Eels move in ways that seem to ignore the rules most vertebrates live by. They swim with flowing body waves, they can scoot across wet ground, and they often keep going even when the spinal cord is cut. 



According to a new paper, two simple body signals, stretch and pressure, help explain how that is possible.



Those signals are not fancy. Stretch tells the body how much each segment bends, and pressure reports forces on the skin from water or from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-a-new-eel-species-with-fang-like-teeth/">objects</a>. 



When these signals are fed into the spinal circuits that set a basic rhythm for movement, the eel’s whole body keeps time without micromanagement from the brain.



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



Kotaro Yasui is an assistant professor at Tohoku University’s Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (<a href="https://www.fris.tohoku.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FRIS</a>) and lead author of the study



“Our findings will help design highly adaptive robots capable of navigating complex and unpredictable environments,” noted Professor Yasui.



Most vertebrates walk or swim thanks to networks in the spinal cord called central pattern generator <a href="https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/introneuroscience1/chapter/central-pattern-generators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">circuits</a>. 



These circuits can produce rhythmic muscle commands on their own, then shape that rhythm using feedback from the body. That is why the same overall plan can show up in animals as different as fish, salamanders, and mice.



Eels add a twist by leaning hard on two kinds of sensory input. Proprioception is internal sensing of stretch that tells a segment where it is in the cycle. Exteroception is sensing from outside the body, including water pressure on the sides of the fish or contact with a surface. 



Stretch sensitive neurons like the classic lamprey edge cells have long shown how such bending <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-day-2025-our-power-our-planet/">signals</a> can tune the spinal rhythm.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flexible-robot-mimics-eel-movement">Flexible robot mimics eel movement </h2>



Yasui’s team built a mathematical model in which each body segment has a small local oscillator that produces a timing signal. They wired in two feedback loops, one for stretch and one for pressure, so the oscillators would be tugged into step by what the body feels.



The researchers tested the controller in two settings. First, they used computer simulations that generated body movements and force patterns. Then, they tried it on a physical eel-like robot made of flexible segments and equipped with skin-level sensors.



The same controller worked in both settings, and it produced stable swimming quickly, without central commands to lock the segments together.



The stretch loop had a special job. It sped up the time it took for a smooth traveling wave to appear from random starting positions. It also helped the body hold a strong stride once the pattern settled, even though that gain could cost a little <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-day-2025-what-were-really-fighting-for/">energy</a> because the joints work harder during sharper turns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spinal-rhythm-and-sensory-feedback">Spinal rhythm and sensory feedback</h2>



The team asked a simple question. If the controller swims well, can it also crawl on land when the ground is dotted with obstacles? They ran the robot through a peg field where pushing and bracing matter more than glide.



Stretch feedback made the difference. With stretch only, the robot found traction on the pegs and made steady headway. 



Pressure alone did not help in that setting, which fits earlier <a href="https://jan.ucc.nau.edu/acg/publications/Pace_%26_Gibb_2011.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> showing that elongated fishes such as ropefish change their kinematics across water and land in specific ways, with long, slow, high amplitude body waves on land.



The results suggest continuity rather than a clean break between swimming and crawling in these fishes. 



The same spinal rhythm and sensory feedback can drive both swimming and crawling, as long as the environment provides the right reaction forces. The fish doesn’t need a separate land-based neural controller to move



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-spinal-injuries-teach-us">What spinal injuries teach us</h2>



The most striking tests involved spinal cord transection. The group measured swimming in live American eels before and after a complete cut around the middle of the body, then matched those tests with simulation and robot runs using the same controller.&nbsp;



The movement behind the injury kept a similar frequency and phase as the movement in front of it, which echoes decades old <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11744256/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence</a> that eels can recover coordinated swimming after transection as regrowth advances.



In the model, that coordination did not need signals from the brain. It emerged when the local oscillators had some built-in tendency to tick on their own, and when stretch and pressure loops were strong enough. 



The body above the cut tugged the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-secretly-reshape-landscapes-in-powerful-ways/">body</a> below the cut into the same rhythm through passive motion and local sensing.



That simple recipe explains why eels can move immediately after injury while many amphibians and mammals cannot. If the posterior spinal cord cannot oscillate on its own, or if the feedback pathways are too weak, the two halves fall out of step and the body stalls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eel-movement-robots-and-evolution">Eel movement, robots, and evolution</h2>



Robots that move without legs need to live with uncertainty. Water currents change, floors are cluttered, and obstacles shift. Prior <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.abf6354" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> has shown that proprioceptive feedback can entrain undulatory robots into reliable patterns despite turbulence and noise.



This study adds pressure sensing on the skin to that recipe and shows how a simple stretch rule helps robots use clutter for propulsion. That means eel-like machines could search pipes, navigate earthquake rubble, or inspect tanks without complex top down control.



There is also a story about evolution here. If a swimming controller can produce useful crawling when the environment offers something to push against, early vertebrates may have needed adjustments more than a full rewrite to move onto land. Flexible circuits and strong local feedback could have carried a lot of that load.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions </h2>



Biologists can now test specific predictions in the lab. For example, they can look for descending stretch pathways that echo the model’s anterior to posterior copy rule, and they can probe how pressure sensors along the skin tune rhythm in moving fish.



