If you’re a male gray frog trying to find a mate, you’d better have a fast and steady call. That’s what female treefrogs usually go for. But when the crowd gets loud and chaotic, things change. The males that don’t sound all that great? They suddenly have a shot.



In quiet situations where females only hear two males at once, their preferences are clear. They go for the one with the sharper, more rhythmic call. 



But when four or even eight males are calling at once, things get messy. Female choices become unpredictable. This isn’t just a frog issue - it ties into a broader idea that scientists call “choice overload.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-frogs-face-chaos-in-the-chorus">Frogs face chaos in the chorus</h2>



In nature, frogs gather in large, noisy groups called choruses. Picture a shallow pond in spring, with dozens of males calling out at the same time. It’s the frog equivalent of a dating scene in a packed nightclub.



The researchers found that the crowded conditions of these choruses might be too overwhelming for females to reliably pick the best mate. It’s not that they stop caring - it’s that they can’t tell who’s who.



Professor Jessie Tanner of the <a href="https://www.utk.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Tennessee, Knoxville</a>, led a team studying how choice overload affects evolution.



“Because female mate choice can drive evolution, our results suggest that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unraveling-the-story-of-early-animal-evolution/">evolution</a> might happen more slowly than we thought before,” she said. 



“Some males that are fairly unattractive could still mate, especially if they take advantage of crowded spaces where females might be less able to discriminate between attractive and unattractive males.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-when-choices-are-too-hard">What happens when choices are too hard?</h2>



The idea of choice overload is pretty common in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/science-behind-predicting-and-changing-human-behavior/">human behavior</a>. You walk into a store to buy toothpaste and face 50 brands. You either freeze, grab something random, or walk away. Same goes for dating apps with endless swiping.



“We wanted to understand how having to make mating decisions in crowded environments, where choice overload could be a problem, might drive the evolution of calls,” Tanner explained. 



“Since males that are chosen by females pass on their genes to the next generation, this mate choice can cause the population to change over time.”



When animals, like people, face too many options, their decision-making can break down. That opens up a chance for less attractive mates to get picked - not because they became more appealing, but because the chooser got overwhelmed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-choice-overload-in-other-animals">Choice overload in other animals</h2>



This isn’t just about frogs. Scientists are now looking at how this effect shows up in other animals. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bumblebees-increasingly-stressed-over-the-past-century/">Bumblebees</a>, for instance, are on the list. So are wood roaches.



“Our lab is working to understand how choice overload and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frogs-have-lungs-that-cancel-out-background-noise/">noise</a> may each contribute to the difficulty female treefrogs face in making mating decisions,” Tanner said. 



“We are also working to understand whether this choice overload is something that occurs generally in many different kinds of animals or is more specific to individual species.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-simultaneous-cricket-songs">Simultaneous cricket songs </h2>



Tanner, who has a background in both psychology and biology, first got into animal behavior while studying mate choice as an undergrad. She later became interested in sound - especially how it plays into animal communication.



That led to earlier work on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-male-crickets-go-silent-how-females-adapt-and-respond/">crickets</a>. Like treefrogs, male crickets use sound to attract mates. A study on cricket mating showed that noisy environments might either block females from hearing calls or make them too confused to pick. It was hard to tell which was causing the problem.



“During that study, it became clear that our work was consistent with both the possibility that many simultaneous cricket songs created noise that made it hard for females to hear, and the possibility that the females were experiencing choice overload,” Tanner said. “Our current work looks to disentangle those ideas.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-average-becomes-good-enough">When average becomes good enough</h2>



The research adds a new layer to how scientists think about evolution. Normally, stronger signals - like a faster frog call - are expected to win out and spread through the population over time. 



But if crowded conditions keep females from consistently picking the top performers, evolution slows down. Mediocre traits stick around longer.



That changes the math for survival. In nature, being the best isn’t always enough - and sometimes, being just okay is good enough, especially if the crowd’s loud and the choices are many.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2025.0585" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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Frogs settle for average mates when dating gets too noisy

If you’re a male gray frog trying to find a mate, you’d better have a fast and steady call. That’s what female treefrogs usually go for. But when the crowd gets loud and chaotic, things change. The males that don’t sound all that great? They suddenly have a shot. In quiet situations where females only hear two males at once, their preferences are clear. They go for the one with the sharper, more rhythmic call. But when four or even eight males are calling at once, things...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/video/coastal-wetlands-are-threatened-by-salt-water-intrusion/">Wetlands</a> can be hard places to make a living, and life in fragmented forest amidst wetlands may be even harder. Despite the difficulty, the rare Olalla’s titi monkey (Plecturocebus olallae) has found a way to live in the Llanos de Moxos, the largest wetland in the Amazon Basin.&nbsp;



