Across history, human influence is etched into every landscape. It is visible in cleared forests, redirected rivers, and land that has been transformed.



But the most striking changes may be in animals themselves. A new study from the <a href="https://www.umontpellier.fr/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Montpellier</a> shows that wild creatures have steadily shrunk, while domestic animals have gotten larger.



The research team examined more than 225,000 bones from 311 archaeological sites in Mediterranean France. These remains span 8,000 years, giving scientists a rare chance to trace how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-day-2025-a-global-call-to-protect-nature/">animal</a> bodies shifted over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animal-sizes-over-time">Animal sizes over time</h2>



The bones came from both wild <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-share-hidden-behavior-patterns-across-continents/">animals</a> - foxes, rabbits, deer - and domestic ones like goats, pigs, cattle, sheep, and chickens. 



The researchers measured every detail: length, width, depth, and even teeth. Then they layered on information about climate, plant life, population size, and land use.



With that mix, the team built models to figure out what forces shaped the animals, carefully linking data across centuries and landscapes. For most of history, wild and domestic species grew or shrank together. When the climate shifted or crops expanded, both groups changed in sync.



But around 1,000 years ago, something new happened, altering their paths forever and reshaping the balance between human activity and nature itself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-domestic-animals-grew-wildlife-shrank">Domestic animals grew, wildlife shrank</h2>



During the Middle Ages, domestic and wild <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-may-have-three-million-undiscovered-animal-species/">animals</a> split paths. Domestic species grew larger because people intentionally bred them for more meat, milk, wool, and strength. Farmers selected the biggest animals and repeated the process over generations, turning size into a controlled trait.



Wild animals faced the opposite fate. They shrank as relentless hunting reduced populations and as forests and grasslands disappeared under expanding farmland. With less space to roam and fewer resources to survive, wild species became smaller and weaker.



The scientists highlight this period as a turning point in history. Until then, natural forces like climate shifts and vegetation patterns played the central role in shaping animal size. But once human control intensified, nature no longer held the reins. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-size-changes-in-animals">Size changes in animals</h2>



Human choices - what to hunt, what to protect, and what to breed - became the dominant driver of animal evolution. From that moment on, survival and growth were dictated more by human hands than by the environment itself.



"Our results demonstrate that natural selection prevailed as an evolutionary force on domestic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-ocean-animals-connect-countries-and-continents/">animal</a> morphology until the last millennium," the researchers explained. 



"Body size is a sensitive indicator of systemic change, revealing both resilience and vulnerability within evolving human-animal-environment relationships."



Their point is sharp: bones tell us more than size. They reveal when humans began to dominate the survival story of animals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-humans-rewired-animal-evolution">Humans rewired animal evolution</h2>



This research is not just about ancient remains. It shows a pattern that continues now. We still breed domestic animals for more output. We still cut into wild spaces, pushing species to adapt or disappear. The same forces that began centuries ago now play out on a global scale.



By looking back, scientists gain a long record of how animals respond to us. That knowledge can help shape conservation. If shrinking size once signaled pressure, it can do so again today. 



A smaller body can reveal stress long before a population crashes. It can signal when food is scarce, when habitats are shrinking, or when human activities push species beyond their limits.



These clues matter because they provide early warnings. Conservationists can act before the damage becomes permanent. The past reminds us that human choices already altered the path of countless animals. The future depends on whether we learn from that record and change course while we still can.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-influence-of-human-activity">The influence of human activity</h2>



The study reminds us that animals never evolve in isolation. They grow, shrink, and adapt in response to us. When we change the rules, they change their bodies. The bones of Mediterranean France carry that message clearly.



Wild and domestic creatures once moved together. Then humans pulled them apart. The story is ancient, but its consequences live on in the world we shape every day. What happened a thousand years ago continues now, only faster and with greater intensity. 



Expanding cities push wild species into smaller spaces. Industrial farming reshapes domestic animals for maximum productivity. Hunting, deforestation, and climate change add further pressure.



The lesson is not just about history. These shifts reveal how deeply our choices reach into the lives of other species. They remind us that animals cannot escape the influence of human activity. 



Every decision, from farming to urban growth, leaves its trace on the natural world. The past warns us that these patterns are not new. The future asks us to recognize them and act with more responsibility.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2503428122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Humans have super-sized domestic animals and shrunk wildlife

Across history, human influence is etched into every landscape. It is visible in cleared forests, redirected rivers, and land that has been transformed. But the most striking changes may be in animals themselves. A new study from the University of Montpellier shows that wild creatures have steadily shrunk, while domestic animals have gotten larger. The research team examined more than 225,000 bones from 311 archaeological sites in Mediterranean France. These remains span 8,000 years, giving scientists a rare chance to trace how animal bodies shifted over time....

With over 2.8 billion fungal DNA sequences from 130 countries, scientists have produced the first high-resolution global maps of underground mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi support ecosystems by transporting nutrients, capturing carbon, and protecting plant health. 



Yet, over 90 percent of this underground <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hundreds-of-fungi-species-are-threatened-with-extinction/">biodiversity</a> lies outside protected areas. That makes these vital ecosystems vulnerable to environmental damage.



The data powers a new interactive platform called the Underground Atlas. This tool helps anyone explore fungal biodiversity from Ethiopia to Brazil, and from Tasmania to West Africa. 



These maps expose not only diversity but also rarity, revealing patterns previously hidden from view.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-underground-fungi-matter">Why underground fungi matter</h2>



Mycorrhizal fungi form massive underground networks that interact with nearly every plant. 



These fungal systems capture more than 13 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year - about a third of global fossil fuel emissions. They help crops grow, rebuild forests, and regulate water cycles.



Still, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fungi-can-think-and-make-smart-decisions-without-a-brain/">fungi</a> remain missing from major conservation plans. That absence is dangerous. When these networks get disturbed, forests regenerate more slowly, crops suffer, and entire ecosystems unravel.



“For centuries, we've mapped mountains, forests, and oceans. But these fungi have remained in the dark,” said Dr. Toby Kiers of Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (<a href="https://www.spun.earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SPUN)</a>.



“They cycle nutrients, store carbon, support plant health, and make soil. When we disrupt these critical ecosystem engineers, forest regeneration slows, crops fail, and biodiversity aboveground begins to unravel."



"This is the first time we're able to visualize these biodiversity patterns - and it's clear we are failing to protect underground ecosystems.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-maps-show-fungi-need-protection">Maps show fungi need protection</h2>



The research team used machine learning to build predictive maps from their vast dataset. These maps reveal fungal richness and rarity at a global scale, down to one square kilometer. 



Less than 10 percent of biodiversity hotspots appear in protected areas, exposing a huge gap in global conservation strategy.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/fungi_global-underground-system_map_credit-SPUN_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/fungi_global-underground-system_map_credit-SPUN_1s.webp" alt="High-resolution map of from SPUN's Underground Atlas showing predicted arbuscular mycorrhizal biodiversity patterns across underground ecosystems. Bright colors indicate higher richness and endemism. Credit: SPUN" class="wp-image-1979248"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">High-resolution map of from SPUN's Underground Atlas showing predicted arbuscular mycorrhizal biodiversity patterns across underground ecosystems. Bright colors indicate higher richness and endemism. Click image to enlarge. Credit: SPUN</figcaption></figure>



This work is the first large-scale scientific product of SPUN. The group launched in 2021 with the goal to map and protect Earth’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-millions-of-fungal-species-still-remain-unknown/">fungal networks</a>.



"For too long, we've overlooked mycorrhizal fungi. These maps help alleviate our fungus blindness,” explained Dr. Merlin Sheldrake of SPUN.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tool-to-explore-underground-fungi">A tool to explore underground fungi</h2>



Now, SPUN offers a powerful new tool: the Underground Atlas. It allows researchers, policymakers, and conservationists to explore biodiversity anywhere on Earth. 



“The idea is to ensure underground biodiversity becomes as fundamental to environmental decision-making as satellite imagery,” noted Jason Cremerius of SPUN.



Users can locate biodiversity hotspots, identify rare fungal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trees-have-unique-fungi-partnerships-that-help-them-survive/">species</a>, and support restoration work. The tool can inform the placement of conservation areas, especially in biodiversity-rich regions that remain unprotected.



“These high-resolution maps provide quantitative targets for restoration managers,” said Dr. Alex Wegmann from <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Nature Conservancy</a>. “Restoration practices have been dangerously incomplete because the focus has historically been on life aboveground.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-no-legal-shield-for-fungi">No legal shield for fungi</h2>



According to the researchers, the data could help shape climate and biodiversity laws. For example, Ghana’s coast hosts a vital underground fungal hotspot - yet this coast erodes by two meters each year. If left unprotected, this fungal diversity could vanish into the sea.



“Underground fungal systems have been largely invisible in law and policy,” said César Rodriguez-Garavito of NYU. “These data are incredibly important in strengthening law and policy across all of Earth's underground ecosystems.”



SPUN has built a global dataset of 40,000 samples covering 95,000 fungal taxa. The organization partners with more than 400 scientists and 96 “<a href="https://www.spun.earth/expeditions/underground-explorers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Underground Explorers</a>” from 79 countries. These teams now sample remote regions - from Bhutan and Mongolia to Ukraine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-depends-on-these-networks">Future depends on these networks</h2>



Despite the achievements, scientists have sampled just 0.001% of Earth's surface. SPUN needs more data to improve maps, define restoration goals, and identify <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hundreds-of-fungi-species-are-threatened-with-extinction/">endangered</a> fungal communities. 