Engineers can search for energy savings by blending stretch rules that boost stride with rules that prevent excessive bending. They can also explore how to route around damaged links in a robot by letting neighboring segments pull each other back into rhythm.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2422248122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

Spinal secrets: What eels reveal about the origins of movement

Eels move in ways that seem to ignore the rules most vertebrates live by. They swim with flowing body waves, they can scoot across wet ground, and they often keep going even when the spinal cord is cut. According to a new paper, two simple body signals, stretch and pressure, help explain how that is possible. Those signals are not fancy. Stretch tells the body how much each segment bends, and pressure reports forces on the skin from water or from objects. When these signals are fed...

“I have need of the sky/I have business with the grass/I will up and get me away where the hawk is wheeling/Lone and high/And the slow clouds go by...”
-”Spring,” Richard Hovey
In the popular imagination, there are birds that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/bird-flocks-social-relationships/">flock</a> and those that don’t. Gulls, sparrows, pigeons, even penguins fall into the former category. In the latter: woodpeckers, owls, and most of the raptors. While these rough distinctions are broadly accurate, as with any human-made categories there are exceptions. 

Most species of raptor are indeed solitary, only pairing off for the breeding season and spending the rest of the year on their own. Though migratory species often aggregate to spectacular effect—see for example the “river of raptors” pouring through Veracruz, Mexico each winter—they aren’t necessarily social in way of a sparrow or gull. Of course, they interact, but their assembly is more a function of heading in the same direction than it is of dependence.

However, a number of hawks and falcons do in fact form complex social groups. The Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae), atypically, gathers to breed in enormous colonies on sea cliffs. Some, like the striated caracara (Phalcoboenus australis) of South America, appear to flock as a means of locating food. Others, like the Harris’s hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), actually cooperate in raising young in groups of up to seven birds. In this way, they are similar to the least glamorous of the raptors, the vultures, who, as everyone knows, ride the thermals in their aerial surveys for carrion and descend en masse when they find it. Even some species of eagle gather around easy sources of food in the winter and at that time evince a loose and informal social hierarchy. 

The Harris’s hawk—named for Edward Harris, a farmer who sponsored some of John James Audubon’s work —provides perhaps the most spectacular example of social behavior in raptors. This species forms fluid, multi-generational groups that not only participate in rearing offspring but actually hunt cooperatively, giving them the nickname “wolves of the sky.” 

Groups are usually <a href="https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/276864/azu_td_1335676_sip1_m.pdf?sequence=1">made up of parents and their fledged offspring</a> but may also include unrelated birds. The group composition is fluid, with members from up to three neighboring groups participating. This social tendency makes them among the few raptors that actually form affectionate relationships with falconers; other birds used in falconry do not share their tendency toward sociality and thus have no impulse toward this type of bonding behavior.

Harris’s hawks displays a number of fascinating behaviors that demonstrate the sophistication of its social structure. Among the most striking is its propensity for forming towers. The birds literally climb on top each other while perched on already precipitous vantage points, presumably to gain better views of the surrounding terrain. From atop cacti and mesquite trees in the southwestern United States—Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona—and Central and South America, these birds scout out rodents and other small animals including birds and reptiles and descend en masse in pursuit. 

This can be risky in the urban environments that the species increasingly inhabits. Electrical power lines seem like a perfect spot from which to survey the area, but can electrocute the birds unless they are properly modified. The birds also soar, gaining an even more expansive perspective. This combination of habits is reflected in their genus name, Parabuteo. Like buteos, a group that included the well-known red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), they ride the air currents and like accipiters such as goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), they cruise deftly through narrow channels in the vegetation. Thus: Parabuteo, or near-buteo.

Once a potential meal is spotted, the whole group gets in on the action. Using the advantage of their aerial perspectives, they will flush their prey, cutting off its escape routes from multiple angles until it is cornered. The species has <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2018.1036">exquisitely tuned color vision</a> per a 2018 study, undoubtedly an advantage in a monochrome desert habitat. Unlike many other raptors, they have no compunction about chasing meals on foot if the brush gets too dense for an aerial attack. Their long legs are perfectly adapted to stalking, an evolutionary echo of their probable ancestors, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/jurassic-park-may-have-been-rightsome-dinosaurs-hunted-packs-180953831/">the theropod dinosaurs</a>. Cooperative hunting allows the hawks to share the energy expended on capturing prey, as it does for mammalian social hunters such as lions and wolves. Typically, the <a href="https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/276864/azu_td_1335676_sip1_m.pdf?sequence=1">dominant animals eat first</a>, sometimes at the site of the kill and sometimes at the nest. 

While the actual parents are more likely to brood the eggs and feed the young, subordinates may also take on some of these duties, giving them a break. This strategy sometimes allows Harris’s hawks to raise as many as three broods in a season, unusual for raptors. 

A handful of other raptors pursue a social lifestyle. The Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae) breeds on Mediterranean coasts and islands in groups of up to 300.

The species converges on isolated islands in the spring and breeds on cliffsides then disperses to Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands along the East African coast. Though occasionally seabirds such as Cory’s shearwaters (<a href="https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Calonectris_diomedea/">Calonectris diomedea</a>) nest among the Eleonora’s pairs, the species is known to run off other interlopers such as gulls. From their coastal perches, they swoop down on migrating passerines and other birds as they wing their exhausted way across the Mediterranean. The remains of these tattered pilgrims are stuffed into the gullets of the next generation of falcons. 