New research from the <a href="https://www.wcs.org/">Wildlife Conservation Society</a> (WCS) may explain how the monkeys can survive in the fragmented and damaged forest of the Llanos de Moxos. The scientists observed two groups of Olalla’s titi monkeys for a year. It seems that the key to their survival might be in their ecological flexibility.&nbsp;



During times of abundance, the monkeys were observed eating fruits and moving around a lot. During the leaner dry season, the monkeys ate less fruit and more leaves, and did not move around as much. They also expanded their diet to include more lichens, seeds and fungi.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Interestingly, the study shows that monkeys with their ecological flexibility have some ability to tolerate changes in their habitat, such as fragmentation caused by deforestation.&nbsp;



"The study illustrates the relevance of understanding primate ecological flexibility in response to food reductions to the development of conservation actions, especially in the light of increasing forest degradation and loss in the study region," said study co-author Rob Wallace, director of WCS's Greater Madidi-Tambopata Landscape Program.



The scientists believe that these monkeys are still threatened by habitat loss and range limitations. It seems that eventually, even flexible monkeys have a breaking point. The monkeys are already critically endangered and endemic to a small area.&nbsp;



"The observed shift in diet toward consuming alternative foods during the fruit lean period and reducing movement instead of expanding ranging behavior to look for higher quality foods suggests that P. olallae follows an energy-area minimizing strategy that may enable these primates to inhabit fragmented forests," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"Nevertheless, deforestation and further fragmentation in the range of these endemic and critically endangered primates must be addressed, as they represent significant threats to the severely range-restricted P. olallae populations."



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/10764">International Journal of Primatology</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Monkeys can adapt by changing their diet

Wetlands can be hard places to make a living, and...

The entire genome of a dodo – a three-feet tall flightless <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lead-poisoning-from-hunting-is-killing-europes-most-charismatic-birds/">bird</a> that became extinct in the 17th century – has been sequenced for the first time by a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a>. This accomplishment raises hopes that the bird could be soon brought back to life through genetical engineering.



The dodo was discovered in the 16th century on the island of Mauritius. It weighed about 50 pounds (23 kilograms), had a blue-gray plumage, a huge head, stout yellow legs, and small useless wings.



Since it lived in isolation on Mauritius for hundreds of years, the dodo bird seemed to be fearless. Its audacity though, combined with an inability to fly, made it easy prey not only for humans, but also for the cats, dogs, and pigs that they brought with them while exploring the Indian Ocean. Thus, only 64 years after Dutch sailors had first spotted it, the dodo unfortunately became extinct.



Scientists from UC Santa Cruz used DNA from a dodo specimen kept in the <a href="https://snm.ku.dk/english/">Natural History Museum of Denmark</a> and managed to sequence this bird’s entire genome for the first time (the sequencing has not been published yet). However, according to study leader Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary molecular biologist at UC Santa Cruz, it will most likely be very difficult to bring the dodo back to life.



“Mammals are simpler,” Professor Shapiro said. “If I have a cell and it's living in a dish in the lab and I edit it so that it has a bit of dodo DNA, how do I then transform that cell into a whole living, breathing, actual animal? The way we can do this is to clone it, the same approach that was used to create Dolly the Sheep, but we don't know how to do that with birds because of the intricacies of their reproductive pathways.”



“So there needs to be another approach for birds and this is one really fundamental technological hurdle in de-extinction.&nbsp;There are groups working on different approaches for doing that and I have little doubt that we are going to get there but it is an additional hurdle for birds that we don't have for mammals.”



According to&nbsp;Mike Benton, a professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, in order to bring this bird back from extinction, scientists will most likely edit Nicobar pigeon DNA to include dodo DNA, since the two species are very closely related genetically. However, the result may not completely resemble what the flightless bird originally looked like, warned Professor Benton.



---



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

Can the dodo bird be brought back from extinction?

The entire genome of a dodo – a three-feet tall...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.emory.edu/home/index.html">Emory University</a> has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-predators-have-outsmarted-monarch-butterflies/">monarch butterflies</a> are increasingly plagued by a debilitating parasite - the protozoan&nbsp;Ophryocystis elektrosirrha (O.E.) – which invades the guts of monarch caterpillars. If the adult butterfly leaves the pupal stage with a severe O.E. infection, it begins oozing fluid from its body and eventually dies. Even the rare butterflies that survive cannot fly well and live shorter than uninfected ones.



The scientists found that the O.E. infection rate has increased from less than one percent of the eastern monarch population in 1968 to as much as ten percent today.&nbsp;



“We’re seeing a significant change in a wildlife population with a parasitism rate steadily rising from almost non-existent to as high as ten percent,” said study first author Ania Majewska, a postdoctoral fellow in Biology at Emory. “It’s a signal that something is not right in the environment and that we need to pay attention.”



