Two iconic dinosaurs - Tyrannosaurus rex and Brachylophosaurus canadensis - have yielded a fresh line of evidence that traces of their original biology can survive for tens of millions of years. 



In new work, researchers at <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">North Carolina State University</a> identified hemoglobin - the oxygen-carrying protein in blood - and its iron-bearing heme group in bone extracts from both animals.



The finding strengthens a growing body of data showing that certain biomolecules can persist in exceptional fossils. It also clarifies how they change as fossils form.



Researchers have debated and re-examined soft, stretchy tissues from these same specimens for nearly two decades. 



Teams have used high-resolution imaging, antibodies, and protein sequencing to argue that the materials are genuine remnants of dinosaur biology rather than modern contaminants. The latest study adds another tool - and another confirmation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-light-unlocks-dinosaur-chemistry">Light unlocks dinosaur chemistry</h2>



The team turned to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/resonance-raman-spectroscopy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopy</a>. In this method, laser light is tuned to a molecule’s electronic transitions. This causes only that molecule to “sing” back with a strong signal.



“Raman spectroscopy essentially uses light waves to identify a molecule’s energetic ‘fingerprint,’” said physicist Hans Hallen, the study’s corresponding author. 



“Resonance Raman, which we use here, takes that process one step further by using light already tuned to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seeking-the-origins-of-the-molecule-that-made-the-universe/">molecule</a> of interest - so only that type of molecule will resonate.”



That resonance dramatically boosts the signal from specific bonds - crucial when your targets are rare, damaged molecules embedded in a complex fossil matrix.



“This strong signal allows us to find the needle (hemoglobin remnants) in the haystack (messy fossil) to see how this molecule has changed from the functional living state, revealing the chemical changes molecules undergo in deep time,” Hallen added.



RR spectra from T. rex and Brachylophosaurus extracts showed signatures consistent with heme still bound to globin proteins. In addition, they indicated heme bound to goethite, an iron oxide mineral linked to oxidized iron.



The researchers cross-checked those signals against demineralized modern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-of-a-cretaceous-ostrich-mexidracon-longimanus-with-extremely-long-arms/">ostrich</a> bone and human blood to anchor their interpretations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blood-molecules-traced-to-dinosaurs">Blood molecules traced to dinosaurs</h2>



Because Raman detects bonds rather than whole molecules, skeptics often point out that generic signals could arise from modern microbes or other contaminants. 



That’s where the extra selectivity of RR - and the structural information in the spectra - matters.



“RR identifies both bonds and structure," said paleobiologist Mary Schweitzer, a co-author on the work. 



"We know that heme is there and that it is still bound to hemoglobin protein - contaminants like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reusable-water-bottles-are-breeding-ground-for-strep-and-fecal-bacteria/">bacteria</a> don’t have those specific bonds, so we can say that the molecules are from the animal, or in this case, the dinosaur,”



The team also mapped how those spectral fingerprints shift as hemoglobin decays. After death, the protein breaks down, damaging the heme ring and oxidizing the iron inside it. 



RR data show that goethite forms on that iron, and the heme can bind to the mineral surface.



Tellingly, the researchers observed the early stages of the same degradation pathway in modern samples, suggesting that key steps happen relatively quickly and then stabilize.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-blood-survived-fossilization">Dinosaur blood survived fossilization</h2>



Beyond confirming what the molecules are, the spectral changes reveal a plausible route for how they survived. 



Goethite is a bio-related mineral - it often forms in association with biological activity - and the new data hint that it doesn’t just grow near proteins; it can latch onto and stabilize fragments. "We didn’t know that it could bind to and stabilize <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-modified-plant-proteins-to-create-delicious-meat-alternatives/">protein</a> fragments,” Hallen said.



That matters because it shows a mechanism that locks delicate organics in place and protects them during fossilization. 



Researchers already know that heme persists in sediments far older than the age of dinosaurs, but the path from fresh blood to ancient rock has remained murky.



Pinning down the chemistry helps explain why hemoglobin, in particular, shows up as a survivor - and why some fossils preserve molecular vestiges while others do not.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-view-of-fossil-preservation">A new view of fossil preservation</h2>



The study reinforces a shift in paleontology: under the right conditions, original biochemistry can endure deep time, and modern tools can detect and interpret it. 



Instead of a binary “preserved or not,” researchers are piecing together degradation pathways, mineral partnerships, and microenvironments that favor survival.



For dinosaur biology, that means more than just curiosity. Hemoglobin and heme in blood play key roles in metabolism, oxygen transport, and overall physiology. 



