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>.



-----



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



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



-----

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....

From the blue whale to the honey bee, all animals have at least one thing in common: we all sleep. 

While the exact definition of sleep differs depending on the species, and periods of inactivity for some animals can be as short as a few minutes, sleep is a core part of the everyday experience. 

Studies have shown that we need sleep and sleep deprivation has been linked to problems with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-deprivation-impacts-performance/">work performance, memory, cognition, and focus</a>.

Too little or too much sleep has been found to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-heart-disease/">increase the risk of heart disease</a>, and most people would probably admit that they don’t get as much sleep as they would like. 

But is sleep crucial to survival in the that way food and water are? 

This was the question asked by a team of researchers from <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/">Imperial College London</a> who conducted a lifelong sleep deprivation experiment using fruit flies. 

The results, published in the journal Science Advances, suggest that while sleep plays a vital role in wellbeing and cognition in humans, for male fruit flies at least, it is not essential to survival. 

“One of the reasons sleep is considered essential for life is that all animals sleep, so we were surprised to find some flies that needed so little,” said Giorgio Gilestro, a co-author of the study. “We wanted to find out if this was just a peculiarity for a lucky few flies, or whether it was something any fly could do.”

At the start of the study, the researchers observed fruit flies sleeping for as little as five to fifteen minutes per day. 

To examine the impacts of sleep deprivation on the flies’ lifespan, the researchers put a fly in a tube that would rotate if it detected a period of no movement lasting for 20 seconds. This rotation would wake the fly up and keep them active. 

Hundreds of flies were kept in individual tubes at a time with one fly per tube, and the researchers noticed that out of a 40-50-day lifespan, sleep deprivation did not cause males to die earlier than usual and females only died around three days earlier. 

When allowed to sleep again, the flies only slept a little longer than usual rather than making up for all the lost sleep in one long nap, which indicated to the researchers that the flies did not build up a sleep debt. 

The researchers concluded that for some species, sleep might not be as crucial to survival as previously thought.

“For food, we have calories that are ‘vital’ to keep us alive and calories that are ‘useful’ to help us function well,” said Gilestro. “It might be that sleep is only ‘useful’: it would still be difficult for us to function without it, but not necessarily fatal.”

Gilestro emphasizes that while the study shows sleep is not necessarily essential to survival, sleep deprivation is not without its consequences.  

“It's not that there are no consequences to not sleeping - in fact we will be investigating the effects on mental performance in flies in future experiments - but our study has made us question whether sleep deprivation alone causes death,” said Gilestro. 
--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Chronic sleep deprivation is not fatal for flies, study finds

From the blue whale to the honey bee, all animals...

The Bramble Cay melomys has been officially declared as “extinct” by the Australian government. Experts believe that this small rodent is the first mammal that has been wiped out as a result of human-induced <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a>. 

The rat-like rodent, Melomys rubicola, lived on the isolated island of Bramble Cay in northern Australia. First discovered in the 1800s, the melomys was considered to be the Great Barrier Reef's only endemic mammal species.

It is believed that 2009 was the last time anyone spotted a Bramble Cay melomys. Scientists from Queensland, who had previously concluded that the melomys was gone, said the extinction was “almost certainly” due to extreme habitat loss.

[caption id="attachment_1868305" align="aligncenter" width="633"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/bramble-cay.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1868305" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/bramble-cay.jpg" alt="" width="633" height="332" /></a> Bramble Cay melomys, Image Credit: QLD Government[/caption]

The researchers explained that the low-lying island has been exposed to “repeated episodes of seawater inundation.” As a result, the leafy plants used by the rodents for shelter declined by 97 percent between 2004 and 2014. A survey conducted in 2014 found no trace of the animals. 

After the decision to change the status of the melomys to extinct was announced on Tuesday, Queensland Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch told <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/">The Herald</a> that it shows that “we are living the real effects of climate change right now. How many more species do we have to lose for the federal government to take action?”


According to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/">Washington Post</a>, the Bramble Cay melomys is survived by the grassland melomys and two other melomys species. 