According to Dr. Majewska and her colleagues, this rise in infection rates is caused by increased density of monarchs in places where they lay their eggs. The increased density is due to several factors including the loss of wildlife habitat, the widespread planting of exotic, non-native species of milkweed that butterflies gather in massive numbers to feed upon, and people’s raising large monarch colonies in confined spaces.&nbsp;



This rise in parasitism may significantly endanger the mass migration of the monarchs – one of the most spectacular displays in the animal kingdom, involving hundreds of millions of western butterflies traveling hundreds of miles down the Pacific Coast to spend the winter in California, and similar numbers of eastern butterflies flying over 3,000 miles from the U.S.- Canadian border to overwinter in Central Mexico. Moreover, their crucial ecological roles as pollinators or essential food for wasps, ants, and other invertebrate predators are also endangered by this worrisome increase in parasitic infection.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Our findings suggest that tens of millions of eastern monarch butterflies are getting sick and dying each year from these parasites,” said study senior author Jaap de Roode, a professor of Biology at Emory. “If the infection rates keep going up, fewer and fewer monarchs will be able to survive to migrate to their overwintering sites.”



“Ultimately, a continuing rise in the monarch’s parasitic infection rate could cause the species to suffer significantly,” added Dr. Majewska. “If tens of millions of them are dying annually from parasitic infections, then an extreme weather event during the winter in Mexico might reduce the population to a level that could be dangerous for their genetic diversity.”



“Parasitism is often overlooked in conservation efforts, but our findings show how parasites can have a massive impact on wildlife,” concluded Professor de Roode.



The study is published in the <a href="https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Monarch_infection_data/17929721/1">Journal of Animal Ecology</a>.



---



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

Millions of monarch butterflies are killed by parasites yearly

A new study led by Emory University has found that...

A recent study published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/75248">eLife</a> has described a new armored <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/late-cretaceous-dinosaur-was-sluggish-and-nearly-deaf/">dinosaur</a> that lived during the Early Jurassic period on the territory of today’s China. Yuxisaurus kopchicki belongs to a group of dinosaurs called thyreophorans (“shield-bearers”), which include well-known creatures such as the Stegosaurus or the Ankylosaurus.&nbsp;



“My colleagues in China discovered this new armored dinosaur in Yunnan, southwest China, in rocks of Early Jurassic age dating to between 192-174 million years ago,” said study co-author Dr. Paul Barrett, a paleobiologist at the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/">National History Museum</a> in London.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“When we put the animal into an evolutionary analysis, it came out close to the common ancestry of stegosaurs and ankylosaurs. This helps to confirm that early armored dinosaurs were living in this region at this time. We know very little about the early history of herbivorous dinosaurs in China, so regionally this is a really important discovery.”



In the past, the highly diverse thyreophoran dinosaurs have largely been associated with rocks dating from the Late Jurassic to the Cretaceous periods (163 to 66 million years ago). Their fossils were mainly found in North America and Europe, making scientists assume that they lived mostly in the northern hemisphere. However, new discoveries of fossils in Morocco, Venezuela, and South Africa have shown that the spatial distribution of this group was much wider than initially thought.



“There are early armored dinosaurs starting to turn up more in the south,” explained Dr. Barrett. “There are two animals from about 200 million years ago from Venezuela and South Africa, that don't have armor, but might be the earliest members of the group, showing what they looked like before they evolved armor.”



“If these animals were in the group, then it is likely the armored dinosaurs originated in the southern continents, but this idea is controversial. If they aren't included in the group, then the origins are anchored in the northern hemisphere. At the moment, we've no way to choose between these alternatives.”



Yuxisaurus kopchicki has a stockier build and a distinctive arrangement of the armored plates that covered its back compared to other known early armored dinosaurs. Although it was primarily adapted for walking on four legs, the analysis of the fossils indicated that it was also able to walk on two legs. Its discovery sheds more light on the morphological diversity of the early thyreophorans and confirms their wide geographical spread.



Image Credit: ©Yu Chen



---



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

Dinosaur discovered in China had spiked armor

A recent study published in the journal eLife has described...

In a new study from <a href="https://aru.ac.uk/">Anglia Ruskin University</a> (ARU), scientists have found that two subspecies of adult howler monkeys implement play when faced with conflict within their groups.&nbsp;



The study was focused on the Mexican howler, Alouatta palliata mexicana, and the golden-mantled howler, Alouatta palliata palliata. The experts investigated which age groups engaged in play and the amount of time the monkeys spent playing.&nbsp;



The researchers discovered that adult howler monkeys spend more time playing with other adults than with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marmots-may-hold-the-key-to-longevity/">juveniles</a>, and females spend more time playing than males.&nbsp;



One of the most important observations was that howler monkeys played more when foraging fruit, a nutritious, delicious delicacy for these mostly leaf-eating primates. Since this food is highly valued, it creates competition, particularly among adults.&nbsp;



Many primates have apparent social hierarchies and ease group tension through practices like social grooming. However, these attributes don't apply to the howler monkeys studied.&nbsp;



These cultural elements, combined with the observation that the monkeys increased play in situations where there was more competition between specific subsets of the group, lead the researchers to believe that howler monkeys use play to alleviate social tension and avoid conflict.&nbsp;



Increased competition between subsets includes competition between adults and competition between females.&nbsp;



"One theory for the positive effect of fruit consumption on play is that a fruit-based diet simply provides the howler monkeys with more energy compared to their typical diet of leaves," explained study co-author Dr. Jacob Dunn, an associate professor in Evolutionary Biology at ARU.



