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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Humans have super-sized domestic animals and shrunk wildlife

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

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/relict-megafauna/">giant ground sloths</a> that trudged across the Earth millions of years ago weighed thousands of pounds and could measure as long as 20 feet in length. These long-since extinct herbivores could prop themselves up on their hind legs to reach twigs and leaves in trees. 

The discovery of a giant ground sloth fossil has helped shed light on a year in the life of the sloth as it’s diet changed to adapt to variations in climate and vegetation. 

The fossil was discovered in a sink-hole in Belize by divers, and Jean T. Larmon, a Ph.D. candidate at the <a href="https://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</a> analyzed a fossilized tooth from the remains along with a team of researchers. 

Carbon dating and studying fossil teeth can be challenging if the tooth lacks enamel, and the researchers soon realized that isotopic analyses on certain layers of the sloth’s tooth were inaccurate. 

Without enamel, some of the layers were more impacted by sedimentary processes that eventually led to fossilization than others. 

A sloth’s teeth, like other herbivorous species, continue to grow throughout its life and so the fossil represented a unique opportunity to study dietary changes over time if the researchers could find the right layers to analyze.

[caption id="attachment_1868816" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/sloth-graphic.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1868816" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/sloth-graphic.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="467" /></a> Giant ground sloth, Graphic by Julie McMahon[/caption]

Larmon and colleges analyzed carbon and oxygen stable isotope data from 58 samples collected from a single tooth of the fossil. The samples were collected from three layers of the tooth: the cementum and the outer and inner orthedentin. Cathodoluminescence microscopy was used to evaluate the data and ensure accuracy. 

The carbon and oxygen isotope data differed from layer to layer, but the inner orthedentin layer seemed to have withstood the chemical and physical sedimentary processes over the years, and so that layer was used to date the tooth. 

The researchers found that the tooth was around 27,000 years old and the sloth lived during the Last Glacial Maximum. 

The variations in oxygen isotopes in the tooth indicated that the sloth lived during a year divided by short wet seasons and one long dry season and likely eat grass and shrubs during the wet seasons. 

The study, published in the journal Science Advances and backed by the <a href="https://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a>, shows that sloths in Belize changed their diets depending on the season and ate what was available. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Stanley Ambrose

Fossilized tooth sheds light on the diet of the giant ground sloth

The giant ground sloths that trudged across the Earth millions...

These birds have a Plan B if they can’t keep their eggs in one basket. Researchers at <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> have found a species of cuckoo in the tropical jungle of Central America that has developed an interesting strategy for reproductive success. The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/birds-feathers-hair-teeth/">birds</a> start off the breeding season by building communal nests which are guarded by two or three breeding pairs. If the communal nest is destroyed by a predator, however, the birds spread out their eggs in different nests.

Study co-author Christina Riehl is an assistant professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. 

“When different females in a population pursue different reproductive tactics, like cooperative and parasitic nesting, this poses an evolutionary puzzle,” said Professor Riehl. “We wondered why some females lay their eggs into other groups' nests, whereas other females never do.”

“We found the parasitic strategy is more of a second-line option. It's as if the birds say, ‘If our cooperative attempt fails, let's go to Option B.’”

The greater ani is one of just a few bird species in which unrelated females raise their young together. By contrast, social parasitism is a very common strategy used by over 250 bird species.

To find out what makes the birds resort to parasitism, the scientists observed the anis and their nesting behaviors for more than a decade at Barro Colorado Nature Monument in Panama. 

The researchers discovered that nearly all the birds started the breeding season in communal groups due to constant threats from predators such as snakes and monkeys. Social parasitism was also found to be widespread, with about 25 percent of the nests being parasitized by a female who was not a member of the group.These birds have a Plan B if they can’t keep their eggs in one basket

The team noted that females whose nests were destroyed by predators early in the nesting cycle were most likely to lay parasitically, and usually built an alternative nest close to the failed nest. The experts also determined that both of the reproductive strategies are viable options for the birds. 

Mark Hauber is an ornithologist and behavioral ecologist of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who was not involved in the study. 

“The study explains why cooperative breeding is maintained evolutionarily in this species - solitary breeding or parasitism alone are simply not productive enough,” said Hauber. “But either cooperative breeding with large clutches or failed cooperative breeding followed by parasitism are equivalent strategies fitness-wise. Thus parasitism continues to be present in the population and so is cooperative breeding.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</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: Christina Riehl

These birds have a Plan B if they can’t keep their eggs in one basket

These birds have a Plan B if they can’t keep...