The current time period is often referred to as the Anthropocene, the Earth's six major mass extinction event. Scientists have discovered that thousands of species are currently in a state of decline, many of which are not even listed as endangered. 

--

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>

Human-induced climate change has claimed its first mammal

The Bramble Cay melomys has been officially declared as “extinct”...

A team of researchers from the <a href="http://www.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk/">School of Life Sciences</a> has discovered a stickleback fish that successfully delivered offspring from eggs that were fertilized while they were still inside of her. This represents the first-ever discovery of internal fertilization and the development of babies inside of a species that normally lays eggs.

The experts collected the fish, which was nicknamed “Mary,” during an expedition to the Outer Hebrides to gather wild sticklebacks. The three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is a small fish that can be found in the Northern Hemisphere in both salt and freshwater. 

Typically, the male sticklebacks build nests and attract females to lay their eggs inside by performing a zig-zagging dance routine. The male chases the female away, fertilizes the cluster, and then guards and nurtures the eggs for around two weeks until they hatch.

Mary was close to death when her unusual pregnancy was noticed, and the researchers made the decision to put her to sleep and deliver the near-complete embryos by Caesarean section. The team successfully delivered 54 embryos, which hatched and grew to adulthood. The experts found that the offspring could be bred in normal aquarium conditions.

“We were astounded at what we found when we examined Mary in our lab in the Outer Hebrides,” said Dr. Laura Dean. “She looked like an ordinary egg-bound fish so we couldn't believe it when we found she had almost completely developed embryos inside her ovaries. This is pretty much unheard of in an egg laying species. The embryos were perfectly healthy, not deformed in any way, and most have gone on to live a normal adult lifespan."

This abnormal type of reproduction in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fish-recognize-reflection/">fish</a> can occur in three possible ways. The first possibility was that the fish cloned herself, and the second was that may be hermaphroditic with both male and female sex organs.

“We were able to rule these two possibilities out because, in parthenogenesis, her offspring would have been genetically identical to the mother, or, if hermaphroditism, they would have only had versions of genes that she had, with no genetic input from anywhere else. So, we did some very simple genetic testing on the offspring and found that they had versions of genes that Mary didn't have and so must have had a father,” said Dr. Dean.

“Our theory is that somehow sperm had got into the fish, fertilized the eggs and they developed into normal two-parent embryos. What has probably happened is that she has gone into a nest to lay her eggs where another female had already laid her eggs which had been covered with sperm by a male stickleback. Somehow some of the sperm in the nest must have got into Mary, presumably through her egg tube, and fertilized the eggs inside her but she never laid the eggs.”


[caption id="attachment_1868300" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/offspring.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1868300" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/offspring.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="525" /></a> Mary's offspring, Image © Dr. Laura Dean[/caption]

“Although this almost accidental find revealed a vanishingly rare phenomenon, it might help us to understand a really important change that has happened throughout the tree of life,” said Professor Andrew MacColl. “Most animals lay eggs, but some (including almost all mammals, but few fish) retain their eggs inside and give birth to live young. Although this appears to be a difficult thing to achieve in evolution, this one little fish seems to have got there almost by itself!”

The researchers are now actively looking for more female sticklebacks who display the same type of pregnancy. They are exploring the idea that this phenomenon may be an indication of an evolutionary or genetic change in the reproductive mechanism of the species.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/scientificreports">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image © Dr. Laura Dean

Female fish delivers offspring after eggs are fertilized inside of her

A team of researchers from the School of Life Sciences...

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> conducted one of the largest field experiments to investigate the Darwinian theory that species located in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tropics-widening-predicted-rate/">tropics</a> and lower elevations interact more with other species than anywhere else in the world. And, as stated in <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>, the team ultimately proved the theory true.

"Theory predicts that interactions among species — like predation and competition — will be strongest in the warm, productive, biodiverse ecosystems of the tropics and at low elevations," said lead author Anna Hargreaves, formerly of the <a href="https://biodiversity.ubc.ca/">UBC Biodiversity Research Centre</a> and currently a professor at <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/">McGill University</a>.

“For example,” she continued, “the spectacular diversity of tropical trees is thought to result partly from stronger interactions between plants and the animals that prey on their seeds, which shapes how and where plants grow and adapt."