Their presence, and the way they degrade, defines how tissues fossilize and what information we can still extract.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/dinosaur-bone_hemoglobin_preserved_NCSU_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/dinosaur-bone_hemoglobin_preserved_NCSU_1s.webp" alt="Vessels isolated from Tyrannosaurus cortical bone by demineralization in EDTA. Credit: NC State University" class="wp-image-1985867"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Vessels isolated from Tyrannosaurus cortical bone by demineralization in EDTA. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NC State University</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blood-chemistry-spans-eons">Blood chemistry spans eons</h2>



For dinosaur fossil science, mineral–organic interactions like heme–goethite may help preserve blood proteins and molecular fragments throughout Earth’s history.



“Heme has been identified in sediments that are much, much older than dinosaurs, so we know that it persists,” Schweitzer noted. 



“Understanding why <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/secrets-of-human-genetics-could-optimize-medical-care/">hemoglobin</a> preserves, and the role that heme plays in the process, is really important if we want to know how these ancient molecules survive through time.”



The upshot is both practical and provocative. Resonance Raman pinpoints specific ancient molecules within messy fossils, and the chemistry it reveals also serves as a preservation roadmap. 



That’s a powerful combination for anyone trying to read life’s oldest diaries written in stone.



The study is published in the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspa.2025.0175" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences</a>.



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Hemoglobin and other blood molecules found preserved in dinosaur fossils

Two iconic dinosaurs - Tyrannosaurus rex and Brachylophosaurus canadensis - have yielded a fresh line of evidence that traces of their original biology can survive for tens of millions of years. In new work, researchers at North Carolina State University identified hemoglobin - the oxygen-carrying protein in blood - and its iron-bearing heme group in bone extracts from both animals. The finding strengthens a growing body of data showing that certain biomolecules can persist in exceptional fossils. It also clarifies how they change as fossils form. Researchers...

With lockdowns being lifted in many parts of the world, a large number of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-and-cats-test-positive-for-alpha-variant-of-sars-cov-2/">dogs</a> left home alone by their owners face psychological problems such as separation anxiety. 



While it may seem that dogs who are left home with other canine companions would feel less lonely and anxious, a new study led by the Academy for Animal Naturopathy in&nbsp;Dürnten, Switzerland has found that the opposite is usually true. Dogs appear to be even more anxious when left home with other dogs.



“Many dogs are left alone at home by their owners for several hours on a daily basis. This practice is known to be a possible source of complication in dog keeping. Behaviorists and veterinarians are frequently consulted due to excessive vocalizations, destructive behavior and house-soiling of dogs left alone by their owners,” explained the study authors.&nbsp;



“These observations are thought to be symptoms of a disorder which most authors refer to as separation anxiety or separation related behavior.”&nbsp;



Signs of separation anxiety in dogs include barking, howling, increased physical activity, digging, scratching, disruptive chewing, or excessive urination and defecation.



The scientists videotaped 32 dogs in single-dog households and 45 dogs in multi-dog households that were left alone as part of their usual routine. Surprisingly, intense physical activity was higher in multi-dog households, primarily in the first hours after separation.&nbsp;



“We observed more separation-related behavior in multi-dog households,” reported study lead author Gerrit Stephan, a researcher at the Academy for Animal Naturopathy.



“It's a common misconception – and often given as poor advice – that a dog with separation-related anxiety will fare better and show fewer stress responses if another dog is added to the household,” said Natalie Waran, a professor of Animal Welfare at the <a href="https://www.eit.ac.nz/">Eastern Institute of Technology</a> in New Zealand.&nbsp;



“This doesn't address the underlying problem for the dog with separation anxiety, and it often results in another dog showing anxious or excitable behavior. The key is to understand the causes of problem behavior to be able to manage or treat those effectively.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Further research is needed in order to better understand the reasons why separation anxiety appears to be stronger in multi-dog households and to open therapeutic pathways for pets struggling with emotional issues.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159121002501#!">Applied Animal Behavior Science</a>.



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

Dogs get more separation anxiety when left with another animal

With lockdowns being lifted in many parts of the world,...

Plenty of evidence shows that invasive species damage <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-damages-the-base-of-the-marine-food-web/">food webs</a> but the specifics of these damages over time remain somewhat mysterious. A new study conducted at the <a href="https://www.umt.edu/">University of Montana</a> Flathead Lake Biological Station is providing new insight into the impacts of invasive species.&nbsp;



"This has been a truly collaborative effort," said Shawn Delvin of FLBS. "The work leverages the rather bleak history of introduction and invasion of nonnative species in northwest Montana lakes into an ecological experiment built on the power of long-term data and a deeper understanding of lake ecology.”



U.S. Fish &amp; Wildlife biologist Charles Wainright, who just finished his graduate school work at FLBS explained the importance of the study.



“This study provides new details about how invasive lake trout affect entire lake food webs," said Wainright. "The findings will be important for conserving native species and ecosystems in Montana and elsewhere.”



