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...

Brucellosis is an infectious bacterial disease that causes female bison, elk, and cattle to abort their calves. In the Yellowstone region, both wild animals and livestock can contract this highly contagious <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-infectious-disease-discovered-in-japan/">disease</a> by coming into contact with the fetal remains, which can stay infectious for weeks or even months.&nbsp;



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/norock">Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center</a> has found that scavengers such as coyotes, foxes, eagles, or vultures are unwittingly helping both wildlife and cattle by rapidly consuming abortion materials and thus keeping brucellosis epidemics at bay.&nbsp;



“Terrestrial and avian scavengers provide an important yet understudied ecosystem function by removing carcasses from the landscape,” wrote the study authors. “In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem scavengers are likely to reduce the transmission and subsequent spread of brucellosis within and between livestock and elk by consuming infectious abortion materials, thereby removing the infectious agent from the landscape.”



The researchers used remote cameras to monitor the time to removal of simulated abortion materials by scavengers at 264 sites in the Yellowstone region from February to June in 2017 and 2018. The scientists have found that there was a 90 percent probability that abortion materials will be removed within 16 days across all sites by scavengers such as coyotes, red foxes, golden and bald eagles, and turkey vultures.



The findings also suggested that the time to removal of fetal materials decreased in grassland habitats in contrast to sagebrush or forest habitats, and that there was an 88 percent probability that time to removal of abortion materials was slower at sites where scavengers were actively reduced compared to sites with no scavenger reduction.



This study shows the importance of scavengers in the mitigation of infectious diseases and points towards the need for increased conservation efforts to protect them from extinction. “Actions to maintain the breadth and diversity of scavengers on the landscape are potential management options that could reduce disease transmission risk to livestock in a system where the wildlife reservoir is difficult to address,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.3783">Ecosphere</a>.



---



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

Scavengers protect livestock from infectious disease

Brucellosis is an infectious bacterial disease that causes female bison,...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2418">Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment</a> has found that individual organisms have different personalities which shape their ecological roles and thus their contributions to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-fish-can-cause-ecosystem-collapse/">ecosystem</a> services.&nbsp;



Understanding how animals' personalities affect processes like pollination, seed dispersal, the regulation of pest species, or ecotourism can provide ecologists management advice to maximize desired ecosystem services.



“Conservationists rarely consider the roles individuals, with their own unique behavior, physiology, and genome, play in shaping ecosystem processes and consequently ecosystem services, but this is changing,” wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"An ongoing surge in research on animal personalities (that is, behavioral differences among individuals that are consistent over time and across contexts) is exposing the ecological roles of individuals to scientific scrutiny."



By measuring a large variety of traits, including boldness, aggressiveness, docility, curiosity, or playfulness, a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://umaine.edu/">University of Maine</a> shed more light on how animal personalities help them perform a diversity of ecosystem services.&nbsp;



In pollination systems, for example, “fast and inaccurate” or “slow and precise” foragers may succeed in different foraging situations. Thus, fast and impulsive bees likely forage on flowers of simple design, while slower, more reflective bees are generally attracted to complex flowers. In processes such as seed dispersal, bolder, more active animals tend to disperse the seeds they consume farther afield than the more timid ones.



According to the researchers, personality traits also impact the effect of control methods on pest species, by influencing an individual’s trappability, and its relation to predators or humans.&nbsp;



For instance, the severity of plague pandemics appeared to diminish once the highly friendly rat species Rattus rattus, which transmitted the plague bacillus to humans through its fleas, was superseded by the more distant and fearful Rattus norvegicus, which preferred to stay further away from human settlements.



Finally, much ecotourism, such as the whale-watching industry, is dependent on friendly, curious, or playful individual creatures. “Some cetaceans are recognizably individual and repeatedly approach boats for close encounters that are far more exciting than viewing from a legally mandated distance,” the authors reported.