To test this theory, the international team of researchers left seeds outside for 24 hours to see how many would be consumed by animals. They dropped a total of seven thousand seed beds across 70 sites from Alaska to the Equator.

After several go-throughs of the same experiment, the team found that seed consumption/predation increased 2.6% for every 10 degrees latitude toward the Equator. Furthermore, seed consumption increased 0.4% for every 100-meter decline in elevation.

Overall, seed predation increased 17% between Alaska and the Equator and 17% from 4,000 meters above sea level to sea level.

"These interactions form the basis of how ecosystems function and the direct benefits of those ecosystems to human society," said team member Santiago David, a PhD student at UBC. "Understanding global patterns in key interactions between species, such as seed predation, is essential when we think about managing or restoring the ecosystems, especially in the face of climate change."

Researchers also found that this large-scale pattern is being driven by the smallest of animals — mainly insects and invertebrates.

Compared to a similar study that found that attack rates of clay model caterpillars increased in lower latitudes, Hargreaves noted that “invertebrates [appear to] play an outsized role in the community dynamics and evolution of tropical and lowland ecosystems.And yet we know relatively little about invertebrates, for example, how climate change is affecting their populations."

The team will now use fake caterpillars alongside seeds to see if this theory remains true for other forms of predation.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Interaction between species is greater towards the tropics, lowlands

Researchers from the University of British Columbia conducted one of...

Researchers observed golden snub-nosed monkey infants being nursed by a monkey other than its mother during a five-year field study. 

While this behavior, called allomaternal nursing, is not unheard of among mammals in the animal kingdom including humans, this is the first time the behavior has been reported among Old World monkeys. 

Over five birth seasons, researchers observed groups of golden snub-nosed monkeys in the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve in central China. 

Allomaternal nursing was observed frequently among the groups, and the researchers reported that 40 out the 46 infants studied nursed from one or more females other than their mothers. 22 out of 46 infants nursed from two or more females. 

Infants were nursed by other group members most commonly during the first three months of their lives, and females related to the infant like a grandmother or aunt were more likely to share nursing duty. 

It was a reciprocated behavior, and the researches noticed that 90 percent of the allomaternal mothers nursed another mother’s infant if that female had previously nursed their own infants. 

The research was backed by the <a href="http://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a> and published in the journal Science Advances, and the study helps provide insight into the role of allomaternal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orangutan-breast-feeding-evolution/">nursing in human evolution. </a>

It’s an energy-consuming behavior that takes a toll on non-mothers but is beneficial both to mothers and their infants, as the researchers noticed that infants who were allonursed had a higher chance of survival. 

Four out of the six infants that were only nursed by their mothers died. 

The researchers theorize that allomaternal nursing evolved as a way to ensure infant survival among animals that have strong family-based support networks. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Zuofu Xiang

Golden snub-nosed monkeys nurse the young of other females

Researchers observed golden snub-nosed monkey infants being nursed by a...

A study led by <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/">Binghamton University</a> has found that cold temperature variability is just as important as global warming for projecting the negative impacts of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-summer-weather-severe/">climate change</a>. Cold temperatures are consequences of climate change that are often overlooked. 

The research team investigated the effect of climate change on amphibian health, with an emphasis on their susceptibility to contaminants and parasites. Instead of focusing on the effect of rising temperatures, the researchers focused on the effect of cold and variable temperatures.

The analysis revealed that cold temperatures make amphibians more susceptible to road salt but less susceptible to parasites. Study co-author Jessica Hua explained that the findings highlight the importance of considering cold-temperature variability, and not just warming temperatures, when evaluating the impacts of global climate disruption.

“There is a lot of misconception that global climate change only refers to an increase in warming temperatures,” said Hua. “We feel that the research in this paper is important because it highlights that global climate change is more complex than just an increase in average temperature. In fact, global climate change is also predicted to increase the prevalence of extreme cold temperature events, as well as increase the amount of variation in temperature fluctuations.”

Study lead author Matthew Wersebe from the University of Oklahoma pointed out that many people overlook the impact of climate change on plants and animals.