“These maps reveal what we stand to lose if we fail to protect the underground,” said Dr. Kiers.



To protect Earth’s underground biodiversity, collective action is essential. Researchers can partner with SPUN to expand data collection and improve the accuracy of fungal diversity maps. 



Conservationists should use these insights to design strategic interventions and prioritize high-value ecosystems. Policymakers need to recognize the critical role of underground fungi by including them in biodiversity and climate frameworks. 



The public can explore the <a href="https://www.spun.earth/underground-atlas/mycorrhizal-biodiversity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Underground Atlas</a> to better understand this hidden world and support ongoing efforts. Funders play a key role by investing in the next phase of global fungal exploration and restoration.



To see the hidden world beneath your feet, visit the Underground Atlas and help protect the life that sustains ours.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09277-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Underground fungi networks that sustain all life on Earth are in danger

With over 2.8 billion fungal DNA sequences from 130 countries,...

A new discovery in the Grand Canyon is giving scientists a closer look at some of Earth’s earliest animals. This stunning find includes fossils of soft-bodied creatures from more than 500 million years ago. 



These aren’t just any fossils - they offer a rare glimpse into how early animals lived, fed, and evolved during a time of rapid biological change.



The fossils were found in rocks that date back to the Cambrian explosion. This period, between 507 and 502 million years ago, marks when many of the major animal groups first appeared.



Intense competition and evolutionary innovation marked this window in time. For the first time in this famous national park, scientists have found exceptionally preserved remains of soft-bodied animals, such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mollusks-evolution-shishania-aculeata-spiny-armor-no-shells-500-million-years-ago/">mollusks</a>, crustaceans, and even fragments of their last meals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-microscopic-fossil-treasure">A microscopic fossil treasure</h2>



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Cambridge</a> led the study. They collected rock samples during a 2023 expedition along the Colorado River in Arizona. 



"We collected a total of 29 samples of diverse shale lithologies, ranging from massive to fissile, gray to purple, and with various degrees of weathering and dolomitization," the team noted. 



The researchers brought the samples back to their lab, where they dissolved the rocks using hydrofluoric acid. After running the sediment through sieves, they uncovered thousands of tiny fossils.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/grand-canyon_fossil-treasure-trove_sea-creatures_500-million-years_credit-Mussini_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/grand-canyon_fossil-treasure-trove_sea-creatures_500-million-years_credit-Mussini_1s.webp" alt="A treasure trove of exceptionally preserved early animals from more than half a billion years ago has been discovered in the Grand Canyon, one of the natural world's most iconic sites. The rich fossil discovery – the first such find in the Grand Canyon – includes tiny rock-scraping mollusks, filter-feeding crustaceans, spiky-toothed worms, and even fragments of the food they likely ate. Credit: Mussini et al." class="wp-image-1979240"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A treasure trove of exceptionally preserved early animals from more than half a billion years ago has been discovered in the Grand Canyon, one of the natural world's most iconic sites. The rich fossil discovery – the first such find in the Grand Canyon – includes tiny rock-scraping mollusks, filter-feeding crustaceans, spiky-toothed worms, and even fragments of the food they likely ate. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Mussini et al.</figcaption></figure>



“These rare fossils give us a fuller picture of what life was like during the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cambrian-explosion-fossils-push-back-the-rise-of-complex-life/">Cambrian</a> period,” said first author Giovanni Mussini, a Ph.D. student in Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences. 



“By combining these fossils with traces of their burrowing, walking, and feeding - which are found all over the Grand Canyon - we’re able to piece together an entire ancient ecosystem.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-animals-had-wild-ways-to-eat">Early animals had wild ways to eat</h2>



The level of preservation is remarkable. Although the fossils weren’t fully intact, the researchers were able to identify structures like spiky teeth, scraping tools, and feeding limbs. These features show how the creatures once lived.



Scientists usually see this kind of fossil preservation only in places like the Burgess Shale in Canada or China’s Maotianshan Shales.



Some of the most surprising finds were animals with complex feeding tools. "These were cutting-edge ‘technologies’ for their time, integrating multiple anatomical parts into high-powered feeding systems,” said Mussini.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/grand-canyon-fossils_priapulids-speies_Kraytdraco-spectatus_credit-Rhydian-Evans_1.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/grand-canyon-fossils_priapulids-speies_Kraytdraco-spectatus_credit-Rhydian-Evans_1s.webp" alt="A new species of priapulids, also known as penis or cactus worms, which were widespread during the Cambrian but are nearly extinct today. The Grand Canyon priapulid had hundreds of complex branching teeth, which helped it sweep food particles into its extensible mouth. Due to the size of the fossil and its exotic rows of teeth, the researchers named this new animal Kraytdraco spectatus, after the krayt dragon, a fictional creature from the Star Wars universe. Credit: Rhydian Evans" class="wp-image-1979242"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A new species of priapulids, also known as penis or cactus worms, which were widespread during the Cambrian but are nearly extinct today. The Grand Canyon priapulid had hundreds of complex branching teeth, which helped it sweep food particles into its extensible mouth. Due to the size of the fossil and its exotic rows of teeth, the researchers named this new animal Kraytdraco spectatus, after the krayt dragon, a fictional creature from the Star Wars universe. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Rhydian Evans</figcaption></figure>



Among the fossils were tiny crustaceans resembling modern brine shrimp. They had grooves around their mouths lined with hair-like structures and molar-like teeth that allowed them to grind food efficiently.



Tiny grooves and fossilized food particles near their mouths gave clues about what they were eating. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-reveal-feeding-variety">Fossils reveal feeding variety</h2>



The fossils also showed slug-like mollusks with chains of teeth similar to modern garden <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/snails-defy-death-and-revive-through-evolution/">snails</a>. This suggests they scraped algae or bacteria from rocks.



A priapulid worm - commonly known as a cactus worm - stood out as the most unusual creature, with complex rows of branching teeth. 



The researchers named it Kraytdraco spectatus, inspired by the krayt dragon from the Star Wars universe.



“We can see from these fossils that Cambrian animals had a wide variety of feeding styles used to process their food, some which have modern counterparts,” said Mussini.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-perfect-conditions-to-evolve">Perfect conditions to evolve</h2>



Half a billion years ago, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grand-canyon-fossils-reveal-secrets-of-the-cambrian-explosion/">Grand Canyon</a> area was much closer to the equator. It was a place where shallow, oxygen-rich waters met just the right amount of sunlight and nutrients. 



This balance provided ideal conditions for early animals to evolve and experiment with new traits.



“Animals needed to keep ahead of the competition through complex, costly innovations, but the environment allowed them to do that,” said Mussini. “In a more resource-starved environment, animals can’t afford to make that sort of physiological investment."



"It’s got certain parallels with economics: invest and take risks in times of abundance; save and be conservative in times of scarcity." 



These fossils show that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-discovery-pushes-back-reptile-evolution-by-40-million-years/">early animals</a> weren’t just surviving - they were adapting, experimenting, and thriving.



Thanks to their preservation in the fine-grained rocks of the Grand Canyon, we now have a clearer image of an ancient ecosystem that helped shape the diversity of life we see today. 



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adv6383" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Grand Canyon was a 'Goldilocks zone' for evolution of the earliest animal life on Earth

A new discovery in the Grand Canyon is giving scientists...

The ocean is far from quiet at night - especially near coral reefs, where a steady crackle rolls through the water. A new study shows that this natural sound can help scientists judge whether reefs are bouncing back after heat stress.



Researchers <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241938" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> that the clicks of small crustaceans known as snapping shrimp reveal how much living coral remains on the reef. The louder and higher-pitched the crackle, the healthier the coral cover is likely to be.



A team led by Xavier Raick from Cornell University’s K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics <a href="https://www.birds.cornell.edu/ccb/">lab</a> placed underwater recorders around Moorea, a volcanic island in French Polynesia.



The researchers compared acoustic data gathered before the severe coral bleaching episodes of 2016 and 2019 with recordings made two years after the second heatwave.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-listening-for-coral-recovery">Listening for coral recovery</h2>



Each snap from these shrimp is incredibly loud, and when many of them are together, their clicking becomes the main sound heard on the reef at night. 



Because sound travels farther than light underwater, the team could “hear” reef structure long after dusk had forced divers back to shore.



“The high frequency sounds, mainly during the night, of snapping shrimp can be used as a real indicator of coral resilience,” said Raick. 



His group analyzed thousands of five-minute audio clips with specialized software, looking for peaks in the nightly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sea-shrimp-evolved-an-extraordinary-skill-that-lets-them-see-in-the-dark/">shrimp</a> chorus.



Sites inside <a href="https://marineprotectedareas.noaa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marine protected areas</a> produced stronger high-frequency crackle after bleaching than nearby unprotected reefs. That pattern matched diver surveys showing more surviving coral colonies within protected boundaries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shrimp-sounds-and-coral-health">Shrimp sounds and coral health</h2>



Snapping shrimp live in crevices formed by large coral heads, and their numbers increase as three-dimensional habitat grows. 



Earlier <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0135733" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> in Moorea found that habitats rich in branching Acropora corals had the loudest high-frequency sound signatures.



When warm water kills coral tissue, those hideouts erode, and shrimp populations decline within months. The resulting dip in acoustic energy gives scientists a rapid, noninvasive way to track losses that might otherwise require dozens of daylight dives.