“These examples demonstrate that there is a vast potential to explore ways in which the personality composition of a population may affect the ecosystem services that the population provides,” the researchers concluded.



---



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

Animal personalities can shape ecosystems

A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology...

New research published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/forest-ecology-and-management">Forest Ecology and Management</a> is the result of painstaking work which involved catching, radio tagging and tracking endangered Indiana bats and threatened northern long-eared bats.&nbsp;



In an attempt to find the most compatible <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/secrets-of-forest-mortality-can-be-found-underground/">forest</a> management and logging techniques, the scientists tracked the bats and looked closely at their foraging behaviors.



“There’s a perceived conflict between forest management and endangered bats," said study co-author Joy O’Keefe of the <a href="https://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois</a>.



"Folks would like to harvest without any restrictions, but because these bats are there, they have to pay attention to when they're present and what kind of habitat they're using, and then potentially change the timing or the nature of harvests or prescribed fires to accommodate for the bats."



“We know a lot about where these bats like to roost, but no one has studied the foraging behaviors in detail when both species share the same forest," explained study lead author Tim Divoll. "That’s going to tell us a lot more about how they use these forests and how we might accommodate the variety of behaviors.”



The study was especially important because the bats are in a precarious position. Like many North American species, they are threatened by the devastating fungal disease - White Nose Syndrome. It would be unfortunate if human activity placed additional strain on these endangered animals.&nbsp;



“White-nose syndrome has really devastated northern long-eared bats in this forest," said O’Keefe. "It turns out we did this study just in the nick of time, because right after we finished the study in 2017, we could no longer catch them out there. Their populations just tanked. Thankfully, my students caught four individuals this year.”&nbsp;



Interestingly the study found that the logging methods already used in the forest were either neutral to bats or possibly somewhat positive.



“The results of this study will help forest managers to make decisions that boost bat populations recovering from this disease.”



---



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

Tracking endangered bats across Indiana forests

New research published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management...

When human infants learn a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/computer-models-can-mimic-human-language-processing/">language</a>, they look for regularities in the patterns of syllable use within a continuous stream of speech. This technique enables them to identify probable word boundaries; syllables that usually occur together are probably words, and those that do not probably aren’t.&nbsp;Keeping track of patterns in this manner, and learning from the regularities, is known as statistical learning, and it involves the use of complex computations.



A new study by Hungarian researchers has found the first instance of statistical learning of linguistic stimuli in dogs. After only a short exposure (8.5 mins) to continuous speech sounds (made up of meaningless words), the dogs in this study had already succeeded in segmenting the sounds into probable words, using neural and computational mechanisms similar to those used by human infants.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In order to identify and learn probable words from continuous speech, dogs have to keep track of the probability that two different syllables will occur together. This requires complex computation and is the same mechanism by which infants learn to recognize individual words, even before they know the meanings of these words.&nbsp;



“This is exactly how humans, even 8-month-old infants, solve the seemingly difficult task of word segmentation: they calculate complex statistics about the probability of one syllable following the other,” explained&nbsp;Marianna Boros, one of the lead authors of the study, and a postdoctoral researcher at the Neuroethology of Communication Lab, Department of Ethology, <a href="https://www.elte.hu/en/">Eötvös Loránd University</a>.



“Until now we did not know if any other mammal can also use such complex computations to extract words from speech. We decided to test family dogs’ brain capacities for statistical learning from speech. Dogs are the earliest domesticated animal species and probably the one we speak most often to. Still, we know very little about the neural processes underlying their word learning capacities.”



Study co-lead author Lilla Magyari is a postdoctoral researcher in the same research group, who had laid the methodological foundations for performing non-invasive electrophysiology on awake, untrained, cooperating dogs.&nbsp;



"To find out what kind of statistics dogs calculate when they listen to speech, first we measured their electric brain activity using EEG," said&nbsp;Magyari.