“We all recognize that climate change is one of the most serious issues facing us today. However, as much as it is recognized as a serious concern for people, the impacts to animal and plant populations is much less front and center,” said Wersebe. “Along with this, many studies only consider warming, or changing patterns of water availability on natural systems, and not the impact of the variability in the short-term that is also expected with climate change. Studies like these are critical to understanding the full impacts of climate change.”

The researchers found that amphibians exposed to constant cold conditions as embryos were more susceptible to road salt contamination, but were able to recover with age. This is particularly relevant because the use of road salt will increase during extreme cold weather events. 

Amphibians exposed to cold temperatures as embryos were also found to be smaller as they aged, and were slower to develop. This actually made them less of a target for parasites because their miniature size made them less attractive. 

“We initially predicted that exposure to cold temperatures would be stressful to developing embryos. As a consequence, we expected that exposure to stressful conditions early in life would make amphibians less able to deal with other stressors later in life (i.e. parasites),” said Hua. 

“We were also surprised because past studies have found that cooler temperatures can increase amphibian susceptibility to another parasite (the fungus, chytrid). In this case, the negative effects of the cooler temperatures on amphibians are driven by the fact that the fungus survived better in cooler temperatures.”

It is difficult to say whether the impact from the cold was harmful or helpful for the amphibians.

[caption id="attachment_1868279" align="aligncenter" width="640"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/wood-frog-embryos.jpeg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1868279" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/wood-frog-embryos.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="480" /></a> Wood frog embryos, Image Credit: Jessica Hua[/caption]

“In some cases, exposure to cold temperatures was harmful. For instance: exposure to cold temperatures during the egg phase made young tadpoles more susceptible to road salt,” said Wersebe. “However, if we allowed these tadpoles to grow older, we found that exposure to cold temperatures during the egg stage no longer mattered for their susceptibility to road salt (i.e. older tadpoles were able to overcome the negative effect of embryonic exposure to cold).”

“Exposure to cold also made amphibians smaller - this is potentially harmful to amphibian populations because smaller amphibians have fewer offspring and this can over time potentially contribute to populations declines. Amphibian populations are declining globally, so considering the effects of cold temperatures may be important in understanding how to protect this imperiled group of animals.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20457758">Ecology and Evolution</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cold temperature variability: An overlooked effect of climate change

A study led by Binghamton University has found that cold...

Slow-moving sharks are preparing to strike, just like in the movies. A new study from the <a href="https://www.nipr.ac.jp/english/">National Institute of Polar Research</a> in Japan has found that sharks slow down dramatically when they are hungry and ready to pounce on their prey. The research, which monitored sharks for up to 37 hours at a time, suggests that the slow, charging pace of the shark in the film Jaws is actually quite realistic.

After tagging eight <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/great-white-shark-genome/">great white sharks</a>, the researchers discovered that the fish traveled at exceptionally fast speeds. When the sharks were ready for feeding, however, they were observed moving sluggishly. 

For example, as the sharks approached a seal colony, they were recorded moving more slowly than what would be energy efficient for them. This behavior suggests that the sharks were stalling while they selected the best seal to attack. 

“This strategy is as close to a ‘sit-and-wait’ strategy as is possible for perpetual swimmers, such as white sharks,” said Professor Yuuki Watanabe.

Sharks are unable to pump water through their gills, so they have to keep swimming to stay alive. In order to obtain the oxygen they need, they swim through the ocean with enough energy to force the water through their gills.

The experts tagged sharks off the coast of the Neptune Islands in Australia to examine how fast they usually travel. They witnessed the sharks slowing down to a speed that was completely unexpected because it would be so costly in terms of energy. The findings suggest that catching a nutrient-rich seal is worth the energy that is spent. Slow-moving sharks are preparing to strike, just like in the movies


“Overall, our results support our hypothesis that white sharks aggregating near seal colonies adopt slow speeds that may be optimized to increase encounter rates with fast-swimming seals while reducing swimming costs,” wrote the study authors. 

The research 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

Slow-moving sharks are preparing to strike, just like in the movies

Slow-moving sharks are preparing to strike, just like in the...

