In India, snakebites kill more people than anywhere else in the world. Estimates range between 46,000 and 60,000 deaths each year. Most victims live in villages, far from hospitals, and work outdoors in fields. For them, a bite often turns fatal before help arrives.



Now, scientists say this danger is likely to spread. A study led by Imon Abedin from the Dibru-Saikhowa Conservation Society in Tinsukia shows how climate change could shift where snakes live. 



Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns may push <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/man-is-bitten-over-100-times-by-cobras-and-mambas-leading-to-the-creation-of-a-universal-antidote/">venomous species</a> into new regions, exposing communities that have little experience with snakebites.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-threats-from-venomous-snakes">New threats from venomous snakes</h2>



Four species cause most serious bites in India. Farmers and doctors know them well: the spectacled cobra, common krait, Russell’s viper, and saw-scaled viper. 



Together, they are called the Big Four. Their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-snake-day-2025-protecting-natures-silent-guardians/">venom</a> is deadly, and their wide reach makes them responsible for the bulk of human cases. These snakes thrive in varied environments, from crowded villages to farmlands and forests, increasing the chance of human encounters almost everywhere.



Researchers wanted to know what happens when the climate reshapes where these snakes can survive. They built models to predict future ranges and combined them with social data, like poverty levels and access to hospitals. 



The outcome is a risk index that shows which districts could face higher dangers in the coming decades, highlighting how environmental shifts and human vulnerability together create new threats.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-change-is-pushing-snakes-north">Climate change is pushing snakes north</h2>



The models suggest a major shift. Northern and Northeastern states may see more of the Big Four in the future. 



Central and southern areas may see less, but that doesn’t mean the problem disappears. Dense populations and weak healthcare still keep risk high there.



“Climate change is altering snake species' geographic ranges, resulting in expansions, contractions, or shifting ranges. Such changes may increase human-<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/universal-antivenom-to-heal-all-snakebites-is-closer-to-reality/">snake</a> interactions across rural and urban areas, presenting new challenges for public health and medical management,” the authors note.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rising-risk-of-snakebites">Rising risk of snakebites</h2>



The study points to Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, and Uttar Pradesh as likely trouble spots. These regions already face challenges like poverty, large rural populations, and limited medical facilities. 



If snakes expand into new areas here, deaths could climb sharply. Even a small rise in bites becomes deadly when hospitals lack antivenom or trained staff.



This overlap of biology and social weakness creates hotspots. It’s not only about where snakes go. It’s about how well people can respond once they arrive.



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



The researchers acknowledge that their predictions aren’t perfect. Data on snake sightings is patchy, especially in remote rural areas. 



Land use changes, deforestation, and growing cities add more uncertainty. All of this makes it hard to predict exact future ranges.



Still, the warning stands. Climate is shifting, and with it, the likelihood of humans and snakes crossing paths. For rural families, this means a danger they already know too well could spread further.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-snakebites-as-public-health-crisis">Snakebites as public health crisis</h2>



Snakebites are already listed as a neglected tropical disease, and the new findings show why the problem cannot stay ignored.



“This is the first study in India to integrate climate-based species distribution models with socioeconomic vulnerability and healthcare capacity,” the authors said. “It shows that climate change is not just an environmental crisis but it’s also a looming public health crisis.”



The researchers argue that preparation must begin now. India needs more reliable antivenom, better supply chains, and stronger rural healthcare. 



Education can also help farmers avoid dangerous encounters. Training health workers, improving local clinics, and spreading awareness through schools and communities are equally important.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-snakebites-in-a-changing-climate">Snakebites in a changing climate</h2>



Quick access to treatment can save lives, but only if hospitals are equipped and medicine is available. Rural regions, where most <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cobra-venom-just-became-less-deadly-thanks-to-a-common-drug/">bites</a> occur, need special attention because distance and poverty often delay treatment. 



Without such steps, climate change could turn an existing crisis into something far worse.



The lesson is clear: snakebites are not just about snakes. They are about people who farm, children who play outside, and families who live close to fields and forests. They are about poverty that limits options and health systems already stretched thin. 



As the climate changes, those cracks will only widen, leaving millions more exposed to needless suffering unless action is taken quickly and decisively.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0013464" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases</a>.



-----



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



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



-----

Climate change is pushing venomous snakes into new regions

In India, snakebites kill more people than anywhere else in the world. Estimates range between 46,000 and 60,000 deaths each year. Most victims live in villages, far from hospitals, and work outdoors in fields. For them, a bite often turns fatal before help arrives. Now, scientists say this danger is likely to spread. A study led by Imon Abedin from the Dibru-Saikhowa Conservation Society in Tinsukia shows how climate change could shift where snakes live. Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns may push venomous species into new...

The remains of a new species of pterodactyl from 200 million years ago have been discovered in the desert of Utah. With vampire-like fangs and a wingspan of about five feet, the creature was the largest-known early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pterodactyls-didnt-fly-bats/">pterodactyl</a> species.

The flying reptile was named Caelestiventus hanseni, which is Latin for “heavenly wind.” C. hanseni existed by a lake in modern-day Utah during the Triassic Period between 201 and 210 million years ago, when North America was much hotter than it is today.


Prior to this discovery, the other known pterodactyl specimens of this time frame were all recovered in regions such as Greenland and the UK. The new fossil provides evidence that pterodactyls were widely distributed across the planet.

Professor Brooks Britt is the lead author of the study and a paleontologist from <a href="https://www.byu.edu/">Brigham Young University</a> in Utah.

“In the latest Triassic, this area of North America was more arid and hot than it is today, indicating C. hanseni could cope with extreme desert conditions,” said Professor Britt.

Pterodactyls were a very successful and dominant species for over 160 million years, surviving a mass extinction around 200 million years ago that wiped out about half of the world's species. Also known as pterosaurs, these extinct flying creatures were the first vertebrates to evolve the ability to fly.

Study co-author Fabio M. Dalla Vecchia is from the <a href="http://www.icp.cat/index.php/ca/">Institut Català de Paleontologia</a> in Spain.

“Triassic pterosaurs are rare - only 30 specimens have been found to date, including single bones,” Vecchia told <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/">Newsweek</a>. “Desert-dwelling pterosaurs are extremely rare. Before the discovery of this pterosaur, the oldest desert-dwelling pterosaur was from rocks of Cretaceous age, about 130 million years old. Caelestiventus is about 205 to 210 million years old.”


