Acaena exigua 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 Canada. 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 North America and the world.

FWS Digital Media Library -- The U.S.<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-surface-slicks-create-superhighway-for-fish/"> Fish</a> and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video. Acaena exigua is an extinct species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common name liliwai. It was endemic to Hawaii, where it was known from Kauaʻi and west Maui. It had not been seen or collected since 1957 and was feared extinct until 1997, when one plant was discovered in a remote montane bog on <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=maui&amp;cvid=11f593b142284a109c4b71b63cd85874&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Maui</a>. The plant died in 2000, and the species is now considered extinct.Acaena exigua A. Gray var. subtusstrigulosa Bitter: Classification. Click on a scientific name below to expand it in the PLANTS Classification Report. Rank Scientific Name and Common Name; Kingdom: Plantae – Plants Subkingdom: Tracheobionta

Acaena exigua

Acaena exigua NatureServe Explorer Species Reports -- NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation...

Zanthoxylum hawaiiense 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.Competition from alien plants; habitat destruction by cattle, goats, and sheep; limited numbers. Zanthoxylum hawaiiense (a'e) is a thornless tree usually 10-26 ft (3-7.9 m) tall with a trunk up to 10 in (25.4 cm) in diameter.

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=e0fcbab5d0f1438ba258565e3a86d394&amp;aqs=edge.0.69i59j69i57j0l5.1719j0j9&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.Zanthoxylum hawaiiense, commonly known aʻe or Hawaiʻi pricklyash, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It can be found at elevations of 550–1,740 m in dry forests, where it grows on lava flows, and mixed mesic forests on the Island of Hawaiʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Zanthoxylum hawaiiense

Zanthoxylum hawaiiense NatureServe Explorer Species Reports -- NatureServe Explorer is...

Zanthoxylum oahuense 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/mistastin-lake-in-labrador-canada/">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=84f1e8e9658b4caea7e69e7c7dff2555&amp;aqs=edge.0.69i59j69i57j69i59j0j69i60l3.1774j0j9&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">North America</a> and the world. North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be described as the northern subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. Because it is on the North American Tectonic Plate, Greenland is included as part of North America geographically. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), about 16.5% of the Earth's land area and about 4.8% of its total surface. North America is the third-largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 579 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7.5% of the world's population

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.

Zanthoxylum oahuense

Zanthoxylum oahuense NatureServe Explorer Species Reports -- NatureServe Explorer is...

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 Canada. 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 North America 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.

Zanthoxylum thomasianum

NatureServe Explorer Species Reports -- NatureServe Explorer is a source...

Zizania texana 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/lake-st-clair-of-the-u-s-and-canada/">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 North America and the world.

FWS Digital Media Library -- The U.S. <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=fish&amp;cvid=91f938cbd77c449aa5aeecec4dfa9db9&amp;aqs=edge.0.69i59j0l6.773j0j1&amp;pglt=43&amp;FORM=ANNTA1&amp;PC=HCTS">Fish</a> and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video. Zizania texana is a rare species of grass known by the common name Texas wild rice.

It is endemic to Texas, where it is found only on the upper San Marcos River in Hays County. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. Texas wildrice Subordinate Taxa. This plant has no children Legal Status. Threatened and Endangered Information: This plant is listed by the U.S. federal government or a state. Common names are from state and federal lists. Click on a place name to get a complete protected plant list for that location.a rare and endangered species of aquatic grass, exists in the spring-fed headwaters of the San Marcos River within the city limits of San Marcos, Hays County, Texas. This unique plant is endemic to Texas and occurs, in the United States, naturally only in this location.

Zizania texana

Zizania texana NatureServe Explorer Species Reports -- NatureServe Explorer is...

Research from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> has revealed that birds can learn to avoid plants that host toxic insects. While it was known that young <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brood-parasites-target-host-birds-with-small-eyes/">birds</a> easily learn to recognize the coloration and markings found on dangerous prey, the new study is the first to show that birds also remember the plants that harbor them.&nbsp;



“Our findings suggest that insect herbivores that specialize on easily recognizable host plants gain enhanced protection from predation, independent of their warning signal alone," said study co-author Professor Nick Scott-Samuel.