The first time I saw bioluminescence in a fish, it was easy to think I might just be imagining it.  It’s never truly dark in the summer of Alaska and as I sat amid Rhinoceros Auklet burrows, the light was something like twilight.  The small, dead fish I held in my hand was taken from a parent auklet bringing food to her chicks. We took few samples so that the chicks still ate enough, but the research could conceivably impact how these birds were managed by government agencies like the one I was interning with.  I paused from my work to stare at the fish. The researchers I was working with confirmed that the fish was glowing, an interesting effect from very small organisms found in the ocean. Much more impressive night-time displays of marine bioluminescence can be found in other parts of the world.  

A friend of mine once visited Puerto Rico and told me of seeing the whole ocean alight with moving, tossing, glowing life in waves.  According to the <a href="https://www.si.edu/">Smithsonian Institute</a>, glowing marine organisms live throughout the water column from the seafloor to the crest of waves.  Glowing ocean animals also live from near the shore to far out in the open sea. 

Bioluminescence is often used as a form of communication and is very common in the ocean, and given the size of the sea, may even be the most commonly used form of communication.  That said, bioluminescence is not always so noticeable. Much like the tiny fish with a faint glow I saw in Alaska, many glows are too faint to notice. With the increase in human made lights on the ocean and especially on shore, oceanic bioluminescence is even harder to see.  Natural light from the moon also makes it hard to notice the glow sometimes. Even with these obstacles, there are a few places in the world where bioluminescence is so prevalent that it’s become something of a <a href="https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/eco-tourism/stories/5-incredible-places-where-the-ocean-glows">tourist attraction</a>.  

Puerto Rico, where my friend saw bioluminescence, along with Malta, Japan, Florida, California and Taiwan all boast their own night time spectacle of bioluminescent tides.  Researchers in Taiwan particularly looked at the bioluminescence of the Matsu Islands in Taiwan with an eye towards predicting a season for the spectacle and attracting tourism.

Since there is so much bioluminescence in the ocean, it’s no surprise that there are many different species that glow.  <a href="http://www.imas.utas.edu.au/zooplankton/image-key/noctiluca-scintillans">Noctiluca scintillans</a>, a dinoflagellate, not technically either animal or plant, was responsible for the glow on the Matsu Islands.  Dinoflagellates are phytoplankton and N. scintillans looks like a tiny (0.2 to 2mm) jellyfish.  The dinoflagellate eats its food rather than producing it through photosynthesis as a plant would, catching prey with tentacles.  N. scintillans glows when it’s disturbed, and this means if it’s attacked or if a boat passes through a group of the dinoflagellate, the ocean will appear to glow.  In the case of glowing tides, the disturbance is merely the movement of the water against land and rock. Other dinoflagellates glow as well. In <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/11/san-diego-bioluminescence-glowing-surf-california">California</a>, the dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedra, has been found to cause glowing tides as well as the phenomena known as red tide.

Red tide is caused by large accumulation or organisms like these dinoflagellates.  Often called algal bloom, the red tide is actually caused by many different organisms, including dinoflagellates, diatoms, protozoans and algae.  These organisms are preceded by upwellings of nutrient dense water from deep in the ocean, sometimes caused by storms or seasonal temperature changes.  

Red tide can be devastating.  This rich soup of organisms creates many chemicals that are toxic for many larger animals.  As we reported in 2018, Florida was hit by one of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/red-tide-kills-sea-life/">worst cases of red tide in a decade</a>.  At least 400 sea turtles were poisoned by the red tide as well as fish, seabirds and other animals caught in the toxic algal bloom.  About 100 miles of Florida coast were affected by the red tide. The accumulation of toxins in the red tide even made beach goers cough and caused their eyes to water, according to one report from <a href="https://weather.com/science/environment/news/2018-07-28-florida-fort-myers-red-tide-dead-animals-turtles">Weather.com</a>.  It’s amazing that something so ugly during the day could look so beautiful at night.  Glowing tides aren’t always dangerous and bioluminescence certainly is not.