Reef sound also matters to the next generation of organisms. Experiments have shown that free-swimming coral larvae steer toward recordings of healthy reefs, choosing them over silent or degraded habitats.



If the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shrimp-homing-smell-chemicals-their-navigate-underwater/">shrimp</a> chorus fades, fewer larvae may settle, slowing recovery and locking reefs into a downward spiral. That feedback makes acoustic monitoring a practical early-warning system for managers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quiet-reefs-signal-damage">Quiet reefs signal damage</h2>



Raick’s team focused on hours when human observers rarely work. At night, visibility drops, but the shrimp chorus grows, offering a clean signal free from boat traffic and diver bubbles.



Two years after the bleaching, protected reefs on Moorea still had stronger, higher-pitched shrimp sounds, while unprotected reefs had weaker, lower-pitched ones. 



This suggests there were fewer or smaller shrimp in the damaged areas.



Protection status mattered even though the bleaching heat stress hit the whole island. Global analyses show that well-enforced marine protected areas with at least five key design features can increase <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shrimp-proven-to-be-a-nutritional-treasure-packed-with-antioxidants/">fish</a> biomass eight-fold compared with lightly regulated zones.



By giving corals a break from anchor damage and overfishing, MPAs may preserve the structural complexity shrimp need, allowing reefs to rebound faster after thermal events.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-low-cost-reef-monitoring-tool">Low-cost reef monitoring tool</h2>



Traditional reef assessments rely on scuba teams that sample a few quadrats during daylight, leaving vast areas and all nighttime hours unobserved. 



Passive acoustic monitoring runs recorders continuously for weeks at a fraction of the cost of repeated dive campaigns.



A single hydrophone package can log more than 100 days of data on one set of batteries, and the hardware fits in airline luggage. Analysis pipelines, once limited to specialists, now use open-source algorithms that flag shrimp snaps in minutes.



Nighttime audio also bypasses shallow-water hazards such as currents and low visibility that can limit diver safety. 



Managers get a continuous record that reflects both biological change and illegal activity like dynamite fishing, which shows up as low-frequency blasts.



For Caribbean reserves already stretched thin, deploying acoustic recorders during the warmest months could reveal early bleaching impacts, long before divers notice paling colonies or dead fish.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shrimp-chorus-offers-hope">Shrimp chorus offers hope</h2>



Listening alone will not stop coral decline. Average intervals between mass bleaching events worldwide have shrunk from once every 27 years in the 1980s to less than six years today.



Climate-driven heat remains the root cause, and no amount of acoustic monitoring can compensate for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-temperatures-will-cut-world-gdp-by-a-staggering-40-percent-if-nothing-changes/">rising temperatures</a>. Yet a cheap sensor that tracks resilience can guide triage, steering limited restoration funds to reefs that still crackle at night.



“It’s a story on one island and needs to be repeated in other parts of the world,” noted Raick. He wants to expand the approach beyond Moorea. 



Future work will test whether regional shrimp species differ in acoustic signatures and whether artificial soundscapes could lure coral larvae back to damaged reefs.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241938">Royal Society Open Science</a>.



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How shrimp sounds can diagnose the health of coral reefs

The ocean is far from quiet at night - especially...

Millipedes rarely make headlines. Their many legs and secretive lifestyles keep them in the background. Yet a closer look reveals something extraordinary. These ancient arthropods produce chemical compounds that may lead to new therapies for neurological disorders and pain relief.



Emily Mevers and her team from <a href="https://www.vt.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Virginia Tech</a> recently isolated new molecules from the secretions of Andrognathus corticarius. This millipede species was discovered on campus in Stadium Woods.



The new molecules include two rare classes of alkaloids - andrognathanols and andrognathines. The findings demonstrate how millipede compounds may help with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pain-relief-breakthrough-as-scientists-discover-a-safer-non-addictive-approach-trpv1/">pain</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rare-compounds-found-in-millipedes">Rare compounds found in millipedes</h2>



Millipede chemistry belongs to a narrow lineage. Only species from the subterclass Colobognatha produce terpenoid alkaloids. This group includes four species-rich orders. Among them, Platydesmida stands out for its structural diversity.



Earlier research focused on just one order, Polyzoniida. But more recent studies revealed that Platydesmida millipedes produce a much wider variety of complex alkaloids. Some of these compounds are structurally unique in the animal kingdom.



Andrognathines&nbsp;have a chemical structure made of two connected rings. One ring has five atoms, and the other has six. Together, this makes a "5,6-heterocyclic core." Attached to this core are small chemical groups called&nbsp;ester side chains, which help the molecule interact with other substances.



Andrognathanols&nbsp;are even more complex. Their core structure connects four rings in a pattern labeled&nbsp;6,6,6,5&nbsp;(based on the number of atoms in each ring). What makes them special is that they contain&nbsp;seven continuous stereogenic centers. 



That means there are seven spots in a row where the 3D shape of the molecule can flip, making it highly detailed and difficult to recreate in the lab.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-millipede-chemicals-may-target-pain">Millipede chemicals may target pain</h2>



Each compound was carefully analyzed using high-resolution liquid chromatography and NMR techniques. The scientists noted key mass fragments that indicated differences between andrognathines and other millipede alkaloids.



These compounds form part of the millipede's defense <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-drugs-target-zombie-cells-to-relieve-back-pain/">strategy</a>. When disturbed, the animal releases the secretions through ozopores on its sides. The alkaloids affect ant behavior, causing them to freeze or slow down. This is a likely defense tactic.



But that is not all. Some andrognathanols showed structural similarities to pumiliotoxins. These molecules are known to act on sodium channels in nerve cells. That similarity raised hopes for possible biomedical uses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-millipede-secretions-change-ant-behavior">Millipede secretions change ant behavior</h2>



The researchers tested the secretions' effects on ants (Aphaenogaster sp.), a predator often found near these millipedes. During controlled assays, ants exposed to these compounds exhibited prolonged freezing behavior compared to control groups.



The compounds did not significantly change how long ants stayed near the chemical source. But their altered movement hinted at neural interference, possibly through <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tapping-into-the-pain-relief-potential-of-cannabis-without-the-high/">receptor</a> modulation.



Every mature&nbsp;A. corticarius&nbsp;millipede secretes these alkaloids in large amounts. Their secretion quantity correlates with body size and the number of ozopores. These are small glands that release the compounds when the millipede is threatened.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-millipede-compounds-target-pain">Some millipede compounds target pain</h2>



The findings are hopeful because of the Sigma-1 receptor. This receptor helps regulate pain and neuroplasticity. It is also linked to diseases such as Alzheimer’s and neuropathic pain.



Previous research found that similar compounds from another millipede,&nbsp;Ischnocybe plicata, potently bind to Sigma-1. That work sparked interest in millipede alkaloids as potential drug candidates.



Mevers’ team tested two andrognathines and three andrognathanols. Compound 1 showed mild binding to Sigma-1, with some selectivity over Sigma-2. Others showed less activity. But their unique structures and neuroactive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-women-experience-more-chronic-pain-than-men/">effects</a> still make them promising.



“These compounds are quite complex, so they're going to take some time to synthesize in the lab,” said Mevers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-millipedes-and-future-pain-drugs">Millipedes and future pain drugs</h2>



The path from chemical discovery to drug approval is long. First, scientists must replicate the molecules in the lab. Then they can test their effects on human cells and animal models. 



Eventually, these efforts may lead to treatments for chronic pain or neurodegenerative diseases.



Millipedes, with their fossil record stretching back to the Cretaceous, may soon help modern medicine. Their secretions are not just defense tools. They are blueprints for the next generation of drugs.



The study is published in the <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.5c08079" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of the American Chemical Society</a>. 



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Millipede chemicals may unlock a new generation of drugs

Millipedes rarely make headlines. Their many legs and secretive lifestyles...

What dinosaurs ate has long fascinated scientists. Now, fossilized teeth tell the story in surprising detail. By analyzing chemical traces in tooth enamel, researchers have uncovered distinct diets among Late Jurassic dinosaurs.



A study from The University of Texas at Austin shows that different <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossilized-guts-reveal-the-eating-habits-of-sauropod-dinosaurs/">species</a> did not just live side by side. They also had unique food preferences. These eating habits helped them thrive together without competing for the same plants.



Calcium isotopes in enamel carry chemical fingerprints from ancient meals. Different plants, and even plant parts like bark or buds, leave different traces. This evidence reveals which dinosaurs ate what and how their diets shaped their ecosystem.



“The idea is that they were all eating different things, and now we have found proof of that,” said study lead author Liam Norris, a recent doctoral graduate from UT’s <a href="https://www.jsg.utexas.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jackson School of Geosciences</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-dinosaurs-lived-together">How dinosaurs lived together</h2>



Norris studied fossils from a single deposit at Carnegie Quarry in northeast Utah. This site, rich with bones from herbivorous and carnivorous species, likely formed during an intense drought. Its rapid fossil preservation made it ideal for comparing diets across <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossilized-poop-reveals-the-diet-of-dinosaurs-200-million-years-ago/">species</a> living at the same time and place.



The herbivores in the study included Camarasaurus, Camptosaurus, and Diplodocus. Carnivores included the Allosaurus and the croc-like Eutretauranosuchus. 



Norris collected enamel samples from 17 individual animals, either accessed in the field or loaned by local museums. At the Jackson School, he conducted isotope analysis with support from co-authors John Lassiter and Aaron Satkoski.