To investigate, the scientists placed artificial, brightly colored cinnabar caterpillars alongside non-signalling fake caterpillars on two types of plants. The experts used ragwort, the natural host of cinnabar caterpillars, and bramble, a non-toxic plant that is not a natural host of the cinnabar. When foraging birds were abundant, both target types survived better on ragwort compared to bramble.



Study lead author Callum McLellan, a graduate student at the School of Biological Sciences, noted that Cinnabar caterpillars have a recognizable yellow and black appearance. "They also only live and feed on ragwort, which itself has distinctive yellow flowers," said McLellan.



The researchers wanted to learn whether birds use these bright yellow flowers as a cue to avoid ragwort. They removed the spikes of flowers from the ragwort and pinned them onto the bramble.



This experiment revealed that only the non-signaling targets survived better on plants with ragwort flowers, compared to the same plant type without the flowers. Meanwhile, the cinnabar lookalikes survived equally across all of the plants.&nbsp;



"We have shown that birds learn that the ragwort flowers are a cue for danger, so can avoid going anywhere near toxic prey. It’s more efficient to avoid the whole plant than make decisions about individual caterpillars," explained McLellan.



“Interestingly, any camouflaged caterpillars living on the same plant also benefit from birds’ learnt wariness of ragwort, despite being perfectly good to eat," said Professor Innes Cuthill, who devised the study.



“Our results provide the opening to a brand-new discussion on how toxicity initially evolved in insect prey, and the conditions under which warning coloration is, or is not, favored.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Birds can recognize plants that host toxic insects

Research from the University of Bristol has revealed that birds...

Green vegetables are commonly associated as an essential part of a healthy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/obesity-and-high-fat-diets-may-contribute-to-hair-loss/">diet</a>, but new research from the <a href="https://www.usf.edu/">University of South Florida</a> has found that basil and other herbs may protect the brain against Alzheimer’s disease pathology.



The study was based around investigation of the gut microbiome, discovering within it a sense mechanism that explains why fenchol - a natural compound abundant in basil plants - can reduce brain neurotoxicity that leads to Alzheimer’s.



However, the correlation is not direct. The study’s results first demonstrated that short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), metabolites produced in the gut microbiome that provide nutrition for colon cells, also contribute to brain health. SCFA activity is largely reduced in older patients with Alzheimers.



The protective effects are produced when the short-chain fatty acids bind to and activate the fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2). The researchers have discovered that the fenchol found in basil is excellent at triggering this biological communication.



“Our study is the first to discover that stimulation of the FFAR2 sensing mechanism by these microbial metabolites (SCFAs) can be beneficial in protecting brain cells against the toxic accumulation of the amyloid-beta (Aβ) protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease,” said principal investigator Hariom Yadav.



The fenchol-rich basil plant was discovered as an appropriate candidate for mimicking the beneficial signaling through a large-scale screening process concerning over 144,000 natural compounds. The results narrowed the range down to just 15 leading candidates, with fenchol showing the highest amount of potential for the stimulation of FFAR signalling.



Upon discovering this, the researchers closely examined the compound, discovering that it decreases senescent neuronal cells (otherwise known as ‘zombie cells’) that are commonly located in brains with Alzheimers. These are cells that build up in aging organs to create an inflammatory environment, sending stress signals that ultimately spread the characteristic to otherwise healthy cells.



“Fenchol actually affects the two related mechanisms of senescence and proteolysis,” explained Yadav. “It reduces the formation of half-dead zombie neuronal cells and also increases the degradation of (nonfunctioning) Aβ, so that amyloid protein is cleared from the brain much faster.”



The discovery shows great potential for the future prevention of Alzheimers, but further research is still required. It is unclear whether concentrated doses of fenchol should be administered as a pill, or if regular consumption of plants such as basil would be sufficient.



“We also want to know whether a potent dose of either basil or fenchol, if it could be delivered by nasal spray, would be a quicker way to get the compound into the brain," explained Yadav.



The study has published in the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/aging-neuroscience">Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Compound found in basil plants may prevent Alzheimer’s

Green vegetables are commonly associated as an essential part of...

