a href="https://www.itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp/en_backup/members/r-kasahara/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ryushiro Kasahara</a> and <a href="https://bbc.agr.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~graft/member2.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michitaka Nodaguchi</a>, maps the first new plant tissue described in 160 years. Kasahara is a plant biologist at Nagoya University’s Institute of Transformative Bio‑Molecules.



“Nobody was looking where I was looking,” said Kasahara, the scientist who first noticed a strange fluorescent ring on the wrong side of the ovule while tracking callose stains. Callose, a mesh of glucose chains, blocks the gateway whenever an ovule misses fertilization.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-stain-that-changed-course">A stain that changed course</h2>



Kasahara’s observation came while he was simply verifying previous work on <a href="https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/arabidopsis/thaliana/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arabidopsis thaliana</a>. The unexpected ring turned out to be the entrance to the nutrient highway that runs from mother plant to seed.



The ring forms at the base of the hypocotyl, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hemp-seeds-could-be-a-game-changer-as-an-alternative-protein-source/">seed</a>’s embryonic stem, and it looks like a crouching rabbit under the microscope. 



Its shape gave the researchers an easy visual cue to follow as they charted the structure’s life cycle from closed to open state.



Historic plant anatomists cataloged most tissues by 1860, yet this ring escaped notice because it lies opposite the pollen entry point. 



That oversight highlights how much biology can still hide in plain sight when everyone points their lens in the same direction.



Because the ring fluoresces only when stained for callose, it took a dye meant for another purpose to bring the gateway to light. 



Chance favored the trained eye that chose to look where textbooks said nothing interesting should be happening.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plant-seeds-and-the-kasahara-gateway">Plant seeds and the Kasahara gateway</h2>



The gateway sits at the chalazal end of the ovule, exactly where maternal phloem strands terminate. Genetic scans showed that a single gene, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17270015/">β-1, 3‑glucanase AtBG_ppap</a>, spikes in activity right after successful fertilization and digests the callose plug.



Central-cell fertilization, which seeds the endosperm, is the real trigger. When only the egg cell fuses, the gate stays closed; when the central cell fuses, the callose melts within a day and sugar rushes in.



The enzyme works like molecular scissors, shaving away callose strands to create a doughnut‑shaped aperture less than one-thousandth of an inch across. 



Once open, that aperture stays clear for the entire <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/amaranth-seeds-rich-in-calcium-and-iron-prevents-tumors-and-keeps-bones-strong/">seed</a>‑filling period unless new callose is laid down in response to stress.



Because the gateway is made of living cells rather than <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9394918/">lignified</a> walls, the plant can rebuild the plug if conditions warrant. Such reversibility suggests a broader role in resource triage during drought or pathogen attack.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-boosting-plant-seed-growth">Boosting plant seed growth</h2>



Opening the gate has immediate effects on sugar flow. Live‑cell imaging with fluorescent tracers <a href="https://keio.elsevierpure.com/ja/publications/fertilization-dependent-phloem-end-gate-regulates-seed-size">showed</a> sucrose streaking into fertilized ovules but stopping dead at the plug in unfertilized ones.



When researchers crossed overexpression lines with fertilization‑defective pollen, the seeds still grew larger than controls, proving that keeping the gate open can bypass normal fertility signals. 



That result hints at a new route to bigger grains that does not tamper with hormone pathways or embryo genetics.



Previous yield‑boosting tricks often revolved around delaying flowering or altering hormone balances, strategies that can backfire under field stress. 



By contrast, controlling a gateway that governs the final delivery of nutrients lets breeders stack gains on top of existing varieties without lengthening the growing season.



The strategy also behaves additively with other nutrient transport genes. Plants missing the amino acid transporter <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284717967_Amino_Acid_Export_in_Developing_Arabidopsis_Seeds_Depends_on_UmamiT_Facilitators">UmamiT</a> produce seeds twelve  percent smaller, underscoring how critical maternal supply lines are to final weight.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-discovery-matters">Why the discovery matters</h2>



By 2050 the world will need roughly 50 percent more plant‑based food to feed almost 10 billion people. Traditional breeding has already squeezed much of the easy gain out of photosynthesis and field management.



A single-gene edit that enlarges seeds by a tenth could reclaim tonnes of grain per acre without additional fertilizer or water. 



Early greenhouse trials in rice suggest the boost holds across diverse backgrounds, though large‑scale field tests are still pending.



Commercial deployment would involve editing native <a href="https://www.genomicseducation.hee.nhs.uk/documents/polymerase-proofreading-associated-polyposis/">PPAP genes</a> rather than importing foreign DNA, a distinction that could ease regulatory hurdles in markets that accept CRISPR crops. 