Professor Rowan Martindale called the site “a unique paleontological gem.” The research deepens our understanding of ancient ecosystems and dietary preferences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plant-eating-dinosaurs-had-different-diets">Plant-eating dinosaurs had different diets</h2>



Earlier theories assumed large herbivores ate from different vertical zones of the forest canopy. But Norris found that diet separation was more nuanced. For example, Camptosaurus favored soft, nutritious plant parts like leaves and buds. 



Camarasaurus preferred conifers and tougher, woody plant tissues. Diplodocus had a more varied menu of low-lying ferns, horsetails, and coarse materials.



“This differentiation in diet makes sense with what we see from the morphology of these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jaw-fossil-reveals-fruit-eating-mammal-from-the-dinosaur-age/">animals</a>: the different height, the different snout shape. Then, we bring in this geochemical data, which is a very concrete piece of evidence to add to that pot,” said Norris.



These findings support the idea that long-necked dinosaurs had flexible necks allowing them to reach different plant levels. Instead of competing, they targeted specific vegetation patches suited to their anatomy and energy needs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-diet-choices-of-carnivore-dinosaurs">Diet choices of carnivore dinosaurs</h2>



The two carnivores in the study, Allosaurus and Eutretauranosuchus, showed overlapping isotope values, suggesting some dietary similarities. But subtle differences hinted at distinct prey choices and ecological roles. 



Allosaurus, a large bipedal predator, likely hunted herbivorous dinosaurs, including Camptosaurus and other smaller or juvenile plant-eaters within the same region. Its size, jaw structure, and teeth suggest active predation or scavenging of large-bodied prey.



Eutretauranosuchus, in contrast, was smaller and more crocodile-like. Its isotope signature indicates it may have consumed fish or small terrestrial vertebrates, likely along rivers or shallow wetlands. 



The hunting strategy and habitat of Eutretauranosuchus likely differed greatly from the Allosaurus, reducing competition between the two carnivores despite their coexistence.



These dietary contrasts reflect ecological separation shaped by behavior, anatomy, and environment. Such distinctions help reconstruct predator-prey dynamics within this Jurassic ecosystem. 



The overlapping yet diversified food chain reveals how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammals-have-evolved-to-eat-ants-and-termites-12-different-times-since-the-dinosaurs/">balance</a> existed even during environmental stress, such as the severe drought that led to the rapid fossil preservation at Carnegie Quarry.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-many-dinosaurs-shared-one-ecosystem">Many dinosaurs shared one ecosystem</h2>



The fact that so many massive animals thrived together points to a lush, productive ecosystem teeming with plant life. Their dietary specialization hints at a world where resource use was efficient and competition was minimal.



“It’s really just more proof that this ecosystem was as spectacular as we thought it was,” Norris said.



The study offers not just a clearer view of dinosaur life and diet but also a method for understanding other prehistoric ecosystems through geochemistry. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018225003888?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology</a>.



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Jurassic dinosaurs had specialized diets to coexist peacefully

What dinosaurs ate has long fascinated scientists. Now, fossilized teeth...

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are showing real impact, not just promises. A large-scale global study proves that strong legal bans on industrial fishing in fully and highly protected MPAs are effective. 



Despite perceptions that poaching is common due to weak enforcement, the evidence now shows otherwise.



Researchers examined 1,380 MPAs that prohibit industrial fishing. Across these areas, the average presence of vessels was one per 20,000 square kilometers during satellite flyovers. That is nine times less than in unprotected zones. 



This gap highlights the strength of legal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pharmaceutical-pollution-changes-the-behavior-of-atlantic-salmon/">protection</a> when backed by data and technology.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-satellites-reveal-hidden-fishing-boats">Satellites reveal hidden fishing boats</h2>



The study combined data from Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). AIS provides signals from vessels, while SAR detects ships even when they try to stay hidden. 



Machine learning models processed five billion AIS signals and thousands of SAR images.



SAR revealed vessels in MPAs where AIS showed nothing, especially in Southeast Asia. It also confirmed the absence of industrial fishing in 91 MPAs. This shows that SAR fills AIS blind spots and adds accuracy. 



In many cases, even MPAs with detected vessels had <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/corals-are-absorbing-human-drugs-and-not-just-in-shallow-water/">fishing</a> on fewer than 3% of imaged days.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-most-areas-had-minimal-fishing">Most areas had minimal fishing </h2>



The bulk of fishing effort came from a few well-known MPAs. The Chagos Archipelago saw around 2,700 hours of fishing annually. 



South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park each had around 900 hours per year.



Other sites like Camargue in France, Cape Canyon in South Africa, and Marado Island in Korea recorded 275 to 450 hours. 



However, most MPAs showed no or minimal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-rivers-are-highly-saturated-with-human-antibiotics-helping-bacteria-develop-resistance/">activity</a>. About 78.5% of them recorded less than one day of fishing per year, and over 1,000 had no detected activity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fishing-is-no-longer-unchecked">Fishing is no longer unchecked </h2>



To compare differently sized MPAs, researchers used fishing effort per 100 square kilometers. 



The highest density was in Marado Island at 18 hours per day per 100 square kilometers. Yet the global average across all MPAs was only 0.0004 hours per day. That is nearly negligible.



Some of the high-effort areas are small, so even a few vessels skew the density. For instance, Korean MPAs with only 2 km² imaged showed high density, but just 6 to 18 total vessels were detected. 



These findings help correct public perceptions that industrial fishing remains unchecked.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-most-fishing-zones-are-quiet">Most fishing zones are quiet</h2>



The analysis builds confidence in MPA protections. The radar detected no vessels in 25% of MPAs. 



In those with activity, vessels appeared on just 3% of imaging days. Also, SAR found vessels in 163 MPAs where AIS showed nothing, proving its critical role.



“The ocean is no longer too big to watch. With cutting-edge satellites and AI, we’re making illegal fishing visible and proving that strong marine protections work,” said Juan Mayorga, co-author and scientist at <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/our-programs/pristine-seas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pristine Seas</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-marine-protected-areas-seem-weak">Why marine protected areas seem weak</h2>



Many still believe MPAs are just legal statements on paper. That view stems from two issues: weak regulations and poor enforcement. 



Some MPAs legally allow industrial fishing or only exist as designations with no real action. Others are difficult to patrol.



But this new research solves an old puzzle. It focuses only on MPAs with the strictest bans and uses implementation dates, not just legal designations. This avoids errors where fishing occurred before rules took effect. 



The study also reduces confusion caused by phaseout periods, such as the five-year gap in Palau’s marine sanctuary.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-fishing-slips-into-protected-zones">Some fishing slips into protected zones</h2>



While protections work, they are not perfect. Some <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-reef-awareness-day-2025-bringing-corals-back-to-life/">activity</a> may reflect legal exceptions or data errors. For example, certain fleets had sunset provisions allowing temporary fishing. 



Small-scale fishing, often legal, can also affect ecosystems but remains mostly invisible to SAR if vessels are under 15 meters long.



“Because strictly protected marine areas discourage illegal fishing, fishes are far more abundant within their boundaries, they produce many more babies, and help replenish surrounding areas,” said Enric Sala, co-author and founder of Pristine Seas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-results-may-not-apply-everywhere">Results may not apply everywhere</h2>



One key question remains: Are MPAs truly reducing fishing, or were they placed in low-activity zones? The paper suggests both might be true. 



Of the few MPAs with pre- and post-implementation data, most already had low fishing. Yet Palau showed a dramatic drop from 51,000 hours to just 215 hours annually after full protection. That suggests strong rules can reduce fishing pressure even in active areas. 



Future MPA planning should consider whether protections are going where demand to fish is already low. Otherwise, the results may not scale as hoped.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-marine-protected-areas-work">Marine protected areas work</h2>



The study proposes a scalable way to monitor oceans. Integrating real-time satellite detections with AI models offers an efficient, low-cost solution. 



The research supports the idea that MPA enforcement creates deterrence. The more likely vessels are to be caught, the less likely they are to fish illegally.



“By using satellites to track fishing vessels, countries can predict the locations of illegal activities and target patrol efforts, saving both manpower and money,” said Jennifer Raynor, lead author from the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt9009" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Are marine protected areas working? Satellites reveal the truth

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are showing real impact, not just...

Wildlife crime scenes rarely feature fingerprints or cameras. Instead, investigators are turning to bits of tissue, feathers, and soil-stained knives that hide genetic clues linking poachers, poisoned bait, and endangered animals.



A study from the <a href="https://en.huji.ac.il/">Hebrew University of Jerusalem</a> detailed a toolkit that pulls those clues together and makes them stick in court.



Dr. Gila Kahila Bar-Gal of the Koret School of Veterinary Medicine is leading the work, and her team’s methods are already changing how rangers collect evidence.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wildlife-crimes-are-often-overlooked">Wildlife crimes are often overlooked</h2>



Wildlife trafficking ranks among the five largest illicit trades worldwide, generating up to $23 billion each year. Its profits rival narcotics and arms, yet detection rates remain low.



Biodiversity loss accelerates when poachers target endangered species already stressed by habitat loss or climate change. The endangered mountain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/urgent-call-to-save-mongolian-gazelles-from-habitat-loss/">gazelle</a>, for example, has fallen to roughly 5,000 animals in its last habitat in Israel.