After almost 50 years, specimens collected from a tree found in the Amazon <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fires-are-transforming-the-amazon-rainforest-into-savanna/">rainforest</a> have been identified as a new species that has now received its own scientific name.



When Robin Foster originally came across the unusual tree in Peru's Manu National Park in 1973, he could not immediately identify the family to which it belonged. He collected samples of the tree’s leaves and its unusual fruits, which were bright orange and shaped like tiny paper lanterns. He took these home to the United States hoping that other botanists would help with identification.&nbsp;



“When I first saw this little tree, while out on a forest trail leading from the field station, it was the fruit – looking like an orange-colored Chinese lantern and juicy when ripe with several seeds – that caught my attention,” said Foster, retired curator at Chicago’s <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a> and now a researcher with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.&nbsp;



“I didn’t really think it was special, except for the fact that it had characteristics of plants in several different plant families, and didn’t fall neatly into any family.&nbsp; Usually, I can tell the family by a quick glance, but damned if I could place this one.”



Unfortunately, the other scientists were unable to help solve the mystery of the unknown Amazon species. Not only were they unable to identify the plant as a species that had been previously described by scientists, but they couldn’t even declare it a new species, because they could not determine what family it belonged to.&nbsp;



Nancy Hensold, a botanist at the Field Museum, remembers when Robin showed her a dried specimen of the plant more than 30 years ago.&nbsp;



“I came to work at the Field Museum in 1990, and Robin showed me this plant. And I tried to get it identified using little fine technical characters like boiling up the ovaries of the flowers and taking pictures of the pollen, and after all that, we still didn’t know,” said Hensold. “It really bugged me.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The samples of the mystery Amazon species were then stored in the Field Museum’s herbarium, a library of dried plant specimens, for years, but Hensold and her colleagues didn’t forget about them. “When you have a plant no one can put in a family, it can fall through the scientific cracks. I felt for it,” said Hensold. The team eventually got a grant to study the plant, funded by the Field Museum’s Women’s Board, and the search was on.&nbsp;



DNA analysis of the dried specimens did not work well, so the researchers called on Patricia Álvarez-Loayza, a scientist who works in the Manu National Park, to collect fresh specimens of the plant. The DNA was analyzed in the Field Museum’s Pritzker DNA Laboratory and the results were shocking.



“When my colleague Rick Ree sequenced it and told me what family it belonged to, I told him the sample must have been contaminated. I was like, no way, I just couldn’t believe it,” recalled Hensold.&nbsp;



The DNA analysis revealed that the mystery plant’s closest relatives were in the Picramniaceae family, even though it didn’t look anything like its closest relatives. “Looking closer at the structure of the tiny little flowers I realized, oh, it really has some similarities but given its overall characters, nobody would have put it in that family,” explained Hensold.



The researchers were so surprised that they sent specimens to Wayt Thomas, a curator emeritus at The New York Botanical Garden and an expert in plants of the Picramniaceae family.&nbsp;



“When I opened the package and looked at the specimens, my first reaction was, ‘What the heck?’ These plants didn’t look like anything else in the family,” said Thomas, the lead author of the paper that describes the findings. “So, I decided to look more carefully – once I looked really carefully at the tiny, 2-3 millimeter-long flowers, things fell into place.”



The researchers were finally able to give the Amazon species a scientific name – Aenigmanu alvareziae. The genus name,&nbsp;Aenigmanu, means “mystery of Manu,” while the species name is in honor of Patricia Álvarez-Loayza, who collected the specimens used for the genetic analysis. It is important to note that, although Aenigmanu alvareziae&nbsp;has now been named to science for the first time, it has long been known and used by the indigenous Machiguenga people.



“Plants are understudied in general. Especially tropical forest plants. Especially Amazon plants.&nbsp;And especially plants in the upper Amazon," said Foster.&nbsp;



"To understand the changes taking place in the tropics, to protect what remains, and to restore areas that have been wiped out, plants are the foundation for everything that lives there and the most important to study."



"Giving them unique names is the best way to organize information about them and call attention to them. A single rare species may not by itself be important to an ecosystem, but collectively they tell us what is going on out there.”



