Dog owners are increasingly asking whether their pets can thrive without meat. A new analysis offers a nuanced answer: plant-based dry foods sold in the UK can deliver nutrition comparable to meat-based products.



However, most products of all kinds, including veterinary renal diets, fall short of industry nutrient guidelines.&nbsp;



The study, led by the <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Nottingham</a>, included laboratory testing of thirty-one dry foods labeled “complete,” a term that signals a product should provide all essential macro- and micronutrients for an adult dog.



The research team examined 19 meat-based diets, six plant-based diets and six veterinary formulations designed to be lower in protein for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-are-evolving-to-fit-the-modern-lives-of-humans/">dogs</a> with kidney disease. 



The team measured total protein, essential amino acids, fatty acids, vitamin D, all B-vitamins, and major and trace minerals, then compared those values with <a href="https://europeanpetfood.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European Pet Food Industry Federation</a> (FEDIAF) recommendations for adult maintenance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nutrition-from-different-dog-diets">Nutrition from different dog diets</h2>



Perhaps the most striking result is how closely plant-based and meat-based diets aligned for total protein and most essential amino acids.&nbsp;



The big differences emerged elsewhere. On average, vegan formulas provided less iodine and fewer B-vitamins than meat-based diets - shortfalls that echo what nutritionists often see in human plant-forward eating.&nbsp;



Crucially, these are straightforward formulation problems to solve. Iodine fortification and robust, bioavailable B-vitamin premixes can close the gap without changing the overall dietary philosophy.



According to study lead author Rebecca Brociek, while many people assume dogs “need meat” to stay healthy, biologically they just need nutrients in the right amounts and forms.



Thus, plant-based products “stacked up more closely to meat-based diets than expected,” even as both categories revealed some nutritional gaps. 



Similar studies in Brazil and Canada point in the same direction: properly formulated vegan diets can be a viable option for adult dogs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-complete-label-falls-short">The “complete” label falls short</h2>



While every food in the study met the guideline for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/taking-vitamin-d-supplements-may-add-years-to-your-life/">vitamin D</a>, very few met all targets at once. Just over half complied with essential amino-acid recommendations, fewer than one in five hit all mineral targets, and only a handful satisfied every B-vitamin requirement. 



In practical terms, 30 of the 31 products were missing at least one essential nutrient for adult maintenance. 



This does not mean a single bowlful is dangerous. Shortfalls accumulate over time. If iodine remains low, for example, the thyroid can struggle; if B-vitamin levels are chronically inadequate, energy metabolism and nerve function may be affected. 



The takeaway for manufacturers is clear: publish full nutrient profiles, test routinely, and fortify thoughtfully. For <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dog-owners-ages-and-beliefs-influence-their-pet-food-choices/">dog owners</a>, it is a reminder to look beyond marketing claims and, when possible, ask brands for detailed analyses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-medical-diets-and-dog-nutrition">Medical diets and dog nutrition </h2>



The veterinary renal diets in the sample illustrate a different kind of trade-off. These foods intentionally lower crude protein to reduce kidney workload, a valid clinical strategy. 



But the study found that two-thirds of these low-protein products also fell short on one or more essential amino acids.&nbsp;



That is not an indictment of renal nutrition; it is a formulation challenge. Even at reduced total protein, companies can blend higher-quality protein sources or add specific amino acids - lysine, methionine, tryptophan, and others - to maintain adequacy while meeting therapeutic goals. 



For dogs managing kidney disease, veterinarians remain the best guides; the solution here is better amino-acid balancing, not abandoning medical diets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-this-means-for-everyday-feeding">What this means for everyday feeding</h2>



For healthy adult dogs, the findings open space rather than close doors. A well-designed plant-based diet can be nutritionally adequate, provided it is properly fortified with iodine and a complete B-vitamin spectrum and meets amino acid and mineral targets.&nbsp;



Meat-based diets are not automatically superior; they must meet the same benchmarks. Labels that claim “complete” should be supported by transparent data, and pet owners can reasonably expect brands to share that information.



Every dog is an individual. Age, activity level, body condition, pre-existing conditions, and even <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-dogs-have-a-higher-risk-of-digestive-problems-like-diarrhea/">gut health</a> can shift needs and influence how well a dog absorbs and uses nutrients.



That is why regular veterinary checkups - ideally with periodic bloodwork for dogs on unconventional or therapeutic diets - remain the gold standard for catching problems early.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limitations-of-the-study">Limitations of the study </h2>



This research analysed nutrients in the lab; it did not follow dogs over months or years to track clinical outcomes. The study also focused on adult-maintenance foods rather than puppy diets, where requirements are higher and the margin for error is smaller. 



And while hitting a target on paper is essential, bioavailability can vary with ingredient sources, processing methods and the health of a dog’s digestive tract.&nbsp;



The authors call for long-term feeding trials and bioavailability studies, especially for plant-based and renal formulations, to connect lab values with real-world health markers.



These markers include body condition, muscle maintenance, thyroid and kidney function, skin and coat quality, and immune status.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-achieving-complete-nutrition-for-dogs">Achieving complete nutrition for dogs</h2>



The encouraging part is how fixable the shortfalls appear. Fortifying vegan recipes with iodine and comprehensive B-vitamin premixes, tightening amino-acid balance in low-protein therapeutic diets, and publishing batch-tested nutrient profiles would close most of the gaps identified.&nbsp;



For environmentally minded owners curious about lower-impact options, that matters. For veterinarians and formulators, it is a roadmap: engineer for nutrients, not narratives; verify with data rather than assumptions.