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/11/san-diego-bioluminescence-glowing-surf-california">The Guardian</a> reports that the organisms responsible for that state’s red tide in May also caused incredible night time bioluminescence without being toxic.  There are many different species of dinoflagellates and other organisms glowing at night in the sea, some of them are poisonous and others are relatively harmless.  The reasons for the glowing isn’t entirely understood. Some feel that the light is meant to distract animals trying to prey on the glowing dinoflagellates. Other organisms like the nightmarish <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/bizarre-mating-practices-anglerfish/">anglerfish</a> live in constant darkness and use bioluminescence to lure prey to them.  Some squid use bioluminescence to <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2007/02/giant-squid-use-bioluminescence-to-hunt-prey-communicate/">communicate as well as to hunt</a>.  

Bioluminescence all seems to come from one chemical: luciferase.  The word has the same root as ‘lucifer’ which simply means ‘light bearer’.  Luciferase is simply an enzyme that when exposed to oxygen creates light. There are different varieties of luciferase and they’re controlled differently in different organisms.  In squid, the animal doesn’t even create luciferase itself, and is instead host to micro-organisms that glow for them. Some bioluminescent organisms can control the color and brightness of the light they produce.  

Under the sea, the process is similar to what happens inside fireflies.  Fireflies themselves are amazing animals and have been observed coordinating their lights together by the thousands.  Whole trees and hillsides flash in the dark where this happens and we don’t know exactly why, just like we don’t fully understand the dazzling display in the oceans all around us.    

The whole sea is speaking one organism to another in a language older and broader than humanity, and all we can really fathom is the simplest point of its eloquent beauty.             

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Bioluminescent Tide: What makes the ocean glow

The first time I saw bioluminescence in a fish, it...

The entire genome of the great white shark has been decoded in a major scientific breakthrough and an important step in conserving the declining species. 

Great whites are an apex predator known for their immense size. Some sharks can grow up to 20 feet long and weigh 7,000 pounds. 

Despite their huge and intimidating presence in the ocean, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predator-replacing-great-white-sharks/">great whites are declining</a>, and more effort is needed to ensure the preservation of the species, including understanding how the species evolved and adapted the way it did.

[caption id="attachment_1868075" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/great-white-shark.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1868075" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/great-white-shark.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></a> Image Credit: Byron Dilkes, Danah Divers[/caption]

Researchers from <a href="https://cnso.nova.edu/save-our-seas/index.html">Nova Southeastern University's Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Research Center</a>, <a href="https://www.vet.cornell.edu/">Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine</a>, and <a href="https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/">Monterey Bay Aquarium</a> sequenced the entire great white genome in a new study. 

The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

The genome of the shark itself is 1.5 times bigger than the human genome, and the researchers discovered many genetic changes that could explain how the shark evolved to be such a long-living and fast healing predator. The key is genome stability.

Repetitions of specific DNA sequences within the shark's genes indicated molecular adaptation which is essential in protecting DNA against damage. The repetitive sequences were found in genes linked to DNA repair. 

“Decoding the white shark genome is providing science with a new set of keys to unlock lingering mysteries about these feared and misunderstood predators - why sharks have thrived for some 500 million years, longer than almost any vertebrate on earth,” said Salvador Jorgensen, a co-author of the study.

The researchers also found evolutionary adaptations in genes that could be responsible for wound healing and specifically blood clotting. 

“Genome instability is a very important issue in many serious human diseases; now we find that nature has developed clever strategies to maintain the stability of genomes in these large-bodied, long-lived sharks,” said Mahmood Shivji, the co-leader of the study. “There's still tons to be learned from these evolutionary marvels, including information that will potentially be useful to fight cancer and age-related diseases, and improve wound healing treatments in humans, as we uncover how these animals do it.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Byron Dilkes, Danah Divers

Decoding the great white shark genome reveals key adaptations

The entire genome of the great white shark has been...

The most obvious and iconic of nocturnal birds is the owl.  Perhaps the most widely recognized owl is the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus), with its regal feathered ‘horns’ and its distinctive hooting call. Ironically, the Great Horned Owl is also one of the less nocturnal owls.  