Poisons add a second, silent threat. Forty-five percent of griffon vulture injuries or deaths documented in Israel from 2010 to 2021 were linked to carbamate or organophosphate toxins. 



Population surveys now count only about 230 wild birds, down from several hundred just two decades ago. 



Because a single carcass can kill a flock of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scavengers-clean-up-wetlands-and-boost-their-health/">scavengers</a>, every unsolved poisoning undermines years of conservation work.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-clues-at-the-crime-scene">Genetic clues at the crime scene</h2>



Traditional autopsies stop at cause of death. Wildlife forensics asks a tougher question: Who is responsible? The first layer uses mitochondrial DNA markers to name the endangered species even when the sample is degraded or mixed. 



Kahila Bar-Gal’s team relies on two short gene fragments, 16S and CytB, to cross-check results and avoid false matches.



After species comes identity. The lab amplifies Short Tandem Repeats, tiny, highly variable stretches of nuclear DNA, to build an individual genetic profile. 



A five-dye, 22-STR panel has shown it can spot just 10 percent of a target species in a mixed sample.



“Our protocols are designed to be accurate and practical, because saving a species often comes down to solving forensic cases,” said Kahila Bar-Gal. 



Researchers run each profile against a local DNA library built from both wild and domestic animals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wildlife-poachers-caught-through-dna">Wildlife poachers caught through DNA</h2>



Case records released with the study read like a detective novel. Rangers once raided a desert camp after spotting fresh ibex horns. 



Twenty-one blood-stained knives and shirts all pointed to Nubian ibex, not goats, ending the hunters’ main defense.



A second file describes gazelle poachers who let trained dogs do the killing. Swabs from each dog’s muzzle carried mountain-gazelle <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hidden-chapter-in-human-evolution-revealed-through-genetics/">DNA</a>, while dog hairs in the suspect’s pickup matched the animals seized onsite. 



That chain of evidence supported criminal charges even though the carcass itself was never recovered.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-solving-a-vulture-poisoning-mystery">Solving a vulture poisoning mystery</h2>



The most dramatic case involved seven griffon vultures that collapsed after feeding on a goat laced with pesticide. STR analysis proved the meat in a vulture’s crop came from the same goat carcass found nearby.



Although the herd owner escaped indictment - since the goat’s profile differed from his animals - the link let prosecutors treat the poisoning as an intentional wildlife crime rather than an accidental spill.



“When a vulture is found poisoned or a gazelle is killed out of season, you’re not just looking for a suspect, you’re often dealing with mixed evidence that may include multiple species, some protected, some not,” explained Kahila Bar-Gal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-local-dna-libraries-matter">Why local DNA libraries matter</h2>



Global databases such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/">GenBank</a> hold millions of sequences, but many lack precise location data or quality control. Using the wrong reference, researchers can mistake a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vanishing-vultures-may-threaten-public-health/">vulture</a> feather from Galilee for one from Spain



Israel’s wildlife lab avoids that pitfall by curating voucher specimens from every region and by adding common livestock breeds. 



The approach means rangers can tell a wild Nubian ibex from a feral hybrid and can rule out claims that confiscated meat came from someone’s goat.



Other countries have begun to copy the model, especially in Africa’s bushmeat hotspots and in Southeast Asian ports where reptile skins move through freezers by the ton.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-endangered-species-with-science">Saving endangered species with science</h2>



Kahila Bar-Gal wants faster turnarounds. Portable sequencers that read long DNA fragments in the field could shave weeks off an investigation and let rangers link samples before suspects disappear.



Policy work matters too. INTERPOL estimates that wildlife crime funds organized networks that also traffic weapons and people. Convictions backed by genetic proof raise the risks for traffickers and can shift the cost-benefit calculus.



The study recommends expansion of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/livestock-grazing-is-changing-soil-plants-and-insect-populations/">livestock</a> genetic surveys in poisoning hotspots, tighter controls on agricultural pesticides, and forensic training for customs agents. 



Those steps will not restore every lost vulture, but they can keep future carcasses from becoming lethal bait.



Wildlife crimes once hinged on eyewitnesses willing to testify. Today, molecules tell the story. Each cell recovered from a knife blade or scavenged bone now speaks for endangered species that cannot.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2025.1525957/full">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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Wildlife crime cases can be solved with genetic forensics

Wildlife crime scenes rarely feature fingerprints or cameras. Instead, investigators...

Hair and feathers transformed the way animals lived - providing insulation, enabling flight, and offering a means of display. In birds and mammals, these features are known to arise from complex genetic programs. 



Reptiles, however, were believed to lack such sophisticated structures. That view is now being challenged. A remarkable fossil from the Middle Triassic reveals a small, tree-dwelling reptile adorned with a tall, feather-like crest.



Named&nbsp;Mirasaura grauvogeli, this creature lived about 247 million years ago. It had a slender bird-like skull, a long tail, and a striking dorsal display. 



New fossils from France show that&nbsp;Mirasaura’s skin structures weren’t just decorative. They evolved from a genetic toolkit present in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-discovery-pushes-back-reptile-evolution-by-40-million-years/">early</a> amniotes, well before feathers or hair ever appeared.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mirasaura-had-odd-skin">Mirasaura had odd skin</h2>



Two nearly complete skeletons and over 80 isolated skin fragments reveal an upright crest of overlapping appendages. 



These are not feathers, but they resemble them in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reptile-ancestors-appeared-40-million-years-earlier-than-we-thought/">form</a>. Each appendage had a narrow central ridge and two distinct curved layers on either side.



Unlike bird feathers,&nbsp;Mirasaura’s structures didn’t branch into barbs. Instead, they formed continuous surfaces with delicate ridges, or rugae, along their lengths. 



SEM scans show these features were not stiff scales. Their flexible, wrinkled texture suggests they bent easily, maybe to catch light or motion.



"The fact that we have discovered such complex skin appendages in such an ancient group of reptiles sheds a new light on their evolution," said Dr. Stephan Spiekman, a postdoctoral researcher at <a href="http://www.naturkundemuseum-bw.de" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-beautiful-mirasaura-crest-was-for-show">Beautiful Mirasaura crest was for show</h2>



The skull was just 17 millimeters long and had large, forward-facing eyes. These features suggest excellent depth perception that is useful for a life in trees. The snout was mostly toothless and likely helped it pick insects out of bark.



Mirasaura’s body was long and barrel-shaped. Its limbs were adapted for grasping, and its claws were large and curved. It was agile, able to cling to branches much like a monkey.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ancient-reptile_Mirasaura-grauvogeli_changes-family-tree_credit-Gabriel-Ugueto_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ancient-reptile_Mirasaura-grauvogeli_changes-family-tree_credit-Gabriel-Ugueto_1s.webp" alt="Reconstruction and illustration of Mirasaura in its natural forested environment, hunting insects. Credit: Gabriel Ugueto" class="wp-image-1979068"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Reconstruction and illustration of Mirasaura in its natural forested environment, hunting insects. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Gabriel Ugueto</figcaption></figure>



The crest sat right above a noticeable hump in the spine. This area may have supported the upright posture of the appendages, giving&nbsp;Mirasaura&nbsp;its showy backline. Researchers rule out flight or insulation. Instead, the crest likely played a role in display.



"Mirasaura grauvogeli shows us how surprising <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-predatory-marine-reptile-identified-as-a-completely-new-species-traskasaura-sandrae/">evolution</a> can be and what potential it holds," said Professor Rainer Schoch.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-feather-like-pigments">Feather-like pigments</h2>



Some preserved tissue on the crest contains fossilized melanosomes. These tiny pigment carriers resemble those found in bird feathers, not in reptile scales or mammal hair. Analysis shows a wide variety in shape, common in feathers, rare in scaly skin.



"The melanosomes found in Mirasaura soft tissues are more similar in shape to those found in extant and fossil feathers than melanosomes found in mammalian hair and reptilian skin," noted Dr. Valentina Rossi.



This could mean&nbsp;Mirasaura&nbsp;displayed some form of coloration, perhaps even patterns for mating or recognition. Still, no color has been confirmed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-reptile-with-a-similar-crest">A reptile with a similar crest</h2>



The only other reptile with a similar dorsal crest is&nbsp;Longisquama insignis, another Triassic diapsid. Like&nbsp;Mirasaura, it had long, midline skin appendages. The two are now confirmed to be close <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-reptiles-are-more-colorful-in-open-habitats/">relatives</a> in the group Drepanosauromorpha.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ancient-reptile_Mirasaura-grauvogeli_fossil_credit-Stephan-Spiekmann_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ancient-reptile_Mirasaura-grauvogeli_fossil_credit-Stephan-Spiekmann_1s.webp" alt="A fossil from the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Germany, preserving the skeleton of Mirasaura. Credit: Stephan Spiekmann" class="wp-image-1979072"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A fossil from the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Germany, preserving the skeleton of Mirasaura. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Stephan Spiekmann</figcaption></figure>



The similarities between their crests, including bilateral symmetry, a central axis, and consistent patterning, suggest a shared origin. 



Still, their appendages are not feathers. They evolved separately, shaped by similar genetic programs but on different paths.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mirasaura-rewrites-reptile-family-tree">Mirasaura rewrites reptile family tree</h2>



Mirasaura pushes back the origin of <a href="https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/taxa/verts/archosaurs/drepanosauromorpha.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Drepanosauromorpha</a> by nearly 20 million years. These reptiles, previously known only from the Late Triassic, now have roots in the early Middle Triassic.