Most other falcon species defend fairly large territories in pairs. While their colonial breeding habits are highly atypical, they do not otherwise appear to cooperate in any meaningful way. Pairs each raise their own young. 

Another species, the African pygmy falcon (Polihierax semitorquatus), is sometimes polyandrous. These tiny falcons, which live in the spare rooms of sociable weaver (Philetairus socius) nests, will sometimes form avian thrupples, with two males supporting one female and helping to care for the young. This may be an adaptation to reduced nesting sites and to colder temperatures. 

This type of partnership is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00170712">standard for the Galapagos hawk</a> (Buteo galapagoensis). As many as eight males may assist one female in raising a brood.

The striated caracara of the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego gathers in enormous groups and functions <a href="http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/611/dwyer_and_cockwell_2011_falkland_raptors.pdf">much like the turkey vultures (Cathartes aura)</a> with which it shares its territory and competes for food. Though the species takes live seabirds, especially young and eggs, it is particularly fond of carrion and will aggregate to feast on carcasses. Until the mid-20th century, eradication campaigns threatened the striated caracara due to its proclivity for making short work of vulnerable newborn lambs in coordinated group attacks.

In vultures, unlike other raptors, sociality is the norm rather than the exception. These scavengers frequently rely on social cues in order to locate carrion and, once at the carcass, observe a complex hierarchy that determines who feeds first. A turkey vulture raised in captivity and later released <a href="https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/vulture">even guided wild vultures</a> back to the San Diego Zoo, where it was raised, in hopes of sharing with them the food it was accustomed to receiving there. 

Occasionally, normally monogamous species also engage in cooperative behavior: over a period of several years, a pair of bald eagles nesting on the Mississippi River <a href="https://www.audubon.org/news/a-rare-bald-eagle-trio-two-dads-and-mom-captivates-webcam-fans">opened up their relationship to include another male</a>. The original male had done a poor job of assisting his mate in raising their young, but the addition of a second male to the equation resulted in successful fledging of several young, even after the probable death of the female. Such instances as this one—<a href="http://stewardsumrr.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Garcelon_etal_1995_baldeagle.pdf">which is not unprecedented</a>—testify to the behavioral flexibility of these highly intelligent birds.

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Main Image Credit: Liam Quinn/Flickr

Come together: Raptors aren't always loners

“I have need of the sky/I have business with the...

A new study has revealed that biodiversity hotspots emerge on the desolate Antarctic peninsula wherever penguins and seals poop. The nutrients in the excrement were found to enrich the soil as far as 1,000 meters away from the colonies. 

In the extreme <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sea-spiders-antarctica/">Antarctic</a> conditions, the researchers maneuvered through fields of animal waste to examine the soils and plants surrounding the seal and penguin colonies. 

Study co-author Stef Bokhorst is a researcher in the Department of Ecological Sciences at <a href="https://www.vu.nl/en">Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam</a>.

“What we see is that the poo produced by seals and penguins partly evaporates as ammonia,” said Bokhorst. “Then, the ammonia gets picked up by the wind and is blown inland, and this makes its way into the soil and provides the nitrogen that primary producers need in order to survive in this landscape.”

The team discovered that this process allows ammonia to enrich an area up to 240 times the size of the colony. As a result, a thriving community of mosses and lichens emerges and supports a large number of small invertebrates, including springtails and mites. 

“You can find millions of them per square meter here, but in grasslands in the US or Europe, there are only about 50,000 to 100,000 per square meter,” said Bokhorst. “It took months and months of sitting in the lab counting and IDing them under a microscope.”

The researchers were surprised to find that the extent of a colony's footprint was not largely affected by how cold or dry the region was. This footprint was much more strongly linked to the number of animals present. This insight allowed the team to map biodiversity hotspots across the peninsula, which can be easily updated using satellite images without the need for rigorous fieldwork in the future. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Antarctic biodiversity thrives in areas where seals and penguins poop

A new study has revealed that biodiversity hotspots emerge on...

A necropsy of a dead gray whale that washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday has revealed that the whale was likely struck by a ship. 

The beaching marks the ninth dead gray whale discovered in the area in just a matter of weeks. 

Usually, around five to ten gray whales wash ashore in San Francisco throughout the year, but this year has seen an alarming and frequent number of whales washing ashore since March.

The <a href="http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/">Marine Mammal Center</a> conducted the whale necropsy, a task made all the more challenging by the fact that the whale beached on its stomach. 

“Which is difficult for us, because normally when a whale floats in, it ends up on its back,” Dr. Padraig Duignan, the Marine Mammal Center’s chief pathologist, told<a href="https://abc7news.com/pets-animals/necropsy-ship-strike-may-have-caused-gray-whales-death-near-ocean-beach/5289152/"> ABC7</a>. “It gives us easy access to the abdominal cavity.” 

The injuries the whale sustained indicate that it was killed after being struck by a ship which is not uncommon for the area. Three previous whales that washed ashore in San Francisco this year were also struck by boats. 

Four of the nine whales died from malnutrition, and one’s cause of death has yet to be determined. 

The increase in malnourished whales washing ashore point to worrying climate change trends that are warming up marine habitats and impacting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-krill-numbers-food-web/">krill</a>, the whale’s primary food source. 