Brociek’s own conclusion captures the pragmatic spirit of the work. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-on-vegan-diets-stay-healthier-and-visit-the-vet-less-often/">Plant-based diets</a>, when properly formulated, can be a healthy and viable alternative to meat-based options. 



The next step should be long-term feeding studies. In the meantime, the message to the industry is straightforward. Whether the protein comes from chicken or chickpeas, the job is the same: deliver complete, bioavailable nutrition, prove it with transparent testing, and give owners the information they need to feed confidently.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0328506">PLOS One</a>.&nbsp;



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Meat or vegan? Scientists decide which diet is better for the all-around health of dogs

Dog owners are increasingly asking whether their pets can thrive without meat. A new analysis offers a nuanced answer: plant-based dry foods sold in the UK can deliver nutrition comparable to meat-based products. However, most products of all kinds, including veterinary renal diets, fall short of industry nutrient guidelines.&nbsp; The study, led by the University of Nottingham, included laboratory testing of thirty-one dry foods labeled “complete,” a term that signals a product should provide all essential macro- and micronutrients for an adult dog. The research team examined...

Engineers at the <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">University of California San Diego</a> are using bird feathers as a model to develop new adhesives and aerospace materials. The scientists are investigating how a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/2-billion-birds-migrate-gulf-coast/">bird</a> can capture air for lift with the underside of a feather, while using the top  to block air out for descent.

Research co-authored by Tarah Sullivan, who has a Ph.D. in Materials Science, is the first in nearly 20 years to take a detailed look at the general structure of bird feathers. Using 3D-printed structures, the experts imitated the vanes, barbs, and barbules of a feather to better understand these properties.

Sullivan is part of a team led by Marc Meyers, a professor in the Departments of Nanoengineering and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC San Diego.

“Professor Eduard Arzt, our co-author from Saarland University in Germany, is an amateur pilot and became fascinated by the 'bird wing' problem. Together, we started doing allometric analyses on them and result is fascinating,” said  Professor Meyers. “This shows that the synergy of scientists from different backgrounds can produce wonderful new understanding.”

The study revealed that the small structures that connect feather barbs, which are known as barbules, are spaced within 8 to 16 micrometers of one another in all birds species. This means that the spacing must play an important role in flight.

“The first time I saw feather barbules under the microscope I was in awe of their design: intricate, beautiful and functional,” said Sullivan. “As we studied feathers across many species it was amazing to find that despite the enormous differences in size of birds, barbules spacing was constant."

Sullivan has built prototypes, which she will describe in a follow up paper, to show how various materials designed to mimic a bird feather could be used for aerospace applications as well as adhesives. 

“We believe that these structures could serve as inspiration for an interlocking one-directional adhesive or a material with directionally tailored permeability.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: University of California San Diego

Bird feathers may be the new Velcro, inspiring new adhesives

Engineers at the University of California San Diego are using...

A study led by astrophysicist Adrian Melott at the <a href="https://ku.edu/">University of Kansas</a> may finally solve the mystery of what happened to the giant megalodon, a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/young-sharks-tougher-skeletons/">shark species</a> that vanished around 2.5 million years ago. 

Roaming the seas for millions of years, Megalodon was the largest shark and one of the most powerful predators in history. The enormous animals grew up to 60 feet in length and weighed as much as 100 tons.

When the famous fossil hunter Vito “Megalodon” Bertucci set out to reassemble a megalodon jaw, the project took him almost 20 years to complete. The result was the largest jaw ever reconstructed, measuring 11 feet across and almost 9 nine feet high. 

Scientists could never explain why the massive species suddenly disappeared, but the new study proposes that an exploding star may be responsible. The researchers explain that energetic particles from an exploding star would have increased the flow of atmospheric particles called muons by several hundred times. 

“We find that the radiation dose from the muons will exceed the total present surface dose from all sources at depths up to 1 km and will persist for at least the lifetime of marine megafauna,” wrote the study authors. “It is reasonable to hypothesize that this increase in radiation load may have contributed to a newly documented marine megafaunal extinction at that time.”

Muons are created when cosmic rays collide with atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere, where they travel at the speed of light and rain down on the planet from every angle. 

“While still preliminary, these results may provide clues as to what may have led to the demise of O. megalodon during the Pliocene,” wrote the researchers.

“Cooling of ocean temperatures during the Pliocene would have constrained the species to lower latitudes where ocean temperatures were warmer, whilst its preferred prey (e.g., whales) evolved traits to adapt to cooler temperatures of the higher latitudes.”

“Therefore, large climatic shifts combined with evolutionary limitations may provide the ‘smoking gun’ for the extinction of the largest shark species to ever roam the planet.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://astrobiology.com/">Astrobiology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

An exploding star may have killed off the shark megalodon

A study led by astrophysicist Adrian Melott at the University...

Pit bulls are often perceived to be an aggressive breed which affects both the animals and their owners through breed-specific legislation, housing restrictions and social disapproval. While dog bite statistics are often used to justify this viewpoint, animal advocates warn that these statistics often do not show the full story.