C. hanseni is thought to be one of the largest Triassic pterosaurs, and quite possibly the largest, based on the length of its skull and its wing span. Some pterosaurs that followed had wingspans of up to 35 feet, while others were as small as a sparrow.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Michael Skrepnick

New pterodactyl species identified from Triassic Period

The remains of a new species of pterodactyl from 200...

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Cancer is a result of mutations over time – as we get older, our cells have more chances to make mistakes when they divide, and some of those mistakes result in the growth of cancer. This is one of the reasons why cancer rates have increased as the average human lifespan increased.

It’s estimated that 17 percent of humans globally die from cancer. But one biological discovery that has left scientists scratching their heads is that only 5 percent of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/captive-elephants-shorter-lives/">captive elephants</a> – who also have a lifespan of about 70 years – ultimately die from cancer. To add to this perplexity, elephants also have roughly 100 times as many potentially cancerous cells as humans.

In an effort to better understand this discrepancy, independent research teams from the <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago</a> and the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> began to investigate. They both found that elephants have 20 times more copies of the tumor suppressor gene p53 compared to humans. This gene allows our cells to recognize unrepaired DNA damage, which is a precursor of cancer. The gene then initiates cell death so this damaged cell cannot replicate. With more copies of p53, elephant cells are much more sensitive to damaged DNA and quicker to initiate cellular suicide.

But while studying p53 in elephants, the University of Chicago team found a former pseudogene called leukemia inhibitory factor 6 (LIF6) that had evolved a new on-switch. 

“Genes duplicate all the time,” says Vincent Lynch, PhD, an assistant professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago and senior author of the study. “Sometimes they make mistakes, producing non-functional versions known as pseudogenes. We often refer to these dismissively as dead genes.”

By “returning from the dead,” LIF6 had become a valuable working gene. When activated by p53, it responds to damaged DNA by killing the cell, thus preventing cancer. Elephants have eight LIF genes, but only LIF6 is known to be functional, and the scientists believe it has been functional for a long time. 

“We can use the tricks of evolution to try to figure out when this defunct gene became functional again,” explains Lynch in the paper published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/home">Cell Reports</a>. They believe it emerged back when the elephant’s ancestors were the size of a groundhog, but were beginning to grow bigger. This occurred about 25 to 30 million years ago, and the functionality of LIF6 allowed elephants to effectively grow to gigantic sizes, as cancer only becomes more prevalent in larger-bodied animals. “Large, long-lived animals must have evolved robust mechanisms to either suppress or eliminate cancerous cells in order to live as long as they do, and reach their adult sizes,” says Juan Manuel Vazquez, a doctoral candidate in the Lynch laboratory and study co-author. 

The discovery of this former pseudogene is just the beginning of much more research to come. Scientists are still unclear as to how LIF6 induces cell death, but the mechanism will be the focus of their continued study.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Eleanor Yarisse

Zombie gene in elephants sheds light on new way to stop cancer

Cancer is a result of mutations over time – as...

With the possible exception of vegetable gardeners, to whom they are anathema, most people probably view <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/caterpillars-tea-kettles-attacked/">caterpillars</a> as benign, if slightly icky, creatures. 

Eric Carle’s classic children’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar probably best encapsulates popular perceptions of the larvae of Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths. They mindlessly chew their way through the available vegetation, fattening up until they pupate and emerge as beautiful winged adults. 

Most caterpillars—perhaps 99%—do follow some version of this pattern. However, a select few have carved out more savage predatory niches. These enfants terribles are hardly sluggish tubes of flesh. They range from devious and manipulative to outright raptorial.

The Lepidoptera are more known for their defenses—venomous spines and hairs, and plant-derived toxicity—than for their capacity for violence. But some have evolved to fill niches that require a bit of wet work. Perhaps 200 species of Lepidoptera produce predatory larvae. There’s a spectrum of behavior in predatory caterpillars. Some retain a relatively pastoralist lifestyle, merely browsing on aphids and scale insects or <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep03922">their sugary secretions</a>, known as honeydew. Others are mutualistic with, or parasitic upon, ants. Certain species are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1365-2311.2001.00377.x">cannibalistic</a>. Some scavenge dead insects. And others still actively prey upon living insects, notably in Hawaii.

A number of hypotheses have emerged to explain the transition from herbivorous to carnivorous behaviour. Cannibalistic species may have evolved due to a tendency for some groups to eat their hatched eggs as well as sterile or unhatched eggs in the same brood. Especially in cases where the <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/46489708/Cannibalism_of_parasitoid-attacked_consp20160614-12802-9mvfhu.pdf">cannibalism occurs on parasitized conspecifics</a>, which are as immobile as eggs, it’s easy to see how this leap may have been made. 

Caterpillars that feed on the same plants favored by scale insects and aphids would do well to avail themselves of the easy food the creatures provide. In some cases, omnivorous caterpillars like the orange bagworm moth Cryptothelea gloverii seem to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10493-005-1673-0">prefer plants that are infested with pests like scale</a>. Whether it be their sugary honeydew excrement or the creatures themselves, they’re nearly as available as the plants upon which they feed. So: why not? 

Add to that the protective services provided by ants, who often “farm” the same insects, and you have a recipe for evolutionary success. This <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Philip_Devries/publication/233820875_Singing_Caterpillars_Ants_and_Symbiosis/links/0912f50c789e2931d3000000.pdf">occurs in hairstreak, blue, and metalmark butterflies </a>(Lycaenidae and Riodinidae) and in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep03922">arctiid moths</a>. Some caterpillars have even adapted to assume similar roles to aphids and scale insects. They themselves produce honeydew and are cared for by ants. 

Through chemical signals produced by special organs and sounds that mimic the ant’s own, they manage to convince the ants that care for them and sometimes even to transport them to their nests and protect them until they metamorphose. Some of the sounds they produce have been found to be similar to those produced by queen ants, suggested that the caterpillars have coopted the sounds to encourage care by their hosts. Certain species of lycaenid butterfly, such as the European large blue (Phengaris arion), even use this strategy to gain entrance to ant nests and then eat ant larvae or pupae. 