The necropsy was completed on Tuesday of this week, and the Marine Mammal Center will share the results with other marine research and government agencies as well as shipping companies. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a><a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

An unusually high number of whales have washed ashore in San Francisco

A necropsy of a dead gray whale that washed ashore...

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) refers to the area of land that runs across the Korean Peninsula and serves as a buffer between North Korea and South Korea. The strip of land measures 160 miles long and 2.5 miles wide, dividing the peninsula in half.

<a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/04/28/asia-pacific/politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific/jilted-bride-south-korea-marks-peace-summit-north-stays-aloof/#.XMXZNIplChA">Japan Times</a> reports of a recent ceremony where a few select hikers from South Korea were invited to enjoy a hike along the ‘peace trail’ just outside the DMZ, where civilians have limited access.  The trail passed through forest below a mountain peak. Despite the hikers and music played at the celebration of peace, there was an overshadowing absence. Despite being invited, no one from North Korea showed up at the ceremony.  Yet any peace process, especially one involving a nation like North Korea, is bound to have its ups and downs. 

In the wake of recent talks Kim Jong Un has held with both U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-russia-kcna/north-korean-leader-warns-of-a-return-to-tension-blames-u-s-bad-faith-idUSKCN1S12QH">Reuters</a> reports that Un warned of the potential return of a state of hostility in the Korean Peninsula.  

<a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/north-korea/2019-03-14/next-stage-korean-peace-process">Foreign Affairs</a> reports that even after negotiations between Trump and Kim Jong Un ended early in Hanoi without an agreement, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/china-south-korea-artificial-rain-pollution/">South Korean</a> officials remained optimistic.  Both Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump showed unusual amounts of restraint and there was no return to antagonistic military operations. It seems that for the time being, North Korea has at least kept dialogue open with the US and the rest of the world.  Many feel that sanctions are slowly working. Peace through the whole Korean Peninsula or at least denuclearization still seems like a viable possibility in the not too distant future. After all, there have been some hopeful signs, like North Korea detonating some of its front line guard posts along the DMZ, as <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/north-korea-detonates-dmz-guard-posts-southern-border/story?id=59314370">ABC News</a> reported.  

Peace would of course be a wonderful thing, but changing the DMZ might have some negative consequences as well.

As hikers walking along the ‘Peace Trail’ suggest, much of the area inside and just outside of the DMZ is relatively undisturbed nature.  The undisturbed aspect of the area goes far beyond what a typical national park might be like, as there are no real hiking trails, no roads, no campgrounds.  Instead, wild animals and plants live with almost no disturbance from humans. 

The Korean DMZ expands one mile in each direction from the official border between North and South Korea.  Before the Korean War, much of the DMZ was agricultural land but now has been left untouched for 65 years, during which time wild ecosystems have rebounded.  Surrounded by razor wire and armed soldiers, the DMZ has been cut off and developed into a world of its own.    

Covering landscape ranging from mountains to low wetlands, the DMZ has become a haven for rare wildlife, including globally declining red-crowned and white-napped cranes, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/wildlife-thrives-dmz-korea-risk-location-180967842/">Smithsonian</a> reports.  The DMZ hosts five rivers and a few mountains.  In fact, according to the South Korean <a href="http://eng.me.go.kr/eng/web/index.do?menuId=397">Ministry of the Environment</a>, there are 5,097 species now living in the DMZ, including 106 protected species.  

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/apr/13/wildlife-thriving-korean-demilitarised-zone">The Guardian</a> reported that there are roughly 45 species of reptiles and amphibians, almost 100 species of fish, and possibly 1000 insect species living in the DMZ.  There have even been reports of tigers, an animal thought extinct in Korea prior to Japanese occupation. Some of these species might soon be threatened, perversely, by the specter of peace between nations.  

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/apr/13/wildlife-thriving-korean-demilitarised-zone">The Guardian</a> reports that decades of conflict and increased industrialization have quickly and radically changed the face of Korea.  <a href="http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/main_pop/kpct/kp_koreaimperialism.htm">Japanese colonial rule</a> of Korea from 1910 to 1945 was heavy handed and oppressive.  The rule of Japan also brought with it increased urban growth along with an increase in mineral extraction and deforestation.  With this came not only economic growth but also environmental degradation, pollution, and erosion of mountains. The Korean War following this period only made the situation worse, spreading destruction across both rural and urban environments.  

Through the 1960s and 70s, increased industrialization caused more environmental destruction.  The DMZ is one last piece of rewilded land left to Korea. 

According to the Korean <a href="http://eng.me.go.kr/eng/web/index.do?menuId=397">Ministry of the Environment</a>, the possibility of peace has already brought with it calls for the development of the DMZ.  The ministry has its own plans for the DMZ. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/south-korea-dmz-eco-park/index.html">CNN Travel</a> reports that South Korea is pushing for a ‘Peace Park’ in the DMZ.  The proposal was made at least as far back as 2013, and later announced at an international meeting for wetlands taking place in Switzerland.  For its part, North Korea has rejected the proposed ‘Peace Park’ dismissing the idea as a plan to make money off of tourism.