"Interestingly, we saw differences in dogs' brain waves for frequent compared to rare words. But even more surprisingly, we also saw brain wave differences for syllables that always occurred together compared to syllables that only occasionally did, even if total frequencies were the same."



"So, it turns out that dogs keep track not only of simple statistics (the number of times a word occurs) but also of complex statistics (the probability that a word's syllables occur together). This has never been seen in other non-human mammals before. It is exactly the kind of complex statistics human infants use to extract words from continuous speech."



To explore whether dogs use the same brain regions as human infants when computing the statistical patterns in continuous speech, the researchers tested the dogs using functional MRI. This technique measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow to different regions of the brain.&nbsp;



The dogs were trained to lie motionless for the time the measurements were taken. All of the dogs were awake, cooperative and unrestrained during the testing.&nbsp;



"We know that in humans both general learning-related and language-related brain regions participate in this process. And we found the same duality in dogs," explained&nbsp;Boros. "Both a generalist and a specialist brain region seemed to be involved in statistical learning from speech, but the activation patterns were different in the two.”



“The generalist brain region, the so-called basal ganglia, responded stronger to a random speech stream (where no words could be spotted using syllable statistics) than to a structured speech stream (where words were easy to spot just by computing syllable statistics). The specialist brain region, the so-called auditory cortex, that in humans plays a key role in statistical learning from speech, showed a different pattern: here we saw brain activity increase over time for the structured but not for the random speech stream. We believe that this activity increase is the trace word learning leaves on the auditory cortex," said Boros.



“We now begin to understand that some computational and neural processes that are known to be instrumental for human language acquisition may not be unique to humans after all,” said&nbsp;Attila Andics, principal investigator of the Neuroethology of Communication Lab.&nbsp;



“But we still don't know how these human-analogue brain mechanisms for word learning emerged in dogs. Do they reflect skills that developed by living in a language-rich environment, or during the thousands of years of domestication, or do they represent an ancient mammalian capacity?”



The researchers conclude that by studying speech processing in different breeds of dogs, or even other species that live in close contact with humans, it may be possible to trace the origins of human specializations for speech perception.&nbsp;



The results of the study are published today in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</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 infants recognize words using similar brain regions

When human infants learn a language, they look for regularities...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> and the <a href="https://wildlife.utah.gov/">Utah Division of Wildlife Resources</a> (UDWR) has found that in dry years, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/more-than-half-of-the-worlds-rivers-run-dry-each-year/">rivers</a> and streams in the American West become a lifesaving yet limited resource for a large number of bird species. The riparian (adjacent to rivers) environments witness an increased diversity that is accompanied by overcrowding, which may cause increased competition for habitat and resources, and an overall decrease in native populations of birds.



This study is based on data collected by UDWR since the early 1990s, when bird populations in riparian areas in Utah began to be monitored in order to estimate the size and health of the population.&nbsp;



“These are some of the most beautiful places in an already beautiful state,” said study co-author Russell Norvell, the coordinator of the Avian Conservation Program at UDWR. 



“The bird life is tremendous. It can be a cacophonous sound and a little daunting if you’re trying to count them all. First you’re trying to identify individual species, then how many individuals of each species and finally their position – all while these birds are flying around. You’ve gotta be on your game, for sure, to collect these data.”



By analyzing UDWR’s bird monitoring dataset, Norvell and his colleagues documented over 31,000 birds from 148 species during a period of 15 years. 



Riparian birds comprised 58 of these species and 90 were non-riparian, with the numbers and diversity being higher in the northern mountains of Utah than in the southern deserts. This proves the fundamental importance of the rivers as a stop-over, even for non-riparian species.



This multi-year data showed that in hotter and drier years there were more birds close to the rivers than usual. “This suggests that the wider landscape is unable to support migrants and so they are forced to use greener areas,” said study lead author Monte Neate-Clegg, a postdoctoral fellow at the <a href="https://www.ucla.edu/">University of California, Los Angeles</a>.