While only one butterfly species, the <a href="http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/harvester_butterfly.htm">harvester</a> (Feniseca tarquinius) and one species of moth, the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep03922">pearly-winged lichen moth</a> (Crambidia casta) are reported as carnivorous in continental North America, the evolutionary separation of the Hawaiian islands has provided a crucible for the formation of numerous species of predatory caterpillars. Here, the predatory strategies have evolved significantly. These little loopers aren’t parasitic, like the myrmecophilous or ant-loving species. Nor do they restrict their consumption to largely stationary insects like scales and aphids. They actively hunt for prey. 

The Eupithecia moths of Hawaii <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/bf00218529">demonstrate this most dramatically</a>. They look like regular inchworms at first glance, with legs on the anterior and posterior sections and a loop of a body between. Using their hindlegs, they protrude from branches and leaves and wait for passing prey to touch their hind ends. Once an unfortunate insect or spider touches their derrierre, they rocket backwards and snag it with specially adapted, claw-like front legs. It is thought that this habit <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00218529">may have developed</a> due to a preference for high-protein pollen in ancestral species in combination with a defensive habit of snapping at attackers. The absence of large numbers of predatory insects such as mantids in Hawaii may have allowed them to exploit this niche. Unlike other Eupithecia species that have herbivorous diets, these species are rarely <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/289675.pdf">parasitized by wasps and may even eat them if they try</a>.

Another genus of moths, Hyposocoma, has several members that have <a href="https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/29681">evolved to eat snails</a>. The caterpillars use silk to ensnare the unsuspecting mollusks and then devour them. After they’re done with their al fresco escargot, they sometimes use the shells to decorate the silken cases that cover their rear ends. This is common practice in predatory caterpillars, many of which <a href="https://watermark.silverchair.com/aesa101-0689.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAAaowggGmBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggGXMIIBkwIBADCCAYwGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQM0hqTZge0J5nBeRICAgEQgIIBXaa8KGhXL7sPWColtcxAk8QL9OZ2kYa7ANZGqRQ5ID5X0RO6RDYLQa5b4bbskvK_t-dK6uR7mNymrAavfX75ASrvKkP-V8igP8rrGFd445ErEujPY9nUtb0nndTgW4f9b2ken311YYJGdC3NZ_l3j_HcMi3Ggkyn6JOlpY_2Gbgp0e7J8HC9nxc3Exg-XjwH5kM0-Xjpj8dtzwkfzXvHJED0fCm7YlL2xXTEYLU0Ytg8AwBmxox__2-GKmpu8SlToeJaglUDkujAPzVbdJ99BxIhLzJl9wil7_bgJRcZ_ak1uQObcv58G7CBiippL-1mbLeVgDa9xmzJw_gVBxwmjcjLGYBm_kHn2ArK8BgZ1RmLPKRTynVMSN4YbEgDXjCQEslXR05Aa-xz9lks8Rno2lbvrSiFo8wHcVM-8OKezQzA3V08NmpMRtJp4WUw9keJJqVnfdulhZ7oIZUEwpE">attach insect exoskeletons to their cases</a>. Intriguingly, several species of Hawaiian Hyposocoma have retained vegetarian lifestyles but live underwater and feed on algae. 

And it’s not just caterpillars who have a taste for flesh. The Calyptra moths can <a href="https://entomologytoday.org/2015/10/30/vampire-moths-suck-the-blood-of-vertebrates-including-humans/">actually pierce human skin</a> and suck blood, though this only supplements their largely fruit-based diets. That’s nature for you. Just when you think a group of animals is safe and harmless, a member turns up red in mandible and claw, and ready to feed. 

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/144356245@N06/35227358956/in/photolist-q2tsFw-VEVqvS-4M8HB5-SC69ux-eLnzU1">Hawaii Volcanoes National Park</a>/NPS Photo/Jay Robinson

Carnivorous caterpillars are hungry… for flesh

With the possible exception of vegetable gardeners, to whom they...

The evolution of life on Earth is classically envisioned as a tree. 

In this model, species diverge from their parent organisms and head off on their own paths, never to fraternize with their progenitors, or any of their other offshoots, again. This calcified and rigid view of the evolutionary process became dogma in the works of scientists such as Ernst Mayer. In the 1940s, Mayer argued that the definition of a species rested on its inability to breed successfully with other species and that hybridization was usually an accidental and evolutionarily useless event. Nonetheless, the notion that hybridization plays a role in evolutionary processes has been the subject of speculation for ages—it was worthy of a chapter in Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. 

A large body of research now supports the notion that not only does hybridization play a significant role in evolution, but in some cases it may serve as a primary driver of the process. Hybridization is thought to occur in 25% of plants and 6-12% of animals worldwide per a <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3e10/a88eb6547b66158c1d2aaaf1dafd094ce7f9.pdf">2006 study</a>. Remarkably, in some environments, hybrid tendencies are even more prevalent. Some 25% of all plant species in Great Britain hybridize with at least one other species and 75% of British ducks are known to mate with other species of duck. (British ducks aren’t the only ones who step out on their conspecifics; they’re <a href="http://www.10000birds.com/hybrid-mallards.htm">notoriously promiscuous</a> worldwide.) 

Though on a short timescale, cross-specific, or introgressive, mating is somewhat rare, on a longer timescale it has been shown to be quite common. And even though only a few individuals in a population may mate outside the population, the genetic transfer can have major effects down the line if the genes from the other species provide adaptive benefits to the species as a whole. This suggests that life is best envisioned as reticulated rather than terminally branching. That is: it is a net or web rather than a tree. Branches diverge and then converge again, as in the delicate fretwork of a lichen or bryozoan.

This process is most visible and perhaps most important during disruptive events, such as the formation of islands and lakes, where enormous stretches of ecosystem are uncolonized. So, too, when overlapping species hybridize at the edge of their respective ranges, novel gene combinations allow adaptive radiation into new territories, often quite rapidly. 

A <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Rosenthal/publication/10622009_Major_Ecological_Transitions_in_Wild_Sunflowers_Facilitated_by_Hybridization/links/0fcfd508156d868458000000/Major-Ecological-Transitions-in-Wild-Sunflowers-Facilitated-by-Hybridization.pdf">2003 study on sunflowers</a> in the southern United States demonstrated that the harshest habitats were occupied mainly by ancient hybrids of sunflowers that occurred at the edges of differing ecosystems. While the parent species were unable to grow in salt marshes or dry sandy deserts, the new gene combinations in the hybrids allowed them to radiate into these difficult environments. 