Phylogenetic analysis places Mirasaura outside the major modern reptile lineages. It lived before lizards, crocodiles, or birds. It was not part of Sauria, the group that includes all living reptiles. This makes its advanced skin structures even more surprising.



‘Mirasaura provides the first direct evidence that such structures actually did form early on in reptile evolution, in groups <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-discovery-pushes-back-reptile-evolution-by-40-million-years/">not closely related</a> to birds and extinct dinosaurs,’ said Dr. Spiekman.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-skin-evolution-in-reptiles">Skin evolution in reptiles</h2>



Louis Grauvogel collected fossils in Alsace starting in the 1930s. Among them were pieces of&nbsp;Mirasaura, though no one recognized them at the time. 



In 2019, the Grauvogel family donated the collection to the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart. There, researchers uncovered this unexpected gem.



The name&nbsp;Mirasaura grauvogeli&nbsp;means “Grauvogel’s wonder reptile.” This ancient climber, with its feather-like crest, changes what we know about skin evolution in reptiles. It shows that nature can invent similar solutions in distant lineages, again and again.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09167-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Fossil discovery of a 'wonder reptile' rewrites the history of evolution

Hair and feathers transformed the way animals lived - providing...

Magellanic penguins are expert navigators. A new study shows they don’t just head straight home from foraging trips. They ride ocean currents and tides, save energy, and grab snacks along the way.



A research team led by the <a href="https://www.ab.mpg.de" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior</a> and Swansea University tracked 27 adult penguins returning to their colony in Argentina. 



The results showed that penguins don’t follow the shortest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-penguins-navigate-the-ocean-secret-strategy-revealed/">path</a>. Instead, they adopt curved, S-shaped routes shaped by tidal flows. These winding paths help them conserve energy and find more food.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-penguins-ride-ocean-currents-to-save-energy">Penguins ride ocean currents to save energy</h2>



The researchers analyzed GPS and compass data combined with ocean current models. This revealed a clever strategy. 



“In calm water, they headed straight for home, but when the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/penguins-are-threatened-by-mercury-contamination/">currents</a> were stronger, they allowed themselves to drift sideways. This made their journey longer, but less tiring.”



These paths aren’t random. Penguins adjust their heading to balance effort and direction. The team developed travel vector models to track how birds moved with or against currents. 



When needed, penguins angled their swims to work with water movement. This created more efficient ground movement, even if the direction wasn't perfectly straight.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-feeding-while-floating-home">Feeding while floating home</h2>



Along these ocean current-driven, drift-friendly paths, penguins often dove deep to hunt. Most kept diving for prey during nearly 80% of their return trip. 



Dive depth and prey capture activity decreased as the penguins neared the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/emperor-penguins-may-disappear-in-our-lifetime/">colony</a>, showing a transition from feeding to focused homing.



“The penguins were observed diving and foraging for food during much of their return journey,” said Professor Wilson from <a href="https://www.swansea.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Swansea University</a>. 



“As they got closer to the colony, they became more focused and swam more directly, often arriving within just 300 metres of their original departure point, an impressive level of accuracy after journeys of up to 75km.”



These dives weren’t random. Penguins often deviated from a straight path to hunt, showing opportunism in action. The strategy paid off. They traveled efficiently without needing to swim straight the whole time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-penguins-use-a-flexible-ocean-route-nbsp">Penguins use a flexible ocean route&nbsp;</h2>



The study tested whether penguins used either a simple straight-line strategy or a complex angle-correction approach. 



“Actually, penguins do neither! Their approach is more flexible," said Professor Wilson. "They seem relaxed about being at sea, sometimes swimming with the current even if it doesn’t take them directly to their nest. Occasionally, they shoot past the colony and down the coast.”



Instead of fighting the flow, penguins accept some drift. The tides in San Matías Gulf alternate directions every 12 hours. This helps balance out sideways drift across the full journey. By planning loosely around this cycle, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/penguin-poop-helps-form-clouds-that-could-slow-antarctic-warming/">penguins</a> avoid constantly battling currents.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-penguins-sense-ocean-currents">How penguins sense ocean currents</h2>



Penguins likely don’t see land for most of their return. So how do they know where they are?



“Penguins seem able to determine when they are in a current and roughly how strong it is. They also appear to understand the tidal cycle, that water moves first in one direction and then reverses," said Professor Wilson. 



"If they’re carried too far by the incoming tide, they seem to know they’ll be brought back by the outgoing tide later.”



The study suggests that the penguins don’t rely on seabed features or landmarks. Instead, they may use a mix of compass orientation, smell, and detection of flow against their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-artificial-nests-help-save-african-penguins/">body</a>. 



Some penguins returned at night, meaning vision alone can’t explain their precise homing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-currents-help-more-than-they-hurt">Currents help more than they hurt</h2>



The team ran simulations where penguins always swam straight home. These "naïve" agents, which ignored the effects of ocean currents, often missed their target by many kilometers. 



Real penguins, with their flexible strategy, consistently returned within 300 meters of their starting point. This accuracy shows that adjustment, not stubborn straight-line effort, is key.



Swimming against ocean currents costs energy. Penguins avoid that by letting the ocean currents carry them when helpful and correcting only when needed. The study measured energy use using an “ease of transport” score, like a fuel-efficiency rating.



Penguins’ real-life paths scored better than the theoretical “optimal” path when overall energy use was considered. They sacrificed some directness for efficiency and still ended up close to home.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-other-animals-may-use-similar-strategies">Other animals may use similar strategies</h2>



These findings reveal just how well Magellanic penguins manage complex conditions. Their strategies may also reflect how other marine animals, like turtles or seals, adapt to changing seas.



As ocean conditions shift with climate change, species that adjust their movement patterns, like these penguins, may have the best chance of thriving. 



The penguins' flexible, energy-smart behavior could inspire new ways to understand marine navigation across species.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002981" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS Biology</a>.



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Why penguins ride the currents instead of swimming straight home

Magellanic penguins are expert navigators. A new study shows they...

Doflane's,Octopus,Is,A,Bright,Lilac,Color,With,Tentacles,And

Imagine reaching for a cup and feeling as though your hand is moving, only to discover it's not your hand, but a rubber replica being touched in sync with your real, hidden hand. You still react, convinced the fake rubber hand is yours. 



Humans fall for this trick every time, and now we now know that octopuses fall for it, too.



In a surprising study, scientists found that these famously alien-like creatures respond just like humans and other mammals when exposed to this sensory illusion. 



Their brains, which are vastly different from ours, still make the same mistake. That suggests a deeper commonality in how ownership of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopuses-could-dominate-earth-if-humans-vanish/">bodies</a> is understood by living minds, regardless of how those minds are built.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-rubber-hand-trick-shows">What the rubber hand trick shows</h2>



The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810014000336" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rubber hand illusion</a> was first demonstrated in the 1990s. It involves hiding a person’s real hand behind a screen while a fake rubber hand is placed in full view.



When both hands, real and fake, are stroked simultaneously, the brain starts to link the sensations to the fake hand. 



Eventually, the person begins to feel ownership of the rubber hand. Pinch the fake one, and the person flinches. Later studies showed that mice were also fooled by the same trick. 



The illusion appeared to tap into a widespread brain function that integrates vision, touch, and body awareness into a unified sense of self. But these animals are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopus-caught-riding-on-the-back-of-the-worlds-fastest-shark-in-the-open-ocean/">mammals</a>, like us.



Their brains share much of our architecture. So scientists naturally asked: What about creatures with entirely different neural setups?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-octopus-brain-sees-its-arms">How the octopus brain sees its arms</h2>



Octopuses are unlike any other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-dumbo-octopus-species-carnarvon-flapjack-discovered-in-very-deep-ocean-waters/">creature</a> on Earth. They have nine brains - one main brain and eight smaller ones, one in each arm. Their nervous systems are highly distributed.



An arm can even move independently after being severed. This structure makes their cognition incredibly difficult to compare to ours. Still, they’re known for cleverness, problem-solving, and even mischief.



So when researchers at the <a href="https://www.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of the Ryukyus</a> in Okinawa, Japan, set out to test whether octopuses would fall for the rubber hand illusion, the scientific community took notice. 



If octopuses could be fooled too, it would mean their brains also create a kind of body image, despite the alien wiring.



That would change how we understand intelligence and body awareness across the animal kingdom.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-fake-arm-test-fooled-octopuses">How the fake arm test fooled octopuses</h2>



Sumire Kawashima and Yuzuru Ikeda led the study. They worked with six captive, plain-body octopuses (<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34664913/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Callistoctopus aspilosomatis</a>). 



Each was placed in a tank with an opaque barrier that blocked its view of one arm. Above this hidden arm, a fake octopus arm made of soft gel was placed. The fake arm looked natural and matched the posture of the real one.



A researcher then stroked both arms, the real hidden one and the fake, visible one, at the same time using plastic calipers. 



This synchronized stimulation mimicked the human <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3125296/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rubber hand illusion</a>. After eight seconds, they pinched the fake arm with tweezers and observed how the octopus responded.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-octopus-reaction-to-fake-arm">Octopus reaction to fake arm</h2>



The reactions were clear and strong. All six octopuses showed defense responses when the fake arm was pinched. 



Some changed color, some pulled back their arms, and others tried to escape. These are all natural behaviors that octopuses use when they sense danger.