However, the influx of non-riparian birds in Utah’s river environments can be damaging to native populations: in warmer years, population growth rates slowed for 47 percent of riparian bird species.&nbsp;



“If you’re a bird watcher in Utah, the prospect of more diverse birds in riparian areas might sound exciting! But it’s a sign of general stress across the landscape, and you may start seeing fewer local&nbsp;species,” Neate-Clegg concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/acv.12755">Animal Conservation</a>.



---



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

Rivers in the American West are a lifesaving resource for birds

A new study led by the University of Utah and...

New research published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv">Science Advances</a> shows that honey bees increase their distance from each other when under threat from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/if-primates-go-extinct-so-will-their-parasites/">parasites</a>. 



“Here we have provided the first evidence that honey bees modify their social interactions and how they move around their hive in response to a common parasite," said study co-author Dr. Alessandro Cini.



"Honey bees are a social animal, as they benefit from dividing up responsibilities and interactions such as mutual grooming, but when those social activities can increase the risk of infection, the bees appear to have evolved to balance the risks and benefits by adopting social distancing.”



The international team of scientists looked at how honey bee hives react to the presence of one of an ectoparasitic threat - the Varro mite (Varroa destructor). The mite is dangerous to individual bees as well as entire colonies.&nbsp;



The scientists compared healthy colonies with those infected with the mite and found a number of differences. Foraging dances that can cause mite transmission were less frequent within the central part of the hive in infected colonies. Grooming behaviors were also less common. Overall, the foraging bees moved to the outsides of the colony while nurse and groomer bees spent more time concentrated in the center of the colony.&nbsp;



Bee colonies are already compartmentalized to keep a distance between these two areas of the colony. This seems to keep the different groups of bees separate and slow the spread of parasites.&nbsp;



“The observed increase in social distancing between the two groups of bees within the same parasite-infested colony represents a new and, in some ways, surprising aspect of how honey bees have evolved to combat pathogens and parasites," explained study lead author Dr. Michelina Pusceddu.



"Their ability to adapt their social structure and reduce contact between individuals in response to a disease threat allows them to maximize the benefits of social interactions where possible, and to minimise the risk of infectious disease when needed.”



The researchers believe that honey bees could be model organisms for understanding social distancing behavior in other animals as well.&nbsp;



“Honey bee colonies provide an ideal model for studying social distancing and for fully understanding the value and effectiveness of this behavior," said Dr. Pusceddu.



---



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

Honey bees are experts at social distancing

New research published in the journal Science Advances shows that...

It has long been known that, when it comes to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-pinpoint-the-location-of-biodiversity-threats/">biodiversity</a>, the tropics reign supreme. However, until now, scientists did not have an exact estimate of how many of the world’ s species resided there. 



An international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.unbc.ca/">University of Northern British Columbia</a> (UNBC) has recently quantified the number of terrestrial vertebrates that live at the tropics, and found that the tropical forests are home to 62 percent of the world’s vertebrate species.



Tropical forests play a fundamental role in biodiversity conservation and climate regulation, since they are powerful carbon sinks and oxygen sources for the entire planet. Sadly, human activities have an increasingly negative impact on these environments, causing the forests to shrink and many animal species to go extinct. Thus, it is all the more important to determine how many animals live in these rapidly vanishing ecosystems.



“We have estimated roughly 200 billion galaxies in the observable universe, but no one knows exactly how many species inhabit the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystem on planet Earth,” said study lead author Rajeev Pillay, a postdoctoral researcher at UNBC.&nbsp;



“Our finding that tropical forests are home to an astounding 62 percent of terrestrial vertebrate species not only helps satiate an aspect of innate human curiosity about nature but also strongly suggests that the continued destruction of these imperiled ecosystems will likely lead to significant, imminent biodiversity losses.”&nbsp;



By examining the range maps of over 33,000 species and comparing them to data on the ecosystems of tropical forests across South America, Africa, Asia, and Australasia, Pillay and his colleagues found that the tropics are home to 63 percent of all mammals, 72 percent of birds, 76 percent of amphibians, and 42 percent of reptiles.