Most <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/96/1/4/2187599">British dog roses</a> have been found to have hybrid origin due to the presence of tetraploid eggs and haploid pollen, which indicate separate parent species early in their lineage. This has also happened with cichlids in Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika and with sculpins in Lake Baikal. The few initial species radiated into hundreds, assisted by frequent backcrosses to parent and related species. 

Interestingly, this still happens. A <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a409/42c3254ad715326f7acb931932779b8a4eb5.pdf">2004 study</a> found that a hybrid between a species of cichlid from one end of Lake Malawi introduced to the other end hybridized with a species native to the area. The hybrids colonized the perimeter of an entire island. Even Darwin’s finches, which are thought to have diverged perhaps 2-3 million years ago in response to their sui generis island home, are thought to have developed partially through hybridization at the overlap zones between the various species. And hybridization <a href="https://artsci.uc.edu/content/dam/artsci/departments/biology/Docs/publications/2005GrantPetrenAmNat.pdf">continues to happen in the Galapagos to this day</a>. 

Newer disruptions may also cause hybrid events. Species of butterfly fish around Christmas Island were <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.83">found to hybridize</a> with formerly allopatric, or geographically separated species brought into contact by <a href="http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/5/2/258.short">changing temperatures</a> and currents. 

One of the more <a href="http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2009/09/23/rsbl.2009.0575.short">sensational instances of recent hybrid evolution</a> has happened within the last 90 years in the United States and Canada. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eastern-coyotes-wolves/">Coyotes</a>, once mostly restricted to the Great Plains, moved up through Canada, where they hybridized with wolves, and then colonized the eastern seaboard, where native wolves were largely extirpated. The “eastern coyote” is actually a hybrid between wolves and coyotes. This is evidenced both in its morphology, which is intermediate between coyotes and wolves, and in its behavior. The eastern coyote hunts in packs like wolves and takes down large prey such as deer, unlike the western coyote, which is largely solitary and hunts small mammals and birds. Though larger than the western coyote, it is smaller than a wolf. Sexual dimorphism is also more wolf-like in the eastern coyote; western coyotes are not nearly as sexually dimorphic. The eastern coyote filled the niche abandoned by wolves on the east coast when they were eliminated from the area early in the 19th century. The rapid occupation of abandoned niches like this is known as hybrid swarming. 

The phenomenon of hybrid evolution has major implications for humans as well. Some of our food species have evolved through hybrid evolution, notably in certain varieties of cacao. And other species of economic important have hybrid origins as well, <a href="https://watermark.silverchair.com/mbe0311.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAAbIwggGuBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggGfMIIBmwIBADCCAZQGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMEtcJlLlda5ejKHm4AgEQgIIBZZCSC1DCXc582DxBUvFx-BoXNZsJqpe5geAfosCpxjjQuPN3SJqZkWyHt8S9UJ5XVJGCZ3m4wjrTtX7P_7sQRLolaI3NO26S3JjoEZrlOuSxSmf_xA_1Y-SJYKp1f56wXS5jGrVtbXq1j-MlbVog_tl24mtFTv6aXLVWcoAP-5Z5bYQ1EL0X0QNwSRRPHgnKGfzjwj6nbtfRW4U2FUvTFxzZmCsL-vI_XO2lMPiCe7v5DQ5wRk0HG4nftvTHylw-k-iujhFqBm_XW35rAf0e93JpjqbsAkq44bquPoW7gjSGq8r_j_z92MEURjkKRRt2c72rjxFxjMNeHGOnskgupt2Jhx1ij-Fs_S9nd7BCvowerkLW3TEoVXXPCi6_6ESr8UQSzhCgo-27qCGS3Vf55u3kOw_VlUfPQSlofzu0b1VlSFh7TXcc2jiURwm6tCIAkUQFEJmiU7q84NKfogoQuO3E7IsMTQ">notably tobacco</a>. And we’ve caused hybrid evolution ourselves through the introduction of non-native species that may hybridize with natives and take over entire ecosystems, and through climate change, which has brought previously allopatric species back into contact. The so-called pizzly, a hybrid between a grizzly bear and a polar pear, is a great example. Polar bears evolved from grizzly bears. While once separated by their ecological niches, warming climates have brought polar bears further south and grizzlies further north. Due to their remaining genetic similarities, they are still able to breed. 

We as a species have hybrid origins as well. Homo sapiens is known to have interbred with two other supposedly distinct species, Neanderthals and the Denisovans. This is mirrored in the behavior of other primates, which often interbreed at so-called hybrid zones. Studies of these zones and their hybrid products are invaluable in analyzing possible hominid hybrids in the fossil record. Because fossil bones may not be useful in genetic analysis, morphological characteristics become important in discerning possible hybrids. Hybrid zones between the various species of baboon have <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c465/5dc1f912c5ad76b127f0fbf0bb1679eb2a94.pdf">proven useful in this regard</a>. They have shown that even in cases of hybridization, morphology may or may not be a useful indicator. Sometimes, hybrids favor one parent or the other. 

Genetic studies have determined definitively that modern day humans express genes from both Neanderthals and Denisovans. So, ponder this: what is a human? Amd what is a species?

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

The net of life: Hybridization and evolution

The evolution of life on Earth is classically envisioned as...

Cats and dogs can provide a crucial source of comfort for many pet owners, but a new study revealed even more benefits of having animals at home. 

A recent survey found that having a cat or dog can increase happiness and that people with pets tend to be healthier and more successful. 

Dog owners are more likely to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dog-walking-older-adults-active/">engage in exercise</a> on cold or rainy days because they know their dog needs a walk, and so pet owners are often more physically active, especially among elderly citizens. 

The survey showed that pet owners also get a little more exercise from doing simple housework and pet cleanup. 

For the survey, retirement home builder company <a href="https://www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk/">McCarthy &amp; Stone</a> commissioned researchers to conduct a study on the benefits of pet ownership across the UK.

The researchers surveyed 1,000 dog and cat owners in the UK and after analyzing the survey responses discovered several positive trends associated with pet ownership. 

Aligning with previous research, the survey showed that pet owners were twice as active as people without pets, exercising around five times per week. 

Pet ownership also coincided with a higher likelihood of being married, having children, and higher levels of job satisfaction. 