Paleontologists at <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Tech</a> have identified the fossil remains of what may be the oldest frogs in North America. The fragments of Chinle frogs, which measure smaller than a pinky nail, represent the first known Salientia from the Late Triassic around 216 million years ago.

The scientists analyzed several small pieces of hip bones from Chinle frogs, which are indirect ancestors of modern <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/frogs-charm-city/">frogs</a>. The specimens were named after the Chinle Formation of Arizona where they were found in May of 2018.

“This new find highlights just how much there is still to learn about the Late Triassic ecosystem, and how much we find when we just look a little closer,” said study co-lead author Professor Michelle Stocker. “We're familiar with the charismatic archosaurs from the Chinle Formation, but we know that based on other ecosystems, they should make up a small percentage of the animals that lived together. With this new focus we're able to fill in a lot of those missing smaller components with new discoveries.”

The hip bones were long and hollow and had a hip socket that was offset rather than centered. Professor Stocker said that the bones were so small that the Chinle frog could fit on the end of your finger.

“These are the oldest frogs from near the equator,” said Professor Stocker. “The oldest frogs overall are roughly 250 million years old from Madagascar and Poland, but those specimens are from higher latitudes and not equatorial."

Professor Sterling Nesbitt added, “Now we know that tiny frogs were present approximately 215 million years ago from North America, we may be able to find other members of the modern vertebrate communities in the Triassic Period.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsbl">Biology Letters</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

Scientists find fossils of the oldest known frogs in North America

Paleontologists at Virginia Tech have identified the fossil remains of...

Rauhhautfledermaus (Pipistrellus nathusii)

Migratory bats know just when to turn on cruise control. A study led by scientists at the <a href="http://www.izw-berlin.de/welcome.html">Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research</a> describes how migrating bats have mastered their own style of cruise control. The researchers found that the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/vampire-bats-deadly-bacteria/">bats</a> move at speeds which allow them to travel across long distances while using the least amount of energy. 

Experts still lack a clear understanding of the energy requirements for aerial migration, particularly among bats. The Leibniz-IZW team set out to analyze the energy demands associated with the travel speeds of small migrating bats, or Nathusius' pipistrelle.

For part of the investigation, the researchers used a wind tunnel experiment combined with measurements in a respirometry chamber. The chamber allowed the scientists to track CO2 that was released in the breath of the bats, providing a record of their metabolic rate during flight. The measurements were repeated immediately before and after one-minute flights at various speeds in the wind tunnel. 

Using this information, the scientists recorded the flight metabolic rate as it  related to air speed, which helped them to identity the flight speed with the best energy to distance ratio. The study revealed that the optimal speed for these particular bats was around 16 miles per hour. 

“Our study confirms that the observed flight speeds are consistent with the expectation that migratory bats practice optimal flight speeds for covering the largest distance with the least amount of energy,” wrote the researchers. 

“When foraging in a dune forest, bats performed sharp turns in order to catch insects,” said study co-lead author Sara Troxell. “These tight turns require slower flight speeds and the overall speed might be reduced in anticipation of such turns.” 

Christian Voigt added, “However, it is important to realize that our insights into the migratory behavior of bats are still in their infancy.”

The study is published in the <a href="http://jeb.biologists.org/">Journal of Experimental Biology</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: Christian Giese

Migratory bats know just when to turn on cruise control

Migratory bats know just when to turn on cruise control....

You may remember the great public debate surrounding the photograph of a dress that quickly became a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/business/a-simple-question-about-a-dress-and-the-world-weighs-in.html">viral sensation in 2015</a> after the public could not agree on its color. 

Was it blue with black stripes or white with gold stripes? The two color schemes were so different that the internet exploded when it became clear that so many people perceived the same image so differently. 

Now, a new study of colorful snail shells has once again revealed that people see and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hormone-see-color/">categorize some colors differently</a>. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/">University of Nottingham</a> first categorized analyzed the color of Cepaea nemoralis (grove snail) shells and then measured the shells using a spectrometer to see if there were differences in the way people saw the color of shells. 

The study was published in the journal Heredity, and the researchers explain how the ability to accurately identify and categorize colors is crucial to how we classify species and to our understanding of evolution. 

Grove snails are common across Europe, and their shells can be yellow, brown, and pink. The color of the shell may have evolved in response to the snail’s preferred habitat or to evade predators.

If there are documented color changes that have evolved in a species, like if a grove snail’s shell changed color, researchers can work understand what environmental factors prompted the change. 

However, it’s important to know what color that snail’s shell is in the first place.  If researchers studying the snails see different colors, it represents of a problem in classifying them.