The researchers examined long term fisheries records to determine the timing of introduction of invasive lake trout in ten Montana lakes. The researchers also examined the impact of these introductions on the food webs in the lakes.&nbsp;



The results showed that native fishes were forced to feed on less than ideal diets and scrape by in unfamiliar habitats. Eventually, this led to the loss of native bull trout, a threatened species under the US Endangered Species Act.&nbsp;



“Native bull trout populations have drastically declined in many lakes across western Montana due to competitive interactions with invasive lake trout," said Clint Muhlfeld, an aquatic ecologist with the USGS.



"For the first time, we show what happens not only to bull trout but entire food webs supporting them as lake trout invade and upset lake ecosystems over time.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The research showed the invasive fish populations grew over time for decades. After 50 years, lake trout were the dominant apex predator in these food webs.&nbsp;



The findings confirmed that over time, invasive lake trout disrupted - and ultimately replaced - the native fish species, drastically changing the ecosystem.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>,&nbsp;



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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

Invasive species can drastically alter food webs

Plenty of evidence shows that invasive species damage food webs...

Researchers have long been fascinated by the extraordinary skills spiders show in building intricate and beautiful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reef-food-webs-threatened-by-the-loss-of-picky-eaters/">webs</a> by relying mostly on the sense of touch.&nbsp;



A team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> has recently used night vision and artificial intelligence to track and record every movement the spiders made in order to shed more light on how creatures with such small brains are capable to build these elegant, complex, and geometrically precise structures.



“I first got interested in this topic while I was out birding with my son. After seeing a spectacular web, I thought, 'if you went to a zoo and saw a chimpanzee building this, you'd think that's one amazing and impressive chimpanzee,'” said senior author Andrew Gordus, a behavioral biologist at Johns Hopkins.&nbsp;



“Well, this is even more amazing because a spider's brain is so tiny and I was frustrated that we didn't know more about how this remarkable behavior occurs. Now we've defined the entire choreography for web building, which has never been done for any animal architecture at this fine of a resolution."&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;



Gordus and his colleagues designed an arena with infrared lights and cameras to record the web-building activities of six hackled orb weavers, a species of spider native to the western United States. They used machine vision software designed specifically to detect limb movements in order to track the millions of individual leg movements the spiders performed in order to build their webs.



By analyzing the footage, the scientists found that web-making behaviors were extremely similar across spiders.&nbsp;



"Even if the final structure is a little different, the rules they use to build the web are the same," Gordus explained. "They're all using the same rules, which confirms the rules are encoded in their brains. Now we want to know how those rules are encoded at the level of neurons."



In future studies, the researchers aim to experiment with mind-altering drugs to determine which circuits of the spiders’ brains are responsible for each stage of web-building.



"The spider is fascinating because here you have an animal with a brain built on the same fundamental building blocks as our own, and this work could give us hints on how we can understand larger brain systems, including humans,” said study lead author Abel Corver, a graduate student at Johns Hopkins.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982221012707">Current Biology</a>.



---



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

Scientists reveal spiders’ web-making secrets

Researchers have long been fascinated by the extraordinary skills spiders...

Instances of animals being infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-evidence-that-covid-19-is-a-seasonal-infection/">COVID-19</a>) have bee)n documented from around the world. The species affected include pet dogs, cats and ferrets, zoo animals such as big cats, otters and primates, farmed mink and wild white-tailed deer. 



A new study reports the first instav7thnce of pet infection by the alpha&nbsp;variant of SARS-CoV-2, which&nbsp;was first detected in southeast England and is commonly known as the UK variant or B.1.1.7. This variant rapidly outcompeted pre-existing variants in England due to its increased transmissibility and infectivity.&nbsp;



Two cats and one dog returned positive PCR tests for this variant of the Coronavirus, while two additional cats and one dog displayed antibodies to the virus two to six weeks after they had developed signs of cardiac disease. All of the pets had suffered an acute onset of cardiac disease, including severe myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).



Many of the owners of these pets had also tested positive for COVID-19, and had developed respiratory symptoms several weeks before their pets became ill.



“Our study reports the first cases of cats and dogs affected by the COVID-19 alpha variant and highlights, more than ever, the risk that companion animals can become infected with SARS-CoV-2,” said lead author Luca Ferasin,&nbsp;DVM, PhD, of The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre, in the UK.



“We also reported the atypical clinical manifestations characterized by severe heart abnormalities, which is a well-recognized complication in people affected by COVID-19 but has never been described in pets before."&nbsp;



"However, COVID-19 infection in pets remains a relatively rare condition and, based on our observations, it seems that the transmission occurs from humans to pets, rather than vice versa."



The study is published by <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/">Wiley</a> in the journal <a href="https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20427670">Veterinary Record</a>.