The researchers also noticed that pet owners in the UK earned higher incomes, around $5,200 more per year.  

Having a pet also countered <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/app-loneliness-older-people/">loneliness and isolation</a>, something that many older people report as they go through their golden years. 

Pet owners were more likely to talk to their pet and this had a very beneficial impact. 16 percent of the survey respondents said that they wouldn't talk to anyone during the day if they didn’t have a pet.

“The psychological and emotional benefits of pet ownership are well-known among mental health professionals,” said psychologist Corinne Sweet. “Having a close bond with a domestic animal can boost “feel food” biochemicals such as endorphins and oxytocin; which can make owners feel more relaxed, calmer and happier at home.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Michael Hardy

People who have pets tend to be happier, healthier, and wealthier

Cats and dogs can provide a crucial source of comfort...

The latest pet craze taking the internet by storm is the <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/article213980579.html">#WhattheFluff challenge</a>, where dog owners will perform a “disappearing act” for their dog and wait for the mystified pup to catch on. 

We love our pets, but sometimes we just can’t help but play some fun tricks on them to the delight of the internet. Before #whatthefluff, cat owners were tagging posts of cats sitting inside taped squares on the ground with #CatsSquare, and the “CatSquare” trend began.  

That just the hint of a square box was enough to entice or trick the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-cats-charge/">cat</a> into sitting in the square had many wondering what exactly was going on. Were the cat’s really tricked by the tape? 

As much as cat owners might like to ascribe their cat’s affinity for small spaces and cardboard boxes as a cute and unique quirk, an animal expert weighed in and resolved the mystery of the cat-box relationship once and for all. 

Cats simply seek out the comfort and safety that a cardboard box can afford and are drawn to small, den-like spaces where they can curl up and feel secure. 

According to Nicholas Dodman, a professor of Behavioral Pharmacology and Animal Behavior at<a href="https://www.tufts.edu/"> Tufts University</a>, it’s a way for the cat to relieve anxiety.

Dodman wrote a piece for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-cant-cats-resist-thinking-inside-the-box-76287">The Conversation</a> in 2017 delving into the reasons why cats like enclosed spaces and why the #CatSqaure craze was as popular as it was. 

For a cat, even your living room may be a little overwhelming sometimes and being in a safe place like a cardboard box is a way to guard against the dangers and insecurities of open spaces. 

According to Dodman, cats, like dogs, used to spend their early days close to their mother and littermates. 

The warmth and comfort of all that contact is something that animals will likely seek out in their later years by burrowing under covers, making nests out of blankets, or in the cats' case trying to fit into small boxes. 

“Think of it as a kind of swaddling behavior. The close contact with the box's interior, we believe, releases endorphins – nature's own morphine-like substances – causing pleasure and reducing stress,” Dodman wrote in The Conversation.

How does the box and cat square connect? Dodman has an answer for this too and it might be the fact the taped square offers a psychosomatic, virtual kind of comfort. 

“Without a real box, a square on the ground may be the next best thing for a cat, though it's a poor substitute for the real thing,” Dodman wrote. “Whether a shoe box, shopping bag or a square on the ground, it probably gives a cat a sense of security that open space just can't provide.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Cats love boxes because the confined space makes them feel safe

The latest pet craze taking the internet by storm is...

Not many animals are less loved than the mosquito.  In Native American myths, mosquitoes are tricksters.  In West Africa, one myth tells why mosquitoes buzz in people’s ears.  Another myth, recounted on <a href="https://journals.lww.com/jbipacesetters/Fulltext/2011/01000/The_mythical_origin_of_mosquitoes_and_its.15.aspx">PACEsetters</a>, tells how a blessing given by a mystical encounter with ancestors was swapped for a package full of mosquitoes.

People play games to see how many mosquitoes they can kill.  I kill any mosquito that happens to land on me or anyone I care about.  We hose ourselves down with toxins, light candles and burn smelly incense coils to keep mosquitoes at bay.  We screen our windows and our tents to keep out the bloodsucking fiends. In his book, The Animal Dialogues, Craig Childs tells of one man in Alaska in desperation spraying himself with Raid to keep mosquitoes off.  Terms like ‘blood sucker’ refer to the worst types of humans, parodying them to mosquitoes or vampire bats. Mosquitoes are tenacious and always seem to be hungry, at least in the summer.    

According to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/group/mosquitoes/">National Geographic</a>, there are 3,000 species of mosquito world-wide; they’re also said to be the animal that’s spread more disease than any other.  Only about 200 species of mosquito actually feed on humans. Malaria, Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, Zika Virus, even West Nile are all transmitted via mosquitos.  According to the <a href="http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/malaria/en/">World Health Organization</a>, there were approximately 212 million cases of malaria in 2015, resulting in 429,000 deaths.  It’s clear from those numbers alone that malaria from mosquitoes by itself poses a real threat, besides the other illnesses the insects carry. 

It’s the stark facts of mosquito borne illness, the death, the widespread illness, that have led some to call for the all-out extinction of mosquitoes.  It isn’t just itchy bumps for many living in the tropical regions of the world. It’s not too much surprise that scientists have been trying long and hard to limit mosquito populations.  

<a href="https://news.ucsc.edu/2016/12/mosquito-populations.html">UC Santa Cruz News Center</a> reported in 2016 that mosquito populations have increased by tenfold in New Jersey, New York and California over fifty years.  The increase in mosquito populations is said to be due to increased urbanization as well as smaller concentrations of DDT in the environment.  DDT was once a common pesticide in the US, and <a href="http://time.com/4205214/zika-virus-ddt-mosquitoes/">Time</a> reported that it was even vital to protecting allied forces from diseases such as malaria during World War II.  The pesticide was ultimately banned in the US and many other countries because of its negative effect on human and animal health.  Banning DDT has helped raptor populations to rebound in particular because it left the bird with dangerously thin egg shells that often broke before hatching.  

Not only has DDT historically been a health and environment risk but over time mosquitoes can evolve resistance to the pesticide, limiting its effectiveness.  This leaves scientists trying to discover novel ways to limit mosquito populations of their ability to spread disease. <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/21/538470321/to-shrink-the-mosquito-population-scientists-are-releasing-20-million-of-them">NPR.org</a> reports that last summer, 20 million male mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria.  When the infected male mosquitoes mate with females, the females lay eggs with dead embryos never to hatch.  The idea is to cut mosquito populations down when offspring fail to hatch. The species of mosquito infected with Wolbachia doesn’t usually carry it but 40% of insects overall do and the bacteria has the added benefit of stopping infected mosquitoes from transmitting diseases like Zika.