The study is published in&nbsp;the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19968175">Taxon</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mystery Amazon species identified after nearly 50 years

After almost 50 years, specimens collected from a tree found...

Recent estimations suggest that up to two-thirds of the Arctic’s near-surface permafrost might disappear by the end of the century due to climate change. A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01162-y">Nature Climate Change</a> warns that rapidly melting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/this-years-ozone-hole-is-larger-than-antarctica/">Arctic</a> permafrost could cause the spread of nuclear waste and previously unknown pathogens. 



The Arctic permafrost covers nine million square miles and dates up to one million years ago. Over the millennia, it has housed a large variety of microbes and chemical compounds that could be released into the atmosphere once the permafrost melts.



“Changes in the Arctic’s climate and ecology will influence every part of the planet as it feeds carbon back to the atmosphere and raises sea levels,” said study co-author Arwyn Edwards, a Reader in Biology at <a href="https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/">Aberystwyth University</a>. “This review identifies how other risks can arise from the warming Arctic. It has long been a deep-freezer for a range of harmful things, not just greenhouse gases."&nbsp;



"We need to understand more about the fate of these harmful microbes and pollutants and nuclear materials to properly understand the threats they may pose.”



Between 1955 and 1990, the Soviet Union conducted 130 nuclear weapon tests in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, releasing 265 megatons of nuclear energy. Furthermore, over 100 decommissioned nuclear submarines were scuttled in the Kara and Barents Seas.&nbsp;



However, the Soviet Union is not the only culprit for making the permafrost a deposit of dangerous compounds. The United States' Camp Century nuclear-powered research facility in Greenland also produced a large amount of nuclear waste, which is now scattered within the Greenland ice sheet.



In addition to these man-made chemicals, the permafrost also houses a variety of ancient pathogens. Scientists have already discovered more than 100 species of microorganisms in the Siberian deep permafrost that appear to be antibiotic resistant. As permafrost thaws, there is a strong chance for these pathogens to mix with meltwater and mutate into other antibiotic-resistant strains that could easily cause future pandemics.&nbsp;



“It’s important to understand the secondary and tertiary impacts of these large-scale Earth changes such as permafrost thaw,” warned study lead author Dr. Kimberley Miner, an Earth and Climate Scientist at <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a>.&nbsp;



"While some of the hazards associated with the thaw of up to a million years of material have been captured, we are a long way from being able to model and predict exactly when and where they will happen. This research is critical.”&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Permafrost melting may release nuclear waste into the atmosphere

Recent estimations suggest that up to two-thirds of the Arctic’s...

As the human population increases into the mid-21st century, along with its demands for resources, we are faced with the task of working out how to supply food and other goods to people while simultaneously mitigating the effects on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reef-biodiversity-expected-to-shuffle-but-not-decline/">biodiversity</a> and nature.



“Figuring out how to feed, clothe and power 11 billion people without causing mass species extinction and wrecking the climate is this century’s greatest challenge,” said Andrew Balmford, a professor of Conservation Science at the University of Cambridge and author of a new review on the topic.&nbsp;“Preserving diverse life while meeting humanity’s needs will mean enormous trade-offs, but the evidence is starting to point in one direction.”



Professor Balmford’s review summarizes a decade of global research on trade-offs between crop production and biodiversity.&nbsp;It also uses data from more than 2,500 individually assessed plant, insect and vertebrate species from five continents. The research highlights that there is an urgent need to limit humanity’s escalating impacts on nature while still providing for the needs of the ever-increasing human population.&nbsp;



To this end, Professor Balmford lays out the case for concentrating farming activities in limited, high-yield enterprises that use less land and use it more effectively. This then allows other lands to be spared for re-wilding and the exclusive use of nature.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Most species fare better under this “land sparing” approach than if farming tries to share land with nature – as wildlife-friendly agriculture still damages biodiversity and requires far more land to produce the same amount of food.



Cambridge-led studies on bird and tree species in India and West Africa found that, while all species are “losers” if mid-century food targets are met, more species “fare least badly” under extreme land sparing: concentrated farming that allows the freeing-up of more natural habitat.