Seed companies are already screening elite wheat lines for gateway variants that naturally leak more nutrients.



Because the mechanism is conserved across angiosperms, it could be used in maize, sunflower, and many fruit crops without wholesale redesign of their genomes. 



The approach also promises benefits in orphan crops such as teff, where modest increases in kernel size translate directly into less labor for threshing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-callose-seeds-and-the-big-picture">Callose, seeds and the big picture</h2>



The gateway also explains an evolutionary puzzle: flowering plants dominate today’s flora partly because they avoid wasting energy on unfertilized ovules. 



By blocking <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seeds-rich-in-protein-and-magnesium-help-grow-muscle-mass-fenugreek/">nutrient flow</a> until the central cell confirms fertilization, the gateway lets the plant invest only in seeds that can finish the job.



Researchers now want to follow the signal upstream to learn how the endosperm tells the gateway to open. They also hope to explore whether similar callose plugs direct nutrient traffic in other plant organs, as callose is known to regulate plasmodesmata permeability throughout the plant body.&nbsp;



Future projects aim to map the three‑dimensional structure of <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.23.550179v1.full.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AtBG_ppap</a> to design small molecules that might modulate its activity in the field. 



Others plan to combine always‑open gateways with carbon‑fixing traits to see whether the plant can keep pace with the heightened demand.



The discovery also invites work on reversible gating to guard against pathogens that hijack sugar streams. If researchers can toggle the plug in response to infection, crops might starve out invading microbes without chemical sprays.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982225003458" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



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New plant tissue discovered that increases seed size by up to 16%

Seeds provide most of the calories humanity eats, yet the...

Planting trees is a simple idea, yet the details - from which species are used to how they’re arranged within a forest - shape the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-devastate-global-food-production/">climate</a> benefits we reap. 



Advanced computer models make it possible for scientists to peer inside virtual forests. They can test every possible arrangement before a single sapling goes into the ground.



A new <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61389-7">study</a> used those models to show that layout matters almost as much as species choice. The research was led by Rémy Beugnon at the <a href="https://www.idiv.de/">German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mixing-trees-boosts-growth">Mixing trees boosts growth</h2>



Researchers call the fine‑grained mix of species in a stand <a href="https://taylorandfrancis.com/knowledge/Engineering_and_technology/Engineering_support_and_special_topics/Spatial_heterogeneity/">spatial heterogeneity</a>. When that mix is high, neighboring trees draw different nutrients, share light, and leave a patchwork of leaf litter that fuels underground life.



Beugnon’s team modeled eight subtropical species in thousands of simulated plots and compared designs ranging from single‑species blocks to fully shuffled grids. 



The models predicted that random layouts move <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/excess-nutrients-are-creating-ocean-dead-zones/">nutrients</a> faster through the system, lifting both growth and recycling.



“The models show that random planting designs increased tree biomass by 11 percent compared to clustered layouts,” said Rémy Beugnon, first author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-random-forest-designs-pay-off">Random forest designs pay off</h2>



Across the forest simulations, shuffling species raised aboveground biomass by 11 percent over block plantings, even though every plot carried the same number of stems. 



The extra wood comes from chance neighbors; tall shade‑tolerant trunks share space with shorter sun‑lovers, wasting less light and soil.



A 2023 global <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adi2362">analysis</a> of more than 10,000 plots found a similar pattern, reporting that each additional tree species added roughly one‑third of a ton of extra wood per acre by boosting canopy complexity.



For managers locked into mechanical harvesting, random layouts can be intimidating. Yet the payoff shows why many reforestation guides now favor flexible rows or small patches over the classic monoculture block.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mixed-trees-enrich-soil">Mixed trees enrich soil</h2>



Dead leaves are not waste; they drive litter decomposition that returns nitrogen and carbon to roots. In the models, mixed canopies dropped litter more evenly across the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dead-trees-in-forest-streams-hold-more-carbon-than-expected/">forest floor</a>, smoothing out nutrient hot and cold spots.



Carbon loss from litter after nine months climbed from 36.5 percent in block plantings to 47.1 percent in random mixes, a jump big enough to shift the soil’s entire carbon budget.



Field experiments in subtropical China showed that doubling tree species richness sped up decomposition by up to 25 percent through thicker, more varied leaf fall. 



Faster turnover does not mean carbon is lost. Instead, it channels organic matter into microbial pathways that lock it deeper in the soil profile.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tidy-path-to-forest-diversity">A tidy path to forest diversity</h2>



The Leipzig group tested a middle ground called “line planting,” alternating single or double rows of different species. Lines keep machinery lanes clear while still mixing neighbors along their edges. 