There is an amount of truth to the sentiments of making money from tourism.  The DMZ is a haven for wildlife, particularly because it excludes humans, not because it invites them in to take a walk.  With many parks in the world raising the issue of a landscape being loved to death, it’s hard to see how a park in the DMZ would be anything more than a compromise.  Animals that become used to humans may be easier prey to their natural predators. It can also make them easier targets for poachers. Inevitable development of parks including roads and hiking trails fragment and disrupt the natural habitat.  More pollution, more human noise and light are all likely to be impacts of a park. Even wildlife research can disrupt animals. 

It’s hard to say what the total impact of turning an area that excludes humans into an inviting tourist destination will be in the long run.  For the moment, it’s a good thing that even in a heavily controlled region, there’s a ribbon of habitat with no human control at all. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer    

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Plans for the Korean Demilitarized Zone are a mixed blessing for wildlife

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) refers to the area of...

Paper wasps may be able to infer relationships and unknowns about their environments, according to a novel new study published in the journal Biology Letters.  

The research represents the first evidence of transitive inference (TI) in a non-vertebrate animal. 

Transitive inference is an integral part of deductive reasoning and until recently was thought to be a hallmark of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-overlook-biases-decision/">human intelligence</a>. 

With TI, we can understand different relationships and reason certain outcomes with just bits and pieces of information. 

For example, if A is greater than B and B is greater than C, than we can infer that A is also greater than C, given what we know about the relationship between A and B. 

Researchers have found that this skill expands to other vertebrate animals like monkeys and even fish. 

Only one study on <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC419736/">TI ability in honeybees</a> has been published, the results of which show that bees are not capable of this deductive skill.  

Honeybees have small nervous systems which could explain the cognitive limitations that prevent bees from being able to perform TI. 

Undaunted by the results of the honeybee study, researchers from the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a>  turned to paper wasps to test for TI in invertebrates. 

Wasps have the same size of nervous system as honeybees, but a complex prosocial nature sets wasps apart from honeybee colonies. 

This led Elizabeth Tibbetts, an evolutionary biologist, to wonder if the wasp’s social skills give the insect an advantage over honeybees when it comes to inferring unknowns.  

Two species of paper wasps, Polistes dominula and Polistes metricu, were used in the study, and the researchers collected paper wasp queens. 

The wasps were brought back to the lab and trained to discriminate between premise pairs of colors by associating one pair of colors with an electric shock. 

Next, the wasps were given a choice between unfamiliar pairs of colors. The researchers found that the wasps used a kind of transitive inference to sort and organize the colors to choose between the pairs. 

“We’re not saying that wasps used logical deduction to solve this problem, but they seem to use known relationships to make inferences about unknown relationships,” Tibbetts said. “Our findings suggest that the capacity for complex behavior may be shaped by the social environment in which behaviors are beneficial, rather than being strictly limited by brain size.”

Wasps have a completely different hierarchy and social structure compared to honeybees. Honeybee colonies have a single queen whereas wasp colonies have several foundresses, each able to reproduce. 

Foundresses compete against each other, and a worker wasp may need to rely on TI to navigate the complex realities and social relationships. 

“This study adds to a growing body of evidence that the miniature nervous systems of insects do not limit sophisticated behaviors,” said Tibbetts.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Image Credit: Elizabeth Tibbetts

Wasps may have a type of intelligence similar to logical reasoning in humans

Paper wasps may be able to infer relationships and unknowns...

Netflix’s The Ivory Game feels like a fast-paced thriller, but unfortunately the stakes are all too real in this documentary that provides an uncomfortably close look at the world’s ivory trade. 

Directed by Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson, the film starts with a midnight raid in Tanzania as police led by Elisifa Ngowi, the head of intelligence for an anti-poaching task force, are looking for Shetani, a notorious poacher. 

We hear a voiceover say “Shetani-the devil has taken over,” while a scene of police interrogating suspected elephant killers unfolds. The camera crew is up close and personal and it feels more akin to an episode of Cops rather than a documentary about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ivory-poaching-elephants-tusks/">elephant poaching</a>. 

Africa’s elephant populations have been steadily declining due to poaching and habitat loss. During the opening credits of the Ivory Game, we are given a few key facts to help set the tone for the film. 

“Over the past five years, more than 150,000 elephants have been killed for their ivory. With populations in western and central Africa virtually gone, the mass killing is now spreading to east and southern Africa.”

When the ivory is smuggled into China, it becomes part of a multi-billion dollar trade that could result in the extinction of elephants in the next 15 years. 

The Ivory Game provides a glimpse of almost all the elements of the ivory trade and the fight to stop poaching. 

Craig Miller, Head of Security at the <a href="https://biglife.org/">Big Life Foundation</a>, speaks to the camera in hushed tones as he follows the elephant “One Ton” whose tusks contain 70 to 80 kilos of ivory.

[caption id="attachment_1872255" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/the-ivory-game-film-poster.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1872255" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/the-ivory-game-film-poster.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="456" /></a> Image Credit: Netflix[/caption]

With Miller, we learn that the job of protecting elephants in Africa is a dangerous one. The poachers are not only willing to risk their lives to kill an elephant but will also shoot at humans who get in their way.

The documentary crew travels from Africa to Beijing, and the audience is shown intricately carved ivory statues, artwork, tusks, and figurines priced at hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

It’s in China where we’re introduced to Andrea Crosta, the head of the investigation of an organization called <a href="https://wildleaks.org/">Wildleaks</a>, which is working to gain intel into poaching operations through an online platform where people can report tips anonymously. 