[caption id="attachment_1868714" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/snail-shells.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1868714" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/snail-shells.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="343" /></a> Snail shell color variations, Image Credit: Daniel Ramos Gonzalez[/caption]

“The shell patterns and colour are hugely variable - almost like a snail fingerprint. As scientists, to ensure the accuracy of our studies and the subsequent interpretation, it is important that we have a reproducible measure of colour,” said Angus Davison, the leader of the study. “The problem is that there are obvious differences in how humans perceive and categorise their colour, making it very difficult to compare the different types.”

For the study, Davison and a Ph.D. student categorized grove snail shell colors by eye. The snail shells were then measured with a spectrometer which measured the light that reflects off the shell to accurately identify the color of the shell. 

Yellow snail shells were accurately identified by eye and matched the yellow shells measured by the spectrometer. But the researchers found that humans struggled to agree on the color of brown or pink shells.

Now, the researchers have a better understanding of how people process and label colors which going forward could help with future studies examining color and evolution. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Dr Angus Davison/The University of Nottingham

Pink or brown? ‘The Dress’ debate returns, this time over snail shells

You may remember the great public debate surrounding the photograph...

There’s a reason that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tigers-species/">tigers</a> and pets are not often associated with each other. Our pets are cuddly and innocent companions while tigers are majestic, yet fierce wild animals. But right now, the United States has a pet tiger problem that was made all the more apparent by recent news of a tiger left abandoned in a Texas home.

In early February, a person entered an abandoned home in Houston, Texas to smoke pot. Inside, the person found a tiger living in small cage, according to <a href="https://abc13.com/tiger-found-abandoned-at-vacant-home-in-se-houston/5132909/">KTRK</a>. Thankfully, the tiger was able to be relocated to a Texas sanctuary to live out the rest of its life.

While this story is certainly bizarre, it is not uncommon to find tigers living as pets in the US. In 2003, a Congressional report estimated that there are as many as <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-108hrpt269/html/CRPT-108hrpt269.htm">11,500</a> tigers living in private homes in the US. Other estimates put the US captive tiger population at <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/more-tigers-in-american-backyards-than-in-the-wild">5,000</a>. It is difficult to calculate an exact number of pet tigers as there is no universal database for these pets.

Either way, it is believed that there are now more tigers living in captivity in the US than in the wild throughout the world. The tiger is currently listed as Endangered and its population is estimated to be less than 4,000.

The import, export and sale of pet tigers are regulated by US and international laws when they occur across country and state borders, but the sale of pet tigers can occur within state lines and in the illegal wildlife market. State laws also vary on the private ownership of big cats with some states outright banning it and other states having no laws on the subject.

The private ownership of tigers is a cause for concern for a variety of reasons including public safety risks. Tigers are inherently wild animals, and strong ones at that. They are highly territorial and use their body weight to knock their prey down and bite their neck to kill them. Private owners are unlikely to be able to properly control a pet tiger in the case of an attack. From 1990 to 2006, captive tigers in the US attacked at least 27 people, killing seven people and severely injuring 20, according to<a href="https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/5400/paper-tigers.pdf"> TRAFFIC</a>.

Even police departments are often ill-prepared to handle pet tigers. In 2017, police officers killed a loose tiger that was roaming around Atlanta, Georgia. The local police officers do not carry tranquilizers on hand and officers decided to shot the animal after it began to enter a densely populated area, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/09/06/georgia-tiger-on-loose-killed/637054001/">USA Today</a> reported.

Animal welfare is another concern that comes with the private ownership of tigers. Tigers are not your run-of-the-mill pet. They do not simply require a bowl of food and water to survive. A full grown tiger can consume 20 pounds of meat a day and needs a safe and stimulating environment. Boredom can be very dangerous in predatory animals and tigers without proper enrichment may attack out of agitation. Lack of animal welfare can, therefore, increase concerns about public safety.

Owners may buy a tiger as a pet when it is an adorable and small cub. Once they become fully grown adults, the owner is likely to become overwhelmed with their pet. According to the 2003 Congressional <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-108hrpt269/html/CRPT-108hrpt269.htm">report</a>, many pet tigers are abandoned after they reach 300 pounds.

The fate of these unwanted tigers is murky. It is unclear what would have happened to the tiger in Houston if someone had not been searching for a spot to smoke pot. The animal could have very likely starved to death.

Advocates of the private ownership of tigers claim that captive tigers can help preserve the species by being reintroduced into the wild, but pet tigers often live in a far different environment than their wild counterparts. The chances of pet tigers surviving in the wild are low. Additionally, many zoos are unwilling to take in pet tigers due to concerns over available space and genetic diversity. It is often up to overburdened wildlife sanctuaries to step up if an owner wants to relinquish a pet.