---



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

Dogs and cats test positive for alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2

Instances of animals being infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that...

In many animal species, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/blue-orchard-bees-respond-to-fires-by-producing-more-females/">females</a> apparently choose male mates based on the presence of adornments, such as large antlers or bright colors, or the use of ritualized displays that in some way indicate a male’s fitness. This is known as sexual selection and is thought to be responsible for the presence of extravagant and unusual male characteristics.&nbsp;



But when the pool of possible mates is limited, females who are too choosy run the risk of ending up with no partner and no possibility of reproducing. The risks associated with female choosiness were the subject of a recent study by Wolfgang Forstmeier of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany, and colleagues, who used populations of captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to test their hypotheses.



Zebra finches are socially monogamous songbirds that have regionally distinct songs. Females prefer to select mates that have the same song dialect.&nbsp;



The researchers capitalized on this situation and set up 10 aviaries, each containing 12 male and 12 female finches from the two different dialect lineages. In each captive breeding colony, one-third of the females (4 birds) could choose from two-thirds (8 birds) of the males that shared the same dialect. This was considered to be a situation of relaxed competition as there was an excess of males from which the 4 females could select a suitable mate.&nbsp;



However, in each aviary the remaining two-thirds of females (8 birds) had only one-third of the males (4 birds) that shared their song dialect. This was thus a situation of high competition as these females had a shortage of preferred males from which to select a mate. They could either choose a male with a different song dialect or choose not to breed at all.



The researchers hypothesized that females that experienced high competition for mates would have less reproductive success (measured in terms of offspring that reached independence). They also theorized that these females would lay fewer eggs and start egg-laying later – because they would be busy competing for mates.



The results showed that 31 percent of females in the high-competition treatment chose to pair with a male of a different song dialect, while 26 percent refused to settle for this and remained unpaired throughout the experiment. The researchers termed these unpaired females “wallflowers.”



The surprise came, however, when it turned out that the “wallflowers” produced, on average, the same number of eggs and successful fledglings as the breeding pairs. It seems that there was no shortage of mating opportunities between unpaired females and paired males.&nbsp;



The unpaired females then chose either to build a nest and rear the young on their own, or they sneaked their fertilized eggs into the nests of pair-bonded individuals and left the chick rearing to them, like a cuckoo does.



Some previous studies have suggested that there will be a cost to a female that is too fussy when selecting a male, and that this cost (not reproducing) would act against the evolution of sexual selection as a process. However, the current study found that females who refused to pair with a male of the wrong song dialect would suffer no cost at all in terms of offspring produced.&nbsp;



In addition, unpaired females chose to mate with, and to deposit their eggs in the nests of males that had the same song dialect. With this reproductive strategy, these unpaired females were achieving the desired result even though they were not able to form pair-bonds with the preferred males.



The study is the first to quantify the fitness costs to females of being too picky. And indeed, the results indicate that, at least in zebra finches, these costs are non-existent, as long as the females are able to employ alternative reproductive strategies. This behavioral flexibility can facilitate the evolution of female choice and male sexual selection in monogamous species, the authors say.



“Our study asks how females cope with the situation that their mate preferences are difficult to satisfy," said Forstmeier. "The answer is: more successfully than we had expected.”



The study is published today in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLoS Biology</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

Female finches can afford to be picky when selecting a mate

In many animal species, females apparently choose male mates based...

Many consumers are concerned about the presence of toxic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pesticides-have-become-increasingly-toxic-to-insects/">pesticides</a> in their food, but few are aware of the effect that these harmful chemicals are having on ecosystems. Bees and other pollinators are essential to the world’s ecosystems and their decline presents some devastating predictions.



New research from the Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities at the <a href="https://www.uib.no/en">University of Bergen</a> (UiB) is investigating the implications that insect and pollinator decline will have on society as a result of toxic pesticide usage.&nbsp;



“What is at stake is nothing less than the world’s ecosystems and food production,” said Professor Jeroen van der Sluijs of the research center. He noted that data contained in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility database illustrates that the biodiversity of wild bees has decreased by 25 percent since 1990.



Wild bees are key pollinators to many plants, facilitating the formation of seeds and reproduction, and their decline presents a serious threat to these plants and their survival.&nbsp;



“The decline in bees and other pollinators continues with increasing strength, and we are running out of time,” said Professor Van Der Sluijs.&nbsp;



Researchers have been tracing the decline of insects due to the modern use of pesticides, toxic chemicals with high levels of usage that are currently being ignored by the European regulatory system. This is due to a common misconception that modern pesticides are far safer than they used to be, but Professor Van Der Sluijs says that this is simply not true.