From Costa, we learn that ivory is legal in China, but the government only distribute a small amount of ivory each year. 

This has opened to the door to rampant smuggling and has made it easy for sellers to sell illegally smuggled ivory. It’s a fact that buyers, consumers, and collectors are either oblivious to or happily ignore in search of precious ivory. 

The Ivory Game spares no gruesome detail showing recently slaughtered elephants, stacks and stacks of raw ivory, and unfortunately, extinction seems to be the end goal. No more elephants means that ivory can be priced as high as a seller wants and people will buy. 

Much of the Ivory Game follows the hunt for Shetani, a cruel and notorious poacher who has succeeded in evading capture by the police. However, the ivory war expands far beyond the borders of Africa and China. 

Hongxiang Huang, a Chinese activist and investigative journalist, takes part in many dangerous undercover operations in Africa, China, and Vietnam to gather information and video footage of illegal ivory trade operations. 

In an interview, Huang explains that there are a lot of misconceptions about the “good guys and bad guys” in the ivory war. 

When people hear about poaching in Africa, it’s easy to assume that local poachers are the bad guys, the Chinese buyers are the “really bad guys,” and the white people are the heroes, Huang explains. 

The Ivory Game attempts to break down these misconceptions head on and show the hard work being done globally to stop poaching on all sides. Local police investigations, conservation efforts, elephant tracking, and undercover sting operations all illustrate how buyers and traders are selling illegal ivory and gaming the system. 

The film also reveals that sometimes the matter of killing elephants has nothing to do with the ivory itself. 

In one tension-fraught scene, Miller and his team are working to calm a mob of angry farmers. 

The farmers are tired of the elephants crossing into their property, eating their crops and essentially trampling over their livelihoods. 

One farmer yells, “this is for my children not elephants,” and the line becomes less clear. 

Miller brokers a deal with the farmers saying that he will work with them to build a fence to help keep wildlife out, but even a solution as simple as a fence requires tireless hours of fundraising and campaigning. 

Both China and the US have announced ivory bans, but the fight is far from over. It’s estimated that around 55 elephants are killed each day for their ivory, according to the <a href="https://www.wwf.org.uk/wildlife/african-elephants">World Wildlife Fund. </a>

These vulnerable giants remain in dire need of conservation and protection, and unless more is done to protect elephant populations and their habitats, elephants could be completely wiped out.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

'The Ivory Game' reveals the real cruelty of the ivory trade

Netflix’s The Ivory Game feels like a fast-paced thriller, but...

Tropical fish off the coast of North Carolina are using shipwrecks as reefs, preferring artificial structures to natural rocky reefs. 

Many species like tropical fish <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tarantulas-migrating-new-areas/">are on the move</a> in search of more hospitable habitats due to warming temperatures linked to climate change. 

Shipwrecks and other sunken objects work as artificial reefs that fish are using as stepping stones in their northward migration as they travel beyond their typical geographic range. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.duke.edu/">Duke University</a> suggest that artificial reefs like shipwrecks will house more and more tropical fish in the future as climate trends continue to warm tropical marine habitats. 

In a new study published in the journal Nature Communications Biology, the Duke researchers show that tropical fish populations have increased off the coast of North Carolina in recent years and these fish flock to artificial reefs rather than natural ones. 

“Globally, there is broad evidence that many tropical fish species are shifting their ranges poleward and to deeper waters in response to changing ocean conditions, and what we see on these reefs seems to fit that pattern,” said Avery B. Paxton, the lead author of the study.

Subtropical fish exhibit a clear preference for artificial reefs as the researchers found and this could be because shipwrecks and human-made structures offer more hiding places to evade prey or attract abundant sources of zooplankton and food. 

A team of scuba-divers conducted population and species counts at 30 artificial and natural reefs off the coast of North Carolina between 2013 and 2015.

The counts were done four times a year to track population changes and see if seasonal changes impacted population numbers. 

Not only were there more tropical and subtropical fish near deep artificial reefs, but the researchers also recorded a greater diversity in fish species. 

Blue chromis, purple reef fish, bluehead wrasse, vermilion snapper, greater amberjack and bar jack were commonly spotted on the artificial reefs, whereas temperate fish species preferred the natural rocky reefs. 

“We didn’t see these patterns on artificial reefs at shallow or intermediate depths, we only saw them on deep reefs, located between 80 to 115 feet below the surface, where water temperatures often experience less seasonal change,” said Paxton. 

Shipwrecks and sunken structures which are common in oceans worldwide may soon become hotspots for migrating tropical and subtropical fish, according to the study. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: John McCord, Coastal Studies Institute

Shipwrecks provide artificial reefs for tropical fish migrating northward

Tropical fish off the coast of North Carolina are using...

Lions may be four-hundred-pound top predators, but a new study from the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a> is describing how porcupines can often take them down. The researchers explored interactions between <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/california-mountain-lions-trouble/">lions</a> and their unlikely rivals over hundreds of years.

“By examining records of lions that have been injured by porcupines, we were able to develop a better picture of the conditions that lead lions to try to hunt porcupines and what happens to the lions who get stuck,” said study lead author Julian Kerbis Peterhans.

“It's David and Goliath on the African savanna. The powerful king of the savanna tries to eat a juicy, fat porcupine, but he gets hurt by the quills,” added Professor Gastone Celesia. “Even though lions are at the top of the food chain, they get injured if they don't watch what they're doing.”