"We should have observed adults engaging in more play with all members of the group during fruit foraging, rather than just with other adults. Because juveniles do not pose a threat or provide competition at fruit trees, we believe that play amongst adults is a mechanism for solving conflicts within the group, in a similar way that grooming is used by some other primate species."



The fact that females spend more time playing than males is more evidence that play is used to avoid conflict.



"This is striking, as females would be more vulnerable to food competition than males," said Dunn. "Howler monkeys are a particularly energy-conservative species, and we would have assumed females would have played less, as they are also constrained by the energy requirements of reproduction."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/animal-behaviour">Animal Behaviour</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Howler monkeys get playful to ease group tension

In a new study from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), scientists...

In a new study from the <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/">University of Liverpool</a>, experts set out to determine how ants will respond to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-is-not-the-only-thing-changing-the-behavior-of-birds/">climate</a> change. According to the researchers, the answer is complicated. Overall, they found that the social nature of ants will enable them to adapt to climate change in ways that will not be possible for solitary organisms.



"Ants are one of the most dominant terrestrial organisms worldwide. They are hugely abundant, both in terms of sheer numbers and biomass, on every continent except Antarctica and are deeply embedded within a diversity of ecological networks and processes," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"Ants are also eusocial and colonial organisms - their life cycle is built on the labor of sterile worker ants who support a small number of reproductive individuals. Given the climatic changes that our planet faces, we need to understand how various important taxonomic groups will respond; this includes the ants."



The researchers reviewed existing studies on ants and their response to temperature changes. The results of the analysis suggest that some populations should have no trouble adapting to a warming climate.&nbsp;



For example, ants that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fungus-farming-ants-work-hard-to-maintain-healthy-gardens/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nest underground</a> will be less vulnerable to rising temperatures. These groups will have the option to relocate to lower, cooler areas. Ants in the world's more temperate regions will also be able to tolerate - and possibly even benefit from - higher temperatures. 



“How climate change affects ant populations and the wider impact this will have on the ecosystem is not particularly well understood. This study sheds new light on this issue," said lead author Professor Kate Parr.&nbsp;



"Ants are the most dominant insect in almost all ecosystems and play key roles in many ecosystem processes so any changes to their abundance and loss of some species will therefore have cascading consequences through the ecosystem.”



“Our research highlights those species and regions at risk from climate change but also those that may be capable of adapting to it."



According to Professor Parr, further research is needed to better understand how ants respond to altered precipitation, carbon dioxide or ultraviolet radiation levels.&nbsp;



"Across the globe, ants are considered key contributors to many ecosystem processes, including seed dispersal, pest control, and soil bioturbation, and are thought to structure invertebrate communities via predation and competition," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"In consequence, changes to ant abundance and occurrence patterns due to ongoing climate change are likely to have significant implications for the structure, integrity, and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>.



---



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

The social nature of ants will help them tolerate climate change

In a new study from the University of Liverpool, experts...

A new study led by a team of paleobiologists from the <a href="https://le.ac.uk/">University of Leicester</a> has found that not all grasshoppers are herbivorous, as scientists initially thought. By identifying startling similarities between the mouths of some species of grasshopper and mammal teeth, the researchers have shown that many of the 11,000 known species of grasshopper may even be <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-sabre-tooth-sheds-light-on-the-evolution-of-hypercarnivores/">carnivorous</a>.



Finding out what grasshoppers eat usually requires detailed investigations of the contents of their guts or painstaking, time-consuming observations of what they feed upon in the wild.&nbsp;



“Knowing what animals eat is fundamental to understanding ecosystems, but working this out can be difficult and time consuming, especially if the animals you study are rare, small, or move quickly,” said study lead author Christopher Stockey, a postgraduate researcher at the University of Leicester.



However, Stockey and his colleagues have found a better, faster, and less invasive method of discovering more about grasshoppers’ diets: they used sophisticated three-dimensional imaging techniques to precisely map the shape of the mandibles of museum grasshopper specimens and to compare them with mammals’ teeth.



“One of the advantages of our method is the powerful comparisons that it provides,” said Stockey. “Surprisingly, comparing the mandible landscapes of grasshoppers with mammal’s teeth allows grasshopper diet to be predicted with 82 percent accuracy – pretty amazing when you consider that the mouthparts of mammals and grasshoppers have evolved independently for 400 million years, and were not present in their common ancestor.”