Pit bulls first came under the spotlight in the 1980s when news stories proliferated about pit bull attacks. These stories inspired the passage of laws to cprohibit and regulate certain breeds of dogs living in a municipality, often called breed-specific legislation.

One <a href="https://www.dogsbite.org/pdf/1979-1988-dog-bite-related-fatalities.pdf">study</a> on dog bite-related fatalities from 1979 to 1988 found that pit bulls were the most common breed involved in fatalities. A subsequent <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10997153">study</a> found that pit bulls and Rottweilers represented over half of dog bite fatalities between 1979 and 1998.

But animal advocates argue that certain factors can affect dog bite statistics. For one thing, pit bull is not a breed of dog. The term “pit bull” describes a category of dogs who have similar characteristics- similar to terrier and shepherd dogs. Breeds such as the American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier and Staffordshire bull terrier are often lumped into this classification, along with other breeds of dogs that simply resemble pit bulls. Therefore, studies that analyze dog bites may be inflating the numbers of pit bulls by including multiple breeds of dogs.

Victims and witnesses of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/anxious-people-bitten-dog/">dog bites</a> may also inadvertently misidentify the breed of the animal. A<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26403955"> study</a> of shelter staff and veterinarians found that the participants over-identified dogs as pit bulls. Only 25 pit bull-type breeds were used in the study, yet participants labeled 62 dogs as pit bulls.

Additionally, victims may be more likely to report dog bites from breeds they deem dangerous over less intimidating breeds. A<a href="https://www.savemarylandpets.org/sites/default/files/files/basic/dogbite.pdf"> report</a> by the Task Force on Canine Aggression and Human-Canine Interactions state, “Dog bite statistics are not really statistics, and they do not give an accurate picture of dogs that bite. Invariably the numbers will show that dogs from popular large breeds are a problem. This should be expected, because big dogs can physically do more damage if they do bite, and any popular breed has more individuals that could bite.”

The breed most associated with pit bulls- the American pit bull terrier- has a<a href="https://atts.org/breed-statistics/statistics-page1/"> temperament score</a> of 87.4%. The breed’s temperament is found by having trained evaluators score individuals for signs of panic, avoidance and aggression. The American pit bull terrier ranks higher than the average overall rate of 83.4% and higher than beloved species such the Golden retriever and Siberian husky. The Staffordshire bull terrier ranks even higher at 90.9%.

PetMD<a href="https://www.petmd.com/dog/breeds/c_dg_american_pit_bull_terrier"> describes</a> the American pit bull terrier as “noted for its playful temperament and friendly nature.. and has a strong desire to please people.” Despite their affectionate nature, pit bulls have struggled to recover from their negative stigma.

Recent studies examining dog bite statistics identify factors that may predict dog attacks more accurately than breed information.<a href="https://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/javma.243.12.1726"> Studies</a> show that improperly confined, unsterilized male dogs who have been mismanaged or abused are more likely to attack. A person’s ignorance on interacting with and identifying dog behavior may increase the chances of an attack. Multiple studies have also found that children are at an increased risk of being bitten.

The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC) and the <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/">American Bar Association</a> suggest non-breed specific, dangerous dog laws over breed-specific legislation stating that emphasis should be placed on responsible ownership. The <a href="https://www.avma.org/">American Veterinary Medical Association</a> and <a href="https://nacanet.site-ym.com">National Animal Care and Control Association</a> also stand against breed-specific legislation.

Understanding the risk factors associated with dog bites can help identify and prevent dangerous incidents. As the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals<a href="https://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-policy-and-position-statements/position-statement-pit-bulls"> states</a>, “All dogs, including pit bulls, are individuals. Treating them as such, providing them with the care, training and supervision they require, and judging them by their actions and not by their DNA or their physical appearance is the best way to ensure that dogs and people can continue to share safe and happy lives together.”

--

By <a href="mailto:brianna.grant134@gmail.com">Brianna Lynne</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Pit bull bite statistics do not always show the full story

Pit bulls are often perceived to be an aggressive breed...

Under a reciprocal wildlife agreement, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is set to transfer a small population of mountain gorillas to Zimbabwe.  Observers are concerned about this exchange of wildlife, which is supposed to help strengthen gorilla populations. 

The transfer is part of a reciprocal agreement between Zimbabwe and the DRC, with <a href="http://zimparks.org/donation-of-10-white-rhinos-to-the-democratic-republic-of-congo-drc/">Zimbabwe transferring 10 white rhinoceros</a> to the DRC.  The transfer of the rhinos has been criticized as well.  It’s unknown where the rhinos will end up in the DRC, a country with a history of violence and instability that has threatened its own population of rhinos.       

Zimpark, the official park system of Zimbabwe, has previously sold animals, including elephants to China to be put on display in zoos.  The government of Zimbabwe says the same thing won’t happen with the gorillas but outside wildlife advocates are unconvinced. 

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jul/02/outrage-alleged-plan-export-rare-animals-democratic-republic-congo-china-gorillas-endangered-species-zoos">The Guardian</a> reported last year that a letter from the DRC’s environmental minister to a Chinese company referring to a request for endangered species to be put on display in China was leaked.  The letter was posted on Twitter by environmental activists and makes requests for specific animals. The Chinese company asked for 12 mountain gorillas, 16 bonobos, 16 chimpanzees, 8 African manatees and 20 okapi.  The Okapi is an animal related to the giraffe but appearing more zebra like to a casual observer. 