Recognizing the current pet tiger problem in the US, Congress has previously introduced the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2990/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22big+cat+public+safety+act%22%5D%7D&amp;r=1&amp;s=2">Big Cat Public Safety Act</a> to prohibit the breeding and possession of dangerous big cats including lions, tigers, leopards and cheetahs. 

But this week, it was announced that the Big Cat Public Safety Act was reintroduced in the US House of Representatives, championed by Reps. Michael Quigley (D-IL) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) along with 52 bipartisan cosponsors.

“From irresponsible breeding to inhumane living conditions and public exploitation, the mistreatment of big cats comes in a variety of forms,” said Rep. Quigley. “By introducing the Big Cat Public Safety Act, we are working to address a serious issue that causes immeasurable animal suffering and introduces inexcusable threats to human safety. State laws regarding private ownership of big cats are inconsistent or nonexistent, which is why a uniform federal law is necessary to end this dangerous industry once and for all.”

--

By <a href="mailto:brianna.grant134@gmail.com">Brianna Lynne</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Recent tiger seizure illustrates pet tiger problem in the US

There’s a reason that tigers and pets are not often...

Some farmers in central India are on high alert as flocks of wild parrots are tearing into their <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/poppy-flowers-bright-colors/">poppy plants</a> for opium. The parrots, who have apparently developed a serious addiction to opium, have even learned when and how to covertly descend upon the plants.

Video footage captured in India’s Madhya Pradesh state shows wild parrots frantically  ripping apart the poppy seed pods. In some cases, the birds can be seen cutting the stalks below the pods and flying off into the trees with them.

The parrots wait until the farmers cut the poppy pods to help them ripen, which exposes latex that is rich in morphine. The birds have also learned to be stealthy, swooping silently down into the poppy fields without making any sound.

The farmers say that the parrots have become so addicted to the opium that they must be on guard nearly all the time to prevent the birds from eating the seeds and getting high.  

[caption id="attachment_1868723" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/parrot-poppies.png"><img class="wp-image-1868723" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/parrot-poppies.png" alt="" width="700" height="443" /></a> Wild parrot in a poppy field, Image Credit: NewsLions[/caption]

The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is one of the oldest medicinal plants in the world. Opiates derived from the plants have been used for thousands of years for both medicinal and recreational purposes. Today, opium poppies are used to produce the two most common painkillers - morphine and codeine.

Dr. R.S. Chundawat is an opium specialist in Mandsaur who explained to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html">Daily Mail</a> that opium would affect the parrots in the same way that coffee or tea affects humans, giving them instant energy. He said that once the birds experienced this feeling, they would have quickly fallen prey to the addiction.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Wild parrots are destroying poppies to feed their opium addiction

Some farmers in central India are on high alert as...

When desert snakes encounter an obstacle, they bounce off the barrier and change direction like light waves. 

The s-shape slithering of a snake is a familiar sight, and researchers from the <a href="https://www.gatech.edu/">Georgia Institute of Technology</a> examined this sinusoidal wave-like movement to better understand how limbless snakes deal with obstacles they can’t see. 

After setting up a test arena on shag carpet to mimic the sandy conditions of a desert, the researchers observed snakes as they slithered through a set of six pegs to determine how the snake interacted with obstacles. 

The team found that the snake moved similarly to light waves after diffracting or bouncing off of an obstacle and separating into separate beams of light. 

A snake will not deliberately change course if it encounters an obstacle but instead passively bend with the obstacle and shift direction. 

“The idea behind passive dynamics is that there are waveform shape changes being made by the animal that are driven entirely by the passive properties of their bodies,” said Perrin Schiebel, the lead author of the study. “Instead of sending a signal to activate a muscle, the interaction of the snakes' bodies with the external environment is what causes the shape change. The forces of the obstacles are pushing the snake bodies into a new shape.”

The researchers recorded 253 snake trips to determine and model a pattern in the snakes’ movements.

[caption id="attachment_1868690" align="aligncenter" width="699"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/snake.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1868690" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/snake.jpg" alt="" width="699" height="466" /></a> A Western shovel-nosed snake moves through rubber pegs, Image Credit: Allison Carter, Georgia Tech[/caption]

The snakes were released one and time and temporarily blindfolded using harmless face paint, and for each trip, the researchers nudged the snakes through the pegs. When the snake encountered a peg, it didn’t move in a straight line but continued through the shag carpet in a waveform, exiting the pegs at a different angle. 