These measurements revealed clear differences linked to diet between various species of grasshopper. “Mandibles from carnivorous grasshoppers that eat soft flesh have steeper slopes and sharper cliff edges, while those that eat tough plant material, such as grass, have mandibles with complex undulating ‘landscapes,’” explained Stockey.



“This study is a great example of combining modern analytical methods with historical samples from museum collections to help understand the biodiversity of our planet,” said Dr. Ben Price, a senior curator at the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/">Natural History Museum</a>. “As technology advances additional uses of museum collections become possible and this non-destructive approach could reveal the diet information for thousands of species, decades after the specimens were collected.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.13832">Methods in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



---



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

Some grasshoppers are actually carnivores

A new study led by a team of paleobiologists from...

Lead is a toxic metal with no known physiological functions in the bodies of animals. In fact, it is known to have negative effects on most body systems. Once absorbed, usually through the gut after ingestion, it passes into the blood stream and then into soft tissues, such as kidneys and liver, and into bone. Although the levels in the soft tissues may decrease over time, lead poisoning remains in the bones of an animal for its entire lifetime.&nbsp;



Humans have a long history of lead use but, because of the known risks posed by this metal to human health, most of its uses are now strictly regulated in Europe and most other developed countries. However, this is not true of the use of lead in the manufacture of ammunition (shotgun pellets, slugs and rifle bullets). And although it has been shown that lead poisoning contributed to the population declines of iconic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-is-not-the-only-thing-changing-the-behavior-of-birds/">birds</a> such as the American bald eagle and the Californian condor, bans on the use of lead ammunition have met with little success in Europe.



Birds that scavenge carrion, such as vultures, may ingest lead pellets and fragments of ammunition in the flesh of animals that have been shot by hunters and then lost or left behind in the field or forest. Birds of prey (raptors) may catch live prey that have previously been shot by hunters but have survived. This prey may have lead pellets embedded in their flesh that have not killed them. Raptors will also scavenge when the opportunity arises and may ingest lead ammunition in this way as well, which results in poisoning.



Until recently, there was not enough data on concentrations of lead in the tissues of raptors in Europe to assess the impacts of lead poisoning on populations of these birds. However, a recent review of the topic has stimulated more interest. Although the review study documented tissue lead concentrations, it did not attempt to assess the numbers of raptors killed by lead poisoning throughout Europe.&nbsp;



A new study by scientists from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>, UK, has now compiled updated information on the levels of lead poisoning in 22 raptor species across Europe and used these data to estimate the impacts on populations of some of these species. The experts hypothesized that variation in lead poisoning between species and between countries is related to the intensity of hunting activities.&nbsp;



The researchers used measurements of lead concentration in the livers of over 3,000 raptors found dead or dying in the wild in 13 countries. This data had been collected by scientists in the various countries since the 1970s. They considered birds to have died from lead poisoning if they had 20 ppm (dry weight), or more, of lead in their tissues.&nbsp;



Their results, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/science-of-the-total-environment">Science of The Total Environment</a>, showed that 10 species of raptors are particularly affected by lead poisoning. The worst affected are species like eagles that are naturally long-lived, rear few young per year and breed later in life.&nbsp;



However, even populations of species familiar to bird-watchers across the different countries, such as the common buzzard and red kite, were affected. The researchers estimate that the overall European populations of these 10 raptor species are at least six percent smaller than they should be, due solely to the effects of lead poisoning from gun ammunition.&nbsp;



Europe’s white-tailed eagle population is estimated to be 14 percent smaller than it would have been in the absence of more than a century of exposure to lethal levels of lead in some of its food. Golden eagle and griffon vulture populations are 13 and 12 percent smaller, respectively, and numbers of northern goshawks are six percent lower than they should be. Red kites and western marsh harriers were estimated to have populations with three percent fewer individuals than they should have.&nbsp;



And even though common buzzard populations are only 1.5 percent smaller than they would be in the absence of lead poisoning, this still equates to almost 22,000 fewer adults of this widespread species, say the researchers. &nbsp;



A range of alternatives to lead shot and rifle bullets are widely available to hunters and some countries have had great success legislating for the use of these alternatives in hunting. Currently, only two European nations – Denmark and the Netherlands – have banned lead shot. Denmark plans to follow this up with a ban on lead rifle bullets. Both the European Union and the UK are considering legal bans on all lead ammunition due to its effects on wildlife and the health of human consumers of game meat. However, many hunting groups oppose this change, according to researchers.



The same authors published results of a previous study just last month which showed that over 99 percent of pheasants killed in the UK are still shot with lead, despite hunting groups urging members to switch to non-toxic gunshot in 2020. In addition, X-ray studies of wild ducks in the UK have shown that about a quarter of live birds currently carry lead shot in their bodies.



“The continued blanket use of lead ammunition means that hunting as a pastime simply cannot be considered sustainable unless things change,” said study lead author and conservation scientist Professor Rhys Green. “Unfortunately, efforts to encourage voluntary shifts away from lead shot have been completely ineffective so far,” he said.