All of these animals are threatened with extinction and Bonobos are found only in the DRC.  The request was apparently made for a zoo in Eastern China. These animals would necessarily be captured in the wild, as the DRC doesn’t have them in captivity already, much less any population bred in captivity.  The DRC government responded to the outcry by environmental advocacy groups stating that no agreement has been finalized with China and the deal is being evaluated under CITES, an international trade agreement restricting the sale and trade of endangered species.  

The fear of these animals being exported for display in China feeds greater fears over the rising power of China in Africa.  I’ve personally seen the quick pace of development that Chinese money can spur in Africa. In places like Equatorial Guinea large modern cities with new high rise buildings can lie within fifty miles of villages made of huts with no electricity or running water just being connected to roads within the last few years.  In Madagascar, I’ve also noticed large amounts of businesses being run by outsiders, including Chinese businesses. 

I recently talked to a paleontologist who works with crocodilian fossils in Kenya, he told me that development of roads by Chinese companies and engineers has made drives that once took 12 to 15 hours into 8 hour trips.  Development and money poured into Africa by China (and others) may sometimes have a local benefit but largely the idea is to take more than is put in. Some observers worry that as China wields a greater influence across Africa, wildlife will pay the cost.  

Adding to these fears, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/29/world/asia/china-rhino-tiger-poaching.html">The New York Times</a> reported in October that China has reversed its ban on the use of rhino and tiger parts in traditional ‘medicine’.  This fear is already partially realized in the trade of animals like pangolins for Chinese medicine but putting animals like gorillas on display in China could be just as detrimental.

The greatest fear for many wildlife advocates is that the transfer of gorillas, rhinos and other wildlife between Zimbabwe and the DRC is merely a smoke screen to allow their sale to China.    

<a href="https://conservcongo.wordpress.com/contact/about/">Conserv Congo</a>, the non-profit that leaked the letter between the DRC environmental minister and the Chinese company, seems especially concerned about the gorillas.  Quoting a UN report, they say that by the mid 2020s, gorillas could be gone from large areas of the Congo region. It’s a real possibility that the charismatic great ape could be extinct within our lifetimes, especially when government agencies are so quick to sell out their survival.       

<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/plan-to-ship-gorillas-from-drc-to-zimbabwe-raises-alarm/">Mongabay</a> reported that even if the wildlife transferred from the DRC is housed in Zimbabwe, it isn’t clear where exactly the animals will end up.  Nyanga, a high elevation area in Manicaland province, is a possibility but it isn’t suitable for the gorillas or the Okapi. It seems likely that the animals will end up in an outside zoo enclosure, a scenario not so much better than their captive display in China unless the animals bred successfully, supporting the growth or stability of wild populations.

Another great fear of transferring gorillas is the spread of ebola.  Gorillas carry ebola, a disease known from the equatorial region of Africa, including the DRC.  Moving gorillas around Africa could spread ebola with them, causing huge problems for humans and perhaps other wildlife in Zimbabwe.  <a href="http://www.thezimbabwenewslive.com/business-49919-ebola-fears-drc-plans-to-export-gorillas-okapi-to-zimbabwe.html">Zimbabwe News Live</a> cites local concern over ebola:

“Journalist Violet Gonda said Zimbabwe was “entering uncharted territory”. Noting that gorillas in particular were sensitive animals, she wondered: “Can Zimbabwe’s fragile health care system handle Ebola risks?...Sekuru Kurasha, on Twitter, said: “Seriously, there are so many other issues that need to be dealt with in Zimbabwe right now. Gorillas aren’t native to Zimbabwe, so leave them alone. You’re failing to combat cholera and now importing ebola? Bring Investors Not Gorillas!””   

Zimpark responded to fears over ebola by saying the great apes are tested for the disease before being brought to Zimbabwe.  There is one very good question raised though: why bring a wild animal that isn’t native into a country? Whether Africa or China, it seems little good can come to gorillas captured in the wild.  It also seems unlikely that white rhinos would fare well in the DRC, a country that’s lost their own rhinoceros population largely through poaching. 

<a href="https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2018/10/21/rhino-donation-raises-eyebrows/">The Standard</a>, a Zimbabwe news organization, reported in an article I can’t substantiate that one of the ten rhinos destined for the DRC was shot in captivity in October due to aggressive behavior towards a Zimpark employee.  The report comes from the British non-profit Bring Back our Rhinos, an organization also calling for an accounting of the death and the other rhinos set to be introduced into the DRC. Even if the rhinos are introduced successfully into the DRC, it seems unlikely that the government will be able to stop the country’s long term poaching problem.        

--

By <a href="http://mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

The trouble with ‘wildlife exchanges’ between African countries

Under a reciprocal wildlife agreement, the government of the Democratic...

Endangered whale sharks undergo periods of starvation. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/">University of Tokyo</a> are using a simple yet powerful technique to explore the diets, migrations, and conservation needs of endangered <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/whale-sharks-stay-home/">whale sharks</a>, which are the world’s largest fish. The study revealed that these giant creatures experience periods of starvation and eat more plants than previously realized. 

Whale sharks are filter-feeders that prey on microscopic food in tropical waters. They can grow up to 39 feet long and can weigh as much as 46,297 pounds, which is the equivalent of three African elephants.