“Colleagues have replicated these findings in field sites ranging from Mexico and the Pampas to Colombia and Kazakhstan,” said Professor Balmford. “Most species are specialized to particular environments. Even minor disruptions reduce their populations. This is why so many species decline even with gentler farming.”



“Most species fare much better if habitats are left intact, which means reducing the space needed for farming. So areas that are farmed need to be as productive as we can possibly make them."



He recognizes that some species do thrive on traditional farmlands, particularly in Europe, and so he has proposed that some lightly farmed areas need to remain in order to accommodate the conservation needs of these species. This implies a three-compartment model to farming in the future: high-yield farms maximize food production in the smallest possible land area; some low-yield farming areas are left where species specializing in these habitats can flourish; and the rest of the land is spared for the protection of natural habitats and their associated biodiversity.&nbsp;



The National Food Strategy (NFS), commissioned by the UK government and published this past summer, recommended that Balmford’s three-compartment model should form the basis of a new “Rural Land Use framework." This approach sees high-productivity farming being concentrated into the smallest possible area, thus sparing lands to return to natural habitat. The NFS points out that around 21 percent of farmed land in England will need to be rewilded to some extent or used for biofuel if the UK is to meet its net zero targets for emissions.



Concentrating farming activities in smaller areas while leaving and increasing natural habitats will create a patchwork landscape that will not only conserve species but also allow them to “seed” and repopulate entire regions and nations. These species will no longer be isolated in small fragments of natural habitat but will be able to spread throughout the patchwork of available rewilded lands.



Professor Balmford highlights the success of just four square kilometers of restored wetland near Lakenheath in the east of England. Covered with carrot fields as recently as 1995, the site is now a launchpad for egrets spreading northwards under climate change, and home to the first breeding cranes seen in The Fens for over 300 years.



Additionally, emerging evidence from areas including the Andes, the US and the UK suggests that “land sparing” is important in the fight against climate change, as carbon storage levels are higher if high-yield production allows for more natural vegetation. In this connection, previous research by Balmford suggests that if 30 percent of UK land was spared for woods and wetlands, it could store enough carbon to offset almost all emissions from UK farming by 2050 – and provide a colossal boost to British wildlife.



Important questions remain about how to deliver high yields sustainably, and also about how to ensure that high-yield farming goes hand-in-hand with the protection and restoration of habitats and is not simply used as an excuse for farmers to make more profit.



The framework can also be applied in other fields, including urban planning, recreation, forestry and fisheries. For example, New Zealand is taking the “sparing” approach in forestry management where over 70 percent of forests are protected while the trees are intensively harvested from pockets of pine plantation.&nbsp;



In addition, research suggests the “sparing” philosophy also offers hope for depleted oceans. Fish farming and concentrated areas of locally intensive fishing could provide enough food to allow dramatic expansion of “no-take” marine protected areas where species diversity and natural ecosystems could be left to flourish.&nbsp;



Crucially, future land management policies of this type must be linked to the ability to meet humanity’s need for food and other resources. “You can’t convince people to save nature if they are hungry. We need to ensure we can harvest enough from the biosphere while preserving the planet,” said Professor Balmford. “Conservation has to be pragmatic if we are to interrupt an ecological catastrophe.”



The study is published in the <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14697998">Journal of Zoology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Farmland must be spared, not shared, for nature to thrive

As the human population increases into the mid-21st century, along...

A new study led by the <a href="https://icahn.mssm.edu/">Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai</a> has found that exposure to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/illegal-cannabis-farms-infringe-on-crucial-animal-habitats/">THC</a>, the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, can cause birth defects in genetically-predisposed mice.&nbsp;



Cannabis is one of the most frequently used recreational drugs, and is also one of the most common drugs used by pregnant women. However, its effects on embryonic development are not yet clearly understood.&nbsp;



Although it is still restricted in most countries, cannabis has been increasingly legalized for recreational and medical consumption in a variety of places, thus causing the number of its consumers to grow significantly.&nbsp;



According to a research team led by Robert Krauss, a professor of Cell, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology at the Icahn School of Medicine, exposure to THC could exacerbate a mutation that affects a mechanism that cells use to communicate to each other called <a href="http://annalsofneurosciences.org/journal/index.php/annal/article/view/531">Hedgehog signaling</a>.&nbsp;



“Several years ago, it was reported that THC could inhibit Hedgehog signalling in cells grown in a dish,” said Professor Krauss. “We reasoned that THC might be an environmental risk factor for birth defects, but that it would require additional risk factors, such as specific mutations in the genes required for Hedgehog signalling, to induce these defects in mice.”