According to Pillay, knowledge of many species live in the tropical forests can help with estimating extinction rates. “Given increasing evidence that much of human wellbeing is connected to nature and depends on the diversity of life, our work urgently reinforces calls for environmental policies aimed at the core priority of safeguarding the last remaining tropical forests that harbor much of this biodiversity.”&nbsp;



Further research is needed to fully understand the richness of tropical flora and fauna, which, besides vertebrates, also includes plants, insects, fungi, and microorganisms that make up the greatest share of tropical biodiversity.



The study is published by the <a href="https://www.esa.org/">Ecological Society of America</a> in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.



---



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

Over half of the world’s vertebrates reside in the tropics

It has long been known that, when it comes to...

Retired people who choose to spend the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/winter-swimming-helps-increase-the-bodys-metabolism/">winter</a> months in warmer climates are often referred to as “snowbirds.” However, if your vacation home was only a bit warmer than your regular home, would you make the effort to move for half of the year? Some migratory birds are apparently deciding that they’d rather stick just around at home, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.durham.ac.uk/">Durham University</a>. 



The researchers looked at data ranging from 1964 to 2019, examining a variety of different migratory bird species. These observations showed that over time, some species were spending up to sixty more days in northern latitudes each year.&nbsp;



"If the trends we have seen in this study continue we may see that, in time, some birds will spend no time at all in sub-Saharan Africa, and instead spend the full year within Europe," said study lead author Kieran Lawrence.



"The changes in migratory habits we are already seeing could lead to longer breeding seasons for these species, as well as knock-on effects on other species, both here in the UK and in the traditional winter migration destinations."



More than simply giving Europeans that much longer to birdwatch, this change in behavior could lead to some serious environmental consequences. If more species crowd the skies during the winter months, competition for resources could increase.&nbsp;



Furthermore, ecosystem services that the birds provide on the other side of the equator would be absent. This means less insects are eaten and less pollination occurs - bad news for habitats that are already vulnerable to fluctuations in climate.&nbsp;



Animals must adapt to the changing conditions or face extinction. As global warming continues, behavioral changes like this will likely become all too common.&nbsp;



"Next, we aim to apply a new model, which we are developing at Durham, to simulate these complex migrations, and which we can then apply to future scenarios to understand how the patterns we have identified in trans-Saharan birds over recent decades may continue or change," said Professor Stephen Willis, who led the project.



Study co-author Clive Barlow, a resident of the west African country The Gambia, is an expert on the birds of this region.&nbsp;



"It is very satisfying to see the constructive way the Gambian migrant bird records, collected by dedicated ornithologists over many decades, are now being used to highlight the changing migratory patterns of these species," said Barlow.



“Until the current research, no-one had realized the extent to which migrant birds are spending less of the year in sub-Saharan Africa.”



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



---



By <a href="http://mailto:rugerpaleo@gmail.com">Alex Ruger</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Global warming may cause birds to cancel their migrations

Retired people who choose to spend the winter months in...

Shark,And,Small,Fishes,In,Ocean,-,Nature,Background

Although great white sharks are often portrayed as ruthless human killers, a new study suggests that shark attack victims might simply be the subject of mistaken identity. Because they are color blind or at best have only very limited color perception, sharks can confuse humans for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/northern-elephant-seals-are-surprisingly-resilient/">seals</a>, their natural prey, because they look the same when viewed from below. 



Fatal shark attacks are very rare (with approximately ten such events per year), but can still result in severe shark mitigation measures that significantly reduce population numbers and endanger many shark species.