Their simulations showed that line layouts decomposed 40.4 percent of litter carbon in nine months -halfway between blocks and fully random, yet easy to mark out with a tape measure.



“We can leverage biodiversity in forests if we arrange it in the right way,” said Nico Eisenhauer, professor at <a href="https://www.uni-leipzig.de/">Leipzig University</a> and iDiv group leader.



For many operational foresters, that design tweak may be the cheapest route to healthier soils - without rewriting the entire planting manual.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-planting-diversity-fuels-forest-gains">Planting diversity fuels forest gains</h2>



Layout is only half of the equation; adding species amplifies its effect. In mixed stands, each extra species multiplied the layout benefit, but in block designs the diversity effect nearly vanished. 



When eight species were scattered randomly, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/balancing-act-microbes-speed-up-plant-decomposition-in-a-warming-world/">decomposition</a> leapt by more than ten percentage points compared with similar blocks. In contrast, two‑species plots barely budged.



A pan‑American census reported that forests holding a wider spread of life‑history strategies stored more carbon over time, even after accounting for climate. Thus, thinking in two dimensions - what trees and where - can stretch every acre planted toward national carbon targets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-goals-need-forest-designs">Climate goals need forest designs</h2>



Beugnon and colleagues plan long‑term field tests to see how windthrow, pests, and thinning interact with mixed layouts over decades. 



Policymakers drafting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planting-trees-is-important-but-reforestation-can-help-too/">reforestation</a> incentives could build spatial criteria into grant rules, rewarding forest designs that mix species at the row scale rather than the stand scale.



With roughly 470 million acres already pledged for restoration worldwide, even a 10 percent biomass lift adds up. That increase translates into gigatons of extra carbon locked away.



Choosing the right forest design from the start costs nothing yet pays dividends for centuries, making it one of the simplest levers in the climate toolkit.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61389-7">Nature Communications</a>.



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Smarter forest design can help fight climate change

Planting trees is a simple idea, yet the details -...

'Zombie' fungi that hijack insects are not just a modern forest horror story. A pair of tiny fossils locked in Burmese amber shows that these parasites stalked ants and flies nearly 100 million years ago in what is now Myanmar.



The newly described fungi, Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae and Paleoophiocordyceps ironomyiae, sprouted from their long‑dead hosts, just like today’s entomopathogenic relatives. This gruesome strategy has clearly been in play since ancient times. 



Study co‑author <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/pe/article/view/palaeoentomology.5.3.1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Professor Edmund Jarzembowski</a> of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology (<a href="http://english.nigpas.cas.cn/">NIGPAS</a>) and London’s <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural History Museum</a> helped craft the formal description.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-outbreak-of-parasitic-fungi">Ancient outbreak of parasitic fungi</h2>



Amber from the Hukawng Valley captures an ant pupa with a slender fungal stalk, and a fly pierced by a second projectile‑like stroma. 



The position of each growth mirrors the way that modern zombie fungi erupt from soft joints after the host’s last breath.



Palaeontologists reconstructed the scene and noted that the ant appears to have been dragged away from the nest before the infection reached its spore‑spraying stage. Social insects often quarantine sick kin, a behaviour already in place during the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-cretaceous-period.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cretaceous</a>.



“It’s fascinating to see some of the strangeness of the natural world that we see today was also present at the height of the age of the dinosaurs,” said Jarzembowski, reflecting on the familiar menace that infected the ancient insects.



The research team counted flask‑shaped perithecia, the microscopic chambers where sexual spores mature, on the fossilized stalks. 



Their arrangement ties the ancient genus to living Ophiocordyceps, even though the lineage split more than 130 million years ago.



Very few fossil pathogens display intact reproductive parts. This makes every new specimen a potential window into deep‑time disease ecology. 



The rarity arises because fungi are soft and because an insect corpse rarely fossilizes side by side with its killer, scientists noted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-a-fungus-a-zombie">What makes a fungus a zombie</h2>



Members of <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1005037" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ophiocordyceps</a> start with a pin‑sized spore that germinates. It drills through the exoskeleton of a living insect, and sets up shop in the haemolymph. 



Chemical signals then steer the victim to a perch that maximizes wind exposure for the dispersal of spores released after death.



A genome survey of ant‑infecting species uncovered dozens of genes that code for enterotoxin‑like proteins. This suggests that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deadly-fungus-aspergillus-that-can-eat-you-from-the-inside-out-is-quietly-spreading-around-the-world/">fungus</a> rewires muscles and nerves using the same tricks that bacteria use to upset mammalian guts.