In order to test this hypothesis, the scientists administered a single dose of THC to pregnant mice approximately a week after conception. Afterward, they studied the embryonic development of the pups, some of which carried a mutation affecting their Hedgehog signaling system.&nbsp;



The researchers discovered that the pups without the mutation developed normally, even when exposed to THC. However, the pups that carried the mutation and were exposed to the drug developed a face and brain defect called holoprosencephaly, which is characterized by the failure of the embryonic brain to divide into two lobes.



The findings could have important implications for human health too. “The THC concentration in cannabis is now very high, so it is important to perform epidemiology studies looking at whether cannabis consumption is associated with developmental defects."&nbsp;



"Women are already advised not to consume cannabis while pregnant, but our results show that embryos are sensitive at a very early period, before many women know they are pregnant. Cannabis consumption may therefore be inadvisable even when women are trying to get pregnant,” warned Professor Krauss.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1242/dev.199585">Development</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How does cannabis use affect embryonic development?

A new study led by the Icahn School of Medicine...

A new meta-analysis led by <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University of London</a> has integrated the findings of 134 studies about the impact on consumer choice of color-coded nutrition labels and warnings from the front of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-seafood-has-one-sixth-the-carbon-footprint-of-red-meat/">food</a> packaging. 



The results of the analysis suggest that color-coded nutrition labels encourage people to make healthful purchases, while warning labels discourage customers to buy less healthy products. Thus, both labeling strategies appear to be highly beneficial for public health.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Some countries have introduced mandatory labels on the front of food products that show their nutritional values, or warn consumers about some unhealthy features that the products might have. Officials hope that such labeling strategies might help reduce the burden of disease associated to poor diets, and thus have an important impact on public health.



In order to clarify how four different types of front-of-package nutrition and warning labels influence consumer choice, Jing Song, a doctoral student at Queen Mary University, and his research team, conducted a network meta-analysis of data collected from 134 peer-reviewed studies published between January 1990 and May 2021. Their analysis showed that all four labeling systems seemed to have significant advantages in encouraging consumers to buy healthier products.



“This study found that color-coded labels and warning labels are all able to direct consumers towards more healthful purchase behavior,” explained the study authors. “Color-coded labels can promote the purchase of more healthful products, while warning labels discourage the purchase of less healthful products.”



A better understanding of the nutritional qualities of each product appeared to influence consumers to select foods and drinks with lower levels of energy, sodium, fats, and saturated fats. The findings can help refine policies of food labeling in order to improve public health, and perhaps also provide guidance to the food industry to reformulate some of their less healthy products.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study was published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003765">PLOS Medicine</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nutrition labels help people buy healthier products

A new meta-analysis led by Queen Mary University of London...

Society is becoming increasingly aware of the detrimental effects that rising CO2 levels will have on the climate, but until recently, little has been known about the effect that this will have on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-investigate-the-origin-of-photosynthesis/">photosynthesis</a>. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/">University of Birmingham</a> exposed old oak trees to elevated levels of CO2.. Over the course of three years, the 175-year-old oaks responded to rising CO2 levels by increasing their rate of photosynthesis.



The team worked in collaboration with colleagues from Western Sydney University’s EucFACE eucalyptus forest. The university is conducting the experiment with an old oak forest, using CO2 levels that represent the average levels expected by 2050.&nbsp;



The researchers measured carbon levels within the wood, roots, leaves, and soil of the oak trees in order to pinpoint changes in photosynthesis and locate where and how excess CO2 is stored.



“I’m really excited to contribute the first published science results to BIFoR FACE, an experiment of global importance," expressed lead researcher Anna Gardner. “It was hard work conducting measurements at the top of a 25 m oak day after day, but it was the only way to be sure how much extra the trees were photosynthesizing."