“When we put the snakes down in the arena, they started moving using the same waveform they use on desert sand,” said Schiebel. “They would then encounter the dowel grating, pass through it, and continue on the other side still using that waveform.”

Modeling the snake’s patterns illustrated how the pegs scattered the snake’s movements. 

“We think the snake is essentially operating in a model that control engineers would consider 'open loop,’” said Daniel Goldman, a member of the research team. “It is setting a particular motor program on its body, which generates the characteristic wave pattern, and when it collides with the obstacle, its body mechanics allow it to deform and move the posts without degrading its speed.”

The results, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could have important implications for improving autonomous <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/spider-robots-electronic-bees/">robots</a> designed to move through complex environments. 

“One problem with robots moving in the real world is that we don't yet have principles by which we can understand how best to control these robots on granular surfaces like sand, leaf litter, rubble or grass,” said Goldman. “The point of this study was to try to understand how limbless locomotors, which have long bodies that can bend in interesting ways using potentially complicated neuromechanical control schemes, manage to move through complicated terrain.”

The researchers say the engineers could use the passive movements of snakes to develop snake-like robots that can easily maneuver through obstacles. 

“We think that our discoveries of the role of passive dynamics in the snake can facilitate new snake robot designs that will enable them to move through complex environments more fluidly,” said Goldman. “The goal would be to build search and rescue robots that can get into these complex environments and help first responders.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Slithering snakes bounce off of obstacles like light waves

When desert snakes encounter an obstacle, they bounce off the...

New research published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a> argues that knowledge of animals’ social lives and culture must be taken into consideration during the planning process of international <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/behavior-change-campaigns-conservation/">conservation efforts</a>. Researchers say that species social learning, which leads to unique animal culture, can enhance both conservation practice and policy.

For example, survival skills, like communication, foraging, and migration, are often learned by young via observation of elders within their group. Unlike genetic transmission, social knowledge is passed through the generations and changes based on environment. However, social knowledge can also result in cultural subgroups within species, with contrasting behaviors and a different set of skills to those in different subgroups. Understanding these subgroups can have a huge impact on conservation efforts. 

"Beyond genes, knowledge is also an important currency for wildlife,” said the lead author of the paper, Philippa Brakes, from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>. “As well as conserving genetic diversity, we must work towards maintaining cultural diversity within animal populations, as a reservoir for resilience and adaptation. This is an important reframing of our understanding of the natural world, which will necessitate changes in international wildlife law.”

Brakes and colleagues team state that protecting “social capital” may come down to conserving species based on cultural behavior rather than genetics or geography. Other groups may need aid in protecting their social knowledge “repositories,” those animals like elephant matriarchs that pass knowledge and experience to youths.

The <a href="https://www.cms.int/">Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)</a> has been working on the preservation and conservation of animal culture and recently held a conference during which experts pooled their information of social knowledge expertise to improve species conservation efforts.

"This is an incredibly important development,” said senior author of the paper, Professor Christian Rutz, from the <a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/">University of St Andrews</a>. “Decades of research on animal cultures are now being put to good use in conservation science and policy making, and we have a much better idea of what knowledge gaps still need filling."

The paper’s authors urge governments to take their work into consideration when going forward with conservation policy.

"This new frontier of animal culture and social complexity opens a fascinating and innovative perspective on how we consider animals; from single components of population models to individuals who offer specific contributions to the rest of the social group,” said Dr. Fernando Spina, Chair of the CMS Scientific Council. “When thinking of strategies to conserve migratory animals, which is the main mission of CMS at the global level, with individual animals visiting different countries along their annual cycle, cultural transmission of knowledge on how to fulfil their incredible migratory journeys is a new component environmental policies should fully take into account.”

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By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Conservation efforts should also consider animal social lives

New research published in the journal Science argues that knowledge of...

Sharks have resiliently adapted to a changing world. People think of dinosaurs as ancient.  According to <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/12/121205-oldest-dinosaur-found-tanzania-science-archaeology/">National Geographic</a>, the oldest known dinosaur fossil is around 240 million years old.  The oldest shark fossils are 450 million years old, according to <a href="http://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/biology/450-million-years-of-sharks1/">Shark Savers</a>.  For vertebrates, sharks are also truly ancient.  

The oldest fossils showing what could be a <a href="https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/ancient-fossil-reveals-oldest-known-circulatory-system">circulatory system</a> are only 520 million years old, a mere 10 million years before sharks.  The first fish fossils appeared about 510 million years ago and were heavily armored jawless fish, a lineage now extinct.  Sharks have lived three times longer than dinosaurs. As the world has changed, sharks have adapted to it while still maintaining the key attributes that make them sharks.  Remains of a shark were even found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shark-species-discovered-sue-t-rex/">with the bones of Sue</a>, the famous most complete T. Rex.  