“Shark bites on humans are rare but are sufficiently frequent to generate substantial public concern, which typically leads to measures to reduce their frequency,” wrote the study authors. “Bites also have negative consequences for sharks as they often result in the implementation or continued use of lethal shark mitigation measures, including the deployment of gill nets and drum lines to reduce shark populations.”



Until recently, the reasons why sharks attacked humans were poorly understood. By analyzing the visual perspectives of young white sharks, a research team led by <a href="https://www.mq.edu.au/">Macquarie University</a> in Sidney, Australia, has found that, due to poor vision, sharks might confuse humans with seals, an animal that they frequently prey upon.



“We looked specifically at juvenile sharks and that's because they are responsible for the majority of fatal bites on humans,” explained study lead author Laura Ryan, a postdoctoral researcher in Biology at&nbsp;Macquarie University.



“Until now, the potential similarity between humans and seals has been assessed based on human vision.&nbsp;However, white sharks have much lower visual acuity than us, meaning they cannot see fine details, and lack color vision.”



In order to test this hypothesis, the researchers used footage of two sea lions and one fur seal swimming in a pool at the Taronga Zoo in Sidney, as well as of humans paddling on surfboards. By filtering this footage through a virtual visual system mimicking shark vision, they discovered that motion cues of humans swimming or paddling on surfboards and of swimming seals did not differ significantly. Thus, when viewed from below, humans and seals may appear indistinguishable to a shark that is preparing to attack.



“Our results indicate that the poor spatial resolving power of the shark retina may result in bites on humans as a result of mistaken identity or ambiguous visual cues,” the study authors concluded.&nbsp;



The research is published in the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0533">Journal of the Royal Society Interface</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

Shark attacks may be a simple case of mistaken identity

Although great white sharks are often portrayed as ruthless human...

In the recent past, California has seen some of the worst wildfires in history. With more than a century of fire suppression, and the effects of climate change, the wildfires in the area have become bigger and more devastating. Although many species of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-animals-interact-within-social-groups/">animals</a> are adapted to surviving the effects of smaller, more frequent wildfires, scientists do not know how animal populations will cope with the consequences of these more severe fires.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In a rare case of serendipity, researchers from the University of Washington, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Santa Barbara,&nbsp;were involved in a study at the University of California’s&nbsp;<a href="https://hrec.ucanr.edu/">Hopland Research and Extension Center</a>, where the movements of black-tailed deer were being monitored. The team had placed tracking collars on 18 deer and positioned several dozen motion-activated cameras across the area. And then came California’s third-largest wildfire, the 2018&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendocino_Complex_Fire">Mendocino Complex Fire</a>.&nbsp;



The megafire, that burned more than 450,000 acres in northern California, swept through half of the research center’s land and destroyed much of the scientists’ established study site. Instead of giving up on their study, the researchers decided instead to use the wildlife tracking technology and cameras already in place to investigate how deer change their use of space as a consequence of large disturbances like wildfires. They also monitored how this event affected the body condition and survival of the deer.&nbsp;



“We don't have much information on what animals do while the flames are burning, or in the immediate days that follow after wildfires,” said co-lead author&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kaitlyngaynor.com/about-me.html">Kaitlyn Gaynor</a>, a postdoctoral researcher at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at UC Santa Barbara. “It was kind of a happy accident that we were able to see what these animals were doing during the wildfire and right after, when it was still just a desolate landscape.”



“There are very few studies that aim to understand the short-term, immediate responses of animals to wildfires. When a fire sweeps through and dramatically changes the landscape, its impact in those initial days is undervalued and absent in the published literature,” said co-lead author&nbsp;<a href="https://samanthakreling.wixsite.com/ecology/about">Samantha Kreling</a>, a doctoral student at the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.



The researchers found that all 18 deer survived. Initially, the animals had to flee the flames but they soon returned to their home ranges, despite the fact that some areas of the landscape were completely burned and devoid of vegetation to eat. Most of the deer returned home within hours of the fire, while trees were still smoldering.