“The kinds of reductions in raptor populations suggested by our study would be considered worthy of strong action, including legislation, if caused by habitat destruction or deliberate poisoning."



“It’s taken decades for researchers from across Europe to amass sufficient data to enable us to calculate the impacts of lead poisoning on raptor populations,” explained study co-author Professor Debbie Pain. “We can now see just how substantial population impacts can be for some of our most charismatic and vulnerable species - species that are protected by EU Regulation and the UK Wildlife &amp; Countryside Act.”



“The avoidable suffering and death of numerous individual raptors from lead poisoning should be sufficient to require the use of non-toxic alternatives. These population-level impacts make this both doubly important and urgent,” she emphasized.



The researchers also investigated the association between the number of lead poisonings in each country and the “hunter density. ” This was taken to be the average numbers of hunters per square kilometer in each country, using data from the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation. Not surprisingly, the incidences of lead poisoning were positively correlated with the density of hunters. In addition, countries with no hunters using lead ammunition had virtually no lead-poisoned raptors.



In conclusion, the researchers stress the importance of introducing and enforcing laws to ban the hunting of animals using lead ammunition. They expect that the populations of bird species currently most impacted by lead poisoning would be substantially larger if their exposure to dietary lead could be reduced to a low level.&nbsp;



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

Lead poisoning from hunting is killing Europe's most charismatic birds

Lead is a toxic metal with no known physiological functions...

Arabian,Oryx

The Arabian oryx is an iconic antelope species native to desert and steppe areas of the&nbsp;Arabian Peninsula. It is the&nbsp;national animal&nbsp;of Jordan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and&nbsp;Qatar. Despite being a revered and admired species and a cultural symbol in the Gulf region, it became extinct in the wild in 1972 as a result of hunting and poaching.&nbsp;Luckily, there were many individuals held in captivity in zoos and private collections, and the success of captive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-are-one-step-closer-to-creating-artificial-rhino-eggs/">breeding</a> programs meant that small herds could be reintroduced into the wild.&nbsp;



In early 1982, the first herd was “rewilded” to a desert area in central Oman and, today, wild populations totaling 1,200 animals exist in several locations, mainly on the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx is the first animal species to be reclassified by the IUCN as “vulnerable" after being declared extinct in the wild. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the species continues to face a high risk of extinction in the wild. Despite this, there are no formal breeding strategies in place to ensure the genetic diversity of the herds that remain.&nbsp;



To address this important issue, Professor Jaime Gongora of Sydney University, and his former PhD student Qais Al Rawahi and colleagues, conducted the first genomic analysis of Arabian oryxes in order to assess their genetic diversity and propose breeding strategies based on the results.&nbsp;



“There is more to the preservation of the Arabian oryx than conservation,” said Professor Gongora. “Historically and now, it has strong cultural significance in the Arabian Peninsula due to its unique physical features and strength, enabling it to live in harsh desert environments. It has even become a national icon in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. That’s why we are working so hard to ensure it survives – for the oryx itself and to keep this cultural connection alive.”



Arabian oryxes are remarkable animals because of their ability to survive in the hot, dry desert environments where they occur. They can reduce their water loss through urine, feces and metabolic processes by up to 50 percent in dry conditions and have special anatomical features to keep the brain cool, even though the body temperature may rise above normal.



These antelopes can travel 75km a day, searching for food, and are known for their "sixth sense": they can sense the location of incoming rain and move towards it to drink, as well as consume plants that thrive in moister conditions, like acacias. With a lifespan of between 15 and 20 years, they are a key food source for other species on the Arabian Peninsula including striped hyenas, Arabian wolves, and lynxes.



The researchers tested the DNA from 138 Arabian oryxes at the Al-Wusta Wildlife Reserve in Oman, where a herd of around 600 individuals is kept. They compared the results to 36 historical DNA samples from the Phoenix Zoo, from offspring of a herd established there in the 1970s. The experts studied the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA and biparentally inherited single nucleotide polymorphisms – genetic variations used to identify species.



The results showed that the current gene pool of the Arabian oryx is reasonably diverse, despite the fact that there have been no coordinated breeding schemes to encourage genetic diversity. In fact, at 58 percent of the total diversity, the current-day sample was more genetically diverse than the historical ones. This is hardly surprising since the Phoenix Zoo’s original herd consisted of only nine individuals.



“This means that conservation strategies based on random mating could be reasonably successful,” said study lead author Professor Gongora. “This work in such an iconic species could serve as a benchmark for the long-term sustainability of other conservation programs. This includes those taking place at the Al-Wusta Wildlife Reserve involving the Sand Gazelle, the Mountain Gazelle and the Nubian Ibex."



The research did identify the DNA of three ancestral groups among the sampled oryxes, but their genes were not evenly distributed across the current-day herds in the wildlife reserve. Based on this, the authors suggest a targeted breeding strategy whereby females should breed with males from the other genetic lineages. “To ensure the survival of the species, it’s not just about population size – it’s about genetic diversity,” emphasized Gongora.