The oldest fossil evidence of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/slow-moving-sharks-strike/">sharks</a> are 455 million year old scales that have been found in Colorado.  There is some disagreement among scientists whether the scales are from sharks but they are clearly fish scales of great antiquity.  400 million year old shark teeth have been found in Europe and a fossilized shark braincase 380 million years old was found in Australia. Sharks have resiliently adapted to a changing world

Closer to home, I spent months preparing a nearly complete shark skeleton found in a stone quarry in Texas.  The vertebrae stood out from the rock with the most relief, looking like a line of short black thread spools, some tipped on end.  As I cleaned more of the overlying stone off, the bizarre features of this particular shark became clearer. Delicate pieces of fossilized cartilage that made up the fin bones lay dark in the light colored stone as if drawn in charcoal.  The outline of a shark was clear despite the damage of time. The head had the delicate features of eye sockets but the mouth was a mangled mess of alien teeth. The teeth were alien because they weren’t stereotypically shark-like at all.  The Ptychodus genus this shark belonged to is known for having flat, knobby plates of teeth. These teeth were used to crack open shell fish rather than shred the flesh of soft fish or marine mammals. The Ptychodus is just one example of the evolutionary radiation that sharks have shown through time, adapting to different ecological niches while staying sharks. 

Another fossil shark I’ve seen with such intimate detail came from Lebanon, this shark showed the same delicate shape but in oranges and reds.  Fossil sharks flattened into the substrate they’re found in appear almost like paintings, mere depictions of life in an ancient world but fossils also give us important information.  Shark fossils show us the wide range of sharks that have lived and also under what environments they thrived. Fossils so much older than humanity also put our species into a greater context and call for humility.    

Visit any reef system in the world and snorkel or SCUBA long enough and you’re likely to eventually encounter a shark.  Small sharks are mostly shy, hiding under the ledges of coral or slipping away around a rock at the approach of noisy humans.  Seeing sharks move with grace through the water is always a thrill, no matter the size of the animal. 

<a href="https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/sharks-rays/sharks">Smithsonian</a> reports that there are over 500 species of shark alive today and most of them are quite harmless to people.  The largest shark, the whale shark measuring over 39 feet long, is also one of the most harmless sharks. The whale shark is unique in being a filter feeder, living on almost microscopic organism floating in the ocean, similar to the diet of whales.  Half the species of shark in the world are small, less than about three feet long and are obviously not man-eaters either. Sharks are actually incredibly diverse in where they live and what they eat, not all of them are hanging around beaches waiting for surfers.  

Sharks are found in deep, open seas as well as in shallow waters near land as well as protected reef systems and kelp forests, even under polar ice.  Sharks take many forms, and the hammerhead is a well-known oddly shaped shark but the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frilled_shark">frilled shark</a>, living in deep cold waters with an eel-like body is just as strange.  The goblin shark is so odd it’s hard to describe. Sharks with their wide diversity and broad ranges are unsurprisingly very important to the health of the ocean.

Mostly sharks are predators in the ocean.  Being a predator naturally limits your population numbers.  If you were to visit Africa, you may notice there are far fewer lions, leopards and cheetahs than zebras, antelope or wildebeest.  The reason is simple – there must be more prey animals to feed a population of predators. If there are more predators, they’ll quickly eat all of the prey and then starve, destroying both animals.  There is one caveat to this rule – it really only holds for endotherms (commonly warm blooded animals). If you’re an ectotherm (or ‘cold-blooded’) you don’t need to eat as often, so there can be a larger number of predators compared to prey.  There are many more spiders compared to the insects they prey on than lions compared to the animals they eat. When this insight is applied to sharks, it shows how unhealthy many marine ecosystems are. 

<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-24/sharks-help-keep-coral-reefs-healthy-researchers-say/8736762">New research</a> shows that larger shark numbers mean healthier reefs.  Instead of decimating populations of reef fish, sharks actually promote biodiversity as keystone predators.  Sharks also may play a role in promoting health in corals. Unfortunately, humans as rude upstarts are damaging the ancient lineage of sharks.

<a href="https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/sharks-rays/sharks">Smithsonian</a> reports that shark finning for soups popular in Asia kill an estimated 100 million sharks a year.  Unfounded fear also promotes shark killing, such as the shark culling in Australia. Overfishing, climate change, pollution and agricultural run-off all hurt the oceans, which the sharks are an integral, part of as well.  Whether sharks will survive humans and the chaos we cause or if we’ll kill off our ancient cousins is a decision we must make together. Sharks could easily survive another 100 million years if we let them.        