The results of the study concluded that photosynthesis rates of the oak trees increased by up to a third, with the highest rate of change being found in trees exposed to strong sunlight.



It was also discovered that ratios of the key nutrients carbon and nitrogen did not change in the leaves, demonstrating that the old oak trees can adapt to redirect nitrogen into the soil to balance out the increased intake of carbon.



“Previous work at EucFACE measured photosynthesis increased by up to a fifth in increased carbon dioxide," explained Professor David Ellsworth. "So, we now know how old forest responds in the warm-temperate climate that we have here in Sydney and the mild temperate climate of the northern middle latitudes where Birmingham sits. At EucFACE we found no additional growth in higher CO2, and it remains to be seen if that will be the case for BIFOR as well.”



“We are sure now that the old trees are responding to future carbon dioxide levels," said Professor Rob MacKenzie, Founding Director of BIFoR. "How the entire forest ecosystem responds is a much bigger question requiring many more detailed investigations. We are now pushing ahead with those investigations.”



The results of the study have been published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/treephys">Tree Physiology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Old oak trees ramp up photosynthesis in response to rising CO2

Society is becoming increasingly aware of the detrimental effects that...

There is evidence that psychedelic mushrooms, popularly known as “magic mushrooms,” have been consumed by humans for over six millennia. In 1958, Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman was the first to isolate and synthesize <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/psilocybin-treatment-rapidly-relieves-symptoms-of-major-depression/">psilocybin</a>, the main psychoactive ingredient of magic mushrooms. The potential for psilocybin to treat severe depression has been scientifically acknowledged, and clinical trials are currently underway.&nbsp;



A new study has found that psilocybin also enhances emotional responses to music among healthy individuals. Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> and <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/">Imperial College London</a> tested a cohort of participants on their emotional response to music after being given psilocybin. In addition, a control group was given ketanserin, an antihypertensive drug with no marked psychological effects.&nbsp;



At the peak of the psilocybin effects, participants listened to a short music program, comprising Elgar’s Engima Variations no. 8 and 9 and Mozart’s Laudate Dominum, and were asked to rate their emotional response according to the <a href="https://www.uibk.ac.at/psychologie/fachbereiche/pdd/personality_assessment/gems/about-the-gems/index.html.en">Geneva Emotional Music Scale</a>.



Study lead author Dea Siggaard Stenbæk is an associate professor who specializes in Affective Cognitive Neuroscience and Crisis Psychology at the University of Copenhagen.



“We found that psilocybin markedly enhanced the emotional response to music, when compared to the response before taking the drugs. On the measurement scale we used, psilocybin increased the emotional response to music by around 60 percent,” said Professor Stenbæk. 



“This shows that the combination of psilocybin and music has a strong emotional effect, and we believe that this will be important for the therapeutic application of psychedelics if they are approved for clinical use. Psilocybin is under development as a drug to treat depression, and this work implies that music needs to be considered as a therapeutic part of the treatment.”



The findings suggest that the enhanced emotional processing may be a positive outcome of combining psylocibin with music, which means that scientists should use music as an active component of psylocibin therapy. 



David J. Nutt, a professor of Neuropharmacology at Imperial College London, said that psilocybin-based depression treatments could be optimized by personalizing the music tracks used in therapy.



According to the study authors, understanding the contribution of enhanced music-evoked emotions to other psychedelic phenomena - such as mystical type experiences - will also be important for establishing music as a key element in psychedelic therapy.



This research was presented at the <a href="https://www.ecnp.eu/Congress2021/ECNPcongress">European College of Neuropharmacology (ECNP) Congress</a> in Lisbon, Portugal.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Magic mushrooms enhance music appreciation

There is evidence that psychedelic mushrooms, popularly known as “magic...

Mangroves are a type of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/aspen-trees-change-their-genetic-structure-to-adapt/">trees</a>, palms, and shrubs that are usually found along tropical and subtropical coastlines, thriving in the vicinity of salt water. However, an ancient mangrove ecosystem located in the Yucatán Peninsula more than 120 miles away from the nearest ocean has recently attracted considerable scientific attention due to its unusual location.