But when researchers removed the synchronized stroking, or when the fake arm did not match the posture of the real one, the illusion failed. No defense responses occurred. The octopus no longer saw the fake arm as part of it’s own body.



This result was striking. The illusion worked only when the visual and tactile cues matched perfectly. 



That means the octopus brain was combining multiple types of information to build a sense of its own body. In that moment, the fake arm became real.



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



For co-author Yuzuru Ikeda, the study offers a glimpse into both the power and limits of brain function. 



“The illusion would suggest the ability of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-octopus-has-mastered-the-art-of-multispecies-hunting/">octopuses</a> to anticipate and predict, which is advantageous for survival,” he said. 



“On the other hand, this ability arises as a side effect of a mistake or conflict of processing in the brain and is also a flaw.”



In other words, this illusion is a double-edged sword. The same brain function that helps predict and react to the world can also misfire. And yet, this mistake reveals how sophisticated the octopus’s sense of self may be.



Sumire Kawashima believes the findings push octopuses into an even more important role in neuroscience. 



“Our findings suggest the octopus may be an important model for studying the evolution of the sense of body ownership,” she said. 



This places octopuses alongside mammals as useful subjects for understanding consciousness and cognition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-insights-on-animal-consciousness">More insights on animal consciousness</h2>



Peter Godfrey-Smith, a philosopher of science at the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sydney</a>, has long studied octopus minds. He was surprised by the results.



“It suggests that octopuses have quite a rich body image,” he said. “I am struck by the fact that the ‘posture incongruence’ condition worked as it did: the octopuses did not see the rubber arm as their own in that case, despite the stroking.”



His reaction highlights just how unexpected this discovery is. Even subtle mismatches between the real and fake octopus arm broke the illusion. 



That level of precision points to a complex internal model of the body, something many did not expect to find in a species so different from ours.



This experiment offers more than just an odd glimpse into animal behavior. It challenges deep assumptions about how minds work. 



If both humans and octopuses can be tricked into adopting a fake limb, then perhaps the roots of self-awareness are older and more widespread than we believed.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/f8ajPpO0qyY?si=bqvoTJMnNYjC4M8x
</div></figure>



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(25)00592-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current&nbsp;Biology</a>.



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Octopuses are tricked by the 'rubber hand illusion' like humans, suggesting self-awareness

Imagine reaching for a cup and feeling as though your...

For years, the deep ocean has been painted as Earth’s final frontier - a shadowy, silent place that is cut off from the rest of the world. But new research is showing that this picture isn’t quite right. 



Life in the deep sea may not be as cut off as we thought. In fact, it’s connected - really connected.



A sweeping new study reveals that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/secrets-of-brittle-star-tissue-could-transform-regenerative-medicine/">brittle stars</a> - those spiny, ancient relatives of starfish - have quietly been traversing entire oceans for millions of years. They’ve been linking ecosystems across the globe, from Iceland to Tasmania, all without anyone noticing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-the-unexpected-world-travelers">Meet the unexpected world travelers</h2>



Brittle stars are found on every ocean floor, from the sunlit shallows to the abyssal plains more than 11,500 feet down. They’re tough, old creatures, with some lineages dating back over 480 million years.



Brittle stars are also surprisingly mobile - in their own way. While they don’t swim, fly, or walk great distances, their larvae do the traveling. 



The larvae are packed with yolk, which keeps them alive for a long time as they drift slowly along deep-sea currents. This gives them a passport of sorts - one that lets them cross enormous distances and eventually settle in completely different parts of the world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-connected-in-the-deep-sea">Life connected in the deep sea</h2>



What makes this discovery so surprising is how different it is from what we know about life in shallow water.&nbsp;



In coastal and surface ecosystems, temperature acts like a boundary. It shapes where marine animals can live and where they can’t. Warm-water species stay in the tropics, while cold-water species stay near the poles.



But in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/only-001-percent-of-earths-deep-seafloor-has-ever-been-directly-observed/">deep sea</a>, the temperature doesn’t change much. It stays cold, quiet, and relatively stable. That stability makes it easier for deep-sea species to spread out over huge distances and still survive.



Study lead author Dr. Tim O’Hara is the senior curator of marine invertebrates at <a href="https://museumsvictoria.com.au/research-institute/">Museums Victoria Research Institute</a>.



“You might think of the deep sea as remote and isolated, but for many animals on the seafloor, it’s actually a connected superhighway,” said Dr. O'Hara.



“Over long timescales, deep-sea species have expanded their ranges by thousands of kilometers. This connectivity is a global phenomenon that’s gone unnoticed, until now.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-secrets-of-brittle-stars">Secrets of brittle stars</h2>



This was the most comprehensive look yet at brittle stars and how they’ve moved around the planet. The researchers analyzed DNA from 2,699 specimens stored in 48 natural history museums around the world.&nbsp;



The samples were collected during 332 research expeditions, some of them decades old.



The team discovered that many brittle star species in one part of the world are closely related to those in another. For example, species found off southern Australia are genetically similar to those living off the coast of the North Atlantic - half a world away.



“These animals don’t have fins or wings, but they’ve still managed to span entire oceans,” said Dr. O’Hara. “The secret lies in their biology - their larvae can survive for a long time in cold water, hitching a ride on slow-moving deep-sea currents.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-connected-deep-sea-is-vulnerable">The connected deep sea is vulnerable</h2>



Despite how connected the deep sea appears, it’s not all the same. Different regions still have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-deep-sea-fish-survive-the-crushing-depths-of-the-ocean/">unique species</a>, shaped by extinction events, environmental changes, and geological features on the seafloor.&nbsp;



In some places, brittle star populations have been isolated for long periods. In others, they’ve migrated far and wide.



That’s where the concern starts to grow. The deep sea might be connected, but it’s also vulnerable.



“It’s a paradox. The deep sea is highly connected, but also incredibly fragile,” said Dr. O’Hara. “Understanding how life is distributed and moves through this vast environment is essential if we want to protect it, especially as threats from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sea-mining-has-deadly-consequences-for-marine-life/">deep-sea mining</a> and climate change increase.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-global-system-in-the-ocean">A global system in the ocean</h2>



Much of the genetic material used in this research came from museum collections - some stored for decades before being used in this study.&nbsp;



The study brought together more than 40 institutions, including natural history museums, universities, and marine science organizations. 



“This is science on a global scale,” said Lynley Crosswell, CEO and Director of Museums Victoria. “It demonstrates how museums, through international collaboration and the preservation of biodiversity specimens, can unlock new knowledge about our planet’s past and help shape its future.”



This discovery doesn’t just reshape how we think about brittle stars. It forces us to rethink how life works in one of the most mysterious parts of our planet.&nbsp;



The deep sea isn’t a quiet, disconnected wasteland. It’s a global system - one that’s more dynamic and more at risk than we ever knew.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09307-1">Nature</a>.&nbsp;



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Deep sea life is more connected than we ever realized

For years, the deep ocean has been painted as Earth’s...

Guineafowl,-,Chicken

Animals often work together to survive. But taking the lead, even for birds, comes with pressure. The results of a new study&nbsp;show that leadership causes noticeable physiological strain on wild birds.



Professor Damien Farine from <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Australian National University</a> explained how animal groups decide what direction to take.



“We already have evidence of how this decision-making can work - it’s like a voting process. So, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hundreds-of-bird-species-could-vanish-in-the-next-century/">individuals</a> might start to move away from the group in the direction they want to go to find food and if they get enough support, the group follows. Alternatively, if no one follows then they fail and return to the group.”



The study revealed something surprising. While many animals can lead, doing so takes a toll. Guineafowl trying to influence the group’s direction showed significant spikes in heart rate. These increases were much higher than those seen from movement speed alone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-physiological-strain-of-bird-leadership">Physiological strain of bird leadership </h2>



The real cost came when leaders faced resistance. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-may-be-using-quantum-physics-for-migration/">birds</a>' heart rates climbed most sharply when they acted against group consensus. Low directional agreement among other group members made it harder to lead.



“It is noticeable when they're trying to do something that very few individuals in their group would want to do. They also experience a much higher heart rate when they fail to lead in these situations,” noted study co-author Dr. James Klarevas-Irby.



Guineafowl that attempted to guide reluctant peers felt the highest stress. When they failed, their stress markers increased further. Heart rate variability, a stress indicator, also dropped during these moments, signaling physiological strain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-being-in-a-group-is-stressful">Being in a group is stressful</h2>



<a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)00825-5#mmc3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Just moving with the group</a>, without leading, raised stress. This added physiological load came not just from walking, but from maintaining group cohesion. The birds’ heart rates were higher when they moved in sync with others, compared to walking alone.



This supports a relatable idea. “Most of us can relate - it's like when you’re with a bunch of friends and you’re trying to decide where to go for dinner, and you really want to go to a particular restaurant but most of your friends want to go somewhere else,” said Dr. Klarevas-Irby.



Interestingly, the birds didn’t need to move dramatically faster to lead. But when they tried and failed to influence the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tropical-birds-migrate-without-riding-the-wind/">group</a>, the cost was steep. 



Heart rates rose by up to 115 beats per minute in high-conflict situations, compared to just 0.4 beats per minute from increased speed alone. This means the emotional cost of failed influence was over 200 times higher than the physical cost of walking faster.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-group-positioning">The role of group positioning</h2>



The researchers initially believed that a bird’s location within the group - especially being on the outer edge - would have a strong impact on its stress levels. 