--

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>

Sharks have resiliently adapted to a changing world

Sharks have resiliently adapted to a changing world. People think...

Ingredients in dog and cat foods now include some pretty exotic sounding meats.  Salmon is common in pet treats. Bison, deer and elk can all be found in different dog foods.  Even alligator, rabbit, and quail have found their way into dog bowls in the US. Many of these foods capitalize on the idealized image of a wolf and seem to use the idea that you’re feeding wildness in your canine companion.  One potential dog food ingredient goes a bit further, as the government of Botswana has proposed using elephant meat in pet foods. 

Botswana currently has the world’s largest population of wild African Elephants.  <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/22/botswana-may-lift-elephant-hunting-ban-turn-culled-animals-pet/">The Telegraph</a> reports that the nation has long been considered a refuge amidst the poaching in other African nations.  Today, Botswana boasts elephant populations as large as 130,000 individuals. President Mokgweetsi Masisi tasked a government subcommittee with reviewing a potential lift on an elephant trophy hunting ban put into place by the previous president in 2014.  Recently, the subcommittee advised lifting the ban. Included in the proposal is one to establish a facility to process and can elephant meat, including to use for pet food.

The proposal suggests the lift of the hunting ban as a way to jump start Botswana’s safari industry.  The ban didn’t cover hunting inside of private and registered game ranches where hunting is instead carefully regulated.  It seems the use of elephant meat as pet food and potentially other products is only a suggestion to justify the waste of killing animals for mere sport.  The idea is that if elephants are made into food products, they’re killed for a greater purpose than a mere trophy. Easy justifications like this one all too often allow consumers to ignore the impact of their own actions.  It turns out that elephant meat is just one of several potentially questionable ingredients in pet foods on the market today.

<a href="https://www.petfoodindustry.com/blogs/7-adventures-in-pet-food/post/7385-pet-food-premiumization-drives-packaging-market-growth">PetFoodIndustry</a> reported in August of last year on the growing premiumization of pet foods in the United States.  Dry dog food is still the largest portion of food sold in the US and abroad, but refrigerated and frozen foods are growing in popularity.  In the US, dry pet foods make up 31% of total packaging sales, while wet and treat packaging each make up 28 and 27%. This trend is in contrast to much of the rest of the world, where dry pet foods are much more popular.  

A report in <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/americas-fancy-pet-food-addiction-contributing-climate-change-180964363/">Smithsonian</a> notes that pet food sales have doubled since 2000.  <a href="https://www.petfoodindustry.com/blogs/7-adventures-in-pet-food/post/7385-pet-food-premiumization-drives-packaging-market-growth">PetFoodIndustry</a> suggests that this trend is part of a humanization of pets.  People seem to be more empathetic towards their pets than ever, which can’t be entirely bad.  However, buying high end foods for dogs and cats does have its consequences.

A study published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0181301">PLOS One</a> by researcher Gregory Okin in 2017 showed that of the more than 163 million cats and dogs in the US, meat consumption creates a real impact.  Animals raised for food create <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/agriculture-reduce-non-co2-emissions/">greenhouse gases</a> and often create conflicts between ranchers and wild animals like bison or wolves. Grains and other foods used to feed livestock further increase the environmental impact of animal consumption whether you’re a human eating a steak or a dog with a bowl of kibble.  

<a href="http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2018/02/petfood_sustainability/">Some experts</a> have calculated that a medium sized dog can have the same annual environmental impact as an SUV.  Gregory Okin’s research shows that consumption of dog and cat food products are annually responsible for the creation of 64 ± 16 tons of CO2-equivalent methane and nitrous oxide, both greenhouse gases in the US.  

<a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/americas-fancy-pet-food-addiction-contributing-climate-change-180964363/">Smithsonian</a> points to the growing trend of foods and treats to use prime cuts of meat instead of organ meats or other by-products of livestock production.  Americans are generally more particular about the food they consume than their animals are – don’t believe it? When’s the last time you saw a dog getting into a trash can?  By insisting on buying premium meat for our furred companions, we’re inadvertently contributing to more livestock being slaughtered for food while morsels like organs are perfectly acceptable for cats and dogs.  Some pet food producers are even trying out vegan pet foods as a solution.