African porcupines are large rodents that weigh about forty pounds. While they are often sought out for their meat, their backs are covered in sharp quills made of keratin. These long quills can detach and get stuck in the flesh of predators.

[caption id="attachment_1872315" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/quill.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1872315" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/quill.jpeg" alt="" width="650" height="488" /></a> A porcupine quill removed from the skull of a lion, broken into two pieces. Image © Field Museum[/caption]

Although there are stories and records of lions getting injured by porcupines going back hundreds of years, this study is the first to compile all the records of those injuries. To get a better understanding of the unusual dynamic between the two species, the team sought out evidence of lion-porcupine interactions in scientific literature and even on YouTube.

“I think that digging deeply into the historic literature, especially very early sources, has largely fallen out of fashion in the modern era,” said study co-author Tom Gnoske. “There are treasures still to be found, but going back in the written record four centuries, well, that takes some patience and time.”

Overall, the team found evidence of about fifty lions that had been injured or killed by porcupines, and several patterns emerged. Lions that lived on harsher, drier terrain tended to rely on porcupines for food, and young lions were more likely to try to hunt porcupines than older lions. 

“There was a tendency for males to be more often wounded or killed by porcupines - sort of a 'young foolish male syndrome,’” said Peterhans. 

“We know from forty-plus years of continuous behavioral research on lions since the 1960s that lions prefer large hooved animals as prey, including antelope, zebra, and buffalo,” said Gnoske. “And our data suggest that by the time the lions are relegated to eating porcupines, there's already a problem with the local food supply. Historic records tell us that when environmental conditions deteriorate, particularly in areas where lions and their preferred prey are already living on the edge, they find themselves in serious trouble with nearby humans or their livestock.”

“One moral of the story is that there is no free lunch,” said Professor Celesia. “Even the king of beasts doesn't eat what he wants without paying a price.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jeanh">Journal of East African Natural History</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image © Eric Kilby

Even top predators may not survive getting stabbed by a porcupine quill

Lions may be four-hundred-pound top predators, but a new study...

Nature has the power to adapt — it’s what has kept certain species growing and thriving for millennia, while others die out. Now, a new study from the <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/">University of Southampton</a> has found that the threat of range losses for some species due to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/educating-kids-climate-change/">climate change</a> may be overstated, as certain animals will be able to adapt to rising temperatures and aridity. 

The researchers’ findings are published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">PNAS</a> and detail a new approach to more accurately determine species vulnerability. This approach may aid in future conservation efforts by allowing scientists to focus on species that are truly at risk. The current methods for determining vulnerability do not include the potential for some species to adapt genetically to a changing environment. 

Led by Dr. Orly Razgour, a lecturer in ecology at the University of Southampton, the international research team assessed the genomic data of two species of bats native to the Mediterranean, which is an area that will be heavily affected by rising global temperatures.

“The most commonly used approach for forecasting the bats’ future suggests that the range of suitable habitats for them would diminish rapidly due to climate change,” explains Dr. Razgour. “However, this assumes all bats within the same species cope with changing temperatures and drier climates in the same way. We developed a new approach that takes into account the ability of bats within the same species to adapt to different climatic conditions.”

The researchers studied the DNA of over 300 bats, identifying individuals that were adapted to thrive in hot and dry conditions as well as those that were adapted to colder and wetter environments. This information was then used to model changes in climatic suitability and the distribution of each group under future climate change. 

After mapping the areas that were most populated by each group of adapted bats, the research team studied the landscapes in between each area to determine whether they would allow the bats adapted to hot and dry conditions to move into areas already taken up by the cold-wet adapted bats.

Through their analysis, the researchers determined that there was suitable forest cover across most landscapes — an integral part of the landscape in order for bats to thrive. With this landscape connectivity, bats adapted to hot-dry conditions would likely be able to reach cold-wet adapted populations and breed with them. This would increase the ability of the population to survive as conditions become warmer and drier.

“We believe that if this model is used when assessing the vulnerability of any species to climate change we could reduce erroneous predictions and misplaced conservation efforts,” says Razgour. “Any conservation strategy should consider how individual animals can adapt locally and should focus not only on areas with threatened populations but also on making movement between populations easier. This is why it is important to look at the combined effect of climate change and habitat loss.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Daniel Fernandez Alonso

Some species are better equipped to adapt to a changing climate

Nature has the power to adapt — it’s what has...

A team of scientists at the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California San Diego</a> (UCSD) has created a flexible robot to assist in saving the northern white rhino species through artificial reproduction. The snakelike device was designed to navigate the complex reproductive anatomy of a female rhino.

There are only two remaining <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/northern-white-rhino-died/">northern white rhinos</a> in the world. While both are female, neither is capable of carrying a baby to full term. 

The only hope to save the species is to fertilize the egg of a female with the sperm of a deceased male, which experts have stored over the years. The purpose of the new robot is to implant the resulting embryo into the uterus of a surrogate mother from another species, such as a southern white rhino. 

The UCSD researchers teamed up with experts at the San Diego Zoo to design a robotic device that can make this implantation process more feasible. Study co-author Michael Yip is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

“It's essentially a long, thin catheter that can be steered through a rhino's cervix to deliver a specimen to the uterus,” explained Professor Yip. 