Together with his colleagues, Professor Gongora is working with the Al-Wusta Wildlife Reserve to implement this strategy. The researchers also recommend that Arabian oryx genetic samples be stored in a biobank for future genetic analyses. In addition, biobanking of eggs and sperm samples could also be considered as a long-term insurance policy against the extinction of this species.



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



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

Scientists are fighting to save the iconic Arabian oryx

The Arabian oryx is an iconic antelope species native to...

Blindness is a common and well known adaptation for animals living their entire lives in the total darkness of caves. In particular, blind cave fish live in the depths all over the world. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.uc.edu/">University of Cincinnati</a> (UC) have been examining Mexican cave fish (Astyanax mexicanus) for years.&nbsp;



Previously, the experts have suggested that the fish’s asymmetrical head could be an adaptation to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephant-seals-have-impressive-navigation-abilities/">navigating</a> in the dark. They discovered their pink color is controlled by the gene that gives people red hair. “I’ve been fascinated by these fish for a long time,” said UC Professor Joshua Gross.



Interestingly, despite obvious differences in appearance and physiology, the Mexican cave fish is the same species as some found above ground and the two can interbreed freely when they do happen to come into contact with each other.&nbsp;



“Unlike Charles Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos that are separated at the species level, both the cavefish and surface fish are considered members of the same species and can interbreed,” said Professor Gross.



One interesting difference between the fish above ground and the cave fish is that of oxygen levels in the water. Stream water is oxygenated by natural movement. Water in cave pools is often still and thus very low in dissolved oxygen content. The researchers wanted to know how the fish were able to survive this and the lack of nutrients found in caves.



“They move around all the time, but they have little access to nutrition," said study lead author Tyler Boggs. "It’s a paradox. They’re expending all this energy. Where does it come from?”



The scientists suspected that cave fish have more hematocrit in their blood to help them survive in the oxygen and nutrient poor cave environments. When they tested the blood, however. hematocrit levels were about the same. Interestingly, even though the hematocrit levels were not higher, the red blood cells themselves were much larger in the cave fish.&nbsp;



“That size difference largely explains the differences in hematocrit,” said Professor Gross. “We know very little about the mechanism of cell size in evolution, so this finding is something we could capitalize on to gain insight into how animals evolve elevated hemoglobin capacity.”



The scientists hope that understanding the cave fish adaptation to low oxygen levels might help us understand the lower oxygen levels created everywhere by climate change.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“There is a lot of ecological relevance here," said Boggs. "It’s happening in freshwater environments, saltwater environments. Researchers are trying to call attention to this awful issue.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How do blind cave fish live in low oxygen waters?

Blindness is a common and well known adaptation for animals...

Peat is a carbon-rich soil formed from partly decomposed vegetation in wet conditions. Tropical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/permafrost-peatlands-approach-a-climate-tipping-point/">peatlands</a> are crucial for storing carbon in the ground and providing habitat for exotic wildlife, such as tigers, birds, gibbons, fish, microbes, and specially-adapted plants. 



Moreover, cultivating peatlands often supports humans’ livelihood. Many small-scale farmers use peatlands to grow oil palm. However, in order to make the land suitable for farming, peatlands need to be drained, which affects animal and plant habitats and can cause carbon emissions. In addition, the drained land can become prone to fires.



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a> has found that restoring drained peatland through processes of “re-wetting” – where canals draining water away are blocked or filled in – supports bird diversity while not affecting the viability of oil palm grown by farmers in Indonesia. This is where 47 percent of global tropical peatlands are located, mainly on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.



&nbsp;“Indonesia has been very successful in reducing deforestation and considerable effort has gone into peat restoration to avoid fires. But one of the big challenges is the trade-off between livelihoods of owners of small farms and ensuring biodiversity in these areas,” said Dr. Eleanor Warren-Thomas, a conservation scientist at <a href="https://www.bangor.ac.uk/">Bangor University</a> who led the study while working at York.



“What this new study shows is that retaining more water in oil palm farms to reduce fire risk seems to have no effect on yields, which is good news for farmers. In contrast to the concerns of some plantations, retaining water levels close to the surface (40cm or less) still enables oil palm cultivation.”



By also surveying the bird species in one of the remaining peat swamp forest areas nearby, Dr. Warren-Thomas and her colleagues highlighted the importance of protecting the remaining forest for bird conservation.



“These unique birds can also act as seed dispersers - crucial if in the longer-term forest restoration becomes an option.”



“One of the conclusions of the study is that larger-scale industrial farming organizations would be able to help further studies in this area, if they are able to publish their data and share their knowledge to inform sustainable oil palm production strategies.”