His research demonstrates that environmental contamination from the "neonicotinoids" found in modern-day pesticides is linked to a decline in wild bee and other pollinator populations.



“One main reason why modern pesticides are not yet banned is that researchers have not taken enough responsibility for communicating the crucial expertise needed for governments and other decision-makers to make informed choices."&nbsp;



To combat this lack of responsibility and communication, Professor Van Der Sluijs is urging fellow researchers to take on the social responsibility, investigate the pesticide crisis and communicate the results to industries. However, the researcher is aware that this will be difficult.



“Assuming one’s social responsibility as a scientist is always an uphill struggle. The academic reward system pushes you to prioritize scientific impact over societal impact,” said Professor Van Der Sluijs.&nbsp;



To communicate critically important knowledge and make a genuine impact, insect researchers must engage in transdisciplinary coalitions with governments, politicians, and industries. Through these relationships, Professor Van der Suijs believes that scientists may be able to bring their knowledge and awareness of early warning signals to the light of decision-makers.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/current-opinion-in-insect-science">Current Opinion in Insect Science</a>.



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

Global bee decline continues, and we are running out of time

Many consumers are concerned about the presence of toxic pesticides...

Indian jumping ants are active <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/how-tyrannosaurs-grew-into-fierce-predators/">predators</a> with large jaws. They live in small groups, each one with a queen that lays eggs, and with workers that forage and defend the colony. Unlike most species of social ants, however, there is very little difference in appearance between the workers and the queen. If a queen dies or is removed, the workers have the ability to switch castes and begin laying fertilized eggs like a queen. These queen-like workers are called gamergates.



Although differences in the levels of certain hormones have been associated with switches between worker and gamergate castes, the exact mechanism which underlies caste-specific behavior changes has not been known.&nbsp;



Now, researchers at the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/">University of Pennsylvania</a> and the University of Freiburg, Germany, have discovered that a single protein, Kr-h1 (Krüppel homolog 1), acts in the brains of both worker ants and gamergates to produce caste-appropriate behavior. In addition, socially regulated hormones are involved in coordinating the complex social transition from worker to gamergate caste.&nbsp;



“Animal brains are plastic; that is, they can change their structure and function in response to the environment,” said Roberto Bonasio of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. “This process, which also takes place in human brains – think about the changes in behavior during adolescence – is crucial to survival, but the molecular mechanisms that control it are not fully understood. We determined that, in ants, Kr-h1 curbs brains’ plasticity by preventing inappropriate gene activation.”



Ants in the colony all have the genetic information required to behave in both ways, as a worker or as a queen. Yet, under normal circumstances the ants belong to one caste only and behave in a socially appropriate way for that caste. The workers maintain the colony by finding food and fighting invaders, while the queen’s main task is to lay eggs.&nbsp;&nbsp;



By studying ants, Bonasio and colleagues wanted to understand how turning certain genes “on" or “off” affects brain function and behavior. Because&nbsp;Harpegnathos&nbsp;adults can switch from a worker to a gamergate, they were perfect study animals.&nbsp;



In order to investigate the underlying molecular events that cause the switch in behavior, the research team isolated neurons from the ants’ brains and cultured them in the laboratory. They exposed the cultured neuronal tissue to different levels of two hormones, juvenile hormone 3 (JH3) and ecdysone (E20) to see how these hormones affected gene expression in the brain cells.&nbsp;



The study revealed that the two hormones, which are normally present at different levels in the bodies of workers and gamergates, produced distinct patterns of gene activation in the brains of the two castes. In addition, the experts found that both hormones influenced the cells by activating a single protein, Kr-h1. The hormones directed the transcriptional factor (Kr-h1) to repress the expression of different target genes in the two castes of ants.



In more detailed experiments, the researchers knocked down (silenced) the Kr-h1 protein in ant brains and found that this caused the activation of gamergate genes in workers, and the activation of worker genes in gamergates. This situation led to inappropriate behavior by ants and a destabilization of caste identity.



“This protein regulates different genes in workers and gamergates and prevents the ants from performing ‘socially inappropriate’ behaviors,” said study co-author Shelley Berger. “That is to say, Kr-h1 is required to maintain the boundaries between social castes and to ensure that workers continue to work while gamergates continue to act like queens.”



“We had not anticipated that the same protein could silence different genes in the brains of different castes and, as a consequence, suppress worker behavior in gamergates and gamergate behavior in workers,” added Bonasio. “We thought that these jobs would be assigned to two or more different factors, each of them only present in one or the other brain.”



The findings establish that socially important hormones and gene regulation are at the basis of the ability of animal brains to switch from one genetic mode and social caste to another.&nbsp;



“The key message is that, at least in ants, multiple behavioral patterns are simultaneously specified in the genome and that gene regulation can have a great impact on which behavior that organism carries out,” said Berger. “In other words, the parts of both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are already written into the genome; everyone can play either role, depending on which gene switches are turned on or off.”