The researchers closely monitored three whale sharks living in an aquarium and two whale sharks living in ocean net cages to measure their growth, diet, and overall health.

[caption id="attachment_1865275" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/whale-shark.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1865275" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/whale-shark.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="464" /></a> Image Credit: K. Sato, Okinawa Churashima Foundation Research Center CC-BY-NC-ND.[/caption]

“Whale sharks are one of the most exciting organisms to encounter for tourists and scientists alike, not just due to their sheer size, but also their grace and beauty. It is a privilege to unveil some of the mystery surrounding their lives,” said study lead author Alex Wyatt, who is a project researcher at the <a href="http://www.aori.u-tokyo.ac.jp/english/">Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute</a>.


In order to accurately interpret tissue isotope levels, the team collected blood samples to compare with tissue tests. 

“Similar to blood tests performed when you visit the doctor, we are able to assess the health of whale sharks based on the contents of their blood,” said Wyatt. “We combine blood tests and tissue isotope analyses to create an accurate health check for the animals.”Endangered whale sharks undergo periods of starvation

This complete health check was given to eight wild whale sharks off the coast of Okinawa, Japan. According to the results of the blood tests, several of the wild whale sharks had not eaten for weeks or months.

“Maybe they didn't encounter any food, or maybe they just do not eat while migrating long distances,” explained Wyatt.

The study also revealed that the whale sharks had eaten large amounts of plants and algae.

“This is a somewhat surprising and controversial finding, since whale sharks are generally assumed to feed strictly on higher levels of the food chain," Wyatt said. "However, some whale sharks have been found with seaweed in their stomachs and eating plants might make sense if feeding opportunities can become as limited as our blood tests suggest.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15577015">Ecological Monographs</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Endangered whale sharks undergo periods of starvation

Endangered whale sharks undergo periods of starvation. Researchers at the...

The discovery of a pack of wild dogs containing red wolf DNA is exciting news for biologists and conservationists who now have a rare opportunity to study genes from a long-since extinct species. 

The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tampa-zoo-endangered-red-wolf-pups/">red wolf</a> was officially declared extinct in the wild in 1980. But according to a report by the the <a href="https://www.apnews.com/41e2f719d14549f8b5b2d88149385a0e">Associated Press</a>, the pack of hybrids that live near the Texas Gulf Coast shows that even though the red wolf is extinct, its DNA lives on. 

Today, 200 red wolves exist in captivity as part of breeding programs, along with a pack of red wolves released into the wild as part of a population experiment in North Carolina. The experimental wild pack once numbered 130 in 2006, but habitat loss and hunting have driven the pack to all-time lows, and now only 40 wolves remain. 

The fact that so few remain from the experimental program and in captivity makes this latest discovery of the hybrid canines all the more noteworthy.

Biologists from <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton</a> are now in the process of studying the hybrid animals, and a recent study detailing their findings was published in the journal Genes.

“Overall, it's incredibly rare to rediscover animals in a region where they were thought to be extinct, and it's even more exciting to show that a piece of an endangered genome has been preserved in the wild,” Elizabeth Heppenheimer, a Princeton University biologist involved in the research, told the Associated Press. 

The researchers analyzed the genetics of the wild dogs found near Galveston, Texas and the results show that animals are a hybrid of coyote and red wolf, but more testing is required to fully understand the animal’s genetic makeup. 

 “We can get excited, but in my mind, we really need to let science do its due diligence to determine what this animal is,” Kim Wheeler, executive director of the <a href="https://redwolves.com/newsite/">Red Wolf Coalition</a>, told the Associated Press. 

Several factors led to the downfall of the red wolf, but hunting played a significant role in their extinction as farmers would often kill red wolves to protect their livestock.

The experimental population released in North Carolina met a similar fate and <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S Fish, and Wildlife</a> was accused of violating the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/">Endangered Species Act</a> by a federal judge after it was discovered that landowners were given authorization to kill red wolves encroaching on their land, even if the wolves posed no threat. 

The hybrid population will open up a new conservation debate as the rare wild red wolf DNA offers many exciting research opportunities but the Endangered Species Act offers little protection for hybrids. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Extinct red wolf DNA discovered in Texas hybrid pack of wild dogs

The discovery of a pack of wild dogs containing red...

We use <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-unlock-satellite-data/">artificial intelligence (AI)</a> in our day to day to lives perhaps more than we even realize, from Alexa to Siri to the wide array of “smart” technology we have in our homes, cars, phones, and businesses.

The amount of computation and training required for artificial intelligence systems is steadily increasing and modeling AI after the human brain is a significant challenge because of the human brain’s complex and vast neural network.

The <a href="https://www.darpa.mil/">Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)</a>, the Pentagon’s research and development department, has a plan to streamline this process and has recently put out a call for submissions to create a conscious AI robot modeled after insect brains.

The goal of the new project is to find a way to build small, easy to train, energy efficient AI robots. Insects are a great starting place because of even though they have limited processing and problem-solving abilities, they still have high levels of functionality within their environments.

“This AIE opportunity invites proposers to submit innovative basic research concepts aimed at understanding highly-integrated sensory and nervous systems in miniature insects and developing prototype computational models that could be mapped onto suitable hardware in order to emulate their impressive function,” <a href="https://www.fbo.gov/utils/view?id=bb2722b7974765cc9f4e93fea8efbacf">DARPA</a> said in a statement.