“Seeing the drastic changes on the landscape got me wondering what it’s like for animals on the land to actually deal with the repercussions of having an event like this sweep through,” Kreling said. “Having the infrastructure in place was very useful to see what happened before, compared to what happened after.”



Deer returning to home ranges that had been burned had very little to eat. They had to work harder and travel further in order to find green vegetation, and their body condition soon declined. The researchers propose that this strategy of returning to home range, even though the vegetation is burned, is probably a tactic that has helped individuals to survive wildfires in the past.&nbsp;



However, this loyalty-to-home strategy may prove harmful in the future, as wildfires become more severe. Smaller fires encourage new vegetation growth, which provides good food for deer, but massive wildfires can actually destroy seed banks, which reduces the availability of forage plants.&nbsp;



“These deer have evolved this behavioral strategy that has clearly worked for them, but the big question mark is, as fires get more intense and frequent, will this behavior actually trap animals in these habitats that are seeing massive disturbances on the scale of nothing that has happened before in their evolutionary history,” said Gaynor.



The authors acknowledge that the response patterns observed for the deer will probably be different from those exhibited by other large mammals responding to unpredictable or extreme events. However, this study does give insight into what extreme disturbances, such as large wildfires, might mean for animals. <a href="https://nature.berkeley.edu/BrasharesGroup/lab-members/kendall-calhoun/">Kendall Calhoun</a>, co-author of the study and doctoral student at UC Berkeley, will continue to investigate the long-term effects of the fire on the health and reproductive capacity of this population of deer.



The results of the study are published today in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20457758">Ecology and Evolution</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

Deer return to fire-ravaged territories while trees are "still smoldering"

In the recent past, California has seen some of the...

Truffles are normally thought of as a rare and expensive delicacy for humans, while also providing part of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brazilian-jaguars-have-an-unexpected-diet-and-social-life/">diet</a> of some mammals. New research from the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a> has revealed the some birds are also partial to seeking out and dispersing these forms of fungi.



“Previously, it was assumed that only mammals consumed and dispersed truffle spores, so our study is the first to document birds doing this as well,” said study first author Marcos Caiafa.



The researchers have discovered that two ground-dwelling bird species found in Patagonia, chucao tapaculos and black-throated huet-huets, seek out and regularly consume truffles, spreading the spores through their feces. It was previously assumed that the birds exclusively fed on invertebrates, seeds and fruit.



“Truffles are essentially mushrooms that grow underground. Unlike aboveground mushrooms, which release their spores into the air, truffles depend on animals consuming them to spread their spores,” explained study senior author Matthew E. Smith.



Contrary to the belief that all truffles are desirable for high-end cuisine, only a few of the hundreds of species of underground fungi appeal to humans, with the majority evolving to attract different types of animals to promote dispersal. The spread of the fungi encourages a healthy forest ecosystem, helping to colonize the roots of trees and contribute to a symbiotic relationship.



“These fungi form mycorrhizas, a relationship whereby the fungus helps the plant take up nutrients in exchange for sugars from the plant,” explained Caiafa.



To confirm the researchers’ hypothesis that the birds actively seek out truffles, the team collected the bird droppings to analyze them for truffle DNA. The results showed truffle DNA in 42 percent of chucao tupaculo and 38 percent of huet-huet feces. By using a microscopic analysis technique called fluorescent microscopy, the team was also able to confirm that the spores were viable, suggesting that the truffles were not only being eaten but also spread.



“DNA-based diet analysis is exciting because it provides new insights into interactions between organisms that would otherwise be difficult to directly observe,” said study co-author Michelle Jusino. “And, because sampling feces does not negatively impact the target species, I think these methods are invaluable for studying and protecting both common and rare species in the future."