Another more extreme method of mosquito control relies on directly modifying mosquito genes.  An English company, Oxitec, has modified mosquitoes with a gene that kills mosquito offspring after only two or three days from hatching.  Oxitec recently proposed testing its new technology in Key West, Florida. <a href="https://projects.jsonline.com/news/2017/10/5/mosquito-battle-gets-political.html">Journal Sentinel</a> reported that many local residents were not in favor of the test.  In the end, the project was stalled last summer because of political opposition to the tests but Oxitec remains hopeful that future tests may go forward.  A local doctor in Key West pointed out that the mosquitoes used in trials require access to an antibiotic to survive and expressed concern of an increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria left in the mosquitoes wake.

According to <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/genetically-engineered-mosquitoes-to-be-released-in-20-states/5620495" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.globalresearch.ca/genetically-engineered-mosquitoes-to-be-released-in-20-states/5620495&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1534271892763000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG1OnJQW1Oq5XxiO_Fk3tWgY75cKA">Global Research</a>, the EPA has approved the release of wolbachia GMO mosquitoes in 20 states.  The Oxitec mosquitoes remain un-approved.  The technology of editing genes, creating genetically modified organisms (GMOS) has increased rapidly, giving humans what seems like an almost god-like power.  The possibility that someday soon humans might have the power not only to control mosquito populations but wipe completely destroy them looms large.  In 2016 a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/feb/10/should-we-wipe-mosquitoes-off-the-face-of-the-earth" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/feb/10/should-we-wipe-mosquitoes-off-the-face-of-the-earth&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1534271892763000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGwz0MSyLO-PzNDQTfeYiawp6ugtg">Guardian headline</a>asked, Should we wipe mosquitoes off the face of the Earth?  The question continues to be asked with increasing urgency as biotech companies continue to develop ways to control and destroy mosquitoes.

Mostly it’s a one sided argument.  Most people that have doubts are concerned about the fallout of killing mosquitoes off.  There is concern for the potential health risk of GMO mosquitoes and the environmental impact of killing them off.  

There is extremely little consideration for the mosquitoes themselves but it’s good to remember that killing off wolves, coyotes, bears and other dangerous predators was popular at one time.  The Guardian even quotes E.O. Wilson, famed conservation biologist as being for the extinction of mosquitoes that spread malaria (Anopheles gambiae), “Keep their DNA for future research and let them go.”

I myself am torn over the idea of killing of mosquitoes.  I’ve visited tropical Africa twice and lived in close proximity with locals for months at a time.  Malaria and other diseases routinely kill people and often the locals don’t have the luxury of even going to a doctor and getting a diagnosis of the disease taking their life.  I as a traveler in the tropics have always been able to take prophylaxis medicines preventing me from getting malaria and a vaccine for yellow fever. It’s largely a mistake of being born in a wealthy nation that I am able to visit Africa, Asia or South America in relative safety instead of suffering and dying of tropical disease.  

It’s easy to see why nations like India would be quick to embrace the complete eradication of disease bearing mosquitoes.  It’s also to see why residents of places like Key West, Florida where most tropical diseases no longer pose a threat would be wary of GMO insects being released for any purpose.  What are the long term consequences of killing off mosquitoes?

Fish, other insects, amphibians, birds and bats all feed on mosquitoes.  It’s not hard to imagine mosquitoes globally being an important source of food as well with their prevalence.  Some studies, like one discussed in <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/2010/100721/full/466432a.html">Nature’s news feature</a> shows that eradicating mosquito species would have little ecological impact.  The truth is, it’s extremely hard to know the overall impact of mosquitoes or their eradication on the world today.  Mosquitoes are everywhere and small, their interactions with other animals and the physical environment are complex and difficult to quantify.

The people who would stand to benefit the most from the death of malaria carrying mosquitoes are some of the poorest in the world.  People living in tropical nations from Africa and South America to Asia could be saved from horrible disease that ravishes them. Still, there are many more problems in these areas such as food insecurity, deforestation, war and political insecurity.  It’s hard to know if destroying malaria or it’s insect hosts will truly help these people in the long run. But who am I to suggest denying the people of the tropics a chance at a better life? 

I’m reminded of a recent trip I made with my fiancé, Erin, to Padre Island National Seashore.  Erin was walking one of our dogs and had a brief conversation with a man camping near us. The man told Erin that years before when he’d visited the seashore, there had been a lot of mosquitoes at the same time of year.  When we visited, none of us encountered any mosquitoes. The man was a little disturbed by the lack of pesky insects. “Mosquitoes are guardians of wilderness,” the man told Erin.  

The comment seems prophetic at this moment when humans are gaining enough power to potentially destroy one of the wildest and least comfortable parts of our world.  If we eradicate even one mosquito species from earth, we destroy earth as it is now and usher in a new world. We have no idea in reality how the new world we’d create operates or how to live well in it.  We forget that this world, the one we live in created us, not the other way around. Mosquitoes have been on this planet for as much as <a href="https://watermark.silverchair.com/aesa97-0882.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAAcEwggG9BgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggGuMIIBqgIBADCCAaMGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMyo30YTyNG7sR-QnXAgEQgIIBdDnR4QMO7_K23AkHoiwaqqZ65rDCIh9b2oUHp80jg6sqYJHrwJ1Ada-xD4UV_tidZUvT159PGUrvauQuv7idYLGlGpyOlWi6pdECrM1cKjeR26N08luEQICvw_yAKvELkgNFbIAxJpaBIW1YjRlIm_yFPMdb5oqUJ-NKX03Wa_4Fkt9U0X0u98nGHuXlzBWLx2SiDRDRWC1aL1Pi_HZRfS8P8vWbHAjLHIx_khaEAIioMAvflW3_Gmt8RHKN49x0tJEupvLe98uVdsFFaOMABxZk8BeDwQwY0LtUl1HP6maFPqDZnUleX1OjZWMHFViMvpNNVoV5N4ippVp5mCTR_UdOsZSsBMXKHV-GNINfY600lJoIrogK2vwM6ujwm1GyI0BtbLzV_gHqauO8dJ7U8O4C_9U_Cs-MvQFk-CYHZTqD_UMIv9D_8LAhzbbNSHvSv_fotum9iS6kc0oM69WV9OsGOqBslvOpktbEoLB_CKpYs9CpeQ">90-100 million years</a>, longer than primates, much less than humans have been around.  Mosquitoes shaped the world we were born into and the human species as well.  We should tread carefully. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Science may use extreme measures to control mosquito populations

Not many animals are less loved than the mosquito.  In...