If DARPA could create an efficient AI insect model, it would be easy to then incorporate the AI into a conscious robot that thinks and acts like an insect.

Not only would an AI robot bug be more efficient and require less computational training, but it could also help unravel the mysteries of how the brain processes information and stores memory.

“Nature has forced on these small insects drastic miniaturization and energy efficiency, some having only a few hundred neurons in a compact form-factor, while maintaining basic functionality,” the DARPA announcement reads. “This research could lead to capability of inference, prediction, generalization and abstraction of problems in systematic or entirely new ways in order to find solutions to compelling problems.”

A $1 million prize will be issued to the winning proposal if they can successfully prove that they can create an insect AI model.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

DARPA looking to build conscious robots modeled after insect brains

We use artificial intelligence (AI) in our day to day...

Three new species of groundwater salamander have been discovered in Central Texas, including one species that is critically endangered. The researchers at the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a> also identified a known salamander species near Georgetown that is much more <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/critically-endangered-right-whale-spotted/">endangered</a> than experts had realized. 

The study authors are warning that the combination of more severe droughts and increasing water use in Central Texas is making groundwater salamanders “highly vulnerable to extinction.”

The groundwater salamanders of Central Texas exist in springs, underwater caves,  and channels deep within limestone rock. The salamanders help maintain the health of aquifer ecosystems as top predators. According to the researchers, the loss of these salamanders would compromise the delicate aquifer systems of which they are a critical part.

[caption id="attachment_1865223" align="aligncenter" width="1500"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Newly-discovered-salamander-species-already-at-risk-of-extinction.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1865223" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Newly-discovered-salamander-species-already-at-risk-of-extinction.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="900" /></a> Image Credit: Tom Devitt[/caption]

“Even if people do not care about salamanders, they care about maintaining the quality of the aquifer systems that provide most of Texas with its fresh water,” said study senior author Professor David Hillis. “Fortunately, what's good for the salamanders is also really good for the people. What we need to do to protect these salamanders also happens to be the exact same things we need to do to protect the water resources that ranchers, cities, homeowners and everybody else depend upon.”

One of the newly discovered species is a tiny, golden-colored salamander that lives only in a small area near the Pedernales River west of Austin. This salamander is critically endangered before it has even been named. 

The team also found that the Georgetown salamander has a much smaller range than experts had realized, which means it is far more endangered than previously thought.

“I think the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should review the status of all these salamanders in light of the new evidence,” said Professor Hillis. “They are part of the rich biological heritage of Texas, and losing these groundwater salamanders would be a huge loss for our state's biodiversity. Importantly, protecting these salamanders also means protecting the quality and quantity of fresh water that Texans rely upon.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Newly discovered salamander species already at risk of extinction

Three new species of groundwater salamander have been discovered in...

In a remarkable illustration of evolution by natural selection, African elephants are beginning to lose the tusks that make them so valuable to ivory poachers. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.kent.ac.uk/">University of Kent</a> are genetically analyzing the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/african-elephants-wrinkled-skin/">elephants</a> to better understand their modified traits.

During the Mozambican Civil War, nearly 90 percent of the elephants in the Gorongosa National Park were slaughtered as part of an ivory trade that helped to finance weapons used in the conflict. 

Once the 16-year war finally ended in 1992, the next generation of elephants had adapted a new way of protecting themselves. Around one-third of the female elephants born after 1992 were tuskless. Some of the elephants had no tusk at all, while others had tusks that grew much smaller than usual. 

Typically, less than four percent of elephants are born without tusks. However, when this minority group was overlooked by poachers, they gained a biological advantage and began mating. As the tuskless trait is passed along to new generations, the elephants will no longer be a primary target of poachers.

Dominique D'Emille Correia Gonçalves is a PhD student at the University of Kent.  

“The elephant population today is derived from most of the elephants who survived the war, where they were heavily poached for their tusks,” said Gonçalves.

“The key explanation is that in Gorongosa National Park, the tuskless elephants were the ones which eluded poaching during the civil war and therefore passed this trait onto many of their daughters. We could be talking about the removal of certain genes from the population.”

The evolutionary effects of poaching can also be observed in Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa, where 98 percent of the females are now tuskless.

“The prevalence of tusklessness in Addo is truly remarkable and underscores the fact that high levels of poaching pressure can do more than just remove individuals from a population,” Ryan Long, an assistant professor of Wildlife Sciences at the University of Idaho, told <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/">National Geographic</a>. “The consequences of such dramatic changes in elephant populations are only just beginning to be explored.”


The researchers are also using GPS tracking to study changes in their behavior, and to see how lacking tusks may affect their ability to feed and breed. 

Professor Long told National Geographic: “Some or all of these changes in behavior can lead to changes in the distribution of elephants across the landscape, and that is the major change that is likely to impact the rest of the ecosystem.”
--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Ivory poaching has caused elephants to begin to evolve without tusks

In a remarkable illustration of evolution by natural selection, African...