The researchers think the implications may go much further than understanding behavioral plasticity in ants and other insects. “It is tempting to speculate that related proteins might have comparable functions in more complex brains, including our own,” said Bonasio. “Discovering these proteins might allow us to one day restore plasticity to brains that have lost it, for example aging brains.”



The research is published today in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell</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

A single molecule can switch an ant from worker to queen

Indian jumping ants are active predators with large jaws. They...

Blue whales are commonly known to be the world’s largest mammal, belonging to the family of baleen whales. These whales eat an enormous amount of food and contribute to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/upper-ocean-layer-contains-24-trillion-pieces-of-microplastics/">ocean</a> health by doing so, and a new study suggests that the massive creatures are eating even more than what has been documented.



A team of researchers at the <a href="https://www.si.edu/">Smithsonian</a> National Museum of Natural History has concluded that baleen whales eat around three times the amount of food that was previously estimated. This means that the number of nutrients they excrete, and thus contribute to ocean ecosystems, is far greater than initially expected.



The findings are providing key insights into the importance of conserving whale populations to maintain ocean health.&nbsp;



“Our results say that if we restore whale populations to pre-whaling levels seen at the beginning of the 20th century, we’ll restore a huge amount of lost function to ocean ecosystems,” explained study lead author Nicholas Pyenson.



Pyenson’s research team tracked 321 whales from seven different species across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern oceans, collecting data based on their food intake between 2010 and 2019.&nbsp;



Drone photography was used to measure the length of each individual to accurately estimate its body mass and thus the amount of water it filtered with each mouthful. In addition, echo-sounding technology was used to measure the density of prey species within the local waters.



Previous estimates suggested that whale populations within the California Current Ecosystem required around two million metric tons of food annually, but the new data suggests that this is actually the amount that is required for each individual species population of whales.



In addition to studying prey consumption, the researchers also calculated the amount of nutritious iron that would recirculate in the ecosystem through whale feces because of the new estimates. Using prior research, they discovered that large whales in the Southern Ocean recycle around 1,200 metric tons of iron annually, providing around 10 million times more iron found in Antarctic Seawater.



The findings led researchers to model what the marine ecosystem would look like a century ago, prior to mass whale slaughtering. The model predicted that Southern Ocean whales consumed around 430 million metric tons of krill annually in the early 20th century, a number that represents double the amount of krill found in the Southern Ocean today. Consequently, 20th-century whales would have produced 12,000 metric tons of iron annually, which is ten times the current amount.&nbsp;



Overall, the study concluded that restoring whale populations could have a highly beneficial impact on lost marine productivity, boosting the amount of carbon dioxide that is taken up by phytoplankton and thus helping to mitigate global warming.



“Our results suggest the contribution of whales to global productivity and carbon removal was probably on par with the forest ecosystems of entire continents, in terms of scale,” explained Pyenson. “That system is still there, and helping whales recover could restore lost ecosystem functioning and provide a natural climate solution.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.



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

Large whales make a major contribution to ocean health

Blue whales are commonly known to be the world’s largest...

New research from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> shows that when dwarf mongooses observe aggressive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/work-life-conflicts-have-a-negative-impact-on-health/">conflicts</a> between group members, they can recognize bullies. The experts found that the mongooses store this information and act on it later, often giving the bullies the "cold shoulder."



“Conflict management strategies have evolved to keep the peace in species as varied as chimpanzees, ravens and domestic dogs," said study lead author Dr. Amy Morris-Drake.



"Our work demonstrates that dwarf mongooses have sufficient cognitive ability to monitor vocal cues about aggressive interactions and to remember who the bullies are, refusing to groom with them later.”



The researchers worked with mongooses habituated to human presence, allowing them close observation of the animals.&nbsp;



“The crucial experiment entailed simulating the occurrence of food contests between two group members during the afternoon, through playback of the vocalizations given by aggressors and victims," explained study co-author Dr. Julie Kern. "The rest of the group therefore heard what sounded like repeated squabbles involving these individuals.”



“On experimental days, we recorded all the grooming that individuals engaged in with their groupmates back at the sleeping burrow that evening," said senior author <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/people/person/Andy-Radford-d7b5a3e1-ceb2-4561-b384-8b14dc752b8f/">Professor Andy Radford</a>. "Being groomed helps with hygiene and reduces anxiety, and grooming underpins social relationships, so is core to social life.”



After conflicts between mongooses, subordinate animals were shown to groom each other more. The mongoose who was perceived as the aggressor was groomed less often than other mongooses, showing that there is some level of reciprocity.&nbsp;



“This shows that dwarf mongooses keep tabs on conflict occurring between their group mates," said Dr. Morris-Drake. "They can identify bullies just from the vocalizations given during disputes, store this information and implement a delayed conflict-management strategy, in this case giving the bully the cold shoulder before bedtime.”