An iconic fish that dates back before the days of the dinosaurs has become the latest subject of outrage by campaigners against marine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-polar-bear-plastic/">plastic litter</a>. The coelacanth was found dead off the coast of Indonesia with a plastic bag from Lay's potato chips wrapped around its intestines.

Coela­canths were once believed to have gone extinct alongside the dinosaurs and were known for a long time only through fossils. In 1938, a living specimen was unexpectedly discovered in the western Indian Ocean. 

These “living fossils,” as they are called, date back around 400 million years and were widely distributed across the planet at one point in time with over 90 species. Today, only two known species remain.

There is some unsettling irony in the fact that coelacanths managed to survive the catastrophic extinction that killed the dinosaurs, but are now threatened by plastic litter from human activities. The image of the dead fish alongside the trash that it choked on is being described as “exactly what is wrong with our society” by activists.

 According to the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html">Daily Mail</a>, Frito-Lay owner Pep­siCo described the picture as “up­set­ting.” The company said it is has a target of 100-percent re­cy­clable, com­postable, or biodegrad­able pack­ag­ing by 2025.


John Hourston, the founder of <a href="http://blueplanetsociety.org/">Blue Planet Society</a>, told <a href="http://www.iflscience.com/">IFLScience</a> that large companies “are all fully aware that public opinion is against them. But some are resisting change because of cost, marketing, shelf-life, etc. None are making changes quick enough.”

Last year, the Daily Mail launched its “Turn The Tide on Plastic” campaign, a move which was applauded by <a href="http://www.unenvironment.org/">UN Environment Programme</a> head Erik Solheim.

“We’re facing an ocean armageddon. Every year, we’re dumping at least eight million tons of plastic in our oceans,” said Solheim.

“If we continue to allow this to happen, by 2050 there is going to be more plastic in the ocean than fish. To tackle the problem of marine pollution we have to make this a kitchen table conversation."

“This is happening. For example, the Daily Mail, one of the most widely read newspapers in the world, is putting the message out and this is really positive, really fantastic.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: <a href="https://twitter.com/Seasaver/status/1027020054314070016">Blue Planet Society</a>

Primitive fish found dead after choking on Lay’s potato chip bag

An iconic fish that dates back before the days of...

Women form closer bonds with cats than men do. While research has shown that dogs go out of their way to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-comfort-owners-upset/">comfort their owners</a> and could provide much-needed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/service-dogs-veterans-ptsd/">support for veterans suffering from PTSD</a>, there has been considerably less attention paid to the bond between humans and cats.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.elte.hu/en/">Eötvös Loránd University</a> in Hungary noticed this gap in pet companionship studies and decided to examine the differences between how women and men and their relationship with their cat.

The results show that women are able to form closer relationships with their cats because they have more empathy for cats and enjoy talking to their pet. 

According to the research, women are more likely than men to initiate nearly all types of interactions with their cats. 

“Women were found in general to have more intense connections with their pets,” the study authors said. “Their interactions involve more repeating, complex behavioral patterns and women are also more empathic with their pets.”

For the study, 157 cat owners were asked to fill out a questionnaire on their pets and the bond they shared with their cats. 

The researchers found that women were more likely to talk to their cats, explain things to them, smile at the cats, and greet them. 

Compared to men, women cat owners were also more likely to think their cat wanted attention and that the cat could recognize when their owner needed comfort.

This is called emotional matching and the study showed that women with older cats were more likely to report an emotional match than men who had younger cats. 

“In the case of older cats, there could be more opportunity for learning the subtle signs of emotional matching to each other, and it is also possible that female owners feel stronger emotional bonds with their cat,” the researchers concluded.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Women form closer bonds with cats than men do

Women form closer bonds with cats than men do. While...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/">University of Southampton</a> has taken a biochemical approach to tracking the movement of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/whale-shark-longest-migration/">whale sharks</a> at various feeding sites. The researchers found that these endangered animals, which are the largest fish in the world, do not actually venture out as far as previously thought.

Using stable isotope analysis, the experts demonstrated that whale sharks feeding at three sites in the Western Indian Ocean  and the Arabian Gulf hardly ever roamed more than a few hundred kilometers north or south of these areas.

"Whale sharks are amazing swimmers, often moving over 10,000 km each year, and they can dive to around 2,000 meters in depth,” said study lead author Dr. Clare Prebble. “Biochemical studies tell us more about where they go and what they do when they're out of our sight.”

The movement and diving behavior of marine animals is typically monitored using electronic tags, but only short-term tracking has been possible with this method.


For the current study, the scientists used tiny samples of skin tissue from wild whale sharks. The fragments of skin were collected over the course of two to three years at each location, and provided the team with enough evidence to reconstruct the movement and feeding behavior of the sharks over the months prior to collecting the samples.


While isotopes of nitrogen and carbon have similar chemical properties, they vary in their atomic mass. Ratios between the heavier and lighter isotopes of these elements fluctuate naturally across different marine habitats. 


In addition to the biochemical analysis, the researchers also captured photographs of the unique markings on each whale shark to identify and track individuals over ten years. The team recorded 4,197 encounters with 1,240 individual whale sharks across the three sites.

Out of hundreds of sharks, only two moved between sites - both swimming around 2,000 kilometers north from Mozambique to Tanzania. The findings indicate that movement between these major aggregation sites is very limited over months to years. 

“The best data available suggests that more than half of the world's whale sharks have been killed since the 1980s,” said Dr. Prebble. “Although the Western Indian Ocean remains a global hotspot for the species, even the largest feeding areas only host a few hundred sharks. Our results show that we need to treat each site separately, and ensure good conservation management is in place, as the sharks may not re-populate if they're impacted by people's activities.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.int-res.com/journals/meps/meps-home/">Marine Ecoology Progress Series</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: Copyright Clare Prebble, Marine Megafauna Foundation and University of Southampton

Whale sharks prefer to stay close to home, new analysis shows

A new study led by the University of Southampton has...