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/jun/26/pet-food-is-an-environmental-disaster-are-vegan-dogs-the-answer">The Guardian</a> reported in June 2018 on a new vegan pet food called <a href="https://wildearth.com/">Wild Earth</a> then undergoing tests.  Wild Earth uses koji, a fungi the company claims contains a full protein and has a 3,000 year history of consumption by humans.  The company is also developing lab created meat that would culture animal cells for consumption without the need for slaughter. The same process is being researched for humans, but Wild Earth anticipates their lab cultured mouse meat for cats to reach the market first because of less-restrictions on animal foods.  Some pet nutritionists are suspicious of the vegan pet food, pointing out that although it’s possible to feed a dog vegetarian, it must be done very carefully. 

Cats on the other hand are obligate carnivores, eating very little besides meat.  A vegetarian diet for a feline might be very dangerous, indeed. With lab cultured meat, we enter uncharted territory and it’s extremely hard to anticipate the long reaching impacts at all.  Environmental impact of pets is largely a systematic one. 

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/18/americans-waste-food-fruit-vegetables-study">The Guardian</a> reported last year that Americans waste 15,000 tons of food each day. In 2014, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/19/meat-dairy-waste">The Guardian</a> was more specific, stating that households are wasting 570,000 tonnes [Sic] of fresh meat each year.  Globally this number equates to the meat of almost 12 billion animals wasted. These numbers make it clear that we don’t need another source of protein for our cats and dogs, whether it’s elephant meat or ancient fungi.  

In order to lessen the environmental impact of pet ownership, what we need is a system to use meat we already produce more effectively.  Whole categories of meat such as bone meal, organs, and other undesirable animal parts are eaten by people but would be eaten with few complaints by dogs and cats.  The problem is that often the meats are sourced in unethical and dangerous ways. As late as this month, <a href="https://pets.webmd.com/news/20180215/pet-alert-euthanasia-drug-found-wet-dog-food">WebMD</a> reported on FDA warnings that drugs used to euthanize animals have shown up in several brands of dog food.  Obviously meats with poisons in them are unacceptable as any type of food. 

The way we consume food is ever more complicated and the same is true for our pets.  The way forward is murky but it seems we already produce enough food; it’s a matter of making that system efficient at redirecting good food that’s less desirable to western consumers to animal food bowls.  There should be enough room for our companion animals as well as wild creatures if we work hard for it. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

What’s in your dog's food?

Ingredients in dog and cat foods now include some pretty...

A pesticide that is too toxic to be authorized for regular use was approved for “emergency” use last year by the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA). 

Last week, the agency reported that it had authorized the distribution of sulfoxaflor across more than 16 million acres of crops where bees are prevalent, despite the fact that the EPA considers the insecticide to be “very highly toxic” to them. 


Sulfoxaflor was approved for use on sorghum and cotton crops in 18 states. In 12 of these states, 2018 was the fourth year in a row that the EPA signed off on the same “emergency.”

Last year, an independent office within the EPA - the Office of the Inspector General - found that the emergency grants for the toxic insecticide does not account for threats to human health or the environment.

Nathan Donley is a senior scientist with the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/">Center for Biological Diversity</a>.

“Spraying 16 million acres of bee-attractive crops with a bee-killing pesticide in a time of global insect decline is beyond the pale, even for the Trump administration,” said Donley. “The EPA is routinely misusing the 'emergency' process to get sulfoxaflor approved because it's too toxic to make it through normal pesticide reviews.”


In the event that insects are causing widespread damage to crops, there is a loophole under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act that allows the EPA to authorize the temporary use of pesticides, even if they have not been approved for safety. Critics of this rule, including experts at the Center for Biological Diversity, argue that the EPA is abusing the privilege to continue the use of unapproved pesticides. 

“The EPA is far too eager to find loopholes to approve harmful pesticides when it should be focusing on keeping people and wildlife safe from those pesticides,” said Donley. “The routine abuse of emergency exemptions has to stop.”

Earlier this month, researchers at the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland warned that nearly half of all insect species worldwide are in a state of rapid decline. The experts found that a major reduction in pesticide usage will be critical for preventing a catastrophic collapse. 

The Center for Biological Diversity has detailed how the EPA routinely takes advantage of its power in the report: <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/pesticides_reduction/pdfs/Poisonous_Process.pdf">Poisonous Process: How the EPA's Chronic Misuse of 'Emergency' Pesticide Exemptions Increases Risks to Wildlife</a>. 
--

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>

Highly toxic pesticide was approved by EPA for use in 18 states

A pesticide that is too toxic to be authorized for...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE
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On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop and sunlight barely penetrates through the polar winter. It was here, however, that an international team of scientists found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predatory-worms-were-terror-beasts-half-a-billion-years-ago/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence of sea monsters</a> that would change our understanding of ocean life in the past.



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

<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;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<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



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<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



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

<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...

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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