According to the study authors, the experiments show that dwarf mongooses can extract information about group conflicts, and the identity of protagonists, from vocal cues alone. "This adds to a growing body of work demonstrating the ability of social species to garner information acoustically about aggressive interactions."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/">eLife</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

Mongooses recognize bullies and give them the cold shoulder

New research from the University of Bristol shows that when...

Tiger snake populations are suffering from urbanization, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.curtin.edu.au/">Curtin University</a> in Australia. The researchers found that human development has left tiger snakes isolated in small populations that are more likely to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/loss-of-genetic-diversity-in-polar-bears-linked-to-climate-change/">inbreed</a>.&nbsp;



"Urbanization alters landscapes, introduces wildlife to novel stressors, and fragments habitats into remnant ‘islands,'" wrote the study authors.&nbsp;"Within these islands, isolated wildlife populations can experience genetic drift and subsequently suffer from inbreeding depression and reduced adaptive potential."



The researchers examined patterns of genomic diversity and population structure among tiger snakes in and around the city of Perth.



“Tiger snake populations north of the Perth rivers at Herdsman Lake, Lake Joondalup and Yanchep National Park were found to lack genetic diversity while wetlands south of the Swan/Canning River system were home to the most genetically diverse populations of snakes, meaning they were less prone to inbreeding," explained study lead author and PhD candidate Damian Lettoof.



"If tiger snake populations isolated by urbanization are suffering from lower genetic diversity, they can lose their ability to adapt in order to survive ever-changing environments due to development, pollution and climate change."



"This is probably due to them being unable to cross unsuitable habitat such as large rivers, arid areas, and now the urban landscape."



Tiger snakes are an important part of their wetland habitats and are indicators of environment health overall.&nbsp;



"Tiger snakes are near the top of their food chain and have very specific habitat requirements, meaning a wetland with a snake population lacking in genetic diversity was indicative of an ecosystem that was not healthy or well-functioning," said Lettoof.



"This means many other small species - such as frogs, lizards and fish - living in these wetlands that are increasingly being 'cut off' by urban development may also be suffering and at risk of population decline and even extinction."



The research has important implications for conservation as well as what future expansion of urbanization may look like. "Our research suggests larger wetlands being encroached upon by urbanization such as those on the Swan coastal plain need to be managed as 'islands' of urban biodiversity in order to protect the animal communities inhabiting them."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.



---



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

Urbanization forces tiger snakes to inbreed

Tiger snake populations are suffering from urbanization, according to a...

Ecosystems that are structured around the relationship between animals and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-third-of-plants-are-completely-reliant-on-animal-pollinators/">plants</a> they consume are becoming unbalanced as large herbivores vanish. A new study has found that there are not enough large wild herbivores left on our planet in order for these ecosystems to function smoothly.



“Large herbivores provide key ecosystem processes, but have experienced massive historical losses and are under intense pressure, leaving current ecosystems with dramatically simplified faunas relative to the long-term evolutionary norm,” wrote the study authors.



Although June 2021 witnessed the start of the <a href="https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/">United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration</a>, with 115 countries committing to restore up to a billion hectares of nature worldwide, one of the biggest challenges will be to discover what levels of herbivore restoration will be necessary for a balanced functioning of ecosystems.



In order to answer this question, a research team led by <a href="https://international.au.dk/">Aarhus University</a> and the <a href="https://www.sussex.ac.uk/">University of Sussex</a> calculated a baseline for large animals based on the ratio between producers and consumers (that is, plants and herbivores) in natural reserves in Africa. A close match between large herbivores and the amount of plants they can eat currently exists only in Africa, according to the researchers.



"African ecosystems have species-rich mammal fauna and a large biomass of big herbivores that are significantly linked to plant productivity," explained study lead author Camilla Fløjgaard, an ecologist at Aarhus University. "But we can't find this pattern on other continents, and in general the large herbivore biomass is much lower than we would expect considering the level of productivity.”



By analyzing data from natural areas, as well as several protected regions, reserves, and rewilding projects in Europe, the scientists discovered that the biomass for large herbivores in natural areas was less than one-tenth of the biomass found in fenced rewilding areas with restored herbivore fauna.



"It’s thought-provoking that, even in many protected areas, the number of large herbivores is only a fraction of what the areas can actually sustain," said Fløjgaard.



In order to restore the stability and biodiversity of numerous ecosystems worldwide, efforts to increase populations of wild herbivores are urgently needed.