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.14135">Journal of Applied Ecology</a>.&nbsp;



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

Tropical peatlands can be restored without impacting oil palm farmers

Peat is a carbon-rich soil formed from partly decomposed vegetation...

A recent study published in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/13032">PeerJ</a> has described the fossils of a sabre-toothed mammal (Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae) that lived during the early Eocene, approximately 40 million years ago. The specimen included a lower jaw and well-preserved teeth, thus offering crucial information about the evolution of the first hypercarnivores, or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vacation-photos-can-help-save-endangered-animals/">animals</a> that have a predominantly meat-based diet.



“Today the ability to eat an all-meat diet, also called hypercarnivory, isn’t uncommon. Tigers do it, polar bears can do it. If you have a house cat, you may even have a hypercarnivore at home. But 42 million years ago, mammals were only just figuring out how to survive on meat alone,” said study lead author Dr. Ashley Poust, a postdoctoral researcher at the <a href="https://www.sdnhm.org/">San Diego Natural History Museum</a> (The Nat). “One big advance was to evolve specialized teeth for slicing flesh - which is something we see in this newly described specimen.”



The specimen was discovered in the Santiago Formation, a region in the San Diego County in Southern California containing 42-million-old rocks with a large number of fossils including early tapirs, strange sheep-like, herbivorous oreodonts, and tiny rhinos.



D. vanvalkenburghae is part of a mysterious group of animals called Machaeroidines that are now completely extinct and are not closely related to today’s living predators.&nbsp;



“We know so little about Machaeroidines, so every new discovery greatly expands our picture of them,” said study co-author Dr. Shawn Zack, a postdoctoral fellow in Anatomy at the <a href="https://phoenixmed.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona College of Medicine</a>. “This relatively complete, well-preserved&nbsp;Diegoaelurus&nbsp;fossil is especially useful because the teeth let us infer the diet and start to understand how Machaeroidines are related to each other.”



This ancient hypercarnivore was about the size of a bobcat, but had a downturned bony chin protecting its sabre teeth.&nbsp;



“Nothing like this had existed in mammals before. A few mammal ancestors had long fangs, but&nbsp;Diegoaelurus&nbsp;and its few relatives represent the first cat-like approach to an all-meat diet, with sabre-teeth in front and slicing scissor teeth called carnassials in the back. It’s a potent combination that several animal groups have independently evolved in the millions of years since,” explained Dr. Poust.



According to the scientists, this mammal and its relatives were an evolutionary experiment, a first stab at a hypercarnivorous lifestyle. It is one of the most recent machaeroidine predators and precedes other cat-like animals such as the nimravids or sabre-tooth false-cats. The richness of prey species co-existing with it in the San Diego County 40 million years ago most probably allowed it to live the life of a specialized hunter before most other mammals.&nbsp;



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

Ancient sabre-tooth sheds light on the evolution of hypercarnivores

A recent study published in the journal PeerJ has described...

<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=2E0mn5mTvhQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that scientists never expected.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-waters-beneath-ancient-craters">Hidden waters beneath ancient craters</h2>



Scientists have made a startling discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saturn-moon-mimas-has-remarkably-young-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saturn's moon Mimas</a>. Beneath the heavily cratered surface that earned it the nickname "Death Star" lies a global ocean that formed just 5 to 15 million years ago—a remarkably young age by cosmic standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cassini-data-reveals-orbital-secrets">Cassini data reveals orbital secrets</h2>



The discovery, led by Dr. Valéry Lainey of the <a href="https://observatoiredeparis.psl.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Observatoire de Paris</a>, emerged from careful analysis of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>'s Cassini spacecraft data. By studying subtle irregularities in Mimas's orbit around Saturn, researchers detected the gravitational signature of liquid water hidden 20 to 30 kilometers beneath the moon's icy shell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unlikely-ocean-world">An unlikely ocean world</h2>



At only 400 kilometers in diameter, Mimas seemed like the least likely candidate to harbor a subsurface ocean. Unlike other ocean moons such as Europa and Enceladus, which show clear surface signs of internal activity, Mimas displays no obvious hints of the liquid water beneath its ancient, crater-scarred exterior.



"Mimas is a small moon, and its heavily cratered surface gave no hint of the hidden ocean beneath," explained Dr. Nick Cooper from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Queen Mary University of London</a>, a study co-author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-astrobiology">Implications for astrobiology</h2>



The ocean's recent formation makes Mimas a prime target for studying how oceans develop and potentially support life. This discovery adds another member to the exclusive club of ocean worlds in our solar system, each offering unique insights into the conditions necessary for habitability.



The research, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> journal, demonstrates how advanced orbital analysis can reveal hidden features of celestial bodies, opening new possibilities for understanding ocean formation throughout the cosmos.



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Scientists discover unexpected young ocean on Saturn's cratered moon Mimas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ 'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that...

<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.

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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.

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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.



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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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" 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> 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

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" 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> 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?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" 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 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

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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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"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" 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 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

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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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

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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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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