This expectation comes from the “selfish herd” theory, where individuals on the outside are thought to face more danger from predators and therefore higher stress.



Central positions, in contrast, are often considered safer but may come with their own challenges, like the need to respond to more social interactions or scramble for space.



However, the data showed something different. Birds on the edge did not show much higher stress than those in the center. In fact, both central and peripheral positions caused only slight changes in heart rate and heart rate variability. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-physical-burden-of-leadership">Physical burden of leadership </h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/all-birds-one-tree-complete-evolutionary-map-reveals-hidden-links/">changes</a> were real but small. They were also much less significant than the stress caused by trying to lead the group.



Contrary to long-standing theories, where a bird stands in the group matters far less for its stress levels than whether or not it is trying to lead others.



Leadership, especially under conflict, placed a far greater physiological burden on birds than spatial position ever did. This is one reason that not all birds want to lead. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-birds-don-t-always-lead">Birds don’t always lead</h2>



Leadership, while rewarding when successful, is risky when others disagree. Individuals weighed the cost of guiding others against staying safe in the middle of the group.



The authors argue that leadership isn’t a fixed trait. It’s more likely a conditional strategy. A bird might choose to lead today and follow tomorrow, depending on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-are-struggling-to-keep-pace-with-a-warming-climate/">situation</a>.



This study shows that the effort of guiding peers isn't just social, it’s physical. The stress that comes with being a leader may help explain why animals, including humans, switch between leading and following roles.



Group living has its benefits - but trying to control the group comes at a cost, even for birds.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)00825-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



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Leadership can be incredibly stressful, even for birds

Animals often work together to survive. But taking the lead,...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE
</div></figure>



On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop and sunlight barely penetrates through the polar winter. It was here, however, that an international team of scientists found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predatory-worms-were-terror-beasts-half-a-billion-years-ago/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence of sea monsters</a> that would change our understanding of ocean life in the past.



This video captures the discovery of Timorebestia fossils that had been hidden for more than 500 million years in the Sirius Passet formation. The "terror beasts," as they are called, are a hidden chapter in the evolutionary history of <a href="https://www.earth.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth</a>, showing that sophisticated predator-prey interactions occurred much earlier than previously envisioned.



Dr. Jakob Vinther and his research team at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>, in collaboration with researchers at the <a href="https://eng.kopri.re.kr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Polar Research Institute</a>, braved extreme weather conditions at 82.5 north latitude to locate these giant creatures. Using sophisticated electron microprobe analysis, they revealed the detailed anatomy of the animals, including their muscle and nerve tissues.



The find upsets the traditional timeline of sea predators. Although we've long appreciated that Cambrian oceans were at one time ruled by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWI3-UgA3_o&amp;list=PL1QLQMW9MWDwpkFOnvgAmu7wT6rZmYqdJ&amp;index=19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arthropods</a>, these discoveries indicate that relatives of arrow worms were first to dominate the seas. These worms were building sophisticated food webs several million years before other predator groups arose.



Each fossil is a story of ancient hunger, with fossil stomach contents revealing these meter-long beasts dined on heavily armored arthropods regularly, cementing their place as the ocean's first apex predators.



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New York is the site of the world's oldest forest.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-385-million-year-old-trees-discovered">385-million-year-old trees discovered</h2>



Scientists have uncovered something extraordinary just two hours north of New York City. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world's oldest forest</a>, dating back 385 million years, offers a window into how Earth's first complex forests shaped our planet's atmosphere.



Located near <a href="https://townofcairo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cairo, New York</a>, in Greene County, these weren't merely primitive plants struggling to survive. These were sophisticated trees with root systems remarkably similar to modern forests. This ancient woodland predates dinosaurs by 140 million years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cairo-forest-discovery">The Cairo forest discovery</h2>



385 million years ago, upstate New York was a tropical paradise near the equator. Thanks to continental drift, this ancient forest has traveled thousands of miles to its current location.



The fossil forest sits in an abandoned quarry, roughly half the size of a football field. This represents just a slice of what was likely a massive forest system stretching from New York into Pennsylvania.



Charles Ver Straeten, curator of sedimentary rocks at the <a href="https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York State Museum</a>, made the discovery in 2009. While scouting the former highway department property, his trained eye spotted wandering patterns in the stone that looked like marine features.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-age-and-preservation">Revolutionary age and preservation</h2>



The site contains 385-million-year-old rocks with fossilized woody roots forming horizontal patterns up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. As Christopher Berry, a paleobotanist at Cardiff University, explains: "You are walking through the roots of ancient trees."



This discovery pushes back advanced tree evolution by millions of years. The research, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a> in December 2019, fundamentally changes our understanding of when complex forests first emerged.



Researchers believe a massive flood buried the forest floor, creating perfect fossilization conditions. Over millions of years, sediment hardened into rock, preserving these root patterns like nature's time capsule.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-archaeopteris-the-first-modern-tree">Meet Archaeopteris: the first modern tree</h2>



The star of this ancient forest is Archaeopteris – not to be confused with the feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx. This tree was far older and more revolutionary.



William Stein from <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binghamton University</a> describes the roots as "strikingly modern, essentially what you'd see outside in my yard right now." These weren't simple root systems you'd expect from ancient plants.



Some fossilized roots are six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, forming 36-foot-wide (11-meter) patterns. These giants grew up to 65 feet (20 meters) tall with five-foot-diameter (1.5-meter) trunks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-changing-impact">Climate-changing impact</h2>



These trees fundamentally changed Earth's environment. Kevin Boyce, a Stanford University geoscientist, explains how their deep roots triggered "weathering," chemical reactions that pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.



This process dropped atmospheric CO2 levels from 10-15 times higher than today to roughly modern concentrations. These ancient trees helped create atmospheric conditions that made complex life possible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-forest-ecosystem">Ancient forest ecosystem</h2>



The forest was remarkably diverse. Scientists identified Eospermatopteris, palm tree-like plants with short roots that reached 30 feet (9 meters) tall but lacked woody structure. The forest also housed cladoxylopsids and a mysterious third species still being studied.



All reproduced through spores rather than seeds – millions of years before seeds evolved. This tropical environment had no grass, flowers, or flying insects, just towering trees creating Earth's first complex forest canopy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-significance">Scientific significance</h2>



Before this finding, the Gilboa forest, located 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, held the "oldest forest" title. Cairo's trees are 2-3 million years older, showing that complex forest ecosystems developed much faster than scientists believed possible.



Patricia Gensel, a <a href="https://www.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of North Carolina</a> paleobotanist, notes: "The size of those root systems is really changing the picture. Even 20 years ago, researchers assumed trees with such complex root systems didn't evolve so early."



The Cairo site presents three unique root systems, suggesting Devonian period forests were diverse ecosystems with different trees occupying different environmental niches, much like today's forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-preservation-efforts">Modern preservation efforts</h2>



In 2022, New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey secured a $170,000 grant for the town of Cairo to construct specialized fencing around the fossil forest site. The town plans to conduct a feasibility study exploring the possibility of creating an educational center and working lab on-site.



Joe Hasenkopf, chair of the Cairo Planning Board, hopes to partner with educational institutions to create a research facility serving scientists, students, and the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-today-s-climate">Lessons for today's climate</h2>



Why does a 385-million-year-old forest matter today? It shows how dramatically forests can change Earth's climate. These ancient woodlands created the atmospheric conditions supporting complex life.



Understanding how prehistoric forests transformed the planet helps us appreciate modern forests' critical role in addressing climate change. Forests remain Earth's most effective carbon capture systems.



These prehistoric trees changed Earth's atmosphere by pulling massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. As we face modern climate challenges, this ancient forest reminds us of trees' incredible power to transform our planet's environment.



The next time you walk through a forest, remember you're experiencing an ecosystem whose blueprint was established 385 million years ago in upstate New York. These ancient pioneers didn't just survive – they thrived and changed the world forever.



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ New York is the site of the world's oldest...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

Fresh,Radish,Harvest,On,Soil,In,Garden.

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex
</div></figure>







Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving fall garden, and this guide lays out the best vegetables and herbs to plant now for a fruitful autumn harvest. 



Fast-growing leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, kale, and arugula perform especially well in the waning summer heat, with harvests beginning as soon as 30 days. 



These cool-season crops relish the transition into fall, offering repeated yields with cut-and-come-again methods.



Root vegetables like radishes, carrots, and beets also excel during this period. Radishes deliver satisfaction in under a month, while carrots and beets mature in about two months. Employing succession planting ensures a continuous stream of produce deep into the cooler months. 



For a boost of fresh flavor, herbs like cilantro, basil, dill, and chervil are excellent picks. These heat-loving varieties flourish in July’s warmth and are harvest-ready in about 30 days, especially when sown continuously.



Gardeners in zones 6 through 9 can benefit from planting bush beans and snap peas, which don’t require trellising and are ideal for compact plots. 



Maturing in 50–60 days, they’re a smart choice for quick, protein-rich harvests. For those in hotter regions, heat-tolerant crops such as okra and southern peas provide reliable yields and thrive in scorching conditions.



This guide emphasizes more than crop selection—it highlights the importance of timing, soil preparation, and ongoing sowing techniques. 



With thoughtful planning and attention to regional climate needs, even late-summer gardeners can enjoy fresh salads, hearty stews, and the satisfaction of a robust, homegrown harvest well into fall.



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

How does salt makes things taste better?

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Santiago, Chile in South America

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Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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