I’ve seen Great Horned Owls just after sunset near the boundary of Colorado National Monument as well as nested in trees in the morning in South Dakota and Arizona.  I found it a little odd how many times I’d seen Great Horned Owls while never seeing a barn owl, for instance. When I learned that Great Horned Owls are incapable of seeing in absolute darkness and prefer crepuscular hours, it made sense.

Crepuscular animals are those, like mosquitoes, that are most active in the early morning and early evening hours.  Barn owls (Tyto alba), on the other hand, have more finely tuned senses and can hunt in absolute darkness, capturing mice in laboratories only by sound.  Barn owls are eerily pale, with round white faces punctuated by dark alien eyes. It seems that the unique dish shaped face prominent on the barn owl is perfect for funneling sound and amplifying the bird’s hearing.  It isn’t always just sound that allows birds to find their way in the dark, though.

The Northern Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) is a very different bird than any owl.  The Kiwi is covered in shaggy brown fur-like feathers useless for flying but great for keeping the bird insulated.  The bird looks like little besides a brown fluff ball with a long beak protruding. The <a href="http://www.waza.org/en/zoo/visit-the-zoo/ostriches-and-relatives/apteryx-mantelli">World Association of Zoos and Aquariums</a> reports that the brown kiwi has very poor eyesight, able to see less than a meter in daylight and only two meters at night.  Instead, the Northern Brown Kiwi lives nocturnally by smelling with nostrils uniquely placed at the tip of their long beaks. Living with limited senses and no ability of flight probably works so well for the kiwi only because historically there were few predators to harm it in New Zealand where it’s native.  Other birds adapt their behavior to their environment as well.

I remember distinctly an eerie view from my first trip to Alaska.  On the tiny island of Middleton is the decaying remains of a military installation.  One of the buildings is a tall radar tower where kittiwakes nest in the hundreds. The inside of the tower has been retrofitted as a wildlife biology lab.  I spent the summer working as an intern for the US Geological Survey, collecting data on the kittiwakes and other sea birds. I was constantly reminded of the inscrutable nature of all the birds.  

Stepping outside of a tent in the middle of the night, you could always see kittiwakes riding gusts of wind, almost hovering around the old radar tower high above.  The birds hang in the air all night, coming, going, just moving enough to stay air-bound next to their nests. In Alaska, it’s relatively bright for most of the night, so it’s hard to call kittiwakes nocturnal, but seeing them active commonly at 1:00 am makes diurnal a stretch as well.  But it isn’t just birds that nest in the far north like kittiwakes or puffins. 

Birds like <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/young-emperor-penguins-survive/">penguins</a> that spend their lives far south are also active during hours you wouldn’t normally consider typical for diurnal animals.  Antarctica, much like the Arctic, redefines what a day and what a night is into longer stretches of time than we are used to in temperate regions.  Fairy penguins (Eudyptula minor) the only species of penguin I’ve seen in the wild are clearly diurnal since their range is relatively north compared to many penguin species.  I startled a fairy penguin on a beach in Tasmania after the smallest penguin had come out of the water towards her nest. The penguins spend the day fishing and return only after dark to their burrows.  Since Fairy Penguins are seen by humans usually only after dark, the rumor that they’re nocturnal persists. Other northern penguins such as the Galapagos Penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus) are also diurnal.  The line between nocturnal and diurnal is blurry in plenty of birds.

The Black-Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) and other night herons are beautiful birds, even if they have rather stumpy necks and smaller bodies for herons.  Interestingly, the bird is most active at night but can also be seen often during the day, although it’s less energetic during daylight hours.  I’ve seen night herons near a pond in a city park in Arizona quietly standing alone in the day, staring at the water and barely moving. Other birds are more hardcore nocturnal animals with even more interesting adaptations than the famous owls.

The <a href="https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/p_p_spp/overview?p_p_spp=223931">Oil Bird</a> (Steatornis caripensis) is one of the strangest birds.  In terms of lifestyle, the oil bird has more in common with bats than most of its feathered cousins.  The oil bird is found in northern South America and the large, tropical island of Trinidad. Like parrots, the oil bird is a frugivore but eats almost exclusively oily rather than sweet fruits.  If the concept of an oily fruit seems odd, imagine an avocado, one of the most common oily fruits. The oil bird accumulates much of this oil within their bodies and their chicks are described as being quite fat, for this reason oil birds have been hunted for their oil rich bodies.  