Marine mammals may be at risk of neurological damage from exposure to agricultural runoff. New research has found that this is due to an inability to make a protein found in humans and land-dwelling mammals that protects from the ill effects of certain compounds. 

As <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/freshwater-saltwater-marine-animals/">marine mammals evolved</a> to make the water their primary habitats, they lost some of the traits common among land-dwelling animals in favor of other traits advantageous to aquatic living. 

An example of this would be the some of the genes responsible for taste and smell in humans lost their function during marine mammal evolution. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.medschool.pitt.edu/">University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine</a> conducted a study to find what other genes may have lost their function in marine mammals but are still important in land-dwelling species. 

The results were published in the journal Science and show that marine mammals may be at risk of pesticide exposure and that local marine mammal habitats should be monitored closely to see if the animals have developed other protections against pesticide runoff. 

“We need to determine if marine mammals are, indeed, at an elevated risk of serious neurological damage from these pesticides because they biologically lack the ability to break them down, or if they've somehow adapted to avoid such damage in an as-yet-undiscovered way,” said Nathan L. Clark, the senior author of the study. “Either way, this is the kind of serendipitous finding that results from curiosity-driven scientific research. It is helping us to understand what our genes are doing and the impact the environment can have on them."

The researchers started by analyzing DNA sequences from five species of marine mammals and 53 species of terrestrial mammals. 

After comparing genes between the different land and water-dwelling animals, the researchers discovered that like the taste genes, marine mammals no longer had functioning Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) genes. 

In humans, PON1 protects from organophosphates, a pesticide used to kill insects. 

The researchers then collected blood samples from marine mammals and mixed in an organophosphate byproduct to see how the blood would react to the pesticide. 

Unlike in humans, the byproduct did not break down which suggests that marine mammals are at risk of neurological damage from organophosphate poisoning unless they evolved other methods to combat the ill effects of the toxins. 

The researchers traced the lineage of whales, dolphin, and manatees to see when PON1 function was lost. This could help shed light on why the gene evolved as it did in marine mammals. 

“The big question is, why did they lose function at PON1 in the first place?” said Meyer. “It's hard to tell whether it was no longer necessary or whether it was preventing them from adapting to a marine environment. If we can figure out why these species don't have functional PON1, we might learn more about the function of PON1 in human health, while also uncovering potential clues to help protect marine mammals most at risk.”

The researchers say that future studies are needed to understand how organophosphate runoff impacts marine mammals in their environments. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Marine mammals may be defenseless against certain pesticides

Marine mammals may be at risk of neurological damage from...

For lions, voluntourism trips often do more harm than good. August 10th is World Lion Day, and in honor of these beautiful big cats, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> takes a look at how a misleading trend known as voluntourism can actually help the lion hunting industry.

For many animal lovers, traveling to South Africa to help hand-raise lion cubs may sound like a dream come true, but these voluntourism trips are often more nefarious than they sound. Captive breeding facilities, which breed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rhino-poachers-killed-lions/">lions</a> for the canned hunting industry, can disguise themselves as animal sanctuaries in order to lure in volunteers and tourists.

These facilities often attract volunteers by allowing visitors to become intimately involved with the daily care of lions. While the lions are young volunteers can cuddle, feed and play with them. Tourists often visit the facilities as well to take selfies with the cubs. Once the lions get older, volunteers and tourists go on “lion walks” with them.

According to <a href="https://www.responsiblevacation.com/copy/canned-hunting">Responsible Travel</a>, volunteer interactions are not for the animals’ welfare but instead to ensure the animals are habituated to humans when they are sold to canned hunting facilities. Volunteers may be told they are caring for orphaned lions who will reintroduced to the wild but lions who become accustomed to human presence are unlikely to survive in the wild. 

In reality, the lion cubs may have been taken from their mothers at a young age resulting in suffering for both the cubs and their mothers. Volunteers are also at a risk because they are interacting with wild animals who may become agitated and attack or bite.

Once the lions become too old for continued human contact, they may be sold to canned hunting facilities where they are shot in enclosed spaces by hunters who pay large fees for a guaranteed kill. If they are not sold to canned hunting facilities, the lions may be sold for their bones in the wildlife market. Lions sold to canned hunting facilities can also end up in the lion bone trade after they are shot.

African lions are currently protected by the international treaty, the <a href="https://www.cites.org/">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora</a>. African lions are listed on Appendix II with a zero export quota for lions in the wild for commercial purposes. South Africa is allowed to export lion parts from captive breeding facilities within an established quota. The country made <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/lions-bones-south-africa-tigers-ramaphosa-exports-poaching-canned-hunting-traditional-chinese-a8459216.html">headlines</a> last month when it almost doubled its annual quota for lion bone exports to 1,500 skeletons.

“Hunting is part of South Africa’s policy of sustainable utilization of natural resources – a principle supported by multilateral environmental agreements such as CITES and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). All activities involving the African lion, including hunting, possession and trade are regulated through a permit system; and our policies are supported by solid scientific evidence,” said Minister of Environmental Affairs Dr. Edna Molewa.

An estimated 7,000 lions live in around 260 captive breeding facilities in South Africa alone. While the facilities are still legal in South Africa, some in the tourism industry are fighting back.

<a href="https://discovercorps.com/">Discover Corps</a>, which offers wildlife and cultural vacations, stopped offering lion tours in 2016. The website says, “Babies are taken from their mothers early so they can be hand-reared, getting them used to human touch. As they get older, many are either beaten or drugged into submission. So even if they aren’t eventually going to be hunted, there’s virtually no chance they’ll ever be returned to the wild.”

While the laws against captive breeding and canned hunting facilities may not change soon, animal lovers can help quash the industry by refusing to visit these inhumane attractions.

--

By <a href="mailto:brianna.grant134@gmail.com">Brianna Lynne</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

For lions, voluntourism trips often do more harm than good

For lions, voluntourism trips often do more harm than good....

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



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



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



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



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



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



-----



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



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



-----

Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



-----



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



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



-----

Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



-----



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



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



-----

The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



-----



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



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



-----

What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



-----



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



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



-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



---



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



---



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



---



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



---



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



---



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

News coming your way