Transcript <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/accumulating-glitches/how_fungus_makes_ant_zombies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> show that as the infection peaks, genes tied to serotonin and dopamine pathways in the ant surge or plunge, matching the precise timing of the so‑called death grip.



Today more than 1,500 insect‑killing <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/understanding-fungi-characteristics-and-function/">fungi</a> are catalogued, yet only a handful make headlines. Specialists target beetles that bore into crops or mosquitoes that spread malaria, demonstrating the ecological punch of these microbes, even outside tropical forests.



Their life cycle is a masterclass in recycling nutrients: the mycelium consumes host tissues from within, then the emergent stalk spreads fresh <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biodegradable-living-plastic-contains-bacterial-spores-that-break-it-down/">spores</a> that restore carbon and nitrogen to soil food webs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-amber-as-nature-s-time-capsule">Amber as nature's time capsule</h2>



Tree resin entombs soft bodies in minutes and hardens into amber that resists water, oxygen, and microbial decay. 



That airtight seal lets researchers inspect insect cuticles along with fungal filaments that are thinner than a human hair.



Kachin amber is celebrated for its clarity, but the deposit also raises ethical concerns because mining revenues can fund armed conflict. International guidelines now press museums to verify provenance before accepting new pieces.



Gem cutters often discard cloudy chunks, yet those fragments may shelter the best biological inclusions. Researchers therefore sift mine tailings for overlooked specimens, rather than fueling fresh extraction.



Because resin flows layer over layer, a single piece can trap snapshots separated by hours. That layering helps date biological events with unusual precision when volcanic ash beds bracket the deposit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fungi-give-clues-to-insect-evolution">Fungi give clues to insect evolution</h2>



Comparative anatomy and molecular clocks place Paleoophiocordyceps on a branch that diverged from the modern zombie‑ant fungus during the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392592127_Cretaceous_entomopathogenic_fungi_illuminate_the_early_evolution_of_insect-fungal_associations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Early Cretaceous</a>. this was at the time that flowering plants began reshaping terrestrial food webs.



The study’s host‑switch analysis flagged a likely jump from beetles to flies and ants, mirroring the radiation of pollinators and social insects. Such leaps underline how a parasite’s fate is tied to the fortunes of its preferred prey.



Beetles already thrived in decaying wood, an environment humid enough for fungal spores, while the rise of canopy flowers led <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/swarm-intelligence-ants-can-anticipate-obstacles-and-plan-ahead/">ants</a> to exploit new niches. The fungus followed its insect food, so to speak, adapting its toolkit for each cuticular landscape.



Host regulation may have checked insect booms long before birds or bats evolved sophisticated appetites for six‑legged prey. 



That invisible policing force could explain relatively stable herbivore damage in Cretaceous leaf fossils, despite soaring insect diversity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tale-familiar-to-modern-forests">A tale familiar to modern forests</h2>



Field surveys in Thailand show that fungus-infected ant graveyards form in patches where humidity hovers near 95 percent, suggesting the parasite needs microclimates as well as hosts.



Timing is equally precise. Infected carpenter ants bite down at solar noon more often than chance predicts, hinting that fungal circadian genes sync with the host’s biological clock.



When <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0004835" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cadavers</a> pile up, each fungal stalk releases millions of spores, yet infections remain patchy. Colony grooming, corpse removal, and antimicrobial secretions keep outbreaks from wiping out entire nests.



Lab trials with generalist insect fungi show a trade‑off between killing speed and spore burden, meaning parasites that act too quickly may sacrifice dispersal success.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-it-matters-today">Why it matters today</h2>



Entomologists already deploy fungal <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/what-are-biopesticides" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bio‑pesticides</a> against insects such as locusts and crop‑boring moths. 



This method of control targets the insects without drenching fields in chemicals. Lessons from ancient lineages could sharpen that strategy by revealing how host jumps evolve.



Climate models predict that warmer nights and shifting rainfall will widen the habitat for many fungal pathogens. 



Tracking their evolutionary playbook helps forecast which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insect-populations-dramatically-declining-around-the-world-rising-temperatures/">insect</a> groups, helpful or harmful, might feel the heat next.



The fossils nevertheless remind us that even tiny microbes leave fingerprints on evolution, shaping who thrives and who fails. 



The study is published in <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rspb.2025.0407" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>.



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'Zombie' fungus that lived almost 100 million years ago found preserved in amber

'Zombie' fungi that hijack insects are not just a modern...

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