Record payment for tuna highlights decline of ocean fish. Once I travelled to Jamaica as part of a team making a documentary film about over fishing in that country. <a href="http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/caribbean-fisheries-threatened-by-overfishing-reef-decline_101359?profile=1373">The Jamaican Observer</a> reported in 2017 that fisheries throughout the Caribbean are threatened by overfishing and decline of the reefs that fish depend on. A report from the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/">IUCN</a> from 2017 showed that of 2,800 marine species surveyed 11% were threatened with extinction.  It’s easy to see this problem as one that can be changed by local governments of countries operating in relatively small patches of ocean.  

Unfortunately, things aren’t that simple.  Unlike islands, the Earth’s oceans are connected to each other in a global system.  The Jamaican fishermen I witnessed shirtless, gutting fish on beaches next to modest boats, blamed international fleets and pollution from large hotels for the decline in their fish numbers.  Those fishermen are of course also a part of the problem but they remain relatively powerless to confront the problem alone without international changes. In a horrible way, the poverty of hard-working Jamaican fishermen is connected directly to riches being made on tuna sales in Japan.

<a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/01/05/national/record-3-1-million-paid-toyosu-markets-first-new-years-tuna-auction/#.XDEXBFVKhPY">The Japan Times</a> reports that a ‘sushi entrepreneur’ recently paid a record ¥333.6 million (roughly $3 million US) for a tuna weighing about 612 pounds.  Kiyoshi Kimura, the man who won the bid for the fish, is the owner of a sushi restaurant. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/05/tuna-sells-for-record-3-million-in-auction-at-tokyos-new-fish-market.html">CNBC</a> reports the Kimura paid twice what he paid for a similar fish six years ago.  The rising price is directly connected to the increasing rarity of tuna, especially of this size. Record payment for tuna highlights decline of ocean fish

The fish was an endangered bluefin tuna. According to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/09/01/547903557/countries-pledge-to-recover-dwindling-pacific-bluefin-tuna-population">NPR</a>, the bluefin population was just 2.6% of historic numbers in 2017, that’s a population drop of more than 97%.  Mexico, Japan, Korea and the U.S. have all exceeded tuna quotas within recent years. <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/04/20/pacific-bluefin-tuna-population-has-dropped-97-percent-new-report-says/">Mercury News</a> reports that Japan owns a lion’s share of the blame though.  80% of bluefin tuna caught worldwide are consumed by Japan. In fact, Japan has been known in recent years to fish over a bluefin quota created by international consensus, as reported by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/24/japan-criticised-exceed-bluefin-tuna-fishing-quota">The Guardian</a>.  

The heart of the problem seems to be something like the classical environmental conundrum, the tragedy of the commons.  When there is a financial incentive to take more than your portion of a shared resource, often people or groups of people overuse that shared resource.  In this case, the ocean’s fish are being depleted at an alarming rate because of every nation’s failure to fish at a sustainable rate and everyone loses.  In Japan, fisheries workers who ignore the restrictions on fish caught go largely unpunished, instead profiting from (illegal) fish sales. Other fisheries are following the same pattern of iniquitous overfishing.  

Japan has recently clashed with China over that country’s overexploitation of marine fishes.  <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-Relations/China-blocks-Japan-s-proposed-fishing-caps-on-saury">Nikkei Asian Review</a> reports that China blocked limits on catching Pacific Saury proposed by Japan at a meeting of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC) last year.  Pacific Saury is one of the most popular fish in China and lives off the coasts of Japan, <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/intense-summer-fires-in-arctic-russia/">Russia</a>, China and international waters in the Pacific throughout its life cycle.  The saury population is in steep decline with the NPFC reporting 266,000 tons of the fish caught in 2017, the lowest catch since 2000. Many blame the low numbers on overfishing, but China argued that the data to support overfishing as the cause of decline isn’t there.  This type of denial seems to be the norm for international overfishing, where each group of fishermen blames other fishing groups or other causes for the fish population crisis. The truth is overfishing both legally and illegally is incredibly common throughout the world’s oceans today.

<a href="https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-trade/chinese-vessel-detained-by-us-coast-guard-fishing-for-salmon-with-illegal-driftnets">Seafood Source</a> reported last year on a Chinese fishing vessel captured for suspected illegal fishing by the U.S. Coast Guard.  This type of illegal fishing isn’t uncommon as fish populations drop and desperation among many fishermen increases.  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/09/the-dark-fleet-global-fishing-watch-shines-a-light-on-illegal-vessels">The Guardian</a> reported in June 2018 on a ‘dark fleet’, fishing vessels unmonitored and unregulated on the high seas across the world.  About two thirds of the high seas fishing, which is hard to monitor is carried out by only four countries, Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea.  According to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/30/world/asia/chinas-appetite-pushes-fisheries-to-the-brink.html">New York Times</a>, 90% of the world’s fisheries are already fully exploited or ready to collapse.  China is a leading cause of that problem too.

Chinese vessels travel as far afield as off the coast of Peru or West Africa where many fishermen head to sea in unmotorized dugout canoes and hand nets.  It’s fishermen like these as well as those in Jamaica and the world over that will suffer from mechanized overfishing by global fleets. 

According to a paper in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2017.00050/full">Frontiers in Marine Science</a>, Chinese vessels cost several West African economies $2.3 billion a year.  That is a lot of money for groups of people many of which have no regular access to electricity or indoor plumbing, living on very little money by western standards.  Illegal fishing is estimated to account for the equivalent of 65% of legal, reported fishing in much of West Africa. Fishing is not only a major food source in western Africa but also supports approximately 7 million jobs.  Chinese and other international fishing vessels have literally been stealing food from Africa as well as threatening fish with extinction. 