The UCSD team noted that the cervix of a female rhino has a series of steep turns for up to 12 inches, followed by a “fairly long vagina plus the uterine body” and the uterine horn. Overall, the experts must carefully and precisely navigate around 27 inches. 

The new robot, which measures just two to three millimeters in diameter, was built to snake through this complex system during the artificial insemination process.

[caption id="attachment_1872306" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-07-at-8.49.43-AM.png"><img class="wp-image-1872306" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-07-at-8.49.43-AM.png" alt="Image Credit: David Baillot, UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering" width="650" height="401" /></a> Image Credit: David Baillot, UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering[/caption]

 “You can basically marionette the device to curve into any shape you want,” said Professor Yip. “And you can control it to make very fine, delicate movements so that procedures could be done in the animal safely and non-traumatically.”

Barbara Durrant is the Director of Reproductive Sciences at the San Diego Zoo.

“The ultimate goal is to produce a self-sustaining herd of northern white rhinos, first in captivity and then back into the wild,” said Durrant. “That's still many, many years down the line, but we have excellent collaborators both here and around the world that are working with us and helping us move steadily in that direction.”

“At the end of the day, I hope that technologies like this can be used to both repopulate critically endangered species and counter some of the unfortunate human poaching that has been going on around the world,” said Professor Yip.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Could a flexible robot help save the nearly extinct northern white rhino?

A team of scientists at the University of California San...

The <a href="https://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a> announced on Monday that one million species are being pushed toward extinction as a direct result of human activities. The shocking report, which is based on the most comprehensive assessment of species <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/amphibians-risk-extinction/">extinction</a> risk to date, was written by 150 scientists with contributions from an additional 310 experts.

According to the <a href="https://www.ipbes.net/">Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services</a> (IPBES) committee, the global rate of species extinction “is already tens to hundreds of times higher than it has been, on average, over the last 10 million years.”

The IPBES Global Assessment was assembled over three years and is based on 15,000 scientific references. The research has revealed that more species are currently threatened with extinction than at any other point in human history. 

Sir Robert Watson is one of the world’s most influential environmental scientists and Chair of the IPBES.

“The overwhelming evidence of the IPBES Global Assessment, from a wide range of different fields of knowledge, presents an ominous picture,” said Sir Watson. “The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.”

Humans have transformed the Earth's land, ocean, and freshwater habitats, leaving plants and animals homeless. Human activities have also placed enormous pressure on species through pollution, overfishing, climate change, and the introduction of invasive species. 

“This report should help us understand that the signals of natural ecosystem collapse are symptoms of our collective human patterns, including consumption, resource exploitation and inequalities in economic and political power,” said Zak Smith, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“The only way we’re going to save our planet and ourselves is if we firmly break with the failed systems of the past and embark on a new human journey. It won’t be easy, but we don’t have a choice. It’s time to engage as if our lives depend on it because they do.”

Sir Watson said the loss of species and ecosystems is already a global threat to human well-being, but that the report still gives us some hope. 

“The report also tells us that it is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global,” said Sir Watson. “Through ‘transformative change,’ nature can still be conserved, restored and used sustainably - this is also key to meeting most other global goals.” 

“Protecting the invaluable contributions of nature to people will be the defining challenge of decades to come.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

UN report: 1 million species are being pushed toward extinction

The United Nations announced on Monday that one million species...

An international team of scientists is describing a previously unknown relative of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/worlds-largest-t-rex/">Tyrannosaurus rex</a> that was uncovered in New Mexico. The new tyrannosauroid dinosaur, which was much smaller than the ferocious T. rex, has been named Suskityrannus hazelae.

The dinosaur was discovered by paleontologist Sterling Nesbitt, an assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences at <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Tech</a>. Remarkably, Professor Nesbitt had found the fossil at age 16 while he was a high school student participating in a dig expedition in 1998.

According to Professor Nesbitt, the dinosaur stood roughly three feet tall at the hip and was about nine feet in length. The entire animal was only slightly longer than just the skull of a fully grown Tyrannosaurus rex. 

“Suskityrannus has a much more slender skull and foot than its later and larger cousins, the Tyrannosaurus rex,” said Professor Nesbitt. “The find also links the older and smaller tyrannosauroids from North America and China with the much larger tyrannosaurids that lasted until the final extinction of non-avian dinosaurs.”

S. hazelae likely weighed between 45 and 90 pounds, while a full-grown Tyrannosaurus rex weighed roughly nine tons. The smaller relative of T. rex was also a meat eater, although it is not known which animals it hunted. 

Based on an analysis of its bones, the specimen found by Professor Nesbitt was at least three years old at the time of its death, and the fossil dates back 92 million years to the Cretaceous Period.

“Suskityrannus gives us a glimpse into the evolution of tyrannosaurs just before they take over the planet,” said Professor Nesbitt. “It also belongs to a dinosaurian fauna that just proceeds the iconic dinosaurian faunas in the latest Cretaceous that include some of the most famous dinosaurs, such as the Triceratops, predators like Tyrannosaurus rex, and duckbill dinosaurs like Edmotosaurus.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Virginia Tech, Andrey Atuchin

Newly named Tyrannosaurus Rex cousin was only three feet tall

An international team of scientists is describing a previously unknown...

<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.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

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.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

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>



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



-----

What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



---



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

News coming your way