The study authors believe that some of the Patagonian truffles may have evolved specifically to attract birds. “Some of truffles that the birds eat are brightly colored and resemble local berries. Our future research may look to see if there is an evolutionary adaptation there - that the truffles have evolved to look more like the berries that the birds also eat,” explained Smith.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Study reveals that birds hunt for truffles

Truffles are normally thought of as a rare and expensive...

We might think that the bold, black-and-white coloration of giant pandas makes them highly conspicuous to humans and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-new-study-led-by-the-memorial-university-of-newfoundland-in-canada-has-found-that-snowshoe-hares-are-starting-to-lose-their-camouflage-abilities-due-to-climate-change/">predators</a> alike. But we would be wrong.



A new study led by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> demonstrates that the unique pattern of black and white fur coloration works to disguise giant pandas in their natural environment. For their investigation, the researchers made use of state-of-the art image analysis techniques.



“I knew we were on to something when our Chinese colleagues sent us photographs from the wild and I couldn’t see the giant panda in the picture," explained Professor <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/people/person/Tim-Caro-d795dfe6-b3f7-4d2f-9d6c-506da26408f2/">Tim Caro</a>. "If I couldn’t see it with my good primate eyes, that meant that would-be carnivorous predators with their poorer eyesight might not be able to see it either. It was simply a matter of demonstrating this objectively.”



Initially, the international team of experts analyzed the rare photographs of giant pandas in their natural environment. They found that the black patches of fur blended in with dark shadows and tree trunks, while the white patches matched foliage and snow. Also, the rare brown fur that some pandas exhibit matched ground colors and bridged the gap between the dark and light elements in the visual environment.&nbsp;



The results are consistent whether viewed by humans, or by felid or canid vision models (which both represent potential predators of pandas).



Next, the researchers assessed whether giant pandas show disruptive coloration. This is a form of camouflage in which high-contrast patterns break up the outline of an animal’s body or obscure easily recognizable internal features, such as the eyes or mouth.&nbsp;



The experts found that the large black and white patches of fur do indeed make it more difficult to identify the various parts of a panda’s body as being joined together. This defensive color pattern means that the black legs and ears do not look as though they are part of the panda’s white body, especially when it is viewed from some distance.&nbsp;



Lastly, the researchers utilized a novel color map technique to compare a similarity-to-background metric across a variety of species, including the giant panda. This comparative analysis confirmed that the background resemblance of the giant panda fell solidly within the range observed for other species that are traditionally considered to be well camouflaged or cryptic.



“The rare photographic evidence allowed us to examine the giant panda appearance in its natural environment for the first time," said study lead author Dr. Ossi Nokelainen. "With help of the state-of-the-art image analysis, we were able to treat these images as if the pandas would have been seen by their predator surrogates, using applied vision modeling techniques and also to explore their disruptive coloration. Comparative results totally bust the myth of giant pandas being overtly conspicuous in their natural habitat.”



“It seems that giant pandas appear conspicuous to us because of short viewing distances and odd backgrounds: when we see them, either in photographs or at the zoo, it is almost always from close up, and often against a backdrop that doesn’t reflect their natural habitat. From a more realistic predator’s perspective, the giant panda is actually rather well camouflaged," explained <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/people/person/Nick-Scott-Samuel-5af4dc2d-612b-4eda-be0e-1f5655e8ce30/">Professor Nick Scott-Samuel</a>.



Pandas are not alone in having bold and extreme color patterns rather than the drab browns and earthy tones present in the mammals usually considered to be well camouflaged. Zebras, skunks, badgers and orcas all have striking black and white patterning on their bodies, something that has intrigued and challenged scientists for decades.



The results of the study are published in&nbsp;the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/?gclid=CjwKCAjwwsmLBhACEiwANq-tXPt0Gxcobii26777ZGOiGHt16wGAow3i3EuC_OcGsRMnJiBrwoQyCBoCUkcQAvD_BwE">Scientific Reports</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

Giant pandas have the perfect camouflage for their natural habitat

We might think that the bold, black-and-white coloration of giant...

<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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