Fortunately for oil birds, they’re not as obvious as parrots.  Oil birds are medium sized birds of a reddish-brown color accentuated by white speckles and bear large, black eyes.  If you’re lucky you can find an oil bird sitting in a tree on a night hike in the tropical rainforest. However, oil birds mostly nest in caves, the largest colony known of being in Venezuela where 10,000 to 18,000 birds nest in the same cave.  Oil Birds are also one of the only birds to use <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-use-echolocation/">echolocation</a> to navigate at night, very much like bats.                  

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Nocturnal birds prefer different times of night

The most obvious and iconic of nocturnal birds is the...

In an attempt to save the species, researchers have managed to create an embryo using the sperm of a male northern white rhino that was collected before it died. 

There are only two <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/northern-white-rhino-died/">northern white rhinos</a> left in the world, and they are both females with issues that prevent them from carrying a baby to full term. The embryo will be implanted into a healthy surrogate, which will most likely be a southern white rhino.

The embryo is the last hope to save the northern white rhino. If the process is a success, the experts will use the same method to produce more offspring.

“First, we have to optimize the method of implanting the embryos,” said Jan Stejskal, a representative of the <a href="https://safaripark.cz/">Dvur Kralove Zoo</a> in the Czech Republic. “We expect to be close to perfecting the method in several months.”


The method that is being tested is a brand new approach that has been designed to protect both the embryos and the surrogates. As part of the research, a team led by Thomas Hildebrandt of the <a href="http://www.izw-berlin.de/welcome.html">Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research</a> has harvested egg cells from female southern white rhinos in zoos across Europe.


It was challenging to obtain the eggs from the large rhinos, which weigh about two tons, without harming them. The researchers developed a special instrument that included a needle for reaching the ovaries and an ultrasound camera to assist with the procedure. 

“It's a little bit like rocket science because there is no example which we can follow because we are the first in this field we developed everything from scratch,” said Dr. Hildebrandt.

The experts will work to perfect the process of implantation before proceeding because they cannot risk losing the egg cells of the only two remaining northern white rhinos.

--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

A new plan to save northern white rhino species using a surrogate

In an attempt to save the species, researchers have managed...

Australia’s changing human landscape is having an impact on the continent’s food webs – and not a good one. 

With the resettlement of indigenous Australians has come with a high rate of mammal extinction, the spread of invasive species, and other negative impacts on local food webs. Australia’s native mammals seem to be dying off faster in areas where humans have stopped interacting with the landscape altogether, said Dr. Rebecca Bliege Bird of <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a>.

"I was motivated by the mystery that has occurred in the last 50 years in Australia," Bird said in a press release. "The extinction of small-bodied mammals does not follow the same pattern we usually see with people changing the landscape and animals disappearing."

Bird and her team have been studying the Western Desert, where the Martu people traditionally lived and hunted. 

In the mid-1900s, the Martu were resettled to make room for a missile testing range. Over the short decades that they were absent from the land, several species went extinct. The desert food webs collapsed.

In the 1980s, the Martu returned to their traditional lands. They revived their hunting, gathering and controlled burning practices. Since their return, the ecosystems of the desert have stabilized. 

By looking at the food webs – which animals, including humans, prey on and eat other animals, and which species provide the food – Bird and her team found that indigenous hunters keep predators and invasive species under control.

"The absence of humans creates big holes in the network," Bird said. "Invading becomes easier for invasive species and it becomes easier for them to cause extinctions."

Bird and her team presented their research today at the <a href="https://meetings.aaas.org/">2019 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science</a> in Washington, D.C. Funding was provided by the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> and the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Indigenous hunters helped to balance Australia's food webs

Australia’s changing human landscape is having an impact on the...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE
</div></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



-----



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



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



-----

Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



-----



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



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



-----

Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



-----



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



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



-----

The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



-----



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



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



-----

What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



-----



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



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



-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



---



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



---



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



---



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



---



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



---



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

News coming your way