Carlos Burelo, a native of the region and researcher at the <a href="https://www.ujat.mx/">Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco</a>, drew the attention of the scientific community to the existence of this ecosystem in 2016. “I used to fish here and play on these mangroves as a kid, but we never knew precisely how they got there,” said Burelo. “That was the driving question that brought the team together.”



Integrating geologic, genetic, and vegetation data with sea-level modeling, the scientists found that the mangrove forests had reached their current location during the last interglacial period, about 125,000 years ago, and have remained there in isolation as the temperatures dropped and the oceans receded during the last Ice Age.



“The most amazing part of this study is that we were able to examine a mangrove ecosystem that has been trapped in time for more than 100,000 years,” said study co-author Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, a Marine Ecologist at the <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/">Scripps Institution of Oceanography</a>.&nbsp;



“There is certainly more to discover about how the many species in this ecosystem adapted throughout different environmental conditions over the past 100,000 years. Studying these past adaptations will be very important for us to better understand future conditions in a changing climate.”



The study sheds light on the extensive landscape impact past periods of climate change had on the world’s coastlines. During the last interglacial period, most of the Gulf of Mexico’s coastal lowlands were under water, which retreated only when temperatures started to fall. However, besides providing a glimpse into the ancient geography of the Mexican tropics, these findings also help us better understand how current climate change could affect <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-levels-are-rising-at-an-alarming-rate/">sea-levels</a>.&nbsp;



“The story of Pleistocene glacial cycles is written in the DNA of its plants waiting for scientists to decipher it but, more importantly, the San Pedro mangroves are warning us about the dramatic impact that climate change could have on the coastal plains of the Gulf of Mexico if we do not take urgent action to stop the emission of greenhouse gases,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2024518118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.</a>



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mangrove forest reveals ancient climate change effects

Mangroves are a type of trees, palms, and shrubs that...

A recent study has investigated the mechanisms through which apples get their particular shapes (mostly spherical, with a cusp at the top where the stems grow). Using observations, lab experiments, theories, and computations, a team of mathematicians and physicists led by the <a href="https://www.seas.harvard.edu/">Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences</a> (SEAS) is shedding new light on the growth and form of apple cusps.



The research team collected apples at various <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-and-animals-rely-on-the-same-chemicals-for-growth/">growth</a> stages from an orchard at <a href="https://www.pet.cam.ac.uk/">Peterhouse College</a> and mapped the growth of their cusp over time. Next, they used numerical simulations to understand how differential growth between the fruit cortex and the core drives the formation of the cusp. Finally, they corroborated these computations with experiments mimicking the growth of apples using gel that swelled over time.



“Being able to control and replay morphogenesis of singular cusps in the laboratory with simple material toolkits was particularly exciting,” said&nbsp;co-author Aditi Chakrabarti, a postdoctoral fellow at SEAS. “Varying the geometry and composition of the gel mimics showed how multiple cusps form, as seen in some apples and other drupes, such as peaches, apricots, cherries and plums.”



Scientists discovered that different rates of growth between the bulk of the apples and their stalk regions resulted in the dimple-like cusp. In order to explain the evolution of cusps’ shapes, they turned to a mathematical theory known as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/mathematics/singularity-theory">singularity theory</a>, which is used to describe a large variety of different phenomena, ranging from mundane ones such as the light patterns forming at the bottom of a swimming pool to more esoteric ones, such as black holes.



“Biological shapes are often organized by the presence of structures that serve as focal points,” explained study senior author Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, a professor of Applied Mathematics, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and Physics at SEAS. “These focal points can sometimes take the form of singularities where deformations are localized. A ubiquitous example is seen in the cusp of an apple, the inward dimple where the stalk meets the fruit.”



“Morphogenesis, literally the origin of shape, is one of the grand questions in biology. The shape of the humble apple has allowed us to probe some physical aspects of a biological singularity. Of course, we now need to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms behind the formation of the cusp, as we move slowly towards a broader theory of biological shape,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01335-8">Nature Physics</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How do apples get their shape?

A recent study has investigated the mechanisms through which apples...

Endangered plants