"Bringing back big animals is crucial to restoring self-sustaining ecosystems and conserving biodiversity, but it is not going to be easy," said study co-author Rasmus Ejrnæs, a senior researcher from Aarhus University. "Large animals are troublesome, because they damage crops, disrupt traffic and generally just get in the way. It will require political commitment and careful physical planning, including fenced reserves."



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.14047">Journal of Applied 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

Large herbivores must be restored to balance ecosystems

Ecosystems that are structured around the relationship between animals and...

Rivers and freshwater lakes are the channels whereby macronutrients, including <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-heatwaves-reduce-the-oceans-ability-to-absorb-carbon/">carbon</a> and nitrogen, make their way from biomass on land to biomass in the sea. Each year, carbon and nitrogen usually enter freshwater systems after being leached out of the fallen leaves of forest trees. Once dissolved in lake water, both of these macronutrients influence ecosystem structure.



But now, a study led by scientists from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> highlights the disruptive influence of outbreaks of leaf-eating caterpillars.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Outbreaks of invasive gypsy moths,&nbsp;Lymantria dispar dispar, and forest tent caterpillar moths,&nbsp;Malacasoma disstria,&nbsp;occur at least every five years in temperate forests. The insects eat their way through so many leaves that the resulting decrease in leaf-fall changes the nutrient cycles between the land and the nearby lakes.



In addition, the caterpillars produce huge quantities of nitrogen-rich droppings (known as frass) that wash into the waterways and act as fertilizer; this changes the water chemistry.



Microbial growth is often limited by the availability of nitrogen, and so adding frass to rivers and lakes may also favor the growth of bacteria and algae in these systems. Increased microbial growth also leads to an increased production of carbon dioxide, as the microbes respire and undergo metabolic reactions.



“These insects are basically little machines that convert carbon-rich leaves into nitrogen-rich poo. The poo drops into lakes instead of the leaves, and this significantly changes the water chemistry – we think it will increase the extent to which lakes are sources of greenhouse gases,” said study senior author Professor Andrew Tanentzap in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences.



The study is believed to be the most extensive research ever conducted on how insect outbreaks impact freshwater carbon and nitrogen cycles. The researchers used 32 years of government data on insect outbreaks in 12 river catchments across Ontario, Canada.&nbsp;



The experts related this data to surveys of lake water chemistry and used satellite images of the forests to track changes in monthly leaf area cover. The results of the study show that, in years in which there are caterpillar outbreaks, the leaf area of forests was reduced by an average of 22 percent, due to the foraging activity of the caterpillars.&nbsp;



Correlated with these insect outbreaks, the nearby lakes contained 112 percent more dissolved nitrogen and 27 percent less dissolved carbon compared to non-outbreak years.&nbsp;



The effects were greatest when lake catchments contained higher proportions of deciduous, broadleaved trees, such as oaks and maples, which are favored by the caterpillars over the leaves of coniferous trees like pines.



In years when there are no outbreaks of leaf-eating insects, carbon and nitrogen usually enter lakes from decaying leaf and needle litter, and this peaks in autumn. In fact, a previous 26-year study of 266 lakes across the northern hemisphere showed that carbon accumulates naturally in these lake waters in a process called "browning." The trend is attributed to a variety of factors including climate change, and recovery from historical acid rain and logging activities.



However, when a caterpillar outbreak occurs, the leaf-fall is reduced to such an extent that carbon accumulation all but ceases for that year, which significantly improves the quality of the lake water.



“Outbreaks of leaf-eating insects can reduce the carbon dissolved in lake water by almost a third when the trees around the lake are mainly deciduous. It’s just amazing that these insects can have such a pronounced effect on water quality,” said study first author Sam Woodman.



The researchers are concerned that as climate change favors the northwards range expansion of insect populations, the risk of outbreaks of leaf-eating caterpillars will increase. This may lead to greater production of CO2 from nitrogen-enriched lakes.&nbsp;



The caterpillar phenomenon is even more worrying since there is an abundance of freshwater lakes further north. Furthermore, climate change is also expected to favor broadleaved deciduous trees around the lakes, which will amplify the effects of the insects.



Outbreaks of defoliator insects are clearly a double-edged sword. In outbreak years the large quantities of frass will favor the growth of greenhouse gas-producing bacteria in lakes at the expense of algae that remove CO2&nbsp;from the atmosphere. On the other hand, the reduction of dissolved carbon in the lakes during outbreak years when there is less leaf-fall has a positive effect on water quality.



“From a water quality perspective they (outbreaks) are a good thing, but from a climate perspective they’re pretty bad – yet they’ve been completely overlooked in climate models," concluded Woodman.



The study is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.



---



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

Caterpillar outbreaks drive CO2 emissions

Rivers and freshwater lakes are the channels whereby macronutrients, including...

<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.



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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;



---



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

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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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