In September of last year, <a href="https://chinadialogueocean.net/4239-china-cracks-down-on-illegal-distant-water-fishing/">China Dialogue</a> reported that the Chinese government seems to finally be hardening punishment for overfishing from vessels working far from China itself.  For the first time, the Chinese Department of Agriculture released a list of vessels penalized for overfishing in 2017. The list included a vessel that illegally fished in Ecuador’s Galapagos Marine Reserve, the hull of the ship contained endangered species including hammerhead sharks.  20 of the crewmen on the ship were sentenced to prison for 1 to 4 years. Some fishing vessels and captains were then blacklisted, banned from fishing by the Chinese Department of Agriculture. 

The change in publishing stiff punishment and banning fishermen from working on Chinese vessels is encouraging.  If the world’s fish are to be saved, the whole world must be on board. Unfortunately, history shows a tendency by rich nations to rob the earth and the poor for short term gains.  Willingness in Japan to pay $3 million US for an endangered tuna but not forgo a food for the world’s future shows that we have a long way to go. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer        

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Record payment for tuna highlights decline of ocean fish

Record payment for tuna highlights decline of ocean fish. Once...

Bees are not the world’s only disappearing pollinators. 

Essential pollinators like butterflies, honey bees, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mice-birds-bats-pollination/">bats, and hummingbirds</a> all face an increasing number of threats including habitat loss, climate change, and disease which are impacting biodiversity and populations. 

Without pollinators, the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/pollinators/what-is-a-pollinator.htm">world’s food supply would suffer</a> and ecosystems would quickly collapse. 

The use of pesticides and other pest deterrents on crops and habitat loss due to agricultural operations have put a great deal of pressure on pollinators to find other sources of food and plants to pollinate. 

But now, a new study had found that community and residential gardens could offer a lifeline to pollinators and could help efforts to conserve and protect pollinating insects. 

The research was conducted by researchers from several academic institutions across the United Kingdom and published in the journal Nature Ecology. The study is the first of its kind to consider cities as a whole and their potential impacts on pollinator conservation. 

According to the research, both residential gardens and community gardens benefit pollinators, and the researcher found that plants like lavender, dandelions, and thistles attract pollinators and serve as important food sources. 

The researchers also developed a way to measure pollinator “robustness” to help identify which communities of pollinators are most at risk of population declines and which pollinators are more adaptable to environmental changes. 

Robustness is a way to measure how well a community responds to species loss. Some pollinator communities can adapt to losing certain species, but other communities are more fragile. 

Having a measurement of community robustness for pollinators will help with conservation efforts and identify which pollinators need the most attention and management. 

“Rather than simply asking about how management affects the number of pollinator species or their abundance, we also ask how potential strategies affect the ability of pollinators to cope with species losses associated with environmental change,” said Jane Memmott, a member of the research team. “A good management intervention leads to more sustainable communities.”

Overall, the researchers found that gardens in cities could help sustain pollinator populations and the study offers several recommendations for managing urban and residential greenspaces to best benefit pollinators. 

Some of the team’s suggestions include managing public greenspaces to specifically benefit pollinators, increasing the number of community gardens, and planting pollinator-friendly plants like lavender that will attract more pollinating insects.

“By understanding the impact of each urban land use on pollinators, whether it's gardens, allotments, road verges or parks, we can make cities better places for pollinators,” said Katherine Baldock, the lead researcher for the study. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com </a>

Image Credit: Nadine Mitschunas

Better city greenspace management could help struggling pollinators

Bees are not the world’s only disappearing pollinators. Essential pollinators...

While the idea of using insects as a protein-rich food alternative is growing into a multi-million dollar industry, experts at the <a href="https://www.slu.se/en/">Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences</a> are warning that there is “an overwhelming lack of knowledge” regarding the sustainability and safety of the production process.

The study authors are exploring many unknown aspects of insect rearing and the potential environmental impacts, yet they believe that suppliers can overcome these challenges. 

“As the global demand for protein grows, insect mass-rearing can play an important role in the future of food,” said study first author Åsa Berggren. “We know that we can't keep doing what we're doing in terms of producing food and utilizing the land.”

The concept of insects as food has great potential to become a renewable and environmentally friendly source of protein, but the researchers emphasize that there are many basic questions that must be answered to guarantee the sustainability of the industry before it grows further.

“Otherwise, we risk replacing one environmental issue with another,” said Berggren. “Though the industry is in its infancy, some companies are getting bigger, and doing well, and the risks will come along with that.”

One of the most urgent questions revolves around unwanted systems products. For example, the full impact of mass-rearing <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/insects-eco-friendly-protein/">insects</a> in countries where these species do not occur naturally is not yet known. These insects could escape and cause major damage to the ecosystem, which Berggren described as a potential “climate catastrophe.”


According to the experts, the industry is still young enough that there should be plenty of time to conduct proper research and tackle these issues. 

“Insects have the potential to be a good, sustainable, useful food source, but it's not as simple as rearing them and then that's it,” said Berggren. “There is a lot of effort that needs to be put in to research.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/home">Trends in 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

Will insects become a safe and sustainable global food source?

While the idea of using insects as a protein-rich food...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex
</div></figure>







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

<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



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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